You Too, Can Be The Hit Of The New Years Party!

Ok, here is an easy way to be a hero at your New Years Party and there is VERY little work involved!

Baked Ricotta Cheese!!! And, the best part is, that you will make your own ricotta!!!!

Scared?

You shouldn’t be!! It is soooooooooooooooooooooo easy, and so very, very good!!!! This is the way I made my own ricotta cheese!

4 cups whole milk….must be whole milk, as part skim ricotta will not give you a creamy product.
1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons of a really good white wine vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice – and it must be fresh squeezed, not out of a bottle!

1 hefty teaspoon of kosher salt

That is it!

Bring the milk, cream and salt to a boil….it will not be a huge rolling boil but a sustained boil is a must. Turn off the heat, and pour in the vinegar or lemon juice, which ever you are using….stir well and let is set for a couple of minutes. Stir again so break up the curds and

pour into a fine strainer over a bowl and allow to drain…

this can take up to 30 minutes depending on how thick and dry you want the ricotta.

This is what it looks like!!Refrigerate for later use or mix up for baked ricotta!

Baked Ricotta Spread…..
2 Cups Freshly Made Ricotta
2 cloves garlic, that you will shave on a zester
2 Tble Heavy Cream
¼ Cup fresh herbs….I use Basil, or Thyme or Parsley, or a combo or any.
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Put the olive oil in the bottom of an oven proof ceramic dish suitable for a 2 cup volume. In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients, making sure to chop the fresh herbs finely….place in the baking dish. Bake at 325* for a20minutes. [I then transferred to a fondue dish to enable keeping it really warm throughout the meal] and serve with a crusty bread, or whole wheat crackers….it will be a huge hit!!!!!!!

Entertaining on a Budget, But Making it Really Special!

I had this blog post already done, and now am re-doing it, as I have decided to take another approach.

I had thought that I would tell you all about how inexpensively I put on our Christmas Dinner, and have realized that the concept would be better if I told you how YOU can entertain in a very special way, on a small budget!

The best way is to make it LOOK as special as you can! Pretty plates, pedestals, bowls, etc. We actually ate off of paper plates for our Christmas dinner, but all the food was presented in an fun, special way.

Here is photo of the desserts. The pedestal plates make things look so fun....while they are very simple treats!

Signs are key! Like the one announcing that a certain dessert was sugar and gluten free for all our guests who could not have it otherwise. It was simply a free download from the Internet, but made it special. My husband made the clips that held the sign out of scrap wood. He made 10 for me at a total cost of $2!

Now, all of my special plates, etc. are things that I have picked up over the years or were given to me as gifts. I have VERY little invested, but I do have an area in my basement to store all these items, so I do not take up valuable cabinet space on things that I use only 6 or 7 times a year...you will need to decide how much you can have, and shop (yes, even at the thrift stores!) accordingly.

There are many things that can be MADE into something special, and I will talk about that process another day....but use your imagination, as there are limitless possibilities!!

Coolest Boxes Ever!!!

A use for those empty aluminum foil, saran wrap, parchment etc. boxes!!! Shared by You're My Fave blog...a link for you....have fun!!!

http://www.youaremyfave.com/2011/12/14/festive-treat-boxes-are-my-fave/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+YouAreMyFave+%2528you+are+my+fave%2529http://

Big Plans?

I am planning on making my own Ricotta cheese for my baked ricotta spread that I will be placing on my food table for our Christmas Luncheon this coming Sunday....I have to admit, I am pretty excited to try this!!
I have not made cheese of any kind before, as it is just easy to pick it up from the dairy case in the local supermarkets! BUT, this time I am going to jump in and make my own yummy Ricotta!!! I am STOKED!!!
Here is a version of the recipe that I will be using.....
I will take pictures, document the process and post it for you in the next few days.....YAHOO!!!!! [can you tell that I am just a little excited!!]
No?
We I am!!!! I would turn a few cartwheels, except I am sitting at a desk and that makes it impossible....but in my heart and mind, I am on my 10th cartwheel!!

4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons good white wine vinegar

http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2011/12/christmas-neighbor-gift-ideareindeer.html

From U-Create blog....a last minute gift that is fun to make, fun to give and fun to get!

Have a great Monday!!!!

A Re-Post Of My DIY Smore Kits!

I posted this last Christmas Season and thought this was worth re-posting for you all, just in case you are in need of a last minute gift to give to someone special! Enjoy!!

Alright...here is my version of a "S'more" gift package. I have seen this 2 other times, once from where I cannot remember (and it looks little like mine) and the other was on HGTV, in which they went the route of a "hobo" style look, and in which I wanted a much more pleasant gift to give, so I got my creative juices flowing and made my own. I found these perfect boxes while shopping at Wal-mart, the cost was $3 for 5 boxes, which I found to be reasonable.First, I braved the cold (really cold!) winds yesterday, and went out to my favorite bush, which happens to be 10 feet tall! It is a snow ball bush that my Father planted for my Mother some 40 years ago, and I insisted must stay put when we got the land and built our home there....not sure the deliver drivers were as thrilled with my bush during the building process! But I digress.Back to the S'mores! I whittled the "sticks" to a point on one end to allow for the roasting of the marshmallows. That of course is the reason that the 2 votive candles are included in the gift...for the roasting process!Next, I put the marshmallows in a cute clear plastic bag found in any craft department of many stores, and closed it with a cutie pie snow flake seal. I put the chocolate bars in fun glassine bags, which I made myself, as I do not live at all close to a store that sells glassine bags, and did not want to order over the Internet and pay the outrageous shipping charges....soooooooooooooo, again I put my creative juices to work and made my own. *I will post another blog about that process at another date.Finally, graham crackers packaged in cello bags and loaded into the box!I am in love with the dark brown tissue paper that I used which I found through Oriental Trading and bought when they had a no shipping charge day. The label is simply one that I found as a free printable on the Internet and really liked. The "string" is a hemp that I tied the roasting sticks together with and also used to tie the box closed with a simple bow.I hope that this helps you with an idea for a homemade gift to give, anytime of the year, not just for Christmas. Any questions, just leave a comment and I will try to get the answer to you as quickly as possible!!

*P.S. I don't think I ever posted on making my own glassine bags...I am putting that on my list of "to do's" and really will post for you all the info on making those pretty bags for soooooooooo cheap!

Just a few thoughts:

I think that I am ready for Christmas….I have just two gifts left to purchase, and I know what those are to be, I simply need to get them.

I am being rather “personal” this year for Christmas….like pictures of my Mom’s great grandchildren in very normal un-staged photo’s will fill her with such love. My sweet Mother is going blind, and there are zero of her great grandchildren who live around here. These cherished pictures will be something for her to fall in love with over and over again.
Here is one of our sweet little Annabelle...tooooooooo cute!

I try to listen throughout the year to know what will delight my family. Like, for instance, our Son-In-Law told me a few months ago that he loves sixlets…who knew? And who knew that they make them in red, green and white for the Christmas Holiday? Well they do!!!! Stocking stuffer!!!

Do you buy presents for your pets? We hang stockings for our dogs, our daughter’s dog, and we have a stocking for Bruce the (female) hamster…sadly, Bruce passed away a week ago, and I still have the stocking up…"A" was very sad that his hamster died, our 4 year old "L" said “Well, she still looks cute!” I think she will be a “cup half full” person as an adult!

Do you have a room in your house that, no matter what you do, there is always an over abundance of stuff challenging you to organize, throw out, give away, etc.? I sure do! And the things that I choose to keep, I store in the basement storage area, and before I know it, it has made it’s way back to the room and I wonder why I clean it out in the first place!

I have a bit of baking to do for Christmas, I love to bake and I LOVE to cook. Maybe that is why I find the Thanksgiving and Christmas season so exciting!

Have an amazing Wednesday, and I hope you find true joy and peace with your families today.