Thank You…
Party time Recipes
Yesterday afternoon I hosted an Arbonne Skin Care Party for a dear friend of mine. I booked it a few weeks back, and thought, “I have PLENTY of time to get my house in order!” Well… Plenty of time is NEVER enough when you have 5 little ones running around!
So, needless to say, I was totally stressed out not quite ready, with just a couple hours till party time. But… THANKS to 3 of my SWEET SISTERS,
it all came together at the last second! We were even able to get a few yummy treats made and I thought I would share the recipes since they were all SO delicious and would be perfect for all the Christmas parties coming up!
The first recipe is a favorite around here… Especially of my hubby’s… He loves anything that contains cherries! It is so easy and so festive that I usually make it for with our Christmas brunch!
Cherry Cheese Coffee CakeCake & filling
2 (8 oz. each) pkgs. refrigerated crescent rolls
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
21 oz. can cherry pie fillingGlaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milkPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll crescent dough and arrange 12 of the triangles in a circle with wide ends toward the outside edge of the Large Round Stone – the points will not meet in the center. Lightly flour and roll out the seams making a 14″ circle with a 3″ hole in the center. Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg & vanilla and spread over dough. Top with pie filling. Cut each of the 4 remaining triangles into thirds (starting at the wide end opposite the point and cutting lengthwise to the point). Arrange over filling evenly in spoke-like pattern. Press ends to seal at center and outer edges. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. Mix powdered sugar and milk until glaze consistency and drizzle over coffee cake.
I figured with a house full of women I HAD TO HAVE something made with chocolate… So, I decided on this delicious brownie recipe. It was also very easy to make as are most Pampered Chef Recipes. (I LOVE Pampered Chef!)
Triple Layer Brownies
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 package (19-21 oz.) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make brownies)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Additional chopped peanuts (optional)Prep time: 10 minutes1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray Rectangular Baker with nonstick cooking spray. Chop peanuts using Food Chopper. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and peanuts in Small Batter Bowl. Add butter; mix well. Press oat mixture onto bottom of Baker. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven.
2. Meanwhile, prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Gently spoon batter over partially baked crust; carefully spread to edges of Baker. Bake according to package directions for brownies (28-30 minutes). Cool completely.
3. Combine chocolate morsels and peanut butter in Small Micro-Cooker. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over cooled brownies using Large Spreader. Sprinkle with additional chopped peanuts, if desired. Cool until chocolate mixture is set. Cut into bars. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.
Chicken Satay Spring Rolls
Ingredients:Sauce
1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated fresh gingerroot
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepperSpring Rolls
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1/2 small cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into julienne strips
4 (8-inch) round or square rice paper wrappers (see Cook’s Tip)
1 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves
8 ounces thinly sliced deli chicken or turkey
12 sprigs fresh cilantro1. For sauce, finely grate gingerroot using Grater. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine gingerroot, peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, water, garlic pressed with Garlic Press and cayenne pepper. Whisk until smooth using Stainless Whisk; set aside.
2. For spring rolls, chop peanuts using Food Chopper; set aside. Score cucumber lengthwise using Lemon Zester/Scorer. Remove seeds using The Corer™. Using Ultimate Slice & Grate fitted with adjustable thin slicing blade, slice cucumber. Slice bell pepper into thin strips using Chef’s Knife.
3. Cut carrot into long julienne strips using Julienne Peeler.
4. To assemble spring rolls, moisten both sides of one rice paper wrapper with water using Pastry Brush. Arrange one-fourth of the spinach leaves over wrapper, leaving a 1-inch space along edges. Top with one-fourth of the chicken and spread with a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle with peanuts. Arrange cucumber, bell pepper, carrot and cilantro sprigs over chicken, allowing cilantro leaves to extend outside edges of wrapper.
5. Roll up spring roll tightly; repeat with remaining wrappers. Cut each spring roll into fourths using Serrated Bread Knife. Stand pieces up on Simple Additions® Rectangle Platter and serve.
Variation: Chicken Satay Tortilla Wraps: If desired, four burrito-size tortillas (11-11 1/2 inches), trimmed into 9-inch squares, can be substituted for the rice paper wrappers. Do not moisten tortillas. Spread peanut sauce onto one side of tortillas, sprinkle with chopped peanuts, then layer with spinach leaves and chicken. Proceed as recipe directs in Step 3.
**I really think that the Rice Paper makes them the best and is VERY unique! Rice paper wrappers are thin, round or square sheets that are made from rice flour. They have a translucent, white appearance and are shelf stable. Rice paper wrappers can be found in Asian or specialty food markets.
If any of you try these, let me know what you think!
Tribute to the Blessed Virgin
I wanted to share this beautiful video with you today since it is the Solemnity Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It was created by the same friend who made our All Saints video, and is “a tribute to the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in the plan of salvation.”
Creating our Christ Candle
Today is the Feast of St. Ambrose! You can read about him here.
St. Ambrose is the Patron Saint of Candlemakers, among other things, so I thought it would be a good day to let the children decorate our Christ Candle in time to drape it with blue cloth tomorrow, December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On Christmas Eve we will remove the cloth to reveal Christ and replace our Advent Candles with this one as we celebrate Christmas.
We really enjoyed reading the story of St. Ambrose out of wonderful book we just purchased titled Once upon a time Saints. The children were all quite captivated and I look forward to reading more stories from this book.
However, when it came time to decorate our candle, I was not quite sure what to use since the supplies I ordered ended up being out of stock and have yet to arrive… Captain had the great idea of using some nativity stickers I purchased last year! Now how easy is that! We tied a big gold ribbon around the candle and the kids got busy applying stickers.
I wish I would have made a yummy treat like Matilda and Meredith..these two women never cease to amaze me…but, alas, that was not to be. Definitely next year!
St. Ambrose ~ Pray for us!
Inspirational Advent Reading
My husband just posted the
by Saint John Vianney
over at his blog Unam Ecclesiam. This, along with all the sermons for the church year including holy days and special feast, by the dear Cure’ of Ars can be found in this book that I purchased for husband a few years back…
It is well worth the time to hop over there to read and contemplate this sermon.
It begins:
“In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.”
Ecclus. vii. 40
“How is it that these truths, which have converted so many sinners, make so little impression upon us? Ah! my brethren, that is because we do not take them to heart sufficiently. Behold, my brethren, how much Jesus Christ wishes to save us; at one time he appears to us as a poor child in the crib, lying on a handful of straw, which He moistens with His tears; again treated like a criminal, bound, pinioned, crowned with thorns, scourged, falling under the weight of the cross, and dying in martyrdom out of love for us. “
Click here to read the rest. Oh! You can also read his sermon on purgatory here.
And what a feast it was!
The children were up bright and early this morning… They scurried down the hall and were VERY excited to find their new slippers, books, and gold coins, in addition to the special breakfast. In fact, it was early enough for Daddy to read a brief story of St. Nicholas before leaving for work!
OK…
I just had to draw your attention to this little portion, of the above picture, that I cropped out.
Isn’t it precious!?!
Now, if only the others could pay such close attention!
Rascal enjoyed showing Snuggles… (Hubby really didn’t like Peanut, and this name is very fitting — sorry for the change!)… his new book from St. Nick.
The day ended up being filled with activities… Lots of crafts, books, and even a trip to the library so we could check out some more books off the Christmas Mosaic book list. The kids are just devouring them! I feel a tinny bit guilty walking out of the library with all most of the Christmas books! Oh!! While we were at the library I reserved one of their conference rooms. I want to put together a Winter Christmas Storytime like Dawn did! I think it would be such fun. Now I just need to round up some friends!
Now… I must get my self to bed. I don’t do well without sleep, and last night it was 3AM before I collapsed got into bed… I’m wondering if it is time to start giving Snuggles solids… He has been wanting to eat all night long. He just fell asleep, so I’m off! Goodnight and God Bless!
Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!
My hubby and I started a tradition with our kids, of giving them new slippers every year for the feast of St. Nicholas. My kids love it and REALLY look forward to it. I always have such fun picking out the slippers… Aren’t those Pink Boots darling?!?
This year I decided to start a new tradition of giving them a Christmas Book as well to add to our collection. With 5 kids, we will have quite the collection in no time… All the books I choose for this year are from Cay Gibson’s Catholic Mosaic book list. Thank you Cay for all the wonderful books you have introduced us to! The titles pictured above are: The Miracle of St. Nicholas; The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey; The Legend of the Poinsettia; A Small Miracle; and Saint Nicholas.
Our table is set ready for breakfast! I did end up making the Candy Cane Coffee Cake, and it looks so yummy! I can’t wait till morning! I have a little Saint Nicholas statue that my sister Julianna painted for us about 6 years ago, it’s so cute, and I pull it out every year! Normally, I place the kids bags of coins with their note from St. Nick in their new slippers but, with the fire going I was afraid they would melt 🙂 So they ended up on their plates… I don’t think they will mind!
Other decorations around our home include:
Our Nativity set… Or the beginnings of it any ways. As Advent progresses and we get closer and closer to Christmas we will be adding to it. At this point, it is pretty bare 🙂
Here is our Advent Wreath and our Tree. This year I ended up just picking up a wreath at Costco instead of making our own. I think it looks pretty though! Our mantle is aglow with a lovely strand of white and silver garland Christmas lights that I bought at the last St. Vincent Auction we went to with some friends. And our tree is super TALL! I LOVE it! The boys went with daddy, Aunt Bridget & Uncle Shawn to cut it down in the mountains. We will decorate it closer to Christmas.
Here is a picture of Daddy putting together our Advent Calendar last Saturday night! The kids were VERY captivated!
Chiquita and Twinkle Toes were the first 2 to open the boxes!
One last decoration I’ll share is our candles in the window. Teresa Zepeda, in her book Celebrating the Faith in the Home, describes the tradition as follows:
“This simple touch has both symbolic and historical significance. It symbolizes that, unlike the inn at Bethlehem, we do have room in our homes and hearts for the coming Christ. And it also calls to mind that throughout history great sacrifices have been required of God’s faithful people. During the persecutions in Ireland following the Reformation, fugitive priests would travel from house to house offering Mass in the night. Every Irish family deeply wished to be honored with a priest’s visit on Christmas eve, and the candles in the window were a secret welcome to any priest who might be near. The doors were left unlocked so the priest could enter silently and wake the family. The lighted candles and unlocked doors were explained to the English authorities as symbols of welcome to Jesus, Mary & Joseph, who allowed it as “harmless superstition.””
And being Irish myself, I can’t pass up this Irish Tradition! Now… If only we could get a priest to stop by and say Mass Christmas Eve… How cool would that be!?
Noah’s Ark …
The kids loved putting together the Noah’s Ark Collage and looking through a wonderful book about Noah’s ark the other day after reading the bible story for our Jesse Tree.
Afterwards, I decided to give Trina’s suggestion a try, and have the kids act out the bible story… Captain, wasn’t sure he wanted to–he is definitely the shy one of the bunch, but I told them if they did a short play for me, I would let them have a treat of some sort.
Now, they had listened to Strengthened by God at least twice already this week, so they had a definite idea of what they were “suppose to say” in their play.
It went as follows:
Rascal: Uh, er, uh, er (while drilling into the table ark)
Captain: Actually, I don’t want to…
Rascal: But you have to, come on!
Captain: No… Ooohh! OK… Noah, Noah, Noah!
Rascal: Who’s there?
Captain: It’s your Lord God speaking.
Rascal: Then you say, “Noah, I have more work for you.”
Captain: No, not “more” MUCH!
Rascal: What?
Captain: Build me an Ark! 40 cubics wide and forty cubics tall.
Rascal: What for? Why?
Twinkle Toes pipes in with her cute little voice: He’s gonna bring a FLOOD! You need to get all the animals!
Rascal: OH! I forgot to get the animals.
Captain: Wait.. I have more work for you! You need to collect animals for the ark.
Rascal: But where do I put them?
Captain: Put 2 of each animal in the ark. Chiquita, can you go get some animals?
Twinkle Toes: We need pretend animals.
(Here Rascal & Chiquita run back to the bedrooms and grab a handful each of stuffed animals.)
Rascal: I got some, but I only have one monkey. Chiquita can be the other monkey.
(This is said as Chiquita is trying to escape with the monkey.)
OK. I’ll put the animals on the table… It’s the ark.
*It starts to get a bit chaotic in the room.
Captain: QUIET! I’m trying to think… don’t put the animals on the ark yet, I didn’t tell you to yet.
Rascal: Yes you did!
Twinkle Toes: You need to say that there will never be a flood again…
Rascal: And that I lived to be 50 YEARS old! Or something…
(I guess 50 is old to my little ones.)
There “play” was quite interesting… Much more so than it sounds in writing! We will have to try this again. Thanks for the idea Trina!
Anyways, the kids wanted me to post pictures of their artwork! Enjoy 🙂
Captain ~ Age 7
Rascal ~ Age 5
Twinkle Toes ~ Age 4
Chiquita ~ Age 2
Off to Mass
Chiquita just walked up to me with her jacket on and said:
Chiquita: Bye, Bye Mommy.
Me: Where are you going Chiquita?
Chiquita: To Mass!
Me: How are you going to get there?
Chiquita shrugs her shoulders, grins at me, and walks off singing “Alleluia” while looking at the pictures in “Green Eggs and Ham”…
The Legend of the Candy Cane and Recipe
This year, for the feast of St. Nicholas, I am planning on making a Candy Cane Coffee Cake and St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa for Breakfast. I thought I would take a second and share the recipes with you all.
Like the Advent wreath, the candy cane is also packed with symbolism as well:
“According to legend there was a candy maker who wanted to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ.
I just requested the book The Legend of the Candy Cane from the library. It sounds great, and I am looking forward to reading it to the kids… Here is a link to a Candy Cane Acrostic page as well. It would be fun to try and create one with the symbolism of the “Candy Cane”.
Now, on to the recipes!
Candy Cane Coffee CakeCoffee Cake
1 16-ounce package of Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 cup very warm Milk
1/4 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
3/4 cup dried Cranberries or Cherries
1/2 cup Cherry Preserves
1 tablespoon WaterGlaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milkPreheat oven to 375°F. For coffee cake, combine hot roll mix, yeast packet and granulated sugar in a bowl. Separate 1 egg white from yolk; reserve white. Add milk, butter, whole egg and egg yolk to a bowl. Stir until mixture forms a ball.
Turn dough out onto well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead dough 5 minutes. Sprinkle additional flour over surface as needed to reduce stickiness. Cover; let dough rest 5 minutes.
Chop pecans; combine with the dried fruit in a bowl. Place dough in center of lightly floured rectangle stone; roll into 12 x 15-inch. Spread preserves in 6-inch strip lengthwise down center of dough to within 1/4 inch of each end; sprinkle fruit mixture evenly over preserves.
Cut 1-inch-wide strips on each side of fruit filling to within 1/2 inch of filling. Lift strips of dough across filling to meet in center, twisting each strip one turn; pinch together in center to seal. Tuck ends up to seal. Lift and stretch one end of shaped dough using spatula; curve to form cane. Cover; let rise in warm place 30 minutes.
Lightly beat reserved egg white with 1 tablespoon water; brush over dough using a Pastry Brush. Bake 20-23 minutes or until deep golden brown.
For glaze, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth; drizzle over warm coffee cake. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into 1-inch slices.
Yield: 15 servings (This is a modified Pampered Chef Recipe)
For the Hot Cocoa, we will just add Torani Peppermint Syrup to our favorite Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa. In the past I have made jars of the recipe found in this post as gifts, and it was delicious! The kids will also each get a candy cane to stir their cocoa with for extra fun!
O good holy Nicholas,
you who brought joy to children,
put in my heart the spirit of childhood
about which the Gospel speaks.
Teach me how to sow
happiness around me. Amen.
—Prayer to St. Nicholas
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