Happy holidays, friends! This week’s menu is pretty much non-existent! 😉 I’m just relishing the holidays/leftovers/never knowing what we’re doing each day! But come this Sunday things are going to get REAL in the menu planning department. Brace yourselves!

If you did happen to plan a menu this week, please share in the comments as usual!

Happy Holidays!

Hello friends! December is just charging right along, isn’t it? Here is our menu for the week, which includes Christmas! Yay!

MONDAY:
– Dinner at Legoland! 🙂

TUESDAY:
– Carnitas tacos

WEDNESDAY:
– Leftover carnitas

THURSDAY:
– Chicken Pot Pie (using leftover Thanksgiving turkey in the freezer!)

FRIDAY:
– Leftover chicken pot pie

SATURDAY:
– Chinese Takeout, our Christmas Eve tradition!

SUNDAY:
– Swedish Meatballs
– Bulle/Vetebröd (Swedish cardamom bread)

As usual please share your own dinner plans for the week! And Happy Holidays!

* Cookie recipes pictured:

• Sugar cookies
• Rolled chocolate cut out cookies

Here’s the thing with today’s rice crispy treats. When you look at them they look like normal, everyday, boring rice crispy treats. And then you take a bite. And you’re like, “What am I eating!?!?” You’re eating sea salt and brown butter rice crispy treats, that’s what. And they are so good.

I discovered this recipe thanks to my friend Nikki, who is also the reason that the SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake is in all of our lives. We went camping with Nikki and her family this summer and she brought these for dessert on the beach. As soon as I took a bite I knew she had done something different with the recipe. Sure enough brown butter was involved. And lots of it. The original recipe that Nikki uses is from Joanne Chang’s Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe cookbook. I have adapted it and my version is below. (You can see the original recipe on Epicurious.) I use vanilla bean paste to get that wonderful vanilla bean look and flavor but without messing with the pods, which I never have on hand anyway. I also added coarse sea salt to the mix because coarse sea salt always makes everything more delicious.

By the way, if you don’t really like rice crispy treats then I don’t think these are going to miraculously change your opinion. They are still rice crispy treats after all…but they have a really wonderful salty-sweet flavor and I myself can’t get enough of them! Enjoy!

Sea Salt and Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Adapted from Joanne Chang's "Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe"

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 32

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) salted butter
• Generous ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus a bit more for sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 2 10-ounce bags large marshmallows
• 10 cups rice crispy cereal

Instructions

1. Spray a 9" x 13" baking pan with oil and set aside.
2. Heat a very large pot over medium heat on the stovetop. While pot is heating, gather all of your ingredients so they are ready to go.
3. Cut butter into squares and add to heated pan. Cook, stirring regulary, for about 7-10 minutes until the butter has browned. For the first 5 minutes or so there will be a white foamy layer on top, then that will start to disappear, then the butter will start to bubble and foam up again. The butter will brown sometime after this happens. It will look light brown below the foam and have a lovely nutty aroma. Be sure to cook until butter just turns brown (you have to really look because the foam on top can obstruct your view. It is helpful to cook the butter in a light-colored pan so it's easier to see the color of the butter.)
4. As soon as the butter has browned, reduce the heat to low and stir in the salt and vanilla paste. Mix well then add the marshmallows, cooking over low heat and stirring constantly until all of the marshmallows have melted and you have a smooth mixture.
5. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the stove. Add the rice crispy cereal and stir well to coat. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
6. Using wet hands, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the pan.
7. Sprinkle the top with just a bit of sea salt.
8. Let cool 1 hour before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Makes 32 1½" x 2" squares.

3.4.3177

Dear Blog,

Are you feeling neglected? Well, that’s because you are. But I still love you!

Sincerely,

Jane

Oh my goodness, friends. Life is kicking my butt. I am barely getting meal plans together at this point, hence the late posting! I want to thank you loyal menu sharers in particular for commenting each week with your menus – they are truly so helpful and inspirational!

Okay, here is my quick and dirty menu for this week…which will probably totally not happen but at least I’m trying!

MONDAY:
– Corner Bakery Cafe…again. (Free kids meals rule!)

TUESDAY:
– French Toast

WEDNESDAY:
– Beef Stroganoff (from Costco)
– Glazed Carrots

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Birthday dinner! We are going to see Rogue One and then Birthday Girl #1 has requested takeout burgers eaten in the living room watching Gilmore Girls. Her birthday cake will look like a hamburger.

SATURDAY:
– Birthday party! We’re doing pizza takeout to fuel a fun-filled sleepover for Birthday Girl #2 of the week!

SUNDAY:
– Honestly, no clue what we’ll eat on Sunday. I just need to survive two birthdays first and then think about that!

Wish me luck on surviving the next week! And, as usual, please share your dinner plans in the comments!

Hello friends!

Oh man, I am the worst lately! But I have a good reason for not getting my weekly meal plan together yet this week…I spent Sunday and Monday cooking up a second Thanksgiving feast for the year! So, you know, I was arm deep in pie crust and mashed potatoes, making it difficult to type on a computer. Anyway, my menu this week reflects most people’s menus the week of Thanksgiving, something for which I am very grateful!

MONDAY:
– Thanksgiving Feast!
– Turkey
– Classic Mashed Potatoes
– Classic Stuffing
– Gravy
– Crescent Rolls
– Cranberry Slush
– Cranberry Sauce
– Sweet Potato Souffle
-Pies: Pumpkin, Crumble Apple Pie, Chocolate Chip Pie

TUESDAY:
– Thanksgiving leftovers

WEDNESDAY:
– Thanksgiving leftovers

THURSDAY:
– Turkey Soup with Rice

FRIDAY:
– Christmas party!

SATURDAY:
– Another Christmas party!

SUNDAY:
– Leftovers or breakfast of eat out, whatever makes the most sense!

Hopefully you all haven’t given up on me and are still there to post menus! Post away! And have a wonderful week!