Pecan Cinnamon Ring

I'm not sure how this recipe hasn't made it on the blog yet.  This is what Ricky's family made every Christmas morning for breakfast.  Emerson and Finlay like to make it for Ricky on his birthday and Father's Day too.

1/2 cup (or more) chopped pecans
18 frozen dinner rolls (Rhodes rolls or similar)
1 small (3.5oz) package cook-to-serve butterscotch pudding (do NOT get instant)
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• Grease bottom and sides of bundt pan.
• Sprinkle nuts evenly on the bottom of the pan.
• Place the frozen rolls on the nuts and sprinkle the dry pudding on the top.
• Melt the butter and combine it with the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Pour over the top of the rolls.
• Set the bundt pan out over night or for 6-8 hours.  I usually put it on top of a cookie sheet in case anything spills over during rising or baking.
• Bake at 350 for 25-30 minute.
• Tip out on large platter (or the cookie sheet) immediatly.

Sugar Cookies

When Ricky was out of towns the boys needed a project. We made these sugar cookies. I can usually resist sugar cookies, but these were so yummy I just couldn't resist eating way too many of them. They even taste great right out of the freezer.

1-1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Cover and chill dough for at least one hour (the longer the better though). I added red food coloring to make the cookies fun for Valentine's Day.
2. Preheat oven to 400. Roll out dough on floured surface (roll to about 1/2-inch thick). Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes. Put cookies on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 6-8 minutes. Cool and frost with favorite frosting. I love cream cheese frostings on sugar cookies.

Cranberry Brie en Croute

This appetizer is so delicious. We served it on Christmas Eve.

1/2 package Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1/3 cup dried cranberries, softened (Mix dried cranberries and 1/2 cup hot water in bowl. Let stand 1 minute. Drain and pat dry.)

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

1 (13.2-oz) round brie cheese

crackers

Let pastry sheet thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400. Mix egg and water. Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll into 14-inch square. Cut off corners to make a circle. Spread apricot preserves to within 1-inch of pastry edge. Sprinkle cranberries and almonds over preserves. Top with cheese. Brush edge of circle with egg mixture. Fold two opposite sides over cheese. Trim remaining two sides to within 2-inches from edge of cheese. Fold these two sides onto the round. Press edges to seal. Place seam down on baking sheet. Decorate top with pastry scraps if desired. Brush with egg mixture. Bake 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand 1 hour. Serve with crackers.

Christmas for Toddlers: Mary

Today we focused on Mary. The main message we wanted to get across is that Mary is Jesus' mother. We talked about who their mother is, who mommy's mom is, who daddy's mom is, and who Jesus' mom is. We also talked about Mary's attributes (she is kind, faithful, etc).

Christmas for Toddlers: Family Ornaments

One fun activity you can do with toddlers at Christmas time is buy an ornament kit from Michael's. They sell sets of 4 wooden ornaments with 4 colored markers and 2 glitter glue pens for around $2. The whole family can have a fun evening decorating the ornaments, letting them dry and hanging them on the tree. Our boys love finding the ornaments they made hanging on the tree.

Christmas for Todders: Jesus was Born in Bethlehem

Teaching toddlers about Christmas and why Christ's birth is so important can be a difficult task. This year I will share some of the simple things we are doing to celebrate Christmas and teach our boys about Jesus during Decemeber. Each idea is really simple and can be used as a theme for the day. Today the theme is - Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It doesn't seem like much, but it is important. Over breakfast we talked about where we were all born. (For example, a cousin was just born in Viriginia. Grandpa was a baby in Idaho, etc.) Then we taught them that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We also went and looked at our beds. We talked about how nice our beds are, and then learned the song Away in a Manger. We told them Jesus didn't have a bed. He had to lay down in the hay.

Pumpkin Trifle

We made this for Thanksgiving dessert.

1 package (14.5-oz) gingerbread cake mix and ingredients to make cake (we like the whole wheat mixes)
4 cups cold fat-free milk
2 packages (3.4-oz each) instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 can (15-oz) pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 container frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Make the gingerbread cake according to directions on package.
2. After the gingerbread is cooked. Let it cool completely. When it is cool, crumble the cake. Save 1/4 cup of crumbs for garnish.
3. Whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand an additional 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and spices until well blended.
4. In a trifle bowl layer a fourth of the cake crumbs, half the pumpkin mixture, a fourth of the crumbs and half of the whipped cream. Repeat layers. Garnish the top with reserved crumbs.
5. Can be served immediately or refrigerated. We let it sit overnight.

How to Use a Pumpkin

I love fall and the fun and flavors that come with it. I especially love pumpkins. Here are some ways to get the most use out of your pumpkins. First - use them as chairs for your children. My boys loved to sit on their pumpkins while they read books or played. They sat on the pumpkins for weeks before we actually used them
Second - make dinner in a pumpkin. This is a fun Halloween or fall recipe to try.

Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 small to medium pumpkin (we used a large pumpkin and just increased the cooking time)
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 (4-0z) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (10 3/4-oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 (8-oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

Cut off the top of the pumpkin and throughly clean out seeds and pulp. Save the seeds for later. Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, saute onions in oil until tender. Add meat and brown. Drain fat. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, and soup. Simmer 1o minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into the cleaned pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin on baking sheet. Bake 1 hour or until pumpkin meat is tender. Remove pumpkin lid and serve meal.

Third - roast the seeds. Even the little boys liked to snack on these.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
seeds from 1 pumpkin
1 Tbsp butter per cup of seeds
salt to taste

Wash seeds thoroughly in a colander and put on paper towels to dry. Place them in a skillet with butter and salt. Cook and stir until all seeds are well coated with butter. Bake in a shallow pan for 30-45 minutes in a 250 degree oven.

Fourth - Make pumpkin doughnuts using the cooked pumpkin flesh (puree it first). These doughnuts are easier to make and we think tastier than regular doughnuts.

Pumpkin Doughnuts
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
vegetable oil for frying

Combine the eggs and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Combine the pumpkin, buttermilk, and oil. Beat into the egg mixture. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. When well mixed, refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. The dough will be very soft and wet. Turn the dough onto a WELL-floured sufate, roll to a thickness of 1/2-inch, and cut with a doughnut or cookie cutter into rings. Pour the vegetable oil into a heavy skillet to a depth of about 4 inches. Heat the oil until it reaches 375. Use a candy thermometer. Using a spatula, ease the doughnuts two at a time into the hot oil. When one side is golden and the doughnuts float to the surface, turn with a spatula. When golden on both sides, take the doughnuts out of oil and place on paper towels. Coat with cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar.


Fifth - puree the rest of the cooked pumpkin and freeze to use later on. We look forward to using the rest of our pumpkin in breads, cookies, and pies!

Leprechaun Pizza and St. Patrick Parfaits

I love holidays and the color green so of course we had to have a fun St. Patrick's Day dinner. All four of us gobbled it up.

Leprechaun Pizza

1 tube jumbo biscuits

1 cup alfredo sauce (colored green with food coloring)

mozzarella cheese

broccoli (cooked)

bacon bits

cheddar cheese

parsley

These are so easy. Just flatten the biscuits (flat enough that you can barely get 8 to fit on a cookie sheet). Spoon Alfredo sauce onto each biscuit. Cover the sauce with mozzarella cheese - however much you like. Sprinkle the cheese with bacon bits. Place a few pieces of broccoli on each biscuit. Sprinkle broccoli with cheddar cheese and parsley. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until biscuits are done.

We served the pizza along with Shamrock spears (green beans) and St. Patrick Parfaits. The parfaits were just crushed Graham crackers and pistachio pudding with coconut and pecans on top.