Clay Dough Ornaments

Bright, White Clay Dough

While I can always use the salt scrub effect

on my dry, papery man-hands ~

(you know, rinsing my paintbrush after every

color change really does a number

on my skin!)

~ I've made the salt dough ornaments.

You know, the classic 

"been there, done that"

so when I found a recipe for smooth, bright
white ornaments ... I had to try it!

Here's the recipe:

2 Cups Baking Soda
1 Cup Cornstarch
1 1/4 Cups Water 

 
 Stir ingredients together in a 2 quart saucepan.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat,
stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

Continue to stir until mixture is boiling.

Once the mixture starts to boil,
things will happen quickly!  Continue to
stir ~ suddenly the mixture will
resemble mashed potatoes.
 

As soon as the mixture looks like mashed
potatoes, immediately dump onto
a cookie sheet and cover with a damp
towel.  Allow mixture to cool.

Spread work surface with a light
dusting of cornstarch.

Divide dough in half, keeping the
unused half under the damp towel to
preserve the texture.
(It dries out fairly quickly).

Use cookie cutters or small knife to cut shapes.

Don't forget to poke holes for hanging!
I used a straw.
You could also use rubber stamps
to make impressions on the soft dough.
Love the idea, but we were iced
in and unable to even leave the driveway
and my stamp collection resides
down the street and across the way in my
studio.  Which might as well be in
Siberia since I can't leave my house.

Shapes will air dry, but you can speed
the drying process along by placing
them in a preheated 250 degree oven.
After 15 minutes, turn the shapes and
continue to dry, or bake another 15 minutes.

Allow to cool before painting
and adding ribbon for hanging.

 

~ Peace and Productive Snow Days ~

 

DCC Blog Hop - Handmade With Love!

~ Welcome to the February DCC Blog Hop ~

Handmade with Love!!

First of all I might as well admit

that for the past two days I've been in a frenzy

because in addition to the usual

(including but not limited to basketball, dance rehearsals, 

injuries,  cooking, cleaning, cooking, cleaning,

~ yes, I used those each twice, when frankly

using the word cooking four times per

day and the word cleaning endless times per

day would be a much more accurate

portrayal of what goes on up in here ~

supply organizing, costume making, prop

painting, driving, um ... 

did I already say cleaning??)

I've thought that I had a button project

due today. 

Turns out, now that I've finished the

button project and I'm editing photos for

the button project and I'm looking

for all the information I have to include about

the button project,

I realize that the button project isn't

due until MARCH.

So it's a good thing I have another

post ready for today.

Doc brought home a recipe the other day.

It was hand-written, from someone
at the office, and there

was no recipe title or name.

I have made this mystery recipe

seven times in seven days.

I have adjusted the amounts of

ingredients to suit

the boys' tastes.  And mine.

I might as well admit I've put on four

pounds and it's pretty clear

that this pan of deliciousness is to blame.

*Heat oven to 350 degrees.

 *Line a jelly roll pan with heavy duty

aluminum foil.

Trust me ... if you use the regular

strength foil, the caramel coated goodness

will stick to the foil and you will

have to pick and peel tiny slivers of

foil out of your snack before

you eat it.  This may or may not make

you cry, but why take that chance??

Ingredients:

Graham Crackers

2 Sticks Unsalted Butter

1 Heaping Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Heaping Cup Chopped Pecans

*Melt butter in saucepan on low heat.
Add brown sugar.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and

boil for 2 minutes.

Don't be discouraged when it looks like this.

Keep on stirring, and eventually

you'll get this: (which is what you want!)

Remove from heat.

*Add vanilla.

*Add the nuts.

~Since I store my nuts in the freezer

to keep them fresh,

I add the nuts and then put the pan

back on the heat and stir

for another 2 minutes.

It's going to be thick, not runny,

but adding cold nuts without putting the

mixture back on the heat just

cools the mixture and makes it really

super hard to spread.

Pour the mixture over the grahams

and spread as well as you can.

It probably won't cover the grahams

completely, but we will fix that.

Bake for five minutes,
then open the oven and use your
wooden spatula to spread the bubbly
mixture thoroughly over all the grahams.
It's MUCH easier to spread
at this point!
Bake another five minutes,
remove from oven and cool for one hour
before breaking apart and
eating the entire pan yourself.

Just kidding.
Sort of.

My boys just LOVE this tasty snack!

~ Peace Out ~

Chicken Tetrazzini

~ CHICKEN TETRAZZINI ~

This is another family favorite ~

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this

recipe yet, I've probably

made this two dozen times!

~ First of all, I like to douse some frozen

boneless chicken breasts with olive oil and a

pinch of salt.  Thaw them in the refrigerator, and 

then bake them on a foil-lined

jelly roll pan in a 350* oven for twenty minutes.~

Once the chicken has cooled, I either

shred it or cut it into tiny cubes to use in other

recipes.  You'll need 2 cups of cooked

cubed chicken for the Tetrazzini.

 

Here's what else you'll need:

1 package spaghetti, broken into thirds

1/4 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

1 Cup Chicken Broth

1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Tablespoons Water

2 Cups Cooked Cubed Chicken

1 Can (4 oz) Mushrooms

Sliced Black Olives (optional)

1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Heat oven to 350*.  Cook spaghetti as directed

on package.  While spaghetti is cooking,

melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat.

 Add flour, salt, and pepper.

Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is

smooth and bubbly.  Remove from heat.

 

Stir in broth and whipping cream.

 

Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.

Boil and stir one minute.

 

Drain spaghetti.

 Stir chicken and mushrooms

into sauce.  

 

Add cooked spaghetti to sauce

and stir thoroughly.

 

Pour mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish

coated with cooking spray.

 

Sprinkle with shredded parmesan.

Add sliced olives, if desired.

I can only add olives to half of my

Tetrazzini ... but some day, when my boys

are no longer picky eaters, I will

smother my Tetrazzini with sliced olives!

Just sayin'

 

 Cover casserole with tin foil and

bake for 25 minutes.

 Remove foil.

 

Turn on broiler until cheese has

crisped and turned brown.

Add a garden salad and buttery

toasted bread for a complete meal!

 

Yummers!!

~ Peace and Sliced Black Olives ~

Lemon Bars - Updated Ingredients, LOL!!

Lemon Bars!!

So delicious, I've made three batches

of these in three days.

That means my kiddos are eating one

batch of lemon bars per day.

(Doc and I are eating our share, too!)

Oh, but they are sooo yummy!

Preheat oven to 350°.

 For the crust, you'll need 3/4 C of butter

(room temp), 

 1 1/2 C flour,

 and 2/3 C powdered sugar.

 Cut together and press into a greased

9"x11" glass pan.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven.

While crust is still hot, mix the filling.

To make the filling, you'll need 3 eggs,

1 1/2 C granulated sugar,

3 T flour, and 1/4 C Lemon Juice!!
Whisk together until frothy.

Pour over hot crust.

 Bake another 20 minutes.

Immediately sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.

 Here's the hard part:

Allow to Cool at least 1 Hour Before Eating.

 

My kids always set the timer,

so that they are enjoying Lemon Bars

precisely one hour after I pull them from the oven.

I think they've shown unusual self-control

for this batch.  Only a few hours

old, and I've had at least three bars myself!!

Peace and Lemony Deliciousness!!!