Homemade Wassail (Christmas Punch)

 Growing up, my mom would make wassail every Christmas Eve. It became known as "Christmas punch" in our family. I didn't even know it had a name until I was about 25. Haha! Anyway, there are a lot of versions out there but this is one of my favorites:

Wassail

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
10 cloves
1 quart apple cider
1 large orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 liter gingerale/Sprite

Combine in a large pot and heat on stove to desired temperature.

I cut this recipe in half since it was just for my family and it ended up being a good amount. So delicious! I can't wait until next Christmas so I can make it again! 😀

Classic Pico De Gallo

For so long I thought I didn't like pico de gallo that much, but it has really grown on me in the last few years. A couple months ago my sister made this recipe for a big family dinner and I was obsessed! Now I'm a total pico lover - and also a pico snob. This one is super good! It does require a lot of chopping but it also makes a TON - maybe half the recipe if it's just your family. :-)

Classic Pico De Gallo

8 Roma tomatoes (chopped)

3/4 red onion (chopped)

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped small

1 jalapeno, chopped small

1 lime squeezed

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/8 tsp pepper

It'll be hard for me to eat store bought pico after eating this. Super good! Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

This is one of my family's favorite soups! It's hard to find a soup that pleases everyone, but this one does. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound (500 g) ground Italian sausage (or ground chicken, turkey or beef), browned*
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoon beef bouillon powder (or chicken)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups beef broth (or chicken or vegetable broth -- I use low sodium)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed and dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 36 ounces evaporated milk or half and half
• 12 ounce packet three cheese tortellini (I used dried not fresh; choose any flavor you like)
• 5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place the browned sausage, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning, beef bouillon powder, salt, and broth in a 6-quart / litre slow cooker bowl. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours.
• Uncover and skim any fat that is sitting on the top of the soup with a spoon; discard. Stir in the cornstarch mixture with the evaporated milk (or half and half or cream). Add the tortellini and mix well. Cover again and cook on HIGH heat setting for a further 45 minutes until the soup has thickened, and the tortellini is soft and cooked through.
• Add in the spinach, pressing the leaves down to completely submerse into the liquid. Cover again for a further 5-10 minutes until the leaves have wilted.
• Pour in milk in 1/3 cup increments, as needed, to reach your desired thickness and consistency (I needed 1 cup); taste test and season with extra salt ONLY if needed, and pepper to suit your tastes.

I leave out the celery because we're not celery fans, but I put in everything else. (I usually don't use that much milk at the end though.) We eat it all year long and I love how it's both easy and super delicious. I can't recommend it enough!

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting (in a bread machine!)

Cinnamon rolls are SUCH a hit in my house. Everybody absolutely loves them, but they sure are a pain to make. I wanted to find one that I could make using my bread machine to help make it a little quicker. Even though this one didn't really advertise as a bread machine recipe, I was able to use my bread machine and it still turned out awesome so yay! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

For the Dough:

• 1 cup warm milk (about 115 degrees F)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast* (I like Red Star Platinum Baking Yeast)
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/3 cup salted butter** (Melted, but make sure it isn't super hot. Just barely melted, or even softened, is fine.)
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the Filling:

• 1/2 cup salted butter (almost melted)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream*** (for pouring over the risen rolls)

For the Frosting:

• 6 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1/3 cup salted butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon maple extract (or vanilla)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop.
• Add the eggs, butter, salt and sugar.
• Add in 4 cups (save the other 1/2 cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.
• Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
• Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That's ok! Don't be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 1/2 cups, but start with 4 cups.
• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.
• Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl. 
• Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.
• Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. It normally takes about 30 minutes for the dough to rise. Do not allow the dough to rise too much or your cinnamon rolls will be airy.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, combine the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Set aside.
• Sprinkle a pastry mat generously with flour. Turn out the dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour. 
• Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough to about a 24×15" rectangle. (the size of the rectangle can vary…it does not have to be exact!)
• Use a rubber spatula to smooth the cinnamon filling over the whole dough rectangle.
• Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style. 
• Cut into 12 slices and place in a greased 9×13 baking pan.****
• Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 20 minutes or until nearly double.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. Don’t make it hot…you just don’t want it cold. It should be warm to the touch.
• Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through. Note…the time will vary based on how big the rolls are, what type of pan, how close the rolls are packed, etc. They could take up to 25-27 minutes. Check the rolls at 20 minutes. If they are getting too browned, cover loosely with foil for the remaining baking time.
• While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
• In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer. Blend well.
• Add in your favorite extract and the powdered sugar. Beat until combined.
• Spread the frosting over the cooled rolls.
• Store in an airtight container.

Basically I just add all the ingredients to my bread machine, (adding the flour and the yeast last) set it on the "Dough" setting, and then skip to step 10. :-) It makes it way faster and easier. It's possible that my bread machine cinnamon rolls aren't quite as amazing as they'd be if I followed these directions exactly, but they're still so amazingly delicious that I think it's more than worth it. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

The title of these might turn you off, but trust me, they're good. :-) I DO actually like the cereal, but even if you don't, if you're a cinnamon-sugar fan, you'll like these. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Cinnamon Cake:

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup sour cream
• Vanilla Cake Mix not white cake mix
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• There used to be cereal pieces in the batter, but that has been removed due to comments saying it's better without it

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with 20-22 cupcake liners.
2. 2. In a large bowl, gently combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla.
3. 3. Mix in sour cream.
4. 4. Add cake mix and cinnamon and mix until smooth.
5. 5. Stir in lightly crushed cereal.
6. 6. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

I am not a fan of the frosting recipe that comes with this recipe because I don't like the cereal pieces in the frosting, even if it's ground up really fine. I found an even better cinnamon sugar frosting recipe (and it has cream cheese!) here:

INGREDIENTS

1 pound (4 cups) of Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup Butter (We use Salted Sweet Cream Butter)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
3 teaspoons of Vanilla
1 heaping teaspoon of Cinnamon


INSTRUCTIONS
Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a mixer until blended.
Add one cup of powdered sugar and the cinnamon and mix until sugar is incorporated.
Add remaining powdered sugar, one cup at a time.

Anyway, these are super yummy. My whole family loves them! If you want to mix up your usual cupcake-making, try these!

One-Pan Garlic Butter Chicken

I love a good one-pan meal sometimes. This one was easy to make and I had most of the ingredients for the sauce already. Here it is:

One-Pan Garlic Butter Chicken

prep time:

5 MINS

cook time:

15 MINS

Sponsored by microsoft.com

Sponsored Video

See More

Report this ad

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN SEASONING:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (see note)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

SAUCE:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 lb asparagus, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, minced

Powered by Chicory

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place chicken in a medium bowl and toss with the spices (salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper).
2. In a large skillet, melt over medium low heat half of the butter (1/4 cup) and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
3. Cook the chicken in the butter until all sides are golden brown being careful not to burn the butter. Add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
4. In the same skillet increase heat to medium high, add the remaining 1 teaspoon minced garlic then add the chicken broth to deglaze the pan. Add the remaining 1/4 cup butter, lemon juice, sriracha, and parsley.
5. Add the asparagus and cook to desired tenderness. Add the chicken back to the pan and stir for another minute to reheat. Garnish the chicken and asparagus with more parsley and lemon slices. Serve.

RECIPE NOTES

If you're substituting fine salt or table salt for the kosher salt in the recipe, use only 3/4 teaspoon or it will be too salty. Table salt is "saltier" than kosher salt or coarse sea salt. Table salt has smaller individual crystals, so more crystals of table salt than kosher or sea salt will fit into a measuring spoon.

Slightly adapted from EatWell.

This had a great flavor and I liked mixing up the way I cooked asparagus. (My kids hate asparagus no matter what, but they did like the chicken!)