Christmas Cooking

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This year I have been really motivated to do more with other people than just myself. I mean, I can have lots of fun myself; it doesn't take much to keep me busy, but what good is it really to keep everything to yourself!?  What's the benefit from anything if you are the only one enjoying it?  That's something I've tried to apply over the years since I heard Mark Hall of Casting Crowns say at one of their concerts, "We're not blessed so we can have; we're blessed so we can give."  I've tried to work that into every part of what I do. God has graciously given me so much that I don't deserve, and I should not be selfish with it. I make good grades, so I should share how I work for school. I have lots of pretty notepads and stickers that make me smile, so I shouldn't keep them all for my own crafts and notes, but use them to leave others happy notes, too!  I know lots of Bible verses and songs to go with various situations, so I should encourage others when it's relevant to their lives. The list goes on. You see what I'm getting at?

Here is something that I added to my "to-do" list for Christmas Break: cook with some friends!

I have a collection of recipes on my laptop and in a binder along with a list of new ones to try and the ones in the "archive." There are just so many that I want to make that there's no way I could eat it all!  Mom and dad won't eat my food either. Occasionally we will make a new dinner, but usually it's just for me. To spread the love, cost, and food, mom let me invite friends over to cook with me!  That made it more fun, affordable, and manageable for the kitchen and fridge. 

Mom is always worried about the messed I make on the kitchen, but with Chantal and Cherie, and I, there was nothing to fear!  We are the master chefs!

These chocolate peanut butter balls turned out even better than I expected!  They also helped me win another Instagram contest, #FestiveFoodie by Nature's Path. We used their Panda Puffs cereal and one of their recipes as a guide.

Rolling out the dough!

I had saved up my mini cupcake cups for a ball or truffle recipe.

Finished product: success!

This is the spicy pumpkin bisque we made that afternoon as our "food food."  The night I ate it, I added in some corn and beans to pack an extra punch!

My second round of cooking with friends was with Katlyn and Emma for another soup and dessert!

The onion was so strong Katlyn was crying. The chopper also amused her.

Teamwork!  Cake in the oven and soup on the eye.

This soup we made was tomato sqaush!  The night I warmed it up I added peas and corn for it's extra umph.

 

Silk Nog Pumpkin Spice Cake with pumpkin maple drizzle. Here I also added ice cream and cool whip!

Of course I still whipped up concoctions of #KenziesCreations, too. 

The seasonal Clif Bars are my favorite, #1 being gingerbread, so when I saw them at Food City I bought three. Good thing, because by the next day when Chantal and Chérie went to get some, they were already gone. 

This delicious desser was cool whip and vanilla frozen yogurt flavored with "marshmallow gingerbread snickerdoodle" peanut butter powder from myoatmeal.com to create a matching ice cream for my bar!

Dark chocolate and mint are a seasonal staple, too.

Another recipe that had been on my list for years was sweet potato bald I could in a really old Christmas cookbook. Finally baked, they went great with my Bart & Judy's sweet potato cranberry cookies. 

So simple, too!

All you need is sweet potatoes, cinnamon, and marshmallows!  Then coconut, powdered sugar, or whatever you want to roll them in.

My new pancake mix I ordered from the feed is so pretty!  It was inspiration for pumpkin pancakes of course. I'm also hooked on this Silk pumpkin spice almond nog. I got one to try, found a coupon and bought two more!  I use it in everything from pancakes to coffee to oatmeal, cereal, dessert blends, etc.

Christmas parties are the most popular time for finger food buffets, and I love getting to try little bits of everything. This also gives me a excuse to cook and share more!  For our sun Deb party, I made Mediterranean chicken meatballs and a southwest bean dip.

The ninja has become my best friend. I use him every day. Some days, even multiple times and for multiple meals. It makes things so much easier.

 

 

I wanted to make a cute little treat for the class that I peer tutor, so I got this idea for sweet snowmen!  They are really easy, too. Oreos, marshmallows, icing, and mini Resee cups

Another simple gift idea: flavored hot drink spoons!  These are dark chocolate and marshmallow, obviously.

For the church Christmas party I made mocha mousse!

Days off from school are my favor when I get to do my morning run or workout then make a tasty breakfast with coffee.

I got crafty with mom and dads gifts because I wanted to get them more stuff, but just didn't know what to get!  I know mom loves her oatmeal packs that she takes for lunch, so I made some in cute jars with punny names.

Mom and Dad got punny named fudge made with some of their diet staples, including Cheerios, Wheaties, Yorks, and chocolate.

Another delicious dessert bowl featuring friends gifts. Chantal and Chérie got me the coffee thins and mom got me the complete cookies!

 I've also been on a bit more of a pumpkin/apple/carrot/sweet potato kick for desserts lately, partly because of all the seasonal items that I've just happened to accumulate!  They also make the best dessert blends.  This Oikos pumpkin pie is one of the best!  However, I think mom bought the last one available at our nearest Walmart just today.  Sorry guys.

 Look at all the pumpkin spice!  Enough to keep me going all day long.

I do love my spicy food.  Stole this from an instagram or snapchat account.  I always find relevant things on there.

Winter is just now getting started as we've had 3 snow days in a row now!  That leaves plenty of time to get cooking!

The Mighty Mash

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I like to eat out of bowls. 

Why?  Well, there are many advantages to eating out of a bowl!  Since it has slanted sides, you don't have to worry so much about it falling off of your plate. You can mix things up. It is easier to pick up the food with your spoon/fork. It keeps warm food warmer for longer. Bowls come in more shapes and sizes than plates, so you can fit more in it. And who ever ate ice cream off a plate with success?

To my friends and family, I have become well-known for my crazy concoctions in bowls, but I just love being creative with my food and experimenting with how different flavors go together. Now nothing too crazy--I wouldn't try like chocolate and chicken or barbeque blueberries, but you get what I mean;  flavor coordination. 

I've gone back through my pictures and found almost all my bowls I've taken pictures of so maybe you can get some ideas!  Or just entertainment. 

Simple:  banana, protein powder, milk

Blueberry muffin, milk, blueberries. Warmed

Pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, spices, chopped carrots, honey, banana, egg whites

Almond butter, banana, egg whites, oatmeal, quinoa

Egg whites, protein powder, blueberries, strawberries

Microwaved eggs are just awesome. The fluff is real. 

Used my ninja to blend pistachios, milk cubes, pistachio pudding, and frozen banana for this powerful dessert

Almond butter, banana, quinoa

 

S'mores is one of my favorites!  Great additions are:  vanilla or boston cream pie yogurt, marshmallows, graham crackers, s'mores luna bars, brownies, dark chocolate, white chocolate macadamia TCBY, milk

Protein breakfast:  dark chocolate Special K protein shake, toasted coconut almonds, coconut flakes, coconut extract, cream of wheat

A variation of the previous:  vanilla instead of chocolate:  toasted coconut almonds, coconut extract, coconut flakes, almond coconut blend milk, vanilla extract, cream of wheat

One of my all-time favorite flavor combinations:  dark chocolate coconut

Honey and apple pie!

Simple dark chocolate and vanilla 

frozen yogurt, greek yogurt, protein bar, cereal:  the basic components of a rockin dessert.

Healthy banana pudding:  bananas, cereal, banana yogurt, milk

Apple cobbler:  apples, spices, apple pie yogurt, granola, cereal

Pumpkin, seeds, spices, cream of wheat is a great fall season breakfast

This is my homemade ice cream/yogurt stuff that has a description in another post

Apple and almond butter quinoa

Cocoa, banana, almond butter quinoa:  perfect post-workout

 

This was one of my more recent ones!  It was definitely a winner! 

Along with the things you can see in the picture is pumpkin, milk, spices, and apple.

At the beach, the hotel rooms did not have bowls big enough for my desserts, so I used the ice bucket.  Work with what you're given.

Protein+oatmeal=protmeal

This one is pumpkin, spices, egg white, granola, protein powder

Spaghetti with more than the usual trimmings is how we do it at the Jones residence.

From the dining hall at Furman:  sweet potato, cinnamon, greek yogurt, vanilla soft serve, granola, and my own cookies added in

Another FUDH:  banana pudding with strawberry frozen yogurt

The final dessert from Furman camp this year:  greek yogurt, chocolate frozen yogurt, protein bars

 

Some others that I don't have a picture of but I can think of right now are

dark chocolate peppermint:  Yorks, mint chocolate luna bars, mint chocolate yogurt and frozen yogurt, milk

caramel banana yoplait yogurt, blended milk and frozen banana, caramel apple granola

cocoa coffee simply bars, cafe latte yogurt, milk, cereal, dark chocolate espresso beans, cookies, etc

honey yogurt, oatmeal raisin cookies or bars, corresponding cereal, spices, dried fruit

carrot cake luna or clif bars, honey yogurt and frozen yogurt, milk, carrots, dried fruit, granola, cereal

butterscotch pudding, Resee's pieces, peanut butter puffins or cheerios or Resee's puffs, peanut butter chocolate protein bar, chocolate frozen yogurt, milk, etc

**Another all-time favorite:  CARAMEL yogurt, frozen yogurt, chex popped sweet and salty, simply bars, dulce de leche cheerios, milk, caramel popcorn, butterscotch pudding...the list goes on

white chocolate macadamia luna bars and same flavor pudding, vanilla yogurt, milk, vanilla almond cereal

 

sausage, cabbage, mustard, seasonings, eggs, onion, peppers

corn, beans, bbq chicken, onion, salsa

 

These are just a sample, but I mix all kinds of things together for all 3 meals!  I think it just makes them better together than on their own.  That's why I call it the mighty mash.