Thanksgiving company - Roos family (minus their twin girls who were off playing), White family, and Julie's parents, the stand in photographers. The meal was delicious, the ambiance wonderful, the company enjoyable, clean up committee a breeze, and conversation great. The kids had a great time playing and jelled very well. Thank you again Roos family.In the next few years, I expect to cook less and less. Why? Because my kids will doing most of it. I hope. I really hope. Already, they have perfected some pretty tasty bites. Pancakes, eggs, fudgies, shakes, and more recently eggnog. This is Makayla's signature drink so far. Madalyn helps, but Makayla is head chef on this one.
Homemade Eggnog Recipe
6 fresh eggs
1 cup sugar, divided
2 cups cream (or substitute with 2 cups whole milk, also makes it a bit lower in fat)
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg (or just the nutmeg in the bottle)
Separate egg yolks and whites. In large bowl beat egg whites until fluffy; add 1/2 cup sugar.
In 2nd bowl, beat yoks until creamy; add 1/2 cup sugar. Fold in beaten egg whites.
Carefully stir in the cream, milk, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour into container. When serving, garnish with nutmeg.
Randy and his cousin Brian. Their momma's are sisters, Bonnie and Jerri. Also, if anyone in the area needs orthodondist work, go see Brian Roos. He'll help make your smile!
My first year making homemade cranberry jelly. Beautiful. the kids thought I was crazy to take a picture, but I thought the red berries were a delectable contrast to the gray saucepan. And the result, good. I used the recipe on the back of the bag and added a bit or orange zest.
Stuffed mushrooms. Makayla's fetal craving. Marianne Emerson made a huge batch of stuffed mushrooms at Thanksgiving when I was pregnant with Makayla. That year, I definitely had my fair share. Since then I have confiscated her recipe, and these oh so yummy indulgences. Tradition. We also got Oma hooked on these. A batch of stuffed mushrooms has served as her birthday present a time or two.
Our Stuffed Mushroom Recipe -
This came from Marianne who probably got it from someone else. I don't have exact measurements because I just make it up to taste and/or ingredients. But the basic is....
2 Jimmy Dean regular sausage rolls (16 oz. each)
2 Philadelphia cream cheese blocks
2 bunches green onions, thinly cut
1 package bacon cooked and crumbled, or cut up depending on how crunchy you like your bacon
While making, don't freak if you have a little more of one ingredient than another. It all smooshes together and tastes good. Cook sausage and bacon. Mix in with cream cheese and green onions. Scoop into 20-30 white mushrooms that were previously de-stemmed. I use my pampered chef tomato corer to remove a little of the inside of the mushroom as well. Place on a slotted pan with water underneath to help steam the mushrooms. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. If I have more mix than mushrooms, it is also great to throw into scrambled eggs or on a sandwich.
Before we left, Cayleb was worried the Roos boys might not know about Star Wars and playing "army guy" with guns and stuff. It has been awhile since we saw them last. Lucky for him, they were equipped with the goods. The boys had an awesome time playing inside and night games outside too!
Makenzy was so excited to play with Sally and Jane's new girl stuff. However, when one of the girls showed an interest in her squeaky shoes, Kenzie wasn't ready to share. No way, no how. Girls and shoes, it starts early. We taught their family the swinging game "one for the money, two for the show...". But it is a little tricky grabbing six little legs and arms. So a bed sheet was the answer. All 3 girls climbed in and we swung them from side to side.
