Christmas in the Desert

I still can't believe we're more than half way through January.  Christmas seems like it was just yesterday!  C and I spent Christmas in Arizona this year, and his whole family joined us which was really nice.  Hard to be away from my family, but they did a great job at trying to keep me involved, including mailing a bunch of presents all the way from Michigan. Nothing more exciting than a tree with unopened gifts underneath!

Lucky Mia playing dress up with her snowman toy - which lasted approximately two hours.

C's Mom and brother opening gifts.

Mia about to open some treats from me.  Had to do the special wrapping for her too :)  And a little preview of some of my favorite gifts this year - a homemade shopping bag with a little Spartan flavor!

C's Dad looking over his new photography book.

Presents all opened, time for a nap!

The table all set for dinner.

Now that's a good looking plate.

Christmas cake from Tammie Coe Cakes to finish the dinner, delish! 

It was a great Christmas, full of family, laughter, and good food.  Can't ask for much more, it flew by way too fast.  Already can't wait for the holidays next year :)

Christmas Cheer

From etsy.

One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies, Elf.

Merry Christmas everyone!! 

Hug your family and friends a little tighter this holiday season.  

My Christmas Favorites

Merry Christmas Eve!  I thought I would send out some Christmas love to a few of my favorite bloggers by showing you some of their holiday posts.  Get ready to hear your stomach growl in hunger...

Andes Mint Chocolate covered cookies brought to you by Erin's Food Files.  She always has different, amazing recipes.  Plus, I think she might have the cutest baby in the world and I'm a sucker for cute babies.

Chocolate mint truffle cookies from Love and Olive Oil.  If you don't follow this blog, you need to be.  She posts great photos and creative dishes.  Yum! 

Chocolate (and dairy free) ice-cream brought to you by The Pastry Affair.  This has become one of my favorite websites.  Not only are the recipes and photos amazing, but there are quotes!  And really great quotes at that, she always picks what sounds just right.  

This beautiful picture brought to you by The Italian Dish.  Also makes me, on a daily basis, want to travel to Italy.. or to her house just to watch her in action.

Hope you are all enjoying your holidays - from my blog to yours!

Wordless Wednesday - 'Tis The Season

Christmas Day

As we get further and further into the new year it seems like Christmas was ages ago.  Thought I would show you the final pictures of my holiday spent in Michigan before too much time had passed.  Here's a preview to what Santa had in store for us.  I was a big girl this year and didn't sneak around and shake each gift to figure out what it was. 

My Mom and Hallie bug.

After church, opening gifts.

My brother opening his gifts from me.  How nice is that shirt and tie... what a lucky guy!

My parent's opening their joint give from my brother and I. 

I think we did a pretty good job!  Bought a wooden S and took pictures from when we were little until present day and glued them on with a clear gloss over.  Looks pretty cool.

My Mom had large afghans made for each of us.  My brother's was pieces of all his hockey jerseys.

Fresh holly.

Turkey dinner... yum!  Also tried rabbit for the first time, it was awesome.  Anyone else like rabbit?

Hallie REALLY liked the rabbit :)

We like to play games.  A lot.

And we get pretty into it.

Dessert time.  Apple crisp with whipped cream.

Best part of Christmas... no not my IPhone... family. 

Hope all of your holidays were as merry as mine!

My Christmas Eve

I spent Christmas Eve with my Mom's whole family - which includes 4 other brothers, wives, kids and the kids' kids.  Full house... but such an awesome one.

Girls a minority at our family gatherings, but here is my Grandma, my Mom, my only female cousin, her daughter and me.

One of my aunts hosts the gathering and sets us all up to party in her basement, we fit quite nicely.

Now that the cousins are getting a little older we have four kids in the group.  I don't know about all of you, but I'm pretty much always around people my age or older, being around young kids is refreshing sometimes.

Do you remember when you got this excited to open Christmas presents?  It's pretty fun to watch them get so pumped and happy.

Me and my brother, being awesome as usual.

A little better :)

The night ended on a strong note with some ping pong, turned into beer pong.  Now that's a great Christmas Eve.

Egg Nog French Toast

We have a Christmas tradition in my house that the kids makes breakfast on Christmas morning.  We think of it sort of like a thank you to "Santa" for being so giving.  This year I found this Egg Nog french toast recipe, which is very similar to another dish I've made but includes egg nog instead of just milk.  I can't think of a better breakfast on Christmas morning, or really anytime during the holiday season.

My brother kicked things off by chopping up a loaf and a half of challah bread.  We were cooking for six, so I was nervous the serving size wasn't large enough so I did 1 1/2 of the recipe, but really didn't need it.  We had a ton of leftovers, luckily you can reheat this dish easily and it's still tasty.

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray.  Place bread chunks in the pan while you make the eggnog mixture.

Mix eggs in a large bowl.

Add in the egg nog to the eggs.  I used non-fat and thought it was rich, but you can use the regular egg nog as well.

Add the sugar, vanilla extract and nutmeg.

Pour the eggnog mixture over the bread in the pan.  I do this slowly to make sure I get every piece of bread covered.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least 6 hours.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.

Cut the butter into one inch pieces.

Cut the butter into the sugar mixture.  My brother used in hands, but you can use whatever works.  The mixture should be crumbly.  Cover and place in the fridge until right before you bake the bread.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Uncover both dishes.  Crumble the butter sugar mix on top of the bread.  Bake for 45 minutes until starting to brown on top.  Remove and let sit for 5 minutes, then serve.

This dish screams Christmas!  It's very sweet, but I am starting to enjoy baked french toast more and more, and this recipe proved my point even further.  It's rich even when using low fat eggnog, so I don't think you need whole, but it's completely up to you.  Make sure you bookmark this for next year!

Egg Nog French Toast
Serving size 6


1 loaf challah bread, ripped or cut into chunks
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups egg nog
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoons ground nutmeg


Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces


Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray.
Rip or cut bread into chunks and place in the prepared pan.
Mix eggs, egg nog, sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
Pour over bread, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours up to overnight.
In a separate bowl mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together.
Cut in the butter using your hands or fork until the mixture is combined and crumbly.
When ready to bake, crumble the sugar mixture on top of the bread. 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for 45 minutes until top is browned.
Enjoy!