Yes, I have been known to tag along with my Mom every where she goes, and she loves to go to Walmart. Every Monday, like clockwork she makes her Walmart grocery run, and I come along and pick up the items I need too. This past Monday as we were driving, I was saying I wanted to do some kind of edible Thanksgiving craft with my son. The craft would serve as an introduction to the holiday and somewhat explain to him what the feast represents in the simplest form. My Mom asked what I was going to make, and I told her I would probably make some type of rice krispie treat since I know that is something he will definitely eat. Sometimes a food craft is the best way for me to teach my 4 year old the joys of the holidays. That’s the exact method my Mom and Aunts taught me with.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and make this cute little craft with the kids before the feast. It also would be a fun activity for the kids to partake in after the holiday dinner. Keep them busy decorating their own dessert. 🙂

Ingredients for Thanksgiving rice krispie turkey treats:

• 3 – tablespoons butter (plus a little extra to rub on your hands)
• 1 – package (10 ounces) jet-puffed marshmallows
• 6 – cups rice krispies cereal
• frosting or royal icing
• pretzel sticks
• colorful licorice
• candy corn
• edible candy eyes

Directions:

1. In a large pot over a low flame add in butter and stir until melted.
2. Add in marshmallows.
3. Stir until completely melted. Remove from flame.
4. Stir in the rice krispie cereal in until completely coated. 
5. Butter your hands, and spray a 1/2 cup measuring cup with non stick spray.
6. Fill the measuring cup with the warm cereal mixture.
7. Shape with your hands to form a ball. Repeat till all cereal mixture is gone.
8. Place cereal balls on a baking mat or lined cookie sheet. 
9. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes.

Let’s Decorate:

First start by sliding pieces of licorice onto a pretzel stick. Leave about 1/4 of an inch at the bottom of the stick exposed. This will be the part that you stick into the rice krispie treat ball to form the feathers of the turkey.

Once all licorice feathers are in place in the back of the turkey body, it is time to work on the face. Using frosting or royal icing stick a candy corn into the front center of the ball. Then stick two candy eyes about the candy corn.

I also added two candy corn to the bottom as feet and two to the side as wings. There are no rules….. Have fun with your turkey!

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed and recipe is are 100% my own.

I always scramble at Thanksgiving… with a mad dash to the market to try and get everything in one shopping trip. Of course I’m not completely delusional …  I realize some items need to be bought the day before or the day of the feast. What I do like to buy when I am in one of my Thanksgiving shopping frenzies are a couple gallons of milk. It helps make my mashed potatoes dreamy, my rice dish creamy, and my hot chocolate steamy. I keep my milk coupon in my purse and save a dollar on two gallons. It’s a good way to pocket a buck. 🙂 When I run dry on ideas I always turn to Toma Leche cookbook for more recipe ideas. Click here if you’re looking for some MILKY inspiration! I decided to make a video of one of my favorite rice dishes that I always serve at the holiday table…. plus it doubles down as a main dish for the vegetarians. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients for creamy mushroom chile rice casserole:

• 1 – stick butter
• 1/2 – cup onion (chopped)
• 1/2 – tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 – cups long grain rice (uncooked)
• 8 – ounces mushrooms (sliced)
• 1/2 – teaspoon dried basil
• 1 – teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 4 – cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 – cup roasted chiles (chopped) (I used anaheim)
• 1 – cup of whole milk
• 16 – ounces sour cream
• 2 – cups grated pepper jack cheese

Directions:

Watch the 2 minute and 27 second video above to see exactly how to make it! Serve this lovely rice dish this holiday season for a casserole of perfection…. Enjoy!

Let’s chat about the loveliness of the holiday season….. Usually it’s filled with family and friends and delicious baked goods. As a thank you for your loyal support throughout the year… I am hosting a KitchenAid® Artisan® Stand Mixer giveaway with a handful of my food blogger friends (listed above and below). Follow the easy instructions below to enter for a chance to win this beautiful mixer. Offer ends 11/30/2013.

When your done entering the giveaway….visit some of these wonderful food blogs:

La Cocina de Vero,
En mi Cocina Hoy
Sazón Boricua
HungryFoodLove
Mommyhood’s Diary
Nibbles and Feasts
Savvy Mujer
Aunt Clara’s Kitchen
La Cocina de Tía Clara
Sweet Life
My Colombian Recipes

To keep you in the spirit… here are a few of my holiday recipes:

 Winter Wonderland Cake!  Tamales!  Roasted Nuts!  Stained Glass Cookies! 

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you ever tried corn tortillas made with mashed potato and cheese?  I never had and was thinking of how amazing these type of tortillas would be with a plate of beans or a bowl of rajas con queso or with a slab of butter.  Let me rewind and tell you where this insane train of thought is actually coming from.  I was thinking of the Mexican Revolution.  I know, where’s the bridge between the Mexican Revolution and corn tortillas? Let me explain how my wacky brain thinks sometimes.

The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime tyrant Porfirio Diaz, and lasted for the better part of a decade until around 1920.  Over time the Revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war with frequently shifting power struggles.  This armed conflict is often categorized as the most important social-political event in Mexico and one of the greatest overthrows of the 20th century, which saw important experimentation and improvement in social organization. 

Experimentation is always something I’m willing to delve into, which brings me back to my corn tortillas.  I am in no way trying to diminish the importance of the Mexican Revolution by comparing it with my tortillas.  What I am saying (tongue in cheek, of course) is that something that has come to be the normal for many many years,  like the beautiful corn tortilla for instance, can be re-made.  I’ve taken the classic corn tortilla and have blended it with mashed potatoes and cheese.  I know there are a lot of purists out there that would consider this food-blasphamy but the results are beyond interesting and delicious.

Check out my teeny, tiny tortilla revolution recipe and keep an open mind. Enjoy!

Ingredients for potato cheese corn tortillas:

• 1 – cup of leftover mashed potatoes (can not be instant potatoes, has to be homemade)
• 1 1/8 – cup corn masa flour
• 1/4- teaspoon salt
• 2/3 – cup water
• 1/2 – cup grated cheese (I used queso quesadilla)

Directions:

1. In a mixer add in leftover mashed potatoes, corn flour, and salt. Mix on medium until combined and the mixture becomes grainy.
2. Add in water and mix to combine. The mixture will become a soft dough and should not be sticky. If sticky…. a tablespoon of corn flour one at a time.
3. Add in the cheese and mix to combine.
4. Divide the dough into 12 parts and roll into balls with the palm of your hands. 
5. Then using a tortilla press (or two books), line each side with a layer of plastic. Place a masa (potato corn tortilla mixture) ball in the center and press. This will flatten it and make it a perfect disk.  
6. Place on a hot comal and cook on each side for 2 minutes or until slightly crispy.  
7. Enjoy!

Make way for the cranberry sauce… I never understood why anyone would serve cranberry sauce out of a can. That weird gelatinous tube with the indents from the can still imprinted in it’s side. No wonder I refused to eat it as a young girl. It wasn’t till my teenage years that I witnessed a friend of mine make it fresh. I was not only facsinated with the process, but couldn’t believe how incredibly easy it was to make. People add cinnamon and all sorts of other things to the versitale cranberry sauce, I decided to add tangy hibiscus to the tart cranberry for an exquisite side to my turkey this Holiday season. Enjoy!

Ingredients for cranberry hibiscus sauce:

• 1/2 – cup dried hibiscus flowers
• 2 1/2 – cups water
• 2 – cups sugar
• 24 – ounces fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. In a pot over a medium flame add in hibiscus flowers and water.  
2. Bring to a boil and let boil for 10 minutes. 
3. Remove flowers from water. 
4. Pour sugar into the hibiscus water, and mix until sugar is completely dissolved. 
5. Bring mixture to a boil, creating a hibiscus syrup.
6. Add in cranberries. 
7. Mix cranberries to coat in hibiscus syrup.
8. After about 5 to 10 minutes you will hear the cranberries start to pop. At this point take a potato masher and smash the mixture down, until all cranberries have popped. 
9. Place mixture in a bowl, and place in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours or until mixture firms. 
10. Enjoy!

Caramel apples make me weak in the knees. I like to think of them as my healthy snack, because let’s face it… I’m eating an apple. You can never have too much of a good thing. Last week I bought a few packs of Kings Hawaiian Rolls, and even though it is hard to keep them around the house very long, I found the last pack of 24 rolls sitting on my table begging me to make some bread pudding out of them. A smile quietly spread itself across my face, and a little voice in my ear whispered “caramel apple bread pudding.” Ohhhhhh! My heart jumped and thumped with an exuberance of love, I knew this would be a bread pudding with my name carved in it. Luckily, the weather has dropped to a cool 60 degrees here in Los Angeles, and It made it the ideal time to turn on my oven. Mmmmmm. The house quickly filled with aroma of caramel, cinnamon, apple, and a luscious smell of sweet Kings Hawaiian bread. I quickly pulled it from the oven and dug my spoon in. When caramel and apples are combined with Kings Hawaiian Rolls and baked into a bread pudding, it tastes like an apple cinnamon roll, and that my friend is an absolute AMAZING THING!

Ingredients For Caramel Apple Bread Pudding:

• 24 – Kings Hawaiian rolls
• 1 – cup chopped pecans
• 5 – ounces caramels squares, about 20 pieces (unwrap and cut into 4’s)
• 2 – large honey crisp apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
• 1 – cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 1/4 – cup sugar
• 4 – eggs
• 4 – cups half and half
• 5 – tablespoons butter (melted and brought back to room temperature), plus a tablespoon to butter baking dish
• 1 – teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 – teaspoon almond extract
• 1 – teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Cut each roll into 9 pieces. you will have an entire large bowl full of bread cubes.
3. Line the cubes on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes to toast.
4. Remove from the oven and set to the side. Lower the oven heat to 300 degrees fahrenheit
5. Generously grease a 9×13 pyrex dish with 1 tablespoon of butter.
6. Layer half of your toasted bread crumbs on the bottom of the pyrex.
7. Pour in the pecan and caramel pieces.
8. Layer the apples on top of the bread, pecan, caramel layer.
9. Top with the remaining bread crumbs.
10. In a mixer, add sugar and eggs, and beat for 5 minutes on high.
11. Add in half and half, butter, cinnamon, almond and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
12. Pour the liquid mix over the bread layers, then push down on the top of the bread to make sure all the liquid is soaking into the cubes.
13. Sprinkle the top with coconut.
14. Place the 9×13 pyrex into a larger pan and fill halfway with boiling hot water to create a water bath (Bain-Marie)
15. Bake for 1 hour.
16. Remove from oven and remove 9×13 casserole dish out of water bath.
17. Let cool for 30 minutes.
18. Enjoy!

Great holiday recipes start with KING’S HAWAIIAN® Dinner Rolls! Vote for your favorite KING’S HAWAIIAN recipe here for a chance to win one of three $500 gift cards! Sweepstakes Rules.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of King’s Hawaiian®. The opinions and text are all mine.

 This is the first time I have ever tried my hand at making my own homemade calavera. It really forced me to step out of my comfort zone. For as long as I could remember I have always built my alter in memory of my uncle and then once it was complete I would run out and buy a calavera / sugar skull where ever I could find them. Not this time….. I wanted to personalize my calaveras in memory of my loved ones lost.

Ingredients for sugar skulls / calavera:

• 6- cups granulated sugar
• 6 – teaspoons meringue powder
• 6 – teaspoons water

 That amount made 5 large skulls total. A little bigger then my clinched fist.

Ingredients for royal icing:

• 4 – cups powdered sugar
• 3 – tablespoons meringue powder
• 6 – tablespoons warm water

Other supplies you may use:

• colored foil paper
• sequins
• beads
• soda pop tops
• seeds
• feathers

Directions:

1. First mix granulated sugar and meringue powder together.
2. Then slowly drizzle with water. The mixture should feel like beach sand.
3. Firmly pack sugar into mold, making sure there are no bubbles.
4. Scrape the back of the sugar mold with a knife for an even surface.
5. Invert the sugar mold onto a hard surface.
6. Let the skulls dry for 8 hours.
7. Once the skulls are hard enough to touch, use a spoon and scoop out the middle, it should still be soft enough to scoop. Leave a 1/2 inch thick wall around the edge. (I made more calaveras with the extra sugar)
8. Allow the hollowed skulls to dry for an additional 15 hours or overnight.
9. Make royal icing: Mix powdered sugar, meringue powder, and warm water together. A thick paste will form. According to the amount of colors you’d like to use, divide the icing into that amount of separate bowls and color with concentrated paste food coloring of your choice. Then place each color in it’s own disposable piping bag fitted with a decorative metal tip.
10. Then using a white royal icing trace along the lines of the two pieces of skull that come together. Make sure no to pipe the neck with royal icing.
11. Align the two pieces together and allow to dry before decorating.
12. Decorate the face as you desire. Some calavera have decorative eyes, and other use an inside down heart for the nose.
13. Enjoy!