New Years Resolutions

I don't have Resolutions photo so you get a kitten.
A kitten staring into the light of the great unknown world ahead. ..Oooo Nice tie in!
I'm gonna pretend that was on purpose. Yay for new beginnings!

January is almost gone, how are those resolutions working out for you? I am weird about resolutions, i tend to make them all the time. I am a very resolute person :P but I can see the benefit of January, can't you? The binge eating, the massive influx of social pressures and the loss of time to just balance your life in general. Utter chaos has reigned, finally culminating in an late or may be all-nighter of typically over-board bad choices.  Ta da! The year is new, you're a sack of toxins and ready to cleanse! Or something like that. Mostly, it's time to scale it back a bit, get some order in the daily life. Ironically, we do this by making promises to ourselves we likely can't keep. It's the endorphins kicking in. NEW!!!! YAY!!!!!

I am not saying I didn't make resolutions, but I kinda made them back in November. Still, i cut myself some slack for the holidays. There is no way anyone thinks a diet is going to work then. Maybe crazy people. And this is the first time I have gone on a "weight loss" diet. I have made healthy changes before, cleansed, gone off gluten and sugar and those sorts of things but that was because it was kinda killing me not  to do that. This is because I have gained fat LOL like I am technically 50 pounds over weight.

*Brief Random Rant*

Does anyone else think that BMI's need to be punched in the face? Because it says I should be 155 and there is no way that is happening. I was that on a good day in high school! When I was 165 people didn't know where I would lose the weight from. I'd look anorexic. So yeah. We are going to just ignore the BMI thing.

*Brief Random Rant Ended*

I'll tell you what I do like though. Weight Watchers. Yeah, Jennifer Hudson sold me. It's the last name. WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON!!!! Actually, my brother and sister-in-law did it and really liked it so I thought I'd give it a shot. I am on week three and have no complaints, in fact I am really loving it. See, when we moved up here, the veggie were so...different...ie not as yummy...that I stopped eating them. And that didn't help the weight I had already put on but it also just developed this bad habit of not eating veggies and fruit. One of the things that has just taken off for me is that. Something about them being zero points, its like I can eat them forever and it won't matter! I polished off a Costco bag of sugar snap peas in 2 days. yeah. for realz. It's so much better. I have lost (wait for it) 1/2 a pound. meh. BUT my waist has gone down 2 inches so something is happening. And I feel better, like a lot. So that makes me happy. And my brother says its a slow start sort of thing, so don't get discouraged.

I have also been working out. Last year my husband agreed to let me invest in a Wii Fit. We didn't even have a Wii and we are kinda not rich but we got a good set up used. Its one of those "invest in your health" decisions. Then the TV broke and we had to get a new one of those too. BAH! So this all started back in October and it wasn't until January that I even got around to using it for more that 10 min at a time. Now I have been making sure I hit 30 min and am working up to more. It's good to feel the body getting stronger again.

And now the third one. Taking a time out. I like this one the most I think but it's going to be hard to stick to. Still. I think it will be worth it. I hope your resolutions are going as well!

Blackberry Poached Pears

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!).

Nostalgia: Christmas Five Whole Years Ago

I have been working on deleting old stuff from my computer/backing up stuff. I found these photos from 2006, when we (my parents, my brother and I) went to visit my other brother and his family in Georgia. The first grandbaby had come into the world that year and we got to meet her :) We stayed up all night playing video games and had a cookie decorating party. The three of us siblings have not had another Christmas together since (but don't cry, we have gotten to be together since!) So here's my brief trip down memory lane.... 

Simple Christmas Cards

I forgot to take pictures of my pretty cards that I made this year. Bummer yo.

So I reopened a couple of cards and took a pic any way :) hahahaha oh well! The tree is my favorite.

Christmas Wreath

Like my new pretty? :) This is all either thrift store, something I had already or dollar store. I am pretty happy with it! It took a little while with the letting things dry bit but other than that, really easy to do.

Slice a strip of fabric

Glue fabric to the wreath

Glitter!!

Let dry

Making the bow;

Bells from the Dollar Store

Thread the bells down some ribbon, knotting the ribbon where you want the bells to stay

Glue ornament to the top

Using the light green puff paint...

Let dry... again...

Hang up and think happy Christmassy thoughts!

Yam Casserole (in the crock pot)

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   

The 12 Days of Christmas: Games, Crafts and Food To Do Together

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 2: Two Turtle Doves: Make/bake a "turtle" recipe together (like Chocolate Turtle Brownie Sundaes)


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 5: Five Golden Rings: Have Ring Pops for treats, play a ring toss game, make a golden ring of caramel pull apart bread (YUM! great idea Where Its Green!)


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

Thanksgiving Breakfast Menu: Apple Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

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. 

Especially me. 

This recipe comes right from this recipe by Recipe Girl, which I saw on Pinterest. 

Oh man how can you NOT eat that???

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

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:

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.

Labor Day Boil

Happy Labor Day everyone :) We are celebrating by doing a whole lot of nothing! Ok well I did cook...Wanna know what I made?

Check out this Low Country Boil by Scissors & Spatulas. Oh my gosh, right?? I made it once before and we all really enjoyed it. So today my relatives (some of the MANY) are in town and I felt like BBQing actually but we don't have one SO i felt like this was a great summer time meal without the necessity of a grill. I figured since I have made it twice now, I ought to let others know about its tasty goodness, right?

Since my decision was so last minute, as is often typical, I found I didn't have time to drive 30 min to get the nifty crab boil season packet thing. BUT I do have these muslin spice bags that I can throw my own mixes into (they're reusable btw, so handy to have around!). So i did a quick google and found this recipe for Old Bay Seasoning (Thanks Emeril!), mixed it up and put a couple tablespoons of it into the pot to boil. Worked like a charm and had the same yummy flavor of the kind I bought. Win.

Ingredients

Emeril's Homemade Bay Seasoning:

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 finely ground bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

Directions

In a large bowl, combine chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, bay leaves,oregano, salt, sugar, dry mustard, thyme, black pepper, white pepper, and coriander seed and set aside.

Long Distance Birthday Cake

It's my birthday!!! Yay for 30 years of life. It's not so bad as I thought. I have been thinking about turning 30 for two years, not even kidding. It has been so bad that i started saying i was 30 even when i wasn't. But now I will be right! that's a load off.

We recently moved a state away from our families (well the parents and some siblings) and so this is the first birthday away in a long while. I have to give it to my inlaws, they are "gifters." IIIIIIII am NOT. My family hasn't done gifts for about five years, basically the coming of the first grandchild. We all agreed we didn't have enough money to get everyone gifts for the holidays so gifts for the kids was ok but nothing more than well-wishes was expected. So guess who has really sucked at this whole long distance gifting thing? ME. But I am determined to learn a "new language" so to speak and become a gifter. Hopefully in time for the holidays. 

All this to say: ISN'T THIS CUTE?!?

They sent me a birthday cake! Well, they sent me everything to make it :) including the gluten free cake mix! NOM. The candles came from Grandma, along with an apron and oven mit. The mix and frosting were inside the pan (still not sure how they did that AND kept the paper on the outside, still glued to the pan. Magic.) and it was just all very fun :) If you read this: THANKS BUNCHES!!

I got other gifts and well wishes of course (yellow Chuck Taylors from my hubby TOTALLY made my day!!) but i thought this was the kind of creative idea others could find handy for their long distance loved ones. Have a great day!