Chocolate Stroganoff

Christmas on the porch - day 8

image by conzinhandoideias.com.br

That's right...no need to go back and see if you read that correctly! On our recent trip to Brazil, I discovered yet one more amazing way to eat chocolate. My husband's aunt made this for one of our family parties.She is a better chef than you can find at any restaurant (at least that's what my husband says and he's very particular when it comes to food).  This is a really fun and different dessert to serve at any party, and especially at Christmas time when we have given ourselves the week off of calorie counting! The best part about it, aside from it being so yummy, is how easy it is to make.


Ingredients

2 cans sweetened condensed milk
2 cans regular milk
6 egg yokes
6 Tablespoons of powdered chocolate such as Nesquick
1 Tablespoon butter
2  cans Nestle table cream
6 egg whites
3 or 4 different chocolate bars (i.e. milk, white & dark)

Instructions

Combine sweetened condensed milk, milk, egg yokes, powdered chocolate and butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly. As soon as it starts to boil turn off the stove. Set aside until it has completely cooled.

Add the table cream and egg whites in with the chocolate sauce mix. Break or cut your chocolate bars into bite size squares and mix them in as well.

Spoon some of this heavenly chocolate stroganoff into a small bowl and enjoy as it all just melts perfectly in your mouth!

-Jenn

Snowball Attack!!!

Christmas on the porch - day 2

     We've all heard of, participated in or been recipients of a "heart attack." Not the bad scary one, but the one where you cut out a bunch of paper hearts, write nice things on them and then tape them to somebody's door. Well why not use this cold snowy weather as an excuse to do a "snowball attack" to some of your neighbors, family and friends? Here are a couple of different ways this can be done:

#1 - One of my favorite little fun things to make and especially eat is cake balls. You can really use any cake flavor to make them but for the purpose of making a snowball you will want to make a white cake and then cover them in white chocolate. They are so simple to make. All you need to do is bake your cake, let it cool then crumble it up and mix in a package of cream cheese. Form as little or as large of balls as you would like, stick them in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then heat up your white chocolate and roll those babies around in there. If you are quick enough you can roll them around immediately after in a little bowl of sugar crystals or other white decorative cake toppers to add a little bit of texture and fanciness!

#2 - For a fun, different and to die for yumminess you can make these little snowball looking treats, a.k.a. beijinhos de coco or "coconut kisses." You can find the recipe for them here.

Your friends, neighbors and loved ones will for sure "feel" your love as you "attack" them with these delicious little snow balls! You can even mention that each one represents something you love about them or something nice that they have done for you.

Just make sure that you make a few extra ones for you!

Enjoy!

-Jenn

Brazilian Birthday Party

Have you run out of ideas on what to do to throw that perfect party for your child? Look no further than to our friends down south....the Brazilians! Do they ever know how to throw a great one! We arrived in Brazil a few days after our baby's first birthday and my awesome sisters-in-law put together this little festa (party) for her. A couple of weeks later our nephew turned two so we got to party twice! Both my two year old and I left Brazil excited for her third birthday so that we could throw an awesome party of our own!

There are a few important elements that are necessary to make the perfect Brazilian party. These include:

• A theme
• At least one table covered with treats (doces). They have specific ones they use and I will eventually post those recipes.
• Fun little take home gift for the kids who came to your party.

There is a lot of room to be creative with things such as the theme, the location, the food that is served and the take home gifts.

Here is the little take home gift from her party. Inside of this little gift there were hair clips, candies, firework snappers, a whistle, little plastic animals and a few other trinkets. They also put in things like pens, notepads, washcloths, little party favors, pictures, stickers and anything else you can imagine a kid liking! They use all kinds of containers to fill with these goodies. My nephew went to one birthday party where they gave all the kids backpacks full of goods!  

For my adorable little nephew ( the one in the middle), they threw a futebol (soccer) party where everyone went dressed up in their favorite teams' jersey. His party was at an event center specifically designed for kids. There was a trampoline, bouncy air toys, dress up cloths, air hockey and video arcade games.

This was seriously one of the funnest kid birthday parties I have ever been to. I would highly recommend getting some ideas from these creative party lovers! We would love to hear about your best birthday party ideas and if you are looking for some Brazilian ideas, let me know. My husband's cousin has a huge party planning and catering business. . .so we've got an in! Hope your next party is a huge success!!

-Jenn

Friday Forum: Our Favorite Cold Weather Remedies

It is that time of year again!! At our house we have already been hit with two rounds of the dreaded cold virus! I know that a cold may not sound that bad, but there are a lot of things I'd rather have than a cold!

image source

When I was pregnant with my first baby the cold took on a whole new meaning to me since all good medications were off limits. I suffered through two or three really bad ones and quite a few sleepless nights. After all the suffering, I decided that I was not going to have such misery during my second pregnancy. I searched to discover any possible way to find relief during those long nights. In all my searching I found the miracle cure that has almost wiped out the word cold from my vocabulary!

My Miracle Cure
This cure is so easy, very inexpensive and works quickly. The only side effect is that you may not be getting many hugs and kisses while using it! Here is the secret (that is not so secret).....garlic! All you need to do is mince one clove of garlic, let it sit for 10 minutes while the garlic works it's magic.  Then eat or drink it. The least difficult and most helpful way to drink it is to stick it in a glass of grapefruit juice (orange juice will work too) and drink as fast as you can. The less juice you have in your cup the better. To help clear your congestion, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, mix and then drink even faster! I know that Nyquil may sound easier and more appealing but I promise that following these easy steps you will be left wondering if it was even a cold to begin with!

 I would like to know what all of you do to make it through all these cold weather bugs?


Nancy: I started drinking green smoothies almost every day since February. Not only have I kept away from colds and sickness, but I've also lost 20 pounds.  Green smoothies are not the ONLY factor in this, but a huge part of it. Here's my recipe:

 I also add some honey if it's not sweet enough. 

Honey and orange juice are great for cold viruses. My pediatrician told me that honey is proven to attack colds the same way as any over-the-counter cold medicine. Also, spinach actually has more protein per calorie than steak!! (I found that out when I read this book). Green smoothies have definitely boosted my health. 

Lauralee: During the cold winter months we tend to want to stay inside where it is warm and cozy. My best winter tip for staying sane and healthy is GET OUTSIDE! If you are lucky enough to have snow during the winter, get out and snowshoe, ski, build a snowman, or have a snowball fight! Getting outside has so many benefits. First, it will boost your Vitamin D levels which will improve your mood and immune system! Second, we all know the benefits of a little exercise.  A little sweat will help the body to detox and get rid a few unwanted invaders. Lastly, it is a great remedy for feeling cooped up.

Maren:  My cold remedy isn't as jaw dropping but it helps, I swear it! Over here we call it "The Concoction." It consists of two huge-o vitamin C pills and about 5 vitamin A pills. That much vitamin A can be bad for the body if you eat that much every day, but if you taking four to five for a few days is safe and it will knock out your cold.

Jan: It is hard to give this advice since I am not alway great about it but it is time to become "Sleeping Beauties".  Sleep is one of the most important thing we can do to prevent sickness.  I know how hard it is with deadlines, work schedules, kids, husbands, responsibilities, life etc.  BUT!!! getting sleep helps us in lots of areas of our life.  In this article http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2011/03/sleep-is-more-important-than-f.html titled Sleep is More Important than Food really caught my eye. (Really what could be more important than FOOD, especially chocolate!)  The author tells us to get ourselves in a bedtime routine.  I think mom's really like to get their children in a good bedtime routine and yet we forget that we should be on that same schedule.  He suggests 3 things to do before going to bed. 

1. Go to bed earlier — and at a set time.

2.Start winding down at least 45 minutes before you turn out the light.
3. Write down what's on your mind.
So remember it is ok to go to bed early, take a nap or sleep more than 8 hours, it is good for your health!


Please share any tips you have to keep sickness away!!

Thanks!
Jenn

Twirly Girl Skirts - Part 1

Three fun, fast and easy skirts that will leave your little girl twirling until she can't twirl anymore!

#1 - The tutu

Two of my little girls' favorite things to do around the house are to dress up and to twirl. This has given me an excuse to do one of my favorite things...sew up some cute skirts! The first one I made is one that my amazing neighbor showed me how to do this summer. It is a fun little tutu made out of tulle and can be as fluffy and colorful as you want to make it. It is so simple, taking just an hour or less to make, and your little princess will adore it!

Start out by choosing the colors you want your skirt to be. You can buy the tulle on a roll like these, making it easier to cut or by the yard which is fine too.

To determine how long you need to cut your strips, take the measurement from the waist to however long  you want the skirt to be, then add four inches. These strips are 6" wide which is about perfect.

Measure the waist and then cut the elastic one inch less than that. Overlap the ends one half inch and sew them together.

Find a stool or chair that you can tip upside down to stretch your elastic around.

Take a strip of tulle and make a V with it on the outside of the elastic.

Take hold of the ends of the tulle, pull it around the back side of the elastic and then loop it through the bottom of the V.

You can tighten it as much as you want. The fluffier and "twirlier" you want your skirt to be, the more tulle you will need to put on your skirt. I used 16 strips each of three different colors for a 12 - 18 month size and it was really full. 

This is a perfect addition to a Halloween costume for little fairies, witches, princesses,  and even glamorous little pumkins and ghosts! Hope you have as much fun as I did making this little tutu and more importantly that the wearer of it gets to twirl her little heart out!
 -Jenn

Doll Stroller Re-made

Something better than a brand new toy.... keeping your favorite one around for a long long time!

Every so often we get lucky enough to find a toy for our two year old that she loves enough to play with more than just a couple of times. This doll stroller happens to be one of those toys, and it has been used, loved and played with so much that it turned into this:

The other day she was pushing it around the house getting so upset because every time we buckled her baby in she fell right back out. I decided that this was a toy worth salvaging since it is one that keeps her happy on a daily basis.

Here is just a quick idea of how to take something you, your child or someone else in your life, love and give it a new life to be enjoyed a lot longer! Additionally, it is always nice to have a free pattern for these things!

First, take a lot of pictures of the item (whether it be a toy, clothing, furniture or anything else that can be taken apart and sewn back together) you are taking apart so that you will know exactly how to put it back together again.

Take your seam ripper and carefully unpick all of the places that have been sewn together.

Lay the old pieces on top of the fabric, pin them on and cut out the new pieces.

Cut any tapes, bindings, elastic or other materials used on your original piece. Now for the fun part of sewing it all back together!

There was one happy little girl when she woke up from her nap to a doll stroller that actually kept her doll in it the whole time she was pushing it around. So when you see those rips and tares, do not fret! In the case of this stroller, the original fabric was very thin so to up the strength and longevity I bought a home decor weight fabric.

This is a tip that can work on so many of your favorite things. It really is quite easy since you don't have to do any guessing and you already know how the finished product will be! So instead of throwing away that shirt or toy that you really love, grab some material and get to work!

Have fun!

Jenn