Potato and Ham soup

Its a new year! Happy 2014 everyone!! Do you have and new years resolutions? I would just like to work on getting things more organized around my house and just life haha. So hopefully I will find some ways to include some of that into my little blog here. I feel like just this week my life has changed like crazy, my daughter turned 1 and became a full time walker!!!

This soup is a great way to use the ham I know you have frozen in the freezer from Christmas and are wondering what to do with it!!

What you need
4 yellow chopped potatoes
2 leeks chopped
1/2 of an onion chopped
2-3 celery ribs chopped
2 cups cooked chopped ham
48 oz chicken stock or broth (I use no salt added or low sodium)
1 cup water
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper for taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil


What to do
 First a tip, have you ever cooked with leeks? I actually love them in soups but they are dirty and can be hard to clean. The best way I found is to cut them up and put them in a bowl and fill with water. Once in water move them around seperate them from each other and let them sit and the dirt will fall to the bottom. Remove with your hand gently and put on a paper towel to dry.

In a large soup pot heat oil and add your onion, leeks, celery, potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook until your onions are transparent. Add your ham, chicken stock, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. Towards the end of the 20 minutes in a separate pan melt your butter and stir in your flour. Cook the flour for about a minute then stir in your milk. Stir until thick, then pour into your large pot of soup warm through and serve with a little bit of cheese on top!

Cake mix cookie bar

Everywhere I look I see something involving cake mix and pudding mix. Sounds very strange but I gave in. These cookie cake bars are so amazingly moist! Its a good thing I gave most away because I could probably just sit there with the pan and eat them all....no joke. Also they whip up really fast if you need just one more Christmas treat! Or just a treat because its a Monday afternoon say and the baby wont nap...and then you eat the pan all by yourself.... or not just saying.

You need
A box of yellow cake mix
A small box of instant vanilla pudding
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips. (I used half m&ms half white chocolate chips)

What you do
Preheat oven to 350° Mix all the ingredients in one bowl then stir in the chocolate chips. Poor into a well oiled 9x13 pan. Bake for 20-30 min until golden and starting to look crisp around the edges.

Enjoy!!!

Santa Cupcakes

Wow this week has been just a little bit crazy!! With trying to finish up Christmas stuff and having my daughters 1st birthday party a little early ( her actual birthday is the 30th). I have had a lot going on, as I am sure you do too! Now did your kids sign you up to make cupcakes for the holiday party? I totally signed myself up this last week not thinking about craziness going on. These are cute and quick cupcakes.


What you need

A batch of your favorite white cupcakes
Red sugar crystals
Some white frosting
Red and green M&Ms
Mini chocolate chips
Mini marshmallows
Coconut

What you do

My best tip is do this one cupcake at a time so the frosting is still wet not dried out. Lightly frost your cupcake, dip half your cupcake in the red sprinkles. Line the rim of the red with mini marshmallows that have been cut in half, and out one whole one on the top of your red. Now use mini chocolate chips for eyes M&M for a nose and coconut for a beard. Done and done. 

 (please note I did not do one at a time and ended up having to add a little frosting about 1/2 way because it was drying out)

I just think these little guys are so cute!!!!

M&M peppermint bark cut outs

I really wanted to make some kind of bark but everywhere you look there is peppermint bark and I wanted something different. And yes I ended up with peppermint but they are little different. I originally planned on just chocolate and white chocolate with M&Ms but when I saw peppermint candy melts I just had to!!! I love the little red flakes in the white chocolate and the peppermint isn't over powering and of course M&Ms are just chocolate so I couldn't go wrong adding a little peppermint. But what makes these really fun is the shapes!! Can't you imagine yourself packing these cute little things up for your child's teacher? Oh and guess what it took me like maybe 30 min including the time in the refrigerator to harden!!! Oh and my husband says they remind him of peppermint mochas. In my house that't one of the biggest compliments out there.

What You need

8oz semi sweet chocolate

1 bag Wilton Peppermint candy melts

Red and Green M&Ms       

cookie cutters

What to do

Melt your chocolate in a double boiler. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and lay out cookie cutters. Once chocolate is melted and smooth place some chocolate inside a cookie cutter and spread to the edges with something like a chopstick. Once all filled place in the refrigerator for 10 min. Once chocolate has hardened melt the candy melts in the microwave and repeat on top of the hardened chocolate. While still warm place M&Ms on each candy. Harden again for about 15 minutes. to pop out of the cookie cutter use a paring knife along the edges. 

 

winter link party and giveaway!!!

Well It's time again for another wonderful link party and this time we're including a give away too!

     Crafts, Cakes, and Cats                                     Michelle's Tasty Creations

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Here's what your hostesses have been up to

~Starting with the top left we have ~

Gingersnap Cookie Sandwiches with Cream Cheese Filling from: Crafts, Cakes, & Cats

Creamy Cranberry Salad from: Hot Eats and Cool Reads

Snowman Tea Light Holder from: MorningNooNight

Ornament Wreath from: MorningNooNight

Candy Cane Biscotti from: Crafts, Cakes, & Cats

German Chocolate Cake from: Crafts, Cakes, & Cats

Big Crunchy Sugar Cookies from: Hot Eats and Cool Reads

Candy Cane Cupcakes from: MorningNooNight

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies from: Hot Eats and Cool Reads

Peppermint Kiss Cookies from: Michelle's Tasty Creations

Candy Cane Cookies from: Michelle's Tasty Creations

Swedish Christmas Cookies from: Michelle's Tasty Creations

~Now lets see what you've been up to~

~A few things to remember~

Please only link up Christmas/Winter recipes, crafts, DIY, tutorials, printables, etc. that YOU have created.

Please don't link up any Etsy shops, giveaways, or other link parties.

By linking to this party you give us permission to share your post on our blogs and other social media.

Please share this party by linking back to us in your post or by adding this party to your party page.

Be sure to stop by and visit a few of the other blogs that have posted; we all love to see sweet comments.

We're also having a wonderful giveaway - enter to win

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Candy Cane Biscotti

A favorite in our house is biscotti. Probably because we love coffee and its sooooo tastey dipped in coffee. This is a very simple treat, it would make a great little side to coffee after dinner for your next small get toghether. Or my friend is packing it up and taking it on the road with her as she leaves tomorrow to head to her Thanksgiving destination. With Thanksgiving so late this year I am feeling very behind and December is a mighty busy month for us this year. I guess I best get moving on things!!

Candy Cane Biscotti

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Chocolate for melting
Crushed candy canes


Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease or line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In your stand mixer, mix together the oil, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. In a separate bowl mix together the flour and baking powder. Slowly add the flour to your egg mixture until a heavy dough is formed.

Half your dough and form a roll almost the length of your cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/2 inch thick. I found this easiest if my hands were just slightly damp and I flattened with the palm of my hand.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Once its cool to the touch slice into 1/2 pieces and place back on the cookie sheets cut side up. Back again for 6-10 minutes then flip and bake again.

Once cooled dip 1/2 of each biscotti into the chocolate and top with the crushed candy cane.

Gingersnap cookie sandwich with cream cheese frosting center

Ok so the title is a little long but these cookies are amazing!! And I know for a fact because, I talked to him myself, that Santa wants a lot of these during his Christmas expedition. Speaking of Christmas its my babies first!! I am so filled with excitement and sadness since her birthday is just 5 days later and she won't be a baby but a toddler (insert sad face here), I am all ready to start the family traditions and since this is her first I guess this year we are figuring out what those are gonna be and I am thinking these cookies made the list for sure!!


Gingersnap cookies (you need an even number of cookies)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 molasses
1 egg
sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl mix together the  flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and set aside. In your stand mixer beat the sugar and shortening on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and molasses then slowly add the flour mixture.

Once well mixed make 1 inch balls with the dough and roll in the extra sugar. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool briefly on the cookie sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.


Cream Cheese filling
2 8oz packages of room temperature cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla


Beat cream cheese until soft and add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until you are happy with the smoothness.

Place some filling on the bottom of a cookie and top with another! These are great just like this but to add some fun to them I dipped them in white chocolate and decorated them.

TIP**
Make these cookie early! Say if you need them at night make them that morning. The cookie its self with get all chewy from the cream cheese filling!

Make sure you store these cookies in the refrigerator.