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?

Strawberry Oatmeal

My kids love fruit flavored instant oatmeal packets. And, while traveling over Thanksgiving, we ate the instant oatmeal available at our hotel for breakfast. But, I never buy it. Normally I make the Overnight Oatmeal or Chocolate Oatmeal recipes that I have shared with you in the past. However, about a month ago, my son asked if I could come up with a homemade version of Strawberry Oatmeal. The problem though, was that he wanted the flavor of the instant oatmeal, not the flavor of real strawberries. So, I experimented a bit and came up with the recipe below.

My son is very pleased. However, he prefers that I make it up fresh instead of soaking the oats overnight. My kids have always eaten oatmeal without much of a fuss, but now they are asking me to make this all the time. I’m thinking that it might be a good idea to test out some other flavored extracts!

  

Strawberry Oatmeal

2 cups old fashioned oats

¼ cups sugar (white or raw)

1 tsp. strawberry extract

1 cup milk

1 cup water

Stir together all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, if desired. To serve, microwave, uncovered, on high for 4-6 minutes, or until heated through. Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe note: I have found that the strength of the extract can vary according to brand, so you may need to add more or less extract depending on the strength of your brand.

Leftover Turkey Strata

Photo Credit

I have a love/hate relationship with leftovers. On one hand, it is nice to have a night off from cooking. On the other hand, I don’t care for eating the same meal two nights in a row. I do love investment cooking though. And, this is one of those recipes that recreates leftovers into something completely different. So, if you are tired of trying to eat up that leftover Thanksgiving turkey, you may enjoy this for a change.

When I made this the other day, I used some stale Asiago cheese artisan bread instead of the French bread. I have to say, that it tasted fantastic!

Turkey Strata

3 cups leftover French bread, cubed

3/4 cup chopped leftover turkey or chicken

1 small can diced green chilies

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp. mustard

Layer half of the bread, turkey, chilies, and cheese in a small casserole dish or pie pan. Repeat layers. Whisk together eggs, milk, and mustard. Pour over layered casserole. Bake at 325˚ for 45 minutes, or until browned. Serves 4.

This recipe can be made up early in the day or the night before and refrigerated until ready to bake. Or, it can be doubled easily and baked in a 9X13 pan to serve more people.

This post has been linked to Frugal Tuesday Tip.

Warm Winter Drinks

With the cooler weather, I have been craving warm drinks like coffee, tea, and hot cocoa. So, this weekend I made my kids super happy by making up a batch of Decadent Hot Cocoa Mix, which we drank with Chocolate Chip Muffins for breakfast on Saturday morning.

 Decadent Hot Cocoa Mix

But, my son’s favorite warm drink is Hot Cinnamon Milk, so I made up a batch of that mix too and we enjoyed it with Sweet Potato Muffins on Sunday morning.

 Hot Cinnamon Milk Mix

Both of these warm drink mixes take only minutes to make and are perfect for frugal Holiday gift giving.

This post has been linked to Frugal Tuesday Tip.

English Muffin Bread

Photo Credit - Money Saving Mom

It has been close to six months since I have made homemade sandwich bread, and my son especially misses it. Typically I make Multigrain Sandwich Bread, but yesterday I decided to try something new. I saw this recipe for a no knead English Muffin Bread on Crystal’s blog called Money Saving Mom back in June. And, I am happy to say that it was super simple and delicious! 

I am not exactly sure why this bread is called English Muffin Bread. It neither had the texture of English muffins, nor the taste of them. But, I am definitely not holding that against it because we all loved it. Although the recipe called for all purpose flour, I substituted two cups of white whole wheat flour for part of it because I did not have enough all purpose flour on hand. I also baked it in three, one pound loaf pans instead of in two larger loaf pans so that I could give a loaf to my neighbor. But, it turned out beautifully even with these changes.

Crystal, at Money Saving Mom, has lots of money saving tips, frugal recipes, and coupon advice. So be sure to check out her blog below:

Blog Link: Money Saving Mom

Recipe Link: English Muffin Bread

Cocoa Cinnamon Spread

This is a decadent indulgence that perks up boring old breakfast toast. My little one even went through a phase a couple of years ago when she just HAD to have this spread for lunch every day. Last week we ate this on some leftover Quick Yeast Rolls and when the rolls were gone, we spread the last of it on crackers.

This would make a nice gift in a jar. Either the dry ingredients could be packed in a jar with instructions to mix up the spread, or the completed recipe could be packed into a jar and given along with some fresh bread. Once prepared, this will keep on your counter for about 5 days, but if you think that it will hang around longer than that at your house, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Cocoa Cinnamon Spread

1 cup powdered sugar

1 ½ tsp. cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

1 stick butter, softened

Measure all ingredients into a bowl and thoroughly blend, using a fork until smooth. Spread on toast, bagels, or pancakes.

Milk Shakes

Last summer I told you about my love for the blender and the Chocolate Milk Shakes that my son adores. Even though the weather has turned cool here in North Carolina, we have continued to make lots of Milk Shakes this Fall. The new favorite with all three of my kids is strawberry, but we have enjoyed vanilla and peanut butter shakes too.

While at the grocery store last week, I looked at all of the different extracts on the baking aisle and thought I might try raspberry next.

Basic Milk Shakes

2 cups whole milk

½ cup powdered sugar

2 cups ice

Plus ingredients for one of the flavor variations below

Flavor Variations:

For Chocolate: Add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For Vanilla: Add 2 tsp vanilla extract

For Strawberry: Add 1 Tbsp. strawberry extract

For Peanut Butter: Add 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until the ice is broken and everything is thoroughly mixed. Yield: 4-5 servings

Recipe Note: Definitely use whole milk for this recipe. It needs the fat for the best flavor.