As part of my preparations, I've done a bit of sewing and not nearly as much cooking as I normally do.
In the sewing department, I made a bunch of 'Angry Bird' beanbags:
The puppies got ahold of a couple of the beanbags (not too happy about that!), so I'll have to redo a few of those. And I'm still working on the pigs and target. The recipients are my nephews children, who are spending Christmas with their grandparents and cousins in Arizona, so I still have a few days to finish this project.
And since Bonnie published step 6 of the Orca Bay mystery quilt, I just HAD to sew a little on that to see how those blocks would look, plus I wanted to play a little with layout.
I really like dark background against the red string blocks. Not too sure, though, how I feel about the light background. Perhaps I just used the wrong neutral fabrics... And I like the blue and black/white together as I have arranged them (they'd make a great border, but there would need to be more blue in the center of the quilt).
Next comes the Christmas candy. I made fudge and toffee a couple of days ago. More than half of each candy has been eaten, so it must have tasted alright.
I usually make peanut brittle and carmel as well as the fudge and toffee, and a couple different kinds of cookies, but just ran out of time. Here are some recipes if you want to try them:
Fudge
2 14-oz. cans sweetened condensed milk (aka Eagle Brand, but I use the store brand)
3 12-oz. packages chocolate chips (I use 1 semi-sweet and 2 milk chocolate)
1-2 cups nuts of your choice (or you can omit these)
Put the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a large saucepan and melt together over medium heat, stirring constantly. When chips are completely melted, remove from heat and stir in nuts. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan. Cool until set, then cut and enjoy!
Sue's English Toffee
1 pound real butter
8 tsp. water
2 cups sugar
2 Tb. white corn syrup
1 12-oz package milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts) - optional
Melt butter; add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn up the heat, insert a candy thermometer, and stir constantly until candy reaches the hard crack stage (300 degrees - if you don't have a candy thermometer (I don't), the candy will thicken and turn a golden brown color and a teaspoon full dizzled into cold water will make a cracking sound - about 5-10 minutes after turning up the heat). Pour into buttered 9x13 pan. Let sit for 10 minutes, then sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Spread melting chocolate until candy is completely covered. Sprinkle with nuts.
Easy Peanut Brittle
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup raw peanuts
1 Tb. butter
Cook in a cast iron skillet until the mixture turns a golden brown and makes a popping sound as it bubbles. Then add 1 tsp. water which is mixed with 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt. Stir (candy will "foam"). Pour immediately into a buttered pan. Spread out the candy as thinly as you can. When cool, break into pieces.
Christmas Carmel
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (aka Eagle Brand)
1 cup white corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
Walnuts or pecans, optional
Melt butter. Add sugar, Eagle milk, and corn syrup. Cook at a medium temperature, stirring constantly, until mixture turns a tan color and forms a firm ball in cold water. Add vanilla and pour over nuts which have been placed on a lightly buttered pan. When cool, cut and wrap in waxed paper.
*This recipe makes excellet "turtle" candies. To make turtles, place whole pecans on buttered cookie sheet. Drop a teaspoon full of carmel over each pecan. Let cool. Melt milk chocolate chips in a glass bowl or mug in the microwave. Dip individual carmel pecans into chocolate and put back onto cookie sheet. Cool until firm, then enjoy!
I'll save cookie recipes for another day.
Have a delightful Christmas. And remember to receive the gift (let Him in).
