Popcorn Balls With Cranberries

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus more for buttering hands

1 package (10 ounces) miniature marshmallows

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 bags popped popcorn

1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

                                         

1. Melt butter in a large heavy pot over low heat.   Add marshmallows and brown sugar and stir until melted. Remove from heat.

2. Pour popcorn and cranberries into pot; toss well.

3. With buttered hands, shape into 2 1/2-inch balls. Set on parchment lined baking sheet to dry slightly.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast, diced

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

8 flour tortillas, softened (8 inch size)

1 1/2 cups grated Mexican blend cheese, divided

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 (15 ounce) can chicken brother

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies

Directions:

1.  In frying pan, cook chicken and onion together in oil over medium-high heat until chicken is just done.

2.  Divide cooked chicken evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.

3.  Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in greased 9X13" baking dish.

4.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux; stir and cook until bubbly; gradually whisk in chicken brother then bring to boiling, stirring frequently.

5.   Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chills; pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.  

6.  Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese (baking dish may be wrapped and frozen at this point) and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly. 

Hawaiian Baked Ham and Swiss Sandwiches

Hawaiian Baked Ham and Swiss Sandwiches

Okay - so it doesn't look pretty...  But it's really good!!!

Ingredients:

1 - 12 pack of King's Hawaiian Original Rolls

1 lb. deli ham, shaved

1 lb Swiss Cheese, sliced thinly

1.5 sticks butter

3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1.5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Melt butter and mix in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and onion. Simmer for several minutes.

2.  Cut the entire pack of rolls in half, horizontally (keeping top and bottom halves in tact.

3.  In a greased 9X13 pan, place bottom half of rolls and spread 1/3 of the onion mixture over the bottom of the rolls followed by the ham and cheese.

4.  Replace the tops of the rolls and spread the remaining onion mixture over top.

5.  Cover and bake for 15-20 minutes and, once finished, separate for serving.

Brown Butter Banana Bread

This bread is amazing!!!  I didn't know what I thought of the brown butter frosting recipe but it is actually soooo yummy!

Ingredients:

Bread:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups ripe mashed bananas (about 3-4 medium)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Brown butter frosting: 
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two bread pans and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs, beating until smooth. Add mashed bananas then beat to combine. Add vanilla then beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Evenly spread batter into 2 prepared bread baking pans then bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Prepare Brown Butter Frosting. Melt butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat. When butter is completely melted, continuously swirl skillet until butter becomes a light caramel brown color, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately remove butter from heat then pour into a large bowl. Add milk, vanilla and 3 cups powdered sugar then whisk until smooth. Add up to 1 more cup powdered sugar to achieve desired frosting consistency.

Carefully spread frosting over hot banana bread. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Legoland California

My son loves Lego's and my family LOVES Southern California so how could we pass up an opportunity to visit  Legoland California and the Legoland Hotel?!?!

I have two things to be up front about when it comes to this visit.  First, this was a rushed vacation made at the very end of the summer (no time for extensive planning like I usually do).  Second, it was one of the hottest days ever - the kind of days I HATE!!!  So, I was a little ornery for a portion of this visit ;-)  This was clear during my Facebook posts on my personal page during that day...

With that said, here was our experience:

Sooo many Lego themed rides and Lego constructed art work!  Many of the rides were for kids under the age of twelve so there wasn't much that my kiddos couldn't participate in.

Mini Legoland!  Some of the displays have buttons you can push to see movement and action.  
This area was awesome but had absolutely no shade so we did not get to explore as much as we would have liked.

All made out of Lego's!

Some fun information while waiting in line.
I also liked that many of the lines were protected from the sun by trees and canopy.

Goofing around!

Shopping:  Their are carts and stores all over the park.  The largest store is at the entrance/exit.

Sample schedule of activities (from our visit in 2013).

We did not participate in the Sea Life Aquarium (extra charge) but here is the schedule we were given in 2013.

This was a must for our family!

Tons of food options!

Legoland Park Tips:

-We purchased our tickets using a free child per adult admission coupon.  These were easy to find at the time and still seem to be at the time of this blog post.

-Buy the souvenir cup with discounted refills!!!!  We spent so much money on beverages and really didn't think to buy a cup until it was too late....  Bottled water was $2.89 each.  The collectors cups are $8.99 (includes the first drink) and refills are $.99.  You can not use the collectors cups at the hotel (just at the park).  Also, the carts do not have ice so they give you a 20 ounce bottled beverage.  That could be a good thing if you weren't in need of ice.

-There were some portions where the park map was confusing.  This was mostly because we were trying to get to the important rides first and then revisit any areas if there was time left at the end.  The park flows pretty well from one ride to another if you just "go with the flow" - don't jump around unless you have to!

Legoland Hotel:

This is a newer hotel and I'd love to see them expand!  It is located on the same property of the amusement park and has it's own entrance to the park. All the rooms are themed by floor.  The main floor is full of activities and places to eat/drink.  The second floor is Lego pirate themed and the third floor is Lego castle themed.  We stayed in a pirate room.

The hotel was completely booked for the night that we wanted to stay there.  We were only able to get into a room because of a cancellation (we kept looking online until we eventually found a room).  It was not cheap!!!  But it did add a lot to the overall experience.  Also, we did get a discount for booking the room online and in advance.

You can check into the hotel early, go to the park, and they will call you when your room is ready.  Then, when you are ready, you just grab your luggage and go to the concierge desk to get your key.

There are a ton of activities to keep little ones happy!!!

The schedule for our visit.

Hero training.

Lots of creative play areas - truly a dream come true to any Lego fan!

Buffet:  We didn't see great reviews on this but it was the most appealing dinner option to us.  We actually really enjoyed the buffet!  Especially the kids buffet area!!!  They also have mini desserts - which I love!  The only complaint was that we had to pay at the end and it took FOREVER to get our wait staff to finish that process.

Table covers are for coloring and they have jokes.

Six crayon colors!!

Near the elevators - stand on this and it makes "fart" noises ;-)

There were only two small elevators which made things hard when you have a family of four and their luggage.  Not to mention a hotel that is completely booked for the night!  There are stairs that can easily be used if you don't have luggage to worry about.  

Note:  The elevators are awesome!!  They each have a disco ball and play a variety of dance music while you travel from one floor to the next!

Pirate themed floor/hall.

Pirate themed room cards.

Pirate themed "Do Not Disturb" sign.
Oh - and don't forget the modern scan system for your room key!
The doors also had peepholes lower in the door for kiddos.

AWESOME kids area of the room!!
And there is a trundle bed under the bottom bunk!
See the light on the wall behind my daughter?  Each bunk had their own light.

Television in the kids area.

Pirate themed bathroom.
It had a sliding door that seemed interesting but did not provide 100% privacy.

Adult toilet seat...

Converts to child toilet seat!

Adjustable shower head for the tall and the small!

Lego storage?

Lego ice bucket!!!
They sell these in the lobby gift store.

Coffee for mom and hot chocolate for the kiddos!

No extra charge:  two bottled waters and two juice boxes!
We also had a mini fridge to keep it all cold.

Room for mom and dad!

Lego's in the room to play with!

Lego colored hangers.
I really took a picture of this because I love the way the rods face so you can see the outfit better!!

The hotel guests can participate in a scavenger hunt.  It will have you running around the hotel with all the other guest that are playing and I hate crowds!  But, there is a prize at the end and it was so exciting for the kiddos!

When you are done with the scavenger hunt the numbers will give you the code to a safe in your room.  If you answered the questions correctly the safe will open.  I read in a review that the front desk will give you the code if you did not get the correct one during your scavenger hunt.

Wow - the kiddos were given all this cool stuff for completing the scavenger hunt successfully!
Now I can personally justify why the room cost so much!
Well, this and the fact that the entire place is just amazing!!!

See that Lego monkey on the safe?  There were so many awesome Lego structures but I fell in love with this guy!   They make it very clear that they will not sell any of the art and you will be charged a huge amount if anything is missing from your room.  This little guy was really attached to the safe, which was bolted to the floor, so I couldn't have taken him even if I didn't mind the fee....  But he sure was cute!

Swim-in movie:  Chima by the pool for all hotel guests.

Other interesting hotel notes:

- You can check-out board games at the front desk.

- The swimming pool starts very shallow - like if you were walking into the water from a beach.

-There is free parking if you are staying at the hotel (versus $15 if you are just going to the park).  Follow the hotel parking lanes.

- We did not have an iron and board in our room but we called the front desk and they quickly brought one to us.

-Our room did not have  a lot of outlets for charging.  Not a big deal for some but we have a lot of electronics that we use on vacations.