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Celebrate a New Year with a Vacation

December 24, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
2010ballpink

2010ballpinkAre you tired of staying home for New Year’s Eve? Have you thought about a family vacation? If you are looking for something different and still want to spend time with the family there are many options. Here are some popular New Year’s destinations for you and the kids.

Why New Year’s? Have you watched the fireworks on television from around the world? Being in one of those places would be exciting for the whole family. Start planning now to be somewhere beautiful and bright when the next year rolls around.

New York City – Thousands of people pack into Times Square to watch the historic ball drop in the Big Apple. Go early and take in a Broadway show while you are in the city.

Disney World – If you live on the east coast, this will be the Disney resort closest to you. Mickey and his friends are always ready for a party at the end of the year. The Disney Empire hosts a variety of activities including fireworks displays and parades at their various locations: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

SeaWorld – This Florida animal theme park likes to have their fun at the end of the year. Get to see your favorite animals perform shows for the holiday event. Enjoy good music, food and other entertainment while you hopefully stay warmer than most.

Disneyland – This is the west coast Disney destination. They like to party there as well. Make a vacation of it and visit the California theme park. On New Year’s Eve be prepared to see fireworks, holiday attractions, bands playing and other beautiful sights. Plan ahead so that everything is set for a hot time in the old town!

Hershey, Pennsylvania – How much do you like chocolate? If you like it a lot, head to Hershey, the magic land of chocolate for a New Year’s Eve celebration. Kids will enjoy music, games and food. At midnight, instead of a ball dropping, see a giant Hershey’s kiss.

Dixie Stampede – This attraction was started by Dolly Parton. You can find the Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Branson, Missouri. If you are looking for a stomping good time, you’ll enjoy a show featuring horses, stunt riders and a live camel nativity scene.

Find a destination that satisfies the entire family and head on out for a little different type of celebration. Relax, enjoy and watch the New Year enter with a bang!

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Easy Ice Cream Strudels

December 16, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
icecreamstrudel

icecreamstrudelWhat You Need:

8 frozen brown sugar cinnamon toaster strudels
2 C of apple pie filling
4 C of vanilla ice cream

How to Make It:

Prepare the toaster strudels as directed on the package.
Empty the pie filling into a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave on high 1 minute or until hot, stirring once.
Spoon the apple pie filling over the top of the toasted strudels.
Top each strudel with a scoop of ice cream.

Makes 8 servings

Decorate these strudels with the icing included with the strudels. They can also be topped with a little ice cream topping, candy sprinkles or crushed cookie pieces.

Preparation Time: approximately 15 minutes
Total Time: approximately 15 minutes

Nutritional Information per strudel: (approximate values)
Calories 410; fat 15 g; sodium 240 mg; carbohydrates 66 g; sugars 41 g; protein 5 g

Filed Under: Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Ice Cream, Kid Friendly, Party Foods, Recipe Cards Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Perfect Pepperoni Pizza Poppers

December 15, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
nibblers

nibblersWhat You Need:

2 (5 oz.) pkg. sliced pepperoni
1 (4 oz.) pkg. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 (8 oz.) cans refrigerated crescent rolls

How to Make It:

Allow the oven to preheat to 375 degrees.
Place 48 pieces of pepperoni to the side.
Remove the crescent rolls, unroll and separate into 8 sections.
Lay 3 pieces of pepperoni onto each triangle.
Spread cheese over the top of each popper.
Roll the dough beginning at the short end rolling to the opposite point.
Press the dough together lightly with your fingertips to seal.
Lay the poppers on an ungreased cookie sheet with the point down.
Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Makes 16 poppers

Serve these poppers with a little pizza sauce as a dip. These poppers can be filled with a few extras such as mushrooms, onions, green peppers or even chopped olives. Mix them up by filling half with pepperoni and half with cooked sausage.

Preparation Time: approximately 25 minutes
Baking Time: approximately 12 minutes
Total Time: approximately 37 minutes

Nutritional Information per popper: (approximate values)
Calories 240; fat 15 g; sodium 895 mg; carbohydrates 20 g; sugar 7 g;
protein 8 g

Filed Under: Appetizers, Kid Friendly, Party Foods, Recipe Cards Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Create a New Years Eve Dinner with the Kids

December 15, 2009 By The Recipe Mom 1 Comment
celebrate

celebrateNew Years Eve is a time to celebrate. If you plan to spend at least part of it at home with your family preparing dinner together is a good place to start. Here are some ideas for cooking up some tasty treats for that New Years Eve dinner.

Deciding on the Menu

Some people choose to have a special dinner on New Year’s Eve. The menu for this special meal should be decided with a little input from everyone. One idea is allowing everyone to come up with their most favorite dish and include it in the menu. You could end up with pizza and teriyaki chicken. It might be a menu of nothing but sweets.

The important thing here is that you do it together. Your kids have a lot of good ideas that you may have been missing out on. This could be the start of a great new family tradition.

All the Prep Work

Going to the grocery store will probably be a must. Make a list of what everyone needs for their dish. Check your cabinets to be sure you don’t already have something. That will save you money.

Just one or two family members need to shop. The others can be preparing the kitchen for the upcoming cooking fest. It’s divide and conquer here so that everything gets done.

Decide what equipment and utensils you have available. There may be a lot of dish washing going on if everyone needs to use a giant mixing bowl. You can purchase another or stagger your meal prep so that you can share.

Do as much ahead of time prep work as you can. For instance, pork chops can be marinated early and placed in the refrigerator. Pizza dough can be created and rolled out well in advance of making the pizza.

Creating the Chef

Everyone will need an apron and you can go for the full effect by supplying the family with hats. Give each family member their own apron before they get cooking. Personalize them with their names. Aprons will keep your clothes from getting messed up and you get to look stylish at the same time.

Rules of the Kitchen

Don’t forget to explain the rules of the kitchen especially if this is the first time your cherished family is in the kitchen.

1. Wash your hands well with soap and water after handling meat
2. Use soap and water on the counter to clean when you are done at a work station
3. Kids, ask parents for help when it comes to using the stove
4. Any other rules that make the work flow along easily and will keep you all safe.

Cooking with the family can be fun and create memories. On New Year’s Eve it is a spectacular way to ring out the old and ring in the new.

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Creating a Family-Oriented New Year’s Eve Party

December 12, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
2010confettiball

2010confettiballIt’s New Years Eve and everyone is ready to celebrate. If you have kids, you probably hire a sitter so that you can attend a party. This year, help yourself and your friends with a family party where everyone can have fun including the kids. After all, ringing in the New Year with your entire family can be just as, if not more, fun than without them.

Planning is at the top of the list when it comes to a party. This party will be family-oriented so that adults and kids can both have a good time. That probably means no alcohol except the celebratory glass of champagne at midnight. Having fun doesn’t mean that alcoholic drinks have to be involved, not at your big bash anyway. For kids, try some sparkling cider or grape juice so they can join in the toast at midnight as well.

The Invitations

These need to go out as early as possible so that everyone can plan. Even before Christmas, folks are talking about how they will celebrate the New Year. One of the best things about a family-oriented party is that no one has to find a babysitter or stay at home.

With that in mind, invite your close friends and their families. Remember this could mean a large crowd. Plan ahead so your home can hold a large number of people. Make sure your invitations are from the entire family.

Setting Up

Arrange your party so that the adults and the children each have their own space. Two rooms should be fine but remember children don’t really care much how it looks. They just like to know they have their own area to enjoy their night in.

You can set them up in the garage, the den or the family room. Any activities that you have planned for them will take place here. Include sleeping bags and pillows in case someone crashes before the ball-dropping hour.

The centrally located space can be for the adults. You can set up for party games, socializing and the food area here.

The Decorations

How you decorate will depend on you and your guests. The kid’s area will make more of an impact with a great decorating design going on. For the adults, decorating with party favors gives you something to share with everyone when it’s time to go.

Having a party with adults and children together can be a lot of fun and you can prove that this year by hosting a family-oriented party of your own. Give the babysitters a night off for once so they can enjoy a family-oriented party too.

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Mixed Dried Fruit Dip

December 11, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
chipdip

chipdipWhat You Need:

1/2 C of pineapple cream cheese, softened
2 (8 oz.) containers of lemon yogurt
1/2 C of dried mixed fruit

How to Make It:

Place the cream cheese and yogurt into a mixing bowl.
Use an electric mixer on low speed and mix until combined and smooth.
Fold the dried fruit into the mixture until blended in well.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Makes 8 servings

This is a great dip to serve to children. Add sliced fruit such as oranges, pears or apples or place grapes on party toothpicks for a fun addition to the dip.

Preparation Time: approximately 10 minutes
Chilling Time: approximately 1 hour
Total Time: approximately 1 hour 10 minutes

Nutritional Value per 1/3 C serving: (approximate values)
Calories 190; fat 6 g; sodium 80 mg; carbohydrates 33 g; sugar 28 g; protein 4 g

Filed Under: Appetizers, Dips and Salsa, Kid Friendly, Party Foods, Recipe Cards Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy New Year Dip Dunkers

December 10, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
happynewyear

happynewyearWhat You Need:

1 (11 oz.) can refrigerated breadsticks

How to Make It:

Preset the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Take the dough from the can and unroll on a flat surface.
Form 12 strips with the dough by separating each at the perforations.
Shape the strips to form the letters to spell Happy New Year.
Lay the letters in order onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake the dough for 15 minutes or until the letters are a golden brown.
Cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 letters

Serve these cute little letter dunkers with a fruit dip on the side. Better yet brush them with butter and sprinkle them with a little Parmesan cheese or cinnamon. Serve the Parmesan cheese dunkers with pizza sauce for dipping.

Preparation Time: approximately 25 minutes
Baking Time: approximately 15 minutes
Total Time: approximately 40 minutes

Nutritional Value per 2 letters: (approximately value)
Calories 170; fat 4 g; sodium 550 mg; carbohydrates 28 g; sugar 4 g;
protein 5 g

Filed Under: Appetizers, Kid Friendly, Party Foods, Recipe Cards Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,