AM~Erica's Taste Buds are Having a Christmas Party

So anyway...

The holiday season is moving right along. And there hasn't been any shortage of events to attend! And, even though things are crazy-insane, and I try my best to keep up, I don't mind. I love looking festive & enjoying festive activities & goodies. I love joining in the songs, or singing some myself. I even have a couple of really fun Christmas song stations on Pandora that get me going while I'm driving around or just getting ready to go. Love it!

And, as I stated before, our family has STARTED A NEW TRADITION with each family member in the house choosing a Christmas movie for everyone to watch while also choosing a Christmas treat to enjoy. Since the last post about this, we have also enjoyed:



4. "Polar Express" with Christmas brownies (brownies w/ festive sprinkles)

This is what Lil Guy & I looked like for the movie.
No, we didn't watch the movie in 3D, we just really liked how the glasses made everything else look before we started watching the movie. That's how we roll.

5. "A Christmas Story" with Egg Nog Mousse & Gingerbread Streusel Trifle

I will have to confess that the latter of the 2 mentioned is mine. I love "A Christmas Story"...and will quote it All Year Long! And I wanted something different for my treat. No one picked gingerbread. I know it's not everyone's thing, but I have really come to enjoy me some gingerbread!

My thought was to actually make some gingerbread cookies, even though I've never tried them before. But Lil Guy has been kind of a sicky the last couple of days, so I haven't really had the chance to concentrate on baking...or much else, for that matter.

I don't know what made me think of it, but I kind of created something...and it's not even a monster this time! Impressed?

Instead, since someone had already chosen egg nog (which is another holiday time fave of mine), and since I've picked up a knack for playing in the kitchen this year (thanks to Pinterest & my own brainy-brain), I decided to combine the 2: I made an egg nog mousse (a slightly adapted recipe I found) & then created a gingerbread streusel since I couldn't find a recipe for one anywhere.

You know what? As I did "quality control" (*wink, wink*), I could tell my tastes buds were having a Christmas party in my mouth!!! And you know what? Festive tastes delicious!

We have had some tiny dessert spoons tucked away for a very long time. I, then, found some tall shot glasses at Target for $1 each. So I am making a trendy dessert shot that is all Christmas-y & stuff! And I turned them into tiny trifles.

Here's how...

EASY EGG NOG MOUSSE
Ingredients

1 lg pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
3 ½ C VERY cold prepared egg nog
1 sm tub whipped topping

Directions

1. Mix instant pudding mix & egg nog together, whisking for about 2 minutes
2. Let set in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes, or until set
3. Remove from the refrigerator & add in the tub of whipped topping, whisking together until fully mixed together
4. Place back into refrigerator to set until slightly firm
5. Serve

During step 2, I made the streusel.

GINGERBREAD STREUSEL

Ingredients

1 C flour
1 C brown sugar, packed
¼ C butter, softened
1 ½ T ground ginger
1 ½ T ground cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
¼ t ground nutmeg
1 T water

          Directions

Mix all ingredients together until crumbly

It's easy as that, folks! Then, to make the trifle, I layered these 2 items with some dehydrated tiny marshmallows!

Order of trifle layers in tall shot glasses:
Gingerbread Streusel, Egg Nog Mousse, tiny marshmallows, Egg Nog Mousse, Gingerbread Streusel topper

So adorable, so festive, so tasty!

And then...we have just a couple more movies to go.

(Yes, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN OUR HOUSE!)

So...stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

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UPDATE: Wednesday morning, December 19, 2012

I was so taken with my dessert from last night, I wanted it for breakfast. But how do I pass it off without looking totally insane? (Hey! I hear you laughing at that!) By pretending it's a dish from IHOP & adding it to pancakes:

Yep, I totally piled the mousse on top of the pancakes & then topped that with the streusel...and with red, green & white sprinkles. You know, to visually give it that holiday touch...like at IHOP!

Oh...and...YUM!!!