Cookie Exchange Party

On December 4th, I hosted my first annual cookie exchange.  I love baking (as you can probably tell) and hosting parties. This year has been one for the record books for our family and I wanted to get all my friends together to personally thank them for all of their love and support this year.  I figured this was the perfect way to do it.  I had about 14 friends at the exchange and my moms (mine and my best friends). I sent out an evite about a month before the event and spent the rest of the time planning away.  Since this was my first one, I did lots of research (and called my mom) to figure out how these things work.  I asked all of the guests to bring 4 dozen cookies.  One dozen was on a plate to share and then the three dozen were packaged in groups of 6 to swap.  This worked out perfectly for the group.  We all ended up with more cookies than we knew what to do with.  

I set up my dining room as the tasting room. I bought chargers to put all of the cookies on and set a few sweets around the table.  I used our bar for drinks (sangria, flavored water, wine and shirley temples- for the pregnant friends).  As everyone arrived, they placed their cookies on the table.  Then they brought the swap packages to the TV room, where I had a card table set up for the packages.  In the hallway, I had another table with a few snacks and appetizers.  I didn't want to serve anything to heavy because of all of the sweets we were about to consume.  I served brie bites, chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip and an apple pie dip-that is always a favorite.  

After eating for a bit, I called all the girls into the dining room to start the tasting.  We numbered all of the cookies.  Then, I gave everyone a ballot to vote for the best tasting, most unique, most attractive and best packaging.  Everyone walked around the table and tasted while thinking about their favorites.  After that was done, my mom tallied all of the votes.  We gathered in the living room to hear the results and I passed out little gifts to the winners.  I also got all of the girls reusable christmas tote bags to put all of their cookies in.  I also had all of the girls email me their cookie recipes.  I created a recipe book that I placed in their bags to take home.  I've already used the recipe book to make two of the cookies! 

Then the swap began....Everyone picked numbers.  As their number was called, they went to the table and picked the cookie they wanted.  Simple as that.  We didn't stop until all of the cookies were gone.  I had such a great time.  I know a few friends are already planning their packaging and cookies for next year.  I can't wait for my 2nd annual cookie exchange! 

Wine Cork Magnets

The theme of my kitchen is wine.  You won't find all the grapes and vine decorations but you will find lots of wine bottles and corks.  I love...love...love wine. I'm always looking for DIY wine projects for the kitchen.  While cleaning up all of the baby announcements from my fridge a few weeks ago, a light bulb went off.  How cute would everything look on our fridge with wine coke magnets?  I knew I had strips of magnets in my classroom...and there is no shortage of wine corks in this house.  And that (along with some hot glue) is all I needed to create these easy & cute magnets.  

Materials: 

wine corks

hot glue

knife

magnets

Directions: 

Cut cork in half with knife (the sharper the better)

Hot glue the magnet onto the back (flat side) of the cork. I had long strips of magnets I had to cut in half.   

Let it dry & put it on the fridge!  

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

This cookie recipe comes from Duncan Hines. These cookies were quick and easy to make.  I didn't use the lemon zest and they were still A-okay with me.  This recipe is one of my new  favorites & will definitely be added to the cookie rotation each year. Enjoy!  

Ingredients:                                                                                  Directions:  

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 box Duncan Hines® Red Velvet Cake Mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter; set aside to cool. Place powdered sugar and cornstarch in shallow dish. Mix with a fork to blend.
2. Place cake mix, cooled butter, eggs and lemon zest in large mixing bowl. Mix by hand until well blended and a dough forms.
3. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on cool, ungreased baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
4. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in center of oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
5. Store in airtight container with wax paper or parchment separating layers.

6. Tips:

1. For consistency, use a small scoop (1 to 1-1/4 inches in diameter) to form dough into balls.
2. For best results, bake only one sheet of cookies at a time. If two are baked at once, rotate sheets midway through baking.

Peppermint Wreaths

After seeing the peppermint wreaths all over Pinterest, I decided I needed to make one.  Instead of making a wreath, I did an H.  I already had one at home from JoAnn Fabrics.  I painted the H red, after it was al dry, I hot glued the peppermints on the top.  I tried to line them up before hand to make sure they all would fit.  It's not perfect, but I'm happy with how they lined up.  After that, I hot glued ribbon to the back to hang it up.  I tied the ribbon into a bow at the top and hung the center of the bow on the hook of the wreath hanger.  

Love how it looks on the front door.  

But, it couldn't stay there because when a little sun hit it, it started to melt! 

Cheesy Chicken and Tomato Bruschetta Turnovers

I completely slacked on dinner this past week.  I hosted a cookie exchange on Sunday and was preparing for that all weekend.  Therefore, I never made a meal plan for the week or even made it to he grocery store.  At work on Tuesday, I decided to get a rotisseree chicken.  I figured I would have something at home I could put with it,  so I searched for quick and easy rotisseree recipes.  This is the one I decided on, it came from Disney Family.com. 

This recipe was very simple to make.  I decided to make my own bruschetta because it's much cheaper.  I will admit I struggled a bit with the turnover portion of the dinner.  Mine ended up looking like pockets.  But, they still turned out great.  I loved the flakiness that came from the puff pastry.  That with the cheese, bruschetta and chicken= deliciousness! 

Ingredients

• 1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
• 2 pounds rotisserie chicken, (1 small)
• 1/2 cup tomato bruschetta, (store-bought)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Remove meat from chicken and chop -- you need 2 cups. Save leftover chicken and carcass for other recipes.
3. Unfold puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 even squares.
4. Beat egg and water until frothy and brush the outer edge of each square with mixture.
5. Mound in the center of each pastry square: 1/4 cup chicken, 1 tablespoon each of bruschetta, Parmesan and mozzarella.
6. Fold pastry over diagonally, making a triangle, and press the edges well to seal. Brush the top of each pastry with egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling at the edges.
7. For appetizer-sized turnovers: Cut each pastry sheet into 8 squares and top each with a tablespoon of chicken and a teaspoon each of bruschetta, Parmesan and mozzarella. Brush with egg wash and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling at the edges. Makes 16 appetizers.

Brie- Apple Pastry Bites

I'm pretty sure I've shared my love of anything and everything bite sized before.  You just cant go wrong with an appetizer or dessert that you can "one bite".  Which is exactly the reason I ripped this recipe out of the December/ January Taste of Home magazine last year.  I've been wanting to make them every since, but I never got around to it...until recently.  Last Sunday, I hosted a cookie exchange at my house. I was looking for a few appetizers to serve that weren't too heavy.  I knew these would be perfect...and they were.  I have to give my wonderful mother for making them while I was running around like a mad woman to get last minute things done for the party done.  They looked pretty easy to make...but I can't tell you for sure.  What I can tell you is that I could not stop eating them.  You'll definitely want to add these to your holiday party appetizer list. Enjoy! 

PS.  I used the Pampered Chef mini muffin pan to make this recipe =-)

• 48 Servings
• Prep: 30 min. Bake: 15 min.

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Ingredients

• 1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 round (8 ounces) Brie cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 medium apple, chopped
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• Ground nutmeg

Directions

• Unfold puff pastry; cut each sheet into 24 squares. Gently press squares onto the bottoms of 48 greased miniature muffin cups.
• Combine the cheese, apple, nuts and cranberries; spoon into cups. Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Yield: 4 dozen.

Cheddar & Cracker Chicken

It's been a while since I've made chicken and sides in our house.  I've had a slight obsession with casseroles and crock pot meals lately.  They're so easy!  Anyhow, we came back from my parents house with lots of mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving.  So, I decided to make chicken and broccoli to go with. I went to Pinterest for the recipe, which I found here.  It was the perfect chicken recipe to compliment the mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  Enjoy!

Cheddar & Cracker Chicken

                                                          recipe adapted from Real Simple

16 buttery crackers (such as Ritz), crushed (about 3⁄4 cup)

6 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1-2 stalks scallions, thinly sliced

kosher salt and black pepper

4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 350° F. 

In a bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, scallions and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Pound the chicken to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness with a meat mallet. Dip the pounded chicken in the butter, then in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter. Bake until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 20-25 minutes.

Wreath Button Frame

As soon as I came across this creation on Pinterest, which originally came from this blog, I knew I wanted to make it.  I already had an extra frame at home and ended up finding buttons in the dollar section at Target.  This pretty creation is now sitting on my kitchen counter, resting on a plate holder.  Love it! Here's how I did it...

I used a spool of ribbon to trace the center onto white paper.  

I ended up using only 2 of these containers of buttons.  

I didn't glue anything first.  I just lined it all up because I didn't want to glue it down and it not work.  I started with the largest buttons, placing them around the circle I drew.  Then, I went around the outside with medium size buttons and put the smallest ones in the inner center.  Once everything was lined up, I started hot gluing them down. 

Once they were all glued down, I flipped the paper over and secured the frame.  

Last, I made a bow and hot glued it to the top of the wreath.  I also used some extra ribbon on the corners of the frame to add a little more detail.  

Crockpot Jambalaya

Again, I've found another delicious crock pot recipe.  And again, thanks to Pinterest.  The recipe comes from Plain Chicken. I took her advice and prepared the meal the night before and threw it in the crock pot in the morning.  Very easy.  I'm glad I saved it for a cold night because it was perfect. Plus, there was a lot leftover so I enjoyed it for lunch a few times as well.  


Slow Cooker Jambalaya

approximately 5-6 servings

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound smoked turkey sausage, sliced 
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
white rice or instant rice (I used 2 packs of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Garlic & Butter flavor)

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.  (I do this the night before and put it in the fridge.  I put it in the slow cooker before I leave in the morning.)

Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Mix in cooked rice cook for about 15 minutes to warm through.

Pampered Chef- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I'm still in search of the prefect recipe for my cookie exchange this weekend.

When I made these, I was still working towards my Pampered Chef recipe goal.  I'm doing a great job of stocking up on cookies for the season.  As of now, I have 5 dozen frozen cookies, three different kinds!

  Again, any cookie recipe that is ready to bake in 10 minutes or less gets a thumbs up from me! These are delcious.  I think next time I'll use creamy peanut butter, there was something about the peanut chunks that I didn't love.  But, I still managed to eat way more than I should have!  

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2	cup crunchy-style peanut butter
3/4	cup vegetable shortening
1/2	cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2	cup granulated sugar
1	egg
1	teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4	cups all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
1/4	teaspoon salt
1	package (6 ounces) chocolate morsels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Measure peanut butter, shortening and brown sugar into Classic Batter Bowl using Measure-All® Cup. Add granulated sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until thoroughly combined.
2. In Small Batter Bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture; mix well. Stir in chocolate morsels. Using Medium Scoop, drop batter 2 inches apart onto Rectangle Stone. Bake 10-15 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes; remove cookies to Stackable Cooling Rack to cool.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies