Christmas Crack

I am starting this post with a warning - If you are trying to lose weight or maintain your figure during this holiday season, this is not the recipe for you. Just stop reading right now because once you know about the crack, you won't be able to go back!! Okay, you've been sufficiently warned.

I stumbled upon this recipe and heard hundreds of raves about it on a baby site I am on. I avoided looking further into it because something about the name made me think it was going to be some white peppermint concoction which, while I don't mind in small doses during the holidays, isn't exactly my favorite. But after having it come up over and over I finally gave in and read the ingredients. From that moment on I knew I had stumbled onto something amazing. Let me just say...I had no idea. This is the end result (trust me, no picture can do this justice...you have to taste it!):

What's in it you ask? Really...you're sure you want to know? Okay, here it is:

CHRISTMAS CRACK
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter (real butter tastes best)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips
1 layer saltine crackers on a greased or lined baking tray (it takes 1 1/2 to 2 sleeves of saltines to fill a 12x17 jelly roll pan)

Directions:
- Grease your pan (it works best to have a cookie sheet or other pan with sides). I tried parchment paper to avoid a mess but the toffee mixture got under it and made it stick to the pan anyway.
- Put one layer of saltine crackers onto the greased pan - set aside

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Melt together butter and brown sugar. Boil for 3 minutes while stirring non-stop

- Pour butter/sugar mixture over crackers and spread evenly across all the crackers

- Bake at 400F for 5 minutes
- Sprinkle 1 bag chocolate chips over the tray and let sit until you can spread the chocolate over the crackers

- Let cool in the fridge or other cool place until chocolate is hardened.
- Break apart into pieces and enjoy!

I have been keeping mine in the fridge because I like it cold but it should keep in a sealed container for up to a week. But I dare you...no, double dog dare you to keep it around that long. I know it won't last in our house!!

Elfie update

I just wrote about Elfie the other day (here) but I thought I would update every Saturday so you all can see what he has been up to during the week.

Let me start by saying that shortly after posting last time Jordan, the boundary tester, had already touched Elfie to see what would happen. Now for those of you who actually know my children, you know that this is so in Jordan's character. And falling right in step Nathan, the rule follower, was the one who was upset by this because he knew it meant that Elfie would lose his magic and not be able to get back to the North Pole. So in an effort to ease Nathan and teach Jordan a lesson (yeah right!) we had Santa call and tell them that if they were good boys and cleaned their room he would send more magic dust for Elfie. Ah, what an eventful first day!

Day 2 we decided to have some fun with Elfie. He must have gotten bored during the night because he rounded up all of the boys' Toy Story friends and got into a snowball fight with some mini marshmallows:

He was outrageously outnumbered and lost horribly!!

Day 3 Elfie brought something special, a Fisher Price Nativity Set. The funny thing behind this is that Jordan has been admiring my decorations and asking if he can have them. I told him when he is bigger and has his own house he will get a box of all his own ornaments and maybe he can have some other things too. Daily he points at one of my nativity sets saying he wants that in his box. So Elfie had a note that said he noticed how much the boys had admired mommy's nativity and that he wanted them to have one of their own to play with:

 Day 4 Elfie decided he needed a birds eye view to keep really good tabs on the boy so he found himself a spot on top of the grandfather clock:

I am excited to say that this morning was the first day I saw them really talk about Elfie as if he was magical. The other days Nathan would say, "Who moved Elfie there?" and things like that. Today when I asked him how he thought Elfie got there he told me this elaborate story of how he climbed his way to the top. Then he proceeded to talk to him and tell him to get down from there. I am glad to see him letting go and getting in on the fun. I will continue to keep you updated on Elfie's adventures...who knows where he will end up next!!

Elfie is here!

This year we are starting a new tradition in our house. We are going to have a little visitor for the month of December that I am hoping will help keep the kids in line. Hey, a mom needs all the help she can get!! I am talking about our new elf, Elfie. He was assigned to our family by Santa to watch the kids and report their behavior directly to Santa each night. He showed up this morning with a little gift for the kids:

Elfie with the advent calendars

I got this idea from Hallmark who sells Elf on A Shelf, a book and creepy little elf doll. I decided I would rather have this chubby faced elf to look at each day so I bought my own. Not to mention, I got it for $8.00 versus the $30.00 Hallmark was charging. I set this up by telling the kids last night all about Elfie and how he was going to show up each morning while they were sleeping and watch them throughout the day. Every night when they fall asleep he will go back to the North Pole to tell Santa how they did that day. The rule is that they are not allowed to touch him because he will lose his magic and won't be able to get back to the North Pole and Santa will assume they have been naughty. On Christmas Eve he will go back home with Santa for good. I also told them that he may occasionally bring back gifts from Santa. I have to say this morning was a little anti-climatic...I got up and the kids hadn't even noticed him. We went on a hunt and when I finally pointed him out Nathan exclaimed, "He's not real mom." He was looking for a REAL elf. Not as excited as I thought they would be but I am hoping as each day goes by they will get more into it.

I have gotten some really cute ideas on different ways to set him up each day so I am going to have fun playing around with that. Expect a weekly update with pictures of Elfie and his adventures. What are some traditions you are starting in your house this year?

Baby Dedication

This past weekend was one of the two weekends of the year devoted to baby dedications at our church. In the month leading up to it parents of little ones who are interested in taking part in this weekend take a class to learn what our church believes in regards to baby dedication. For those of you not familiar, a baby dedication is a ceremony in which believing parents, and sometimes entire families, make a commitment before the Lord to submit a child to God's will and to raise that child according to God's Word and God's ways. This is not the same as baby baptism, a practice we don't believe in as we think it is a personal choice to be baptized and something a child should do willingly at an age of consent.

Having taken part in the class and agreed to our church's beliefs about baby dedication we made the decision to not only dedicate Isaiah, but also Nathan and Jordan as we were not members of a church when they were born. Sunday morning we got them all dressed up and waited for the family who was going to be attending to show up at our house.

This was the first time the boys had been in service with us as they are normally in their individual kids classrooms so we were a little apprehensive of how they would do. Jordan wasn't thrilled to be missing out on his class so he was not as cooperative as we would like (shocker!) but Nathan loved worship and was clapping and dancing to the music. Before we knew it it was time to go up on the stage. There were two other families, both with baby girls named Sophia, and we all waited as our pastor shared with the congregation the importance of what we were committing to. He then asked us if we were committed to God, to our marriage and to raising our child(ren) in a godly way. He also asked the church to do their part in praying for us and walking along side us as we take on this mission.

The boys did great on stage, Nathan was funny because he kept watching himself on the big screen and making all these funny movements to see if the boy on the screen would follow. It was awesome having Jeremy's family there with us and while I missed my family I knew they were all there in spirit. We feel so blessed to have all of these people supporting us as we commit to raising our sons to be men of God. It is such a huge responsibility and I am comforted knowing we are not going it alone. I am excited to take this journey, I know it will not all be easy but I believe God's promise in Proverbs 22:6, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."










 

A Woman After God's Own Heart

I am so excited to be diving into a new book with my woman's Bible study. We have chosen A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. This wasn't even my first choice but as I browse through it and begin to look at the message I realize that this is exactly the book I need to be reading in this moment and time. It deals with the topic of priorities starting with God and moving through husband, children, our homes and our ministry. This is an area where I have been really convicted lately. I feel like I am not being a good steward of the time God has given me, especially when it comes to home and family.

I was just doing a devotional last night that touched on Proverbs 31:27 "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat of the bread of idleness." This is something that I need to be praying on daily. Not only does it remind me that I am in charge of the presentation of our home, but that watching over the affairs of my household includes being aware of the needs of my family members. I am lucky that I am able to stay home to raise my children and meet my husband when he walks in the front door. I want to treat that job with the respect it deserves and give it my all. I can honestly say I am not doing that at this point.

I look forward to sharing more with you as I get into this book as I know that God is going to use it in powerful ways to speak to where I am at in life right now. I love that He is patient with us as we grow into the women of God He has designed us to be. I know that this will be a life long transformation and I pray that I will continue to do it with an open heart and that God makes me transparent so that in the areas I stumble He can be glorified.





 

Chicken, Chicken, Chicken....did I mention Chicken???

I mentioned awhile back that I was getting a great deal on some chicken from Zaycon Foods. So last Saturday we picked up our 40 lbs and drove 20 lbs of it to my in-laws. I took my 20 lbs home and decided to spend some time getting them meal ready to save me time down the road. All in all I prepped the chicken for 11 meals and had about 5 lbs of chicken left to freeze and use later. Here is the chicken all chopped/sliced/trimmed and separated by Ziplocs:

Here are the recipes I am using the chicken in (this is the list I am keeping on my computer for reference, hence the notes). In most cases I just cut up the amount of chicken needed in the recipe and then wrote on the Ziploc. Those that were supposed to be marinated, I tossed in the marinade as well before freezing. For the fajitas, I even through in the onion and green pepper. Talk about ready to serve! To be even more organized, I used the dry erase board above our chest freezer to write down all the meals so all I had to do was glance at it when doing my meal planning. Anyway, here is the list, hope you find some new things to add to your dinner menu:)

1. Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Cheddar Mustard Sauce (4 chicken breasts)
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/pretzel-crusted-chicken-breasts-with-cheddar-mustard-sauce/

2. Chicken Nuggets x2 (2 lbs cut into small chunks)
Deceptively Delicious (pg. 75) - This is a cookbook I have, you add pureed broccoli to the egg when dipping your chicken...tasty and nutritious!

3. Breakfast Casserole (2 cups cubed chicken)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Breakfast-Casserole/Detail.aspx
* Use 2 cups chicken instead of ham, mix French onion mix into sour cream instead of raw onions

4. Chicken Tacos x2 (2 lbs cut into ½ inch pieces and marinated)
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chicken-tacos-52514.aspx
*Cook marinated chicken instead of adding sauce later

5. BBQ Chicken Salad Sandwiches (1 ½ lbs , halved and marinated)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Barbecued-Chicken-Salad-Sandwiches/Detail.aspx

6. Chicken Fajitas x2 (2 lbs cut into ½ inch strips, marinated plus gr peppers and onions)
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/easy-chicken-fajitas

7. Chicken Enchiladas (2 cups chopped)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-chicken-enchiladas-2/detail.aspx

8. Nacho Chicken Casserole (2 cups cubed) double for 1 meal
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Nacho-Chicken-Casserole/Detail.aspx

9. Chicken Spaghetti (2 cups cubed)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/

10. Anniversary Chicken (6 half breasts)
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/anniversary-chicken-i/Detail.aspx

Christmas Card 2010

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