A Christmas Giveaway!

Hello Everyone! Are you out of your turkey coma yet?  Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of the year!  I can't get enough of the stuffing and cranberries and pumpkin pie! Today I had yet another turkey sandwich.  Am I done yet?  It's too soon to tell. I might have room for just one more...

So how was your Thanksgiving? We have a lovely day at my sister's house.  It feels so good to be surrounded by the ones you love : ) We were all feeling very grateful this year in more ways than one. 

 

cranberry apple crisp (recipe to come!)

Earlier in the day we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from New York (a tradition!) and then I talked to my best friend Jen (who lives many miles away in Ohio).  We always remember to call and wish each other well on holidays.  I hope someday we can spend one together.  Our friendship has withstood the test of time and travel. Something to definitely be grateful for.

On Sunday my Mother cooked another turkey dinner.  She always does this the Sunday after Thanksgiving and invites those whom we didn't see or couldn't make it on Thursday. (Or maybe it might just be a ploy for more leftovers...I'm not sure : )  We are lucky to be able to celebrate twice.  Blessings all around us, indeed!

I have wasted no time getting into Christmas mode. My tree is up and decorated! I'm so happy with how it came out. In the past I've been wishy-washy about my fake tree but this year I decided to give it another try. It must be Christmas magic because I love it! 

I wanted to do something special for my blog friends this year so I decided to have a Christmas giveaway!  Here's what I have for you:  A Debbie Mumm porcelain mug and coaster set.  It's a Santa and a reindeer on a roof on Christmas eve.  The coaster is actually my favorite - it's snowflakes across a black sky...so cute!  Perfect for hot chocolate sipping on a cold night.
I also have a set of Mary Engelbreit Christmas note cards.  There are 6 cards with decorated envelopes.  It's a mouse sleeping on top of a teapot with the quote "not a creature was stirring" floating over his head. (double click the photo for a closer look)  They are so darling and I want them to be yours! Just leave me a comment and I'll pick a name at random at the end of the week.
This giveaway is open to everyone!  Good Luck : )

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of this beautiful holiday season.  Now it's time to do some shopping!


Danielle xo

Feeling Festive: Homemade Marshmallows

Ok, so I feel like I might be just a wee bit early with this marshmallow post, but since Halloween is over and there are Christmas trees up in CVS I'm going to give myself a free pass!

Thanksgiving is only a week away.  This month is going by crazy fast.  Are you ready?  Last week Channelling Contessa gave some great tips on getting ready for Thanksgiving.  One tip that struck me was make your pie dough ahead of time and freeze it.  So simple, right!  Then when it's time to make a pie, your dough is already made.  I love that.  I'm thinking about doing it with cookie dough too. She also suggested stocking up on the essentials (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc) before the baking-extravaganza begins.  No need to make extra trips to the store with flour in your hair if you don't need to.  Check out her list (here).  This girl knows what she's talking about! : )

I am so excited for Thanksgiving!  Not only is Thanksgiving is my favorite meal (I have it on my birthday in July!) but it's also the kickoff to the Christmas season!  And with a five year old in the house Christmas gets more exciting every year.  It also gets more expensive, but that's a topic for another day.  Today I want to talk marshmallows! I've seen them made on blogs before and have always wanted to try them.  Hot chocolate with marshmallows is a staple in my house in the winter and what could be better than homemade marshmallows, right?  I couldn't believe how easy it was.   This is all you need... (forgive my lighting situation - it was very early in the morning and the sun was coming up...: )

(recipe from Family Circle magazine Dec12)

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 envelopes (.25 oz each) unflavored gelatin
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla

Sift confectioners' sugar and cornstarch into a small bowl. 

Line a 9x9x2 inch pan with foil.  Coat with non-stick spray.  Sift 2 tbsp of confectioners' sugar mixture into the pan, tilting to coat sides.  Leave any excess in pan.

 

Place 2/3 cup water in a large bowl and sprinkle with gelatin.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

 

 

Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. 

 

Add into bowl with gelatin.  Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy - about 12 minutes. 

{early morning marshmallow making....}

Add vanilla during this process. 

Spread into prepared pan and smooth top.  Dust with 2 tbsp of confectioners' sugar mixture.  Let stand 2 hrs to set. 

Lift marshmallow from pan with foil.  With a wet knife (use hot water) cut into four squares.

Cut each square into 12 pieces.

Toss marshmallows in sugar mixture and let stand 1 hour. 

Store in an air tight container at room temperature. 

Tie a big red bow around this jar and you've got yourself a perfect hostess gift! So cute~

Toss as many as you want into a steaming mug of hot chocolate. 

This one is for you! : )

After a while look what happens..... Melty-gooey-marshmallow fluff! Just the thing to warm the bones on a cold day! And some Bailys Irish creme in that mug and make it a party.  Just a thought.

Enjoy this week before Thanksgiving!  Happy baking everyone!  Oh, and don't forget to dig out those eleastic waist pants.  You're gonna need them! 

Danielle xo

Sunday Favorites: Gingerbread Waffles

 

 

Good Morning and Happy Sunday!  I don't know about you, but after the week I've had, I needed a cozy Sunday morning breakfast.  Not only did we have that horrible storm on Monday, I had a crazy week at work, and to top things off I found out my favorite supermarket (the one I've been shopping at every week for 14 years) is closing!  I'm definitely a creature of habit and don't like things to change much, so this news was a shocker for me.  I'm so sad.  Anyway, I thought some comfort food might be in order today.  Dust off the waffle iron, folks....

How about some Country Gingerbread Waffles with warm maple syrup? I served mine with Shutterbean's hot vanilla cider (recipe here) and some apple slices drizzled with honey.  I'm normally a pancake girl, but seriously, these waffles blew me away. It was the perfect November breakfast.  While the cold air and leaves were blowing around outside I was cozy in my kitchen filled with the scents of apple and ginger. It's real life aromatherapy. 

Warm Country Gingerbread Waffles
(recipe from Gooseberry Patch Classic Christmas Recipes)

2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1cup molasses
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.  Heat molassas and butter until the butter melts.  Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.  Add buttermilk and egg, and then add flour mixture.  Cook in a preheated waffle iron until golden.  Dust with powered sugar if deisred.
Makes 9 4in waffles. 


I'm starting to feel better already! Enjoy your Sunday!  Let's make it last....xo

Pumpkin Pie Bars

 

my pumpkin yard flag

 

Hello! First of all I would like to thank everyone for all your well wishes. I'm happy to say that I am feeling much better and aside from a lingering (and very annoying) cough, I'm on the road to recovery. No more fevers in our house! We are all back to normal and feeling great! Welcome to cold and flu season. It started out with a bang! : )

 

 

 

view from my living room window...

So what have you all been up to? I went shopping this weekend.  I stepped into a Khols and was shocked to see Christmas trees, lighted garlands hanging from the rafters, and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas being piped through the store.  Are we rushing this a bit?  There is no doubt I am a huger lover of Christmas, but this might be pushing it a little - even for me.  Can we at least get through Halloween first?  I feel like we get a little more rushed every year.  How can we stop this? How do we stop the rush?

 

 

morning light in the kitchen...

 

 

OK, I'll admit I did take a little peek.  I browsed the aisle of ornaments and I even admired the Victorian Village houses (I really love those : ).  I hummed a few carols and since I was in that mode I started to mentally prepare a Christmas list.  It will come fast.  But no,  I'm not ready yet.  I haven't had enough of Fall yet. After all, it's only just begun.  I've only made one pumpkin bread so far.  That's not nearly enough to fill a whole season.

 

 

 

tea and pumpkin bread...mmm

 

 

So here's what I did.  I left that store and went to the Party Store to get the final touches of my son's Halloween costume (he has a Halloween dance coming up!). I stopped at Starbucks and treated myself to a salted caramel mocha coffee (OMG  Crazy Good!) and then went home and baked these pumpkin pie bars. 

 

It's beginning to feel a lot like Fall now! Boy do I feel better!

 

 

 

Recipe from Joy the Baker (www.joythebaker.com)

1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar (divided)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter
1 cup old-fashioned or quick oats
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp bourbon (optional)
a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 13x9 in pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.  Grease or spray foil with nonstick spray. 

Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and brown sugar in medium bowl.  Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in oats. 

Reserve 1 cup of oat mixture and put to the side.  Press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan.  Bake 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, bourbon, pumpkin, and spice with mixer until well blended. 

Pour over crust.  Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips.  (I used butterscotch : )

Bake 25 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes.  Use foil to transfer from pan to wire rack.  Cool completely before cutting.  I suggest refrigerate overnight to set.  It makes them much easier to cut. 

If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can easily make your own. 
Simply mix 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1 tsp allspice.  Mix together in a little jar and use as directed  : )

There will be plenty of time to enjoy all the holidays and I'm looking forward to each one! For now let's just count our blessing and enjoy every day - one pumpkin pie bar at a time!

Happy Fall! I hope tonight the smell of burning leaves and pumpkin spice finds you.....: ) 

Cranberry Cobbler

Last weekend we packed our car up and took a long drive up to Maine.  Even though it was overcast for most of the weekend we were still able to enjoy the beautiful colors of the trees!

Rangley, ME is a place to enjoy the simple things in life, like walks in the woods, throwing rocks in the lake, and feeding the ducks.  It was nice to get away from it all for a few days.  There is barely cell phone reception and there isn't a Walmart for miles! As long as you stock up on coffee and essentials on your way up, you'll be ok : )

We stayed with my parents in a cabin in the woods (literally!).  The night we arrived my mom made us a roast beef dinner.  It was just what we needed to warm us after the long trip - baked potatoes and gravy!  It felt like home.  It was damp and cold the whole time we were there, and I swear I could smell winter in the air.  Some of the mountain tops has snow on them!  It was a beautiful place to be.  Living in the moment. 

The only downside is that once we got home I got really sick - sore throat, cough, aching bones, ear ache, the real deal.  The kind of sick where you just want to stay in bed all day {but you can't because you're a mom, and mom's don't can't get sick}.  It's been over a week now and I still haven't completely shaken it. 

For two days, when I had completely lost my voice, I lived on this: Italian toast and hot chocolate.  I don't know why toast always makes me feel better when I'm sick, but it does.  Note: I added the whip cream to my hot chocolate to cheer myself up.  I was looking pretty awful! eek!

My sickness has also made it's way around the house.  My hubby had a cold last week, and presently, as I type this post, I have a little boy in bed next to me with a fever : (  

We are in desperate need of some comfort food around here and luckily the new edition of Everyday Food came today.  I have had a craving for something cranberry ever since I was on a hunt for them a few weeks back and was told they weren't "in stock" yet.  what?  This past week when I was grocery shopping I found them!  Yay!  I bought two bags and put them in the freezer until I decided what to do with them.  First up, I had to make this Cranberry Cobbler.  I just got a cast iron skillet from my Dad a few days ago and was dying to use it.  This recipe bakes the cobbler in the skillet.  I was intrigued.  It came out so good!  I'm looking forward to using it a lot more in the future. 

Cranberry Cobbler (from Everyday Food Magazine)

6 tbs unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
1 1/4 cups cranberries
3/4 cups, plus 2 tbs sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 10 inch cast-iron skillet.

Stir together cranberries and 2 tbs sugar.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar.  In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg, then whisk in melted butter.  Blend milk mixture to flour mixture until well combined. 

Pour batter into skillet and scatter cranberries on top. 

Bake until center springs back when lightly touched - 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving. 

Everyday Food calls this a cobbler, but I think it's more like a cross between a cobbler and a cake.  I served it warm, scooped out into bowls with vanilla ice cream on top. 

The edges were my favorite part - brown and crunchy!

This desert made all of us feel better : ) 


I hope you are enjoying the flavors and colors of the season!   And hopefully no one is sick, but if you are - try hot chocolate and toast.  It does wonders....xo


Danielle xo