Well...I had every intention of typing up the recipes but with all the crazy redecorating and organizing going on in the house, and then my computer crashing I lost the recipes. They weren't mine, so I don't really know what else to tell you. I am tired and don't care that much ;) So just look at the pretty food LOL
“I will never betray my goon dock friends,
We will stick together until the whole world ends,
Through heaven and hell, and nuclear war,
Good pals like us, will stick like tar,
In the city, or the country, or the forest, or the boonies,
I am proudly declared a fellow Goonie!”
— The Goonie Pledge
My cousin has set up a theatre in her basement and it's pretty fun I have to say. Put that together with our mutual geekiness and I think you can expect a few more Dinner Movie things to come along.
Sorry the photo is not the best, it was dark down there! :)
We didn't get very elaborate with our dinner and a movie this time. Since pizza played the main food role in the movie, that was an easy decision (and we helped celebrate the anniversary of a local pizza place, its a win-win). The "Brown Water" the boys get served in the movie was incorporated via some iced tea. I tried out a new popcorn recipe (it's a movie, there has to be popcorn!) and then of course Baby Ruth had to be worked in. My cousin made some very tasty Gooey Baby Ruth Brownies (which were dubbed Goonie Baby Ruth Brownies instead!).
One Eyed Willie Pirate Popcorn
Coconut Oil Popcorn Seeds
1 tsp Bragg's Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning *(grind it down more if you can) 1/2 tsp Turmeric (to make it golden like treasure!) 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger 1 tsp Garlic Salt 1 tsp Sea Salt
Butter
Cook the popcorn over the stove using a heavy metal pot. First, place the oil in the pot and let it melt down, then pour in as many seeds as you need depending on your party size (About 1/2 a cup for two people, if this new for you entirely). Because the flavors are pretty powerful, I'd say start off minimal and work up, trying some and seeing how it strick you. Because this was new, I set aside half the popcorn, flavored it (ended up over flavoring because I had to keep tweaking it) and then combined it with the other half and it came out perfect!
1 package (8 ounces)cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons milk
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
PREPARE brownie batter according to package directions; stir in chopped Baby Ruth. Pour into prepared pan.
BEAT cream cheese and sugar in small mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and milk. Using knife or spatula, swirl cream cheese mixture into brownie batter to create a marbling effect.
BAKE for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars using wet knife
After having company in town and then getting directly knocked down with some sort of sicky-poo-ness, I am sitting here in bed with no energy to actually write something fantastic. So I bring you this funny fail of mine: Mini Quiches
Yeah...the recipe didn't specify how much to put in there other than "fill" so I did. Don't believe the lie. Hubby still ate 'em. Not all at once of course, that would have been bad. And they freeze well too, so the fail was still a win.
Jeez could that name get any longer? ha! :) This is why it's "cheater pants"
I added oatmeal and banana (not pictured here...obviously).
I also substituted the rum flavor for the vanilla and added some cinnamon.
My hubby is amazing and wrote it all down for me as I did it. Why can't he cook with me more often?! So much easier than wiping my hands off a billion times while i wing it...
Pop 'em into the oven for 10 min at 350 degrees
DEVOUR!!!
Recipe
1 box Gluten Free Cake Mix (Betty Crocker)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup oats
2 bananas
2 tsp rum flavor
1/3 c. water
3 eggs
1/2 c. butter
Follow instructions on box for baking in muffin tin :)
Got a shin dig tonight and I really want to use this blackberry jam my awesome ex-sister-in-law friend sent me from Washington. It tastes great all on its own but for some reason I want to give it some special lovin' in a recipe.
New Years is not a BIG deal to me but its another reason to have some fun with friends and who doesn't love that? You know what sounds like a good fit here? Pears poached in wine with a blackberry jam twist. Doesn't that just fit like a glove?! Warm, inviting, sweet and slightly alcoholic. Suites the weather and the holiday! This came out really tasty, the picture above is when the pears just started, when they are done the wine has soaked in and changed their color to a gorgeous purple. I admit one person at the party didn't like it, but on the flip side a guy who normally HATES pears loved them soooo everyone is different :) I would make them again.
(PS I referenced my all time favorite crockpot website for the cook times etc. to get my bearings on the recipe. I love you, Steph, thank you for all you do! oh my gosh just realized she made these for new years eve too! dude, great minds thinking alike...)
Blackberry Poached Pears
5 (8-ounce) cans pear ("If you'd prefer to use "real" ones, try 6 peeled and cored pears")
1 (750-ml) bottle red wine (I used a sweet malbec)
1/2 cup blackberry jam
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
Directions
Drain pears, and add them to the crockpot. Measure the sugar, vanilla extract and jam into a separate mixing bowl. Pour some of the wine into the mixing bowl as well and mix them together. Pour mixture into the crockpot. Add the rest of the bottle of wine. Float the cinnamon stick and star anise on top. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or on high for about 2.
Serve warm in bowls with a large dollop of whipped cream or ice cream (or alone even!).
Heeeeellloooooo Thanksgiving!!! Ok yeah, its not Thanksgiving anymore, but people make this dish for Christmas too right? Ok so this is still relevant. And guess who was making their first turkey EVER (that's me). Meanwhile, how does anyone manage to cook anything else?? Seriously, turkey takes forever. And it takes up the whole oven. Luckily, we were going over to my Aunt Roberta's house and people are bringing things etc. but I am still in charge of making my share and my grandma's share which comes out to me making five things anyway. One of these is Yams.
They were on sale.
I wasn't raised with yam dishes actually. I know right? Everyone is different. I think I was in my 20's the first time I ever had it. The marshmallows on a vegetable were really confusing....
Anyway. So I am making them in the crock pot!
Tink's Yam Casserole
4 large yams
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
enough mini marshmallows to dot throughout
pat of butter (not a lot, it's just to grease the crock)
Topping:
1/2 cup Marshmallows
2 cup Cornflakes
Directions:
Grease the crock pot with pat of butter.
Mix brown sugar and spices in a bowl, set to the side.
Peel and slice the sweet yam and stagger-stack in your crock pot. I did this in two layers. Since I used 4 yams total, I would chop two yams and lay them in, then put some of the sugar mixture, dot half of the butter, and dot some of the marshmallows as well.
Repeat the process with the second half of the yams.
Mix the 1 tsp of vanilla with the cup of milk, and pour over the entire top.
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 5-6. This is done when the yams have reached desired consistency. This is what mine looked like when they were done, the pot was full to the top so they cook down quite a bit!
Take a hand blender to it
Pour into a casserole dish (9x12 is what i used, it was perfect)
Mix up the marshmallows and frosted flakes, spread evenly across the top
Bake for 10 min @350 degrees or until the mallows are that pretty touch of golden
There is something really fun and slightly nostalgic about the 12 days of Christmas. One of my early Christmas memories involves going to the Great American Melodrama with my family and, after seeing their famous Christmas Carol and Vaudeville Review, laughing my butt off with my family in the car as we drove home imitating the hilarious movements the cast put to The Twelve Days of Christmas.
Little Secret: We STILL do that! And it's still funny :)
Another fun memory involving the song: My mother found a vintage set of the cookie cutters and, being the sculpture she is, made clay ornaments with them. She made a set for each of us to paint and you could definitely tell who had painted what. My youngest brother wasn't quite old enough to keep his paint inside the lines, so his ornaments were rather tie died whereas my other younger brother had an affinity for the odd at very young age so his ornaments were quite eclectic. The maid a milking had a green and purple cow, if i remember correctly :) Nothing was a realistic color. Mine, were done entirely in primary colors and green. Mom loved them all, like mom's do.
So it's not the biggest tradition in my family, but I'd like to somehow make another addition to it, keep the tradition going myself. I saw this post by The Craft Patch on Pinterest and I felt inspired to come up with something similar. Her idea is fun but I wanted to come up with something that maybe matched the song more (like doing the Ring Pop's on day five for FIIIIVE GOOOOLDEN RIIIINGS). And so that is what I set out to do!
I didn't quite understand how the rings worked on this as a kid and made them blue instead, oops!
The Twelve Days of Christmas
(a little background)
Now for some real factoids about the day, what little there are. Snopes has a really extensive article on the whole matter of whether or not the song was originally a code for Christians or a way to memorize Biblical information (sorry folks but it wasn't, its ok I was kinda bummed too since I was rather hoping for more details to supply me with ideas!). It was most likely a secular Christmas song.
"What we do know is that the twelve days of Christmas in the song are the twelve days between the birth of Christ (Dec. 25th) and the coming of the Magi (Epiphany, Jan. 6)"
I'd put more but the site doesn't let me copy and paste :( and I am really tired so I am not in the mood to just type that entire paragraph while switching between tabs. justsayin.
It's quite similar to the carol "The New Dial", which is rather obviously religious. I have the feeling the concept of this song got mixed in with the Twelve Days somewhere along the way. Have a peek:
What are they that are but one? We have one God alone In heaven above sits on His throne.
What are they which are but two? Two testaments, the old and new, We do acknowledge to be true.
What are they which are but three? Three persons in the Trinity Which make one God in unity.
What are they which are but four Four sweet Evangelists there are, Christ's birth, life, death which do declare.
What are they which are but five? Five senses, like five kings, maintain In every man a several reign.
What are they which are but six? Six days to labor is not wrong, For God himself did work so long.
What are they which are but seven? Seven liberal arts hath God sent down With divine skill man's soul to crown.
What are they which are but eight? Eight Beatitudes are there given Use them right and go to heaven.
What are they which are but nine? Nine Muses, like the heaven's nine spheres, With sacred tunes entice our ears.
What are they which are but ten? Ten statutes God to Moses gave Which, kept or broke, do spill or save.
What are they which are but eleven? Eleven thousand virgins did partake And suffered death for Jesus' sake.
What are they which are but twelve? Twelve are attending on God's son; Twelve make our creed. The Dial's done.
From this song, another counting song may have come. It's called Green Grow the Rushes, O. This link will take you to the lyrics, as well as some nifty commentary on what the lyrics may be referring to. Who knew this would be such a slippery slope into counting songs huh? So at least that was something to go off of!
The Brainstorming Stage!
Mainly, I like the idea of making the joy of Christmas last just a little bit longer than the big day, don't you? So I decided to use that in my grand plan.
I also liked the concept of the counting games, minus the annoying repetition maybe. What if on each day we do something rather Sesame Street and come up with things that relate to that number. It could be a good learning tool game :) AND you can incorporate the religious aspects if you like, without suggesting that this is what they actually stand for in the song's lyrics, but that they did stand for that in other similar songs. I have always liked the idea of teaching my kids historical tidbits about holidays because how a holiday is now is not how it always has been. Things change and that's ok sometimes.
Oh, and lets avoid giving candy everyday... crafts are good too. Or baking/cooking something neat. And story time sounded fun, love the idea of reading with the kiddos!
The Final Plan
So now that you know everything I took into consideration for this, what did I finally decide on? I thought I would come up with an idea (maybe more than one) that can be incorporated into the evening/day. But as far as the historical/storytime part? That, I feel, should be a personal household thing. So do whatever you like with that :) Watch a movie, read a book, etc. and then unwrap a "gift" with one of these fun activities inside like:
Day 1: A Partridge in a Pear Tree: Play "Pin the Partridge on the Pear Tree", Make a recipe with pears (we liked poached pears but they aren't kid friendly :P)
Day 3: Three French Hens: Make Brinner! Breakfast for dinner. (eggs is the connection here, that and my husband is a fan of brinner so he wanted that in there)
Day 4: Four Calling Birds: Call four people you care about and tell them you love them.
Day 6: Six Geese a Laying: No Bake Peanut Butter Nests with oatmeal can be gluten free :)
Day 7: Seven Swans a Swimming: Make your own recipe for a tasty soup with seven ingredients.
Day 8: Eight Maids a Milking: Make your favorite milk shakes!
Day 9: Nine Ladies Dancing: Get down with your bad self! Pick nine songs together and do some dancing (to at least a few)
Day 10: Ten Lords a Leaping: Play some Leap Frog! Or have a contest to see who can jump the longest (my little brother would have loved this when we were kids!)
Day 11: Eleven Pipers Piping: Bust out the construction paper/cardboard tubes and make a flute (or upcycle some bottles to blow on)
Day 12: Twelve Drummers Drumming: Craft time again! Craft drums out of pots and pans, old cardboard containers, etc., make some Bread Sticks (drumstick inspired) for a snack.
What do you think? These are just ideas to get your creativity flowing and make for some more family time. If you're wondering why I am doing this post now and not after Christmas during the proper time frame, its because I like to be a little prepared for my holidays and this is a lot of shit to get together! Excuse my french (hen! hahahaha). And we will be traveling soon so I am trying to get ahead.
I am also thinking I don't have kids yet ;-) so for now I could have some adult beverages if I so desired. I saw a few ideas out there whilst googling ideas for this post. I want to try this one for sure, pretty creative.
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
Ingredients: Absolut Pear, lemon juice, caramel syrup, apple juice and thyme
I have been working all day on the food for tomorrow's big family meal. But what about breakfast?? As if I want to do more cooking right? Ok...maybe I am crazy... It's completely possible. But I think this breakfast is just good enough to make the day special and just easy enough to keep us all sane.
There are a couple of other recipes I have seen for cinnamon roll pancakes but what I really liked about this one was how she took the filling and made that fabulous swirl, just like the rolls. It tickles me fancy and so she wins.
I hope mine look that good tomorrow! /drool
I am making this gluten free AND easier on myself by doing a GF pancake box mix. win. (This recipe is also a win because I may have possibly gotten a little carried away and over poured on the brown sugar for my yams....ooopsy ... what to do with brown sugar that happens to have cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in with it.... hmmm....)
I am also adding some cooked apples on top (it just sounds yum and its kinda autumny yes?) and serving it with some bacon and apple cider. Have a great Thanksgiving all!
Here is the recipe from Recipe Girl:
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Yield: 4 servings (4 pancakes)
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 10 min
An absolutely decadent morning treat... Ingredients:
PANCAKES: 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 1 Tablespoon canola oil 1 large egg, lightly beaten
CINNAMON FILLING: 1/2 cup butter, melted 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).
2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.
3. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside.
4. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.
5. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake. Tips:
*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place! *It's best if you pour the batter onto your skillet, wait a minute or so and then swirl the cinnamon onto the batter. That'll give it a chance to set a little before you add the swirl. *If your baggie of filling begins to get too thick, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up again. On that same note, it shouldn't be too runny. The consistency of soft toothpaste is perfect. If it's melty and runny, it will tend to run all over your pancakes. Once you micro it, let it sit on the counter at room temp for a while until it thickens slightly.
Guess who just found out she WON something! Thats right, this gal. And for what? This recipe for Vegetarian Mango Chili in the crock pot. I didn't even have a picture for it! I enter linky parties on pretty rare occasion these days, I have just been so focused on getting balanced again. I am lucky if I get a blog post up. But when I saw The CSI Project was linking up crock pot recipes I took the time to link up and now I am all excited to be a winner. Check out the entry, give it a shot and let me know what you think! Its good chili weather out :) Oh and if you are interested in the other winners go here. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving everyone!
Going to a tea? Try this combo! It got a lot of compliments, much tastier than the cucumber on rye sort (which seem to be quite dry, honestly) Recipe is at the end!
Turkey, Brie and Apple Tea Sandwhiches
White Bread
Turkey (I used deli because I was on a budget but I think it would be more divine with higher quality)
Apples (I used green, for a bite :) but to each their own)
Brie
Honey
Mustard
Sour Cream
You're gonna hate me but I didn't measure. Sorry. I was in a HUGE hurry! I was really late AND other people were trying to use the kitchen. Which is tiny. It was pretty fantastic. Besides, if i told you the actual measurements you would be making enough for 30 people! If you ARE making it for that many then it took about a half loaf of bread, 2.5 apples, a log Brie which could have been less honestly, and a packages of turkey.
The Spread: I melted down the brie and then added honey and mustard to taste. To cut the brieness (because it was overwhelming the apple and turkey) I added the sour cream, gradually, which made a LOT more spread than needed, so obviously could have started with half the amount there. Yes, I used the rind because it was this baby brie log thing, it said you could just eat the rind. I dunno. I would have cut it.
