Friday, December 14, 2012

Weekend Fun

 
 
 
If you are looking to get your kids involved in some holiday baking, or you need something fun for them to do while you do your holiday baking, give them this super easy and super cute baking project.  You can make your own sugar cookie dough and let the kids roll and cut their own circles, or you can cheat and buy the store bought sugar cookie roll of dough...just as yummy!
I used a royal icing recipe to ice the cookies...it's the only recipe I keep under lock and key, but I am sure you can google one.  Pretzels as the antlers, chocolate chips as the eyes and a red m&m as the nose and a few extras to munch on while you decorate!
Merry Baking and may your Cookies go down in History!!

xo,
Heather
 

 
 





Rock Around the Christmas Tree



A group of friend's and I get together for each other's birthdays.  We go to lunch, get manicure's and pedicure's and have girls nights out.  Each birthday seems to be more fun to celebrate than the last.  I guess if you are gonna get older, you might as well live by the phrase, Rock On.
So since it is the holidays and my Christmas tree is up and decorated...I was on top of things this year :) ... I offered to host a Rock Around the Christmas Tree Birthday Party for our 2 December friend's birthdays.  They both love Mexican so the menu choice was easy.  And lucky for everyone, I didn't make the food!  I love cooking, but years ago I offered to have our neighbors over for dinner and decided to have a mexican night.  What was suppose to be simple turned out to be a kitchen disaster!  Although the food was good, we did not eat until 11pm and when the neighbors left, my husband and I turned to what was a white kitchen and said, "what happened to this place!"  I used every pot and pan and I think I dirtied every dish.  I have never made mexican again!  So, my friends housekeeper makes AMAZING mexican food and she offered to do the cooking.  The food was delicious and after eating her 3 homemade salsa's, I don't think I will ever buy another store bought jar of salsa again. 
Anyway, as the host, I was in charge of the "House Drink."  So I made Merry Margarita's.  A cranberry margarita made with a 100%Agave Tequila, Cointreau, Key West Lime Juice and Cranberry Juice, it was the perfect festive match for our Rockin Birthday Bash.  I like to make my drinks ahead of time and put them in ziploc freezer bags in my freezer and let them get nice and icy...a trick I learned from my Aunt in Florida.  Then, right before your company arrives, you can cut a slit in the bottom of the ziploc and pour the frozen drink into the glasses.  When your guests arrive, their drink will be just perfect. 
If tequila is not your liquor of choice, you can also make a Christmas Cosmo but substitute Vodka for Tequila. 
The evening was a night of great friends, fabulous food, delicious cocktails and a fun night of Rockin Around the Christmas Tree to celebrate 2 great friends birthdays!
Rock On and may all your Birthdays be Merry and Bright!
xo,
Heather

Friday, December 7, 2012

HO HO HOt Chocolate


 
 
Ho! Ho! Ho!  I hope everyone is doing well and getting into the holiday spirit.  I was looking for a little bit of a different idea than cookies for the neighbors and I saw this idea for Hot Chocolate on a stick.  I wanted to try it but I wanted to add my own twist.  So when I saw these adorable silicone gingerbread molds, I thought that would be the perfect way to change the idea up a bit.  So I used the Hot Chocolate on a stick recipe, (I did use milk chocolate chips in place of some of the semi-sweet chocolate chips) and poured it into the gingerbread molds.  After chilling over night, the gingerbread men popped right out.  I added a few peppermint marshmellows to the packaging and tied it up and there you have it...a fun & yummy treat to hand out to our friends and neighbors.
PS...it is getting late, so I have not made my gift tags yet, but I will probably write Merry Christmas on the front of the tag and on the back write...just add hot milk.  I will try to post a picture tomorrow!
 
xo,
Heather