My Christmas Day Menu

It’s so funny, but really the holidays are just as busy for me as any other….I’m just trading “work” time for “kitchen time, lol.  It’s a good thing I don’t mind cooking and I know how much the family looks forwards to an extra-special menu.  This year is going to be a mix of traditional favorites along with a couple new items, like mock Beef Wellington and Brownie Trifle.

I was watching the moving Julie & Julia the other night with my teenager, and one of the dishes mentioned was beef wellington, and she was like, what’s that?  So I explained to her that it is was basically a cut of beef wrapped in dough and with gravy and she said it sounded great, and really it does and I’ve always wanted to try it out.    Of course, we are on a budget and I have a very picky 10 yr old, so I decided on It Tastes Like Beef Wellington which of course is not the traditional, but my son’s taste palette just wouldn’t like the “real” thing; the wine, mushrooms, pate, etc.  I plan on making them into individual beef “patty” wellingtons and drizzling them with Kittencal’s Beef Gravy, also a new recipe for me but I’ve tried her other stiff and she’s a good cook   The last new item will be dessert, Brownie Trifle.  I really wanted something simple but pretty, and of course something that everyone would eat!  I’ll of course be using my own made from scratch brownies and I may blend a little cool whip into the whipped cream just to lighten it up a little.  Oh, and I’m sure we’ll have a simple Green Bean Casserole or maybe an Almond and Cranberry Salad with sweet onion dressing for veggies and I do plan on making these Mashed Potatoes , which are always a huge hit.  So that takes care of dinner!

So what’s for brunch?  Because really, I only cook 2 meals.  Well, the kids always look forward to the Stardust Chocolate Pancakes, which I only make twice a year, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.  I like them with fresh strawberry sauce, but the kids are die-hard “syrup” fans.  I’ll serve that up with a a side of fresh cut fruit and Sausage and Cheese Pie, so good!

It may sound like a lot, but many of the items are pretty simple to make and the ingredients are easy to find/get.  Whatever you may have planned for your Christmas menu, just make sure it’s not too overwhelming so that you can relax a bit too!  And if you are on a budget, like many of us are, try creating a menu around simpler ingredients or ones that you already have on hand.  Also, consider what you will need to buy and if it is possible to make a “homemade” version.  You’d be surprised how easy it is to make certain items at home!

Simple treats to make & EAT with the kids

If your kids are anything like mine, they love vacation from school but get “bored” easily! So it’s definitely NOT a vacation for me trying to keep them occupied and entertained, lol. One thing we like to do over Christmas break is to bake something….anything! There is just something about the holiday season that has us all flocking to the kitchen to make something sweet, and even better, a sweet treat that can be shared at family get-togethers. Now, I don’t have pictures for all of these, but they are all recipes that we’ve tried before in the past and simply love. Easy enough for the little kids to help with, and tasty enough that everyone will be raving and asking for the recipes!

So here’s our list of simple yet tasty treats that everyone can help make and eat And of course my own personal notes, though I’ll try to keep it at a minimum!

1. Oreo Truffles-if you don’t have a food processor the cookies can be crushed in a ziploc bag. Make sure the cream cheese is room temp so it is easier to mix in. I highly recommend a “coating” chocolate such as Ghiradelli’s baking and coating chocolate (I get mine from Sam’s Club) as it coats so much easier and nicer then chocolate chips, even a chocolate “Bark” would work.
2. Mexican Wedding Cakes-aka “snowball cookies” – to prevent them from spreading too much, we always roll them into balls and freeze them before baking.
3. Any “No-Bake” recipe - these are GREAT for little kids, as they come together quick and can be eaten almost immediately! Most of them call for melting chocolate or flavored chips, peanut butter, or honey, as that is the “binder” that keeps everything together. You’ll also find that oatmeal, not flour, is the main ingredient in many of these. I especially love Special “k” bars or peanut butter rice crispy bars.
4. Puppy Chow-aka chex cereal mix – I warn you now, it’s messy to make but so good to eat!! If you have the time, toast the cereal in the oven just a little, it adds a little more crunch and depth of flavor to the final product.
5. Brownies- ok, I don’t have a specific recipe for you, but it REALLY depends on what KIND you like and what ingredients you have on hand. Fudgy, cakey, only cocoa powder, only real chocolate, etc. Just read the descriptions a little as well as the reviews and pick one to try! But if you really need a specific one that is easy and uses simple ingredients, the “whatever floats your boat” one is good and is so versatile.
6. Mmmm….trifles! Personally I don’t think us Americans make enough of these, and I don;t know why! They are usually VERY easy to make, as you just layer the ingredients, and they are so pretty!! We love the “strawberry cheesecake” trifle and it never lasts long enough for anyone to get seconds…and if you’re too slow you don’t get any! I also love them because they can be easily tailored to your tastes and ingredient quantities.
7. Cookies- cookies are always a favorite, just make sure to pick a simple drop or “scoop” cookie, much less fuss then the “roll-out” kind. I always use a cookie scoop to measure and ball out the dough, then freeze them before baking (keeps them nice and thick). recipezaar.com has thousands of recipes, so sometimes it’s easier to use the “filter by ingredient” tool to find a recipe that will work with what you have in your pantry. I also always use parchment paper to bake the cookies on, as it makes for easy clean-up and is naturally non-stick, so not greasing or buttering in needed.

There are so many other great recipes out there that I’m sure I’m not even touching on, but this should give you and the kids a good start!

The little luxuries that get me through the day…

little luxuries found on Etsy

In the story “the tortoise and the hare” I’d definitely be the tortoise…slow and steady. I may not make much of a “splash” in my everyday life and in how I handle things, but things get done and I’m persistent and dedicated, if nothing else. So it goes without saying that in my spending habits I’m much the same…just a few items for myself here and there and usually fairly inexpensive. I’m not into anything big, flashy, name brand, yadda yadda. But I do like my little “luxuries” here and there, which brighten up my day a little and make me feel just a little pampered. They are all things that I need/use daily anyways, so I don’t feel bad, haha.

First, I always start the day off with a good cup of coffee, not for the caffeine but for the flavor! I love extra tall mugs, so I have a few in the house just for coffee drinking. I also make sure to have nice-writing pens, perhaps the kind that come in 4-6 packs, and always in pretty colors. I admit it, I LOVE color, all shades, the more the better. I was always the who walked extra slowly by the department store make-up counters, not because I wanted to buy anything, but I just loved all of the colors! Then I have a pretty to-do list notepad that I grabbed off of etsy, as well as pretty journals , yummy smelling lip balms and sample-sized soaps. And the slippers!! It’s funny how we’ll spend $50+ on 1 special night out, but skimp ourselves on things like a good pair of slippers, even though we wear them daily…does that make sense to you?? For a while I was on a Happy Feet slipper spree (super thick slippers) as our previous home had concrete floors downstairs and that’s where we worked, but since moving we have pretty plush carpeting and it’s time for me to find something different…

In any case, these little luxuries may not make a measurable difference in my work output, but they sure do improve my mood and make me feel just a little pampered throughout the day.

So much free time, so little to do…and QUICK homemade Hamburger Buns

…yes, you read that title correctly, LOL. Okay, that’s not *really* true, as I do have tons of un-opened mail and chores that have been sadly neglected the past couple weeks due to how crazy I’ve been been in the kitchen. But now that the holiday deadline has passed and I am no longer baking until after the New Year…I’m at a loss as to what to do with myself. Aside from re-focusing on my main job, haha. It has been quite a whirlwind the past few weeks and thank goodness I had others who helped me in wrapping the thousands of caramels, or I never would have pulled it off!

I’m extremely grateful for all of the orders, but I definitely need to take a breather, as my feet have never ached so much in my life and my caramel pot has almost as much mileage on it as my 16 year old Toyota. Besides, my family was getting tired of eating frozen pizzas and canned soup (as I didn’t have time too cook) and I really missed writing here on my blog and sharing recipes with everyone! So now that I am officially on baking “vacation”, what exactly am I doing? Catching up on movie watching for one, and tonight I saw “Julie & Julia”, a great flick for anyone who loves to cook! My first serious cookbook was “Baking with Julia Child”, which automatically cracks open to her “Buttermilk Scones” page, as it is one of my most loved recipes of all time.

So easing back into things, the recipe I have to share tonight isn’t anything impressive, but it’s a great staple to have around and well loved by my family. Hamburger Buns, yup. I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, but they are getting a little pricey to buy from the grocery store! But on the other hand I’ve always poo-poo’ed at bread baking in general, as I’m not a patient person and waiting for something to rise for a few hours is not my idea of fun. So why did I bother trying them? Well, I now live in a smaller town where the grocery store closes EARLY (plus everything is more expensive), and I had a ton of flour in the house, so I figured why not give it a shot? Plus my teenager was dying for hamburgers one night, and I do try my best to appease the ravenous kids, haha.

Oh, and a couple tips for making **juicy** hamburgers-searing them quickly and then leaving them alone. I shape each patty in my hand to about a 1/4 thick (as they fatten up during cooking) and season the top while still in my hand. I use a good non-stick pan that has been heated to medium and NO oil. I then place the seasoned side face down and use the flat side of a spatula to press down firmly on the patty. Making sure to hit every part of the patty (think of it as 4 quadrants if you have a small spatula) I press down firmly for a good 5-7 seconds. Once I’ve seared the entire patty I then season the topside, flip it over, and repeat the same process. Once seared on both side I then leave it alone to cook, no more squishing or you’ll end up with a dry patty! I flip it once more after 2-3 minutes, put cheese on top and then place a glass lid on it to finish cooking-glass so you can see when the cheese is melted We use 90/10 ground beef or leaner and this works out great.

Well, I went on recipezaar.com and found one called 40 minute hamburger buns that only called for 10 minutes of rising time…SOLD! And trust me, in a pinch this can be “30″ minute hamburger buns, which includes the cooking time by the way. These are super simple to make and come out tender, fluffy and soft, everything you would imagine and traditional “white bread” bun to be; no frills but good…just like grandma used to make them. And with just a couple slight changes these make GREAT “sweet” dinner rolls (reminiscent of King’s Hawaiian Bread) that are substantial and dense, I love mine with cream cheese and jam.

My version is an adaptation of the one found on recipezaar.com, Enjoy!

Quick Hamburger Buns

• 2 TBLS active dry yeast
• 1 cup really warm water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 TBLS sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
• 3 cups white flour

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir gently to help it along, then add in the oil and sugar and stir again for a few seconds, then set aside for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the salt (if using), then add in the flour. Using a wooden spoon, gently fold the flour into the liquid until it forms a rough ball.
• Turn OFF the oven at this point.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 50 times/turns, shaping it into a 12 inch log towards the end. It should be elastic and smooth at this point.
• Cut the log into 8 pieces and quickly pat down the edges by rolling it around in your hands, shaping each one into a fat, round disc.
• Place these at least 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and then place in the oven (which should be turned OFF) to rise for 10 minutes.
• After the rise time is done they should be nice and puffy, like rounded domes, hamburger bun shaped. Take them out of the oven, and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Bake the buns on the rack right ABOVE the middle setting for 9-12 minutes, or until the tops are browned. Make sure not to burn the bottoms though!
• Allow them to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before cutting into them.

For the “sweet” dinner rolls you’ll follow the same process above, but add in an additional TBLS of sugar, another 1/2 cup of flour and knead it for 100 turns. Also, OMIT heating the oven for the rise time, just allow them to rise for 10 minutes at room temperature, which gives them a much tighter grain and makes them more dense. I also don’t allow them to brown as much in the oven.

Bliss Candies has hit it’s first milestone of 1000 sales!

I know it has been a while since my last post, but it has been busier here then I could have ever imagined! Since I have only had the Bliss Candies shop opened since April, this is my first “holiday” rush experience with the business. Of course we’ve had this before with our other business, but making sweets as the orders come in is a lot different them simply pulling stock off the shelves, phew!

So I just wanted to say THANKS to everyone for their support, praise, advice, constructive criticism etc….as all of it helped us reach our first milestone a couple days ago…1000 sales! I’ve learned a lot of things along the way, if you are interested I did write up a couple posts here:

10 Things that help me get 1 sale a day

10 things that help me get 1 sale a day: part 2

Happy Thanksgiving and my Pecan Pie Torte Recipe!

My famous Pecan Pie torte-aka "pecan pie candy bar"

I’d have to say that Thanksgiving is one of my most treasured days out of the year. Not just because of all the great food, but it’s a family gathering that nobody ever misses and it’s so great to see everyone and just reflect back on the year and all that we have to be thankful for. This year in particular has been especially hard for us due to family issues, moving, and our finances; yet God is forever faithful and has been with us through it all. I am not sure what the upcoming year holds, but I am excited to see what the Lord brings about and the challenges I have yet to tackle and conquer

As a tradition, my husbands family always gets together for the holidays and for Thanksgiving we all help out by making our specialties. This year is no exception, and I alway bring the desserts! I had thought about skipping the pecan pie this year due to laziness, but it’s really one of my favorites and my daughter insisted I make it. Mine is a little different then most, as I make it with a non-traditional crust, bake it in a 10-inch torte pan (with a removable bottom), overload with nuts and do NOT like the filling to be “eggy” at all. In the end it is more like a carmely-chewy pecan pie candy bar that you can hold like pizza, but we all love it and it just wouldn’t be the same without it. If you love pecan pie then give this one a try, just be ready for it to disappear fast!

The crust I use if from my first “serious” baking cookbook that I’ve had for over a decade now, Baking with Julia Child. I use her pasta frolla crust recipe and LOVE it. So much easier to work with and roll out then normal pie crust, it uses butter instead of shortening, and it taste delicious. It comes together in a snap and is a moist dough, so it doesn’t break or crack as you roll it out. That right there is a winner in my book!

Pasta Frolla recipe (enough for 1 bottom crust)-

• 1 cup flour
• 2 1/2 TBLS sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 4 TBLS cold butter
• 1 egg-beaten

Directions:

• Combine the first 4 ingredients into a mixing bowl and blend together well.
• Cut up the butter into 8 pieces. Place it all in mixing bowl, and use a pastry blender to “cut” it into the flour until until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Make a well in the middle of the mixing bowl then pour the beaten egg in. Mix as best as you can with a wooden spoon and don’t worry if it still looks like a bunch of dry crumbs and clumps, it’s suppose to.
• Dump all of the dough and crumbs onto a flat working surface, then knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. It should come together very quickly once you start kneading it. It is now ready to be rolled out.

The pecan pie recipe I use is an adaptation of the Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie recipe from recipezaar.com. Please keep in mind, if you use a regular pie pan instead of a torte pan your cooking time may vary and it will taste different then mine. I use the torte pan for maximum “surface area”, which makes the pie more like a chewy candy bar as there is less filling to bite thru. If you don’t have a torte pan you can still get this effect by not using all of the filling in your pie pan, ideally you want about 1 inch of filling. Lastly, it is VERY rich, so cut the pieces smaller then usual.

Pecan Torte recipe (serves 10-12):

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 4 TBLS butter
• 2 large eggs-beaten
• 2 1/2 cups pecans
• 1 recipe Pasta Frolla crust, or pie crust of your choice

Directions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare you pan with the crust and set aside.
• In a small sauce pan heat up the sugar and corn syrup together over medium heat until it just begins to bubble. Take it off the heat and add in the butter, stir until completely melted. Set the pot aside and allow it to cool for a few minutes, then pour it into a mixing bowl.
• Once the mixture has cooled a bit, start stirring the mix while slowly pouring in the egg. Just add a little at a time, making sure the mix is cool enough that it doesn’t cook the egg. If it does, simply fish out the cooked egg “lumps” and allow it too cool a bit longer before mixing in the rest of the eggs.
• Once the egg has been incorporated you can add in all of the pecans and give it a quick stir, making sure to coat all of the pecans.
• Pour the filling into your prepared torte pan, making sure not to reach the top of the crust as you don’t want it to overflow during baking. ***If you are using a regular pie pan you only want about 1 inch of filling in the crust. You can add in more if you’d like, it will just be more like the traditional pecan pie then.***
• Bake for 50-55  minutes or until it is no longer wiggly, then allow it to cool completely before serving.

December NIBBLER Sampler now here-our BEST SELLERS for 2009!

If you have never tried one of our NIBBLERS before, this is definitely the one to go for!! This month’s Nibbler items were chosen by all of our buyers, as it contains OUR MOST POPULAR ITEMS. Unlike all of the other months, we actually have 2 delivery dates for this box. The first will be a traditional delivery in the first week of the month, the other will be on December 15th, just in time for Christmas gift giving A great gift for yourself or a loved one, don’t miss out!

Bliss Candies December NIBBLER Sampler Box

The December NIBBLER will include all items listed below, which will all be individually wrapped:

-1 Milk Chocolate Dipped Caramel and Double Marshmallow Smore
-1 Coconut Caramel Samoa Shortbread Bar
-3 Pumpkin Spice Gingerbread Lil’ Chubbies
-8 Sea Salt Caramels
-2 Mini Pecan Turtles
-1 Butterscotch Fudge Ripple Bar
-3 Cinnamon and Sugar Pinwheeled Snickerdoodle Lil’ Chubbies
-1 Ultimate Dark Chocolate MELT-A-WAY Brownie

Gift Cards at a Discount or for FREE!

If you guys are anything like me, I like to have my Christmas shopping before December hits!  This year the kids have asked for gift cards to their favorite stores, which I’m more then ok with as I do have a couple other “surprise” gifts for them that I can wrap up and put under the tree   The thing with gift cards though is that you can’t really  exercise your bargain-shopping muscle…or so I thought!  Being the seasoned eBayer that I am, I decided to look on eBay to see if anyone had some for sale to the stores I wanted….and they did, but they were selling for so close to the actual value that I decided to keep looking around.

Well, while searching on google I found TWO sites solely dedicated to buying/selling/trading gift cards at a discount!! Of course what is offered is limited and changes often, as it all depends on what others are trying to sell or trade at the moment, but it’s definitely worth looking into!  Last night I was able to pick up a gift card to Hot Topic for my teen (she loves the belts and accessories there) at a 17% discount. Pair that with one of the frequent buyer cards I have filled out, which gives you 15% off your entire purchase, and that’s a decent savings!  So, what are these sites you ask?  They are www.monstergiftcards.com and www.abcgiftcards.com. I purchased the Hot Topic one from monstergiftcards.com and the shipping was FREE, no hidden charges.  Just make sure to check the card details carefully, for expiration dates and/or any restrictions it may have.

Okay….so moving onto the FREE part.…which technically my husband says isn’t free as they are redeemed with your credit cards “points”.  But hey, I might as well cash in the points and since no money is exchanged, that’s close enough to “free” for me.  So if you happen to have a credit card that rewards you with “points”, go see what they have for you to cash them in for!  Last night I got  a Target and a JCPenney gift card for the kids, PLUS Bath and Body Works sent out a great offer in the mail! So if you get their promotions, don’t throw this one away!  It was for 1 FREE item with any purchase of $10 or more, up to a $13 value.  It just happened to be one of the stores on my younger daughters list of places she wanted a gift card to, so God blessed me with that one!  The only thing is, it has to be used by Dec. 24th, so it will be an early Christmas present

 

 

A few easy ways to save energy and money

About once a year our electric company sends out a pamphlet with great tips on how to save a little energy and money each year around the household.  I’ve been meaning to post this for a while now, but I just haven’t ahd the time….and when I did, I couldn’t find the pamphlet!  Well, I finally found it and here are some of my favorites (meaning they are the easiest to do, haha):

• Use ceiling fans to cool your house.  The most efficient ones cost as little as 30 CENTS a month to run, 8 hours a day.  Plus, moving air feels cooler, which allows you to raise the thermostat a couple degrees.  Also, open your windows on cooler night.
• Did you know that heat can ESCAPE out of the windows without curtains/shades?  Open them up when it’s sunny to get passive heat, close them at night or when no sunlight is coming through them.  Up to 15% of your heat can escape out of unprotected windows.
• Keep the doors inside of your home open to  improve air circulation and the efficiency of heating and cooling systems.
• Provide shade around your air conditioning condenser, it works more efficiently when it’s cooler.
• Set your water heater to 120 degrees, overheating it can be wasteful and unsafe.  Also, turn your water heater down when you go out of town.
• Cover your refrigerated foods, limiting the moisture evaporation into the air, which takes more energy to cool then dry air.  Also make sure your fridge is set between 32-37degrees and the freezer at about 5 degrees.  These are the safest temperatures plus most refrigerators are manufactured to operate most efficiently at these settings.
• Every time you open the oven door the temperature can drop about 25 degrees, so use the oven light instead.
• Use lids when cooking on the stove to trap heat in, thus allowing you to turn off the burners a little early as well.  **We actually do this when making hard boiled eggs.  We let it boil for about 3-4 minutes, then turn off the heat to let it finish cooking.**
• Scrape instead of rinsing your dishes, it saves water and the energy needed to heat the water.
• Air dry your dishes in the dishwasher.  Avoid using the heat-dry, pre-rinse and rinse-hold features.
• Wash clothes in the coolest water possible and make the loads are full.

There are quite a few other things you can do around the house, just ask your gas/electric provider for more information.

 

 

“Hostess Gifts” and “Wedding Invites & Favors” Etsy Gift Guides

I woke up to a few surprises this morning!  First, there was frost all over our grass, that surprise isn’t so exciting, and then I realized one of my caramel batches got overcooked, boo!!  But then I saw a notice from Etsy that my Signature Chocolate Chip & Toffee Oatmeal cookies were on the front page AND I made it into gift guides!  Our Fleur de Sel Sea Salt Caramels are in the Wedding Invites & Favors gift guide while our Super Moist Pinwheel Snickerdoodle Lil’ Chubbies are in the Hostess Gifts gift guide.

Oddly enough, their picks are right on for the gift guides, as those are my 2 MOST popular items!