January 23, 2012 · 9:49 AM

Trivial Trivia: NanaBread Edition

It’s Monday and this weekend ended way too quickly. Since you’re already depressed and thinking “Ugh. Could Mondays get any worse?” I thought I would bore you with NanaBread trivia (a.k.a. crap you might not know about me and may not care to). Just in case you were curious. If you’re busy at work you can always bookmark this for later. If you’re not, read it now. It will look like you’re studying some fancy report. Am I right? Here we go:

I rode in the Goodyear Blimp as a child. I was maybe 6 or 7 years old and I wore my Brownie uniform. It was a special occasion, after all.

We have 13 bottles of hot sauce in our fridge & 2 in the pantry. Clearly, addiction is in play here. My favorite is a garlic & chili paste. It’s glorious.

I dream of owning a cabin on a lake (or river) with a giant porch, a bunk room, and a huge stone fireplace indoors as well as a fire pit by the water. I’ve devoted an entire Pinterest page to pinning ideas for said lake house.

Speaking of Pinterest, that s#it’s addicting! It’s the laziest version of scrapbooking I’ve ever seen. On the upside, I will never again have a drawer full of torn-out magazine pages again. Bonus!

I played the French Horn for six years (yes, I was a band geek). I dropped out late in high school when the band director wouldn’t stop screaming at students. He had anger management issues, and I don’t like angry men. It’s a shame, too. It’s a beautiful instrument, and I coulda’ been a contendah.

I love my coffee. I only drink one cup a day, but I enjoy it thoroughly.

Speaking of caffeine, I usually try to avoid it. Sometimes, however, coffee and Dr Pepper lead me astray. Don’t get me started on the Dublin Dr Pepper thing. People are not happy with Dr Pepper, and I’m one. Shame on them. Shame!

One of my favorite meals is my mother’s recipe for beef stroganoff. She makes it with sour cream, thinly sliced sirloin, mushrooms and buttered noodles. It’s so good, I sometimes eat the leftover stroganoff cold right out of the fridge. I am not the least bit apologetic about that. I also love cold pizza for breakfast, in case you’re following my trends.

Mom's Beef Stroganoff - beefy, creamy & delicious

I’m a dog girl. It’s not that I don’t like cats, I just don’t want one. I cannot, however, resist a cute dog. I get especially gooey around puppies. When Ziggy was a baby, I could hold him in the palm of my hand. He was the cutest puppy ever. He’s still handsome (in case he’s reading this), he’s just crankier now that he’s almost 13, or 91 if you’re counting in dog years.

I love our Tempurpedic mattress. We had a water-bed for far too many years (please don’t ask). Since we bought the Tempurpedic, we’ve never looked back. It’s one of the best purchases we’ve ever made as a married couple.

I also love my Jeep Liberty. It’s a 2003 and has just under 125,000 miles on it. Well-earned miles. Our longest road trip in the Jeep was from Houston to North Carolina and back. Our most frequent trips involve weekend jaunts to Austin to see the kids. We love visiting our babies.

Jonah Bear, Bama Boy, Lilly Bug & My Baby - Christmas 2010

Given a choice between bathroomy scents and foody scents, I choose foody. Candles, cologne, air freshener – I love the scent of vanilla, almond, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, lemon pound-cake, cucumber. I get choked up around strong scents like magnolia, lavender, etc. It may be psychological instead of physiological, but it still happens.

Wood floors or carpet? Well, we have both. We put wood in downstairs and waited to decide what to do the upstairs to give us time to adjust to wood. I’m starting to think wood upstairs would be nice. Wood with big rugs.

Cake or Pie? I choose pie. Especially fruit pies. Not that I’d turn down a custard pie, but fruit is my favorite. Blueberry, cherry, coconut cream, pumpkin. LOVE pie. My friend Kirsten sent me a big jar of home canned Michigan cherries. I’m considering saving them for a homemade cherry pie this spring for our ‘ladies only’ Hoegarden Weekend. Sharing them with family appeals to me.

My oh my - I love pie!

I will never be a vegetarian. I love meat. Especially bacon. And steak.

Travel is my favorite hobby but it’s expensive, which is why we can’t do it as often as say origami. Or sewing. Or blogging, which is even cheaper. But when I win the lottery, I’m getting out of here, baby! I’m gonna SEE THE WORLD (even more). Some people want an RV. I want a Eur-Rail Pass.

We once joked about adopting a cow in Switzerland. No kidding, you can do that. We saw it on TV. You get a photo of your cow, you have to agree to visit it once in your lifetime (score!), and you get 200 pounds of cheese from your cow shipped directly to your door. The only thing stopping us was the fact that you could buy a car cheaper than you could rent a cow.

My 4 sisters & I grew up watching The Muppet Show and Sunday night Disney features. Loved it. Mom also registered us for the Weekly Readers program, so we read a lot of books. It’s true what they say. Reading IS fundamental.

Growing up, we went camping for virtually every family vacation. I loved it then, but my idea of camping now is a rustic (but fully furnished) cabin on a lake in the Canadian Rockies. As my mother always said, I have champagne taste on a beer budget. But now that we’re older, we buy better beer.

We loved our week at this rental cabin in Glacier National Park

Forrest Gump is my favorite movie. Some people think it’s hokey and corny and sentimental and over the top, but that’s exactly why I love it. It’s so full of surprises and emotion and promise. I can’t even think about Forrest talking to Jenny under the tree at the end of the movie without crying. It just touches me.

I’m a Pisces. I’ll be 49 in March and I have the gray hairs to prove it. Not too many (yet). Just enough to remind me I’m not 29 anymore.

Molasses. I can’t get enough. There. I said it.

Okay, you probably tuned out right after ‘I played the French horn’ so I’ll end this now. There’s more. Oh, yes, there is more. But my cup of coffee is starting to wear off, and you know I’m not this chatty when I’m caffeine-free. So enough about me. Tell me one thing about yourself that most people don’t know. It doesn’t have to be salacious. Just interesting or quirky. Hit me with it. I promise not to judge. Aaaaaaaaaand GO!

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January 20, 2012 · 7:49 AM

Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup

Tortellini Soup - From NanaBread to You, With Love


I just love this recipe. It’s quick, easy, flavorful and satisfying. A friend shared it with me in the early 1990’s when we were working on a church cookbook and I’ve been making it ever since. She made hers with ground beef and beef broth, but I prefer this lighter chicken version.

Ingredients List:

1 rotisserie chicken (plain) from your grocer’s deli
1 32-oz. carton of organic chicken broth
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 15-oz. can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 9-oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 10-oz. package of cheese tortellini (refrigerated or frozen)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
pinch of dried oregano and basil
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
parmesan cheese & chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley, for garnish

Place the rotisserie chicken in a large heavy-bottomed pot and pour in the carton of chicken broth. Cover and simmer until the chicken is thoroughly heated and begins to fall apart. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and allow it to cool until you can chop it without burning yourself. Strain the chicken broth to remove any kibbles and bits and return it to the pan. If needed, add a cup or two of water to create more broth. (May be necessary if your broth simmers too long and/or reduces too quickly.)

Over medium heat, bring the broth back to a simmer. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings. If you like a little spice, throw in that pinch of red pepper flakes. While that simmers, bone the chicken and chop it into bite-size pieces. If you’re feeding a crowd, use all of the chopped chicken. If you’re not, use half the chicken and save the rest for chicken salad tomorrow night. Return the chopped chicken to the pot. Add the spinach and tortellini. Simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. Taste to see if it needs additional salt and pepper. I also like to taste one of the tortellini to make sure they’re done. If you like your soup on the thicker side, combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and whisk until smooth; stir into the soup.

To serve, spoon into bowls and top with chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese. A great loaf of crusty bread is the perfect side to this soup.

Substitutions:
1. make with beef broth and ground beef (my friend’s version)
2. use cheese, spinach, or meat tortellini – your choice
3. use mini-ravioli instead of tortellini
4. leave out the tomatoes for a clear broth (great for colds)
5. substitute the pasta of your choosing for the tortellini
6. substitute browned Italian sausage for chicken or beef
7. substitute fresh spinach, kale or other favorite greens

Helpful Hint:
Prepping early can save a ton of time! Simmer your chicken in broth in advance. Strain the broth and store in airtight containers until needed (fridge for 2-3 days/freezer for 2-3 weeks). Bone and chop the chicken and refrigerate or freeze separately from the broth. If you prep these 2 things in advance, you can make this soup in under an hour. Just place the frozen broth in a pan and heat to simmering. Add the chicken and other ingredients, except for the parsley and parmesan. Heat until thoroughly warmed, season to taste, and sprinkle with parsley and parmesan cheese. See? I told you it was easy.

Go make this soup. You know you want to.

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January 19, 2012 · 7:25 AM

My Baby turned 29 last week

She'll always be our baby

I haven’t written about it yet because it has taken me a week to come to terms with the fact that my baby turned 29 last week. How did this happen? Where did the time go? I swear I remember taking her to her first day of kindergarten like it JUST HAPPENED. I can tell you exactly what she was wearing – a pale turquoise jumper with pink buttons and little pink sneakers. She had her hair in pigtails with pink ribbons. But now our baby is 29, and I’m gonna need a minute. {insert long pause here}

At her request, I made rainbow cupcakes for the occasion. If you were a reader last spring, you’ll remember that my big sister led a baking session when she, my baby sister, and our mother came to visit. We had a blast and the rainbow tie-dyed cupcakes were a hit. At that time, we used Big Sis’s scratch-made white cake recipe and the expensive Wilton food colorings. This time, I used white cake mix. Guess what? It worked! Two cake mixes made one dozen regular cupcakes and six jumbo-size cupcakes. For the mixes, I used whole eggs instead of eggs whites and dialed the amount of water back just slightly so the cupcakes would have better structure. I also added a teaspoon of almond extract, which added great flavor. With a basic set of Wilton food colors from the grocery store, I divided the batter into 6 bowls and colored each. For the regular cupcakes, I swirled the colorful batter; for the jumbo cupcakes, I layered it. Here’s how they turned out:

Unfrosted in 2 Sizes - Jumbo = 5" and Regular = 2"

A jumbo rainbow cupcake - frosted with sprinkles

Look out! She's going in for a bite!

Too tall for a normal approach, she had to turn it sideways.

She did it! And apparently, she liked it.

Happy birthday, honey. I’m so happy you loved your cupcakes, but I’m especially happy that you are our girl. Your dad and I are so very proud of you. And now that 29 is behind you, we’ve got 12 months to plan for next year – when you turn 30 and I turn 50. I’m pretty sure that requires a big blow-out of some kind, don’t you? I’m thinking Vegas (with bail money, of course).

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January 17, 2012 · 2:23 PM

TCP Cooks: Raspberry Ice Cream

TCP's homemade raspberry ice cream

Those of you who visit this blog regularly know that The Complete Package, my beloved husband, loves to make ice cream. He has ever since he brought Christine home. Using a knock-off recipe for Ben & Jerry’s Sweet Cream Base, he has experimented with many flavor combinations. Some were treasures (coffee, maraschino cherry & pecan, peanut butter) and some were just plain good (coconut, peppermint brownie chunk). This weekend, while I was visiting the kids in Austin, TCP tried a new one – raspberry. It’ not just good, it’s fabulous. Like seriously wonderful. Last night, he kicked it up a notch and made me a raspberry milkshake. While I watched The Bachelor. And it was life altering. Here’s how he did it.

The Complete Package’s Raspberry Ice Cream:

For the raspberry puree:
2 cartons of fresh raspberries (6 ozs. each)
3/4 cup sugar
water

Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan; add just enough water to cover the berries and whisk with an immersion blender. Bring to a rolling boil so sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Strain to remove the seeds, and set it aside to cool down to room temperature.

For the ice cream custard:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
raspberry puree (from above)

Whisk the eggs in a bowl until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Whisk in the sugar a little at a time until completely blended, then beat one minute more. Add the cream and milk and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add in the salt, vanilla extract, and cooled raspberry puree; whisk until smooth. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze. (Note: you may have to divide the mixture in half and run as two batches depending on the size of your ice cream maker.)

Makes approximately 1 quart. Or 8 bowls. Or 10 milkshakes. Or 1 really colossal ice cream binge (including freezy headache). Consider yourself warned.

PS – Yes, I posted two ice cream stories in a row. For that, I sincerely apologize. To make up for it, I’ll be posting a soup recipe later in the week. It’s delicious and healthy, so thanks in advance for forgiving me.

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January 11, 2012 · 10:43 AM

Recipe Review: ATK’s Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies

Triple Chocolate (Mint) Brownies from America's Test Kitchen

I love recipes from America’s Test Kitchen. You know what I love the most? That they do all the work for you. They pick a recipe, research the heck out of it, find what works best (and what doesn’t) and then explain it all in easy to understand instructions. When you make an ATK recipe, you know it’s going to work out every single time. This weekend, I tried the Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies from their Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Cookbook. What a book! It contains all of the recipes featured on their show from 2001 to 2011. It’s a 10-year anniversary gift to ATK lovers everywhere. Don’t have it yet? Well, you should. It’s a keeper.

Of course, you know me. I can’t make anything exactly as written. It’s my unspoken rule, except that I speak openly about it. My tweak – I added a bag of Andes Chocolate-Mint baking pieces. The colorful green striped variety. And I make no apologies for it. Sometimes a girl needs mint in her chocolate.

Here’s how it’s done:
5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick (8 ounces) butter, unsalted
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (8.25 ounces) sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 bag of Andes Mint baking pieces (my addition)

Adjust your oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat to 350F. Line an 8″ square baking pan with foil (sling-style so they’re easy to lift out) and spray lightly with PAM or other non-stick spray.

In a heatproof bowl, place chopped chocolate and butter into a double boiler or in the microwave in 1 minute intervals until melted and smooth. Whisk to remove any lumps. Whisk in the cocoa powder and beat to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently stir in the flour (and mint baking pieces) until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and shake gently to distribute, or use a spatula to spread the batter evenly out to the corners.

Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Baking time will be approximately 35-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack to room temperature (about 2 hours). Lift the brownies from the pan using the foil sling. Cut into 1″ squares and serve. NOTE: these are really dense and very rich; 1″ squares is a really good size for these!

Remaining brownies can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days OR you could chop some of them into 1/4″ to 1/2″ chunks and do what we did – make Chocolate Mint Brownie Chunk Ice Cream. No, I’m not kidding. I’ll prove it:

TCP's Chocolate Mint Brownie Chunk Ice Cream

The Complete Package is the master of ice cream in our house. Christine, our evil but effective Cuisinart ice cream maker, is his baby. He plays her like an instrument. Using his favorite knock-off recipe for Ben & Jerry’s sweet cream ice cream base, he added mint extract and a few drops of green food color to make this pastel peppermint concoction. And it was good. Really, really good.

So, there you have it. Yet another America’s Test Kitchen recipe that came out exactly as advertised. Tweaked into a minty pair of lovely treats by yours truly, because I just can’t seem to stop myself. And I’m okay with that.

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January 9, 2012 · 1:09 PM

From Fail to Fabulous

I made homemade tortillas to go with fajitas last night. The flour tortillas turned out great. The corn tortillas were an abomination. They were too dry. Too thick. Too awful. C’mon! It’s corn masa, salt & warm water. How hard can this be? I was tempted to throw them away, but I didn’t. As a corn tortilla lover, I was totally bummed. So bummed, I didn’t even make margaritas. That’s how bummed I was. Those of you who know me well are now probably saying, “Ahh, HELL no! She did NOT skip the margaritas!” I know! I know.

Homemade Corn Tortillas - great taste; terrible texture

The Complete Package is working from home today, so for lunch I took my short stack of awful corn tortillas and I fried them up in a little canola oil. Presto… homemade tostadas! My issues with texture went away when these little beauties crisped up in hot oil. With toppings like leftover grilled fajita beef, slow-cooked refried beans, grilled poblano peppers and homemade pico de gallo and guacamole, we turned drab into fab. I wish you could have been here. These puppies were fabulous! I think they will be going on our Hoegarden Weekend menu this spring (am I right, ladies?). I could eat these every day.

Homemade tostadas - holy cow, these were awesome!

Lessons learned:
1. never give up
2. be creative
3. there is nothing wrong with leftovers; not one little thing
4. when life gives you crummy corn tortillas, make tostadas!

On a scale of 1 to 10 (as my friend Kat likes to say), these were clearly 11/10. Thanks, Kat. You are SO right.

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January 5, 2012 · 11:51 AM

Hi, My Name is NanaBread and I am a Peppermint Bath Product Junkie (The Re-run Edition)

I don’t usually re-run posts, but this morning I took a shower with some of my favorite bath products and it reminded me of this old post from September 2010. So if you missed this one or if you’re just into post-holiday confessions, here is one of my favorite old posts highlighting some of my favorite things and my burgeoning addiction to all things peppermint. Enjoy!

Is there a 12-step program for bath product addiction? There should be. I have a serious problem when it comes to peppermint scented bath products – I spend too much money on them. It’s a love that apparently knows no boundary. I’ve tried to control it, but I can’t. I’m weak and I know it, but I smell good.

A Peek Into My Minty Addiction - Peppermint Bath Products

Let’s literally start at the top with Nioxin’s Scalp Therapy. I picked this up at my hair salon on a whim and never regretted anything but the cost. I’ll be honest. I don’t use it every day because I just can’t wrap my head around using a $40 shampoo and conditioner twin-pack on a daily basis, but I do use it once a week or so (as a special treat). It’s especially refreshing in the summer after a hot sweaty morning pulling weeds in the flower beds. I don’t buy it often, but I love and appreciate it when I do. It’s lovely, and I hope you win the lottery some day so you can afford to make it part of your daily routine.

I was in San Francisco when I stumbled into an Origins store with bloody swollen feet crying for help or for someone to put me out of my misery. That’s what happens when you wear the wrong shoes to sightsee in San Francisco. (Travel hint: don’t wear brand new leather wedges if you’re walking the streets of San Francisco. Wear running shoes and put a pair of bunny slippers in your purse. Wear the running shoes when you’re in motion and the bunny slippers when you give up and stop for a margarita.) Origins saved my feet and my trip. I bought the 4-piece leg & foot rejuvenation package. I love their clever product names: Foot Rest, Sole Searcher, Leg Lifts and Reinventing the Heel. Don’t let their humor fool you. These beauties are seriously fabulous and effective. Thank you, Origins. Because of you, I was able to leave my heart in San Francisco instead of pieces of my wrecked feet.

My longest lasting peppermint crush (by far) has been the Oatmeal Peppermint bath bar from Garden Botanika. Oh, my…I have loved it for so long. If I had a dollar for every six dollar bar I’ve bought, I’d still be in the hole, but I’d be a happy camper. I love this soap more than life itself. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I do love it fiercely. The oatmeal chunks set in a creamy peppermint bar will cleanse and exfoliate you like Helga the Baltic spa technician. I’ll warn you – you will look like you lost a cat fight when you first step out of the shower, but your skin will feel as soft as a baby’s backside.

J.R. Watkins Apothecary Peppermint Rejuvenating Foot Cream is my new lotion obsession. It’s labeled as a foot cream but it’s much, much more than that. Because it’s gentle and absorbs very quickly, I use it everywhere – even on my face. That’s saying a lot, because I have sensitive skin and mild rosacea. I can use this product without any fear of breakouts or that greasy feeling you get from some lotions. I put it on and a minute later, my skin feels smooth and dry. I am in love with this lotion. I will even go so far as to say that it has helped reduce the wrinkles on my face and neck over the past year. I put it on every morning before I apply my make-up and every evening before I go to bed. About the only place I don’t use it is on my feet. Go figure.

You’re probably thinking right now “geez…how many peppermint products can one woman use?” But wait! There’s more! My daughter introduced me to the most amazing liquid soap on a shopping trip to Austin’s SoCo district. We were snooping around the Farm to Market Organic Grocery on South Congress when she handed me a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap (certified organic and fair trade). She said it would blow my mind, and it did. For serious peppermint junkies, this is the hard stuff. It is a peppermint explosion in a bottle. Combined with a nice bath scrubbing poof, this will make your heart sing and your body parts tingle. I like to use it first thing in the morning when I need a shower to wake me up, or after an hour in the garage wrestling with my jiggly parts on the elliptical machine. Imagine jumping into a frozen pond. That’s how refreshing I find this soap. And it makes my entire bathroom and bedroom smell pepperminty fresh for half an hour after I shower. Here’s another secret: I use their almond scented soap at night when I want to unwind and smell good. And believe me, it smells really, really good.

Last but not least, I love the Savannah Bee Company’s Mint Julep Beeswax Lip Balm. You can buy it in a tube or in a little metal tin. While I usually favor lip balm tubes, my daughter found a great deal on E-Bay and we split the cost of a 12-pack of the cute little metal tins. I’ll be honest. She had me at beeswax. When they added Mint Julep, I was sunk. This all-natural lip balm is everything you want in a lip balm. It’s creamy, it’s long-lasting, and its peppermint oil content leaves your lips feeling quenched and refreshed. The Complete Package will testify that I am a lip balm addict. I carry 3-4 brands (a quick nod to Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm here – watermelon is my color). I carry it at all times. I use it every 15 minutes. I can’t stop. On the up side, my lips are always lush and kissable at a moment’s notice (the better to kiss you with, my dear!). I know my excessive use of peppermint lip balm is a problem because my (now 5) year-old grandson, Jonah, will now turn to me in the car and say, “can I get some of that?” I’m sorry, Jonah Bear. Nana didn’t mean to start you down the road to peppermint product addiction at such an early age. She should know better. But now that I have your attention, have you seen this peppermint lotion I got? AARRGHHH! Somebody stop me!

{Disclaimer: NanaBread has no ties to any of the products or companies shown above. She is simply a peppermint lovin’ junkie who feels compelled to share that love with her readers. No products appearing in this blog post were given, sponsored or donated even though NanaBread would have died and gone to heaven if they had been. All opinions are strictly her own. Pinky swear.}

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January 2, 2012 · 2:47 PM

Whoa, Santa! You kind of outdid yourself there. Way to go, big guy!

I knew I was good this year, but I had no idea I was this good. Either Santa was feeling generous, or he totally came to the wrong house. Either way, I’m claiming the ‘no take-backs’ rule and also the ‘I touched it last’ rule. So if this set-up was supposed to go to my neighbor instead, tough shitsky. Sorry; that was harsh. I should work on being nicer to others in 2012. But I’m still not giving it back.

Here’s what Santa done brung me:

1. Cuisinart Single Serve Coffee Brewer – it’s way cool, and it’s shiny. I love shiny. It has a huge water reservoir with a built-in filter to purify our softener-laden tap water AND it makes coffee, tea or hot cocoa one cup at a time, which means I can stop pouring leftover coffee down the sink every morning. See honey, I’m already saving you money!

2. Nespresso Aerocinno 3 Milk Frother – you heard me; it’s a milk frother. It heats milk and then whips it with a tiny beater to create that glossy, peaked foam you get at fancy coffee houses. And when I say ‘beats it to a frothy peak’, I mean it takes my cold 2% milk and turns it into piping hot milk with a head on it like whipped meringue. Talk about putting frosting on a cupcake! This baby is a keeper. Now I have to learn to make shamrocks and leaves and other fancy shapes in the top of my coffee (or not).

3. Starbucks City Collection Cups – this is a gift I give myself. It started years ago with a trip to Seattle and a visit to the ‘original’ Starbucks at Pike Place Market. Since then, I have collected these giant coffee mugs from cities around the world – Stuttgart, Istanbul, Prague, Amsterdam, etc. I love them. They’re a colorful way to reminisce about great trips over a morning cuppa joe. And did I mention they’re huge? Yeah… make mine a double.

4. K-Cup Rack and the cups to fill it – Santa was kind enough to provide a thoughtful variety of K-cups to kick-start my addiction. There’s Donut Shop Decaf for late nights and Tully’s French Roast for those mornings when I need a kick in the seat to get me moving. There is also a baker’s dozen of assorted other coffee flavors from a sampler box, as well as a supply of dark chocolate hot cocoa and some Twinings English Breakfast tea. Santa knows me well.

So I guess this wasn’t meant for my neighbor after all. Maybe I really WAS a good girl this year. That’s a relief. But then, that means I owe someone a BIG thank you. Lord help me; I hope that doesn’t mean what I think it means {wink}.

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December 31, 2011 · 8:07 PM

Later, 2011. You were great, but we’re through. Hello, Two-Zero-One-Two!

We’re just hours away from a Happy New Year. How exciting! I started to write this post as a re-cap of 2011 and all the wonderful things it brought, but I’ll be honest – it sounded too much like those family newsletters people stuff into their holiday cards. Not the cute funny ones, but the way-too-wordy reflective kind. So I deleted it. It just wasn’t me. Instead, I’ll keep it short. 2011 was a great year for us. We spent a lot of quality time with family. We traveled. We worked around the house. We harvested our first pineapple. We made new friends. And we were happy. Were there any bumps in the road? Sure. But overall, there was a whole lot to be grateful for. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Here’s hoping that 2012 is even better. Not just for us, but for all of you, as well. The Complete Package and I wish you peace, happiness, prosperity and adventure in the coming year. And just to hedge our bets, we’ll eat a plate full of luck in honor of all of you on January 1st. We hope 2012 will be your best year yet.

Love to you & yours,
NanaBread & The Complete Package

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December 25, 2011 · 12:51 PM

It’s a Gingerbread-Off

My daughter is fabulous. She’s funny, smart and creative. She’s also hyper-competitive, evidently. I believe this all started years ago, around the age of 3, when The Complete Package taught her to cheat at CandyLand, but that’s a story for another day.

This weekend, My Baby and I decided to make gingerbread houses. Our intention was to make them with the grandkids, but Lilly Bug fell asleep and Jonah Bear got lost in a pirate movie and their mother and I ended up in a friendly gingerbread competition. Royal frosting waits for no man.

I {of course} thought mine was the cutest. She {naturally} thought hers was the best. So here’s where we’re at. We’ve agreed to post photos of our gingerbread houses and let you be the judge. Literally. Take a look and leave a comment below. We’ll leave the voting open until Monday at midnight central US time, and we’ll let the vanilla coating chips fall where they may. The winner buys the loser a latte at Starbucks.

THE HANSEL & GRETEL HOUSE:

THE CHRISTMAS CABIN:

That’s it, folks. Leave a comment and make your vote count. May the best gingerbread house win. And I promise not to gloat when it’s mine. Maybe.

**UPDATE: And the winner is… **
It was close, but my Hansel & Gretel House (the one smothered in royal frosting) won by 2 reader votes. If you missed the fine print, our deal was that the WINNER would buy the loser a latte at Starbucks, not the other way around. So just after Christmas, I took My Baby and Lilly Bug out for a girls only breakfast at Starbucks. We had pastries and coffee (or vanilla milk) and a fabulous time. So really, there were no losers; just winners. Girly, coffee-loving winners. Thanks for voting! See you again in 2012. -NanaBread

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