Peppermint Bark Popcorn

The unexpected favorite of the holiday baking. This stuff is really strangely addicting. I'm telling you...you need to make this.



Peppermint Bark Popcorn

from Our Best Bites



2 bags microwave popcorn* (use natural/lightly salted, one bag microwave popcorn has about 10 cups in it, so if you're air-popping, do about 20 cups)

1 lb Almond Bark

1 6oz box candy canes, crushed. (About 1-1 1/2 C total and Bob's are the best!)

2 tsp peppermint extract

3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips



Unwrapping the candy canes to crush them is the most labor intensive step of this easy treat, so you can do that ahead of time if you want too. I put my candy canes in a large zip-lock bag and hit it with a heavy marble rolling pin. My toddler loves to help with the meat mallet. (And just so everyone knows, that's the only time he gets to play with the meat mallet. :))

To melt the almond bark, follow the instructions on the package. I just break it up and put it in a glass measuring cup and microwave on 1 min intervals until it's nice and smooth.

When your almond bark is melted, add the peppermint extract. Place your popcorn in a large bowl and pour the almond bark over it, then stir to combine. Then sprinkle the candy canes all over. Stir it up really well until the candy is evenly distributed. Pour the popcorn out onto a piece of waxed paper, parchment, or foil. Spread it out into an even layer and leave it alone!

While the popcorn is setting, place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. I really like dark chocolate to counter-balance the sweetness of the almond bark, but I know there's a lot of dark haters, so do what you want!

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn. You can use a fork, or put it in a zip-lock bag with the corner cut off. Leave it until the almond bark and the chocolate is hardened. If you need to hurry it up, do this whole process on lined cookie sheets you can pop in the fridge.

When chocolate is hardened, use your hands to break up popcorn into chunks. Toss in a bowl, a jar, a cute package, or in your mouth!

Chicken Marinade/BBQ Chicken Salad

This chicken marinade is so interesting. It has an oriental/bbq flavor. Jake declared it as amazing! Worth a try for sure.

Chicken Marinade
Adapted from Blue Cricket Design

6 Chicken breasts
One Cup Soy Sauce
One cup Vegetable Oil
And 1 1/2 cups Fresca Soda

That's it!!! Mix all that together and pour it over your Chicken in a bowl and let it marinate over night or for 4 plus hours! You won't be sorry! It's super simple and super delish!

Southwestern BBQ Chicken Salad
Adapted from Sister's Cafe

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 head Iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 Haas avocados, diced
shredded cheese, Mexican blend or cheddar
crispy tortilla strips

Stir shredded chicken in with the BBQ sauce until well coated. Of course you can use less or more sauce, it's up to you! I like quite a bit since I love the smoky flavor of BBQ sauce in a salad. Toss together the lettuce, cilantro, corn, beans, and chopped veggies. Top with shredded chicken, cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Drizzle ranch or cilantro lime dressing over salad and enjoy!

*to make crispy tortilla strips simply slice about 10 corn tortillas in narrow strips and place on cookie sheet. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle generously with salt. Place under the broiler and let bake until crispy and brown around the edges.

Apple Cider Syrup and Pumpkin Pancakes

I'm telling you, you will not believe how good this syrup is! It's like a caramel apple for breakfast. So, so good! I really loved the pancakes also. Be adventurous! Give it a try!

Apple Cider Syrup {Perfect over Pumpkin Pancakes}
From The Sister's Cafe

3/4 Cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 TBs cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups fresh apple cider (or juice would work)
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter

Mix sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg well. Add apple cider and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, use within a week or two.

Pumpkin Pancake Recipe
2 cups flour (I use at least 1/2 freshly ground white wheat flour)
3 Tb brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground all spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk (I do an overflowing 1/2 cup)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 Tb canola oil
2 Tb vinegar

In one bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, oil and vinegar. Combine dry ingredients separately and them stir into pumpkin mixture just until combined. Heat your pan or griddle (lightly butter or oil if it is not seasoned), using about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with apple cider syrup.

Sedgwick Birthday Cake

This gi-normous birthday cake is a Sedgwick tradition. This is my first attempt at making it, however, in the 11+ years we've been married. I've always been too intimidated by the ice cream. This picture was taken after half of it had been eaten, and the ice cream was well on it's way to melting. But you get the idea of it's delicious-ness. I can't really call it a "recipe" because nothing is homemade, but here are the instructions for making it:

Birthday Cake

Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Devil's Food moist supreme)

1 1/2 tubs of fudge frosting (the more frosting, the better!)

Mint n Chip ice cream

Cool Whip

Bake the cake in two 8-inch round pans, cool, then cut each cake in half so you have four halves. Then freeze the cakes so they are easier to work with (wrap in plastic wrap or ziploc bags). You will only use 3 of the cake layers. Frost each layer of cake, then pull the ice cream out. You have to work fast now so the ice cream doesn't melt and make a big mess. Cut the ice cream into chunks until it fits nicely on top of the bottom cake layer (use the rounded corners for the edges so it looks prettier, but it's obviously not going to be a perfect circle). Do that for 2 layers, then put cool whip on the top layer of cake/frosting. I topped it all with chocolate shavings, but you can use whatever your little heart desires (maraschino cherries look nice). Wrap wax paper around the sides of the cake, and it will make it look nicer and keep it from dripping so much. Serve slightly defrosted so the cake is moist and not dry. Try not to eat more than one slice or you might get sick. :)

Baked Black Bean Dip

The first thing I want to do is challenge you to try saying "Baked Black Bean Dip" five times in a row! Now that's a tongue twister. Fortunately, who cares if you can say something when your mouth is busy downing some of the best chip dip around.

This recipe is in honor of my recently horrible diet. I figure by the week's end, I've hit all of the food groups, even if I don't within a day. Last night's dinner was a huge plate of broccoli. Tonight, it was this dip with chips. Well, maybe a lot of this. I feel a little roly-poly...

... but it was worth it! So tasty!

I've been fiddling around with some new ingredients lately. I bought my first jar of crema mexicana last month and tonight was its second use. I also recently purchased some queso fresco, which despite having talked about it before, was used in my kitchen for the first time tonight. That is some good cheese. And when they talk about it being a "crumbling" cheese, they ain't a-kidding. It was so fun! See how it's so beautifully crumbled on top of this dip that's ready to go in the oven?

When it came out, it had melted, but had not lost its integrity (which I appreciate since I'm rather fond of integrity). It has a great flavor, but even better, I love the texture. It's a bit... I'm afraid to say chewy because I don't want you to get a negative connotation. But - dang it, it was chewy, and I mean that in the best sense possible! The bits of cheese were my favorite part of this concoction. It's so velvety and flavorful with these great bits of chewy cheese in it.

I must warn you, though; I think if you are planning on serving it at a party, you might want to bake it in two smaller dishes so that you don't end up with a fight at the dip bowl!


Baked Black Bean Dip
Yield: approximately 2 1/2 cups of dip

1 - 16 oz can of black refried beans
1/2 cup crema mexicana
1/4 cup salsa (drained of excess juice)
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (divided)
2 TBS shredded cheddar

Mix the beans, crema mexicana, salsa, and 1/4 cup of the queso fresco thoroughly in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a shallow 10-inch round baking dish (or other similar sized dish) with cooking spray. Spread the bean mixture into the dish and smooth out with a rubber spatula.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining queso fresco and the cheddar. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Be sure to let cool five minutes before serving. If desired, you can garnish the top with sliced olives (before or after baking) and sliced green onions.

NOTE: If you do not have queso fresco, you can substitute mozzarella cheese. If you do not have the crema mexicana, you may substitute sour cream. Also, be aware that most beans are very salty and pre-seasoned so no additional salt or seasoning is necessary. If the beans you are using, however, do not fall in this category, you can add salt, garlic powder, and cumin to taste.

Fudge

This was really, really good! It had that rich, store-bought taste. However, it was definitely a little more intense than just throwing some stuff in and nuking it in the microwave. Classy stuff--definite recommendation for Christmas give-aways! This recipe doubled makes a perfect sized batch for those big jelly roll/cookie sheet pans.



Fudge



1 can evaporated milk

2 sticks butter

4 c. sugar

1/8 t. salt (plus maybe a little pinch - I think the salt brings out the flavors a little)

1 package of Ghiradelli's semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 jar marshmallow cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. chopped nuts of your choice



{before you start cooking, get a little bowl of ice water and set it next to you} Add first four ingredients to a large pot; cook and stir constantly on medium-high heat until it starts to boil. Turn the heat down to medium, and continue to stir. You want the mixture to reach the "soft ball" stage, which is where you drop a spoonful into that bowl of ice water and if the mixture holds together in a soft ball, then you're ready to move on. However, if it dissolves quickly then you've got to keep stirring. Don't rush this part because it's what makes your fudge creamy and not grainy and runny. Even if you think it's at the "soft ball" stage but you're not sure, keep going a little longer. Read a book while you stir - that's what I do!



**ALSO, dump out your ice water and start again if you need. Don't keep using the same bowl because you won't be able to tell what's going on with your fudge.



Remove from heat and then add package of Ghiradelli's semi-sweet chocolate chips

jar marshmallow cream. Stir or whisk until everything is dissolved. Then, add vanilla and nuts of choice. Mix everything all together until it is all incorporated. Pour into buttered 9 x 13 cake pan, let it cool for a few minutes, and cover with plastic wrap. If it's cold outside, you can set it outside to cool faster or put it in the fridge.

Black Bean Soup with Quesadillas

We really enjoyed this soup- especially served with a little cheese sprinkled on top. Our favorite part was dipping the quesadillas into the soup and using it as a dip. This soup is very healthy as well- bonus! Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of ourbestbites.com
Black Bean Soup
From Our Best Bites

1 T olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)
3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 3.5oz can green chilies
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 t kosher salt
1 dash black pepper
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t dry oregano leaves (if you use ground oregano, use 1/4 t)
1 bay leaf
Lime

Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, lime

Add olive oil to a large stock pot on med-high heat. Saute carrots, celery, onion, and garlic about 4-5 minutes. Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are soft. Remove from heat. Find that bay leaf and pull it out and discard it. Place all the soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the middle. Place a paper towel over the hole! Puree soup until completely smooth. Squeeze in the juice from one big lime (optional- I didn't have a lime on hand, so I skipped this and it still tasted great).
Ladle into bowls and top with grated cheese, tortilla chips, etc. Serve with extra lime wedges.