Game day snacks

I'll just admit it...I'm going to watch the big game today.  Yes, I'm going to church first but after I'm going to the King's to watch the game on their awesome new TV.  In the spirit of being a good blogger, I thought I'd share with you what I'm making for snacks.  I'm bringing carrots, pita chips and hummus but I'm also making the following:

Jalapeno popper dip from Our Best Bites.  My friend Tricia made this at Christmas time and as soon as I tried it, I knew my friends would like it.  I'm still deciding about the optional addition of bacon.  Yes/no? Oh probably yes.  I've got a couple of baguettes plus some wheat thins for dipping. First time making it...hope it works. 

Bacon wrapped cocktail sausages from Our Best Bites.  Sensing a theme there?  I love their site.  I've made these babies for many parties and they are always a hit.  I have two recommendations when making these: one, always double the recipe because everyone will love them and two, make them in one of those throw-away foil pans.  No matter the amount of Pam you spray or the amount of grease (sick) that comes out of them when baking, the brown sugar caramelizes and becomes like glue and leaves a ginormous mess to try and clean up.  Go with a throw-away pan and you will thank me later.

Finally, I knew I had to make some kind of treat because hello, I'm the girl who likes to bake.  I knew I wanted to make something new because I feel like I'm in a baking rut.  One of my coworkers brought in these bar cookies (my favorite thing to make) a few weeks ago so I'm going to give them a try.  They have a weird name:  peanut butter fingers.  But seriously?  They're awesome.  The picture on the link looks yucky.  If you make them, drizzle the peanut butter instead of spreading.

What kind of fun stuff are you snacking on today?

Baking Day 2011

Here's me and my friend Tricia in a sort of crummy timer photo but at least her eyes are open.

For the last several years (five? I'm not really sure exactly...) Tricia and I have gotten together in December and spent an entire day baking.  Yes we have matching aprons, thanks to Tricia.  But I cannot express to you how wonderful it is.  I look forward to it all year - seriously.  That's how great Baking Day is.

And look at our sustenance...yeah we didn't eat that many grapes.

I packed up half of my pantry to bring to Tricia's because she has two ovens and a beautiful kitchen.  And you think I'm kidding but look - that truly is half of my pantry.  At least.

This year was a little different because Tricia only has one child left at home, 14 year old Mary, who was at school all day.  So instead of all of these teenagers bugging us all day, we were all alone at her house and it was kind of weird.  I posted this on FB but in past years, Adrian and Anna would be there helping us or running to the store to get some forgotten ingredient, Robert would either be sampling, entertaining us or even better, running to get us some Subway.  Emy and Mary were always the best taste-testers so even though the big kids are gone, Mary came home and tried everything out.  I love it that Mary requests and expects me to make certain things and of course, I do just that.

Yes, we went through more than five pounds of butter.

There are a few standbys in our Baking Day repertoire but this year we tried to mix it up a little and make some new things.  I made: chinese noodle cookies, peanut butter cup cookies, peppermint meltaways, cookie dough fudge (which was a fail), mint magic bars and caramel chex mix.

Tricia made toffee, peppermint bark, sugar cookies, almond raspberry shortbread cookies, orange truffles (another fail), peppermint bark popcorn and crunchers,

I bought some super cute Martha Stewart treat boxes I found at Marshall's for a fabulous price and I put boxes full of love together for work people, visiting teaching sisters and my home teachers.

I love that I have homemade gifts for people at Christmas time but I love more the time spent with Tricia. We are completely comfortable sharing a kitchen, we talk about everything under the sun, we laugh hysterically and sometimes we don't say anything at all. Even with a couple of recipe misfires and even though I came home completely exhausted and half of my pantry is waiting to be put away, we still had a fantastic day and I can't wait until we get to do it all again.

What I've done today

1. Woke up at 7:30 AM
2. Finished my book (so good - read it.)
3. Did one load of laundry
4. Made my favorite soup (recipe at the end of this post)
5. Worked on my 2010 schedule for Primary music
6. Worked on YW camp plans (first meeting with the girls is Feb 10!)
7. Uploaded (downloaded?) all of the Primary songs for the year to my iPhone
8. Got sucked into the Biggest Loser season 3 marathon on Bravo (I've seen these shows before so why on earth am I watching them again?!)
9. Did yoga on Wii Fit
10. Started my favorite jigsaw puzzle
11. Did not get dressed but did brush my teeth.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup (thanks, Boni!)

1 can refried beans
2 cans chicken broth
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can pinto OR great northern beans (drained)
1 can rotel tomatoes OR 1 can diced stewed tomates plus one can chopped green chiles
1 small can corn OR a handful of frozen corn (add as much as you like)
2 large cans (Costco/Sam's size) chicken breast (drained & de-chunked -- ha)

Mix the refried beans with the broth until combined, add everything else. Heat to a boil then simmer until you're ready to eat. I top with a little shredded cheese, a little sour cream and a few of the santa fe flavored tortilla strips you can buy at Winco. Soup freezes great.

Gratitude - Day 17

1. I'm thankful for Christmas music. I'm not listening to it exclusively yet, just here and there. I love the music of the Christmas season and all that it represents.

2. I'm thankful for temple work and that tonight, I was able to do work for my great aunt Grace, someone I loved and spent a lot of time with as a child. It was my first time ever doing temple ordinances for an actual relative of mine (I am not a genealogy girl) and I loved it.

3. I'm thankful for recipes. If it wasn't for a recipe, the stuff I make would taste really bad. And with that, here is a recipe for a really good cheese ball for the holidays...I wanted to put in a baked good but couldn't copy/paste into blogger (now that's a little annoying!)

2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 jar Kraft Old English or Bacon cheese
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 lb bacon, fried, drained & crumbled.

Mix cheeses and liquid smoke then form into a ball. Press bacon onto outside. Try not to eat the whole thing.

Gratitude - Day 3 (aka I barely made it!)

There are 50 minutes left in the day so I'd better get cracking...

1. I'm grateful for the conference edition of The Ensign that arrived today. I can't wait to read, study and read some more.

2. I'm grateful for the blogs in my Google Reader. Even though I accidentally hit "mark all as read" over the weekend (sob) I already have over one hundred new entries to read, all in one tidy little spot. Thank you, good bloggers of the world.

3. I'm grateful for my recipe for caramel apple dip. I made it for tonight's highly successful Scentsy party and if I let myself, I could seriously eat it just plain. Trust me - you will want to make this!

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 2/3 c Heath bits (I used the new chocolate-free bits o'brickle.)

Mix together with a hand mixer, chill then serve with apple slices. I served it with gala & granny smith apples. So. Dang. Good.

Treats galore

This is how I've spent the last 36 hours:

Making one batch of caramels. Verdict: I made these last year and they were perfect. This year's batch looked great until I went to cut them today and they were hard as a rock. I should have asked Santa for the Williams-Sonoma digital candy thermometer. I'm trying to decide if I want to make another attempt after having to re-melt and throw away the first round.

Making one batch of Chinese Noodle Cookies. Verdict: awesome as usual. They are haystack type things with melted butterscotch & chocolate chips, chow mein noodles, rice krispies, peanuts and marshmallows.

Making two batches of toffee. Verdict: good and great. I didn't cook the first batch long enough so it's a little too blonde. Second batch is perfect. Easiest recipe ever: sugar, butter and water. It's pretty much no-fail. Ignore the crumbs on the counter and the accidental Hoody product placement (not used in the toffee.)

Making one batch of The Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Candy Cane cookies. Verdict: Eh. I like the way they look but the cookie is a little bland for my taste. I don't know that I'd make them again.

Making one batch of Peppermint Meltaways. Verdict: YUM. Excellent texture plus they're good a few days later.

Making one batch of peanut butter topped ritz crackers dipped in chocolate almond bark (they need a name.) Verdict: these totally rock.

Making two batches of Caramel Chex Mix. Verdict: Perfection. My coworkers are getting this for Christmas.

And it's been snowing most of the day with more on the horizon. Hopefully I'll be able to deliver all of this stuff sooner rather than later. And surprisingly, I've not felt like snacking. Maybe it's like when you work at Krispy Kreme, you lose your craving for their donuts?

Things I Love About Christmas

After yesterday's negative post, I thought it best I counteract with a post full of positives. Besides the obvious (celebrating our Savior), here are some things I love about the Christmas season:

1. Singing "Angels We Have Heard on High" at church. It has the most fun alto part ever (well, it's right up there with "Let Us All Press On" but it's pretty good!)
2. Christmas pajamas from Wal Mart! I hope you are all buying yourself a pair because they are only $10 and they are so cute. I've bought a different pair the last three years. This year I got these darling pink ones. They are cotton and comfy and I wear them well into spring, usually. The picture up above is from two Christmases ago when we got coordinating pajamas for my mom, sisters and me. So fun!
3. Christmas candles! I used to sell Salt City Candles and I love digging my candles out. My favorite holiday scents are Christmas Trimmings (which is great to burn if you have a fake tree -- it's tree-like but not TOO much) and Victorian Christmas (which is sweet and spicy and just yummy) but my most favorite thing to do is burn a Candy Cane candle while burning an Evergreen candle. It's the BEST combination.
4. Fun ads in the paper every week! I love seeing what's on sale.
5. BAKING! I love looking for the best recipes for fudge or snowball cookies every year. (And if you have the perfect fudge recipe, please share! I'm really still looking!) This is also the time of year for Caramel Chex Mix. I'll add the recipe at the end of this list. I think that might be what I make for the girls at work this year. It's so good and very festive with holiday M&Ms.
6. Christmas movies!!! I have three favorites: Elf, The Year Without a Santa Claus and then my number one most favorite is White Christmas. That is the movie I watch while wrapping my presents. I can't wrap a gift without it on in the background.
7. Time off from work! We get the 24th through the 1st off -- paid! Wahoo!

What do YOU love about the Christmas season?

Caramel Chex Mix

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Karo syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 cups rice chex cereal
4 cups corn chex cereal
1 cup peanuts or mixed nuts
1 cup M&Ms (holiday - add as many as you want, really)

Mix cereal and nuts in a large bowl, set aside. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam. In medium saucepan, combine butter, karo syrup and brown sugar. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Allow to boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda, then stir. Pour over cereal mixture & mix together then pour onto cookie sheet. Cook for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir to break apart clumps. When cool, add M&Ms.

Another Fabulous Pumpkin Recipe

I've had a cold all week - annoying! It's raining today - also annoying! So after sleeping in until 11 AM and then spending the afternoon running errands in the rain with mom, I've got the rest of my Saturday all planned out. I'm back in my PJs, I'm going to set up my brand new free-to-me living room TiVo and then I'm going to make some of the best pumpkin cream cheese bread for my mom and sister. It is fantastic and looks SO pretty when it's cut and on a plate (this is a great treat for your visiting teaching people!) And it's totally like a dessert too - really moist and just yummy.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

Filling:
1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Bread:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or homemade
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly grease two 8x4x3-inch loaf pans. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 egg, and the vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Into another bowl, sift 1 2/3 cup flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. Put pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, 2 eggs and 1 1/2 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat well. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. Fold in the pecans or walnuts, if using.

Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter evenly into the two prepared loaf pans. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of pumpkin batter layer and then pour on the remaining pumpkin batter.
Bake in preheated 325° oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes; remove to a rack to cool completely. Pumpkin bread recipe makes 2 loaves.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for 1 tab grated orange peel in the filling but I just switched it to vanilla because it sounded gross to me with orange flavored filling.
• Don't try to make just one big loaf instead of two smaller loaves. Trust me.
• Don't stress out about dividing the batter between the two pans. Just eyeball it.
• When you put the pumpkin on top of the cream cheese layer, it's totally okay if you still see the cream cheese stuff. It bakes up just fine.
• You're gonna love this!

The best pumpkin muffins ever!

I wanted to bring a treat to Patty's to thank her for hosting me this weekend. Since it's practically September and the weather is turning fall-like here anyway (blech), I thought I'd make pumpkin muffins.

Besides being completely awesome, your house will smell heavenly when you bake these. Little kids love them and they also freeze really well.


4 1/2 cups sugar
1 large can of pumpkin puree (or 3 cups)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup water
5 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tab cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
2 + cups chocolate chips (as much or as little as you like)
1 cup chopped nuts (opt)

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & baking soda, set aside. Mix sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and water. Add flour mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Spoon into lined muffin trays. Bake 15-20 minutes in 350 degree oven or until a tester comes out clean.

Notes:

• This recipe makes a whole lot of muffins so I usually half it. I halved the recipe this time and it made two dozen regular sized muffins and four dozen mini muffins.
• You could also put some of the batter into a greased/floured loaf pan. If so, bake for about an hour or until the tester comes out clean.
• I used too many chocolate chips this time, which was one whole package of mini chocolate chips but they still totally rock.
• If you half the recipe, you just use a small can of pumpkin puree instead of the big one. I saved you from dirtying a measuring cup! You are SO welcome! :)

It's Monday so that means I must be thinking!

I'm making cookies for some friends (nobody who reads this blog so don't get excited) and of course, I have all sorts of random thoughts running through my brain as I bake. So here ya go:

• August 25, 2008 -- the date I started wearing my Ugg slippers again. Oh summer, where art thou???
• Here is the easiest chocolate cake recipe: 1 chocolate cake mix, 1 large box chocolate instant pudding, 1 3/4 cups milk, 2 eggs and one bag of mini chocolate chips. Mix it all together and spoon (it's kind of thick) into a greased & floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until the tester tells you it's done. Let it cool, remove from pan & sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar. Teenaged boys love this. I brought this to an open house last night and got requests from no less than three of them to make this cake for their birthdays.
• Why is it so hard for me to trust my own promptings from the Spirit? I nearly always second guess myself. On this latest one, I thought I was just feeling bad because I was being lazy and wasn't up to a challenge that I was possibly going to face. But no, it wasn't that at all -- it was just that yucky feeling that "this is wrong, Jeanelle." I'm grateful for situations that remind me I need to trust myself more.
• I am seriously obsessed with the Aida (Broadway version) soundtrack. I have listened to it every day at work, all day, for the last week (since I saw the opera version.) I cannot get enough. It's playing right now, in fact. I think if I saw the Broadway musical now, I would probably cry. I do that when I see things I love on stage -- mostly at the beginning. Like I cried when I saw Les Miserables, Lion King, Wicked and Ragtime. I also cried during the Dancing Queen portion of Mamma Mia -- when all of the women are going together to dance down on the dock. There is something about the beauty of people singing and dancing, doing what they love. Does that make any sense at all???
• Back to baking - if you don't bake your cookies on parchment paper, you totally should. I also love my pampered chef digital timer. It soothes my anal retentive heart. Plus you can hear it when it goes off. Exactly what you want in a timer, right?
• So I know I've talked about this alot lately but please go read this post by C Jane today. She's a fairly new mom to a baby boy and is now taking care of three of her sister's four kids while her sister and brother-in-law are in the hospital being treated for serious burns. Her day one experience with her nieces and nephew in her home really made me think about how I would handle this if I were in her situation. I can't imagine how it would be for my life to go from the way it is now to one with three more children.
• Jason (single dad from Seattle area) is the new Bachelor. Hmm. You know what this means, don't you? I'm going to end up not liking him now.
• I booked a trip to Hawaii for later this fall. I hope to recreate this picture but with me in it too (note the totally awesome turtles behind the way cute kids.) And maybe without Matthew making a weird face and also without Natalie trying some America's Next Top Model pose. I'm just sayin'... ;)