1st Christmas Brunch

This year we decided to try something new and changed the traditional time of our family gathering. Instead of a late afternoon Christmas dinner we hosted a mid morning Christmas Brunch for the extended family since that worked out the best for everyone. Then, after that, our kids would stay to open gifts and we would have our Traditional Christmas Dinner. To manage the two meals I knew I would need to be organized and have as many things made ahead as possible. 

For Brunch I made an easy overnight Croissant Egg Casserole and overnight Caramel rolls. I also set up the bagel bar and prepped the fruit salad and yogurt parfaits ahead. We put the ham in the oven early in the morning after the rolls and casserole were finished and the hubs prepared the scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage while the ham was cooking. 

Remember these Santa Napkins? I made them for our brunch and we used matching red plastic plates as well. Since we were not having a sit down brunch I decided to go with disposable items because I was setting a formal table for dinner and did not want to take time to wash so many dishes. It was festive and worked out great. 

We set up three buffet style stations and used our chafing dishes to keep things warm since everyone was arriving at different times.

For the bagel bar we set up the toaster and for toppings we put out cream cheese, butter and homemade raspberry jam.

Everything went smoothly and we had all the food ready to go on time however I must have gotten  sidetracked once everyone arrived because the next day I discovered I did not get photos of the Beverage Station, the Warm Food station, dinner or anything else for that matter. { Ugh...maybe next year?! }

Our transition from brunch to dinner went smoothly as well since I had made the potatoes, braided cardamom bread, salads and desserts ahead. The planning and make ahead items paid off and we had a fun and relaxing day with our loved ones! 

Happy Friday!

Christmas Baking

The kitchen has been running at full capacity again this week. 

On Christmas Eve our family was invited to have dinner with our friends and their family so I had decided I would take a dessert. Since I was already planning on making an Eggnog Cranberry Bundt cake for our Christmas Dinner I decided to split the batter and make a smaller Bundt Cake for us and use the rest of the batter to make mini Bundlet cakes to share with our friends. It worked out perfect and saved a little time in the process. 

For our Christmas Dinner I baked our traditional and favorite Braided Cardamom Bread.

This month was so busy I was afraid I would not get all the cookies made that I had on my list which I had even trimmed down. However, last weekend I finally found some time and had a baking bonanza and then, very early on Christmas morning, I squeezed in the final batch. Mission Accomplished! We had Spritz cookies, Nordie bars, Swedish Almond Cookies, gingerbread men and Russian Tea cakes. Now we have plenty of cookies to get us through until New Years. 

Have a very Merry day!

The Night Before Christmas ~ Santa Napkin Toppers

A quick little project to make paper napkins a little more festive.

I just happened to have the perfect punch to make the the circle and then just drew on the face.

I decided to make templates to use as a guide to draw the faces because it was actually quicker and less chance of mistakes. I was also going to stamp a message under the beard however I did not have a stamp small enough and ran out of time looking for one that I liked so will save that for another time. 

Fun and simple!

Have a very Merry Christmas !

Christmas Care Package

This week I mailed a surprise to one of our boys.

A Christmas Care Package sent with love from Santa! 

Of course a plain brown box would not do so I spruced up the inside to make it more festive. Once the inside was finished it was time to fill it with lots of fun gifts and treats. Then, off to the post office to mail. Surprises are so much fun!

Have a very merry day!

Mexican Kale Salad

Each year we attend an annual Christmas Party hosted by our longtime friends which includes a potluck dinner and White Elephant gift exchange. This year the theme for dinner was Mexican and the main dish was Enchiladas. Several of us were asked to bring salads so I decided to try this Mexican Kale Salad that I had jotted down on a piece of paper. I don't know where it came from and there are no instructions, just ingredients, but it looked good so I thought I would give it a try.

It was delicious.

In fact, we liked this salad so much that I made it twice last week!

Happy Monday!

print recipe

Mexican Kale Salad

by http://thegrandsurprise.blogspot.com 

by Jennifer Stull

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Kale
• 1-14oz. can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn (thawed)
• 2 large bell peppers, red and/or green
• 1/2 large avocado - diced
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon jalapeno pepper, seeded, minced

Dressing:

• 1/2 large avocado
• 1/2 lime - juiced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup warm water

Instructions:

Mix all salad ingredients in large bowl. Put first 5 dressing ingredients in blender. Pulse several times to mix ingredients. Slowly pour warm water into blender while mixing until desired consistency is reached. Pour over salad and toss.

Yield: serves approximately 8-10

Gingerbread men cupcakes & tree

This week I needed dessert for two parties. Last Sunday night was our annual neighborhood progressive Christmas dinner party. I had a conflict and could not make the planning meeting and was assigned to bring "a plate of fabulous cookies". Yikes! The word fabulous made me a bit nervous since that set the bar pretty high in my book but I love a challenge. The theme was Italian and someone was making tiramisu so I decided to make biscotti however that alone did not seem to reach the "fabulous" mark so I added a gingerbread tree.

While I was cutting out the stars for my gingerbread tree I decided to cut out mini gingerbread men from the scraps of cookie dough and use them as cupcake toppers. Thursday was our ladies Bible Study Christmas dinner and I was taking gingerbread cupcakes for dessert. What would be more perfect on the top than little gingerbread men?!

These little guys were the perfect size.

The gingerbread tree was a hit.

I thought I would throw in a photo of my biscotti too.

You can't go wrong with gingerbread. It is simple, festive and delicious!

Have a wonderful Saturday! 

Christmas baking...Oh What Fun!

Old recipes are some of the best and I have a lot of favorites that I clipped and saved from our local newspaper, back before social media. The Oregonian FOODDAY section, which was extremely popular, was only printed once a week so Thursdays paper was always my favorite. It was full of tips, ideas and lots of great recipes, including seasonal.

As you may have guessed, this Cranberry ~ Pecan Scone recipe is one I saved from FOODDAY many years ago. It was shared by the Neighborhood Baking Co. and may have been in the Restaurant Requests section which was also a favorite.

The original recipe called for toasted walnuts however I substituted toasted pecans this time since that is what I had on hand. 

They are easy to make and served 12 which was perfect for our ladies brunch last Saturday.

Cranberry Pecan Scones go great with coffee or tea and are perfect for the holidays. 

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Barn Quilt

A new Barn Quilt just in time for the Christmas season!

The goal was to have it completed and hung by December 1st although it was actually just hung yesterday.

The board was not cut perfectly square however I was anxious and started anyway. I was told it can be fixed but it is fine for now. After I started painting I thought the red seemed a bit bright but it was chalk paint so once it dried it was perfect.

To give it an aged/worn look I gave it a light sanding. 

There is still decorating left to do but at least my new

Ohio Star Barn Quilt

is finished and shining brightly on our front porch.

Happy Monday!

Pecan Pie Bars ~ recipe

The dessert menu for our Thanksgiving dinner is most often traditional Pumpkin, Apple  and Pecan Pies however, I usually like to try something new as well.

This year my youngest sister and her husband were hosting Thanksgiving and I offered to make the pumpkin pies. A week or so went by when I remembered that she had mentioned she was making a Pumpkin Cheesecake Dessert which seemed just a little too similar to pumpkin pie. Since I knew nobody had signed up for Pecan Pie I told her I would be glad to make that instead. Then a few days ago I changed my mind once again. It was only a slight change this time but instead of pie I decided to make Pecan Pie Bars. The shortbread crust is so good and they are easy to make. A nice compliment to her Pumpkin Cheesecake Dessert.

I am excited to share the recipe below in case you want to try these quick and easy dessert bars. They would be great to take to a cookie exchange, give as a hostess gift or even serve at the end of a 

Christmas meal. 

print recipe

Pecan Pie Bars

by http://thegrandsurprise.blogspot.com

by Jennifer Stull

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups dark corn syrup
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 cups roughly chopped pecans

Instructions

CRUST: Combine 1-3/4 C flour and 1/3 C sugar. Cut in 3/4 butter until coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup pecans. Press into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake in 350 degree oven for 18-22 minutes until edges are light brown. FILLING: While crust is baking mix together brown sugar, remaining flour and salt. Add in corn syrup, eggs,vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. Stir in remaining pecans. Spread over hot baked crust and return to oven. Bake additional 30-35 minutes or until filling is set. 

Yield: 24 squares

*Recipe adapted from Land of Lakes ~ Classic Pecan Pie Bars*

Happy Baking!

Thanksgiving Appetizer Variety Plate

Simple but festive appetizers were on my Thanksgiving Day food list this year. 

These pumpkin deviled eggs were easy to make with the addition of a scoop of Red Pepper Spread which turned them orange and gave them extra flavor. I used the tops of some green onions for the stems, snipped some parsley from the garden to use as leaves and used a toothpick to make the lines in the pumpkins. The eggs were finished and plated however the middle of my serving plate still needed a little something. 

Then I remembered I had a variety of tortillas and wraps which I thought would make great fall cut ~ out dippers. 

I already had the small acorn and leaf shaped cutters that I used last year for the crust of my Pumpkin Pie so it didn't take long to cut them out and pop them in the oven.

They turned out nice and crisp.

Just right for scooping the roasted red pepper artichoke dip that I like to make because it is quick and I usually have the ingredients on hand.  

Festive and flavorful appetizers. 

Happy Friday!