CYBER monday

I made it through yet another Black Friday with out shopping. I steer clear of the mall the day after Thanksgiving, I'm usually still washing dishes and staggering around from my pie hangover. And truth be told I am not a fan of crowds. Unless I'm waiting in line for a cookbook to be signed or something....then that's another story. I might get into the Cyber Crowd of shoppers tomorrow...and then again I might not. But if I do here are some things I might or might not be purchasing........or would like loved ones to purchase for said "pie eating" wife.


Any soccer players in your family? A net in your backyard, what a great way to get the kiddos out of the house and the blood flowing.

Or if you live in the Great White North and can't put your soccer nets out until May then maybe this would be a better choice for your soccer lovers.

Jamz anyone? Just sayin' this might be a great gift to get your teenagers creative juices flowin', not that I would be crazy enough to give my kid something that would make the whole family deaf. You might want to put some ear plugs in everyones stockings.

New Jammies anyone? Isn't it nice to have brand new comfy cozy PJ's on Christmas morning.

Jo Malone fragrances are a thing of beauty. Fragrance combining gives you the freedom to create your own signature scent. They make it so easy to give their fragrances as gifts with their Art of Giving collection. This is not a hint for anyone.....but I do try to make my loved ones lives easy.

Speaking of loved ones....some ONE that I love....is in need of a new jacket. I have always been super happy with the quality and customer service at Lands End, and it's nearly impossible to wear out Lands End winter coats.

You can't go wrong with any of Lisa Leonards jewelry.

JUICY CHRISTIAN! I love this jewelry. It has a great price point and there is something for every gal on your list! I heart Juicy!

Oh these candles are lovely, a new line from Redletterwords. You just won't believe how yummy they smell, even when they are not being burned. A great gift even for that hard to buy for guy on your list.

The Nook! I have been hearing, "Nook this, Nook that" for months now from my twelve year old. Not saying she's getting it....just sayin' I did do some research on them, and they are pretty awesome if you have an avid reader in the family.

You can even buy the big stuff online these days.....not saying that I am...but I think my Kenny would look pretty cute grillin' up some burgers on this Weber grill.

And wouldn't I look ravishing in this number. I love this apron from The Hip Hostess. It's called the Merri Mixer. Aprons are all the rage these days.


One last fun thing from Redletterwords...Bubble Art, what a great gift for a teen, or young adult in college or really for anyone.

Need I say anything at all? Vitamix. Come to mama.

The possibilities are endless...twenty years ago who woulda thunk we could sit down and let our fingers do the shopping....and not just some, but ALL the shopping. From the big stuff, like grills, right down to all the fun crafty stuff at Etsy. Tomorrow I am giving away a Gift Certificate that you could use on yourself or maybe use it to get some of your Christmas Shopping done!

(Just in case you wondered all of the above products are things I found on my own, I have not been asked by any of these products to blab about them. Just in case ya wondered.)

Luv Ya,

HOMEmade gifts- GRANOLA

Homemade Granola makes for a wonderful gift. It's easy to make and it's a great snack or can be eaten for breakfast in a number of ways. Granola is also easy to personalize to your taste or the taste of the person you are giving it to. And very easy to make with your children, for giving to their teachers, coaches, and bus drivers. Sure beats a gift certificate from BK Lounge or McyD's.

Granola
printable recipe

1 stick butter

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup nuts whatever sort you love, we prefer pecans

1/2 cup of at least two dried fruits more if you like (cherries, blueberries, cranberries, apples, raisins, golden raisins, currents....the skies the limit!)

1/2 cup pepitas (optional)

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup flax seed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Hello there shoogA!

Please make this your own. Using any combination of nuts and fruits and you prefer or that the recipient of your gift would love. The only thing that is not optional is the oats!

Blend oats, fruits, nuts, wheat germ, flax seed, and pepitas in a large mixing bowl. Then in a sauce pan combine butter, maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, and salt bring to a boil, stirring continuously until butter is completely melted and syrup begins to thicken. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow syrup to cool for a few minutes before pouring over dry mix of oats, nuts and fruits. Fold syrup into dry mix with a spatula until it is completely incorporated.

Spray an 11x15 inch sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray, spread granola in pan and press down. Place pan in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

After granola is cooled use a spatula to break it up into pieces.

If you are keeping all this goodness for your self then you will need to store it in an airtight container. Granola freezes well, if stored in freezer Ziploc bags, making sure that it is completely cooled and removing as much air as possible before freezing.

If you are making it for giving then you can fill plastic lined 1/2 lb. brown paper bags like these that I found at the Webstaurant Store. Or you could fill Ziploc bags with granola and place them in a pretty gift bag, or fill any number of airtight Christmas themed containers that are in grocery stores everywhere this time of year. You might even want to write the recipe out on a recipe card to give along with your gift of homemade Granola, because once they have it they are going to want more! It's addicting.

Happy Giving!

Apple Butter- homemade GIFTS

Apple Butter.......mmm-hhmmm yummy. You have no idea how delicious Apple Butter makes your house smell while it's cooking. Even the next day it smells like you are baking a pie. This Apple Butter recipe is fabulous. You will need to set aside a chunk of time, but basically it's super easy. It just needs to cook in the oven forever....well 3-5 hours anyway.

So here's the deal. My mom came to town a couple weeks ago, she was raving about this Apple Butter a friend gave her. I asked her to get the recipe so we could make it together, I wanted to be able to share the whole experience with you, and you could then in turn, make it, and give it, and so on and so forth.

I had some amazing pictures....some of the best I have possibly ever taken. Award winning. The lighting was fantastic, the colors of the apples and spices were amazing. Oh my heart is aching....BECAUSE all the pictures I took that day are corrupted! AAAAAhhhhG. I can look at them on my computer, but when I try to do anything with them it's just a black hole with an exclamation mark in the middle of it. I even called my pastor....he's good at this sort of stuff...computer stuff. And settling down one of his flock when they're having a mental breakdown over some pictures that are pretty much lost. Who knows I may get the problem solved. I'm praying...you can too. I will add the pictures later if I figure it out, but for now this is all I got people.

I trust you will be able to recreate this smooth delicious spread with out pictures, because I know you are all superstars in the kitchen and it really is so easy you will just need a few tools.

Large pan 6- 8quart and a roasting pan.

8 pint sized jars and lids

or 12 4 ounce jars and lids

food mill

Can you smell it? I filled 4 ounce and 1 pint jars for giving.

This was my second batch, I didn't bother taking many pictures because I HAD so many beautiful ones already.

Don'tcha just wanna stick your finger in there and have a lick! It's perfect on a slice of warm beer bread. Give your brother-n-law the Beer Bread and your sister-n-law Apple Butter. They will hug you and kiss you and thank you profusely. Then they will excuse themselves to go have a little "bread and butter" party. WooHOO.

One more picture.....now that you saw all the pictures. I will share the recipe with you. Again I am sick about not having the pictures. Tomorrow is a new day. Thankfully.

This recipe makes approximately 9-10 pint sized jars of Apple Butter. You could easily cut the recipe down or in half and get the same results. Don't cut it down too far though because you will want to keep some for yourselves!

Apple Butter

16 cups apple pulp (I used a variety of apples, Jonagold, Spy, Macintosh, and Ida Reds)

1 cup apple cider vinegar

8 cups sugar

5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Core and slice apples(do not peel) because of the difference in size of apples it's hard to say how many apples you will need. I piled the apples high in my 8 quart dutch oven. Add just a little bit of water or apple cider, cook on medium heat until apples have cooked down.

2. Remove from heat and put cooked apples through a food mill into a large bowl. Transfer apple pulp into roaster or large dutch oven, making sure that the processed apple pulp measures out to 16 cups.

3. Now add the remaining ingredients, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Combine all ingredients.

4. Place in a 325 degree oven for 3-5 hours stirring every 30 minutes or so. Cook with lid on for the first two hours and the last hour or two take the lid off. I actually was naughty and went grocery shopping while my last batch baked....it was totally fine left alone for 1 1/2 hours. The apples should reduce almost in half, and become thick and a dark mahogany color.

5. I spooned mine right into my cleaned canning jars and followed the directions that came with the jars for canning in a water bath. The recipe said that the Apple Butter could also be frozen....if you so desired. Here's a site with some good canning info if you have jars without directions.

IDEA: One great way to use Apple Butter other than on bread is to season and brown a pork roast, then slather it with Apple Butter, stick it in your crock pot with a cup of chicken stock or water for the afternoon 3-4 hours on the high setting...Voila tender juicy pork!

So there you have it. Tie a pretty bow around your jar with a cute little hand written tag...hey have your kiddos make the tags even better...enlist the troupes! If anything is unclear please leave your questions in the comments and I will answer them as soon as possible.

Hoping you find it easy.

HAPPY GIVING!

HOMEmade gifts

Are you thinking about Thanksgiving Dinner or are you thinking about Christmas shopping? Or maybe both! Have you started your Christmas shopping? YOU'RE DONE!? Flibbo-me-jibbos! OK no you are not....you haven't started....good me neither. I love Christmas, I love to give gifts! I love it when I find the perfect somethin'. I especially like to make gifts for friends and family. I thought I would start a little series here on Homemade gifts. They are all food related of course, I think?!

My mom is the Queen of homemade gifts. She told me recently that one year when we were kids and finances were particularly tight she was able to do all her Christmas gifts for $20. Yes, that's right 20 SMACKERS. Can you imagine? Granted it was the mid 70's, but still. She sewed, knitted, painted, baked, and canned. She recycled old and made it new. And you know what people loved it! They began to expect it and look forward to what my mom was going to create and give. She was famous for her knitted slippers. Don't worry we aren't gonna be knitten around SC, so take a deep breath and let it go....unless however, you are gifted in the art of knittery then....um yeh well...let's get back to what I was saying. So, now for the record I am not that frugal, but most of the gifts I am going to share will cost you less than $5 each to make, and they could be given to a man or a women. Great for teacher, coaches, neighbors, bus driver gifts, and anyone else you give a lil's somethin' to!

Beer Bread...Oh how do I love thee let me count the ways! It's great with soups, stews, and chili's. It works well cut into cubes, and served with a spread for and appetizer. And it's wonderful warm with apple butter on it (hint to my next homemade gift!) I know there is a very popular company that sells a wonderful packaged Beer Bread, but making it this way is less expensive and it tastes just as wonderful.

If you are going to make the Beer Bread mix you will just need five things and I am sure you have four of them on hand. The fifth would be the packaging. Now I went to the Webstaurant Store and bought these wonderful 1/2 lb plastic lined bags in bulk because they are cheaper that way, but you could also get creative and package this any number of ways...I will hit more on that at the end.

Beer Bread

printable recipe

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 12 ounce beer (any type)

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoon softened butter

Here goes...it's as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl, whisk to make sure the ingredients are blended well.

Pour ingredients into your bag or whatever container you choose.

There it is all safe and sound in it's baggy.

If you are using the plastic lined brown bags, I would suggest you decorate and write the directions on the bag first before filling with Beer Bread mix.

Close Er-Up!

Put some extra stickers or do-hickeys on there if you want. Really not necessary.

Make sure you give the person being gifted the directions...or you maybe getting some phone calls. I left out the part about melting 1 tablespoon of butter over the loaf of bread when it comes out of the oven...so don't be a dopey giver like me make sure you get all the facts on there. Like so:

What you will need one 12 ounce can of beer, and 4 tablespoons of butter.

-preheat oven to 375 degrees

-use 1 tablespoon of butter to butter loaf pan

- pour mix into a bowl add 1 12 ounce can of beer (any type), and 2 tablespoons of melted butter, mix until well blended, pour into buttered loaf pan

-bake for 55 minutes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over loaf upon removing from oven.

ENJOY!

I thought I would include the recipe in its entirety if you were going to make it for yourself.

Beer Bread

printable recipe

preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together.

Add one 12 ounce can of beer. Pour slowly, you don't want the beer to bubble up too much. It works best if you have time to poor the beer into a measuring cup and let it go flat, then pour into dry ingredients.

Add 2 tablespoons of melted butter, mix until everything is incorporated well.

Use 1 tablespoon of softened butter to grease loaf pan.

Scrape batter into buttered loaf pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 55 minutes.

Take last tablespoon of butter and rub it over the top of the hot loaf of bread, so it melts over the top completely.

Can you smell it? It smells yeasty and sweet and fabulous! And it is SO BLASTED easy!

I realize you are busy and you ain't got all day so I will finish up quick. You could go to the dollar store and buy inexpensive loaf pans, or on clearance at you local favorite store, put this mix in baggies, put a bag of mix and a can of beer in the loaf pan add a pretty bow and Voila! I bet even your hard to buy for brother-n-law would like this gift...he might drink the beer before he makes the bread, but no matter, he's probably got a few more brews at home. If you can't find paper bags like I found, buy the cheap-O clear plastic bags with twisty ties, write the recipe and directions on a recipe card and tie it with a pretty bow...super easy!

Stay tuned for a super sweet treat you can make for gifts tomorrow!

Ya'll come back now, ya hear!