December 21, 2016

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing

laura.smoak@gmail.com Prep Ahead, Sides 2 Comments

Quick post today – mainly because there’s not a lot to say about this easy sausage and mushroom stuffing …and also (if we’re being honest with ourselves) because stuffing just isn’t that exciting to photograph. If you’re a traditionalist, carry on. But if you’re open to the possibility that stuffing doesn’t have to be dry with little flavor then stick around.

We’re on the home stretch before Christmas. There were moments I thought we’d never make it, but here we are. We’ve had an exceptionally busy season, but I wouldn’t trade one second of it.

This past weekend we wrapped up the hosted events in our house with a birthday party for Jesus. We got together with a few friends (you may remember them from our Memorial Day Weekend beach trip with the best fish tacos or from the Christmas in July party with chocolate chip peanut butter cups), and had just what it sounds like: a birthday party for Jesus. We had pizza and birthday cake, and the kids sang happy birthday to Jesus. It was such a sweet time with these friends that we’ve come to love so much. We’ve gone from three to five kids with another on the way, and it is so fun to see their friendships developing. And since I’m not bombarding you with too many pictures of sausage and mushroom stuffing, here is one of these sweet kiddos blowing out the candles on the birthday cake for Jesus.

Now back to business. I’m wrapping up my self-dubbed “Christmas Series” with an unconventional dish: sausage and mushroom stuffing.

What is your family like? Are you traditionalists that want everything exactly as it’s always been, or are you open to updates on old favorites? Please be the latter. I’m sure if I thought long enough on it, I could probably come up with a dish that I just can’t condone making any way other than the way it’s always been. Stuffing is not one of those dishes. There are gobs of stuffing recipes that go away from the norm – some of which I’m sure include mushrooms and sausage – but few of them contain six ingredients or less.

You heard me.

Six. Ingredients.

This is another great prep-ahead recipe that can be assembled the day before, then cooked before the meal. Simply wait to add the broth until you’re ready to cook.

Whether you plan to make this sausage and mushroom stuffing, Aunt Peggy’s cranberry apple casserole or bring a stunning cake stand of treats, I hope you all have the merriest Christmas.

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 package herb seasoned classic stuffing (I use Pepperidge Farm – 14 oz)
1 shallot – minced
2 stalks celery – minced
1 lb mushrooms – chopped
1 lb mild Italian sausage
4 cups chicken broth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet cook the sausage, making sure to crumble as it cooks. Remove the sausage to a paper towel lined bowl and set aside (leaving the fat in the pan).
To the pan, add the shallot, celery and mushrooms and cook until softened – about 7-10 minutes.
Combine the cooked sausage, veggies and stuffing in a large bowl and stir to combine.
Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and set aside until ready to cook.
When ready to cook, pour the chicken broth evenly over the stuffing mix.
Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking an additional 10-15 minutes, or until browned on top.
Enjoy!

December 14, 2016

How to Host a Holiday Cookie Party and Red Velvet Oreos

laura.smoak@gmail.com Life, Prep Ahead, Sweets 5 Comments

I can’t believe we’re less than two weeks away from Christmas – how did that happen?? Today is sort of a two-part post: we’re talking about hosting a cookie party and being holiday ready with a stunner of a cake plate display (including the best ever red velvet oreos).

First off, I went a little crazy this year and decided it would be a good idea to invite Anna Ruth’s entire play school class (plus siblings) over for a cookie party. I roped in my friends Kristy and Ginny to help me, and we lived to tell about it. We had 18 kids in our living room with icing and sprinkles, and my hardwoods somehow managed to survive (praise hands!).

You guys, this party was a hit. We had easy snacks and cookies for decorating – we even had a bounce house for playing outside. I just pre-made the cookies, and we had sprinkles and icing set out down the length of the kid’s tables.

I know I’m going on and on about it, but I was just so surprised by how easy this party (and clean-up) was to pull-off. If you ever find yourself in this boat, just make it easy on yourself and plan on covering the floor with painters paper, use disposable tablecloths and all disposable containers for the icing and sprinkles. We literally just dumped everything in the trash and had minimal vacuuming afterwards.

As mentioned, we just had easy party food: cheese and crackers, berries, veggies and hummus, bagel bites and my Christmas treat cake stand display. Let’s talk about having a Christmas treat cake stand display for a minute. This has become one of my favorite things to do for the holidays.

Generally speaking we don’t have a lot of sweets in our house. We’re not anti-sweets, we just don’t usually go for them. However, during the holidays I feel like they are a must. A week or so after Thanksgiving I’ll make my Christmas treats for my yearly display, and they’ll last through Christmas.

The truth of it is that we don’t even really eat the treats that much, but the whole point of it is to be guest ready with little to no warning. Something about having a knock-out sweets display just makes me feel a little more in control and like maybe I actually CAN EVEN during an otherwise hectic time of year. It says to your drop-in visitors, “it’s no intrusion – I’m ready for you – have a treat.” Plus it just looks pretty sitting on your kitchen counter.

I usually change it up a bit, but this year I went with five of my favorites: red velvet oreos (recipe below), homemade peanut butter patties, Oreo truffles, rice krispie treats and chocolate chip peanut butter cups. It seems like a lot, and I generally only do four things, but with the bigger party this year I decided to go for all five. My mom came over after work one night, and we knocked out all of these in around two hours.

You may remember the chocolate chip peanut butter cups, and you can find the Oreo truffles recipe here (but I dip mine in white chocolate). For the peanut butter patties, simply spread a little bit of peanut butter between two butter crackers, freeze for 10-15 minutes and then dip in melted milk chocolate. You can either make traditional rice krispie treats, or you can be like me and buy the giant rice krispie treat from Target that they sell during the holidays. This thing is so great because they’re so good, and ready to just cut and go.

The recipe for the red velvet oreos comes from one of my life long besties, Danielle. She’s been making these for as long as I can remember, and she generally does them with devil’s food cake mix. Since it’s Christmas, though, I went with red velvet to make them festive. No matter what the occasion, these cake-based cookies are perfect.

Red Velvet Oreos

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter – melted
1 egg – slightly beaten
1 tub cream cheese frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine the first three ingredients until well mixed.
Form into 1-inch balls* and gently flatten onto the cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for one minute before removing to cool completely.
Once completely cooled, use the frosting to create cookies.
Enjoy!

* I generally make them a little larger, but this is how she gave me the recipe.

December 7, 2016

Christmas Breakfast

laura.smoak@gmail.com Breakfast, Prep Ahead 1 Comment

It’s week two of my four-part Christmas series, and today we’re talking about one of my very favorite parts of Christmas: Christmas morning and Christmas Breakfast.

Growing up, Christmas morning was one of the most special times with my family. It was always the four of us, and we would have a lazy time of opening gifts and then have a special breakfast. Now that Andy and I have our own family, we’ve continued the tradition. The holidays are so full of parties and other obligations, and – while very fun – there’s just not much time for it to just be us. That’s not the case for Christmas morning. Andy and I decided before kids that Christmas morning would always be a time for our family to just be together.

The last two years were great, but Anna Ruth is really starting to get it now, and the joy and wonder you can just tell are going through her heart and mind are incredible to witness. Every house we pass that is decorated, she lets out a squeal of excitement – “Christmas lights!!” Every present I wrap – “is this for me??” (No, sweet girl, it’s not.) Randomly singing “Happy Birthday to Jesus” because they’ve been practicing at play school. All of these little things leading her up to the big day. We’re even getting together with friends in a couple of weeks for a birthday party for Jesus (stole that idea from my sister, and I am probably more pumped for that than anything else we have planned). She’s loving this time of year and we haven’t opened a single present yet.

I admit I need to check myself with all of the Christmas hoopla we’ve got going on, and make sure to keep our focus on the birth of Jesus. It is just so hard to find that balance, though, when your child shows so much joy in the festivities of the season – lights, parties, treats, gifts. I want her to love this time of year, and the meaning behind it for our faith. Any traditions you do with your kids to give them a sense of wonder during this time that keeps the focus on Jesus? Please share!

In the meantime, I’ve got your Christmas breakfast covered. This is an overnight casserole that is almost like a savory overnight French toast. The thing I love most about this is that it goes straight from your refrigerator into the oven. Most breakfast casseroles I see have you pull it out of the refrigerator an hour before baking for an additional hour <– ummmmm, who in the world wakes up two hours before they’re going to eat breakfast?? Not us.

Guys, this is easy peasy to put together the night before, and is perfect for Christmas morning…get the casserole in the oven -> open gifts -> eat breakfast. You can easily cut this in half, but then you will be missing out on leftovers for days, and that would make us very sad.

I hope you are all enjoying this season, and taking time to find joy in the little things. Thanks to this little overnight wonder, Christmas breakfast is covered, giving you one less thing to have to plan – you’re welcome 😉

Ingredients:

1 lb breakfast sausage
10 slices white bread – torn
8 eggs
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
3 c milk
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt

Directions:

Cook the sausage and set aside to drain off excess fat.
In a greased baking dish, combine the torn bread pieces and cheddar cheese. Mix to evenly combine.
Sprinkle the sausage over the top in a single layer.
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the bread/cheese/sausage.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, remove the cover and place in the oven BEFORE preheating. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees, and bake uncovered for one hour or until completely set.
Enjoy!