Holiday

Gingerbread Man Waffles

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

I still have a holly, jolly smelling batch of Gingerbread Spice from November’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I added it to waffle batter for a fantastic holiday twist to a classic breakfast. I even make Gingerbread Sugar (instead of Cinnamon Sugar) for sprinkling over top!

The pear syrup was a great compliment and when that ran out I used bottled Strawberry syrup. I liked the tartness it added instead of piling on more sweet from regular maple syrup.

Gingerbread Man Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp gingerbread spice
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 C milk
  • 1/2 C vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl sift together all dry ingredients.
  2. In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients.
  3. Combine wet and dry ingredients and pour into a hot waffle iron and cook until golden. Serve with gingerbread spice sugar and syrup. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter if desired.

*This recipe is adapted from Better Homes and Gardens*

Gingerbread Man Waffles

To make Gingerbread Sugar use a 4:1 ratio of sugar to gingerbread spice. (4 tsp granulated sugar and 1 tsp gingerbread spice)

A Two Year Project

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Two years ago I embarked on a very ambitious Christmas gift for my mom. A beautiful cross stitched Christmas landscape designed by Thomas Kinkade.

There aren’t any good shops in my local area to get cross stitch patterns and kits so I had a friend stop at Hobby Lobby in Auburn for me. She sent me a couple of patterns and I selected “A Treasured Time“. She told me the size and price and brought it to me.

I greatly underestimated how large 12×16” is! I had never undertaken anything so big before, and greatly misjudged my ability to complete it in time. I didn’t start on the project until the family left my home Thanksgiving weekend. Needless to say, given the title of this blog post, I did not complete this masterpiece in 3 weeks. And Santa’s elves were too busy to lend me a hand.

I took this project on every work trip, spending hours in hotel rooms each night working on it. I would stitch every evening while Stuart played video games. It came with me on long car rides.

After two short, yet long, years I have finally completed this winter scene. I can’t even begin to tell you how relieved I am!

Image

It will probably be another year before I decide to tackle something so big again. I am used to doing ornament sized pieces that take me 2 days to complete. I will return to some quick fun pieces soon. Having my Christmas tree up puts me in the cross stitching spirit.

 

Let it Sew

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

As I mentioned in my Christmas Time is Here post, 2013 is The Year of the Snowman.

My mother-in-law taught my friend and me how to quilt last August and we knew we wanted to make her a thank you gift – once our skills improved a bit. We decided on creating a Christmas gift for it. When it was declared that there’d be a theme to the presents this year we started searching Pinterest for snowman ideas. There were a handful we liked, but most quilts were beyond our skill level or not in our style.

Using Electric Quilt we decided to design our own!

My MIL’s favorite fabrics are batiks so we knew we’d go with that for our fabric palate. My friend found some great snowman batiks at a local quilt shop and we spiraled off of that.

With the back of the quilt we decided to be more ambitious than a one-, two-, or three- paneled back and added some letters! We laid out our completed letter blocks until we decided on a layout and pulled out the graph paper to determine how to piece it all together.

Image

When we went to the fabric store to buy the backing material the sales associate said, “You must be engineers” when we told her we’d designed the front ourselves. We laughed and said, “We are!” We still haven’t settled on whether or not that was a compliment. 😉

War Eagle Game Day

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

A big part of Thanksgiving weekend is watching the Iron Bowl.

We gather around the TV, taking a break from Thanksgiving foods, to stuff our faces with game day dishes while watching the most stressful game of the season. This year I’m expecting a great game. The stakes our high this year – ESPN Game Day will be on The Plains, Alabama is ranked #1, Auburn is ranked #4, and a ticket to the SEC Championship Game is on the line.

Here are a few of the recipes that will be on the coffee table this year:

Iron Bowl Food

Football Game Day Dip

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Velveeta
  • 1 can Rotel
  • 1/2 lb ground beef

Steps:

  1. Brown ground beef, drain fat.
  2. Cube Velveeta and put in a microwavable dish. Stir in Rotel and beef.
  3. Microwave for 2 minutes at a time, stirring. Once cheese is melted serve with Tostitos!

Shake ‘n’ Bake Buffalo Bites

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkt Shake ‘n’ Bake
  • 3 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 bottle Frank’s Red Hot buffalo sauce (not hot sauce)

Steps:

  1. Toss chicken in Shake ‘n’ Bake.
  2. Place chicken on baking sheet. Bake at 375deg for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
  3. Toss cooked chicken in buffalo sauce. Serve with ranch dressing!

This year we’re experimenting with chicken wings instead! Baking them on a metal rack on a baking sheet at 425deg for 30min.

Cranberry Barbecue Turkey Sliders

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C cranberry sauce
  • 1/2 C orange juice concentrate, thawed
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 1/8 C honey
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
  • left over turkey, shredded
  • slider buns

Steps:

  1. Bring ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced slightly, about 10 minutes.
  2. Pour sauce into a blender or use an immersion blender.
  3. Toss turkey in barbecue sauce. Assemble slider sandwiches.

*This recipe is adapted from John at http://www.patiodaddiobbq.com/2011/11/cranberry-orange-bbq-sauce.html*

WAR EAGLE!

cranberry turkey sliders

UPDATE: We had so much food that the sliders weren’t made this year. I will be making them for the SEC Championship Game next weekend instead!

Christmas Time is Here

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Thanksgiving weekend brings with it not only family and food but it also starts the Christmas season.

I have always grown up decorating for Christmas on Black Friday, and I’ve continued doing so in my own home. I put the family to work – the boys put the lights up outside, the girls do the Christmas village and the mantle, and as a group we put the ornaments on the tree.

2013 is the “Year of the Snowman”. My mother-in-law always puts a theme to her gifts. Our first Christmas she made stockings for everyone, the year after that aprons for the girls, last year gifts were made with buttons – ornaments and Toomer’s Tree art. This year we agreed to do the “Year of the Snowman” and spent the year planning on gifts. (I’ll share my gift tutorial later this season!)

That long story was told because my family surprised me with a second Christmas tree! In my craft room there is now a beautiful tree decked out in snowman and snowman-related ornaments and topped with a top hat!

My Christmas Tree
My Christmas Tree
My Christmas Mantle
My Christmas Mantle
Charles Dickens Village
Charles Dickens Village
My surprise snowman tree!
My surprise snowman tree!
Outdoor Christmas Lights
Outdoor Christmas Lights

Whole-Cranberry Cranberry Sauce

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Cranberry sauce is a must have item on the Thanksgiving Day spread. And even if you don’t like it, you still have to have a little spoonful to liven up your plate. It’s like a bright flower hiding in the desert. For those that do eat the cranberry sauce, it’s a cool, tart bite that keeps your taste buds alive throughout the entire meal. (My favorite part about cranberry sauce is actually what I do with the leftovers! I make a cranberry barbecue sauce to make turkey sandwiches on game day.)

We always use the whole berry cranberry sauce from the can. And it is my brother’s pride and joy. Only he is allowed to open that can and pour it into the serving bowl. I used to have one of those battery-powered can openers, but this year he’s going to have to put a little elbow grease into the job and use a traditional can opener! Fun fact: Giada admitted to using canned cranberry sauce at her home on Thanksgiving on Food Network’s Thanksgiving Live!

For the blog I decided to try and make cranberry sauce from real cranberries. It is such a simple recipe requiring very little attention. If you want to avoid the can, this is an easy way to do it.

Whole-Cranberry Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 3 C fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 C real maple syrup
  • 1/2 C honey
  • 1 1/4 C orange juice

Steps:

  1. Combine ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. (It’ll sound like popcorn popping!)
  2. Skim the foam off the top. Bring to room temperature.

*This recipe is adapted from Constance at http://thefoodiearmywife.com/homemade-cranberry-sauce-for-thanksgiving/*

Cranberry Sauce 1 Cranberry Sauce 2

Papa’s Sweet Potato Casserole

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

An absolute must have on the Thanksgiving table is Papa’s Sweet Potato Casserole. This recipe originated from Stuart’s grandfather. I have to admit that I have changed the recipe to decrease the amount of sugar.

The first time I made this casserole I substituted real pureed sweet potato in place of canned yams at my mother-in-laws recommendation. I looked at the recipe and the large quantity of sugar in the casserole frightened me, so I halved it. Even still it was way to sweet for my family members. Since then I’ve decreased the sugar even more and even reduced the amount of heavy cream. I must confess, every time I make this it turns out a little bit differently. Using fresh sweet potatoes means that I might not have the exact amount of puree once I pull it out of the food processor so I eyeball the heavy cream until the mixture reaches the perfect color.

On Thanksgiving I never have enough SPC! I even double the recipe allowing me to make one version with pecans and one version without. (My dad is allergic to nuts) To save on kitchen counter space, I make the casserole filling on Wednesday leaving only the topping to make and add right before putting in the oven Thursday.

Papa’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 – 3/4 C heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 stick butter, divided use
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 1/2 C flour
  • chopped pecans (optional)

Steps:

  1. Prick potatoes with a fork and bake at 400 degrees F for 60 minutes until soft.
  2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
  3. Peel potatoes when they are cool enough to handle.
  4. In a food processor puree sweet potatoes with heavy cream (you may need to do this in batches).
  5. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, 1 stick melted butter, sugar, vanilla, spices, and eggs. Pour into a casserole dish.
  6. Make the topping: combine brown sugar, flour, and 1/2 stick melted butter. If using pecans add to this mixture as well. Cover casserole with topping and bake 30-40 minutes, until it no longer jiggles.

Sweet Potato Casserole Sweet Potato Casserole 2

Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Green Bean Casserole has always been my favorite side dish at Thanksgiving. I love the bright green that it brings to a plate of otherwise brown and white. The best part are the French’s Fried Onions that cover the top of the casserole.

We have always used the recipe on the can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, substituting frozen green beans instead of canned. Using frozen yields a brighter green and a fresher taste and last year I converted my brother-in-law, a true GBC lover, into using frozen from now on.

For the blog this year, I decided to make Thanksgiving side dishes leading up to Turkey day. But, with the exception of Sweet Potato Casserole, none of these recipes are ones that I’d made before. I thought it’d be fun, for blog purposes, to mix things up a little bit. (It was also fun to eat Thanksgiving favorites a month or two before the big day!)

When I experimented with this particular recipe I used fresh picked green beans from my husband’s aunt’s farm in Alabama! Because the beans are cooked in a slow cooker for 6 hours I highly recommend using fresh beans for this. Canned beans would become very mushy; frozen might work okay.

Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 C flour
  • 1 1/4 C chicken broth
  • 1 1/4 C heavy cream
  • 2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut
  • 1-2 C French’s friend onions, divided

Steps:

  1. In a large skillet saute mushrooms in butter until mushrooms are golden and all liquid is evaporated. Season with garlic, thyme, and S+P.
  2. Add flour and ground onions, cook for a minute. Whisking, add in broth and cream. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Place green beans in slow cooker. Cover with cream of mushroom soup (that’s what you made in steps 1 & 2!). Cook on LOW 5-6 hours.
  4. Transfer cooked casserole into a casserole dish. Mix in extra French’s onions if desired. Top casserole with more fried onions. Place casserole under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until onions are extra crispy and casserole is bubbly.

*This recipe is modified from Christin at http://spicysouthernkitchen.com/slow-cooker-green-bean-casserole/*

Green Bean Casserole

Thanksgiving Brussels Sprouts

~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – I love the tradition. Unlike the Hollywood American Family, I love gathering with family. And, I love the food!

I think Thanksgiving as turned into my favorite holiday because after getting married, I’ve become the hostess for this family oriented holiday. Stuart’s family and my family converge on our home for not only Thanksgiving, but also for the Iron Bowl!

I am presenting a Thanksgiving side dish early so that I can participate in the Thanksgiving Side Dishes Link Party hosted by Let’s Dish. (Don’t worry, I’ll still do my week of Thanksgiving sides closer to the holiday.)Image

In combining our two families, there have been merging of traditions and additions to Thursday’s menu.

This dish is one of those that were introduced to my family by my mother-in-law. And each year, there’s never enough! I think this year a double recipe will need to be prepared.

Thanksgiving Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 oz pancetta, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 C chicken broth

Steps:

  1. Cook Brussels sprouts in salted boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain.
  2. Crisp up the pancetta in a large skillet in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Toss in the sprouts 5 minutes. Season with S+P.
  3. Pour the broth into the skillet and simmer for 3 minutes, or until the broth reduces so that it coats the Brussels sprouts.

*This recipe is adapted from Giada at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/brussels-sprouts-with-pancetta-recipe/index.html*

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta Sew You Think You Can Cook