Christmas Stove Top Potpourri

Today I am sharing 2 ways I make my home feel like Christmas. 

One of my favorite ways to make my home smell like Christmas is by making a simmering pot of delicious smells.

These are seriously so easy to throw together and you can do just about any flavor combination you love. 

I love the smell of apples, citrus, and cinnamon, so that's what I threw into my pot.

So in place of lighting a candle, try this instead! 

Your home will smell so yummy that your husband will actually comment on how great the house smelled as soon he walked in the door. 

True story. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 granny smith apple, sliced
1 orange, sliced
3 whole cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
4 cups of water

Dump all of your ingredients into a medium sized sauce pan, and simmer over low heat for hours. If your level starts to get low, add a few cups of water and keep simmering. My pot lasts me about 3 days before I dump it out and start with a fresh batch. Enjoy your delicious smelling home!

*never leave your pot simmering while you are out of the house. This should be common sense but sometimes things get forgotten, and I don't want to be responsible for any one's homes burning down. Thanks.

The second way I bring on the Christmas joy is by playing Christmas music all day long.

 I know people are sticklers when it comes to their taste in Christmas music. 

I know this because I am one of them. I am very picky.

 I can't help it that some arrangements are just better than others.

(I'm reading this in my mind like Gretchen Wieners)

 Here is a summarized list of my favorite songs for the season!

 Happy 1st of December!

Christmas Cookie Series #3: Thumbprint cookies

I am back in the kitchen baking up my favorite Christmas time cookies. 

I took the week...okay, 2 weeks off but I am getting my act together and whipping a few batches to get us caught up. 

Has anyone ever had the Ghiradelli chocolate filled thumbprint cookies? They are delicious and I cannot find the boxed mix ANYWHERE! It is super depressing.

I figured, if I can't find the mix anywhere, I'll just have to try to whip up my own batch.

So, today I am sharing these little chocolate filled thumbprint cookies. They are so easy to make and will make a great addition to your Christmas cookie platters.

Ingredients
makes approx. 2 dozen
original recipe here

2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
teeny tiny, pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups flour

chocolate filling
1/2 bag of good quality, milk chocolate chips
4 tbs unsalted butter
*1 tsp light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix for 2 minutes on medium/high speed. Slowly add in flour and mix on medium speed until well combined.

Take a tablespoon size of dough and roll into a ball. Place dough balls 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and press *thumb* into the center of the dough to make an indentation. Place the cookies back in the oven for another 6-8 minutes, until the edges are light brown. Remove from the oven and place cookies on cooling rack.

 Once your cookies have cooled, make your chocolate filling. Place chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until your chocolate is melted and smooth. Carefully fill your cookies with the melted chocolate.

 *I use the back of a teaspoon to make my "thumb" print. I don't know about you, but sticking my finger into a hot cookie and burning the crap out of it just doesn't sound enjoyable. But if you're into that kind of thing, then by all means, go ahead and stick your finger into the lava cookie

* I made my chocolate filling sans corn syrup because I didn't want to buy a giant bottle to only use a tsp of it. So I opted out of it just added extra butter to my chocolate to help smooth it out and keep it runny. I probably used an extra tbs of butter. I think next time I will actually buy the corn syrup. The butter just made the chocolate a tad too...buttery and rich.

I hope you guys enjoy these

 and if you've missed my past posts you can check them out here.

Christmas Cookie Series: Pinecone Sugar Cookies

Now that November has finally arrived, I am ready to launch my Christmas cookie series! 

I am so excited for this...and so is my husband.  

I have been planning this since the beginning of the year. 

No joke.

There is just something about this time of the year that makes me want to bake all day long. 

Except I don't, because of the whole having to clean all the dishes, thing.

This series will not only have cookie recipes but ideas for decorating them. 

I am not a professional nor do I really know what I am doing, but hopefully that will help the average baker in not feeling so intimidated at attempting any of these ideas.

So pull out those fat pants, because the next 7 weeks are going to be filled with sugary, sweet cookies! 

To start us off, here's a little peek at these pine cone, chocolate sugar cookies I slaved over today. 

I'm not quite ready to share the cookie recipe yet because the ones I made were so awful. 

But I couldn't resist not sharing the pictures these little beauts. 

And maybe it's just me, but I'm kind of in love with how these turned out.

 

Stay tuned for a few of my favorite Christmas tradition cookies! 

And I would love to know if you have any traditional cookies you have to make every holiday season? 

Comment below to let me know! I'd love to try a few new recipes this year :)

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Playing catch up and a recipe

It's been a while since my last update. 

And my only excuse is that I've started watching a new show on Netflix and that has taken priority. I wish there were another, less sad excuse for the neglect, but alas there is not. 

Once I get hooked on a show, I can't stop. I

'm sure everyone else can relate?

The end of September was pretty uneventful. 

Our only major happening was taking Ev to see Disney on Ice. It started off magical. 

There was loud music, hundreds of little kids beaming with joy, Disney memorabilia every where and workers trying to get you to spend every penny you have saved in your bank account on overly priced light up toys and cups. 

But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a sucker for all of that. 

If it wasn't for Conryd being with us, you better believe we would have walked out there will every piece of junk they were selling. 

Evan didn't last for the whole thing. And to be honest, I felt it was a bit long and dare I say...boring. The opening scene was fun. 

It was Cars, which is Ev's favorite, and it was then followed by The Little Mermaid. Which was totally adorable and captivating.

But after that, I felt it went downhill. It was slow and dragged on and I didn't care too much for it. And neither did my husband or Evan so we left about 15 minutes after the intermission. 

We must be the only human beings on the face of the planet that has ever left a Disney event early for being bored. 

Shame on us, right?

And I don't mean to brag, but I think my child is ridiculously good looking.

Then October 1st happened.

 October has got be one of, if not THE best month of the year! 

I get so excited for this month to come around.

 If you're not living in the sweltering humidity and heat of Florida, it marks the beginning of cooler temps, in most places. 

It's when the leaves really start to change colors, in most places.

 It's when you get to wear adorable outfits, in most places. 

It's acceptable to eat everything pumpkin spice related!

And it's the beginning of the best time of the year!

Surprisingly enough, October has brought some nice weather to our area. We've had some crazy storms and it's rained most days. That is obviously nothing new, but with the rain storms comes clouds and wind. And that makes it wonderful to be outdoors in.

Another thing I love about fall is the nail polish colors. 

Does anyone else get excited about this? 

I feel like these rich, dark colors go better with my skin tone, than the bright neon's of summer color, not that I don't still love them.

 I attempted to give myself a gold tipped manicure, but by my third mess-up I gave up...mostly. 

This was my finished product. I'll try again another time.

I also felt the need to document this. 

As a baby, Evan was not much of a cuddler. We would maybe get a 2 second hug or head rest on the shoulder, but nothing more than that.

 Now that Ev's getting older, he will actually come up to me and say "mom, I cud (cuddle) you?" 

He will then climb on me and cuddle with me for sometimes up to 5 minuets! 

Its magical, and one of my most favorite things in world.

He also asks to take pictures of me, and I agree if only he can be in them with me.

The other day, we were stuck inside all day and started to get bored. 

I was feeling a little guilty for letting my child watch hours of Curious George so I decided that I'd start teaching him some gymnastics. 

I taught him how to stretch and "warm up." 

I then showed him how to handstands up against the wall and how to do bridges, back bends and kick overs. 

Obviously I did all of the work for him because he's just a little guy and has no strength to hold himself up. 

But it was still fun and he LOVED IT. It kept us occupied for all of 15 minutes...

And with the slightly bearable temperatures outside, it has really put me in the mood to actually cook and enjoy it. 

The other night for dinner I made (almost from scratch) chicken pot pie. 

And it was delicious. 

It's one of our favorites.

 I've always been afraid to make one for some reason, but now that I have, I won't stop. It was actually pretty easy to make and doesn't take too much time either. 

I'll share my recipe below because I know I'm going to need it again.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8, 1 9 x 13 dish

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

6 TBS butter

6 TBS flour

2 1/2 cup chicken stock

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup half and half

2-3 large potatoes, diced

1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh, peas and carrots

1 tsp onion powder (or 1 whole onion, diced)
salt and pepper to taste
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed according to directions
1 egg + 1 TBS water

Preheat oven to 425

In a large pot, melt your butter. Add your diced potatoes and cook for about 10 min (until fork tender) stirring occasionally. If you are using a fresh onion instead of onion powder, cook your onions with the potatoes. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cook for about 2 minutes. Next, stir in your flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add in the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock, along with your milk and half/half. Bring to a simmer to thicken, about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Once it has thickened, toss in your peas, carrots, and shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer together for about 5 minutes. If your mixture is too thick, add a splash of milk until you reach your desired consistency.

While your mixture is simmering, grease a 9 x 13 dish. Lay one layer of the thawed puff pastry on the bottom of the dish. Carefully stretch it out so it covers the bottom completely. Evenly ladle in your chicken mixture. Carefully stretch your second sheet of puff pastry, and lay it on top. Then cut or poke a few vent holes. In a small bowl, whisk together your egg and TBS of water. Brush the egg wash on the top layer of puff pastry (you won't use all of it). Bake until puff pastry is a deep golden brown and filling is bubbling, 20-30minutes.

Well, that is all of my catching up for now. Until next time.

Pineapple Basil Juice

Oh the last of summer is coming. And I can't say that I am too upset about it. I am definitely a "fall time" kind of girl. I'd take boots and a sweater any day over shorts and sandals.
With that being said, one of the things I do love about summer is making delicious drinks that taste like summer. 
And you guys, this is seriously one of the best drinks you will ever have! Please don't let the list of ingredients freak you out. It sounds a bit odd, but it is super light and refreshing and I promise you won't be able to stop drinking this.
Not only is it super delicious, but the ingredients have so many health benefits...minus the sugar of course ;) My husband was even shocked at how much he enjoyed it.
And well,  let's be honest, I was shocked he even agreed to drink it.
I always make this in a blender but I am curious as to how it would turn out using a juicer.
So if any of you guys have a juicer and try this,
come back to me and let me know how it goes!

Here is what you'll need:

Ingredients

1 pineapple, peeled and cored
1-2 handfuls fresh basil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2-1 cup of sugar, depending on your sweetness preference
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 inch knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
10 cups water
A sieve/fine mesh strainer

In a blender add pineapple, basil, lemon juice, sugar, olive oil, ginger and 1 cup of water. Blend until completely smooth. I use my Blendtec "whole juice" setting and run it twice to make sure it's as smooth as possible.  In a large pitcher add the remaining 9 cups of water, or split in to 2 pitchers. Through your sieve, strain your juice mixture into your pitcher of water to eliminate any fibers leftover from the pineapple and ginger. Stir/shake and serve over ice. The juice will separate as it sits, so just make sure to give it a good stir before each serving. Enjoy!

*Recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law

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Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

I think I post this drink on every site I've ever had (2 sites) but it's just so dang good, I feel guilty keeping it to myself. 

I learned this recipe from one of my Young Women's leaders like 13 years ago. And It's honestly like liquid heaven. 

I almost hate making it for events because I do not want to share it. I hoard it. I don't even tell my husband when I make it because I don't him to have any. 

I'm selfish, and I'm okay with it. I've accepted it :) 

So to keep me from looking like the bad guy and never sharing the goodness, I will just pass the recipe along so you can make it and hoard it for yourself!

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh (or frozen (thawed) if out of season) hulled strawberries
1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 bottles of sparkling water (you'll need about a liter and a half)

Directions: Slice strawberries and place in blender. Add 1/2 cup sugar. If you want a more sour lemonade, use 2 cups lemon juice, for a little more subtle taste use 1 1/2 cups. Pour lemon juice into blender. Next, make a simple syrup. To do so, boil the last 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water. Reduce and stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 min. Now add the simple syrup to blender. Blend until smooth.
Pour mixture into a pitcher and add sparkling water slowly. Stir with a large spoon. Chill for about 2 hours or serve over ice immediately because really, it's just too good to wait for.

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Naked for the 4th...

...Naked cake that is...

Don't you think these types of cakes are the prettiest things ever? All I want to do is make and eat them all day long. Who wants to join me?

I needed a good excuse to make one of these beauts and I figured the 4th of July would be the perfect occasion to bake up a cake and top it with gorgeous, fresh, red and blue berries. And that's just what I did...only I did it a week early. 

So I guess I should call it a "27th of June, cake". 

This cake was so easy to make and the end result is beautiful. 

I feel like they're pretty self explanatory to make, but if you need some guidance

 I've done a little tutorial on how to put one together. 

What you'll need

2 boxes of cake mix

             or

double batch of this vanilla cake 

3 cans of frosting, or a large batch of homemade frosting

toppings of your picking

First start by making 2 batches of cake.
I cheated and used boxed (gasp) but I really should have made my own.
Boxed cake is just no good after you've had a good, made from scratch, homemade cake.
Lesson learned.

 Bake up your cake batter in 8 inch cake rounds. You should have enough for 3-4 layers.

Once your cakes have cooked and are fully cooled, take a serrated knife and cut the domed top off your cakes, making sure the whole layer is flat and even.

Now we start to build.  Place your first cake layer down on your cake stand or serving platter, I put the cut side on the bottom so the top was smooth. Cover it with a generous amount of frosting and spread it to the sides. Try to keep it neat and stay in the lines.

Continue to do this until you've reached your top layer. Once your top cake is frosted, you can leave it as it is or cover it in berries or whatever you choose as your topping.

And that's it. So easy, right?

Also, this little guy had to get in on the action

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Hub's traditional birthday

It was the hubby's birthday the end of May and I wanted to try to make this day stand out from the rest. I knew that he wouldn't care whether I did something huge, or did nothing at all. But it's not in me to not do something! He always says, "no gifts," for every holiday and every occasion. And ask me how many times I've actually listened. None would be the correct answer. I always try to surprise him with something, but it's not always something big. Most of the time it's just his favorite chocolate bar, or a bottle of Dr. Pepper. Not the generic kind though, I try to keep things classy around here ;)

Growing up, his birthday tradition was his favorite pasta for dinner followed by peppermint fridge cake for dessert. 

For most of us USA-ers,  peppermint fridge cake rings no bells. As far as I know, it's a South African only known dessert. 

Side note: for those of you who don't know, my husband is South African. 

We only make this cake once, maybe twice a year. And It's usually during the holiday season. But the husband specifically asked for this cake for his birthday, so the birthday boy got what he wanted. I have to admit, I was little disappointed he didn't want my chocolate cake. For selfish reasons though...because that's what I wanted.

So what exactly makes this peppermint fridge cake? Well, let me tell you. It's probably the easiest thing you'll ever make. 

It's only 4 ingredients and probably takes 10 min at most to make to put together. It's made with layers of graham crackers and a dulce de leche whipped cream, and then topped with mint chocolate bits. Then it sits in the fridge for a minimum of 5 hours so the layers can mesh together and create this deliciously rich, caramel-y cake.

I had a few friends ask for the recipe, so I'm here today to FINALLY share it with you. I hope you enjoy! I also decided to give it a second name.

No- bake Dulce De Leche cake (Peppermint fridge cake)

2 cans dulce de leche (usually found near the evaporated milk)
2 pints whipping cream (not half and half)
1 box of original graham crackers
1 bag of pre-chopped Andes mints or 1 box of wrapped Andes mints, chopped

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, dump out both cans of dulce de leche. Turn your mixture on to medium speed and slowly start pouring in your cream. Once all of your cream is added, continue to whip on medium/high speed until firm peeks form. Once you have peeks, whip for 30 seconds more. Set whipped mixture to the side. In an 8 x 8 dish, place a layer of graham crackers on the bottom. It needs to (mostly) cover the whole bottom. There will be small little gaps, and that's fine.  Next, carefully pour about 2-3 cups of your whipped dulce de leche on top of the graham crackers. Slowly spread it out, covering all of the graham crackers. Now do another of graham crackers and another layer of dulce de leche. Continue those 2 steps until you've reached the top of your pan, but make sure your last layer is the dulce de leche mixture. You should have about 3-4 layers of graham crackers. Lastly, sprinkle your Andes mints over the top. Cover with plastic wrap or foil, and place in the fridge for at least 5 hours. You want your graham crackers to become soft, almost mimicking cake texture. When you're ready to eat, carefully cut into squares and serve. 

If you have any questions, please ask. I'd love to help!

Get Fit Friday: Week 3-6

Holy cow. Did I really start my "Get Fit Friday" 6 weeks ago? Maybe I'm counting wrong? 

And I've been so bad and I'm totally failing at updating this series. I'm the worst! But even though I've been failing at updating these posts, I haven't been failing in my exercising. I try to workout 4-5 days a week. Which is a big improvement from not doing a thing all day. I'm a little sad that my numbers haven't really moved at all on the scale, but I'm trying to focus on the fact that I actual don't hate going down to the gym and I think that's a huge milestone. Although, I've probably just jinxed that now...dang it.

My daily routine is pretty simple and is working for me. I run or bike for 20 minutes and then do 10-15min of weights, depending how long I have before Conryd has to leave for work. I didn't want to push myself too hard because I knew that if I made myself sick and completely wiped, I would not continue to workout. I do that every time I try to start running. I push myself harder than I should and give myself a mental block and then I quit. It's a vicious cycle. So I decided to start working out with a different mind set. Do what I can, and don't push myself...yet. And here I am, 6 weeks later, writing that I actually enjoy sweating! If that's not an accomplishment for myself, then I don't know what would be.

As far as our eating goes, it's getting better. We still eat pizza way too much, but we're getting back into our good, healthy habits as well. 

My mother-in-law used to make these pancakes all the time for us when we lived in Utah. Then when we moved, and I started making them almost every other morning but then took a break and never started up again. Until now. I forgot how much we love them and how much Evan loves them. He seriously eats way more of than I do and loves to snack on the leftovers. 

For those of you who are gluten, sugar and dairy free, you'll appreciate these.

Ingredients
makes approx. 24

4 eggs
2 ripe bananas
1 cup GF old fashioned oats
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS honey
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 big handful of spinach

Throw all of your ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth. Your batter should be pretty runny. Heat up a griddle (325-350 degrees). Spray with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray. Pour about a 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot griddle, like you would for normal pancakes. Let it cook for about 5 minutes before flipping. You want the bottom to be nice and brown and the tops to have little bubbles and look almost dry, before flipping. Once they're ready, flip over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Serve with pure maple syrup and a small, itty bitty dash of cinnamon.

*The texture is nothing like normal pancakes. They actually kind of taste french toast-y because of the egg. And if I'm being completely honest, I wasn't crazy about these the first few times I had them. But they grew on me and I love them and think they're super delicious. My husband enjoys them (which is saying a lot), Evan loves them, my mom liked them and my dad didn't care for them. So try it out it, if you hate it I won't be offended. I promise. But I think these are a delicious, healthy way to start off your day.