Christmas Menu

I have so many fond memories with my family surrounding the holidays and good food. My dad loves to cook and has always spent a lot of time planning and preparing wonderful meals for our family.  As a  young child we would always have a huge Scandinavian feast on Christmas Eve with my Great Grandparents and the rest of my dad's family before exchanging gifts. Tables would be decorated with wooden horses, candles, mini Swedish and Norwegian flags and plates would be full of Swedish meatballs, fish, cheese, eggs, sausages and spritz cookies.  I remember my mom making leftse, krumkake and sandbakkel. My grandma on her side still mails me little packages of leftse around the holidays. We also had a tradition of having a English Christmas in honor of my step-mom Barbara and her mother. That meal includes a standing rib-roast, yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes and gravy. We finish the night with party-poppers containing paper crowns and silly toys (why does my dad ALWAYS get the annoying kazoo!?). As a new mom I really want to start establishing some family traditions of our own for my children to remember. This year we had our "English Christmas" with my parents in Florida in early November and we aren't going to Brad's hometown until after Christmas because of his job responsibilities.

It was the perfect time to try my hand at some old family recipes and create a holiday menu for our family to have for the years to come. I would be lying if I said that my heart wasn't a little sad that my mom couldn't just come over and spend all day baking with me to show me how it was all done. She always made Christmas and the holidays so special for us. But instead of sitting around in grief and feeling sorry for myself I will use her as my inspiration to create wonderful memories for my own children.

I love to cook so I hade to much fun working on this menu. Hopefully I can add to it in the years to come! I wanted to blog this so I can remember what I made and where I bought things. . . also to share some great recipes. So here it is!

Christmas Eve

Breakfast

Fresh Christmas doughnuts from McArthurs in Kirkwood

Lunch/Dinner- Smorgasbord

Swedish Meatballs (I used this delicious/perfect recipe)

Potato Sausages from Hanlen's Meat Market

Deviled Eggs

Cheeses, crackers and fruit from Trader Joe's-we opted for triple cream brie and blue cheese

Checker board and Brussels cookies from this cookbook. (I will try my hand at a few more next year!)

*Next year I will also try to make Glögg but we didn't have enough people to drink it this year and Lord knows Brad and I don't need to be drinking the entire batch ourselves.

Christmas Day

Breakfast

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole- found here and made the night before.

Fruit cups- Grapefruit, oranges, clementines and strawberries cut & served in half of a grapefruit.

Sparkling Cranberry Juice- from Trader Joe's

Lunch/Dinner

Ham from Honey Baked Ham- there is seriously no better ham in the whole.wide.world. Don't tell me what's in it, ok? Ignorance is bliss and it is just once a year! I can eat my weight in this stuff. I tried calling to see what was in their ham and they wouldn't tell me because it is a secret recipe. Is that legal? Knowing me, it was for the best. ;) I digress. . .

Mashed Potatoes and gravy

Steamed green beans (I prefer brussel sprouts but the kids do NOT)

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Spiced Cider

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!

Cheesy Chili Mac

So sometimes you just crave some good old comfort food, especially in the winter. I grabbed a magazine from Whole Foods awhile back called "Skillet Suppers" that was put out by America's Test Kitchen. It was an impulse purchase at the time but it has produced some new, easy family favorites for us and the beauty is all the dishes are cooked in ONE POT. Fewer dishes=Happier Mama. I hesitantly decided to try this recipe for chili mac. . .the boys love their mac n' cheese so add meat to it and you've got their dream come true in a bowl. It hit the spot for my entire family. Everyone down to the baby gobbled it up and it was so easy and pretty cheap to make. I made a few modifications.

Cheesy Chili Mac

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
Salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar or maple syrup (heaping)
1 lb lean ground beef (I used grass-fed 85% lean beef)
2 cups water
1 (15oz) can of tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's Organic)
8 oz elbow macaroni (I used De Cecco)
2 cups shredded italian cheese blend (I used Trader Joe's Three Cheese blend)

Directions:
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat for a minute or so. Add onion, chili powder, cumin and 1/2 tsp of salt and cook until soft, 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in water and tomato sauce, then add pasta. Cover, increase heat to medium-high and cook stirring often until the pasta is al dente. It should maintain a vigorous simmer.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of shredded cheese. It may seem a little too "saucy" at this point but don't worry it'll thicken up as it sits. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remaining cheese. Cover again until the cheese melts and let stand, off heat for 2-4 minutes. Serve.

Apple-Cranberry Crisp

Directions:

3 cups cubed Granny Smith apple (about 1 pound)
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
Butter for greasing the baking dish

Topping:
1/3 cup sprouted wheat flour
1 cup regular oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar or sucanat
1/4 cup butter (melted)
Preparation

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; Spoon into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish coated with butter. Lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, sugar, and butter, stirring with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the apple mixture. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly. Top with vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Harvest Party 2011

This year William insisted on being a pirate for Halloween (which he calls "Cowloween" even though he know thats not right). He has never seen a movie with a pirate in it besides the Jonah movie by Veggie Tales and we have no pirate books. It is a mystery to me really. I wanted Ruby's costume to go along with Will's so he was a pirate/Captain Hook and she was Tinkerbell. . .even though they've never seen Peter Pan. In the end they were cute and hilarious and I wanted to gobble them up.

Dirt Dessert in Mason Jars

Ok, so I am a little anal/ocd/obsessive about food so this is a crazy recipe for dirt dessert that uses only real sugar. It is obviously no where near healthy. I will be the first to admit it is way more complicated/expensive than just buying jello-pudding and oreos. . .but it helps me sleep at night knowing what I am feeding my children and other people's children. haha (I say this but the cupcakes I served were totally from Sam's Club. . .and they were delicious. . .so I am a walking contradiction) I made these for Will's birthday party and had lots of inquiries about the recipe. I sort of made it up as I went along but here is a basic recipe as far as I can remember making it.


Dirt Dessert in Mason Jars

Ingredients:

2 boxes of Trader Joe's Jo Jo cookies (I used chocolate but you could use either type)
2 packs of Organic Chocolate Pudding Mix ( I bought Dr. Oetker brand at Whole Foods)
1 carton Truwhip
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
2-3 containers of Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate Pudding (or you could buy another pack of pudding mix and prepare it. I just ran out of time so I went the fast route!)

Directions:

Process cookies in batches in food processor until cookies are crumbs, or place cookies in food storage bags and use a rolling pin to crush.

Prepare pudding according to package directions; fold in Truwhip topping. Combine butter, sugar, and cream cheese in another mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until smooth. Fold into the pudding mixture.

Spoon crushed cookies into the bottoms of the mason jars (you could also use little flower pots), next spoon in pudding mixture, another layer of crushed cookies and then finish with belgian chocolate pudding or box pudding.


Enjoy & then slip into a sugar-induced coma. (:

Will's 3rd John Deere Tractor Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Will's birthday with our sweet family and friends today. It was insanely windy and pretty chilly but the sun was shining. Will loved it and went to bed wearing his green bandana.



The spread included a vegetable garden, chicken wings, feed, pigs n' a blanket, haystacks and of course. . .



CUPCAKES!



Maybe I ate the rest of this once I got home. . .



We sent guests home with dirt desserts and little tractor boxes filled with goodies.



Cousin love



Watching trains



Ruby verses Tractor (the tractor won)



How cool is this corn pool? As long as you don't mind finding corn in your pull-up, diaper, pockets, neck rolls, etc hours later.



Happy Birthday to my sweet, hilarious, kind, creative, loving, crazy boy! I love being your mama. I love the joy you bring to our family. You are the best. Seriously, the best. Kiss, hug, high-five, pound. XOXO

Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge

A friend of mine gave me this recipe a few weeks ago and I finally got around to making it. Wow. So, so good! The textures and flavors go so well together and it is great for this cool Fall weather. You can use whatever type of milk and sweetener that you like, I just like to use whole milk and natural sweeteners. If you are a Trader Joe's lover like myself then know that they have all the ingredients for this recipe in their store including organic red quinoa. I cannot stop making this!


Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk, organic/raw preferred
1 cup water
1 cup organic red quinoa, rinsed (*If possible it is best if you soak the quinoa in 2 cups water + 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk, kefir or whey for about 12 hours. Give it a good rinse after soaking. This will make the quinoa easier to digest.)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pecans, chopped and toasted*
Maple syrup or raw honey for drizzling on top

Directions:

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle with maple syrup or honey before serving.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Ruby Turns 1!

So Ruby turned 1. . . about 3 months ago and we had a sweet little party for her. Our themes were sunshine and lemonade! She really is "our little sunshine" as she brings so much joy to our lives. Here are some pics from the day.



Me and my sweet girl waiting for our guests to arrive.



She started walking about a week before her birthday



Lots of lemonade to choose from



And maybe I'm a little obsessed with mason jars. . . just a little. . .



Even Ruby was sampling flavors



Lemon Creme Cake



Lots of sweet friends celebrated with us. . .not all cooperated with having their picture taken



She got a little help with the candle from her broski



She licked it twice and then was done.



We sent our guests home with cupcakes in jars and wands



Happy Birthday to the sunshine in our lives! MUAH!

Chicken Souvlaki

This is a great summer recipe and super simple. A friend of mine made this for me a few summers ago and I've been making it ever since. I buy the rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods when they are marked down to $5.99 on Tuesdays. I was also able to use fresh dill from our garden this year which was fun. (: Enjoy!

Chicken Souvlaki

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
kosher salt and pepper
1 2 1/2- to 3-pound rotisserie chicken, meat sliced
1 large english cucumber, sliced into thin half-moons
1/2 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
4 flat breads or wheat pitas
1/2 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek-style

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Fold in the chicken, cucumbers, onion, and dill.
Divide the chicken mixture evenly among the flat breads and serve with the yogurt.

Chicken Vesuvio

The best thing about this recipe is that you can cook the ENTIRE meal stove-top in ONE POT. That means only one thing to wash! It is a great meal for when you have company over because it is a complete meal that looks really fancy even though it is super easy. All you'd need to add is a loaf of crusty bread and some glasses of wine! It is a Cook's Illustrated recipe from their "Skillet Supers" cookbook which I am newly obsessed with. I suggest having everything out and ready because this meal cooks up really fast.

Here is how you make it-

Chicken Vesuvio

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
2T olive oil
1 1/2 lb. baby red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup white wine (and then drink the rest with your meal!)
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 T unsalted butter
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Pat chicken dry and season w/salt & pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large 12" skillet over medium/high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. (The chicken will not be fully cooked at this point, you are just browning it to seal in the juices/flavor)

Add remaining oil to the skillet and cook potatoes, cut side down until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, rosemary, oregano and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add wine and broth, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil. Make sure the potatoes are flipped at this point so they can cook all the way though. Return the chicken breast to the skillet on top of the potatoes. (They will just sort of hang out on top of the potatoes and broth and the steam will cook them the rest of the way through) Reduce heat to medium/low, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are tender.

Using a slotted spoon transfer the chicken and potatoes to a serving platter and tent with foil while you finish the sauce.

Increase the heat to medium/high and cook the sauce, uncovered until it is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Take the skillet off the heat and whisk in the butter and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Pour sauce over the chicken and potatoes. Serve and devour. (:

Quesadilla Pie

So easy and so yummy. I got this recipe from a different blog but here is the edited version for how we made it. This will be a new Lucht family staple. Brad loved it and it was a great way to use up left-overs. Enjoy!

Quesadilla Pie

Ingredients:

4 large flour tortillas (9-10 inches diameter)
Butter
1/2 pound grated cheese- sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
3/4-1 cup of cooked black beans
1/2 a tomato, chopped and seeds removed
1/4 cup onion
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/4 corn & chili salsa (from Trader Joes! It is a tomato-less salsa)
Cumin and/or chili powder for extra heat

Garnishes:
Chopped avocado
Chopped cilantro
Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce dressed with vinegar and salt
Sour cream
Salsa

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the bottoms and sides of a pie dish with butter, approximately the same size as your tortillas (I used a 10-inch pyrex pie dish for 10-inch wide tortillas). *Don't skip the butter! It is what makes the tortillas crispy, not soggy

2 Place one tortilla on the bottom of the pie dish. Sprinkle some shredded cheese over the tortilla. At this point, you will begin to add your chosen filling ingredients, and layering the tortillas. Just make sure each layer has a generous sprinkling of cheese.

Here is what I did but you can do whatever you like:

Layer 1: cheese, black beans, corn & chili salsa (I used a slotted spoon w/the salsa to remove the liquid)
Layer 2: cheese, chicken, sprinkle with cumin and chili powder
Layer 3: cheese, tomato, onion

3 Place your last tortilla on top and give it a generous brush with butter. (For real, don't skip the butter!) Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Put in oven for 30 minutes on 350°F. Then remove the foil and increase the heat to 400°F. Cook for another 15 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into quarters.

Serve with garnishes.

Ruby's Baptism

So sweet little Ruby got baptized last weekend. We had some friends over after the service for brunch and I made this, this and this. All were delicious and could be made the night before and then just popped in the oven the morning of. This made for a stress-free morning. (: We also had cinnamon rolls, melon and coffee. It was a special day for us because not only was it the first day of Spring but it was also the 20 year anniversary of my mom's death. 20 years. That just seems like such a long time. We wanted to celebrate her life and talk to William about her. It is hard to explain death to a 2 year old. We just told him that his grandma Jean lives with God in heaven and that he'll get to meet her someday when all of our family is together in heaven. We wanted to create a sort of memorial day for her so we took out pictures and planned activities that reminded me of her. My mom was an English teacher and loved to read. I have many fond memories of her reading to my sister and I. She wrote me a letter when she knew she was dying and in it she told me to spend special cuddle-time reading to my children. This is something I try to do with them every night. As kids we would often go to the bookstore and pick out new books to read so we decided to take William to get a new book about Spring. My mom also loved to garden so we went and bought some plants and Will helped me plant them. While we were putting dirt in the pot Brad said "Will do you remember why we are planting these?" and he sweetly answered "For Jean in heaven!". It was a sweet day and I am excited to start this new tradition for the first day of Spring.

Almond Crusted Chicken

This is a simple twist on regular old oven-roasted chicken. It tastes great and is high in protein. It is also super quick to whip together on a busy night. Serve with oven-roasted red potatoes and steamed green beans.

Almond Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup unblanched almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 large eggs whites
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Finely chop the almonds in a mini-chopper or food processor. Transfer the nuts to a shallow dish and stir in the paprika. Lightly whisk the egg whites in another shallow dish. Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg. Press both sides of the chicken into the nuts to coat. Place on a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to set the crust.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add the oil and the butter. Place the chicken smooth-side down in the pan and then raise the heat to medium-high. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the rack to get warm. Cook chicken turning once, until the nuts set and turn golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to the prepared baking sheet and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the sides of the chicken registers 160 degrees F, about 20-25 minutes.

*For extra tender chicken and a faster cooking time you could pound the chicken flat to 1/4 inch thickness

Anthro Inspired Magnets

These were my inspiration but there is no reason anyone should pay $32 for six magnets. Brad and I love going to thrift stores and antique shops so I made it my mission to look for cool old clip-on earrings and pins. I bought each pair for about $1 and pulled the clips off with some pliers. I then hot glued 3/4" magnets to the back. These are great to give as gifts and so easy to make. The hardest part is finding cool earrings! :)

Cutest Valentines

Valentine's Day Craftiness~Burlap Hoops

I made these last year and decided to hang them on my ladder with some cute ribbon this year. I think I'll make a few tissue flowers to add to the display later this week.

Supplies:
Embroidery Thread
Fabric Scraps
Embroidery Hoops
Burlap
Needle w/a large hole

Instructions:
Place the burlap in the hoop and trim off excess. Cut the fabric into whatever shapes you like. Stitch around the shapes.

*Please note I have no prior embroidery experience or skills. I just sort of free-handed it when I stitched it onto the burlap. :)

Valentine's Day Craftiness~Marble Magnets

I've been a little obsessed with craft blogs lately so I went crazy with making stuff for Valentine's Day. I have been busily making things during naps and after the babes go down. I have piles of dirty laundry and a messy house. . .but I also have cute crafts! The pictures aren't so hot but you can get the basic idea.

Supplies:
Scrapbook Paper
3/4" Flat backed Marbles
3/4" Circle Craft Punch
3/4" CircleMagnets
Clear Craft Glue

Instructions:
Cut out little circles of paper and glue them onto the magnets. Put another dot of glue onto of the paper and press the marble onto the magnet until there are no bubbles. Allow to dry . So easy!

Tortilla Espanola

I had this all the time when I studied abroad in Spain and loved it so much that I had to figure out how to make it at home. It is so easy and I often have all the ingredients on hand. It is basically a frittata but heavy on the potatoes. You can add any herbs and veggies that you like to this to suit your tastes. Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner! ps(Brad eats his with ketchup!)

Tortilla Espanola

Ingredients:

1/3 c Spanish Olive Oil
1 lb Russet Potatoes-peeled, quartered and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
6 cage-free eggs
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Set oven to 350.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Add onion and cook until soft for 5 minutes. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season with 1 tsp of salt and the pepper.

While the potatoes are cooking whisk together the remaining salt, rosemary and eggs in bowl. Pour over the potato mixture and reduce heat to low. Cook for 1 minute without stirring. Stir once and then cook for about 3-4 minutes until the eggs begin to set. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Loosen the tortilla with a knife and invert onto a plate. Slice into wedges.

*If you are a dare-devil you can try to cook it all on the stove top like they do in Spain. You'd have to flip it onto a plate and then flip the other side onto a oiled skillet. I tried this once. . .it ended badly. . .very badly. I cried and never tried doing it again but hey- maybe you are smoother than me!

Easy Spicy Tomato Soup

Here is another awesome Giada recipe that my sisters and I saw on T.V. over Christmas. It seemed really easy and got great reviews so I decided to give it a try. It was so good and only took 30 minutes to make. Great for a night when you have no clue what to make. I decreased the amount of red pepper and increased the chicken broth to make it little person friendly. Enjoy!

Easy Spicy Tomato Soup


Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (26-ounce) jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I used Newman's Own)
32 ounces chicken broth or homemade stock
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the jar of marinara sauce, chicken broth, cannellini beans, red pepper flakes, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.