Calgon Take Me Away … A Holiday Gift Idea

Posted on December 9, 2010 by kitchenandkids

Escape! After my day, I need an escape!

It starts early with a little voice calling “Mama” from the other room, which when not answered immediately escalates into full-blown cries. Then it is followed by an hour-long process of getting the bigger kid out of bed so we can start school. Oh, and breakfast is the most important part of the day, so we have to have that. On to teaching my sweet, oh-so compliant (NOT) son on subjects such as math, science, history, language, reading, spelling – you get the point, all the while following after a very inquisitive toddler. And, I forgot to mention, during all of this I am cooking for clients and my family. How do I do it? Easy, I love it all! But, still at the end of the day I need a break!

My break is running to the bathroom and pampering myself with some Brown Sugar Body Scrub. The scrub is great to be hoarded for myself or to give away to others who need it. It is my favorite gift to give at the holidays.

Amazing Brown Sugar Body Scrub

As with cooking, grab all of your supplies before you begin in order to make things move along smoothly.

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil (may be substituted with vegetable oil)
1 tsp vitamin E
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp honey (optional – good for dry skin)

Mix the ingredients together.

And, voila you have Amazing Brown Sugar Body Scrub! Put it in a cute little jar and tie a ribbon on it and you have a great gift. My son’s voice teacher absolutely loved hers.

This scrub has many uses, so when thinking of whom to give it to, keep these in mind. One use is obvious and that is as a body scrub, another use is to keep it by your kitchen sink and use after a day of cooking or gardening, you could also use on your feet to soften them up, and my son says if you are desperate for something sweet to eat this could pass. He said it isn’t too bad, however, I don’t think I would recommend that use, you could surely find something tastier to eat.

Enjoy giving a gift your friends will surely love!


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On The Third Day of Christmas … Peppermint Bark

Posted on December 7, 2010 by kitchenandkids

Peppermint, peppermint, peppermint. I love peppermint. When I was pregnant with my daughter I taught 3rd grade and all of my students knew my affinity for peppermint, so at Christmas I received all things peppermint. I was ecstatic. I still love peppermint. In fact, every morning while I work on my blog and help my son with his school work I drink my peppermint coffee, if it is late at night and I am snuggling on the couch watching t.v. I drink my peppermint tea. So in honor of all things peppermint I bring you my peppermint bark, my favorite holiday treat.

Peppermint bark is probably one of the easiest treats to make. It takes a bit before you can enjoy it, simply because of the chilling time, other than that it takes no time at all to whip together.

With any chocolate candies you can use molds to make them into shapes, or spread them in a pan and break it apart when cooled. You will find that for my treats today I used a flat pan and I used mini-cookie cutters. The cookie cutters work just as well as the plastic molds you can buy, but they are more versatile.

Peppermint Bark

As usual, gather all of your ingredients, this will make your life a lot easier in the end.

1 bag Wilton’s White Chocolate Melts (you could use white chocolate chips)
1 bag Wilton’s Red Chocolate Melts (you could use semi sweet chocolate chips)
1 tsp peppermint extract (may increase/decrease based on desired taste)
1 box candy canes

1.) Prepare your pan with parchment paper – if using cookie cutters get those laid out, if using a cookie sheet spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.

2.) Place red chocolate in a microwave safe dish. Melt according to package directions – 1 minute at 50% power then stir, continue to microwave for 30 sec. intervals at 50% power until completely melted.

3.) Stir in peppermint extract.

4.) If using a mold or  cookie cutters, use a ziploc bag and fill with the melted chocolate, snip off an end and pipe the chocolate into the molds or cookie cutters. If using a pan, simply spread the chocolate evenly in pan.

5.) Tap the pan gently on the counter to remove air pockets. Then place in the refrigerator for about an hour.

6.) Crush all of the candy canes. I put them in my blender and crushed them, however, you could put them in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin.

7.) Melt the white chocolate as described in step 2, and either pipe or spread the chocolate, and tap the pan gently to remove air pockets.

8.) Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over your chocolate and lightly press into it.

9.) Refrigerate for an hour, then remove the chocolate from the molds or cookie cutters, and if you made it in a pan break the chocolate into chunks.

Not only are these extremely easy to make, if you wrap them in pretty tissue paper or put them in a nice tin they make great gifts.

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On The Second Day of Christmas… Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Posted on December 4, 2010 by kitchenandkids

Chocolate?? I don’t know what I think about that – I am an abnormal chocolate lover. I love milk chocolate that melts in your mouth and anything white chocolate, BUT I don’t like chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake or even chocolate cookies EXCEPT for these morsels of richness.

This morning my son came home from a sleepover and I couldn’t wait to show him the cookies. “They look nice, Mom,” he replied. I was really looking for something more exciting. Maybe a ‘Wow, those are awesome,’ but that was not the case. He then wanted to know how they tasted. “Rich, yummy, heavenly,” I exclaimed.

Okay, about these cookies. They are super simple to make and very pretty to look at it. They have a caramel center, which is my personal favorite, and a purely chocolate topping. A decadent delight for any holiday table.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

As I always say – gather all of your ingredients first, it will make the process a lot smoother.

1 pkg (16 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pkg (12 oz.) Rollo candies (or any chocolate covered chewy caramel candy)
3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
colored sprinkles

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper – I LOVE parchment paper.

2) Pull cookie dough out of fridge and let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

3) In a large bowl – break cookie dough apart a bit, add cocoa, powdered sugar and vanilla; mix with an electric mixer on medium until well blended. (At first it will appear crumbly, but after about 2 minutes it will become creamy.)

4) Form a ball with the dough and wrap it around the caramel candy.

5) Place the cookie balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

6) Bake 12 to 15 minutes – remove from oven, and put on wire racks to cool completely.

7) Melt 3/4 c. chocolate pieces in microwave for 1 minute, stir. Continue to microwave an additional 30 seconds until chocolate is completely melted.

8) Spoon a small amount of chocolate over each cookie. You can spoon a lot or a little dependent on how rich you would like it to be. Top the chocolate with sprinkles of your choice.

Yields about 18 cookies

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Memory Clips –

Posted on December 3, 2010 by kitchenandkids

Memories are like movies clicking through our heads, and every year I strive to make good movies for my kids to look back on. I remember things from my childhood fondly, and I want them to have those same things.

I remember Santa droppin’ in for a visit at my aunt’s house in Aline, Oklahoma (population 200). Another time I got Battleship on Christmas Eve and we played it, while tracking Santa on the TV. Once I got an ear infection – ick! One year  I just knew my older brother was going to build me a remote control airplane – instead he wrapped a crashed airplane for me. Talk about disappointment! However, seconds later he came in with a really cool remote control car he had built. (These are the ones from the hobby store, not Target.) Once year a thick layer of ice and snow covered the little town of Aline, Oklahoma, and we got out my Aunt Norma’s golf cart and drug each other through town on cardboard boxes.

All of those memories are priceless, and no matter how old I get I won’t forget them and I want moments like that for my kids. I want traditions. Below are a few things my family and I like to do throughout the next 22 days. No matter how things turn out we get some crazy memories.

  1. Build a gingerbread house.
  2. Go look at Christmas lights and get hot chocolate for the road. (Close to where I live there is a neighborhood that does the 12 Days of Christmas, Texas Style)
  3. Watch the movie Elf.
  4. Make cut-out sugar cookies.
  5. Go to the Christmas production at our church – this year it is an adaption of the Christmas Carol.
  6. Take the kids to see Santa, even though my oldest just watches his sister.
  7. Go to a little town near us that is considered the Christmas Capitol of Texas – they have beautiful lights, quaint stores, and carriage rides.
  8. Go ice skating.
  9. Do little crafts – make a birdseed wreath, make Christmas decorations, make our own presents for our family, etc…
  10. Spend Christmas Eve with our family, eating great food and playing games.

I would love to hear some of the things you and your family do through the season.

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On The First Day of Christmas… Oatmeal Fudge

Posted on December 2, 2010 by kitchenandkids

“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… Oatmeal Fudge” Okay, maybe I gave it to him.

I am starting my 12 Days of Christmas Goodies a little early. I was intending on counting down to Christmas with one a day until then, but decided you guys might enjoy making these yourself before Christmas. So, I will be posting 12 wonderful treats every other day or so until Christmas. I hope you enjoy these as much as my family will. I think after Christmas I will post the two months of salads, in order for us to restore our waistlines.

My first sampling is Oatmeal Fudge, which is by far my husbands favorite treat of all time, thus it being my first. It is simple, yet delicious, and with it being a no-bake it is a great one to get the kids to help with. My 11-year-old could easily make this without my assistance.

Oatmeal Fudge

As I state in all of my recipes – gather your ingredients first, it makes things so much easier.

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup peanut butter
3 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
3 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Melt your butter, combine in sugar and milk and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute and then remove from the heat.

Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed together. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment paper or a greased cookie sheet. Or, if you want to get fancy you can spray a silicon cookie mold with non-stick spray and fill with the oatmeal fudge. Put cookie sheet or molds into refrigerator to set up.

Enjoy!! And remember… the calories don’t count until AFTER Christmas~!

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O’ Christmas Tree, O’ Christmas Tree

Posted on December 1, 2010 by kitchenandkids

“It’s Falling!!!”

Is what my brother-in-law cried out on Friday night as we were putting up our Christmas tree. He was trying to get the lights going, my husband was frying up some burritos, and I was trying to keep a cute little toddler out from under the tree, which was a good thing, since the tree was going to come crashing down.

But, I threw the baby to the side (figuratively, not literally), climbed under the tree and found that the beautifully welded tree holder had lost its leg. I can honestly say a tree will not stay standing with two legs, it MUST have three. My husband pulled out the burritos, ran to the garage (making sure not to trip on said toddler), grabbed our tree holder for our 6 ft tree, prayed it would sustain a 9 ft tree, and proceeded to change out the holders. Yeah! It worked and I can say that five days later it is still standing.

I honestly believe that mayhem and confusion are part of the Christmas tradition. I mean, isn’t it Murphy’s Law – it is impossible to get the tree up without some delays.

That was definitely true this year. Besides having a leg fall off, it took 3 hours to get the lights working on this silly tree. Hopefully, next year it won’t take 1/2 as long. A new tree + a husband that doesn’t like to read directions = an extra long time for the lights. A new tree + a brother-in-law that reads directions = a quick fix.

Once our beautiful 9 ft tree was installed in a corner of our living room my son and his friend started the decorations. My husband loves themed trees, so the one in the living room has pretty blue and silver balls, snowflakes and beady like garland. (pictures to come, once I retrieve my camera from where I left it.) The one I will put in the middle of the hall way (where we have to crawl under it to get anywhere in the house) will have all the ornaments with the kids pictures on it and the ones we will make this next week.

If you have a young sweetheart that loves the decorations as much as mine does, I would highly recommend getting the shatterproof ornaments from Target. When the Little Miss gets a hold of these little gems they simply bounce across my hardwood floors. I personally think that is why she gets them off the tree – to have me chase her and then watch the pretty balls bounce.

Watch out for a blog to come on our home-made decorations. I will show you the difference from what a 19 month old will make and an 11-year-old. As much as my son likes doing those things, you might not see much difference.

(I tried to put up a picture of beautiful tree in all its glory, but I could not figure out how to make it stand up, not lay down. And, I do know how to use the photo editor, just not how to save my edits. Oh, well!)

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Scrumptious Baked Oatmeal

Posted on November 30, 2010 by kitchenandkids

The first time I heard “baked oatmeal” I had to stop and think about it. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, I couldn’t make an informed decision without trying it first – GOOD THING!!

It almost felt like I was eating dessert for breakfast, but with some really good things for you in it. It is a very hearty breakfast with some good brain food for the kiddos. It is important they get their protein in the morning and this oatmeal has at least 8 grams of protein.

The best part of baked oatmeal is that it is easy to put together, the leftovers can last a long time, and it smells great! In fact, I can smell it now as it is baking in my own oven. Nothing better on a chilly Texas morning.

Scrumptious Baked Oatmeal

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Step 2: Gather Ingredients

1  1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon (more or less depending on your likes)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup peanut butter

Step 3: Begin mixing up your ingredients.

Step 4: Butter a 8 x 8 pan, or a 7 x 9 pan.

Step 5: Spread mixture into pan.

Step 6: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes,  until it is golden brown.

Serve plain for a crumbly oatmeal, or with warm milk for a creamy oatmeal. Enjoy!!!!

For another wonderful breakfast idea check out Waffle Dogs – Huh?

 

This post is linked up at the sites below. Please go and check them out; you will find a lot of great recipes.

 Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop at WhoIsLaura.com Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays

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My Christmas Wish List

Posted on November 29, 2010 by kitchenandkids

I am very excited to share my Christmas Wish List with everyone, and to give you the opportunity to participate in the contest, as well. Enjoy!!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

My Christmas wish for my family is that we have a safe and memory making time. When all of our toys and gifts have gone by the wayside our memories will still be around. Every year I try to make sure that there are things that my kids will reflect fondly on when they are grown up.

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?

We spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at my parents house, and my mom is an early riser. So typically, I get up early with her and we sneak looks into our Christmas stockings, get a wonderful cup of coffee and wait for the kids to get up.

Ha! Not true! My mom and dad get up early and sneak around in a not so quite way wondering when the rest of us are going to get up. Eventually their rustling wakes me up, since I still like to sleep by the Christmas Tree, and THEN I get up and get my coffee and wait for my children and husband to join us. By then, we aren’t so quiet anymore. I guess it is because quiet really isn’t part of my nature.

We then enjoy opening gifts, playing with the toys, and getting food in the oven for our Christmas Dinner. Since I was pregnant with my daughter a few years ago, we have changed our dinner from turkey to prime rib. I did not like any poultry whatsoever, but I did love steak.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?

My practical wish would be for Santa to take one entire day and take care of the Little Miss and let me go do what I want. For example, sleep late, go to lunch with my girlfriends, go to the movies with those same friends, enjoy some Starbucks, etc… No dirty diapers, no dinnertime messiness, no bath time, etc…

Now, my lavish side would love an entire day at the Four Season’s Spa, complete with massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, and full-body wrap.

And lastly, my extravagant side would love a week-long vacation sans kids to a resort in Fiji.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

We love to go look at Christmas lights. One in particular is a neighborhood that does the Twelve Days of Christmas – Texas Style. We go see that one every year. When we go look at Christmas lights we have to have hot chocolate. In the past we drive through Starbucks, but this year I have perfected my homemade hot chocolate, so we will be enjoying that.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?

We would play Uno, Monopoly, Pit, and Battleship. Now that I am grown up we still like to play Uno. I think that is just a classic.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?

Having Christmas with my parents. I can’t seem to let that one go. It is going to be a hard day when we have to have Christmas at our house, since we have NEVER done that.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?

My husband would LOVE to go to New York for the holidays, but I think it would be great to go someplace with beautiful beaches and great temperatures.

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

The first and foremost would be –

And then this –

And then my latest addiction (which has made it hard to get my blog out on time.)

And, to be quite honest I could add a few more things to this list, but three is all that was asked for, so three is all I will give.

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It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like …

Posted on November 27, 2010 by kitchenandkids

Whoa! Is that my husband hanging from the roof?

Yep, it sure is. It is that time  of year again and I am getting my Christmas lights up! I love my Christmas lights. They aren’t anything fancy. No blow up snow globes in the front yard, no moving reindeer head, just plain white lights and little Christmas trees.

The funny thing is, no matter how minimal our lights are, it is still an all day event to get them up. We lay them out in the front yard trying desperately not to crush the tiny bulbs as we are checking their workability, which inevitably, my oh so sweet boy stands on one, two or a hundred as he is straightening them out. Which means – they now do not work! So after checking all 8 sections, I am sent to the store to get another 8 packages! I wonder why we don’t just start with new lights and forget the stringing them out? Probably because it wouldn’t be tradition then.

This year we get a new little helper. I wonder how many bulbs a toddler can break, eat, hide in a given day? I will let you know the final count later. I should probably wait until after Christmas and add in the Christmas tree lights, too. Last year, the Little Miss wasn’t moving, this year she is in constant motion. It should be fun!

After we have gotten the outside decorated, we will move inside! We will light a fire (I hope this Texas weather will allow for a fire.), put on Elf -the CD, pull out the decorations, put them on the tree, chase the baby to retrieve the decorations, put them back on the tree, admire our handiwork, have some home-made hot chocolate (recipe to follow.), and finish the evening watching Elf. It should be an eventful day.

bgvVbvBvB  jnhu 7 – This is what happens when I walk away from my blog for a few minutes. My future writer adds her two cents in. In a few years we may be able to understand her musings.

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Ten Things I Am Thankful For –

Posted on November 25, 2010 by kitchenandkids

1.) I am thankful for wonderful parents. They are the best I could have ever wished for and have been wonderful grandparents.

2.) I am thankful for my hardworking husband. I will be the first to admit things have not always been easy, but we always make it through. He is also a great father. His children adore him.

3.) I am thankful to my two wonderful children. I have the most talented, handsomest smart young man a mom could ever want. I am proud of his accomplishments academically. as well as musically. I also have the cutest, most precocious toddler a mom could ever dream of. She keeps me dancing!

4.) I am thankful for our health. When things seem dreary, I think of those that are suffering. We have our health.

5.) I am thankful to the leaps and bounds being made in cancer research. If it wasn’t for the dedicated doctors and research I might very well not still have my Daddy, who had lung cancer 6 years ago, but is cancer free today! They have also been instrumental in helping my brother overcome two bouts of cancer and give him great odds. His family needs him for a very long time.

6.) I am thankful that I have my freedom – freedom of worship. The freedom to go to church, the freedom to worship God. The freedom to choose. The freedom to speak. The freedom to raise my kids. I could go on and on.

7.) I am thankful that I have a way to earn money, and it is something I like doing. So many people don’t like the jobs they have and it makes going to work a drudge.

8.) I am thankful for friendship – I think without friends life would be very dull.

9.) I am thankful to have a beautiful home with a soft bed and lots of food. There are many out there who don’t have those things.

10.) I am thankful for life!!!!

What are you thankful for?

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