A Few Random Things...

First of all, I must let you know that it is COLD here!!  I'm talking bone-chilling, bitter cold.  We're currently under a "Wind Chill Advisory" and temps are dropping to dangerous levels.  My heart goes out to those who do not have adequate heating.  It's just too cold. 

Last Friday, my dear friend Bre had a precious baby boy!  His name is Preston and he weighed in at a healthy 8 lb, 10 oz.  I went to visit soon after he was born and just held him for a long time.  I didn't take a picture because it was a really special, private time but when he gets a little older, I'll be posting some pics!  His big brother Parker is a great pal and comes over for playdates often.  We love them!

I want to thank Emily @ The Johnson Five and Shannon @ Growing up Imel for awarding me with the Stylish blogger award!  Go check out their blogs...they both are pretty mamas with adorable little boys.  And they are friends in real life.  And they have a cooking blog.  So much to love!  Run on over!

When the weather gets cold, I crave warm comfort food.  Since we had chili and cornbread last night, I decided Mexican food was the way to go.  We had creamy chicken enchiladas and they were delicious!  Here is a link for the recipe if you want to try them.  It comes directly from the label on the Old El Paso green chile enchilada sauce.  Seriously!  Someone copied it and has it posted at previous link.  Since I'm watching what I eat, I tried to make them as low-fat as possible and watched my portions.  Goodness!

Best Leftover Recipe

I'm linking up with Kit and MJ for 11 in 2011.  Today's topic: Best Leftover Recipe

We don't eat a lot of leftovers in our house.  I've never been a big leftover eater and my kids can be quick picky.  Sometimes I grill or bake extra chicken for upcoming recipes, but I try to cook enough for our family for one meal.  If we do have leftovers, my hubby usually takes them for lunch.

I do have a really good beef stew recipe that tastes even better the next day, when all the flavors have meshed together.  It comes comes from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book that I got a decade ago and is completely falling apart.  It seems like a lot of ingredients but it comes together really quickly and easily.  (Note: I'm listing the crockpot version because that is how I always make it.)

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

2 T. flour

1 lb. beef stew meat (cut into 3/4 in. cubes)

2 T. cooking oil

2 c. vegetable juice

1 c. water

1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges

1 t. instant beef bouillon granules

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. dried marjoram

1/2 t. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

2 1/2 c. cubed potatoes

1 c. frozen green beans

1 c. frozen corn kernels

1 cup sliced carrots (I use one bag of frozen vegetables to replace the green beans, corn, and carrots)

Place flour in a plastic bag and add meat, shaking to coat.  Brown meat in the hot oil.  Drain.  Layer the meat, onions, potatoes, and frozen vegetables in crockpot.  Combine vegetable juice, water, bouillon granules, Worcestershire sauce, marjoram, oregano, bay leaf, and 1/4 t. pepper.  Pour over meat and vegetables.  Cover and cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.

This stew is hearty and delicious and even better the next day!

Homemade Gifts & Goodies

I have been on a quest the past couple of weeks to find a great gift for Abby's teacher, Mrs. Kepley.  We adore Mrs. Kepley!  She is a sweet, hardworking lady, and I really wanted to put some thought into her gift.  When I couldn't find what I wanted, I decided to make her something.  (Warning: picture heavy post!)

Mrs. Kepley usually doesn't leave the school until after 6:00PM.  She stays late to prepare for the next day.  I decided to make her a basket full of meals in a jar to helpfully make dinnertime a little easier on her.

The basket full of jars.  I'm going to add a pretty bow and a tag to finish it off. 

Cookies for Santa mix found HERE.  These will be great for Mrs. Kepley and her husband to share!

Texas Two-Step Soup.  We are in Texas so I thought this would make a great dinner on a cold winter evening.  I bought THIS recipe book a few years ago at Country Clutter and it has all kinds of great recipes.

Another recipe found from the book listed above.  This one is for Goulash, one of my favorites!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa mix.  I found the recipe HERE.  This picture was obviously taken before I embellished the jar and added a label.  This would be great to have with the cookies!


I also made Mrs. Kepley a little sign for her classroom.  She is a new teacher, so I don't think she has accumulated many handmade gifts yet.

I bought the unfinished chalkboard at Michael's and embellished it with ribbon and little wooden cutouts.  I used a paint pen to look like chalk.  I searched all over the place for a little tiny eraser and chalk to add to the bottom.  I thought I might find something made out of polymer clay or something similiar, but it was a no-go. 

Abby signed the back to make it extra special!

I also picked up a cute monogrammed ornament for her and might swing by the local teacher supply store to pick up a gift certificate.  Teachers spend so much money out of their own pockets for their classrooms.  (I have already begun stocking up on supplies, books, and other necessities so that I'll be a little ahead of the game when I have my own classroom!)

Abby's class Christmas party is coming up on Thursday, and I am in charge of bringing a "sweet snack".  I gone back and forth between decorated sugar cookies and cupcakes and have finally decided on the cupcakes.  I found some cute liners and picks.  I can't wait to make them tomorrow!

I wanted to make something special for her classmates so I decided on inexpensive snowflake ornaments. I found the kit at Hobby Lobby (50% off!) and finished them last night.  They are supposed to be picture frame ornaments, but I decided to just write each child's name and the year in the spot meant for a picture.

Pink for the girls...



and blue for the boys!

In addition to all this (I've been pretty busy!), I made my holiday treats today that I will be delivering to my neighbors and friends tomorrow.  Here's what I made...

Peppermint bark.  Sometimes I add the dark chocolate layer on bottom and sometimes I don't.  This year, I did!

Pretzel bites(?).  Not sure what these are called.  They are just square pretzels with a Hersey's Kiss or Hug (I made both)  melted on top with an M&M in the center.  Super easy and yummy!

Fudge.  Need I say more?

"Turtles".  These are my absolute favorite.  I had to package them up right away so I wouldn't eat them!

I'm still working on these next two items (I had to stop and blog!), so I haven't taken pictures yet. 

via 

Holiday Popcorn Balls.  I love popcorn balls, especially if they have M&Ms in them. :-)



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My friend Bre made homemade marshmallows recently, and they were SO good!  I'm currently making peppermint marshmallows and am even going to dip some in chocolate.  Bliss!

One of the goodie baskets (less the popcorn balls and marshmallows).  I hope my sweet friends and neighbors enjoy them!

I'm completely worn out after today and still have to take my final for a graduate class I'm taking.  Ugh.  I might need to snack on some sweet treats to keep me going!

Blog Challenge Day 13

The Christmas challenge is almost finished.  Today's topic: Favorite Cookie Recipe.  I love to bake so it was really hard for me to narrow it down to one recipe.  This recipe is one I make frequently at Christmas and is always a hit.

I wish I could say that I invented this recipe, but I did not.  It comes directly from the Eagle Brand Cookies & Treats cookbook my mama gave me years ago.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Double Delicious Cookie Bars

via

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14-oz) can condensed milk
2 cups (12-oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
1 cup (6-oz) peanut butter chips*

(*Any flavor of chips can be substituted in any combination; I always use butterscotch chips instead of peanut butter and have substituted white chocolate chips too)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for glass dish).  In 13x9-inch baking pan, melt butter in oven.

2. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over butter; pour condensed milk over crumbs.  Top with remaining ingredients (chips) and press down firmly.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely and cut into bars.  Store covered at room temperature.  Makes 24 to 36 bars.

(* These are incredibly rich so I recommend cutting them into small squares.  A little bit goes a long ways!)

Blog Challenge Day 9

I can't believe it's already Day 9 of the Blog Challenge!  It's going by really fast.  Today's topic is Favorite Holiday Recipe. 

I love baking and making candy for friends and family at the holidays!  This is one of my very favorite recipes.  There are tons of Peppermint Bark recipes out there.  I came up with this one by combining a couple of different recipes until I got the result I wanted.  I usually just eyeball it instead of following a recipe, so I put it into words the best I could!

Chocolate Peppermint Bark

1 (12-oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (16-oz) bag white chocolate chips

¼ tsp. peppermint extract

1 c. peppermint candy, crushed

1)      Place peppermint candy (I used candy canes) in a Ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin.  You can use a food processor for a finer texture, but I prefer this method.

2)      Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil or parchment paper.

3)      Melt the semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler or microwave (double boiler= better results!).  Spread the melted chocolate in the pan, and allow it to set up for about 20 minutes or so. 

4)      Melt the white chocolate chips using the same method as the semi-sweet chips.  Mix in the peppermint extract and ¼ c. of the crushed peppermint.  Spread on top of the chocolate layer and sprinkle the remaining peppermint candy on top.

5)      Allow the bark to set up completely in the refrigerator, and then break into pieces by hand.   The more rustic looking, the better! 

 (NOTE: This picture was taken from Google Images.  I couldn’t find a picture on my computer, but it should look similar to this!)

Baking the Night Away

Today is the annual bake sale at my daughter's school which means I did a lot of baking yesterday.  Now, I love to bake, it is truly one of my very favorite hobbies.  The problem is that things go so much smoother in my mind when I am planning to bake than they do in the actual kitchen.  I always underestimate how much time it is going to take.  I thought I would crank out a couple of dozen treats and have them individually wrapped in about an hour.  In reality, it was more like three hours (not counting the time it took to clean the kitchen!).  In my fantasies, I have the perfect little assembly line with nary a speck of flour in the wrong spot.  But in reality, EVERYTHING ends up covered in flour, with not an inch of extra counter space.  Sigh.  In the end though, it was worth it- these little puppies turned out delicious!

Here is what I made:

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (recipe from Betty Crocker.com)

Cookies

1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1	tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1	egg

Filling

2/3	cup marshmallow creme (from 7-oz jar)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3	cup powdered sugar

	Print these coupons...
	$0.40 off Betty Crocker® Cookie Mix Plus 65 more...
	About Concordance™

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and flour. Add remaining cookie ingredients; stir until stiff dough forms.
2. Onto ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by 36 rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart. Lightly press tops with floured fingertips to flatten slightly.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy. For each whoopie pie, spread about 2 teaspoons of the filling on bottom of 1 cooled cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down; gently press together. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar just before serving.

These are so good!  I wanted to do something a little different than the traditional chocolate chip cookie or cupcake, so I searched around for something and stumbled across these.  They were actually really easy to make.  You can find completely from scratch recipes online, but I was going for the quickest, easiest route.  I made two different fillings: the marshmallow creme and a cream cheese filling.  Yum!

Here are some of the finished treats, all wrapped up and tied with a pretty bow!

I made a few extra for the family.  I sent the ones with the marshmallow creme to school and kept the ones with the cream cheese filling at home. 

The cream cheese filling made them taste just like a pumpkin roll.  Yummy!

I even made a cute little sign for my treats with some leftover scrapbook paper I had.  I know, I'm a nerd.

Tonight is the annual "Cougar Bash" at my daughter's school.  It is a fundraising event with food, games, and a silent auction.  Last year I bid on and won one of the silent auction gift baskets.  It was Christmas themed and included a homemade rag wreath, a gift certificate for a pedicure, and one of THESE pretty bracelets.  Maybe I'll get lucky and get the winning bid on another neat basket this year!

Have a great weekend!!

Family Movie Night

It's been a long week, and we are ready for the weekend!  We are kicking it off with Friday night Family Movie Night.

On the menu tonight: Made-to-order nachos.  I like to cut up tostadas into four pieces and top them with refried beans, taco meat, and cheese.  After a quick toast under the broiler they get all melty and yummy!  I have bowls of toppings like black olives, tomatoes, jalapenos, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. 

This is for dessert:

Brownie Pizza!  How decadent and delicious does this look?  I am going to start with the recipe found HERE but will modify it by adding toppings like mini marshmallows and M&Ms. 

The Movie:

We've seen this one before but it seems perfect since it's so close to Halloween.


Have a great weekend!!

A Super Duper Easy Recipe

We all have those evenings where we just need to get the family fed quickly and without a big fuss.  This is where simple and easy recipes like the following come in handy.  I made this up by combining another family favorite (Mexican Lasagna) with puff pastry.  Hope you enjoy!

Mexican Napoleons:
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 lb. lean hamburger
1 can refried beans
1 pkg. taco seasoning
Shredded cheese
Chopped tomatoes
Shredded lettuce
Black olives
Sour cream
Salsa

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut puff pastry into 6 equal pieces and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.  Let cool for a minute and slice each puff in half lengthwise.  (This will give you 12 pieces.)  Brown hamburger and drain off fat.  Stir in refried beans and taco seasoning.  Spread beef mixture on 6 of the puff pieces.  Garnish with whatever toppings you like.  Top with the remaining puff pastry.

Dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes!  Perfect for those crazy busy evenings.