I’m alive — we’ve been drowning in Christmas celebrations and I’m finally starting to come up for air now that the kids are back in school. We’ve had so much fun, but returning to our normal routine is kind of nice too. 🙂
You’ve seen my friend Laura’s recipes here before. We manage to share a meal with our families fairly regularly and recently enjoyed a fun trip to the Dells together. We are always doing something fun! She first made this cake for a girl’s night at my house last year — and left the leftovers at my house. I picked at the cake for days — eating it for breakfast, lunch, snacks, until it was finally gone. It’s one of those cakes that I think about obsessively when I know it’s sitting on the counter. Let’s just say I don’t recommend making this if losing weight is part of your resolution this year…
This cake is loved by all — including my trio. It’s moist, sweet, and ridiculously quick and easy!
For years, these sticky buns have been our Christmas morning breakfast. My mom started making them on Christmas morning when I was in high school and it became a tradition. The best part about these rolls is there is relatively little prep work so they are quick and easy to throw to together before bed on Christmas Eve after an exhausting evening playing Santa.
On Christmas morning, just heat up the oven and bake for 30 minutes. By the time we finished our stockings and Santa gifts, the rolls were ready to enjoy for an effortless Christmas breakfast that still tastes special. I bet they’d be a great New Year’s Day breakfast too…
Last week, the weather report said that there was a blizzard coming — it turned out to be nothing more than a dusting of snow and a bit of strong wind. The cold, dark, dreary, blustery day was the perfect opportunity to throw together a hearty winter minestrone soup.
The recipe I based this soup on is from the Barefoot Contessa. I used different quantities and left out a few ingredients. Spinach in soup just seems weird to me — but who knows. 🙂
It takes awhile to chop all of the veggies for this soup — and you’ll want to have your homemade chicken stock already prepared and on hand. For a snowy evening at home, this soup is thick, rich, and satisfying.
I served it with breadsticks and fruit. The kids wouldn’t touch it — they aren’t soup fans — but even Mike, the vegetable hater himself, ate a bowl — picking out the chunks.
For me, it just isn’t Christmas without lots of baking and goodies. Growing up, my mom and Aunt Sally would both bake like crazy during the Holiday season and on Christmas Eve there would always be a table filled with all types of treats. I’ve always loved baking and I love sampling everything even more. One of my goals it to carry on the tradition of making holiday goodies with my trio — we’ve got lots of recipes on our list this year!
Aunt Sally passed away when I was in high school, but her memory lives on. This year, I knew that I needed to make a batch of her M & M cookies — they were always one of my favorite Christmas treats — so I asked my mom about the recipe and she swore it was on the M&M package. Of course, the package I had didn’t have a recipe — so I Googled it and tried a batch, but they just weren’t right. Finally, I wised up and messaged my cousin Kelly and low and behold, she had the recipe. They are perfect. They taste just like they did when I was little. I couldn’t be happier.
We made these yesterday afternoon and we all had a cookie (or four) after dinner. Delish!
Mike turned 36 on 12-12-12. This was his 11th birthday we’ve spent together! Unfortunately, the trio was sick that day (Bo had strep and they treated our whole family) but it did mean that Mike took the afternoon off and was home with us to spend part of the day.
Mike requested a lemon cake for his birthday, so I turned to Pinterest and found one to make from scratch. I tackled this in the morning and it was challenging keeping sick little kiddos out of my cake batter — but for the most part I succeeded.
I make the ugliest cakes known to man. I have zero cake decorating skills. However, the cake did taste delicious. I’d probably make the cake a bit differently if I had to do it again — it was slightly heavy — but the filling and icing for this cake were absolutely amazing! The filling I could (and did) eat with a spoon. Delicious!
This side dish is so easy to make I’m not even sure it warrants a recipe. I don’t remember ever having brussel sprouts when I was little — it doesn’t seem like something my Grandpa would eat — but I discovered them last year and roasting them is actually very delicious.
I made these as a side dish for tortellini on Monday evening. By the time Mike walked in, the trio was already sitting at the table, and loudly lamenting that they dislike brussel sprouts. Mike, who barely touches a vegetable himself, told them they were good and tried one. And actually ate it. This, my friends, is legendary. Sure, he doesn’t love them — but he ate one and commented, “They aren’t bitter like I remember them being as a kid.” Baby steps.
Anna ate one. Clara ate half a breadstick as her entire meal — and then ended up in the front room having a snack after her siblings were in bed because her belly hurt from not eating — and Bo — well, we won’t even talk about Bo. Let’s just say he didn’t eat it.
Personally, I think these are delicious. They are quick and easy to throw together for a side dish for anything from chicken to pasta. And as the lone vegetable eater in the house, I’ll make them for myself since they require very little prep work. If you like vegetables (unlike the rest of my family) then you’ll like these. Promise.
Last Thursday, both Bo and Anna were home from school sick. Anna was coughing and had a fever on Wednesday and Thursday, and Bo was coughing too. Clara trotted off to school all by herself like a big girl, while the sickies attempted to entertain themselves while I worked.
By mid-day, Bo and Anna were both a bit stir-crazy, so after lunch we decided to make some Christmas goodies to surprise Clara with as an after-school snack when she arrived home. However, since they were both sick, I didn’t really want them touching and sneezing on the ingredients, which they weren’t thrilled about – they like to be right in the middle of my baking creations. Bo and Anna sat at the bar and I gave them each spoons of cookie dough while I pulled these cookies together. The recipe they are based on was from Pinterest (where else?) and comes from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I also halved this crockpot hot chocolate recipe so it would fit in my small crockpot to accompany the cookies – it was VERY sweet hot chocolate!
As soon as Clara was in the car, Bo and Anna were both excitedly telling her about the special treat we had at home — and everyone enjoyed sampling the cookies and hot chocolate. After our snack, we wrote our letters to Santa — luckily, the trio has been pretty good this year so I think they’ll get several items off their lists.
These aren’t the prettiest muffins ever, but considering the amount of fiber they pack, they are surprisingly tasty. I made these on Tuesday morning. I’ve been hitting the gym with a friend or two around 5 am on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so by the time I showered on Tuesday, I was starving and wanted to make a warm breakfast that I thought the kids and I would both enjoy. A quick flip through the cookbook and I settled on these — they pulled together very quickly and by the time I’d dried my hair, found the kiddos clothes for the day, and allowed them to open their Advent calendars, we were ready for breakfast.
The kids enjoyed these with butter served with milk. I enjoyed mine with a cup of steaming hot coffee to kick-start my day in the right direction. Next time, I think I’ll consider subbing the white flour for wheat and try subbing the sugar for honey. Subbing the oil for applesauce also seems like a no-brainer. I’ll update this post with the results.
These muffins received 3 1/2 wooden spoons from the trio and me!
Considering we are in the midst of a nearly 70 degree day here in the Midwest (Happy December!) eating a warm bowl of chili doesn’t sound as appealing as it did a few weeks ago when I made Frito Pie for Mike and his buddy, Derek, to enjoy while they watched the Bears game. However, I’m not sure they took full advantage of the Frito Pie possibilities and probably just ate the chili plain…
Everyone can make chili and there are hundreds of different recipes for it. This chili recipe is my mom’s and Mike commented, “It was good, but not as good as your mom’s.” So even though I used her recipe, I must not have done it quite right. Maybe she’ll comment here with some insight…
What makes this recipe extra special is the extra ingredients that are added to the chili before serving to give it extra saltiness and creaminess. Yum! While you can definitely eat the chili plain, I highly suggest taking it up a notch to the Frito Pie level. To upgrade, you’ll layer Fritos, chili, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and finely chopped white onion in your bowl. It’s ridiculously easy but oh, so tasty!