New Year's Eve

I love this - champagne or not this is my wish for all of you...smiles and bubbles :). Happy New Year's Eve!






If you are going to break out the bubbly tonight, click here to see the post from last New Year's Eve on how to open it without hurting anyone!

I posted this on 12/31/15, like it so much I'm sharing again!

Pimento Cheese

Thinking about what to make for our New Years party - right now I'm thinking tenderloin sliders (made with Boursin cheese spread on King's Hawaiian rolls, topped with a slice or two of tenderloin and a big arugula leaf...yum), not sure what anyone else is bringing yet. For sure I'll make my yummy pimento cheese...ok, it's not actually "mine" - this is a Paula and Bobby Dean recipe but I've been making it for so long I think of it as mine now haha. When my nieces were younger they called it "yummy cheese", as in "can we have yummy cheese tonight?" - if adults and kids both give it a thumbs up you know it has to be good! I usually double the recipe and use it multiple ways (my mom just gave me the tip to make grilled ham and cheese with it, that'd be so good!), if there's much leftover it freezes well too.

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 Cup grated monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 to 3 Tablespoons pimentos
1 teaspoon grated onion (optional)
1/2 teaspoon House Seasoning*
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended. Serve with crackers, pita chips, thin breadsticks, etc.

note: *House Seasoning is a mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It calls for so little in this recipe that I just mix a bit of each in the palm of my hand and add it to the cheese mixture.

Makes 2 1/2 to 3 cups

Gold Fish

In case you didn't know this, I'm passing on something that Cathy told me and will hopefully give you a laugh like it did me. She texted one day and asked if I've ever read the ingredients in Gold Fish crackers and did I know what the first thing listed is... um no, while I do love Gold Fish crackers I'd never read the ingredients and thought she was going to tell me there is something awful in them...then I checked and saw this. The first line reads:

made with smiles and unbleached wheat flour.

Awwwwww - how cute is that?

Peppermint Sugar Scrub

Made this quick sugar scrub for some girlfriend gifts - literally took me 5 minutes. Actually it took me longer to tie the twine on the jar and get it to stay than it did to make the scrub! Smells great, and is totally edible if you get hungry while showering LOL.

Mix together 1 cup white sugar with 1/4 cup coconut oil (coconut oil is solid at room temperature, just micro it for a few seconds and it will liquify), 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and a drop of green food coloring. Use more of the peppermint and color if you want either stronger - I was going for pale green and just a hint of peppermint. Stir until all of the ingredients are incorporated - if it seems a little dry just add a bit more oil until you get the consistency you want - then spoon into a pretty jar. I tied on a label with a length of bakers twine to finish.

Melting Snowman Cookies

For the base I baked a batch of pumpkin spice cookie mix (the same kind I made the whoopie pies out of that are SO good, click here for that post) using a small one tablespoon cookie scoop. Cut regular sized marshmallows into thirds, lay one piece on top of a small cookie, spoon melted white chocolate over top and let it run over the marshmallow to cover. Then decorate with half a mini reeses peanut butter cup, an orange sprinkle, and 2 dark round sprinkles for the eyes. Easy!

Couple notes: had a hard time cutting the reeses without them crumbling, found if I left the paper on and cut thru it they held their shape better (obviously remove the paper after cutting haha). I used tweezers to put the sprinkles on, it was easier to place them that way on the melted chocolate. 

Merry Christmas!

Sarge is sure his present is in this pile...

Christmas Eve

A thought for today - it's ok if you are super busy, super stressed, super behind (any of those "super" things haha) to cut a couple corners and make things easier on yourself, right? I love to cook and bake so usually make food from scratch, but I'm just out of time and having people over for dinner tonight was giving me an anxiety attack - 'how'm I going to get everything done?' is all I could think about. Then I decided to chill out and do the next best thing to homemade - I bought pre-made lasagna, pre-made garlic bread, and pre-made cheesecake. Problem solved (as long as I remember to put it in the oven in time!). And my friends are not going to care - which is why they are my friends LOL! I was telling LeDonna that I'm feeling a tiny bit guilty about it AND now I don't have anything to blog for today (I didn't actually make anything) - and she said "no, that is what you should blog! It's ok to not make everything and to not feel bad about it!!" Haha, and she's right. Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

PS: I'm making a simple salad, and those two fruit toppings that I made for Kyle's birthday (click here for that post) back in March that are so delish, quick and easy - still trying to not feel bad for buying everything haha!

Caramel Popcorn

we packaged this up in pretty bags for our neighbors...
except Dave is supposed to be delivering and hasn't! I think
he's hoping that if he holds out long enough and I say it's too
late, it's probably stale by now, then he'll get to eat it all and I'll
make something else for him to deliver for our neighbors!! 

I'm not a huge popcorn lover - Dave will go to the movies just to eat the popcorn he loves it so much...I'll have a handful and be done. Until Janis came over and we made this pretty easy caramel corn that is - I couldn't stop "testing" it to make sure it was right haha. I've never made caramel corn before but after making it with her I know it'll become a regular thing. And we had to fight Dave to keep him out of the kitchen - it smells SO good!

1 cup butter

1 (16 oz) package (2 1/4 cups) packed brown sugar

1 (14 oz) can (1 1/4 cup) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

air-popped popcorn 

In a heavy 3-quart saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and corn syrup; mix well. Cook and stir over medium high heat to boiling. Carefully clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Cook and stir mixture over medium heat to 248 degrees (firm ball stage). Cook to softball stage if softer caramel popcorn is desired.

Remove the saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Stir in vanilla. Immediately pour over popcorn. 

Notes:

I told Janis I wouldn't use her picture
without permission..and...I didn't ask if I could
use this one but I think it's cute- let's not tell
her and see if she reads the blog ;)

• we made 4 batches of this so I can't tell you how much popcorn one batch of caramel will cover - probably more than one big bowl. 
• we used both light and dark brown sugars, I prefer the light because when you coat the popcorn you don't see the white of the popcorn if you don't coat every bit of every kernel as easily. Just looks nicer. There's no difference in taste that I can tell...and I tasted enough to know haha.
• when pouring the caramel over the popcorn we did it a little bit at a time. Carefully pour some over the top of the popcorn in a big bowl, mix it in well and then add a little more caramel. Just keep adding it a little at a time, incorporating the popcorn and caramel together slowly. 
• this makes a fairly soft caramel popcorn and we could easily shape it into balls if you want to do that. 
• lastly, we used unsalted butter and then realized after pouring the caramel on that it needed salt, so we liberally sprinkled coarse salt over the popcorn and mixed well. That really made it delicious!

Santa Ornament

Last year Mickey and I made these cute snowman ornaments (click here for that post) that are so simple and quick to make - if you're looking for a last minute gift or a gift topper check them out! Along the same line is this santa ornament - paint a black band around a clear ornament for his belt, then add a gold painted buckle topped with lots of gold glitter to make it pop. Remove the top of the ornament, cut strips of red and green paper about an inch wide (does not need to be exact, just strips of paper), curl them up and stick in the ornament opening, re-insert the ornament top.


These would also be a great craft if you have kids coming over for Christmas Eve or Day, set up a few supplies and turn them loose (I would definitely put an apron on them if they're all dressed pretty haha! Did you know that an old adult button up shirt works great to cover little kids clothes? Yup, just put it on them backwards and button up, roll up the sleeves).

tip:  find something to set the round ornament in
while you're working on it. putting it on this roll of
painters tape helps keep it from moving around.

Focaccia Tiles

I made this for Thanksgiving along with the crescent rolls (click here for that post) and forgot to show you how it turned out. At first I thought this was a "fail" because I baked it too long, but turns out it still tasted good and is pretty so I'll pass the recipe along if you want to try it. As usual it's much easier to make than I anticipated, yeast bread is still intimidating to me but the more I make it the more I realize it's pretty easy.

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• warm water
• olive oil
• toppings such as toasted pumpkin seeds, oil-packed dried tomatoes, pitted olives, thinly sliced limes, and/or thinly sliced roma tomatoes
• seasonings such as smoked paprika, ground cumin, oregano, or sea salt

1. In large bowl combine 3 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt. Add 1 2/3 cups warm water (120' to 130'F). Stir until all is moistened. The mixture will be a soft, sticky dough. Cover and let stand at room temperature 12 to 24 hours.

2. Line a 15x10x1" baking pan with parchment paper. Brush parchment with olive oil. With a fork, stir remaining 1 cup flour into the dough. Turn dough out into prepared pan. Using well-oiled hands or a rubber spatula, gently push dough into pan (dough will be sticky). Loosely cover; let rest for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until puffy.

3. Preheat oven to 400'. Using a sharp, floured knife, score dough into 6 portions. Gently press desired toppings into surface of dough. Brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with desired seasonings. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

4 Transfer to wire rack. Cut into 6 tiles. Serve warm.

Makes 6 tiles, 12 servings. each serving 212 cal, 6g fat.

Prep: 20 min.

Rise: 1 hour

Bake: 30 minutes

Stand: 12 hours

Before baking. Next time I will put way more seasonings on!
And don't bake it so long - watch for it to just start to turn
golden brown. Oh, and I scored mine into 8 squares so I could
try more toppings!

Tiger Fudge

I packaged this and gave it away without
taking a picture! You get the idea tho...

This is the easiest fudge I've ever made! Not sure it should be called fudge, it's more like buckeyes in bar form -  but it's so good and easy that I don't care what it's called. Delicious is what it should be called!


3 ingredients:

8 ounces (1 1/4 cups) white chocolate chips
8 ounces (1 1/4 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups peanut butter, divided

• Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
• Place the white chocolate and 1 cup of peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Place the semi-sweet chocolate and 1/3 cup peanut butter in a separate microwave safe bowl.
• Microwave the white chocolate mixture until melted and smooth, stirring after every minute. Repeat this same procedure with the semi-sweet chocolate mixture.
• Pour the white chocolate mixture in the prepared pan, then drizzle the dark chocolate around on top trying to not glop it too much in one spot. 
• Take a small knife and drag it thru the chocolate a few times to swirl the two chocolates together - don't do too much or it'll get too mixed together. I went up and back 3 or 4 times and then went the other way a couple of times. Just do it until you like how they are combined.
• Refrigerate for 2 hours. Once set remove it from the pan and cut into small squares to serve. Store in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. 

Paper Shadowbox Frame

Ronda made these frames in her studio and I had to try making them for myself - what a cute idea that you can customize so many different ways year round. I watched her youtube video (search for Ronda Wade Stampin' Up if my video doesn't work) on how to do them, they aren't difficult but made you my own little video to talk you thru it instead of trying to write it all down. I promise it isn't hard!

I decorated the biggest frame in a fall theme, and did a cute snowman scene in the the middle sized one - I haven't made a small one yet but so far this snowman one is my favorite. It's just a piece of paper cut to fit the opening, then I free hand cut a piece of glittery white paper for the snowbank. The snowman, his accessories, and noel are made from a diecut/Big Shot template (Stampin' Up), you can free hand cut these or use stencils or something to re-create for yourself. Same with the Fall one - I used Big Shot templates for the letters and leaves. If I made it again I'd use a patterned paper for the background. Use your imagination and decorate however you want, with whatever supplies you have!

Note - the largest frame doesn't stand up on its own (at least mine doesn't), but the snowman one does!

the frame before I decorated it. 

on my mantle, so cute. 

  

Cocoa Snowballs

The original name on this recipe is Red Velvet Snowballs but I'm changing it - they didn't turn out super red (like red velvet cake) and they taste like cocoa...so save yourself all that red food coloring and just make them "Cocoa Snowballs"! Don't know who to credit for this recipe, but I'm changing it a bit so it's mine now hahaha!

this is what the dough looks like before you
shape it into balls!

The dough is super crumbly, I'm talking seriously just a bowl of crumbs. I was surprised that I could get them to stick together and form balls - I measured the crumbs using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop and put in my palm, then really had to squeeze/press/and shape it to make a ball...but it'll do it, I promise! I'm assuming substituting 1 tablespoon of water for the food coloring won't change the dough, why would it? Let me know if it does!

• 2 1/2 level cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (note: I used coarse)
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) at room temperature
• 3 cups confections' sugar, divided
• 1 Tablespoon red food coloring (see above, I'd use water instead)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350' with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking, powder, and salt in a bowl.

2. Beat butter and 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, beating just until incorporated 1-2 minutes. Add food coloring (or water), vanilla, and vinegar; increase mixer speed to medium, and beat just until dough forms large crumbs, 15-20 seconds.

3. Shape dough into balls (about 2 Tablespoons each). Place balls, 1" apart, on prepared baking sheets; freeze 10 minutes. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until dry around the edges, 15-18 minutes. Cool on baking sheets on wire racks 5 minutes.

4. Place remaining 1 1/2 cups confections' sugar in a bowl. Working one at a time, gently toss warm cookies in sugar to coat. Return cookies to baking sheets to cool completely; reserve remaining sugar. Once cool, toss again in batches in the remaining sugar. 

Makes about 24 cookies. Working time 20 minutes. Total time 1 hour, 40 minutes

but look - it can be done, just takes some
pressing and shaping to get them to hold
their shape. 

Notes: I made these using 1 Tablespoon of dough each so they were smaller cookies; I did not do the whole bake high and low rotating sheet thing because I could fit about 25 on a sheet so just baked them in the middle of the oven. Since I made smaller cookies they only needed to bake about 10-12 minutes. These are a dry cookie similar to shortbread, I thought I overbooked the first batch because they were so dry - baked the second batch a couple minutes less and they tasted the same. I think I got about 46 cookies, I forgot already. 

Dave took these to a Holiday party and said everyone loved them - only "negative" comment was a woman said they left powdered sugar on her shirt. He said "my wife does that on purpose so I can't sneak any cookies at home, it leaves evidence" LOL. 

Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

Dave is going to a potluck Christmas Party today and didn't want to take anything because "they always have SO much food"...but I worry that makes him look like a loser guy whose wife didn't send anything hahahah - so I made him easy dipped pretzel rods and wrapped them in pretty bags so people can just take them home if there is too much food and they don't want to eat them right away. Super easy, a tiny bit time consuming only because when you dip them in the chocolate it takes a minute to shake all the excess chocolate off - if you leave too much on then it pools weird after setting up.

I didn't take pictures as I was making them, really you don't need any. Simply melt white, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate; dip about 3/4 of a pretzel rod in it (use a spoon or knife to help with the coating) and shake off until pretty smooth; then immediately sprinkle on whatever you want - I used some Christmas sprinkles, little red balls, green and red sugar...all of it looks good so just use your judgement. You can mix things together, or stripe the sugars, roll them in the toppings or just sprinkle on.

Candy Cane Mice

I have made these for years but have no idea where the idea or pattern came from - look how cute they are (and they're very simple)!

                                  

You need felt in 2 colors, small googly eyes, something for the nose (I use mini pompoms), and candy canes.

Draw the pattern on cardboard or heavy cardstock, then cut out. It's an oval, 4" tall x 2 1/2" wide for the body, and the ears are 1 1/4" x 4" long, see picture for the shape. Trace the shapes onto felt and cut them out. Cut 2 (1/2") slits on the body where the candy cane will go, and 2 (1/2") slits on the head where the ear piece will go. Fold one end of the ears in so you can insert it into one of the slits and then feed it up thru the other slit. Glue on the eyes and nose. Insert candy cane thru the body for it's tail.

on the left is the pattern, in the middle is the cut out felt shapes.
note where the slits are, they don't have to be perfect but you
get the idea where they should approximately go. the vertical
slits on the narrower side of the body are for the ears,
the horizontal slits on the bottom is where the candy cane goes. 

feed the ear piece  down thru one slit then back up thru the other

insert the candy cane so it's on the underside of
the mouse. 

Sugar and Spice Mixed Nuts

We were going to a Holiday party Saturday night and I realized that afternoon that I didn't have a hostess gift - it was too late to go shopping so I whipped up these sugar and spice nuts from ingredients in the pantry, made a quickie label and put them in a cute Christmas jar I found in my wrapping stuff. Great idea if you have any last minute gift needs (or just want them for yourself, they're slightly addictive I gotta say...).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus additional for sprinkling 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup pecans (I used raw nuts for this recipe)
• 1 cup whole almonds
• 1 cup walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250'.

In a large bowl mix together the egg white, sugar, spices.

Add the nuts and stir until coated.

Spread evenly onto a greased cookie sheet or baking pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Spread out on parchment paper and sprinkle while still hot with additional coarse salt.

I also did a few leftover pumpkin seeds to see how they'd turn out and they are yummy too - good to know (and Dave can eat them so he's happy...the house smells really good when the nuts are baking so he's always jealous he can't try them!). 

Georgian Cheese Bread

This recipe has been in my file of things I want to try at some point since I ripped it out of a Gourmet magazine in 2008, 'bout time I made it! Made this to go with the Chicken Marsala Sunday Supper (click here for that post) and it was excellent. Yes, it's a yeast bread and yes, that always seems hard and intimidating to me too - but it's easy!! I followed the recipe exactly (surprise!) and the only change I will make in the future (other than making a double batch that is) is to season the top with salt and pepper (or any spices that sound good) after brushing it with butter right before it's finished baking. That might not make it "Georgian Cheese Bread" anymore but it would taste really good.

one big ball of cheese goes in the center, gather the dough up around it and
then roll it out so the cheese get's distributed thru out.

before baking cut an x in the top

I'm surprised to find that the recipe is online in Gourmet's archives - click here to go to the original source (I copied and pasted the recipe for you below).

But first watch this short video of what happens when Janis offers to slice the bread with my pizza cutter :)

YIELD

Makes 1 (11-inch) pie; serves 8

ACTIVE TIME

30 min

TOTAL TIME

4 hr

INGREDIENTS

1. • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (a 1/4-ounce package)
   • 7 tablespoons warm water (105-115°F)
   • 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
   • 3/4 teaspoon salt
   • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
   • 1/4 pound Havarti cheese, coarsely grated
   • 1/4 pound salted mozzarella, coarsely grated
   • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
2. Equipment:
   • a floured pizza pan (at least 12 inches) or a floured large baking sheet
3. PREPARATION

1. 1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water and stir in 1 tablespoon flour. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast does not activate, start over with new yeast.)
   2. Stir together salt and remaining flour in a large bowl, then stir in egg and yeast mixture to form a dough.
   3. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and turn to coat with flour, then knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and dust with flour. Let dough rest in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, punching down with a wet fist every hour, at least 2 hours and up to 3.
   4. Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle.
   5. Turn out dough onto floured pizza pan, turning to coat, then flatten with your fingers into a 7-inch disk.
   6. Toss together cheeses and press into a compact 3-inch ball with your hands. Place ball in middle of dough, then gather dough up around ball of cheese, squeezing excess dough into a topknot. Press down on topknot with a damp fist to press cheese out from center. Continue to flatten dough and distribute cheese evenly, pressing outward from center, until dough is an 11-inch disk.
   7. Cut a 6-inch X through top of dough to expose cheese. Bake until pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Brush surface of dough with butter and bake until golden and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more.
   8. Serve cut into wedges.

Cooks' note:

• Dough can be made 1 day ahead and chilled in bowl (for a slow rise), covered with plastic wrap. Punch down and bring to room temperature before proceeding with recipe.

Winter Scene in a Glass Block

Remember the "give thanks" decorated glass block that I made for Ronda's display table (click here for that post)? She changed it out for her next display by filling it with fake snow and a cute little snowman figurine that I found at the craft store, then tied a red bow around it vertically which I love! I gotta get another one of these glass blocks so I can make this for myself! So cute.

Marquee Inspired Letters

I've seen this idea a bunch of places and done many different ways - some have actual lights in them, or use gold Christmas ornaments, I really liked one that used ping pong balls as the "lights" but I couldn't find inexpensive ping pong balls so went with small white glittered Christmas ornaments and love, love, love how this turned out. Obviously you can spell any word you want (I did Christmas but it'd be super cute any time of year with a different word or just an initial). Paper mache letters aren't very expensive but they seem to be on sale frequently so I just waited until I saw them half priced - these are about 8" tall (there are smaller and larger ones available) and cost me $1.50 each.

Supplies:
-paper mache letters
-small ornaments
-exacto knife
-paint and paint brush
-hot glue

-Carefully cut off the top of the letter with an exacto knife.

-Paint the letters with craft paint (I used a 1" foam brush and teal colored paint).

-Remove the top hanger from the ornament (I just pulled them off with little pliers). 

-Hot glue the stem side of the ornament (where the hanging thing was) to the inside of the painted letter.

Chicken Marsala

Yay - feels like it's time to start staying in more and getting back to Sunday Suppers... not sure why we don't do them in the summer but it just never seems to happen, I've missed it! I really enjoy looking thru my files of recipes I want to try, I have years worth ripped out somewhat organized in a giant file folder (after I make the recipe and decide if it's a keeper I move it to my actual recipe book or computer file) - I should probably make the recipe before feeding it to guests to see if it works but I totally experiment on everyone,  what's the worst that can happen? Ha, they can just go home and eat a sandwich if my dinners don't turn out :)

not the prettiest picture, much better
in person I promise! 

This week it's Chicken Marsala - I've eaten it a bunch of times but never made it, says "easy" so I decided to give it a try. Turns out it's very easy and delicious - especially if you just follow the recipe and don't try to "fix" it...yep that's what I did of course! Still turned out great, I just thought it was too soupy so added a little flour/water to thicken it and it instantly was too thick - everyone was standing in the kitchen waiting to eat so I didn't take the time to correct it by adding more broth and thinning the sauce back out but if I had time I would have and no one woulda been the wiser. As it was though the flavor is really good, we had it over herbed angel hair (click here for that recipe) with roasted broccoli and I got no complaints! Oh, and I tried my hand at making "georgian cheese bread" to round out our meal, I'll post that this week. You're gonna love it.

I followed a Tyler Florence recipe I found on foodnetwork.com - I was originally going to try a recipe I had in my file but while researching other ways to make it I landed on Tyler's and liked it so much I won't keep experimenting coming up with a better version.

Notes: don't add anything to thicken the sauce, just follow the recipe. And I used diced pancetta instead of prosciutto, yum.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces crimini or porcini mushrooms, stemmed and halved
• 1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Slip the cutlets into the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once – do this in batches if the pieces don't fit comfortably in the pan. Remove the chicken to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.
Lower the heat to medium and add the prosciutto to the drippings in the pan, saute for 1 minute to render out some of the fat. Now, add the mushrooms and saute until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.
Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence and JoAnn Cianciulli

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Herbed Angel Hair Pasta

I made this as a side dish for Chicken Marsala (check tomorrow for that recipe!) and even though it's simple and seemed like it was going to be a sort of "throw away" side dish (meaning I thought it was just going to be a reason to put more sauce on your plate but not be anything to write home about...) it turned out so flavorful and tasty that I'll share.

Boil a box of angel hair pasta according to the package directions. While that's cooking add a handful each of chopped chives, thyme, and Italian parsley to 1/4 cup of olive oil in a saucepan and heat for a couple minutes. Drain the pasta and pour it into the pan along with about 1/4 cup of the pasta's cooking water, mix all together. Remove from heat, add 2 Tablespoons of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. If the pasta seems dry add a bit more olive oil and/or butter. Sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Makes about 8 servings.

K-Cup Snowman Lighted Garland

Remember the recycled k-cup ghost lights I made for Ronda's October seasonal display table? Click here for that post and the directions. Well, hope you've been continuing to save your used k-cups 'cuz here is another cutie project - snowmen! Make the same way as the ghosts using sharpie markers to draw on the faces (black eyes, orange carrot nose, burgundy for mouth), then poke a hole in the tops and fit them on a light strand. Love.

Origami Gift Card Holder

I love anything gift wrapping related, and love to get new ideas (remember the one about making gift bags out of wrapping paper? click here for a refresher - I make these all the time now)  so when I saw this on a Stampin' Up site I had to try it - it's very easy to do, just a few basic folds, and after watching the video you should have no problem at all making them. And other than if you want to make a belly band to slip around it there is no adhesive needed - even better.






This idea comes from Sandi Dailey, she gave picture instructions but I like to watch and follow along so I hope this visual helps you! Sandi and the Stampin' Up ladies decorated these much more elaborate and fancy then I did - if you're up to it go ahead and get creative with the finish decorations! I kept it simple...it's (usually) how I roll (unless I'm in a glitter and glue mood and then watch out LOL!).

2021 update: I have no idea where the video went, hopefully you can watch the instructions on youtube!

Crescent Rolls

Here's the recipe for the rolls I made to take to Thanksgiving dinner - I wasn't sure if I loved them but then they got such rave reviews I've decided to keep the recipe and will make again for sure. These are quite easy to make and didn't take nearly as long as I thought - I made them the day before thinking they'd need more time but after reading the directions thru I see that they only need 3 hours start to finish so next time I'll make them the same day and time it to bake them shortly before dinner is ready so they'll be hot and fresh. Apparently they were an even bigger hit for breakfast the next morning!

This recipe is from howdoesshe.com, I printed their recipe below but click here if you want to see their step by step directions.

proofing the yeast

super sticky wet dough

let it rise, then split into 4 equal sized rounds

roll out to an approx 12" - 14" circle 

let 'em rise again for about 30 minutes before baking. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons yeast
• 2 cups of warm water
• about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
• at least 1 cup of butter

Instructions

1. Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.
2. add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it!). To cool it down stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.
3. Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture!
4. Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.
5. At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it rise.
6. When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.
7. Let the dough raise until it has doubled in size.
8. Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.
9. Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.
10. Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter.
11. Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough.
12. Roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle
13. Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls!
14. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 10 – 15 minutes, It may take longer depending on how hot your oven cooks. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.
15. While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.