de Jong Dream House: christmas

Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Gevulde Speculaas (Stuffed Gingerbread Bars)

December 5 is a BIG day for our Dutch-American family. On this day, Dutchies around the world celebrate the arrival of Sinterklaas. I intended to write a post about the Netherland's version of a generous man in red, but that will have to wait til next year, because I'm going to share my favorite Sinterklaas recipe instead, and you can thank me all year round!

I was first introduced to the deliciousness of gevulde speculaas during my first Christmas in the Netherlands. I couldn't wait to to enjoy these gingerbread bars stuffed with almond paste again but I had to first translate the recipe from Dutch!

Today we brought these bars, along with other Sinterklaas goodies and birthday cupcakes to our son's class and they were a bit hit. Both his teachers requested the recipe, so it was just the motivation I needed to get this post up before calling it a day!

Sinterklaas came to help me out.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoon speculaas spice (you can make your own with my recipe)
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 10 Tablespoons butter (or dairy free alternative)
• 2 Tablespoons Almond milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 8 oz. almond paste
• Handful of whole almonds

Instructions:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add speculaas spice,sugar, and flour mix in a large mixing bowl.

2. Slice butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.

3. Combine until mixed well.

4. Add the milk and egg yolk.

5. Knead together until a slightly sticky ball forms.

6. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours).

7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Divide dough in half.

9. Grease a square pan and set aside. (I like to use my homemade non-stick spray)

10. Roll out the first half of the dough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan. Press dough into the pan so the bottom is evenly covered.

11. Spread the almond paste over the dough. If using paste from a can, break the paste into pieces and carefully spread out the paste without squishing through to the dough.

12. Roll out the second half of dough, and carefully cover the filling layer.

13. Press almonds into the dough in a block pattern so that cut pieces will each have an almond in the center.

14. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when poked in the center.

15. Let cool before cutting into pieces.

Eet Smakeliljk!

Linked to:

DIY Dreamer * Fearlessly Creative Mamas * Feeding Big * Life After Laundry * Nap Time Creations * Memories by the Mile * Sticky Notes & Glitter * Tatertots & Jello * We are THAT Family * Weary Chef

Friday, November 29, 2013

Non-Dairy Grain-Free Stuffing

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving! We sure did! I had GREAT brain day, so I spent a good amount of it in the kitchen making all sorts of yummy things for our Thanksgiving gathering with friends.

All six recipes were new to me, but the one I was most excited to try was the non-dairy, grain-free stuffing created by my amazing sister, Carisa, who runs the Clean & Lean Facebook page. If you want to be inspired to live a healthy life, you are going to want to check out her page. If you want inspiration to eat clean and move your body, you'll find it with Carisa's recipes, ingredient substitutions, motivational thoughts, and workouts.

If you are in Minnesota, you can catch Carisa on Fox 9's cooking segment. Follow her page for show times. Two weeks ago, she was on the show making this non-dairy, grain-free stuffing recipe. Fortunately for those of us not in Minnesota, she posted the recipe to her Facebook page, as well.

It was such a big hit at dinner tonight, I asked Carisa if I could blog about it here, and she graciously agreed. So here are your step-by-step directions to my new favorite healthy stuffing alternative. And did I mention that it's made in a crock pot? Throw it in and take it easy, or, in my case, whip up five other recipes!

My Sister's Stuffing

created by Carisa Rasmussen of Clean & Lean

Ingredients:

3 cups low sodium, organic chicken broth
1 cup wild rice
1 cup quinoa (rinsed)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 package of sliced mushrooms (Sorry, Carisa, I skipped these!)
1 large onion, chopped (I diced them)
2 large carrots, diced
4 celery ribs with leaves, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup finely cut chives (I used 1/2 cup dried)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp poultry seasoning (or two, if you prefer)
3 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Add rinsed quinoa and wild rice to the crockpot. I've yet to figure out the best way to rinse quinoa without making a mess. Anyone have any hints for me?

2. Add 3 cups chicken broth. I used to buy a ton of chicken broth until a friend told me about Better Than Bouillon.

3. Add 3 Tablespoons olive oil. (Ignore the mess. It was crazy in my kitchen today!)

4. Dice 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 4 celery ribs (including leaves). Add to crock pot.

5. Add 4 cloves garlic (about 2 teaspoons).

6. Add 1/2 cup dried chives (or 1 cup fresh chives)

7. Add 2 bay leaves.

8. Carisa said to add 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning. I like seasoning. I added two. I make my own poultry seasoning. Eventually I'll make a post about that.

9. Finally, add 3 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set the crockpot to 3 hours on high.

10. Three hours later, the stuffing is done!

11. I put the stuffing in a casserole dish for easier transport to our friend's house.

A few notes from Carisa.
This is a stuffing that you can cook ahead of time because it reheats well. (She cooks hers overnight on low). This is a very moist stuffing, it’s not dry at all. If you prefer a more dry stuffing, start by leaving out a half cup of chicken broth and a Tablespoon of the oil. I love the flavor of this stuffing, it’s my absolute favorite, but my husband prefers it with more salt. You may need to add salt depending on your personal preference.

A few notes from Jen:

I thought the texture was just right, not too dry, and not too moist. It's really savory and with my particular poultry seasoning, I think I will cut the salt by half next time, and believe me, there will be a next time! Also, this recipe makes a very generous amount of stuffing. If you are making this for a smaller group, you may want to half the recipe.

I've made a printable recipe so you can get a started on next year's menu!

Linked to:

The 36th Avenue * DYI Dreamer * Feeding Big * Fluster Buster * I Put a Bird on It * Just Us Four * Memories by the Mile * Mums Make Lists * Practically Functional * Pursuit of a Functional Home * Tatertots & Jello * Weary Chef

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

The Sparkle Box

We have a rule in our house: no tree before the turkey. So even though we are still in the midst of fall and preparing for Thanksgiving with things like our Thankful tree and even a little mantle decor, this mommy still has Christmas on the back of her mind.

One way we try to keep the spirit of Christmas alive year round is with a tradition we started last year based on the book, The Sparkle Box (<--Amazon affiliate link) by Jill Hardie.

The book tells the story of a little boy named Sam who is curious about a sparkly box sitting on the mantel at home. As Christmas day approaches, Sam and his family find ways to show kindness to others. On Christmas morning, Sam is finally allowed to open the Sparkle Box, in which he finds slips of paper that describe the good deeds they did for others. Sam's parents explain that when those acts of service and kindness are really gifts for Jesus, based on Mathew 25:40: The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters, you did for me."

It is important to us as parents that we raise our son to be grateful for what he has and generous to those who have not. Throughout the year, we look for opportunities to serve and be generous. Granted, this can be a challenge for me, as my brain injury prevents me for participating in some traditional service activities. But we are teaching our son to have a mindset of looking for ways to meet the needs in others, from a simple act of offering to take back a shopping cart for a mother with young child to a more difficult choice to offer his spend money to a medical center in Peru. The acts themselves are not nearly as important to us as is cultivating a mindset of generous giving.

The Christmas season for us is the perfect time to work on our attitude of giving and receiving. As a Dutch family, we celebrate Sinterklaas, who brings gifts on December 5. Our son's birthday is December 9. And then of course, Christmas is December 25. That's a lot of gift-giving occasions in a very short window. Early on, we decided that for each occasion, our son would receive four gifts from us: something he wants, something he needs, something to experience, and something to read. We keep a wishlist handy for D to write down the things he would like, and as December draws closer, he will often cross out some things and prioritize the rest. It's not a guarantee that he will receive those things, but the process of him noting how much things cost and knowing he won't get everything he wants when he wants it is a good foundation for budgeting as he gets older.

We do let our son have a bonus gift at Christmas, that ties in to the Sparkle Box. He gets to choose one gift (we give him a specific dollar amount to spend) that he would like to donate to Toys for Tots. He selects something he would like, and we buy two of the same thing. Then he helps me wrap both gifts. We take one to our Toys for Toys drop off and the other goes under the tree. We like the idea that as he plays with that toy, he knows there is another boy enjoying the same thing.

Throughout the year, as we give to others or meet a need, we write down what we did on a piece of paper for The Sparkle Box. This year, I bought some heart notepads for this purpose. I looked everywhere for little gifts, but the hearts are growing on me.

As a general rule, the events we record for our Sparkle Box do not include regular chores or gifts that expected, like a birthday gift, but are either gifts that we're given "just because" or acts of service, or anything done with a cost of time or money.

As the year goes on, our love notes to Jesus pile up.

The book includes a little box, but I liked the idea of making my own. I found the white sparkly photo box at Big Lots on clearance last year. All I had to do was make my own insert for the photo slot, which I made by raiding my fabric scraps.

Our sparkly Sparkle box.

One of my favorite photos from last Christmas is this one where Niels is reading the Sparkle Box story, D is holding the box excitedly, and Marissa looks on, munching on Christmas goodies while taking in her first American Christmas.

I'd love to hear about your favorite Christmas traditions!

Linked to:
The 36th Avenue * The Blogging Bunch * The Chicken Chick * Clarks Condensed * The Dedicated House * Embracing the Good Life * Fearlessly Creative Mammas * Fluster Buster * Frugality Gal* How Do You Do It * Implausibly Beautiful * I Put a Bird on It * Just Us Four * Kiddie Foodies * Life After Laundry * Memories By the Mile * Mums Make Lists * Nap Time Creations *Practically Functional * Pursuit of a Functional Home * Real Coake * Serenidity Now * Sowdering about in Seattle * Sparkles & A Stove *Tatertots & Jello * We are THAT Family * Will Cook for Smiles

Monday, August 5, 2013

The December List: free Christmas wishlist printable

I know it's barely August, and my four-year-old doesn't even start pre-K for another month, but today we were shopping and I got a lot of this:

I will say, that since we started using his spend/save/share jars, D has been a lot better about asking for things, but will instead ask how much something costs, and if he has enough to buy it.

But today's shopping excursion reminded me that it's about time to bring out the December List. December is an insanely busy time for us, not only because of Christmas, but also because it's D's birthday Sinterklaas, which is Dutch Christmas on December 5, and a pretty big deal, too because Sinterklaas has lots of traditional foods and activities, and treats he likes to give good little boys.

As you can imagine, December has the potential to be a little crazy with gifts for our little boy. (Kind of a bummer for him the rest of the year, but we tend to buy what he needs when he needs it, and give him opportunities to earn money for the times when he finds something he wants but we don't think he needs). Even before D was born, we decided that we would limit his gifts.

For each of the big three December holiday, he gets:

Something he wants: a toy usually
Something he needs: a new item of clothing
Something to read
Something to experience: a special movie, a trip to a museum, etc....generally something to do with his current interests. For the last two years, it's been a train ride.

In addition, he chooses something to give. We semi-regularly go through his clothes, toys, and books. This is something that he chooses for another boy his age, and pays for part of it with his own money. In the past, it's been a train set.

The Sparkle Box (<--affiliate link)

We do other giving at Christmas, using The Sparkle Box as our inspiration, like filling out boxes for Operation Christmas Child, but the "Something to give" gift is selected by D and then we drop it off at Toys for Tots, which is really cool around here because we get to drive through a blimp hangar to do it.

All that to say, we came up with "The December List" as a way for our son to write down all the fun things he sees and wants starting around this time of year. He has seen me take photos of things I like in stores because I have no memory, so now he asks me to take photos of the things he likes, like in the photos
above.

With the December List, he has a place to write down his suggestions. Closer to Thanksgiving, he'll prioritize the list because he knows his gifts are limited. It's also nice for grandparents looking for ideas!

I realize that not everyone has three major events to celebrate in December, so I made a free printable wish list for those of you who celebrate only Christmas at the end of the year.

You can thank my friend Lauren from The Thinking Closet for introducing me to Box as a way to share printables. In fact, I have gone back and made all my printable available on Box.