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Monday, December 3, 2012

Peppermint Bark


It's December and even though it's an unusual 78 degrees outside and doesn't feel like Christmastime, I'm not going to let that deter me from my Christmas baking.  My family loves Peppermint Bark and it's so easy to make.  Here's my simple 4 ingredient recipe:

Ingredients:
12 - 16 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
15 oz white chocolate chips (I like Hershey’s Premier White Chips)
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
½ - 1 cup peppermint candy, crushed

Instructions:
1.  Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 250 degrees F. 
2.  Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil, letting it hang over the sides. Spray foil with non-stick spray.
3.  Pour the semi-sweet chocolate chips in an even layer on the foil and place in the oven for 10 minutes or until almost melted.  Check every 5 minutes.
4.  Remove from the oven, smooth with an offset spatula or knife and place in freezer until cold and firm, about 10 minutes.
5.  Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave, checking the chocolate every 30 seconds until melted.  Do not overheat the chocolate - it will be unusable.
6.  Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir until completely melted while stirring in the peppermint extract. 
7.  Let the white chocolate cool a little bit so it does not melt the chocolate layer when you pour it on top.  Then pour into the pan over chocolate layer, and, working quickly, spread to cover.
8.  Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy and chill in the freezer until both layers are firm. 
9.  Lift foil out of pan and shake off excess candy and trim edges.  Cut into 2” wide strips. 
10.  Peel bark from foil and cut each strip as desired. 
11.  Keep chilled in the refrigerator in a covered container.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

P E A C E and quiet

Because Clara was born close to the holidays, I decided to send out a birth announcement / Christmas card this year.  So before Clara was born, I bought Ava and Sidney's Christmas outfits and did a little Christmas art project.  Here is the result:



I bought the letters at Joann's and spray painted them red and green.  It took several takes to get a pictures that we liked, but it was worth it!  Happy Holidays!

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Monday, November 26, 2012

Pine Cone Jingle Bell Wreath

How was your Thanksgiving?  Ours was a total bust.  We had decided to stay home and celebrate since Clara is only one month old and we didn't want to expose her to a bunch of potentially ill people (I think I may have jinxed us).  Tim was pretty pumped to be able to make a big Thanksgiving feast (for just the two of us since our girls would never eat this delicious food).  So Tim went out and bought a turkey and all the ingredients to make his homemade gravy.  Little did I know that our home would soon become a petri dish of germs.  

Ava came down with a nasty cold on Saturday, then Sidney got it on Monday.  Tim took off work on Wednesday and spent most of the day prepping the meal.  But by 10:30 that night he was vomiting - stomach flu.  All that hard work went straight to the trash can.  No turkey for us.  Tim enjoyed 7 Up and Saltines for the Thanksgiving and the girls and I had cereal and store-bought pumpkin pie (and Oreos for Sidney of course).

Upon hearing that Tim had the stomach flu, my mom rushed over and took Clara back to her house.  That woman is amazing.  She canceled all of her Thanksgiving plans and stayed home with Clara.  I'm sure she didn't expect to have her more than a day or two, but then I caught Ava and Sidney's cold and have been coughing my head off.  It is now Monday and we still haven't gotten Clara back!  My mom wants to wait until I stop coughing.  She's so afraid that Clara will get sick, as am I.  But how will I ever repay my mom!

Since I was stuck at home all weekend with no baby Clara, I decided work on Christmas decorations.  This "wreath" is the first project I've done since Clara was born!  I had gathered all of the materials before Clara was born in the hopes of having some time to finish it before Christmas.  Mission accomplished!



Here's what you'll need to make this wreath:
- Pine cones (I collected them from our back yard.  You can buy them at the store too.)
- Red and Green ribbon (for the pine cones) - I used ~3 yards of each
- Thin Gold ribbon (for the jingle bells) - I used 5 yards
- Red, green and gold jingle bells
- Hot glue gun

Instructions:
1.  Cut your ribbon at different lengths so that you can scatter the pine cones and jingle bells at different heights.  
2.  Tie the gold ribbon onto the jingle bells.
3.  Use your hot glue gun to glue the red and green ribbon to the pine cones.
4.  Once the glue has cooled, gather the ribbon and arrange the pine cones and jingle bells.
5.  Tie a knot at the top and cut off the extra ribbon.

I hung my wreath from a wreath hanger by threading the loop of the wreath hanger through the ribbon knot.


Happy Holidays!

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Dollar Crafts - Turkey Headband

Lately, Ava has been begging me to do art projects.  Art projects used to be a daily activity, but it's much harder now that I have Clara to take care of.  The Kiwi Crates have been great because I don't have to get to the craft store or do any pre-planning.  If your child likes arts and crafts, the Kiwi Crate would make a great Christmas gift.


I happened to make it over to Hobby Lobby last week so I stocked up on some easy craft projects to do with the girls.  All of their holiday stuff is on sale at least 40% off!  This little turkey headband craft came with the supplies for 12 headbands for about $3!  After Ava made a headband for herself, she went on to make them for her Teddy and some other stuffed animals.


If you don't have time to do Thanksgiving crafts before Thursday, there are lots of cute Christmas craft ideas at Hobby Lobby too.  I can't wait until Clara gets into a good sleeping/napping routine so that we can make use of our new arts and crafts room.  More to come on that!

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Monday, November 19, 2012

Crunchy Pumpkin Coffee Cake


Okay, okay.  I know you've probably had enough of my pumpkin recipes, but hear me out.  This one is truly amazing!  I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it for the first time this year and I'm already getting requests to bake it again.  You will not be disappointed, I promise!  I baked this a few days before Clara was born and while Tim and I were in the hospital my parents and my in-laws polished it off!  I like to think that it was a "thank you for watching my kids while I was away" gift to them!

Ingredients:
1/3 cups water
1 can pureed pumpkin (15 Oz)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (See Note below)
1 box yellow cake mix (18 Ounce Box)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup brown sugar, divided
½ cups flour
4 Tbsp butter, melted
¼ cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cups heavy whipping cream

Note: 
If you do not have pumpkin pie spice you can make your own by combining 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2.  In a large bowl mix together the water, pumpkin, eggs, 1 Tablespoon of vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add the cake mix and baking soda and mix until just combined.
3.  Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and pour batter into pan.
4.  In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and melted butter. 

5.  Use your fingers to sprinkle over the top of the cake. 
6.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7.  For the glaze, combine the other 1/2 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir until all sugar is dissolved.
8.  When cake is finished baking, poke holes in the top with a toothpick. Pour glaze over the cake, making sure to cover all surfaces. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

When I make this again, I'm going to add chopped walnuts and pecans to the topping....yuuuuummmmm!


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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Christmas Traditions


Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday.  I love everything about it...the music, the decorations, the traditions, visiting with family, and incorporating the real meaning of Christmas into our celebration.

I have started so many family traditions these past couple of years that I had to write them down so that I didn't forget any of them.  Here's my Christmas Tradition List so far:


Elf on the Shelf – Elvis arrives with the Elf on the Shelf book the Friday after Thanksgiving and stays with us through Christmas Eve.  Tim and I love to come up with new places for Elvis to hide.  Pinterest has tons of great ideas.

Letters to/from Elvis – The girls always have a lot of questions about Elvis (How old is Elvis? Does Elvis miss his Mommy and Daddy when he’s at our house all day?).  So we started writing him letters to get our questions answered.  He always answers back on fun Christmas stationary!

Decorating the House – We bring up the Christmas tree and decorate the house over Thanksgiving weekend.

Wrapped Christmas Books each day during Advent – Each child takes a turn opening a Christmas book each night for 24 nights that we read before bedtime.  The first book is The Story of the Nativity.  Each day during Advent, we read a new passage from this book.  The last book we open is The Night Before Christmas.

Good Deed Manger – During Christmas-time, anytime the girls do a good deed we write it down on a piece of paper attached a piece of yarn and the girls can put it in the "manger" (just a Christmas basket).  By the time Christmas comes, we have a nice, soft manger for the baby Jesus.

Christmas Music – I absolutely love Christmas music.  I have TONS of Christmas CD’s that I downloaded to my iTunes library so I can play my Christmas music all day long!  Some of my favorite songs are:
- Ave Maria by Chris Cornell
- Baby It's Cold Outside by Dean Martin
- Carol of the Bells from the Christmas Carols for Children album
- Children Go Where I Send Thee by Natalie Merchant
- I Saw Three Ships by Sting
- It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams
- Jingle Bells by The Brian Setzer Orchestra
- O Holy Night by Josh Groban
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town by The Pointer Sisters
- Silent Night by Stevie Nicks
- Star of Bethlehem by The Judds

P.S. - My guilty pleasure is the Jessica Simpson Christmas Album, Rejoyce - don't judge!

Christmas Cards – I love to send out Christmas cards to our family and friends.  And I love to receive Christmas cards (hint, hint)!  We display all our Christmas cards in the kitchen.

St. Nick’s Day (December 5th) – The kids leave their shoes out before bedtime on December 4th in the hopes that St. Nicholas will come and leave them some money to buy a gift for a child in need (see “Toys For Tots” below).  They may get a special treat too.

Gingerbread Man Cookies – We make gingerbread man cookies and while the cookies cool we read the book The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School.  Sure enough, our gingerbread men cookies escaped while they were cooling just like the gingerbread man in the book.  We searched all over the house looking for our gingerbread men and finally found them on the kitchen table ready to be decorated.  Phew!


Visiting Santa – The kids love to color pictures for Santa so that we have something to give him when we visit him at the mall.  Getting their picture taken with Santa is special too. 



Toys For Tots – Last year we started the tradition of having the girls pick out a toy to donate to Toys for Tots.  This year, the girls will earn money by doing chores around the house that will go toward the purchase of the toy.  They will also contribute their St. Nick's Day money.  There is usually a Toys For Tots donation bin at the mall by Santa.

Letters to/from Santa – Before Christmas, we help the girls write a letter to Santa about how they've been and what they've been up to over the past year.  When the girls wake up on Christmas morning, there is a letter from Santa waiting for them.  Click here for a link to some cute, free Santa stationary.

Portable North Pole Video from Santa – Santa sends video letters to the kids (and sometimes to Mom and Dad) before Christmas.  Click here to make your own video.

The Legend of the Candy Cane & Candy Cane Cocoa - One of the books that the girls open during Advent is The Legend of the Candy Cane.  We drink Candy Cane Cocoa while we read the book.  Click here for a yummy Candy Cane Cocoa recipe.  Click here for a free printable PDF that tells the Legend of the Candy Cane story.

Baking Christmas Treats for Family, Neighbors and Public Servants – I love to bake Christmas treats but I can’t (or rather, I shouldn't) eat them all by myself.  So we give plates of treats to our neighbors or bring them to our families’ houses that we visit over the holidays.  This year, we’re going to try to bake some treats for the firemen and police officers and a nursing home.

Neighborhood Lights – We are so lucky that there are many families in our neighborhood that decorate the outsides of their houses for Christmas.  We love to drive around at night and admire all their hard work!

Public Light Displays – We love to drive through Tilles Park to see the Winter Wonderland lights display.  Santa’s Magical Kingdom is a bit more expensive, but still lots of fun!

Gardenland Express – The Missouri Botanical Gardens has a great indoor holiday train display that the girls love to see each year.

Christmas Eve Mass – Ever since I was a kid we attended mass on Christmas Eve.

Magic Reindeer Food – We sprinkle reindeer food and glitter in our lawn the night before Christmas so that Santa’s reindeer will spot our house from the sky and stop to drop off the girls' gifts.  Click here for a recipe for magic reindeer food.  You can also print out a free poem and tag for your bag here.  Also, Ava made this cute container for our magic reindeer food at school last year.


Milk and Cookies for Santa/Carrots for Reindeer – We put milk and cookies out for Santa the night before Christmas on our “Cookies for Santa” plate.  We also put out carrots for Santa’s reindeer.

A Christmas Story – After Tim and I put the girls to bed on Christmas Eve, we start watching A Christmas Story while we wait for the girls to fall asleep so that Santa can come.

Stocking Stuffers – Kids love those little junkie toys that make great stocking stuffers.  I go to Dollar Tree or the dollar section at Target before the holidays to find our stocking stuffers.


I also found some more fun traditions that other families do to celebrate Christmas:

- Write out a Christ-centered goal to start early for the New Year
- Bake a cake for Jesus’ birthday
- Advent Calendar – Do a special family activity each day during Advent
- Adopt a Child / Adopt a Family
- Special Christmas morning breakfast
- Christmas crafts and Christmas coloring pages
- Take the whole family ice skating
- Host a White Elephant gift exchange
- Hang Mistletoe around your house
- Go see The Nutcracker or another Christmas-y production
- Make Thick Hot Chocolate and watch a family Christmas movie
- Host a Christmas Sweater Party
- Donate canned goods to a food pantry
- Make a Christmas wreath
- Make a Gingerbread house
- Open one gift on Christmas Eve (i.e.; Christmas pajamas)
- Decorate Christmas sugar cookies
- Attend City tree lighting event


What is your family's favorite Christmas traditions?

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