Christmas Calendar Recipes

Every year I make a calendar for my family.  I put birthdays and anniversaries for everyone in the family.  I also include a favorite recipe for each month.  Usually it's something we enjoyed during that season the year before.  I always add a little note about the recipe.  That is my gift to my family each year.  

My sister once made each recipe and posted pictures of it on her blog.  My brother once made the recipe of the month (whatever it was) for the missionaries when they came to dinner. This year I thought I'd post the recipes on my blog for all our friends to see too.   I hope you enjoy it! 

(To my family.  I haven't sent the calendars out yet.  They should come by January.)

January 

This is one of those recipes I found when we were having missionaries for dinner and I completely forgot.  Three hungry young men coming and all I could find was some leftover steak from the night before.  I love it when you find the perfect recipe to save the day.

Hearty Beef ‘n Noodles

1-1/2 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1/2-inch strips

3 Tablespoons olive oil (divided)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons flour

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 cup milk

1 1/3 cup beef broth

5 cups uncooked egg noodles

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.   Brown beef in oil on all sides; remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

Add remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil to pan.  Stir in flour and heat until bubbly. Return beef to the pan; stir in the soup, milk and, beef broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Add the sour cream, paprika and pepper to skillet; heat through. Drain noodles. Serve with beef. Yield: 6 servings.

February 

After our baby was born I went looking for some freezer meals to make.  This is a winner.  I made it several times for my family and to take to people in the ward. Everyone loves it.

Baked Chicken Alfredo

(A Freezer Meal)

1 box (16 oz.) penne riggati

1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo Sauce (see March)

2 C chicken breasts, grilled and chopped

1 C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Prepare pasta according to package directions.  While pasta is cooking, prepare Guiltless Alfredo sauce. When pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce. Toss with chopped chicken and 1/3 c. mozzarella. Season to taste.  Transfer mixture to 2- 8×8″ baking dishes.

To Bake:  Sprinkle each with 1/3 c. mozzarella cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

To Freeze: Cover each pan with plastic wrap.  Place 1/3 C each mozzarella cheese in a baggie, place on top.  Cover each pan with foil.  Freeze for up to three months.

To Bake Frozen: Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside.  Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours at 350.  Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

March 

This is an “Our Best Bites” recipe.  There is a reason they are hitting the best sellers list.  This is the first recipe of theirs I tried.  It’s a keeper!

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese
Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.  In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.
 Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.



April

You save a ton of money making yogurt this way.  It’s pretty easy too.  It takes a little organization, but so worth it!

Crock Pot Yogurt

1/2 gallon milk*

1 cup plain yogurt with active cultures

* 1/2 cup powdered milk if using 2% or lower milk or ultra-pasteurized milk

Pour milk into crockpot.

Cover, turn on high and let the milk heat until almost boiling.  The actual temp is 180F, but I don't use the thermometer.  Mine takes about 2 hours.

Turn the crockpot off. Take the lid of and let cool back down to 115F or where you can stick your finger in and leave it for 10 seconds.   Stir it around every once in a while as it's cooling (about 3 hours).

Stir in 1 cup of plain yogurt from the store.  If you're using powdered milk or flavoring, stir in now.  Put lid back on, wrap entire crockpot with a beach or bath towel and set away for 8-12 hours (or overnight).   You can stick it in the oven--keeps it away from drafts and it will retain some more of the heat longer.

Stir it up and put in your containers. Remember to freeze some of this in 1 cup portions (of this first batch that has been cultured from store bought yogurt) for your next batch!

Vanilla Yogurt

Add 1/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract with the plain yogurt and powdered milk.

Thicker Yogurt

Refrigerate yogurt for several hours and it will set up thick and creamy.

 

 

May

This is a great recipe.  I love that you can put in frozen chicken and have dinner in four hours.  I use this for company, taking meals to people and quick dinners.  We use it to make taco salad, nachos and chicken quesadillas too.  We usually make the chicken really mild and then spice up individual servings with taco sauce.  If you have a bigger crock pot you can easily double or even triple this recipe.  It freezes well too.

Chicken Soft Tacos

1-11/2 lbs frozen boneless, skinless chicken

12 ½ oz. can diced tomatoes

1 envelope taco seasoning

Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker (5 or 6 quart).  Mix tomatoes and taco seasoning.  Pour over chicken.  Cover.  Cook on low 6-8 hours (high 3-4).  Shred chicken and return to slow cooker for 15 more minutes or until heated through.  Serve in soft tortillas.  Top with salsa, shredded cheddar cheese, guacamole, and fresh diced tomatoes, or whatever you like.

June

In the summer it can sometimes be challenge to want to heat up the kitchen and bake a cake.  I heard about microwave cakes a few years ago, but this is the first recipe I’ve seen that didn’t require some sort of specialized “something.”  I got it from my Aunt Luetta.  She got it from my cousin in Arizona and likes it because they can celebrate with homemade cake without have lots of leftovers.

3-2-1 Cake

1 angel food cake mix
1 cake mix of your choice
2 tablespoons of water

Mix the two mixs together. To make a single serving cake put 3 tablespoons of the powder mix and 2 tablespoons of water in a coffee mug. Mix well. Cook 1 minute in the microwave.

It makes a delicious single serving cake that easily comes out of the mug. I served it with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

JULY

Blueberries always come on sale the first week of July.  They often put the strawberries on sale then too.  I found this super easy way to store up the savings.  I blend the berries up in a little food processor.  My kids love this stuff.  They asked me to make banana jam too. . . maybe next year.  J

4^th of July Freezer Jam

5 Tbsp Ball® RealFruit™ Instant Pectin
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 cups crushed blueberries (about 2 4.4-oz container)
2cups crushed strawberries (about 1 1-lb container)
Zest of 1 small lemon
5 Plastic Ball® (8 oz) Freezer Jars

1.) STIR sugar and instant pectin in a bowl until well blended.
2.) ADD blueberries, strawberries and lemon zest. Stir 3 minutes.
3.) LADLE jam into clean jars to fill line. Twist on lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately, refrigerate up to three weeks or freeze up to one year.

August

We eat a lot of cold cereal for breakfast.  I can usually still find it for a good price or find a good coupon.  Still I think it would actually be more healthy and cheaper to make my own.  So I found this recipe.

Slow Cooker Granola

This was designed for a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker. If you have a larger one, you can double the recipe.

• 2 1/2 C oats
• 1/2 C nuts, chopped
• 1/2 C dried fruit
• 1/4 C sweetener (honey, maple syrup, etc.)
• 1/4 C seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, etc.)
• 2 T butter (or nut butter)
• 1 t cinnamon

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and set to high for 3 hours. Place a chopstick or other utensil under the lid so it doesn’t close all the way. Check and stir the granola around every 30 minutes, or when it becomes fragrant. Once it looks a bit browned and toasted, it’s ready to go. Turn off slow cooker, let granola cool, then store in airtight bag in fridge.

September

Last year we were moving around this time.  I was trying my best to empty the pantry.  I had all of the canned ingredients for this salad, so a got some feta and presto.  I had some quick, healthy mommy food to get me through the move.

Kate’s All-Time Favorite Quick and Easy Lunch Salad

Recipe by Our Best Bites

 1 1/2 c. green leafy lettuce, chopped (like Romaine or Red Leaf)
1 1/2 c. baby spinach
1/4 c. chopped roasted red peppers
2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onions
2-3 Tbsp. chopped black or Kalamata olives
1/4 c. marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 c. feta cheese, any flavor (I used Athenos lemon, garlic, and oregano)
1/2 c. chopped, grilled chicken
2 Tbsp. Italian salad dressing
Optional: 3-4 Tbsp. garbanzo beans

In a container with a lid, combine all the ingredients. Place the lid on the container and shake until the dressing and other ingredients are evenly distributed. Serve immediately. Makes 1 large meal-sized salad or 2 smaller salads.

 

October

I based this on a recipe from Our Best Bites too.  I made it freezable, which is nice because here’s another recipe that makes two dinners -one for now and one for later (or the neighbor.)  To make it even easier sub 1 T dehydrated onion for the fresh onion and butter.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 unbaked pie crusts

2 Cups cooked, chicken, chopped

1 12-16 oz. bag of peas and carrots or mixed vegetables, thawed

1 onion, minced

1 T butter

2 ½ C frozen hashbrowns

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 tsp. salt

Ground black pepper to taste

Heat butter in a medium skillet. When the butter is bubbly, saute the onion until it’s translucent and fragrant. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, chicken, vegetables, onion, and potatoes. Season to taste.  Fill the dishes with the chicken mixture and then top with a piece of pie crust slightly larger than the opening of the dish. Crimp the edges and cut some vent holes.  Place pie plate/individual pies on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

If frozen, thaw pie overnight and then bake as directed.  Or bake from frozen and increase baking time to 1hr to 1 hr 15 minutes.

NOVEMBER

This soufflé is so rich, it could be dessert. I also used the topping to kick up whipped sweet potatoes.  I just added 3 T honey and 1 t salt.  It was good too.

Sweet Potato Soufflé

Souffle:

3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes, from about 2 to 3 small baked potatoes

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, about 1 stick, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1 cup packed light brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, about 1/2 stick, cubed, at room temperature

1/2 cup self-rising cake flour (I used pancake mix)

1 cup chopped pecans

Souffle: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, vanilla, and salt. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Topping: Combine the brown sugar, butter, flour, and pecans in a separate bowl. Crumble the topping over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Serve hot.

December

I got the basic recipe for this from a friend.  I decided to make a mint version.  It reminded me of Mindy Mint from Cavanaugh’s Chocolates in Bountiful. Yum!  Maybe I’ll make it again for Easter and cut it into egg shapes. 

Minty Fudge

2 cups Andes Mint chips

1 Cup semi sweet chips

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

a dash of salt

Line a 8x8pan with foil or parchment paper.  Preheat a double boiler or two sauce pans--one that can fit inside the other over medium heat until hot.

Add the mint and chocolate chips.  Melt completely, stirring constantly (about 5- 10 minutes). Once the chocolate is melted, pour in the entire can of condensed milk. Stir. The fudge will start to set up immediately. Quickly pour in the vanilla, dash of salt, stirring until all ingredients are gently mixed. The mixture should be fairly thick at this point. Take pan with chocolate mixture away from heat. Now get your lined pan and a rubber spatula. Scrape chocolate into your lined pan, spread out, and allow to set. Will be soft set, but tastes best after at least 2 hours. Cut into small squares and enjoy. Yields two pounds of fudge or about 36, 1"-ish squares.

 

 

Busy Spring

It's time for an update.  Still it seems like life never slows down long enough to blog about it, so here's a quick update.  

"t" was baptized on April 21st.  There were four kids from our ward baptized that day.  Two of them were in his preschool group.  So three out of the five kids from the group were baptized the same day! 

T had his birthday on April 22nd.  Happy Birthday!

"e" had surgery on April 25th. She had dental work done.  She got two root canal- crowns, two fillings and all her other teeth sealed to prevent future cavities.  We discovered the anesthesia masks make you look like Spiderman.  She recovered well and is a lot happier now that her teeth don't hurt anymore. It's amazing to think how much she has grown.  I originally started this blog to announce her birth.

"a", t and j ran the Marathon on May 5th with the YMCA running club.  This was our solution to exercise for the winter.  The kids ran two miles a week starting in February (for a total of 25 miles) and then ran the last 1.2 miles of the marathon on the course.  It was fun and they had a great coach.  Best of all they could all participate in one sport at the same time.  "t" really took to running.  He would often run an extra mile or so just for fun.

We really are very grateful for the YMCA it is a great place to go on days we need to get some exercise and relax.

This is the first time I've blogged about a2.  She was born in October and is now 7 months.  She has two teeth now.  Who knows if I'll ever get around to writing her birth story.  But for those of you who we haven't seen for a while.  This means we now have six kids.  a2 is a sweetheart.  She is patient and calm. She is generally known for her big smile. . . and spitting up.  She smiles for anyone who stops to say hi.  She really is a delightful baby.

3's and 4's Basketball

My sister has posted a lot of her creative ideas of things she does with her kids.  Among them Lego art and creative Star Wars stuff.  I was asked to coach my son's basketball team.  I was really nervous because I had signed him up because he begged.  I smirked a bit and though I have no idea how 4 year-olds can play basketball, we'll see what kind of magic the coach comes up with. 

Here's what I can up with.  Sorry the pictures didn't go through.  Enjoy!

Dear Parents,

The main goal of 3’s & 4’s basketball is to have fun.  From my experience as an assistant coach in soccer many kids will not have fun if they do not feel successful.  I found that after the other team had scored a goal or two our kids would be upset, go for lengthy bathroom breaks, or just refuse to play.  They were not persistent enough to find success after a discouragement.  I felt that if we could give them more skills and help them find success in completing a pass or mastering a throw-in they would be less likely to get discouraged and more likely to have fun. 

So, how does that translate to basketball?   All the kids want to make a basket.  My concern is that if they aren’t making baskets right away they will get discouraged.  I created some visuals to help them focus on the other skills they use in basketball.  If you don’t agree with me, you don’t have to do any of this, it’s just a suggestion.  I thought we could have parents and other fans hold up the signs, to kind of help coach from the sideline.  I’d love to hear cheering when kids dribble, passes and rebound as well as make a basket. 

Here is a simple run down of the pictures we used in practice last week and what they stand for.  We will not have any more practices this season, so if you want to work with your child on these concepts that would be great.  I believe it will help them find success and enjoy playing basketball this season. 

Thanks,

Coach Andrea

Basketball Visuals

Dribbling- (girl dibbling)  I didn’t actually use this picture last week.  But we all know dribbling is important and should be encouraged.   

 

Passing (form)- (karate guy bowing) Coach Angie taught them to put the ball on their bellies and push down to pass.  The best picture I could come up with for this one was a Karate guy.  Put the ball on your Karate belt and push down to pass.  Try to encourage kids to keep passes low below the waist.  It reduces chance of the received catching the ball with their nose.  

Passing (team work)- (blue triangle)  Triangle passing is probably a little too much for this age group.  Still, I thought I’d give it a try.  The concept is look for triangle shaped passing lanes. If you can’t go forward, look to the side for someone to pass to.  If you don’t have the ball, get  into a triangle formation with your teammate who does, so you’re ready for the pass.  Triangle passing really helps if the other team is good at blocking.  The kids can look to the sides for someone to pass to and get around the block.  Yes, this is a long shot, but maybe it will help someone.  

Shooting (form)- (a large soda pop) Coach Angie also came up with this one.  She told the kids to pretend they are drinking a really big pop and then shoot the ball.  When I was looking for coaching ideas I found that is really important.  One of the main complaints of coaches for older kids is that they have poor shooting form.  They mostly blame it on the kids starting too young  when the ball was too heavy and learning to shoot from the hip.  Using a smaller ball helps, but using the pop bottle will help them remember to shoot with their upper body.  If you hope your child will continue with basketball this would be good to work on.

Shooting (follow through)- (a cookie jar) Correct shooting form uses follow through.  One of the imageries I found for follow through was putting your hand in the cookie jar.  This one might be a little too much for kids this age, but if you want them to continue in basketball, it never hurts to start with correct form.  There are several websites that may help with this.  

Blocking- (a fall tree) Here we use the image of a fall tree.  Be the tree, extend your arms up and sway with the wind.  Catch the ball just like the tree catches the wind.  Some kids may need to be reminded that we don’t take the ball from the other players (no stealing in this league.) 

Rebound Star- (an orange star) I use the rebound start to try to reinforce that after we shoot it is important to rebound.  I’d like to hear a lot of cheering for rebounds.  Some kids will do this naturally; some kids will need a little coaching.  Please also remind your kids that whoever gets there first gets the rebound.  We don’t touch/tackle/wrestle the other players.  If you don’t get this rebound you’ll get the next one.  Just like the baskets.  

Trick Dirt

I remember the first time I saw trick candles on a birthday cake.  The candles were lit, the lights were turned off and we sang Happy Birthday.  We all cheered when the candles were blown out.  But before they could turn the lights back on the candles had re-lit.  I remember being shocked and fluttery with excitement as I watched the candles being blown out and re-light over and over again.  Finally someone pulled them out of the cake and put them in a glass of water.  We all had a good laugh.

Well today I asked j to wash his face off after a snack (Mint Oreo shake from Steak and Shake.)  He went and washed, but a little while later I saw him with cookie all over his face still.  I knew the shake was gone, so I was confused.  When I asked him about it he said that the dirt just went back on there.  Aha! Trick dirt.  I knew it.  I think I my boys might have trick grass stains on their jeans too.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday little t.  He turned 6 this year.  It's been a crazy year, but lots of fun memories.  For his birthday he wanted a fishing pole and a blue cake.  I tried fondant for the first time.  He loved it!  (Yeah!) For his birthday dinner he wanted fish and watermelon.  I think he's wishing for the easier days of summertime.  Aren't we all?  We took him fishing the next day and he had fun learning how to cast all by himself.  Enjoy the show:

More later. . .

Happy Birthday J

[It seems like all my post are for birthdays.  I guess if that's all I do at least I'm updating 7 times a year.  That's pretty good.]

* * *

Little j turned 4 today.  He is such a sweet kid.  He is a very good helper and a sweet kid.  He is the oldest one at home now and is really a great big brother to the two little girls.

His favorite thing is still sports.  We put him in swimming lessons for the winter.  We are planning to try soccer in the spring and baseball in the summer.

I still remember the summer after he turned two and Little a and t were in swimming lessons.  He was too young to swim, so we played at the park adjacent to the pool.  I let him choose the activity.  He usually wanted to play baseball or basketball.  He had a little plastic bat and ball and could hit a pitch.  He also got pretty good at dribbling and passing a full sized basketball by the end of the summer.  He got a lot of comments from such a little kid being so interested in sports. 

He also likes pirates and superheros and making "projects".  He makes projects every day.   Projects usually consist of cutting up some paper and then taping it together and writing letters from the alphabet on in.  He even asked Santa for rolls of tape for Christmas so he could make projects.   If you come to our house he will make some kind of a letter or project and give it to you as a token of friendship.

He asked for a pirate cake for his birthday.  We googled "pirate cake" and when he saw the treasure box cakes filled with gold foil candy he switched over right away.  We opted to make his cheese pizza birthday dinner into a pirate treasure map with the treasure box for dessert.

At his age I usually have a friend birthday party.  But Little j has friends of all ages that are important to him.  Like the neighbor boys, age 12 and 13, from across the street that come play ball and tag.  Or our friend from church, age 6, that sometimes can come play before he goes to kindergarten.  I just didn't know how to do a party for kids of all different ages, so I think I'll wait till the weather is a bit warmer and have a BBQ and invite all their families over.

Here's a slide show of the last year with Little j.  I'll add a few photos of his party too in case you don't want to watch the whole slide show.  :)
 

Random Update

 

We finally got the kids a pet.  Little t is going to take care of a goldfish and if that goes well we said we'd get him a turtle.  little e squished the first goldfish in less than a week.  After a tearful good bye to fish #1 we got a new goldfish and put it on a higher shelf.

 

Little t got a subscription to lego magazine.  The post photos of cool stuff kids make out of legos.  He was intrigued.  Here is one of his creations.

Playing in the snow.  This is actually from the storm we got in the begining of January.  All this snow melted and the flowers were starting to come up.  Then *pow* we got hit with the double east coast blizzards.  We have about three times this much snow right now and more coming.  We've had three snow days already.  Two this week on Tuesday and Wednesday.  My kids have learned to do a "snow dance" and then school will be canceled.

They grow up so fast!  This picture of v was taken 1/21/10.  It seems like babies all have there own specail "talents".  Little v's specail talent is cooing.  She loves to talk and "sing".  I've made a few videos for you all to enjoy.  But I have no idea how to up load them.  :(

Little j is such a good helper.  He really takes care of v when the older kids are at school and I'm helping e with something.  He sings to her or rocks her.  It's so sweet.  

Are you a supertaster?  If you don't know you can find out by counting your taste buds.  If you have less than 15 you're not super.  More than 30 you're a supertaster!