Christmas is coming...

I love our Christmas tree this year. I especially loved it before our dang cat tipped it over in the night and knocked everything off of it LOL Good thing I don't have any glass ornaments this year and I was really glad I had this picture taken right after we finished putting up the tree :) Caleb put it all back together and 8 year old boys are SO not Christmas tree designers.

Beef and Broccoli

I always like to buy my broccoli in the big Costco bags and blanch it and freeze it into meal-sized portions so I thought while I had broccoli cooking I'd whip up some yummy beef and broccoli. And I just had to share this random box of freezer bags I received when my mom and aunt were cleaning out my grandma's house. How old do you think it is? LOL


Beef & Broccoli

2 TBSP sesame oil
1 lb beef cut into really small pieces
1/4 c. ketchup
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP soy sauce
2 c. steamed broccoli
1 c. edamame, shelled and cooked (optional, but soooo good)
1/4 c. slivered almonds
3 c. cooked rice

Fry the beef in sesame oil until done. Add ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix until everything is coated in sauce. Serves 4.

Don't forget the fortune cookies for dessert :) The dollar store usually carries them along with most groceries stores in the Asian food section.

If you've never bought edamame (soybeans) they have them frozen in the grocery store. I buy them at the Sunflower Market, but I think just about everyone carries them. They look like lima beans, but they're really delicious. We sometimes buy them in the pod and munch on them for a snack. You don't eat the pod, so it's sort of fun to shell them and eat them.

Sesame oil is another thing that quite a few people don't have on hand, but I LOVE it!!! I use it quite often. It's pretty fantastic and smells great. It's around $3 or $4 for a bottle, but a little goes a long ways.

Absolutely Fantastic Apple Bread

This bread was so great. It has a crunchy sweet crust and a super soft middle. I made 8 mini loaves, 4 to freeze and 4 for breakfast. I'll be making more soon! I love having things like this in my freezer for easy breakfasts.

Apple Bread

1 c. oil
3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 c. apples, diced (4 apples)
3 c. flour

Mix together everything BUT the apples and flour. Add the apples and flour and stir until the flour is mixed in. The batter will be really thick. Spoon into 2 regular or 8 mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 for around 40 minutes for minis and 60 minutes for regular loaves. Cool 10 minutes in pans unless you're cooking in silicone, like me, then you can cool completely in pans before removing.

Easy Christmas Breakfast Idea & New Members of Our Family :)

I know you've heard me say it before, but I LOVE breakfast foods! I don't care what time of the day it's served either!

Depending on the year, sometimes we serve a large Christmas breakfast and sometimes we keep it simple and low-key. Well, this year I don't have my kids for Christmas and I'm still trying to figure out what my plans are, but as I was enjoying my delicious breakfast I was thinking what a quick and easy Christmas breakfast this would make. YUM!

Breakfast Sandwiches

Pillsbury honey butter refrigerated biscuit dough, cooked as directed on package
eggs, scrambled
shredded cheddar cheese
real bacon bits

The honey butter biscuits are an unexpected but fabulous addition to simple breakfast sandwiches. Mmmm.... I want one right now! LOL

AND... due to mice/snake issues and begging kids we now have two new members of our family :)


I had only planned on one kitty, but the animal shelter was doing a $10 special for adult cats, so two it is! Lucy is the black one who clawed a hole in her box on the way home to peak out LOL and Fiona is the little gray and white sweetie. We're loving out fun new pets :)

Sad Update
Fiona died last night. We only had her one day and she collapsed and died. We're taking her body to the animal shelter today to exchange her for another cat. The kids were devastated; after two years of no pets to have a cat die just a day after getting her was so heartbreaking. Poor, poor kids :(

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

We don't eat a lot of canned soups at our house, but we love homemade soup :) I had a friend come over for dinner and when I found out he wasn't feeling too well I decided to change the menu to Chicken Noodle Soup. I know I've posted a Chicken Noodle Soup recipe before, but this one is a little different. You know me, I can't follow a recipe to save my life, not even my own LOL

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 can vegetable broth (2 c)
3 cans water (6 c)
1 can chicken broth (2 c)
1 cube chicken bouillon
salt & pepper
chopped carrots
diced celery
2 c egg noodles noodles
1 lb chicken, cooked & diced
1 can corn, drained

Combine the broth, water, bouillon cube, salt & pepper and carrots in a pan. Bring to a boil. Add pasta & celery. When pasta is almost done add chicken and corn. Cook until pasta is done.

And don't forget the pretty table setting...



and the annoyed children....

I also thought I'd share my great deal on chicken...

I found chicken for $1.29/lb and bought around 20 lbs. It came in large family packs, so I did what I always do when buying large amounts of meat. I separated the chicken into meal-sized portions and put it all in my freezer. I love having a full freezer!!!

Homemade Caramels & Caramel Apples

I DO NOT make candy that requires a candy thermometer, but when my good friend, Beth, brought me the recipe and ingredients to make caramel apples, how could I say no and I've now made them twice :) They actually turned out fantastic... maybe I should let go of my thermometer fear LOL This was the first time I've made caramel apples using homemade caramel... actually it was the first time I've ever made homemade caramel. I did get specks in it, but you can't really tell a difference when you eat it and I've eaten a lot. The first time I made this I used a wooden spoon to stir it and got a ton of brown specks all through it. The second time I used a heat-proof rubber spatula and scraped the sides and bottom the whole time and it came out much, much prettier with very few specks :) The second time I really watched my temperature and took them off the heat right at 240. They came out super soft. And by the way, isn't sweetened condensed milk the best? It's like my favorite, I can never throw away the empty can without getting a spoon and eating what's stuck to the sides hahaha

Caramels

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. light corn syrup

Cook and stir constantly in heavy pan until the mixture reaches 240. (I love that she put this next part in, because I would have freaked out LOL) If you see flecks of brown, don't worry, just keep stirring- the whole thing will turn a darker caramel color. Take off stove and add 1 tsp vanilla. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan and cool until the next day. Cut and wrap in wax paper.



To make caramel apples, wash, dry and skewer apples with popsicle/craft sticks. Granny Smith apples are best, but you can use any nice, firm apples. Dust a cookie sheet or wax paper with powdered sugar. Dip apples into the caramel while it's still hot. Swirl it around a bit. Place on dusted wax paper or cookie sheet. YUM! Pour leftover caramel into a buttered pan and cool, wrap and eat!

We did 4 caramel apples and still had a panful for caramels. So delicious!

Holiday Bazaar & Apple Crisp Recipe

Our school hosts a holiday bazaar each year and each year I get talked into doing a booth. This year I decided to sell my bottled goods and candies :)

It went pretty well and I had a good time hanging out with my mom. It was also nice to do some trading with other vendors. I swapped bottled goods for jewelry and hair flowers! Hooray!

I'm loving the big pink flower... I also got a brown one (plus two to put away for stocking stuffers) and four necklaces. I guess sometimes canning does pay off LOL These flowers would be so simple to make, I'm thinking a hair flower posting will be coming up soon :)

Ok... on to the booth LOL

white chocolate candy canes

everything looked festive :)

Caleb singing with his class

homemade caramels... I got a lot of good feedback on these!

these would make a fabulous hostess gift

kettle corn

Alyssa waiting for her turn to sing

My kids say their friends all love me... I can't imagine why LOL I figure what better way to get rid of excess goodies than to have my kids share them with their friends at lunch :)

I've been asked by a few people for my Apple Crisp recipe, so here it is :)

Apple Crisp

1 qt apple pie filling
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. oats
1/4 c. butter, melted

Pour the pie filling into a pie pan. Mix remaining ingredients well and sprinkle over the top of filling. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes until golden.

These make really nice gift when you attach the dry ingredients to the pie filling with baking directions. All the recipient has to add is butter. This is some of the best apple crisp I've ever had... especially topped with fresh whipped cream.... yummmmmm