This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchased made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support! Halloween is over and the stores are filling up with Christmas decorations! I love Christmas and I do believe in planning ahead, but I sure wish that Thanksgiving also had a bit more attention given to it than just the 2 aisles of stuffed turkeys and sunflowers! Sometimes you just have to come up with your own ideas about how to celebrate a lesser commercialized holiday!
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Did you know International Pancake Day is next Tuesday (February 16, 2021)? In my research, I found that this is because pancakes are traditional to make on Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras (they're all the same) because they use up the rich and fat ingredients you may have around your home before lent starts. I thought that was a cool way to not waste your food.
We aren't part of the religion that participates in Lent, but we do love pancakes and are happy to celebrate International Pancake Day! So I have rounded up 13 recipes that are different from your typical pancakes and will make you want to keep stacking them up! 13 Unique Pancake Recipes
I hope you'll be breaking out your electric skillets next week to celebrate International Pancake Day with us and try some of these recipes. I guarantee you will not regret it.
What are some of your favorite kinds of pancakes? Any you would like to see us attempt? Let us know in the comments below!
This article contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we will be compensated at no additional cost to you! Thanks for using our links! If you love pizza but are getting tired of the same pepperoni cheese situation, you're in the right place. Tomorrow is World Pizza Day and I am a major pizza lover. We eat some kind of pizza once a week for our "Pizza Movie Night" tradition, I'm pretty excited about the holiday. So today I'm going to share 3 easy ways I've discovered that will improve your pizza night. 1. Pizza Crust or BustDoes anyone else remember pizza day in their school cafeteria? Despite it being pizza, it wasn't the best day. The reason being the crust just wasn't good. It was basically a soggy cracker with pizza toppings. If your foundation isn't good, the pizza won't be either. My mom has shared before her quick pizza dough recipe in her Pizza Pot Pie post. I like that recipe because it's faster if I forgot to start the dough early. It also has a delicious flavor. The one thing I change from my mom's recipe is I never use a rolling pin on my pizza dough. I just stretch it out with my hands. If it resists stretching just let it rest a little and try again. This allows the air bubbles from the yeast to stay in tact and create those delicious bubbles we all enjoy in our pizza dough. If I'm really on my game I will start my crust DAYS ahead of time. This allows your crust to develop that chewy texture and tangy flavor. Letting the dough rise for days in the fridge allows the yeast to really work at fermenting the dough. (Keep in mind if you have a sourdough starter in your fridge it would be excellent to use for pizza dough). I have tried many recipes for this type of dough, the one I like best is this one from Serious Eats. Though I've never been able to get a hold of 00 flour, I use bread flour and it works out well. I love the simplicity of this dough, and it makes a delicious dough. If I am really off my game, or just feeling lazy, we buy a Red Baron 4 Cheese pizza and just top it with our own favorite toppings. This could work with any of your favorite store bought cheese pizza. *Honorable mention to Pillsbury Pizza Dough because it is great for a store bought dough. It has a good flavor though it is a little dense. If you're gluten free, Lindsey has shared two delicious gluten free pizza crust options before. A cauliflower crust and another that she made in her air fryer. 2. Get Creative with Pizza ToppingsHave you ever been asked if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be? I'm here to tell you the answer is pizza. Pizza can be topped with basically anything. Here is a list of some of our favorite topping combinations:
And my last bit of advice about toppings is to have fun with it. If it would be good with bread (and what wouldn't?) it will be good baked on a pizza! 3. In the zone with a pizza stoneA brick pizza oven would be ideal or even a small pizza oven, but that's not always practical. But a pizza stone is the next best thing! We love ours. Preheat your stone in the oven starting with a cold oven, otherwise it could crack. Be careful when you take the stone out because it's going to be super hot. And don't set it on a cold counter because it could crack from the shock. I have a metal stand that keeps it up in the air and goes into the oven with the pizza stone. Once the stone is preheated, I put my stretched out dough on the stone and quickly put the toppings on. I pop it back in the oven for about 10-20 minutes and just keep an eye on it. Once the dough is golden and the cheese is melted, I know it's done. The beauty of a pizza stone is it cooks the bottom of your dough and makes it nice and crispy, but keeps the inside chewy. I hope these tips help you ramp up your pizza night and cure your pizza blues! Do you have any favorite pizza toppings? What are they? Let us know in the comments below! More Posts you might like
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With 2020 being what it is, I have been secretly thinking about Halloween for months. What will happen to the usual festivities of trick-or-treating, parties, haunted houses!? Many of these aren't conducive to social distancing guidelines (though I have heard many communities are putting out suggestions for safe trick-or-treating). And if you are trying to not engage in social activities because you're high risk or are in contact with someone who is high risk how will you keep the magic of Halloween a thing for your family?
If you have young kids It's likely they won't realize Halloween isn't the same, but your older kids and teenagers may be a little sad to miss out on the festivities. That's why I have put together this post of fun ways to celebrate Halloween at home in quarantine: Quaranween! Celebrating Halloween at Home in 2020
Three years ago I wrote a post about what you need for a perfect Halloween party. I think this would be a great place to start. Throw your own family Halloween party. On that post I give suggestions for treats, decor, costumes, and music for your party.
Halloween Food
Today I would add this fun spider candy dish as part of your decor, so easy to do but makes a spooky statement.
You could also include more than sweets at your family party and make the whole night a fun and spooky evening starting with dinner. Here's a list of yummy appetizers with a Halloween theme. And for dinner what could be more festive than a pumpkin themed dinner?! Lucky for you, Lindsey is the Pumpkin Queen and has made NUMEROUS pumpkin recipes for all tastebuds (pasta, chili, baked chicken, etc etc). You're sure to find one your family will love. Halloween Activities
What if I told you you don't have to give up trick-or-treating? Even when you're staying home. All you need is some decorations (the Dollar Tree is a great place for decor), costumes, candy, and however many doors you have in your house!
Both of my sisters have birthdays close to Halloween, and Madalynn especially loves the holiday. When she was younger, some of her birthday parties were Halloween themed. We would take the kids trick-or-treating around our house. The older kids and adults would be in costume behind the doors in our home and the kids would come knocking. It was fun for everyone. And I think your family could have fun with it too! Older kids could help decorate and create characters to greet the younger kids. If you don't have enough adults or teens to greet the trick or treaters at all the doors, try just decorating behind the door with a bowl of candy there to greet them. Wouldn't it be fun to have one of those bowls that reacts when you grab for the candy? Another riff on this would be to have your house turned into a haunted house. You can divide into teams and each take a room or space and try to make it spooky for people to walk through. If neither of those things seem appealing, try these ideas:
Quaranween
As you can see, my little family had fun with Quaranween this year and I hope you can use some of these ideas to have a fun Quaranween this year. And who knows maybe you will come up with some new traditions for your family to do every year!
How will you be celebrating this year? |
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
April 2024
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