holiday peppermint mud pie recipe

Ones last recipe for 2010. An oldie but a goodie. My friend Vanessa (who doesn't really read this blog but always gets referred here by her mom and sister-in-law--hi Fifes!) asked me to make this for a church activity and I couldn't believe I'd lived this long without the recipe! It's easy and sooo yummy. Perfect for your New Year's celebration!

Holiday Peppermint Mud Pie Recipe

36 Oreo cookies, crushed (I ended up using the whole bag because you can never go wrong with more Oreos!)
1/2 cup margarine, melted (can use butter, but margarine works better!)
1/2 gallon ice cream, softened (we use Peppermint or Candy Cane for the holidays, or any mint chocolate chip ice cream is good for traditional mud pie)
1 jar fudge ice cream topping.
1 8oz. container Cool Whip

Mix cookie crumbs and margarine together. Press into bottom of 9"x13" pan, reserving some crumbs to sprinkle on top. Freeze 20 minutes. Spread 1/2 gallon of softened ice cream over cookies and freeze 20 minutes. Heat the jar of fudge ice cream topping for 10-15 seconds in the microwave and spread over the ice cream. Freeze 20 minutes. Spread Cool Whip on top and garnish with cookie crumbs. Freeze at least 20 minutes or until ready to serve (Vanessa recommends making it the night before).



You can't believe how fast this went. I also sprinkled crushed candy canes on top in addition to the cookies. Really cute. (Sorry, no pic--my pan was gone before I could get a picture!)

Hot Artichoke Dip Recipe - Gluten-Free + Vegan

This hot artichoke dip is worthy of a party. Gluten-free and vegan yum.

I wasn't sure I had another recipe post in me -- before the year of 2010 turns into a pumpkin and rolls backward into the past. I thought I was going out with a year-end Top Ten Gluten-Free Recipes post, catching up with all you gluten-free  lovelies again in 2011. I thought I was done. Spent. Empty as a pocket, to quote a certain singer-songwriter. So much for assumptions.



Turns out my fevered brain wasn't done with 2010. It spun off in party mode as soon as I heard that my oldest son was officially engaged. He popped the question with true romantic flare. On a wine train. In the rain. In Napa Valley. And she said yes. The ring fit. People on the train applauded. It doesn't get much better than this. To witness your son's heart. Blooming.



Your misty-eyed gluten-free goddess is going to be a mother-in-law.



And so. The year closes. I make a mug of chamomile tea and reflect upon the deepest joys of motherhood, turning their myriad facets toward the window light above the kitchen sink stacked with breakfast plates, cups, and spoons. Learning to love with open arms and a tender opinion, unconditional. This floats to the top of all other joys. The thick cream of it. A layered, rich reward. To love a son expands your heart beyond measure. To see him love, and inspire love, is the most beautiful working of magic. 



Don't you think?

My french connection

This month's challenge was french bread.
I am a bread novice. I only figured out how to make bread and not hockey pucks about a year ago. Since then every time i crack open the yeast i get nervous.

This month's recipe made me doubly afraid. It was 10 pages long.. in small print.

So i started by staring at the recipe for a few days in horror.. and eventually took the time to read it. I read all 10 pages. Then i stared at the pages in horror again for a few more days.

I finally got up the courage one Saturday and started my bread. I had read an other's blog about finishing at 10 at night and i decided that i would take 2 days to build the loafs.

I started at noon on Saturday blooming my yeast. I mixed up all the ingredients and started to knead the bread. It went pretty good and my hands were sore by the time i was done.

After the first rise i kneaded again to get the air out. It was about 5pm when i set the bread to rise again.

This is after the second rising. This was in the morning after i had left it for the evening.

I kneaded again and started forming my pain De menage.
I have formed my loaves and they were having issues rising so i turned up the heat and locked them in the bathroom till they behaved.

I tried to do the steam oven and had a hot cookie sheet in the bottom of the oven and just kept tossing ice on it. My husband thought i was having a few issues.

The bread baked up nice and although it didn't rise in the upward direction (It expanded out the bottom) They looked almost perfect on the outside.

Now we ate one loaf ourselves and thought that the texture was amazing.
It was still slightly warm when we ate it and it was just the right amount of chewy. All of my family is more of sourdough fans so the flavour was lacking a little bit.

The second loaf i gave to a co-worker for her birthday. She said that it was wonderful and her whole family really enjoyed it with their chili.

I don't think this will be something i do again for a long time. I didn't think that the effort was worth the results. It was a great experience though.

Thank you DBers

I am looking forward to march!

Sandra

better late than never {happy new year cards}

For all my fellow procrastinators out there, I am not the least bit ashamed to admit that I am sending Happy New Year cards this year. Happy New Year is good for at least all of January, if not into February, so procrastinators rejoice! You still have time to send holiday cards!

I just sent these out today, and they'll get there the first week in January. Perfect. I went with Tiny Prints for two reasons: 1, I love their designs, and 2, I love the heavy matte paper they use. Oh, and 3, they'll mail them for you! You pay a little extra to print the addresses and for the postage, and they take care of the mailing. Awesome--one more thing off my list for 2010.

This was my first order with Tiny Prints and I was impressed. I encountered one slow spot when trying to proof my envelopes, but other than that it was pretty slick. And because I was a new customer, I was able to use this coupon code for $10 off: AFFNEW (ends 12/31/10). If you've used them before, there are other coupon codes for 10%, 15%, and 20% off, depending on how much you spend (ends 12/29/10). You've only got a couple more days to procrastinate if you want to use the coupons, but if you want to wait a little longer, I give you permission to send your Happy New Year cards anytime in 2011. You're welcome.

Dream Custom Artwork

Brandie from Dream Custom Artwork is an amazing artist! I know this because I've purchased her artwork in the past and am planning on another gift in the near future. Brandie is starting the new year off right with a fun 10 Days of Giveaways from January 1-10th. Make sure you stop by and check out what she's got going on.

Lemon Meringue Madness!

Good morning fellow bakers.

This challenge was awesome. I loved it. (My husband really really loved it.)

I did change the pie crust to the one i always make. I feel like i cheated but at the same time, if it is not broke... dont fix it.

I did this challenge early in the month just like i said i would and then i made another mistake. I didnt take the time to blog about it till the last day so now i am relying on the pictures to make sure i remember what i did and what i didnt like about the recipe/challenge.

I would like to start off by saying that making the pie from scratch went better than out of a box. I can never seem to get the sherrif pie filling to set up and this one did so beautifully.

I made the pie crust and baked it with my beads on top. (First time i have gotten to use them since i bought them.) And the crust shrank really badly. So while it looks perfect when i first made it.. by the time it came out of the oven it was not so pretty anymore.

The pie filling was easy for me to make. The first three ingrediants cooked up just like my husband's favortie pie (angel food pie) and then i added the hot to the yolk and then everything back into the pot. Once it started boiling i added the rest of the lemon and other ingrediants. It smelled heavenly and i couldnt get the fingers out of the pudding. Both the husband and the daughter had spoons on the ready for when my back was turned.

The meriangue went like a dream and for once i didnt burn it.

(With my gas broiler the first lemon meriangue pie i made in it.. i managed to burn the meriangue off of it 3 times before i got it only slightly singed! lol)

The part i didnt like about the pie was that after i cut into it the lemon started to seperate out of the pie and by the next morning there was a lake in the bottom of the pie plate. I found the recipe too tart but both husband, daughter and friends all said that if i changed it i would not live very long. It has been added to my collection and i will definately make this over and over again.

Thank you

Sandra

EZSOX Review & GIVEAWAY

The "I Can Do It!" sox

The unique EZSox design makes a great training sock for little ones. J wants to do everything for himself and putting on his socks and shoes is no exception. He's been good at putting on his socks but needs help making them straight. When you wear all white socks it makes it hard to know which way is up.

Cute animal faces act as a guide, showing kids which way is up. Reinforced loops give tiny fingers a strong grip for pulling over tiny toes and non-skid bottoms make EZ SOX safer on slippery surfaces. EZSox are even made seamless for sensitive little toes.

EXSox come in a variety of cute animals and solid colors so your little ones can choose their favorites. We were able to review both the green frog and brown teddy bear designs. J was so excited to see the frog because his favorite color is green. He couldn't wait to put the socks on himself. The loops made it easy for him to pull them on. He was able to know which way was up thanks to the frog's face. I didn't have to straighten them out for him. It may not sound like much but one less thing for me to do as we're rushing out the door makes a world of difference. It's also a nice bonus that the socks are nice and soft.



One lucky Oh My Baby reader will WIN their choice of EZSox. Simply leave your comment by 11:59pm EST on Jan 18, 2011. US addresses only please

To Enter:
Visit EZSox and tell me your favorite design you would choose if you won.

For Extra Entries:
- Friend EZSox on Facebook
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- Follow Oh My Baby publicly (2 extra)
- Add an Oh My Baby button to your sidebar (leave me the link)
- Help spread the word about this giveaway (leave me the link)
- Enter any of my other current giveaways (1 entry per giveaway)

I received this product free of charge for review on my blog. All views and opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Top Ten Gluten-Free Recipes for 2010: My Faves

From cake to quinoa - my year's best gluten-free recipes

The annual ritual of creating top ten lists has commenced. Critics are choosing their top ten movies, editors have picked their Top Ten Books. Fashionistas have declared the year's best and worst trends of 2010 (jeggings- love 'em or hate 'em?). Do I dare leap into the scuffle and pluck ten gluten-free recipes as the year's best? And if so -- just how, exactly -- does one choose the golden top ten? The best of the best. Do I do as I did last year and let stats decide? (Might seem rather lazy, to repeat that process.) Or do I rely on my personal and often quirky preferences? (Could be controversial, especially if I was honest and chose peanut butter on ryeless rye bread toast as my number one.) Perhaps I should make a game of it and draw names from a hat. Randomness is appealing, in a way. (Though unsatisfying.)



I'll just do it.



I'll be bold. I'll be opinionated. I'll pick my g-free favorites from this year's recipes. Perhaps I need to define my criteria, though. How do you choose a favorite among the dozens you've created in a year? I'm proud of each recipe. After all, I enjoyed them enough to photograph them in all their gluten-free glory (unless, sadly, they were not photogenic, and that, Dear Reader, is a loss to the blog). And every recipe I shared passed the family taste test or they wouldn't stand a chance of appearing on Gluten-Free Goddess. You don't hear about the runner-ups, or the flat out failures that left your intrepid goddess weeping and gnashing her teeth. [Not really. I'm not the weeping kind. I swear like a character in Deadwood and take deadly aim at the trash bin.]



My criteria, then? Simple. A favorite recipe would be a recipe I'd make again. And share with company.



So with that in mind, away we go.

The Opera Comes to Town

This month's challenge may have looked hard. But compared to the cake that i would consider my speciality, this was a piece of cake! lol.

This months recipe was an Opera Cake. I have not heard of one before this challenge but reading the recipe and looking at the online pictures, i was pretty excited.

I started this cake on sunday at noon by making all the pieces that went into the cake first.
The syrup was 1st and while that cooled i made the buttercream. As my light flavouring i used a raspberry puree that i make each summer and freeze. Made the cake have a lovely flavour and gave it a pretty pink colour.
Now i must say i have not been fond of the buttercream recipes that i have been making so far but this recipe was the best buttercream i have ever tasted in my life. I could have just eaten it by the spoonful. Forget the cake! lol.

I also flavoured the mousse with the raspberry puree and it works so well with the white chocolate.

The cake was the difficult part of the recipe. I ended up overbaking it and burning one of the cakes. I was waiting for a light brown color and completely missed that the bottom was dark brown. lol

For assembly i used my new mousse ring. I have been dying to try it ever since i bought it and just needed a reason.
I started with a cake layer, then buttercream, cake, mousse, cake, buttercream, mousse and then the white chocolate glaze. I did put the syrup on all cake layers.

The cake wasnt cold enough for the glaze to work perfectly, so i ended up with a top layer that was a little tilted and a glaze that was not perfectly smooth. I know, picky picky.

My guests were very happy to taste test the results and were pleased. They did not sing but then they are not the singing type. lol

I will be keeping this recipe in my notes for future use.
I did not leave myself enough time to pipe anything pretty on top of the glaze. Maybe next time.



Thank you
Sandra

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Gluten-Free vegan pumpkin cheesecake- creamy and dairy-free.

Darling. It's Monday. Post Boxing Day. And yes, I'm going to be bad. I'm not going to write about Hoppin' John or some healthy New Year's bean soup with kale.  I am going to tease you. I am going to tempt you. I am going to revel in one more dessert recipe before the final eve of 2010 -- a rich and creamy pumpkin cheesecake recipe that is worthy of a party. One last hurrah before the pale glare of January dawns in all her cold and sober glory. One last indulgent dessert before I gingerly step on the reality check scale. And sigh.



Because I've noticed my jeans have shrunk again. That familiar jolly pie roll affectionately known as Doris is rolling her merry way up and out of my favorite roomy cargo pants. But is this the week to start counting calories? Is this the week to shun dessert in favor of lettuce? I can answer that. The answer is no. As in N. As in O. No. Nope. Not gonna happen.



If you've got your own alarming version of Doris making her annual appearance around your middle, don't worry. There will be plenty of time in 2011 for detoxing and courting virtue with cabbage soup, recipes that will encourage our collective Doris's -- or would the plural be Dori? -- to skedaddle. I promise. I'll be first in line with smoothie and cleansing soup recipes come January. But this week? Well. Not so much.



Because there's one more cake to share in 2010. And it's cheesecake. And no one will suspect it is vegan and gluten-free. (I won't tell, if you won't.)