Holidays
Holiday How To: Baked Christmas Ornaments
December 27, 2010
This Christmas, my goal was to make homemade ornaments — for myself and for friends and family. The main reason was that this was our first married Christmas, and I wanted to do it up and have “stuff” to remember it years from now. That, and I wanted to give thoughtful, economically-friendly gifts that people could use.
Here’s the recipe for salt/dough baked ornaments. It’s a fun thing to do by yourself and with kids. You’ll need:
• 1 cup salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Rolling pin
• Cookie sheets
• Toothpick
• Acrylic paint – I used the $1 sets that have about five little multi-colored mini pots
• Paint brushes
• Puffy paint
• Glitter glue
• Ribbon or string
• Jewels, sequins
• Craft glue
• Triple shine spray
Place flour and salt in a bowl, add the water and oil, then stir until blended. Once the dough
holds together, make it into a ball and knead it with your hands to make a smooth texture.
Sprinkle some flour on the countertop and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Cut out
the ornaments with cookie cutters, design your own using a blunt knife, or shape dough with
your fingers. Use a toothpick to carve a hole into the top of the ornament to thread a string through to hang the decoration.
Bake at 250 degrees until hard — one to two hours.
Once cooled, paint and decorate. Thread a string or ribbon through the hole and hang the decoration on the tree or elsewhere in your home. Spray with triple shine spray, and you’re done!
These ornaments can be reused year after year. They are great for all holidays, just use different colors, shapes and designs.
Sweets!
December 12, 2010
I’ve never really been into baking. My mom doesn’t bake much, so I never really grew up around desserts and sweet treats.
One time, when Billy and I started dating, his mom was making a pudding-filled cake. I actually made a comment about how many Snak Paks she must have opened. (NO IDEA you could make pudding! … or whipped cream — which I would soon discover.)
Over the years, Billy’s mom taught me how to make a lot of great meals (like homemade pizza and shrimp parm) and desserts. We’ve had a lot of good times in the kitchen and around the table. One birthday, she made me a gigantic cupcake cake! Another time, she made Billy an ice cream cake; and she even made trays of cookies for my bridal shower. And, a few weeks ago, we made mini apple pies in a mini mold together. [Follow the link at the end of this blog post to see more pics of Marie's goodies/the treats I just described!]
Marie has definitely inspired me to get into baking, but so have some of my friends. Here are some really yummy and sweet recipes; Chinese Haystack Cookies (recipe from Ashley) and Pineapple Stuffing (recipe from Kathy). ENJOY!
Chinese Haystack Cookies
Thin, chow mein noodles – available in the ethnic/Asian section of the grocery store
Bag of butterscotch chips
Bag of chocolate chips
Melt the chips in either the microwave or on the stovetop, using equal parts of butterscotch and chocolate. Add noodles and use two forks to cover with melted mix. Move small bunches of covered noodles onto parchment or wax paper. Let them cool and dry on the counter or in the fridge. (This is an easy recipe that would be great to give away to co-workers and friends as holiday “gifts.”
Pineapple Stuffing
2 – 20 oz cans of crushed pineapple
8 eggs
2 sticks of butter softened
2 cups of sugar
10 slices of white bread
Blend everything, except bread, together with mixer. Fold in bread. Place in a greased 10”x17” baking dish, 350 degrees for one and a half hours.
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Kiss the Cook
November 23, 2010
Food has always been part of my life. My mom is an amazing cook, and so is my mother-in-law and my aunts. We’ve grown up trying new things and being adventurous eaters (for the most part). It’s hard to believe that when I was little, I was very picky. I didn’t eat salad dressing until I was 16!
Now that I have my own place, I love cooking for my husband, hosting pot lucks and trying new recipes. Here are a few of my most requested appetizers and dips. They were a hit!
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Package of cream cheese softened
Shredded rotisserie chicken breast – 1.5 breast
2/3 cup hot sauce
2/3 cup blue cheese dressing
Shredded cheddar
Spread cream cheese with a spoon on the bottom of an oven-safe or microwave-safe dish. Layer shredded chicken breast on top, add hot sauce and dressing. Top with shredded cheddar and bake or microwave until cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.
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AllThingsGwen.com is my unofficial guide to health and happiness. It's a chronical of me finding my way.
I encourage you to think about “AllThings[YOUR NAME HERE]” and what’s really, truly important to you. Hope you enjoy my recipes, fitness tips, motivational posts and aha moments.
- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Got my lucky Giants sweatshirt on. Bill's wearing his lucky Alfred Hitchcock tee, brown zip up and Merrell sweatband.
- Whenever I'm super sore, I make my husband undress me. It's not sexy by any means.
- Enjoying Dim Sum with my husband. Giants SuperBowl tradition!
- Enjoyed my Crossfit workout with friends! Totally shin planted on box jumps and may have punctured an ovary, but it's all good! :)
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