Creative Cookbooking

Christmas Cookie Countdown

2011-12-02T07:42:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again! We all love baking our favorite cookies for gifts or just to eat! Sugar cookies are especially fun because you get to play in the frosting too!! Kids love helping with sugar cookies!

Favorite Sugar Cookies Recipe
84 Servings

Photo by: Taste of Home
Favorite Sugar Cookies Rec
Favorite Sugar Cookies R
30 10 Ingre1 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

FROSTING

6 tablespoons butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract

2 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk

Food coloring of your choice, optional

Colored sugar, edible glitter, nonpareils or frosting of your choice, optional

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill for 1-2 hours.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with 2-1/2-in. flour-dipped cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
For frosting, in a small bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve a spreading consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired. Frost cookies; decorate as desired. Yield: 6-7 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 64 calories, 3 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 11 mg cholesterol, 59 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.

Are you baking this year?

Holiday Traditions

2011-11-23T06:10:00.001-08:00

With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, I started thinking about holiday traditions. What traditions do you and your family celebrate with? You may have one and don’t even realize it. If you don’t have a family tradition, it’s never too late to start one! The best way to have a pleasant and meaningful holiday is to create your own family traditions. The most important part of a holiday tradition is that everyone participates and enjoys themselves.

Decide what part of the holiday is most important to your family. Is it religion, cooking a special dish that your family has only once a year, baking cookies for gifts, going for a family walk after your meals, ornament exchanges, playing board games?? There are literally hundreds of ways to create a family tradition. For me, at Christmas time I send each of my grandkids a snow globe. My family did this when I was little and I wanted to pass this down to my grandkids. I have some beautiful snow globes and fabulous memories of staring into them and watching the glittery snow fall until every speck was settled.

My Thanksgiving traditions are mostly based around cooking. I love to get up early, make stuffing and put the turkey in the oven. While the bird is cooking it's church, football and more cooking!! After our meal I go for a long walk in the park and think about the color scheme and theme for Christmas decorations. Friday after Thanksgiving I watch the Wizard of OZ in the evening with all the Christmas tree lights on. I burn candles and cuddle up with hubby. These are all yearly rituals that have been a part of me for years.

Most holiday traditions include food, whether it’s a snack while decorating or baking cookies or decorating gingerbread houses. Who doesn’t remember any special holiday meal traditions? A couple of years ago my husband decided that we were not going to fuss with cooking for just the two of us and that we were going to go out to dinner instead. Well, that will never happen again! I missed the leftovers and the cooking and even the cleaning up! Even though it’s a lot of work, it is work I love!

My love for scrapbooking and documenting our family traditions play a huge part in my holiday season. In the last few months I decided that I was going to create my own cookbook of our favorite meals. Most of the time, food is the focus of family gatherings and traditions. It plays a very important part in everyday life…why not document it and pass it on to your family. They will love it! As you’re sitting down eating a meal that your grandmother cooked when you were little…the memories will come flooding in! Traditions are a reflection of your family’s beliefs and personality…..something that should be treasured forever. What about the foods you celebrate with? Are they traditional dishes? Have they been recipes that have been handed down through the generations? It’s important to document these family heirlooms! You could include a family recipe next to a picture of the dish or someone preparing it. These recipes are an important part of family history and traditions! Don’t forget to hand these memories down as your legacy !

Family traditions are such an important part of a legacy, don’t forget to document your traditions!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Debbie

Low Calorie Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-17T06:13:00.001-08:00

Last week I joined Weight Watchers...I'm committed to getting in shape by next summer. With all the food filled holidays just around the corner, it doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself or worse yet put on the average 12 pounds. Yes I said 12 pounds...that's how much the average person gains over the Holidays. For all your favorite recipes, there is more than likely a low calorie version. For the next month or so I will be sharing some of my favorite points+ friendly Thanksgiving Recipes and Christmas Recipes. There are certain times of the year Pumpkin Pie is a must at the dinner table and Thanksgiving is one of them. Creamy and delicious, this dessert recipe uses a light graham cracker crust instead of the traditional pie crust recipe.

Low Calorie Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 4 oz reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers
- 2 tbsp light butter, melted (I suggest Brummel and Brown)
- 1 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp light Pancake Syrup
For the pie filling:
- 1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp light Pancake Syrup
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
- Top with a dollop of Fat-Free Reddi-Whip whipped cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor, combine graham crackers and light brown sugar, and process into fine crumbs. In a small bowl, combine the crumbs and the melted butter, and pancake syrup, and mix with hands. Then transfer to an ungreased 9” pie pan, and distribute crust mixture evenly, pressing it against the pan with your hands. Put in the fridge and chill for 40 minutes. Then, bake about 8-10 minutes, or until the pie crust starts to turn that yummy golden brown.

In a large bowl, whip egg whites into a soft peak, using an electric mixer. Fold in remaining ingredients (except the whipped cream). Beat the mixture until smooth, creamy and lump free, and pour into your pie shell. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut into 8 even slices and top with a nice dollop of the Fat Free Whipped Cream. Enjoy!

Total servings per recipe: 8
Serving size = 1 slice
Each serving = 3 Point Value

Stay tuned for more!!
Debbie

Candied Apple Recipes!! Yum!

2011-10-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sweet Spiced Caramel Apples
These recipes were in my newsletter from Taste of Home today! Thought I'd share because they look so yummy and just in time to make that special little trick or treater something tasty!!

10 ServingsPrep: 20 min. Cook: 1 hour + standing20 60 80 Ingredients

10 medium tart apples
10 Popsicle sticks
2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup butter, cubed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2-3/4 cups white baking chips
3 tablespoons shortening

Directions

Wash and dry apples; remove stems. Insert Popsicle sticks into the bottoms of apples. Place on a buttered baking sheet; refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248° (firm-ball stage), about 50 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Dip apples into the hot caramel to completely coat. Place on prepared pan; let stand until set.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In a microwave, melt white chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip one caramel apple into the warm white chip mixture and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat. Yield: 10 servings.

test your candy thermometer before each use by bringing water to a boil; the thermometer should read 212°. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test.

Nutrition Facts: 1 caramel apple equals 874 calories, 42 g fat (25 g saturated fat), 79 mg cholesterol, 236 mg sodium, 125 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 5 g protein.

Monster Carmel Apples

8-10 ServingsPrep: 40 min. Cook: 30 min. + cooling40 30 70 Ingredients

8 to 10 medium apples

8 to 10 wooden sticks
32 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped
1 cup butter, cubed
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 squares (1 ounce each) white candy coating, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup orange and brown sprinkles

Directions

Wash and thoroughly dry apples; insert a wooden stick into each. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet; chill. Place cookie crumbs in a shallow dish; set aside.

In a heavy 3-qt. saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, milk and corn syrup; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until mixture reaches 248° (firm-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla.

Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture to completely coat, then dip the bottom in cookie crumbs, pressing lightly to adhere. Return to baking sheet to cool.

In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Transfer to a small plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Drizzle coating over apples. Decorate with sprinkles. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Recipies are courtesy of Taste of Home!!

2011-09-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Fall is my favorite time of year for baking...especially with Pumpkin!! I found this recipe today on the Joy of Baking and Knew I had to share it with you! I'm hoping to get to this recipe this weekend. Not oly does it look delish but I'll bet it smells great while it's baking in the oven!

Pumpkin Bread: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter and lightly flour two - 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pans.

To toast nuts: Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Cool completely and then chop coarsely.

Cream Cheese Filling: In your food processor, process the cream cheese just until smooth. Add the sugar and process just until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing just until incorporated. Do not over process. Stir in the flour.

Pumpkin Bread: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Whisk or stir in the pumpkin, water, vanilla extract, and nuts.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined. (A few streaks of flour is fine.) Do not over mix as it will make the bread tough.
Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared pans. Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top the two pans of batter, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of batter (use two spoons to place small dollops of batter on top of the filling). Bake the breads for about 55 - 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Place pans on a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing breads from pans. Can serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or else freeze for later use.

Makes 2 loaves.

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounce package (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Pumpkin Bread:
1 cup (110 grams) pecans or walnuts
3 1/2 cups (450 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 - 15 ounce (425 grams) can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Recipe Courtesy of the Joy of Baking

I'll have a few more Pumpkin Recipes for you in a couple of days!
Thanks for stopping by!

Debbie

Red Velvet Cakes

2011-08-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Its Sandie here with another layout and recipe! This month I am sharing my recipe for Red Velvet Cakes, I made them back in June for a girly night in at my house and the rest were eaten by my children!

And here is the recipe :-

Muffins

90g Unsalted Butter, softened

225g Caster Sugar

2 Medium Eggs

30g Cocoa Powder

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

40ml Red Food Colouring

225g Self Raising Flour

3/4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

165ml Buttermilk

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat together
In a separate bowl mix together the cocoa, vanilla extract and food colouring. Mix until it becomes a dark paste
Add to the butter/sugar/egg mix and beat together
Now add half the buttermilk, beat together
Add half the flour, beat together then repeat the last 2 steps
Add the bicarbonate of soda and beat slowly to begin with, and then beat until everything is mixed together. This should now be a deep red mixture
Divide the mixture between muffin cases (this mix should make approx 18 muffins) Fill the cases about 2/3 full
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 20 minutes on 170oC or 325F or Gas Mark 3
The cakes should be springy to the touch when cooked
Cool on a wire rack

Cream Cheese Frosting

200g Cream Cheese

75g Unsalted Butter, softened

450g Icing Sugar

1 tbsp Warm Water

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Beat together the sugar and butter with the warm water
Now add all of the cream cheese and beat together until smooth and glossy
Add the vanilla extract and mix together
Use a spoon to top the muffins with the frosting
Sprinkle with cocoa powder to finish

Thanks for stopping by!!

New Cookbooking projects!

2011-07-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

Don't you love cooking related scrapbook products? I do! This past weekend I spent time with Best Creations new Mom's Kitchen Collection...what a fun and cute line to create pages and projects from!
My first project is a simple one and can be created with one sheet of patterned paper and just a few fun embellishments.

This fun little cd holder holds 2 cd's or you can use it as a gift and add recipe cards in each pocket.

It's a great way to store lots of recipes without taking up tons of room.

Of course if you're like me, you love cookbooks! I found this little binder at Michaels in the dollar bins. It started out as a Paula Deen recipe binder and by the time I was done altering it, it turned into this cute little recipe binder.

It comes with dividers that can be altered and all the sheet protectors! Best $5 I've spent in a long time!

Thanks for visiting!

Creative Cookbooking and CHA Releases

2011-07-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I wanted to share a couple of my favorite Summer releases with you that will make the best Cookbooking pages. I'm fortunate enough to work for several awesome manufacturer's in the scrapbooking industry. I can't tell you how excited I am to share 2 line with you, one from Bo Bunny and the other from Best Creations.

The first collection is called Sweet Tooth by Bo Bunny. It will be so fun to make some new cookbooking pages with this line! This collection has so many great embellishments and stamps and the mini book is just so darned cute! I can't wait to play with these!!!

Next up is Best Creations new collection called Mom's Kitchen. This collection is also just the cutest cooking related collection! I've already got this in my hot little hands and the minute I saw it I dug right in...check back later for some fun projects!!

Be sure to check back for some projects and more fun with these new collections!!

Chocolate Cake!!

2011-06-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a piece of chocolate cake?? This particular chocolate cake is also Gluten Free so even better!!

Here is the recipe:-

175g Good Quality Dark Chocolate
110g Butter, softened
110g Caster Sugar
110g Ground Almonds
4 Eggs, Separated

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/350F/180C
Grease and line an 8" (20cm) spring form tin
Melt the Chocolate
Cream the Sugar and Butter together until light and fluffy
Stir in the Ground Almonds, Egg Yolks and the melted Chocolate
Whisk the Egg Whites until stiff and then fold them into the mixture carefully
Pour into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes
As this is a rich cake, the top may sink and crack, this is OK!
Leave the cake in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack
When the cake is cool, cover with a chocolate icing of your choice and decorate!

ENJOY!!

Custom Table Settings and Leek Quiche..

2011-06-12T02:20:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone - Lowri here.

Something a bit different to share today! I am a big fan of Cosmo Cricket and did you know a lot of their collections are available digitally? You can find them at jessicasprague.com and you can do all kinds of fun things with them! I love to combine the digital and paper collections for fun and personalized gifts and ideas.

Custom Table Linen
I have used digital images to make custom t-shirts for my kids in the past, and I thought it would be fun to make some unique linen pieces for a special get-together. I simply picked up 4 plain napkins at the dollar store, printed my design onto t-shirt transfer paper, busted out my iron and voila - personal table linen!

Invitation, Menu and Placecards
These items were made using the Early Bird digital collection for the wording - which I then attached to an actual piece of patterned paper and decorated using chipboard pieces for dimension. I could have done it all digitally but I like combining the two for impact.

Wine Glass Markers
OK - so maybe you don't need these for a dinner for 2 BUT these chipboard buttons make great wine glass markers. For your next party - how about gathering up all those chipboard pieces kicking around the bottom of your drawer and make some unique glass markers - saves on washing up too!

Here are some more detailed pictures..

One of the items on the menu is a wonderful Leek and Gruyere Quiche. I found this recipe in a Christmas food magazine a couple of years ago and it was a big hit when I made it for a Christmas buffet - remember - Christmas is in the middle of summer here in New Zealand! Also - being Welsh I adore any recipe with leeks!

You can find the recipe here but here is a picture - doesn't it look delicious!

Photo Credit - BBC Good Food

Please leave a comment if you have any questions

Lowri :-)

Cupcakes anyone?

2011-05-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

My youngest son bought me a new cake and muffin recipe book for Mothers Day this year, and as I had Cranberries stashed away in my baking cupboard I had to make these cupcakes! They are so easy to make, and so sweet too, perfect to have with a cup of tea or coffee. Of course as usual I love to scrapbook my baking efforts and I created this page for today's post.

If you fancy making these quick and easy sweet treats, here is the recipe for you:-

5 1/2 tbsp of Softened Butter
100g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg
2 tbsp Milk
100g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
75g Cranberries

Method

Put 12 paper cases into a cupcake tray
Put the Butter and Sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy
Gradually beat in the egg, then stir in the milk
Sift in the flour and baking powder, then using a large metal spoon fold them into the mixture
Gently fold in the Cranberries
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 oC or 350 oF for 15-20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown
Transfer to a wire rack to cool

Eating Fresh!

2011-05-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

With Summer right around the corner, eating fresh veggies and fruit go hand in hand. Here in Wyoming we don't always get the freshest fruits and veggies in the Winter.

I created this little recipe book a while back so that I always had some great veggies recipes on hand.

Have a great week!!

Kitchen Cardset - Perfect for Mothers Day

2011-05-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone - Lowri here

It's Mothers Day here on Sunday and I am going to be giving this to my Mum - who loves to cook!

I have used the Nan's Favorites Collection again from Kaisercraft (as I did on my recipe box last month) and it just goes to show how versatile the collection is.

I love to make these fun cardsets, but I had never made one using Kaisercraft products before. When I saw the Nan's Favourites collection I thought it would work great with the Kraft cardstock I use for the cards and folders.

This line is very versatile and with this project I really wanted to bring out the fabulously "Kitschy" 1950's feel that a few of the papers have. It's just FUN!

The inside of the folder has 2 sections.

On the left are a couple of little notebooks I covered with the glossy paper from the 6.5"x6.5" pad and a couple of chipboard pieces.

On the right you can see the little cards I made using plain Kraft cardstock, some papers and elements from the 6.5x6.5 pad, a few of the die cuts and some chipboard pieces

The Wooden Flourishes are some of my favorite embellishments from Kaisercraft and I am always trying to find ways to incorporate them into my projects. Here I have just used them as simple decoration on the spine of my booklet - both inside and out.

For the front cover I have used a piece of the Cookie Dough paper along with the "extra bit" border that comes with all the Kaisercraft papers now! A couple of layers of along with an element from the Lemon Slice paper and this fabulous Chipboard Oven -and it is all complete.

Here are a few close-ups of the details.

Hmmm - now a recipe... I am actually on vacation at the moment in beautiful Northern Queensland and I am enjoying some amazing local fish and seafood. Most of all I am enjoying the fantastic limes they grow here. They are as big as lemons and you only need ONE to make an enormous Margarita Cocktail.

Here is my recipe for the BEST cocktail ever.

Traditional Margarita

1 measure lime
1 measure Triple Sec (or any Orange Liquer)
2 measures Tequila.

Shake with lots of ice and strain into a salt rimmed glass. (To make the salt rimmed glass, run a lime around the rim of the glass and then dip into salt!)

(Image from barmano.com)

Beware - these are so delicious you might be tempted to have 2!

Catch you next time - Lowri :-)

Birthday Cake!!

2011-04-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, Sandie here!!
Today I have a very delicious cake to share with you, that I bake quite regularly and is a firm favourite with my daughter! So much so that she asked for this cake for her birthday last year. The cake is a Chocolate and Banana cake, it can be made in either two 7" tins and then sandwiched together or you can split the mixture between two 1lb loaf tins.
I scrapped a very girly layout with the photo of the cake, seeing as it was made to celebrate a very girly birthday!!

And here is the recipe:-

100g Plain Chocolate

150g Softened butter

175g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs, beaten

175g Self Raising Flour

1 level teaspoon Baking Powder

25g Cocoa Powder

2 large bananas, peeled and mashed

Heat the oven to 180 or Gas 4
Butter and line either two loaf tins or two 7" round tins
Melt the chocolate in a small glass bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, stir until smooth and then remove from the heat
Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy
Gradually add the egg, beating well between each addition
Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder, fold in using a large metal spoon
Add the mashed banana and melted chocolate and mix well
Divide the mixture between the two tin
Bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer insterted in the middle comes out clean
Cool on a rack
If you've made your cake in two 7" tins, make chocolate buttercream to sandwich them together.

ENJOY!!

Recipe Box - and a Fabulous Fritatta

2011-04-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone - Lowri here.

Today I have a recipe box to show you. I am huge fan of Kaisercraft and this project has been made completely with their products. All the papers and embellishments are from their "Nans Favorites" Collection which has been MY favorite collection of theirs this year!

Like all the MDF projects of their I do - I have given the pieces of the box a light sanding followed by a coat of paint. Usually I give 3 coats of paint for a matt finish but this time I wanted a slightly worn look so I pained once and then sanded the paint to expose some of the raw wood underneath.

I have then attached paper with a solvent based glue - making sure I get really close to all the edges. I then cut around the pieces with a VERY sharp craft knife and lightly sand the paper edges with a very fine grit sandpaper.

This might sound like a lot of work but you can easily do all this preparation in a couple of hours and if it sounds intimidating - start with one of the Kaisercraft simple albums to get the hang of it!

These recipe cards which form part of the collection are GORGEOUS! I scanned one on my computer so I could figure out an easy template to print my recipes onto them! I chose a simple font (Courier) and I am really please how these turned out!

My recipe for the month is the Fritatta - which is my favorite way to use up the weekly leftovers on a Sunday.

As it is harvest time in our vineyard here in Marlborough - I am going to recommend you try a New Zealand Pinot Gris if you can find one.

Chill it lightly and have a lovely Spring lunch on your patio!

Please post a comment if you have any questions!

Lowri :-)

Snap, Crackle and POP ... Just for You!

2011-03-27T00:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

I’ve seen Cake Pops everywhere now! Rich, moist balls of cake, dipped in chocolate? Simply Irresistible… and they are so adorable looking too. But, if you know me, you know that I love cupcakes. So in my eyes, they can never replace the cupcake, a classic. However, having four daughters, all with a sweet tooth, and one who takes desserts seriously {that would be Miss Stefani}, it is fun trying new recipes for treats to make them.

After reading about cake pops for a few weeks now, I decided to take the plunge last week and made a batch of these lovely treats for St. Patrick’s Day. Since it was my first time, I started with an easy recipe, Rice Krispies, instead of cake, so Miss Stefani would enjoy making them too, which she did. And if it hadn't been for the rain this weekend, she would have been selling them at the lemonade stand {they are all wrapped and ready to go!} {As you can see, she was able to roll out the balls quickly as shown in the photos below.}

RICE KRISPIE GREEN POPS

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

4 cups miniature marshmallows

6 cups Kellog’s Rice Krispies
1 bag of Wilton’s green chocolate chips

Additional Supplies: 25 White lollipop sticks

Directions:

1) In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2) Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated. Add your food coloring, mix well.

3) With buttered hands, roll Rice Krispie mixture into 2” balls.

4) Melt chocolate chips, or colored chocolate chips of your choice.

5) Dip tip of lollipop stick into melted chocolate. This will help hold the ball onto the stick.

6) Insert dipped stick into Rice Krispie ball. Set aside on wire rack. Repeat until done.

7) Starting with first ball dipped, roll the ball in the melted chocolate, return to wire rack and sprinkle! Cool.

Note:

For best results, use fresh marshmallows.

1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème can be substituted for marshmallows.

Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.

Store no more than two days at room temperature in airtight container.

To freeze, place in layers separated by wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

We had a great time together, and it was really easy to make. Next time, we'll make cake pops or whoopie pies!

Wishing you a week full of sweetness,

Jeannette

Acrylic Stamp Cookie Toppers & More Cupcakes!

2011-03-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone – Lowri here!
Today I have a couple more birthday/fun/kids ideas for you!

1) Acryclic Stamp Cookies
2) Acrylic Stamp Cookie Tutorial
3) Cupcake Toppers

1) Acrylic Stamp Cookies

I have been wanting to try this for AGES – so I did! I have used acrylic stamps and food coloring to create some cute critter cookie toppers!

2) Acrylic Stamp Cookies Tutorial

Knead a little cornflour into your icing paste until it loses that sticky surface feeling
Roll the icing between 2 sheets of non-stick baking parchment.
Lightly dust the surface of the icing with cornstarch again to remove any trace of stickiness
Spread some gel icing onto an acrylic block (I used Chefmaster)
Ink your stamp with the colouring – patting gently to give an even coating
Press stamp lightly but firmly into the icing
Repeat stamped image – leaving enough room to be able to cut out your images
Cut out images using a cookie cutter and leave to dry for a few hours

If at any stage the icing begins to feel sticky – just dust the icing and your hands with cornstarch – a little works wonders
To stick your toppers onto biscuits - just use a thick paste of icing sugar and water and leave to dry!

Once the cookies were dry I put them into cello bags and created some bag toppers using Spellbinders Scalloped Circles and some letters I cut with a Cuttlebug alphabet

I have used the Kaisercraft Jungle Bug range for both the stamps and the cellobag toppers.

Kaisercraft have also just released a range of stickers – one of which was an extension of the Jungle Bug range. I thought they would be perfect to make some cupcake toppers !

3) Cupcake Toppers
These were really fun to do. Once again I have used the Spellbinders to cut 2 different size circles and then I have simply placed the sticker in the middle.

The template for the cupcake holder was from the Kaisercraft website – you can find it here. I simply printed it onto cardstock – cut it out and then used the template to trace onto the patterned paper before cutting out. You can make them smaller just by overlapping at the ends more - which is what I did as I found I had used quite small cake cases!

You can use a cocktail stick for making these toppers – but these were just a little bit heavy so I used some disposable wooden sticks - I think they were corn on the cob holders!

I hope you have enjoyed these!

Please post a comment if you have a question.

Lowri :-)

An Easy and Inexpensive Cookbook, A Page and A GIVEAWAY!!

2011-03-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

today i am so excited to be sharing for my first time here at Creative Cookbooking! I hope you will take a few minutes and look at all of the lovely projects here if this is your first time stopping by here. this blog is FULL of inspiration!!
I cannot wait to share any longer... so here is some things i have been working on......

this simple recipe book starts with these mailing envelopes. you can find them at any local pharmacy or paper supply store.

first i cut the envelopes so the bottoms measured 5x6 inches. save the tops and i will show you how i am using them on my own blog later this week. i also grabbed a stack of manila envelopes (i have hundreds of these my mother-in-law found for me at a garage sale!!)....

next i cut out several pieces of patterned paper measuring 5x6 inches...

i covered all of the envelopes with the patterned paper pieces i had cut out, then added some finishing touches to the cover page....

next i took the stack of plain tags and punched out a bunch of one inch circles and used a dauber and some craft ink to distress them.....

until i had a stack of recipe tags that look like these....

and here a picture of the finished album, all ready to fill up with our favorite healthy recipes, like this one pictured here. it is our favorite "go-to" salad! check out my BLOG for the recipe. i have been enjoying taking pictures of my own recipes and adaptations of recipes this last year and knew these tags would be the perfect fit for creating recipe cards. and they fit so nicely in the envelopes...

and here is a page i created about that favorite salad as well....

and if you would like to try to recreate these projects for yourself please leave a comment below and you will have a chance to win this BEAUTIFUL Sweet Peach Crop Shop March kit...

isn't it perfect for your creative cookbooking???? and if you want to hope on over to my blog i will have a chance at a give away, too, a set of envelopes and manila tags (undistressed or distressed and cut and ready to go, your choice) to anyone who leaves a comment.

i cannot wait to share more with you and i am SO excited to join the design team here, as i love cooking almost as much as scrapbooking! :)

March Guest Designer and a give away!

2011-03-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ria Mojica!!!

Ria is a talented designer from the Philippines!

She is well known for her work with several design teams and also her gorgeous publications in many of

the leading magazines!

For March our Chefs are concentrating on St Patricks Day and recipe cards. Ria generously created these cards for her project!

Aren't they so cute!!

How would you like to win a cook book by Taste of Home! Become a follower of this blog and show us your recipe cards, when we reach 200 followers we'll give this awesome cook book to one lucky person!

Have a great week!

Luck of the Irish with Sandie Vincent

2011-03-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

With St. Patricks Day upon us soon, I thought I'd share with you a very easy recipe for Irish Fruit Soda Bread! And in true Irish spirit I scrapped the photo of it with as much green as I could :-)

Now to make this yummy bread, which you have to eat with butter (my kids like it with strawberry jam) this is what you'll need:-

400g Plain Flour
1 level teaspoon Salt
1 level teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
4 rounded teaspoons of Sugar
375ml Buttermilk
100g Sultanas

Now to make it....

Grease a 2lb Loaf Tin
Pre-heat oven to 200 oC
In a large bowl, add the Flour, Salt, Bicarbonate of Soda and Sultanas and mix
Pour the Buttermilk into the Flour mixture and mix to a soft consistency
Turn the mixture into your prepared Loaf Tin
Flatten the top of the mixture
Bake for 40-45 minutes
Cover for the last 20 minutes with foil, if the top is getting too brown
Remove from the tin and wrap in a tea towel (this keeps in the moisture) and cool completely before serving

Happy St Patricks Day for the 17th March!!!

Lowri McNabb - Cupcakes & Cuttlebugs!

2011-02-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone - Lowri here again with some more ideas for parties/special occasions.

This time I have some ideas for cupcakes. Don't these look fun? They are simple to do and I have a tutorial below on how to make them..

Cupcakes seem to be everywhere at the moment and this prepare ahead idea will let you "ice" heaps of them at the same time at the last minute.
I have used a packet of icing paste instead of making my own - but you could certainly use your own favorite recipe.

Embossed Icing Tutorial

Knead cornflour into icing if it is very soft. You can do this at any stage of the process if you feel the icing is too soft/sticky.
Dust embossing folder with cornstarch and tap very firmly to remove all the excess. This will effectively clean the folder and make it non-stick – I suggest you do it into the sink!
Roll your icing paste between two sheets of baking paper. This gives a flat surface and is generally cleaner than using a rolling pin
Firmly press your embossing folder into the icing. You generally want to use the “top” side – but trial and error will let you choose the finish you want. Use a rolling pin on top of the folder to ensure a good “emboss”
Carefully remove the embossing folder. It should not stick if you have used cornflour to dust the folder
There you go! If you cut shapes – transfer them to a piece of baking parchment to ensure they dry a little. I sped up the drying on mine by putting them in the oven with the fan on but NO HEAT

All the cake toppers drying out..

The best thing about this – is that if you don’t like the results you just smoosh it back together and try again. You really need to keep the area clean though as any tiny specks really show up on the white icing. If at any time it gets a little sticky – use some cornstarch – it works wonders!! Do not be tempted to use icing sugar – it will not work and you will have a horrid sticky mess – I speak from experience!

Simple Cupcake Picks

These only took 5 minutes to make as I needed something quickly for my daughter's birthday! I have simply taken a punched circle of paper and threaded a brad through the center, attached a cocktail stick and voila. A super quick and simple decoration but these look very effective when you have a lot of them together.

I hope you have enjoyed these ideas. Parties are supposed to be fun - and there are some wonderful ideas and inspiration to be found on the Internet - not to mention heaps of printables you can download to make life a little easier!

Please post a comment if you have any questions.

Lowri

Lowri McNabb - Party Ideas!

2011-02-26T01:19:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone - Lowri here. I have a few ideas to show you over the next couple of days. Today we have:

1.) Rubons - Not Just for Paper
2.) Graduated Colour Chocolates
3.) Cool Cookies

They are really simple and fun, but the great thing is that you could adapt them to any occasion. I do not have recipes per-se, but I am hoping that the couple of tutorials and how-to's will make up for that!

1.) Rubons - Not Just for Paper!
These are NOT just for paper anymore - here are a couple of examples where I have applied them to china for a one-off occasion.

Christmas
(Rubons from Kaisercraft)

Valentines Day

(Rubons from Rosies Studio)

Themed Party
(Rubon from Grant Archival)

Each of these examples is just a simple rub-on onto some whiteware. You need to make sure your piece is very clean - and use some Windex to remove all traces of grease before you start. Then simply apply as you would to paper - making sure you press firmly into all the corners. I find the china less forgiving than paper in this regard! When you are done, simply rub-off or use a craft knife to lightly scrape.

I have had limited success in trying this technique onto glass but it can definitely be done! Try Google for some good examples.

Now - you might have noticed that these are filled with some rather gorgeous chocolates.

Well - I made them and here is how!

2.) Graduated Color Chocolates
This was SO much fun - and very simple. It is a little time consuming as you need to let the chocolate harden each time, but you could easily complete these in one evening.

You will need some white chocolate (I used Milky Bar), a chocolate mold and some POWDERED food colouring (I used ChefMaster). Do not be tempted to use any other coloring - it will not work and your chocolate will be good for nothing other than spreading on greaseproof paper, refrigerating and feeding to your family!

Simply melt the white chocolate and spoon into 6 molds. Add a pinch of color and spoon into 6 more molds.

Refrigerate to harden and then remove from molds. Add a little more color to the remaining chocolate, spoon into molds and simply repeat - intensifying the color each time by adding more of the power color. It's so easy and if it all goes horribly wrong - you just spread it out, refrigerate give it to the kids and start again another day!

3.) Cool Cookies
OK - another idea for you that can easily be adapted. Think hearts for Valentines Day, stars for Christmas - in fact any concentric cutters you may have can be used for this - and as you can see if you don't have any - you can improvise!

Here is a little tutorial for you!

Roll pastry to 1/8” thick on baking parchment
Cut circles
Cut smaller circles within
Slide dough onto cookie sheet and remove excess
Fill holes with boiled sweet. Bake at approx 150⁰c for about 20 mins
Leave to cool thoroughly and Voila!

Now - I did not make this dough - I simply bought a pack of sweet pastry dough and used that. I don't honestly think you could make it any cheaper and making sweet dough for me has always been hit or miss!

I hope you have enjoyed these ideas - and I have one more to show you tomorrow called "Cupcakes and Cuttlebugs!"

If you have any questions - please leave a comment - I'd love to know what you think :-)

Lowri

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2011-02-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Jeanette Siciliani as this weeks featured Chef for Creative Cookbooking! Jeanette has created the most inspiring projects! It's hard to choose which one I want to try first! The first project is a gift set that would make a great Valentine gift for a good friend! Who wouldn't love getting this???

The Brownies are Jeanette's own recipe.

COCOA BROWNIES
Ingredients
1-1/4 sticks of unsalted butter
1-1/4 cups of Baker's sugar {really fine}
3/4 cup + a heaping tablespoon of cocoa {the better the quality, the better the taste}
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
*Optional, pecans or walnut
Other supplies: 8x8 square pan, and parchment paper

Preheat oven to 325〫
Directions: Line the pan with parchment paper, letting it hang over the sides. In a double boiler, {medium low heat} combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt. Stirring from time to time. You won't think you have enough butter, but give itna couple minutes and it will become real smooth and creamy. Stir until all the butter is melted and it is hot enough to touch that you will want to remove your finger quickly! But not too hot. Remove mixture and set aside to cool down, warm. Now, stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the mixture looks thick and shiny , and is well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat for a couple of minutes. *Add pecans or walnuts.
Spread evenly into the lined pan with parchment paper.
Bake until the toothpick in center merges slightly moist {really important to watch and not overcook}, approximately 25 minutes {or less}. Let it cool completely on wire rack.

Sugar Cookies, compliments of Martha Stewart. Recipe can be found here at http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/basic-sugar-cookies

Using lemons is one of Jeanette's favorite ingredients to use in recipes. Lemon, and lemon juice can be used in a multitude of things. From pasta, desserts and drinks, just to name a new, lemon adds so much flavor. And it doesn't matter what time of year it is, a lemon dessert is always refreshing!

Italian Lemon Cupcakes with Magnolia Buttercream Frosting {adapted from Magnolia cupcakes}
{Topped with Cocoa Brownie Hearts}
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups Farina di grano tenero tipo 00
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:
Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing
Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

You can find the Magnolia recipe on Food Network here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_32146_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html

Or Visit the Magnolia website here: http://www.magnoliabakery.com/

After making the aprons a go go. Jeanette had an idea that kitchen towels are about the same size as fat quarters and would also make great aprons. She says target always has cute towels, and most often a couple of days before a holiday, the themed towels go on sale. She purchased this year's themed towels and made this apron. Of course, Target always has the coordinating kitchen tools which makes for a nice little extra something to give. She loved the heart shaped cookie cutters this year, they had ridges!! The small cookie cutter is the one she used for the brownie hearts.

Such great projects! Love them all!!! Great job Jeanette!

Be sure to check back for a give away this week!! Have a great Valentine's Day!

Sandie Vincent - Sweets for my Sweet!!

2011-02-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, Sandie here and I thought I'd tempt you with something sweet and delicious! With Valentines Day approaching how about making your loved one a homemade gift? I made these with my daughter as you can see from my scrapbook page, but they would be perfect for all occasions :-)

And here is a very easy to make Fudge recipe:-

450g Icing Sugar

100g Marshmallows
2 tbsp Milk
100g Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder (optional)
Square Cake Tin
Greaseproof Paper

Sift the Icing Sugar into a bowl
Gently melt together the Marshmallows, Milk, Butter and Vanilla in a saucepan
Pour the melted mixture into the Icing Sugar and mix
Line your cake tin with Greaseproof Paper
Pour your mixture into your lined tin
Spread out, pushing the mixture into the corners and level out
Place in the refrigerator until firm, this can take up to 3 hours
Remove from the tin and cut into small pieces..........then EAT!!

Store them in an airtight box, and they should last for up to a week (if you haven't eaten them all by then!!!!)

Let me know if you make some :-)

Sandie xx

Lowri McNabb - Loving Lemons! Day 2

2011-01-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

Hi again everyone - here is Part Two of my Preserved Lemons "Winter Warmer" idea

Gift Tag and Jar

After I covered the lid of the jar with patterned paper (as shown here yesterday), I created a label/tag. I have used the Basic Grey “Origins” Collection for this as it has some wonderful bright, lemony colors.

This tag is from an old Cosmo Cricket chipboard collection, but you could use any tag or label you choose. I have applied a layer of mod-podge over the label front and back to give the paper a little extra protection and a little shine.

Here is the finished product.

Spicy Couscous

Couscous (another North African staple) is a great, cheap store-cupboard ingredient that only takes minutes to make. The variety I buy simply requires the addition of one cup of boiling water or stock to one cup of couscous but just follow the instructions on your packet. The key to tasty couscous lies in the additional ingredients you add as it is one of those wonderful ingredients that absorbs and takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it.

This recipe is a wonderful low-fat accompaniment to grilled fish, chicken or even a hearty stew.

For this recipe, to the basic couscous I added:

1 whole preserved lemon (chopped)

2 thinly sliced scallions (spring onions)

1 thinly sliced chili (more if you really need warming up!)

Grated rind of one lemon

Chopped parsley/coriander

Thinly sliced red onion

Squeeze of lemon

Glug of olive oil

Lots of salt and pepper

Serves 3-4

For anyone interested in wine - I can definitely recommend a NZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to go with this dish (I am slightly biased being a grape grower for the wine pictured!)

I hope you have enjoyed these ideas – please leave a comment if you have any questions.

Lowri :-)

Lowri McNabb - Loving Lemons! Day 1

2011-01-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone – Lowri here with my first post for Creative Cookbooking and I am delighted to be part of the Creative Cookbooking team. I look forward to “meeting” all of you and picking up some great scrapbooking and cooking ideas. I live in New Zealand – which of course has completely the opposite seasons to North America so for a “Winter Warmer” theme I have come up with some ideas that should work wherever you live.

Making Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are a Moroccan staple and as well as being very easy to make at home, they have the added advantage of preserving the fresh flavor of summer so you can add it to your dishes in the midst of winter for a wonderful fresh, lemony summer flavor. You can buy them in many supermarkets, but this is how I made them:

Gather lemons, salt and a jar
Top and tail lemons and then cut each lemon ¾ way through, turn over, rotate 90 degrees and repeat cut
Fill cuts generously with salt
Pack lemons into jar using tops to fill in any gaps
Top up jar with lemon juice. Add flavorings such as fresh bay leaves, cinnamon quills, peppercorns…
Leave for one month and then use the rind to flavor dishes. Use the flesh too for an extra lemon hit!

I store these in the fridge and they last for ages!

Covered Lids Tutorial

I just love this technique and I created a tutorial for covering jar lids with patterned paper which you can see on my blog here http://papervinenz.blogspot.com/2010/11/covered-lids-tutorial-plus-homemade.html

The only difference is that this time I did not wrap the paper underneath the lid as I didn’t want to compromise the seal of the jar. I just cut the circle of paper a little smaller and used a paper strip to cover the paper edges – you can see that step in the pictures below. If you take a look at the tutorial it will become obvious!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and please visit again tomorrow when I will show you the finished lemons and gift tag along with a lovely recipe for using the lemons.
Lowri :-)

Please Welcome Jeanette Siciliani!

2011-01-18T11:32:00.000-08:00

Jeanette is on of our newest chefs here at Creative Cookbooking! She is a fabulous designer and as soon as you see her work you will know why I chose her! Not only is Jeanette a fabulous scrapbooker but she is an awesome photographer too!! Here is Jeanette'f first project and what she has to say about the recipe.
I used the 7 Gypsies Printer's Tray, multi-window panels.
The recipe is something "new" that we've started making Focaccia. I had never made it until Italy, and now we make it often. One of my goals for the new year, is to try some variations by adding cheeses, olives and other herbs.

The recipe

Focaccia Bread Recipe 

Ingredients: 

1 ½ cups warm water   1 teaspoon sugar 

1 package dry yeast 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1½ tablespoons sea salt 

5+ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

Combine ½ cup warm water, the packet of dry yeast and the teaspoon of sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir until the sugar and yeast dissolve. Let stand for five minutes. The mixture should foamy.Add one cup of warm water, two tablespoons of olive oil, the table salt and the flour. Mix until ingredients well. On a floured surface, knead the soft dough for about seven minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth.

Put dough in a bowl generously greased with olive oil. Rub extra olive oil on the dough to grease the dough as well. Place the bowl of dough in a warm place (the temperature should be between 80 and 85 degrees) and allow it to rise until it is twice its original size. This should take approximately an hour. Grease a jelly roll pan with olive oil. Press the dough into the pan, spread more olive oil on the dough and place it in a warm place where the dough can rise again to double the size. It should take approximately 45 minutes for the dough to rise sufficiently.

Use your fingertips to make the classic indentations over the bread, approximately an inch apart. Make the indentations deep. You want to come close to touching the bottom of the pan. Spread olive oil over the top of the dough and sprinkle the coarse sea salt (or other toppings) on the dough, lightly pressing the salt (or other toppings) into the dough and deeply into the dimples made by your fingertips. Put the dough back in the warm place to rise one more time, again for about 45 minutes. While the dough is rising the final time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Move the oven rack to the lowest slot possible in your oven and bake the focaccia on the lowest rack for approximately 18 minutes or until the bread is lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately and cool on rack.

Hope you all try this and enjoy Jeanette's creations!! They're lovely!!

Have a great week!

Sandra Wilson week #2!

2011-01-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

When I asked Sandra Wilson to guest design for Creative Cookboking I knew she would have some great projects to share! Here is the second project she submitted.

Here is what Sandra said about her project.

My mother's sister was my Aunt Nor. She was the one who taught me how to can fresh
produce in the summer. At first I was kinda dragged into it reluctantly, but as the summers
and years past, I loved it!

The Recipe!!!

One of my favorites with Aunt Nor was her homemade chili sauce. This sauce we used on
meatloaf, hamburgers, and just plain meat patties. This sauce gave that certain amount of
pizzaz needed for a unique and wonderful flavor.

Chili Sauce
2 gallon chopped tomatoes (seeded & skinned)
8 green bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped
6 medium white onions, chopped
2 cups brown sugar
4 cups white vinegar
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. cracked pepper
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. mustard seed
2 Tsp. Allspice

Directions:
1. Place the tomatoes and all ingredients into a large crock pot and/or roaster. Heat until soft boil. Change the temperature to low. Slowly cook the sauce overnight. Stir once in a while.
Let the liquid reduce and taste to see if you need to add more spices. Add as wanted.
2. Turn off pot and skim off any foam. Pour sauce into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. Carefully remove and tighten lid as you put them upside down on a towel, upside down to cook. You should hear every lid pop.
3. Enjoy!

Thank you Sandra! On behalf of the Creative Cookbooking Team we enjoyed your projects and company!!!

Sandie Vincent is our first Featured Chef

2011-01-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

Please join me in giving Sandie a warm welcome! She has created a layout that is truly fabulous! Not only is it a beautiful layout it has a great recipe that you will love!!

Here is the recipe:
250g Self Raising Flour
Pinch Salt
75g Butter cut into cubes
25g Caster Sugar
150ml Milk

Pre-heat your oven at 200 degrees celsius
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl
Add the butter and rub in with your fingers, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
Add the Caster Sugar and mix in
Gradually add the milk, a little at a time, until you have a soft dough. You may not need all of the milk
Turn out onto a floured surface
Pat out (not roll) into a 2cm thick round
Using a 5cm fluted cutter, cut out your scones and place on a greased baking tray
Brush the tops with remaining milk
Bake for 10-12 minutes

These look delish!!!

Thanks for the beautiful page Sandie and the awesome recipe!!
Be sure to stop by Sandie's blog and check out her work! She is a fabulous designer and her work is always inspiring!

2011 Creative Cookbooking Chefs!

2011-01-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Please welcome these fabulous designers! They will be inspiring you to create your projects for cookbooks, decor and the bonus is the can cook too!!!

Jeanette Siciliani
Sandi Vincent
Lisa Wilkinson
Lowri McNabb

We will also have some fabulous Guest designers coming up for the year! So be sure to check back for some fabulous work from these ladies!

First guest designer for 2011

2011-01-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Sandra Wilson!!! Sandra has a couple of great projects that she'll be sharing with us over the next couple of weeks!

How long have you been scrapbooking and how did you get started? I have been scrapbooking for about 5 years now. My daughter got me started with just a card. I needed a birthday card and did not have time to go to the store. She showed me how to make one and the rest is history. Absolutely loved it from the beginning.

From where do you draw inspiration? Anywhere. I love to take my time, think about what I am going to do and sometimes even dream about making it. I then am very inspired to put my thoughts to paper.

Describe your style for us. My style is definitely “out of the box”. I love eclectic, grunge and whatever I am feeling at the moment.
How do you go about designing a page? I like to do 2 pages most of the time. I have been experimenting with 1 page more often lately. I make a paper quilt (see all my colors at one time together, add embellies and let it build.

In general, how long does it take you to do a page?
It can take me anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours usually. Once I have my picture and inspiration, I am ready to go.

What is your favorite product? My favorite project is one I finished just a month ago. I had been thinking about it for months. I was even dreaming about how to put it together. I decorated a bust/corset wire form. Thoroughly enjoyed the project and now I am about to start another.

What are 3 other products that you can't live without? #1 would be really good adhesive. Without it projects just do not stay together.
#2 Paper Trimmer
#3 Exacto Knive

What is your favorite technique? Making my own flowers and/or other embellishments.
If someone was to walk into your scrap room/area right now, what would they find? A clean area. When I finish a project, I have to clean my space before I can start another.
What is the most unique topic/photos that you have scrapbooked? Share something quirky about yourself. This sounds funny and now it is. I scrapped a layout of my grandson when he had the chicken pox. I called it “The Pox”. He was covered everywhere and looked so pitiful, and so miserable.
He loves the layout and shows everyone.
What are some other hobbies you enjoy? I enjoy cross-stitching, reading, sewing, going to garage sales and cooking. Absolutely love life and my grandchildren.

Where do you find inspiration?
I will find inspiration everywhere, especially if I am out just shopping, antiquing, garage sale-ing. I will see a very unique item and visualize how it would looked a different way.

What do you listen to or watch while scrapbooking? I usually have the tv on in my studio. Just mindless chatter in the background. The Eagles and Josh Groban are very good to listen to.

What type of camera do you use? Kodak Easy Share Z1285

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
Scrapbooking has become a part of my life that is so significant and offers me the creative outlet I need. I have always wanted a unique way to display my inner “craftiness” and scrapbooking provides me that particular outlet.

You can find Sandra on facebook and
blogging here.
Here is Sandra's first project.

Isn't this adorable! I need to know how to make this!

Little Yellow Bicycle 2011 CHA releases

2010-12-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

If this line isn't perfect for cookbooking pages not sure what is!!!

You can see more of this release here. It's perfect for your coobooking layouts!!!

Begining in January

2010-12-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

Creative Cookbooking will have a few new design team members and some fabulous guest designers! Be sure you check in often for some fun challenges and fabulous inspiration from our designers!

Just so you know, I'll be on vacation from Dec. 24th until January 3rd, 2011.

I'll leave you with this fun recipe to try over the holidays courtesy of Taste of Home!!

Ingredients
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted and coarsely ground
2 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup butter, melted
16 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
CREAM:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
4 candy canes, finely ground
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, optional

Directions
Combine the cracker crumbs, pecans, 2 tablespoons sugar and butter;
press onto the bottom and 1-1/2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in.
springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet.

In a large saucepan, cook chocolate and cream over low heat until
chocolate is melted. Cool. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, flour and
remaining sugar on high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 5
minutes. Gradually beat in chocolate mixture

Pour batter into prepared crust. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes
or until center is almost set. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
Carefully run a knife around edge of the pan to loosen; cool 1 hour
longer. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form; fold in ground candy and
extract if desired. Serve with cake. Yield: 16 servings.
Nutrition Facts: 1 slice with about 2 tablespoons cream equals 442 calories, 30 g fat (15 g saturated fat), 128 mg cholesterol, 91 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein.

I haven't tried this yet but it's on the list for Christmas dessert.

Merry Christmas to all of you and Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Cookie Recipe Book

2010-12-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

Beginning Dec 1st My Little Shoebox began displaying some of the fabulous projects that the design team has been having fun creating. If you haven't visited the blog in a bit you should! Some fabulous inpiration there!! PRIZE ALERT!!! If you leave a comment on the My Little Shoebox blog...you will have a chance to win the entire Holly Jolly Collection! Believe me when I tell you that this collection is a must have in your stash!!
Here is what I created with it! Not only is this project cute...but totally useful too!!

The Holly Jolly Collection is so much fun! This also makes a perfect gift for a friend and the cookie recipes are fabulous!!! Hope you've enjoyed the 14 days of Christmas and all the creations from the My Little Shoebox team!!

Have a great day!

Day 10 of Christmas Cookies

2010-12-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

Ho-Ho Snowballs
from Coming Home with Gooseberry Patch

Makes about 60
2 6-ounce packages white chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons bourbon or heavy cream
6-ounce package slivered almonds, very finely ground
1-1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Place chocolate chips and cream in a medium bowl set over a pan of hot (not boiling) water; stir until melted and smooth. Stir in bourbon or cream and almonds. Spread in a lightly greased 8"x8" baking pan. Chill for about one hour, until firm. Cut into one-inch squares; roll each square into a ball, then roll in coconut. Keep chilled. Makes about 5 dozen.

Day 6 of Christmas Cookies

2010-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cookie Fudge
Makes about 64

3 6-ounce packages white chocolate baking squares
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups (about 20 cookies) coarsely crushed cookies of your choice (Oreos or chocolate chip cookies are good choices)

In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt white chocolate squares, condensed milk and salt. Remove from heat; stir in cookies. Spread evenly into foil-lined 8-inch square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off foil and cut into 1-inch squares. Store tightly covered at room temperature or in refrigerator.

Day 5 of Christmas Cookie Recipes

2010-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Peppermint Pinwheels

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
Red food coloring
15 peppermint candies, crushed

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar until creamy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. In a smaller bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend flour mixture into butter mixture to make a smooth dough. Divide dough into two equal portions. Set aside one half. To the other half add the peppermint extract and enough red food coloring to tint the dough a dark pink. Roll out each color dough to a 16x10 inch rectangle, between sheets of wax paper. Remove top sheet of wax paper from the pink dough; place dough on top side down on top of plain dough; peel off paper. Roll up dough tightly, jelly-roll fashion. Wrap in wax paper and chill several hours until very firm. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Unwrap dough and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices with a sharp knife; place on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with a bit of crushed peppermint candy. Bake 10 minutes or until cookies are firm, but not browned. Remove from cookie sheets to wire racks; cool completely.

Courtesy of Christmas Cookies.com

Christmas Cookie Recipe #4

2010-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Surprise Snowballs

Balls of soft, buttery, powder-sugar-coated cookies have a surprising sweet treat hidden inside. Candy-coated milk chocolates, chocolate-covered peanuts, gumdrops, and jelly beans are just a handful of the types of treats that can be hidden in these intriguing cookies.

ingredients
3/4 cup butter or margarine (1-1/2 sticks), softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Candy-coated milk chocolate-covered peanuts, gumdrops, jelly beans, and/or candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

directions

1.In a large mixing bowl beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt and beat until fluffy.
2.Add egg and vanilla. Beat well. With mixer on low speed gradually beat in flour until well mixed.
3.Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Press a piece of desired candy in center of each and shape the dough around it so you can't see the candy. Place balls about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
4.Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 15 minutes or until edges are golden. Place powdered sugar in a plastic bag. With pancake turner transfer 2 or 3 hot cookies at a time to the bag of powdered sugar. Gently shake cookies in powdered sugar until coated. Cool on a cooling rack. When cool, gently shake cookies again in powdered sugar. Makes about 36 cookies.
5.Make-ahead tip: Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

2010-12-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Best Ever Butter Cookies

60 min.prep time 3:10 total time
3 dozen cookies

1 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 Egg
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powderFrosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup Butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Food color, if desired

Directions
Combine 1 cup butter, sugar and egg in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add orange juice and vanilla; mix well. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

Divide dough into thirds. Wrap each in plastic food wrap; flatten slightly. Refrigerate until firm (2 to 3 hours).

Heat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-third at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets; sprinkle with decorator sugar. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Combine powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla in small bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often and gradually adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Tint with food color, if desired. Frost and decorate cooled cookies as desired.

Calories: 150
Fat: 7g
Cholesterol: 25mg
Sodium: 70mg
Carbohydrates: 21g
Dietary Fiber: 0g
Protein: 1g
Recipe is courtesy of Land Of Lakes

Day 2 of Christmas Cookies!!

2010-12-03T09:09:00.000-08:00

Confetti Christmas Cutout Cookies

What's the confetti secret? Candy sprinkles are mixed into this easy cookie mix cookie dough.
Prep Time

20Minutes Total Time
1:30 Hrs
Makes About 2 dozen cookies
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons Betty Crocker® red, green and white candy sprinkles
1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting

1.Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, flour and egg until dough forms. Sprinkle candy sprinkles over dough; gently kneed into dough.
2.Roll dough on floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3.Bake 7 to 9 minutes or light golden brown around edges. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet; cool completely, about 20 minutes.
4.Decorate with frosting and additional candy sprinkles as desired.
Makes About 2 dozen cookies

Courtesy of Betty Crocker

Day One of Christmas Cookies!!!

2010-12-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

For the next few weeks I'll be posting Christmas Cookie recipes...hopefully you'll find these helpful. Here's Day one.

Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
Prep Time: 20 Min
Total Time: 1 Hr
Makes: 18

INGREDIENTS:
Cookies3tablespoons sugar1roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® Refrigerated Gingerbread Cookies
1/4cup baking cocoaFilling
2cups powdered sugar1/4cup butter, softened
1teaspoon vanilla
3to 4 teaspoons milk
User Rating: DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350°F.
In small bowl, place sugar.
In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir or knead in cocoa until well blended. Shape dough into 36 (1-inch) balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Press each flat, with smooth-bottomed glass dipped in sugar.
Bake 6 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread about 2 heaping teaspoons filling between bottoms of pairs of cooled cookies.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft)

Nutrition Information:
1 Serving (1 Serving)Calories 210(Calories from Fat 80),Total Fat 9g(Saturated Fat 3 1/2g,Trans Fat 2g),Cholesterol 15mg;Sodium 105mg;Total Carbohydrate 31g(Dietary Fiber 0g,Sugars 23g),Protein 1g;Percent Daily Value*:Calcium ;Exchanges:1 Starch;0 Fruit;1 Other Carbohydrate;0 Skim Milk;0 Low-Fat Milk;0 Milk;0 Vegetable;0 Very Lean Meat;0 Lean Meat;0 High-Fat Meat;1 1/2 Fat;Carbohydrate Choices:2;*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
WW Points Plus 6 per cookie

Recipe Courtesy of Pillsbury

Traditional Thanksgiving Meal

2010-11-18T08:20:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where a traditional meal is super important! Every year we have almost the same meal as the year before. In my house the only thing that changes is the appetizers and the desserts. We eat around 3:00 in the afternoon and by 2:30 everyone is in the kitchen following the cook (me) around!!! Not too many surprises on Thanksgiving..not from my crew. They like what the like and that's that!

This year all of our family will be out of town and it will just be me and my husband and possibly one of our daughters and our sweet grand daughter Adalyn. My husband offered to take me out but as I told you before we tried that one year and it wasn't the same! So never again! One of the best things about Thanksgiving is the great smells from the kitchen! I love cooking this special meal! This year we will have a new appetizer and a new dessert, I won't be deviating from our traditional meal. See my recipe tab for the details.

This is what our traditional menu looks like:
Turkey with stuffing
Mashed potatoes and Gravy
Praline Sweet Potatoes
Buttered Corn
Home made dinner rolls
tossed salad

Yes! A lot of food for just 2 of us but as you all know the leftovers are the best!!

For dessert this year we'll be having Pumpkin Bread Pudding and of course my hubby's favorite...banana cream pie.

What's your traditional meal???

This year document that meal with a cookbooking page! Stop by and leave me a link! I'd love to see your pages!

Have a great week!

Thanksgiving is only 9 days away!

2010-11-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Every year for Thanksgiving we skip regular meals and just snack while watching football. If you haven't planned your menu or you need a snack menu, you might think about adding these gems to your snack list, or even include them with your meal. They look yummy and this may be the year to try something fun like this.

Cheddar Pepper Palmiers

Ingredients
Makes 60 crackers
1 1/4 cup finely grated sharp cheddar; 3 1/2 ounces
1/4 cup finely grated Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese
2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 puff pastry sheets (from a 17.3-ounce package); thawed if frozen

Directions
Toss cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pepper, and salt in a bowl.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese mixture onto a work surface. Unfold 1 pastry sheet and place over cheese. Roll into a 10-inch square, then sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese mixture all over top of pastry, pressing lightly to adhere. Fold sides of 2 ends to meet in center, then fold once more into center and press ends together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour (or freeze 15 to 30 minutes). Repeat with remaining cheese and second sheet of pastry.

While dough chills, preheat oven to 400F with racks in upper and lower parts of oven. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with 1 piece at a time (keep remaining chilled until ready to use), unwrap pastry and cut, seam side up, into 1/4-inch-thick slices, arranging them 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake, turning palmiers over and switching position of pans halfway through, until golden and pastry is cooked through, 18 to 22 minutes total. Transfer palmiers to rack to cool. Repeat cutting and baking remaining pastry on cooled sheets.

Make ahead: Dough can be assembled up to 3 days ahead. Palmiers can be baked 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe is courtesy of Kitchen Daily

Holiday Traditions

2010-11-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, I started thinking about holiday traditions. What traditions do you and your family celebrate with? You may have one and don’t even realize it. If you don’t have a family tradition, it’s never too late to start one! The best way to have a pleasant and meaningful holiday is to create your own family traditions. The most important part of a holiday tradition is that everyone participates and enjoys themselves.

Decide what part of the holiday is most important to your family and create a tradition around it. Is it religion, cooking a special dish that your family has only once a year, baking cookies for gifts, going for a family walk after your meals, ornament exchanges, playing board games?? There are literally hundreds of ways to create a family tradition. For me, at Christmas time I send each of my grandkids a snow globe. My family did this when I was little and I wanted to pass this down to my grandkids. I have some beautiful snow globes and fabulous memories of staring into them and watching the glittery snow fall until every speck was settled.

My Thanksgiving tradition is mostly based around cooking and spending time with family. I love to get up early, make stuffing and put the turkey in the oven. While the bird is cooking, it's church, football and more cooking, and a few games!! After our meal I go for a long walk in the park and think about the color scheme and theme for Christmas decorations. Friday after Thanksgiving I watch the Wizard of OZ in the evening with all the Christmas tree lights on. I burn candles and cuddle up with hubby. These are all yearly rituals that have been a part of me for years.

Most holiday traditions include food, whether it’s a snack while decorating or baking cookies or decorating gingerbread houses. Who doesn’t remember any special holiday meal traditions? A couple of years ago my husband decided that we were not going to fuss with cooking for just the two of us and that we were going to go out to dinner instead. Well, that will never happen again! I missed the leftovers and the cooking and even the cleaning up! Even though it’s a lot of work, it is work I love!

My love for scrapbooking and documenting our family traditions play a huge part in my holiday season. In the last few years I decided that I was going to create my own cookbook of our favorite meals. Most of the time, food is the focus of family gatherings and traditions. It plays a very important part in everyday life…why not document it and pass it on to your family. They will love it! As you’re sitting down eating a meal that your grandmother cooked when you were little…the memories will come flooding in! Traditions are a reflection of your family’s beliefs and personality…..something that should be treasured forever. What about the foods you celebrate with? Are they traditional dishes? Have they been recipes that have been handed down through the generations? It’s important to document these family heirlooms! You could include a family recipe next to a picture of the dish or someone preparing it. These recipes are an important part of family history and traditions! Don’t forget to hand these memories down as your legacy !

I wanted to share a layout I created about my grandkids and their family tradition. Every year my grandkids make a gingerbread house with their mother. I love getting the photos of their annual gingerbread house! You can see how proud they are and how important this tradition has become in their lives. I’ve included the recipe for the gingerbread on the layout so that one day, when they have a family of their own, they can pass this tradition down to their children. There are so many pretty paper products on the market that are perfect for documenting your families favorite food traditions!

Family traditions are such an important part of a legacy, don’t forget to document your traditions! Get started today!!

Creative and useful!!

2010-11-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but if I didn't keep a planner I'd be so lost!!
So while I was playing around in my scraproom this weekend I was filling out my dry erase board and it suddenly occured to me that it needed altering! So here is what I did to it!! (Ignore my shadow) I bought this board at one of the big craft stores. It is the size of a large desk calander and perfect to hang on the wall in your kitchen or scraproom or wherever you can see it on a daily basis. I also decorated the magnets that came with the board and made some additional magnets too. I have quick tutorial that will help you make this project. If you check the tab that says "Tutorials" you'll get an illustrated tutorial on the board and the magnets.

Magnets

Check out the tutorial and have fun with this project!!

Home made Potato chips

2010-10-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

So last week I'm watching Giada on the Food Network with my husband, and she's making home made potato chips. Well immediately my husband says we need to try that!!! So off I go to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy a mandolin. I know...you're thinking a musical instrument. Noooo, it's a slicing tool. Here's a cheap one. The one I bought was a bit more. (my hubby has to have the best)

Anyway, he made me try it that afternoon and I will never buy chips again! Not only are they fresh, but they have no preservatives! I modified a recipe that I found on the web and here is what I did.

Slice 3-4 Yukin Gold potatos

Soak them in icy salt water for 30 minutes (about 6 tsp. salt and 2 quarts of water)
pat dry before deep frying
fry and drain
salt again

Enjoy!!

These can also be baked. Add chips to&a baggy with a small amount of olive oil then spread them out on a baking sheet and bake.

2010-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

When Christa first emailed me about becoming a guest designer on Creative Cookbooking I was so inspired by what she said. Here is what she said.

Hi Debbie,
First let me say I have been a reader of your scrapbooking blog for a while now-your creations are beautiful, and I am so excited by your cookbooking blog! I too love to can, I love the idea of preserving fresh produce when it's in season, of saving money for my family, and being responsible with the overabundance of things that grow in my garden! My grandmother (in-law) passed down her water bath canner, and I feel a strong connection with her every time I can something! Your mission of bringing families back to the table resonates with me, I grew up with family dinners and strive to create that atmosphere in my home as well.

I am new to canning, my mother-in-law taught me "how to" last year...and I can't stop. I have to give my "put-ups" away because I don't have room to store them all-I've been experimenting with different recipes, it's too much fun! Some of my favorites have included blackberry liquer sauce, raspberry champagne jelly, blueberry lime jam, strawberry margarita jam, and finding the perfect dilly bean recipe. My dilly beans have become quite sought after in my family, and some have confessed to coveting the jars, keeping the beans all for themselves! This year my goal is to learn pressure canning, again with my mother-in-law. What could be better than pulling out a homemade jar of spaghetti sauce or chili for a hearty meal on a cold, wintery night?

Thanks so much, I look forward to more you have to offer on your blogs!
I love her work! She has inspired me to do some canning this weekend before the holidays sneak up on me.

Here is her next project and what she said about it.

The pumpkin butter was inspired by fall, and was created with a regifted decorate glass jar, a tag punched out and layered with stamped paper, and one strand from a beaded fall pick, leftover from another project. The top of the jar features a magnetic flower made with layered fabric scraps cut out in the shape of a flower, the muslin cloth was stamped with a script sentiment. The flower can be used as a magnet, a hair clip (sticks to bobby pins!), or as a brooch with a second magnet. I plan on giving these out around Thanksgiving, it's simple to put together but is a very thoughtful and budget friendly gift.

Christa's Pumpkin butter recipe:

Ingredients

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup apple juice or cider
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or to taste)
1 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or to taste)

Directions
Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan or crock-pot; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently.
Transfer to sterile containers and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Note: pumpkin butter is not deemed safe for home canning, but will keep in the fridge for 6 months.

This sounds so yummy and easy I'll be making this one very soon!

Thanks for inspiring us Christa!

You can find Christa here.
http://www.kissofwhimsy.blogspot.com/

http://www.kissofwhimsy.etsy.com/

Please welcome!

2010-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Christa Mann

This is my first attempt at scrapbooking a recipe, but it's one that is near and dear to my family's heart. We all have fond memories of Grandma Fran and her famous enchiladas, she was an amazing woman who used her cooking skills to show her love! The folder is one I already had in my home office, and cut down to size to hold the recipe, it flips open to reveal the recipe inside.

Enchilada Sauce

¼ cup of corn oil ½ cup flour

½ cup chili powder 5 cups of water

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce 1 ½ tsp. of Spike seasoning

1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese 1 ½ cups grated jack cheese

½ tsp. salt, dash of pepper

Gradually mix flour into oil and cook till light brown and smooth. Make a paste out of 1 cup of water and chili powder. Add this to flour mixture, Take pan off burner at this point; it is easier to stir in chili powder and remaining 4 cups of water. After this is well mixed, add tomato sauce, spike, both cheeses, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for ½ hours. Stir often

Cheese enchiladas

Cook tortillas in ½ inch oil a few seconds on each side. Drain on a paper sack/paper towels.

Dip tortillas in sauce and lay flat in rectangular pan and fill with grated cheddar cheese, chopped olives and onions (if desired). Roll up. After pan in full, add a little more sauce to the top of the rolled enchiladas, top with chopped olives, grated jack cheese, and green onions. Bake in a 350° oven only long enough for cheese to melt, approx. 20 minutes.

Be sure to visit Christa on her blog and her etsy store!

http://www.kissofwhimsy.blogspot.com/

http://www.kissofwhimsy.etsy.com/

How about a couple of Halloween recipes!!

2010-10-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

Dragon's Breath Snack Mix
5 cups bugle-shaped corn snacks
3 cups pretzel sticks
1/2 cup peanuts
1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 cup red candy-coated milk chocolate mini kisses

Directions
Heat oven to 300°F. Spray 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan with no-stick cooking spray. Combine corn snacks, pretzels, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds in large bowl.

Stir together all remaining ingredients except candy-coated kisses in small bowl. Pour butter mixture over snack mixture; toss to coat.

Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely. Stir in candy-coated kisses. Store in container with tight-fitting lid.

Brown-Eyed Owl Cookies

These wise old owl cookies are decorated before baking.

45 min.prep time 3:05total time

2 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar1 LAND O LAKES® All-Natural Egg1 teaspoon vanilla2 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 1 cup swirled chocolate baking chips1 cup whole cashews Directions

Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat until well mixed.

Divide dough into thirds. Add cocoa to one-third of dough; mix well. Divide chocolate dough in half. Roll each half into 10-inch log; set aside.

Roll out each remaining white dough amount into a 10x4-inch rectangle. Place 1 chocolate log onto each white dough rectangle. Roll white dough completely around chocolate log, leaving ends uncovered. Wrap dough logs in plastic food wrap; refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours).

Heat oven to 350°F. Cut logs into 1/4-inch slices with sharp knife. To create owls, place 2 slices onto ungreased cookie sheet, side-by-side with edges touching. Using fingers, pinch up dough to form ear at top of each circle. Place 1 baking chip in center of each chocolate section for eyes. Press 1 cashew into bottom center of each cookie to create beak. Repeat with remaining dough slices.

Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes; remove to wire cooling rack.
Recipe Tip

You can bake the dough slices by themselves for a fun, circular vanilla and chocolate cookie.

Recipes are from Landoflakes.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Please Welcome Guest Designer Heather Topich!

2010-10-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

1. How long have you been scrapbooking and how did you get started? I kept journals and photo albums as a child. In college, I started mixing them together, but the resulting pages were horrible, so I don’t count that! Laugh. I started matching things up better about 8 years ago.

2. From where do you draw inspiration? Magazines, blogs, and sketches, like most people, but also from challenges that limit you to using a certain number of things or particular items that I might not have used otherwise

3. Describe your style for us. Shabby chic, sometimes with a touch of vintage… sometimes with a touch of grunge

4. How do you go about designing a page? I start with the story that I want to tell and then pick pictures to go with that story.

5. In general, how long does it take you to do a page?

Usually about a hour, once I decide what product to use (but that alone can take an hour or more!)

6. What is your favorite product? Patterned paper because of its versatility. I love cutting it up to use as embellishments.

7. What are 3 other products that you can't live without? At the moment: ribbon, flowers, and alphas

8. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us? It it my honor to be a guest here. I love scrapbooking, but my scrapped cookbook is one of my favorites. I love that my kids will someday have a fun way to look back at our favorite meals.
You can visit heather at her blog In the meantime enjoy a couple of Heathers favorite recipies!!

Have a great week!

Don't you love Fall Cooking!!

2010-09-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Fall is my favorite time of year! I love the comfort food cooking and the gorgeous colors outside my window. The trees are changing and the weather is cool in the mornings and hot during the day! We are having record setting temps right now and it so gorgeous!

I have a couple of recipes to share today courtesy of the Taste of Home.
The first one is a vegetable stew. I love stews because it's one the only
ways I can get my hubby to eat veggies.

Loaded Vegetable Beef Stew Recipe

ServingsPrep: 40 min. Cook: 8-1/2 hoursIngredients
8 bacon strips, diced
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash
2 medium green peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) beef broth
6 cups chopped cabbage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain. In the drippings, brown beef in batches. Refrigerate the bacon until serving.
In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, green peppers, thyme and garlic. Top with beef. Pour broth over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Stir in cabbage and pepper. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Sprinkle each serving with bacon. Yield: 12 servings (1-1/3 cups each).
Nutrition Facts: 1-1/3 cups equals 336 calories, 15 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 81 mg cholesterol, 516 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 27 g protein.

And this just sounds so good! Have to give this one a try, my grandkids love peanut butter!
Fudgy Peanut Butter Cake Recipe

4 ServingsPrep: 10 min. Cook: 1-1/2 hoursIngredients
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 cup boiling water
Vanilla ice cream
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the milk, peanut butter, oil and vanilla, beat until well blended. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, flour and baking powder; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture until blended. Spread evenly into a 1-1/2-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the cocoa and remaining sugar; stir in boiling water. Pour into slow cooker (do not stir).
Cover and cook on high for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center of comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream. Yield: 4 servings.
Editor's Note: Reduced-fat or generic brands of peanut butter are not recommended for this recipe.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 348 calories, 13 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 3 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium, 55 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Have a great week!

Cute projects from Jessica!!

2010-09-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share these cute project that Jessica made with Momenta products!These altered takeout boxes that can be used for birthdays and at Christmas time.

For this box she added Peanut Butter Balls to it.
Here is the recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup of peanut butter
1 stick of butter
2 cup of confection sugar
16 oz. bag of chocolate chips
1/4 parafin wax
wax paper
Melt butter in sauce pan over low/med heat add peanut butter
stir until smooth.
remove from heat & add sugar
mold into little balls
melt wax on low heat( i use a double boil to prevent burning) add chocolate chips & stir until melted dip the peanut butter into the chocolate place balls onto wax paper until cooled.

Super cute projects Jessica and that recipe looks yummy!!

Please Welcome Jessica Sutton!!

2010-09-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

Jessica is a fellow design team member for Momenta and I have enjoyed getting to know her better! Please be sure to visit her blog and get inspired by her wonderful work. Here are some fun facts about Jessica.

1. How long have you been scrapbooking and how did you get started?
I started 5 years ago after the birth of my years ago. I couldn't find a baby album that I liked so I decided to create my own. That's when the insanity started.
2. From where do you draw inspiration?
I get all my inspiration from my family.
3. Describe your style for us.
My style is as simple as possible. I love clean lines. I don't like a lot of clutter on the page. I like my picture to be the focus.
4. How do you go about designing a page?
I design my pages around my photos. I don't do sketches. I just let the creativity flow.
5. In general, how long does it take you to do a page?
Most pages take me an hour to finish.
6. What is your favorite product?
My favorite product is my quikutz nesting flowers. I use them for everything. Right now anything quikutz is my favorite.
7. What are 3 other products that you can't live without?I can't live without my ATD gun, my cricut machine or my martha stewart border punches.

Here is a cute project Jessica finished for Creative Cookbooking.

Here is the recipe that is on the card:

oven set to 375 degrees
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups of flour
16 oz. chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl combine the shortening & butter & mix for 30 seconds
Then add sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, eggs & vanilla & mix thoroughly with
mixer.
Slowly add the flour and mix.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake on greased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes

What a fun layout! Check back for some more of Jessica's projects!!

Another Project from our Guest Designer!!

2010-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

This project by Danielle is just so cute. It's done with some older Cookbookin products. This would make a great gift for a friend and a wonderful way to share your favorite recipes! How fun would it be to follow a recipe card from this!! Thanks Danielle for inspiring us with this project!!!!!
Be sure to visit Danielle's blog and see what she's up to there!!

Next week we will have another guest designer to inspire you!!

Danielles favorite Go To Recipes!

2010-08-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

We all have our favorite recipes and Danielle is no exception.
She says.....I usually "eye" everything as I've made these so many times These are my two favorites, I have a child allergic to a lot and chicken is big in our house!

Chicken Bake
- Chicken Breast
- Cream of Mushroom
- Cream of Chicken
- White rice

I cut the chicken into cubes. In a glass casserole dish I put some cream of mushroom and chicken at the bottom. Then I put the chicken and top it with rice. Now I pour the rest of the cream of mushroom and chicken over it. I bake it at 350 for 30 minutes or so

Dijon Chicken
- Chicken Tenderloins
- Frenchs Dijon Mustard
- Bread Crumbs
- parmesan Cheese

First, I cut any fat off the chicken. Then I place the chicken on a cookie sheet. I coat the chicken with dijon mustard. In a ziploc I mix parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and italian seasoning. I put the chicken in the bag and shake it til its coated. After each piece is coated I bake it at 350 for 15-20 minutes. My kids LOVE this and it’s a popular lunch at home!

Please welcome Danielle!

2010-08-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

1. How long have you been scrapbooking and how did you get started?
I started scrapbooking in 2000 when I made a very plain, old fashion type scrapbook of my high school years.

2. From where do you draw inspiration?
I draw inspiration from everything. Sometimes I’ll see a catalog and the colors in there will inspire me, but mostly it’s my family.

3. Describe your style for us.
My style is full and cute. I don’t like a lot of white space and I love to have a lot of different elements on my projects.

4. How do you go about designing a page?
First I start with a sketch, then find my pictures and pattern paper. After that it just keeps snowballing with embellies!

5. In general, how long does it take you to do a page?
Generally around 45 minutes

6. What is your favorite product?
My favorite product is a toss up between my ATG gun and my chalk inks. I couldn’t live without either!

7. What are 3 other products that you can't live without?
Just 3? Well that would be doodlebug designs pattern paper, my cricut and SCAL (software for the cricut)

8. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?
I’m so honored to be here, I appreciate you having me.

Here's Danielle's first project. A cute little Dessert Recipe Box! Be sure and check back next week for another fabulous project from Danielle.

You can see more of Danielle's work on her blog and Flicker gallery

Gooey Butter Cake...courtesy of Paula Deen!!!

2010-08-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Ok..couldn't help myself! When I saw butter cake I thought no way! then I read the ingredients and yes! It's true! I'm saving this recipe for a rainy day, I wouldn't even know how to count it on Weight Watchers!!

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Prepare Filling

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.

Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ready for some fun Changes???!!

2010-08-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here at Cookbooking I am looking forward to some fun changes! Starting off with some great guest designers to inspire you to work on your cookbooking pages. We'll be haveing a few contests and challenges here and there but for the most part some of the industries finest scrappers will be joining us for some fun!! Check back this weekend for our first guest designer!!

Debbie

Cookbookin Projects

2010-08-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

This past year Cookbookin has come out with some great products to complete your cookbooking pages.

I want to share a couple really cute projects I completed with them.

Pumpkin!

2010-08-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

It may be a little early for a pumpkin recipe but if you're anything like me...I really heart pumpkin!!! It doesn't matter what time of year it is.

LIBBY'S® Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Estimated Times:
Preparation - 10 min | Cooking - 1 hrs | Cooling Time - 30 min cooling | Yields - 24 slices (12 slices per loaf)
Enjoy this irresistibly moist and flavorful bread. Delicious for breakfast or snack. One batch makes two large loaves; one for now and one for later. Or bake into mini loaves. They make great gifts for teachers, neighbors and friends!
Source:
Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1 can (15 ounces) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice or water
1 cup sweetened dried, fresh or frozen cranberries
Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe makes two loaves.

FOR THREE 8 x 4-INCH LOAF PANS:
PREPARE as above. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

FOR FIVE OR SIX 5 x 3-INCH MINI-LOAF PANS:
PREPARE as above. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.
Remember to follow baking instructions before consuming.

I don't know about you but I will be trying this recipe very soon!

A little reminder...I'm looking for guest contributors for my blog...would love to have you!!!Send me an email!! Wyscrapper@yahoo.com

Fresh Salsa!

2010-08-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Farmer's market started last weekend and it did not dissappoint! I came home with some great veggies and some Palisades peaches!!Obviously I wasn't the only one craving fresh!!

I want to share a little news with you. Creative Cookbooking is changing things up a bit. Beginning the week of August 22nd we will start featuring some fabulous ladies as guest designers. They will surely inspire you to cook and to create your own recipe pages. You will love them!!

While you're at the Farmers Market be sure to pick up some carrots for this recipe!!!

BEST EVER CARROT CAKE
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
Cream these together well. Add
4 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add:
2 cups grated carrots
Combine:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup of ground walnuts
Add to the egg mixture and mix well.

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or a 13x9-inch baking pan.
Pour batter into pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

CREAM CHEESE ICING:
4 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Cream butter and cheese; add icing sugar, vanilla and salt.

Hope your week is going great!

Farmer's Markets, Frontier Days and a Contest!

2010-08-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

Our local farmer's market begins Saturday and I can't tell you how much that excites me! Living in Wyoming our produce departments leave alot to be desired, especially in the Winter. This year I'm going to can peaches and pickles. I also want to make salsa. Here's a couple of recipes that I want to share with you.

CANNED PEACHES
1/2 c. sugar
Peaches, peeled
Put 1/2 cup sugar in each quart jar. Add water to about 2 inches. Stir. When clear, peel peaches. Put in jar.Fill with water to 1/2-inch of top. Seal jars with hot lids. Put in canner. Bring to boil for 5 minutes. Set canner off heat. Let jars cool in water until room temperature. Remove jars and cool.
Can also do pears and apricots.

CANNED DILL PICKLES
3 qts. water
1 qt. white vinegar
1 c. salt
2 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. alum
Cloves of garlic, cut into slices
Fresh dill tops
Boil hard 3 minutes the water, vinegar and salt. Add turmeric. To each jar add 1 sliced garlic and 1/8 teaspoon alum. Put dill tops in as you put in thin slices of cucumber or small or whole ones. Pour hot liquid over and seal.

CANNED SALSA
1 qt. chopped tomatoes
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 tsp. chopped jalapeno peppers (or to desired hotness)
1/4 c. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (if desired)
1 tsp. cumin powder
Mix all ingredients together in heavy pot and simmer until thick, stirring frequently. Sample as often as you like! Process in pint jars in steam or hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. One batch makes about 1 1/2 pints after all the sampling! I would suggest making 6 to 10 batches in one pot for canning.
These recipes were provided by cooks.com
So last week marked the 114th Daddy of em all!! This is our city's old west celebration. There are tons of BBQ's and party's everywhere you go! It's fun and I celebrate every year with a big party, this year was no different. So one of the side dishes I prepared was my infamous cowboy beans. The problem is I don't really have a recipe, I do everything by taste. A little of this a little of that..I'm sure you all understand where I'm coming from. The main ingredients include:

1 pound lean ground beef browned
1 large can of Bush's baked beans
5 bacon strips cooked - not too crispy
1/2 green pepper
1 sm. white or yellow onion
about 1/4 of a cup of brown sugar
about 1/8th of a cup of mustard
1/2 bottle of honey BBQ sauce
Cook until warm. Serve.

Hope you give these a try at your next BBQ!

TRIED AND TRUE RECIPE CONTEST!

I want you to create a layout with a favorite tried and true dish you serve to your family and friends. Post a comment with a link to your layout. You have until 31st for a chance to win this kit from Cookbookin.com

The winner will be chosen randomly!!Note: We must have 5 participants for a winner.

It's Sizzling Hot!

2010-07-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, the sun is out and sizzling :) I didn't get a cake layout done last night, but I did scrap this:
This is part of what we grilled for our July 4th celebration. My husband's first attempt at ribs - they were yummy but we are trying several variations to see what we like best. I'm not allowed to share his secrets :)

My contribution was Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs. I did the prep work and marinating, he grilled them for me. I added red and green peppers to the mix based on some of the reviewer recommendations. I've got to say that I'm not a huge fan of pineapple...but in this? Fantastic! As I made this page last night...I had to wonder why I haven't already made this recipe again? It's good for you, pretty easy to prepare and tastes great.

I hope you enjoy your weekend and get some cooking and/or scrapping time in! Don't forget about Kristi's kitchen decor challenge going on - details are here!

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever

2010-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Now, I did not give this cake it's name, but it IS TRUE. The recipe is from The Pioneer Woman and can be found right here.

For some reason, it has turned into my annual 4th of July cake. I've made it 3 years in a row for the 4th so I've decided it's earned a home in my recipe album! I finally got the pictures in the mail this week so here's hoping I can get the page scrapped tonight. If so, I'll be back to share it tomorrow :)

If you love chocolate, you will love this cake!

Peanut Butter Cookie Layout

2010-07-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here's my layout for the recipe I shared yesterday. I lifted the layout from the idea book that came with the paper kit which can be found here. The papers are all Pinecone Press.So tell me, what is your favorite cookie to make?

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

2010-07-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! I've had a bit of a sweet tooth lately, so be prepared for some yummy sweet treats this week ;)

My 4 year old daughter LOVES to help me in the kitchen so I try to let her help out when I'm baking. We made peanut butter cookies over the weekend - I think the recipe is very kid friendly. The last step is to decorate some of the cookies and her favorite is to use M&Ms. This is her design:

But the cookies are good plain as well. If you aren't a fan of peanut butter, you should still try these because they actually taste more like sugar cookies to me!

Here's the recipe & I'll be back tomorrow with my layout:

Peanut Butter Cookies

Thoroughly cream together:

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift together:

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp soda

Blend the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture. Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Crisscross with fork and bake as is at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. After baking, you can press a Hershey kiss, nuts, chocolate chips or M&Ms into the cookie or leave plain. Makes about 3 dozen.

Enjoy!

{I use a pampered chef baking stone and their small scooper to shape the balls. I just realized that I baked this last batch at 350 degrees - and they were still yummy...just very soft!}

Kitchen Decor Challenge

2010-07-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

From Kristie:

I LOVE this. I usually like my creations but I LOVE THIS ONE! It was so much fun to make and it is extra special because the buttons that I used for the flower centers...they belonged to my grandmother.

I began this flower by inking it until it had that "antiqued" look and then I placed one of Grandma's wooden buttons in the center.

This is a fun polka dot fabric button from Grandma's stash. It has that perfect country look!

This button is actually affixed to the flower upside down. I used some green Karen Foster floss for the tie and I curled the floss by wrapping it around a pin. Yes, it is that small!

The papers on this project are all from Cookbookin's Sweet Summertime line. This is the line that I named. Makes me love it all the more -as if I needed anything else to make me adore it. The flowers are mostly Prima, including that gorgeous vine there on the left. The pins are Maya Road, milk caps are Jenni Bowlin and the ticket is TIM.

Here is how it looks hanging on my kitchen wall:

My challenge for you is to make a decoration for YOUR kitchen. It DOES NOT have to be useful, you just have to like it! Join us over at Creative Cookbooking to play along!

Look what I found!

2010-07-15T05:40:00.000-07:00

While I was out shopping the other day, I found these adorable 3-D fruit stickers @ Michael's. They come four to a pack and only cost $1.00!!! I love the bright colors and for that price, you can't go wrong.
I also wanted to share the paper doll stamps I have that are made by Character Constructions. There are many different kinds but I really like these cooking related ones. You can order these from http://www.characterconstructions.com/

Design Team Search

2010-07-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Creative Cookbooking is looking for energetic, outgoing, talented, creative individuals to join our Design Team. As a Chef you'll be required to assist in monthly contests, create challenges and participate daily on the forum and gallery.
International applications are welcome.
Chef Requirements:
• 6 month term.
• Chefs are responsible for issueing challenges on their scheduled week.
• Must maintain a consistent and daily presence in our discussion forums
and in our gallery. (Consistent is defined as at least 5 days a
week, unless extenuating circumstances occur.) This includes initiating
discussions, responding in discussions and leaving gallery praise and posting on our blog.
• Chefs will rotate assignments which will include but not be limited to
technique articles, seasonal and holiday ideas, altered
project ideas, etc. as well as collaborate with other Chefs on monthly
contests, online-crops and weekly challenges during the term.
When considering whether you would like to apply for the DT position,
please think about the amount of time that will be required to
fulfill your DT requirements.

To apply for the position:
Submit 3 layouts using a cook booking related theme as well as 1 altered item.
In total you will upload 3 projects for the call. Remember, as a Chef you will be show casing your work so, show us your best stuff!!
Please send the following information to Debbie at wyscrapper@yahoo.com
• Your name and username on our message board.
• List of other design teams you are currently on and have been on in the
past. Include the dates you have been involved with other design teams.
• Links to your blog, online galleries, or other places where your work can be seen. Please include any usernames necessary.
• A short bio telling us a little bit about who you are and why you would
like to be a design team member for Creative Cookbooking.
• Share any other information you feel is important for us to know about you.

Entries and applications can be turned in now –July 28, 2010.
Design Team will be announced on or before , August 1 2010. This term will begin on August 1, 2010 and last thru January 2011.

Message board:

holiday with Matthew Mead

2010-07-12T05:05:00.001-07:00

My sister told me about a website that is just wonderful! It is called "holiday with Matthew Mead". There are decorating ideas for parties, recipes (there's one on there now for chocolate gingerbread cake - yum!), giveaways (he just gave a lovely apron away) and more! At the top of the blog, there are photos of a little snowman, ice blue napkin with a glittered bird on top and white powdered star cookies. If nothing else, this blog is great eye candy!
Check it out - http://www.holidaywithmatthewmead.com/

Cooking Uh-Oh's!

2010-07-11T11:49:00.001-07:00

What's the worst cooking mistake you've ever made? Or party disaster?

I remember one Thanksgiving dinner in particular. My mother, who was always a nervous wreck when she was cooking a big dinner, set the glass bowl of mashed potatoes on the stove. Unfortunately, she set it on the hot burner and the bowl shattered into lots of pieces. We had no mashed potatoes that Thanksgiving!
Another time, I shook the bottle of Italian salad dressing without checking to make sure the lid was tight. One of our guests ended up with dressing covering her hair. What a mess that was!
Also, I have a story about a couple living in a small apartment out West. It was sweltering in the kitchen, but they just assumed it was because they had no air conditioning. However, one day the husband burned his arm on the George Foreman grill and they realized the grill had been on all summer!

From wrappers left on cooking meat to cheesecake that never got firm, I've had my share of cooking mistakes. How about you?

Cupcake Courier to the Rescue

2010-07-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Today we made four dozen vanilla cupcakes and frosted and decorated them with all the jimmies and sprinkles in the pantry! Each one was different. When it was time for the visiting kids to go home, we did the usual "put 'em on a Chinette plate and cover with saran wrap" routine.

But then I found this mother's little helper at Tuesday Morning and thought I would share! Usually $30, the cupcake courier is only $12! Awesome! The one I found was clear and had more square edges, but this was the closest image I could find for you. Won't this make life easier for potlucks, outdoor parties, birthdays, school festivities? Hope so.

Here's our vanilla cupcake from scratch recipe for you to try:

White Cake
* 1 c white (table) sugar
* 1/2 c butter
* 2 large eggs
* 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
* 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
* 2/3 c whole milk

1. Place 18 paper baking liners in your cupcake tins.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter; beat in eggs; add in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture, and mix well. Blend in milk until batter is smooth. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 20 minutes until slightly brown. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

Picnic Helpers

2010-07-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you are like me, you are on the road quite a bit, even if it's just the monthly trek to the food club, or daily around the county. With two kids, ahem, "voracious eaters going through growth spurts," I often need utensils in the car's picnic basket. I'm tired of the flimsy cardboard-and-film boxes the forks and knives are purchased in falling apart in the basket, so I decided to make a quick and easy altered utensil holder.
You can take any tubular tin from the pantry (empty, of course) such as a pirouette can (shown here), Dutch cookie tube (if it's hard plastic or metal), or even a Nesquick container. Select two or three papers cut into strips, and apply them stacked one atop the other. Add a fork and knife embellie (thanks, Maya Road chip!). Make sure your lid still fits snugly over the patterned papers, and voila, no more spilled snack sporks in your vehicle.
Thanks for looking! Have a great July... and happy, safe traveling.

Summer Means Watermelons!

2010-07-06T15:15:00.001-07:00

Watermelons

Green Buddhas
On the fruit stand.
We eat the smile
And spit out the teeth.

Charles Simic

I have loved watermelon season since I was a little girl on my grandad's farm. He planted and harvested a variety of watermelons for sale at the North Carolina Farmer's Market. I learned how much soda ash to add to the soil on a hot summer's day to increase growth without burning the vine, how to watch the stem to know when to pick, how to keep them from touching wet ground to avoid ants and rot--all kinds of useful information, stored away for future use. But nothing beats a nice cold slice of melon on a hot summer's day.

Sadly, no watermelons grow in the garden at my new house--yet! Next summer, here we come. But I was inspired by the tasty (but imported) melons at my local farmer's market. Watermelon balls, watermelon slices, watermelon tea, even watermelon sandwiches. I've taken a few photos of my kids enjoying the summery goodness, which made me wonder what products are available for coordinating a few summery watermelon scrappy projects.

Here are a few to mention, the first by JoLee's Boutique. There is a new version this year with larger watermelons.

The picnic set also has a melon embellie or two.

Bazzill has two different watermelon-colored papers, this one in a canvas texture. Bazzill also offers a flower-shaped watermelon die cut sheet.

Scrapbook.com is offering an E-Cut, a downloadable, with neat watermelon seed themed papers. Neat! Would be nice for summer party invites and announcements.

Lastly, two more embellie sets for watermelon picnics by Spellbinders Shapeabilities and KI Memories.

Hope you've found an item or two you might like and want to use this summer! Enjoy your watermelon.
And I leave you with a question: do you put salt on your watermelon? I see folks salt their melon here in SW Florida, and I'm wondering if it's a regional foodway.

"Baby Eagle" Snacks

2010-07-04T19:18:00.001-07:00

Need a fun snack to make with the kids over the 4th of July holiday? My friend Dannelle gave me this idea, which she made with her four-year-old yesterday. How cute are these baby eagle snacks? OK, they are chock full of processed sugar, but it's more fun making them than eating them!
First, roll a marshmallow in melted white chocolate, or royal icing. White frosting will do in a pinch. Next, dip your 'mallow in shredded coconut, being sure to cover the surface completely. Next, use chocolate chips or jimmies for eyes, and a cashew or peant for a hooked eagle beak. Place on top of Oreos for the baby eagle's neck. We used golden oreos because that's what in the pantry, but regular oreos works best.
Have fun making these! Enjoy!

Cake, Magnificent Cake!

2010-07-03T20:02:00.001-07:00

Greetings fellow cookbookers! And Happy 4th of July! I bet you were expecting a red, white, and blue dessert from me this week, but I thought I'd change things up a bit and share with you two cakes made for my birthday today by my dear children.

First, my daughter made a coffee-chocolate cake from scratch in her new breadmaking machine. The texture is dense and chewy, but the coffee/toffee aftertaste is to die for. Coffee and chocolate being two of my favorite things, this cake didn't last the day through! She used 2 lg eggs, 2/3 c water, 1/3 c oil, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 c all purpose flour, 1/3 c cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tbsp coffee granules, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 c sugar, 3/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp baking soda, adding them in the order listed. This cake would be awesome if frosted with chocolate chips and sour cream!

Next, my son made a Rainbow Cake, with a little help from his grandmom (since he's only 9). He sliced an angel food cake into four equal layers, added a pint of lime sherbet on the first cake layer, then another cake layer topped with orange sherbet, and last another cake layer topped with raspberry sherbet. He iced the top with vanilla ice cream (but you could use ice milk or frozen yogurt for the same effect). He chilled the cake in the freezer for an hour and topped with fresh cherries before serving! He loved it so much, he might get one from me for his 10th birthday next week.

So, dear readers, your challenge from me for the upcoming two weeks--to create a layout based on a cake, simple or involved, that has special meaning for you. Something you made together with family perhaps. A favorite birthday cake. A recipe handed down through generations. Or just a cake that always brings a smile to your face! Just be sure to include either the recipe you used, or a few lines of journaling about the story your cake would tell. Thanks for playing, and enjoy that magnificent CAKE!

iPhone apps

2010-06-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

So, I broke down and got an iPhone a couple of months ago. I want to share a really cool app with you! It's a free download called Dinner Spinner from Allrecipes.com. You spin the different categories including the amount of time that you want to spend making dinner and viola! Dinner!

Here is a dish I made called Death by Garlic. I changed it up a bit by adding chopped chicken to make it a one dish meal.

1/2 C olive oil

10 (yes TEN!) cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

4 chicken breasts, cubed

1 lb penne pasta

1/3 C grated Romano cheese

Cook pasta according to directions.

In a skillet, brown garlic in oil. Add chicken and other spices and heat until chicken is done.

Toss pasta with chicken and garlic mixture, and Romano cheese. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Bon apetit!

Fave Summertime Recipe Challenge!

2010-06-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Are there certain dishes that you usually only make during summer, maybe because the ingredients needed are only available then? Your challenge is to do a layout with your favorite summertime recipe.

My favorite is fried green tomatoes! I could eat them every day! :-)

I can't wait to see all your yummy summer recipes! :-)

Sweet Tooth

2010-06-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've had a sweet tooth lately and I noticed the picture of these on the back of the margarine box. I had all of the ingredients (with some slight modifications) so I tried them! Here's the recipe, right off the Land O'Lakes box :)

We don't have chunky peanut butter so I used creamy. I would like to try the crunchy to see how it affects the texture. Mine were very soft but I also may not have cooked them long enough. I didn't have mini chocolate chips so I used the regular size.

These aren't my favorite treats but they were tasty and my husbands co-workers ate them up quickly!

Do you have a good recipe that comes right off the package of an ingredient? I'll be making my husband chocolate chip cookies this weekend - recipe is right on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips :)

Quick Easy Recipe

2010-06-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

Today I thought I'd share one of my families favorite quick and easy recipes. Its also one of my comfort meals.

Hamburger Rice Skillet

1 lb Ground Beef
3 Cups Water
2 Medium Carrots, sliced
1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix
2 Cups Uncooked Instant Rice

Cook beef over medium heat, drain. Stir in water, carrots and onion soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, reduce heat and simmer for 8 min. or til carrots are tender. Return to a boil, add rice. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 min or til rice is tender.

I *think* I got this recipe from the Quick Cooking magazine. I found it about 7 years ago and it has been a staple ever since.

Aprons

2010-06-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Aprons seem to be making a HUGE comeback. I have never gotten into the whole apron thing. But in the last couple of years I have found myself wishing I had one.

I'm a fan of browsing Etsy. Its such a neat site! Here are a few super cute aprons I've found there.

How classy is this one? Wow...Its called the I Love Lucy Retro Apron. (click on the name of the apron to go to the etsy site).

Here is another one I found. The yellow makes me smile. Its called Chicks with Attitude.

Suzanne blogged about the history of aprons not to long ago. Click Here to read about the history, its pretty neat!

I'd love to hear from you. Do you wear an apron?

Kitchen Gadgets

2010-06-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

It seems like every time I walk into a kitchen geared store I am amazed at all the new gadgets and products out there.

Almost 8 years ago, my husband and I received the Miracle Pancake Maker.

Trying to be a good wife, I woke up early one day with the thought that I'd make my hubby breakfast in bed. We'd received the ever so cool looking and sounding Miracle Pancake Maker as a wedding gift. I wanted to try it out. So I mix the batter, pull out our new Miracle Pancake Maker and read the instructions. I'm thinking to myself, this looks easy enough. I follow the instructions. I let the pancake start to bubble on top and golden on the edges. Its type to flip the gadget over. Anyone want to take a guess at what happened next? Yep, out the side the batter runs, all over the hot grill. I was sssoooo mad. I turned off the oven, stormed back to the bedroom, flung the door open, told my hubby "I am NEVER making pancakes again....you have one giant mess in the kitchen to clean up" and promptly hopped back into bed. I haven't made pancakes since! :-) My husband, good sport that he is, went and cleaned up the mess and tried to use the gadget himself with no success. So needless to say, we got rid of the cool looking gadget.

Have you tried a neat looking or sound gadget? Did you find it to be all that it was advertised or a big ole flop like me?

Iron Chef Challenge!

2010-06-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Our guest designer this month is Kayla DuPont, our Iron Chef Cropetition winner!

Hey girls! I thought I would challenge you to altering something useful for your kitchen. I've been on an altering kit. Whether it be a mini album with your fave recipes, a menu board, a recipe holder, tags for labeling, a coupon book, the options are endless!

I altered a Pocket Organizer from Pine Cone Press. I used mostly Cosmo Cricket produts (other than the actual organizer, the rhinestones and the Pink Paislee alphas). I needed something to help organize all my coupons and this was the perfect solution!

Show me what you got girls! Up for grabs is a little envy of goodies from me! I'll try to get a picture soon for motivation!

Cookie Trees

2010-06-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

We made these

cookie trees

for our neighbors for Christmas this past year using the

sugar cookie recipe

I gave you in the previous post.

Here they are before we packaged them up

And here they are after we added the pretty Christmas packaging.

The trees were made using

Wilton's nested star cookie cutters.

You cut two cookies in each size,

then frost and stack them.

We also added

sprinkles

to ours.

We were VERY popular with our neighbors this year.

The Recipe

2010-06-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the recipe for the sugar cookies I discussed in yesterday's post. This really is the best recipe I've ever found. I've been making these for 25 years. I usually double this so I can take some to all the neighbors, too. Later in the week, I'll show you the cookie trees we made for the neighbors for Christmas this year. They were very popular! If you decide to make these, let me know what you think of them, too.

Sugar Cookies

1 c. shortening

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

2/3 c. buttermilk

4 c. flour

½ t. salt

2 t. baking powder

1 t. soda

Cream shortening & sugar. Add eggs, then buttermilk. Add sifted dry ingredients. Roll out (but not too thin), cut, and bake at 375 degrees for 6 – 8 minutes. Cookies will be slightly brown on bottom only.

"The Cookies"

2010-06-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

My kids love when I bake for them and when they want me to make their favorite cookie, they don't even have to ask for it by name, they are just known as

"the cookies".

This sugar cookie recipe is fabulous and perfect

Not too sweet,
not too thin,
and not too dry.

Just right for slathering some buttercream atop.

And eating like
potato chips.

Well, not quite, but you get the idea.

Here is a layout I did featuring our favorite cookies.
We make them for each and every holiday.

This particular batch was for spring
(we were too busy before Easter so we baked them afterwards).

;

What is your family's favorite sweet treat?

I will post our cookie recipe on the blog this week so you can try them for yourself.
The secret ingredient?

Buttermilk.
Seriously!

Challenge - Trends

2010-05-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Scrapbooking has gone through a lot of trends - cutting photos into shapes, triple matting, mixed alphabet titles, inking & misting, handmade flowers, handmade embellishments and the newest trend - banners.
Pick a trend (or two!) and use it on a page, along with your favorite summer picnic food.
My page uses two older trends (triple matting and mixed alphas) and a new one - putting a banner on a page.
Have fun revisiting old trends and trying one new to you!

I'm in LOVE!

2010-05-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

I'm in love ~~~with TRAY DISPLAYS! What a fun medium to work with!!! This project features "Sweet Summertime" Cookbookin' papers that can now be purchased at Scrapbook.com! YAY!!! I also included lots of Prima flowers, ribbons, ric rack and even some fun Jenni Bowlin milk caps. I distressed & inked most of the edges...something about aging paper in a few short seconds...love it. And to age my project just a little more I used my grandmother's buttons for the centers of my flowers. I hope this inspires you to try something new, to use something different, to step out of your box.

Altered Art

2010-05-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

I have been a little slow popping the layouts out lately but I have been busy with some altered projects!
I made this fun little kitchen menu from an inexpensive slate that I picked up at Michael's. I actually antiqued the wooden edges of the slate before I adhered the paper...but now the antiquing doesn't show:(. Live and learn. The paper is from Cookbookin's new line called "Sweet Summertime" which I had the honor of naming. I have never named a line of anything before so it was pretty exciting! Anyway...once the paper was on the slate I used some sandpaper to distress it and THAT SHOWS! Well a little, look closely, see the white areas on the paper...that's the distressing. I also used a Prima vine of sunflowers and some Chip Chatter chipboard letters. Now I don't need to listen to "What's for dinner" from six hungry bears~

Go Green Challenge Reminder

2010-05-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to remind everyone of our Go Green Challenge. You have another week to get this in - don't forget to upload it to our gallery over on the new message board!

Checkout what Chef Suzanne came up with: And Lolis is playing along, too:

They both did a FANTASTIC job, right?

Hope to you see you join in! :)

We're moving!

2010-05-11T07:59:00.001-07:00

Dear Creative Cookbookers,

As most of you are probably aware, Ning is no longer offering free forums. Something to do with the economy or some such thing. For the same reason, Creative Cookbooking, which is a non profit group, cannot afford to pay Nings fees, nor do we feel it is appropriate to pass that cost onto our members by asking for donations. We would much rather you spend your hard earned money on scrappy supplies so that you may preserve your family's cherished recipes. As a result, we are moving to Webs.com and as of June 1st, the Ning community will be deleted. There are several advantages to using Webs.com.

1. Webs.com allows sig lines. It makes it SO much easier to find peoples blogs that way.

2. It keeps track of post counts. For no particular reason, I like it. Okay FINE! I almost always have more posts than anyone else on any forum, but Kayla, our Iron Chef, will give me a run for my money. LOL

3, It looks and acts like forums that you ladies are probably more used to.

4. We can put smilies in our posts without extra effort to insert the html. A real time saver for someone like me who LOVES smilies!

5. Editing a post is possible after 15 minutes. Ning really tied our hands as admins, there's so much we COULDN'T do.

6. IT'S FREE.

We hope you will love our new home as much as we do! We look forward to seeing you at http://creativecookbooking.webs.com Welcome home!

Your Creative Cookbooking team

Debbie
Suzanne
Karen
Marti
Kristie
Alecia
Joan

Go Green Challenge

2010-05-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today I am challenging you all to "Go Green". It was about this time one year ago that I really started my recycling efforts and I'm proud of how much my family now recylces and finds ways to reduce waste. We've even talked on the message board this weekend about having our kids use felt covers for their popsicles and yogurt tubes which reduces paper towel consumption :)

My challenge for you today is to use packaging from a kitchen item on a food related layout. This first layout is actually one of my layouts for Tara's challenge - a food item that I ate as a child and now serve to my kids. I used the front of the box from the pizza kit as an embellishment on the page. When I make this pizza, I always feel like I'm a kid again!

I hadn't planned on using that box for the layout but I think I'm a little addicted to using the packaging :)

This was my first thought for the challenge:

It's a 2 pager partly inspired by Dana (her layout for the Iron Chef Crop Some Like It Hot Challenge). I struggled with this layout :( but there are a few points I like.

That stack of cookies is "popped up" and covering some words that I didn't want to show.

I really like how Dana numbered her pictures and it definitely helps give this layout a better flow.

Plus it matches the instructions to the pictures :)

I also think it's pretty cute that the ingredient list is in the window of the chocolate chip :)

You have until 11:59 PM on May 23rd to complete the challenge and be eligible for a RAK from me :) All you have to do is create your layout {any size, as long as you include packaging material on your layout and it's a food related layout} and upload it to our gallery. Don't forget to also post it on our Go Green Challenge thread in the forum to be entered into my random drawing.

Ice Cream Soup

2010-05-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

Yea huh! For real! Come on, your kids will LOVE you! When the hubs goes out of town, I became my kids heroes when I'd ask them "do y'all want ice cream soup for dinner?" Oh, the shouts of joy! YES!!!

It's super easy, just scoop ice cream of any flavor into a bowl and let it melt. I usually make a cute design on top, but then half the fun for the kids was helping to "cook" by mixing it all together. Add a dollop of whipped cream and a garnish if you want, depending on what the flavor of ice cream is. We've used Reeses Cups, oreos and even fruit. (Hey, that way we can slap "healthy" on the nutritional content! LOL)

Bon appetit!

Tara's challenge and prize!

2010-05-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Who wants to win this?

I know! Who DOESN'T, right? LOL

Tara Maynard of Magpie Club is offering this awesome kit to one lucky winner who completes her challenge! Her challenge is a two-fold.

1. Please do a layout with the following three colours - Black, White and Gold.

Here is Tara's adorable example.

2. Please do a layout about a food that you used to eat as a child and now give to your children or still eat yourself.

Tara's yummy example

Complete BOTH layouts and upload to the GALLERY by May 30th and Tara will draw a winner on May 31st! Please tag your photos as being for Tara's challenge.

Have fun and we can't wait to see your layouts! :-)

Iron Chef Winner!

2010-05-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

It was a very close vote, but we have a winner! Kayla DuPont will be our June guest designer. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two very cute kiddos. You can see her amazing projects on her blog HERE. Here is her winning entry:

Please help me in congratulating her! Kayla, we can't wait to see what you have in store for us next month. :-)

The history of aprons

2010-05-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..

And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folks knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

Time to vote!!

2010-05-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

The entries are in and it's time to choose your June guest designer! First go HERE to see the entries and then go HERE to vote. The winner will be announced on Thursday! :-)

Farmers Market challenge extended!

2010-05-03T05:24:00.000-07:00

It's not too late to get your Iron Chef entries in for a chance to win prizes! There is lots of eye candy in the gallery to inspire, so hurry over! A poll will be posted tonight on the forum, so be sure to come over and have your voice heard on who will be the next guest designer!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing design team for all of their hard work to make the Iron Chef Cropetition a huge success! :clap, clap:

The Farmers Market challenge has been extended for one more week, so I thought I'd share just a couple of the amazing creations from our forum members.

Chef Joan

Dana

Now, if that doesn't get your juices flowing, I don't know what will! (pun intended, I crack myself up! LOL)

Thanks for stopping by and you know I'll be back soon! :-)

Happy National Scrapbook Day!!!

2010-04-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

Now it's your time to SHINE!

The chefs on the forum are cooking with gas! Eight challenges and tutorials have been posted so far, and there is more to come. Tonight is the Iron Chef challenge where everyone will find out what the "secret ingredient" is and compete to see who will be our June guest designer! Very exciting!

One of the projects that the chefs have been working on is this very handy bookmark. I posted the tutorial HERE, but I wanted to share what the chefs have created using the tutorial. Everybody agrees, once you make one, you'll want to make MORE!

Here is just one of the many I've made so far. LOL

Here are a couple from Chef Kristie:

Chef Karen really blinged hers out!

Speaking of guest designers, we are thrilled to have Tara Maynard of the Magpie Club for the month of May. During these economic times, you'll want to check out her Credit Crunch kit! She will be hosting a challenge or two, so we hope you'll join us on the forum.

Altered glasses

2010-04-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

We were discussing on the forum whether or not using rub ons on glasses would work, so I had to try it out. This was my first attempt...

I realized my mistake and tried again...

It's so easy and fun, I don't have a plain glass left in my house! LOL

Simply find a rub on to your liking, (I used Fancy Pants rub ons) and rub image onto the glass. Then apply a thin coat of liquid glass over the image and slightly over all the edges. (This was my mistake on the first glass, I didn't cover the bottom edge entirely) Let dry and viola! A personalized, dishwasher safe glass!

Happy rubbing! :-)