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Hawaiian Haystacks

Hawaiian Haystacks is a family favorite. My mom makes it almost every time there is a large group gathering at her house. Everyone I know makes it a bit different, but one thing that stays the same is the base: white rice with a chicken gravy.  For our family the toppings stay about the same, but it can vary with what food we have around the house. I do my chicken gravy a couple different ways, I'll give you both versions. The easy way, I make the most often, when I need to hurry up and get dinner ready fast. But when I am making dinner for someone with a gluten and/or dairy allergy, I make my gravy from scratch. 

Chicken Gravy (the easy way)

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups water (more if you like a thinner consistency)

2 cooked chicken breasts (diced or shredded)

1/2 tsp lemon zest

a couple dashes of garlic salt

a couple dashes of pepper

salt to taste

Mix ingredients together and heat through on the stove top. Quick and easy. Serve over rice, and stack with toppings. 

OR

Chicken Gravy (from scratch)

2 cooked chicken breasts (diced or shredded)

3 cups chicken broth or stock

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour or cornstarch (more for a thicker consistency)

1/2 tsp lemon zest

a couple dashes of garlic salt

a couple dashes of pepper

salt to taste

Start your gravy like you would any roux. Melt the butter a bit in a sauce pan on the stove and add your thickening agent (flour or cornstarch), whisking constantly. Add chicken broth little by little whisking until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir together. Serve over rice, and stack with toppings.

Now let's talk about toppings!!

My favorites:

pineapple

mandarin oranges

tomatoes

olives

green onions

celery

almonds, pecans, cashews, macadamias or peanuts

shredded coconut

chow mein noodles (the crunchy ones in the can- if I happen to have them around)

diced bell peppers

grated cheddar cheese (or Colby jack)

tabasco sauce (chipotle or jalapeno are our favorites)

What are your favorite toppings?

car organizer

One of the most annoying thing for me about road trips, is that the activities and toys I have to keep the kids busy seem to be all over the car. When the sliding door opens at the gas station, for us all to rush in and use the restroom, coloring books, water bottles, toys, shoes, pillows, it all comes spilling out. It's especially frustrating during winter weather, or if the person before you using the pump decided to dump their soda all over ground- and now all your stuff is wet, sticky and dirty.  

We solved this by making these car organizers. It' s just a large rectangle of fabric with pockets sewn on, and ribbons for tying it onto the seats. Each child had their own, they could put what they wanted in it- but once it was full- that was it for what they could bring. 

What tips do you have for  making your family travel go more smoothly??

rainbow noodles

I do a home preschool group with my 3 year old daughter. There are 5 kids in our group and each week we meet for a couple hours, taking turns rotating homes. It's great because it give my little lady a chance to be away doing her own thing for awhile, and it's just short enough that it ends before she melts down (usually!). Plus, I am not excited about paying for official preschool quite yet.
We made rainbow noodles when it was our time to host- and it was a huge hit! And they are super easy to make.

The children played with the noodles, made letter shapes with them, and then ate them when they were finished. It was great. 

To make them all you have to do is boil noodles like normal, and add a few drops of food coloring. So easy!! I did 3 separate pots, since I wanted 3 different colors.

I went for the neon colors so they would be brighter. She didn't eat them all the first day, so we saved the left over noodles in a baggie, and she continued to play with them/eat them for a few days.

These would be so fun for a St. Patrick's Day dinner!!

Andes Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake

It was my 3 year old daughter's turn to pick out our dessert for family game night on Sunday, and insisted it needed to be a cake. I was pushing for cookies, since we were already planning on birthday cake later in the week, but you know how 3 year olds are. She was determined. So I hunted down a recipe from Our Best Bites (love them!), and found a recipe for a Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake. It looked amazing, and I started making it just to realize half way through that I was actually out of a few of the ingredients. I didn't want to run to the store (especially because it was Sunday, and I try my best not to shop on the Sabbath- plus I was pretty sure there wouldn't be many candy canes on the shelves in February), so I rummaged through my pantry and fridge and found some great substitutions.

 Andes Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup whole milk (I used whole to give it a little fat since the other dairy ingredients were lighter)
1/2 cup light sour cream (I like Daisy)
1/2 cup Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used Hershey's dark chips)
1/4 cup Andes Mint bits

butter for greasing pan
cocoa powder for dusting pan

Glaze

1/2 cup dark or semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Andes Mint bits (divided in half- some to go into the glaze, the rest to be sprinkled on top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease up the bundt pan with butter. Shake cocoa powder around to coat the butter. If you have extra cocoa powder after shaking around, dump it out.

Mix together eggs, sour cream, yogurt, oil, milk and vanilla until smooth. Then slowly stir in cake mix and pudding mix- little by little until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat for 2 minutes on med high. Add in the chocolate chips and 1/4 cup Andes mints.

Pour batter into the bundt pan and bake for 45-50 minutes (it took mine closer to 50), until tooth pick or cake tester comes out with moist crumbs- not completely dry.

While your bundt is in the oven, start working on your glaze. Put cream in a pan on the stove (a double boiler would be best, but I just used a sauce pan), and warm it up on low. Add in the chocolate, butter and andes mint bits and whisk together quickly until smooth. Take off of the heat and let rest in the pan until later.

Pull your bundt out of the oven when it's ready, and let it cool for about 3-5 minutes. Dump it out of the bundt pan onto a cooling rack. Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then with a large plate underneath the rack (just under the cake), start spooning the glaze over the cake. A lot of your glaze will drip down onto the plate under the cake. Scrape the glaze off of the plate into the bowl it was in, replace the plate under the cooling rack, and pour the glaze over the cake again. Repeat until as much of the glaze as possible is on your cake. Then top with the remaining Andes Mint bits.

This cake is absolutely perfection when it is served warm- but it's wonderful at room temperature as well. We threw a dollop of whipped cream on top, but a scoop of ice cream would have been an amazing companion as well.

My husband said this was the best cake I've ever made, so I will definitely be making this again! Especially because he's not huge on chocolate cake in general, and chocolate is my favorite!

The other great thing about this cake, was that it really kept its moisture, and was super tasty the next day. Or maybe that wasn't such a good thing? At least as far as my waistline is concerned....

Tzatiki Sauce

 Tzatiki sauce is a great little greek style dip. It has a great tangy taste, and is a great compliment to hummus. I love it on pitas with steak, shrimp or chicken and veggies.

Tzatziki sauce:

1 Cucumber - peeled and diced

1/2 Green Onion - chopped

1/2 cup Plain Greek yogurt - I like the Great Value kind because of it's smooth consistency. I don't like gritty yogurt

few dashes Garlic salt

splash Lemon juice

couple pinches of Mint - dried or fresh

dash of pepper

Stir together and serve!

Homemade Hummus

One reason I enjoy making this recipe hummus is because of how smooth it turns out. This is a very basic recipe- I just throw everything together in my Vitamix and blend it up until it's nice and smooth. It would be very easy to add in other flavors you might like- roasted red pepper, pine nuts or roasted garlic- whatever you're in the mood for that day. 

This is tahini- ground up sesame seeds. The bottle is a bit pricey- but it's HUGE!! And it keeps in the pantry for a super long time. You don't need much of it for a batch, so it will last awhile. Making hummus from scratch is still cheaper than buying it premade from the store. 

Hummus and veggies saves me after school or church- when the kids come in starving and want something immediately (or they might just die!! you know how it gets!!), and this is a great way to fill them up with veggies instead of crackers or junk. One of my dear friends also introduced me to dipping apples in hummus and it's surprisingly amazing!! Ok, here's my recipe:

Homemade Basic Hummus
2 (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans - (AKA chick peas) - include the water from one can, drain out half of the water from the second can
1/4 cup tahini (ground up sesame seed paste)
1 1/2 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin

I will also link this up to my tzatiki sauce, and pan seared chicken soon. It's a great compliment when you're eating this in a pita. Healthy and fresh- I love it!!

fighting evil, one family at a time

My heart has been heavy as I've watched the news of all the horrific acts of violence in our country. I'm not sure how we are going to come to a compromise about how to keep our children safe, keep our right to bear arms, help the mentally ill to have the care and rights they deserve, and so many more issues. But I have to do something. There are still things we can be doing while we try to sort it all out. I hope you will join us. This is what we did in our family yesterday:

First of all, we held a family council. We discussed some of the current events and shootings that are taking place at schools and various places. We answered the children's questions and talked about how the people doing these horrible acts have had their minds thinking about violence and looking only inward. We decided we needed to take action as a family, not only to make sure none of us would ever have a desire to hurt others, but to spread love and help those around us to also make good decisions and feel joy and happiness. We made a plan.

Second, it was time to put the plan into action. We decided to go through our video games and throw away any that were violent. I was surprised at how willing my kids were to do this- and also how many we had! Yikes! They ran upstairs and knew exactly which games they should get rid of. After our talk, they all decided they didn't ever want to have thoughts that could lead to hurting people. We threw the games away. 

Third, we wanted to do what we could to replace all the hate and violence with love and light. Where there is light, darkness cannot remain. We decided that we are going to be more purposeful about the service we give in our family and in our community. It can be as simple as giving someone a hug that is sad, or standing up for someone that is being teased or gossiped about. To keep this in the forefront of our minds, we agreed that we would report back at dinnertime about what little daily acts of service we do during the day. To take it just a bit farther, at our weekly family council, we're going to pick a service to do as a family that will build our family, friends or neighbors.  

You may think to yourself- but what kind of difference is my little family going to make? All the difference! Especially if we all start doing this. It can start with one person thinking of others. Hate crimes are self centered. When you serve others, you begin to love them. You create a bond with that person. Every body wants to feel loved and appreciated. And I guarantee you that the perpetrators of these violent crimes aren't feeling loved or appreciated.

We may not be able to change the world, or others choices, but we can make a difference in our family. From there we can make a difference in our community. And maybe those communities can start influencing on an even bigger scale. But we have to teach, love and act.

Let's spread love and kindness to all we meet. None of us is perfect. When we mess up and do end up hurting others feelings, let's be quick to ask forgiveness, and have a forgiving heart of our own.

This week our family service project was to create a virtual piano recital for our grandmother who lives far away and is too old to travel much any more. The kids were using their creative talents and sharing them to brighten someone else's day. Creativity, as well as service, brings joy.

Next week they plan to write letters to some people in our extended family who could use a lift. 

Who is with us? We would love to hear the ways your family has decided to serve!! I'm sure you're doing so much already. Let's step it up together! 

Gram's Fudge Recipe

Every year at Christmas, my grandma would make her traditional fudge. I remember sneaking piece after piece off of her little serving tray, throughout the day. Most years I've tried to continue her tradition at Christmas, but it just didn't happen this year. So instead, I decided we'd make it for her birthday, which is in February. I actually loved it even more. The fudge didn't get lost in the shuffle of other desserts, or holiday madness. I thought about her the whole day, and it was so great to share this with my children. Now I want to do it this way every year! 

I always thought it was a secret family recipe, until I found out it was on the back of the bottle of the Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Crème bottle.

I just have a couple personal changes. I use pecans for the walnuts, and I used chocolate chips (a mix of milk chocolate and semi-sweet) instead of the bakers chocolate.

Happy Birthday, Gram!! We all miss you!!

Bacon Wrapped Rosemary Chicken

I love this recipe because it's very easy, but it looks fancy. We used this at the dinner we put on before the Sadie Hawkins dance. 

 Ingredients:
Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
Package of Bacon
Fresh Rosemary
2 TBSP garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
swiss cheese (optional)

 Raw chicken is maybe the grossest thing to take pictures of. It is so unappetizing to look at. But stay with me here!! Your first step is to slice the chicken breast vertically so that it is thinner and easier to wrap around the rosemary. It also cooks in less time, so it stays juicier.

 Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix your garlic salt, pepper and paprika in a small bowl. Set aside.
Lay out one of your sliced chicken breasts. Sprinkle both sides with the seasoning mixture.
Put a sprig of rosemary at the end of the breast and roll it up around the rosemary. (*if you are using cheese, put the slice between the chicken and the rosemary. The chicken pictured does not have cheese.) Next wrap it with bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Lay your wrapped chicken breast in a glass pan.

(I sprayed my pan with cooking spray before putting the chicken in.)

Bake for about 35 minutes at 400 degrees F. 

 I love how pretty they look! This is a great protein to serve when you are looking for something gluten free. One of our guests was allergic to dairy, so we left out the cheese and they turned out great. We paired these with our green beans and sweet potatoes. We just used a vegan butter instead of regular butter in the sweet potatoes. (Click links for those recipes.)

 

These would also be amazing with mashed potatoes or asparagus....yummmmmmmm....
Oh and make sure your guests know there is a toothpick in the chicken when they are taking a bite. We accidentally poked one of our teenage guests. Yikes!!!

pizookies- our family's favorite treat

Pizookies are hands down our family's favorite treat. A hot gooey cookie with ice cream on top- you really can't beat it. This is the most requested combo from my kids: chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream on top.

I like to use these little ramekin dishes- I bought on the dollar aisle at Target years ago. Fill them up with chocolate chip cookie dough. Click HERE for my recipe. It's been in my family for years. Preheat the oven to 375 and bake for about 10 minutes. You want the cookie to be golden on top, but still a little doughy on the inside.

As soon as you pull them out of the oven, plop a scoop of ice cream on top. I usually put the ramekin on a plate so I don't burn anybody with the piping hot dish. Serve right away.

So gooey inside!!! This would be a great dessert to serve after Valentine's Day dinner.

Oh, and make sure your ice cream is Blue Bell- if you can find it. It makes all the difference!!

Family Valentine's Day Traditions

When I was a little girl, I could hardly stand the anticipation of Valentine's Day. Making the valentines and mailbox way in advance, picking out each saying carefully as to not have anybody misunderstand my intentions. Reading over each Valentine I received carefully to see if there was any underlying meaning- it was all so exciting.

Then the teen years hit and it seemed it was just one big day of rejection. If there was no romance to be had, the day was just a reminder of how much I was alone. (So pathetic!!) But these past years, Valentine's Day has become special to me again in an even better way than before. I am blessed to be in a wonderful relationship- but it is about so much more than that now. It's a full month of helping me remember to show love more to my kids, husband, family, friends and neighbors. And I hope I can pass this legacy onto my kids instead of the way I behaved in the past.  Now that the day is about everyone else, it is leaps and bounds better than it was when it was all about myself.

 We use valentines boxes during the month of February to write each other love notes. I've realized it really helps me to appreciate my children and husband more as I'm thinking more about the things I appreciate about them, instead of the things that drive me bananas.

 Sometimes we have our friends join us for valentine's parties as well. It's fun to send a balloon home with each little friend who comes over. We get our balloons for $1 at Dollar Tree. We're quite the sight coming out of there with a flock of balloons on a windy day. Trying to stuff them in the car is always an adventure!

The night before Valentine's day when the kids are in bed, I get the house decorated up fancy with balloons and streamers. I set up for our traditional breakfast- donuts. Super easy, but something we don't do on a regular basis. I also put out their mail boxes with the notes they've been collecting and some extra little treats and prizes.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Veggie Prep

Anyone else having a hard time staying focused with all the grocery aisles filled with the delicious looking chocolate for valentine's day? I sure am. I needed to redouble my efforts this week and spend a little quality time in the produce department. Maybe fruits and veggies aren't as alluring as that box of candy, but look how vibrant all the different colors are?!!   I grabbed several vegetables I haven't had for awhile, like jicama, cauliflower and radishes. And those purple carrots- aren't those beauties? My little girls love them, and they make salads look so pretty. 

This is one of my favorite hacks for eating more vegetables. I used to do this before I was pregnant with my last baby. Between morning sickness and new babyhood, I completely forgot about it. It's a simple step added onto your grocery shopping. All you do is cut up your veggies before you put them in the fridge. Easy Peasy- right?!

I do make sure to wash them, and pat them dry with either a clean dish towel or paper towels (if they go in the containers wet they spoil faster). It takes a little time initially, but it saves so much time later on for meal prep, lunch prep, and keeps me from grabbing a cookie or handful of crackers when I need something to eat quickly. My veggies fit better in the fridge, and the kids are eating them more, too. 

I really like using these long ziplock containers. They stack nicely, and are a great size for my fridge shelves. I like that they are clear so I can see what is inside without opening them up. 

I'm going to do my best to chow down on a bunch of these beauties instead of a bunch of "game food" during the Superbowl this weekend. Wish me luck!!

German Pancake Muffins

German pancakes are a big favorite on the Hess side of our family. I'd never had them until I married in. Our kids are huge fans, and I've had to start quadrupling the recipe to satisfy the ravenous wolves. We love having this for dinner, especially on Sundays, or even for brunch on the weekends. Traditionally, we've eaten this in a 9x13 pan. But lately we've been making them in muffin tins, and they are awesome! For some reason it makes it so much more fun with the condiments when they are individual servings, you can  dress them up in all different flavors. 

I love the way they puff up in the oven!!

German Pancake Muffins:
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBSP butter

Our Favorite Condiments:
maple syrup
powdered sugar
cinnamon and sugar
brown sugar
whipped cream
Nutella
jam
berries
bananas
honey
peaches

So first you want to preheat your oven to 450 degrees. It usually takes my oven about 10 minutes to get this hot, so I always preheat first, that way I can be mixing up the batter while it heats up. 

Now it's time to mix up your batter: flour, milk, eggs, lemon juice and salt. (If you don't have lemon juice, you can use 1/3 cup buttermilk and 2/3 cup milk. The tangy flavor of the lemon juice/buttermilk makes a big difference.) Mix until just combined. 

Next take the butter and chop it into 12 pieces. Put a piece of butter in each muffin cup. Stick it in the oven and let it melt in the bottom. Watch it, or it will burn if you leave it in too long.

Pull your muffin tin out of the oven and scoop 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Then put your muffin tin back into the oven and bake for 11-15 minutes (make sure you use a hot pad/oven mitt when you put the muffin tin back in- I've grabbed mine with bare hands on accident before -forgetting it was hot- OUCH!).

When they are done, they are big and puffy like this. They flatten way down as they cool. Aren't they pretty when they're puffy?!

Now they are looking a bit plain. It's time to dress them up.

Use your imagination. You can't go wrong with these guys. Last night we used strawberries and cream. And the kids went a little crazy with the sugar. It's a good thing we used baby food jars to hold the condiments, so there were limited quantities available.

I also think this would make a gorgeous breakfast for Valentines day!

What would you pick as your favorite topping?