Bread with the Brisels

This recipe is another tradition in my family, and my big brother's favorite recipe. My Nana used to make these every Christmas, but she called them "Mrs. Carter's Cookies." I'm guessing she learned the recipe from Mrs. Carter a long time ago. 😉 They're cake-like, fudgy, and I love how the powdered sugar covers them. It's a festive addition to your cookie plate! Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Makes: about 4 dozen cookies  Ingredients: 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil  4 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 cup powdered sugar Directions: In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the oil, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Then, add in the vanilla.  Add in flour, baking powder and salt and beat until smooth.  Once your dough is well combined, cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least an hour, but ...

Happy Monday! Let the countdown begin...it's almost December! We had such a festive Thanksgiving weekend in Illinois! I wanted to share some highlights here.  On Friday, we woke up and drove to Illinois to spend some time with family. Our plans were to go to the Santa Clause Parade in Peoria, but it was too cold, so we opted out this year. Instead, we went to my Aunt Pam's house for lunch and the girls (+ Baby Jack) headed out to do a little Black Friday shopping. I LOVE the Vanilla Bean Noel scent from Bath and Body Works, and was so excited to stock up for the season.  After a dinner of leftovers, we had a special visitor from Santa Clause himself. 😉 It was so magical to see Sammy's reaction to him walking in the house! He was speechless for just about a minute, then was quick to go sit with him and tell him what he wants for Christmas. Sammy wants a toy robot and a bubble gum machine this year. Sammy had lots of questions for Santa...he wanted to know where the reindeer...

  Happy Black Friday! Is everyone out and about doing all the Christmas shopping? I've been filling my cart across lots of retailers online, so that's how I'll be doing my Black Friday shopping. This time of year always makes me so excited! We loaded up the boys early this morning, and are on our way to visit family in Illinois. Our weekend plans include lots of family time, a reindeer farm, and a special visit with a man in a red suit. 😉 Then, we'll cap off the weekend with some family photos on Sunday morning! I'm certain we'll ALL be ready for an early bedtime on Sunday evening.  I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some Friday Favorites!  First up... Our school district had school through Wednesday of this week, so we had some time to do a few little Thanksgiving projects. This activity was a turkey that said "I'm thankful for," and they used the feathers to write all the things they were thankful for. This turkey was a FAVORI...

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I'll be off tomorrow to celebrate with my family. Dustin is off, and I can't wait for a cozy day together filled with lots of yummy food!  Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to share my Top 3 Sincere and my Top 3 Silly things that I'm thankful for. Here we go!  Top 3 Silly Things (in no particular order) that I'm thankful for... #1 - My heated blanket Truly, I love nothing more than to "pre-heat" my bed while I'm taking a bath, and crawl into my bed when it's nice and toasty. I happen to have this one . It's one of my favorite parts about winter!  #2 - My Stanley cup I love this ridiculous cup and the large amount of water it holds. And the handle on the side and the wide straw? *Chef's kiss* #3 - Caffeine At this stage in life where I'm working full-time as a teacher and raising my two boys, I am so thankful for caffeine. I love a Diet Pepsi and I REALLY love a brewed coffee with a seasonal syrup flavor (pe...

  Yesterday I was off of work for an appointment, and on my way home stopped at Starbucks. I got the Gingerbread Iced Chai (holy delicious!) and a snowman cookie for Sammy. I've seen this trend floating around social media, so we had to give it a try. Baby Jack makes a pretty cute snowman if I say so myself! 😉 Happy Tuesday!

Happy Merry Monday! I love the week of Thanksgiving. It's such a festive kick-off to the holiday season! My school district has school through Wednesday (thankfully we dismiss early that day) but we have a lot of fun things planned throughout the week. I am SO looking forward to a long weekend!  Today I'm sharing a Christmas cookie recipe. Each year, I love to make a huge variety of cookies to share with neighbors/friends/family throughout the season. I start making these cookies in advance, and here's my secret: I package them really well in a Ziploc bag and a Tupperware container and I freeze them. When it's time to make a cookie tray, I pull from the freezer and package them in a festive way. They taste just as fresh as the day they were baked! Chocolate and mint is one of my favorite flavor combinations. These cookies have a chewy chocolate texture and are topped with half an Andes Mint. Once the mint melts, you use the backside of a spoon to spread it like frosting...

How in the world is Thanksgiving next week?! November is absolutely flying by. I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from the week! One of my very FAVORITE things in the world happened this weekend. Dustin got off work, stopped at Starbucks and I got a festive morning delivery. It's the best start to my day!  I made a few chicken pot pies over the weekend and stuck one in the freezer. It's always such a good feeling knowing that a homemade meal is prepped and ready to go! You can't beat comfort food this time of year. Speaking of comfort food, have you ever tried a ham ball? We had some for dinner on Sunday with cheesy potatoes. They're a staple meal in Iowa! I shared my recipe  here . Notice my Christmas plate being all festive underneath. 😉 Last weekend was glorious - we had two days with very few plans. It was so nice to be cozy at home! I put Sammy's Christmas sheets on his bed, and he couldn't have been more excited to climb...

Happy Thursday! Today I'm sharing the first of three different editions of Stocking Stuffer Ideas. This week, I'm sharing ideas for a baby stocking - specifically ages 0-12 months. I try really hard to only gift practical items that can be used in stockings. These are all items that might be found in Jack's stocking on Christmas morning. 😉 1.  Boogie Wipes  - These are great for this time of year when runny noses seem to be frequent. They are extra gentle to wipe boogies away from little noses. 😊 2.  Self-Feeding Spoons  - These spoons are really great for when little ones are starting to feed themselves. There are some ridges that help you mash up food and it "grips" the food better so it's more likely to end up in their mouths.  3.  Booties  - We call Jack the "Sock Houdini" at our house since he has no problems getting socks off his feet. These look cozy and I'm hoping they'll stay on his feet more securely!  4.  Toothbrush Set  - T...

Happy Wednesday! Today I'm sharing my evening routine as a follow-up to my  Morning Routine  post from a few weeks back. On this day it was truly a normal day - no appointments or activities in the evening, AND Dustin was on his "off days" which makes life a little easier.  Here we go!  At exactly 3:30PM I walked out the door of my school building. I've been teaching for almost ten years (10 years in January!) and I really think this is one of the reasons why I'm still a teacher and haven't gotten burnt out yet. In my early years of teaching, a coworker told me that my "school to-do" list would never be complete until the last day of school, and that it was OK to leave some tasks unfinished. Occasionally I will stay late (or more likely, come early) if necessary, but I try really hard to always leave school by 3:30PM.  Since Dustin was on his off days, I was able to drive immediately home! I pulled in the garage right at 3:40 and... was greeted first...

Over the weekend something excited happened at our house! Baby Jack got his first taste of solid food. 😊 We decided he'd start with oatmeal this week, then we'll move to other solids from there.  When we first brought the spoon to his mouth he grabbed the spoon and helped maneuver it to his mouth. It was like he was thinking, "finally - they're giving me some real food!" 😂  We took a video of his first tastes and in the background you can hear Sammy cackling. He was so excited for his brother!  He probably only got about a teaspoon actually in his mouth, but I think he's getting the hang of it! Next  up, avocados. 

Ham Balls are a yummy midwestern dish that were often served on Sunday nights at my home growing up. Whenever I make this recipe I like to double it, and freeze half to eat another day. Simply prepare the dish as normal, seal with aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. You'll place them in the fridge overnight to thaw, then cook as you normally would the next day for dinner. I really like to serve this meal with cheesy potatoes and green beans - a total comfort meal. Ham Balls Serves: 4-6    Prep: 15-20 minutes    Cook Time: 1 hour Ingredients for Ham Balls: 2 lbs ground ham 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs 2 Tablespoons of yellow mustard 1 egg  3/4 cup milk Salt/Pepper Ingredients for Ham Ball sauce: 1 small can condensed tomato soup 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup white vinegar 1 tsp dry mustard Directions: In a large mixing bowl, combine ground ham, graham cracker crumbs, milk, mustard, and egg.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Form mixture into l...

Hello, Friday. It's nice to finally see you. 😉 Today I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some Friday Favorites from the week. Let's go!  First up, I was recently featured as a guest blogger with  Des Moines Mom . In this article, I share a story and a lesson my family experienced at Christmas last year. I hope you read it, enjoy it, and feel inspired about the upcoming holiday season.  Seasonal items are starting to drop in stores, and these Dove Chocolates are one of my VERY FAVORITE seasonal treats. My mom loves them as well and brought a bag by this week. I may or may not have hidden them from the rest of my family. 😂 I did a little comparison picture of Sammy and Jack at 5 months. When they were newborns they looked basically identical, but you can see a difference here! They definitely look a lot alike, but I think Jack favors me a bit more than Sammy does.  Jack is working so hard on sitting up! Look at the concentration on h...