Have not gone out yet. I just printed them this morning. Seriously. Each year, I feel, I get later and later.
Am I the only one who blinked and realized it is Dec. 22nd today?
Anyway… they will hit the mail (at some point…)
Until they do and for those for whom I have no address, here are our holiday wishes for you this season…
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!!!
Matt is a total steak guy and Owen has started to become one – he likes to walk around saying, “I’m a CARNIVORE, mom!”
With this in mind, I decided to take a couple of steaks that I found in the freezer and made us a nice hearty dinner for 4 of steak sandwiches.
This is simple, quick, crispy, and just a harmonious tasty delight of flavor layers, just what we needed on a cold weekend day. It is marinated steak, with a special sauce to add another layer of flavor depth, and sauteed onions and provolone cheese, all finished under the broiler. One bite and you will be hooked!
Steak Sammich (marinade and sauce ingredients)
Steak Sammich Steak Marinade
Put your steak into a dish or plastic zipper bag.
Add about 1 T each of steak seasoning, garlic powder, and white wine vinegar. Add some salt and pepper to taste, as well as a few shakes of your red pepper flake. Pour in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil. Mix together and let sit for about an hour. Remove from fridge 15 minutes prior to cooking. This allows the meat to come to or get close to room temperature, which makes for a juicier, more tender steak than if you go straight from fridge to grill pan.
Steak Sammich Special Sauce
Mix good and let sit for an hour. If you do it when you marinate the steaks, it will be just perfect when the sammiches are ready!
Steak Sammich Making
Grill the steaks to medium-rare/medium. Remove from heat and let rest without slicing for about 10 minutes. This lets the juices stay in the steak and redistribute, rather than running out all over the place if you cut it immediately.
Cut your hoagie rolls in half.
Saute your onions in butter (about 1 T), salt and pepper to taste.
Turn on your broiler.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Put your hoagie rolls, insides facing up, onto the sheet.
Place your onions on the top side of the bun.
Cut the steak and add that to the bottom side of the bun. Add provolone cheese.
Put under the broiler and cook until cheese is melting and starting to bubble and bread is toasty, but not burnt. 3-5 minutes.
Remove and layer on the special sauce, close, and then cut in half!
Grab the toasty, yummy, gooey sammich and take a bite.
Dinner is served.
I realize that this is not your typical holiday treat. For some reason, however, I have added it to my holiday baking list and I seem to make more and more each year. It is easy to make and is super tasty.
Oh, and if you want to, you can add in some cashews or peanuts the last 5 minutes and make it just a bit more special than it already is!
Steph’s Caramel Corn
Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
Boil sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt for about 4-5 minutes. You want to stir pretty often. Watch the color… I like “lighter” caramel, so I might pull mine off before 5 minutes if it is getting too dark. It can quickly burn, too, so keep a close eye on it.
Remove from heat. Mix in baking soda and vanilla extract.
Add about 1/4 of the popcorn to the bowl with the caramel mixture. Stir together.
Pour mixture over remaining popcorn in a roasting pan. Stir as well as possible.
Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 7-10 minutes. Add nuts in last 5 minutes if you would like to include them.
Remove from oven and cool at room temperature.
Kick back. Relax. Eat. Enjoy.
Every year I struggle to find just the right gift for the teacher. Every year I make something. Every year I wonder if it was a good gift.
I have this feeling I am not alone in this and that we all struggle to get our teachers something just right for all that they do.
As I have said before, I am trying harder and harder to do more handmade gifts this year and so the teachers are no exception.
Jacob’s teacher is the same teacher that Owen had a few years ago and I had to think of something different to do this year. Normally I do, but I realized I needed to make sure I didn’t repeat myself. Also, the boys wanted to help and make something for their teachers, too, so we worked it out yesterday. After a quick trip to Michaels, we were set!
Teacher Shadow Boxes
My gift to the teachers this year is a little shadow box with their initials. Now Owen’s teacher is from Florida originally so he wanted to have shells in his. I grabbed the hot glue and some pretty paper and set out to work…
I made the shadow box with pop dots, paper, scissors, and hot glue, along with a bag of shells. It was all pretty easy and only took about 20 minutes to complete.
Once this one was done, the second one went even faster. Jacob wanted to use buttons for his teacher, so that is what we did. He helped pick out the paper and art direct, while I wielded the glue gun…
Quick Ornaments
Now, since the boys wanted to make their own gift, we settled on ornaments. They may not be lasting treasures, but it was important to them to make something special for each teacher.
Owen’s, as you saw above, was filled with sea shells, while Jacob went the subtle Wisconsin Badger route, since his teacher is a huge Badger fan…
Once they were done, I hot glued the lid shut – Owen’s was pretty heavy so I was afraid it would pop open if I didn’t. I also hot glued Jacob’s stickers on, as they were peeling up on the edges. We filled his with red tulle and both got a ribbon and tulle bow at the end.
All in all, I think it took us about an hour to get these all put together and our mess cleaned back up, which isn’t too bad. Plus the teachers are getting personalized and unique gifts from each of the boys for Christmas. I think that is success!
Yes. I said microwave!!! I have tried sooooo many fudge recipes that have been total failures – this one, however, works for me every time! It is quick, simple, and yummy. Enjoy!
Mom’s Microwave Fudge
Microwave butter on high until melted. (about 45sec. – 1 minute depending on microwave)
Add sugar and evaporated milk. Mix well.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes – stir.
Microwave an additional 2 – 2 1/2 minutes or until boiling.
Stir in chocolate chips until melted.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Cool at room temperature.
Cut. Eat. Share. Repeat.
Ok. I think that I originally read a version of this recipe in a cookbook once, but started making it so often and changing it here and there so I am not sure if I am stealing it, building on it, or just eating it and enjoying it… I just thought you might enjoy it, too. If you prep the chicken and veggies ahead of time, this should take you no more than 20 minutes to make after work.
It is a family favorite, so I thought I would share it with all of you.
Spicy Peanut and Chicken Pasta
Marinate the chicken overnight in some canola oil, s & p, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flake marinade. You don’t need to make a ton, just enough to really give the chicken a bit of flavor.
Remove chicken when ready to cook – dice into bite sized pieces.
Pre-heat a non-stick skillet to stir fry the chicken. Add canola oil and cook chicken through on high heat.
Boil your water, add salt, and cook pasta while making the rest of the sauce.
Once your chicken is cooked, add in your veggie mix (1 C each of onion, carrot, and celery). Add salt and pepper, red pepper flake, about a tsp of garlic powder. Once cooked down, about 3-4 minutes, add in 1 soy sauce (about 2 T.), honey (about 1 T.), 1 tsp. of garlic powder, several shakes of hot sauce (you know the drill, the more you add, the hotter it gets). Taste – if you want to add more of something, go for it. This is a recipe I often eyeball and cook and taste as I go. Cook and stir, reducing heat to medium.
If you sauce is too thick, add a bit of the pasta water to help thin it out and flavor it.
Add in your Spanish peanuts.
Drain pasta and toss all together in a bowl.
Eat. Eat. Eat. Enjoy.
This year, I am attempting to do more handmade gifts than ever – either purchased from an artisan or made by me. There will be those gifts, however, that cannot be handmade, but for those, why not put a little something extra into the wrapping itself to make if feel a bit more personal.
With the onslaught of holiday parties and get-togethers, a cute way to show your hostess you care is a custom wine bag for that quickly purchased bottle of wine you grab on the way to her house!
Now, I have started to keep a stash of these, making several at once, so that all I have to do is grab them and go. Here is a quick and simple way to make that bottle of wine a little more personal without taking hours to make something.
(I do apologize now for the rather lack-luster photos. I crafted these over lunch and took pics in my office – not exactly the best photography lighting.)
Quick and Simple Wine Bags
Supplies:
First you need to create your iron-ons. Now, if you know ahead of time where you are going, you could do a name or monogram for your bags. I never plan that far out so I went with some vintage images and cheeky sayings. I created it all in Word on my computer and then printed them out, following the iron on directions.
* It is important to use the dark color iron-ons. These will give you the best image transfer onto the jute.
Insert a piece of wax paper into the bag. This will prevent your glue and your iron on from sticking to the back of the bag, rendering it useless or ruined.
Next cut out your iron-ons and, well, iron them on!
Next, embellish away. Grab your hot glue gun and get busy decorating some fun and amazing bags.
Now you are all set to craft away and make a little something special for your next gifted bottle of wine…
Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!
These cookies. These are the cookies that Matt’s grandmother used to make every year for Christmas. These are the cookies that his entire family loves. These cookies are the cookies I had heard so much about before our first Christmas together. These cookies.
This recipe is framed in my house in his grandmother’s handwriting. If you have ever taken a scrapbooking class with me and I talk about the importance of handwriting and how it ties us to people, this is the recipe I talk about. This recipe is old. This recipe has an ingredient I didn’t even believe existed and was sure Matt was wrong when he told me about it… (baking amonia)
This recipe is one I love to make, but hate to mess up because it is heritage in our home.
I wanted to share with you my baking of these little treasures. They are basically mini sugar cookies that are flaky and light and melt in your mouth. I love them. I hope you do, too…
Gram’s Swedish Dreams
Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla.
Separately mix flour and ammonia powder.
Once wet ingredients mixed well, slowly incorporate dry.
If dough is too loose, add 1/2 tsp. of water max.
Gently roll dough into small balls and place on baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes until barely golden brown.
Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to wire rack to finish cooling.
Eat. Enjoy. Be Merry.
Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!
We call them “Cap’n Crunch Cookies” at our house, but I am guessing there is some infringement law I would be breaking if I officially call them that here, so… these are the “Seriously Simple Cereal Cookies.”
This is another recipe that uses almond bark as the base and takes no time at all to make. My kids love to help with this one and everyone I know loves to crunch away on these decadent things.
Seriously Simple Cereal Cookies
Melt the almond bark and peanut butter together. You can use a double boiler or follow microwave directions on the package for the almond bark (I microwave it.)
Once melted and stirred, mix in cereal and peanuts. Put scoops on wax paper and cool at room temperature. Can freeze if you make a ton and want to save them – just don’t break a tooth and then blame me. You have been warned…
Now – when I say “more” let me explain. While I love almond bark – the creamy yummy goodness of it – I actually like more crunch in this so I usually do HEAPING cups with another bit thrown in, if that makes sense. Plus, I love peanut butter in anything, so I add a bit more to the base. It is all relative and up to you!
Happy Holiday Snacking!
Ok. Seriously. I LOVE making cookies at the holidays. It is my favorite tradition and one I carry out each and every year. It is a tradition that allows me to share a bit of myself, my heritage, and my passion with friends, family, and co-workers. It is a chance to spread a little holiday joy here and there with plates of yummy deliciousness and small bags of decadence. I do it because it makes me happy and often makes those round me happy. It is my way of spreading a bit of holiday cheer each year.
Last year, on the day after Christmas, I went a bit nutty at Target, buying all sorts of brightly colored decorative goodness that is the opposite of the decor I used on the table last year, which was vintagey and off-white. I decided that it had a bit of a Dr. Seuss feeling to it and quickly fell in love with the glittery and furry goodness that I found. I quickly snatched a bunch up and put it aside and have been saving it ever since.
Today is the day that I broke it out and did my second annual cookie bar at work. Now, under the wonderful fluorescent lights, the photos aren’t stellar, but you will at least get the basic idea. I had so much fun putting it all together and I hope that people enjoy destroying it… that is the point!
Seriously easy… using command hooks, a glue gun, and a dowel rod, I made a fun wall decor piece with bits and baubles and ribbons and cheap ornaments, I made a fun wall backdrop above the cookie table.
I just realized that I am single-handedly enabling the 2-3 pound holiday weight gain of my entire department. Oops. Oh well – tis the season!