Pumpkin Pie Bars
December 7, 2009 by admin
Filed under Xmas Recipes
Delicious pumpkin treat the whole family will love.
Ingredients:
1 (18 1/2 oz.) box of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup of butter or margarine, melted
4 eggs
1 (30 oz.) can of solid pack pumpkin (3 cups)
1 cup of sugar, divided
1/2 cup of light brown sugar (firmly packed)
2/3 cup of evaporated milk
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of butter or margarine, softened
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Remove 1 cup of the cake mix; reserve. In a small bowl, lightly beat 1 egg.
In a large bowl, stir together remaining cake mix, melted butter and beaten
egg. Press into prepared pan. In a large bowl, lightly beat remaining 3 eggs.
Stir in pumpkin, 1/2 cup of the sugar, brown sugar, evaporated milk and
cinnamon. Pour over cake mixture in pan. To the 1 cup cake mix, add
remaining 1/2 cup sugar, walnuts and softened butter; mix until crumbly.
Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or cool.
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Product Description
These 125 recipes celebrate the varied ways that pumpkin can enhance a wide range of dishes, from beverages, starters, and snacks to soups, salads, main courses, and, of course, pies, cookies, breads, and cakes. Whether starting from the whole pumpkin (which, Stovel shows, is easier than many may think) or from canned pumpkin (a fine alternative), cooks will be surprised by the variety of ways they can use the entire fruit, including blossoms and seeds, as well as the pulp itself.
Special features include complete menus and decorating and entertaining ideas for harvest celebrations and Halloween parties, as well as sidebars highlighting pumpkin festivals, lore, and growing facts. With pumpkin acreage and sales growing every year, and more health writers touting the fruit’s nutritional powers, Pumpkin comes to the rescue for everyone who wants to expand their cooking repertoire.
Christmas Dinner Combines the South and North
December 6, 2009 by admin
Filed under Xmas Recipes
Are you tired of Turkey for your Christmas Dinner? Here are some yummy ideas to serve at Christmas dinner that are sure to please your family and your guests.
Love the southern flavor? Try serving Shrimp and Grits for Christmas dinner (serves two people). Double for 4.
You will need cooked grits (2 serving sizes)
Olive Oil (2 Tablespoons)
Diced Tasso Ham (1/2 cup)
Diced Leeks (2 Tablespoons)
Diced Onion (2 Tablespoons)
Diced Green Peppers (2 Tablespoons)
Large Shrimp (20 medium, peeled, de-veined, with tails on
White Wine (1 to 2 Tablespoons
Heavy Cream (1 cup)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped Green Onion Tops
Instructions:
Cook grits according to package directions, then set aside and keep them warm.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the tasso and saute until crisp
Add the diced vegetables and saute until the onions are translucent.
Add the shrimp and saute for an additional 30 to 45 seconds or until the shrimp are pink.
Remove everything from the pan and set aside.
Deglaze the pan with a little of the white wine.
Slowly add the cream and let reduce until thickened
Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the grits onto two plates.
Pour the sauce over the grits. Garnish with the onion tops. Add the shrimp mixture and enjoy!
Northerners, say “MMMMMMM my favorite Christmas Dinner is Pot Roast!” It smells heavenly cooking and is oh so tender.
The Perfect Pot Roast
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
You will need:
1 (4-pound) boneless Chuck pot roast (tied).
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of Vegetable oil
1 finely chopped cup of onions
1 finely chopped cup of carrots
1 finely chopped cup of celery
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of thyme
4 cups of beef stock
4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons of butter, allowed to soften
First, pat the roast dry and season well with salt and pepper.
In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking.
Add the roast until all sides are brown. (this should take about 15 minutes)
Put the roast on a plate.
Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the Dutch oven.
Add onions, carrots, celery to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat. Stir occassionally until golden.
Place roast back into the Dutch oven. Add the bay leaves, thyme and enough beef stock to come 2/3rds of the way up.
Bring to a simmer, skim, cover tightly, and set in the lower third of a 350 degree preheated oven.
The liquid will need to remain at a simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the beef is tender.
You will need to turn the roast over several times during the cooking time.
At the end of the time and when the roast is tender, carefully take the Dutch oven out of the oven with oven mitts.
Take the roast carefully out of the Dutch oven and place on a cutting board. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Cover it with aluminum foil during the 10 minutes. Make a gravy out of the liquid in the Dutch oven while you are waiting on the roast.
Slice the roast and serve with a salad and dinner rolls.
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Product Description
How To Care For And Dispose Of A Real Christmas Tree
December 6, 2009 by admin
Filed under Xmas Decorating
Lots of time and effort is put into selecting the perfect Christmas tree for your home. The same consideration should be given to giving the tree the best possible care. Otherwise, the needles will start to brown or turn yellow, or the branches will begin to break with days or weeks to go before the season is over. Safety is also an important reason
to take proper care of your Christmas tree because a drying Christmas tree also presents a grave danger as a fire hazard. The average Christmas tree should last for about five to six weeks if the proper care is given to it.
After selecting a Christmas tree and getting it home, the first thing that should be done is to make a fresh cut and place it into a stand with water. A Christmas tree shouldn’t be put up dry and the water in its stand should be replenished regularly. A fresh cut is made by cutting about an inch off the bottom in a slight diagonal shape to help with the absorption of water. If a fresh cut isn’t going to be made immediately after getting the tree home, it should be
placed in a container with water and left to stand in a shaded area that is away from the wind. If a fresh cut isn’t made and the Christmas tree is left exposed to air, the vessels for transporting water can become blocked. If this happens, another fresh cut can correct the problem and the tree will need to be immediately put into a container with water.
Your Christmas tree should be secure in its stand and it should be placed away from open flames or sources of heat such as furnaces, fireplaces and air vents, all of which may dry it out. Decoration of the tree should also begin after it has been mounted in its stand. Several decoration precautions should be taken to lessen or avoid the Christmas tree being a fire hazard. Ornaments that have an open flame or candles should never be used for decoration. Christmas tree lights should be checked to make sure the bulbs are working properly, the connections are intact and that no part of the cord is damaged. If there appears to be any exposed wiring or bulbs that are not working or which are working intermittently, that string of Christmas tree lights shouldn’t be used.
A good Christmas tree stand should be selected since water is the most important item to getting the longest life out of your Christmas tree. In selecting a stand, find out the amount of water it can hold when a tree is placed in it. Some water will be displaced from the space taken up by the base of the tree so it is important that a selection is not made based on the total volume of water the stand can hold. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, the average Christmas tree may absorb up to one gallon of water each day. It is therefore important to check the water everyday and replenish it accordingly. To make sure your Christmas tree gets enough water, the Association recommends that one quart of water is required for each inch of the diameter of the tree’s trunk.
After Christmas is over and your wonderfully decorated Christmas tree has provided much joy, it is important to remove it before it dries out. Options to discard your Christmas will likely depend on the services offered by your municipality. Some municipalities will pick up Christmas trees on particular days, with a cut-off date. Some towns may require that residents take their trees to specific locations, while in others Christmas trees will be picked up with the garbage, again up to a certain date. But Christmas trees should never be burned in the fireplace as it can cause the build up of creosote, a colorless, oily substance. There’s also the choice that you can continue to get a different use from your Christmas tree by cutting it to pieces yourself and be environmentally sensitive by using it for mulch.
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Product Description
- Artificial, pre-lit frosted Christmas tree with 1,280 tips
- 700 pre-strung frosted lights; lightly frosted foliage with removable pinecones
- Hinged branch construction for quick setup; flame-retardant PVC needles retain shape
- Sturdy metal base and wire branch construction eliminate tipping and sagging
- 7-1/2 feet tall and 66 inches in diameter; 10-year limited warranty
Product Description
Old Christmas Card Craft Ideas
December 6, 2009 by admin
Filed under Xmas Crafts
Don’t you just love receiving Christmas cards? Most people love to display them during the holiday season and then keep them in a storage box for future viewing. There are also various crafts you can make from these old Christmas cards. These craft ideas will allow you to display your old Christmas cards, year after year, in a very special way.
Christmas Card Wreath
Step #1 – You will need a large piece of cardboard. Draw a circle the size you wish the wreath to be. Now cut out the circle and draw another circle in the middle so that you leave at least 6″ all around the outside of the circle.
Step #2 – You will need all those old Christmas cards you have stashed away in the attic, or under your bed or perhaps in the basement.
Step #3 – Kids love to go through these old Christmas cards picking out their favories to use in this craft.
Step #4 – Line up the cards on the wreath so they encircle the wreath side by side. You can overlap the cards for a great affect.
Step #5 – Now glue the card backs to the wreath where you want them until the entire wreath is covered with Christmas cards.
Step #6 – Attach a holiday bow and you have a fantastic wreath for your home.
Candle Holder
Supplies you will need:
Old Christmas Cards
Small glass jars from jams or baby food
Glue
Paint Brush
Rubber band
Salt
What to do:
Step #1 – Cut out a favorite Christmas scene from one of the cards. The size needs to fit on the side of the jar.
Step #2 – glue the back of the picture and place it on the side of the jar
Step #3 – Use the rubber band to hold the picture in place until the glue dries
Step #4 – After the glue dries, remove the rubber band
Step #5 – Use the paintbrush to cover the outside of the jar with glue.
Step #6 – sprinkle the salt over all of the glue to make the jar glisten.
Step #7 – Let the glue dry.
Step #8 – Place a piece of curling ribbon around the rim of the jar and place a candle in the jar
Bookmarks
To make bookmarks from old Christmas Cards you will need to have the following supplies:
Old Christmas Cards
Cardboard or posterboard
Paint, Markers or Crayons
Glue
Clear Contact Paper
What to do:
Step #1 – Cut a strip from the cardboard or posterboad (which ever you are using), about 8″ X 2″ in size.
Step #2 – Cut a picture from one of the Christmas cards.
Step #3 – Glue the picture that you cut out to the top of the strip.
Step #4 – Wait for the glue to dry
Step #5 – Write a holiday greeting or the name of the person you are giving it to.
Step #6 – Cover the new bookmark with clear contact paper or have it laminated.
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Amazon.com Review
Stop Giving Toys For Christmas
December 6, 2009 by admin
Filed under Xmas Gift Ideas
This year, consider giving an alternative gift instead of a toy. Due to the recent mass toy recalls suffered this fall, even the safest looking toy can be a hazard. Even the most popular toy of the year, Zhu Zhu pets, has been found to contain high levels of anitimony, a toxic metal, on the hair and nose of the rodent according to the consumer watchdog group, GoodGuide. Each year it seems like more and more toys, as well as other items, are being
recalled or found unsafe for our children. It is never a parent’s intention to cause their child harm by giving them a toy for Christmas. Yet, think about how many children are harmed before a toy company recalls a product. Our children are becoming lab rats for newly manufactured toys.
Because of all the toy recalls, many families are looking at the possibility that they are now offered a chance to look “outside the box” at the whole gift-giving scene. Unsafe toys are taking families back to a time when Christmas was not about how much money you can spend, but time spent with family and friends. There are many good alternative gift ideas for you to consider. Below is a list of some great kid-friendly choices for alternative gifts you may explore.
One kid pleaser is a gift certificate to someplace fun, such as camp or ice-skating lessons.
The Gift of Time: Sometimes the best gift of all is the gift of time. Make a thoughtful collection of items that represent activities that you and your child can do together during the next year. Wrap these items up and tell your child that this year they are going to receive the gift of time; time spent with their mom or dad, or both. An example would be a small child’s baseball that would represent one baseball outing with dad, a package of marshmallows would represent the opportunity for a whole weekend camping at a favorite campsite, and a peanut would represent one afternoon spent at the circus as a family. Make sure you follow-up and actually do these activities with your child. Remember, this is their gift instead of a toy.
Another great idea is to make a coupon book that contains fun family activities. Each coupon would be for one activity. One might be for a family taffy pull, another may be for a night of camping out in the family living room on sleeping bags where you all tell ghost stories and play games, eat snacks and tell jokes. Another coupon could be for baking chocolate chip cookies together or visiting a nursing home in the area and singing Christmas carols. Think of activities that the kids would like, for example hiking on a local wildlife trail, going to the zoo, making and flying a kite, or visiting a chocolate factory. Make sure to think ahead to the different seasons and holidays that will come up throughout the year. You can create and print the coupons on your computer.
Another great gift ideas is to consider making a craft together. You can purchase all of the materials and print or copy the instructions for the craft or hobby project and put everything into a box, wrapped in their favorite colored paper. Tell them that this is something the two of you can do together. Girls especially love learning how to sew, embroider, knit or crochet. They will have fun learning and doing this craft together with you. Think of something that you are good at (model airplanes, mosaic tiles, pottery, etc.) and make it a gift of time spent together creating something fun together and teaching your child a new skill.
You can also buy or make one of those Gifts In A Jar items and wrap the jar up as a present. Make sure that the treat is the child’s favorite. Toss in some envelopes of hot cocoa and a bag of marshmallows and you have a terrific gift.
More Alternative Gift Ideas:
* Books centered on the child’s favorite subject
* Accessories for your child’s favorite sport
* Costumes for dress up/playtime for the little kids (can be purchased cheaply right after Halloween)
* A large box filled with craft odds and ends including: assorted ribbons, bows, pipe cleaners, buttons, pom poms, stickers, fabric swatches, shiny paper, construction paper, tissue paper, etc.
* Give the gift of music in the form of an instrument, tickets to a concert, CDs, or a book about Jazz or the Blues etc.
* Science experiment kits or a book about science experiments
These alternative gift ideas are a great way to give the gift of time and are great for any occasion – birthday, thank you, and Christmas or whenever you want to brighten a child’s day. Have fun thinking “outside the box” when it comes to gift giving. I guarantee the fun and memories of a Gift Of Time will outlast any toy.
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