TTFN (Totally Terrific Family Night)

We had the Coopers over. Have I said that we absolutely love the Coopers? They are the BEST, The Best! They came over for the weekend to celebrate Linda's birthday and their anniversary. We celebrated with a Pajama Party!

It all started with "Breakfast for Dinner." Breakfast for Dinner deserves to be capitalized because it is so dang good! Yum! That has to be one of my favorite things. Linda always has the most amazing recipes and so as it is her way, she brought a few to share with us. One was overnight waffles. Of course since we were having them for dinner, we made them in the morning and then let them rise the rest of the day. She also brought an incredible syrup recipe called Buttermilk Syrup. I know exactly what you are thinking, but your initial gut reaction is wrong. This is the most buttery sweet syrup and so wonderful with fresh fruit, especially bananas. The waffles were fluffy and perfect. They were great the next day toasted.

Here are the recipes:
Over Night Waffles

1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Spray Oil
2 eggs
Before going to bed, combine the dry ingredients and stir in the milk. then the butter and vanilla. The mixture will be loose. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight at room temp.

Spray the waffle iron with the oil and preheat it. Separate the eggs and stir the youlks into the batter. Beat the whites until they hold stiff peaks. Stir them gently into the batter.

Spread about 1/2 cup onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done --about 3 - 5 minutes depending on your iron. Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 c up buttermilk
1/2 cup butter (one stick)
1 tablespoon light Karo Syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in a larg saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp. baking soda. (make sure you pan is large enough because it will bubble high when you add the baking soda). Serve on waffles or pancakes or anything needing syrup. It is yummy! It can be reheated, but needs to be served warm.

After dinner it was time for games. We played thread the spoon. The kids liked it except if they threaded the spoon between their underwear and their skin it caused some pain--not comfortable--once they go the hang of threading on the outside of their undergarments things were much more fun. Next we played Match game. My kids love Match game as they call it or memory as we know it. The competition is intense and the opportunities to teach sportsmanship are plenty. After which we played the water in the spoon game. I learned this one from my friend Nancy. You think of a color or a number and then you walk around the circle of participants and if they say your color or your number they get the spoonful of water in their face. This game was great fun for the kids and even more fun for the adults. The kids seemed to like throwing water in each others face. Following this we played charades. It was a bit difficult for the kids but when teamed up with an adult things were easier.

Owen feeling the music

The boys love Kung Fu Fighting Fast as Lightening

Emma celebrating her match. She means business

Lily and Linda celebrating their match