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Christmas Gift Jars and Baked Good Ideas

January 1, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

For those who have been visiting our blog long enough, you’d probably know that we usually get very crafty for Christmas gifts for loved ones. But unfortunately, some years we were low on both time and money, to really craft as much as we would like to for gifts. Still, we prefer to show our love to our loved ones at Christmas, with more homemade sort of gifts, if we can. So we had the idea this year of sending some Christmas gift jars and baked goods. It would be simple, inexpensive, yet appreciated we were sure. Who doesn’t love food…right?

You should know, this post is not sharing the actual recipes we used. We are just sharing with you the idea of gift jars, and some presentation ideas, as inspiration, for your own gift giving. Gift jar recipes are very easy to find though! You can just do a web search, or….check Pinterest for a wealth of jar recipe ideas! Here though, we just want to show you what we came up with.

So some jars we made up with most of the ingredients to make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
All they needed to add was the butter, egg and vanilla!

Most of our gift recipients got a jar just like this, with the measured dry ingredients and directions. But we knew my 2 bachelor brothers, and my Dad, were not going to be baking anything. lol. So…..we baked theirs for them, and filled up the jar with the cookies. Cookies in a jar! So there is another idea for you!

We also gave some people the dry ingredients for this Curried Lentil Soup. What a big project THIS turned out to be. Because the recipe calls for red and yellow lentils. After visiting 6 stores all over town, over the course of a week, we settled for red and green. Maybe you know better where to get them? If not, don’t toss the idea all together, if you like the idea of soups. Again, search for recipes, and you’ll find more than you can shake a . . . . . . a . . . . . . spoon at. 🙂

Initially, we could only find tan, and made some soup ourselves to test the recipe. Not being lentil experts, we thought only the color was different. But ummm….not so much. We HOPE the red & green works out alright for everyone.

We also made loaves of fresh homemade bread (not pictured) , and included those in most packages.

And homemade donuts! : D

We got calls and messages from everyone, and they all seemed to really enjoy our tasty gifts! We think they probably ‘tasted the love‘. But one did tell us the bread and donuts were kind of hardish, or heavy, when they arrived. Now….the bread crust is. You can knock on the loaf, but it’s soft on the inside. It makes excellent toast, it’s great for sandwiches, and it goes well with soup, too!

But the donuts, being fried, we really weren’t sure HOW they would fair in shipping. So I guess they arrived….a little dense. Now, we take these things very seriously. So, we asked ourselves what we may have learned from that outcome, and this is what we came up with:

Don’t share our donuts anymore!!
No, seriously, we’ll be working on our recipe, to make them a little lighter. 😀 For the rare occasion we make them again, because they aren’t the healthiest regular food to eat. But they are a real treat, and that’s in part what make the holidays so special.

Some pretty ribbon on your jars, with an attached tag that shares the recipe or directions, is a very warm and thoughtful gift, for anyone who eats!
Your tag can be hand-written as well. It actually makes it all the more handmade-appeal.

We hope these ideas make your Christmas gift-giving season fun, delicious, and budget-friendly.

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A Christmas Heirloom in the Making | Hand-Sewn Advent Calendar

December 30, 2009 By Laura 3 Comments

My mother-in-law/Michael’s mother/(the kid’s grandmother, if you are not catching on to who I am referring to yet..lol), seemingly got quite crafty this year, and we surely benefited from her doing so, in the way of wonderful gifts this Christmas!

A package full of goods arrived from Florida in early December, but there was one that we were instructed to open right away. So we did, and I literally gasped, and naturally, because I am becoming more of a sap with each passing day in my older years here, teared up. I guess I kept saying, “Oh my gosh….I LOVE that!”….because Michael said, “We KNOW Honey. We HEARD you. You LOVE it!” lol. He loves it too. We immediately started discussing where we could hang it.

It’s an Advent Calendar she sewed and quilted herself.

I love the art of the scene, there at the manger in Bethlehem, that starry, blessed night.

I love the royal colors!

Every numbered day is a little pocket too, to be able to put little notes or treats in for the kids, I would imagine. And they need to search for the day on the calendar.

{O}, who didn’t yet understand the purpose of the numbers being mixed up, said “Grandma did a really nice job making this, but I just can’t believe she doesn’t know her numbers yet!” lol.

I love the little details.

Do you see the light coming down from the star on the right there? It’s twinkle dust that she applied.

This angel has a flower-sequin in her hair.

We decided to put it right next to the front door, where every one who comes and goes, can enjoy it as much as we do through-out this Christmas season.

Honestly, this is a gift to our family, that I will truly treasure, every year for the rest of my life. I’m sure we all will! It’s one of those truly meaningful things I’ll be anxious to find first, and dig out of the boxes of Christmas ‘stuff’, every year when we bring out the decorations. In time, it’ll become a family heirloom. Everyone knows what our faith means to us, and how much we soley focus on the true meaning of Christmas. So that in itself makes it a wonderful gift for us. But what makes it a TREASURE, is that it was made with love, by someone we love, for us. It matters none to us, if she made more, or who else got one too. This one is ours, and it came from a loved one 2 generations back (to our kids.) I know I’ve talked much about how much I love ‘family pieces’ in our home, so I guess I’ve made my point well enough now.

Suffice it to say, it will bring us joy, every family Christmas to come, that we ever blessed to embrace and celebrate.

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Celebrations, Snowstorms and Surprises!

December 23, 2009 By Laura 4 Comments

Michael’s birthday was the 19th. I like to think there is only about 3.5 months out of the year that I am older than him, but once his birthday rolls around, we’re the ‘same number’, and so it’s all the same. ; )

He chose to spend a good part of his birthday cutting wood. Yes, he really loves cutting wood that much. He got an ax for his birthday, a little early.

I made him his favorite dinner for his birthday too: BREAKFAST. : )

{A} made him this cake. She said red, white and blue is his favorite colors. I’m not sure I knew that.

But he is an All American Boy. ; )

I got him this card…and we laughed hysterically, for 10 minutes, with mouthfuls of chocolate cake.

Showing you the inside would not be as funny as opening it yourself, so to save ourselves from looking foolish, I won’t show you the pic of the inside. It’s a talking card, so you’d really have to hear it, to truly laugh with us. But I do plan on expanding somewhat on this topic very soon. So stay tuned if you love to laugh. ; )

That night….

…around 10 p.m. eastern time…

…our very first flurries of this cold season began….

….and it went all night….

….so we woke up to this….

A photographer friend of mine guilted me into going outside to take photos.

So I did, and as cold and sufferable as it was….

she was very happy to see photos.

But karma is a funny thing, because she’s about to get her first snowstorm.

And now, she owes me.

But she’s excited to go out and take photos.

She saw this photo, and said she ‘always gets sad for the trees’, but that it is pretty.

Do trees get sad?

I loved the bird photos I got the most.

Several Tufted Titmice were very busy going back and forth, gathering seed.

I loved this shot.
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And this one. : )

The kids have been sledding every day. For the small property we have, they created quite the lengthy sled trail! It comes down from the upper yard, down and across the lower yard, and where we removed a section of fence for them, down another hill (over my bushes) into the driveway.

I know….I should have gone out and taken photos of the kids sledding too. But I am still recovering from the first trip out there. ; )

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In closing, I have to share with you all a very touching Christmas surprise we received in the mail yesterday.

It was a cushioney package, from Canada!

Something about getting a package from someone out of the country, makes you feel even a tad extra-special. ; )

We recognized the name of the sender.

It was Samantha, from Little Steps to Heaven, and her family.

Inside the package, was a photo Christmas card, of her beautiful family (with another on the way!), and a sweet note.

And these…..

Be still my heart. Hand-knitted Christmas tree ornaments! One for each of us. It’s our whole family! <sniff, sniff>.

They are Canadian ‘touques’, hand-knitted by Samantha herself. Touques is defined as a kind of warm winter cap, usually made from a knit bag with closed tapered ends, by pushing one end within the other, thus making a conical cap of double thickness.

But you could probably tell that, just by looking at them. Aren’t they ADORABLE?!!

You know, one of the greatest things that have come of this blog, is the friends we have made. So many beautiful-hearted people, like Samantha and her family. People you can count on for prayers when you need them, or count on inspiring you, witnessing them as they strive to live their faith, as we do. People that touch our hearts with their e-mails, comments, posts on their own blogs, and sometimes, surprises like this.

We are blessed, with all of YOU!

To Samantha and your family….we thank you SO much. Your thoughtfulness means so very much to us, and we know these ornaments will not only be treasured for all of the years to come, but touch make us smile every year as we unpack them, and think of you. They are symbols of warmth, not only of heads, but of hearts.

XOXO

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Soda Cracker Toffee | Recipe

December 23, 2009 By Laura 11 Comments

This recipe is one that came to mind, in a memory from years ago. I had no idea what it was called though, so I googled the ingredients to figure it out.
I guess it’s called Soda Cracker Toffee.

Which brings to mind a pressing question for me: Does ANYONE actually say ‘soda crackers’ anymore? I can’t imagine. So if you don’t mind, while I share this recipe, I’m just going to refer to this type of crackers as ‘saltines’. After all, I’m just a kid.

But before I get to that, I wanted to share the memories that this treat brought to mind. I remember the first time I ever tried it. I was working as a teller in a bank. (Do I hear people snickering? lol. Yes, I realize, for anyone who knows me at all, it is comical that I ever worked in a bank. But I did. For like 3 or 4 years! You may wonder how I pulled that off. Well, that’s easy. I was a struggling artist at the time, living at home with my parents. A very, very good friend of my family’s (still today), was the president of the district of that bank, or something like that. He encouraged me to apply for a job at that bank. As much as I questioned him that they would ever hire me, he assured me all would be fine. ; ) I worked there for 2 years, and even was successfully transferred to the south shore when I got married. Until I couldn’t take it anymore…being like, and dressing like, someone I was so NOT. So then I quit, and became a married, struggling artist, in my first own home.

But in that last year, there was a girl that worked at my branch for a few months. There are 3 things I remember about her:

1) She was very bubbly, and always smiling.

2) She once turned to me after I said something or other, (I swear, I forget what..) and said, “You know, you are soooooo…..ABRASIVE!” Michael and I have laughed about that for YEARS since. Well, except I always forget the word she used, and he reminds me. And THEN we laugh again. But anyway, it’s not the truth. She was very sensitive, and just didn’t get my humor.

3) One day she brought in this recipe.
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Now…..if you have a sweet tooth, THIS recipe is for YOU. It’s junk food, at it’s best. So I hear. I’m not really into stuff this sweet, but I know others who are LOVING it. ; )

It is SOOOO Easy to make. And only 4 ingredients.

Participating Ingredients: a sleeve of SALTINES, 1 cup of light brown sugar, a 12 oz bag of chocolate chips, & 1 cup of butter. (2 sticks. Holy…)

Spread a whole sleeve of the crackers as a single layer, on a 10×15 jelly roll pan, or, if you don’t have one of those (like us), we used a 17 1/4 x 11 x 1 inch cookie sheet, which should be covered with tin foil first.

I took this photo just for fun. (So take a break. ; )

In a saucepan, melt down the 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar.

This would be a good time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bring to a boil, and while stirring frequently, boil for 4-5 minutes.

When the time is up, I saw lots of ‘pockets’ of butter or brown sugar, so I used the back of the spoon to press them out against the side of the pan, and mix some more, until it looked truly combined. Took a minute is all.

So then you have warm toffee, and it should look more like this.

Pour as evenly as you can over all of the crackers. You need to work some quickly because the toffee will start setting if it cools too much. Once it is all poured, quickly spread it out more evenly over the crackers.

Once it is spread out, put it in your pre-heated oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove pan from oven, and then turn off the oven.

Quickly spread the entire bag of chocolate chips all over the toffee-covered Saltines.

Then put the pan back in the oven for 4-5 minutes, which should still be pretty hot.

(In my attempt to see if the chips were indeed melt-y enough, I grabbed the spatula off the counter, which got caught on a pair of kitchen scissors, sending them flying INTO the oven, and falling to the bottom.
Metal tongs were necessary to remove the scissors, which were now on fire. But you can skip that whole step! : )

When the chips look melt-y enough, remove the pan from the oven again, and spread the chocolate more evenly over the cracker base.

Now place the pan in your refrigerator, to speed up the process of chilling and setting the chocolate.

When it is set, remove from fridge.

And cut into 1 inch squares with a pizza cutter. (You can actually do this yourself!! Michael just did it for me, because I’m weak, and have a life-long broken finger.) (I know what you are thinking by now….Yes, I am accident-prone.)

You can store it all in an air-tight container.

This treat is really a nice little gift, or a sweet addition to your own Christmas or New years festive celebration!

Enjoy!!

(And don’t forget to brush your teeth after! Seriously.)

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‘3 Clean Hearts’ | The Triplets Make Their First Penance / Reconciliation

December 19, 2009 By Laura 4 Comments

We are a Catholic family, and our triplets {J, O & S} made their Sacrament of First Penance/Reconciliation last Saturday!

It was a nice service, considering they were only 3 of 78 other kids celebrating the same Sacrament that day- and that was only half the class! The other half made theirs the previous Saturday.

They all did very well, and I can say our 3 were not as nervous or hesitant as I half-expected. I’d venture to say they were perhaps over-prepared for this first time. They knew their Act of Contrition by heart, and were counting on saying it on their own, and were expecting a lot of the usual procedure they had learned. But, as it were for this time, the whole class read that prayer together from their program, and many little things were done a tad differently, for the sake of getting through that many children in a timely-manner, I guess. We weren’t really sure how the service, or Confession for each child, was going to go, so, we were ready for anything. There were 9-10 priests on hand, and they were scattered about the church in empty pews. Nonetheless, they know things will be a bit different from here on out, and they’re ready!

After the service at the church, there was a reception gathering at the parish center with all of the children, parents and teachers, for treats and coffee. We only stayed for a short bit, because we couldn’t verify anything there was peanut safe, and I felt bad – so we went home and had a treat. On the way home, the kids talked about how they felt good having had their first Confession. {O} said she felt like she had a ‘clean heart’ now, and the boys agreed that’s how they felt too. Their sweet little smiles warmed my own heart. Of course, that was 7 days ago. ; ) Another ‘cleansing’ is due for us all, just around the corner, as it is tradition in our family to go at La Salette Shrine every year, on Jan 1st or 2nd as well. We always go to Mass and Penance there.

A little bit later, we took a gift card we had been given from a friend to a very nice nearby restaurant, and went and had a celebratory lunch together as a family. Hardly anyone else was there, so it was really peaceful, and the food was really good. Later that night we had a family-movie night.

They did receive beautiful certificates with their name on them, which will go into their ‘baby bins’. (At what point/age will we stop calling them ‘baby’ bins? lol) Someone in the parish also made these adorable snowmen for the kids, that held little dum-dum pops. So cute.

All in all, the kids are just happy they are 1 step closer to the Sacrament they are truly looking forward to: First Holy First Communion. They have been waiting to be able to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, for so, so long. That’s a day we all look forward to.

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