Russian Refresher

So I'm so excited to post on Erin's blog. I just love her, she's so great! Erin and I became friends while our husbands were in Optometry school together. The men were never around and we had daughters that were 6 weeks apart so we got together literally every day. We saw each other more than our husbands. I don't think I could have made it through school without her. She introduced me to so many different hobbies. She is just the funnest, sweetest person and I miss her so much. Erin makes Celiac's look so easy, but I know how hard it is to have a food allergy. I think it's so great that she has this blog for people who are new to the disease and can get some help with what they can actually eat and new ideas for those who have had it for a long time! She's amazing as everyone knows!

Well I'm going to share a Christmas memory to start off.

So when I was about 13 years old, my family and I went to Nauvoo, Illinois for Thanksgiving to visit my grandparents who were serving a mission for our church. They got to show different trades that the people did back in the day such as candle making, buggy rides, the blacksmith, etc. Well I was drawn to the pottery. My grandma made a beautiful pot and I thought it was the greatest. I decided I wanted to take up pottery or whatever it is called. So for Christmas I asked Santa for a pottery wheel. I usually got what I asked for so I was so excited for Christmas. Well Christmas came and I ran down the stairs expecting this:

and what I found with my name written beautifully on it was this:

Haha needless to say I was very disappointed. I didn't realize the financial burden a real pottery wheel would be on my parents at the time, but now realize it was an outrageous request. It has now become a joke about my lame Christmas gift and I can't help but laugh when I see a pottery wheel in the store.

In my family we don't have any specific holiday foods that we always eat so I asked my husband what they did in his family and he came up with the Russian Refresher. I've never had it but he claims it is delicious so hopefully you enjoy it!

Russian Refresher

2 cups powdered orange drink mix (Tang)

1 ( 3 oz) package powdered pre-sweetened lemonade drink mix

1- 1/3 cups sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well.

2. Add 2-3 Tbsp of mix to 1 cup of hot water.

3. Stir to dissolve

If not using all at once store the unused mix in an airtight container.

Little Cherry Cheesecakes

Hi my name is Shunae and I am delighted to be a guest blogger today. When Erin asked me to share a Christmas memory and recipe I immediately thought of these little cherry cheesecakes. Every year I would help my mom make them and we would take them around to all of our friends/neighbors for Christmas. You could say she was famous for them. The best part about them is that they are very easy and delicious. They are perfect for holiday parties too because they are already single serve and festive. I did take step-by-step photos too:) Alright enough of that...here is the recipe.

Makes 20-24
2 8oz cream cheese (softened)
1 TB lemon juice
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
20-24 gluten-free shortbread cookies
1 can cherry pie filling

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients (except the cookies/ pie filling) together with and electric mixer till smooth. Then fill cupcake liners 1/2 full and bake 20 min or until lightly golden brown. Let cool the top with pie filling. Your done!

Here is my lil helper. We are carrying on the tradition. She ALWAYS has to help me cook everything. This is the face I got when I told her to look at the camera and smile...stinker.

All mixed together

FYI: If you haven't used these little gems before you are missing out! They are cheap and hold there shape and color. I got mine at Walmart.

Here they are all ready for the party! I haven't ever tried it but I think it would be really fun to play with different variations of cookies and toppings too.

Cheese Ball

Hi my name is Michelle and I'm so excited to be a guest on this awesome blog! I have only been GF for a short amount of time and I have found this Blog to be Heaven Sent!

One of my favorite things about Christmas time is all the Good Food! My family Christmas Eve Tradition, like many other families, is to have a dinner made of all appetizers. Last year I had just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and was still learning how to cook. I was devastated thinking there was NO appetizers that could possible be GF. So when it came to me, missing out on our long family tradition, I was not having any part of it. I dug right in with all my family on any and everything you can think of.  As you can imagine that was almost the Death of me!! Ok I'm a little dramatic, but really it was B.A. D. So this year I am determined to have the same appetizer tradition but have it all GF.  I will alter some of the old things and have some new things to try.

One of the yummy things that will be on my table is a Cheese Ball with GF Pretzels or GF Crackers.

Here is what you will need.

8 oz of  Cream Cheese
1 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
1/4 Cup Butter, softened
3 or 4 Green Onions, Chopped
1 and 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Lowerys Seasoning Salt
Ham or Nuts chopped up to roll the Cheese Ball in at the end

Mix all ingredients together and form a ball. Roll in slice almonds or ham. Cover tightly with saran wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. It can be served right away but it is a lot better if it sits for a few hours or over night. If you let sit over night roll in meat or nuts right before serving.

Sorry I dont have a picture but I hope you guys find it as yummy as I do!

Gluten Free Sour Cream Lemon Pie

The holidays just scream "pie" to me!

And speaking of holidays, our Christmas Traditions Series is taking off!

As of tomorrow we are booked with guest blogger until after Christmas!

This is seriously awesome. 

I would love to do an individual introduction for each of my posters, but there's no time and I don't want to take away from all the fun things they are going to post!

Just know that each poster is a sister, cousin, or friend who I love and who have had some influence in my life.  

Check out my facebook page for a more detailed intro to the blogger of the day.  

Back to the pie.

I love pie all the time, but it seems like more pie gets consumed now than any other time of the year.  

This lemon pie has a wonderful flavor that it's good during the heat of the summer and a good palate cleanser during the rich holiday seasons.  In fact we made this lemon pie for Thanksgiving and it was heavenly.  

For some reason, whenever I make this pie I think of my mom and sister Nancy.  (Yes the one who posted the great Wassail recipe a few days ago.) I think it's because it's their favorite.

You can make this pie with a Chex cereal crust or a pastry crust.  Both turn out delightful.

Gluten Free Sour Cream Lemon Pie

1 baked pie crust, Chex cereal crust or a pastry crust

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 T. cornstarch

1 T. lemon rind, finely grated

1/2 c. lemon juice

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with powdered sugar

Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon rind, juice, egg yolks and milk in a heavy saucepan, cook over medium heat until thick.  Stir in butter and cool mixture to room temperature.  Stir in sour cream and pour filling into pie shell.  Cover with whipped cream.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, better if overnight. 

Sweet n' Sour Meatballs

Well hello there! 

I'm guest blogger of the day {Aubrey Nielsen} My personal blog {Here}. Thanks to Erin for the invite! Its always fun to share yummy recipes and holiday traditions. A little about me, I am an ER RN not a Chef. BUT, I love good food. I don't necessarily LOVE slaving away in the kitchen, but I really don't mind it if I know the end result is worth the trouble. So I am always on the hunt for faster, healthy, tasty recipes to feed a crowd. My sister and I head up a group recipe blog called Oh So Delicioso {click HERE} It's full of tried and true recipes that are just my style.

I chose to share the meatballs from this blog because it is my go-to-recipe for parties. And Christmas time is full of parties and potlucks! My favorite memories from Christmas-time growing up are all the large family parties. We always lived a few hours away from any relatives, so it was an exciting time travel and see cousins. And the food at the parties was always superb. 

Even now, I just love the warm parties displaying Christmas trees and lights. Caroling and games. So much fun and love. And a good party is always based around good food. So here's to holly and jolly, and all sorts of Christmas joy as we party, make memories, and eat meatballs! 

To make this delectable little treat this is what you will need:

1 lb lean ground beef

3/4 C oatmeal

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 T minced onion

2 T milk

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 cup heinz chili sauce

1 cup red currant or grape jelly

1/2 cup water

Here's how to make:

Basically you are making some meatballs with a rockin sauce! Combine beef, Oatmeal, egg, onion, milk, garlic, salt and pepper to form bite size meatballs. Brown the meatballs in a little oil and drain excess fat or bake in oven 350 for about 10-15 minutes.

Combine chili sauce, jelly, and water pour over meatballs in the fry pan. Bring to a soft boil, stirring occasionally until jelly is melted. Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until sauce has thickened. Serve in chaffing dish, crock pot or fondue pot to keep warm. 

Depending on size of meatballs will make 20-30 appetizers. 

Simple right? And delish! You will be the talk of your Christmas Party with these babies!

Wassail Punch

I am so excited to be a guest on the Blog, thanks Erin for asking me, she is such a great sister.
I do not have any pictures but I am in the ones Erin posted yesterday ( I am the youngest girl)

One of my most memorable Christmas's was Christmas of 2003. Every Christmas my family gets up early and before we do anything else we go skiing. We ski for a few hours and when the crowds begin to gather we had back home to open presents and enjoy the rest of our Christmas.  This Christmas went a little differently, we got up went skiing like normal. On the second run of the day my dad fell, I took this opportunity to go and spray him with snow and maybe see if he was OK. As I got closer I noticed all the snow around him was red. What I did not know is his ski had come up and sliced the back of his head. I immediately began freaking our and yes my dad who was bleeding from his head had to calm me down. I yelled down to the rest of my family to go and get the ski patrol. Well they came and got my dad all loaded up on the sled and took him down to the medical room. They bandaged him all up and we load up and since he could not drive Erin had to drive, it was her first time driving down from skiing. She did a good job and we got down safely. My mom took my dad to the hospital where he got all stitched up. When they got home we carried on with Christmas and it was wonderful.

My Recipe is Wassail Punch which is one of my favorites to drink during the Holidays, It is so delicious and warms you right up!
The Wassail Punch 

2 quarts apple cider
2 cups orage juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
12 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground nutmeg

In a slow-cooker or large pot over low heat, combine apple cider, orange juice and lemon juice.  Season with cloves, ginger and nutmeg.  Bring to a simmer.  If using a slow cooker, allow to simmer all day.  Serve hot.

Hope you enjoy, and Merry Christmas 

Gluten Free Eggnog Pancakes

Welcome to the "Christmas Traditions Series" day one.

This is going to be an exciting month full of fun and yummy new holiday recipes.
I have lots of guest bloggers sharing some of their Christmas memories and fun traditions.  And of course, everyone is sharing their favorite holiday recipe.
Isn't this just going to put you in the Christmas spirit?
I hope so!

I would like to start the series out by sharing one of my favorite Christmas memories.

{Visiting Santa with my brothers and sisters.  Yep, that's me, the oldest on the left.  The one with the awesome nerd glasses...}

It all started when my mom's vacuum stopped working the beginning of December.  My poor mom, having 5 young kids running around knew that she was going to be needing a vacuum sooner than later.  So my dad took her out vacuum shopping (totally romantic, really) and as they were browsing the latest models, deciding which to get, my dad, my dear Father gets this wonderful idea.  

Why is he getting my mom the vacuum?

Shouldn't he get it for the the kids, the ones using it?

This was a sure-fire way that we kids could never use the line, "we can't vacuum, it's mom's."  

Smart guy.

{Being goofy, I just turned 11}

Now, keeping all this background information in mind, back to me and my siblings side of the story.

Our BIG family Christmas present showed up, wrapped beautifully carefully placed under the tree.

And it was a big one!  

My brother, who is also very smart figured it all out.  Mom and Dad got a us....

A BRAND NEW COMPUTER!!

The Christmas present had to be a new computer.  What else could come in such a big box, and my dad worked at HP, it just had to be.  

Seems rational enough right.

So, my brother (#3 out of 5) convinced us all that it was a brand new computer. 

Then, the arguing started about who got to use it first. 

To solve the problem it was simple solution.

My brother made a sign-up sheet, and hung it on the fridge.

Everyone was to sign up in 30-minute increments and he and my sister (#2 out of 5) promptly filled their names into the first two slots.

Now, me being the oldest knew that I didn't need to sign up.
I was the oldest, therefore by birthright I got to use the brand new computer first.

I didn't need a dumb sign-up sheet.

Yes, I kept this assumption to myself, which was a good thing.

The weeks dragged on and on.

The anticipation of the brand new computer was just eating away at us.

We couldn't wait to tear off the paper and get the computer all set up and start our 30 minutes of free, glorious play.

My parents at this time are not giving any hints at all what it might be.

(But inside, my mom was dying with her dirty floor!)

Christmas morning came.

My brother had the sign-up sheet ready to go.

Everything was in place for our brand new computer.

Like savages, we tore off the wrapping, prepared to let out our squeals of delight and excitement we noticed that we were not getting a brand new computer.  

What did the box say?

Yep, you're right.

A BRAND NEW VACUUM CLEANER!

(So glad I didn't sign up or admit that I knew I would be the first user of our new gift) 

I think my sister (the second one signed up) recovered from the shock first.

"I knew it was a vacuum cleaner, I knew it all along".

As we looked at each other in disbelief, my parents were busting a gut laughing.

It was a Christmas to remember.

And my brother did take his first turn with our brand new vacuum cleaner.

 {My family with my grandparents in front of our Christmas tree}

Now, on to the recipe.
One family tradition at our house is drinking Eggnog.  

I know some people don't like eggnog because of it's rich, creamy texture, but we would always, always dilute it.  Half eggnog/half milk, or half eggnog/half sprite.

Try it, it's really delicious.

The recipe that I would like to share with you are for Gluten Free Eggnog Pancakes.  

It's about as close as you can get to eggnog without saying, "Drink some nog".

Even if you don't like eggnog, I think you'll really like these fluffy pancakes.

They taste more eggnog-y the next day, so if you have a busy morning, cook them at night and reheat in the morning.

I hope you like them.

Gluten Free Eggnog Pancakes

1 cup eggnog

1 T. apple cider vinegar

3 eggs 

3 T. melted butter

1 1/2 cups GF mix

2 t. xanthan gum

3 T. white sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

3/4 t. baking soda

3/4 t. salt

Measure out eggnog and add vinegar.  Lightly stir to combine.  Let sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients.

Whisk together the eggs and melted butter.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Stir in the eggnog, until all the lumps are gone.

Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter onto a preheated skillet or frying pan.  Cook until bubbles appear on the surface.  Flip with a spatula and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Serve with syrup and enjoy!

Merry Christmas!