What we are doing today

So..... remember this blog post?

We have been friends for years and we are always trying to take the perfect photo.



So today, we are {hopefully} finally going to do that! I am so excited!



We are meeting this lady at the Guthrie and then we are going to take some pictures with the Minneapolis skyline behind us. The Lord has directed us all in different directions in our life, and I imagine we all won't be here, in the Cities, forever. So we wanted a picture to symbolize where we all started, because only He knows where we will be next year!



Can't wait to see all you guys tonight!

And stay tuned for pics!

It's true.

I made these bars.

They don't look like anything special. Aidan turned up his nose at them.

I am sure that if I gave you a plate of cookies you would pass them by in favor of something chocolaty or frosted.

But they. are. so. good.

Really. You should try them. In case you need some more persuading, Aidan did eventually eat one, and now he loves them too. Plus he thinks they are a healthy option. In face, yesterday he even tried to say he didn't need to eat a vegetable or fruit for lunch because he had enough fruit in his bar.

Merry Christmas!

To those of you whose address I do not have, or who, like my aunt, live in an area where mail delivery is somewhat unpredictable.


I love checking the mail this time of year because it is so much fun to open the cards and get new family pictures from our friends. All the cards I get end up on our fridge. Now, they always tell you in decorating magazines to de-clutter your fridge, but I love that when I working in the kitchen I am surrounded by the faces of people who have played a special part in our lives over the past decade.

(p.s. A friend designed our cards. If you want your own for next year you can find her here. And another friend took the pictures. You can find her here.)

Merry Christmas To You

I debated sharing this with you.

I still don't know if I should.

Sharing with anyone probably decreases my chances of ever winning.

However, as my readership is pretty minimal I guess it is a chance I will take.

My mom is really the one who told me about this site, and she has debated sharing for the same reasons.

So sorry Mom. I never won anything anyway. But to the rest of you, be sure to tell me if you win so I can vicariously enjoy the moment with you.

So Merry Christmas! This will be my last post for awhile. We are getting ready to load up the car and head to Kahl's in southern MN for a few days and then to Iowa to see my side of the family! We will have to catch up when we return. Enjoy your holiday.

One Christmas down.....

(talking to one of the Grandma's to tell her our arrival will be about a week late)

..... I don't know how many we still have! Our trip plans may all be changed thanks to the weather. We are hoping to get ahead of the storm tomorrow and head to James parent's after work but after that I have no idea what is going to happen. I only know my parents have decided not to drive this weekend so that means hopefully next week we can rendezvous in Iowa and see my Grandma's and my parents. (and becuase I am super stoked about Jane and my mom's gifts, and I can't really post about them until they both have seen them, which will be delayed now. (Although who am I kidding. I called and told my mom what I got them the day I ......... can't give out too much information here.................)

In the meantime we had our own little family Christmas. We ate at Chipotle, (Aidan's choice even though he doesn't really like it, but whatever) drove around Northeast and checked out some lights, then headed to Macy's downtown to see A Day in the Life of an Elf. So cute. They always do such a nice job.

This is Aidan getting ready to go. He is super stoked about wearing that sweatshirt, because I usually don't buy him screen printed clothes, especially not ones with superhero's. They bug me.

Can you even tell we are related????

(In case you don't know me that is pure sarcasm.)

Aidan also saw Santa Claus for the first time ever. We have never really talked about Santa before but for some reason this year it is a big deal to him. Santa told him he would bring him broccoli and lima beans and Aidan just shrugged, "Okay." Santa also told him to make lots of snow angels in the yard this week, and Aidan is already making plans about how many we should make. Could be worse.

We made our annual stop at Candyland. And then scheduled our annual dentist appointment.

We finished up by opening our little pile of gifts.

As you can see, the haul he makes at our family Christmas is nothing compared to the other gifts he will receive, but that is why we go first, right?

We also cheated, Jakob and Kate, and opened our gifts the day they came. and we have been playing with the pirate Lego's non-stop ever since. Well, playing is a liberal use of the word. Aidan takes the ship apart before bed every night and then asks James to put it back together daily. We keep explaining that unlike other toys you may leave Lego's out.

But he wants to keep picking them up. Who am I to argue with that?

I also received one of my most favorite gifts ever from Jakob and Kate. I will have to post pictures later. Jakob- I have been wearing one every day! Thanks for everything!

Now we are going to finish up the night with The Christmas Story movie and then sleep under the tree one last time. Nothing like starting a long weekend of traveling and not-sleeping-in-your-own-bed with a sore back.

So safe travel to you and yours. We are so bummed to miss out on my family this year, but the good news is we will have lots of snow for those snow angels. I hope Kitty Grandma has lots of hot chocolate!

Best Ever????

Really???

That was my reaction when my neighbor told me I made the best pumpkin pie he had ever had. (And mind you, he isn't exactly what you would call a spring chicken.) So if Mitch says it is the best, I guess I will take his word for it. And I will share the recipe with all of you so that you too can be lavished with compliments at your families Christmas. (You can find the original here.)

I also must put a little disclaimer out there. One of the reasons I chose this recipe was the crust. I am not very good at making eye-appealing pie crusts, so I like pies that call for graham cracker crusts. I also didn't follow the recipe and I used a pre-made crust.

My second confession is that I did not cook the pie in a hot water bath. I just cooked it at 325 until it seemed done. Pretty helpful information, right?

Vanilla-Bourbon Pumpkin Tart

Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 cookie sheets)
1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup (8 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Remaining ingredients:
1/3 cup cold heavy cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle butter over crumb mixture; stir with a fork. Firmly press into bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly browned; cool on a wire rack.

3. To prepare filling, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin and eggs; beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add bourbon and the next 5 ingredients (through ground allspice); beat 1 minute or until combined. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Place pan in a large roasting pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until center barely moves when side of pan is tapped. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Place cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Serve sweetened whipped cream with tart.

Almost done!

I am trying to finish up some last minute baking and gift making. Aidan and I decorated cookies.....

I made some Bailey's,

Bois Boudron Sauce

(these jars are still too hot for their labels!)

and Hot Cocoa.

The sauce is one we tasted at Spoonriver. All of us adults were politely eating our salmon, salads and beet ravioli when one of us thought to taste Aidan's burger and sauce. Whoever the original taster was almost whooped with delight it was so good, and then we all swooped in like vultures and pretty much licked his plate clean! Barb then found us the recipe online and I am hoping that it will "wow" the people I made it for as much as we were wowed by it.

I suppose I could share the recipe too............. maybe after Christmas.

Remind me.

Making Bailey's is a big treat. I have a secret ingredient which I can share with you too. (since I am holding out on the sauce recipe!) I start making coffee liqueur mid-summer so that it's ready when it is finally time to make the Bailey's and I use that in place of the instant coffee. I think it is worth the extra trouble!

And finally.... the hot cocoa. Last year I shared barb's recipe for a refrigerated version of hot cocoa which is still, by far, the best you can make. The only drawback is that it needs to be refrigerated which isn't always handy when you are trying to dole out gifts. I read a few recipes online and this is what I came up with.

You can see the ingredients are pictured above.

One large can Swiss Miss

One jar powdered vanilla creamer

One jar chocolate flavored malted milk powder

One half can of Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa.

Combine in food processor or blender until there are no lumps.

Then, stir in one bag of miniature chocolate chips. (don't blend them, leave them whole.)

This made about 8 small jars for me to give away. The cocoa was rich and creamy. I think it would probably by really good if you added instant coffee and made homemade cappuccino mix. Next year, right?

What about you? Are you almost done?