1 c white chocolate harvest pretzels
1 c chocolate covered almonds
1 c peanuts
1 package mallow creme autumn mix
1 c harvest cadbury chocolate balls
*I found everything at Harmons!
We made dinner for 25 to 30 people. Butter pasta, GF pasta, meatballs, marinara, alfredo, garlic bread and macarons for dessert.
I made 5 pounds of rotini with just enough butter to keep them from sticking together, salt packets. We had one serving left. *2024 this year I used my 7? qt. black crockpot and my old white 4 or 5 qt crockpot to keep the pasta warm. When I got home the white crockpot broke - so I'll have to replace that.
My canning stove pot in 14 Quarts if you fill it to the "fill line". It took about 40 minutes for the water to come to a boil and then even though the package says to boil for 7-8 minutes, I cooked it for 12 minutes just to make sure it was cooked to my liking. I cooked all 5 lbs of noodles in that 14 quarts of water. Drained the pasta and put them in crockpot's with butter to keep them warm.
Corinne: 8 jars marinara, split half with meatballs, half without, 2 bags meatballs, 7 loaves garlic bread. did 4 jars of sauce plain and kept it in a large drink cooler until it was time for service. She did a bag and a half meatballs with 3 jars of sauce but she thinks she would do 2 full bags next time. She also brought 5 loaves of garlic bread but thinks 6 -7 loaves next time! Crock pot for the meatballs and sauce.
Today I'm making my husband's favorite Sunflower Whole Wheat bread and I was reminded again about a new trick I've been using the last several months.
When I started making bread again, I made a couple of "dud" loaves. So, I thought it must be my yeast - how long does yeast last? When did I buy this yeast?? So I did an experiment. I put some yeast in luke warm (temp'd on my wrist) water and I put some other yeast in hot (warm to my pinky) water. The yeast that was in the hot water activated beautifully! The yeast in the luke warm water barely bubbled. So. I've been using hot water and since I made that small change - all my bread recipes have turned out wonderfully!
We also remodeled our kitchen last spring and my top oven has a "PROOF" setting - so I use that exclusively - I feel like that has made a difference too.
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!
Every once in a while Biz gets bored and decides to bake. My other daughters get SO EXCITED - of course to eat the dessert - but it's extra special because I personally VERY RARELY bake. My son is allergic to eggs - so even when I tried recipes for desserts with egg substitutes or no eggs at all and he just wasn't impressed or interested and to be honest - they just weren't that good.
Last week she got bored and found a recipe online and then tweaked it and made this recipe and MAN-O-MAN we all flipped out! They were the best, softest, yummiest cookies we've ever had. We never want to lose this recipe! The cookies were eaten so fast we didn't get a picture - but next time for sure!
Biz's Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/4 c brown sugarThrow everything into one large bowl and mix. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 7-10 minutes.
(Biz just added that she likes to melt a little butter and add it on top when the cookies come out of the oven!!)
*Can use semi-sweet but we LOVE milk chocolate!
In the same mixing bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Slowly pour in the condensed milk and continue to mix until incorporated and smooth. Add the lemon zest and juice and salt and beat on medium-high speed until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. If necessary, transfer the mixture to a large bowl to allow for the whipped cream. Use a rubber spatula to fold the strawberries into the filling mix, then fold in the whipped cream.
To assemble: Spoon the filling into the crust. Freeze the pie for at least 6 hours, up to 12 hours.
For the topping: In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the brown sugar and vinegar. Remove the pie from the freezer, top with the strawberry mixture and serve.
One of my kids begged for grilled pineapple tonight. This is the first time since last summer we've made it - so I hopped on here to find the recipe - and whaddya know? I've never written it down! DUH!!
I probably haven't written it down because we don't really use measurements.This salad is a big winner with my teenagers. They've been packing it for school lunch. It's so delicious - even at room temperature!
Red Quinoa Salad With Black Beans & Mangos
Pistachio Grilled Salmon
2 lb. salmon filetI've gotten B.U.S.Y!! Like INSANELY busy. We have AT LEAST 6 soccer games our kids are playing in every. single. week. We often get home after 8pm week nights and still haven't eaten dinner!
A lot has dropped off my plate.
I have decided that one thing I can do right before I run out the door to get the girls from school is provide them a PLENTIFUL snack (first dinner) with some healthy stuff and some fun stuff!
Here's an example of a board I did earlier in the week...
This is a recipe I threw together as a "tester" for my too soon to be college Freshman. I wanted to make it in the crock pot I'm sending with him and I wanted to have his approval taste-wise before I committed.
This recipe is perfect for when you are tired, hungry, poor - game night busy - all of the above! You can grab these 6 cans (plus taco seasoning) and have a delicious, filling meal in no time flat - or waiting for you when you come home... so I'm calling it Six Cans Away - bc you are literally 6 cans away from exactly what you need.