This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are our own. This is a decadent breakfast casserole that is perfect for a New Year's Day morning or to tuck away and save for Valentines Day! A Cherry Danish Casserole is perfect to eat this time of year because besides being delicious, it will use up any left over, day old rolls that you have after the holidays. The colors are festive and the flavors are bright and cheery. Best of all, you make it the night before, so in the morning you simply pop it in the oven and heat up your house while it bakes. Then, simply mix up the simple cherry glaze and pour it over the top when it comes out of the oven. Those white cubes are chunks of cream cheese! If you are thinking YUM, you are correct! I you don't want to pour on the glaze, you could make it a dipping sauce. Other alternatives to the glaze are:
I loved enhancing the flavor of the cherries with the glaze. It added to the ooey gooey goodness of the Cherry Danish appeal. At our house, we served this casserole on Christmas morning. I'm sure that it will be making a reappearance in the near future. We served it with bacon and hot orange punch. It was very Christmasy and was a hit with everyone! The bread soaked in the egg becomes a unctuous custard. If you don't have left over dinner rolls, you can use croissants, which was how the original recipe I saw on DinnerthenDessert made it, or you can use another crusty bread. I didn't have any croissants laying around, but I did have rolls and decided to try it. I made the recipe larger to accommodate a larger family and used more cherries! I also added the cherry glaze with the removed cherry sauce. So, without further ado, here is the recipe that I used to make Cherry Danish Breakfast Casserole, I hope you give it a try and love it! Simply click on the recipe to print.
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After a year like 2020, the importance of self care has become more apparent than ever. The only problem is that all too often, self care is branded as bubble baths, shopping trips, and vacations. And while these things can be helpful, I think of them more as Band-Aids than actual self care.
Really, self care is about creating sustainable habits and a lifestyle that is beneficial to you and your mental health. Towards the end of this past year, I started working on creating these habits for myself and in just a few months started experiencing the benefits, after years of struggling with depression and anxiety. By implementing these habits of self care, I’ve been able to increase my motivation, productivity, and energy. I know I’m not the only one who can benefit from these habits, so I wanted to share them and encourage you to try them out for yourself. 1. Make Your Bed Every Day
This probably sounds kinda dumb and underwhelming, but hear me out.
Oftentimes when I would go through a depressive episode, things like cleaning would fall to the wayside. Dishes would pile up, laundry wouldn’t get done, and living in a dirty place would just make me feel more depressed, creating a cycle that is difficult to break out of. By making the bed every day, I was doing one small thing that broke the cycle. My bedroom looked better with it made and it meant that even if I did nothing else all day, I had accomplished one thing. Many times it would also encourage and motivate me to clean up the rest of the house. Eventually it just became part of my morning routine and I actually enjoy doing it now. 2. Drink More Water
This one is simple but very important. Water is essential for life, but chances are you aren’t drinking enough for your body. A good way to find out how much water your body needs is to take your body weight in pounds, divide it in 2, and drink that much in ounces.
For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, you would want to drink 90 ounces of water a day. If you are like me and don’t weigh yourself, you can either just approximate your weight or stick to the standard “8 glasses a day” and see how that makes you feel. Bottles like this are also great for keeping track of how much water you are drinking throughout the day! 3. Improve Your Mind-Body Connections
I’ve found that a habit like this can help keep you grounded during difficult times. It can be as simple as mindful stretching or taking a walk everyday or more extensive workouts like weightlifting or running everyday. The important thing is that during the exercise, you focus on how your body feels.
I liked to incorporate stretching into my morning and nighttime routines. It helped me to feel that connection throughout the entire day and relax before going to bed. 4. Set a Skincare Routine
No matter your age, gender, or hobbies, a skincare routine is important! If you don’t have one at all, I highly encourage you to start a simple one. At the very least you should be cleansing, moisturizing, and using sunscreen (yes, even if it isn’t sunny out).
Setting a regular skincare routine is truly doing future you a favor, and spending a couple minutes on it in the morning and evening are worth the long term benefits. 5. Be Intentional About Gratitude
It is so easy to focus on the negative in our lives, and I don’t want to discount how difficult life can really be for some people, especially during a global pandemic. But focusing on only the bad is detrimental to your mental health.
I firmly believe that there is something to be grateful for every day, like little rays of sunshine that leak into our lives when it’s dark. By being intentional about finding these rays of sunshine, we leave more room for them to appear. I started listing 5 things every day. Some days they were more extravagant than others, but eventually I became more appreciative of even the little things. 6. Journal Every Day
Just a couple days ago, Alicia wrote about journaling and shared some great journal prompts you can use. Now, I’m not a spill your guts on the page kinda gal like Alicia. I usually just write a couple sentences about my day or how I’m feeling and leave it at that. But however you like to journal, just do it!
It’s a healthy emotional and mental release, as well as a great way to document your progress and experiences in life. 7. Spend More Time Away from Screens
This habit is so important, especially if you are still dealing with lockdowns or working from home. It’s no secret that social media can have negative effects on mental health, and staring at a screen all day is not good for your physical health either.
Find a hobby you enjoy that can give you a break from all the screens! Baking, hiking, reading, crafting, you name it. It doesn’t matter how good you are at it. Exercise your mind and give your eyes a break, even if it’s just 30 minutes a day. 8. Set Aside More Time For Yourself
Stop overexerting yourself. Stop giving all of your time and energy to everyone else around you while neglecting yourself. Get in the habit of having time everyday that is just for you, where you aren’t working or focusing on someone else. It’s okay to spend time focusing on yourself and just relaxing! It doesn’t make you a bad parent, friend, employee, or person.
This may take the longest to truly learn and realize, but once you do it is liberating! I hope that you’ve found something useful here. Which of these self care habits are you going to try next year? You May Also EnjoyThis post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for any purchases you make at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support! With the year coming to its end, I'm in a contemplative mood reflecting on the happenings of the past year. I feel like it's a perfect time to journal. I've been journalling my whole life (since 2nd grade). I don't do any of the cool bullet journalling, though I love to admire it. No, I'm more of a spill my guts on the page type of girl. But sometimes it can be hard for me to think of what to write. In fact, when I was 21, I had a goal to write in my journal everyday, which I accomplished but some of my entries literally said "I'm tired. Today was boring" and that's it! So I accomplished my goal but maybe without the best results. Recently, with quarantining and staying home it's seemed like days blend together and I'm not sure what I could write about each day that would be different. For this reason my journaling has, sadly, fallen behind. 24 Journal PromptsTo take my journalling to the next level I decided to create prompts that I can use over and over again but what I'm writing won't be the same every day. I took 4 different types of days we all have; great, bad, boring, and days when you're feeling nostalgic and I wrote 6 different prompts for each day. I put them on little cards I can keep in my journal and use as a jumping off point to help me get my writing started and have it be a bit more thoughtful and interesting. As I wrote the prompts I wanted to make sure they were geared to positivity but realistic in expectations of what could be written. For example, on the bad day prompts I have "Vent about your day" but I also ask "Who put a smile on your face today?" I am a big believer in looking for the good and for those who help us out. I also have prompts that may seem like they're only good for one use like "Describe the best meal you've ever had," but that could become "Describe the best dessert you've ever had," "Describe the best day you've ever had," etc. Make the prompts work best for you! To get the cards just click the button below to download them! Why Journal?I love journaling. It helps me clear my head and gain new perspectives. I also love that I can go back and read about my own life and it's easier for me to remember lessons I've learned. Sometimes reading what I wrote when I was younger makes me cringe, but it's all part of growing up and it's what has made me who I am today! A journal is most effective when you try to be as honest as possible. That's what I've tried to steer towards with these journal prompts and what makes me excited to use them. I like to think of my journal as a friend who only listens without judgement. This way I can gain more insight into my own life. Another thing that makes journaling effective is having journaling supplies you love. I found these vegan leather journals on Etsy that are amazing. I personally like using fine liner pens to write in my journal. But find the supplies that you like best. If you want more of my recommendations you can check out this post where I tell all my favorites. If journaling is a goal you have this coming new year, I know that these prompt cards would be great to keep with your journal and help on days you're just not quite sure what to write about. If you liked this post you may also likeThis post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support. Alicia and her family have been with us over the holidays! It has been wonderful! You would think that having the four of us bloggers together would be a great time for us to hammer out some blog business. Not so much, but one thing we did do was all sit down together and review our reader's favorite posts from last year. By doing this we feel like we can get a better handle on what you want to see on the blog, what you enjoy the most and what is most helpful to you! The results are a good mix of food, crafts and Hot Cocoa Bombs with a surprise #1 post that I will reveal at the end of this round-up. Wait for it..... Here are the top 12 posts in chronological order: January: DIY Winnie the Pooh Ears- It is so much less expensive to make these than buy them. Ours require a little sewing, but they look so much better for it and being able to personalize them will be great for our upcoming Disney Family reunion! They are pretty simple to make and we provide a video tutorial to help you. February: The Kitchen Scarf- My friend Anita gave me my first one of these and told me that I could blog about them if I wanted to. Of course I did! They make great gifts and these have been a big hit on PInterest! March: Wood Burned Garden Markers- These were so much fun to make with my new heat gun and word burner set! They came out pretty cute and would be a great gift to a gardener! April: DIY Magnetic Poster Frame- Alicia came up with this clever idea for this poster frame using paint sticks! There is a video tutorial to help you with this. Be sure to get the strong magnets that she suggests! (There will be enough to make a few of these as gifts!) May: Tomato Basil Tea Sandwiches- Anita came through for me again! This time she gave me some of the delicious San Marzano tomatoes from her garden. They were perfect for these little finger sandwiches that would be just right for a bridal shower or spring party! June: Bao- Alicia did a series of international dishes this past year that were very popular. This one about her adventures in making Bao was very popular! I have yet to try it, but reviewing this post has made me want to. July: Nut-free Fresh Pesto- I grew basil in my garden this year and I was able to make this delightful condiment with my over abundance of it. This is a tasty pesto that allows even those with nut allergies to enjoy it. August: Blueberry Hand Pies- My granddaughter Emily got into the act of helping to make these delicious little pies with her mommy, LIndsey. You can find many more of our pie recipes in our For The Love of Pie ebook on Etsy. September: Halloween Light Up Wreath- Oh My Goodness! This wreath came out so cute, even if I say so myself! All of the supplies were from Dollar Tree! People came up to us in person who had seen the blog and told us how much they loved it! Make it for next year! Your front door will thank you. October: Apple Salmon Bake- I rediscovered this recipe from early in my marriage when we lived where there was an abundance of fish. I shared it with you in this post. It is so delicious that I may want to make it this week because I am thinking about it! Many of you must be salmon lovers like I am, because this recipe was a big hit! November: Sister's Get Away to the Coast- My sisters and I took a trip to Cayucos, CA. We had so much fun and I shared it with you when I got home to Phoenix. Since it was so popular, I guess I will have to take more trips like this to share with you! I'm generous like that! Now my daughters and I think we should plan trips together like my sisters and I are doing. Pretty good idea, don't you think? December: 10 Days of Hot Cocoa Bombs (Copyrighted)- It does my heart good to see so many of you enjoying Cocoa Bombs, the reason we started blogging! They are still a staple around our house during the holidays. Now, if you are curious about which post was our most popular of all, I think you are going to be surprised! Drum roll...........
It was Sister's Get Away to the Coast! It surpassed all of the other articles on our blog by twice as many likes! Who knew? Well, it was a pretty awesome time! If you have anything that you would like to see us address on the blog, please leave a comment below! If you remember any special posts that we have shared, please let us know that as well! We are looking forward to a lot of growth in the coming year and new things to share with you. Thank you for all of your support so far! |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
March 2024
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