Day 227 (12/31) New Years Eve goodies

Well I went crazy on trying new recipes on New Years Eve and yes most of them came from pinterest.  I think my brother was wondering what they were all going to taste like because of the tone in his voice when he said, "You've never made any of these before?".  My response:  "I always try new things at parties because if they are gross then I don't have to eat them all by myself.".  So yes if you are coming to one of my parties, you never know what you are going to get.  I didn't stop and take pictures of all the recipes when I was making them because it was a little crazy in the kitchen that day.  So I'll just link you to the pages where I got the recipes from and give you my 2 cents on the dish.

Crash Hot Potatoes  These were good but I'm more of a butter person so I would have put the olive oil in the bottom of the pan to make sure they don't stick to the bottom and then drizzle with butter.  I had to add a dollop of sour cream to get the flavor that I was looking for without the butter but super easy to make.

Grilled Jalapeno Chicken Fajita Bites   I tried one of these at our KSU tailgating neighbors and it was super yummy.  Now what I didn't plan for was that some jalapenos are hotter than others.  I thought I had washed my hands after getting out all the seeds of the jalapenos and licked something off my finger a little later and for the next 2 hours felt like my lips were on fire because there was still some seed or juices on them.  I kept on putting them (yes both lips) in my glass to try to cool them off.  I'm happy there were no cameras around.  I was too afraid to try one later that night but I have a couple left over that I am going to eat later.  I did not use Schwans stuff - just made my own chicken with some fajita seasoning and had some bacon bits leftover from the crack bread coming up next.

Crack Bread  Many on pinterest called this treat which can be made a variety of ways - crack bread because it made you go back for more like crack.  I wouldn't go that far.  It was good but I didn't find myself going back for more probably because of all the other food we had.

Snowman Dip   I wanted the kids to participate in the food making. Madeline and Colton helped make this little snowman to dip our veggies in.  We had to have something healthy right for the new year!  This picture is actually my own because I remembered to take a picture of it.  I did add mayonaisse and sour cream to mask the strong cream cheese taste but that made the snowman a little bit more "meltable".  By the end of the night, he had squished down and leaned back a bit which is probably what we did as adults eating all that food!

Wonton Appetizers  Mom had some of these from a friend or neighbor last time we were home.  Although the ones mom had were made with sausage, cheese, ranch dip, pimento bits.  We made ours with beef flavored with taco seasoning and some picante sauce and cheese.  You could add lettuce and black olives and whatever else you wanted.  I did make mine in a regular muffin tin and prebake the shells so they were a little bit more crispy.

Day 220 (12/20): Kid Friendly Christmas Cooking

We had no school today.  Some kids did a cheer.  Mothers that were not working anyways did not cheer.  They dreaded it.  What would have been a day all to herself with all of her grades finally done turned into a day with a 10 year old and all of his neighbor friends.  In other words - no peace.  We were supposed to have about 6-8 inches of snow but instead we got a dusting so sledding and throwing snowballs were out.  Instead wrestling in my basement and listening to a mother yell at them was in. 

After lunch, I said it was time for some quality cooking time with me and all the kids had to go home to torture their own parents.  Here's some of the treats we made.

Holiday Pretzel Bites

You essentially tell your kid to do some peaceful unwrapping of candy cane kisses.  It is so much quieter than kids hitting the wall in the basement.  You can even let him or her eat one because it is quieter than boys slamming each other into the floor. 

Put the kisses on some pretzels.  I like the wafer ones because less melt through than on the knot shaped ones.  They also make some round ones that are wafered but I couldn't find any of those. 

Melt the kisses in about 250 degree oven for a couple of minutes.  Then take them out of the oven and squish an M&M on them.  This is fun for the kids too - the squishing part.  They can imagine they are squishing their friends in the basement or pushing them against a wall or floor.  Tons of quiet fun!

Fake Turtle Bites

While you have the pretzels out and the kiddo that loves unwrapping things, you might as well make these yummy treats.  They mimick the taste of turtles - the chewy caramel with pecans covered in chocolate - only they take about 5 minutes compared to 2 hours to make. 

Same idea as above.  Take rolos and unwrap them and try not to eat too many of them.  Place them on pretzels and pop in a 250 degree oven for a few minutes.  I do use parchment paper under the pretzels just in case any melts through.  It makes for super easy cleanup.  After the rolos look melted take them out of the oven and have your WWF wannabe champion pop some pecans, M&M's, cashews, or whatever you like with your chocolate, caramel and pretzels. 

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

I had been eyeing this recipe on pinterest for a couple of weeks now.  And today was the perfect opportunity to try it and it would give me loud wrestler a chance to squish things.  The recipe is from Foodaphilia and is pretty easy. 

1 cup peanut butter

2 TBSP softened margarine

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

pretzels

chocolate chips or whatever you like to use for dipping.

Combine the peanut butter and softened butter. Add the sugars and stir.  You want it to be a consistency that will roll easily so feel free to experiment with the sugars.  Roll a small bit into balls and sandwhich between two whole pretzels. Here's where a wrestler comes in handy - recall squishing his friends?  :)   Continue until you use up all the dough.  Place the sandwhiches into the freezer for a half hour or so. 

Create a chocolate mixture to dip the sandwhiches in.  I usually take a few white almond bark squares and melt in the microwave and then add semi-sweet chocolate chips in to make chocolate.  It stretches the chocolate chips if you are trying to save a little money or use the chocolate chips in other treats.  And the secret to the shiny chocolate is to add a splash of vegetable oil or wax.  Yes I said wax.  I'm sure you ate crayons when you were younger and you still survived.  You can buy parafin wax at a grocery store or if you are leary of the wax, just put some oil in.  What's a few more calories at Christmas, right?

Day 218 (12/3): "Mom - you're a copycat!"

Well I got called a copycat.  It's not such a bad thing when you see or taste why!  In one of my many new recipes to try on pinterest, I found one that tastes like a chewy thin mint.  Colton was outside playing when I made them so I told him to try one when he came back in and his immediate response was to call me a copycat!  He said they taste just like girl scout cookies.  So no need to pay the outrageous price for that box of girlscout cookies that you can only get one time a year when you can make these pretty cheaply and easily. The recipe was adapted from HoosierHomemade was a good easy base for some yummy cookies. 

CopyCat Thin Mints

1 box devil's food cake mix
1 box Andes mints (approx. 28 mints)
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix cake mix, oil and eggs.
3. Drop by spoonfull onto a baking sheet.  I use parchment paper so I don't grease my pans.
4. Bake for 6-9 minutes - do not overbake!
5. While they are in the oven, start unwrapping your mints and breaking them in 1/2.  Take out the cookies and place 1/2 mint on each cookie while they are still hot.  Let them sit.  This is the difficult part - resist the urge to rest of the Andes mints while  you are waiting.
6. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted.  Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting.

Now you can lick the back of that spoon with the minty frosting that is still stuck to it.  No worries we used a new spoon after each batch of cookies came out of the oven.  These copycatters love Andes Mints!

Day 209 (10/7): Tailgate Goodies

It costs approximately $500 to be a part of a traveling baseball team to pay for the tournaments, uniform and equipment.  So starting in the Fall we start raising money.  The most time consuming and back breaking...literally...is putting the chairbacks in the KSU stadium.  And then in December we get to take them all back out again. My thighs, quads, back and other muscles or lack there of hurt for 3 days after we put them in.  It was torture and after I thought about it for a while..oh like 2 seconds..I think it would be easier to just pay the money for that fundraiser rather than put the chairs in.

So in a few weeks we are having a bake sale and I wanted to try out some new recipes by bringing them to the tailgate tomorrow.  GO CATS! 

Brownie Covered Oreos

Ingredients:
Package of Oreos - I used the halloween orange ones
Brownie Mix (9 x 13 pan size)
Ingredients to make brownies - usually eggs, oil and water
Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix up the brownies according to the directions.  I added the extra egg to make the cake like brownies.
3. Spray a muffin tin generously with Pam or other cooking spray.
4. Take your oreos and dunk them in the brownie batter.  I found that using a fork was less messy than a spoon.
5. Put a brownie covered oreo in each muffin tin.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.
7. Take a knife and run around the edges of the brownie oreo in order to loosen it from the sides.  This is important  - you cannot skip this step or they will separate in the middle.  I had to taste this one!  :)

The oreos turn into a cakey goodness.  I decorated mine with an icing pen and tried to make KSU, football laces, wildcat paws.  The icing pen was too runny and the KSU looked like a blob so I ended up just drizzling them.  Now if only I could get OREO to make some purple oreos these would be perfect for tailgating.

Fall Snack Mix

Ingredients
12 c. popped popcorn
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 c. cinnaomon chips
1 c. toffee bits
1 c. whole nuts - I used almonds and cashews because that's what I had on hand.
1 c. dried apple chips

Directions

1. Place the brown sugar, light corn syrup, salt and butter in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave for about a minute or until the butter is melted.  Stir together until well mixed
3. Return to microwave and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir and then cook for an additional 1 minute.
4. Add the baking soda and vanilla to the caramel.  Stir until well mixed.
5. Place your popped popcorn in a bowl and drizzle the caramel over  the popcorn. 
6. Add the apples and nuts.  Mix the caramel into the popcorn mixture.
7. Add the cinnamon chips and toffee bits.  Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

This was different and good.  I added the cinnamon chips too early and they seemed to melt but it was still good.  I think it will be cute in some see-through bags tied with a pretty ribbon for the bake sale.  I also made my own apple chips.  When I went to the store they only had that brand that was chewy and thick.  I thought these apple chips needed to be crispy. 

Apple Chips

Core a couple of apples.  I lined a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice your apples thin!  You can use a mandolin but I was too lazy to get mine out but I realize it would have made it easier to keep them similar in size.  Lay your apples on the parchment paper.  Spray with canola spray or cooking spray.  I made a cinnamon/sugar mixture and sprinkled on the apples.  Bake in a 200 degree oven for about 2 hours.

Day 208 (10/6): Crockpot Lasagne

I have to be better prepared and organized now that Colton is playing sports.  I've been trying out recipes especially crockpot ones where I can set it and forget it.  I've also been trying to walk while he is at practice so I can't go back home and have supper ready for him when he gets home so crockpot and oven baked casseroles will be on the menus probably 2-3 nights a week.

I was a little leary about crockpot lasagne but I was willing to give it a try. I had some french bread and salad ready when we got home and it was a complete meal.There are a few modifications for next time but overall it turned out pretty good and it was easy.  One modification is to remember to plug in the crockpot.  I turned it on but forgot to plug it in and had to cook it on high for 30 minutes for the hour that I noticed it was not plugged in.

Crockpot Lasagne

Ingredients:
1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles
jar of spaghetti sauce
2 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese (whatever you prefer)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1/4 c. water
1 crockpot bag
veggies such as mushrooms or black olives (unless you have picky eaters like I do!)

Directions:

1. Place the crockpot liner in the crockpot.  This is important for two reasons - seems to keep the mixture from burning on the bottom and makes it very easy to clean afterwards!
2. Combine the cooked ground beef, spaghetti sauce and water.  Mix thoroughly.  You can add the veggies to your meat mixture or layer them when you create your layers.
3. Mix your ricotta/cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese.
4. Place enough sauce mixture in the bottom of the crockpot to cover the base.
5. Lay your noodles over the layer of sauce.  You can break up the noodles so they fit better.  Feel free to overlap them too.
6. Spoon your cheese mixture on top of the noodles and then another layer of noodles.
7. Pour some meat mixture over your noodle layer.
8. Repeat layers making sure you end on a sauce layer. 
9. Cook on low for 4 hours. 

Modifications that I would make next time:  Don't buy cheap sauce.  If you do make sure you season it.  I used a store brand for $0.99 and it tasted pretty plain.  I'm not sure if it is because I added the water to it to soak into the noodles and essentially cook them.  I imagine if you made a runnier spaghetti sauce of your own it would taste fantastic!

Day 206 (9/30): Recipe and new Addiction

I am on the computer all the time - grading, facebook, emails, looking up answers to random questions, learning new technology things that I can add to my classes.  So when someone showed me pinterest.com I fell in love.  It is a virtual bulletin board that you can save all the things you find on the web that you want to keep - kind of like "adding favorites" in your web browser but this can be categorized and show you a picture of what you saved.  It is addictive!

Where else can you find what NOT to knit, yummy cupcake recipes, and a wreath that you really want your sister-in-law to make you for Christmas? 

If you want an invite, please send me an email.  Plus I'd be happy to explain how to use it - but watch out - it is SO addictive!  You can find some amazing things and get sucked into reading other people's blogs.  You can see my boards at pinterest.com/angesullivan

So last night I was hungry for mexican but didn't want the usual tacos.  Here's what I adapted to fit the picky eaters in my life:

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps.

Ingredients

1-2 cups cooked shredded chicken

2 cups rice  (I used one of those $1 bags of spanish or mexican rice from the grocery store)

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (can use black beans but my picky ones won't eat those)

Shredded cheese

Spices -ground cumin, chili powder, garlic salt

burrito tortilla shells

cooking spray

Optional: sour cream, cilantro, green onion

Directions

1. Prepare your rice and chicken if you don't have any leftover chicken.  I found some frozen chicken in my freezer and baked it and then shredded it.
2. Add the spices to your chicken to taste.  I developed that Doornbos gene in the kitchen where we don't measure and just dump and pour until we get something we like.  The original recipe called for 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp. cumin and 1/2 tsp garlic salt.
3. Warm the rice, beans, seasoned chicken.  
4. Spread cheese and rice/bean/chicken mixture on a tortilla and roll up.  I added sour cream to mine because I'm not picky and it oozed through the meat/cheese mixture to make it creamy - ooh so good!
5. Spray outside of rolled tortilla with cooking spray.  Place on a griddle and cook for a couple of minutes until it is brown and crispy on the outside.

Day 204 (9/19): What my co-workers missed out on...

I had plans to meet with some colleagues to discuss assessment on our day off.  Yes I know not the greatest thing to do on a Friday on your day off so I bribed them with food.  Told them I would bring lunch.  So in the midst of doping myself for my ear infection, Colton's football practice, making muffins to bribe my coworkers to vote for me in the spirit competition, I was making my first pressed sandwich and trying out a new macaroni salad recipe.  It was a crazy night and my kitchen looked like one of those hoarder shows' kitchens with crap all over the countertop after I was done but I was too tired to clean it up.  I came right home the next day and cleaned it up because it was disgusting!

Well during the workshop someone mentioned ordering pizza and everyone raised their hands so I knew I was going to take my sandwich and pasta salad home.  I shared with my neighbor because I couldn't eat the entire thing by myself.  It was pretty tasty but I went a little overboard on the meat.  Mark didn't want to eat it because of the tomatoes so it was up to me to eat this meat masterpiece.

I basically made a sauce of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic cloves, salt and pepper.  I soaked some tomato chunks in it for about 10 minutes. I drizzled the juices on the bread halves  and put the tomatoes on top. I layered the bottom half of the bun with basil leaves and started the layering of meats and cheeses.  I used ham, pepperoni, salami, provolone, and mozzarella which were on sale at Dillons.  I wrapped it tightly and then pressed it with books in my fridge overnight.  My fridge is now well educated with the Mayo medical dictionary.

I also tried out a new pasta recipe.  I tried not to add too much so that Mark and the other picky eaters would eat the leftovers at the tailgate on Saturday but this is a great basic recipe that you can add whatever you have on hand to make it even better.

Macaroni Crackaroni
Ingredients
1 package macaroni elbow noodles
2 cups light mayo
1/4 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. white sugar
1 Tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
2 stalks celery, chopped
6 hard boiled eggs, diced

Directions
1.  Cook macaroni according to package directions.
2.  Hard boil eggs while macaroni is cooking.
3. Chop up eggs and celery and add to cooked macaroni.
4.  Mix mayo, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic. 
4.  Pour mayo mixture over noodles and toss to coat.

Day 201 (9/16): Apple Craisin Mini Muffins

There was a competion at work for the person that had the most spirit.  I decided that I would umm....sway a few votes and bake some muffins for the meeting.  I knew I was going to use the cinnabon muffins but after hearing there would be 23 people there I was going to be a little short.  So I scoured the internet for a new recipe.  Plus I can add that to my 101 in 1001 days list. I refused to buy anything new and I knew I had some apples in the fridge so that was my start.  I adapted a recipe of Paula Deen's and they were delicious!  Moist and seemingly healthy with the apple and leftover craisins from my cherry infused craisin kick I went on around Christmas.  But I doubt they were that healthy...Paula Deen likes butter.  I will definitely make these again because they were so adaptable.  The original recipe called for raisins and walnuts but I think you could add just about whatever you had on hand and they would still be very moist.  My coworkers gobbled them down and said they were even better than the cinnabon muffins.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated apples
2 cups craisins
1 cup butter (and yes I used the real stuff)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp baking soda
3-1/2 cups flour

Directions
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.  Combine the water, sugar, apples, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  I let mine boil for a couple of minutes because the house smelled just like fresh baked apple pie.  Remove from heat and cool completely.
3.  In a large bowl, stir the notes and baking soda into the flour.  Add the cooled mixture to the bowl, and stir until blended.

Fill greased miniature muffin tins with batter to the top. I had to use the same muffin tins a couple of times and ended up only greasing it once but I have good teflon coating.
4.  Bake for 15 minutes.    Makes about 5 dozen mini muffins.

Day 198 (9/7): Beef Enchiladas

I'm always making To-Do lists and seem to get a few of the items crossed off.  Now as my vacation is ending I'm realizing that I wanted to get a LOT more done on my list.  I started the 101 in 1001 goal setting list to see if it goes any better.  You can read about it here.   One of those goals is to cook some different foods besides what we've been eating so in the next 2.75 years I set a goal of cooking 50 new recipes.  Colton saw this recipe in a new cookbook I got and has been craving them for about a week now.  With running him to practices and games, I need to find some quick and easy recipes that he will eat and this was a keeper.  I modified it some so here are my revisions.  The recipe in the cookbook left out the onion and beans so it can be made even simpler.

Beefy Rice Enchiladas

Ingredients
1 pkg spanish or mexican rice
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can refried beans
1 pkg shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg tortilla shells
2 cans enchilada sauce

Directions
1.  Brown beef with chopped onion.
2.  Cook rice according to directions while ground beef is browning.
3.  After beef is browned, add rice, can of beans, and 1 can of enchilada sauce.
4.  Spread meat mixture on tortilla shells.  Sprinkle a little cheese on top of meat mixture and roll.  Place in pan.  I was able to get 10 rolled enchiladas so I cooked about 6 and froze the rest for later.
5.  Pour other can of enchilada sauce over rolled enchiladas and sprinkle with rest of cheddar cheese.
6.  Cook for 15 minutes, uncovered at 350 degrees.  (I had to run and pick up Colton from practice so I covered with foil before I set it in oven and uncovered for 5 minutes when I got back.)

Day 190 (5/13): TGFTR in MHK

Paula Deen, Sandra Lee, Rachael Ray, Guy Fieri, and Robert Irvine are frequent guests in my house.  They are there when I'm unloading the dishwasher, folding the clothes, preparing a meal, eating a meal, reading the paper and all sorts of mundane tasks.  OK maybe they are not there in person but they are constantly on TV as I'm doing those things so I like to think they are there with me.  So when I found out that Food Network would be coming to Manhattan, I was thrilled!  I had to go and check out Tyler Florence in his taping of The Great Food Truck Race in my own town.  He was practically in my living room....being so close to it...right?

I woke up in anticipation only to find I had a flat tire for the second time in two weeks so I knew that I needed to take it into the shop.  This dang tire was going to interfere with me watching my friends on Food Network.  Didn't the big man upstairs know my plans for the day?  I don't think he did since his weather plans were not cooperating either- chilly and cloudy.  Well I had to go to work for 3 hours - total bummer.  We have almost every Friday off except for the day that Tyler Florence was going to be visiting.  What is wrong with Barton - don't they know my plans?  Surely Tyler takes priority than the starving minds of my students (who am I kidding? - they are not starving for math knowledge!).

Well I raced home from work, dropped off my things and headed out to the autobody shop. They were going to take their time with the tire since they had fixed it once before and I was stuck waiting....thinking about all the fun stuff going on downtown with the food trucks. Mark picked me up and saved me from my truck food race envy and took me to the taping.

When we arrived, we couldn't walk down the block as they were filming the staging scenes of the challenge.  They filmed each team running down the block with grocery bags and then hopping in their trucks.  The camera crews peeked into each truck to film what the truckers were making for the challenge.  Tyler started pacing and yelling "5 more minutes, guys!"

And the truckies started carrying out their food.  First out was the Lime Truck, from California.  And they were very California looking.

And for those of you that know me I couldn't resist when one of them bent over and bared their drawers!  I think I have a problem and someday maybe I'll get help for it.  Until then...

The only truck food that I could recognize from my vantage point was a burger from Korilla BBQ, from New York. 

Chef Hodge from the Hodge Podge truck brought out a layered masterpiece that looked lip-smacking good. The vegetarian truck, Seabirds, brought out something that looked fried.  I still had yet to convince Mark to eat anything vegetarian but they were cute so I was hoping that would make him try their truck. He instead thought the "piglets" from Hodge Podge were more up to his liking.

There was probably an hour spent getting ready with the guest judge of the challenge with the contestants holding their food out in 40 degree weather.  I always thought I would want to be a guest judge but after realizing that the food would be cold upon eating, I'm rethinking that idea.  I have no clue who the guest judge was but he needed some serious help with his wardrobe.  So perhaps that's where I could fill in on the Food Network crew.  

The judge and Tyler usually only had one bite of the creation and then cleansed their palates with water.  I wonder if that food even tastes good after sitting out for so long??  Television, you just don't realize how much time everything takes.  The crew spent all day at the courthouse filming the challenge, the opening, and other shots.

Around to the side of the courthouse where they were filming was a crew that watched the film and would tell Tyler whether it was a good take or they had to redo.

I still can't wait to see the episode to see what they were eating and to see what shots they put in the episode.  It was fascinating to watch the cameras and see the production.  The crew was also very nice to all of us looky-looers.  Well I guess bogeys are what we are called in film crew.  I tried to find the video out there in cyber world of the crew having to redo since there were "bogeys" in the background stopping and gawking at the taping.  And NO it was not me surprisingly!  :)

Day 176 (1/23): Yummy and Pretty Cake

Yesterday at the Quinceanara, there was this fabulous cake!  It was beautiful and meticulously done.  Four layers of fondant covered yummy bliss.  It put my wedding cake from Dillons to shame. Speaking of shame, this is my shameful attempt to tell those that love me that my birthday is coming up and I would love one of these cakes!

Check out the detail. Even the fondant circles have stamped L's for Leah and 15 for her 15th birthday party. Since we got to the party a little early we had the opportunity to talk to the artist that created this masterpiece.  Her name was Karen and she owns Creative Cakes and Cookies in Manhattan.  So if you are reading this and you love me - she is close by - Manhattan...hint hint!  :) 

I had mentioned to Karen that I didn't like the taste of the last fondant cake that I had at a wedding and she assured me that her fondant was made with marshmallow and white chocolate.  I, of course, immediately started salivating and couln't wait to try the cake.  The quinceanera gods were not looking over me that night because I had to wait until 9:30 to get a taste of that yummy cake. Now that I think of it, I should have stole that scepter and made time speed up so I could have tried it sooner.  Karen did not let me down and that fondant was way better than the last cake I had and it gave me a new appreciation for fondant.

If you have some extra time, go check out her website. Her cakes are wonderful pieces of work and they taste as good as they look.

Day 169: (12/24) Christmas Cooking

Couldn't figure out what to name this one...Christmas cooking or Finger-licking good. 

Every year right after Thanksgiving we start making candies and cookies to give away at Christmas.

We had done our Black Friday shopping as you can tell by the new computer in the background. Mark was stripping wallpaper and Colton and I were dipping pretzels and baking.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My baking included date snowballs and 7-layer bars.  I took the snowballs to Marks family and noone would eat them because they heard the word date in the name.  His dad finally tried one and said they were yummy.  They are yummy and they don't really taste like dates.

Now check out some of the cutest things in the world - santas and snowmen made out of nutter butters.  These puppies were pretty messy to make and there was a whole lot of lickin' going on here. You can tell by Colton's mouth in this one that he had just got done licking some of his fingers off. No one would fess up but there was plenty of white lips on the boys!

I was busy making peppernuts which are always delicious.  They take forever but are so worth it when the cinnamon crunchy-ness is melting in your mouth.

Each year I try to make something new to see if I like it enough to make it the next year.  I tried something from Tasty Kitchen - which is a great site if you are looking for recipes.  These were gingerbread cookies with the peppermint hershey kisses on them. The gingerbread was a little hard but the hershey kisses were great!  :) They won't make the round of baking next year but I will find a use for the peppermint crunch kisses!

You can never go wrong with white chocolate covered party mix.  So Yummy and so easy!  Just take your favorite chex mix items (cheerios, chex, pretzels) and cover it with white chocolate. Then as we call it you sprinkle it with love with some red and green m&m's.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

See - Finger Lickin' Good!