Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas!!!

Or as Gavin says it "Merry Hismas"

This year we had Christmas at our house again.  I had told Beth as soon as they got here that Gavin could have his stocking and I'm sure she told him that because as soon as he came in, he wanted it.  Anything for my sweet little nephew :)  I had that stocking packed full of stuff...there was all kinds of candy, tattoos, sticker books, bath paints, an ornament, silly straw glasses, and much more!

After eating, we opened presents.  Gavin was the main recipient of gifts this year, we also got everyone that came over a small gift.  We didn't receive anything this year from anyone, nor did Shawn and I exchange gifts.  We usually just buy what we want when we want it.  

We bought Gavin lots of smaller gifts this year.  He got a bunch of shirts and socks, a stuffed puppy dog, a box of 650 pieces of Legos, 3 monster trucks (plus Uncle Shawn has us tickets to the Monster Trucks Jam in January), a movie, a Break the Ice game, a Don't Spill the Beans game, and a cute little puppy dog hat.  I think that was all, but I could be wrong

Our guest for Christmas this year was us, mom, Beth, Tommy, Gavin, and Billy, my uncle Dave and my uncle Popeye.  My mom's friend Alice was supposed to come by, but wasn't able to.  We got mom some Tastefully Simple products she wanted and a big can of Mt. Dew, Beth got some new green house slippers like a pair I just got, Tommy got a gift pack of summer sausage, crackers and mustard, Billy got a gift pack of hot sauces, we got uncle Dave a box of chocolates, uncle Popeye got a fuzzy blanket, and then we got Alice a fuzzy blanket and some ear muffs.

We had LOTS, and I mean LOTS, of yummy food!  I made the famous wing dip, veggie pizza, veggies with dip, strawberry punch, peppermint candy, dipped pretzels and fudge.  Beth made little spiral pinwheels and meatballs.  Uncle Dave brought dirt cake, a jelly roll, and some deer sausage and smoked butt.  Mom made pecan pie, oatmeal pie, apple crisp, and a cheese ball.  We had so much leftovers!

After eating and opening presents, we spent the rest of the evening playing with toys and watching Duck Dynasty!  And Hey, that's a fact Jack!

My new fave Christmas song!

When I woke up from a nap earlier this evening, this song was on the TV.  I'm pretty sure it's my new fave Christmas song!  It's called Sing Noel from Newsboys.

The Santa Gig

Shawn played Santa again this year for Vanessa's daycare.  I took off work today to go with him (it was also Shawn's birthday so I wanted to spend the day with him :))

Most of the kids were excited to see Santa... 

 

And others not so much...

And Santa's helpers...

Here is a little video of Santa....(I'm not sure why I can't get the video to rotate.) 

Yummy!

Shortly after I got home from work on Friday, I got a little delivery.  I had ordered these kakepops a couple weeks ago at the Impulse Open House.  There was a booth set up in the same room as Shawn's WOW table...KaKePoPs by KaShari...and they gave each person that stopped by their booth a kakepop.  Shawn had gotten me one and it was delicious!  They were having a special of six for $15.  I ordered 2 Lemon Lush, 2 German Chocolate, and 2 Coconut Enchantment.  I got them for gifts for people, but I dipped into them early and had a Lemon Lush one.  It was yummy!

My first attempt at making fudge...

My first attempt at making chocolate fudge was a success.  A girl at work has been making and bringing in a delicious chocolate fudge at Christmas probably every year that she has worked here.  It's so delicious that I am constantly munching on it when she brings it in.  Every year I get the recipe from her with the intent on making it and then never do. This year was different.  She had sent me a text with the recipe and one day while I was grocery shopping, I happened to be by the holiday baking supplies and decided I was going to make the fudge.  I bought all the ingredients and Saturday morning got started.  It was really simple to make; the worst part was probably cutting the fudge.  And it turned out so yummy!

I took pictures of each step of the process.  You can find the directions and recipe at the bottom of the page.

 

Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge II

ingredients:

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 package (11 1/2 ounces) milk chocolate chips

1 jar (7 ounce size) marshmallow creme

1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups sugar

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated skimmed milk

2 tablespoons butter or margarine


Directions:

When Mamie Eisenhower came to the White House, she brought along a recipe for fudge that called for marshmallow creme. Her candy was so creamy the president reportedly called it the "million dollar" fudge.

Line a 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over edges of pan. Lightly butter foil; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, walnuts, and vanilla.

In a heavy large saucepan, stir together the sugar, evaporated skimmed milk, and butter. Bring to boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. (Avoid splashing mixture onto side of pan.) Lower the heat to moderately low. Stir and boil for 1 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Carefully pour the boiling mixture over the chocolate mixture. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is creamy and well combined. Quickly turn the fudge into prepared pan. While fudge is warm, use the tip of a small knife to score into 1-inch squares.

When fudge is firm, lift it out of pan; cut into squares. To store, cover tightly and refrigerate.

Cutting Fudge: By lining the pan with foil, you can remove the fudge quickly and easily. When the candy is firm, grasp the foil and lift the block of fudge out of the pan. Remove the foil and place the candy on a cutting board. Using a long-bladed, serrated knife, such as a bread knife, cut along the lines scored in the fudge. To get a smooth even cut, place one hand on the knife handle and the other on the top of the blade, then press down evenly until the knife cuts through the candy.

Making Peppermint Candy

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....I'm making my annual peppermint candy!  I've been making this candy for over 10 years!  I still remember the first time I had it....I worked at Citizen's Bank and a little ol' lady named Marjorie gave me a little bag of it.  From the first bite I was hooked and have been making it ever since!  It's so simple and fast to make and it's always a hit at Christmas gatherings!

The ingredients are easy....two bags of the white candy discs to one bag of red and green crushed peppermint.  I've made it before with almond bark and crushed up peppermints.....it is not the same!  I repeat...it is NOT the same!  Don't waste your time or money doing it that way!

This year after I break it up, I'm going to divvy it up amongst these cute little Santa baking cups.

So start out with your ingredients...

Then I line two cookie sheets with wax paper...

Next I concoct my make shift double boiler to melt the white candy discs in...You can melt them in the microwave, but I've found that doing so with the double boiler makes the candy discs more creamer...

Add your white candy discs...

This next picture isn't a step, but a look inside the peppermint candy bag... :)

I keep stirring the candy discs around.  Once they start melting they start to clump together, but keep moving it around, they will all eventually melt...

Keep stirring it until it all melts into a creamy, smooth texture...

Add your bag of red and green crushed peppermint...

Stir it all up and remove from heat...

Dump the mixture onto your two cookie sheets covered with wax paper...

Spread it all out to fill the pans up and then I pop them into the refrigerator until it's hardened, then I break them up into bite size pieces...