Eggnog Christmas Tea Bread

The Holidays are upon us!  I love Christmas and my gosh anything that has Eggnog I must try!  Me & my family love everything with that special treat we get only once a year and so I start making it as soon as I see Eggnog on the shelves the store!

It's the most special flavor, the creaminess, the sweetness and the nutmeg just make me smile thinking about it!  I have several recipes that I make every year that use Eggnog and even a special after dinner drink with a very special Eggnog Treat.... that will come...later in the season... so if you love the holidays, recipes, crafts follow my blog and let me share my passion, joy and love of the season with you!   Okay, enough said about that.

This is one of the 1st recipes I make every year for the past 12 now.  The 1st time I made this recipe my baby (Kendall) was only 6 months old, my precious Grandmother was having a visitor over and wanted us to come share a day with her and her special childhood friend.  She was at the time 85!  So I baked this special holiday bread and it was the delight of all of us and has been ever since.  We enjoy it now with coffee just as I did with my Grandmother 12 years ago.   As I prepare to make it, I smile, and remember.
I remember that day and it is such a wonderful memory it makes this recipe extra special for me and my family.

I hope it is as special to you and your family as it is to ours.  Quick enough to prepare and oh so divine.
Here we go, the ingredients:

Eggnog Christmas Tea Bread

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg * ( I grate over the finest grater a nutmeg whole spice for fresh, and I store them in the freezer; ziploc bag to keep for all nutmeg recipes and to put on a glass of the special holiday concoction)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened ( 1 1/2 sticks )
3 eggs
1 cup Eggnog

* optional 10 oz. jar of maraschino cherries, drained and chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.       Grease bottom and sides of loaf pan.  ( I use Crisco and a silicone brush to spread it, I got tired of buying the expensive sprays, and the loaf pops right out with this method!)

Chop the cherries, place on paper towel, pat dry

In small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt; set aside.

In Mixer or Large Bowl, beat sugar and butter on high speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy :)

On medium speed, add 1 egg at a time until blended.  Add 1/3 of flour mixture, beating on low speed just till combined.  Beat in 1/2 of eggnog, then add another 1/3 of flour mix, the remaining 1/2 of eggnog, then remaining flour....beat after each ingredient just until combined.  ( this is when you gently fold in cherries if you choose)  Pour into greased loaf pan.

Bake 1 hour, 15 to 20 minutes.... till knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.  ( it smells so festive )
Cool in pan.  Loosen sides of loaf; remove and serve on festive platter, store under cake dome, or just slice away in the loaf pan.  Most of all......think of Christmas, remember the people you love, sit back and enjoy for a festive brunch, afternoon tea or holiday dessert.  

From my house to yours; may your holidays be filled with sunshine, joy and smiles,
from our house to yours :)

I'd love to hear your Christmas memory, and if you enjoy this recipe :)

We love the cherries and even sneak a few to see if we can tie the stems, apparently the 3 of us like to compete!  With that said, yes, more holiday fun.... who can tie the knot in the cherry stem fastest gets the 1st slice!

Happy Holidays and come back soon for more Eggnog recipes!

Nerium Biotechnology Research and It's Accidental Discovery ... and .....so Much More

When you know your a part of something so much bigger than you ever imagined... for everyone I know...all my FB friends I hope you choose to read about the #CANCER #research that #Nerium #Biotechnology is doing. NeriumAD which has been only night cream to replace every other product used, now has a day cream.

This was an accidental discovery from Nerium Biotechnology when patients coming in from melanoma cancers were excited about their skin looking younger, texture, tones, and discoloration so they developed our flagship NeriumAD which is truly SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN FOR REAL RESULTS. 
After losing my father to #brain tumors, finding out after my Grandmother died she had uterine cancer and everything else out there, the business that I am blessed beyond measure to be a part of now totally funds Nerium Biotechnology! This is huge. Privately funded CANCER RESEARCH.....

When I think it can't get any better by everything Nerium offers such as our  NeriumAD product for FREEif you refer 3 friends to now after 3 months giving you the Day Cream FREE 4 Life!! I just can't share it enough, or feel anymore passionate and I have now learned even more. My business partner and friend Randy Greene just shared the following:

"Just found out that the biotech company that accidentally discovered NeriumAD is researching how to end strokes, tumors, MS (multiple sclerosis) and AIDS, to name a few, using the Nerium plant. So proud that 30% of our company's profits go to fund this vital and necessary research. Glad to be a part of a company that cares!!"

Researching HOW TO #END: #strokes, #tumors, #MS Multiple Sclerosis and #AIDS to just name a few. This is my company, this is what I do it means more to me than words can convey. How many people are going to be healed by our privately funded research all while blessing us with better lives inside and out?
 That is my job and if you are looking for a way to change your life inside and out this could be it.  

michelle.mcniel@nerium.com     

     

Plus we have a 30 DAY $$ BACK GUARANTEE  

Nerium story, Michelle McNiel (+playlist)

Kleenex Trash Pack

Fall....Winter.....allergies....colds.....watery eyes......   whatever the reason may be Kleenex are always needed for something and they always have such cute boxes I hate to just throw them away when I'm
done with a box.

One thing I've noticed is that when Kendall has a cold or any of us there's always an ugly plastic bag to hold all those "used" tissues!  Yuck!  Well here ya go.... up-cycled tissue box....... make - a - me .... happy!

So I didn't have a rubber band big enough to wrap around the both of them but wanted something quick so grabbed some tape and put tape all on one side of the green box....you can kinda see where it is and made circles and flattened them out so they were stick on both sides and stuck them together... less than 3 minutes and got a neat little system sitting on the coffee table.

Here's to a healthy happy fall and winter........ but just in case there are sniffles.... this is a sure fire way to keep the "used" ones from being something to deal with....  :)

May your day be filled with Sunshine Joy and Smiles

Pumpkin Energy Balls

Well Happy Tuesday! 
This has got to be the best fall weather we have had in years!
We are actually getting fall! 

 I can smell leaves burning in the distance, hear the wind in the trees, our doors have been open for 3 days in a row allowing our home to be cooled off with God's free air-conditioning.  It has been cool enough at night that we are able to sleep in our fun fall pajama's and under blankets without turning on the heater!

Yes, my friends, this is going to be the best electric bill ever and in the process it has inspired me to craft, organize, clean and bake!  So with that said I'm so far behind on blogging I wanted to start with a quick one that I made the other day and well suffice to say .... it's pumpkin so has been a hit!

These are not only healthy, super easy and no bake!    All is good!

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 box 8 oz - Chopped Dates
• 1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 1 TBS Flax seeds 
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp Ginger
• 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg ( I use whole nutmegs and grate them into recipe )
• pinch of salt 
• 1 Cup Dry Oats ( I used instant because it's what I have )
• 1 Cup Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas)

So put the dates, pumpkin puree, honey, flax seeds, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in food processor and pulse until smooth and mixed.

Transfer into large bowl, stir in the oats and pumpkin seeds (pepitas) until evenly combined.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer so that when you get ready to roll into balls it is easier to work with.  

Scoop out with small scoop 1'' or  a spoon, your desired size and roll away.  Kids can have fun helping too.  They are a little messy and want to almost fall apart but manage to stay together.

Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.   

I doubt they will last that long and what a healthy little snack.  

HAPPY FALL AND LOVE ME SOME PUMPKINS

MAY YOUR DAY BE FILLED WITH

SunShine Joy and Smiles  :)

Yummy Mummy's

October 4th 2013

With fall finally approaching us here in Texas tomorrow it is going to be a high 65 degrees and we are so excited!  I love to surprise my family with fun, quick, easy meals.  Fall just helps me create things more than once a week and so after David and Kendall loved the Monstober Taco Salad I wanted to do something else fun as we start our fabulous fall weekend.

So tonight we enjoyed:   Yummy Mummy's  and french fries.... another night that David and Kendall popped their phones out for pictures!  Guess you could say I'm one happy mummy ..... lol!  So here's to you having fun with your family spooky fun meal.

1 package of Franks/Hot Dogs  ( your choice )
1 package Pillsbury Refrigerated Bread Sticks

Unroll the bread-sticks then stretch 8 of them long....about 20 inches
Wrap the bread-stick dough around the hot dog and leave a little gap somewhere for the eyes
This makes 8 little mummy's.  
Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes and get ready for smiles and no left overs  :)

I emptied the frozen fries onto a baking sheet, sprinkled granulated garlic and a little salt and pepper, dried parsley just for look and had them cooking while I wrapped the hot dogs in their mummy outfits and about the time they were finished the french fries were done and then bake the mummy's.  

Monstober Taco Salad :)

Fall Weather is my favorite.... Tomorrow is October 1st 2013........   :)

So to kick off the fall pumpkin fun festive season I decided to start off with a fun special dinner for my husband and daughter.  This quick and easy dinner was loved and so here it is.  

My husband and 12 year old daughter thought it was the coolest thing and both took pictures and enjoyed every bite.  My husband didn't even get up to get hot sauce!  So simple I'm going to list all the ingredients and then tell how I make my own taco seasoning which saves money and I always have on hand!

1  lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

2 slicing tomatoes, sliced then cut in 1/2

1 can black olives 

Lettuce

Cheddar Cheese shredded

Sour Cream

Chips for underneath ( we used the little bags because all wanted different chips )

Taco Seasoning per lb of meat.....I don't buy it mixed any more due to the sodium and things I can't even pronounce so why do I want them?  Plus I always have the following on hand.  

3 TBS Chili Powder

2 TBS Cumin

2 TBS dried minced onion ( optional )

1 TBS granulated garlic

1 Tsp Salt

1 Cup Water

In large skillet brown ground beef and onions till no longer pink, then....

Add Taco Seasoning and 1 Cup water; simmer until meat is juicy and seasonings blended about 30 minutes.   

Now put the chips on plate, top with as much cheese as you want then spoon meat over cheese so it melts a little....then take lettuce place 2 pieces at top, then take tomatoes place 1 1/2 slice over lettuce, then a dollop of sour cream on top of each one...then slice the black olives in halve and the ends off so you can see through them and add to sour cream for the eyes and get ready to get some big smiles for something that takes 30 minutes start to finish it that!  

Happy Fall       Happy 1st day of October    Enjoy your Monstober Taco Salad  :)