Grinding Nuts

It seems to me that the holiday baking season calls for bunches and bunches of ground nuts.  Generally I buy whole or broken nuts and do the grinding myself because it tends to be cheaper.  For a long time, I used a hand-crank, old-fashioned model and was pleased with it.  It took a long time to do several pounds, however; and the chop wasn't very uniform.

I found a meat grinder attachment for my mixer at a yard sale for $4.  I bought it thinking I would occasionally use it to grind meat.  Turns out, it's perfect for grinding nuts too.  It's much, much faster and the grind is perfectly uniform.

If you have a lot of nuts to grind this holiday season, find a friend who hunts they most likely have a meat grinder and ask to borrow it.  Just a few minutes and you can grind several pounds and store the ground nuts in the freezer for future use.  I store the ground nuts in clearly marked bags with the amount pre-measured for ease during long baking sessions. 

Tuesday Tips: Holiday Party Edition

Fun Place Cards for Your Holiday Party

Instead of using the usual place cards, buy miniature picture frames and put each guest’s name in a frame—they make great keepsakes. It would be even more fun if you happened to have a photo of each guest to put in the frames.

Cookie-Cutter Napkin Rings

Create your own distinctive collection of napkin rings by using cookie cutters. Each person gets a different shape, with his or her napkin rolled up and slipped through the middle.

Matching Christmas Serving Platters

Don't want to use up your budget on buying holiday themed serving platters? Use vibrant, shiny, thick wrapping paper to line each serving tray or plate. Suddenly, all your platters and plates will match the mood.


Putting an Elegant Spin on an Old Classic

Veggies with dip on a big platter can be ordinary and boring. But take those same ingredients and place them in individual glass votive candle holders that people can pick up and carry while mingling and you've got something special.


Making a Fire in Your Fireplace? Add a Lovely Scent...

First, spread the rinds from an orange or lemon on paper towels, and let them dry out overnight. When the rinds are thoroughly dry, toss them on the fire to create a lovely citrus aroma. If you are not into a citrus scent, you could toss in a few pinecones for a more woodsy fragrance.


Cookie Gift Sleeve

Favors for guests to take with them - cookies packaged in CD envelopes and sealed with festive tags.


A Holiday Pick-Me-Up

Are the holidays running you ragged? The scent of cinnamon stimulates the trigeminal nerve, the area of the brain that governs wakefulness and raises energy levels. Have cinnamon at breakfast-time—sprinkle it on toast, hot oatmeal, cold cereal or even coffee. Or, during the day, put a drop of cinnamon oil on the inside of your wrist and sniff the invigorating scent.

Making a dollar go a long way.

From September to New Year's in our household there is no shortage of holidays and birthdays celebrated. Between the Jewish holidays that come in the fall, the Christian holidays that come in the fall, and 6 birthday celebrations, and 2 anniversary celebrations, we are always looking for ways to stretch our money. We host most of the above and it seems there are always overnight guests, extra people at the table, and just more mouths to feed, presents to purchase, and things to do, than time or money sometimes want to allow.

So each year I look for ways to cut costs, save a bit here and there, to spend that bit in another spot. In other words rob Peter to pay Paul if you will.

There are two great iPhone apps that I have used to help me keep track of where all the money seems to go and how our family is spending that money. The first app is a free app that can be purchased through iTunes called Mint. Mint is a really handy tool in that it is not only a budget tracker, it interfaces with whichever bank accounts you set it up to interface with and can directly use the information from your bank accounts to track where the money goes without you having to do much beyond initial set up. (I love when my devices work smartly for me). Mint also has some great "alert" features that you can use to keep you up to date on spending limits, areas of concern, or over all information.

The other app that I find very useful is iReconcile. iReconcile is not a free app, but I do prefer it over Mint in that it does "more" and it does it a little bit better. The app itself will cost $19.99 annually (backup features etc.) but I find that $20 to be well worth it when it comes to long term financial planning, tracking, spending tools, and information gathered. It will allow you to drill down to the smallest of details, and also sum up to an annual level. Himself prefers to not know the small details, but wants the bigger picture and wants me to be able to explain things in further detail should he ask. For my purposes I love being able to drill down to the tiniest of details, yet easily roll it up into a neat summary.

But making a dollar go along way isn't just limited to tracking where the spending happens. You can still make wonderful holiday memories without having to break the bank. Think in terms of daily affordable luxury items. Many of us don't even realize just how much money goes out the door each day on that daily latte, or that daily muffin in the morning before work. Or maybe it's the afternoon pick me up at the food truck outside your office space, or perhaps it's the quick pizza on the go for the kids in the evening because you forgot to defrost something to cook for dinner. With a small amount of pre-planning, you can save a bundle. While it is too late to do this for this year, it's not to late to start thinking about next year.

So perhaps make small changes for the new year. Maybe you make a menu plan for the week/month. Perhaps your plan involves using a crockpot a bit more to avoid that last minute pizza, or maybe you do a big cook ahead day twice per month and freeze a few dinner options so that on the days when life is hectic and you don't want to cook you can simply take something out of the freezer, pop it into the oven, add a salad and bread, and you are good to go. Maybe you keep a supply of pizza dough ready to go in your freezer so you can make great tasting homemade pizza at a fraction of the cost of buying one.

Perhaps for the new year you take the "latte challenge". While I would not dream of challenging you to give up your daily latte every day of the week (although that in and of itself is a great challenge) I would challenge you to give it up two days a week and bank the difference. Have a jar, or envelope, or even a spot in your savings account, where you designate the "latte" money to go. If you do this twice a week, that's a $10 savings, $40 monthly, and by next December you have $480 saved that you can now add to the holiday budget to go toward whatever holiday expenses you may have. And you will find you won't even really feel it missing. Imagine then, if you will, if you do that daily instead of just twice a week, at what the savings would be.

And while I am using the term "latte"... i really do mean whatever your affordable luxury is. For some it's a latte, for others its that daily candy bar, for some still it's cigarettes. Whatever your item is, make a life change, even if only once or twice a week, bank the funds, and use it at the end of the year for something better. Your body will thank you, your wallet will thank you, and your happiness in knowing you achieved a goal will be a reward in and of itself. And if all else fails, give yourself a sticker for each day you achieve this, it works for my oldest daughter, she says stickers are *the* best! Perhaps she's right.

And lastly, in making your dollar go along way, think outside the box. Instead of buying expensive wrapping paper, think of fun and creative ways to wrap a present. Have a bottle of wine you need to give, knit a wine cosy, or decoupage a brown bag and put it in that, or simply tie a pretty bow on it and take it as is. After all, people are going to not only appreciate your efforts, but they are appreciating the gift itself more so than what it was wrapped in, boxed in, or otherwise packaged in.

Happy Holidays!

Cinnamon Oatmeal Cut Out Cookie

I  made these cookies last year instead of my cardamon cut-out cookies. But I love cardamon so I couldn't imagine my Christmas without a cookie with cardamon so I made a little change to the original recipe so that I could have cardamom.  I have to say I am not sure which I like better these or the Cardamom Cut-Out Cookies. These were a really good cut-out cookie.... flaky and buttery such great flavor. They even have some healthy elements to them. 

Cinnamon Oatmeal Cut Out Cookies 
adapted from King Arthur Flour's Chewy Oatmeal Decorating Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (King Arthur's recipe has ginger)
2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I only use Unbleached All-Purpose flour now)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, traditional or white wheat
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
cinnamon sugar 

To prepare the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, vanilla, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cardamom, beating until smooth. Beat in the flours and oats. The original recipe warns that the mixture may look dry at first but then it will come together - I didn't have that problem. It was pretty moist all the way through the mixing process. Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

To shape the cookies: Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a circle about 14" in diameter. Use your favorite cutters to cut out cookies, re-rolling and cutting the scraps. Place the cutout cookies on lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets; set them fairly close together, as they don’t spread.

To bake the cookies: Bake the cookies for about 9 to 10 minutes: the shorter amount of time will make softer cookies, the longer amount of time, crisper cookies. Remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough. 

Yield: 6 1/2 dozen 2 ½" cookies.

NOTES:
* I wish I had ran the oats through my food processor just a little bit. Maybe just 2 pulses. Because in cutting the cookies out through the oats was difficult at times. And so the stars didn't have clean edges. I think having the oats in smaller pieces would have helped that. But you don't want oat flour you want oats so that is why I say only 2 pulses. Maybe only one. I just feel it would be easier if they were in a little smaller pieces. But they still turned out good and I even if I don't have time or the food processor thing doesn't work - then I would still make these cookies as they are very good. 

* These cookies are great for high altitude cooking. The oats and whole wheat flour helps hold them together. They don't spread at all. 

* They weren't good to ship at least not loosely in a container. They broke. We shipped some to Master's parents and I think I included some in a package to my sister and brother-in-law. But Master's parents told use that the stars didn't make it. As I said above they were light and flaky. Although they weren't crumbly. I just feel it was to being jostled so much in shipping they broke. But they aren't fragile cookies just in normal conditions (such as sitting in a cookie jar and being eaten because they are so good).

These cookies were really good. I loved that they had whole wheat and oats in them. And I will be making them again this year. I might be trying different spices in them and possibly drizzling them with some dark chocolate.

Sunday Quick Links!

This week I have gotten a bunch of tasty treat and helpful hint ideas in my email so I thought I would share them!

My favorite has been Real Simple Magazine's 34 Unique Stocking Stuffers For those of you who want to shove more than candy in a stocking this year.

Those of you looking for new appetizing appetizers, I am going to try the Sriracha Veggie Cheese Balls from Betty Crocker.

Also on Betty's website Fudgy Dark Chocolate Tart. I'm sure Santa won't mind this being left for him instead of cookies and milk!

If any one used to get Kraft Food and Family magazine but stopped once the subscription became paid, have no fear, the website has all their yummy recipes including these adorable Melting Snowman Balls and other variations on cookie balls made with Oreos and Nutter Butters!

Lastly, another Real Simple article I have loved this week was some new twists on Christmas Tree decorating in the Festive Christmas Tree Decorating Article.

Have a great week!

Stretching a budget for the holidays...

This month, we are celebrating the Christmas holidays, as well as three birthdays and hosting family for New Year's Eve. So I've been charged with the task of making sure that the grocery budget stretches as far as we can. Considering the amount of social activities and extra shopping/visitors we'd be hosting this month, I wanted to see how far I could get with smart planning and cooking in bulk.

First, I checked with the Boss about his preferences for the holiday meals and then asked for preferences of those celebrating their birthday. Those would be the cornerstones I had to work around.

Then I raided the pantry to see what we had on hand. With a list of basic ingredients in hand, I planned out meals where I could make once, eat twice... basically, make a double batch and cook one immediately, then freeze one for use at the end of the month. Lasagne, casseroles, soups, chilis all made that list.

Then I looked for similarities in the recipes where I could buy in bulk and split up the items. Italian sausage is a great multitasker: I planned to use it for lasagne, migas, and roasted polanos with sausage. Rotisserie chicken was planned for chicken cheesy nachos, a spicy chicken tortilla soup (turkey leftovers work awesome with this recipe, too), and homemade chicken stock. I have three recipes to use with butternut squash- including a sweet roasted squash, a savory casserole, and a soup with roasted apples.

I don't use tomato based sauces often, so when I used a marinara sauce for a dipping sauce for pepperoni monkey bread, I planned on making the lasagne shortly after so I could use the remainder of the sauce. I made a note of what type of shredded cheeses I'd need to buy in bulk.

I consolidated all the recipes into a master grocery list, looked for coupons and sales, bought in bulk where I could. With the exception of milk, eggs, ice cream for the birthdays and fresh salad greens, I believe we are done for the month and we've only used half the normal budget. When all is said and done, I expect to spend about 70% of what we'd normally spend, despite the various special occasion meals we'll be having this month.

I have casseroles tucked away in the freezer, a loaf of pumpkin bread, several soups and chilis frozen in smaller portions, frozen cookie dough waiting to pop into the oven, ingredients for 2 types of lasagne and scones ready to be prepped this week. I also have ingredients for candy and other holiday treats ready to go.

On top of this, a lot of pressure off me is gone. I don't have to worry about unexpected guests dropping in or spending my time in the kitchen cooking the entire time while we have visitors... I can pull out something I prepped earlier. Best of all, when we go to potlucks or have a work event, I always have homemade cookies I can bake in less than 15 minutes.

Friday Favorites

Cookie Dough Fudge - someone in this house is obsessed with cookie dough so I thought of him when I saw this recipe. I suppose I should try to make it :)
Basil Banana Pepper Jelly & Banana, Walnut, Carrot Muffins - both of these recipes look so good. But I can't stop thinking about this jelly. I think it would make a great gift too.
Homemade Lotion Bars - I think these not only would be just great to have around the house but great gifts
100 Days of Homemade Christmas Gifts - there are some handmade gifts for kids on this link as well as adults
Kraft Food and Family Holiday Magazine - this is the digital version of the paid paper subscription
12 Days of Christmas Printables - Free Christmas Printables
20 Easy Christmas Decorating Ideas - Babble gather links to some DIY decorating ideas

Easy Tinsel Garland Wreath

Made this Wreath for Christmas 2010

I got this idea from Creature Comforts. Please check out her directions too as she has other options and some creative add-ons. This was such a simple and inexpensive wreath. I got all my supplies at the dollar store. Cost me I think $5 for everything and I had left over supplies. 

1.  Take embroidery hoops in various sizes, store-bought tinsel garland (a 6” embroidery hoop uses approximately 12’ of garland), and a pair of scissors. 


2. Begin by tucking one end of the garland under the metal latch at the top of your embroidery hoop.

3. Begin wrapping the tinsel garland around the embroidery hoop making sure to keep the garland taught as you go. Every  wrap around the hoop you will want to push the wrapped section up so that it fills in nice and full and does not look sparse. Continue wrapping and pushing it up to make it full until the entire embroidery hoop is covered and you've used the full length of garland. If you happen to run out of garland along the way you can easily just continue with another piece of garland and cut it off when your wreath is full.  Secure the loose end(s) by tucking between the embroider hoops (which can be tricky) or just pushing it under some already wrapped pieces so it stays tucked under and not falling down and loose. 

4. Add bow or a waxed paper flower.  Add some ribbon to hang and and enjoy the wreath!

My wreath in the photo - has a fairly large embroidery hoop and a small one. I laid the small one on top of the large one and then hung them together on the door.  It created a fuller look to the wreath. 

Herbed Sea Salt

Have a foodie on your gift list?  Why not make and give them some homemade herbed salt for their spice racks.  If you garden and have your own dried herbs so much the better.  If you don't check the bulk section of your grocery and/or health food store for herbs at much better prices than buying them in the spice aisle in individual bottles.

Herbed Sea Salt

• 1/4 Cup Dried Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 1 Cup Sea Salt

Mix all together until well combined.  Store in an airtight container.  Add a nice tag for gift giving.  This recipe should give you plenty for multiple small gifts.

Note: you could switch up the dried herbs a bit if you like - think marjoram, sage, rosemary, etc.

Online Grocery Store Ads

Just wanted to take a moment to point out this feature that I have found most grocery stores have along with their online weekly circular.

In the online ad, you can often just click on the item you want and add it to a list and often circle it too so you know you have added it.

On the list you can add notes such as I possibly wanted get turkey from the Deli Meat so added that.

This is what it looks like if you are wanting to print it out.  It has the notes, quantity, and sale price. It is broken up into section to make it easy when shopping. 

Now if I am only getting a couple items out of the ad - I won't print a list but I do find it helpful to go through all the ads and compare prices, circling the things I normally get or feel are a good deal so I can compare things more easily. 

Tuesday Tips

Stock Your Car for Winter Now

There are some things you should have in your car during the winter—for your safety and in case of an emergency...

*Cell phone and cell-phone car charger
*Sand or kitty litter for traction
*Lubricant for frozen locks
*Small container of motor oil
*Funnel—for an emergency infusion of motor oil or water
*Two roadside flares
*Safety matches
*Jumper cables to start a dead/low battery
*Flashlight and fresh batteries
*Thermal blanket(s)
*Bottled water
*Packages of crackers, protein bars and/or nuts
*Small hand shovel
*Spare tire, jack and lug wrench
*Work gloves
*Ice scraper and brush
*Small fire extinguisher
*Tire chains
*Money (keep $20 in the glove compartment)

One thing not listed here is candles. I remember my Dad once telling me that a candle can provide enough warmth in a car to keep a person from freezing so I always keep a couple of candles in the glove box.

Though a lot of those are things you should have in your car all year-round, I'm reminded of how, at least once a winter, and usually more than once, I hear on the news a story of a traffic jam stranding motorists in the snow for upwards of 12+ hours. I always feel for the little kids and wonder if the parents were prepared Have some snacks, some games, some blankets and for the wee ones, extra bottles and formula, if necessary.



Skin Feeling a Little Dry? Kitchen Cupboard Help...

Olive oil is an effective moisturizer. Massage some into your hands and give it time to sink in. (You may also want to put on a pair of rubber or latex gloves to avoid getting oil stains on whatever you touch.) After about 30 minutes, take off the gloves and wipe the oil off your soft, moisturized hands with a dry paper towel.


A Place for Everything...

If you have a closet in your entryway, hang a shoe holder on the inside door. To store accessories that you may need before going outside—such as scarves, gloves, hats, sunglasses—assign compartments of the shoe bag for each of those things.
You can also store pet accessories in the shoe bag, such as your dog’s leash or winter jacket, as well as a small flashlight.


Simple Way to Revive Your Winter Woolens

When you take sweaters and other wool clothing out of storage, throw them in the dryer with a couple of fabric-softener sheets. Dry on very low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. The sheets absorb odors and the dryer action fluffs up fibers. The wool items will come out looking and smelling good.
(The idea of wool in the dryer makes me nervous, though!)

Easy Refrigerator Deodorizer

Dab a few drops of vanilla or lemon extract on a cotton ball and put it in a shot glass inside the fridge. Any unpleasant odor will be replaced with an appetizing scent.

Cookie, cookies everywhere....

It's beginning to look a lot like cookies!! Cookies cookies everywhere. In our house one of the things that always signifies a holiday is food. As a child there were always different foods that came out at various holidays that might not have been seen at other times of the year. As an adult, I like to keep those same memories alive by continuing along those lines. So with that in the month of December, my daughters and I do a lot of baking. We make many different types of treats. Some to keep and eat, some to have on hand for that last minute holiday guest, and some to give as gifts to others.

No other time of year sounds, tastes, and feels like cookies to me as much as the month of December. By the time Chanukah, Christmas, and the new year roll around we will have baked at least 24 different types of cookies.

But our very favorite that would not be the holidays without is Florentine cookies. These delightful little tasty treats just scream holidays to me. I'm not really sure why other than I remember as a child making them with my grandmothers and my mother. So for the past forty years I have enjoyed these treats with my family and now with my own daughters. It's exciting to me to pass down cookie recipes from generation to generation.

Do you have similar traditions in your family regarding recipes? Do you have a favorite food or treat that signifies the start of the winter holiday season? If not, perhaps this is the year you will start a tradition that can continue on with your family into the future years. Making memories to me is far more important than any present we can share. In fact it is the best present we can share with our loved ones, the making of memories.

In this case, it's in the form of Florentine cookies. I hope you and yours enjoy these delightful cookies as much as my family does.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I have tried this using wheat flour but don't like how it turns out)
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. I always use parchment paper.

Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.

Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.

Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.

Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.

Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)

Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

Busy baker's tips: Store baked cookies carefully, separated by parchment or waxed paper, in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Florentines are best stored separated from moist cookies and cakes.

Washing Delicates

In today's modern world, you may wonder why you would want to take the time to hand-wash your delicate items, most every washing machine has a delicate cycle, after all. And you can purchase a lingerie bag (a small, mesh bag to place delicate items in and toss into the washing machine) to use for some items.

However, hand-washing your delicate items helps to preserve the life of the item. Plus, there just are some things (such as stockings) that is is not advisable to wash even if you do use the delicate cycle and a lingerie bag.

Now, a lot of you are fortunate enough to have wash tubs, I do not. I do my delicates the old-fashioned way. In the bathroom sink! Here are my supplies:

Stain stick
Woolite



I pre-treat any stains with the stain stick. I find that usually sticks work better than sprays with delicates, but ALWAYS test a small un-noticable corner of the garment first to make sure it won't discolor it.

Fill up the sink with cold water, add Woolite. My bottle has 2 lines, the bottom one being what you use for sink washing. If you aren't using Woolite, then refer to the directions on the back of the bottle. Swish the water around to get some soapy goodness going and then add items to be washed. In this example, I have a pair of tights, some lacy underwear and a negligee. I swish them around again before letting everything soak for about 20 minutes. At that time, I work on the stains, usually using my fingers, to rub, but sometimes a soft cloth.

Wring out the items and remove from the sink. Drain water and with water running, thoroughly rinse the items that have been washed. Wring out gently. You can dry by either hanging, placing on a mesh drying rack (like for sweaters) or rolling into a towel to squeeze out excess water and then letting dry flat on the same.

Here are some links for supplies!

Sweater Drying Rack

Lingerie Bag

Helpful hints for removing stains from The Laundress

Handmade Holiday Gifts

I have some great ideas for you if you are looking for reasonably priced, handmade, holiday gifties.



First is Handwritten Letters from Santa!

My dear friend and sister-of-my-heart is providing these wonderful letters. Written in gold or silver ink, customized to your child or children and with a North Pole postmark. They come in a plain brown envelope so that little eyes won't see them before you are ready!

Order here and be sure to mention that you got the idea from Rheya!

Also available at the same Etsy store are "Naughty" or "Nice" Certificates! Which one have you been this year?



Whimsical, suitable for framing, so you can prove you've been well behaved! You can see that the author has nice penmanship as well as creativity! I've know The Kitchen Jedi for many many years.

Letters from Santa are kid tested too. She has a list of questions she asks to help make it more personal to your child, you choose what the details are and then watch when big eyes say "How did he know?!"

You can see samples of her letters on her Esty page.


The Kitchen Jedi offering Handwritten letters from Santa and Naughty and Nice Certificates

Little Handmade Gifts

These are some gifts that have been posted on Domestic Servitude that you can make to give during the holidays.

1. Bath Cookie - I made these in Lavendar and Lemongrass scents.  Make sure to mark them for bath only not eatable.

2. Bath Fizzes - I got the Citric Acid for these at natural/health food grocer.  It is something used often when canning but I didn't find it in regular grocery stores near canning supplies unfortunately.

3. Sweet & Spicy Bath Salts - all the ingredients in this recipe by katie, you most likely have on hand!  It would be good idea for all those little empty bottles of herbs/spices that I save wondering how can I reuse these.

4.  Clothes Pin Magnets - very inexpensive - 36 pack of clothes pins at Dollar Tree, 50 cent acrylic paints at  Michael's and then just cheap little stamps I have picked up at Michael and Dollar Tree. Make a great stocking stuffer.

Holiday Treats

Holiday treats that I have posted the past several years on Domestic Servitude. 

1. C.C Peppermint Bark Cookies - Chocolate chip cookies with peppermint bark in them too

2. "Gourmet" Popcorn -  Chocolate popcorn in the photos but 2 other popcorns in the post - Zesty and Butterscotch

3. Peanut Butter Blossoms - a classic cookie...peanut butter cookie with a Hershey kiss pushed into when they are warm out of the oven

4. Ritz Mints -  Ritz crackers dipped into chocolate with peppermint extract and then crushed candy canes on top

5. Maple Fudge - if you love maple flavor you will love this fudge.  I have given very detailed instructions as this was my own creation after searching the net and not being happy with any of the maple fudges I found

6. Cardamom Cut-out Cookies - my most requested recipe...they turn out very pretty and have a lot of flavor 

7. Chocolate Peppermint Cookies - these cookies always seem to be a hit also. Not much to them just a chocolate cookie with pink peppermint icing

8.  Gingerbread Muffins - really good for Christmas morning.  

9. Cookies-n-Cream Bark - This is probably the easiest recipe I make at Christmas time, but also something everyone enjoys

Friday Favorites

150 Stocking Stuffer ideas  - of course all vanilla and some for kids too but I am sure the creative minds that come and read here can think of something with chocolate sprinkles to add  your adult stockings too.
101 Simple Handmade Gifts - a list of of links to handmade gifts
10 DIY Garlands - it shows these as DIY but some have a cost behind them but they are basically showing them because they can be handmade
2011 Ultimate DIY Gift Guide - links to tutorials and recipes that are good gifts
Everything in a Jar - Handmade Gifts - these are really like mini gift baskets - some cute ideas
50 Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Men - which I think often these lists are geared towards kids or women so one for men is nice

31 Days of Posting

Happy Holidays

I am happy to announce that for the month of  December there will be at least one post everyday.  It is our way of giving to all the readers of Domestic Servitude. Thank you for reading, commenting, and sending emails.  We appreciate your support!  

Easy Fabulous Chicken Potato Puff

Hi y'all. I know I haven't posted in FOREVER, but being in school and working an internship and being a full-time domestic slave has kept me very busy the last few months! I sometimes feel like I do not have enough hours in the day.

And I know y'all feel like that too, which is why I am posting this very simple, very quick recipe.

Have you ever had last minute company for dinner or needed to pull of something fabulous with no time?

This recipe I found in an old recipe box. I love that it is very 1950s housewife but translates so well into today.



Chicken Potato Puff

Mashed Potato Mix (enough for 4 servings)
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded carrots (I usually omit these because Sir hates cooked carrot)
2 tsp snipped Chives
pinch of dried Rosemary
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare potatoes according to directions. Stir in cheese, chicken, carrots, herbs and egg yolk.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; gently fold into potato mixture. Pour into greased 2 quart casserole; place in a pan of hot water 1 inch deep. Cook, uncovered until brown and puffed, about 50-60 minutes.

Feel free to be creative with it! I've made the same dish with Swiss and Canadian Bacon with Green Onion instead of Chives. It turned out great. I think the biggest asset any one of us can have is our creativity, our ability to make things work!

Simply Service is Coming Back!

I know I have mentioned Simply Service before on Domestic Servitude. It is a newsletter that is full of great service tips, thoughts, ideas,  personal experiences, and everything else service.  There hasn't been an issue in a while and Bootpig left a little teaser on FetLife about a month ago and then recently posted details.  I wrote her to ask if I could share the details here. 

So from Bootpig posted on Simply Service FetLife group:

As you know, from the previous little teaser, Simply Service is coming back in the first quarter of 2012, aiming for around Valentine’s Day. Partnering with me to share the workload…err… fun is Master Obsidian’s lovely slave, namaste. We have been friends for years, often joking that we’re twins. In case you didn’t notice, I’m the tall one. And maybe the loud one. She wears a sari better. 

The Spring edition – we’re hopeful so we’re calling January, February, March – “Spring” will be focused on New Beginnings, Setting Intentions, Starting New Habits (Resolutions, anyone?), Rebirth. We hope for a positive issue filled with ideas for bringing us all out of winter into a bright new year. Unless you’re coming out of summer and headed into winter, in which case, what are your intentions for that time of year?

How you can participate:

1. Send us your 2012 intentions, resolutions, new skills you’re acquiring, new habits and adventures. You can include a name or leave it off but we’ll have a list of what the goals and ideas for the year are. If it is in writing, you’re already on the way there. Commit to the new intentions. Mine is: Working on friendships with service people and building those relationships to increase my skills, particularly in some homesteading areas like natural healing & canning. I’d like to improve my yoga practice.

2. Send us articles to support this theme. You don’t need to ask if you can submit an article – just do it. Well, you may need to ask your Permission Department, but you don't need our permission. It may or may not be included but may appear in a future issue. Ideas for articles: how you changed a habit, how you helped an Owner change a habit, how-to articles for a new skill someone may be adding in their New Year. Remember, we’re not just about service philosophy, but actually getting the job done. We are particularly interested in skills that focus on holistic methods for integrating and upgrading service, including green/organic/healthy habits.

a. Articles will be due by February 1 – as a note, one of the reasons it was originally ended was that begging/chasing for articles isn’t fun. Please participate and help this be a resource for all of us.

b. Articles should be 500-1500 word unless otherwise discussed and include your short bio.

I can be reached at wmb.bootpig@gmail.com and namaste can be reached at Hisnamaste@aol.com

Happy Holidays from both of us, and our Permission Departments, who have blessed this adventure.