mommyapolis

I was planning to make a quiche for a Christmas Brunch I was attending at work.  It was 10pm and I went to finally get started on my quiche and realized I didn’t have the main ingredient, UGH…  I had to come up with a recipe and FAST so I relied on my friends at the Food Network to help me out.  I found a recipe for French Toast Casserole and happened to have most of the ingredients so I quickly went to work… I promise you that this took me a very short time to make. You need to make the first part the night before so it can “set up” this portion took me 10 minutes.   The next day you make a quick topping (5 minutes), spread it on the bread, and bake it.  I made a few changes to the original recipe and it turned out fantastic….  Here are the details:

Ingredients:

1 loaf of french bread (I used italian loaf, but sour dough would work too)

Butter or PAM for pan

8 eggs

2 cups half and half (I used heavy cream because that is what I had)

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspooon nutmeg

dash of salt

Praline Topping (recipe below)

Directions, DAY 1:

Slice  bread into 1 inch thick slices.  Arrange slices in a generously buttered or sprayed 9×13 inch pan, overlapping the slices.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half and half/cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Beat until blended but not too bubbly.  Pour the mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture.  Cover with foil and REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT…

THE NEXT MORNING:

Preheat the oven to 350, Make the Praline Topping

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl and blend well:

2 sticks of butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

SPREAD THIS TOPPING OVER YOUR CASSEROLE…

Bake the casserole for 45 minutes until puffy and light golden brown.  I served mine with maple syrup, carmel sauce and also made a quick strawberry syrup by combining a cup of strawberry jam with a 1/4 cup of apple juice over low heat just until it was warm.  I would also serve it with whipped cream, powdered sugar and fresh berries if you have them around.  People made all different combinations of toppings which was very fun!   YUMMY…  

One of my favorite recipes of the season is Candy Cane Ice Cream…  It is probably the easiest thing you will make this season…  I will post a picture later today, but in the meantime…

Here is the SCOOP…

1.  Buy or make a half gallon of your favorite vanilla ice cream. I usually make a “cream base” using my ice cream maker, but you can just as easily buy a half gallon of vanilla from the grocery store…  If you use store bought ice cream, let it sit out for a couple of minutes so it’s soft, but not melted…

2.  Buy a package of TRADITIONAL Peppermint Candy Canes…  Unwrap each of the candy canes and put them in a large ziplock bag.  Using the back of a spoon, hammer, etc…  SMOOSH up all of the candy canes (you probably want about a cup of candy canes, but if you like it more peppermint-y then add as much as you like!  This is a great way to release some holiday stress too…

3.  Scoop the ice cream into a large bowl.  Add the smashed candy canes to the ice cream in the bowl.  Using a large spoon, mix the ice cream and the candy canes together…

4.  Re-freeze the ice cream until ready to serve…

5.  I love to serve this with mini chocolate bundt cakes, chocolate waffer cookies, or even just all by itself!  YUMMY…

Being a teacher myself for the past 11 years, I am often asked, “What is a good gift for my teacher? ”  I first want to say that I think it is so kind that my students bring me gifts and really whatever they bring me is a special treat!  Teachers never expect gifts and when we get them it really is heartwarming.  I especially love when I get holiday cards with a picture of your family or a card that is written by a student themselves with all sorts of misspellings and backwards S’s.  I think it’s very thoughtful when I get  baked goodies or treats.  Without being presumptuous here is a list of ‘Some of my Favorite Teacher Gifts”  I’ve received in the past… They are in no particular order!

1. Gift Cards are always very nice.  I think teachers really appreciate being able to spend a little money on themselves since we often don’t take the time to do that…  If you are going to get a gift card, you might think about what it is your teacher is really into…  Do they have any sort of special plans for the holiday or summer break?  Do they have a favorite shopping location or restaurant?  One year I got a gift card to REI because my class knew my family was spending time in the Mountains that summer…

other gift card ideas;  Target, Bookstore, Coffee Shop, Restaurant, Mall, Visa, i-tunes, Grocery store, Spa, Hair Salon, Video store etc..

2.  Magazine Subscription:  I think this is a very fun, creative and helpful gift… You again have to know your teacher, but some suggestions might be; Family Fun, Martha Stewart, Real Simple, etc..  

3..  Class Gift…  Another nice gift I’ve received has been from an entire class.  One parent organizes donations and then uses the money to buy either a gift card or larger item (again personalized) for you.  One year I got a patio heater and a cooler from my class because they knew we had a newer home.  Another year I got a Target Gift Card with the pooled money that said something like “use this for diapers”

4.  Books…  Books either for the classroom or for the teacher are always appreciated

5.  Games…  Maybe a favorite family game of yours to share with your teacher’s family or classroom family.

6.  Time…  Offer to help in the classroom or with projects that you can take home.  I LOVE to send cutting and pasting home with parents who give the gift of time.

7.  A bag of goodies to be used in the classroom…  Many times I find myself spending my own money on craft supplies (the odd ones we don’t have at school like buttons and craft foam), felt tip pens, post it notes, staplers ( I have lost about 20), and adult scissors.  One family brought me a cute canvas bag filled with all sorts of these supplies, it was so helpful.

maddsie designs- http://www.maddsiedesigns.com

8.  Handmade…  So many Moms or Dads have special talents these days…  I have received the most adorable handbags (purses), scarves, hats, mittens, children’s clothing (so adorable), jewelry and home goods, and they are always one of a kind!

9.  Movie passes…

10.  A VACATION TO THE CARIBBEAN…  HA HA, just kidding!  

Last night the boys really wanted to “do a craft”… I wasn’t really prepared for anything so I just dug out some supplies I had handy… This is what I came up with:

I used green foam that I had left over from another craft, but you could use green construction paper too.   I cut out a triangle tree, again because it was quick and easy, but you could cut out a tree with branches if you prefer.  I then took tissue paper and cut it into 1 inch squares and crumpled them up.  I gave the boys glue bottles and told them to put dots of glue all over their tree.  When they were done they stuck the tissue paper to the tree.  You can add a magnet and stick it to a chalk board, fridge, or anything magnetic.  You could also punch a hole in the top of the tree and string a ribbon through it and make it an ornament.  Another idea would to be to write a little message on the back of the tree and give it to a favorite teacher or family member.  Who doesn’t love a homemade gift????  Have fun!

I wish I had invented this…  It is so creative!  I want to get this for everyone I know for every holiday I can think of!  If you go to www.ecreamery.com you can NOT ONLY create your own ice cream flavor, but you can create the container too… AMAZING…  I can think of endless possibilities when it comes to what you can write on the container…  Oh the laughs we could have!

I have a couple different ideas of what I want to make for people this holiday season, but have yet to get started on them!  Tomorrow is my little one’s last day of 2 year old early childhood school before winter break and I wanted to make a little something for his teachers.  A little something that would go well with their Coffee House gift cards…  Poppy Seed Almond Bread is what they will get!  MMMMM…  AS for the rest of our friends and family……. That is yet to be determined!

Ingredients:

5 foil baby loaf pans (5 3/4 x 3  1/4 x 2-inch)

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup butter, softened

1.5 Tablespoons poppy seed

1.5 teaspoons almond extract

1.5 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1.5 cups milk

Grease pans.  Heat oven to 350′.  Beat sugar, eggs, and butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in poppy seed, almond extract and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients; add alternately with milk to sugar mixture, mixing just until combined.  Pour into greased pans.  Bake until wooden pick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean (40-45 minutes).  You can then add a glaze, if desired.

GLAZE:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 T OJ

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Combine powdered sugar and OJ in glass measuring cup;  microwave until sugar is dissolved about 30 seconds.  Stir in flavoring.   Brush warm topping on warm loaves.  Cool on wire rack.

image courtesy of Cranky Alice

image courtesy of Mosaic Alley

The craziness of the season actually allowed my husband and I a little “married time” which was a very special treat… We had two parties to attend last night so “Granny” graciously took our boys for a sleepover…  Granny lives in a little town about 45 miles south of downtown Minneapolis.

It only takes us about 25 minutes to get to her house from the “burbs” but we rarely spend any time there.  After we dropped the boys off we decided to venture into “town” to check out a couple little stores that we’ve heard a lot about.  Why not, we were kid free!  I’ll be honest when I tell you that my husband and I were not anticipating much more than a couple gift shops that were “a little bit country” selling nothing more than overpriced, lacey pillows.  WE WERE SO WRONG…  These two stores were two of the cutest, most economical shops I have been to in a long time.   Mosaic Alley and Cranky Alice sit nestled among bars, pizza parlors, hair salons, yoga studios, and flower shops.  They have adorable store fronts with creaky old doors that jingle when you open them and invite you right in.

Both retail stores support everyone from the local artist to international artists.  They carry art, jewelry, clothing, hats, funky gifts, children’s items and so much more…  Both stores have a bit of a vintage feel and are really a MUST SEE…

Plan an afternoon in New Prague and you won’t be disappointed.  You can even stop into Schumacher’s Famous Hotel and Restaurant for lunch!

Supplies:

Craft Sticks, Large and Regular Size

Green Markers or Paint

Glue

Sparkles or Glitter (available at craft store)

String or ribbon

Directions:

Have your child paint or color (with markers) 4-5 craft sticks.  I used a pre-colored large craft stick for the base, but you could also paint or color that.  My kids used markers, for time sake, but I think paint would be really cute too…  When they have finished cut or break the craft sticks so they vary in size.  Glue the craft sticks together to make a tree shape.  Add sparkles, glitter, or construction paper shapes to decorate your tree.  I let my boys glue and place their sparkles themselves.  We also had to make pictures with sparkles when we were done because the sparkles were so popular!  Let the tree dry for several hours.  Once it is dry, flip it over and add a dot of glue, place the string in the dot and let it dry…  In a few short hours you will have a very cute tree ornament, window decoration or fun gift!

I’m not sure where you live, but if you live in the midwest, you most likely got a visit from the snow fairy last night…  This is what we woke up to this morning…  As you can tell it is literally a picture from my front window (you can see the texture of the screen) because I didn’t really want to go out in my PJ’s…

Needless to say, I thought, WHAT CAN WE DO ON THIS FUN SNOW DAY????  Then I remembered SNOW ICE CREAM… Here are a couple recipes, YUM YUM…

OH, OBVIOUSLY you want to collect “fresh” snow… If it’s still snowing the best way to do this is to put out a bowl and collect it as it falls…

Snow Ice Cream Recipe #1

Ingredients:

1/2 c. sugar
1 c. cream
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
Pinch of salt

Place the above ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix with an electric mixer. Add fresh snow..approx 5 – 6 cups and mix in to blended mixture.
Eat immediately.

Snow Ice Cream Recipe #2

1 c. Half & Half
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
5 c. of fresh, clean snow

Combine all ingredients and enjoy!!

Snow Ice Cream Recipe #3

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 gallon fresh clean snow

In a large bowl mix first four ingredients until smooth.
Gradually stir in snow until desired consistency.
Enjoy!

Snow Ice Cream Recipe #4

1 gallon snow
1 c. white sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 c. milk

Get a large bowl of fresh clean snow and stir in sugar and vanilla to taste, then add just enough milk until it is the desired consistency.
Enjoy.

This weekend we celebrated my son’s third birthday.  I asked him what kind of a party he wanted and he said “Frosty the Snowman”.  Ever since last year when we watched it for the first time he has been obsessed with Frosty.  I had really hoped we’d have enough snow to build a Frosty, but this year we had to make do with an indoor snowman party!  Here are some pictures from the party!

We started by decorating with tissue paper snowballs.  They are pretty easy to make (I’ll post the directions)…

I made Snowman cupcakes using marshmallows, orange gummy slices, chocolate jimmies, and toothpicks (pretzel sticks would work great too)…

We used coconut to decorate the plate like snow!  So cute…

I made tacos for the adults, but made box lunches for the kids…  I found these cute boxes at the craft store!

During the party I had the kids make a craft… They made their own “Frosty” picture with fun puffy stickers…  The kids pictures were full of stickers and very appropriately decorated…  

We also decorated snowman cookies… My Sister in Law is a pastry chef and made these adorable cookies for the kids to decorate…  I put all of the cookie decorating supplies on a plate for each child so they had everything they needed right in front of them.  It created less mess and they turned out so cute!  

After a couple crafts, we had all the kids sit down and watch Frosty and they were surprisingly calm and quiet during the movie… This provided a little time for the adults to eat!  When the movie was over we played a good old fashioned game called “toss the snowball”… We used cotton balls and the kids tried to toss them into the bowl.  Near the end of this game my husband yelled “SNOWBALL FIGHT” and there were cotton balls flying all over the place!  I think they would have played this 4-EVER…  I also think I will be finding “snowballs” for the next several days….

We ended the night with a few party favors (Frosty the Snowman covered suckers and tree ornaments)…  Sweet and simple!

Happy Birthday Little Buddy!