Snowman Soup Pockets & Some Stitchin' Goodies

I've been crazy busy getting ready for the school Christmas party tomorrow, wrapping birthday & Christmas presents, and getting ready for B's upcoming birthday party. This is her first birthday party with her friends and she is so excited.

I saw this really cool idea on YouTube about a month ago for hot cocoa pockets. I decided to kick it up a notch and make them into "Snowman Soup Pockets" by including a packet of hot cocoa with marshmallows (the "snowman soup" part) and a stirring stick - a candy cane. The pockets are made out of Bazzill swiss-dotted cardstock that I scored with my Martha Stewart Score Board (love this thing), I rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper using the 1/2" side, and used red sticky tape to hold it together (this stuff is awesome, I highly recommend it for projects like this). The patterned paper on the front is by Imaginisce. I love how I can use my scrapbooking supplies for so much more than just scrapbooking. I printed out the cute poem in light blue and red, punched it out with a 2-1/2" circle punch, and cut the scallop circle out on my Cricut with the Storybook cartridge. B will be giving these out to her classmates tomorrow during the party. Then it's 2 weeks of Christmas break. We are so ready....

 

 The poem on the tag says:

"So, you've been real good this year
Always glad to hear it
With freezing weather drawing near
You'll need to warm the spirit...

So here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick,
Add hot water, sip it slow,
It's sure to do the trick!"

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I recently placed my first order for cross stitch charts in over 2 years. They arrived yesterday and I think the elf one is sooo stinkin' cute!! It came with little gold glass beads for the top of the elf's shoes. I can't wait to stitch that one first. Gotta get my gingerbread man done first, of course.....

 


Thanks for stoppin' by,

Sharing Some Recipes, Etc.

 Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I tried a new recipe today that I found on the internet awhile ago. I changed it up just a bit, and it turned out delicious. This is another "keeper" for sure...

CROCKPOT CHICKEN BREASTS

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 packet Italian dressing mix (dry)

Place chicken in 3-quart crockpot; brush chicken with melted butter and sprinkle with Italian seasoning mix.  Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 6-7 hours. Add sauce ingredients during last hour of cooking time....

Sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat)
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (1/2 tsp. minced garlic from jar)

Mix together and pour over chicken during the last hour of cooking; turning the crockpot back up to high during that last hour. Shred chicken, stir sauce and chicken together and serve over cooked egg noodles.

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I finally figured out what my daughter will be giving her teacher this year for Christmas... a gift jar filled to the brim with these yummy, addictive Holiday Pretzel Treats. I found the recipe last December on www.familyfun.com and my daughter loves helping me make them. I found these 30 oz. food-safe plastic jars at JoAnn Fabrics 50% off. They're perfect for gifts-in-a-jar. It  takes a pound of the candy cane kisses to make enough pretzel treats to fill up a jar of this size. The cute tag was made with the help of my Cricut and the Christmas Cheer cartridge. Of course, I had to add a little red bling for the nose. :) I'll be making more of these to give out as gifts this year...

HOLIDAY PRETZEL TREATS

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses
Holiday M&M's candy (red & green)

Heat oven to 170 degrees. Set a number of the pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on baking sheet. Place an unwrapped Hershey's Candy Cane Kiss in the center of each pretzel. Bake for 4-6 minutes until chocolates soften. Remove from oven and quickly press an M&M into the center of each Kiss. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes 'til the Kisses set. Tastes best at room temperature. These are REALLY addictive!! Looks pretty on a cookie tray or you could put them in clear bags tied with colorful ribbon to give out as gifts during the holidays. Or, make a gift jar like I did. :)

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I found these huge 1+ lb. bags of the Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses at Kroger. Everywhere else sells the small bags. So I went there this afternoon to get a couple more (I say more because this is the 2nd batch of the pretzel treats that my daughter and I have made this week. :). Anyway, we got a couple more of these big bags of the candy cane kisses and the rest of the ingredients for the pretzel treats. As I was walking past the magazine area on my way to the registers, I glanced over real quick not really expecting to find anything interesting, when I was completely surprised to find they had this year's Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue on the shelf. I've always had to order mine online or from a cross stitch shop somewhere. So what a pleasant surprise it was to find it in a local grocery store for once. I look forward to the JCS Ornament issue each year because it always has alot of cross stitch ornament patterns by some of my favorite cross stitch designers, plus some yummy-looking recipes that they share.

Needless to say, no stitching has gotten done today. Maybe tomorrow I'll get back to my gingerbread man....

Thanks for stopping by,