Cute!

Woodrow was feeling kind of festive today as he watched me decorate!

Handmade Christmas Ornaments

Here are some of my crafty ornaments from past years in case you need any ideas.

These are not exactly handmade, but it's fun to display old pictures on the Christmas tree.


These are made from antique clip-on earrings and plastic pearl beads.


These were made by wrapping ribbon around a wooden ring (napkin ring or curtain ring). The picture is just cut to size and glued to the back.

I made bows out of sheer wired ribbon and attached antique brooches in the center.

These were made with Crayola Modeling Magic compound (lighweight, air-dry spongy type clay) pressed into a cookie mold. I added gold paint and tiny pearl accents.

My craft fund is empty... so I'm not making anything new this year. But that's okay, I have plenty of options to work with.

Hash Brown Bake

Here's a great breakfast/brunch casserole I've made for several years. I used to take it for early morning tailgating when UGA had a football game at noon or 1:00. It travels well.

We had breakfast for dinner one day last week.

HASH BROWN BAKE

1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated shredded potatoes
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup finely chopped cooked ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped green and red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Press potatoes into bottom of an ungreased 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Drizzle with butter.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for about 10 minutes. Combine ham, cheese, bell pepper and onion and spoon onto potatoes. Combine eggs and next 3 ingredients in small bowl, stirring well. Pour egg mixture over ham mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Note: Hash Brown Bake may be prepared, omitting egg mixture, and refrigerated overnight. In the morning just add egg mixture and bake.

Note: You may pre-cook shredded potatoes and butter in the microwave and eliminate the first portion of baking time.

Past Christmas Trees

I have been using this small (4 foot) Christmas tree for about 10 years. It started as an extra tree in my family room (a big tree was in the living room). Once I moved to a smaller place, it was a great fit.

I'm back in a big house, but I still prefer my small tree. It's so much easier to decorate than a big one. And less expensive to change themes or colors.

I use a lot of the same ornaments every year (gold, silver and white) and change out beading, ribbon or balls each year.

The tree in 2004... Sheer white ribbon, jeweled ornaments, pearl accents...


The tree in 2005... Simplified a bit... Irredescent beads and balls, silver ornaments.


The tree in 2007... Burgundy, gold and white.

The tree in 2008... Irredescent beads and balls again, gold and silver with the addition of deep purple.

So, what will I do this year?

I'm thinking it will be something similar to last year. I love the deep purple. Except... the den decor as changed since last year. I don't know if the purple really goes anymore.

I'll show you once it's up. I'll also show you some of my homemade ornaments from years past.

Espresso Crunch Cups

I just love making holiday treats. This is a new recipe that I tried this year and it's really good, it will go into the regular holiday rotation...

The recipe calls for chocolate covered espresso beans. What I found and used were called chocolate covered espresso bits. I found them at Publix near the produce section... there's a small section of nuts and dried fruits and stuff like that.



I tried to give you a view of the inside here.

ESPRESSO CRUNCH CUPS

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
3/4 cup crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans (4 ounces)
3 tablespoons Kahlúa
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups (24 ounces) milk chocolate morsels
4 tablespoons shortening
48 (1 1/2") paper candy cups (1 1/4" cups will work fine, too)

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in espresso beans, Kahlúa, and salt. (This can be done by hand just as well - go ahead and mix butter, powdered sugar, Kahlua and salt at the same time, then add espresso beans)

Cover and chill 1 hour or until firm. Shape mixture by teaspoonfuls into 48 balls, and flatten slightly.

Melt chocolate morsels and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. (I melted the chocolate in the microwave) Spoon 1/2 teaspoon melted chocolate into 48 paper-lined miniature (1 3/4") muffin pans, turning or gently shaking pans to coat bottoms evenly. Place 1 flattened Kahlúa ball in each cup; spoon remaining melted chocolate over Kahlúa balls, covering them completely.

Cover and chill chocolate cups until firm. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Note: Once I made the 48 Kahlúa balls, I worked with batches of 12 crunch cups at a time. I melted the milk chocolate morsels in the microwave one cup at a time with one tablespoon of shortening at a time. This was enough chocolate to make 12 crunch cups at a time.

Variation: For Butterscotch Crunch Cups, substitute butterscotch schnapps for Kahlúa and Heath toffee bits for espresso beans. (I came up with this one myself! They were really good.)

Gingersnap Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli Casserole

Happy Thankgiving!

We had a great time and delicious food at my cousin's house today.

I made Gingersnap Sweet Potatoes.



GINGERSNAP SWEET POTATOES

4 to 5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup half-and-half
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
2 cups coarsely crushed gingersnap cookies (I used Nabisco)

Cook sweet potatoes in a large pot in boiling water for about 30 minutes or until tender. Mash potatoes. Combine mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon into a greased 2 1/2 quart casserole dish (or 9x13x2 pan).

Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar and flour. Cut in 1/4 cup cold butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in crushed gingersnaps. Sprinkle streusel mixture over sweet potato.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until streusel is lightly browned.

Make ahead: Prepare sweet potato filling and spoon into a greased microwave-safe dish. Cover and chill overnight. Microwave at high for 10 minutes or until hot. Prepare streusel and sprinkle over filling. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until streusel is lightly browned.

My mom made Broccoli Casserole.




BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

4 (10 ounce) boxes frozen chopped broccoli
1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
2 sticks butter
8 ounces Ritz crackers, crushed
salt and pepper

Cook broccoli and drain well. Return broccoli to pot. Add cheese, 1 stick butter (in slices), salt and pepper; stir well. Place mixture in a casserole dish. Cover with crushed crackers. Melt remaining stick of butter and drizzle over crackers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

And this is everything else!

Do you see those pies in the back??? Mmmmmm...

Chocolate Covered Cherries

I consider this little treat one of my specialties. If you want to make friends at the office... Make nice with the boss... Make a man fall in love...

Even the people that don't like chocolate covered cherries in a box will like these.

You'll mix the first 4 ingredients to get a ball like this.

I like to flatten and mark it so that it can be divided evenly into about 36 pieces.

Then roll each piece into a little ball.

I put the little balls in the fridge for about half an hour before the next step.


You'll flatten each sugar ball and wrap it around a cherry.

I like to refrigerate the sugar covered cherries overnight to firm up. That way, when you dip in chocolate, you are less likely to have the sugar coating slip off.

So, it's the next day, and I'm dipping them in melted chocolate.

Twirl and dip until the entire thing is coated.

Put them back in the fridge when done.

Leave them in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks. Really! They will be so much better. It will be hard to resist tasting them, okay you can taste one, but leave the rest in the fridge for later.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 (8 ounce) jars maraschino cherries with stems, well drained
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk and almond extract; mix well with a fork. Knead into a large ball. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten each into a 2 inch circle. Wrap around cherries and lightly roll in hands. Place with stems up on a waxed paper lined baking sheet. Cover loosely and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave. Holding onto stem, dip cherries into chocolate; set on waxed paper to harden. Store in a covered container. Refrigerate 2 to 3 weeks before serving.

Yield: about 3 dozen

Note: I put the cherries in a colander over a bowl in the fridge overnight to drain them really well. Then dry them carefully with papertowels before wrapping in sugar coating.

Make them soon, so they will be ready for Christmas!