This week on Catching up with the Kelnhofers, I learned that I’ve missed an entire new trend, I’m wrapping up and sharing some details from our Serbian Christmas and passing along the very best new turkey sandwich recipe.
As I opened a gift bag from my mother-in-law, I saw some chocolate, hot cocoa mix, silicone molds, and a few other things. I thought it was cute and for us to make some fancy hot chocolates. We’ve been making my husbands’ grandma Rita’s hot chocolate mix for years and most recently Abuelita’s surprise hot chocolate.
I put the bag in the pantry and didn’t think anything of it.
Then Nick asked me “do you want to make the hot chocolate bombs”?
WHAT?!?
Apparently I missed a whole trend <– oops!
Have you ever heard of them?
OK, so in case you’ve missed this trend too, hot chocolate bombs are a thing.
We made them with Ben. It was a very involved hot chocolate, but a fun weekend project.
- Cherry chicken & couscous – only 5 ingredients and so yummy
- Healthy meal delivery service – you know how much I love meal delivery service and even better if you can make it healthy!
- Crispy chickpea shawarma pita – a seriously good vegetarian recipe
- Love List – weekly fun found from every corner of the Internet
- Best food storage containers – I’ve tried plenty of different food storage containers and am sharing my 5 favorites in this post.
- It was Serbian Christmas this past week and I made oil and vinegar potato salad. This is such a good non-mayo potato salad!!
- Serbian Christmas Eve dinner. On Serbian Christmas Eve (Badnje Vece), you fast during the day (no meat or animal products, but you can have fish) and then enjoy a feast in the evening. We did a contactless pick-up/drop off where everyone made different things.
- Here is what we ate:
- Strudel
- Fish Fry (Serbian Fish not Pictured)
- Hot Brandy (traditional for Christmas Eve)
- Vinegar Based Potato Salad
- Baked Beans
- The bread is called pogača, which is a traditional bread for certain special occasions this is the Badnje Vece one.
- It’s passed out by the head of the house, but now I can’t find the little guide I had for it on Christmas Eve.
- Basically 1 piece for:
- Those who could not attend
- The unexpected traveler/visitor
- The House OR the first arrival to the house on Christmas day (my mom’s George always said this one was for the house, but I’ve seen different traditions for the 3rd piece)
- Then each person by seniority
- You can have another piece when you finish yours
- The coin represents good luck/ good fortune. Nick got the coin this year!!
- Another Serbian Christmas tradition is that you grow wheat between St. Nicks and Christmas (you let it grow during Advent). There’s a lot of beautiful symbolism. Then you put the wheat out after Christmas…which Nick did…in shorts lol, only in Wisconsin.
- I had a turkey breast in the freezer so I made my recipe for air fryer turkey. Nick’s response “you should make this every week, please.” You guys, if you have an air fryer, you have to make this!!!! So easy and hands off and the best tasting turkey ever.
- We also had a random bag of cranberries in the freezer too, so I made cranberry sauce.
- With the leftover cranberry sauce, I made my cranberry walnut crumb bars and everyone (kids included) loved them. Ben had THREE bars and asked for more!
- We made the best sandwiches ever!!! Sourdough bread, mayo mixed with 1 garlic clove, cranberry sauce, greens, turkey, cranberry sauce, YUM!
If you need an easy weeknight meal to enjoy on a chilly winter’s evening, try this one pot sausage and rice casserole that received this lovely comment:
- “I made the one pot sausage and rice casserole and my husband couldn’t stop eating it. He took left overs for lunch the next day and had more at dinner on day 2. I skipped the mushrooms because I didn’t have them on hand, and it was still very yummy – and easy!!”
- The reader that shared this re-creation said it best – healthy comfort food – it’s the best way to describe my recipe for zucchini and kale lasagna.
- Kitchen wrap organizer – I don’t know about you, but my plastic wrap/aluminum foil/parchment paper storage situation isn’t great. I just kind of put them in a pile in the pantry. This organizer is amazing.
- Last week I told you how I thought I was buying Heart Bones, but accidentally bought Most of All You: A Love Story by Mia Sherida. I finished it, I don’t think I’d recommend it, it felt long and boring I’d give it a 2 of 5 stars. Anyways, on to Heart Bones now.
- Cookbook – I don’t know if you know this about me, but I read cookbooks like I read novels. I love them, and I have a huge selection. I love reading them/looking at the photos/cooking from them, just everything. Being a cookbook author and photographer myself, I know the sheer amount of work involved, so it makes me appreciate them even more.
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- What I love about this cookbook: it’s a little hipster, and it reminds me of going out to dinner, but not fancy foo foo, more farm to table, think communicable tables (which they have in their restaurant)
- I’ve been to the Publican and the Publican Quality Meats in Chicago (mentioned them in my where to eat in Chicago guide)
- Nick originally got me the cookbook when it came out and I dismissed it because it seemed unrealistic, and like I didn’t have time to make any of the dishes.
- Nick has been wanting to make a porchetta forever, and I remembered they had a recipe in there so I opened it up.
- Wow, it’s beautiful and makes me want to cook everything to feel a connection with the restaurant experience.
- They also have a bread section that I can’t wait to bake from, now that I have a sourdough starter (they even include their starter recipe in there btw)and that I bake bread weekly (who am I) and there’s some tips they talk about I can’t wait to try with my bread.
- The kids helped me look through the book, and we had story time reading about
- As I mentioned above, it was Serbian Christmas last week. I made the kids take pictures with me. There may or may not have been M&M bribes involved because they just wanted to eat dinner, lol.
- Here is what we ate for Serbian Christmas Eve Dinner (from the top going clockwise)
- Leg of Lamb
- Russian Salad
- Gibanica
- Milwaukee Pretzel Company Big/Soft Pretzel Wreath:
- Steamed Cauliflower
- Mashed Potatoes
- Ben keeps removing his pillow case, and then stuffing it full of his bedding and toys from his room. After every nap or waking up in the morning. Then he drags it all around the house. It’s heavy! And it’s driving me crazy lol, but I’m hoping it’s just a small phase (because then we need to go find xzy toy at the end of the day!) It started when he was joking he was the Grinch. Now the Grinch theme has gone, along with our Christmas decorations, but he is STILL doing the pillow case thing.
- We put away Christmas decorations, and Ben helped get the high ornaments (he actually helped put away ½ of the tree, by himself, he even wrapped them all up carefully, I was impressed.) We got takeout from Storyhill BKC to celebrate – get the burger if you eat there. And their cocktail kits, their curbside is amazing.
- I think I mentioned this before, but Ben and I go on “night walks” sometimes. We grab flashlights and take a little walk or play outside. He brought back snowballs and put them on the doorstep, then wanted to show Nick, so sweet.
Did you know there are two ways to see recipes related to the one you are currently viewing?
1. At the top of the website, you’ll see a bar with related recipes.
2. At the bottom of each blog post, there will be 3-5 related recipes you can enjoy!
EAT
- Winter soups – I loved the roundup, and 2 SweetPhi recipes were featured (Jambalaya and butternut squash soup!)
LISTEN
- Metric has a new album and it is so beautiful, I’ve been listening to this band I forgot about all week and have been seriously loving it.
PURCHASE
- I know last week we talked about presents, but a Christmas present I got myself just showed up. THESE SHOES – wow! Worth the splurge. They’re on sale for $94 if that tells you anything. Anyway, they’re the comfiest everyday shoe ever. And I always joke with Nick when I feel like a “sporty mom” and these shoes do that for me. I wore them while cleaning Christmas decorations and cleaning up highchairs after lunch.
Have you ever heard of hot chocolate bombs? I’d love to know! Just leave a comment below and let me know.
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