Dec 122013
Dec 112013
For holiday gift-giving as part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias® I made these Rocky Road Squares to give to family and friends. All thoughts and words are my own.
I’ve been spending a good portion of my days lately baking, cooking, mixing and stirring. Every year for more than the last decade, I have put together homemade food gift baskets for friends and family alike. I try and have them completed in early December if at all possible, so that they have most of the season to enjoy them.
One of my favorite holiday desserts to make for gift-giving are my Mom’s squares. She has made them for as long as I can remember and they were one of the treats I always requested for my birthday or other special occasions. She just calls them “her squares” but I think most people would consider them to be Rocky Road Squares.
Knowing that I had a lot of Christmas recipes to make over the next couple of weeks I made a trip to Walmart to stock up my pantry. Baker’s Baking Chocolate, Jet-Puffed Marshmallows, Planters Peanut Butter, chocolate bits, sweetened condensed milk, flour, sugar – pretty much the baking aisle. I usually make more than I plan to, and I don’t like needing to run out to pick up extra ingredients if I can help it. Continue reading »
Dec 112013
I have been in love with pomegranates for years. In the last few years have become a little trendy due to the potential health benefits. For me, though, they’re just the delicious tart jewels that my grandmother always served from a bowl during the holidays.
After gathering up the courage to try one as a very picky teen I was immediately hooked. Since then I look forward to pomegranates coming into season each fall so that I can stock my refrigerator with the dark red fruits. Getting all the arils out of the pomegranate was never my favorite part, but now you can even buy containers of fresh pomegranate arils from the refrigerated case at the grocery store.
A few years ago I was experimenting with different recipes to find new ways to include either the arils or the juice. I sprinkled them on salads, used a few to garnish cupcakes, and would use the juice to make a delicious glaze for chicken. But my favorite discovery came when I was putting together my yearly food gift baskets for our friends and family. Continue reading »
Dec 112013
I love making casseroles all year long, particularly for their time-saving benefits. They generally don’t take too many ingredients, and usually they’re ones I already have on hand. The prep time is minimal for most recipes, and then you just put it in the oven to bake while you go take care of other tasks.
Having a few go-to casserole recipes can help simplify your holidays and keep stress at bay. Guests drop in unexpectedly? No problem! They also are great gifts, too. Trust me – there isn’t one person on your list that wouldn’t love the gift of a home-cooked meal that they didn’t have to make for themselves.
My Sausage Breakfast Casserole recipe is a mash-up of a number of different ones that I’ve tried with tweaks that make it a family-favorite. We occasionally eat it for dinner, I make it for weekend brunch, and it gets served in the morning on Christmas while everyone recuperates from opening gifts. Continue reading »
Dec 102013
I received the Lincoln Logs Redfield Ranch in order to facilitate my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I can remember spending literally hours as a child playing with my Lincoln Logs. I don’t recall which one it was, but I do know that they were a Christmas gift (there’s photo evidence to help my memory). The rest of that day and many days into the future I would lay on the floor, carefully fitting the logs into dozens of different patterns.
Lincoln Logs were a tradition that I knew I wanted to share with Bubbles. They inspire creativity, building skills, and imagination, which are great elements for playtime. Plus it was something I could play with her that I already knew I enjoyed.
Lincoln Logs Redfield Ranch
I recently learned that K’NEX had released some new Lincoln Log sets – like the Lincoln Logs Redfield Ranch (available exclusively at Toys ‘R Us). There 124 of the same classic wooden logs that I played with, plus a few updated additions like plastic roofs and window and door inserts. The Redfield Ranch also has two figurines that a ranch wouldn’t be complete without: a cowboy and a horse. Continue reading »