2025 Monthly Challenges - cutting out obvious sugar

I don't do resolutions. I try to follow something I read a long time ago along the lines of "if you have something that needs to be changed, don't wait for the New Year to change it. Do it now"...something like that. You get the gist.

I forgot in 2017 we decided to do a monthly challenge, I love a short-term challenge so am going to do it again - I'll throw it out to the rest of the family but I'm betting I'm doing this alone hahaha, maybe one of you want to join me tho?!!! 

January '17 I picked 'no sweets or added sugar' - meaning cakes, cookies, candy, ice cream, jam, honey, syrup...it's too hard to give up all sugar, it's in everything! I'm going to start with this challenge again, I can still eat things that contain sugar (like ketchup, bbq sauce, etc) as long as it isn't an actual 'sweet'. I don't have a huge sweet tooth but this will reinforce not nibbling on my stash of Reese's peanut butter cups in the freezer (don't love sweets but hello - Reese's!!!) for a month hahaha. 

Happy New Year's Eve

here's to being safe, smart, sparkly, sassy...

and maybe sober (unless that's a challenge for a different month!)

12.31.23: week 53

12.31.22: thru the years

12.31.21: reverse sear standing rib roast

12.31.20: new years eve (rerun)

12.31.19: new years eve

12.31.18: antipasto wreath and wrapped pears

12.31.17: January no-sugar challenge

12.31.16: new years eve "write a good one"

12.31.15: opening champagne

Hasselback Potato Gratin

We were invited to a party Christmas Night and Michelle asked me to bring a potato dish - my standard has been the terrific potato gratin that I've made quite a few times so I thought I'd try something different. Saw this recipe for sliced potatoes that you toss in cream and stand up instead of laying in the dish, supposed to be creamy on the bottom and crispy on top - yum! Unfortunately Dave and I were sick over Christmas so we couldn't go to the party, I sent the potatoes and directions to reheat them and I got great feedback - seems they were a hit. I asked Michelle if they were as good as my usual gratin and she said she loved them both and couldn't pick between them. On her own Brooke texted me that the potatoes were "sooo delish, I had seconds and even took some home". Jenny said she also loved them, they aren't as creamy or saucy as regular gratin and more like baked potatoes but she loved them - that made me wonder if she would have liked sour cream with them and she said yep, but not to misunderstand her - the potatoes were great as is. 

I pretty much followed this recipe but used a package of finely shredded swiss gruyere, substituted dried thyme, and didn't peel the potatoes. 

Here's the original recipe: 

• 3 ounces (85g) finely grated Gruyère or Comté cheese

• 2 ounces (60g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• 2 cups (480ml) heavy cream

• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped

• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 to 3 1/2 pounds (1.4 to 1.6kg) russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick on a mandoline slicer (5 to 6 medium potatoes; see note)

• 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter. Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add cream, thyme, and garlic to first bowl of cheese mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add potato slices and toss with hands until every slice is coated with cream mixture, making sure to separate any slices that are sticking together so the cream mixture gets between them.

2. Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in prepared baking dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in dish, working around the perimeter and into the center until all potatoes have been added. Potatoes should be very tightly packed. If necessary, slice additional potatoes, coat slices with cream mixture, and add to dish (see notes). Pour excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over potatoes until mixture comes halfway up sides of dish. You may not need all excess liquid (see notes).

3. Cover tightly with foil and transfer to oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until top is pale golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and return to oven. Bake until deep golden brown and crisp on top, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve.






Notes: 

Because of variation in the shape of the potatoes, the amount of potato that will fit into a single baking dish varies. Longer, thinner potatoes will fill a dish more thoroughly than shorter, rounder potatoes. When purchasing potatoes, buy a few extra in order to fill the dish, if necessary. Depending on the exact shape and size of the potatoes and baking dish, you may not need all of the cream mixture.

click here for recipe and additional pictures/info found at serious eats

12.30.23: words

12.30.22: thru the years

12.30.21: wonton sausage cups

12.30.20: borchers breakfast pie (rerun) 

12.30.19: crostini appetizers

12.30.18: 🔥week 52

12.30.17: elf place cards

12.30.16: pimento cheese spread aka: yummy cheese!

12.30.15: breakfast pie

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 52)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

12/22: 🔥 week 51

12/23: grape tree, strawberry santas

12/24: TT caprese candy cane

12/25: Merry Christmas!

12/26: Tesha's banana bread and cow gift 

12/27: dessert charcuterie tray

12/28: words (own lane)

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

12.29.23: white elephant gift wrap idea

12.29.22: thru the years

12.29.21: wreath making (funny)

12.29.20: recycled card projects (rerun)

12.29.19: 🔥week 52

12.29.18: Natalie's frosted snickerdoodles

12.29.17: christmas bark

12.29.16: gold fish

12.29.15: christmas card crafts

  

12/28 ~ Words

 12.28.23: meatball chili

12.28.22: thru the years

12.28.21: creamy chicken ranch sliders

12.28.20: stuffed pizza crust

12.28.19: wrapped ornament centerpiece

12.28.18: Christmas card pillow box

12.28.17: how to steam crab legs

12.28.15: storing Christmas lights

Dessert Charcuterie Tray

I made this dessert tray for a party on Christmas day, but then Dave and I both got sick and we couldn't go! Ugh. Brooke came and picked up the tray for me tho and took it to the party - hopefully everyone liked it, I haven't asked yet. It came together so good, I think it looks yummy and there's plenty of variety for everyone to find something they like!

I made mini filled cupcakes, sugar cookie cups, chocolate fudge, buckeyes, cherry pecan chews, pretzel hugs, puppy chow, and I dipped store-bought shortbread scotties in melted chocolate. I added all that to the tray along with candy (Christmas colored M&Ms, rollos, hugs, peppermint hard-candy), mini marshmallows, chessman butter cookies, and cashews. 

I spread the work of making the different things over several days - the cupcakes and cookies were baked and frosted last week and put in the freezer; we had baking day a few days ago so I had the puppy chow and buckeyes already on hand; the pretzel hugs, cherry chews, and fudge I made a couple days prior. 

I made neighbor gifts with the extras from the party tray (and I still have leftover goodies, oh no I have to find someone else to share them with so (a) they don't go to waste and (b) I don't eat them all and they go to my waist hahah!

12.27.23: crocheted coasters

12.27.22: thru the years

12.27.21: bbq chicken sliders

12.27.20: Christmas break

12.27.19: baked brie

12.27.18: sweet and tangy crockpot meatballs

12.27.17: chocolate caramel tart

12.27.16: peppermint sugar scrub

12.27.15: butter and bread pudding with salted caramel whiskey sauce

Tesha's Banana Bread and Cow Gift

Tesha gave us this funny wooden cow that says "kitchen closed not in the mooooood" - I love cows and the saying is cute, it's definitely found a place on my kitchen counter LOL! 

She also gave us some homemade banana bread, we love her bread but I don't have her recipe and I'm in a hurry to post because I'm getting behind again hahaha so here is a different great recipe that I've been making for a long time, it is Ray's grandmother's recipe - I posted this back in 2019:

I love old hand-written recipes, especially if they are all stained up and the paper is so thin I'm almost afraid it's going to disintegrate...why is that? Not sure, sense of history maybe. The fact that someone was making this recipe years and years ago makes it special to me. I've been making Grandma Leonard's banana bread recipe for years, if you don't already have a favorite recipe then give this oldie-but-goodie standard recipe a try! We love it.

                             

In her words:

Melt and put aside to cool
1/4 cup shortening
Sift together into a bowl
2 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
mix in and set aside
1 cup chopped nuts
peel and mash enough bananas to make 1 1/2 cups (3 to 4)
Mix until well blended
2 eggs well beaten
1/4 cup sour milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Blend in melted shortening and bananas
Make a well in center of dry ingredients, and add liquid mixture all at one time.
Stir only enough to moisten dry ingredients. Turn into pan and spread to corners.
Bake at 350' about 1 hour or until a wooden pick combs out clean when inserted in
center. Prepare 2 small loaf pans.

 

My notes:

- I don't add the nuts and we don't miss them

- I assume sour milk is buttermilk, or add a little vinegar to milk and let it stand for a couple minutes until it curdles.

-this time I made 7 little 3x5 mini loaves (adjust the baking time), there isn't enough batter for 2 regular loaf pans. 

12.26.23: TT rum cake

12.26.22: boxing day

12.26.21: 🔥 week 52

12.26.19: naughty gingerbread man

12.26.18: boxing day

12.26.17: chex mix

12.26.16: melting snowman cookies

12.26.15: Janis's crunchy fruity granola 

12.24.24 ~ Merry Christmas!

I found this on Pinterest, not sure who to credit

Ghosts of Christmas's past:

2023

2022

2021

12.25.19

12.25.18

12.25.17

12.25.16

12.25.15

Tip-sy Tuesday: Caprese Candy Cane

Once again, not really a tip other than if you're looking for a fun appetizer or side look at this cute Caprese candy cane that Mickey made, love it!! Layer slices of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil in a candy cane shape and drizzle with balsamic glaze. 

oops I took the picture before she drizzled it! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

12.24.23: 🔥 week 52

12.24.22: paper Christmas lights garland 

12.24.21: saran wrap ball game

12.24.20: snowman place setting

12.24.19: appetizer wreath

12.24.18: animal figurine small gift holder

12.24.17: turkey breast and stuffing

12.24.16: Christmas eve thoughts

12.24.15: pop up gift wrap

Grape Christmas Tree, Santa Hat Brownies, and Santa Strawberries

Mark and LeDonna made this fun dessert tray and I asked if I could share it if anyone is looking for more last-minute ideas. So cute! 

They wrapped a styrofoam cone with aluminum foil and stuck grapes on toothpicks into the cone, completely covering it.

The santa hats are standing on brownie bites, the Santa's are a berry with its bottom trimmed so it stands up and then cut off the top part creating a hat. Fill with frosting. 

 

12.23.23: words

12.23.22: apricot bourbon glazed spiral ham

12.23.21: broccoli Christmas tree veggie tray

12.23.20: candy cane danish (rerun)

12.23.19: santa cheese plate

12.23.18: 🔥week 51

12.23.17: candy cane danish

12.23.16: caramel corn

12.23.15: Christmas table decorating ideas

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 51)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

12/15: 🔥 week 51

12/16: snowman tower gift wrap idea

12/17: TT easy snowman cookies

12/18: thru the years 

12/19: cookie cups

12/20: personalized ornaments 

12/21: words (wrapper)

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

12.22.23: snowman veggie tray

12.22.22: white bean chicken chili by Macey

12.22.21: funny secret santa 

12.22.20: circle gift card enclosure

12.22.19: 🔥 week 51

12.22.18: wine cork reindeer ornament

12.22.17: coconut thumbprint cookies

12.22.16: santa ball ornament

12.22.15: hot chocolate spoons   

12/21 ~ Words

if I were a rapper my name would definitely be "Wrap-Master J" 

12.21.23: russian tea cakes 

12.21.22: crispy chicken piccata

12.21.21: rudolph gift bags

12.21.20: tube gift wrapper by B

12.21.19: santa baby gift enclosure

12.21.18: chocolate fudge wreath

12.21.17: Nat's Christmas sugar cookies

12.21.16: focaccia bread tiles

12.21.15: framed wifi password

Personalized Ornaments

My sis sent me a picture of ornaments that had names on them that someone had done with their cricut machine - yep, good idea and I immediately made some using plastic balls that were in my pile of things to either get rid of or make something with hahaha. Perfect!

Picked a font, sized it for the 2" balls, and ran the names thru the machine. The names are then stickers that I stuck on the balls. I made one for everyone who will be at family Christmas tomorrow, I'll attach the ornament to their snowmen gift towers instead of tags. Super cute!

to keep the balls from rolling around while I was applying the stickers 
I found this roll of wire with a small hole in the package, the balls
sat perfectly stable in the hole. 

use transfer tape to remove the name from the backing, stick
it on the ornament (or whatever you are applying the sticker to)
and then remove the transfer tape. 

 

12.20.23: wreath ornament

12.20.22:TT wrapping paper idea

12.20.21: felt gift card holder

12.20.19: caprese bites

12.20.18: cheeseball wreath

12.20.17: chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies 

12.20.16: tiger fudge (although I think it should be called Buckeye Bars!)

12.20.15: corn bread with jalapeños and cheese mini muffins

Cookie Cups

I made these super easy cookies the other day using a chocolate cookie mix - mix up the dough according to package directions, scoop out equal sized amounts and lightly press into greased mini-muffin tins. Bake at 375' for 8-10 minutes, while still hot push down the center using a wooden spoon handle creating a little indent/hole. Remove from the tins and cool completely. 

Note: the inspiration recipe I found at Betty Crocker said to make the intent with a wooden spoon handle before baking, and then repeating after baking - I didn't notice much of a dent after they baked so I'd just make the indents while the cookies are hot out of the oven. 

Put buttercream frosting in a piping bag with a medium #5 star tip, pipe into the divot and on top of the cookie. Easy!

For the above cookies I put chocolate frosting in one side of the bag and topped with white, when squeezing the frosting out the colors swirl together.

I decided to make more for Christmas cookie gift boxes and did the same thing using a tube of sugar cookie dough. Using my small cookie scoop so they would all be roughly the same size, I portioned out dough into greased mini-muffin tins. This time I pressed the dough lightly using the bottom of a k-cup which fits into the mini-muffin tins perfectly. After baking I pressed the wooden spoon handle into the center of each cookie, remove from tins and cool completely. I finished them with white buttercream frosting piped into the center and on top of the cookie cup and added silver sanding sugar and stars.

12.19.23: Christmas Cookies and Pumpkin Bread

12.19.22: grinch rice krispy treats 

12.19.21: 🔥 week 51

12.19.20: candy cane bag closure 

12.19.19: grinch fruit kabobs

12.19.18: curled paper wreath 

12.19.17: making a holiday newsletter and printing labels

12.19.16: snowman shadowbox

12.19.15: melting snowman cocktail