Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Christmas Link Up Top 5
Monday, December 17, 2012
A Day of Remembrance
If you would like to donate to the Sandy Hook Elementary School Support Fund to provide support services to the families and community that has been affected, please click the United Way logo below to be directed to the donations page. This fund was created by United Way of Western Connecticut in partnership with Newtown Savings Bank.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
On the Menu at My Family's Christmas Party
My family likes to party with a whole bunch of appetizers and treats. The meal is always balanced and we find ourselves pretty much eating and playing games all night long. It's such a blast! Yesterday and I talked with my twin and she let me know the food assignments for everyone. And I am SO excited to dig in that night! I didn't even find out all the food that will be there, but what I do know will be amazing. Can't wait to party! (Check out our party last year for more ideas! You'll also see that we can't get away from some foods. ha ha)
Here's a little peek into our menu for the party. Hopefully you'll find some inspiration for one of your upcoming parties! (Click the link under each picture for the recipe.)
Monday, December 10, 2012
It's a Christmas Link-Up!
- Link up any Christmas/holiday crafts, recipes, traditions, and other DIY projects and fun. (Be sure to link the actual blog post and not just the blog homepage!)
- Link back to whichever blog you're linking on. (Cupcake Diaries, Henning Love, Harvest Home, or Elizabeth Ann's Recipe Box)
- Have fun looking through the other links and finding new ideas!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Duck® the Halls!
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Duck Brand® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I am SO close to finishing my Christmas shopping!! It feels good to be this close to being done. I feel like most years I end up spending most of my December trying to finish shopping and it stresses me out. This year, I started Christmas shopping in October and it's been the best decision ever. We did about 98% of our shopping online and it's the been awesome! I'll still get to experience the hustle and bustle of the mall and blend in with the other Christmas shoppers, but I have to say that I've really loved just buying most of our gifts online and having them sent right to my door. What a relief it's been! And it feels so good to have everything wrapped and safely placed under my tree.
And speaking of wrapping, I've enjoyed so much using the new line of Holiday printed Duck Tape® for some of my wrapping needs! The world's most useful tape has just gotten a whole lot cuter, my friends. The fun designs make it really easy to take a plain white Christmas box and jazz it up for a festive look. Add a bow and vuala, you're done! There's a Christmas polka dot design that I especially love. And we have a broken shelf front in our fridge that's about to get a facelift with the snowman Duck Tape® design!
Stop by the Duck Tape® Facebook page and check out all the great products and amazing ideas for ways to use Duck Tape®. I wish I were creative enough to come up with these kinds of ideas! Thank goodness for creative people out there to help me out! Duck® Brand
I hope you all enjoy the best present wrapping time of the year! Make it a little more fun and exciting with Holiday printed Duck Tape®!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Potato, Corn, and Ham Chowder {As Seen On Mom It Forward}
Potato, Corn, and Ham Chowder
- 5-6 potatoes
- 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
- 1 c. chopped ham (small cubes)
- 1 can cream style corn
- 1/2 c. chopped onion (Substitute minced onion for those who don’t like regular onions! Just sprinkle it in till you like the flavor.)
- 1 1/2 c. milk
- 1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
Peel your potatoes and dice them up. Cook them for 15-20 minutes in boiling water, or until cooked.
In a saute pan, melt butter and saute the onions. (Skip this step if you’re using minced onion!)
Combine milk, ham, cream soup, and potatoes in a large pot. Add the onions. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the corn, salt, and pepper and reduce the heat. Simmer on medium-low for 10 more minutes.
This post was originally published at MomItForward.com on November 30, 2012. View originally post here.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Christmas Pins: Loving and Listing
Some of my Christmas pins have been longtime favorites, others new favorites, and I really wanted to list a few of them today!
#2 - Vintage Christmas Posters from Paulo and LuLu
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
It's National Cookie Day!
I decided to go through my Cookie Pinterest board and share with you some of the cookies that I most want to make. I have to warn you that what you are about to see will most likely cause you to stop what you're doing and bake. You may want to leave some time out of your day fully dedicated to baking.
Enjoy!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Candy Cane Blossoms
When it got time to roll the cookie dough balls into the sugar and sprinkles I decided to just let him watch. And he was just as happy to watch as he would have been to help! He was fascinated. These cookies really were fun to make with him and I plan to make them again for a family party at the end of the month. They're easy and they just look so darn cute.
Candy Cane Blossoms
Hershey's
makes about 3 dozen cookies
- 1 bag Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses
- 1/2 c. butter, softened (It's important that the butter is softened!)
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 2 Tbsp milk
- green and red colored sugar (These can be purchased at most grocery stores in the baking aisle with all the sprinkles. I also used some holiday sprinkles just to mix it up a bit!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the wrappers from 36 Kisses. (That's 36-ish. This will all depend on how big you roll the dough balls.)
Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in your stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl until well blended. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add a little of the dry mixture to the butter mixture, then put one of the tablespoons of milk in and mix. Then add more flour mixture and mix, and the last tablespoon of milk and mix. Add the remaining flour mixture, if any. (Alternating the milk and the flour mixture will make a better dough and it would dry out.)
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the different sugars and/or sprinkles and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and the cookie is set. Remove from the oven and cool for 2-3 minutes. Then press a Kiss into each cookie. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. (However, I understand completely if you feel the need to test one or two before they cool. Just be warned that the melted chocolate pretty much goes everywhere when you bite into it. I couldn't wait to try these either!)
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