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     A few years ago, my Sisters-in-law and others in our family decided to have a family craft day in December.  We had crafts for kids and crafts for adults and food, and it was a lot of fun.  We decided that we should do it every year, but unfortunately, it hasn't happened. December is just so busy and full of activities for everyone that we could never make that fun day happen again.  
     This year, Alicia mentioned to me that we should do a Christmas in July and wouldn't it be great to do it when she was in town with her kids so that she could see her aunts and cousins as well!  So, we began planning our Christmas in July with crafts, food and swimming! You may remember that I shared the invitation I came up with on this post. (The invitation for Christmas in July is available on our subscribers only page that you will have access to if you opt into follow us!) Lindsey said that we could have the party at her house where we could all swim, as well as eat and do crafts.  We came up with some simple crafts for kids and adults, we also made some super cute decorations and we made the food potluck and asked for a holiday twist if possible.  It was mostly fun just being able to get together and enjoy each other's company without feeling rushed. Here are some of the simple things that we did:

Food

Some of the things we had to eat were pasta salad, pizza and fresh fruits and veggies. Look how we made some of them fit the Christmas theme.

​Watermelon Stars and Santa Hat Strawberries!  The Strawberries were filled with coconut cream whipped cream so that they were vegan for Maddy to enjoy with us all. 

​A Christmas tree made out of fresh veggies.  We served them with hummus, pretzels and ranch dip.  

    We also had Root Beer Floats and Christmas Cookies that Lindsey made for the kids to decorate! 

Decorations

We kept the decorations simple, but gave some cute ideas that people could recreate later.  We even printed up instructions on how they could make some of the items on their own. (We have them available for you as well)!  We also covered the craft tables with Christmas wrap for a festive flair, plus...

Crafts

We knew that on a hot summer day in Phoenix, swimming was going to be a popular activity at our party, so we wanted to keep our crafts simple and something that could be completed quickly in order to give everyone time to swim! Of course, the garland and the stars could have totally been part of the crafts, but we just gave everyone the directions instead.  Here are the things we came up with to actually make at the party! 

We used stencils and fabric markers to make designs on flour sack towels.  We purchased our markers at Walmart, but those linked on Amazon are less expensive. Here is a another brand. This was a great craft for children through adults!  A sweet kitchen towel from a child would be a gift any mother would love and be able to use! We all enjoyed honing our pointillism techniques creating these towels.  Plus, the flour sack towels were inexpensive to provide.  

Chalkboard ornaments or magnets.  The chalk marker really added pizzazz to these. If you are uncomfortable coming up with your own designs, there are a couple of websites where you can download and print some designs to decoupage:
The Cottage Market and LDS Lane had designs I loved.

We provided basic sugar and salt scrub bases that people were allowed to add extra ingredients to themselves.  Plus, we had supplies available to decorate their jars! The recipes are available in our booklet.

Subscribe for the FREE booklet! 

The directions for all of these ideas are available for free on our subscribers only page! It is also going to be available in our Etsy shop, but you can download it for free today!

​​You don't have to plan your early Christmas party for July, there are a few months left to get one planned and done before the holiday rush begins! Or, begin planning your Christmas in July for next year now and make it a big blow-out!  This was our first one and we kept it relatively simple, which was perfect for our family this year.  But, I already have some fun ideas for next year that I can't wait to try out! 
Now, this is a great opportunity to show you how some of my grandchildren enjoyed the party! Please don't mind my post swimming look! 

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     Last week, when I didn't post Friday Faves, my plan had been to celebrate Bastille Day which is always on the 14th of July.  I guess it is just as well that I ran out of time because it was hard to limit our love of French culture and products to just a few things.  After all, we all studied French, my husband served a french speaking mission in Tahiti, Lindsey served one in France, plus did a semester of law school there, My son Jacob is currently serving a french speaking mission in the Ivory Coast!  That is a lot of french influence in our lives!  The language is beautiful, the country has so much rich history, the cuisine is amazing, France has been the center of fashion for ages, there is just so much to enjoy.  
     So, Instead of trying to get everyone to focus on a favorite, I decided that this week I would share a french dish that I learned from Panna Cooking for a delicious Brown Butter Tart to give a nod to a favorite place of ours, France.  

      This tart recipe is currently being offered for free on Panna. If you love watching cooking shows like I do, you know that it can be frustrating to try to reproduce the recipes you see on TV and get a good result.  The videos on Panna and step by step written instructions make it so easy to follow and make their recipes yourself. Blueberries have been priced fairly reasonably lately, so when I saw this Browned Butter Tart with Berries, I knew I had to give this recipe a try. You can click on the link and give it a try as well.   The chef that teaches this class is Nancy Silverton. I am referring you to her class for this recipe, but I will share some of the tips she gave and some adaptations that I made for my purposes.  
     At first I thought that this recipe was going to be too much for me to do as I babysat my granddaughter, but as it turned out, each step was fairly quick to do and then it would have to chill awhile.  When the baby went down for her nap, I could do the next step or I would put her in her high chair to watch me for a bit.  It was a breeze!  Then, one of the best things about this recipe is that it makes enough crust and custard for 2 tarts and the extra dough and custard keeps in the fridge for a good amount of time.  In the middle of the week, I made the blueberry tart, and then on the weekend, I made a peach tart!  The peach one was super fast to do since the dough and custard were already made.  

My Take-Aways From Nancy Silverton:

• When working this dough for the crust, be very careful to not overwork it! Try to keep it cool by using your fingertips and not the palms of your hands.
• After the dough is refrigerated, begin by pounding it out with your rolling pin rather than rolling it.  (You have to watch her do it! It is so cool!  Also, when you do it yourself, it is very therapeutic).
• Use a simple syrup to make the blueberries shine! 
• When browning butter, use your ears and your nose to tell when it is ready.
• Sprinkle powdered sugar like you mean it, but also let some of the fruit show.

A Couple of Adaptations:

• I pretty much followed Nancy's recipe spot on, but one thing that she used that I don't have is a Flan Ring to form her tart. I had never heard of one, but here is the link to one.  

• I used a spring form pan instead.  I just fit the crust only halfway up the side of the pan and trimmed it to make it somewhat even.  It worked pretty well. Here is a pan like the one I have.

• When I made the peach tart, I sliced the peaches and laid them decoratively on the custard.  Then, after the tart was baked, I used chopped peaches on top.  I didn't coat them with simple syrup because they were already shiny.  Click the pictures below for descriptions. 

     If you try this recipe, let me know how yours turns out!  

​

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Alicia back with another American recipe! This year my family is picking a country from our ancestry and trying to make foods from that country once a week. Then I share the recipes here. This month we're doing American.

When asking my friends they're favorite American foods my husband replied that he thinks "barbecue is the most American flavor." Then a whole bunch of people agreed with him. There's so many different, and delicious, styles of barbecue across the United States, it's impossible (for me) to choose my favorite. Slow cooking the meat makes it fall off the bone tender without drying it out. Unfortunately, we don't have a barbecue that can slow cook our meat, so we have to use our crockpot. But it still results in a very delicious and tasty rack of ribs.

Today's meal is ribs, baked beans, cornbread, and potato salad. A meal suggested to me by my friend Shirley, who lived in Texas for awhile, so I trust her barbecue opinions. I made everything from scratch and it wasn't that intense or difficult despite being a full plate. The sides were delicious and a perfect compliment, especially the potato salad, a recipe which I'll share with you today as well. 

These ribs...THESE RIBS! They're so good! Oft requested by friends for gatherings, these ribs do not last long. Leftovers are unheard of. They're so delicious.

The rub for the ribs can be made in advance and kept in a container, ready for every time you want to make some delicious ribs. We always have some made up and sitting in our spice cabinet.

Ideally we would smoke them or cook them on indirect heat on the grill, but since we don't have that option right now, we just do it in the CrockPot. ​(I love my crockpot!) And lining the crockpot with parchment paper makes clean-up a breeze!

​Make these, you will not regret it.

Best Ever Ribs

When I knew we were going to make potato salad, I called my mom. She has always made the best potato salad and I was amazed she hadn't posted it yet. So here it is in all it's glory. The great thing about it is you can customize it to your tastes. I used red and golden potatoes because that's what I had on hand, but russet potatoes work just as well. Sweet or dill pickles, either one is great. I used a dressing that was slightly creamy instead of the regular Italian dressing. I was still so good! Play around according to your tastes and it's always sure to be amazing. I honestly love this stuff. 

​Although, if you don't like pickles, this may not be the potato salad for you. Otherwise, you can't go wrong.

Best Ever Potato Salad

I didn't want to overwhelm you with recipes so I'll post the baked beans and cornbread another day. Until then, dazzle your family and friends with these recipes. 

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Hey guys! Alicia here with more recipes from my ancestry. This month I decided to do American food, as in The United States of America. My ancestors have been here for a long time from many other countries throughout Europe. It's been difficult to find purely American foods, because the great thing about this country is it's a melting pot of people and cultures. And in fact today we have a meal that is an blend of foods from other countries, that when together makes a quintessential American meal.

Hamburgers, were minced Hamburg beef steaks made in Hamburg, Germany. They were usually very expensive. When Germans came to the USA, they made a version of the Hamburg steak here. These steaks were passed out to factory workers during the Industrial revolution, but proved difficult to eat standing up. This was until one chef put the patty between to slices of bread. This popularized the hamburger across the country. And I'm so glad!

I love hamburgers. To make mine, I usually just make a patty with ground beef (80/20 or higher). Sometimes I mix in spices like pepper, garlic, thyme, or onion powder. Then as I put them on the charcoal grill, I salt them. When they're cooked through, and just about done, I add a slice of cheese. Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Swiss...to me all cheese has a place on a burger, it just depends on what else you're topping it with. For our burgers this time we used cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and onion. All on a lightly grilled sesame seed bun. It was so delicious. I don't have a recipe for you because hamburgers are the perfect food to experiment with. There are so many delicious combinations. The bacon cheeseburger like we made is an American classic, But I also love Swiss cheese and sautéed onions.  

To go with hamburgers, the classic way here in the USA is with French Fries. While named French fries, they're actually from Belgium! During World War I, American soldiers in Belgium tried these delicious fried potatoes (that date back to the 1600's in Belgium). Because of the language spoken in that part of the country, the soldiers called them French Fries and the name has stuck (except for that very brief moment in time where we changed it to Freedom Fries in one of the most hilarious forms of animosity between countries). Fries are eaten all over the world now and in different ways. In Canada they use them to make Poutine. In the UK they're called chips and eaten with fried fish. No matter how you eat them, they are delicious.

To make my fries I peel russet potatoes, and then slice them into long thin rectangular prisms (not exactly since the potatoes are round). Then I soak them in water or blanch them. I feel like this helps them to get plump up and be crispy when they are done frying (instead of soggy). I fry them in my 10 inch frying pan with about an inch of oil. As soon as they come out of the oil I put them on a plate with a paper towel and salt them. You can also bake them, just coat them in oil and salt first. 

To finish off the meal, is a milkshake! From my research it seems milkshakes are an American invention. Now we don't always have milkshakes with fries and burgers or even for dinner. Usually it's an after dinner treat! But we made an exception for this meal. Milkshakes are easy to make. Get your favorite ice cream, put it in a blender, add some milk and blend it up. It's so so simple and so delicious! You can make it as liquid as you want. We like to be able to drink ours through a straw but many people eat theirs with a spoon. Sorry I don't have a good picture of our milkshake. We drank it too fast.