everyday Ann

living the ordinary seeing the extraordinary

Easter Prep

(source)

It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through Holy Week and Easter will be upon us soon. My kids are counting down the days and Grace and Caden are practicing up their Alleluias!

I feel like so many efforts I wanted to work on during Lent didn’t all come to fruition, including making Lent more applicable for the little ones. So we are throwing everything into Holy Week.

I ordered Resurrection Eggs for the younger ones, although the older kids enjoy reading it as well. I debated about saving them for Grace’s Easter basket, but I am so glad I didn’t. These are perfect for Holy Week and telling the story of Christ’s Passion leading up to Easter. Grace asks to read the Jesus story before nap time instead of a book and we have gone through them at least twice a day since getting them in the mail last week. I highly recommend them for anyone with little ones.

We made it through Palm Sunday Mass without too much sweat, two long Triduum Masses to go. I wrote about taking our little ones to Mass a few weeks ago over at Catholic Mom in case you are in need of some encouragement before embarking on Mass during bedtime and naptime.

Ever since our first Easter with Kolbe and Ethan we have done the Risen Jesus search Easter morning. On Good Friday the kids will make a picture of Jesus on the cross. They will then put their picture in a tomb (decorated shoe box). Easter morning they will find the boxes open and empty and will need to go in search of the Risen Jesus. When they find Jesus they will also see another surprise, their Easter basket!!

Easter morning the kids wake up to the house transformed and full of bright color. I wait until they are asleep Saturday night to put up any Easter decorations or flowers and also set out a nice table setting for breakfast. Come Easter morning I always wake up insanely early to make a nice brunch and a pan of sweet pecan rolls for us all to sit down and enjoy before heading out to Easter Mass at 8:30am. This year I am going to add virgin mimosas to the early morning brunch menu, something I think the kids will really enjoy.

The following are true and tried family recipes that my Mom has made every Easter morning since I can remember. Since we won’t be traveling this year for Easter, but will actually be hosting some of Aaron’s family I will be making sure to keep the tradition alive.

Pecan Rolls
3 packages buttermilk biscuits (make sure to buy the regular size, otherwise they won’t turn out)
Pecans
Sugar
Cinnamon
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Butter
1/3 cup Cream

  • Grease bundt pan and spread pecans on the bottom. Layer biscuits in pan. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon between each layer.
  • Mix brown sugar, butter and cream in saucepan. Bring to a light boil. Pour over pan.
  • Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Pudding Torte
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 sticks Butter
2/3 cup Chopped Pecans
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 large Jello Instant Chocolate Pudding
3 cups Milk
12 oz. Cool Whip

  • Combine flour, melted butter and pecans. Press mixture into 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
  • Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and half of cool whip until smooth. Spread over cooled crust.
  • Combine pudding mix with 3 cups milk and beat until thick. Pour over cream cheese layer.
  • Spread remaining cool whip on top and refrigerate.
  • Garnish with chopped pecans.

I would love to hear some of your Easter traditions! This is the holiest week of the year and we are about to embark on the greatest moment in history of all time, Christ’s Resurrection!!

Yogurt Cones

A simple, patriotic and healthy snack while celebrating the 4th of July holiday. A sweet treat without the extra sugar that ice cream brings. Plus, an easy way to sneak in some fruit and protein. The kids love the idea of eating out of a waffle cone even if there isn’t ice cream inside of it.

Ingredients

Blueberries
Strawberries sliced
Vanilla Greek Yogurt
Waffle Cones

Recipe

Drop a few blueberries into the bottom of the waffle cone and spoon some yogurt over it. Continue to layer with blueberries and yogurt finishing with sliced strawberries and a few blueberries on top.

Have a great 4th of July!!

Ice Cream Treat

Summer has certainly arrived. This past weekend we felt the 95 degrees heat plus humidity, which gave the kids a good reason to have a water fight with their cousins and me a good reason to make this delicious ice cream dessert.

As a child my parents would treat us to Dairy Queen. We would get our ice cream to go and then drive around town. We usually ordered cones, but once in awhile we got to splurge with a blizzard or peanut buster parfait. This simple yet scrumptious ice cream treat is a Dairy Queen variation of the buster bar. Recipe credit goes to my mom who shares our love of ice cream!

Ingredients

Crust:
1 package/pound Oreo cookies, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1 small can evaporated milk
2/3 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
Spanish peanuts

Recipe

Crush the oreo cookies. I like to put them in a blender on chop, which gets them very fine. Combine the cookies with melted butter. Mix well. Pat into a 9×13 pan. Freeze until firm.

Cover crust with softened ice cream and freeze overnight.

Mix together powdered sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate chips and butter. Stir and boil a few minutes. Remove from the burner and allow to cool, while continuing to stir occasionally. Once cooled spread over the ice cream. Top with peanuts. Freeze several hours before serving.

 

Homemade Elderberry Syrup

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we tried something new this year to combat cold and flu season, Elderberry Syrup. Knock on wood, so far it has been amazingly effective. With the flu running rampant at both school and work we have somehow managed to dodge the plague.

I was previously buying the syrup, but it is a little spendy and we go through it quickly with five of us taking it daily and doubling the dose when the slightest sniffle comes on. So I decided to be a bit crunchy and make our own homemade syrup.

The berries can be ordered from amazon, Elder Larry and Frontier seem to be the best priced. They are dried so they have a long shelf life. I found a few recipes online and modified it slightly for taste. My first run through didn’t turn out so well. Rookie mistakes, do not boil the water too long, do not mash the berries excessively and make sure to use a wire mesh strainer.

A friend wanted to know how I remember to give the syrup to my kiddos every day, they do a really good job of reminding me and not letting me forget. Needless to say they like the taste, with the honey making it a little sweet.

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup whole dried elderberries
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried cloves
  • 1 cup raw honey

Recipe:

  1. Pour water, elderberries, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a saucepan.
  2. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 45 minutes. You want the liquid to reduce by half.
  3. Remove from heat.
  4. Pour berries and liquid through a mesh strainer into a bowl.
  5. Carefully mash the berries to get the rest of the juice out, making sure to not over mash them.
  6. Let cool slightly. Add the honey and stir well.

Fallin’ for Something Sweet

I love trying seasonal recipes, but with a new babe in tow I haven’t gotten that ambitious this Fall as some nights feel like a scramble just to prepare dinner.

I have been scouring the internet for a caramel apple pie recipe, but have yet to find one that meets the craving. I may be heading to our local bakery soon to pick one up, because theirs is hands down the best!

So far we have substituted the pie for caramel apples, which the boys love. I used this recipe super easy, but would do more apples and less caramel on each, because once it cools and thickens it is a little too sweet. We also got creative rolling them in different toppings, chopped cashews, chocolate sprinkles and reeses peanut butter chips, my fave.

If you are looking for some other Fall favorites try apple pie dip or better than pie pumpkin dessert.