Santa Gnome Cupcakes

My sis sent me a picture of what I thought were cute santa gnome cupcakes and fortunately I had everything on hand to make them this morning - I baked mini vanilla cupcakes and then googled to see whaat they used for frosting and then saw that her picture was actually cookie based, not cupcakes.

Oops, guess I shoulda googled before baking hahahha. But guess what? The cupcakes turned out just as good!

These are super easy to decorate - frost the top of the cupcake with vanilla buttercream and draw it down a little to form a beard. Add a strawberry and something for the nose - I have small candy balls that both look cute, I also used cinnamon candies for some which were also cute. I don't have any m&m's in the house (thanks Dave haha) but that or skittles would work. 

For the cupcake I doctored a white cake mix (switch softened butter for oil, and milk for water, 3 whole eggs not just the whites the box called for) and added chopped up white chocolate chips; bake for approx. 9 minutes. Cool before decorating. 

12.10.20: MSIH scalloped potato review

12.10.19: TT make a gift bag out of wrapping paper (it's easy and so handy, I make them all the time!)

12.10.18: Santa's wreath making workshop 

12.10.17: sweetly spiced pork tenderloin with butternut and pears

12.10.16: herbed angel hair pasta

12.10.15: wine glass snow globes

Jar Ring Present Topper

Here's a quick and easy idea to decorate gifts or use as a gift tag - I hot glued a piece of fake pine and a small jingle bell to the underside of a mason jar ring, tied on a length of wired plaid ribbon to the top, then glued the recipient's name across the front. I cut out names from decorative paper on my Cricut Joy, if you don't have that you can find paper words already cut out at the craft store - they probably won't be names but you could do other seasonal words I'm sure. Simple!

12.9.20: scalloped potatoes

12.9.19: felt mitten gift tag clip

12.9.18: 🔥week 49

12.9.17: elf gift tags

12.9.16: k-cup snowman lighted garland

12.9.15: paper Christmas lights garland

Catalina Cranberry Chicken

I found this recipe at kraft foods and made it for dinner last night - it is SO good. And super easy. Win-win. Keeper recipe for sure! I made a couple changes - used 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts instead of bone-in; my store has been out of whole berry cranberry sauce for months for some reason (hoarding? supply issues?) so I substituted with jellied cranberry sauce; and I bought tangy bacon catalina because - hello - bacon! 

Seriously - this is so, so good! I served it with 1/2 mashed cauliflower/1/2 mashed potatoes and roasted green beans, the pan sauce is delish on the mashed. Hope you'll try it!

CATALINA CRANBERRY CHICKEN

• 4 lb. bone-in chicken pieces (breast halves and/or thighs)
• 1 can (16 oz whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1 bottle (8 oz) Catalina dressing
• 1 envelope dried onion soup mix

Heat oven to 350'. Place chicken in 2 (13x9) baking dishes. Mix remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Bake 50 minutes or until chicken is done (165'). 

12.8.20: TT: prosciutto (and a great pear/cheese/prosciutto appetizer)

12.8.19: 🔥 week 49

12.8.18: snowman place setting

12.8.17: crocheted cactus

12.8.16: origami gift card holder

12.8.15: framed glitter words

Tip-sy Tuesday: Cheese (how to serve, how to store)

I just read this in the December Costco magazine and learned a couple things I didn't know, so I figured I'd pass it along to you in case you also need/want to learn some things about how to serve and store different types of cheese - it's good, useful info that I'll probably forget if I don't put it in a post so I can reference it later haha! 

Here's a guide for how to handle 5 different types of cheese:

•  Fresh - includes cream cheese, Feta, Goat cheese, Mozzarella
• serve: spread on baguette; with fruit, nuts or herbs; stuff peppers, mushrooms or chicken
• store: tightly wrapped for up to a week in the fridge 
• Soft - includes Brie, Camembert 
• serve: at room temperature on crackers or baguette; with apples, turkey or ham; bake in puff pastry
• store: in package for up to two weeks in the fridge
• Semisoft - includes Havarti, Jarlsberg
• serve: on sandwiches, salads, burgers, pizza, quiche, tarts and gratins
• store: in parchment paper for up to two weeks in the fridge
• Hard - includes Cheddar, Manchego, Parigiano-Reggiano
• serve: with chutney, fruit and nuts
• store: in plastic wrap for up to two weeks in the fridge
• Blue - includes Cambozola, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton
• serve: in salad dressings; on salads, baked pears, steaks and burgers
• store: in package for up to two weeks in the fridge

Good to know info, right? 

12.7.20: how to decoupage glass plates 

12.7.19: beef and beer stew

12.7.18: pumpkin snowman 

  

12.7.17: paper doily wreath

12.7.16: homemade crescent rolls

12.7.15: snowman gift box

Christmas Tree/Wreath Mash-Up

Not sure what to call this gerry-rigged mini Christmas tree hahaha! I found a cool Christmas basket on super sale last winter and thought it'd be a cute holder for a small artificial tree I have that's missing the  stand.  The tree is a little small for the basket tho so I put a wreath over the opening (which fit perfectly) and then set the tree on top - the wreath filled up the space under the tree and is helping to hold the tree in the basket. Yay - this turned out so cute! 

I decorated it with 'natural' looking shootie things, silver glitter eucalyptus, cardinals, pinecones, etc. 

12.6.20: 🔥week 49

12.6.19: celery syrup

12.6.18: snowman treat holder

12.6.17: Grandma Jean's pecan pie

12.6.16: succulent terrarium

12.6.15: rocky road cookies

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 49)

Dear Campers ~

Here's your weekly recap in case you missed anything (or want to revisit a post!) at camp last week:

Posts ~

11/28: 🔥 week 48

11/29: man-day monday: veggie stuffed burgers

11/30: tip-sy tuesday: cutting board for rolling dough

12/1: winter porch decor

12/2: fried beets

12/3: creamy artichoke dip

12/4: defrosting the deep freezer

What's Cooking ~

• grilled chicken breast, cucumber and tomatoes in creamy dressing, roasted garbanzo beans
• pork chops, gnocchi with parmesan, caesar salad
• chicken enchilada suizas
• chicken, spinach, mozzarella sausage, spaghetti squash with marinara, roasted green beans
• grilled ham and mushroom thin crust pizza, chopped veggie salad

That's it for this week - hope you've got a handle on the fast approaching holidays! I say it every year (sometimes every week haha) but goodness time flies! It's week 49 of the year already! Have a great week, stop back to see more crafts, projects, whatever else I can think of to make next week at camp! Bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

tea light snowmen from 12/18

12.5.20: Christmas wreath vegetable tray

12.5.19: MSIH: pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

12.5.18: snowman ornaments

12.5.17: add a pocket when gift wrapping

12.5.16: pumpkin deer

12.5.15: hand painted wine glasses

Defrosting the Deep Chest Freezer

You might remember my posting about organizing the 'black hole of doom' last year when I showed you how much ice buildup we had in our chest freezer and how easy it was to defrost it - click here for that post -  well I concluded that post by saying I wouldn't let it get that bad again and guess what? 

Yep, I let it build up again. 

This time however it was even easier to defrost because it's still very organized so I only had to lift out the tubs, and then the meat in their sections underneath. I'm happy to say that a year later this system is still functioning very well! Even tho I posted about this in the past, let it be a reminder to go check if you have any ice buildup in your deep freezer! Also, last time I defrosted it was very hot and humid outside - this time is a little different, can't say December in Michigan is hot or humid hahahha. 

Read the first post for detailed instructions on how I defrosted, in a nutshell it's:

• empty the contents into coolers 
• unplug from the wall
• open the drain, put a towel on the floor by the drain
• wait a few minutes and scrape with a spatula or something with a flat bottom (do not use a knife or screwdriver!)
• collect the ice pieces in a pail or tub or something
• wipe out with a towel
• close the drain
• plug back in, wait a few minutes, put the frozen food back in place. 

12.4.20: how to make tiny bows using a fork

12.4.19: cranberry sauce hand pies

12.4.18: snowman wreath

12.4.17: wine cork Christmas trees

12.4.16: pasta with roasted tomatoes and sausage

12.4.15: contact paper dog house

Creamy Artichoke Dip

This is a recipe I found at allrecipes.com for cold artichoke dip - I have a great recipe for baked artichoke dip but I was feeling like a cold version. This is pretty similar to my baked dip, now I'm wondering if I could just follow my recipe and not bake it! Everyone liked this tho so we'll just stick with it hahaha!

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts in water, drained
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 clove garlic, minced (more to taste)
• 1 squeeze fresh lemon juice
• 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

Blend artichoke hearts, parmesan, mayo, sour cream, and garlic in a blender or food processor until smooth; stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl. 

Not the first time I forgot to take a picture! 

12.3.20: MSIH: crockpot chicken stroganoff

12.3.19: TT: removing super glue from skin

12.3.18: tea light snow people

12.3.17: broccoli beef
12.3.15: make a wine cork trivet

Fried Beets

Have you ever heard of frying beets? Have you ever made or tried fried beets? Well I've never heard or, made, or tried them so when Tesha mentioned it I immediately made them for lunch (I had fresh beets on hand for a butternut squash beet salad I was going to try but this served my instant gratification lunch better hahha). Clean, peel and thinly slice fresh (uncooked) beets - slice them like you would to make fried potatoes (thin slices that sort of look like potato chips).  Fry in butter or oil until they are cooked thru and tender. like you would fried potatoes. 

I'm almost slightly embarrassed to tell you how many of these I ate for lunch. They are terrific - if you like beets. If not, why are you still reading a post about beets? LOL. 

note: to clean the beets I used a vegetable peeler and a small paring knife to remove the outer skin. The raw beet juice stained my fingers so don't get it on your clothes! 

12.2.20: popsicle stick snowmen by B (I was so happy to open my Christmas stuff this year and find these cuties!)

12.2.19: poinsettia gift topper

12.2.18: 🔥 week 48
12.2.17: decorated the 'dog house'
12.2.16: kids Christmas party: gingerbread houses
12.2.15: DIY bell bottom jeans

Winter Porch Decor

I don't do a lot of outdoor decorating - a couple strands of lights around the back porch rail, a wreath or two that LeDonna hand makes (click here to read about how she does it, it's quite the system!), and the front porch. 

I've shown you how I decorate our front porch overhang for Halloween, but I don't think I've shared my winter version. On the underside of the overhang we have a few small nails so I can hang stuff - for Halloween or Fall it's colorful leaf garlands, mini pumpkins and rubber bats, for Winter/Christmas it's evergreen and pinecone garland, metal snowflakes, bells, and this year I added 3 large shatterproof balls. 

I've learned to hang the garland first and this year I struggled getting it to stay up, my usual twine and twist ties weren't cutting it - the neighbors must think I'm nuts watching me on the ladder trying to put it up and having it fall down then repeat, and repeat...it was snowing and cold while decorating over the weekend (I knew I should have put up the week before when it was SUNNY hahaha!) and that didn't help my frustration any, eventually I had to walk away from it and take a minute! While warming up (and eating hambone soup, recipe to follow soon) I had the thought that I should wire it up there with some thin craft wire and ah ha - I overcame my issue and nothing is coming down until I say it comes down.

the snow on the garland is not fake haha, it
 accumulated while I was hanging everything up!

After the garland was in place, I filled it with the snowflakes, bells, and balls. This has been my go-to winter porch plan for a while now and I still love love how it looks. If you don't have an overhang maybe this will inspire you to hang stuff around the doorway or columns or whatever you have! 

the underside of the overhang

12.1.20: TT: turkey stock

12.1.19: 🔥 week 48

12.1.18: pinecone snowman

12.1.17: wall pompom by B

12.1.16: quinoa salad 

12.1.15: make a snowman ornament