Family Night (Week 3)

I really enjoy our Family Nights, and I thought I would document our experiences on this journey!  We are not a Mormon family, and while Family Home Evening is a Mormon concept, you don't have to be a Mormon to institute the value of family in your home!
I spent a lot of time, growing up, with my aunt and her family.  They just so happen to be Mormon, and I am so grateful that I was able to experience Family Night as a kid with them!
Family Night gives me the opportunity as a mom, to sit down one on one with my family... no screens, no projects, no chores... JUST US.
We have a lesson plan, we pray, we sing, we play a game, the kids get a chance to showcase a talent, and we have a treat!
This week is our 3rd week doing Family Night, and our focus this week was EMOTIONS.
We discussed what emotions are, what we feel like when we experience them, and which emotion we need to focus on feeling more often... JOY!

Our Family Night Plans are pretty cut and dry!

We open with a song relating to the topic of the week, and pray.

Then we discuss as a family 3 things that we should focus on this week.  Family Business can include things that are coming up this week that need to be discussed for scheduling or participation.  But, it is usually 3 things that we need to keep our minds focused on in the week ahead.

Scripture & Lesson is next, and this is where we focus on the weekly topic.  What does the bible say about our topic, and what exactly does our topic mean.

Testimony gives us the opportunity to explain how the topic relates to our family.

Closing Song, again is topic centered, and I try to find a song on youtube each week that we haven't heard before!  The song that I found this week was actually a demo, and cut off VERY quick, so we improvised!  We sang "There was a girl whose name was Abbie, and Happy was her motto... H-A-P-P-Y."

Then we close in prayer, praying specifically about the topic and our week ahead.

Finally we play a game, and enjoy a yummy treat!  

This week's game was a printable that I found online!  

CLICK HERE to get your own!

This game was about emotions, and it's theme is the INSIDE OUT movie!  My daughter LOVES that movie, so this was the perfect game for our topic.  I printed it, cut it out, and we played it using pieces from our SORRY game.  

Our treat tonight was leftover homemade SNOWNUTS!  They were very yummy, and you can find the recipe for them HERE!

Family Night is something I look forward to every week, and while it felt a little cheesy at first, we are really getting into the swing of it quickly!  My kids enjoy it, and I like that it is something we started early!  I made a Family Night board this past week, so we can easily see who is responsible for each task every week!

I just love the way it turned out!

Hopefully others find Family Night as enjoyable as we do!  I look forward to continuing this tradition as my kids get older.  They will be able to help with every part, and hopefully continue this idea with their own families some day!  See... Family Night is an EVERYBODY kind of thing!

Snownuts 101

One of the few family traditions that I clearly remember as a child is my mom making snownuts!  Snownuts are a delicious homemade treat that was ONLY made when it snowed.  As a child, it made snow days even more fun.  As an adult, I see why my mom only made them when it snowed!  It is VERY time consuming, and there is a lot of steps to the process... but BELIEVE ME, it is totally worth it in the end!

First thing is first, you will need the following...

Doughnuts

3 3/4 to 4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 package ripid-rising dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup very warm filtered water (130'F)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 bottle of vegetable oil for frying

Sugar glaze recipe
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 TBSP water

And let's get started!  In your mixer bowl, add 3 Cups flour, sugar, salt, and rapid rise yeast. 

  This is the yeast that I use.

  

Mix dry ingredients with a wooden spoon,

and then add the melted butter and warm filtered water.

Put the dough hook onto your mixer, and start the mixer on low.  Let it form a soft dough.

As the dough is mixing, add 1/4 Cup of flour in SMALL amounts.

Once the dough is "stiff", move it to a floured surface, and knead it.  Add flour if needed until the dough is no longer sticky.  

Smooth it into a ball.

Wash, dry, and LIGHTLY oil the mixing bowl.

Add the dough back to the bowl and roll it over so that the oil side is up.

Cover with a lint free cloth and place the bowl in the oven.  Let the dough rise for 30-35 mins.  It should have doubled in size. The oven should NOT be on.  This simply provides a dry area for the dough to rise.

While the dough is rising, lightly oil 2 cookie sheets.

Move the dough to a floured surface and punch it down.  

Pull off balls of dough,

 roughly golf ball size.

Flour your hands slightly and roll it into a long line.  

Fold the long line in half,

and twist it.

Place the twists on oiled pans, 

and place the oiled pans into the oven to rise for another 30 mins.

While the twists are rising... add the ingredients for the glaze into a small mixing bowl and whisk.  

Set up your assembly line... fryer, drying plate with folded paper towels, glazing bowl with tongs, and wire cooling rack with wax paper underneath it.  I also put out an additional plate for the finished donuts.

Once the twists are ready, place 3 at a time in the fryer, and flip them over as needed!  Lightly golden is what we are looking for. 

Remove from the fryer and let them dry on the paper towel plate. 

After adding 3 more donuts to the oil, begin dunking and flipping the donuts in the glaze.  Try not to waste the glaze, you will need it all!  DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE NEW DONUTS IN THE FRYER!!!  You will need to keep a close eye on them.

Let the finished donuts cool on the wire rack.

And enjoy them :).  This process takes about 2 solid hours!  You can also do it without a fryer, use a large skillet, and make sure that you keep at least 2 inches of oil in the pan at all times.  It is MUCH easier with a fryer, and to be completely honest... it is the only reason we have a fryer!  Let the oil in the fryer COMPLETELY cool before moving it.  We keep the bottle from the oil, and pour it back into that bottle to throw it away.  We can usually get 2-3 uses from it before throwing it out.  I made a double batch today, and I will throw that oil away!

Stromboli 101

One of my new favorite meals to make is STROMBOLI!  It is delicious and so easy to make that it barely qualifies as cooking!  I made one the other evening and posted it's amazingness on Facebook.  I had a few people ask for the recipe, so I thought I would make another one tonight and show you how I make it via photos!

So here we go...

You will need...

Pillsbury Pizza Crust (I buy the one in the can which is in the refrigerated section)

Pizza Sauce

Pepperonis

Sausage (cook it off, pat off the grease, and crumble)

Green Olives (optional... you can use any pizza toppings you chose)

Fresh Sliced Mozzarella 

Garlic Salt

Tips...

Any toppings you use that have a lot of liquid (i.e. diced roma tomatoes, pineapple) DRAIN them.

Instructions...

Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Open the pizza dough, and place it on the lined baking sheet.

I use a rolling pin at this point to shape the dough into a large rectangle.

Then I take a flat serving tool (you can use a butter knife of anything with a sharp edge) and I cut the diagonal strips.  I cut the same amount of strips on each side.

Next I cut straight lines on all 4 corners.

And then remove the corner pieces of dough, and SAVE them!

Add pizza sauce to the center.

Then Pepperonis and olives.  I am the only one who eats olives, so I put them on half!

If you add sausage, I put it on top of the pepperonis.  I didn't have time to cook it tonight.

I buy sliced Fresh Mozzarella at Costco, and I cut the slices in half.

Adding Basil is another nice touch, but I forgot it tonight!

Now, I fold the ends up.

Then stretch the strips across.

Keep working your way to the other end alternating sides.

Now, for those random dough pieces...

shape them into rectangles and lay on tray with Stromboli.

Top everything with a little Garlic Salt... or in my house a LOT of Garlic Salt!

And toss it in the oven!  Set the timer for 9 mins.

Check on the breadsticks at 9 mins, and take them out if they are golden!  

I usually cook the Stromboli for an additional 2 mins.

Remove it once it is golden brown.  Serve with breadsticks and Pizza Sauce for dipping!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!