Another Advent Calendar

I made one of these last year for my kids. A good friend of mine was visiting from Portland last Christmas and saw how cool it was and how much fun we were having with it. Fast forward to summer 2008 and during one of our regular chats she says, "I don't want to sound presumptuous, but for my Christmas present... if you're going to get me a present this year... feel free to not get me one if that was your plan... but if you are going to get me one could you make my family one of those Advent calendars you made for your kids. Feel free to say no." I chuckled and said, "Of course I'm getting you a present this year and yes I'll make you an Advent Calendar." She has a 4 year old daughter and they'll have many years of enjoyment from the calendar. Above is a picture of the one I made for her. Each number is a tin velcroed on to the board. One can fill it with whatever will fit. As each day passes pull off the tin and underneath are the cutest Christmas stamps.

Directions for how to make one of these calendars can be found at Split Coast Stampers. If you ever have a question on how to make one or find a material. Feel free to email me.

When I made mine I wasn't sure how it would go over. My kids are teenagers now. So, I decided to do something a little different. I did put a piece of chocolate into each tin, but I also figured out 12 Christmas time activities that we like to do each year. Normally, the month goes by and few things don't get done. This time I asked the kids what they liked to do and added what I like to do with them and made the "The 12 dates of Christmas." I put the 12 dates on slips of paper and put them in the tins through out the month. On my family calendar I am able to schedule all these activities so we don't miss them. I use a yellow highlighter to highlight just the number on the family calendar, so as not to spill the beans. This way my DH knows that something is planned for that day and he can plan accordingly. Kids haven't figured out that code yet. Some of the things we like to do and not necessarily in this order are...


1. Try out a new cookie recipe to eat and share with friends
2. Make fudge.
3. Family movie night with a favorite old Christmas movie and popcorn.
4. Go to Dairy Queen and have a Christmas flavored Blizzard
5. Drive around with Hot Cocoa and see the pretty lights.
6. Make Gingerbread houses.
7. Go to the theater and catch a new Christmas movie.
8. Family board game night.
9. Wrap presents and do any last minute shopping.
10. Get out the Christmas decorations and make the house festive.
11. Get out the Christmas dishes and have a delicious meal on them.
12. Go to Starbucks and enjoy a festive drink.

My teenagers are really into this fun Advent calendar and we're enjoying great family fun.

A Fridge Full of Fudge!

I have 6 pounds of delicious homemade fudge in my fridge right now as we speak. OK maybe we're down to 5 1/2 pounds after some taste testing. Today was "Make Fudge" day on the Advent calendar. The kids looked forward to it all day. My daughter has been the fudge maker in the past, but she had to stay late at school today. So, my son dove head first into the chocolate. Didn't have to ask him twice. We figured out a few years ago that my grandmother's fudge recipe has the best taste, but needed to be a little lighter. We make her recipe and then stir in 1/2 jar of marshmallow cream. We experimented with a new preparation method this year. Deciding to do it in the microwave rather than over a double boiler. My son much preferred this method. We also never put in nuts preferring the feel of smooth creamy fudge melting on our tongues.

Here's her recipe:

Fudge
3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 - 14oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
dash of salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nuts

Top of double boiler melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. (This is where we put it in the microwave. Heating and stirring for 1 minute at a time until chocolate was melted.)

Remove from heat (or microwave) - add milk, salt, vanilla and nuts.
Stir until smooth.

Spread mixture evenly into waxed -paper lined 8X8" baking pan.
Chill 2 hours or until firm.

Turn fudge onto cutting board, peel off paper and cut into squares. Tightly cover any leftovers.


I decided to try a new fudge recipe this year. A true fudge recipe. It's called Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge. Boy did it turn out to be a pain in the butt. Mostly because I was making fudge and making dinner for company at the same time. I didn't give the fudge my full attention, because I wanted dinner to be good for a friend that was coming to my house for the first time. First the fudge boiled over while I was doing a technique Alton Brown recommends for getting the sugar crystals off the edge of your pot. Put a lid on it for 3 minutes. It works great, but today it boiled over. NOW my stove is cover with a brown goo and everything including the goo is too hot to clean. I laughed it off knowing my friend would have a chuckle too. It was quite a sight a white stove with brown sugar goo oozing around 2 burners. It could have been a scene out of the "Blob" only I don't get to run away with Steve McQueen. I cleaned the pot off as best I could, so there wouldn't be a burning smell in my house. While I was trying to attempt to beat the brown goo back the simmering potatoes for mashed potatoes started to boil over. I quickly pulled them off the burner and had a talk with myself. "Calm down, slow down, pay attention."

My stove now looks like I never clean it. I'm just hoping my company will understand that this all happened just now in the last 15 minutes. I finish getting dinner together. My friend arrives and laughs at the ordeal I had and wished me good luck cleaning the half burnt sludge off my stove. The cinnamon fudge now being referred to as "That Damn Fudge" had come to temperature on the candy thermometer. I tossed in the butter and let it cool while my friend and I talk crafting. Finally, I decided to put the finishing touches on the fudge and get it out of my hair and into the fridge. It doesn't thicken up like the recipe said and I thought with all the trouble I was having it might be ruined. So, I toss it into a pan and stick it into the fridge. Fingers crossed.
(The two pieces on the left are Grandma's Fudge. The two pieces on the right are the Cinnamon Fudge.)

3 hours later my kids reminded me the fudge was ready. Grandma's fudge looked fabulous and tasted even better. The Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge to my great surprise had set up wonderfully and tasted great. The texture was so smooth and just melted cinnamon chocolaty goodness all over one's tongue.

Here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate

3 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

1 1/4 c. milk

4 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. pecans or walnuts, broken

Melt chocolate in 3-qt. saucepan on lowest heat or over hot water. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, corn syrup and milk. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Increase heat to med. and cook, stirring until sugar dissolves. Wash crystals from side of pan. Cook to 236 degrees F on candy thermometer (soft-ball stage).

Remove from heat; add butter and, without stirring, let cool to 110 degrees F or lukewarm. Add

vanilla extract and beat until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in nuts and continue beating until candy holds its shape. Drop from spoon onto buttered wax paper or pour into buttered pan. When cool, cut into squares. Makes about 3 pounds.

P.S. For something really different we made Alton Brown's Peanut Butter Fudge last year. It was super simple and super good! Click on the "Peanut Butter Fudge" for the link to the recipe by Alton Brown.

And the winner is....

This year's RCS Christmas Card Challenge is over. I had a great time and I've heard that the other gals had a great time too. Getting a few of our Christmas cards done each month definitely took the sting out sending out hand made Christmas cards to our friends and family this month. I have 66 cards, which is more cards than I usually send out. I wanted a few extra so I could give them out willy nilly if I felt like it. If I have some left over I'll use them next year.

For the challenge I offered to put together a gift basket drawing for all those who followed the rules. They were set a goal of cards to make each month of 3 or more, make and post a picture of your cards during the month they're due, and miss no more than 3 months during the year. 8 gals, Cathy R. , Crystal, Karen, Linda C., M-C, Sandy, Shannon and myself were able to accomplish this goal.

One honorable mentions goes to Linda C. for not missing one single month during the year. I myself, didn't miss a month, but I felt an obligation as hostess to not miss a month. You know set a good example and all that good stuff.

So, this evening I had my beautiful daughter assist me with the drawing. I wrote the 7 names on recycled paper...mine not included just seemed silly to put my own name into my own drawing. I can see it now...OH I won... what a surprise!.... ahhh no. LOL

So, my daughter... err... unbiased assistant did the drawing.

And the winner is...What can't read that teenie tiny piece of paper.

Congratulations Shannon!

After confirming your address your prize will be in the mail next week! Thanks to all that participated. Seems like we have some interest in a another year. We'll cross that bridge come January 2009.

Final Christmas Card Challenge

November is the last month for the Christmas Card Challenge. I now have 66 handmade cards done by ME for all my friends and family! I've never been able to make enough cards in the month of December to cover everyone. I've often felt a bit guilty about that. Not this year. I'm really looking forward to sending them out.

This card was done with a technique that use spray starch and Pearl Ex. It really looks nice and shimmery. The snowman is then heat embossed with white embossing powder to make him pop. I've used a lot of nontraditional Christmas colors for my cards this year.

Thanksgiving Surprises

I took the holiday on the first year I got married. It seemed to be a holiday that shifted around the family a lot. No one person willing to take it on. My thinking was it was all the cooking. Even today 21 years later it doesn't scare me. I love to cook and feed my family good food. What does scare me is the offers of people wanting to bring stuff. With my husband's side of the family one does not know exactly what you'll get. Not that they are weird, but I don't know them well not growing up with them. I have to admit though there have been some odd surprises they have all been pretty good.



There was one year a green bean casserole with a one inch thick coating of sour cream on top. My husband HATES sour cream with a mad passion. You can't even sneak 1 T of it into a dish... his sour cream senses go off! If it were an actual useful sense I'd have him team up with Spiderman, but all of mankind doesn't need to be protected from sour cream. His cousin set the 9X13 inch dish of sour cream green beans right on the table. I could tell my husband was on the verge of retching. Since nothing on the table was nearly that big except the turkey I slyly suggested we set it on the kitchen counter as it took up SO much room. That I'd send a smaller bowl of it around. I got a silent very thankful look from my husband.



There was the year of the green salad with dried cranberries and sugar glazed pecans. We like savory salads at my house. So, biting into something sweet in a salad was about as shocking as the time I inadvertently sprinkled chocolate chips on my salad at a dimly lit salad bar not knowing it connected to a dessert bar. After the initial shock of the sweet bits and the tart dressing it was actually quite good.



This years surprise came in another form. Starting on Monday we began slowly cleaning the house a little bit each day. Then Wednesday was the push to finish everything up. My daughter volunteered to clean the bathroom. Not that we need a volunteer it's not that bad, but I was surprised she did it without being told to do it. I just let her run with it. Keeping any of my own ideas or suggestions to myself. She'd come out and say, "I'm putting the rugs into the washer" or "I just mopped the floor." I knew things sounded like they were going well. I let her have full credit for a job well done. The big surprise came Wednesday night when my son alerted me to a sign on the bathroom door.
He was very aggravated. "Mom," he says, "Can she do that?!!" I looked at the sign and had to chuckle. I knew exactly how she felt. I've wanted to put a similar sign on the front door many times and have my family check into a hotel for the night. You work so hard and the family mess up your hard work before the company even gets there. We have 2 bathrooms, so I told my son yes she can do that.

Dead Man's Chicken

Remember when you were a kid and your parents laughed at you for doing something completely out of your realm of knowledge. You were a little offended that they laughed, because you didn't know any better. Then your parents saw that you were offended and realized it was a bit unkind of them to laugh at you. Realizing that you just didn't know. A bit of knowledge that you hadn't received yet in your young years. So, they try and smooth it over, but they still can't stop snickering. You are still a little miffed!

Well, the shoe was on the other foot a few weeks ago. I was the snickering parent. I saw things from the other side.

One evening my daughter had soccer practice and my day hadn't gone exactly as planned. I didn't get the chicken in the oven before I had to take her. So, I asked my 17 year old son, who does cook, to get the chicken baking. I didn't want us to be eating dinner at 9 O'clock at night. Baked chicken seemed pretty easy to me. No he had never baked a chicken, but how hard can it be. I went over the cleaning, seasoning and temperature for baking. He said he'd call me if he had any other questions. Even he said, "I've had baked chicken mom how hard can it be."

I arrived home from Soccer practice to a home smelling deliciously of baked chicken. Even better news according to my son and the meat thermometer it was done. Yeah! I rounded the corner to the kitchen and to my surprise there it was... doing what looked like to me the "dead man's float." A technique that the kids learned in swimming practice. Now that I think about it why would one learn the "dead man's float" in swimming practice? That's for another day. Back to the chicken... I couldn't help myself I laughed. My son asked why? I asked, "Why is the chicken doing the "dead man's float?" Thinking he'd think it was funny too. Now he's offend and says, "Well, I didn't know which way to put it?!" Then I'm realizing he honestly has hurt feelings and that was one detail I obviously left out of our 5 minute Baked Chicken 101. Now I'm back pedaling... he thinks the chicken is ruined. I say, "No the chicken is just fine. In fact some people like to bake their chickens and turkeys this way thinking it makes the breast moister. It's OK. I just don't bake them this way, so the sight of it made me laugh. It reminded me of the dead man's float."

He is less offended and even jokes along with me. He says in a deep authoritative voice, "Why yes mother, this is my special chicken baking technique called 'Dead Man's Chicken'."

"Homemade" Contradiction

The contradiction is a recipe for a certain food has the food already prepared as one of it's ingredients. This contradiction came up again today. Over the years I've encountered the contradiction several times and it just puzzles me and makes me laugh at the same time. I love to cook no secret there. Making something "homemade" or "from scratch" has never scared me in fact I relish it. I love knowing where the ingredients have come from and having control over what goes into a recipe. Over the years it has served me well as I make a great many fabulous foods that get raves. I love to spoil my friends and family with good food. I love to share my good recipes and I love to ask for and receive good recipes.

A few years ago I was at a friends house and she had the best baked beans I had ever eaten. Knowing she loved to cook as much as me I asked if she made them. We all know there are some pretty good canned versions of baked beans, but to make my own would be great. A resounding yes came back. I asked if I could have the recipe. She said, "Of course." This is what she gave me...

Baked Beans

4 (16-ounce) cans baked beans
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup molasses
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard
5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 (6-ounce) can french-fried onions, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, mix together beans, pineapple, molasses, BBQ sauce, mustard, bacon, and a third of the onions. Add some salt and pepper, to taste. Pour beans in 9 by 13-inch casserole dish and sprinkle remaining crushed onions and bacon on top. Cook in oven for 1 hour or until beans brown and bubble. Serve warm. Serves: 12 servings

First open 4 cans of baked beans?! Where does the homemade come from? I've never made this recipe. We so seldom eat baked beans that if I'm going to open a can we're going to eat it as is.

The next homemade contradiction came a few years later when at a friends house for BBQ Ribs I found the sauce to be the best I'd ever eaten. Again a friend that loves to cook I was hoping she had made the sauce.... and she did. She said she'd love to share the recipe for it, but that she didn't have it written down. So, I picked her brain.

Kim's BBQ Sauce

1 bottle of BBQ sauce, (any flavor will do)
1/4 cup Sweet pickle relish
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
Add lemon if you want, add molasses if you want. Simmer all day.

Again with the bottle of BBQ sauce. Usually if I open a bottle of BBQ sauce it's going straight on the meat, but I actually have made this several times. Not exactly as above. It's something I taste as the day goes on and add a little of this and a little of that until it tastes good. The one thing that's odd, but I think is the most important is the pickle relish.

Today's "Homemade" contradiction really made me laugh only because of where the recipe came from. My daughter had pneumonia right now and she asked for homemade chicken soup for dinner. Not something I've made before. I knew I'd need a good chicken stock with which to start. So, I went straight to the Martha Stewart Website and got the below recipe.

Homemade Chicken Stock
This recipe makes more than you'll need for many recipes, but the stock can be frozen for up to four months. The gelatin from the chicken bones is released during the long cooking time yielding a rich, flavorful stock.
Ingredients
Makes 5 quarts.
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
6 sprigs fresh dill, or 2 teaspoons dried dill
6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 dried bay leaves
2 leeks, washed, white and pale-green parts only, cut into thirds
2 carrots, scrubbed, cut into thirds
2 stalks celery, cut into thirds
1 four-pound chicken, cut into 6 pieces
1 1/2 pounds chicken wings
1 1/2 pounds chicken backs
12 cups (two 48-ounce cans) canned low-sodium chicken broth
Directions
Place peppercorns, dill, parsley, bay leaves, leeks, carrots, celery, chicken, wings, and backs into a large stockpot. Add stock and 6 cups cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a very gentle simmer, and cook for 45 minutes. Liquid should just bubble up to the surface. A skin will form on the surface of the liquid; skim this off with a slotted spoon, and discard. Repeat as needed. After 45 minutes, remove chicken from the pot, and set aside until it is cool enough to handle.
Remove the meat from the bones, set the meat aside, and return the bones to the pot. Shred the chicken, and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use. Continue to simmer the stock, on the lowest heat possible, for 3 hours, skimming as needed. The chicken bones will begin to disintegrate. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a very large bowl. Discard the solids. Place the bowl in an ice bath, and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to airtight containers. Stock may be refrigerated for three days or frozen for four months. Refrigerate for at least eight hours, or overnight. If storing, leave fat layer intact to the seal the stock. Before using, remove the layer of fat that has collected on the surface.

I'm reading the recipe. It's sounding very good. I have all the ingredients except leeks I'll substitute yellow onions. I prefer thyme to dill and I have fresh thyme in the garden. I get to the end of the recipe for "Homemade" Chicken Stock and it says "add 12 cups (two 48-ounce cans) canned low-sodium chicken broth." If I'm going to open canned chicken broth I may as well not bother with the rest of the recipe right?! It says to make chicken broth start with chicken broth. That just really confuses me. Why go to the extra trouble.

Well, when you're a mom and your child with pneumonia asks you to make her Chicken Noodle Soup from scratch you go ahead and follow the recipe. I'll report back as to how it was in the end.

How we liked it... I've made equally great chicken stock from using plain water to start. Add the other ingredients and you can't go wrong. I'd save your money and not add 12 cups of chicken broth and use 12 cups of water. The soup turned out great. Everyone including my "soup is not a meal" teenage son liked it. He did think it needed more chicken; where as, I thought it had too much chicken in it. My daughter had requested spaghetti noodles instead of the thicker egg noodles. I knew it wouldn't be bad with the change, but thought I wouldn't like it. I had broken the vermicelli up in 1 inch lengths and cooked them in the soup right along with the carrots. The vermicelli was fine and I liked it. Kind of reminded me of the little noodles in Lipton's Chicken Noodle soup that I loved as a child.