Celebrating Happy

Cranberry Cilantro Salsa

2014-01-06T10:47:00.003-08:00

Cranberry Cilantro Salsa is a refreshing and festive appetizer. We usually make this recipe during the holidays to snack on as a break from our "sweet" snacking.

I use a whole bag of fresh cranberries, but frozen are just as good. This recipe is so simple, you throw all the ingredients in a food process, let it go for about a minute and your done! Serve the salsa with a cube of cream cheese. Sometimes we pour the salsa over the cream cheese for a more dramatic presentation.

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

2013-12-30T14:18:00.000-08:00

I confess...my least favorite Christmas activity is frosting sugar cookies. By the time I get the cookies mixed, rolled, cut and baked I am done with the kitchen. I know that it is a tradition for most families and out of obligation I will eventually give in and make them with my kids. I would much rather be relaxing by the tree listening to my Bing Crosby.

For neighbor gifts this year, I made red and white pinwheel cookies. This was my first time making them and was delighted at how they turned out. They were much easier that the traditional cut out cookies and required to additional decorating, which is my favorite part about these.

Once you have the dough made, divide the dough in half. Dye one dough half red and roll out both into a rectangle exactly the same size.

When making the red dough, I used red gel food coloring and also added a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder. I use this same trick when making red fondant frosting. The cocoa powder makes the dough red rather than pink.

I think the trick to this is to roll each dough on a silicone mat and make sure they measure the same. Keep the dough about 1/4 in thick. The silicone mat make it easy to place one dough on top of the other and rolling the dough tightly.

Before slicing the dough, I rolled it in pearl sprinkles. This was easy and a great solution to adding decoration. My mom also made the same cookies, but once the cookies were cooked, she went the extra mile and made a glaze to cover the sides. Then she rolled the sides in crushed candy cane.

Most sugar cookie dough recipe will work when making these. Since we don't cook with eggs, I will share our favorite egg free sugar cookie recipe.

Recipe adapted from: Art of Dessert

White Chocolate Butter Cookies with Peppermint Cream Filling

2013-12-30T13:23:00.002-08:00

It isn't Christmas without baking. The Christmas season is the perfect time to tryout new festive recipes.

These cookies have the same buttery texture as shortbread with a slight white chocolate flavor. The peppermint cream filling is what really makes these the perfect Christmas cookie. I doubled the recipe and took them to several Christmas parties.

You can see from the picture that my filling turned out a pretty color of pink, this was from crushing the candy cane too much. I gave the job of crushing to my husband and he pounded them into dust. (maybe holiday stress?). Next time, I will leave the candy canes more intact so to have a white cream with larger candy cane pieces.

Dusting the cookies with powdered sugar added a special snowy touch.

Recipe adapted from: Beyond Frosting

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2013-12-29T13:53:00.000-08:00

We have a list of family traditions that my husband and I are very strict to follow each Christmas season. As a young married couple we sat down and wrote all our memories about Christmas time that made it so magical for us. Our list is growing and is always a work in process as we make our own traditions. Here is our list:

Egg Free Dinner Rolls

2013-12-20T18:05:00.001-08:00

What is a holiday meal without fresh hot rolls? This was the question I had when I got out my favorite homemade roll recipe last Thanksgiving only to see that it had eggs. I was bummed out because it was about the same time we discovered my son had an egg allergy.

I quickly went to work searching for trust worthy egg free roll recipes. Thank goodness for Pioneer Woman, she save the day with her roll recipe that doesn't call for any eggs. I adapted the method she uses to match they way I made my old roll recipe. We love this recipe and have used it often and are always gobbled up.

After the second time letting the dough rise, I split the dough in half and roll it into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick and spread melted butter over the top. Cut the rolled dough into smaller rectangles about 2'' x 4''. Then roll them up and place on a grease baking pan.

Peppermint Butter Toffee

2013-12-10T11:35:00.003-08:00

My husband is an expert toffee maker. One of the dates we had before we were married was making toffee. He learned the technique from his mom and grandma which I thought was very sweet and earned him lots of points. He uses the look and smell test to tell when the boiling sugar becomes actual toffee. I, however, do not trust myself enough to make it without the help of a candy thermometer.

This recipe for toffee always produces delicious results. The toffee is crunchy, yet melts in your mouth. My favorite topping is crushed candy cane which makes it a special treat to take to a Christmas party or to give to neighbors.

THANKSGIVING 2013

2013-11-25T15:15:00.002-08:00

This will be our first Thanksgiving in our new home. This is exciting for me since this is our first home that has enough space to use the leaf in our dinning table. We will be having my sister and her family over for dinner, which means there will be five children under 6 years old. I have had a lot of fun searching the internet and creating some fun actives for these kids to keep them entertained (and out of trouble).

Activity #1

Homemade Butter

The children's fist job will be to make butter. It is a good job for kids to do while the adults help preparing dinner and they can feel like they contributed to the feast.

How to make butter:

Put some heavy cream into a jar and screw of a lid tightly
Begin to shake it. (put on some music and have fun)
The cream has little ball of fat and protein init. When you shake the jar, you get the fat and protein balls to stick together.
Keep shaking until it thickens, about 10 minutes
Now you have a big glob of butter and the leftover liquid is buttermilk.

Activity #2

Activity Book

I loved this activity book. I altered some of the pages and added a few other ideas, but it will be fun for the children to work on together or if they need some alone time.

activity book

Activity #3

Roll a Turkey Game

This is a festive game that most any age will have fun playing.

roll a turkey coloring page

Activity #4
Eat Mr. Turkey
This is my favorite one! I created this game to try to ~~bribe~~ convince the kids to taste everything on their dinner plate. These are the materials I used but you can use anything you already have on hand.

Materials:

1 package of Golden Oreos
1 container of mini golden Oreos
candy corn
Pieces of red pull apart licorice
large white sprinkles
print out game sheet

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

2013-11-19T15:42:00.001-08:00

Rather than making the regular white or wheat bread, make this seasonal pumpkin bread and get in the fall spirit.

I usually make homemade bread every other week- I love making bread, mostly because I know how much my family loves eating warm bread. In the fall, I mix things up a bit by adding pumpkin and pumpkin spices to our bread.

This bread is especially good toasted with a little butter or as a special french toast breakfast.

Sriracha Roasted Cauliflower

2013-11-19T15:41:00.001-08:00

It is a tough job to get kids to eat vegetables, but it can be an even tougher job for a wife to get her husband to eat his vegetables as well. This is the case in our house. Every time I make a vegetable as a side dish, I feel like I am the only one eating them.

This cauliflower is the perfect side dish for my husband. It has an asian taste with a kick from Sriracha sauce. I am usually pretty sensitive to hot foods but this recipe has a lot of flavor other than just heat which makes it tolerable for me and very scrumptious.

Pumpkin Cream Swirl Cookies

2013-11-19T15:40:00.001-08:00

This is one of our favorite cookies to make each fall. It has the classic pumpkin chocolate chip cookie taste with the added bonus of a creamy cream cheese filling.

Another bonus to these cookies are that they come out bigger than other cookies I make because of the rolling method (and you have to eat a whole cookie). They really are easy to make, and yet very impressive to serve to guests or to take around to neighbors.

I made these cookies without the egg and the still turned out amazing. Make sure to refrigerate the dough at least 30 minutes to make sure it is stiff enough to roll without making a sticky mess; even though sticky messes can be very yummy messes to clean up.

Favorite Roasted Carrots

2013-11-13T14:03:00.001-08:00

I get a little sentimental when I make these carrots. My husband and I made this recipe a lot when we were first married, living in a small dumpy basement apartment. We were both busy working and going to school, so between homework and preparing for the next day we would cook together. Roasted carrots were usually our side dish or occasionally our main dish about twice a week.

I still love to make this recipe for roasted carrots as a quick side dish that I know everyone will eat and love.

Lucky for us, our neighbor generously gave us a handful of freshly pulled carrots from his garden which add an extra sweet flavor. Eating homegrown food always tastes better!

Homemade Gummy Candy (Zucchini Candy)

2013-11-07T17:41:00.001-08:00

Extra zucchini? Tired of trying to sneak it in casseroles or breads?

Yes!

I first heard of making zucchini candy from my friend who raved about how good it was. I thought she was a little over excited about it, so I jumped on the internet and found that others were just as excited. Now, after finally finding a use for my last zucchini, I am just as excited to share the method for making this addicting treat.

Although they are not the most attractive looking snack, they really are delish and have the texture of real gummy worms! Just one more way to get my family to eat their vegis.

Perfect Pumpkin Waffles with Pumpkin Spice Syrup

2013-11-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

I am not crazy about the Halloween holiday (really because I am a giant scaredy cat). However I do enjoy all the creative treats and foods that are made during this season. Making pumpkin food is a tradition during fall; and these pumpkin waffles are always on the top of our list to make. We made these waffles for dinner the night before Halloween. I think it is now one of our ways to celebrate halloween eve from now on.

The recipe is actually for pancakes, but my son requested waffles so waffles is what he got. The recipe worked great in my waffle machine, I just had to spray it between each waffle.

The waffles were great....the Pumpkin Spice Syrup was AMAZING. The added spice really made this "breakfast" dinner special. I also use this syrup as a sweetener for plain yogurt in the mornings.

Halloween Tradition Check List

2013-10-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Fall Tradition Check List

2013-10-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Apple Cider Ice Cream

2013-09-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing sweeter than tasting an apple in season. My husband and I were amazed when we tasted a apple I had just bought from the grocery store. The sugar in the apple made our mouths water and my husband truthfully said, "this is how a apple should taste".

This recipe for Apple Cider Ice Cream was inspired by all of the "real" apples we have eaten this fall. I decided to add a little of Stephen's Carmel Apple Cider Mix to the ice cream to give it a hint of carmel goodness. We LOVED this recipe. I can say that it is my now three year old's favorite. He downed his bowl of ice cream and then asked for a straw to slurp up the melted left overs.

Mama's Cinnamon Zucchini Bread

2013-09-15T14:46:00.002-07:00

The scent of warm zucchini bread means one thing... Welcome FALL. I wish I could bottle the smell in our house while this bread is cooking. The smell of cinnamon and sweet brown sugar makes me want to wrap myself in a blanket and forget about my responsibilities.

The frist time I made this recipe was in college when I decided to break open my family cookbook for the first time. It was after making this zucchini bread recipe that I realized how fun it was to create something that made others so happy. My roommates (and myself) were quite surprised at how good it turned out and found ourselves making it whenever we could get our hands on a free zucchini.

Years later, I am making the same zucchini bread that now delights my young children. My two year old could eat a whole loaf if I let him. With his egg allergy, I substitute an extra 1/4 cup of pureed zucchini and a little extra oil and it tastes just as good. The texture turns out a little more crumbly without the eggs but it all ends up in crumbs anyways with kids eating it.

Peaches Peaches Peaches

2013-09-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

I come from a long line of "canners". My mom and grandma and great grandma and so on until who knows when have all been amazing food preservers. I have seen pictures of my grandmother's cold cellar with shelves full of bottled food that grew in their own gardens. I can't even imagine the amount of work and time it took for them to grow a successful garden, pick and bottle the food, and yet still take care of a family and a house. This makes me feel so lazy.

I am lucky to have learned a little about bottling from my mother who herself has spent many hours bottling mostly peaches, pears, apricots, and apple pie filling. She has specific tips on bottling peaches that are recited before and during every bottling experience.

Peach Cobbler Muffins

2013-09-04T16:47:00.001-07:00

Peaches are in the top five for my favorite fruits. There is nothing more delicious than eating a freshly picked peach with its juice running down your chin. We live close to a city known for growing peaches the size of grapefruits that are always sweet and ready to be eaten. If fact they even have a weekend festival called Peach Days just to celebrate there bountiful crop. We go every year just to buy homemade peach cobbler.

With inspiration from "Peach Days" and my over supply of peaches from our tree, I decided to make Peach Cobbler Muffins. These muffins are bursting with peachy goodness. I usually make these with larger chunks of peaches than are shown, however, my two year old will not eat the muffins unless the peaches are almost out of sights. What sacrifices I make to please him.

Lemonhead Cookies

2013-08-22T19:26:00.002-07:00

Well, it is here. The official last few days of summer. I wait all winter to bath in the warmth of the sun and it is over in a blink.

This cookie is my farewell to my beloved sunshine. It has one of my favorite summer flavors, lemon (it makes me happy just to think about it). This recipe idea came to me from my mother; and I immediately jumped into the kitchen and started experimenting. The lemon flavor comes from not only real lemons but... pulverized Lemonhead candy.

Lemonheads are a hard candy that are on the verge of being too sour for my taste buds. However, when they are crushed into a fine powder and mixed with butter and sugar- delicious!

These are fun cookies to make anytime of year, yet perfect to enjoy as we sadly say goodbye to our summer fun.

Lemon Pizza

2013-08-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

I love the freshness of lemon and I loved this pizza. It had such a burst of citrus that is so unique to pizza!

We eat pizza usually once a month or as requested from my husband. When I introduced the idea of a lemon pizza he was very skeptical and gave me one of his looks- the one with a raised eye brow. I continued making despite the flashes of his eye brow in my mind.

I want to continue to experiment with lemon on pizza with different combinations.... maybe a garlic cream cheese sauce? Yum!

Firework Oreo Chex Mix

2013-07-21T16:43:00.001-07:00

For the 4th of July this year, we celebrated by going to the annual city parade, barbequing with family, and to top it off.... fireworks! Not only did we end the night watching fireworks, we also experienced "fireworks" in our mouths.

Attending firework shows has always been a favorite July tradition. As a child I watched with amazement at the colorful lights with the loud booms. Then as a teenager, cuddling up to a love interest and having an excuse to lay extra close. And now as a parent, I love watching my kids' eyes as they stare in awe and glance at me with a look that says, "what is going on?". Great holiday.

I was so excited to surprise my family with this chex mix that is made with crushed oreo cookies, white chocolate, and...pop rocks. The pop rocks provide the "firework" sensation. It was fun to hype up the special fireworks in our mouths to our two year old. We all loved it and will now be a tradtion to do every 4th of July.

Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges

2013-07-13T11:34:00.001-07:00

We love sweet potato fries. I usually bake them in the oven, but I decided use our grill to make them more "summery" with grill marks. This is now my favorite method to cook them. The texture was slightly crispy yet smooth and almost creamy on the inside.

I seasoned the fries with lime zest and cilantro to add a fresh summer taste and a little chili powder for a smokey flavor. Now I just need to be invited to a summer BBQ so I can make these again to share.

The Fluffernutter Cookie

2013-07-08T09:02:00.001-07:00

Peanut butter and marshmallow are not strangers. They are deliciously paired together in the classic sandwich from my childhood, the Fluffernutter.

I remember my mom making fluffernutters often; which if you are not aware, are a peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwich. I loved eating them for lunch since I thought of them as a dessert or treat.

Naturally, combining marshmallow and peanut butter again with the addition of chocolate into a cookie was a huge success. These are my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. They are soft and dense with peanut butter. I made them egg free by substituting 1/2 cup greek yogurt for the egg and they turned out great. Next time I make these, I am going to try substituting a mashed banana to replicate the "Elvis Presley Sandwich".

Inspired by: Sally's Baking Addiction

Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream

2013-07-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

The only dessert that I want to make in the summer is ice cream. It is easy, refreshing and the flavor combinations are endless. The best part is that there is no oven to turn on.

I have always loved lemon desserts. As a child, instead of a decorated birthday cake, I asked for lemon pie. It was either lemon meringue pie, lemon pudding pie, or lemon sour cream pie. Whatever kind it was, I loved it!

Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream combines my favorite summer dessert with my favorite flavor. The addition of marshmallows, lemon curd, and graham cracker crumbles really makes this taste like a cold lemon meringue pie.

Since I couldn't find any egg free lemon curd at the store, I had to make my own. It turned out amazing! The texture was surprisingly very jelly and it set up quite a bit. If you make the egg free lemon curd, I would suggest adding it to your ice cream before it cools all the way.

The graham cracker crumbles are easy to make, but you could also use a store bought graham cracker crust and crush it as well. Making the crumbles ensures that they stay crunchy in the ice cream.