Delicioso!!!

My husband's all time favorite soup in the world is the chicken enchilada soup from Chili's.  Not only is it a financial downfall to go to Chili's twice a week so that he can enjoy this soup, it's also extremely difficult with Brooklyn, whose idea of a perfect mealtime is to scream as loud as she can while chucking food in random directions and growling like a wild dog when she doesn't get a drink in time.
Therefore, I started exploring the internet, trying to find a good copycat recipe that would satisfy Chad.  After trying probably 6 or 7 different recipes with no perfect results, I decided to start reinventing some of those recipes until I came up with one that worked for us.  You can find the closest cousin of my final result here, which is where my search ended with my last attempt, but my recipe really varies a lot from it as well.  But, for the sake of citing my research, there it is anyway.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup butter
1 diced yellow onion
1 3/4 tsp ground cumin
2 1/4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper
1 3/4 c masa harina
4 quarts water
1 1/2 c crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound cubed Velveeta
4 ounces shredded cheddar
2 lbs cubed cooked chicken breasts
Toppings (sour cream, pico, chives, tortilla strips, etc.)

Melt butter in a large pot.  Add onions, saute til translucent.  Add chicken stock and spices, mix until stock is melted down. 
In a large bowl, whisk masa harina with 1 quart warm water until no lumps remain. Add to pot, whisking constantly til well combined.  Stir continually over medium heat for 2 minutes or so and add tomatoes. Add remaining water to pot and mix well.  Let simmer ten minutes or so, stirring occasionally, then add cheese. Stir until all cheese is melted and combined.  Add chicken, cook another 5 minutes, stirring continually. Serve with a little shredded cheese on top, along with some tortilla strips and pico.  Chad loves it with sour cream.

It's not an exact match but I actually think it's better than the original. And, it's as close as you'll get without having the recipe from the restaurant itself.  Delicioso!

Let's all welcome Steve to the family...

Tonight we bought our Elf on the Shelf.  After reading the story and getting super excited about the fact that an ELF was going to be sharing our home until Christmas, Christian started dreaming up names.  I tried to help him along with some creative choices, like Nimble or Drizzbee... something with some inspiration behind it.

"I want to name him Steve."

Not Googly Boogly Tra La La?  Or Superhero Stan?
Not Grizzlebump or Flaggard?

"I want to name him Steve."

Ok.  Steve it is.

So welcome, Steve, to our humble abode. 

We sent him packing for his first trip to the North Pole with a hot cup of coffee (because it was an overnight trip and we didn't want him to tire out on the way) and a lengthy spiel for Santa from Christian.

Apparently, when he got back, he noticed that our tree had no star as of yet (I'm working on it. Don't judge me.)

He sits perched on a tree branch, with a note:

Christian,
Thanks 4 the coffee.
It was just the lift I needed to get to the North Pole.
Santa says "hello."
I noticed your tree had no star.
Since you're a star, I put you there.
Thanks,
Steve the Elf

Hopefully Steve settles in well.  I know we're all excited to have him, and can't wait to see what comes next!  I would also like to report that Christian went to bed tonight, knowing Steve was watching, better than he has in at least six months.  Perhaps having a snitch around is a good thing... can't wait until Brooklyn learns to talk.

A little burnt out on pumpkin pie...

We already had one massive Thanksgiving meal, and tomorrow my dad is coming up from the city for our second go-round.  The problem is, I've already had my fill of pumpkin pie.  That, and I don't' have any evaporated milk and I really don't feel like changing out of my pajamas and house shoes to go get some. Just being honest...

Instead, I consulted my pantry to see what I did have, and decided to make this:

Pumpkin cranberry bundt cake with candied walnuts and caramel drizzle.  It was a lot more complicated than pumpkin pie but the rewards are neverending.  My dad will love me.

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Cranberry Bundt Cake (adapted from here)

Note-- this can also be made as muffins or in a loaf pan as a quickbread.  It's amazing either way.

Ingredients 

3 cups flour
5 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground clove
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup or more dried cranberries

1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  In a small bowl. mix together the 1/2 tsp sugar and cinnamon.  Grease a bundt pan coat with sugar/cinnamon mixture.
Mix flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and orange juice.  Mix into wet mixture just until blended, then stir in cranberries.  Pour into bundt and bake for 1 hour or until knife inserted in the center of one side comes out clean.  Cool 1 hour in refrigerator before turning out.

Caramel Drizzle (adapted from here)

Ingredients

1 cup butter
2 1/3 cups brown sugar
Dash of salt
1 cup white corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter over medium heat.  Add brown sugar and salt, mix until well combined.  Add corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk and boil until just past the soft ball stage, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  This makes more than enough for a drizzle so feel free to remove about a cup and a half into a glass bowl for drizzling and then continue to cook to hard ball stage and pour out onto parchment lined baking sheet to cut into caramels later. Or, as I did, dip an apple into it and let that harden as well.  We make good use of our caramel around here.

Candied walnuts (adapted from here)

Ingredients:
1 pound walnut halves
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Roast walnuts 8-10 minutes in 350 degree oven.  Remove to cool. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, clove, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, to boil until soft ball stage, about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Stir in walnuts until well coated and pour out immediately onto parchment covered baking sheet and separate with a fork quickly.  These set fast.  Great for holiday gift giving on their own, as well.

To assemble, just slice a piece of cake, toss a few candied walnuts on top, and drizzle with warm caramel.  Feel free to heat the caramel up in the microwave for a few seconds to soften up if it sets too quickly.

Salt Dough Traditions

Now that Thanksgiving is over (almost... we still have family coming on Sunday) it's time to get into the Vince Guaraldi spirit... that is, Christmas time is here!

I spend all year just waiting patiently for the holiday season to start.  It's so warm and cozy to be in the Christmas season... hot cocoa, watching snow fall, warm pj's and fuzzy slippers, family, traditions, food, and sparkly things.

I try to combine as much of the above as possible for the optimal holiday experience, namely traditions.  One of ours is the making of salt dough ornaments for our tree every year.  We have such a fun time as a family painting and decorating our ornaments, and they're such a fun little gift to give as an accessory on gift wrap or part of a basket for a neighbor.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup table salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup lukewarm water

Mix the salt and water together.  Slowly stir the salt water mixture into the flour with a fork until a dough forms.  Knead for about a minute and a half.  This makes approximately 20-24 ornaments.  After your ornaments are formed, use a straw to put a hole for the ribbon or hanger and lay them all out on cookie sheets.  Dry in the oven for two hours on 200 degrees Fahrenheit and after cooled, they're ready for decorating!

I like using acrylic paints and glitter but really, you can do almost anything with these.  They're a great kids craft and we enjoy it every year.  Another fun trick is to mix a little ginger and cinnamon into the dough for gingerbread ornaments that smell like Christmas for years to come.

This is one of my favorite family traditions because every year, I can look at our tree and see the love we've shared years past as my children grow.  Our tree becomes a custom memory that can't be replicated anywhere else... priceless.

Eggnog Cookies, Eggnog Icing... win, win.

Yesterday, my family braved the supermarket for the Thanksgiving shopping rush.  As I rushed around, elbows out, pawing my way through shoppers for the groceries necessary for a successful Thanksgiving spread, my head was filled with lists of ingredients... sage, heavy cream, eggs, chives, potatoes... eggnog.  I know eggnog is typically a Christmas treat, but an almost pregnancy-strong craving for eggnog overwhelmed me so I decided to find a way to incorporate eggnog into our feast, even if I was the only one that indulged.

After browsing for some eggnog-inspired baking ideas, I came across this recipe for eggnog cookies and icing from The Family Kitchen.  I decided that with a few tweaks on the original, this was a winner.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temp
1 c eggnog
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp nutmeg

Eggnog icing:

2 c confectioner's sugar
5 Tbs (give or take a bit) eggnog
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Beat butter and sugar til fluffy with an electric mixer.  Add egg, continue beating, add eggnog and mix til well incorporated.

 
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, nutmeg, and baking soda.  Carefully fold into wet ingredients just until combined.  Cover, and chill for two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 and drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are just browned.  Let cool on pan 5 minutes before removing to rack.  Make glaze by mixing the icing ingredients together til well blended and frost cookies when cooled.

Enjoy these with a hot cup of cider on a cold evening for a pre-Christmas treat that's sure to warm you up!

Back to the Basics

Lately I've been trying to think of all the gooey deliciousness that comes with holiday baking, and testing out new recipes for things I haven't tried before, but nothing was hitting the spot.  I've been in the mood for something gooey, chocolatey, and simple to make with everything I already had in my pantry.  It never struck me that I could go back to the basics and make something perfect that is as timeless as it is simple.

These no bake cookies are seriously mess-up proof, and everyone loves them.  Ever since I was a kid I have loved the gooey goodness of a chewy no-bake cookie.  And somehow, every childhood class party or holiday office gathering has had someone bring in a batch of them.  They're always there, in the background, making their appearance at just the right time.

I haven't made them in years, so I thought it was about time to introduce my kids to them.

Ingredients:
3 c quick cook oats
1 3/4 c white sugar
1/2 c milk
1/2 c butter
4 Tbs cocoa powder, unsweetened
1/2 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa in a medium saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, to a full rolling boil. Cook for 90 seconds at the full boil.  Less and your cookies won't set up, and more means they'll be a crumbly mess.  Turn off the heat and add in the peanut butter, stirring until melted and thoroughly combined.  Stir in vanilla and oats til fully encorporated and spoon onto wax paper in desired cookie size and shape.  I recommend refrigerating overnight to ensure full setup., and for storage without too much extra stickiness.  Layer between parchment for transport.

These are age old classic cookies that I'm sure everyone remembers and loves, and they're the perfect tag-along for a holiday party when you just don't have time to impress everyone with your baking skills.  Or when you want to pretend that you don't have time when really, you just don't have baking skills, although I like to think the former.

Magnets from vase filler?

Every day, I look at our fridge and think about the fact that someday, I really need to make some magnets that don't look ridiculous for our paperwork.  I put Christian's artwork and important information on the fridge, like many people do, and all I had for a magnet was an old heating and air conditioning ad magnet that I'd torn in half to make two magnets.  Obviously this wasn't really working out.


I took vase filler, a Sharpie, plain white acrylic paint, and magnetic strips and half an hour later, I had a pretty cute little magnet set that definitely beats the stupid heating and air half-ads.

First I drew the letters and a few shapes on the back of each vase filler stone with a black Sharpie marker.  I did some hearts and crosses, and two of each letter-- one  capitol and one lowercase. After that dried, I painted over just the back with acrylic paint, using an old eyeshadow applicator as a sponge painter.

I cut the magnetic strip into tiny little squares that would fit on the gems and after the paint dried, I used a tiny dab of hot glue to apply the magnet to the back of each stone.

That's it, it was that simple.  This would make a really cute gift, and would be adorable spelling out bible verses or quotes, or someone's name.

And I was so glad to ceremoniously toss the heating and air ad in the trash.