Christmas Pretzels

The week before Christmas had been trying. Long. Exhausting. Daddy was gone, and Elli and I met some unexpected hiccups along with way. So you can imagine the rejoicing in my heart when on Saturday we had nothing much to do but just a bit of laundry, and I could hang out with my lovies (that would be Elli and Daddy), signing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," wrapping gifts and watching "A Christmas Story" -- how can you not like that classic? Fra-jee-lay! Daddy even kicked off the day with an advance present: tickets to the upcoming Chris Tomlin concert. Merry Christmas to Mommy!!

Yes, the batteries were recharged. Elli and I also had plenty of time to prepare for her class Christmas party. Instead of a gift exchange, the teacher invited parents to bring in treats for the kids. That was always my favorite part of school Christmas parties as a kid, but these days it's kind of a fine line. Between food allergies, health particularities and kid-friendly options, what to choose becomes harder and harder. But I had the perfect idea.

I had made these treats for a kids Christmas party many years ago, and they were a huge hit, both with parents and kids. The idea came from Kraft Food and Family magazine and the pictures were of two little girls having a grand time.

Christmas Pretzels


Pretzel rods
1 cup of Baker's chocolate chunks, melted (I opt for the microwavable bowls)
4 cups fruit-flavored rice cereal


Melt chocolate. Pour 2 cups of cereal on a large dinner plate, reserving the remaining 2 cups until needed. Cover each pretzel rod halfway with chocolate; immediately roll in cereal. Place on a wax-paper covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until chocolate is hardened.

Melted chocolate. Small bits of cereal. "Fra-jee-lay" pretzel rods. Oh, yes, this rang with the promise of one grand mess. But that was okay. What's Christmas without a grand mess on the kitchen counter? Between these Christmas Pretzels and now-traditional French Toast Casserole from Gooseberry Patch for Christmas Eve, my kitchen was bound to be a giant pool of sticky sweetness. 

Before we started on the pretzels, I walked Elli through each step so she knew what to expect.

"We can make some for your Christmas party at school," I said. "We'll make one for all your friends."

"I am going to make one for my friend Finnegan," she replied. You may recognize that name. If it sounds familiar it might be from the story I've told you before. When we were working with Elli on her full name, we would prompt her, "What is your name?" She would respond "Elli no hit Finnegan, not nice." They have since learned to like each other.

"What about Karson? And Izzy?" I asked, naming off the other kids in her class.

"Yes, I am going to make some for them."

"All right. Well, we better get started."

I opened the bag of pretzels, which Elli immediately began to eye, plotting her move. I then poured the cereal out onto the plate and popped the chocolate, in it's convenient little bowl, in the microwave until it was melted.

"Look, Mommy," Elli said, holding a pretzel rod in the cereal. "You dip this in the cereal."

She was halfway correct. "Yes, you do, sweetheart. But first we have to put chocolate on it."

"Choc-o-let?"

"Yes, chocolate."

"Oh-kaaay." She almost sounded resigned, but once I showed her how to dip the pretzel in the chocolate, any hint of resignation disappeared like chocolate milke in a preschooler's cup.

The only thing about the Baker's microwavable cups is they are a little too short to dip a pretzel in halfway. So, I instructed Elli in the art of using a spoon to scoop the chocolate up and around the pretzel rod.

"All right, Elli. Now the fun part. Roll the pretzel in the cereal. Quick, quick."

"Nice job!" I took the pretzel and layed it on a wax paper-covered cookie sheet. "Let's do another one. Who is this one for?"

Elli grabbed the pretzel from my hand and said, "Luis!"

"Okay, let's make this one nice for Luis."

We repeated the process 12 times, once for each kid, for the teaching staff and a few extra just in case. We laid each rod on the cookie sheet to be put in the fridge overnight and then wrapped up in Christmas-themed snack bags. Then, while Elli licked the chocolate off the spoon...

...I made a little treat for her teacher and school director: chocolate-dipped plastic spoons accented with cinnamon, toffee and mint chips to be gifted with individual packets of hot chocolate. Mmmm. Maybe I should have made some for myself, now that I think about it.

It was a quick and easy adventure in the kitchen, and one I'm guessing the kids in her class enjoyed (at least, no pretzels were sent home with me). Nonetheless, I didn't feel like have any more cooking time that day, so I told Daddy that "baby wants Chinese food" for supper. Perhaps the craving really did come from baby sister, or perhaps I was inspired by the ending of "A Christmas Story." Either way, we had a little Chinese pre-Christmas and enjoyed each other's company -- a well-deserved treat after a very hectic week apart.

Hope you all had a Christmas full of merriment and fellowship with family and friends! Leave me a note, if you so choose, to tell me about the traditional dishes or activities your family enjoyes at holiday time.

Overall Christmas Pretzels Ratings (5 being the best):
Elli-friendly cooking: 5
Elli-friendly eating: 5
Simple: 5
Fast: 5
Frugal: 4

Family Sandwich Night

Maybe it's the approaching holidays. Maybe it's the coming addition (less than 10 weeks to go!). Or maybe it's the fact Daddy will soon be leaving for a very, very far away country for a week and I will miss him terribly (we've never been so far apart for so long); my heart is aching already. Maybe it's a combination of it all. Whatever the reason, I find myself absolutely loving and wanting more moments with my family. And it seems to be those moments with very little fanfare. Those are the best kind, aren't they?

This weekend, Elli and I made cookies for the first time in a long time. Then, we drove around our town looking at Christmas lights, searching in vain for a blowup lawn ornament of a Santa piloting a helicopter we had seen last year. But along the way we instead found lots of pleasant sights and a new version of "Angels We Have Heard on High" by Chris Tomlin (whose tour, by the way, is coming to our town soon -- in case anyone is on the hunt for a Christmas present for me...wink, wink). It was wonderful. I wish it would have lasted longer.

Sometimes the most memorably adventures, though, are the ones you can't plan for, the ones that land fortuitously in your lap. That's what happened to us earlier this week, and it all started with a package of turkey.

I had a whole plan of what we would have for supper, but then by coincidence I saw the "best by" date on a package of turkey I had just purchased. It was two days past it prime, but no means expired. We could have gotten upset, taken the package back to the store and demanded a refund, or we could have just made the best of it. And that's exactly what we did. Our solution: grilled turkey sandwiches served with a nice cup of hot chocolate, apple slices and chips.

Grilled Turkey Sandwiches

slices of wheat bread
butter
3 slices of turkey per sandwich
2 slices of turkey bacon, cooked
mayo
2 slices of American cheese per sandwich

Spread a little mayo on two slices of bread. Top each bread slice with a slice of cheese. Top one side with turkey and the other with the bacon. Assemble sandwich and spread the outside of each slice of bread with butter. Place sandwiches on hot electric skillet, browning evenly on both sides until cheese is melted.

I was the designated hot chocolate maker, and Daddy and Elli started in on the sandwiches. She wielded the butter knife (with a little help from Daddy) like a seasoned cook, spreading the mayo generally evenly across the bread.

And don't dare keep her from cheese (something we learned when she was a wee 18-month-old).

"Okay, now break this piece of bacon in two," Daddy told her, handing her a slice of bacon.

Well, it did break in two, just not the two fairly even-sized halves that Daddy had intended. Going with the flow, as he normally does, he simply replied, "That's all right. Just break it into little bits and put it on the turkey."

That Elli could do easily.

When they assembled the first sandwich, Elli clapped her hands, cheered and matter-of-factly announced, "I don't want to help anymore," and got down from her steps to go find her toys. Not even the promise of an advance of cheese would keep her in the kitchen. So be it.

Fickleness or a short attention span -- or both -- brought her back a few moments later, just in time to help me stir the hot chocolate, which had just started to heat up. She took control of the whisk for a few turns.

She did great, even picking up instantly on how to tap the whisk against the side of the pan if the marshmallows I had put in got stuck in the "cage."

Before long, the whole meal was ready.

"Very well done, Elli!" we told her. "Thanks for you help."

The sandwiches were great, the hot chocolate so-so (I can never make it as good as I remember my mom's), but it was really the memories and the company I was after. Warm food, cozy house, Christmas light all around, and two smiling faces I adore. No chef in the world can create that.

What is your favorite memory with your family that was a fortuitous accident?

Overall Grilled Turkey Sandwich Ratings (5 being the best):
Elli-friendly cooking: 5
Elli-friendly eating: 5
Simple: 5
Fast: 5
Frugal: 5