Christmas…come and gone

December 26, 2007 – 6:18 pm

Christmas morning is done, the Story read, the presents opened, the gift wrap scattered across the floor, the family happy and satisfied…and I…I’m a
little sad. Happens every year, sometime after the morning’s festivities. Everyone is enjoying their gifts, watching new DVDs, playing new games, working a puzzle, or eating another treat. But, basically, it’s over for another year. That part makes me sad because I love this time of year so much. The decorations, the parties, the friends and family, the fun and the glitter and the sparkle…the endless wonder of it all.

But, for all the loss I feel when it’s over, I still take the best part with me throughout the year to come…the best gift of all…God’s great Love, the gift of His only Son, the faith and everlasting life He has given me as a free and undeserved gift. I hope you know the same joy and the same presence of God in your own life. It’s the only real and lasting Gift.

DS#2 and DDIL were here for Christmas Eve and we exchanged gifts with them, after popping the crackers DD#1 brought home with her. Paper crowns and funny gifts…we all had fun with that!

crackers

DS and DDIL opened their stockings. We saved ours for Christmas morning.

stocking time

Looking for Christmas jams…traditionally, the kids open their Christmas pjs on Christmas Eve. It’s always fun to watch them try to guess which package holds the jammies.

looking for pjs

Later in the evening, after opening presents, DS and DDIL went on to her parents’ home, less than two hours away. On Christmas morning, minus their boxes, the tree still looked ready for gift-giving.

before

Christmas Day in our home starts with breakfast. That means DH makes pancakes. If DS#2 is here, it also means apple dumplings. Yum! DH’s pancakes are always a hit. Any time he makes pancakes, he asks for requests. What will the kids ask him to make?? This year it was a camel and a penguin, among others. I guessed they were a dinosaur and a pork chop…hmmm… By his own admission, the penguin was not his best effort. But that’s part of the fun. 🙂

camel

penguin

After Christmas breakfast, and before gifts, DH always reads the account of Christ’s birth from Luke 2:1-20. He likes to read it from the old pulpit Bible we were given by his parents. It is from a local church founded in 1838, but no longer standing. The church’s adjoining cemetery is still there and many of DH’s relatives are buried there.

Luke 2:1-20

We take turns opening gifts, one by one. DD#3 surrounded herself with her presents while she waited her turn.

The “after…” Buttercup thinks the leftover gift wrap is left there just for her own amusement.

after

I hope your own Christmas celebrations were all you hoped they would be. And I pray your coming year is full of the grace and security of God’s great Love. ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, family | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

gift bags

December 26, 2007 – 2:11 pm

I like to reuse Christmas cards for lots of things. They make great gift tags, can be cut into Christmas postcards, and make beautiful little gift boxes…not to mention the pretty ornaments that can be made from them. We’ll look into these uses in later posts. Today I want to show you how easily an old card can make a plain gift bag into something special.

Choose the cards you wish to use. Vertical pictures work best on smaller bags, but any size or direction can be used on larger bags.

old Christmas cards

Cut the front of the card from the back, being sure to cut off the fold. I like to use a paper trimmer. It makes a straight cut, and keeps the cut side at a right angle to the bottom of the card.

cutting the cards

I used a tape runner on these bags, but any adhesive will work – craft glue, double-sided tape, scrapbook adhesives, etc.

decorated gift bag\

After the front of the bags were decorated, I went back through the old Christmas cards and cut tags for the gift bags. A hole punched in the corner made it easy to tie the tag to the bag with a piece of ribbon. I like to add the tag this way instead of adhering it to the bag itself because it makes the bag recyclable. The recipient can refill the bag with a new gift, add a new tag, and pass it on.

gift bags, tagged and filled with treats

I found the bags in bundles of ten at our local Wal-Mart, in the craft section. Several other colors were available, as well as other sizes of bags. The white bags make a good background to show off the pretty pictures from the cards.

~~Rhonda

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Holiday Petits Fours

December 21, 2007 – 5:01 pm

A rich, three layer, almond treat! This little bite of cake is one DD#2’s favorite Christmas goodies. There are five pieces on this tray. Can you find them?

open house goodies

Don’t let this recipe throw you off. They are actually easy to make, beautiful to look at, and delicious!

Holiday Petits Fours

  • 1 can (8 oz.) almond paste
  • 1 1/2 c. butter, softened
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • 2 c. sifted flour
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 10 drops liquid green food coloring
  • 8 drops liquid red food coloring
  • 1 jar (12 oz) apricot jelly or preserves
  • 2 1/2 squares (1 oz. each) semisweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat three 13x9x2″ pans with nonstick vegetable-oil cooking spray; line with waxed paper, allowing paper to come up the short ends; spray paper. [I use one pan and let it cool between cakes.]

2. Break up almond paste in large bowl. Add butter, sugar, egg yolks and almond extract. Beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy, 5 minutes.

3.Beat in flour and salt.

4. In separate bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold into almond mixture until well blended.

dough and egg whites

dough and egg whites combined

5. Divide mixture into three equal portions. Add green food coloring to one portion and red food coloring to another, leaving the last portion yellow. Separately spread each colored portion into prepared pans.

uncolored layer ready for the oven

6. Bake in preheated 350 oven 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately remove the cakes from the pans, using the waxed paper overhang.

7. Heat apricot jelly in a small saucepan. Place the green cake layer on a jelly-roll pan. Spread half of warm jelly over this layer to the edges; slide the yellow layer on top; spread with remaining apricot jelly; slide the pink layer, right side up, onto the yellow layer.

assembled

8. Cover with plastic wrap; weigh down with large wooden cutting board or heavy plate. Place in refrigerator overnight or up to three days. It freezes well. I cover it with a few layers of plastic wrap, then wrap it in foil for the freezer (after weighting it overnight in the refrigerator).

9. Melt chocolate in double boiler over hot water. Spread melted chocolate to edges of cake. Let dry 10 minutes or until hardened. Trim edges off cake. Cut into 1″ squares. I score the chocolate while it is still soft so it is easier to cut after the topping has hardened.

Holiday Petit Fours / Candy Jumble

Holiday Petits Fours

Recipe from Family Circle’s magazine “Christmas Helps”, 1994, p. 114. ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, cookies, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | Comments (5)

dinner party, punch recipe

December 21, 2007 – 4:15 pm

Last evening’s dinner party was wonderful. The menu included:

  • crackers and cheese spread (I left out the chicken.)
  • pear/walnut salad
  • roast beef (Delicious! Got rave reviews.)
  • boiled red potatoes
  • carrots and parsnips
  • stir-fried sugar snap peas with cherry tomatoes
  • almond cake for dessert

Three of the guests came at 7:00, and the others about 7:30, after other obligations. Everyone congregates in the kitchen at our house, so the first three were treated to crackers and cheese spread at the kitchen table, served with kalamata olives. Yummy. DH and I joined them and enjoyed it, too. After our pre-dinner snack, we were surprised by carolers, young people from church. It started our evening with a special Christmas treat.

more carolers

carolers!

Lot of chatting, stories, laughter, and good times with these dear friends.

DH serving

dear friends

The above punch is one of my favorite punch recipes. It can be served hot or cold. I served it hot at the home extension party last week and served it cold at this one. Our weather has been warmer this week than last and cold punch sounded better than hot.

Spiced Punch

The base:

  • 4 c. water
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 4 three-inch cinnamon sticks
  • 12 whole cloves
  • 2 T. minced fresh ginger root

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for one hour. Strain. The base can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Add:

  • 8 c. of apple juice
  • 8 c. of cranberry juice
  • 2 c. orange juice
  • 1 c. lemon juice

Makes 16 servings. May be served hot from a crock-pot or cold, over ice.
From “McCall’s Favorite Christmas Ideas” magazine. 1992, p. 108.

I’m working on a post with the Petit Four recipe and will post the recipes for the other dishes I served last night, as well. Enjoy! ~~Rhonda

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shopping day

December 19, 2007 – 5:08 pm

I spent the day shopping. Hope that’s the last of it! DH was swamped at work (even though it is his “day off”), so I went by myself. Got a lot done and could pick up a few things for DH that will be a surprise, which is always nice. I do need to top off the stocking stuffers.

Tomorrow evening we are hosting a dinner party for six of our friends. I’m looking forward to that. The menu includes crackers and cheese spread, pear walnut salad, roast beef, small red potatoes cooked in chicken stock, stir-fried sugar snap peas with cherry tomatoes, carrots/parsnips, and I think I’ll make the Holiday Petit Fours, but will double stack them and serve them as a larger piece of cake. They are so pretty! I’ll take pics and post them later. Will post the recipe, too!

~~Rhonda

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Candy Jumble

December 18, 2007 – 4:24 pm

Several people who saw a picture of this candy on my flickr site asked if I would share the recipe. I am always happy to share, so here you are. 🙂

The ingredients list is short and it is very easy to make.

Candy Jumble ingredients

Candy Jumble

  • 24 oz. pkg. vanilla almond bark
  • 2 c. mini marshmallows, white (I tried the colored ones once…they tasted too fruity)
  • 2 c. Reese’s Puffs (chocolate and peanut butter cereal…shaped like Kix)
  • 2 c. Rice Krispies
  • 2 c. mixed nuts or peanuts
  • 1 12-oz. package M&M mini baking bits, milk chocolate (to be added after the almond bark and other ingredients are mixed)

Piece two pieces of aluminum foil together (the long way) to make a wide piece about 3′ long. (Fold them together to make a center seam.) Or use a 3′ piece of the wide roll of foil. You will want plenty of room to spread the candy. You do not need to grease or spray the foil with cooking spray.

Melt the almond bark in the microwave on 50% power for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, till melted. Check with a fork. It holds its shape when melted. Don’t let any moisture get into it or it will clump. Stir until smooth.

Put all other ingredients, EXCEPT the M&Ms, in a large bowl and mix well. Pour melted almond bark over and stir till well coated. Work quickly. Add M&Ms and stir just to mix well. If stirred too long, the M&M colors begin to melt and run.

Candy Jumble

Candy Jumble

Turn out onto aluminum foil and quickly spread with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Candy Jumble

When cool, break into bite-size pieces and store in zippered storage bags or tins. It makes enough to fill one and a half one-gallon zippered bags.

Candy Jumble

Immediately plan to make more because this will be gobbled up in no time.

About the M&M baking bits. The little bits are really nice in this recipe, but we can’t find them in our small town very often. And there are two kinds…the milk chocolate and the semi-sweet. I don’t care for the semi-sweet ones at all, so I use regular M&Ms if the little milk chocolate bits are not available. DH bought a few bags of the red and green Christmas M&Ms this week, for making Candy Jumble, and I don’t think they are as pretty in this recipe. The nice mix of colors in the regular bags is better, in my opinion.

After three or four days, the marshmallows tend to harden. If I am shipping this to someone, or giving it as a gift to someone who may not eat it right away, I leave out the marshmallows and add some extra cereal to make up the difference in volume.

Enjoy! ~~Rhonda 🙂

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sledding ~ her way…his way…

December 17, 2007 – 11:31 am

On Saturday, we had ice, then snow. Yesterday, DH, DD#3, and DD#2 went to our friends’ home to try the hill behind their house. They had a great time. I stayed home where it is warm and cozy. 🙂

DD and DH downhill

snow much fun

Last night, DD talked DH into going outside around 7:00 and DH pulled her all around the driveway and yard on the sled behind one of his bikes.

sledding Dad's way

Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me, but they enjoyed it. Again, I stayed inside where it was warm and cozy… ~~Rhonda 🙂

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Oreo Truffles

December 16, 2007 – 9:56 pm

18 oz. package Oreo Cookies, crushed (reserve 2 T.)
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

Oreos and cream cheese

Crush the Oreo cookies. I put them in a zippered storage bag and hit them with the rolling pin. 🙂

Stir together the cookie crumbs and the softened cream cheese until well blended. Form into small balls. Cool them in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.

Dip into melted vanilla almond bark. Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.

dipping truffles

Oreo Truffles

My daughter brought this recipe home from college. It’s delicious. Especially if you’re an Oreo cookie fan! ~~Rhonda

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Raspberry Truffles

December 16, 2007 – 9:26 pm

Raspberry Truffles

Raspberry Truffles

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T heavy cream
1 T butter
2 T seedless raspberry jam

In a heavy saucepan, combine chips, heavy cream and butter. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Stir in raspberry jam. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 20 minutes. Drop mixture by teaspoons onto foil lined cookie sheet. Freeze 15 minutes. Roll into balls; freeze until firm.

Dip into melted vanilla almond bark and sprinkle with red sugar crystals. I used sanding sugar. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Raspberry Truffles

I found this recipe at epicurean.com. I doubled it for the open house. It made about 70 truffles, but the finished amount would depend on how large they are made. They are very easy to make. ~~Rhonda

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Christmas Mice

December 15, 2007 – 12:30 pm

Each year, for our annual Christmas open house, we make these very cute Christmas mice. They are a great addition to a cookie tray. I think more of them are taken home wrapped in napkins than are actually eaten at the party. 🙂

Christmas Mice

The bodies of the mice are made from maraschino cherries dipped in chocolate. I drain and rinse the cherries and leave them on paper towels for 30 minutes to an hour, changing the paper once. They need to be fairly dry before dipping in chocolate. The stems become the tails. When dipping, totally seal the area of the cherry at the base of the stem. Don’t dip the entire stem in chocolate.

Christmas Mice

While the chocolate is still soft, add the heads (Hershey’s Kisses) or, if the chocolate hardens, you can dip the bottom of the Kiss in chocolate and stick it to the body.

Christmas Mice

The ears are sliced almonds, dipped in chocolate and set behind the head. They can be added while the body chocolate is still soft, but the timing is tricky. Too soft and the ears slip down the sides. Too hard and they don’t stick at all. I find it easier to attach all of them at the same time. I break an almond slice in half, dip the broken side in chocolate and attach it just behind the head.

Christmas Mice

Christmas Mice

To make the mice, you need:

  • maraschino cherries with stems
  • Hershey’s chocolate Kisses
  • sliced almonds
  • silver dragees (If you don’t want to use the little silver balls, you can make the eyes with cookie sprinkles or a spot of frosting.)
  • melted chocolate for dipping (I use semi-sweet chocolate chips with 2 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate added.)

In this picture you can see the set up. The pan of chocolate sits on a heating pad that has been wrapped in a towel and covered with aluminum foil. The gentle heat from the heating pad keeps the chocolate melted. The almonds are in a bowl for easy sorting. The dragees are attached by holding them with tweezers, barely dipping them into melted chocolate. They easily stick to the head (Kiss). I smear a small bit of chocolate on the aluminum foil which keeps the chocolate soft, and also gives me a perfect spot for dipping the eyes without immersing them too deeply into the chocolate. If you find the dragees do not stick well, set the tray of mice in the refrigerator for five minutes or so. When the melted chocolate touches the cold Kiss, the eyes will adhere immediately.

Christmas Mice

I make about 90 of these mice for our open house. Each jar of cherries has 27-31 cherries in it. DD#3 loves to find stemless cherries in the jar. She gets to eat those. 🙂

Do check the jar label. Some maraschino cherries have stems, some don’t. We live in a small town and can’t always find stemmed cherries locally. Larger grocery stores with more variety are an hour away. I sometimes pick the cherries up in the summer or fall before Christmas so I have them when I need them.

Try creating your own Christmas mice! They are fun to make and look cute on the cookie tray, as you can see in this picture of cookies packed for the volunteer firefighters. Boxes also go to the police station, the staff at DD’s school, and others.

treats

~~Rhonda 🙂

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