National Pancake Day!

If it is good enough for IHOP, it is good enough for our kitchen! In honor of National Pancake Day, I thought I would share our very favorite pancake recipe. It has been tweaked and doubled and made to fit our family perfectly. Add blueberries, chocolate chips, dried apples, etc. to your own imaginative taste! Enjoy!

Pancakes
3 cups flour (use half white and half whole wheat if you like)
2 eggs
2 cups milk (buttermilk is even better)
6 T melted butter (use the real stuff)
1/4 cup sugar (sub brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon if you are doing apple pancakes)
2 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 cup real vanilla (I know this is a lot...it is worth it - yummy!)

Mix just until combined and ladle onto a hot griddle. Serve with syrup, fruit, and all the other yummies (My husband is a huge fan of bacon, so I will often cook the bacon first so there is a bit of bacon grease on the griddle - I do drain off most of it - in which to cook the pancakes. He loves that bacony crispy, greasy edge around his cakes! Hey - I never claimed these were healthy, just hearty and homey and every inch of their diameter is comfort food!)

Christmastime is here...

...Happiness and cheer

We are officially on Christmas break and my little family couldn't be happier! Even now I can hear little hands dragging through piles of matchbox cars, or is it legos? There is a soft hum coming from the direction of my daughter, as she absent-mindedly makes her way through her Christmas carol repertoire. The fireplace is keeping us toasty and there will be cookie baking soon. Are you enjoying these precious days with your kids home from school? What will you do to help them create memories to cherish? Will you bake with them (see www.janbrett.com for a great Gingerbread Baby recipe)? Perhaps you'll pop corn and string it while you watch a movie (White Christmas is a favorite around here). I hope you plan to sip hot chocolate, piled high with marshmallows, and snuggle in a cozy spot with a great book (For little kiddos, look for Bear Stays Up, Harold at the North Pole, and Cranberry Christmas; for bigs, you can't go wrong with The Bobbsey Twins or Happy Hollisters, and for you, I love The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society). Don't forget to sled with the kids (if you have snow, which we don't, boo hoo) or take a meandering walk through the woods (why not pick up pine cones while you're at it). Have soup on the stove for when you get back inside. Chicken is always a favorite.

Enjoy these days. Relish the rollicking running in and out and in and back outside again. Pleasure in the peace of a pile of kids with a plethora of page turners. Savor the sweet sticky smooches of candy cane lips. Build snow forts or blanket forts or eat under the dining room table. Set aside the every day (you didn't really want to do laundry today did you?) and dive headlong into the childish delight in today. Have fun with each of these days. Unwrap them like a gift placed before you at the dawn of each wool gray morning.

Happy happy winter vacation! Bliss!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hope all is well with you and yours as we head into the new year. Those of you who have kiddos at home this week, enjoy it! :0)

What's for Dinner?

Thought I would share some of our menu for Thanksgiving. I only make things I love, and these are truly yummy!
Enjoy! I will add pictures as I can.

Marcy's Roll's
Dissolve 1 pkg yeast with
2 T warm water and set aside
Mix 2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
Beat until smooth.
Add yeast mixture and beat well.
Add 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
Combine well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, split dough in half and roll each into a circle. Cut dough into wedges and roll each piece into crescent shape. Let rise under a towel on a cookie sheet 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
(Actually, someone else is bringing rolls this year, but I will make these this weekend to have with leftovers because we love them!)

Special Creamed Corn
Melt in large saucepan and stir until smooth and bubbly:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
generous pinch pepper
Slowly add:
16 oz whipping cream
16 oz. Half & Half
Stir until smooth.
Add 40 oz frozen corn
12 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
Bring to boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Simmer about 15 minute, stirring frequently.
(This is not like any creamed corn you have ever had)

Cranberry Sauce
Combine in a medium saucepot and bring to boil over medium heat:
1 pound fresh cranberries, washed and dried
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
Reduce heat to simmer and add
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Stir to blend and simmer 5-7 minutes. Add
juice and zest from one orange.
Cool before serving.
(I don't like cranberry sauce and I wanted to eat this like it was dessert! Yummy!)
Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli - Food Network

Balsamic Root Vegetables
Combine in a large slow-cooker:
(this is a doubled recipe - my slow-cooker is 8.5 quart and we will have 29 people!)
2 lbs parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4 large red onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
Layer over top:
3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Whisk together and pour over vegetables: (do not stir)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
6 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours or until vegetables are tender.
Toss with 2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley just before serving.
(This is new to the menu this year. I've never made it, but doesn't it look great?! I love that it is for the slow cooker, since my over and stove top will be occupied!)
Recipe courtesy Southern Living.

Smoky Bacon-Biscuit Dressing
Biscuits:
Stir together:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
Add
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
Stir until no lumps remain. Drop 1/4 cup batter onto an ungreased baking sheet, spacing the biscuits about 1 inch apart. Bake at 425 until the tops are pale golden and bottoms are golden brown 15-18. Makes 1 dozen biscuits.

Cut biscuits into cubes and toast on baking sheet in lower third of oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until lightly golden. Increase oven to 375.

Cook 1 pound bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
Drain on paper towels.
Using 3 Tbsp bacon grease, cook:
2 yellow onions, diced
Add and cook until tender:
5 celery stalks, diced
8 oz button mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced
1/4 cup choped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbs chopped fresh sage
2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Stir biscuits with bacon and vegetable mixture in large owl and add 5 cups chicken stock, stirring to combine.
Bake, covered, at 375 for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serves 10
(Another one that seems complicated but it well worth it. These biscuits are so good you will want to eat them all plain before you even get to make the stuffing!)
Recipe courtesy Williams Sonoma Kitchen.


Brined Herb Roasted Turkey
Dissolve 1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
in 2 gallons cold water
Add 2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary
Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water. Soak in brine, covered and refrigerated, for 4 - 24 hours (mine will be on the porch!)
Remove turkey from brinse and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Rub breast side with orange segments and all side with butter. Also rub with following mixture:
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
Place breast side up in heavy roasting pan, stuffing some butter under skin. Stuff turkey with
1 large ionion, cut into 1/8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 bunch sage
3-4 sprigs parsley

Roast according to weight and instructions on turkey, basting with chicken or turkey stock or broth.
(This looks complicated, but it isn't and it is worth every little bit of effort)
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Food Netowrk.

Sweet Leftovers

OK - so I know you are all falling off your chairs now because I am posting two days in a row, but don't be shocked. I am loving our week at home and enjoy sharing it here with you. Today, I wanted to share my great idea (I am quite certain I am not the first to do this, but it is the first time I have done it quite to this extent!)




In spite of the fact that my children did not get baskets full of candy from us on Easter morning, there still seemed to be lots in the house (thanks to loving grandmas!) So...today I had my older boys help me sort the loot. Fruity candy went into the candy jar to go in lunch boxes one piece at a time. All chocolate got unwrapped and tossed into a bowl. Then we chopped and cut it up (even the four inch crispy bunny!) and used the chocolaty pile instead of chocolate chips in our favorite cookie recipe. The results were sweet. Sweet! I also remembered that I had a partial half-gallon of vanilla ice cream (Edy's Slow Churned) in the freezer, so I made four ice cream sandwiches. Those will go with a meal tonight to friends from church who just had a baby. Fun!


It makes me giddy to take something of which I'd rather not have in my house and turn it into
a) a fun project and
b) a tasty treat


Enjoy your day. May it be as sweet as ours!

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

December is one of those months that can catch us off guard. There are so many things to do and see. We have attended kids' concerts and programs. We have shopped and wrapped. We have eaten ourselves silly and played games, even sillier, with our friends. It has been fun and I have worked hard to keep the busy hustle of the world at bay as much as possible. There was a week or so that was extra crazy, but the final two of the month we are blissfully enjoying in the comfy quiet of our home and in simple fun with our kids.

Some say Christmas is all about being together with family. Christians say, no, no, it is about Jesus, and of course it is! However, there is great merit in the together time of this special season. Our friends and our families bring us laughter and refreshment and often some much needed encouragement (and tears, I know, sometimes tears...). Christian family members sharpen and encourage our faith. Non-believing ones remind us to be bold in our witness and diligent in prayer. There is also much to be said for simply reconnecting with the ones with whom God has blessed us. During Christmas we catch up with each other and we remind our loved ones that we are there for them and they for us. If your family is like ours, you have loved ones who are excitedly anticipating great new things this new year and others who are prayerfully hoping for less change and more stability.

We are praying for jobs and good health and restoration for many we know. We are thankful for God's continued provision in our own household.

As we look ahead to 2010 (even writing that date feels like an entry in a sci-fi book!) we pray for God to continue His work in us. We know that He may choose things for us that we would never choose for ourselves, but we pray for His hand to be continually upon us, holding us up, guiding us on the path He has laid out before us.

What will your new year look like? As we finish out these last days of December, my prayer for you all is that you will join me in purposing to hug my kids more, especially the big ones, and take more time to hold my husband's hand. I want to hold my busy schedule with open hands before the Lord each day, asking Him to edit is as He sees fit. I want to want what He wants. Will you join me in asking Him for that?

December Dawning

Can it be December? September days were full of freshly sharpened pencils and shiny new two-pocket folders. Fresh, tart-sweet apple cider washed down our October days and cups of frothy hot treats accompanied our many days at the soccer field. Our fall went sailing past us on the ever cooling winds of the changing season. But November seems to have escaped me altogether! Have you seen my Veteran's Day? My National Peanut Butter Month? ;0) I blinked and we seemed to have leaped right off the neighbor's doorstep (trick or treat anyone?) right into our seat at a heavy laden dinner table! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Were you, like us, more stuffed than the turkey when the last drip of gravy was swiped off the table!

In spite of my apparent daze last month, we have landed in the precious month of our Savior's birth and I don't intend to miss a thing. The kids eagerly opened their first advent treat yesterday. They, like me, wish to savor every delectable minute of this special season.

How will you purpose to enjoy these next weeks? Will you carefully read your way through the book of Luke (did you know there are 24 chapters? Perfect for one per day until Christmas!) Will you open a special advent calendar each morning, counting down the days until the much anticipated 25th? Perhaps you will use your December weekends to go on a Christmas light tour, do some shopping, walk about your neighborhood caroling, hailing the newborn King! Whatever you do, may I challenge us all to make our plans carefully, choosing wisely the things that will bring our families together, and will point everyone to the One whose miraculous birth we celebrate? Join me in a slow, steadfast resistance to the bustling pace of the world around us this Christmas season!

Christmastime is here. Let's keep our eyes on the heavens, glorying in every precious snowflake on our faces, each sent by the One who drew us to Himself through His perfect Son.

Anticipation

In the weeks before Christmas, the air is thick with anticipation. The coming festivities envelop me with a warmth that permeates the cold December days and heats my very heart. Christmas carols in the car and twinkle lights in the windows keep me company at home and out and about and I get wrapped up and carried away. It is utterly delightful!

December 26 brings with it a bit of a vacuum. As is our nature, we tend to fill a vacuum, and in our house, we fill the days following Christmas with special treats like board games and books by the fire, movies with popcorn and long marvelous mornings sleeping in, the unwanted alarm clock sulkily unused across the room.

Somewhere in the week after December 25, a little bug bites me and give me the itch to regroup and repack and return to a life of routine. Don't get me wrong. I have not yet put away my decorations and I have no desire to give the alarm clock his reign over my morning. However, I find myself inexplicably drawn to websites like www.holdeverything.com and www.organize.com and www.containerstore.com and the giddy feeling I previously got from wrapping gifts is now coming from the thought of cleaning out my pantry. This is a sick twist, a strange trade off, but one that I find delightfully practical and, dare I admit it, welcome!

Until it is actually time to put things away (a few more days of festive pleasure) and move into the new year, I content myself to browse the occasional store ad full of totes and bins, linens and cleaning supplies. I pour over storage possibilities and sorting and purging tips like a gardener bides her winter time with seed catalogs. To everything there is a season and a time to every activity under heaven. I choose to take Solomon's wise (and inspired) words to heart and enjoy each season for what it has in store, with predictable turns and surprise endings alike!

Off I go to read my book before I tackle the pantry!

Happy New Year!

Ten Days of Christmas

Can it really be December 15? This month is rushing along like the shivering shoppers in the busy parking lots! How are you doing? I hope you are carefully considering your plates, as we talked about last time! I am trying and relying on my wise husband to keep me in check as well! So, in the interest of time, a quick note for today!

With ten days until Christmas, here's some stuff I still need to do.
10 - Sunday School Teacher Gifts (I think...I should count again!)
9 - Different kinds of cookies I still want to bake
8 - Presents I still need to buy (yikes - I thought I was more "done" than that!)
7 - Church events or meetings to attend
6 - Oranges for the toes of six stockings (actually, this is done - they are in my fridge!)
5 - Things I'm forgetting to do ;0)
4 - Children to take Christmas shopping for each other
3 - School parties on Friday
2 - Meals to make this week for other people
1 - Savior worth celebrating!

Happy Valentine's Day

Okay - so I am already behind because I had planned to update every Wednesday night and I missed it last night! Oops! For what it is worth, it was an extraordinarily busy day and I was just happy to make it through in one piece! I spent the morning speaking at a MOPS meeting about an hour and a half from here and the treacherous roads made the morning trip about two and a half hours long. Praise God, I made it safely and the talk went very well. It was well received and the ladies were very receptive and gracious! The topic of the talk was Loving and Encouraging Your Husband, and the timing, so near to Valentine's Day, was perfect. Thanks to all who prayed. It is humbling to be used this way, and the responsibility I felt to share the Truth while I had the platform was a little lighter burden knowing I was being upheld in prayer!

As for today, the balmy temperatures, which have been in the mid-twenties, have been a welcomed reprieve from the sub-zero temperatures that have been ravaging our days of late! The weather people are predicting more snow tonight, and I am beginning to wonder where they will put it when they plow!

Enjoy this special day, and take a moment to kiss your spouse and your kiddos and the other loved ones in your life and count them as the blessings that they are...