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Weekly Menu 12/15-12/21

December 15, 2014 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Here it is, the last full week before Christmas. Have you gotten all of your shopping done? Sunday night, Josh and I finished everything and it feels so good to be done with it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE shopping for other people. But this time of year, I always feel like I'm forgetting someone or something, no matter how many lists I make. Does anyone ever feel like this?

What's your favorite Christmas tradition? I love driving around with my family looking at Christmas lights. It's something we did as kids with my parents and something I really cherished. Luckily, my kids enjoy it just as much. [Read more...]

The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

December 12, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 6 Comments

I have something against raisins. I hate them. Those pruned little bits of fruit (that can be occasionally seen singing and dancing) have zero business in baked goods. I remember a long time ago I went to Camp 18 for lunch one day and my mom suggested we share their bread pudding for dessert. Naturally, I was excited, until I saw that there were raisins running through the dessert.

I ended up abandoning the dessert, leaving my mom to finish off the rest of it. [Read more...]

Chai Latte Bars

December 11, 2014 By Joshua Rief 5 Comments

I rarely bake. It's just not my thing. I like to work over open flame (the grill is my favorite, but a gas stove will do), a panini grill, a griddle, or even a deep fryer. But a mathematical combination of ingredients inserted in the oven for a prolonged period of time amid fervent hopes and prayers that upon removal delectability will ensue? I want to tweak. I want to adjust. I want to sprinkle salt and drizzle olive oil.

But I do like to eat baked goods. Heck, who doesn't? [Read more...]

Cranberry Egg Nog Smoothies

December 10, 2014 By Joshua Rief 2 Comments

This "holiday season" feels insanely short. I think it has to do with the number of weekends. Thanksgiving is, of course, on a Thursday, so that weekend doesn't count (and Black Friday blows up into Saturday and Sunday anyway). So, we end up with, what, three weekends? That seems like a crazy short amount of time to shop, celebrate, get together with family, and see the Christmas sights! Is it always like this? It can't be! [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for December 12, 2014

December 9, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

1. We got our tree up and decorated last week. Each year our girls take turns putting the star on. This year was Grace's turn and I do believe that she is getting harder for Josh to lift, lol!

2. What's your favorite Christmas movie? I love "It's a Wonderful Life" for a classic and "The Family Man" for a more modern holiday-ish movie. Would you believe me if I said I've never seen the "The Christmas Story?" [Read more...]

Weekly Menu 12/8-12/14

December 8, 2014 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Happy 2nd week of December! Wow, this last week blew by fast. Josh was on vacation all week and we got a lot of fun things done, like decorating the house for Christmas and getting some Christmas shopping done. Josh and I even squeezed in a few dates. But now-all of the upcoming events of this month are chasing me. For example, this week I'm making treats for our Awana night (and I have no idea what I'm baking yet) and we're celebrating Christian's birthday a few days early, so I'm making cookies for that. Our homeschooling days pick back up this week and I'm starting to feel a tad overwhelmed. [Read more...]

Overnight Sausage Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole

December 4, 2014 By Joshua Rief 58 Comments

So, I wrote this post back in 2010 when Chels first started writing her blog. Apparently, I was in a bit of a zany mood, as it's basically insane. The recipe, however, is a traditional Rief dish - my mom always made it the night before a holiday. Morning of, no one had to cook - we just popped this excellent little casserole in the oven, and, voilà! 30 minutes later we had breakfast. If you feel like a random chuckle or two, feel free to read the post. Otherwise, just skip to the recipe, print it out, and file it away for the night before Christmas (or Thanksgiving, or New Year's, or...)!
[Read more...]

Amazing Apple Bacon Cheddar Monte Cristos

December 4, 2014 By Joshua Rief 3 Comments

This amazing sandwich recipe for apple bacon cheddar Monte Cristos will render you speechless...or begging for more!

I'm not certain I need to write anything to convince you that it's a good idea to make these sandwiches. Can you call them sandwiches? Does that do them justice? Can we really just sit here and pretend that these drool-inducing pseudo-Parisian tastebud-slaying stacks of pure, unadulterated yum belong to the same family as PB&J and ham and cheese?

No. We cannot. [Read more...]

Healthier Poppyseed Muffins

December 3, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 5 Comments

On rare occasions growing up, I would sometimes have Fridays off from school. That meant I could either sleep in (a favorite pastime of mine) or pull myself up out of bed and join my mom on her Friday morning grocery shopping trips. If I joined her grocery shopping, I knew I would undoubtedly get a treat from the bakery section. I would always choose a poppyseed muffin to enjoy once we got home from the grocery store. [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for December 2, 2014

December 2, 2014 By Joshua Rief Leave a Comment

Well, Chels is pretty beat tonight, so you get me for your Tuesday update. Or Tidings. It's tidings, isn't it? That makes sense, with the alliteration and all. Tuesday Update would be some sort of SNL reject segment run by...Robert Downey Jr. Did you know RDJ was fired from SNL in 1985? Well, now you know.

Okay, so that didn't make any sense. I believe the typical format involves numbering: [Read more...]