Sassy & Sweet Notes

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto and Tomato

Since I picked our first 8-Ball zucchini from the garden yesterday, it was on the menu for dinner. I made Zucchini Pasta with Pesto and Tomato! YUM!!

I used my Spiral Veggie Slicer to make zucchini noodles. It's so easy, fast, and fun! The Spiral Veggie Slicer comes with three different cutting plates. Small, medium, and flat. I used the small plate to make spaghetti sized noodles. I also use the small cutting plate to make raw sweet potato noodles, and raw beet salad. Yum!

It's very easy to use. Simply make a cut on each end of the veggie so the ends are flat. Place the veggie onto the slicer, press the handle into the veggie, and turn the handle! Out come the most amazing noodles! You can peel off the green if you don't like the green edges on your noodles.

I'm going to be making this dish all summer long, as long as we get zucchini from the garden! It was deeeee-lish!!

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2 pounds Zucchini
1/4 Cup Pesto
1 Large Tomato, diced
Salt/Pepper to taste

Make zucchini "noodles". Sprinkle noodles w/ just a pinch of salt, toss, and let sit for 20-30 minutes. This will pull some of the water out of the noodles, wilting them a bit, making them look, act, and have the texture of real pasta noodles. Press out the excess water using paper towels.

In a large bowl, toss the noodles with pesto and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2.

SUPER good!!

Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

Alan dug my cocoa recipe out of my cookbook for you, so here you go!

French Vanilla Hot Cocoa Mix
1 box powdered sugar (I think it's a 1 pound box)
1 jar French Vanilla Coffee Mate (11oz jar)
24oz Nestle Quick (milk chocolate flavor)
1 box (8 quart size) Carnation Instant Milk Powder
Sometimes I add about 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the mix as well.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or large zippy bag and mix well. Add 1/3 cup mix to a mug o' hot water and serve.

You can exchange the French Vanilla Coffee Mate for any other flavored Coffee Mate you'd like (Peppermint, Hazelnut, etc)

Mmmm, good!

Hot Cocoa Mix Gift Jars

In addition to making spice tea gift jars this year, I also made some hot chocolate mix gift jars too. Yum!

I wrapped some of the jars with red and white ribbon, tied up with tags for labels. Most of the jars I used were jars I picked up earlier this year, and other jars I used were jars I saved up over the year that I knew would make good gift jars.

The jars I saved up during the year I dressed up a bit by wrapping the jars with pretty printed papers. I used sticky double-sided adhesive to adhere fabric to the lids (to hide the printed jar labels). Unless you do some serious peeling to get the fabric and twine off the jar lids, you'd never know the lids were for jams and jellies...and sunflower seeds! *grin*

Some of the jars I wrapped with strips of homespun fabric instead of the red and white ribbon. Each jar was dressed up how I thought the recipient would like it. Some of the tags I made were made with metal rimmed paper tags...

...and other tags were made using manilla shipping tags that I tea-dyed.

I dressed up all the tags with paper holly and button berries, and a bit of glitter for sparkle.

I really enjoy putting these together for friends!

Ho ho HO!

Easel Holiday Card

'Tis the season for making fun gifts, and I made a good assortment of them this year. Here is a jar of spice tea mix I dressed up using plaid ribbon, and a tea-dyed tag. I made a card using a left-over image from my critter treat packages, using October Afternoon papers.

Instead of making a standard card, I decided to make an easel card. The card is the standard A2 size, and has a cardstock fashioned easel on the back to support it for display. For mailing, the easel slides out of the bottom "pocket", and folds flat against the back of the card. So easy, and so fun!

Spice Tea Gift Jars

One of my favorite beverages, especially in the winter, is spice tea (Friendship Tea, Russian Tea, Orange Spice Tea...) ...whatever you want to call it. I decided to make some gift jars of tea mix this year for some of the folks that buy eggs from us weekly, and for a couple special friends.

Throughout the year I save nice sized jars just for these types of projects. Jam and jelly jars are perfect! They are a great "gift" size, clean up nice, and are easy and fun to dress up.

The recipe I use for the mix is one that my Mom gave me.
1 Cup Instant Tea (unsweetened)
2 Cups Tang
1 Cup Lemonade Mix (Countrytime, etc)
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl or large sealing bag; mix well.

Serve 2 TBS mix in a mug of hot water. Mmmmmm, good!

Some people use lemon flavored tea mix instead of individual tea and lemonade mix, but I don't care for lemon flavored tea mixes, so I stick with Mom's recipe.

Mmmmm!

Holiday Treats for our Furry Friends Part 2

I finished more critter treat packets! This time, cats and big dogs.

For the cat toppers, I used the Whipper Snapper image called Sanders. Perfect fit, and perfect image for such an occasion.

I filled the packets with catnip flavored Temptations. Mmmmm! And festive, too!

For the big dogs, I used the Whipper Snapper image called Smiling Lab. I tucked a wrap into a long, narrow cello bag, and added the topper.

Labs of all colors!

You will find my first post of holiday treats for our furry friends here.

And by the way, I'm entering these toppers in the current Touch Twin Markers & More challenge.

Holiday Treats for our Furry Friends

I started making this year's pet themed holiday treat packets last weekend, and was able to put the final touches on these three last night.

We don't have a lot of kiddos in our family, and only a few of my friends have kids, but there are lots of furry friends between us all! They are always on Santa's "Nice" list, so we put a little something in their Christmas stockings!

I used this cute little dog from Whipper Snapper (Wriggley) to create "toppers" for small clear envelopes that I tucked a couple of small-dog friendly chews in. I used papers from the recently released Holiday Style paper pad by Cosmo Cricket for the die cut layers. I used a Martha Stewart punch to create the holly leaves (one of my favorite holiday punches!), and one of my small tea-dyed tags for the sentiment.

The images were stamped in Memento ink and colored with a combination of Touch Twin and Copic markers.

I used my trusty Karen Foster Snap Stamps to create the sentiment on the tags.

I have no doubt these will be enjoyed come Christmas morning, if not sooner!

More critter themed treat packets to come!

Magic Reindeer Food

The idea of Magic Reindeer Food is certainly not new, or my own, but I think it's a good one and wanted to put my own spin on it. I packaged up some oats, colored sugars, and holiday "jimmies", and added toppers to the bags. You can't see it in the photos (because I did it after I took the photos), but these also got a spritz of super fine gold glitter for lots of shimmer and shine. Oooo la la!

I found lots of samples of Magic Reindeer Food on SplitCoastStampers by searching the gallery for "reindeer food". Some people used a poem, and others didn't. I found a poem I liked and then edited it a bit, just because.

The images of the reindeer on the front are from two different Recolections stamp sets I picked up at Michael's during a 50% off sale. The art reminds me of older Stampin' Up art that I LOVE, and I'm guessing were illustrated by the same artist that did the halloween set I used on these cards. Yup, I'd lay money on it, even.

Plum Jam

Yesterday morning I went to the grocery store and found plums on sale. Soooo, I brought some home and made some yummy plum jam!

I simply followed the recipe in the pectin box, and it was easy as can be. There's no need to peel plums when you make jam, and that really cuts down on the prep time.If you decide to make some for yourself, be sure to choose ripe fruit without blemishes, bruises, rot, or mold.

We enjoyed some at lunch today with Alan's parents, and mmmmm-mmm was it ever good!

SALSA!

We've had quite a lot of ripe tomatoes harvested this week, and we haven't been able to keep up with the harvest just by having fresh tomatoes. So, I decided to make some SALSA! I wanted to make a recipe that included fresh cilantro, but couldn't get my hands on any. And I haven't come across any cilantro seed either, so I haven't been able to grow my own in the garden.

So... when I was at the grocery store I picked up a little packet of dehydrated salsa ingredients (dried peppers, onions, herbs and seasoning) and used the recipe on the back of the packet along with the fresh tomatoes. The recipe couldn't get any easier ... chopped tomatoes, the ingredients of the packet, and 1/2 cup vinegar. (If you don't have fresh tomatoes on hand, store-bought canned/diced tomatoes can be used.) I chose to freeze one quart of the salsa to see if we like the result of it being frozen, and then canned the rest of it for longer shelf-life storage.

(Photo from Tattler's website)
I recently got some reusable canning jar lids by Tattler and thought this would be a great time to try them out. I've been using regular metal canning jar lids for our canned goods, but don't like that metal lids are really just a "one time wonder" when it comes to using them for preserving. (I do reuse the metal lids that are in good condition to cap jars that aren't being canned/sealed.)

Something else that's concerning is that I've noticed that metal canning lids are not always available in local stores. There always seems to be a few boxes of jars available, but extra lids aren't always in stock. Last time I bought a box of 12 metal regular sized canning lids (at a big-box store) I paid $1.63, and a box of wide mouth sized lids was $2.27. Investing in some reusable lids seems like a smart thing for me to do.

I like the fact that the Tattler lids are reusable again and again, that they're made with BPA-free materials, and that they're made in the US. I also like that they can be used in water-bath canners, pressure canners, and can even be used for vacuum-sealing!

I don't usually have trouble getting jars to seal, but since this was my first time using the Tattler lids, I kind of expected to have at least one or two seals fail simply due to my inexperience in using them. But I was very pleasantly surprised that every jar sealed up tight as can be! Beautifully! I also used Tattler lids to seal up a couple quart jars of yellow zucchini relish, and they turned out great, too!

Overall I'm pleased with the lids and the results. I opened up one of the salsa jars to test the seal and the salsa, and was impressed with both! Time for me to order up a few more boxes of Tattler lids and seals!

Would you like to try Tattler lids, too? I've arranged for the nice folks at Tattler to send one lucky (randomly selected) winner a box of 12 regular, and a box of 12 wide mouth lids. What a deal!! Leave me a note on this blog post and you'll be entered into the give-away. I would like to know what your favorite preserved food is, and what you enjoy preserving for you and your family. I will randomly select one winner on Monday morning, June 27th.

Now, where did that bag of chips go...

 

UPDATE: Comments for the drawing are now CLOSED. Thank you for all of your comments!

Birthday Cupcakes

Now that I've given Sue (Alan's mother) her birthday card, I can share it with you and not spoil the surprise! Oh, and by the way, don't tell anyone but you just MIGHT be seeing a SNEAK PEEK of one of my new cling sets for Whipper Snapper that's releasing next Monday. *grin*

I've been inspired by the doily craze in paper crafts, and for some reason I find myself using PINK again! Of course, I did make pink icing for the birthday cupcakes, so pink on Sue's birthday card seemed fitting.

I stamped the cupcake, rose, and banner images in brown ink and colored them with markers. I used paper snips to carefully cut them out, added fine crystal glitter for lots of sugary sparkle, and layered them on a tag.

In addition to the card, I made a cute cupcake topper! Again, the images were stamped in brown ink, colored with markers, cut out and layered together. I added glitter for shine, and adhered the entire ensemble to a toothpick.

The sentiment was adhered to a large sewing pin (which had a pearl colored head). The sharp end of the pin was then adhered to the backside of the paper cupcake beneath a piece of cardstock for safety. Cute! And the cupcakes sure were tasty!

Homemade Yogurt: A Success!

I am quite pleased with the canning kettle/heating pad set up I put together last night for the yogurt experiment. I've never done this before and I think it worked excellent! I won't be buying a yogurt maker; I'm thrilled this could be done with things I already have in the kitchen. This morning, I checked the progress and was pleased to see that the milk I put in the jars last night had turned into a very smooth and creamy yogurt! I put them in the fridge to cool, and anticipated trying them.

Lunchtime rolled around and the smaller of the jars I prepared was cool, so I cracked it open. It smelled WONDERFUL! And the taste .... EXCELLENT! Very creamy, with a texture like silk, and tangy but by no means tart. I will definitly be doing this again, and again!

Homemade Yogurt: A First Attempt

I *love* yogurt. Plain yogurt with a splash of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg. Yummm! I figured it was about time I learned how to make it at home. This evening I did some digging around online, and even posted a question on my facebook page about making homemade yogurt. I found several sources that helped me come up with my current "experiment". I'll add some links below if you're interested in them.

But first, I had to run to the store for milk! I brought home a half gallon, which seemed like it would make plenty for just me for a week (Alan doesn't eat yogurt). I gathered up all of the ingredients, sterilized several jars, set out my enameled cast iron dutch oven, the canning kettle, several towels, a thermometer, and a heating pad (one that doesn't have auto-shutoff). To the dutch oven I added the half gallon of milk and 1 cup of powdered milk, and heated the mixture to 170*. I added a bit of honey and vanilla, and let it cool to 115*. Once at 115*, I added about a 1/3 cup (I probably should have added 1/4 cup more...) of Fage 0% Greek yogurt for the "starter". I always have several containers of it in the fridge...mmmmm!

Once the starter yogurt was stired in, I ladled the mixture into the sterile jars, and set them into the canning kettle which INSTEAD OF WATER had the warm heating pad in the center. I covered the jars and heating pad loosely with towels, inserted a thermometer, and watched. The heating pad does a GREAT job of keeping the heat in the kettle very consistent! I'm thrilled! By morning, I should have some tasty homemade yogurt to enjoy... or, at least, I hope I do! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Do you make your own homemade yogurt? I'd love to hear how you do it!

Links to check out:
Good Eats Video: Good Milk Gone Bad  He only heats the milk/powdered milk mixture to 120*, then lets it cool to 115*. I will try this next time. That would take a lot less time.
YankeePrepper YouTube Video: How to Make Your Own Yogurt
Nourished Kitchen: Homemade Yogurt

 

EDITED TO ADD:
Want to know how this yogurt experiment turned out? Read Homemade Yogurt: A Success!

Make These Cookies

You will be glad you did.

With cranberries and white chocolate chips, they're perfect for Valentine's Day!

You will find the recipe HERE.

ENJOY!

Dill Pickle Soup

About 10 or 11 years ago, I spent a week or so in Toronto to attend company meetings. A coworker local to the area took me to dinner at a small family owned restaurant in the Polish community of Toronto. She insisted that I have pickle soup. I wasn't too sure about ordering it, but did so at her urging. I was pleasantly surprised... in fact, it was delicious!

I asked the owner about the ingredients, and she gave me a rough estimate of what to use (her recipe is obviously for a much larger batch). When I got home from my business trip, I did a bit of digging for a recipe that had the ingredients and approximate portions given to me by the restaurant owner. I keep the recipe in my #1 go-to cookbook, and see it there often.

While Alan was in Missouri earlier this week, I decided to make myself a batch using a jar of my homegrown and canned garlic dills. Mmmmm, good!

If you've never tried dill pickle soup and you like dill pickles, I encourage you to try this recipe! You might find it as enjoyable as I do! It's an easy recipe to cut in half, and the ingredients are simple -- you might even have them already on hand!

Dill Pickle Soup
from Anna (SweetMissDaisy) Wight

1 pound dill pickles
All of the pickle juice in the jar
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup finely diced carrots
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
   (or 1 tablespoon dried dill weed)
1 cup heavy cream
Lemon juice to taste
Sour cream (dollop on top when soup is served)
**Small pre-cooked potato cubes can also be added**

Directions:
Remove the pickles from the juice and slice the pickles thinly, reserving all of the juice from the pickles and all of the juice in the jar. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a good sized soup pot. Add the pickle slices and saute them over medium heat for 3 minutes.

Push the pickles to one side of the soup pot, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, the onions and the garlic. Cook until soft and lightly browned. Combine the pickles with the onions and cook together for 1 minute.

Add 1 cup of stock and bring just to a boil, scraping up any browned goodness from the bottom of the pan. Add the rest of the stock, the reserved pickle juice, and the carrots (and the pre-cooked potato cubes if you choose to use them). Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

Knead together the softened butter, flour and dill into a ball and add it to the simmering soup, stirring to blend. Cook for 2 minutes, until the soup thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in cream.

Taste and adjust seasoning, remembering that salt tends to accentuate the SOUR flavor. If soup is not tart enough, add small amounts of lemon juice to taste.

Serve hot with dollops of sour cream. (This part is highly recommended!)

Enjoy!

Mulling Spice Packets

Here's a project I put the finishing touches on last weekend. I wanted to share some delicious mulling spices with friends, so I put together little gift packets. I decorated each one with a tea dyed paper doily, crinkle ribbon (also tea dyed), little wooden button (also tea dyed), and mini-tag (...yes, tea dyed). The mini-tag is stamped with a sentiment from my holiday Whipper Snapper set called Got Mistletoe?.

I added little silver glittered sprigs of fern, a yummy cinnamon stick, and even some glitter for sparkle! Not only are mulling spices wonderful added to cider (and red wine), but I use them to scent up the house for the holidays. A few tablespoons of mulling spices added to a pot of simmering water on the stove makes the house smell "perfect" all day long! In fact, I have a kettle on the stove right now, and the house smells all warm and festive.

The mulling spices are inside a clear bag which is the same size as the glasine packet. Since the packets were being mailed, I wanted the package to have a bit of extra strength to keep the spices inside. And, the clear bag inside seals in the freshness of the spices. When they arrive, the spices will be as fresh and fragrant as possible! And hopefully just as cute!

The decorated packets were inspired by the letter "Mmmmm", and by my friend Michelle (Mish), who loves paper doilies.

Cranberry Cookies in a Jar

I wanted to put together some "cookies in a jar" for some of the locals we know, for Christmas. In the past I've done all kinds of baking and put together a sample plate of all my different different baked goods and candies. I'm not sure I'll have the time to do as much baking this year, so I decided to do "cookies in a jar" for some of the locals we know. I was browsing allrecipes.com for recipe options when I came across this recipe. To make sure the cookies were good enough for gift-giving, I whipped up a batch. So glad I did!

The recipe seems rather "dry" when mixing it together, but the cookies cook up really moist and delicious! And, the raw dough is just as good as the baked cookies! *grin*

Here's one of the mix jars I put together for one of the neighbors. I kept the decor of the jar quite simple. I hope they enjoy the cookies as much as we do!

PS: Costco has the BEST dried cranberries! Goodness, they're yummy!! I should have picked up two bags!

Huckleberry Bounce

Dad posted his recipe for Huckleberry Bounce on an earlier post, and I thought it was worthy of it's own post. Enjoy, in moderation!

Huckleberry Bouce (DK Wight)
In his words...

Ah,...Huckleberry bounce... A "cordial". It is made with "Shine" or "Everclear". Vodka can be used if you must but use the "high test" stuff.

1 cup of berries, I prefer huckleberries that have been "frosted" but do realize that many can't be so picky. Blueberries, raspberries or any berries that you may have, even Elderberries (use extra sugar).

1 cup of sugar, get a larger bottle for this as it makes a more consistent batch.

One "fifth" of the hooch, combine with the sugar and fruit and mix well desolving the sugar, it is not necessary to crush the fruit.

Pour the mix into the bigger jug and let it "work" for 30 days or so, then strain through a seive lined with fine cloth to catch the seeds and pulp which will soften and fall apart. I shake it once in a while before straining.

Place the finished product into bottles for presentation. Shine or Everclear is usually 190 proof; this is a sippin' drink! It'll roll a line half an inch up the glass and your eyes into the top of your head!

Warning..... This has been known to lower inhibitions and can lead to the "arrival" of "unexpected children".........wanted or not... ;)

Love, Dad

How many of you are now wondering if I'm a "Bounce" baby!? *grin*

pumpkin poo.

I'm not usually one for "poop" poem packages, but I thought I would make an exception for halloween. I came across a "pumpkin poop" poem online, printed it out on some kraft cardstock, and put together this package of candy corn.

Here is the poem text if you want to create your own pumpkin poop packages...

Pumpkin Poop
I started to carve a pumpkin
with my carving knife and scoop
but the pumpkin got so scared
he took a little poop!
It looked so cute and funny
just like a candy treat
so I'm sharing it with you
because you are so sweet!

Sorry, I don't know who the author is, so I can't offer credit...

I did a search on SplitCoastStampers to see if anyone had used the pumpkin poop peom, and sure enough! They have! Enjoy the gallery!

Speaking of pumpkins, we've got a few pumpkins in the garden! They're all about the size of bowling balls, so not very large, but hey ... it's a miracle as far as I'm concerned considering the heat we had, and the trouble they had setting fruit!

Warm Greetings Tag

I love snowmen. Snowmen of all kinds. Tall and short. Fat and thin, cute and vintage. I love them all. I always include a few snowman images in the January Whipper Snapper image release, and well, let's just say that this *might* just be a sneak peak at a fella you'll see in rubber in early 2011! How's that for an extended teaser?! I couldn't wait to share him. *grin* The sentiment and snowflake stamp I used on this card are from my Think Snow cling set, from Whipper Snapper.

I thought I would whip up this charming tag not only to give you a peek at my new snowman, but to also remind you about my crystal snowflake tutorial! I started creating layered crystal snowflakes for the 2008 holiday season and they were a big hit! The crystal snowflake tutorial page continues to be one of the most popular pages of my blog.

Here are a few projects I created that showcase my snowflakes; links to the original post about the project included below each photo.

Birch Bark Candle

Stylin' & Tasty

Designer Snowflake

Snowflakes, Kisses & Peace

Get ready to dust off those snowflake punches, dig out the crystal glitter, and have yourself some FUN!

Sweet Miss Daisy's Savory Snacks (for dogs)

As I was putting together the recipe for Daisy's birthday cookies, I decided to alter the recipe a bit. The results are a healthy savory snack, perfect for your favorite canine!

Once I had the altered recipe mixed (recipe below), I rolled the dough out onto my cutting surface and cut out small dog, and heart, shaped snacks.

The snacks baked up nicely on a regular baking sheet -- no surface spray or parchment paper needed. The snacks don't spread while they're baking so you can really load up your baking sheet.

Once baked, let the snacks cool slightly on the baking sheet before removing. I moved the barely warm snacks to a bowl for final cooling before putting them in a storage container.

Daisy and Farley give these snacks a very enthusiastic four paws up! They smell GREAT while cooking, too!

Sweet Miss Daisy's Savory Snacks (for dogs)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 TBS garlic powder
1 TBS dried oregano
1 TBS dried parsley
2 tsp paprika
1 TBS chicken spice rub (like Montreal Chicken Seasoning)
5 TBS flax seed (I added whole seeds and ground seeds)
1 egg
1/4 cup veggie oil
1/3 cup milk

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and seasonings together in a mixing bowl. Stir in egg, oil and milk. (Use a fork for the mixing; it works great!) The dough will be somewhat dry, but it will stick together when you knead it.

On a wheat floured surface, knead the dough 10-15 times. Pat into nicely shaped ball and roll out onto cutting surface 1/4 inch thick. Use small cookie cutters to cut shapes, or cut into 1.5" squares. Bake on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes. Let cool some on the baking sheet before removing. Store cooled snacks in an airtight container.

Garden Fresh Red/Yellow/Orange Bell Pepper Jelly

I planted red, yellow, and orange bell pepper plants in the garden this year. I love sweet bell peppers, but Alan isn't too fond of them. Over the weekend, I picked a dozen peppers from the garden! That's too many for me to eat by myself before they go soft, so I thought I would make a batch of sweet bell pepper jelly. When I was in high school, some family friends gave our family a jar of homemade pepper jelly. It must have made quite the impression on me, as I've saved the recipe ever since. This is the first time I've made the recipe myself, and it was quite simple. If you have an abundance of peppers on hand, I highly recommend it! (Recipe below.)

It's a sweet jelly that is so good as an occasional treat with cream cheese on crackers, as a sweet sandwich spread with chicken or turkey, mixed into stirfry, as a side dressing for fish, or even thinned as a salad dressing.

Today, I chose to enjoy some as a quick afternoon snack with cream cheese and whole grain crackers. Yum!

Holiday Sweet Red Pepper Jelly (Sue Jones)
6 large red or green bell peppers
7 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed hot red pepper (optional)
1 bottle liquid pectin (I used 1 packet, probably could have used 2)

Process peppers & vinegar in blender or food processor, until finely chopped. In large pot, bring all ingredients to a boil, and continue to boil on medium heat for 20 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars; hot water bath seal for 8 minutes. Makes 5-6 pints.

Garden Monsters

This week, I picked these monsters from the garden. The three zucchini weigh in at a total of 11.75 pounds. We have all KINDS of zucchini grated up in the freezer, and loaves of homemade zucchini bread stored there too, so I decided to make another batch of zucchini candy. This time, with so much zucchini in the pot, I altered the recipe a bit. The original recipe is here, but this time I used 3 packets of unsweetened kool-aid (2 black cherry, 1 grape). I let the mixture cook until the zucchini lost all of it's opaque appearance (I think I had it on the stove for about 45 minutes), and then I let it sit off the heat until the water cooled to room temperature. Then, I processed as normal in the dehydrator. This batch of candy is the BEST! The subtle grape flavor with the black cherry flavor is excellent! The pieces are soft and chewy, kind of like gummy bears, kind of like fruit leather. We love it!

I also picked this odd patty pan squash, too! A double-whammy!

Carol's Chocolate Zucchini Bread

What does this image have to do with the title and topic of this post? Absolutely nothing! Just thought I'd share a peek at an new image for Whipper Snapper Designs -- part of the upcoming September release happening soon!

Friend and blog reader, Carol, sent me a chocolate zucchini bread recipe. Alan LOVES chocolate, and the recipe sounded delish, so Friday night I whipped up a batch. It did NOT disappoint! In fact, Sunday night I whipped up a second batch (stocking up the freezer with yummy homemade bread is a good thing!)

Carol gave me the OK to share the recipe, so here you go! Now go make it! Today! You'll be glad you did!

Carol's Chocolate Zucchini Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour with great success!)
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon (Carol and I use a little less)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini (I used 3 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (why not add a few more, for good measure!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees. Lightly grease two 9X5 loaf pans

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and eggs, beat until well blended. Add oil and vanilla, mix well. Stir in zucchini. Add flour mixture, stir until just moistened. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon into loaf pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, Remove from pans, cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy!!

Thanks to Carol for the wonderful recipe! I love it, and so does Alan!

Instead of using zucchini for my second batch, I used patty pan squash! It was WONDERFUL!

Patty Pan Squash Whole Wheat and Pecan Bread

(How's that for a title!)

We have so many squash and zucchini coming in from the garden, and I'm enjoying trying different ways of preparing them. This evening for dinner we had New York steak (farm raised, you betchya!), oven toasted whole grain bread, and we enjoyed sauted Patty Pan and yellow squash. Yum!

After dinner, I thought I would use up a bit more Patty Pan squash, so I decided to make the bread I've been meaning to make since late last week. It's as good as I'd hoped! Enjoy the recipe!

Anna's Patty Pan Squash, Whole Wheat and Pecan Bread
3 cups whole wheat flour (or use 1 1/2 cups white flour and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat for a lighter bread)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/3 cups sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated Patty Pan Squash
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans.
Combine flour, salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl.
Add sifted ingredients to the wet mixture; beat well.
Stir in squash and nuts until well combined.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 50 to 70 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove loaves from pan, and completely cool.

Eat when warm! Mmmmm, good!!
Enjoy morning, noon, and night...
Or freeze for enjoying later...
Or, try toasting a slice and spread on some soft butter....mmmm, good!

What to do with a 5 pound zucchini...

While I was away in Washington, Alan did a great job of watering the garden. So great, in fact, he managed to grow (unknowingly) a 5 pound zucchini! It was a MONSTER! Knowing it would be too tough to enjoy sauted, I had to come up with some other way to use it, and I already have enough frozen grated zucchini for bread recipes for the rest of the year. I thought I remembered a way to make candy out of zucchini, so I did a quick google search for candied zucchini and found several sites that mentioned recipes. Perfect!

Here's how I made candied zucchini...

First I peeled the monster, spooned out the seeds and soft center, and chopped it up into about 1"x1" cubes. I ended up with about 8 or 9 cups of zucchini cubes.

I added the cubes to 6 cups water (I saw recipes with as little as 3 cups water, and I will try using less water next time I make a batch), 2 1/2 cups sugar, and 2 packets of black cherry kool-aid drink mix. I brought the mixture to a boil, turned the heat down to medium, and let it cook for about an hour.

When the cubes were slightly "transparent" looking, I spooned them out of the mixture. I spread the ruby cubes on the racks of the food dehydrator, set the temp for 125, and let it sit for about 16 hours.

They really condenced down!

Once the cubes were no longer sticky, I tossed them in a baggie containing a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar and a bit of corn starch. After shaking them around to get them well coated, I poured the sugared cubes into a fine mesh colander, shook off the excess powdered coating into the sink, and poured them into a dish. Delish! Zucchini candy!

What's amazing is that the once 5 pound zucchini now fits in a pint sized jar.

relish and jam and pickles, oh my!

I've been busy in the kitchen... in total, 10 pints and 2 half pints zucchini relish done. YUM! I use the recipe my Mom uses, but I omit the green pepper. (I also use yellow squash as well as zucchini, so my relish isn't as green as relish made with only green zucchini.)

Sweet Zucchini Relish (Lori Wight)
    {Makes roughly 6 Pints}
10 Cups unpeeled zucchini, grated
4 Cups onion, grated (I like to use sweet onion)
1 red bell pepper, grated
2 green bell peppers, grated (I omit)
5 Tablespoons canning/pickling salt
6 Cups white sugar
2 1/4 Cups white vinegar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
1 Tablespoon ground turmeric
1 Tablespoon celery seed
1/2 Teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
1. Place the grated zucchini, red and green bell peppers, and onion in a large glass bowl. Mix the salt throughout the zucchini. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. The following morning, drain and rinse well with cold water. Pick up combined ingredients by handfuls and squeeze excess water out.
3. Place the remaining ingredients into a large pot. Stir to combine, then add the zucchini mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes, stirring often.
4. Pack hot relish into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4-1/2 inch at top. Wipe the rims with a clean damp cloth, and seal with lids and rings. Process jars in boiling water bath for 30 minutes.

 

Peach jam, with a hint of orange... 15 half pints and 10 twelve ounce jars done. YUMMM!

Peach Jam with a Hint of Orange (Anna Wight)
10 Cups fresh peaches, blanched, peeled, and chopped
9 Cups white sugar
3 Tablespoons butter
3/4 Teaspoon pure orange extract

Directions
1. Combine peaches and 5 cups sugar in a large stock pot. Mix well and bring to a boil, stirring often so it doesn't scorch! Allow to boil for 15 minutes.
2. Add butter, remaining sugar, and orange extract. Bring to boil again, and boil for 15 minutes. (The butter helps reduce the amount of "froth" created from the boiling.)
3. Test jam consistency on a cold (out of the freezer) saucer. If it still seems too runny, cook longer.
4. Pack hot jam into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4-1/2 inch at top. Wipe the rims with a clean damp cloth, and seal with lids and rings. Process jars in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

 

Dill pickles and sweet pickles...Yummm yummmm YUM!

I'm keeping track of what I make on a simple spreadsheet.

And I'm keeping track of the pounds we harvest, too! It will be fun to see the other numbers start adding up when things get ready for picking!

Oh, and peach jam sure is good in plain yogurt! Yummmmm!

Peanut Butter Pie

We had Alan's parents, sister, and nephew over for a nice steak dinner tonight. I fixed this recipe for dessert and served it in little individual pie shells. Pretty good! Sorry, no photos... 

Peanut Butter Pie (no bake)
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) package frozen whipped topping (thawed)
8 (3-inch) prepared graham cracker crusts OR 1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker or cookie crust

Directions:
Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; mix well. Add peanut butter and milk; mix until smooth. Fold in thawed whipped topping. Spoon into eight 3-inch graham cracker pie shells, or into one 9-inch graham cracker (or cookie) crust and freeze until firm. Serve directly from the freezer.

Zucchini Bread

 
Here's what I made with our JUMBO sized zucchini, yesterday. Mmmmm.... so good!

Anna's Zucchini Bread
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/3 cups sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini (if using extra large zucchini, slice open and remove seeds)
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans.
Combine flour, salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl.
Add sifted ingredients to the wet mixture; beat well.
Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 50 to 70 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove loaves from pan, and completely cool.

Eat when warm! Mmmmm, good!!
Enjoy morning, noon, and night...
Or freeze for enjoying later... mmmm, good!

I prefer to eat my bread plain, but you could spread on some soft butter.

Suppertime

Too bad you couldn't join us for supper! It was deeee-LISH!

 
Grilled asparagus, mushrooms, and garlic - oh my! Simply snap or cut the asparagus in thirds, thickly slice the mushrooms, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic. I love this grill bowl for quick and easy dishes like this.

 
Farm raised beef... oh my my! Lightly brushed with olive oil and seasoned with garlic powder, crushed pepper, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and more garlic... on the hot grill!

And to top it off, delicious zucchini bread warm and fresh from the oven. Mmmmmm, good! And there's plenty of zucchini bread left for breakfast! By the way, those of you who guessed/suggested zucchini bread on my previous post were right on track! It was in the oven baking and smellin' good!

Update: For those of you looking for a similar bowl, I picked this one up at Target (if I remember correctly) last summer, or the summer before. I did a search for you, and found several online retailers:

Mr Bar-B-Que Non Stick Grilling Bowl: Le Gourmet Chef
Grill Woks on Amazon
Grill Woks at Target

Have fun shopping!

Homemade Sweet Pickles

What else have I got to do today besides brew up some homemade pickles? Honestly, the "to do" list is a mile long, but freshly harvested produce moves quickly to the top of any list of tasks.

Since I'm out of dill, and so are all the local stores, today's recipe called for a sweet flavor. I decided to use the Good Eats sweet pickle (refrigerator) recipe. You will find the show's transcript here (recipe starts at Scene 6), and you can watch the recipe portion of the episode on YouTube here.

 
The cucumber plants are growing nicely, and twice now I've been able to harvest nearly 2 pounds of cucumbers. And there are lots more little cucumbers growing!

 
This morning's harvest was a variety of sizes, and well, shapes. 

 
Once I had the little fruits picked, it was time to wash them up under cold water and really give them a good scrubbing. Scrubbing removes the little prickly things on the skin, and really works off any dirt or other foreign particles that might be on the skin. (By the way, I keep my veggie scrubber nice and clean by running it through the dishwasher after using it.)

 
After their scrubbing, they are nice and glossy and no longer have their dull finish.

 
There is a variety of ways you can prepare the cucumbers for pickling. This morning, I chose to do simple coin slices.

 
Once sliced, I soak the cucumbers in an ice and salt water bath. We don't like the flavor of our tap water, so I used bottled water for this process. Today's batch fit into a serving bowl, so I popped it into the fridge for 2-3 hours. Putting the bowl in the fridge while they soak really minimizes the number of times I need to add ice to the water and really chills the cucumbers.

 
A few hours later, I sterilized my jars, lids and rings and got ready for the canning process.

 
I put the brine mixture on the stove to cook. This recipe calls for bringing the brine ingredients to a boil, and then letting them simmer for four minutes. I used bottled water for the brine water too, since we don't like the flavor of our tap water.

 
Once the jars were ready, I carefully filled each jar with the sliced cucumbers and some sweet onion slices.

 
I didn't quite have enough cucumbers to completely fill all four jars, so I topped them off with a few more slices of onion.

 
I added the brine to the jars, wiped off the rims of the jars, and added the lids and rings. This recipe is a refrigerator recipe, so it doesn't have to be hot water processed once the jars are lidded. After the jars cool to room temperature, I'll put them in the fridge for keeping.

Mmmm, delish!

Fruity Smoothie

I eat yogurt nearly every day. Usually for breakfast, but sometimes for lunch instead.

My yogurt of choice is non-fat plain, or 0% Greek strained plain (Costco sells large containers of Fage, and I like it the best!). I add a dash of vanilla, sometimes a dash of cinnamon, maybe some Fiber-One or Uncle Sam cereal for crunch, or blueberries. Mmmm!

Today I was in the mood for something a little different. We have a bunch of berries in the fridge, so I decided to blend up a little fruity smoothie!

1 Cup Yogurt (I used non-fat plain, today)
1 Cup Mixed Berries (I used blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries)
Glug of Vanilla (maybe a tsp or two?)

Blend well, pour into a favorite glass, and breakfast is served! Enjoy!

PS: I should also add that my yogurt was previously frozen, so it was a bit thinner than normal. To thin your smoothie a bit if you find it to be too thick for your liking, you can add a bit of fruit juice (like orange or mango juice) to your blend. Or try adding a bit of milk! I find that the water left on the berries after washing them is usually enough extra liquid for me (when the yogurt hasn't been frozen), but you might like your smoothies a bit thinner.

FoodSaver Learning Curve

Over the weekend, I made a trip up to the city. One of my stops was Costco where I picked up a FoodSaver. Thanks to those of you who made recommendations! Your input was helpful!

 
We have about 50 feet of bean plants growing, some farther along than others, and I'm hoping we'll be inundated with beans when they start putting on flowers. I want to freeze the beans when they're freshly picked, and thought the vacuum seal option made the most sense for us. And I'll be able to use it for our meat as well. The meat comes paper wrapped from the butcher, and I worry about the amount of time it can stay fresh in freezer paper.

While at Costco, I also picked up some groceries and household necessities (while I waited for new tires to be put on the ol' Honda Pilot). There was just enough room in the cart for some fresh berries and a package of pound cakes (containing three cakes). Yum!

 
The cakes were fresh, and beautiful. We enjoyed one of them over the weekend, and the remaining two seemed like the perfect thing to pop into the freezer for later.

 
I must say, there is a bit of a learning curve with the FoodSaver and "soft" items. What started out a perfectly shaped pound cake, VERY quickly turned into...

 
...a not so perfectly shaped pound cake, sealed up tightly.

 
I guess I should have hit the "STOP" button a bit sooner!

Not to worry though... I cut open the sealed bag, let the cake sit on the counter for a few minutes to regain it's shape, and then sealed it up once more -- this time paying a bit more attention to the timing of "STOP".

I also put together some sealed packages of fresh strawberries, and some packages of chopped nuts, too! What a fun gadget! Can't wait to get those beans in the freezer!

On the Grill

 

Alan and I had a wonderful dinner of grilled veggies, and farm raised burgers! Unfortunately, the only veggie in the mix that was grown here on the farm so far was the zucchini; the rest came from the market. There was a mix of brown mushrooms, red bell pepper, sweet onion, and of course zucchini. Once I had the veggies all chopped, I very lightly drizzled them with olive oil and tossed them in my grilling bowl. I added some garlic and a bit of fresh ground pepper and set the pan on the hot grill. I only stir the veggies a few times while they cook, so I don't break them up with my wooden spoon. I've found that this grill bowl takes a bit longer to cook the veggies than it takes to grill burgers, so I start the veggies cooking while I'm preparing the burgers. If you've never cooked veggies like this on the grill, we highly recommend it! It's one of my Dad's favorite summertime dishes, too! And, this bowl works great for smaller sized shrimp, too!

 
The burgers were seasoned with garlic powder (my favorite seasoning), a sprinkle of red bell pepper flakes, and some fresh ground pepper. Deeeeee-lish!

What's on your menu for Father's Day? We're having Alan's parents over for dinner on Sunday. Any family favorites you serve up for the weekend?

Update: For those of you looking for a similar bowl, I picked this one up at Target (if I remember correctly) last summer, or the summer before. I did a search for you, and found several online retailers:

Mr Bar-B-Que Non Stick Grilling Bowl: Le Gourmet Chef
Grill Woks on Amazon
Grill Woks at Target

Have fun shopping!

Zucchini

 
Last night we enjoyed our first farm raised zucchini, and it was delish! I sliced it up, along with some broccoli, onion, and carrots, and cooked it all up in my new All-Clad stir fry pan. I was very excited for this pan to arrive, and it didn't disappoint! The veggies cooked up beautifully! I also cooked up some chicken breast, following this recipe (almost exactly ... not quite). Mmmmm...good.

 
The slices were so tender and juicy, and it couldn't have been any fresher unless I gnawed it off the plant in the garden! *giggle*

 
By the looks of things, we'll be enjoying zucchini for some time. 

 
Time to do some more picking! I think this will be dinner tomorrow!

PS: I just came in from locking up the chickens and watering the plants, and the zuc in the last photo above is noticeably larger than it was earlier today! Holy moley, they grow fast!

PSS: Does anyone have a FoodSaver? And if so, do you like it?

Happy Easter!

 
Hope you have fun celebrations today! Happy Easter!

Last night I decided to put a little color on some of our fresh eggs.

 
In coffee mugs, I used a simple solution of hot water, a tablespoon of vinegar (per color), and food coloring. While the eggs were still warm from being hard boiled, I let the eggs rest in the mugs to pick up color. I love how bright the colors turned out!

Enjoy your celebrations today, and be sure to enjoy an egg or two! I know I will!

Carrot Smoothie

Spring is upon us, and some of the girls in the hen house are looking a little rough around the edges. I thought it might be time for a little pick-me-up treat.

 
A few months ago I read about a sort of "energy" drink that the birds might enjoy. Pureed carrots, vitamin C, echinacea, vitamin B12, and garlic. I whipped up a batch today -- the girls have been working hard at producing eggs, and they deserve a carrot smoothie! By the way, have you been keeping up with the daily egg count? Check it out!

 
I added the mixture to one of their 3-gallon water containers, and filled the rest of the container with cool, fresh water.

 
The girls gave it two toes up! Even Wiley thought it was grand!

Edited to Add: Found the site where I read about the drink. She didn't use vitamin B12 in her version, but I did.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Warning: These are delish... be prepared to make a second, third, fourth batch. *grin*

 

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
1lb Chocolate Almond Bark (I like using Semi-Sweet Baker's Chocolate Squares)
2 8oz (16oz) Milk Chocolate Bars
Melt together using double-boiler method; keep warm.

1 1/2 Cups Peanut Butter
3/4 Cup Butter
2 1/2 - 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
Cream together and form into small 1" balls.

Drop approximately 1 tsp melted chocolate into small paper baking cups. Place one peanut butter ball in center of each cup on top of the melted chocolate. Add more chocolate to cover up the entire peanut butter ball. (Alan likes to fill them LEVEL to the edge of the paper cup. I'm a bit more reserved.) Cool in fridge to set. 

Dig in!

Checking off my list!

Pardon me while I dust the flour off of my nose and sleeves...

Thank you for all the responses about your favorite Christmas cookies! They all sounded so delish! You were very inspiring, so I got to work in the kitchen. Every night this week I've been busy baking for our holiday treat platters. We'll be delivering our holiday treats a bit early this year as I'll be flying up to Washington a week before Christmas and I don't want to wait until the new year to deliver all of these goodies.

I've made a lot of progress on my list, and the freezer is getting full!

The LIST:
Anna Banana Bread: DONE (no photo)

 
Snickerdoodles: DONE!

 
Soft Molasses Cookies: Done - YUMM!

 
Peanut Butter (Balls) Cups: 1 batch done... several more yet to do

 
White Chocolate Pretzel Rods: DONE (I made a gajillion!)

Hershey Chocolate Kiss Cookies: Done! (no photo)
Hershey Brownie Bites: Done (no photo)

What's left...
More Peanut Butter (Balls) Cups
Possibly more Anna Banana Bread...
Toffee...
...and Peppermint Bark

Then, finally, I'll start with the assembly of the treat trays. Yay!

I've also been busy sewing, but I can't share details or photos of those projects -- nothing like ruining Christmas surprises! *grin*

Update on Little Miss Penny: A day of house-bound pampering did her well. She recovered fully, and after a quick pedicure was returned to the hen house. She chatted up a storm with all the ladies, no doubt telling them all about her day at the spa.

Soup's On!

With temperatures cooling, leaves falling, and days getting shorter, it's high time for soup! Alan isn't home for dinner tonight, so I took the opportunity to make myself some homemade split pea soup (Alan doesn't like split pea soup, so more for me!) It turned out so GOOD! I thought I'd share my own personal recipe...

Dee-lish Split Pea Soup
   from the kitchen of Anna Wight

2 Cups Split Peas
5-6 Cups Water
½ tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp Paprika
¼ tsp Dried Basil
¼-½ tsp Chipolte Chile Pepper
¼ tsp Celery Seed
¼ tsp Dried Rosemary

Bring to boil and let simmer 45-50 minutes
Blend ½, or all, of soup in blender (depending on how smooth you like your soup)

Deee-LISH!

sweet, wonderful you...

I recently used the last of a jar of jelly and decided to re-purpose the jar - it's a cute shape! I filled the jar to the rim with some of my favorite jelly bean flavors and got busy on the decor. I had intended on using the Singing Cowboy fella, but the colors of the beans looked more girly (lots of pinks, yellows and greens), so I chose to use my Cowgirl Up gal instead.

For the tag I used a piece of light weight cardboard (probably from a paper pack insert), Cosmo Cricket paper and twill, a couple of Rusty Pickle buttons, and hemp twine. My cowgirl is stamped on watercolor paper, painted, cut out, and adhered to the tag with foam adhesive. I added lots of faux stitching using one of my vintage tracing wheels.

The sentiment is from my Sweet Expressions set, from Whipper Snapper. When the tag was all assembled, I lightly spritzed it with Glimmer Mist (in Coffee Shop and Autumn Leaves colors).

Instead of using fabric to cover the lid of the jar, I chose to use a coordinating Cosmo Cricket paper. I cut a large square of paper, inked the edges, pressed it carefully around the lid of the jar, inked the creases and edges some more, and added some faux stitching around the outside edge. Finally, I tied it to the jar with hemp twine.

The most difficult part of this project was resisting all of those delicious jelly beans! I didn't sneak a single one!

Easy Peasy Candy Pails

Alan and I usually make homemade goodies for our friends and neighbors, but this year we just haven't had time for all the baking and candy making. So instead, I put together some simple gifts using store bought goodies for our neighbors instead. These little clear pails come in various sizes - this one is LOADED with various flavors of kisses. This pail is just perfect for a 12" paper band around the center. That made for quick assembly - one cut and I was ready!

The tag is two layers. The front is obviously the sentiment, but the red tag behind says "from Alan & Anna" (or something like that....)

After I took this photo, I slipped a pretty red and white candy cane behind the knot on the ribbon and the button. The candy cane dressed it up just a bit more.

Easy Peasy!

Stylin' & Tasty

Can you handle another gift idea using a jar and a crystal snowflake embellishment? I hope so ... I've got more to share! *grin*

This time, I packaged up some deeeeee-lish chocolate truffles in this cute little candy jar. I added a few shakes of crystal sugar and colored sprinkles to the jar too -- edible glitter!

I think the truffles resemble reindeer droppings, so it seemed fitting to use my "reindeer delivery" stamp from my North Pole Post set for Whipper Snapper. The paper has reindeer on it too! Super BasicGrey paper from last winter.

I added a little rusty jingle bell for charm, but it also doubles as a truffle alarm. Serious!

Here's another Reindeer Delivery project I put together for the season.

Snowflakes, Kisses, and Peace

I warned you that you'd see more snowflakes from me this week! I am so addicted to snowflakes these days!

 
Here's a quick and easy gift item for friends or co-workers. I picked up this fun square jar for a buck at Michael's last time I was in town. It's not the smallest size they had, but both sizes were the same price, and this one seemed a bit more generous as a gift. More room for more chocolates!

I also picked up a few bags of the oh-so-deelish Hot Cocoa flavored Hershey's Kisses. Mmmm! I filled the jar with kisses, tossed in some faux-snow, and wrapped the outside with Cosmo Cricket paper and crystal snowflake goodness!

 
I chose the "let there be peace" sentiment for this jar. The sentiment is from my Snowman for Peace set from Whipper Snapper.

'Tis the season...

Addicted to Crystal Snowflakes...

Yes. It's true. I feel the need to put them on everything. But that's just because I think they're FABULOUS, and WINTERY, and FUN!

I made this box using the same idea as my 4 x 4 Lidless box, but to adjust for the size of the tea packets I made it a bit smaller at 2.75 x 2.75. I was able to make the sides of the box out of one length of 12" paper, and two squares for the bottom. Twelve tea packets fit perfectly!

The paper is from the new holiday line by Cosmo Cricket called Oh Joy. *Love it!* The sentiment is from my Whipper Snapper set called Winter Schminter.

The snowflakes are both Marvy punches, and I used the Martha Stewart branch punch to add a "frilly" looking dark brown snowflake in the middle. I've got loads more Diamond Dust glitter, and don't have any plans of coming to the end of my crystal snowflake addiction any time soon. *grin*

Dressed up Tin

Did you watch Dancing with the Stars tonight? We did ... too much crazy singing. I also worked on a couple projects I've had in mind. Both of them use sentiments from Whipper Snapper sets.

First, I made this tin snowflake ornament using a 'tin-tiques' snowflake, some crystal snowflakes, and some glittered branches made with a Martha Stewart punch. This was a quick and easy project to make. The longest part was waiting for the adhesive and glitter to dry! The sentiment is from my North Pole Post set, and has become one of my favorite sentiments for the season.

I also put together this small tin of toasted marshmallow Jelly Belly candies! I used a 'tin-tiques' country star, a glittered snowflake, and a button to dress up the container. This was also a really quick project, but I think that if I were to do it again, I wouldn't glitter the tin star. I like the sparkle, but I prefer the look of the tin without the extra glitz. The sentiment on this project is from Winter Schminter, one of the November Whipper Snapper sets.

I'm so tired ... I'm headed to bed.
Sweet dreams!

Reindeer Delivery!

Wahooo! Another "something other than a card" production for me! I guess this is what happens to me around the holidays. Having little packages of things to give is FUN and thoughtful, and they don't have to break the bank.

I bought these clear pillow boxes from Clear Envelopes. They have a variety of sizes, and come with little round circle sticker seals. I *love* them! I'm going to be using them more and more often. They're a snap to put together since they're already cut and glued. All you have to do is give the sides a little squeeze, fold in the end flaps, and you're all set! The size I chose was 3x1x5, item #PB76 without the optional hangtag.

I picked up a package of YUMMY soft licorice last time I was at Target. I'm surprised I had enough to fill this pillow box, because the licorice is THAT good! But I had this project in mind, so I was "good".

I've seen Snowman Poop and Reindeer Poop holiday goodie bags, and wanted to create something similar without having to include any sort of "poop" poem. I think this project is just a bit more subtle, too, which I like.

The "Reindeer Delivery Handle with Care" sentiment is from my Whipper Snapper set called North Pole Post. After I had this all put together, I thought of stamping the clear pillow box with the reindeer hoof print that's also included in the set, but didn't want to take apart the entire ensemble. And I didn't have enough licorice for two! *haaa!*

The paper I used is from an old BasicGrey line. I liked it because it actually has reindeer on it! I must be addicted to crystal-covered snowflakes and buttons this year - I've been using them an awful lot these days. Who cares! I like the way it looks!

What are YOU making for the holidays this year?

be warm...

Here's something a little different than my usual routine - a warm drink gift set! Included in the box are several packets of Land O Lakes hot cocoa, On the Go Vanilla Latte drink mixes, TAZO tea bags, and some chocolate dipped peppermint sticks.

I couldn't find just the right shape/size box to hold it all, so I built this one using cardstock. Sorry, I don't have a template or photos of construction ... it was late when I made this! I can tell you that the box is 4" square, and was easy peasy! I'll try to put together a quick tutorial tonight.

The wrap around the box was made with first a layer of patterned paper, which I inked and did some faux stitching on. Then, I wrapped that layer with some felt ribbon from Stampin' Up. I punched two small 1/16" holes through the box (and ribbon) where I wanted to tie on the embellishment. Using twine, I tied the snowflake embellishment to a cinnamon stick, poked the twine ends through the holes punched in the box, and tied the ends of the twine inside the box to hold everything in place. Worked like a charm! As a final touch, I tied the red and white vintage striped ribbon around the twine beneath the cinnamon stick. That helped to keep everything snuggly in place.

The matching note card is small... about 3.5"x4.5". I used images from Winter Schminter, including the falling snowflakes as steam rising from the cocoa.

In other news, yesterday Kathleen reminded me that she'd asked for an update on the wee little kittens. I don't have any recent photos, but they're all doing well! Their mama moves them around the farm and neighboring pastures (we wish she wouldn't take them so far) teaching them to hunt. We did settle on some names for them. A young man suggested the name Sparky for the cute fuzzy butt kitten I was sharing photos of here on my blog. Alan liked the suggestion, so Sparky it is! The other male is Squirrelly, and the two females are P1 and P2. We can't actually tell them apart. It's amazing!

Alan WAS going to name them Precious 1 and Precious 2, but I won't allow it. Why, you ask? Well... I used to have a baby sitter named Precious. Yes, it's true.... it was her given name. I won't tell you what the rest of her name is, but I will say that her name (as well as the names of everyone else in the family, aside from her mother) has to do with rocks. Or stones. So... "Precious" is not allowed as a name for one of our critters. *grin*

Happy Birthday, Miss Daisy!

Today is Miss Daisy's 8th birthday! Woof Woof!!

Daisy is a chocolate lab. I adopted Daisy when she was four years old from a family who could no longer keep her. She'd been moved between several homes before she came to live with me. The family I adopted her from didn't feel like their home was the best place for her. They didn't trust their neighbors not to harm Daisy, so the family decided it would be best to find a safer place for her to live. It was a happy, happy day when Daisy came to live with me.

Big birthday wishes to you, my sweet Miss Daisy! You're STILL my favorite chocolate chunk!

Here's a great recipe for homemade, healthy dog treats if you're interested!

Sweet Miss Daisy *Hearts* Cookies
2 cups Whole Wheat flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 TBS Honey
1 Egg
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Milk (soy, rice, goat, or fat free cow)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and garlic powder together in a mixing bowl. Stir in honey, egg, oil and milk. (I just use a fork for all the mixing and it works great!) The dough will be somewhat dry, but it will stick together.

On a wheat floured surface, knead the dough 10-15 times. Pat into nicely shaped ball and roll out onto cutting surface 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes (we recommend HEARTS), or cut into 1.5" squares. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Let cool on the sheet. Serve one cookie to all dogs, and store remaining cookies in an airtight container.

All the dogs on the farm give these cookies TWO PAWS UP!

PS: Daisy says THANKS for the fun birthday wishes from Bogey and his family, and sends happy birthday wishes to Bogey's granny, who shares Daisy's birthday! *grin*

Today: 105.

Good GRIEF it's hot. Today's high on the thermometer was 105...and the thermometer is in the shade! Thankfully, I had a fresh idea for how to beat the heat.

If you have a Taco Bell in your area, you've got to try one of the Strawberry Mango Freeze drinks they're serving right now. Yummmmmy!! While my Mom and Dad were visiting, we had SEVERAL of these drinks -- they're delish! So good in fact, Mom had the great idea of making our own version of the slushy drinks (Taco Bell is a long way from our house).

My parents gave Alan and I a Cuisinart soft serve ice cream maker when they were here visiting. I used the machine for this recipe. Mix 3.5 cups of mango juice (juice isle of your local grocery store) with 1/2 a can of frozen orange juice concentrate (no water). Mix well and pour into the ice cream maker. In about 12 minutes you're left with a wonderfully fresh, fruity treat! Add a bit of thawed strawberries (and their juice) to the top, and enjoy!

Let's hope it's a bit cooler here tomorrow!