I apologize that I couldn't post this prior to Christmas, however I have family that reads this blog and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. First, let me just say that this shadow box was not my idea. My husband's cousin made one last year for her mom, and I just thought it was the neatest thing and knew I had to make one for my mom.
And it really isn't that hard. With places like Costco and Wal*Mart you can print your pictures for next to nothing and if you watch the ads at the craft stores, you can get the shadow boxes at a discounted price. I got this one at Jo Ann's for half off last June. (It definitely helps to plan ahead!) I got just one sheet of scrapbook paper and I had the rest of the papers, embellishments, and ribbon in my stash of goodies.
I liked the Peppermint Bark I made, but I truly LOVE this. Again, I apologize for the delay of this post, being after the holidays, but this was a surprise for some family. My mom's best friend, who is no longer with us, used to make homemade Almond Roca. It is such a treat and fairly easy to make, but unfortunately I was never able to get the recipe from her. Once again though, the internet is such a handy place and I combined a couple recipes together to come up with this one.
1 cup finely chopped pecans (traditional roca uses walnuts)
As I did with the peppermint bark, I used the Silpat baking mats (see the "I Recommend" on the right) to do this, which makes this SO easy, but if you don't have those, you can wrap foil around a cookie sheet and butter it up really well. That works too.
Sprinkle the almonds over the prepared baking sheet and set aside. Bring your butter, sugar, water to a boil in a heavy metal pan and stir constantly until the temperature reaches 310 degrees. Quickly pour over the almonds and spread in an even layer. This will firm up rather quickly, however you may also place the baking sheet in the fridge to speed up the process.
While the toffee mixture is setting, melt the chocolate chips and cream in a double boiler. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over the toffee mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle the pecans over the chocolate and gently press into chocolate. Let set until firm. Once hardened, break into chunks and store in an air tight container in a cool place. Again, I thought the fridge might be a little too cool and damp for an extended period, so I am just storing ours in our basement.
Enjoy! Now I just might have to hide this from myself.....
Just wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas. Have a blessed weekend reflecting of the awesome gift given to each one of us. Merry, Merry Christmas!
In all my efforts to be creative (heh) in menu planning, I have forgotten about many of my stand-bys I used to make when coming home from a long day at the bank. I've been making this since about the time we got married. We really like it and I always have the ingredients on hand. Plus, it is really versatile as substituting things out is easy. I used to call it Poor Man's Jambalaya, but then I realized it's not really like jambalaya at all. So Red Beans and Rice with Ground Beef it is. :)
3/4-1 pound ground beef
2/3 c. diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced (or if your feeling super lazy like I was, use garlic salt and omit the salt below)
1 1/2 Tbs. chili powder
2 dashes cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 can kidney beans, drained (I've also used black or chili beans)
4 cups cooked rice
I have also put in cubed kielbasa sausage and a can of diced tomatoes, both of which are really good too. I just didn't have either on hand tonight.
Add rice to rice cooker and prepare according to manufacturer directions.
Brown up the ground beef and diced onion. Drain off the excess fat.
Add the minced garlic (or garlic salt) and other seasonings along with beans. Once the rice is cooked, add to your beef and beans mixture. (You would also add your kielbasa and/or tomatoes at the time as well.) Mix thoroughly and heat through. Serve with sliced green onions and Chipotle Tabasco, which is DH's absolute favorite. (He parted ways with the original Tabasco long ago.)
I finally did it. I made Peppermint Bark this year. I've been wanting to try to make it for several years now and just never have attempted it. However, after walking through the grocery store, seeing these (which are absolutely tasty, just a little expensive) and the peppermint bark tubs at Costco, combined with a more limited budget than I have had in years past, it was the catalyst I needed. I scoured the internet and some of my cookbooks and melded several recipes together to come up with one I like. And it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. The only thing I would do different next time, is to crush the peppermint up a little more than I did this time.
6 oz. peppermint red/white striped candies, crushed (crushed candy canes will work too)
I use the Silpat baking mats (see the "I Recommend" on the left) to do this, which makes this SO easy, but if you don't have those, you can wrap foil around a cookie sheet and butter it up really well. That works too.
Heat your chocolate chips, peppermint extract, and cream in a double boiler and stir until smooth. Spread in an even layer on the Silpat or foil. Chill in the refridgerator while preparing the white chips.
Heat your white chocolate chips in the double boiler until smooth and then spread evenly on top of the chocolate layer, being as careful as possible to not mix your layers of chocolate together. Of the many recipes I scoured, many suggested not waiting until the chocolate layer was completely hard, as often times the layers will separate when breaking the bark into chunks. While the white chocolate is still warm sprinkle the crushed peppermint evenly over the white chocolate. I gently pressed the peppermint into the bark with the back of spoon so it would not all come off when it cooled. Chill in the refrigerator until cold and firm (I left it in the refrigerator for several hours). Once completely cool, break into chunks and store in an air tight container in a cool place--I thought the fridge might be a little too cool and damp for an extended period, so I am just storing ours in our basement.
The basement also keeps it out of sight, out of mind for the DH as well. Have to save some for the holidays.
In just five days I get to see my family! I am praying that they have good weather, so they a normal and safe drive to see us. I am very excited and DH has his days off this week before Christmas so I can get some baking done. It's going to be very fun week.
I am so sad as I write this. I have complained about mentioned this to any that will listen. I have been so impatient and now I am wondering why was I in such a hurry? The Peanut doesn't want me to rock her to sleep any more. Our normal routine was for her and I to brush her teeth and then I turn out the light, and rock her (in my grandma's rocking chair) to sleep. Once she was good and asleep, I would lay her down.
For the last three (!) nights I have attempted to rock her and she is just entirely restless and so I have been lying her in the crib (she used to scream and cry if I did this before she was asleep, but now she doesn't even put up a fight) and rub her back and she goes right to sleep. :( I know we raise our children to be independent and I completely support that, but this is just another way she is growing up so fast!
The reason I was in such a hurry is because I had read all these books that say if you have to rock your child to sleep or if they can't sooth themselves to sleep all sorts of fire and damnation will come upon you. No, of course it wasn't that extreme, but I just knew that I was going down this road of her being ten years old and still having to be rocked to sleep. (I always worry the most extreme of any potential circumstance.)
Of course, I still have to rub her back, but I am sure that is just a matter of time before I won't even have to do that.
After the Peanut had her nap yesterday, we were able to take her outside to "play" in the snow. It all worked out so well too, because the snow came on Monday night and DH had Tuesday off, so we got to spend the day together as a family!
AND I was so excited because I had bought the Peanut some snow boots on clearance last year. They were so cute and they were regular $19.99 and I got them on sale for $4.99. My friend and her little girl (who is almost a year older than Peanut) were with us and I judged by her daughter's size on what size of shoe to get Peanut. And they even fit! So that was just too cool!
So without further ado:
We had to get her all bundled up...reminds me of this scene in a A Christmas Story...
She was not a fan of the "mittens" which had no thumbs, so they were more like little nub covers.
Daddy and Peanut
She wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first...
...but was more confident with Daddy right there.
The snow is so much more powdery here...not as wet as it is in HomeTown.
She got a little braver with each minute.
And then started to inspect "all that white stuff"... (name that movie)
Aww so sweet.....
Hard to believe this was a year ago...
(A little makeup on my part wouldn't hurt either!)
It snowed and snowed last night...much different from our first flurry or the snow we had up in the hills surrounding us a few weeks ago. I am guessing we had around 5 to 6 inches last night? I'll let the pictures tell the rest...
The forecast predicts a little more today and then it will warm up tomorrow. :( I hope it stays for a while.
So Hubs just called me as he was leaving work. He wanted to know if I wanted him to bring me a milkshake or something. Yeah, like he really needs to ask. :) He casually says to me, "So it's snowing, huh?" What, it is? They've been predicting it for the the last 10 days and we haven't even had a flurry, so I wasn't expecting anything much. But, I look outside and this is what I see....
Pretty isn't it? We just might have a white Christmas after all!
