Weekend Fun & Holiday Breakfast and Brunch Ideas

Happy Sunday! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday weekend. We have had lots of wonderful time with family and friends this weekend. We actually had three holiday parties to attend this weekend! This year, it seems that all of our gatherings were early in December, and from here until the big day, it is not quite as crazy. Relatively speaking, of course. The holiday season is always a little bit crazy right?

A couple of pics from the weekend...

 

So, I know many of you are hosting holiday breakfasts and brunches. Or maybe you are not hosting one, but you are attending one, or maybe you are just looking for some ideas to cook for your family. I thought I would throw out some ideas! Some are my recipes...some are from around the Web. All are (or look) delicious!

 

1. Obviously, Mimi's Christmas Breakfast is my favorite. You can click here to read about this easy and delicious egg casserole that is always a hit. It is also my most popular blog recipe! (And I have to mention that Mimi is actually a reader of this blog- thank you, Mimi for this recipe!)

 

 

2. This Monkey Bread recipe from The Pioneer Woman (Pastor Ryan's Monkey Bread) looks absolutely delicious! It is a simple recipe and uses ingredients that you may even already have on hand. I think that some of these sweet rolls with a cup of coffee on Christmas morning might be just perfect.

Here is one more monkey bread recipe from Our Out-of-Sync Life that looks wonderful. This one looks a lot like the one my friend Julie made in the mountains (picture below).

 

 

3. This Cranberry + Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast Casserole from The Delicious Life looks amazing. It looks hearty and sweet and tangy and heavenly. This could be a great option for a family breakfast. I love that it uses cranberries! I saw lots of ideas for strawberry stuffed French toast... But I think Cranberries are a great touch in fall and winter.


 

4. This one is another Confessions recipe: my Dixie- Style Dining Recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake is a perfect brunch or breakfast recipe. As you bake this, your entire house will be filled with the scent of cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla. It can be made in muffin tins to keep it individual-sized, or you can make a nice big dish. No matter what form you use, it will be a hit!

 

 

5. This Sausage and Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole looks like it would be a definite hit. Sausage? Good. Potatoes? Good. Cheese? Good. What's not to love here?

 

6. One more- a beverage. Although I think that coffee makes life worth living is essential to a good breakfast, I will acknowledge that there are some non-coffee drinkers out there. But I think most everyone can appreciate a great cup of hot chocolate, especially on a cold morning. Caroline of The Broccoli Hut recently posted this recipe for Homemade Minty Hot Cocoa! I love chocolate and mint, so I think I will be making this very soon! Plus, it makes a great gift!

 

Hope that gives you a few ideas for the next couple of weeks! I personally love this part of the holidays... just cooking for your family (or yourself!) on lazy holiday mornings. We sometimes get so busy during this season, and we forget to slow down and enjoy having time with friends and family. This year, our family has SOMEHOW managed to be ahead of the game. This is unfamiliar territory, but I am so looking forward to the next 2 weeks and NOT having to rush around getting last minute gifts. I am looking forward to just enjoying the holiday season!

 

Invitation to Share: if you are a blogger or reader and you have a great holiday breakfast or brunch recipe, I would like to invite you to share it in a comment at the bottom of this post. Let's make a great list so that we will all have some ideas! If you are sharing a recipe posted online, post the link and a quick (one sentence) description. Thanks in advance for sharing!

 

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Surprise! A Star is Born!

Every year, Sadie's preschool puts on a school Christmas Pageant. I blogged about it two years ago, but last year I didn't. I was pretty busy this time last year getting ready for my sister Adrienne's wedding. Anyway, last year, Sadie was so excited about her school show. She practiced and practiced. We arrived early to get great seats on the front row, knowing our child would be the cutest in the class. The moment finally arrived, when we sat, cameras ready. She got up on the stage and... cried her little eyes out. This was so crazy, because if you know Sadie then you know... She's NOT shy.  

So this year, as the annual pageant approached, Ryan and I found ourselves getting nervous. We kept giving her advice.

• If you get nervous, just look for me of the front row and I wil smile at you.
• No one will be looking at you- they will be looking at all the other kids n stage.

We even resorted to bribery.

• If you stay on the stage and do a good job, we can eat anywhere you want after the show. Any restaurant!
• If you do a good job, I will buy you a ______. (Insert toy name here.)

On the day of the show, we weren't sure what would happen, but we held our breath and...

Surprise!

A star was born. Not only did she sing her heart out, but she smiled the whole time and put on a little show.

Then on Sunday, she did it again at the church Christmas pageant. One of the funniest moments was when she and the rest of the four-year-old angels (irony?) approached the stage. Our little diva was surprised to find herself behind one of the tallest little boys. I guess after getting a taste for performing, she was not going to take a back seat. She elbowed winged her way up to the front where she could enjoy the limelight.

 

A moment of surprise occurred when she realized the Baby Jesus was being played by an actual baby... Not a doll.

Don't you love little surprise moments?

I also love surprises you can eat. Like these cupcakes.

 

They look like ordinary white cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, right?



But if you open it up (or bite into it), you will find a sweet surprise inside! Sweet cherries!

If you need a tutorial on how to make filled cupcakes, click here. For these cupcakes, I used Comstock Cherry Pie Filling for the surprise inside. They I carefully covered up the evidence with cream cheese frosting.

Yes, I know my cupcake decorating needs work. Santa, if you are reading, I could use some cake decorating tools.

So go forth, my friends. Enjoy the surprises of the season!

 

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Dixie- Style Dining- Marie's Chocolate Bar Cookies

Happy National Cookie Day, friends! Um, yes, it REALLY is National Cookie Day. I didn't just make it up. But since it IS National Cookie Day, what's a girl to do?

How about a cookie?

How about a cookie with only THREE ingredients?!



Welcome to my latest Dixie-Style Dining Recipe: Marie's Chocolate Bar Cookies. I have wanted to try this recipe for quite a while, but I thought I would save it for holiday baking time. I am not exactly sure who Marie is. I assume it was probably a friend of my Grandmother's. And God Bless Marie...because it is always great to have a cookie recipe that can be whipped up in an emergency.

 

Marie's Chocolate Bar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 pack (3 packs per box) of graham crackers, crushed
• 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into an 8 by 8 square baking dish that has been coated with nonstick spray or lined with parchment. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool 20 minutes, then cut into squares.

 

Enjoy!

Happy Cookie Day!

 

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Christmasville Recap

Hope everyone had a great weekend! We sure did-- although it sure was a busy weekend!

Saturday morning, I ran in the Christmasville 5k with two coworkers and friends. This is the first 5k that I have run in a year. Last fall, I helped coach a Girls on the Run team, which kept me running. However, I really haven't done a lot of running in 2012. A few weeks ago, I decided I better get myself back into the routine if I wanted to run the 5k on December 1!

I decided before running that I would be happy with any time under 40 minutes. My personal best on a 5k is about 36:00. I knew I wouldn't achieve that this time, being out of practice and all. I am happy to report that I finished in about 39:00! I actually forgot to stop my timer for about a minute after I crossed the finish line, so I didn't get my exact time, however, when I stopped the clock, it said 40:03. So I KNOW it was under 40:00! Yay! Goal met! Now I need to work on getting my time down. I am planning to run another race in January.

After the race, Ryan, Sadie, and I were off to enjoy the rest of the Christmasville festival.

We started with a story with Santa at Glencairn Garden. Santa read a story to all the children and then visited with each me and posed for pictures. Sadie was so excited to give him her letter that she wrote, requesting the American Girl Doll, McKenna. I sure hope Santa can find McKenna... This little girl is really excited!

Then we headed to downtown Rock Hill to enjoy some of the other events, like judging gingerbread houses, taking part in a bell choir, cookie-decorating, and more. I love the Christmasville festival! It is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season here in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

("Doesn't that cookie look delicious?" said no one ever.)

 

Now I am just about ready to start doing some holiday baking. I am looking forward to making my grandmother's butter cookies and even trying one of her recipes that I have never made before. Get this- it is a cookie recipe with only 4 ingredients! I will be trying it out this week and reporting back!

Happy Monday, everyone!

 

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Scenes from Thanksgiving…

Better late than never, right? 

 

I think I’ll just say we have a lot to be thankful for this year. 

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving from the Confessions family!

Dancing for a Cause

I know we’re all getting ready for THANKSgiving… but tonight I want to tell you about DANCEgiving.  If you’re a longtime reader of Confessions of a Former Couch Potato, then you know I’m a Zumba instructor and I love dancing!  There are so many rewards to being an instructor, including seeing participants grow stronger, lose weight, make friends, and find confidence!  However, I am lucky to work for a company that frequently tries to give back to the community. 

This past Saturday, we held a DANCEgiving party.

The purpose of DANCEgiving is two-fold:

get a great 90-minute workout…

and collect non-perishable food items for a local food bank.

The event was so much fun.  There were 6 instructors there, so we got to take turns teaching and teach some songs together.  Participants were able to attend for free with a donation of canned goods.

It is always great to be able to do something that you love, while also helping the community! 

Is everyone ready for Thanksgiving?  What is everyone making?  Ryan, Sadie, and I attend TWO Thanksgiving celebrations (One for each family), so we have certain things we are assigned to bring to both.  For Thanksgiving Number 1, I will be making lemon merangue pie and redskin mashed potatoes.  I’ve never make a lemon merangue pie, so I am trusting a dessert expert: Paula Deen.  She is one of my go-tos when I need a dessert recipe.  For Thanksgiving Number 2, I will be making pumpkin pies, collards (soooo excited to make collards—I have been craving them!), and rolls.  I think I am going to make my Easy Mini Cinnamon Roll-Ups.

We always think of food first when we think of Thanksgiving, but I am so looking forward to having a few days off of work to spend time with family! 

Now, I want to hear what you all are doing.  Where are you going?  What are you cooking?