Our Christmas

Since it's almost the New Year and everything, I figured that I should probably do a quick post about the Christmas celebration that Darrell and I had. Even though we had a crazy busy holiday season of two immediate family celebrations (one still this weekend yet!) and four extended family celebrations, we always like to take a little bit of time to celebrate the holiday or special occasion just the two of us. Even if we end up having to celebrate Christmas on December 21st.

Per usual, we celebrated Christmas this year with two of our favorites: good food and a bottle of wine. And since I have a husband who is a fantastic cook, we didn't even have to leave the house to find the good food!

Way back in August I bought of bottle of French wine and insisted that we needed to cook an "authentic" French meal to go with it. Well, with our busy fall we never got around to dabbling in new recipes, so I sent my sight on making a French dinner for Christmas. While I don't know how authentic anything was, it sure was tasty. We had steak au poivre, homemade French bread with olive oil for dipping, a spinach salad, and of course, the wine. I do have better recipes and reviews to share, but as I alluded to earlier, we have one last Christmas celebration (my immediate family) and the three-day extravaganza starts tonight. Yes, that's right. Three days. All evening tonight, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. I love my family and all but seriously.... Thank goodness there'll be wine.

Merry (Belated!) Christmas

Whelp, I really hadn't meant to take such a hiatus over Christmas, but first we were out of town to celebrate with Darrell's family, and then it just seemed like it was one thing after the other once we got back in town. But, I'm back now--just in time for the New Year!

The highlight of our trip to NC/GA was, of course, spending time with all of Darrell's family, but especially with our super cute nephew John. He just turned three over Thanksgiving, and although we haven't seen him since June, his mom used photos to "prep" him, so right away he recognized and warmed up to us. He had even learned our names, although he was much better at saying Jess than he was Darrell (not that I'm bragging or anything...)

Anyway, here are some photos from Christmas morning; even though I had my camera the whole four days we were down there I managed to take pictures only one time! Whoops!

It's a matching game with trucks and trains! And next year we are going to take a page out of Grandmom and Granddad's book and have the game all ready to go as soon as he opens it--he was not impressed by the amount of time it took us to punch out all of the cards

Granddad helping John learn the ropes on his new Mobigo

Uncle Darrell and John practicing a few levels

John helping Aunt Jess after she gets stuck on a level (you think I'm kidding...)

The other big highlight of our trip?!?! Learning that Darrell's sister Kim (mother to John), is due to have another boy in April! We've known about the pregnancy for a few months, but they just recently found out the sex at the beginning of December and kept it a secret until we all got together at Christmas. Super excited for her and the family and can't wait to meet baby this spring/summer!

Pretzel Candies

Well, Christmas weekend has officially arrived, so hopefully you already have your snacks and sweets ready for the holidays. But that's okay if you don't, because I've got you covered with one of the easiest snacks ever. The most time-consuming (and tedious) part of this recipe is unwrapping the chocolates. No joke. It's even a great one to make once the family is in town (or with the kids), because, well, more hands to help unwrap! Just be prepared to lose a few chocolates on the way (which may or may not happen even when it's a 26-year-old adult doing the prep....) Enjoy!

Pretzel Candies


1 bag mini twisted pretzels
A package or two of Rolos or Kisses, depending on how many you want to make
Small candies, marshmallows or nuts to top

Preheat oven to 350*. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Cover with one layer of pretzels. Place an unwrapped chocolate piece on each pretzel. Place in oven and cook for one or two minutes, until chocolate is soft but not melted. Top with desired candy. Cool and serve.

And another bonus about this recipe? They travel insanely well. Once they have fully cooled, you can pack them into whatever container you have on hand, and as long as it's reasonably full so they don't shake around too much, they should arrive at your destination fully intact. Nothing says Merry Christmas like a home-made treat arriving in the mail!

Chili Cheese Dip

I figured that I should probably throw at least one non-sweet recipe just in case not everyone has my same sweet tooth. And sadly, I don't actually have a picture for this recipe; by the time I remembered to take one the crock-pot had been pretty well scraped clean. Which I suppose isn't something to complain too much about :-)

I will definitely be making this dip again, though, so look for me to update it with a picture soon!

Chili Cheese Dip


8 oz block cream cheese
8 to 12 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
15 oz can Hormel chili (with or without beans depending on your preference)

Layer ingredients in a crock pot and heat until melted (it took about an hour and a half on high), stirring occasionally. Once melted, keep warm and serve with tortilla chips.

I actually doubled the recipe for one of our Christmas celebrations, and it still got polished off (with about 15 people eating it), so keep that in mind if you are preparing this for a crowd. And be prepared to share the recipe as well--people will be so shocked when you tell them how simple it is that they'll want to make the recipe for all their own get-togethers!

Day Two of the Weekend Extravaganza

Well, iPhoto is back on my good side, so before Christmas actually passes us by I thought I'd briefly interrupt my series of treats and recap the second day of our crazy weekend. Saturday was a Christmas/Birthday/Wedding celebration with my dad's side of the family, and Sunday was more of the same with my mom's side of the family. The only thing missing was the wedding! Both of my mom's parents have birthdays close to Christmas so we always celebrate the events simultaneously. And this year was an extra special year because my grandma was turning ninety (and my grandpa was turning ninety-two, which is equally impressive).

The birthday pair with my family

In honor of my grandma's milestone birthday we put on a little performance for the other residents of the nursing home, which included some caroling and a live re-enactment of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". I (intentionally) don't have any pictures of the performance, but we'll just say Darrell and I representing the Lords-a-Leaping and Ladies Dancing with flying colors. Some of the other cousins sang and played the piano and performed other various talents. Since Darrell and I aren't very musical or otherwise talented we put our strengths together and did a little examination of inflation (did you know that postage for a first-class stamp only cost two cents in 1921?). Amazingly, we found that despite all the price increases, my grandma's bloodline has increased at a greater rate. Pretty cool!

Didn't my husband put together an awesome poster?  

We have two more extended family Christmases, plus two immediate family Christmases, left to celebrate, so we're looking forward to lots more fun and frivolity to be had with family!

Cherry Bing Bars

Still deciding what to make for your holiday guests (or just to satisfy your own sweet tooth)? This is a great recipe that tastes every bit as good as it looks, plus the bars keep well so you can always make them a few days in advance and no one will ever know that you weren't slaving away until the last minute. I've seen this treat on many a holiday platter, but for whatever reason the taste always seems a bit off from the recipe I make. I'm sure everyone has their favorites, but the biggest compliment I can give to this particular recipe is that Darrell won't eat this sweet off any holiday tray unless it's mine because from the other variations he's tried he's convinced that I'm the only one who does this recipe "right". Granted, he's also the one that has to go home with me at the end of the night so he might just be acting sweet (ha, no pun intended), but if I'm being honest with myself, I have to agree. Not that I can actually pinpoint what tastes different about the other recipes, and I've never actually seen or tried another recipe, but if it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

Cherry Bing Bars


2 tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup half and half
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup cherry baking chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Lightly grease an 8x8 square pan, then line with waxed paper. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, salt, and half and half. Heat at medium-high until boiling, stirring occasionally. Boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the marshmallows and cherry chips. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. In the microwave, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter, stirring frequently until smooth. Spread over the cherry mixture. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

The bars are plenty sweet (like a fudge), so don't be afraid to cut the pieces small. Plus that way you can justify having two (or three or four) pieces!

Homemade Chocolate Topping

Have you realized that Christmas is less than a week away? Are you one of those super-planners that has had your presents purchased and wrapped since October, or are you more like the rest of us and frantically trying to get all those last minute gifts bought and wrapped before Sunday? Have you had a freezer and fridge stocked with goodies for weeks or are you starting to panic about having nothing to contribute to the Christmas spread? Well, if you are in the latter category, I'm dedicating the rest of this week to you. I haven't done quite as much Christmas baking this year as I would have liked, but I've got some good tried and true recipes that are super easy to throw together at the last minute, and no one will ever guess that you were ever unprepared.

I'm sure any Christmas party you attend will be rife with cookies and bars, and the addition of two simple ingredients will take a bar from mediocre to wow in no time flat: ice cream and chocolate sauce. Homemade chocolate sauce no less. Imagine how impressed your friends will be when you tell them that you made the sauce yourself! They'll never guess how easy it is (unless you are really into the whole "season of giving" thing and share the recipe with them).

Homemade Chocolate Topping
(originally found here)

3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp butter
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Heat butter and cream in medium saucepan over medium-low heat until hot. Do not boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate; stir well until melted then add vanilla.

Now, we did find that this recipe solidified after sitting in the fridge for a few days, but that's nothing a little time in the microwave won't fix. And just in case I haven't hit your sweet tooth yet, maybe this closing picture will get you in the kitchen.

Yum. I think I know what I want after dinner tonight.

Family Christ-Day-Ing

So this weekend we celebrated not one, but two, family Christmases. Saturday we celebrated with my dad's extended family, and Sunday with my mom's. I was going to knock out posts on both at one time, but iPhoto is being my enemy, so I'm only going to cover Saturday's celebration since those photos are coming off Darrell's camera and my computer will actually let me access them. And in retrospect, it's probably a good thing I'm breaking these posts up, because I've got quite a few photos to share. So I'll let the photos do most of the talking, and by the time I'm done you'll wish your family celebrations were crazy awesome enough to include Christmas, birthday, and wedding festivities all in one fell swoop....

Saturday started off normal enough with a brunch, which was followed by a not-so-normal wedding (which, thanks to the power of the internet, my dad legally officiated)

My Aunt and her new husband getting married in my parent's living room

After the wedding we had family photos

Grandpa and his grandkids--and what, your family doesn't coordinate a color scheme for celebrations? Lame

And more family photos

My parents, siblings, and our significant others

Followed by some caroling

Then we reminisced by watching old family Christmas videos and stumbled across one where my sister, cousin, and I got the same creep-tastic walking doll as a gift, and were able to re-live its awesomeness in the present day

Yes, twenty years later, my sister not only still has the doll, but knew exactly where to find it. All it needed was some fresh batteries and it was good to go... At least as good as it ever was. And if you look closely you'll see "AA" on one of the feet--my sister was always paranoid that I'd accidentally confuse her toy for mine whenever we had identical things

Then it was off to the bowling alley to get a few games in, while simultaneously celebrating my grandpa's 87th birthday. After bowling was Chinese for dinner (you know, an American Christmas staple), followed by some good ole Wii Just Dance

The girls

The guys

We wrapped up the night with a round of Cranium and then the cousins went out for a much-needed nightcap. And I know that while it may sound like I'm giving my family a hard time, and in the days leading up to Saturday I was sure fearing the worst with everything we were trying to squeeze in, but when it boils down to it, I love this family to pieces, every little bit of craziness included. Because it just wouldn't be family if they didn't drive your crazy while making you love them even more at the same time. Or at least I'll keep telling myself that's normal so I don't feel quite so bad :)

Casillero del Diablo Malbec

Oh weekend how I've missed you. And how glad I am to have this delicious wine to ring you in with. Major thanks to the winery as well for stamping an image of the devil onto the bottle to entice me to buy their wine. Marketing at its finest. Because let's be honest, once I've decided the price point I'm shooting for and the type of wine I want, I usually try to seek out the bottles the most on sale or the bottles with the coolest design. In this case, I scored a triple--great price (just over $10 if I remember correctly), sweet bottle (and name!), and fantastic wine. It has rich, robust flavor, with a finish that lingers just long enough to remind you to pick up your glass and take another swallow. And the aroma! Oh, the aroma. Maybe I haven't truly smelled wines in the past, or maybe my nose is just being extra acute after recovering from a cold, but the aroma of this wine is powerfully amazing. It's intensely fruity, and every time I sip I'm concerned the wine is going to go into my lungs because I can't stop smelling the wine as I bring the glass to my lips.

For now, this wine is serving as the perfect end-of-a-long-week reprieve. But I can promise this bottle will find its way back in to our kitchen to be enjoyed with a hearty steak. Or maybe I'll just call Darrell on his way home from work to have him pick up some steaks and another bottle. It might actually be reasonable enough outside to grill tonight (did I just say that we might grill on December 16th? Why, yes, yes I did. We have had a wonderfully mild December so far--I'm a little leery of what January and February might be bringing our way though...)

Happy Weekend!

Bel Canto

Sometimes, I wish I was more willing to put down a book without finishing it. But then there are those times where I am so unbelievably glad that I stuck through a few slow parts to get to a "can't put this down" ending. More than often I find the latter to be the case, which just reinforces my unwillingness to put down an unfinished book.

Bel Canto did just that. The build-up to the actual story was almost painfully slow. Character after character was getting developed, backgrounds and scenes were being set, and all the while I'm drudgingly turning the pages. Because as much as I enjoy a well-developed plot and story, I also need to have me some action or something to keep my attention. Well, sure enough, all of the character development was not for naught, and everything came rapidly spiraling together in the last hundred and fifty pages or so. The ending was nothing short of remarkable (but painfully realistic), and I'm sure I even missed some details because my eyes kept wanting to jump a paragraph or a page ahead to find out how the whole business was going to be settled. In fact, I'm actually tempted to read this book again just because I know that now I'll likely take more out of the development that occurs in the earlier parts of the book.

In Italian, "bel canto" means beautiful singing, and this book is great for anyone craving either of those words in their lives. It is full of beauty and magic and exploration of what the human heart will do when circumstances are nothing short of extraordinary. And, most of all, it is full of song and the power that music (and its beauty) can have over one's life.

The Truth about Live Christmas Trees

People always say that having some kind of a plant is a good way to ease into the responsibility of caring for another living being; something you should do, you know, before having kids or something. Even as a kid my mom wanted us to get hamsters and fish to prove to her that we were responsible enough to care for a dog (which, for the record, we never did).

I now have new appreciation for that train of thought--and I fully think it's ridiculous. Babies and dogs and cats? They will let you know when something is bothering them. Rodents and fish and plants? Not so much. A week and a half ago we brought a live pine tree into our house, and we could have left it sit in the corner without any further attention and our lives would not have been affected in the least. Sure, the tree may have started to brown, but that's nothing problematic. Bring a puppy or baby home and I promise you that it will make it's presence known whenever it needs something (which--random shout out--congrats to my good friend who just had a sweet baby boy yesterday! I'm sure she is already more than able to validate my statements). Thirsty baby? Oh yeah, you'll hear the crying. Thirsty tree? *Silence* And you would think that walking past the tree on a daily basis would be a reminder to water it--but nope. Not so much in this house. Watering our tree is very sporadic business; the tree stand is either full to the brim or flirting with being bone dry. Thankfully, we haven't managed to kill our tree yet. At least I'm assuming it's still alive because something keeps happening the with water we randomly poor into it (and no--we don't have any small animals that would be getting under there and drinking it).

For the record, I'm fully aware that once Darrell and I have kids I'll wish babies were much more silent in expressing their needs. But for now, I'll find solace in the fact that at least I'll be alerted to anything causing them general discomfort--very much unlike the dear tree residing in our living room.

Margherita Pizza

Fact: The elapsed time between my making a recipe and my getting it posted is usually about a week. Generally I spend a day or so deciding if it's really worth posting, then it'll maybe take me a day or two to actually remember to get the pictures off my camera, and by that point (if I'm lucky) I won't be backlogged with other posts to catch up on.

Well, I introduce you to a (temporary) new era on this fine blog. I am sitting here, enjoying this tasty pizza as my dinner AND blogging it simultaneously. Amazing, right? A little bit of silver lining in the otherwise dreary cloud of being home alone for the night. And since I'm being so punctual about blogging this super easy and delicious recipe, let's get right to it, shall we?

Margherita Pizza


1 recipe Crusty Pizza Dough
2 medium to large tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 minced garlic clove (or if you forget this like I did, just sprinkle some garlic powder on top)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 to 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Prepare crust as directed. After spreading onto pizza pan, brush lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with dried basil, oregano, and garlic powder (if desired). Top with mozzarella cheese. In a separate bowl, toss tomato slices with basil, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. (Tip from a friend: if the tomatoes are super juicy, they might water down the pizza as it bakes. To remedy this, pat them mostly dry between a few layers of paper towels before tossing with the basil mixture.) Lay tomato slices on top of mozzarella. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (and--if you love your cheese like I do--more mozzarella!). Bake for 12-15 minutes in a 450* preheated oven.

Now, just for fun, let's reflect back on my first pizza making experience.

How special is that? Ironically, that's actually the same topping recipe that I used tonight (but with chopped tomatoes instead of sliced--and I think the sliced ones look so much prettier!). Now, I haven't really gotten better by the whole "practice makes perfect" method; rather, after failing that first attempt so miserably, I've completely redone my pizza making process (at least I didn't give up, right?). I use an entirely different recipe, and I no longer mess with trying to coordinate baking on my pizza stone (the recipe we currently use bakes up quite well on a pizza pan). Maybe if we had one of those cool pizza peel things it'd be easier for me to transfer the pizza to the stone, but for now, I'm content with the method we use. And as long as my pizza keep tasting as good as the one tonight did, I don't see any reason to change!

Shahi Palace

Info available here

So I don't normally review restaurants (mostly because Darrell and I don't eat out very often), but after an afternoon of Christmas shopping we decided to try out this (fairly) new Indian Restaurant in Sioux Falls. And I'm sooo glad we did. The food was delicious, the wait staff were helpful and friendly, and the restaurant was clean with a nice ambiance. Sadly, on a Saturday night at 6:00, there was hardly anyone else in the restaurant. A few years ago a great ethnic restaurant, Taste of India, had to close, and it'd be a shame if we lost this one too. I guess this isn't so much of a review but rather a plug to go check this place out--and even if I tried to accurately review this place there's no way I could do it justice. I will say that if you do try it and are feeling slightly overwhelmed by the menu (like I was!), they have a great "Dinner for Two" option. It comes with some bread, an appetizer, two entrees, dessert, and tea or soda. And let me tell you--when it says dinner for two, it could easily be dinner for three or four. We were served a ton of food, and the price was great--$40 for the whole spread. We look forward to going back there--and hopefully with others so we can get them hooked as well!

One True Thing

In the mood for a depressing book? I've got a winner for you right here! Anna Quindlen's One True Thing opens with a daughter in prison, being charged with her mother's death. The novel digs into the life that the main character is more or less forced to live while caring for her terminally ill mother, which turns out to be her mother's life more than the life she was creating for herself in New York. And while the mother/daughter relationship does have some redeeming qualities, the book factors in a seemingly thankless father, a self-centered "boyfriend", and a community that is unable to deal with watching one of its members deteriorate.

Honestly, I struggled getting through book, and at times was only compelled to keep reading because I wanted to get to the trial at the end out of pure curiosity to see what the verdict was going to be. Without that element of drama and suspense, the tone and attitude of the book pretty well mirror the downward spiral of the mother's life, and there were many times where I was just not in the mood to pick this book up and depress myself. But--the book is written very well, and the issues it addresses, while not being very "warm and fuzzy", are most certainly real. While I'm not chomping at the bit to recommend this to everyone I see, I will say that it might make a good "book club" book. Being able to share and discuss some of the "bleakness" and struggles in the book would perhaps help to make it more enjoyable. As a single reader, though, I don't know that I would pick this book up again.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I've gotten to the point with blogging recipes that I frequently have to go back and make sure I haven't already posted the dish. Especially when it's a dish that Darrell and I do all.the.time, and I'm convinced that I've already posted it. Enter this recipe. Darrell and I have been making it for about as long as we've been dating, and we frequently serve it for guests because it is delicious and presents well. So when we made this the other night, I was convinced that I'd already blogged it. And turns out I had--but just in passing, not actually with the recipe and picture. Well, it's about time I remedied that. Unfortunately, I got to the picture a little late (I had to take the picture of Darrell's plate because I'd pretty well devoured mine by this time), so it isn't exactly "staged" well, but it gets the job done (and in my opinion, still looks delicious).

Cajun Chicken Pasta

1 lb linguine pasta
2 chicken breasts
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 tbsp butter
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

Coat the chicken in the Cajun seasoning. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter or margarine until almost tender (5 to 7 minutes). Remove from pan. Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms, and green onion to the pan. Saute and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken back into the pan and reduce heat to keep warm. Meanwhile, bring a slightly salted pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain. Stir in the cream and seasonings; mix well to coat. Serve the chicken and vegetables over the pasta and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

For the record, we don't actually follow a recipe any more when we make this dish; we just kind of make it. Most of the quantities are taken off the recipe card we wrote down years ago, and since we don't really measure, so you might have to do some tweaking to fit your tastes (I would bet we actually use more spices than the quantities listed). I also tried to keep the directions pretty true to how we actually make it (and not what's written on the card, which is surprisingly different). One definite change that I will point out, though, is the amount of pasta. Our recipe card actually calls for only 6 oz of linguine to be used, but we found that such a small amount would just drown in the cream (plus we don't really like using half boxes). So we just started using a full box, but never actually changed the amount of vegetables or chicken. We usually end up with more pasta leftover than anything else, which works out fine for us because I have no issues eating the pasta on its own for leftovers. However, if you were wanting to make this for a crowd (or make it more proportional), I'd just double the amount of chicken and vegetables used. Whatever you do, you should definitely give this recipe a shot. It's easily customizable and delicious to boot!

Easy Dinner Rolls

I know what you are thinking. The only "easy" dinner rolls are the ones that you go to the store and buy. But you know that I'm not going to be doing a post about that, so you're probably scoffing at the fact that I'm bold enough to proclaim making homemade rolls "easy". But it really can be. If you've never tried making bread from scratch, don't sell yourself short thinking that it'll be too hard. Sometimes the most difficult part of bread-making is the vague directions (3-4 cups flour, let rise until doubled, etc), but I've found that the inexact directions leave some room for error, which you don't always have in other recipes. I've done my best to take some step-by-step pictures so that you will kind of have something to compare to as you are working, but I bet once you give bread-making a shot you'll find that it's not as bad as you once thought.

Easy Dinner Rolls


1 1/2 cups warm water (I just let our tap run as hot as it gets; warm enough that it's uncomfortably hot to test with your finger, but not so hot that it'll burn your finger)
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
Approximately 4 cups flour (I usually use closer to five when it's all said and done)

In a large bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until the yeast has dissolved, about 10 minutes.

If your yeast is fresh, a semi-thick film should form as the yeast dissolves. If this does not form, chances are your yeast has died and subsequently the bread will not rise

Add the oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour; mix well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 a cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the bowl and is no longer sticky. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (you may need to add more flour here if you didn't add enough flour in the previous step and the dough is still quite sticky--it also helps to brush flour onto your hands if the dough starts to stick).

Before kneading

After kneading

 Lightly oil a large bowl and turn dough in the bowl to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour (we keep our house pretty cool in the winter months, so I will always preheat my oven to about 200* when I start adding the flour, and then turn it off once it preheats. I'll crack it open to let some of the heat escape and then let the bread rise in the oven).

Post-rise

Deflate the dough by punching it down (always fun!) and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into desired number of rolls (12-14 large rolls or 20-24 small rolls) and form into round balls. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled, approximately 45 minutes.

Before rising. I made 24 rolls (a little larger than golf ball size before rising) and used two baking sheets, but could have easily put them all onto one. They would have likely been touching after they rose, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Bake 12-13 minutes in a 400* preheated oven or until golden brown.

Delicious!

Rolls are served best fresh out of the oven, but if you have to make them in advance like I had to for Thanksgiving, it's better to heat them in the oven than the microwave if you want to serve them warm.

I should also mention that I tried making a knock-off of Texas Roadhouse's cinnamon butter to serve along with these (a brilliant idea from a co-worker), but the recipe I found massively failed. If you've got a good one I'd love to hear it!

'Tis the Season!

It snowed! It was nice and calm (a rarity when it snows in South Dakota), and didn't accumulate too much, so it made for the perfect day to go Christmas-tree hunting. We went to the same cut-your-own lot that we did last year, and came out of there with a gem of a tree. We did learn a few lessons from last year, the most important one being that Christmas trees should be brought into the house through the kitchen (tile), not the garage door and up the steps (carpet carpet carpet). We had significantly fewer pine needles to dig out of our carpet this year (and hopefully we won't still be finding them come March like we were last year).

And we actually had free time this weekend, so we were able to take our tree from this:

to this!:

Decorated Christmas trees have got to be one of my favorite things ever. I'd leave it plugged in all the time if Darrell would let me.

And I know this is a lot little belated, but the day after Thanksgiving Sioux Falls always hosts a Parade of Lights through downtown. This was the first time we had gone together, and we managed to get a few decent pictures (moving objects + Christmas lights = challenging photo subject), but then I lost my USB cord for my camera so I couldn't upload them until this week (ironically, we found the cord as we were moving furniture to put the tree up, so double-glad we did that this weekend!)

Taking a page out of the Macy's Parade book--they also end the parade with Santa Claus!

Hope everyone had a good Monday--I, for one, am glad it's almost over!

Broccoli Salad

Things have been a little chaotic (read: border-line spiraling out of control) at work the past few days, and it's really taken a number on me. I'm not quite back to feeling like my normal self (I've found myself being really short with people today, so I apologize if you were in the path of that), and I considered not blogging again... But then I decided I'm going to fake it until I make it. Getting back to some semblance of normalcy might actually make me start to feel a little better anyway.

So. Another recipe (shocking). I actually got this one from a co-worker a year or so ago; somehow in conversation it came up that her sister makes a great broccoli salad, and I happened to mention that I don't have a broccoli salad recipe (because apparently every kitchen should have one? I don't know), so a few days later she brought me her sisters. We've made it a few times and are definitely fans, although we're still working on figuring out the right amount of broccoli. The recipe is a little vague and only calls for "one bunch" of broccoli, and we realized on our first attempt that a "bunch" at our grocery store is not nearly enough. I think we ended up using three when we made it for Thanksgiving, and it was a much better broccoli to sauce ratio. I did find a comparable recipe online that called for 5-6 cups broccoli florets, so that might help you get a better idea for quantities. I can't say that I've had a lot of broccoli salads (I've only recently started to get more adventurous with me eating, and broccoli salad is definitely a dish that I've passed over on many an occasion), but I like that this one uses raisin instead of chopped grapes, the sunflower seeds give it some good nuttiness, and of course, you can't go wrong with bacon. It's a good way to incorporate a "cold" vegetable into a holiday feast (not that I ever knew that was a requirement, but whatever my mom says goes) without doing a standard relish tray or something. Although I think maybe next year (or at Christmas?) I'd like to try a pasta salad--you know, just to mix things up :)

Broccoli Salad


1 bunch broccoli (approximately 5 cups florets), cut up
1 small onion, diced (we've used red)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 lb bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp vinegar (I've seen variations that use balsamic, but we just used a white wine vinegar)

Toss together the broccoli, onion, raisins, sunflower seeds, and bacon. In a separate bowl, mix together the mayo, sugar, and vinegar. Pour over the broccoli mixture and mix well. Chill at least two hours before serving.

Trimming Down

I'm feeling the need to take a break from my regularly scheduled series of recipe after recipe. So bear with me as I ramble a little :)

Now, "Trimming Down" might seem like an appropriate conversation topic around the holidays and the plethora of food that always seems to be available (see above comment about the backlog of recipes that I need to post); however, I'm not quite daring enough to cross into the weight-loss discussion. Rather, I'm realizing that I need to trim down on some of the superficial "things" in my life: clothing (ironic since I have two packages of online purchases coming to my house this week...baby steps), keepsakes (we won't talk about the number of boxes I have in our basement compared to Darrell)....and even slightly less tangible things like lists. Yes, lists. I am queen of making lists, and usually awful at following through on them. Last year I was addicted to quite a few "foodie" blogs, and was bookmarking so many recipes to try that I finally just made a GoogleDocs document where I could list their hyperlinks and organize them by type (and make them searchable by main ingredients and whatnot--yes, nerd alert right here). Well--the list grew and grew. I think it maxed out at nearly eleven pages. We have actually utilized the document a handful of times, and some of the recipes have even made it off the GoogleDocs document and into our permanent collection... But. Eleven pages is A LOT.

So, I've started going back through the recipes. I'm realizing that there are a lot of recipes that I initially bookmarked because I liked the idea of them (like eggplant parmesan), even though they are realistically not dishes that Darrell and I would ever decide that we were in the mood to cook. And really, if we were ever in the mood for them, I'd probably just do a Google Search for a recipe. I began the thinning out process earlier this week, and I've already cut out a page and a half of recipes. As well as stumble across quite a few that I want to put on our menu for next week. Of course, the largest majority of those recipes that I have bookmarked are dessert recipes, and I haven't even begun to sift through those. All in due time though...all in due time.

Maybe I'll start trimming down my "to read" list next.... I won't even mention how many hundreds of books are on that list.

Aunt Rose's Sticky Rolls

Guys, this might seriously be the best recipe on this blog. I know I've posted some other great ones, and I know I've really talked up a few others, but I don't know if any of them compare to this one. Maybe I'm just partial to it because it's a family recipe, but everyone I've ever served these for has loved them. And the best part? They are insanely easy. So easy that when my family decided at 10:30 on Wednesday night that they wanted to have a Thanksgiving brunch on Thursday morning and I didn't even break a sweat thinking about having to put these together (I also know that my family is prone to wanting these on a moment's notice so I always keep all the ingredients on hand). If you really want to wow your family and friends with this one, keep the recipe a secret because they'll swear you spent hours laboring in the kitchen to produce such a delicious breakfast roll. My mouth is watering just thinking about them...

Aunt Rose's Sticky Rolls
(serves six to eight)


18-24 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls (they come in bags of 36, but I've found that most Bundt pans won't hold the whole bag)
1 pkg cook and serve butterscotch pudding (not instant)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
cinnamon to taste

Spray the bottom and sides of a bundt pan. Place the frozen rolls in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle the dry pudding mix over the top of them. Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the brown sugar. Pour the brown sugar/butter mixture over the rolls and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with a towel and let rise overnight. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350*. Bake the sticky rolls for 30 minutes or until the ends start to brown. Remove from oven; let stand for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

Two "Duds"

You win some, you lose some. I'd been on a roll lately with new recipes (the chocolate muffins and puppy chow bars), so it's no surprised that I stumbled on a few that less-than wowed. Granted, neither of them are bad recipes, but they were both a little tedious and just not worth it for the end product.

First up was my attempt at Homemade Peanut Butter Cups.

Recipe found here

The idea sounded great; I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, and subsequently love Reese's. The recipe wasn't too awful; however, at one point I was supposed to use a spoon or pastry brush to coax the chocolate up the side of the mini-muffin tin. Well, I was feeling lazy, so I decided that I'd skip that step and just make my peanut butter cups layered instead of having the peanut butter contained within the chocolate. Turns out that was a bad idea. The peanut butter mixture never "set", so biting into one of these caused the peanut butter to squeeze out the sides, and they ended up being a royal mess. They were still tasty (although as Darrell put it--there really isn't much to them besides peanut butter and chocolate), but probably not something I'll make again, even though I know user error is a big culprit for why these didn't turn out right.

I also attempted a knock-off recipe for Applebee's Walnut Blondie with Maple Butter Sauce for dessert on Thanksgiving.

Recipe found here

Again, there wasn't anything inherently awful about this recipe; the taste was pretty good, the prep time wasn't terrible, but it just didn't wow me (or most of my family). There's certainly some user error in this one as well; the recipe calls for an 8x8 pan, and all I have is 9x9, so the bars definitely baked thinner than they were supposed to. I suspect that in a smaller pan the bars would be thicker and gooier and not quite as tough. Plus, if the timing had worked out to serve them fresh, I'm sure that both the sauce and bars would have been a little better. However, there are a million dessert recipes out there that I want to try, and certainly other blondie recipes, so I don't feel too obligated to spend time trying to "fix" this recipe and do it better next time.

Feel free to give either or both of these recipes a try yourself though; just because they didn't work out for me doesn't mean they won't be the right recipe for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a day late, but whatever. Did Thanksgiving totally sneak up on anyone else this year? Maybe it's because we're having crazy nice weather--I went running the other day and would have actually been okay in shorts had I not wanted to blind my neighbors with my ridiculously white legs.

I've got plenty of recipes and other goodies to share, but I'd be remiss if I didn't give thanks for some of the many blessings in my life (brought to you photo-style).

--My Amazing Husband

--My Crazy Lovely Family

--My Wonderful Second Family

--Having a wonderful place to call home

Closing Day! October 29th, 2009

--Our Health

Sometimes our health is better than it is at other times...

--The security of knowing that there will always be (delicious) food on the table

Aunt Rose's Sticky Rolls--recipe coming soon!

--And of course my dear friends, of whom there are too many to share pictures (not necessarily because I have that many friends, but because I don't have many photos of groups of them together and I don't really feel like dragging up ten or more photos to cover all my friends)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and cheers to a blessed holiday season!

Chocolate Muffins

I warned you that it was going to be recipe overload for the next few weeks. But if you've decided to stick around and read through all these recipes that I'm posting then you're in luck, because this is probably the greatest chocolate muffin recipe ever. I've never tried a chocolate muffin recipe before because I've always been worried that they'd turn out to cupcake-y, but that was far from the case with these muffins. They were certainly filling and a little rich, but not so sweet that you feel like you're breaking the calorie-bank by having dessert first thing in the morning. I will definitely make this recipe again (and again and again....)

Chocolate Muffins
(one of the top-rated chocolate muffin recipes on allrecipes.com--and for good reason!)

2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Grease 24-muffin cups (or line with paper). Beat eggs, sour cream, water, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake in a 325* preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for five minutes before removing a wire rack and enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

I've been making these muffins for awhile now, and the problem with not blogging about them right away is now I don't remember where I originally got the recipe from. Which is particularly unfortunate in this case because the story behind where they came from was really cute. Apparently this recipe is from some kids book (maybe a version of Little Red Riding Hood?) where the character has to safely deliver these muffins and keep the "secret" recipe safe. Well, at the end the book gives the recipe for the muffins, and in my opinion there are two secret ingredients: sunflower seeds and almond extract! The sunflower seeds offer a nice nutty flavor to balance the fruit, and the almond extract further enhances this (I secretly think almond extract is amazing and I love finding recipes that use it). Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins
(yields 12 muffins)

2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries
1/4 to 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Grease a muffin pan and preheat oven to 350*. Mix eggs, butter, sugar, and almond extract in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture. Stir until just combined (the dough will be thick). Gently stir in the blueberries and sunflower seeds and scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I used frozen blueberries this last time, and although the taste and everything was still fine, the blueberries were quite large and therefore difficult to mix into the thick dough. So a few got squished along the way, which is why the muffins have a decidedly purple tint to them. But definitely not anything that will take away from the taste!

And not to make a totally random jump, but I have to share this picture of our first "snow" that fell over the weekend.

Darrell and I think we should figure out a way to permanently fill the cracks in our patio with something white because it looks pretty awesome. For now though, little dustings of snow will have to do (it's only a matter of time before the entire patio will be covered in mounds of snow!)