Christmas Caramels

Christmas Caramels!!

This is the first year we are going to do neighbor gifts in a long time! Our neighborhood participates in an Annual Food Drive that benefits the Utah Food Bank. We have a big get together in the neighborhood on donation night. Sometimes we watch a small version of the Nativity Scene, sometimes we have hot cocoa and listen to some of the beautiful voices in our neighborhood sing carols and this year, we had a full sit down dinner WITH short Nativity done by the kids in our neighborhood.

Food Donations and spending time together is IN LIEU of Neighbor Gifts. BUT - this year is a little different. We have been in this neighborhood for 8 years but just moved 1 street over almost a year ago. It's our first Christmas in our new house with our new neighbors. We live on a circle and we are the ONLY FAMILY on the street! Everyone else has lived here for years and their children have all grown up and moved away. We didn't see anyone from our little street at the Neighborhood Party but I wanted to let all of them know how much we love living here and that we appreciate them - so I came up with this!

I buy a 5 lb loaf of Peter's Caramel every year at Orson Gygi. It's a lot of caramel - but it stays good for such a long time - as long as it's stowed away in a zip top bag.

I bought the Caramel loaf in September and we've made a bunch of treats - well MAINLY white chocolate covered caramel apples with cinnamon sugar sprinkles (we are ALL obsessed!!)

It's a few days before Christmas and I came up with a brilliant idea! I already had the caramel loaf, I had the foresight to buy individual candy wrappers a few months ago - so here's what we did.

Lay parchment paper on a baking sheet. Put caramel loaf on top of the parchment paper. Set in the cold oven and heat to 200 degrees. When the oven reaches 200 degrees - turn it off. Pull the baking sheet out of the oven and set a piece of parchment paper on top of the caramel - then put the underside of a second baking sheet on top of that. Use the baking sheet to press the caramel into about a 1/2" sheet of caramel. I also used a rolling pin. If you need to - return it to the cooling down oven to get it a bit easier to work with.

Use a pizza cutter or food scraper to cut the large caramel slab into 1 1/2" rows. Then cut those rows down into about 1 1/2" pieces. Roll the caramel into a cohesive piece and wrap individually. 

We put them into a clear baggie - tie with some Merry Christmas ribbon and add a note!

Monster Munch

Monster Munch! A fun spin on chex mix!! My kids and their friends loved it!

Monster Munch
5 ounces pretzels
2 ½ cups Apple Jax Halloween version
2 ½ cups Corn Chex
2 cups M & M's chocolate candies Halloween edition
2 cups white chocolate chips (12 ounce bag)
1 ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil
Candy eyeballs

In a VERY large bowl (or two medium bowls), combine the first 6 ingredients. Set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, heat white chips and oil on high for 60 seconds (you could also melt chocolate and oil in a double boiler pan).

Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds and stir until completely melted and smooth (you may need to microwave for a couple more seconds).

Pour melted chocolate over cereal mix and stir until all the cereal is evenly covered with white chocolate.

Spread cereal mix on 2 large baking sheets (I used cookie sheets) lined with wax paper.

Let cool and then break apart into chunks.

Store in an airtight container.

*This time I added Hocus Pocus cereal (it has purple, orange and green cereal and tiny cereal marshmellows)

Brussels Sprouts Mash Up

YEAH!!! After a LONG lockdown due to COVID-19 we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! More than half of our extended family members have the antigens against the virus because they had it, or have been vaccinated or have appointments to be vaccinated within the next 2 weeks! WE ARE THRILLED!!! 

I am hosting Easter dinner at my home - and luck would have it - the weather has been beautiful and is supposed to continue to be through the next several days - so we are able to eat outside in our back yard. My sister in law and I are collaborating and as we spoke today - she said it perfectly "I am WAY TOO excited about this!"

She is doing the ham and the salad. I (well - WE) are doing the Ham Sauce, Rolls, Brussels Sprouts and Mashed Potatoes. 

I didn't link a Brussels Sprouts recipe because I'm doing a mash-up. My 18 year old son (YES! I said 18! I have an actual adult son!!) requested Brussels Sprouts specifically for this dinner. I was shopping when he called with his request and I said "there isn't another kid that would request Brussels sprouts - other than your sisters" and everyone within ear shot turned to look at me. If that isn't a testament to how good they can be - I don't know what is!!

My mash up is going to be these 2 tried and true recipes - Tina's Sprouts and Ina Garten's Roasted Sprouts  HERE'S my plan...

Mash-Up

4-5 lbs Brussels sprouts, 2 1/2 lbs halved  1/2 lbs shaved on your mandolin on the thinnest setting

3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 lb uncooked bacon, cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Halve the sprouts, cut off the brown ends and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes (or more depending on your oven), until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt.

Put the sprouts in to bake and start the bacon in a sautee pan until nice and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon. Fry the shaved sprouts in the bacon fat until almost tender. Mix the bacon, bacon fat and shaved sprouts with the roasted sprouts.

My plan is to do this as close to dinner time as possible. I plan to serve them on a ceramic plate kept warm on my electric buffet server.

Crossing my fingers - and licking my lips!!

I'll be posting updates on how things went - if I tweaked anything - and pictures FOR SURE!!

*I wrote my tweaks into the recipe above... AND... there's a bit of a story to tell - so check out the next post - Hosting Easter Dinner - what NOT to do! YIPES!!

St. Patrick's Menu

I have to preface this post with a couple of things. My mom never made this when I was growing up. My husbands Mom did - and he HATED it for YEARS. I really love celebrating every single holiday (obviously) and I learned how to make it (thank you internet!) The first time I made it was 12 years ago when we had just moved far away from home and were trying to get to know our neighbors. We invited the Kenny family (who we still vacation with on a yearly basis) and I had no idea that Mike was Irish. He said it was the best Corned Beef and Cabbage he'd had in his life (and I made his favorite rolls just in case it turned out horribly - so he may've been biased - but year after year - this proves to be amazing.

I have A LOT of favorite meals based around holidays. This one is good - but not my fave. THAT SAID - my oldest daughter, (16) has declared this meal as her favorite meal of the YEAR every year for the last 10. Really. Our 13 year old daughter is equally adamant about her love of this meal. Boy loves it - of course. Even our pickiest quesadilla loving youngest will eat it - and that is saying something!!  

I invited my best friend and her family over tonight and she admitted that she (FULL IRISH) had never had it and neither had her kids. They all raved! 

I've been so busy that I've forgotten a lot of the details of things OR have been wanting to do something without wanting to think about it and just like our usual St. Patrick's dinner - have searched this blog for my short cuts and have been disappointed that I never made those notes!!

Corned Beef - this one from Costco. I'm so glad I took this picture - I didn't take it for this post - I actually took it because my eye site is going FAST and I needed to blow it up on my phone! LOLOLOL

I cooked it in my crock pot on low for 6 hours and then bumped it up to High for 45 minutes. YOU DO NOT WANT TO OVER COOK CORNED BEEF!!!! I can't emphasize this enough! If you do - it gets stringy or becomes the texture of baby food - NO THANKS! You want it to be tender - but you want to be able to pull it out in one piece and let it rest and then be able to cut it into slices.

Decadent Mashed Potatoes are the JAM! My cheat is that I use the BISTRO brand mashed potatoes from Costco - both packs - 64 ounces + all the other ingredients listed in the recipe and you are golden! 

Cabbage. Fill the dutch oven (my work horse 6 qt?) half way with water. Bring to a boil. Heavily salt the water after it comes to a boil. I always buy 2 heads of cabbage - cut them into 6 wedges each. place the wedges into the boiling water. Don't worry about overcrowding bc they will shrink a bit - and just like the corned beef - you don't want it to turn to mush. Make sure to push the cabbage down into the water or flip over so they all get evenly boiled. Probably 10-15 minutes. Drain. Add the cabbage back to the dutch oven. Add 3/4 - 1 stick of butter and cover so the butter melts and salt just before serving. Seriously. So. Good.  

Potato Gratin with Gruyere, Horseradish & Sweet Onion

I saw Geoffrey Zakarian make this on a recent episode of The Kitchen on Food Network. It looked so delicious - and it really was!

His tip was to buy FRESH horseradish - because if you use the bottled kind - the vinegar in it will curdle the cream sauce.

Potato Gratin with Gruyere, Horseradish & Sweet Onion
2 cups heavy cream
1 c half and half
1/2 c grated FRESH horseradish
1/2 t grated nutmeg
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 Vidalia or sweet onion, sliced as thinly as possible
Salt and pepper to taste
3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes sliced about 1/8" thick
2 c grated Gruyere
1 c breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the cream, half-and-half, horseradish, nutmeg, garlic and onion in a medium saucepan and slowly bring the mixture to a simmer. Be sure to stir on occasion to prevent scorching. Season with salt and pepper. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, spoon a thin layer of the cream and onion mixture onto the bottom. Layer the potatoes, followed by a sprinkle of cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Repeat this process until the dish is filled and the gratin is moist. Combine the breadcrumbs and thyme and sprinkle on top. Bake until the potatoes are tender and the gratin is caramelized on top and bubbly on the edges, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly before serving. 

*At this point - we were SO OVER Holiday food - BUT this recipe is seriously AMAZING - so... I ended up making the leftovers into a soup. I put the leftovers into my blender with a 1/2 - 1 cup chicken broth (or whatever you have on hand) the amount of liquid depends on the consistency you want for your soup. 

Luxurious. Decadent. If you're going to go for it - GET IT!

Figs Are My Jam

I bought a bag of Smyrna dried figs from Costco - thinking we would all love them - because we all love figs. None of us could get past the way they looked. I didn't want them to go to waste so I came up with this:

To rehydrate the dried figs I bought at Costco I put them in a sauce pan, covered them with water, added a little lemon juice and a little vanilla until they started to burst.

I let them cool, dried them off and sprinkled them with 1 cup of sugar and set them in the refrigerator - covered - overnight.

The next day cut the stems off the figs and juice and put them in a crock pot with 1/2 tsp lemon juice and 1/4 c vanilla extract for 2 hours.

Let that mixture cool and then blend in a blender until it reaches the consistency you like.

It's a long process - but very easy and tastes delicious!!!

I've been eating it with cheese and crackers and it's just such a treat!

Ham Sauce

I saw this on Pinterest and was curious. The original post is HERE - she also has an idea how to baste your ham - but I skipped that and went straight for the Ham Sauce - 

Good golly this really kicked our Easter ham up a notch!!

Ham Sauce

1 egg
5 Tablespoons water
5 Tablespoons vinegar
Then add:
¼ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon of flour
1 Tablespoon of dry mustard
¼ teaspoon (or to taste) celery seed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Cook and stir on LOW heat until mixture thickens.
Cool completely to room temperature, covering with saucepan lid.
Whip ½ cup whipping cream

When cool, fold in whipped cream.

Valentine's Day

Have you thought about what you are going to eat on Valentine's Day yet??

My husband and I don't subscribe to the idea that our love should be celebrated once a year by giving each other gifts - not even when we were dating. SO, around here... Valentines Day is about the kids. 

These are a few fun things I did for the kids last year. Heart shaped quesadillas and strawberries for lunch...

 Apples, carrots, cucumbers and more strawberries for snack

 Heart shaped pizza (from Papa Murphy's $4.99 each!)

 Berry sorbet and sprite in fancy glasses with pizza for dinner... I generally stick to that kind of cheesy stuff for the kids.

 BUT, I just saw these little cuties on Pinterest and thought HOW FUN! They are so darling. Maybe I'll amp up our "Sweethearts Dinner" this year and surprise everyone:)

The recipe can be found HERE. If I make them I'll just do my usual (often requested) roasted potatoes.

Halloween Snacks

Just wanted to document the cute and SUPER EASY snacks I made for Halloween/Harvest parties this year for my kids school classes...

Dole Mandarin Oranges in cups - illustrated with a sharpie by my 5 year old and I...

 "Cuties" aka clementine oranges also illustrated with a sharpie:)

 Pineapples, mandarin oranges, cool whip and a candy corn on top for dessert!

Cute - simple and healthy!! Definitely doing these again next year!

Everything Else Is Gravy

We were out of town for Thanksgiving this year. After eating Thanksgiving dinner at someone else's house, my sweet 8 year old asked if I could make our traditional Thanksgiving feast for Christmas dinner, and our traditional Christmas dinner for New Years Eve. That girl is such a foodie!! I agreed.


This year, I perfected my gravy recipe - FINALLY!!! WAHOO!! My husband (who is a gravy connoisseur) even said it's the best gravy he's ever had.

I made THIS TURKEY - took the turkey out of the roasting pan to be carved and took advantage of all those delicious drippings.

You will need:
Flour
Chicken Stock
A whisk
Salt & Pepper
& your aromatics from inside your cooked turkey (refer again to this recipe)

*Try adding 1-2 tsp worcestershire sauce

In your roasting pan, add 2 T of flour and 1/4 c chicken stock - whisk together to incorporate. Continue adding flour and stock little by little constantly whisking to incorporate - concentrating on scraping those lovely bits off the bottom of the pan. When you have the desired amount of gravy, pour it into a stockpot. Add your aromatics and simmer to allow the aromatics to incorporate their yumminess into the gravy - about 15 - 20 minutes (while I'm getting everything else on the table, carving the turkey, etc.)

Set a strainer or collander with small holes over a bowl to strain the gravy. Use a spatula to press all the liquid out and there you have it!! Best. Gravy. Ever.

NOTES (from Our Best Bites)

Notes on Liquid: Technically, with the proportions of roux here, this can thicken 4 cups of liquid. That’s a little too thin for me, and I like the flavor of the roux more concentrated, so I keep my liquid to 2-3 cups. You can always thicken more after if necessary.

Pan Drippings: Pan drippings are a great way to season gravy. If using, separate fat from juices. Use your juices, in combination with broth, for your liquid measurement. Be careful as pan drippings can sometimes be extra salty.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Too thin? Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water. Mix until smooth and add to simmering gravy. Let simmer a few minutes to thicken, and repeat if necessary until desired consistency is reached.

Too thick? Add more broth.

Too salty? Try a splash of cream, lemon juice, or even sour cream. You can also make more roux, and use only broth in the second batch to dilute.

Dinner In A Pumpkin

Every October, usually a few days before Halloween I make this recipe. The kids get so excited!!
I wasn't going to post this picture - b/c the dinner just doesn't look appetizing - BUT as my husband says "this is the best prison food I've ever had!" (because of the way it looks) but I promise it'll make up for it's terrible appearance in TASTE - and since you'll be stuffing your face with this - that's all that matters!!

Dinner In A Pumpkin
1 1/2 lbs ground sausage (hamburger or turkey)
1 onion, diced
2 T vegetable oil
2 T Soy sauce
2 T Brown sugar
1 can cream of chicken (mushroom, etc) soup
1 1/2 c cooked rice
1 can water chestnuts, diced

Cook ground sausage. Add all other ingredients together and put into a cleaned out pumpkin.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until pumpkin meat is tender and everything is warmed through.

*When you clean out your pumpkin, just get all the seeds and stringy yuck out. Leave as much flesh as possible - if you haven't eaten pumpkin before - it's good - similar to squash.

**I add whatever else I have on hand - corn, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. Feel free to go crazy!!

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I got this recipe from my friend, Stathi - who is a tremendous cook and an over the top entertainer. He throws some of the best parties I've been to. He was adamant about using ciabatta rolls - and I figured out why - the bread doesn't get too soggy!
Slow Cooked Pulled Pork
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 c ketchup
1/3 c cider vinegar
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c tomato paste
2 T sweet paprika
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T yellow mustard
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/4 t ground black pepper
4 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 4 pieces
12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls, warmed

In 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce.
Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender.
With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly.
While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary.
Spoon pork mixture onto bottom of sandwich buns; replace tops of buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.

*I couldn't find 'sweet paprika' so I used regular paprika instead.

4th of July Menu

Here is my 4th of July Menu as promised!

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Lime and Cilantro Coleslaw

Homestyle Baked Beans

Grilled Corn on the Cobb

Oprah's Fav Baked Brownies

Fruit Pizza

Watermelon Salsa

Looking for more 4th inspiration? Try Ina Garten's 4th of July Cake (a real crowd pleaser), or the Red White and Blue Potato Salad - do you have any 4th favs?? Share!!

Homestyle Baked Beans

*I promise to add pictures tomorrow!

Growing up - there were a few things my Mom made that I just couldn't get enough of. One of them was her Homestyle Baked Beans. The recipe couldn't be more simple and inexpensive - but man what a crowd pleaser...

Homestyle Baked Beans

3 cans Campbell's pork and beans

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 lb bacon

2 T brown sugar

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

In frying pan, fry bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Fry onion in bacon drippings. Add brown sugar and vinegar. Drain the beans and add to pan. Crumble bacon and add. *Cook until warmed through. Once you add the beans, don't stir too much or cook too long - they'll get mushy.

*Instead of cooking them until they are warmed through, I plan to make these and keep them warm in my crock pot before serving. I use the "Keep Warm" setting or the very lowest setting on your crock pot - the beans will be warmed through but not mushy.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

I got this recipe from a dear family friend who made it for my husband on a St. Patrick's Day many, many, many years ago. This is a meal that Maisie looks forward to every year!!

I used to make it all in one pot with carrots and potatoes - but not for the last several years.

I cook all the veggies separately. I boil the cabbage, make mashed potatoes the traditional way and roast the carrots.

Corned Beef and Cabbage 

4 lbs corned beef + seasonings that come with it

2 1/2 quarts cold water 

1 head green cabbage cut into wedges

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove corned beef from the package. Put it and the juices and seasonings in your biggest stock pot and cover with the water. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Skim off and discard any impurities (foam). Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes per pound of beef (that would be 6 hours for this recipe). 

Remove the corned beef from the pot and cut into thin slices. Serve a few slices of corned beef along side all those delish veggies.

Christmas Eve Menu

We have a great arrangement between my extended family and my husbands extended family for Christmas. We spend Christmas Eve with my husbands family, Christmas morning at home with the kiddos and Christmas afternoon/dinner with my family.

Every Christmas Eve for the last 15 years we have gone to dinner with my husbands extended family to Olive Garden. They are a big Italian family and that is a tradition they've had.

Since I love tradition, but I'd rather spend our money on gifts and fun rather than food - we are going to keep the spirit of that tradition alive by having an "Italian Dinner" for Christmas Eve.

I asked my hubs and kids to tell me what he would order if we were going to go to Olive Garden so I could recreate that at home.

On The Menu:
Italian Salad
Garlic Breadsticks
3 Cheese Tortellini & Bechamel Sauce with Prosciutto
Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter Pasta

3 Cheese Tortellini & Bechamel Sauce with Prosciutto

Here is my stand by Bechamel sauce with prosciutto - via Giada DeLaurentis - the Italian queen of cooking.
3 Cheese Tortellini & Bechamel Sauce with Prosciutto
Bechamel sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk, at room temperature
Pinch fresh nutmeg
Sea salt and white pepper
1 cup grated fontina
1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned
Fresh Butoni 3 cheese tortellini (in your refrigerated section)

Bechamel sauce:
In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Always stirring, gradually add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg, 1/2 cup fontina, prosciutto and season with salt and white pepper. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain tortellini and fold gently into bechamel sauce. DOUBLE YUM!

Christmas Dinner Menu

This is the first year that we won't be "home for the holiday's" Hubs and I were both born and raised in Salt Lake City, but relocated out of state 2 years ago. I have eaten the same Christmas Dinner (for the most part) for as long as I can remember. Seriously. I am big on tradition so I love the idea that this year I am going to stick with tradition. Here are the 'traditional dishes' on the menu: Honey Baked Ham Funeral Potatoes Jen's Thanksgiving Rolls and the addition of Onion Beet Salad this year! I'm super excited!! What are you making for dinner??

Mindi's Sausage Bread

My husbands sister makes this delicious bread every Thanksgiving - either for brunch or as one of the appetizers before dinner. We all LOVE this bread - but since it's just the 5 of us in my house and we wouldn't get to dinner if this was on the table before the turkey was ready, we've decided to promote this delicious baby to be the star at the brunch table on St. Nikklaus Day.
Mindi's Sausage Bread
1 1/2 lbs Jimmy dean Sausage (ground)
2 Rhodes frozen bread dough loaves
Mozzarella cheese
12 slices of provolone cheese
2 t garlic
2 T EVOO
2 T Butter

Leave bread out the night before. Brown sausage and set aside. Saute garlic in butter and EVOO. Roll out bread dough (on a floured surface) into approx 9x13 rectangle. Brush half garlic mix over bread. Add one layer each of sausage, provolone and mozzerella. Roll up. Brush with remaining garlic mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and then slice as you would bread. DELISH!

Thanksgiving Feast

Alright - I've done it. I know it's several days after Turkey Day - but I've done it. I posted all my Thanksgiving recipes and I honestly loved every single one of them and plan to use these same recipes again next year.

I truly am sorry that I didn't post these recipes prior to Turkey Day - but I had to test them out to make sure I could put my guarantee on them - especially b/c we are talking about the most important meal of the year.

PLUS, you can always use these recipes for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years, a special Sunday dinner - or an amazing surprise dinner for your spouse or another loved one!!

First up: Appetizer Tray
Main Course: Sausage and Herb Stuffing
Decadent Mashed Potatoes
Thanksgiving Rolls
Patty's Beet Salad
Alton Browns Super Tasty, No Fuss, Time Tested, Totally Foolproof Bird (with a bonus section from Bobby Flay about how to carve your turkey.)

Since I've already posted about this tried and true blue fav - I won't repost. Just follow the link for Decadent Mashed Potatoes and then join me in my crusade to bathe in a vat of this decadence.
And another shot of Patty's Beet Salad - seriously delish. My 7 year old pickiest eater son usually has this salad sans the beets or the Feta (gorgonzola is preferred - but when you are dealing with kids - it's the best substitute) Anyway... said 7 year old tried these (warm off the grill beets) and exclaimed that they were his new fav veggie. BOO YA!