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Showing posts from 2011

Cinnamon and Applesauce Ornaments- DIY

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A few days ago our neighbors invited us over for homemade cookies and a fun afternoon of painting homemade ornaments. It was actually super fun and something I could see doing every year with the kids. I thought I'd share the recipe to make them :) Christmas Ornaments (poke hole for ribbon) 1 Cup cinnamon 1 Cup applesauce  (you can easily increase the recipe- just keep the cinnamon and applesauce a 1 to 1 ratio) Mix together into dough. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out with cookie cutters. Bake at 225degrees for 1 hour. Cool. Paint. String with thread and hook on an ornament hook. Done :) Aren't they cute? The kids loved this! What a fun memory. I wrote their name and the year with a sharpie on the back. As for the paint, any craft store (and even Walmart) has tons of bottles of colors for a couple bucks. This is my snow globe, I think it sort of rocks.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

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(forgot to take a pic, so here it is in tupperware for tomorrow's lunch :) ) My family loves this meal!! Diana's Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings Feel free to substitute any ingredients you wish, and increase/decrease amounts for the size of your family! 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (frozen works fine) 2 tablespoons of butter 2 (10.75 oz) can of cream of chicken soup 3 1/2 cups of chicken broth 1 large sweet onion, finely diced 1 1/2 cups corn 3-4 stalks celery, diced 4-5 large carrots, diced 3/4 tsp thyme 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp sea salt Directions:  For the dumplings use 1-2 large cans of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (non-flaky). My family likes lots of biscuits, but one can works also. 1. EXCLUDING THE BISCUITS, put the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot and top with all other ingredients in any order. 2. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for approximately 5 hours. 3. About an hour before serving, remove chicken and

Crockpot Apple Butter

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Approximately 3 lb. apples ( I actually just filled the crockpot, which might've been closer to 10lbs or more) peeled, cored, and sliced. You can also just quarter them if you'd like. My Pampered Chef peeler/corer/slicer does it all for me :) 3 cups sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. allspice 1/2 tsp. cloves Dash of salt Peel, core, and slice apples (sweet or tart, doesn't matter!). Break them in pieces with your hands and place the apples in a slow cooker.  In a medium bowl, mix the sugar and other seasonings. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix around a bit as you can. Heat on low for about 12 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown. Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness. If apple butter has too much liquid, cook on high until thickened (uncovered). Stir often as butter thickens to prevent scorching. Store in refrigerator for u

Barbie Cake How To

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What you'll need: oven safe bowl, 4 8" cake pans, 3 cake mixes, lots of icing, icing tips and bags, food coloring, spatula and a Barbie :) I decided to make Eliana a Barbie Cake and have been planning and trying to figure out the best way to do it. I watched a few YouTube videos on it and read some random stuff blogged about it. There was one piece of info I couldn't seem to find anywhere and that is " how long are Barbie's legs ?" Assume here that you don't have a Barbie in your possession yet, as I did not. So here's the answer and it's worth $$$...... 7 1/4 inches ! After reading and researching I decided to bake 2 8" round cakes (takes one box) and one box of mix in an oven safe bowl (for the shape of the skirt). After baking them I realized they wouldn't be quite tall enough so I made another 2 8" rounds. As far as the oven safe bowl, I found it at TJ Maxx a couple years ago for $7, but Pampered Chef also sells them. It al