Flashback Friday: Family Fun

Happy Friday Friends!

So I thought I would finally recap my family’s holiday celebration from New Year’s Eve…TWO weeks later! Ugh, where has the time gone?? Well, better late than never, right?

What if I told you that there is not one, but TWO recipes included in this post? Would that make up for my lateness? Hmm? Maybe? Just a little?

Alright, let’s get to it!

I was so excited to be hosting the get together this year so that my family could finally see Casa de Broccoli for the first time. I started the day off with a little trip to the store for some necessities:

And yes, those Reese’s chips were totally necessary…you’ll see why in a minute.

ย Once I got back to the house, the next few hours where a whirlwind of madness…and the best part about it? BB was there to see me in all my panic frizz-hair glory…good news is he’s still around so I must not have scared him too bad! ๐Ÿ˜‰

There were desserts (almost burning)ย in the oven, hard-boiled egg shells flying through the air, smoking pot holders

Wait, smoking pot holders?

Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a new strain of lung cancer discovered in a few years due to exposure to singed rubber.

Note to self: Start paying attention to what burner you turn on on the stove burners…or better yet, stop using the stovetop as additional counter space!

Luckily, I did not burn dessert…or the house…and dinner came together quite nicely. Everyone started showing up around 11:30am and by 1:00pm, we were ready to dig in!

ย 

I finally got around to using the Honeybaked Ham giftcard that the doctor’s got us LAST Christmas. They actually gave us the same thing this year, so I put them together and order a ham the size of a small child…because you know, in the south when you mean to feed 10 or 11 people, that really means you prep for 20! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Sides included were my mom’s green beans from Thanksgiving and my trusty recipe forย Baked Potato Salad…both have become staples in my family!

There were also deviled eggs, fruit salad, and my aunt brought her 7-turned-10 layer saladย (lettuce, peas, tomatoes, cheese, and other stuff…I forget what all gets crammed in there, but man, is it delicious!)

I got a bit mischevious while prepping the food and stuck a “secret” ingredient into the deviled eggs. Any guesses as to what it was?

Anyone…anyone?

BEANS!!!

I got the idea from FitSugar.com and guess what…no one had a clue! Well, that is until I sprung it on them AFTER dinner! Oh how I love sneaking healthy food into people!

*picture me rubbing my hands together with a sly look on my face*

I also made a quick batch of raw cranberry relish once my mom realized she forgot to make the sauce she had intended on serving.

I’ve made different variations of this relish before…long ago inspired by a recipe I found online, but I have failed to track down again for some time. Of course I was too busy throwing things at my food processor to bother with measurements, but if I had to guess, it went something like this:

Raw Cranberry Date Relish

By:ย Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: N/A

Keywords: raw side vegan vegetarian cranberries Thanksgiving Christmas winter

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

  • 2 cups raw cranberries
  • 5-6 large dates, pitted
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • juice of 1 orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it reaches desired consistency.

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And then of course, my dad had to have his “oh-how-convienent-there’s-even-lines-for-cutting-this-gelatinous-tube” cranberry sauce:

Ummm, yum?
(Mine was waaaaaaaay better!) ๐Ÿ˜‰

And well, I don’t know about you guys, but where I come from you just don’t gather this many people under one roof without a little sugar to pass around.

But this time I’m not talking mistletoe.

I’m talking…

DESSERTS!

My aunt provided the perfectly chewy chocolate chip cookies, while I offered up my recent addiction in the baking department…pineapple upside-down cake!

Oh, but I didn’t stop there…remember those Reese’s chips?

I’d like you guys to meet my “ugly balls”…not to be confused with Schweddy balls, but I’m sure equally delicious.

Just pretend that I didn’t have a baking chip melty faux pas with my Oreo truffles and they actually look like these:

[source]

Yes, that’s MUCH better!

And finally, the recipe that I’ve been promising you guys for almost two weeks now AND my very first attempt at my own recipe for banana bread!

Mmm, don’t you just want to lick the screen?

It’s ok, I won’t tell!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Banana Bread

By:ย Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50-55 minutes

Keywords: bake bread dessert bananas whole wheat pastry flour Thanksgiving Christmas

Ingredients (1 Loaf, Serves 10)

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 3/4 cup raw, granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup mashed banana
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a loaf pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, beat sugar and coconut oil.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Add vanilla and mashed banana, and stir until combined.
6. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until all of the flour is incorporated.ย If using, fold in walnuts.
7. Transfer batter to a loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

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I was really impressed with this recipe since I ended up just taking a few different ideas for measurements from half a dozen recipes I found online, but I know for sure that this will be my go-to for banana bread from now one!

Wow, so that was a bit of a doozy of a post, huh?

Ok, just one more thing before I sign off:

Shameless photo add-in of me and BB!

And that put me at exactly 1000 words…ok, I’m out!

What was the highlight of your week? Any good Friday the 13th stories?

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20 Responses to Flashback Friday: Family Fun

  1. Lexie says:

    Ahaha, I love all the recipes! And your hair. Ohmygosh. I WANT. It’s so gorgeous. Is it naturally that color? Sorry. That’s really girly. What’s really really strange is that your banana bread recipe is ermm….exactly the same as mine. EVERY ingredient. Every measurement. Except mine is from my grandma living in Africa…..? Well, this is creepy. And also really cool. But mostly just scary. Anyhoo. I’ll stop rambling.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Every ingredient? Wow…that is really weird! Does this mean we have some sort of cosmic connection or something?? ๐Ÿ˜‰

      And yes, my hair is naturally reddish blonde…though it looks more red in this pic due to the lighting in the kitchen. It usually lightens up a bit during the summer which is more of the color I like. It’s also naturally…a mess! Lol

  2. I did the exact same thing to my oven mitt a few weeks ago! I guess I’ll see ya in the hospital in a few years when we get lung cancer? We can be roomies! ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Your cranberry relish recipe looks amazing – I’ve never seen a recipe like it before. I love that you use dates and orange in it. Yummmm.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Love it! We’ll be CFFL (Chemo friends for life)! Haha!

      Thanks, I really liked the way the relish came out…a little sweet, but still keeping that natural tartness of the cranberries. And it comes together in a flash!

  3. PB&Jenny says:

    at least now you have an excuse to buy cute new pot holders :)!

    your balls aren’t ugly! (never thought I’d say that!). They look great. And so do you and BB. You make my heart melt! Love you Heather! Keep on smiling!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Aww, thanks Jenny! I really am truly happy…never really thought I could find someone who could make me feel so good about myself. And you know what? I bet he’d even go pot holder shopping with me! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  4. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve burned stuff because I left them on the heater. Oh well! Everything here looks amazing. I’m definitely in a baking mood lately. Such a cute picture of you two!

  5. Haha, I haven’t made a birthday recap post until now, and my birthday was in November. To I think I’ll just move on with other things … But I don’t have such nice repices to share like you have, so I think it’s not a loss. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    I recently burned my cutting board on the stove when I accidentally turned on the wrong cooking plate. (Had to put my cutting board on the stove for space reasons.) When the smoke started to come out from below the edges, I realized something was foul. ๐Ÿ˜€

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Oh my gosh, I’ve done that before too! The worst part is trying to get all the melted gunk off the oven afterwards…I’m STILL scrubbing the spot where the pot holder was!

      It’s kinda crazy how time gets away from us sometimes. It really does feel like October/November were just a few weeks ago…

  6. wow what a food feast! i love all the creative meals you made. i totally forgot it was friday, the 13h last friday. maybe its better like that anyways ๐Ÿ™‚ nothing special happened.

    i was totally obsessed with oreo cookies during my exchange year in the US. i remember my host grandma making them and i would eat so many that i was not hungry for a meal anymore.. arghhh

  7. Nice post. Your pictures and attention to detail is impressive! I’ve always been a fan of cranberry relish, but have never been a huge fan of the sugared gels you see in the stores and will be curious to try out your recipe. Thanks for the great writing!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Thank you Jonanthan! And I hope you like the recipe…such a better choice than the sugar-overload that you can buy in the stores and it comes together so quick!

  8. My Friday the 13th was a culmination of stress from the first week of school, and cost me a jog cause I napped for about and hour cause I was so tired ><

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      I hear ya! I skipped out on more workouts than I intended to last week just because I couldn’t find the energy to lift my arms above my head on most days…let alone go for a run or lift some weights. Hopefully this week will be better…for both of us!

  9. How fun!!!! That’s exciting you got to host ๐Ÿ™‚ Thats so sad about the pot holder!!! haha I’ve totally melted something on a store before by turning on the wrong burner. Oops.

    And that’s SO funny your dad wanted the canned stuff because my dad is EXACTLY The same way. Every thanksgiving: can of ocean spray cranberry sauce. Lame, but its what they like! haha

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Ugh, my dad lives in a little box I swear! It’s like pulling teeth to get him to try anything new. I’ve found it’s best to just sneak things into him in little bits and then confess to it later! Haha!

  10. Ahhhh I love the pic of you and BB… such a smashing couple! I too recently purchased Reese’s chips… I’ve got a recipe a-brewin’ in the old brain and can’t wait to turn them out. I am totally coming to eat a meal with your family one of these days… you guys do it RIGHT! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Noooooo, don’t make me buy more pb chips! I had to throw the other half (or what was left of it) a week ago because I couldn’t keep my grubby little hands out of the bag! You’re going to tempt me…I can feel it!

      And wow, I can only begin to imagine the deliciousness that would occur if we combined forces in the kitchen…mmmmm!

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