Christmas Spirit on a Rainy Day

It's a rainy, cold, blustery day here where I live.

Doesn't exactly make you want to go out Christmas shopping or visiting with friends.

Just because you don't feel like going anywhere doesn't mean that you can't be productive

and be in the Christmas spirit.

***************

How about making some pillow covers out of those old ugly sweaters you don't like anymore.

(or ever did)

It looks way cuter on the pillow I'm sure, and you can totally give them away as gifts!

Ha, so I have always wanted to know how to make these!

I knew they couldn't be that hard! Now you can make bows out of any paper you want!

How about working on fun calligraphy for addressing all those Christmas cards that you still

haven't sent out yet.

(i'm totally in that boat...)

Make it snow in your room!

Or surprise your sibling or parents one day with a winter wonderland in their room!

Try different recipes and create little goodybags to hand out to all your neighbors or close friends. ***************** Firecrackers:. A box of saltines, 1 1/2 C. of oil, ranch dressing packet, 2 tsp. garlic powder, 2 tsp. crushed red pepper. Mix, pour over saltines in container, Serve after 24 hrs of coating! Candy Cane Blossoms recipe from Hershey's 1 bag Hershey;s Kisses brand Candy Cane Kisses 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 egg 2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 2 tablespoons milk Red and Green colored sugar

******************8 Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove wrappers from candies (approx. 35) Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternatively with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in red and/or green colored sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

****************** Bake 8 - 1o minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookies is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Yields approximately 35 cookies.

Well, watcha waiting for? Go get in the Christmas spirit!

Chili Cook-off

I know this is kinda old news, but I just now got to load these pictures on my computer. But anywho, on halloween night our church had a "chili cook-off"/ fall festival. 25 pots of chili, 3 judges, 3 prizes. It was on! Mom and I decided to make our "taco chili". We weren't going for the "Best tasting chili" prize, nor the "Most likely to put you in the ER" prize. We thought that we would most likely get something for the "Best Decorated" prize. So we decorated out table to a Mexican theme. (below) We thought for sure we would win something for that. But we didn't even place! We ended up winning for the "Best tasting chili" prize!!!! Whoa, what?!?!?! Out of 25 pots and many many great cookers in our church we won. My mom was very happy. :)

I'll have to ask mom if I can share the recipe. Don't know if she wants it to be a secret or not. lol

Over all, it was alot of fun. You all should have a chili cook-off sometime. Whether it's with your church, homeschool group, or a family reunion!

Have you ever won a prize for something you made?

ps. Later on today or tomorrow, I will tell ya how the speech competition went. phew, it was stressful!

Biscuit Recipe....mmmm

Here is a yummy recipe that we fixed not too long ago. It contains no sugar or yeast or dairy....so my mom can eat it, and it's a healthier choice.

Drop Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup of oats, coarsely grounded

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 cup of canola oil

1/4 cup honey or agave nectar

1 tsp of vanilla extract

6 oz of soy milk

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk liquid ingredients together in another bowl. Add liquid to dry and stir until mixed. Batter should be stiff. Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-15min or until golden on top.

Thats it. Pretty easy. Now, just as a warning, it will taste really bland at first. But the more you eat them...the more they grow on you. They make a great snack or dessert. You can crumble a biscuit up in a bowl and pour some blended up strawberries on top...or add the buiscuit in a fruit salad to make it a bit more filling. Whatever you like. Enjoy! Tell me what you think of it after you try it, if you want.