Thanksgiving Sangria

This year was the first year my hubby & I hosted ALL of Thanksgiving.

For the last several years, we have hosted my side for brunch, then we head out to his side for the afternoon/evening feast.

This time, we had the brunch with my side AND the afternoon feast with my hubby's side at our house. Worked for us! We didn't have to go ANYWHERE!! We took care of the large portion of the brunch, then we switched gears & cooked the meats (turkey and ham), I made the green beans in a deconstructed green bean casserole, hubby made his late father's jello salad, and I made my holiday cranberries (recipe HERE).

I had come across several beautiful drinks that folks had made for their own family feasts. Sangrias seemed to be a perfect topper to the dinner, and I'd had a lovely sangria at my hubby's & my favorite restaurant a few months ago. So I decided that we needed to keep chilled out with the family. I tend to stress out with so much prep, so I had hoped to chill myself out, mostly, and anyone of the big kids who wanted to join in, too.

I researched several fall sangria recipes, like I do, and came up with this:

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THANKSGIVING SANGRIA

Ingredients:

1 bottle Riesling

1/2 C apple juice (optional...cuz I just needed to empty out the jug & it worked)

1 1/2 C apple cider

1 1/2 C cran-apple juice

1 bottle sparkling apple cider

1/3 C granulated sugar

about 1 C fresh cranberries (or about half a bag)

1 red apple (your choice - I used Red Delicious), cored & chopped

1 yellow apple (like Golden Delicious), cored & chopped

1 pear (I used apple pear), cored & chopped

few sprigs fresh rosemary

1 can or bottle hard cider (added at the last minute)

Directions:

In a large pitcher (I used a gallon-sized pitcher), add all of the ingredients, minus the hard cider, stir well, cover with a lid, plastic wrap or foil, then let it steep in the refrigerator for several hours.

Right before serving, remove from the fridge, add in the hard cider CAREFULLY and slowly (I used Redd's Wicked Apple Ale). Give one more good stir.

Into cups or wine goblets, it would be easiest to ladle in the sangria & some fruit rather than pour from the pitcher. 

This is a good, big batch for a large group of people. 

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I was so hoping it would turn out OK. I've never done a sangria before. Before I could do some quality control, there were already a few diving right into it! And then I could hear them saying, "Mmmmm!! This is really good!!" And I know it must've been true since they went back for more! I did, too.

Note to self: start the sangria steeping the night before so there's an even better blend of flavors. I'll keep it in mind as I plan my Christmas sangria!

 Definitely a new tradition for the feast!! *CHEERS*

ENJOY!

Rice for Breakfast

As the family slowly continues the move toward cleaner eating, I have to take a look at breakfast. It starts our day & gets us going. But grabbing a Pop Tart is probably not the best option.

For Christmas, my hubby & I got a rice/veggie steamer. We were STOKED to get it! We haven't used it a whole lot, but we do use it & find new ways to make rice all of the time. The kids really enjoy some plain, steamed, white rice. So do I! But finding out that the white rice is fairly "empty", I wanted to boost it up to brown rice. Yes, it takes longer & takes more prep in planning, but we do what we can.

Now, when we received our steamer from the in-laws, my MIL questioned why we wanted one so badly. I told her we like rice. I thought it was a no-brainer. But then she wanted to know why we have so much rice for breakfast. Yeah...she asked me about that. I was confuzzled!! I informed her we have it or dinners mostly, and she graciously accepted my answer. But her inquiry got me thinking...

Several years ago, my hubby was on a week-long mission trip in Nicaragua. He said that they were served rice pretty much every morning for breakfast. They just added some milk & sugar...so treated it like we look at cereal. He has brought up wanted to do that at home, but we didn't have the thought process or prep in planning to do so.

In the quest of cleaner eating, I decided to swap out some oatmeal (even though good for you...still very heavy for summertime) with rice! And I found a wild rice blend at the grocery store, so I mixed it with some brown rice.

Here's what I did:

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RICE FOR BREAKFAST

Ingredients:

~ 1 C steamed brown &/or wild long grain rice
~ 1/4 C dried or fresh fruit
~ 1/4 C nuts
~ 1 T honey or agave
~ 1/2 T cinnamon

Directions:

* I used equal parts of wild rice blend & brown long grain rice & steamed it according to my steamer's brown rice directions; about enough to last 4 days (about 4 cups worth)

* When finished (about 45 minutes later), I scooped about 1 cup of steamed rice into a small bowl, then added the fruit (I used a dried berry mix) & the nuts (I used sliced almonds); you may mix it all together at this point

* Drizzle the cereal, fruit & nut mixture with the honey or agave (I used honey), and then sprinkle with cinnamon; you may mix it all together at this point

* Consume

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I love this for breakfast!! And it's very vegan friendly, too! It's easy...plus you can refrigerate the left over rice & have it for a few days afterward, too.

If you want to change it up a bit, change up the fruit and nuts. You can also add raw sugar or a sugar-free maple syrup & a bit of milk for cereal option less heavy than oatmeal. I've even mashed up a banana in with it. YUM!!

So...happy eating!

ENJOY!

Cucumber Melon Water with Mint

As we continue to hydrate while keeping up variety, I have another flavor of water for you!

One of my favorite scents is the clean aroma of cucumber & melon together. YUM! Then add a little mint to the mix for a refreshing kick. Close your eyes for a moment & imagine it...Mmmmmm...

Well, how about this? Add those very things to your water! Oh yes...that's what I'm talking about!

Here's what I did:

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CUCUMBER MELON WATER WITH MINT

Ingredients:

* 16 oz chunked melon (seedless watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe)
* 2 small seedless variety cucumbers, thinly sliced
* 1 long or 2 short mint sprigs
* about 1 gallon of filtered or tap water
* ice cubes (optional)


Directions:

~ Make sure melon is cut up into 1 to 1 & a half inch chunks; try to make sure as many seeds are out as possible

~ wash cucumbers & thinly slice (I like using English cucumbers since they are seedless already)

~ wash mint sprig(s) (I still had some to use, so I tossed it in there)

~ place all above ingredients into a 1 gallon pitcher, preferably with a slotted lid

~ fill the rest of the pitcher with filtered or tap water

~ add ice cubes, if desired

~ allow to sit for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator, or overnight

~ hydrate until gone; repeat about 2 or 3 times since the melon may not last as long

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This may be my favorite flavored water. Seriously.

Again...I want to hydrate with this water! All while getting some of the health benefit properties from the ingredients. Such a super win!

I used pre-cut melon spears this time, but I always promote swinging by your local farmer's market to get the  freshest stuff. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

May I also suggest making a green tea with honey & milk with this water? Because it is so scrumptious, too!

And don't forget being super green by using that favorite cup or glass to drink from, or keep filling up that reusable bottle!

Happy Hydrating, everyone!

ENJOY!

Citrus Mint Water

How's that hydrating going? Going well? Need to get started? Cuz I've got another water for you!

A couple of years ago, I got on a weird kick of mixing the flavors of citrus (usually orange) with mint. It's a surprising flavor that is bright, sunny & refreshing!

Since I've been playing with flavoring my own water, I thought I'd go back to this flavor just for something different.

Here's what I did:

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CITRUS MINT WATER

Ingredients:
* 1 small to medium orange, thinly sliced & deseeded
* 1 medium lemon, thinly sliced & deseeded
* 1 limes, thinly sliced & deseeded
* 1 long or 2 short mint stems (you may tear off the leaves to use, if desired)
* 1 gallon filtered or tap water (approximately)
* ice cubes (optional)


Directions:
~ wash off all produce

~ thinly slice citrus fruits & remove any seeds

~ place all ingredients into 1 gallon pitcher (preferably with a slotted lid)

~ fill the pitcher the rest of the way with filtered or tap water

~ add some ice cubes, if desired

~ place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to steep into the water (longer is better, like overnight)

~ serve & repeat


Notes:

= The flavor may be strong; if the flavor is too much, try it with a couple of oranges & the mint.

= Freeze water into ice cubes to give drinks like water, tea (sweet or unsweet), or Sprite a new kick of flavor

= Use to brew up a cup of black tea.

= You may refill the pitcher with the same ingredients about 4 times

= As always...use a fun cup or reusable bottle for another layer of encouragement of hydration!

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This flavor is VERY strong compared to other waters I've posted. Be prepared for a flavor rush! But imagine the amount of vitamin C you are placing into your body while hydrating! And doing so without the extra sugars, syrups & chemicals in other juices & mixes. You're welcome!

ENJOY!

Rudolph Nose Candy

This past Christmas, since my family decided to indulge in more holiday treats of their choice, I decided to dive into making some of the treats any given family member selected...and then some!

I found a recipe for a very simple candy to make: Reindeer Noses. This past year was the 1st time I'd ever heard of or seen them...but they seemed to be everywhere! And since the seemed so easy, I thought of adding them to my foodie repertoire.

Now I have seen several version of this. But they all involve a small pretzel base (preferably round), a small milk chocolate candy (I've seen Hershey Kisses/Hugs & Rolos used), and then a topper of sorts - like a single M&M, a candy corn or pecan. I have seen them used & posted for all kinds of holidays, too...

But this time...I wanted to make the Christmas ones! But I ran into a couple of problems when I went shopping for ingredients:

1. I couldn't find the holiday M&M's. I really wanted a lot of red.
2. I couldn't get a hold of any round pretzels.

*sigh*

So I had to make due...and had to get my brainy-brain working quickly.

After some quick thinking...here's what I came up with:

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RUDOLPH NOSE CANDY

Ingredients:

~ small pretzels
~ 1 bag of Rolos
~ maraschino cherries, halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Either coat cookie sheet (preferably one with a lip around the edges) with cooking spray OR cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cover the cookie sheet with a single layer of small pretzels.

Set a Rolo on top of each pretzel.

Place in the oven for about 3-5 minutes.

While the Rolos are still warm & squishy, quickly place a cherry half on top of each Rolo & smash it down.

Let the candy set for about 10 minutes to cool & set up.

Carefully remove each "nose" candy from the baking sheet & place on a serving plate or platter.

Store in a air-tight container.

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These are so easy! Even the kiddos can help you make them!

Plus...this version of the candy is sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, chocolaty, fruity...and so darn adorable! My family could not stop eating these! They went very quickly. Even after 2 or 3 batches...they didn't last very long at all.

For some different options, you could use about any variety of Hershey's Kisses or Hugs, Reece's mini peanut butter cups, or a Dove Promises variety.

As for how long to store them for...I don't know. They didn't last long enough for me to figure it out!

ENJOY!