New Year's Peppermint Bark

Photo Credit: Nestle Toll House

Each year on New Year’s Eve, we gather up all of the leftover candy canes that we collected over the Christmas season to make Peppermint Bark. None of us really care to indulge on plain old candy canes, so this is a good way to ensure that they do not go to waste. This year I didn't even buy candy canes for our tree and I still had enough from the gifts that we received and the treat bags from school to make a batch of our traditional New Year’s treat. My oldest is especially pleased with Peppermint Bark so she never lets me forget to make it!

Peppermint Bark

12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips

½ cup crushed leftover candy canes or peppermint candies, divided

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside. Add white chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat until chips are melted and the consistency is smooth. Stir in all but 2 Tbsp. crushed candy. Spread onto prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining candies. Refrigerate until hard. Break into shards and serve.

This recipe has been adapted from the one found here.

Merry Christmas!

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the new born King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Written by: Charles Wesley

Christmas Dinner Menu

We will be celebrating Christmas at home this year. My parents will be with us and we are all looking forward to our time together. I hate to have to spend my day in the kitchen though, so I like to have most of my food made ahead of time. Getting the bulk of the cooking done in advance allows me to enjoy the day with family opening gifts and having fun together. This year we will be eating spiral sliced ham and the following sides:

Green Beans

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Quick Yeast Rolls

And, let's not forget dessert!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

What will you be serving this year? 

Sweet & Salty Popcorn

Photo Credit - Popcornopolis

Growing up, my mom made lots of stove top popcorn. She served it with real butter and salt. However, I have never been much of a regular popcorn lover. But, when I tried Sweet & Salty Popcorn (or kettle corn) for the first time, I fell in love with it. There is something about that touch of sweetness that transforms regular popcorn into an entirely different snack for me.

Lately, I have been making this Sweet & Salty Popcorn quite a bit. Three times in the last week to be exact! Although this is perfectly good plain, we have found that we also really like to flavor it with cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or cocoa powder.  All flavors are gobbled up at my house, but my favorite is the pumpkin pie spice.  If you can’t get everyone to agree on a single flavor, each person can season their own portion to taste.

Sweet & Salty Popcorn

¼ cup butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

¼ cup white sugar

½ cup popcorn kernels

1 tsp. salt

Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or cocoa powder (optional)

In a large pot, melt butter and olive oil together over medium high heat. Add sugar and heat until it just begins to brown, stirring constantly. Add popcorn and stir. Cover and continue to cook until all of the popcorn has popped, occasionally shaking the pan to keep it from scorching. Remove from the heat, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with salt and additional seasonings, if desired. Yeild: 8 cups popcorn.

Homemade Peppermint Mocha Creamer

Photo Credit: Coffee-Mate

I hung out with some friends last weekend and they offered me some Peppermint Mocha Creamer for my coffee. I loved it! When I got home, I got to thinking about it and wondered if I could make it homemade.  The recipe below is what I came up with.

Because I usually just use half and half in my coffee, this seems so decadent to me. And what a great treat for Christmas. I served a cup of coffee to my neighbor yesterday and she really liked it too. Now I’m thinking that I would like to try to make other flavors!

Peppermint Mocha Creamer

1 ¾ cup milk

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

½ tsp. peppermint extract

Measure milk into a quart sized Mason jar. Microwave the milk on high for 90 seconds. Add cocoa powder, cover jar and shake to dissolve. Add the sweetened condensed milk and peppermint extract. Cover and shake to combine. Store in the refrigerator and shake before serving with coffee.

Easiest Mac and Cheese

Photo Credit - Kraft

Macaroni and Cheese is a staple at our house. But, my kids have never been too excited about the kind that comes in the little blue box. Instead, I have always made stove top macaroni and cheese by melting butter, adding flour, and finally stirring in milk and cheese. Nothing fancy. But this recipe is so much simpler, and my kids have asked that I switch to this recipe permanently. And, with only three ingredients (macaroni, cheddar cheese, and sour cream), you will hear no complaints from me!

I've made this recipe several times now and I have used cubed cheese as called for in the recipe and grated cheese. Both work great. I have also skipped the baking part and just stirred it up on top of the stove and it has also turned out beautifully. I have even used different shaped pasta, and all of it has been good. I would imagine that if you liked a cracker or bread crumb crust on top that you could add that too.

I found this recipe on Jessica's blog called Life As Mom. So, be sure to check out Life As Mom for all kinds of fun info on recipes, budgeting, child care, and family life.

Blog Link: Life As Mom

Recipe Link: Easiest Mac and Cheese

Maple Granola

We always have a batch of granola in the pantry. It is our standby breakfast when I just can’t get motivated to get up in time to prepare anything else. It is my oldest daughter’s favorite late night snack. And, it is my youngest daughter’s best loved topping for yogurt. In the past, I have told you about two other recipes for granola that we enjoy:

Homemade Granola

Peanut Butter Granola

A couple of weeks ago I made Maple Granola for the first time. It is nowhere near as sweet as the Homemade Granola and the maple flavor is very mild. This is a loose granola without clusters.  It is also a much simpler recipe to prepare having only two ingredients and only needing to stir them together before baking. The one drawback to this recipe though is that maple syrup can be pricey.  However, a batch of this Maple Granola is still considerably cheaper than purchasing it pre-made at the grocery store.

Maple Granola

10 cups old fashioned oats

1 ¼ cup real maple syrup

In a large baking pan, add oats. Drizzle with some of the syrup and stir. Repeat until all of the oats have been evenly coated. Bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Recipe Tip: I like to use my roasting pan to make granola. The high sides keep it from spilling out when  I stir it while baking.

Christmas Blessings

The Christmas season has begun. Over the weekend, I attended my first holiday party and I spent hours decorating my home. This week I plan to trim my tree and I am hosting a holiday party of my own. I even received my first Christmas card in the mail yesterday. Although this Christmas will be very different at my house, I know that I am still blessed.

I am blessed by new friends to share Christmas treats with.

Homemade Fudge

I am blessed by dependable neighbors to keep me company and to swap holiday food gift ideas with.

White Chocolate Orange Crunch

I am blessed by old friends who have continued to love on me and my family when times have been tough. I am especially thankful today for my friend Laurel, who lives in Germany. She sent my kids Chocolate Advent Calendars like the one pictured below to celebrate the season.

Christmas Advent Calendar

What have you been blessed with this Christmas season?