Our Seven Dwarfs: Dec 29, 2010

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Great Winter Printable

We both love these printables from Bunch of Craft.

http://bunchofcraft.blogspot.com/2010/12/winter-subway-art.html

We bought an inexpensive picture frame from Walmart ($3) and we print these out every time a new one comes out. Head on over and pick up a cute and inexpensive decoration for your home!

Peppermint Bark is easy to make and delicious! It was one of the treats we included in my daughter's teachers' gift tote. You can alter the recipe by using any kind of chocolate chips you'd like. We prefer teh semisweet. You can layer with white chocolate too. My girls don't like white chocolate so we made it just with the dark chocolate. You can substitute Heath bits for peppermint. Get creative!

What you'll need:

A Jellyroll pan or cookie sheet

Freezer Paper or Parchment Paper

Cooking Spray

A double boiler or two pots that fit together to create one

A spatula

A stove

Peppermints or candy canes

A bag of semisweet chocolate chips

A hammer

A Ziploc bag

I stacked these pans to make a double boiler. I added a couple inches of water to the bottom pot and brought it to a boil.

This is my 23 month old, Mariella. She's adding the chips to the pot that will be on top. Check out her cute apron Grandmommy made her for Christmas.

Hey! I say you sneak that chip, little girl!

Mariella, don't eat them all!

There goes another one! Lucky for us, this recipe doesn't need exact measurements!

In walks my four year old, GraciAnn armed with the hammer, ready to attack the peppermints. We put four candy canes in a Ziploc bag and sealed it. Grandmommy made her cute apron too. Matchy matchy!

Mariella's keeping her distance as GraciAnn makes powder out of the candy canes.

We've lined the jelly roll pan with Freezer Paper. We sprayed the freezer paper with cooking spray.

Here's the chocolate chips. They've started melting.

GraciAnn's carefully stirring the chocolate chips. Mariella's saying, "Chocolate!"

The chocolate chips are melted. It's time to add the peppermint.

GraciAnn's stirring the peppermint in.

...and stirring....

It's well mixed now.

We put the chocolate on the freezer paper.

Smooth out the chocolate mixture to a thin layer. You could swirl in white chocolate, sprinkle peppermint pieces on top, whatever you want to jazz it up. My girls are just happy eating it pretty plain. When it's spread out, put it in the refrigerator to harden.

They love liking the spatulas.

Waiting patiently for the peppermint bark to harden.

Oh my! After she's cleaned up, the bark may be ready. Really, let it chill for about two hours. Take it out of the refrigerator and break it into pieces. Yum!

White Chocolate Bark

This is really good and rich! It makes a great gift and was included in my daughter's teachers' gifts.

Line a jellyroll pan with alum. foil.

Cover the bottom with graham crackers.

Melt 1c. butter in saucepan, add 1c. brown sugar then add 1c. chopped nuts (I use pecans). Make sure it's well blended boil just a little.

Spread mixture over crackers, making sure to cover them.

Bake @ 400 for 8 mins. until it bubbles.
Let it cool for 10mins.

While it's cooling melt 1 bag of white choc. morsels in a double boiler.

Spread chocolate over crackers.
Place in freezer for 20 mins.
Break bark and place in air tight containers.
ENJOY!!!!!

Chicken Tacos

What You'll Need:
Crockpot
Four frozen chicken breasts
Chicken Seasonings (I used McCormick Rotisserie Blend)
Soft Taco Shells
Taco Toppings of choice

Put chicken breasts in crockpot and season. Cook at least four hours on low. When chicken is done, remove it from the crockpot. Shred chicken with a fork.