Christmas Goodies

I just love Christmas Goodies, both giving and receiving! It is always fun to offer some variety and here are some favorites  (I also made donut snowmen but somehow didn't get a pic of those.)

 Classic Oreo cookies with festive sprinkles

 

Candy Cane Cookies

 

 Of course we gotta have classic sugar cookies!

 And you can't go wrong with a few pinwheel cookies as well.

 

I made the candy cane and swirl cookies with my classic sugar cookie recipe you can find here. What a fun time of year to get creative and share with others. :)

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Peppermint Ice Cream Sandwiches

Don't these Peppermint Ice Cream Sandwiches look divine? 

I am going to show you how to make these simple and delicious cookie sandwiches that add the perfect touch to this holiday season.

First off, you make your chocolate cookie. I used my homemade oreo cookie recipe for the perfect chocolate cookie.

  You can find the recipe here. (tip-if your cookie seems to "Fat" you can pat it down gently when it comes out of the oven to make it flatter for sandwich making.)

Now, instead of using the oreo cookie frosting in my recipe you can substitute it with slightly softened ice cream.  You want the ice cream softish...but not melted. Once you scoop it on the cookie it starts to melt fast!

Next, take a big cookie scoop and scoop on the ice cream. Then add a cookie to top it off. You'll want to work fast as these melt quickly and can be a bit messy.  

 After I put together each cookie I would set it on a plate in the freezer to start setting up immediately, then go back and make another and follow that process throughout. My sandwiches set up about 1-2 hours in the freezer and then I wrapped them individually in press and seal wrap and put them in freezer bags so they would be ready to serve. These are easy and quite the yummy holiday treat!

 

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Neverfail Sugar Cookie Recipe

Here is my sugar cookie recipe that I just LOVE!! I use this recipe for all occasions because it is the best I've found. I hope you enjoy it too.

Christmas

Halloween

Valentines Day

A couple tips for me is to roll out the dough thicker than I think...(we like them thicker). Also, when rolling out, I use a floured surface but also a little powdered sugar to keep the dough sweet. You may need to add more flour than the recipe calls for, I have had to adjust the flour in different places we have lived because of elevation. :)

1 C Shortening (I use butter)
3 C. flour
2 Eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C. milk
{1- additional cups of flour-}

:Cut shortening into flour and mix other dry ingredients with beater,
separately mix wet ingredients together, then put wet into dry and mix
well. As you mix add in extra flour (as much as 1 C. to make the dough not
sticky) Roll out and cut. Bake @ 375 for 8-11 minutes.

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Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats- Kids Favorite

Check out these super easy Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats that will be sure to be a hit! These are perfect for classroom parties or neighbor gifts and they are just so darned cute. :)

These are so simple. You'll need the basic supplies to make rice krispie treats.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili- Guest Post

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili The beginning of fall signifies a lot of exciting things: back-to-school season, the return of pumpkin-flavored everything and the start of many evenings spent watching Sunday and Monday night football. It might not sound like any of these things have anything in common, but there’s one other aspect of fall that fits neatly into every category: slow cookers!

Need a hands-off meal for those hectic nights where you have to shuttle kids between soccer practice and scout meetings? Hundreds of quick slow cooker dinner ideas can come to the rescue. Or maybe you’re looking for a way to keep your dips and chili recipes warm throughout the entire football game; slow cookers can help with that, too. And if you want to get in on the fall pumpkin food craze, you can make everything from pumpkin breads to pumpkin stews in your slow cooker. They’re the perfect time-saving tool to have in your kitchen, so make sure to take full advantage of yours this fall.
One of the most popular uses for slow cookers is for making chili, which is also one of the most delicious ways to use them! Easy chili recipes are especially great for busy parents on nights when you don’t have time to prep lots of ingredients or spend hours in the kitchen; just toss your ingredients in the slow cooker, turn it on and let the cooker do all of the work.
This white chicken chili recipe is a simple but tasty recipe to keep on hand this fall; it only requires fifteen minutes of prep time and seven ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen, meaning you’ll be able to put a hearty, nutritious and flavorful dinner on the table without even thinking about it. Try it out this fall, and happy slow cooking!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 8 ¼ hours
Serves: 6

• PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 2 15 oz. cans Great Northern beans, undrained
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 10 oz. Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• ¾ cup chopped yellow onion
• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Spray the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place 1 can of beans in the slow cooker and mash with a potato masher or spoon until smooth. Add the second can of beans (for a thicker chili, drain this can of beans) and all remaining ingredients to slow cooker; stir to combine.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Carefully separate chicken into bite size pieces before serving. Garnish with your favorite chili toppings, such as sour cream, a lime wedge, shredded cheese or sliced jalapenos.

Author Bio: This is a guest post by Meredith K. on behalf of ReadySetEat. Visit us to find more easy recipes for dinner that will warm you up this fall.

Thanks so much Meredith for sharing this yummy recipe with us! I can't wait to give it a try.

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Summer Smoothie Recipes

Back to school time is here, but I couldn't help sharing a few more delicious summer smoothie recipes before the cold weather hits!

Healthy Green Smoothie & Juicing

I've heard a lot about juicing lately, and decided to give it a try. My sister bought a juicer a few months ago and has been juicing a lot and so she provided me with my first experience on juicing. 

For my first (and most favorite) juice, she did 1 green apple, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 lemon, and a bunch of kale( not sure of exact measurement).

As you can see, it made this bright green healthy smoothie. I'll tell you right now this was sour...and I loved it. It almost tasted like those virgin margarita's I love so much. Just needed some salt on the rim. :)

Over the course of the week I was home we juiced beets, carrots, cucumbers, kale, lemons, mangoes, swiss chard, apples, basically anything we could get our hands on. Overall, this more sour one was my favorite. After having my first experience with juicing...here are my thoughts. I think it is pretty awesome, and I especially love the ability to use fruits and veggies that you may be less likely to eat or use in a dish before they expire. Love the health benefits too! With that being said, the biggest drawback I see is having to clean the juicer. I really can't picture myself wanting to pull out the mess for a cup of juice, ya know? Definitely something to think about and overall the experience was pretty positive. I see why it's become such a "thing" to do. :)

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Chicken Salad Croissants

Today I am sharing the recipe for one of my MOST favorite summertime foods, Chicken Salad Croissants.

Chicken Salad Croissants

3 C. Diced cooked chicken

1 1/2 C. diced celery

3 T. Lemon Juice

1 C. apples (diced)

1 C. Crushed pineapple or sliced grapes (whichever you prefer)

1 C. slivered Almonds

1 C. Lettuce

Croissants (I prefer small size)

SAUCE:

1 C. Miracle Whip

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp dry mustard

First off, cook chicken and dice all ingredients. Add lemon juice to diced apples to keep them from going brown. Put chicken, fruit, veggies, and almonds in bowl. Mix sauce separately then add to salad mixture. Serve on croissants and enjoy! (If you're not serving them all at once, just mix sauce in to the amount of salad as you go. It should keep for a couple days.)

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I'm join these fabulous link parties each week: Flamingo Toes,  I heart naptime, Under the table and dreaming, Not your ordinary Recipes, Not just a housewife, The Project Queen, Creating my way to success, Craft Couture, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Sumos Sweet Stuff, The Kurtz Corner,  Krafty Kat, Polly want a Crafter, Blue Cricket Design, Southern Lovely, Ginger Snap Crafts,  Women who do it all, Eisy Morgan, Laugh, Love, Craft,  Clean and Scentsible,  House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Speckled Dog, Tatortots & Jello, Simply Designing, Chic on a Shoestring, Just a Girl ,Someday Crafts, Reasons to skip the housework,  The Idea Room ,Between U and Me,   Home Saavy, Pocket full of pink,  , Positively Splendid,  Raising 4 Princesses , One Stop Shoppe,Oopsey Daisy,  Its Overflowing, The D.I.Y. Dreamer ,Serendipity & Spice, Rae Gun Ramblings, ,Crafty blog stalker , CSI Project, 36th Avenue, Real housewives of Riverton ,The rustic pig , Clever Chicks Blog Hop ,Osie Moats, Sassy Little Lady , Decorated Chaos ,  Little Mom on the Prairie, Skip to My Lou , Real thing with the Coake Family

Refreshing Berry Lemon Smoothie and Huge Giveaway($450 value)!

Nothing says summer like a refreshing smoothie! Today I'm joining a smoothie blog hop sharing the recipe to this refreshing berry lemon smoothie.

Refreshing Berry Lemon Smoothie

1/2 Cup Strawberries

1/2 Cup Blueberries

1/2 Cup Raspberries ( I used 1/4 C. raspberry freezer jam because that's what I had on hand and it worked great.)

1/2 Cup Strawberry Sherbet (or rainbow)

Juice from half lemon (fresh is best)

1 Cup Ice or as much as you like 

Rinse berries, blend and enjoy! I love the twist of lemon in this smoothie it gives it such a yummy flavor! 

Now how about a giveaway?

To help you with your smoothie creations, the I Heart Nap Time Creative Team has teamed up to give away a Blendtec blender, valued at $450, for one of YOU lucky readers! And to celebrate the awesome blender giveaway, we thought we'd give you a whole board full of Smoothie Recipes to choose from! Check out the variety of smoothie recipes below and then enter to win your very own Blendtec blender using the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of the post!

Visit the links below for more smoothie recipes...

1. Your Home Based Mom: Mango Banana Smoothie

2. Kiki Comin: Toasted Coconut Pina Colada Smoothie

3. Bloom Designs: Chocolate Banana Nut Smoothie

4. Love Pomegranate House: Strawberry Sunrise Smoothie

5. Strawberry Mommycakes: Pineapple Mango Smoothie

6. Blooming Homestead: Berry Lemon Smoothie

7. The Girl Inspired: Blended Coffee Drink

8. The Chronicles of Home: Healthy Chocolate Milkshake

9. I Heart Nap Time: Healthy Raspberry Smoothie

10. The Cards We Drew: Banana Peach Strawberry Smoothie

11. Sweet Treats and More: Peanut Butter Smoothie

So many great recipes! Be sure to stop by the blogs above and check out all their fun recipe ideas!

Enter to win the Blendtec Giveaway using the Rafflecopter code below. Note that winners must be 18 or older to win and must reside within the United State. Facebook is in no way affiliated with this giveaway. Giveaway winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter and will be notified via email if they won. They will have 48 hours to respond to the email before a new winner is chosen! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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