The Hazel Bloom

Cranberry Baked Brie

Here's the truth. I've been avoiding posting this recipe, because the last time I made it and took pictures of the final product, the pictures really didn't turn out. They didn't do it justice. It's tough to take great food pictures when there's no daylight. Well, and when you've had two cosmopolitans.

But it's New Year's Eve, and because I love you and because it's a day for party fare and because this appetizer looks and tastes much more impressive than this picture shows, I'm sharing this recipe anyway. Please don't hate me and my cute purple point-and-shoot camera and the delicious cosmos which led to this horrible picture. *Bracing myself*... here it is!

Fine, fine, fine, ripping off the bandaid. Here's the other.

Don't leave! It really is good on some nice buttery crackers! The tart sweetness of the cranberry sauce marries oh-so-deliciously with the salty creaminess of the brie. Yum.

Here's the recipe. If you want it.

:)

Cranberry Baked Brie

Ingredients:

• One wheel brie cheese
• A cup or so of your favorite cranberry sauce, depending on the size of your brie wheel - (I love this one from Rachael Ray. So easy, so yummy.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the rind off the top of the brie cheese.
   
   
   
3. Place the wheel of cheese into a pie plate or other dish or cookie sheet with sides.
4. Top with cranberry sauce.
   
   
   
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Serve immediately with crackers. 
7. Take some photos that are better than mine.
8. (Enjoy!)

And have a terrific, fun, and safe New Year's Eve!

Bachelor Pockets

Back in October, while we were munching on piroshky at Oktoberfest (which I'm only now realizing is kind of an odd thing to eat at an Oktoberfest celebration), my guy mentioned these foodstuffs-in-dough reminded him of one of his food specialties. A food specialty that I've since named Bachelor Pockets, and a food specialty that I'm sharing with you today.

But first of all, let me mention that it's become clear to me that my guy, who I've been dating for 21 months, with whom I've been shacking up for the last six, and to whom I've been engaged since Christmas Eve, seems to have several of these specialties that he is very, very slowly rolling out one... by... slow... one.

(Yes, to digress upon a digression, we are getting married! I am thrilled and apologize in advance for my wedding over-obsessing over these next few months.)

So anyway, my guy - my fiance (getting used to that) - whipped out this particular gem a few days later back at home. He and his buddy used to make them a lot back in the day – his bachelor days, that is. When I asked, "What did you guys call it?" He shrugged. "We just made it." So I named it. A chick would totally do that. I added veggies to the mix, too. I know, I know.

Basically, you take some pizza dough from a can and you cook up some chicken and you throw the chicken and some Velveeta on the pizza dough and you wrap it up and bake it.

So… how do we feel about Velveeta, ladies and gents? Have I lost any credibility I may have had here? The truth is, I do feel like it’s such a monstrosity... but... a glorious, delicious, and indeed sometimes appropriate monstrosity. I feel guilty about it, but the truth is, I do rather love it, even if I only allow myself to eat it on rare occasions. There. I said it.

Anyway (and I apologize for all my trains of thought here today) here we have two versions of the recipe – Cheesy Chicken and Veggie. Try 'em! My guy was onto something - they're easy enough to whip up for a weeknight meal for one or many, and they're darn tasty. (I wonder what else is up his sleeve?)

Cheesy Chicken Bachelor Pockets

Serves 2 hungry bachelors (or four less hungry folks)

Ingredients:

• 1 roll refrigerated pizza dough (like Pillsbury)
• 1 chicken breast, cubed
• 1/2 - 1 cup cubed Velveeta
• Stuff to add to the chicken breast to give it a little flavor while it’s cooking – minced garlic, a pinch of thyme, a dash of dried basil, some salt and black pepper. Whatever floats your boat.
• Optional veggies – onion, pepper, whatever

Instructions:

1. Cube the chicken breast and sauté with garlic and spices until it’s cooked all the way through. Set aside.
2. Cube the Velveeta. Again, so wrong. But soooo right.
3. Unroll the pizza dough onto a cookie sheet, and cut it in half. Save the pizza dough container, because you’ll want to read it in a minute. Or better yet, read it now, so you know what to preheat the oven to.
4. Sprinkle half the chicken and half the cheese onto half of each dough square. Top with optional veggies, if you’re using (you can cook these ahead of time too, if you want, but I found it wasn't necessary).
   
   
   
5. Lift up the empty half of the dough square and cover the stuff. You want to seal the edges together, but don’t worry about trying to make it look neat, because it’s most likely not going to happen. This is rustic, manly fare!
   
   (And it's really, really hard to make these good-looking.)
   
   
   
6. Follow the directions on the pizza dough container for temperature and time to cook. We cooked ours at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Start checking a couple minutes early though, just in case.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes or so.
8. Eat! Goes good with beer. But of course it does.

Veggie Bachelor Pockets

Serves 2 (if you’re very hungry) to 4

• 1 roll refrigerated pizza dough (like Pillsbury)
• 1/2 - 1 cup cubed Velveeta
• 2 medium red potatoes
• 1/2 cup broccoli, broken into small pieces
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup diced red or green bell pepper
• Or you can try cauliflower, celery, whatever you want.

1. Scrub the potatoes and pierce with a fork. Microwave on high for about two minutes.
2. Cube the Velveeta. Watch it wiggle, see it jiggle, try not to get weirded out. It’s goooood.
3. Unroll the pizza dough onto a cookie sheet, and cut it in half. And save the pizza dough container, because you’ll want to read it in a minute. Or better yet, read it now, so you know what to preheat the oven to.
4. Add the Velveeta to the dough halves.
   
   
   
   Our cookie sheets were so filthy here. It's embarrassing.
    
5. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, dice ‘em up.
   
   Yummy veggies, all in a row.
   
   
   
6. Sprinkle the potatoes, other veggies, and cheese over one half of each dough square.
7. Lift up the empty half of the dough square and cover the stuff. You want to seal the edges together, but don’t worry about trying to make it look neat. As you can see, we didn't.
8. Follow the directions on the pizza dough container for temperature and time to cook. We cooked ours at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Start checking a couple minutes early though, just in case.
   
   
    
   
9. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes or so before eating. Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms

New Year's Eve is just around the corner, which means cocktail parties, which means appetizers, which means stuffed mushrooms, right?!

Here's a recipe I love. They're breadcrumbless, which is nice if you decided to start your resolution to go low carb one day before the New Year. I mean, if that's the case, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?! YOU'RE GIVING UP YOUR LAST FREE EAT-ANYTHING-YOU-WANT DAY! But otherwise, you know, it's cool.

One of my Christmas presents was a rad little Cuisinart chopper. You don't know how many times I've chopped up pecans or walnuts with a knife, cursing the whole time because it would be so much easier with a little food processor number. I guess my guy got a little tired of hearing it (understandably), because one of 'em was under the tree. What I'm getting at here is, the handy chopper makes this recipe much, much, much easier. (And also, my guy rocks.)

Anyway, here's the recipe!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Adapted from the Mouthwatering Stuffed Mushrooms recipe on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 20 mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese plus a little more to sprinkle on top
• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons grated onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional if you want 'em to have a little kick)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash the mushrooms well, and pop the stem off of each, saving the stem.
   
   
   
3. Chop up the stems finely, or place them in your cool new little food chopper and pulse them a couple of times.
   
   
   
   Love it!
    
4. Add the olive oil to a frying pan. On medium, cook the chopped stems and the garlic in the olive oil until most of the moisture from the mushroom stems has dissipated. This should only take a couple of minutes - and be sure not to burn the garlic!
   
   
   
5. Stir the salt into the mushroom stem and garlic mixture.
6. Mix the filling:
   
   If you're using a small chopper: Throw in the artichoke hearts and pulse a few times until coarsely diced. Pour into a bowl and mix together with the mushroom mixture, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, and peppers. You could also try mixing all of this stuff in your chopper, but it may be a tad small for all of it at once. Trust me, I've already learned this lesson, and I've only had my chopper for four days.
   
   This here would have worked great had I remembered to put the blade in before I added the ingredients. Hey, I'm new to this chopper thing!
   
   
   
   If you're using a large food processor: Pulse all the ingredients (except for the mushroom tops) in the food processor. Leave some chunks! Chunks are good!
   
   If you're going by hand: Chop up the artichoke hearts, them mix them with the mushroom mixture, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, and peppers.
    
7. Okay! Now that your filling has mixed, set your mushrooms top side down on the cookie sheet.
8. Using a spoon, stick the filling into each shroom, with lots overflowing.
9. Sprinkle the top with additional Parmesan cheese.
   
   
   
10. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes, until the mushrooms are very hot and liquid starts to form underneath them. 
11. Switch the oven to broil and broil for another two minutes or so, getting the top nice and golden brown.
12. Allow to cool for a good ten minutes or so before handling these little buggers - they're very rolly and if one rolls over, it'll spill its hot contents. Excellent opportunity to see how it's tasting, though.
13. I like to serve these on my deviled egg platter. See: Above comment about rolling.
14. And enjoy!

Mini Vanilla Scones

Facebook is so weird and so cool. It's really neat to connect with folks from the past - so many high school classmates are my "friends," and I've so enjoyed catching up with them.

One gal graduated a year after I did. She's super sweet. She has a bunch of cute kids, and just had another. Her just-gave-birth hospital picture is probably the best I've ever seen - she looks beautiful. No messed up hair, no splotchy face, no double chins - just glowy "I gave birth five minutes ago, no problem!" I'm very impressed.

She posted on my Facebook wall a month or so ago, asking if I had a tried-and-true recipe for scones, especially something along the lines of those yummy mini vanilla scones you can find at Starbucks. I didn't. But of course I couldn't just say "not yet" and leave it at that.  

And so, since then, I've discovered Alton Brown's amazing scone recipe. I've made several iterations of it, and it's really pretty perfect. The scones are soft, a little fluffy, flavorful, and flaky. I've made vanilla lime scones (in flower shapes with green lime frosting - decent, but probably a little too goofy to be post worthy) and fruit and nut scones (definitely post worthy - someday). And, of course, I've made mini vanilla scones. Admittedly, these would be far more impressive with little vanilla bean flecks in them, but all I had around is vanilla extract. And I think they're darn good like this, too.

With my old high school acquaintance's new mini addition to her maxi family, I'm not sure she'll have a spare second anytime soon to try the mini scones, but when she does, it'll be right here. And thanks to her for the inspiration!

Here's the recipe.

Mini Vanilla Scones

Makes 16 scones

Adapted from Alton Brown's wonderful scones recipe

Ingredients:

Scones

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (salted butter is fine, I just suggest you reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Glaze

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar (aka confectioners sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
   There's something so wonderful about a big bowl full of fluffy flour.
   
   
   
3. Cut the 4 tablespoons of butter into chunks and add, along with the shortening, to the flour mixture.
4. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut the shortening and butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs. (Fun factoid: When you roll out the dough, the shortening and butter  flatten out, and that's what helps the dough to be flaky.)
   
   
   
5. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg.
   
   
   
6. Mix in the heavy cream and the vanilla.
   
   
   
7. Create a well in the dry mixture, then pour the cream mixture in.
   
   
   
8. Mix just until the dough starts to stick together. I try to work it as little as possible after this point.
   
   
   
9. Turn the scone dough out onto a floured board, and gently knead it together enough to form somewhat of one cohesive chunk of dough (I knead it just once or twice)
10. Roll into an approximately 6 inch by 9 inch rectangle.
11. Cut into 16 scones. I make four cuts up, one down the middle, and then slice every rectangle into two triangles. This is hard to explain. Hopefully the photos will help.
    
    
    
    
12. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes - I check for just a teensy tinge of golden brown along the bottom.
    
    
    
13. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack with paper towels underneath (the paper towels help with clean-up).
14. Make the glaze - mix the powdered sugar, the vanilla extract, and the milk together well.
    
    
    
    (But beware the powdered sugar explosion when doing so. Doh.)
    
    
    
    
15. Using a spoon, drizzle a little glaze over the top of each scone.
    
    
    
16. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then serve!

Oh, but beware of doggy noses (see: Upper right corner). These things of course smell delicious to the canine units, too.

Merry Christmas! Have a Ball.

Whatever you do this holiday or who you spend it with, I hope you and yours have a truly wonderful time - and lots of fun!

xoxo,
Kare

Cranberry-Lime Champagne Cocktail

I have a new and vivid fascination with champagne cocktails. An elegant champagne flute, some bubbly, a little flavoring, maybe a touch of fruit, and you've got perfect party fare. And endless possibilities.

I've yet to try the most classic iteration, with bitters and a sugar cube, but you can bet your strawberry I'll be trying it soon. Once I figure out what bitters are.

Meanwhile, I've got a cranberry lime version for you. Red and green for Christmas Eve! So perfect I can hardly stand it. Oh, totally unrelated, speaking of hardly being able to stand something, you've got to check out these Candy Cane Christmas Tree Cupcakes over on Bakerella's blog. So cute I'm pretty sure I just plain can't stand it. 

Okay, okay, tear yourself away from Bakerella's fabulous blog and come back to me, will you? We've got some drinking to do!

Here's the recipe:

Cranberry-Lime Champagne Cocktail

Serves 1

Adapted from Tyler Florence's Cranberry Champagne Cocktail recipe on foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

• Champagne (we like the Riondo Prosecco we picked up for a mere $10 at Costco)
• 1 oz. cranberry juice (the sweetened kind)
• 1 lime wedge + one very thin half lime slice
• 2-3 frozen cranberries

Instructions:

1. Pour cranberry juice into a chilled champagne flute.
2. Squeeze the lime wedge into the glass.
3. Fill with champagne.
4. Float the cranberries and the thin lime slice on top.
5. Enjoy, enjoy, and enjoy!

 

 

Drunken Pot Roast

The crock pot is a perfect instrument for a chick like me who doesn't actually eat meat, but still wants to make it (and make it well) on the rare occasion for carnivorous loved ones. For the most part, you just plop the hunk of meat in, leave it for several hours, and out comes something everyone proclaims is delicious.

And sure enough, this recipe is no exception. It's a nice, unique spin on your run of the mill pot roast. And it's even got a memorable name. A little weird, a little inappropriate perhaps, but nonetheless.

(Just to delve a little further for a sec into the me-being-a-vegetarian thing, it feels very weird to be posting a huge hunk of meat on this blog of mine. But... people love this recipe, and so I wanted to share. Just maybe do me a favor and consider eating a meatless meal some other time this week if you make this roast. It'll make me feel better!)

So anyway, about that hunk o' meat! It's perfect with mashed potatoes - especially because you can make a flavorful gravy out of the sauce it cooked in. Oh, and it's got a ton, a ton of garlic. But don't worry - the garlic really mellows during the slow cooking process.

I cooked up 8 pounds worth of this stuff for my family's Thanksgiving Part Deux dinner, and it was well-loved and well-noshed. Did I mention my guy gives it two grunts up? High praise.

And so, here's the recipe!

Drunken Pot Roast

Serves 6ish

Adapted from the terrific Drunken Garlic Pot Roast recipe posted by Sue L. on Recipezaar.com

Ingredients:

• 1 3-pound pot roast (I tend to buy top round)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions (or 1 XL will do)
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic (yup, about 25 cloves)
• 1 cup (8 ounces) lager beer (I use either Stella or Henry's Blonde - either are great)
• 1/2 cup beef or veggie broth (I make and freeze my own veggie broth so I just throw a chunk of that in)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (I sometimes use Trader Joe's Garlic Mustard Aioli sauce - very good!)
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• Fresh thyme springs (optional)
• Cornstarch (about 3 tablespoons) and an equal amount of cold water

Instructions:

1. Trim any huge amounts of fat off of the roast.
2. Rub some kosher salt and black pepper into the entire outside of the roast. You can use a spoon or, yeah, your hands.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on medium-high heat.
4. Place the pot roast in the skillet, and brown it on every side.
   
   
   
5. Remove the roast and place it on a plate.
6. Lower the heat to medium, and add one more tablespoon of vegetable oil and add the broth, stirring and scraping up all the bits left from the meat.
7. Throw on the onions and saute until the onions begin to get translucent - roughly about 10 minutes.
8. Add the garlic, and cook for a couple of minutes more. Here I'm going to confess my dirty little secret. Sometimes, especially when a recipe calls for a ton of garlic, and it doesn't really matter if it's super fresh, and I just don't have the time to do all the mincing, sometimes I use the pre-minced garlic.
   
   
   
   Have I lost any shred of respect I may have earned previously? I probably should have just kept that to myself. (But seriously, you can get the huge container at Costco, it keeps forever, and sometimes it's a true godsend for super busy cooks).
9. In a small bowl, stir together the beer, vinegar, brown sugar, and mustard. Don't worry if it doesn't mix together very well - it won't matter after this next step.
   
   
   
10. Add the beer mixture to the onions and garlic, and heat through, stirring well.
    
    
    
11. Pour the onion mixture into the crock pot, and place the pot roast on top. Lay the thyme sprigs on top of the roast, if using.
    
    
    
12. Cook on low for 8 hours.
13. Make the gravy! After the 8 hours is up, ladle most of the juice into a saucepan, and turn the burner to medium.
14. Mix 2 - 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water (this dissolves the cornstarch).
15. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan with the drippings.
    
    
    
16. Stir frequently until the gravy boils and begins to thicken. Remove from heat.
17. Remove thyme sprigs from the top of the roast (so people won't find any little thyme branches).
18. Place the roast on a platter, and surround it with the onions.
19. Let the roast rest for about 10 minutes, then slice and serve with gravy (and, hopefully, mashed potatoes!)

Enjoy!
 

Or, you know, sit back and watch your guests enjoy. :)

A Few Budget Christmas Decorating Ideas

 
Even though I always manage to spend about a gazillion dollars this time of year, I still get excited by doing some things - like decorations - on the cheap. I know, I'm easily entertained. What is that saying? "Blessed is he who can laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be amused"? This kind of reminds me of that saying. A little. It's a great saying, after all. But I'm digressing.

Anyway, if you're interested, here are a handful of things we've done this year.

Tart Pan Tree Base

This idea comes straight from Martha Stewart Living. The amazing December edition had a section about vintage aluminum trees, and in one they used a tart pan filled with fake snow and cute little deer figurines. Love! All I have is a little pink tinsel number and no figurines, but the tart pan base with
"snow" worked terrifically.

 

Glass vase, string light, and branches

Pile a string of lights in the bottom of a glass vase, plop some branches in, and wind the lights a bit through the branches. Barefoot Contessa did this on her show with a huge, awesome glass vase, a whole bunch of white lights, and some fresh evergreen branches. It looked way better than what I ended up with, but I like mine just the same.

Ornament Wreath 

An ornament wreath! My wheels started turning on this one after seeing this Glass Ball Ornament Wreath post over on Tidy Mom's blog. String a whole bunch of sturdy thrift store ornaments (I got most of these at Goodwill) on some thick wire (an old wire hanger works great) and tape at the top. Better yet, don't listen to me and follow the instructions here on Thrifty Decor Chick's site - a little more thorough. Side note: I can't wait to poke more around Thrifty Decor Chick's blog!

Anyway, I didn't have quite enough ornaments to make this perfect (you can see the wire at the top! Gasp!) but I'll be collecting ornaments all year so I can do a few perfectly next holiday season. I am ga ga over how these look, and can't believe this one only cost me about $4 (hint: electric fence wire, if you don't have any wire hangers, is great and totally cheap!)

Ribbon Alternate

In lieu of a bow, try some twine, a sprig of fake berries, and an extra present on the outside of the gift (in this case, a perfect ornament for the New Orleans Saints fan in my life).

Gussied-Up Candlesticks

Pipe cleaner, a big bead, and a petite ornament ornament dressed up each of my cute red candlesticks.

More Candlesticks Made Fancier

I livened these silver numbers up with some silver metallic garland and a sprig of fake berries. I just have to watch to make sure the candles don't get too low!

 

Kosher Salt Makes Great "Snow"

A bunch of coarse kosher salt dumped in this thrift-store dish and plopped with a candle = a snowy, and frugal, effect.

Candy Canes in a Planter

Candy canes are so quintessentially Christmas that when you stick them in a festive container (in this case, a cute polka dot planter I picked up last year for a buck at a garage sale), they make a perfect decoration.

Door Swag

If you follow my blog regularly, you've already seen these next three. Just warning you! And by the way, thank you for reading this thing. I appreciate it more than you know!

Here's my door swag that I absolutely love. And here's my post from last week about it. 

Cupcake Liners on String Lights

Oh yes, and cupcake liners on the bulbs of string lights - they make cute little lampshades! I'm still loving this. 

 

Little Banners Made out of Tags

I have these things all over the house now. And I blogged about it last Friday.

 

Pine Bark

This easy, delicious, candy slash cookie is made with... you ready? Saltine crackers! Yup.

With the whole salted caramel mania these past couple of years, it's sort of understandable. Pine Bark is basically caramel over saltine crackers, slathered with chocolate. The crackers add a crazy good texture and a perfect hit of salt. I know, crackers, it's a little weird (almost as weird as Ritz crackers dipped in mint chocolate, which is also delicious and which I should probably also share). But you must trust me on this.

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen. So many delicious foods come from Paula Deen. So many fattening foods. I'll be seeing less of Paula after the first of the year. I'll miss her.

Pine Bark (I have no idea how it got its name) is another must-make holiday treat for me. And people dig it. I suggest a double batch.

Here's the recipe!

Pine Bark

Adapted from Paula Deen's recipe on foodnetwork.com

Makes about 40 pieces

Ingredients:

• One sleeve saltine crackers (about 35 crackers)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate, whichever you prefer)
  
  
  

Instructions:

1. Turn oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides) with foil. Spray well with Pam.
3. Lay crackers salt side up in a single layer in the pan.
   
   
   
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium low heat.
5. Add brown sugar.
6. Leave heat on medium low and stir frequently until the mixture comes to a full boil.
7. Once the mixture comes to a full boil, cook for three minutes, stirring constantly. (It should look like this when you start timing. If you don't cook it long enough, the brown sugar may not dissolve, and you end up with grainy pine bark. Not nearly as delicious.)
   
   
   
8. Remove brown sugar and butter from heat, and stir in the almond extract.
9. Pour over the saltine crackers.
   
   
   
10. Place in the oven and bake for 6 minutes. It'll be all bubbly when you pull it out.
    
    
    
11. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
12. Let chocolate chips get all melty (it'll take a couple of minutes), then spread evenly with a spatula.
    
    
    
13. Let cool until you can touch the chocolate (this may take an hour or more) - but not all the way.  If you let the Pine Bark cool 100% on the foil, you may have a hard time getting it off of the foil. So let it cool somewhat, then transfer to some wax paper or parchment paper to cool the rest of the way. You may also want to refrigerate it to get it nice and hard.
    
    
    
14. Then, cut into pieces and serve. I like to store mine in the refrigerator, but it generally keeps fine at room temp, too.

Yet another addicting treat that I have to limit to holidays only. I have SO MUCH exercising to do come January.

Tag, You're It! Cute Little Holiday Banners

The holidays are the perfect time of year to express yourself. To let someone know you're thinking of them. To help make people smile. To wish a perfect stranger well.

I found a cute way to spread a little more Christmas cheer around the house - all you need is a stamp set with the letters of the alphabet, a handful of tags, and some skinny ribbon, and voila! Little holiday banners that say whatever you want them to say.

They're simple to make - just stamp the letters on some tags, and tie them together with enough ribbon on both ends to hang on mirrors, over shelves, or wherever.

I've gotta warn you, though, once you get started making these little buggers, it's hard to stop.

 

A cute variation is to substitute actual gift tags for the metal-rimmed key tags or standard little white tags.

I think I need to be stopped.