DIY Toothpaste

Save money & make it at home!!!!

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp vegetable-based glycerin
1 Tbsp hydrogen peroxide
6 drops peppermint
Stevia, to taste (optional)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and place in an airtight container. 

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients

2	sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1	8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1½	cups sugar
	zest of 2 oranges
4	eggs
1½	teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (use bread flour or Better for Bread flour if at high altitude)
1½	teaspoons baking powder
1½	teaspoons salt
2	cups fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
For the glaze:
¾	cup confectioner’s sugar
1	tablespoon melted butter
	zest of 1 orange
2	tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour two medium size loaf pans, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar. When mixer is light in color and fluffy, add in zest. With mixer on low, add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Fold in cranberries. Divide batter evenly between the loaf pans. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven. Place cakes on a wire rack to cool. After about 5 minutes, lay cakes on their sides, and allow to cool for another 5 minutes. Flip cakes onto their other sides and cool for another 5 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and let cool on the wire rack. While still warm, drizzle with orange glaze (recipe follows). Serve warm or at room temperature. For the glaze: Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more juice or sugar to achieve desired consistency.

*Recipe courtesy of sophistimom.com

Valentine's Day Shadow Box

My daughter made this for her husband this year for Valentine's Day....so he hasn't received it yet. She showed it to me and I thought it was so clever, I wanted to blog about it. It's inexpensive, quick, VERY personal and it also lasts all year long!!

Items needed:

~ 9x11" Shadow box

~  Scrapbook Paper of your choice

Directions:

(1) After opening shadow box and removing background piece, cut paper to size for the background. Before attaching anything permanently, fool around with the papers and embellishments to make sure you're satisfied with the final product. Decide on the size and color of the paper for the 'I love you because" banner when arranging the other items...just to make sure you love it!! You want to make sure this is the first thing your eye is drawn to when looking at the box.

My daughter used paper that looks like a love letter directly behind the banner (left), and also matted it on the red paper to make it stand out. (Good idea)  The birds (bottom right) were cut from another paper and placed in front of the striped background paper.

If you're planning to add embellishments at the front of the box (like the butterfly, top right, and the card with birds, bottom left) prepare those at this time also, rearranging everything until it looks the way you'd like.

(2) Attach all papers and embellishments. Slide the close-up embellishments between the glass and the inside lip of the frame. (They end up looking as if you slid them into the frame edge, but they are actually inside the glass where they can't be moved.) Close up box.

(3) Using an erasable-on-glass marker (Sharpie was used here. It comes off with Windex), write across the front of the glass the first "I love you because" reason... Of course, as seen in the photo, my daughter wrote "You buy me flowers". (He does buy her flowers all the time...) The beauty of this gift is that it can be erased monthly, weekly or even daily, however often you'd like, and a new 'reason' can be written..."You're a great  Daddy", "You're a hard worker", ""You pick up your own socks!"...or funny stuff that you DO appreciate: "You don't make weird noises when we have company" or "You don't lift up your shirt & scratch your belly in public"....and on and on. Have fun with this one & have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

This picture shows how the 'reason' is written across the front of the glass,
making it possible to change as frequently as desired.

Sweet....

Lip Exfoliation Recipe ~ Get Baby Soft Lips Anytime!!!

My grand-daughter, Katie Rae, with perfectly soft
& kissable lips!

What you'll need:

1 tsp sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tsp honey
1/4 to 1/2 tsp olive oil

STEP 1:  Using a spoon, combine all ingredients in a bowl until you've created a paste.

STEP 2:  Apply to lips in a circular motion, taking about 30 seconds to one minute to apply, to ensure complete exfoliation.

STEP 3: Wipe off excess paste with a paper towel or tissue, then use a warm, wet washcloth to finish cleaning off the rest.

STEP 4: Dry lips. All done!!! Your lips should feel amazingly smooth and free of dry skin!

*Apply a dab or two of the plain olive oil,  just like you'd apply lip balm, so lips feel supple. This can be done anytime your lips feel dry, whether or not you've exfoliated.

For other beauty ideas using Olive Oil, check out this makeup removal idea....

Mom's Potato Salad

Mom's Potato Salad ~ The perfect compliment to any summer meal!

I have fond & oh-so-wonderful memories of my Mom's potato salad! I remember helping her make this many, many times in our hot Southern California kitchen!! (No central air,... just an old swamp cooler that I fear only made us think that it was cooling down the house!) When I got older, I remember eating right after it was mixed up (Dishing ourselves a small bowl) with the warm potatoes and the cool pickles together in my mouth!! OHHH yummy!! I've made this recipe for my own family on many occasions and my oldest daughter and I both sneak our bites right after the mixing is done! In my opinion, it always tastes best at this time!

Ingredients:

1 - 10# bag of potatoes, boiled and peeled
1 dozen eggs, boiled, peeled and diced
1 - 15 oz. can sliced black olives, drained
1 - 2 oz jar diced pimento
1 - 16 oz jar sweet relish
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared mustard
2 Tb granulated or powdered onion
1 tsp granulated or powdered garlic
2 tsp salt

Directions:

(1) Cook your eggs and potatoes:

Peel potatoes and cut into 1" cubes. Boil until a fork easily pierces the cubes, being careful not to overcook as they will become mushy very quickly.

At the same time, hard boil the eggs. (Yolks will be completely cooked as opposed to 'soft-boiled' eggs) Once cooked, drain the hot water from the pan and fill it with cool water, allowing the eggs to set for a few minutes to cool down so they don't burn your fingers while trying to peel them. Once cooled enough to handle, peel and dice.

(2) Assemble everything in one giant bowl:

Once the potatoes and eggs are done, you can start putting everything together. My Mom had a huge Tupperware bowl that was light green in color. (I looked it up online and found a picture of a bowl like the one she used, the color was 'Spring Green'.) She always made her potato salad in this bowl. I can still remember it with its giant flexible lid (not green)... (Shown below)

This bowl was 12" across and appx 5 1/2" deep!!!

Place the 1" cubed potatoes and finely diced eggs in a giant bowl. Add the can of olives, drained. Next dump in the entire contents of each jar of pimento and relish. (You don't even have to start mixing it yet!)

Add the mayo and mustard right on top of everything, and try to sprinkle the onion, garlic and salt evenly over the surface of everything, just to make sure there are no clumps of spices later. (Nobody wants to bite into THAT MUCH flavor!!!!)

(3) Stir!! Stir until everything looks well distributed (mayo & mustard) and the potatoes look well coated. Don't forget to stir up from the bottom several times to get all those uncovered potatoes. Once it's completely mixed, it's time for a taste test. Some may want a bit more flavor. It's never exact since the bag of potatoes aren't always exactly 10 pounds. You may even feel its a bit dry... add more mayo, if you like. My Mom would always pour in some sweet pickle juice. Once she had it completely done, she would smooth the top and sprinkle paprika over the surface. I don't know if this was just an aesthetic thing, or a flavor thing... but she always did it as far back as I can remember.

Enjoy!!

Toffee...the Old-Fashioned Way

My all-time favorite Holiday treat!

My all-time favorite candy is toffee. Or English Toffee, as some call it...or butter-brickle, butter-toffee or Heath, SKOR bar....etc.  There are certainly a lot of names for it but they are generally the same: delicious, buttery goodness!

So many folks love that buttery candy flavor with that perfect crunch to it! I don't blame them. There's nothing NOT to like about it! It's butter & sugar...with chocolate! YES!!!

I remember my first 'toffee' experience. It was with a Heath bar. I think I was 11 or 12 years old. (Mid 1970's) A friend told me I should try it. We were in a little mini-market and we each bought something and took it outside. We sat on the curbside with our feet in the gutter. There were three of us. I remember opening the Heath bar package and sliding out the two pieces of candy. I remember taking my first bite. I remember after it was gone...wishing there was more in there! I fell in love that day & have never strayed!

Fast forward about 10 years. (Mid '80's) I was now married with children, and my husband & I were visiting one of my Aunts in her home. It was somewhere between Thanksgiving & Christmas. She offered us a tray with a variety of homemade goodies...my eyes locked onto the brown candy with a layer of chocolate...could it be my long-lost love? Dare I hope?! She didn't have to offer twice. I snatched a piece of the dark, odd-shaped confection she was calling 'toffee'. I popped it in my mouth. Was I going to be disappointed again? I had tried many so-called 'toffees' over the years, but they were never quite right. Would today be different? It was! It was perfection!...in candy form, of course!

I don't actually remember the next few moments or how I asked, but I remember leaving with that recipe in my hand & I don't think I've ever been more pleased with myself! I can't describe what I felt, but maybe it should have clued me in to the fact that I love candy-making & I love finding candy recipes that satisfy!

Fast forward to the present. It's been over a quarter of a century since I got that recipe from my Aunt and I've been making it ever since! The same recipe, the same way! I make it every Holiday season for my family to enjoy, and have even sold a few boxes here and there. I must say that this was & still is my personal, all-time greatest find and most favorite candy recipe ever! Today I would like to share it with you!

Ingredients:

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup crushed almonds, raw/unsalted

STEP 1: Combine butter & sugar in heavy saucepan, on medium heat.

STEP 2: Allow butter to melt, whisking occasionally.

STEP 3: Once the butter finishes melting, whisk completely,
fully incorporating the  butter & sugar, without the buttery separation
 as seen in the previous photo of step 2.

The toffee will start out pale in color and continue to darken as it reaches the proper temperature.

....and darker still. Notice the little pockets of super dark
brown spots? They almost look like syrup? It's getting closer!

Finally done!

I check my toffee using an old-fashioned method. I use a cup of cold water, and drop some of the hot liquid into it. I fish it out with a fork and immediately taste it. If it's soft, it's going to be soft after it's poured and has set. If it's chewy, it will be chewy when it's poured and has set. If it's brittle and crunchy, it will be brittle and crunchy when it's poured and has set. So you get the picture, right? The cold water will instantly set your sample dripping of candy, making it possible for you to know exactly whether or not it's ready to turn off the heat and pour it into your pan! I love this method, and have used it exclusively for my candy testing. Of course, you can use a candy thermometer if you like. (300* -310*)

STEP 4: I prepared a large cookie sheet ahead by coating it with butter,
so the candy doesn't stick. I quickly pour the hot candy into the pan,
going back and forth as I pour, in order to spread the candy out
before it sets. I scrape the pan with a heat resistant rubber spatula
to get out all the last bits of candy, then I use the spatula to spread
out the candy, easing it into the corners, etc. 

I also had placed the almonds in a ziploc bag for crushing,
when the candy was cooking....



I crush the almonds with my rolling pin, while they're in the baggie...
careful not to crack your counter!



STEP 5: A couple of minutes after the candy has been poured,
sprinkle the chocolate chips over the surface area.



Here's a closeup of the chips as they start to melt....

 

STEP 6: After about 3 minutes, use a rubber spatula and spread
the melted chips around until completely melted...

....Spread the chocolate over the entire surface....

...sprinkle on the crushed almonds.. All done!
 Allow the chocolate time to set up, then break into pieces.
Store in an airtight container.

Gnome Ornaments

My little Christmas Gnomes....

This is the picture I'd seen... embellishments
 on a greeting card. Very cute! 

I saw this idea on Pinterest...actually it was a greeting card of some sort for sale in an Etsy store. They didn't show how to make them so I tried to figure it out for myself....

Supplies Needed:

~ mini 'pinecones' that are under 1" each
~ green felt, 1 square
~ wooden balls for heads, 12 mm
~ mini jingle bells, 1/4"or 16mm
~ black paint & a toothpick for the eyes
~ blush & Q-tip for the cheeks
~ gold thread for a hanger (I use gold thread for most of my Christmas ornaments, so buying an entire spool is economical for me, but any color thread that is pleasing to you will certainly work!)

I realized after I finished that I didn't add the little silver star to the front of each gnome. Well, it's not too late....

I also, on advice from my daughter-in-law, Brenda, made a girl version in pink! (There's a picture of it at the end of the tutorial.)

So first I went to my friends house .... she has a tree out front that drops these 'mini pinecones'. I took a bag and gathered 20 to 30 of them.

I had the bells but had to make a trip to the craft store for the wooden heads and the felt.

STEP 1: First I hot-glued the wooden balls to the pinecones. Make sure the flat side is where the head is glued...        

STEP 2: Using the toothpick, dot on the eyes with black paint. Then using the Q-tip and blush, I added the coloring to the cheeks. The rosy cheeks are especially important because they give the final item more character & lends to the idea that they are, indeed, out in the cold!

STEP 3: I cut the felt into 2" squares, folded one edge up and hot-glued into place. Then I placed a drop of hot glue to the top of the head and centered the felt piece, making sure the folded edge was in the front and not covering the eyes.

STEP 4: I then trimmed the sides at an angle, ending up with
 a triangle-shaped piece. In the above picture, the face is facing my thumb nail.

STEP 5: I added a thin strip of hot glue to the side of the face
and back around the head, where I wanted the hat to rest. 

STEP 6: Next I did the same for the other side of the head. Don't worry
if they don't match up perfectly in the back.  This will get fixed later...

STEP 7: Next I ran a thin strip of hot glue along one of the back edges,
carefully pinching the two sides together, trying not to get burned!
I had to hold it for tiny bits of time & quickly move my fingers to another spot,
then back again, trying not to get burned, but at the same time, making sure the edge
gets glued together before the glue cools down.

STEP 8: Finishing up.. I cut a strip of felt (4" long & about 1/4" wide)
for the scarf, glued it to the back & brought it around and tied it.
I secured it with hot glue.
Next I glued the bell onto the top of the hat.....

STEP 9: Lastly, I used a 6" piece of gold thread, threaded it through my needle 
and stitched it through the top of the hat right behind the bell. After I had 
gone through the hat I pulled until the thread looked even on each side 
and I pulled the needle off, leaving the thread behind. I tied a knot about 
3 times in the same place, close to the two ends to make a large loop for a hanger. 

"Gavin the Gnome" after my grandson..... All bundled up for the cold weather!....

All lined up and ready for their hangers....

Aren't they adorable!? Don't forget our pink version....

"Genevieve the Gnome" after my grand-daughter.....

All lined up in a row...they remind me of babies in a hospital nursery, so little & cute!

Just finished their cheeks... their hats are ready to go!

Hope you enjoyed... Please comment with questions or let me know how yours turned out!