Billie's Christmas Corner
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Microwave Peanut Brittle
What you need:
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup roasted salted peanuts, pecans, cashews or almonds
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1. Combine corn syrup and sugar in 1 1/2-quart round glass microwave
baking dish; stir until well blended.
2. Microwave on High 4 minutes.
3. Stir in nuts; microwave on High 3 to 5 minutes until light brown.
4. Stir in butter and vanilla, blending well; microwave on High 1 to
2 minutes.
5. Add baking soda and stir gently until light and foamy.
6. Quickly pour onto lightly greased baking sheet; cool.
7. Break into small pieces; store in airtight container.
NOTE: For clear caramel-type brittle, omit baking soda.
Things to do with kids for Christmas, Make homemade Christmas color/glitter play dough (and scent it with peppermint) to give to friends
HOW TO MAKE GLITTER PLAYDOUGH
I know in some parts of the country you are all bundling up and keeping the kiddos inside…and..well…here in South Texas we're on month seven of being stuck inside with the a/c buzzing. I'm ready for some cool weather to help me believe it's Fall, but until then…what on Earth do I do to keep my two year old busy when she can't play outside?! We make stuff, of course!
Pinterest has me brainstorming all sorts of creative ideas & last week I can across this post & had to give Glitter Playdough a try. I've experimented with playdough before, but it never came out quite right. But this stuff–this is a hit. & it is currently keeping my girly occupied for about an hour a day which means this mama is getting a LOT done! Especially around dinnertime. ;) So…here's the best recipe for playdough I've come across yet, complete with sparkles! OOH la la!
What you need:
- 1 C Flour
- 1 C Water
- 1/4 C Salt
- 1 TBSP Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- Food Coloring (or if you want it to smell yummy, kool-aid)
- Glitter (the bigger flakes, the better)
- pot/pan & spatula
- & an eager little helper :)
Add everything to the pot. Doesn't matter what order.
Stir, stir, stir. until pretty smooth.
You can either make one big batch of the same color, or separate it out before you add the food coloring. I doubled my batch & separated it out into six bowls.
Add food coloring or kool-aid & stir well.
The first time I made this I used regular food coloring & while the color was great, the stuff smelled like…playdough? Not the best smell in the world. I bought kool-aid (for the first time ever!) and while it certainly did add a very yummy scent to the final product, it did make my little one cough when it went POOF into a cloud as it hit the mixture in the bowl. So just be warned. ;)
After the food coloring, add glitter. Add a decent amount–some will definitely stick around on little hands, but that's half the fun, right?!
Your mixture should be pretty runny before you add to your pot.
Heat the pot on MEDIUM & DO NOT STOP STIRRING once you pour in the mixture. This step went extremely fast for me–well under a minute, so stir & don't let it stick to the bottom! This is a mommy job.
The mixture will get clumpy & start to change colors. This is normal. It will eventually all turn a slightly darker shade of the original mixture. I had the best luck flattening mine into a pancake-ish shape & flipping it over. When you think it's done, remove from heat. I just scooped mine onto the counter.
After mine cooled a tad, I kneaded it a little to be sure it was done. If it is a little too gooey, just put it back in the pot & cook a little longer.
It's so pretty…& smelled so good…I couldn't help but play with it too!
I kept mine in the same containers I used to store my homemade baby food, and my little girl had the most fun playing with both the dough AND the containers. So don't be afraid to let the babes play with it all! More colors=more fun!
Hours & hours, I tell ya. Took no more than a half hour to make. So easy. So cheap. SO FUN! :)
Happy Playdough making!
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mincemeat
1-1/4 pounds lean beef stew meat
2-3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
1/3 pound beef suet, coarsely ground
3/4 pounds dark raisins
1/2 pound dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 pound currants
1/2 cup apple juice
3/4 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoons ground allspice
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup bourbon or rum, divided
Pastry dough for two double crust pies (see recipe in the related recipes
links)
Place stew meat in 2-quart pot; add water to cover. Bring to boil, cover,
reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until tender. Drain and put through a
meat grinder or into a food processor until a coarse grind.
Place the ground meat and the remaining ingredients, using only 1/4 cup of
the liquor, in a 4-quart pot. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook
gently for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool
(Can be made several days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for several
months.)
Preheat oven to 375° F. Roll out one-quarter of the pastry dough and place
it in a 9-inch pie pan. Place one-half of meat mixture into pie shell. Roll
out another quarter of the dough and place on top, crimping it with the
bottom crust to seal. Cut a hole in the center of the top crust to allow
steam to escape while baking. Repeat with the second pie, or freeze the meat
for future use. Bake for 1 hour or until brown and bubbly. Place pie on a
cooling rack. Using a funnel, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup bourbon or rum.
Tilt pie back and forth to incorporate. Serve warm.
Notes: If, like me, you do not care for raisins, use all currants which are
smaller and have a milder flavor. Leftover pie can be tented with foil and
reheated in the oven. It can also be microwaved, but the crust will soften.
By: Lyle Moraine (1946)
Let's get away from sleigh bells, let's get away from snow,
Let's make a break some Christmas dear, I know the place to go.
How'd ja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?
How'd ja like to spend the Holiday away across the sea?
How'd ja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?
How'd ja like to hang your stockin' on a great big coconut tree?
How'd ja like to stay up late like the Islanders do,
Wait for Santa to sail in with your presents in a canoe?
If you ever spend Christmas on Christmas Island,
You will never stray, for ev'ry day
Your Christmas dreams come true.
Music Interlude......
How'd ja like to stay up late like the Islanders do,
Wait for Santa to sail in with your presents in a canoe?
If you ever spend Christmas on Christmas Island,
You will never stray, for ev'ry day
Your Christmas dreams come true.
On Christmas Island, your Christmas dreams come true.
Organizing Checklist.
Prepare any foods for Thanksgiving that you can prepare in advance. These might include salads, desserts or breads.
Creating Your Own Playdough Kit By: Brandie Valenzuela
It is hard to find a child who doesn't love to play with doughs and clays. And as a mom of three, I know that playdough can become a mom's best or worst friend -- it all depends on how you handle it.
In our home, we created a playdough kit. This kit contained all of the essential items needed for creative play with this fun substance, and when it was time to play, the kit came out and when playtime was over, away it went until next time. We had very specific rules for the playdough kit and I can say with all honesty that never has my carpet or tables been ruined by their doughy creations.
Follow these directions and you too can have a fun activity ready to go at all time for your little ones:
You will need the following:
1) A large plastic tub or storage container with a lid.
2) A fresh supply of playdough or clay -- can be homemade or store bought.
3) Inexpensive or old cookie cutters
4) Cutting utensils such as plastic butter knives, pizza cutters, etc.
5) Plastic coated placemats to protect their work surface
6) Optional: garlic press, forks, melon baller, rolling pin, or other items.
I enjoyed making homemade playdough with my children for their kit. Not only does this give you a fun and education activity with your children, it is inexpensive. Here is one good recipe for
making your own playdough:
1 cup Flour
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Salt
2 tablespoon Cream of tartar
1 tablespoon Oil
Cook until ingredients start to clump together. Turn out onto a plate or piece of wax paper, and knead in food coloring if you wish.
After making the dough, we would store it in large zipper style plastic bags, that would then be placed inside the large storage container. If sealed properly, the bags will keep the dough fresh and pliable for 1-2 weeks, possibly even a little bit longer. When the dough did started to dry out, it was easy to whip up another batch or two.
In the storage container, we also placed all of our other goodies. While I did give you suggestions above as to what to put in your kit, it is really up to you. You may have some great ideas that are perfect for creating with. The standard items in our kit were always dull butter knives, pizza cutters, rolling pin, and cookie cutters. We also made sure that there was always a a plastic coated placemat for each child could work on.
One of the most important things to me when it came to putting together my children's playdough kit, was that they could truly create -- and that no one was telling them how something "should" look, unless they really wanted to know. I found that allowing them plenty of free time to design and explore with their dough, encouraged them to create those things that only their minds could dream of.
Another important issue -- which helped me to keep my sanity -- was clearly defined rules. In our home, the kit was in a place that was low enough so that the children could initiate their own activities with it, but they also knew that misuse of the items would cause me to put it away. We had rules such as:
- No playdough off of the placemats
- If you drop dough, you must pick it up right away
- Only 5 minutes per tool if someone else would like to use it
- Everyone cleans up their own space
Of course, you will want to create your own rules and guidelines that will fit the needs of your home. You will find that because the playdough kit is so easily portable and it all contained within the storage box, it was easy to remove the kit when play is out of hand and put it away for a specified amount of time.
Things to do at Christmas time, bake Banana Bread, share with a neighbor or friend
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Christmas items you can make with Fimo... Elf on the Shelf is top of the list.
note
also have midi files so you can sing along.
