Caroling & Hot Cocoa “Bar”

I didn’t want to throw a “real” party.  It’s Christmastime and who, really, has time for all that extra cooking, cleaning and prep?  Not me.  So I decided that I wanted to start a new tradition:  caroling around the neighborhood and then serving hot cocoa afterward.  It was so simple and so much fun!  I’m not sure which was more fun:  watching the kids have a blast or singing the carols (which I love!).  I think watching the kids has the edge, though.  They were so excited but tired easily.

Next year we’ll limit it to one chosen street instead of trying to go around the block.  We were able to sing 10 to 12 times.  I used the collection of sheet music that good ‘ol Martha Stewart put together.  It was a nice mix of Christian and more secular Christmas music (e.g. Up on the Housetop and Jingle Bells in amidst The First Noel and Silent Night).  I was smiling about it for days afterward and hope that those who went with us had as much fun as we did.

smDSC_0076

Afterward, I made Crockpot Hot Cocoa (this filled my 7 qt crock pot!):

  • 2 c. heavy whipping cream (not whipped!)
  • 2 – 14 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 gallon of milk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla powder (or regular vanilla, I used Thrive’s vanilla powder)
  • 4 c. chocolate chips (I used Hershey’s dark chocolate chips)
  • 1 c. powdered sugar

smDSC_0079

I also made White Hot Chocolate:

  • 4 c. heavy whipping cream (not whipped!)
  • 4 c. milk
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground cardamom (removed from pods)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 2 T. vanilla powder (or regular vanilla, I used Thrive’s vanilla powder)
  • 16 oz white chocolate (I used the melting wafers from Hobby Lobby)

The White Hot Chocolate was the bomb.  Seriously.  I did not know it would be so good or I would have doubled the recipe.  Three or four people asked for the recipe!

Here’s the selection of marshmallows and additions including maraschino cherry skewers, spray cream cinnamon and chips of almost every kind:

smDSC_0084

Before everyone showed up (we had two more families come after this shot!).

smDSC_0101

The teenage girls who participated just INSISTED that “Let it Go!” was a Christmas song.  Ahem.  I disagree but they sang it with gusto (along with a few parents!).

smDSC_0109

The best part?  Everyone seemed genuinely welcoming and happy to see us!  It’s definitely a new tradition.  Next year, I’ll make the boys bring their drums and bells from percussion.

Cheap & Easy: Crock Pot Peanut Butter Granola

DSC_0135

This is one of my teenage son’s favorite recipes. I like it, too, because I can “clean out the pantry” and add things based on what I’m trying to use up: sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, chocolate chips, cinnamon, etc., and adjust the recipe accordingly. If you’re like me, you don’t measure things and eyeball it anyway! Should you want raisins, I’ve never tried those but you could stir them in afterwards, although warming the raisins can’t hurt them. I love my slow cooker so much I’ve always had a little ceremony for them when finally break down. They are a definite workhorse in my kitchen. For large gatherings, I use both my slow cooker AND my 9.5 quart doufeu…easiest way I know of to feed a crowd.

CROCKPOT PEANUT BUTTER GRANOLA

1/3 cup coconut oil (I like Jarrow’s unrefined, organic, virgin from Amazon)
1 cup peanut butter, generous
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 c ground flax seed
7 cups rolled old-fashioned oatmeal (NOT quick cooking)
honey to taste — usually 1/4 cup
3/4 c brown sugar

Allow oil and peanut butter to soften and stir to combine in the bottom of a large crock-pot. Add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine well and then stirring every 20 minutes or so until it’s as toasted as you like. I generally stir every half hour to an hour and leave the crockpot on low for four to six hours. You KNOW it’s a good recipe when your kids are a) willing to give up cold cereal for it and b) volunteer to stir it for you. It’s a hit at our house, anyway!

Yummy & Soft – Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies

I made these cookies last year and found this old post. I am so thankful I found it because a) I loved the recipe and forgot where it was and b) I wanted to share it even without a good picture of the cookies!

I am NOT usually a cookie freak, since I just made a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies just last week, but I had some whole frozen cranberries to use up and my mother claims to not like chocolate (really, I met another person who doesn’t like chocolate this week – where are you people coming from?!). I wanted to make a cookie my Mom would like since they are coming over for dinner today {sigh: this year my mother is 1,000 miles away}. These are a great alternative to the popular pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. I like the tart cranberries in there! Give it a try – the recipe is from my tried-and-true vegetable and harvest cookbook called The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash. We have never had a bad recipe from the cookbook.

Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 c. pureed cooked pumpkin
2 1/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup cranberries
1 T grated orange peel
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg, and pumpkin. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; beat into pumpkin mixture. Halve cranberries (I left ’em whole and they worked out fine!) and stir into mixture along with orange peel and nuts (again, left those out, more kid friendly). Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes approximately 36 cookies. Again: I left out the orange peel and nuts and these were still very delicious!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Adapted from Beverly Nye’s recipe entitled Down-In-The-Dumps Pudding from “A Family Raised On Sunshine”.

This is one heck of a cake. It’s more of a brownie with molten hot fudge bubbling below the surface! It is perfect for ice cream and – the next day – is great right out of the pan with a spoon (would I do that? oh yes!).

Beat together:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
generous 6T cocoa

Stir in:
1 cup milk
4 T vegetable oil

Spread mixture in an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.

Blend in a small bowl: 2 cups brown sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over top of batter.

Pour over all: 3 cups hot water. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes.

Yummy Hot Fudge Brownies Recipe

We’ve eaten healthy for a solid week. Talk about withdrawal. No sugar, no bread, no refined anything. It’s about time for a breakdown and if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right: namely, hot fudge brownie. This recipe is originally titled “Down in the Dumps Pudding” in the A Family Raised on Sunshine cookbook by Beverly Nye. We heart Mrs. Nye. She has given us wonderful recipes over the years and this is, hands down, the best hot-fudge-ice-cream-brownie-combo topping ever. Promise. Stake my life on it. Give it a try!

Down-In-The-Dumps Pudding

Beat together:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 T cocoa

Stir in:
1 cup milk
4 T vegetable oil
2 cups chopped nuts (we omit this usually, even though we love nuts)

Spread mixture in ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Blend in small bowl:
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa

Sprinkle over top of batter.

Pour 3 cups hot water over all. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes. Serves well with ice cream. It comes out like a brownie with hot fudge underneath (it’s magical and divine!). Hope you enjoy it and let me know if you do give it a try.

Cheap & Easy Recipe: Ben Likes Hootenany Pancakes!

Ben likes hootenany pancakes so much that he sang for them and we got it on video. It’s a classic Rolfson recipe and oh-so-easy-and-cheap. It is a staple in our household for breakfast OR dinner. Sometimes we even have to make two pans.

Hootenany Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 cup milk
6 or 7 eggs
pinch salt
1 stick butter

Cut 1 stick of butter into several chunks and put in bottom of 9×12 or 10×13 pan. Place in 400° F oven until melted. While butter is melting, whisk or blend flour, eggs, milk and salt. When butter is melted, pour into pan with swirling motion. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Pancake will puff up! Best served with elderberry syrup but also great with jelly, powdered sugar, etc. I have been known to serve these in the car in baggies – cold – and the kids eat them just as well. Enjoy!

And The Online Giveaway Winner Is…

TeresaB who said, “I just found your site through the City Farmgirls Blog. Fun fun!” Yes, it is fun! I think I like offering giveaways even more than winning (who’d of thunk it – I only wish everybody could win)! We had a peek at her etsy site here and she has some great ideas for your swiffer or sh-mop so be sure to take a look. Prepare yourselves for the next giveaway – it is going to be FANTASTIC and I’ll announce it tomorrow. Really. I-was-gonna-keep-this-one fantastic.

Apple Treats for Kids

HPIM2221.JPG

Yummy “candy” centered apple circles!

I have a bushel of apples so I’m getting good at thinking up treats for my kids. We exhausted the caramel apple dip recipe over the weekend and here is another.

HPIM2221.JPG

Mix 2 T. peanut butter with 1/4 c. uncooked rolled oats and about 1T. honey (or to taste).

HPIM2221.JPG

Core your apples and stuff ’em with the mixture.

HPIM2221.JPG

Slice into desired thickness and eat – it’s like having a “candy” center! My kids love this. I used my Pampered Chef Crinkle Cutter today but it’s absolutely not necessary – but cute.

Mary Engelbreit’s Recipe Contest

Photobucket

Pull out your best recipes, girls (and I know you have ’em). Link to the ME site and cook away! I’m sure it will be a great cookbook but it would be even better with a recipe in there from someone I know.