sharing christmas

WELCOME TO OUR HOME!

We hope that you enjoy your time here and we wish you all a Merry Christmas & a Wonderful New Year!

This is my first year (and Christmas) posting and I've been really excited to participate in my friend Megan's Sharing Christmas. The point of "Sharing Christmas" is to be able to actually view other people's house all decorated for the holidays without stepping outside of yours. It's really fun to hear about other people's holiday traditions, collect great recipes, and see how they enjoy spending the holidays. So please #1 read my "Sharing Christmas" blog, #2 leave a comment, and #3 go to Megan's blog and check out her home and all of her friends and others who have participated:-)

As you walk inside our kitchen door, this is what our house looks like all dressed up for the holidays...

Brady picked out the silver and red votive holders from Bath & Body Works this year and it's added a nice touch to the picture window.

This is our dining table...and no...Brady and I do not sit on opposite ends of the table:-) The table runner, napkins and great jingle bell napkin holders (which B loves to play with all the time) are only for Christmas. The wreath on the wall is pretty blah...but I've added some red berries which of course you can't see and I plan on spraying it with the gold shimmer to spruce it up a little.

And this is our tree....

When I was growing up, the exciting thing about Christmas for me was the advent calendar. I'll post a pic of the advent calendar I made in grade school, but this is Brady's advent calendar. My friend and I purchased them on ebay a few years ago, and it's the greatest excitement for a kid every day to open up a box and find a special present. Brady loves it this year and daily reminds me (which I often forget!) to put stuff in the box. He even keeps track of the date, which I can't even remember!

This is Brady's gingerbread house that we made a few weeks ago. I fixed it up a little and added the pond/ice skating rink and the candycane path! Next to it is our Christmas Cookie Plate. It reads, "Dear Santa, I've been very, very, very, very, very, very, very GOOD! (Most of the time) Merry Christmas" It's our tradition to bake cookies and place them on our "Santa plate" every year!

These are our Christmas stockings and our beautiful (and VERY heavy) stocking holders. One year, B was playing with them and it dropped on his foot! It wasn't pretty and his toenail was black for months!!!

This is what we listen to over the holidays. We had a much bigger selection, but they all went missing somehow. B's favorite is Alvin and the Chipmunks and my all-time favorite Christmas music is Harry Connick Jr. However, Celine Dion's song "The Prayer" with Andrea Bocelli is the most beautiful song ever! I saw Andrea Bocelli in concert years ago and he is such a talented and amazing individual.



This is my special ornament. Brady made this last year in his preschool class and it's my pride and joy. I take more care of this adorned pinecone than any of my other posessions!






Last year, B made these ornaments with his pic and he decorated his little mini tree with these.





This is our "Santa display" that was given to Brady by his grandmother.

This is Brady's first Christmas snow globe.

And this is our hallway where I display all of Brady's Christmas pictures.

This is B at 2 months old

At 14 months old

2 years old

3 years old

5 years old

I didn't display his 4 yr. old pic because they came out sooooo bad, but I'm adding it in here!

This is our pretty wreath...I love love all the balls and garland and I'm kicking myself for only getting one...

Leaving the kitchen as my devilish cat watches me (aren't those eyes scary?)...

Our kitchen door with the wreath that I adorned with decorations, but now realized that I could have done a better job at it....oh well...

The outside lights hanging over our carport

Here's a pic of our tree with my digital camera which I'm not too thrilled about because the flash made it seem like daytime when in fact all the lights are out. All the other pics were with my cell phone and I apologize about the quality of the pics, but hopefully next year Santa will bring that great NEW digital camera:-)

My Christmas Recipes

Peppermint-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
1 (16.5 ounce) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Decorating suggestion: crushed candy canes or peppermint candies; white, red and green sprinkles; or red and green decorating sugar

Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, and a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, knead together the cookie dough and 1/4 cup flour until smooth.

Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick.

Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough.

Knead together any scraps of dough and roll out again.

Continue to cut out pastry circles until there are 24 pieces in total.

Place the dough circles on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges, about 10 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Reserve 1 parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Combine 1 cup of chocolate chips and the cream in a small bowl.

Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Whisk in the peppermint extract and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour.

Using a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure, place the chocolate mixture in the center of the flat side of 12 of the cookies.

Place the remaining cookies on top and gently squeeze to distribute the filling evenly.

Pace on a baking sheet and freeze until the filling has set, about 25 minutes.

Combine the remaining chocolate chips and the vegetable oil in a small bowl.

Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate and return to the baking sheet.

Sprinkle the tops with crushed candy canes or peppermint candies.

Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight plastic container.

Chocolate Toffee Trifle

1 box chocolate cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)

1/2 cup coffee liqueur

2 cups fudge sauce, recipe follows, or 1 (16-ounce) jar fudge sauce

3 chocolate covered toffee candy bars, broken into pieces

1 1/2 cups heavy cream whipped and sweetened with 1/3 cup sugar

Prepare the cake according to the package directions for a 9 by 13-inch cake. Cool thoroughly.
Prick the entire top of the cake with a fork.

Pour coffee liqueur over the cake and allow it to soak in.

Wrap the cake with plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Slice the cake into 1-inch thick pieces.

Line the bottom of a large glass bowl with a single layer of cake.

Pour 1/4 of the fudge sauce over the cake, top with 1/4 of the candy bar-bits then 1/3 of the whipped cream.

Repeat layering 2 more times ending with fudge sauce and candy bits.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Assemble the trifle shortly before serving or it will get soggy.

Hot Fudge Sauce: 1 (4-ounce) bar German chocolate 1/2-ounce unsweetened chocolate 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter 3 cups powdered sugar 1 2/3 cups evaporated milk 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
To make the sauce: Melt the German chocolate with the butter in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir in the powdered sugar, alternating with evaporated milk and blending well. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, about 8 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.

***This recipe calls for Kahula, but the both times I've made this dessert I haven't used Kahlua. My thoughts are that the cake WOULD get way too soggy with it (even though I am tempted to add the alcohol:-), but it's great even without it. Also, if you just use chocolate syrup and heat it up in the microwave, that works too! Above is a pic of the trifle that I made today for my work party!

This is Brady decorating his cookies for Santa. His eyes look a little strange because he has pink eye, but is getting better! Sorry my kitchen is such a mess, but I once heard, the messier the kitchen, the better the food:-)

Thank you all for stopping by and visiting our

home! Happy Holidays:-)