January's Crafter-noon

Saturday January 8th is the next Crafter-noon.  We are going to treat our selves and make our own customized scrubs and bath bombs.  To celebrate the new year I will share some DIY Bath and Body recipes I have come across! 

What’s for Dinner?

How about Ham & Cheddar in a Loaf? It takes 15 min for prep about 40 minutes in the oven… just think of all of the possibilities: ham, turkey, pepperoni, left over chicken, beef, or ground beef! How awesome! Doesn't this look great? Get all of the ingredients and full recipe here.

Frances ;o)

Valentine’s Day Cocktails…

Do you want to serve a great drink to your sweetie… or friends this Valentine's Day? Here are a few that will be showing up at our Un-Valentine Party.


Godiva Chocolate MartiniYield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
1 oz. Godiva Liqueur
1 oz. Smirnoff Vodka
Directions:
Assemble the drink.


Strawberry Blonde Martini (The Melting Pot's)

Ingredients:
2 ounces champagne
2 ounces strawberry vodka (Stoli)
1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce strawberry daiquiri mix

Directions:

Combine the vodka, daiquiri mix and pineapples juice.

Float the Champagne on the top.

Garnish with strawberry.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients:
1-ounce cranberry juice (sweetened)
1 wedge lime
Champagne or sparkling wine
Cranberries (frozen)
Directions
In a chilled Champagne flute add cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime. Top off the glass with Champagne. Garnish with 3 or 4 cranberries.

Sparkling Wine Sangria (Sangria de Cava)
Ingredients:
2 cups well chilled seltzer or sparkling mineral water
1 cup well chilled peach brandy
1 cup superfine sugar
2 (750-ml) bottles well chilled Cava (Spanish sparkling wine)
About 4 cups assorted berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, rinsed and drained, for serving
Directions
Stir the seltzer, brandy, and sugar together in a punch bowl. When the sugar is dissolved, uncork the sparkling wine and pour it gently into the bowl. Float about half the berries in the sangria and use the rest to decorate individual glasses.

Frances ;o)

Raspberry Truffle Tart Recipe

This screams Valentine's Day to me... I am not a chocoholic I do however indulge in a little from time to time. Sometimes I just need to eat a snickers bar but this looks so yummy! Find the recipe and instructions for this fabulous Raspberry truffle Tart Recipe here.

Frances ;o)

Strawberries filled with Cream Recipe

These look absolutely dreamy and so easy! With a bottle of your favorite champagne… yummy! Click here to get the recipe for Strawberries filled with Cream.

Frances ;o)

Beignets…

So I have been thinking… dreaming of these yummy fluffy pillows for a couple of weeks ever since I saw them on Food Networks Iron Chef America. Well here are 3 different recipes worth a shoot. All of them are from the Food Network, I think I may breakdown and make them this weekend…

This one is from my favorite Food Network star Paula Deen. This is here version, you can find the full recipe here.

This is more of a traditional recipe from Mr. New Orleans himself, Emeril Lagasse. You can find his version here.

And last but not least this is Sandra Lee's version. This is the easiest and quickest of the three, she uses ready to use biscuit dough but it still looks mouth watering. You can find her full recipe here.

Frances ;o)

Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

I was looking for a few new cookie recipes for a cookie swap and decided to share some with you… This is the first one that really caught my eye. I love pistachios, so these are the first I'm going to try. I let you know how they turn out. Below is the recipe and the directions or you can go here and print it. Happy baking!

Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (130 grams) unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 cup (150 grams) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Directions:

In a large bowl whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth (about 1 - 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. (Make sure that the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the dough.)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half of dough on the center of a 14 inch (35 cm) length of parchment or wax paper. Smooth and shape the dough into an evenly shaped rectangle that is about 10 inches (25 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Then thoroughly wrap the shaped logs in the parchment or wax paper, twists the ends of the paper to seal the logs, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours, or up to three days. (The logs can also be frozen for about two months. If freezing, it is best to defrost the logs in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and baking.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) with the rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a thin bladed knife, slice the logs into 1/4 to 1/2 inch (.5 to 1 cm) thick cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 48 shortbread cookies.

Enchilada Casserole

I love mexican food... this is great!

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 30 min Makes: 4 servings

What You Need:
· 1 lb. ground beef
· 1/4 cup chopped onions
· 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
· 1/2 cup water
· 2 tsp. chili powder
· 4 corn tortillas
· 1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
· 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
· 1/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

Make It:

MICROWAVE meat and onions in 2-qt. microwaveable dish on HIGH 4 to 6 min. or until meat is no longer pink, stirring every 2 min.; drain.
STIR in tomato sauce, water and chili powder. Microwave 5 to 9 min. or until slightly thickened, stirring every 4 min. Transfer to bowl.
PLACE 1 tortilla in same microwaveable dish; top with layers of 1/4 each meat sauce and cheese. Repeat layers 3 times. Microwave 2 to 5 min. or until heated through. Let stand 5 min. Top with tomatoes and sour cream.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Healthy Living

Save 90 calories, 12 grams of fat and 6 grams of saturated fat per serving by preparing with extra lean ground beef, KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese and BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream.
Variation Beef and Bean
Reduce amount of meat to 1/2 lb.; Stir in 1 can (16 oz.) fat free refried beans with the tomato sauce.
Skillet Preparation
Cook meat and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat 3 to 5 min. or until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water and chili powder; cook until heated through. Transfer to bowl. Assemble in skillet as directed. Cover; heat 2 min. or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and tomatoes.

thanks ,

frances ;o)

Toaster Waffle Sandwich

Another super yummy treat... Breakfeast for dinner anyone?

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 5 min Makes: 1 serving

What You Need

2 frozen waffles
2 frozen BOCA Meatless Breakfast Links
1 KRAFT 2% Milk Sharp Cheddar Singles
1/4 of a medium apple, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. cinnamon sugar
1 cup 1% milk
Make It
TOAST waffles as directed on package. Meanwhile, microwave breakfast links as directed on package.
PLACE 2% Milk Singles on 1 of the waffles. Cover with apple, cinnamon sugar and breakfast links; top with remaining waffle. Cut in half.
SERVE with milk.

thanks,

frances ;o)

Mothers Day tips and Ideas...

Make Mom feel special on Mother's Day; show her you think she's the best! For some great recipes and crafts you can do with the kiddies go here to family fun.com. they even have some printable cards!

You can get Mother's Day Brunches ideas fit for a Queen like:

Cinnamon-Apple Pancake

Deviled Egg Boats

Egg in a Nest

Egg Pinwheels

French Toast Waffles

Royal Ham and Eggs

Frances ;o)