A Cute Christmas Gift

I first made these when Annie was a baby, and then again with Emily. We made these our of baby food jars (This year we got 50 on craigslist. Score!), some christmas fabric, ribbon, candy, and labels. First, just wash the jars out. When dry, glue labels on it and fill with candy (I used a variety of M&Ms and Tootsie rolls). Then, cut circles out of the fabric, slightly larger than the lids of the jars (We traced the rim of a tupperware bowl). Glue it on the lid and tie with a ribbon. These are going to teachers & co-workers. It's a great cheap craft that everyone will love!

Top 5 Holiday Favorites

With the holidays just around the corner, we're all looking for great gifts. Here are my top 5 favorite gifts and treats for the holidays that are guaranteed to bring holiday cheer!

5. Martha Stewart's Recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies


© 2010 Martha Stewart Living

 This recipe is fantastic for Christmas gifts for family, friends, and neighbors. It's also very easy to make, and uses ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen. Our family loves to make them whenever we have the time. The recipe makes 48 cookie, and is only 4 steps. Try it for yourself!










4. Ambient Fire DVD

We live in Florida, where in the winter, we rarely have cold weather. It can be really hard to get the mood for the holidays without a fire. That's taken care of with this great DVD which gives you lots of options of fireplace fires to enjoy on your TV. We'll crank this baby up on the 80 degree Christmas Eve we almost always have! Can Santa come down the DVD this year? Does that even make sense?

3. Insta Snow Fake Snow Powder

Living in Florida, snow is hard to come by. But we love the Insta Snow! We looked at this tiny bag of white powder with some trepidation. The simple instructions say to add 10 ounces of water and get instant snow! Well, that sounded good too, since we rarely see a flake in north Florida. Here's what happened...we added water to our little packet in a bowl and instantly it exploded into a giant bowl of snow! It feels soft and cool and really looks like snow! The instructions on the website said we could actually make a snowman so we tried this by freezing it for an hour, but the kids couldn't wait that long and hauled it outside to start playing! The photo shows my little one enjoying the Insta Snow in Florida! You could use this stuff to make snow for your little fake Christmas scenes, surround your model train sets, or just play with it. Some people actually buy a giant amount and throw it on their lawns! It is also non-toxic, so you could, theoretically, eat some (bleh). They actually sell a size that would make 8 gallons of fake snow - I think it would be funny to dump into someones hot tub! This makes the Fake Snow Powder a great little stocking stuffer for people who can't find the real stuff!

2. Smencils Scented Pencils

They are really strongly-scented usable pencils with the smells of gourmet foods. We tried out Rootbeer flavor. The kids thought it was cool, it smelled exactly like a freshly-opened can of rootbeer. Smencils are made from recycled newspapers and bathed in cool scents that last! Even the shavings smell good. This would be a really great stocking stuffer for kids of all ages, especially people who love scents. Or teachers!

1. Bob's Candy Canes

Okay, seriously, what's Christmas without candy canes?

Just In Time for Thanksgiving....

It's the chocolate pie recipe! This was posted two years ago, but it's so great it had to be up again!

This chocolate pie recipe has been handed down on my father's side for at least 4 generations. His family is from eastern North Carolina, so all the food that comes from there is very yummy, very Southern, and not very diet. Keep this in mind as you prepare. (Also, keep in mind that you really have to stir the pudding while on the stove for a longgggg time before it starts to gel). We serve it in our family every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is not a holiday without this pie.
The recipe uses a hand mixer to do the "mixing" part.

I call it Maw Maw's Chocolate Pie (we called our grandma - "Maw-Maw" ). So here's Grandma Maw Maw's pie recipe:

Makes 2 Pies
Preheat oven to 400 degrees to prebake the pie shells, drop to 350 degrees to cook the pie meringue.

Ingredients

• 4 small packages of Jello Brand Pudding & pie filling - chocolate
• 2 Pet Ritz Bake and Fill Pie Shells (regular size) or any other bake and fill regular pie shells
• 2 Tablespoons Real Cocoa - unsweetened
• 2Tablespoons Sugar
• 2 Cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk
• 4 Large or Jumbo Egg Yolks. Separate carefully and reserve the whites for meringue (may want extra egg whites to make taller meringue) Eggs should be at room temperature.
• 1Tablespoon Real Vanilla
• 1Tablespoon Butter
• Pinch of Table Salt

Prick the unbaked pie shells all over with a fork. Pre-bake the pie shells until light brown. Set aside on a cookie sheet.

Beat egg yolks for a minute with mixer. Add the balance of ingredients, except butter, and mix with mixer until well blended.

Pour into a large saucepan, add the butter, and then stir by hand constantly over medium heat, approximately ten minutes until it starts to boil.

Reduce heat to low and continue to stir, it will be slightly lumpy when you take it off the burner

 Remove from heat, continue to beat it by hand to smooth it out, then immediately pour into the pre-baked crusts, dividing evenly.

 Set pies aside. Set your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare meringue by beating egg whites until peaks start to form, adding ¼ cup sugar a little at a time as you are beating at high speed(4 to 5 egg whites) using mixer.

Feel free to double the amount of meringue if you want it to be thick on top of the pie. Divide your meringue mixture to top the two pies and cover the filling completely.

Set the pies on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees until the meringue is browned.



May be served warm or chilled. I think it is much better chilled. ;)

Easy as pie...