Homemade Vanilla Extract

Bottomless Vanilla Extract

This Christmas several friends and family were recipients of homemade vanilla extract.  The recipe is simple... Vodka and split vanilla beans and a couple of months (for it to become vanilla-y).  What is great about this is that you may never have to buy vanilla extract again.  When the bottle starts to get low just add more vodka.  When it starts to lose the essence of vanilla just remove the old beans and add new split vanilla beans.  Simple!  

I found these great bottles at Specialty Bottle and the labels at myownlabels. 

I will be making more of these very soon!!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

Filling

6 C - Apples, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 C - Sugar

3 Tbls - Flour

1 tsp - Cinnamon

1/8 tsp - Salt

Crumb Topping

1 C - Brown Sugar

1/2 C - Flour

1/2 C - Quick Cooking Oats

1/2 C - Butter

Finishing Touch

1/2 C - Pecans, chopped

1/4 C - Caramel Topping

Plus Pastry for one pie

Prepare pastry for pie.  I use a Pillsbury Pie Crust, but if you prefer you can make your own pastry.  Line a 9" pie plate with pastry.  Trim and crimp edges as desired.

Prepare the crumb topping.  Stir together sugar, flour and oats.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.  Add apple slices and gently toss to coat.  Transfer apple mixture to pastry lined pie plate.

Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture.  

To prevent over-browning, cover edge of pie with foil.  Bake 25 minutes at 375.   Remove foil and bake an additional 25 - 30 minutes or until top is golden.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle with caramel topping.

Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy! 

This recipe is a family favorite.  I hope it becomes one of your favorites as well!!

Sweet and Salty Halloween Treats

I love sweet... and I love salty... Put them together and I'm a happy girl!!

A picture says a thousand words and I don't think you need that many to see that this is an easy snack to put together!  There are many different variations all over pinterest, but I found my inspiration here.

Ingredients:

Mini Pretzels (I used the snaps, shaped like squares)

Hershey Kisses Hugs (I used kisses and hugs)

Candy Corn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place pretzels on cookie sheet, not touching. Unwrap Hershey's Kisses (the most time consuming step of the whole process) and place on top of pretzels. Place filled cookie sheet in oven. Bake for 3-5 minutes but no longer. You will know they are ready when the Hershey Kisses start to get shiny. Take out of oven and gently place candy corn on top of Hershey Kisses, pushing down gently. Cool and then transfer to serving platter or wrap up as gifts. Your fridge will come in handy to speed the cooling process.

Enjoy!!

Scarecrow Treats

The first Autumn Goodies of the year!  

Pinterest if full of wonderful looking recipes for Autumn, my favorite time of year!  It's time to start trying a few of them.  I found this recipe here and knew that this was one that I was going to have to make!  This is what you'll need to do:

Ingredients:

Crust

1/2 C butter softened

1 pkg yellow cake mix (pudding in the mix)

1 egg

3 C mini marshmallows

Topping

1/2 C light corn syrup

1/4 C sugar

1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 C creamy peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 C crisp rice cereal

2 C salted peanuts

1 C candy corn

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine butter and cake mix in large bowl. Beat on low speed until well mixed. Add egg; continue beating until well mixed.

Press onto bottom of ungreased 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven. 

Immediately sprinkle marshmallows over hot, partially baked crust. Return to oven; continue baking for 1 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows puff.

Meanwhile, combine corn syrup, sugar and brown sugar in large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture comes to a boil (2 to 4 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Stir in cereal, peanuts and candy corn. Immediately spoon over marshmallows; spread to cover. Cool completely. Cut into bars.

Enjoy!!

Mmmm... what's next!!

Baby Rag Quilt

My first attempt at quilting was this rag quilt for a new baby girl!  This project took longer than I anticipated (since the directions said it could be completed in a week-end), partially because once I put it down it took me a while to get started again.  I do believe that if I were to make another it would go much easier... I hope!  This quilt was made with 2 layers of flannel and no batting, just right for a new baby!  You can find the directions and inspiration for this project here.

 Front of quilt with the ragged seams

The more this is washed the more the seams with "soften"

 The back of the quilt 

Ready to gift!

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Other pinners claim that this recipe is a Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit "copy cat" recipe.  Uhh... not so much!  Don't get me wrong... these were really very good, and so easy, but I don't think they tasted like Red Lobster.  Maybe it's because I used the lower fat Bisquick, or maybe it's because I used garlic powder instead of garlic salt but whatever the reason it won't stop me from making this recipe again.  I found the recipe here.

Here's what to do...

1 1/2cups Bisquick
1 1/2cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oregano (you can omit or use less)
3/4 tsp garlic salt

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray cooking sheet with non-stick spray.

2. Put biscuit mix, cheese and milk in a bowl and mix well to form a sticky dough.

3. Using spoon, drop lumps of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10min.

4. In a bowl, melt butter and mix with oregano and garlic salt.

5. When the timer goes off, take them out and brush with butter mixture and bake 5min at 400F and another 5-6min at 350F.

Serve immediately!!

(Crock) Pot Roast... my first!

To set the scene... it's a Sunday, a lazy Sunday, and thinking ahead to dinner I know that I don't want to spend much time in the kitchen.  Enter Pinterest and a crock pot recipe that I've been wanting to try.  This seemed to be the perfect day to try it out!  The original recipe came from Six Sister's Stuff.  If you've never checked them out, you really should.  They have so many great recipes, a few that I have tried in the past and many more that I hope to try very soon!

 Okay here's what you'll need:

3-4 pound roast
12 oz Coca Cola
3/4 C dark brown sugar 
3/4 C Heinz chili sauce
3/4 C ketchup
3/4 pkg. dry onion soup mix
4-5 new red potatoes
1.5-2 C baby carrots



The directions state to combine all the ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.  I had to modify these slightly as I didn't get it all together until noon and couldn't wait until after 8 pm to eat.  So I put it on high for the first 3 hours and then cooked it on low until 6:30 or so.  It was done and the meat was so tender that I couldn't remove it in one piece.  I probably didn't need to cook it on high for as long as I did, but it tasted wonderful and it's been deemed a keeper!

It really was super easy and received the stamp of approval so I know that this is something I will be making again!  Yummmm!

Nursery Decor

I recently discovered Lil Blue Boo and have fallen in love.   Ashley is so talented and inspiring.  Some of you know that I've had my eye on her Personalized Hardboard Nursery Art for awhile and was waiting for an opportunity to try my hand at it.  I finally got the chance that I was hoping for, and now that the baby shower has come and gone I can share my attempt.  The nursery theme for this lucky little boy is monsters, so I thought I'd do something with some of my favorite monsters of "Where the Wild Things Are".  While I still envy Ashley's talent and know mine is not on par with hers, I'm happy with how it turned out and will strive to improve with each new one I make!  

Easy Berry Cobbler

Easy... that's about all I can handle these days.  I found a recipe for an Easy Berry Cobbler (that was also short on guilt) that I knew I had to make.  I found the recipe on Living A Changed Life.  Here is what you will need... just 3, that's right... 3 ingredients!!:



                                               Two 12-oz bags frozen mixed berries

1 box white cake mix (no pudding)

1 can of diet 7-up or sierra mist (clear soda)

I did not end up using both of the bags of berries that are pictured above.  The bags of fruit that I bought were 16 oz instead of the recommended 12 oz.  When I put the triple berry mix in the baking pan I thought that that was more than enough,  although you can use more if you would like.

Okay, ready?  Here's what you need to do... 

Place frozen fruit in a 9x13 baking dish. Add dry cake mix over the top. Pour soda slowly over cake mix. DO NOT stir the cake mix and the pop - this will give you a 'crust'.

Bake 350 for 45-50 min.

Serves 16; 4 PointsPlus

With or without ice cream... the choice is yours.  I'm sure you'll love it either way!!

ENJOY!!

Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese, the ultimate in comfort food.  Not really the best choice when trying to "be good". Enter Pinterest and skinnytaste.com.  A healthier version of a family favorite... so I had to try it!  I would encourage you to try it too!  This is what you will need:

Ingredients:

• 12 oz high fiber elbows like Ronzoni Smart Taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp light butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth (vegetarians use vegetable broth)
• 8 oz (2 cups) Sargento shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 12 oz fresh broccoli florets (I used pre-cut bag)
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• cooking spray

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375°.
Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions for al dente (or slightly under cook 2 minutes). Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish (I used 2 smaller baking dishes so we could have 1 for home and 1 to take to tomorrow's work potluck) with cooking spray.

In a large, heavy skillet, melt butters. Add onion and cook over low heat about 2 minutes, add flour and cook another minute, or until the flour is golden and well combined. Add milk and chicken broth and whisk, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil; cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat, add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked macaroni and broccoli and mix well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.Spray a little more cooking spray on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to get the breadcrumbs golden.

Enjoy!  I know we did!!

Peeps S'Mores... s'more please!

What says Easter more than Peeps?!  And what better way to eat Peeps than joined with chocolate and graham crackers?!

  Before the Microwave... 

 After the microwave... already starting to deflate!

        Ready to eat!  Yummm...  

 Ooey, Gooey, sugary marshmallow goodness!

No matter what you choose, chicks or bunnies (I'm partial to bunnies) and no matter what color you pick I promise you won't be disappointed!  :)

Ham Pinwheels and Stuffed Mushrooms

Ham Pinwheels

This has been a "go to" appetizer recipe for me for a long time.  I found this recipe in the Pillsbury Classic No. 23 - Appetizers, Snacks & Beverages - from, get this, 1982 and have been making it ever since!  

Here's what you'll need:

3 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

1/2 tsp prepared mustard

1/2 tsp parsley flakes

8 oz can crescent rolls

4 thin slices of boiled ham

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease a cookie sheet (or cover with parchment paper).

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, horseradish, mustard and parsley flakes; mix well.

Separate dough into 4 rectangles and firmly press perforations to seal.

Spread cheese mixture evenly to edges of dough and place 1 ham slice on each rectangle.

Roll up, jelly-roll fashion, starting with shorter side.

Cut each roll into 8 1/2-inch thick slices.

Place, cut-side down, on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield - 32 snacks

Stuffed Mushrooms

I have been looking for a good recipe for stuffed mushrooms for a long time.  I found this recipe on, where else, Pinterest.  The picture looked yummy and they are said to be a "most requested appetizer", so I had to give them a try.  You can see the original here.  

Here's what you'll need:

• 8 oz bacon
• 1/2 cup finely minced sweet onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 16 oz white button mushrooms
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut raw bacon into small pieces. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook bacon until nice and crispy. While bacon is cooking, remove mushroom stems from caps and chop stems into small pieces. When bacon is done, remove from pan and set aside; reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease and pour the rest from pan. Saute onion until soft about 5 minutes, scraping up any brown bits on bottom of pan. Add chopped mushrooms stems and garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Reduce heat to low. Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stir until cheeses are melted. Add reserved chopped bacon and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Mixture can be made, cooled, and stored, covered, in the fridge for up to two days.) Remove mixture from heat and stuff each mushroom cap generously with mixture. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until mushrooms are soft and filling is nice and hot.

I hope you enjoy!!

Baby Burp Cloths

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

"Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of." 

Recently the arrival of two precious baby girls prompted me to search for a something special that I could make for these new bundles of joy.  The internet provided me with so many ideas but I finally settled on burp cloths.  I had found at least 4 different types of burp cloths and finally decided to combine a couple of them. I chose to use cloth diapers as the "base", after all, they are designed to be absorbent.  While these really were not difficult to make they were time consuming.  I believe that if I were to make them again they probably would not take me quite as long as I would  have a little more experience.  

Here's what you'll need:

cloth diapers (I used the type that had the thicker panel down the center)

coordinating fabric

fusible web

ribbon (to tie them together for presentation)

To begin, cut fabric slightly larger that the thick center panel.  Tuck the raw edges under and press to keep the edges crisp.  Pin this, right side up, to the diaper and then sew down the fabric close to the outside edges.  Next embellish the cloths.  I used the baby's name and "burp".  You will need to trace the letters backwards on the fusible web.  Iron to the wrong side of the fabric and cut out.  Remove the backing from the letters and iron to the front of the burp cloth.  Now comes the hard part... I don't have an embroidery sewing machine so I set the machine to a zig zag stitch with a very small stitch length and stitch width and then went around the outside edges of the lettering.  That's it!!  The possibilities are endless.  

Confession... The stitching around the letters was more difficult than I anticipated and I made many mistakes.  When I look at these, all I see are the flaws and that makes it so I can't love them.  I know I'm probably much more critical than anyone else would be.  At least the mistakes help attest to the fact that it is, indeed, homemade... homemade with love!