Christmas in Hawaii

It is December 28th and we are starting to pack things up to head home tomorrow. I do have to say that not being home for the holidays was kind of weird. Growing up the holidays were always so routine. For us it was Christmas eve at mom's house then Christmas day at dad's house, for so many years this never changed. But as I have gotten older the normal routine has changed so much. Wanting to do what I am so used to and wanting to start new traditions with my own little family. I don't think Hawaii will become part of that tradition. There are so many things I missed. Putting up a Christmas tree, waking up Christmas morning to stocking and presents from Santa, a big holiday dinner around the table and holiday baking. The weekend before we left I could not help myself. I had to do a little holiday baking. I made frosted sugar cookies, almond roca bars, thumb prints with the now infamous chocolate raspberry sauce and muddy buddies. It felt a little more like the holidays with plates of goodies around. I took some pictures but cannot find which memory card they are on, so I will have to share later. But here are some fun pics from Hawaii.






The beautiful black sand beaches. Turtles were there everyday.


Getting him signed up for swimming classes ASAP!


The biggest challenge of the trip was getting him to slow down and take a nap.




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In the Dinner Rut: A Pasta Pie

When finding new recipes I love to look at pictures. I skim the actual recipe and study the picture and develop my own recipe based on the idea and how it should look. So my new favorite website, Pinterest, has become an addiction. When I came across a post of a pasta pie I knew I had to try it. Mainly because I wanted to see if it really worked. This would be an impressive dish to serve to guests. What you will need; a springform pan, 1 box of rigatoni pasta, 1 lb ground beef, 1/2 lb of sausage, 1 jar of pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Cook pasta only half of the directed time. Drain, rinse with cold water and toss with olive oil. Arrange pasta in a greased springform pan standing up. Really pack the noodles in. One box fit perfect for me.



Brown ground beef and sausage and drain grease. Add the jar of pasta sauce and simmer for a few minutes. Really make sure to breakdown the beef and sausage. You want it to be able to sink down into the pasta openings.

Pour sauce over the top of the noodles. Pressing it down and trying to work some it down the pasta openings. Make sure to put your springform pan on a baking sheet. Some of the sauce seeped out of mine and made a mess until I put it on a sheet.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until hot. I did mine about 30 minutes. Remove and add cheese to top. Bake for another 10-20 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to brown.



Let cool for a couple of minutes, run a knife around the edges and release the outer ring. Slowly remove, making sure nothing is sticking. I really expected that when I was doing this the whole thing was gonna fall apart. But it didn't!



Definitely will be making this again. Probably when we have guests or if I need to bring a dish somewhere. It is impressive and cuts just like a pie.

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In the Dinner Rut: Mongolian/Hunan Beef

Sometimes I feel like I make the same 10 dinners over and over again. So when the little one naps on a Saturday afternoon I watch cooking channels and surf the Internet for dinner ideas. When I could not find anything that sounded good I started pondering the idea of just ordering Chinese food. But the thought of greasy chicken and gooey sauce got me thinking maybe I should try making something myself. I found a recipe for Hunan Beef that sounded fairly simple to make. I made my list and headed to the store.

Thinly sliced flank steak marinating.


Sliced onions and bell peppers.


This dish paired with some sticky white rice was just perfect for a fun and different Saturday night dinner. It was also really easy, I just think I need to invest in a wok. Watch out for the grease splatter when you add the meat to the hot peanut oil! Definitely adding it to my list of dinners.

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So Thankful for Cranberries!

I have always loved cranberries. I even love the canned jelly that is a part of most Thanksgiving feasts. But several years ago I started making my own cranberry sauce and Thanksgiving has never been the same. I follow the 1,1,1 + extras when it comes to making cranberry sauce. One 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, 1 cup liquid, 1 cup sweetener and what ever extras will make it your own. This year I did 1 bag cranberries, 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 vanilla bean. This combination turned out so good!




I came across a recipe the other day for a Pear Cranberry Compote and decided that this could be a fun alternative to the normal cranberry sauce on our Thanksgiving table this year. Something I thought my little brothers, nieces and son would really enjoy. I added a few more cranberries then the recipe called for and 2 vanilla beans. Who would have thought that these fall favorites would work so good together? This will also be great mixed with yogurt or cottage cheese.








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Girls Night Out

I was so excited that my husbands night off finally coincided with one of the mommy's group Girls Night Out.  I was even more excited that it was at Karma Vineyards this month.  I had been to the winery, tasted their wine but had never eaten there.  I have always heard great things about the food and when the chef told us he was going to try some new recipes out on us, the evening got even better.

So there we were, good wine, great conversation (snicker, snicker) and the food stated flowing.  I did not get a picture of everything we tried but here are some of the highlights. 

We started with a variety of cheeses

Striped lobster ravioli

Seared ahi tuna

Thick cut pork chop, roasted garlic mashed potatoes with a red wine chocolate demi glaze.  I think this was my favorite of the evening.  Other then the desserts!

Some of the other things we had were sweet potato fries, spicy steamed clams, chicken and brie sandwich, chocolate creme burlee and a chocolate torte.  WOW, did I forget anything? 

What a great night!  Thanks ladies!

It's a Big Breakfast Kind of Morning

Sometimes on a cold Saturday morning a big country breakfast sounds so good. Normally my husband and I would head to the local breakfast spot in town. We would enjoy a hot cup of coffee with our quiet breakfast. But with a 20 month old crazy son, those days are over. I think they ended the day he started walking and he was an early walker. With the hopes of a big breakfast and no bread, syrup or bacon in the house I had to get creative. Actually my first thought was to give up, head to Starbucks and get donuts. But on this cold October morning I would rather starve then go outside.

First things first, what do I have in the house? Eggs, Bisquick and a half pound of sweet sausage. The only thing missing? Gravy! Do you think I was lucky enough to have a packet of country gravy mix in the pantry? Nope. Guess that means I had to make it from scratch. So after I put the biscuits in the oven I browned the sausage and saved the drippings, then I had to tackle the gravy.

1/4 cup of vegetable oil or grease from sausage or bacon
1/2 cup of flour
2-3 cups of milk
1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon
Salt and pepper to taste.

In a sauce pan add oil or grease. Heat over medium high heat. Whisk in flour. Whisk for a couple of minutes to cook the flour taste out. Add chicken bouillon, salt and pepper. Whisk in the first two cups of milk one cup at a time. Whisk for a couple of minutes until is thickens. If the gravy is to thick whisk in more milk. I normally use about 2 1/2 cups total milk. We had the gravy over biscuits with cheesy scrambled eggs.

A great way to start the weekend!

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Pear Vanilla Muffins

Remember that Pear Vanilla Jam I made that turned into pear vanilla sauce.  Well I decided it needed another use other then an ice cream topper.  And with a fun morning play date just a few days away I needed something the kids and mommy's could enjoy.  I had originally planned on making applesauce muffins and found a couple of great recipes.  But with over half a quart of pear vanilla sauce in the refrigerator I needed to create something from scratch.  They turned out great, not to sweet, with just a hint of vanilla.  Recipe below.

Pear Vanilla Muffins
2 sticks softened butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups pear vanilla sauce
Pinch of salt

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in pear vanilla sauce. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in nuts (optional).

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  Makes about 2 dozen.

Although I have not tried these substitution, I think they would turn out great.  If anyone tries them let me know how they taste or if you made any changes.

Substitutions:
Replace pear vanilla sauce with applesauce. Add 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice. If using unsweetened apple sauce increase sugar if desired.

Replace pear vanilla sauce with pumpkin puree. Add 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Add 1/2 cup more sugar.