Spanish Flan

Last Thursday I attended a Relief Society Activity (Relief Society is a group of women in my church. Any woman 18 or older is a part of Relief Society.  We have Sunday lessons together, activites once a month, and do acts of service together.) where I was asked to share some Christmas traditions from Venezuela.  I will share some of those traditions on a later post.  I brought a homemade Spanish flan to share and it was a complete hit.  So I'm sharing it here with you!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color.  Note: If you have never melted sugar it does take some time.  It first will look like hard and rocky before it starts to melt and turn into the caramel.  Just keep stirring occasionally.  Takes about 20 min.
3. Carefully pour hot syrup into a 9 inch round glass baking dish, turning the dish to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Set aside. (Tip:  Have the hot water bath ready with the 9 inch pan in it.  This will help to keep the baking pan warm so the caramel doesn't set up too quickly.)
4. In a blender add the eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla and blend until smooth.  You can also beat these ingredients in a large bowl if you do not have a blender.   
5. Pour egg mixture into the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
6. Bake in a hot water bath in the preheated oven 60 minutes. Let cool completely. (Hot Water Bath:  Take a large baking dish, one where the 9 inch pan will fit inside of it.  Line with a wash cloth or hand towel.  Pour in very hot water so it comes up half way up the 9 inch pan.  Place everything in oven to bake.)
7. To serve, carefully invert on serving plate with edges when completely cool.  (After it has cooled completely on the counter for an hour or so, I like to put it into the fridge for several hours.)

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

Bake Gingerbread Cookies

Today has been a busy day with holiday activities. Not only did we bake yummy gingerbread cookies to be used for tomorrow's advent activity, but we also decorated the tree. (I'll post my holiday decorations later.)

Baking gingerbread cookies was a first for me and I'm surprised at how delicious they turned out. I've snatched several while they were cooling! I think I might make this a tradition and bake these every year!

Gingerbread Man Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• Optional raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting

METHOD

1 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. (I did mine a little thicker. I measured them at 1/4 inch thick.) Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".

4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

For Day 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 activities

Let them eat cake! (and pigs)

For our Independence Day we celebrated by having a party with our family and some excellent food.

Flag cake--French Vanilla cake, whipped cream as frosting, decorated with fresh blueberries & raspberries.
Table with our potluck items. We had a feast for our celebration with sirloin steak burgers, hot dogs, homemade baked beans, broccoli cauliflower salad, fresh corn salsa and chips, strawberry lemonade (with other drink options), fresh berries, patriotic cookies and flag cake.

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

3 cans (15 oz. each) pinto beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup Barbecue Sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 slices Bacon, chopped
PLACE all ingredients in slow cooker; mix well. Cover with lid.
COOK on LOW for 4 to 6 hours (or on HIGH for 3 hours).

Fresh Corn Salsa

1-1/2 lb. tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or fresh parsley
1 medium jalapeño pepper, chopped
1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
COMBINE all ingredients except dressing in large bowl.
ADD dressing; mix lightly.

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

8 slices of bacon
1 head of Broccoli cut into bite size pieces
1 head of Cauliflower cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 large red onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup white sugar
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice

Place bacon in large deep skillet, cook over medium heat until evenly browned, drain and crumble. In large bowl combine broccoli, cauliflower, cheese, bacon and onion. Prepare dressing in small bowl by whisking together the red wine vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, mayo and lemon juice. Combine dressing with the first five ingredients, mix well, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

After the extended family left, we headed inside for a "Piggy Painting Party." My mom purchase ceramic piggy banks from a craft store and each of the granddaughters got to paint one. Here I am helping Livy with her pig.