Below are 10 (serious & frivolous) things that I couldn’t stop talking about this year (in no particular order): 

1-My She Reads Truth Bible—It was a tough decision to “retire” my old Bible that I had used for so many years, but I just felt like it was time for a journaling Bible as my time with God has grown. I love everything about this Bible (the only thing missing for me is Jesus’ letters in red), but I’ve been highlighting them in pink as I’ve reading.

2-My 1SE APP—An app that captures 1 second of your life from everyday of the year and turns it into a video monologue. My favorite part—it captures all of the beautifully mundane things that tend to slip our memories!

3-Livettes Removable Wallpaper—We redid our kitchen and and bar area this year and this wallpaper gave it just the right amount of personality. Best part? If I’m sick of it in a few years, I can replace it. The designer, Livette, has some incredible designs! Check her out here.

4-Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer—It is a brush and a hair dryer in one! Yes, say goodbye to that annoying round brush! I have ALOT of hair that is in between wavy and straight and has a tendency to get a little frizzy. I must add that my favorite and most frivolous high maintenance thing I do is get blowouts (thank you Jessica & Kate!). But, this truly does give me that same "blowout" look! You can get it here. 

5-Starbucks Green Teas—My go-to is a Venti Iced Green Tea, no water, no sweetner, with a splash of lemonade.

6-Crockpot Recipes—In my attempt to get (emphasis on the word attempt) dinner on the table 5 out of 7 days, I try to do at least one crockpot recipe a week, that way we have leftovers and can create another meal out of it. One easy one is chicken tacos. I add a big bag of frozen chicken breasts from Trader Joes and 1 jar of the salsa verde salsa, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Another is this Asian inspired dish from Skinny Taste. Have a favorite? Leave it below. 

7-Anchored Press Devotional Planner (duh!)

8-Mark Batterson's Circle Maker—This book has changed my prayer life! Does your prayer life feel flat? Do you find it hard to talk to God? Head to Amazon and grab this book! I promise it will change you!

9-Podcasts—A few of my Go-To’s are, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey to be inspired, Mom Struggling Well to parent as well as I can, How I Built This for entrepreneurial inspiration, Elevation Church for some mid-week inspiration. Each year I choose a different pastor to learn from, other than my own. I think it's so important to learn from different gifted pastors and teachers. I typically play the sermon mid-week while I work or in my car. I'm still undecided who it will be for 2018 so if you have any good ideas, comment below. 

10-Planoly—For all of you business owners out there, this is my social media planning tool that truly does simplify posting to all of you. I've used a few but the way this is set up really works for my brain.

What could you not stop talking about in 2017? Share below!

Tis the season to entertain! It's actually one of my favorite things to do, yet seeing that this month lands in my busiest season for Anchored Press, I'm usually not spending too much time in the kitchen. I tend to "go-to" the same recipes over and over again, much like every week of the year. I have to say though there is something about "go-to" recipes, they are tried and true and fool proof after you've made them over and over again, for several years. I wanted to reach out to this sweet community and share a few of your "go-to" recipes alongside my own, in case you are in a little "go-to" rut and want to mix it up this Christmas. 

I host Christmas Eve and Christmas Day brunch in my house. Our favorite Christmas Eve meal is my mother-in-law's Stuffed Meatloaf. I hope I didn't lose you at meatloaf. I'm actually not a meatloaf lover at all and might even go out on a limb and say, I hate meatloaf, but this one is different! I also eat very little red meat, so I often substitute this recipe with ground turkey. As far as Christmas brunch goes, I cook two egg casseroles and my husband makes his great Aunt's Coffee Cake (the entire family goes crazy over this one). 

We received so many great recipes from all of you, yet decided not to overwhelm you and chose one more dinner recipe and an additional breakfast recipe to share. My meatloaf recipe is not an easy one, so we chose a little easier dinner recipe and gave you a more unique option for brunch. We are sharing Jenny Madison's Meaty Baked Ziti and Bonnie McCawley's Creme Brulee French Toast! Both Jenny and Bonnie will receive a 2018 Anchored Press Devotional Planner of their choice. Congrats ladies and thank you for sharing your "go-to" Christmas recipes with us!

Jenny Madison's Meaty Baked Ziti
1 lb. Fresh Italian Sausage
1 lb. ziti, penne (uncooked)
1 bunch fresh basil (chopped)
1 small sweet yellow onion (diced)
1 24 oz. Prego Meat Flavored Sauce
1 14.5 ounce Hunt's Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano
1 8 oz. Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese (cubed)
1 8 oz. KRAFT Mozzarella Shredded Cheese w/ Philadelphia

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In an extra large pot: add sauce, chopped basil, tomatoes (with juice) and cream cheese; cook on medium low heat approx. 10 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring occasionally. Fold in the noodles & sausage once they're done; mix well. (May need to use a mixing bowl if your pot is small)

Brown Italian sausage with chopped onions, drain & add to sauce.

Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package & drain. Add warm noodles to your sauce if the cream cheese has fully melted.

Meanwhile grate Parmesan & combine in a bowl with Mozzarella (to save on dishes, grate parmesan into the bag); set aside.

Pour ½ of the pasta mixture into a 13 X 9 pan & sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Add remaining pasta mixture & cover with remaining cheese.

Bake 20 to 30 min. or until cheese is slightly browned & fully melted. Serve with side salad and enjoy!

MEATLOAF STUFFED WITH BASIL AND CHEESE
Deana's (well really, my mother-in-law, Sandy Uhrig's)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Medium Red Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
8 oz. Mushrooms, chopped
1 ¾ Cups Fresh Sourdough Breadcrumbs (2 to 3 slices or buy already crumbed)
1 ½ Pounds Lean Ground Beef (or substitute for Turkey)
¾ Pound Mild (or sweet) Italian Sausage, casings removed
2 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Fresh Parsley, minced
¾ Cup Parmesan, finely grated
1 teaspoon minced Thyme (optional in my opinion)
Ground black pepper and salt to taste

Filling (also in order of assembly):
            3 ounces sliced Proscuitto
            ½ pound sliced Havarti Cheese
            1 ¼ Cup fresh Basil Leaves, shredded
            1/3 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, drained and chopped
 
Heat butter and oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook on medium-high heat
until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms; cook until
mushrooms are softened and liquid has evaporated. Season to taste with salt and
pepper. Set aside to cool at room temperature.
 
In a large bowl, combine crumbs, mushroom mixture, beef, sausage, eggs,
parsley, parmesan cheese, thyme, pepper and salt. Mix well (with hands).
 
On a large sheet of waxed paper, pat meat mixture into a 10 by 15 inch rectangle
(or long enough to fit your baking sheet, and use one that will not let drippings
fall into oven). Distribute filling to cover meat, leaving an inch on each side so
that when you roll it you can pinch the “seam” together. Using the wax paper to
help roll the meat, lift the long end nearest you over the filling and slowly roll
meat to form a cylinder. Pinch seams and pat (and patch if necessary).
 
Place a large jellyroll pan next to the roll, lengthwise. Using the wax paper to
help you scoot the pan under the log and roll it off (seam side down), removing all
the paper. Bake, uncovered, in a 350-degree oven for 65 minutes. Serves 8-10.

Bonnie McCawley's Creme Brulee French Toast
(from cooking.nytimes.com)

5 large eggs plus 2 yolks (or 6 whole eggs)
2 ¼ cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream (or use more milk)
3 tablespoons dark rum or orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 loaf challah bread, sliced 1 inch thick, preferably stale (about 1 pound)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

PREPARATION

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, rum, vanilla, nutmeg and salt. Spread bread out in 1 layer on a large rimmed baking sheet (about 11 by 17 inches). Pour custard over bread, cover with plastic wrap, and let soak in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. Flip bread slices over once while they soak. This can be halfway through the soaking, or about an hour before baking, whichever is more convenient.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar and butter. Pour mixture onto another large rimmed baking sheet, using a spatula if necessary to spread into an even layer.
3. Transfer soaked bread to sugared baking sheet, placing slices on top of the brown sugar mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and sugar is bubbling.
4. Serve immediately while still hot, with the crunchy brown sugar side up, spooning more of pan syrup over the top.

Deana's Tomato Basil Egg Casserole

I wish I could credit someone for this one, I got it from a brunch I attended many years ago and also note that a photo of this very festive dish is at the bottom of this post.

4 oz. butter
½ cup flour
10 eggs
1 cup milk
1 lb of jack cheese
3 oz cream cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
1 t salt
1 t sugar

Filling:
4 Roma Tomatoes
½ bunch of Basil
1 cup parmasean cheese

Mix eggs and jack cheese, milk, butter, add dry ingredients (Flour/Salt/Sugar) in a large bowl. Melt Cottage cheese and Cream cheese together in microwave (or over stove), mix all ingredients together.

Cook in 13x9 casserole dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

YUM! Definitely not lowfat, however, I did use lowfat cream cheese and cottage cheese!

Deana's Sausage and Egg Casserole

This is actually a recipe I adapted from a Cooking Light cookbook right around the year we got married, in 2000!

1 pound of breakfast sausage (I use half maple sausage and half regular to give it a little sweetness)
3 cups (about 6 slices), cubed white bread
2 cups of milk
8-10 eggs (I usually do 8 eggs, 2 egg whites)
2 cups, shredded colby jack cheese
1-8 oz. can of diced green chiles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sausage until browned and crumbled. I actually use the links and before I cook them, I slice them super small and then brown them. 

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

AUNT LIB'S CRUMB CAKE

This is my husband's great aunt's recipe and a family favorite!

3 1/2 cups of flour
1 t of cream of tartar
2 cups of sugar
2 sticks of butter
2 eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
1 t of baking soda
cinnamon
salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, cream of tartar, salt; add sugar, butter (do not melt the butter first) and mix like pie crust. Take out 1 cup of mixture and set aside for top of cake. Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to rest of mixture and eggs, buttermilk and baking soda. Mix well and pour into greased 9x13 inch casserole pan. Add the cup of mix to top of the cake and sprinkle more cinnamon, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

My husband is the one who makes this every year. And, do note, this if the ONLY thing he makes all year long. He has many gifts but one of them is not in the kitchen. So lighten your load, hand this recipe over to another family member and make them the hero on Christmas morning (other than Jesus, obviously)!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours (and Jenny and Bonnie's :-))