Recipe: Easy Mexican Vegan 7-Layer Party Dip
Get ready to party and make this delicious (and award winning!) Vegan Mexican 7-Layer Dip. It’s sure to be a hit!
Ingredients:
- 16 oz can of vegetarian refried beans
- 12 oz vegan sour cream (if not worried about the Vegan part, do regular)
- 3 Tbsp of taco seasoning
- 16 oz of guacamole (make it yourself or buy premade)
- 1 1/2 cups of chunky salsa of the spiciness of your choice
- 5 Tbsp of sliced black olives
- 8 oz of shredded lettuce
- 1 medium tomato, diced
Directions:
- Combine the sour cream and taco seasoning and stir until mixed well.
- In a 9 X 13″ dish, layer the following in this order:
- Refried beans
- Sour cream/taco seasoning mixture
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Black olives
- Shredded lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Optional: Throw it in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes or so to warm it up a little bit.
That’s it! Serve it with your choice of tortilla chips. Thanks to Clean Eating Veggie Girl for the recipe!
Recipe: Nutella CrockPot Hot Cocoa
Gather around on Christmas Eve or morning and make this DELICIOUS Nutella hot cocoa using your slow cooker.
Ingredients:
- 5 cups Milk
- 1/2 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 1/2 cup White Sugar
- 1 cup Hot Water
- Crockpot
Directions:
- Combine the cocoa, sugar, Nutella, and hot water in large pan. Stir, bringing to a gentle boil.
- Transfer this mixture to your crockpot, then add milk and stir.
- Cook on high for about 2 – 2.5 hours (or on low for approx. 4 – 4.5 hours), or until hot.
- Pour into mugs or Mason Jar Mugs, and top with whipped cream and sprinkles!
Thanks to The Frugal Girls for the recipe!
Recipe: Easy & Pretty Sparkling Cranberry Brie Bites
Want a festive-looking and delicious appetizer that is easy and will impress all your guests? Try this recipe for Sparkling Cranberry Brie Bites!
Ingredients & Directions for 16 Sugared Cranberries:
- 2 cups of fresh cranberries, washed thoroughly
- 1 cup of good maple syrup
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- Place washed cranberries in a medium bowl.
- Heat syrup in a small sauce pan just until warm.
- Pour warm syrup over cranberries. Make sure it is NOT hot, or the cranberries may pop.
- Cool, cover, and let soak in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, drain cranberries in a colander.
- Place sugar in a large bowl or baking dish. Add cranberries in 2 batches and roll around until lightly coated in sugar. Place on a baking sheet until dry (about 1 hour).
Rest of the Ingredients & Directions:
- 16 crackers (of your choice)
- 8 oz Brie cheese
- Cranberry chutney or cranberry relish
- Fresh mint for garnish.
Assemble crackers with one slice of brie, a light layer of cranberry chutney, and 4 or 5 sugared cranberries. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs. Now they’re ready to be served!
Thanks to Yummy Mummy Kitchen for the recipe!
Recycled Magazine Bows Tutorial
Instead of recycling your magazines, reuse them! Here is an easy tutorial for bows that you can use year round.
What You Need:
- 1 page of magazine per bow you plan on making
- Double-sided tape
Directions:
- Cut the page lengthwise into nine 3/4-inch wide strips of these heights: 3 at 11 inches long, 3 at 10 inches long, 2 at 9 inches long, and 1 at 3 1/2 inches long.
- Twist each strip to form loops at both ends and make a circle out of the smallest.
- Secure the ends with double-sided tape.
- Layer and stick, starting with the longest strips. End with the circle in the center.
Thanks to Whole Living for the tutorial. For pictures of each step, go here.
DIY Peppermint Candy Platter
Did you know you can take cheap peppermint candy (or ANY hard candy of any type) and make a platter? It’s amazing and SO EASY! Here’s what you do:
- Line a pizza pan with parchment paper.
- Open peppermint candies and arrange them in whichever pattern you’d like on the parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 for 13-17 minutes.
- Pull it off the pizza pan after 2-3 minutes & put it flat on the counter to cool (still on the parchment paper).
- Allow to cool fully and pull off the paper. VOILA! Plate made from candy.
Recipe: Natural, Organic Dog Treats
My dogs love their treats, but they’re so filled with “junk”! Instead of giving them boxed treats for their Christmas present (or every day!), try this yummy treat recipe. It’s so natural that we humans can eat it!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of 100% organic whole wheat flour (or wheat germ, spelt, rolled oats, or a mixture of these)
- Fido’s K9 Yogurt Icing (add water and food coloring according to directions on package)
- 2x 4oz jars of pureed organic baby food (beef, blueberry, sweet potato, chicken, etc. Whatever sounds good)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure there are no onions/onion powder in it. Also, avoid any with artificial preservatives (should be easy, most are just pureed veggies and water).
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mix together to form a stiff dough. Add extra flour or water as needed.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about a 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into fun shapes or a pizza cutter to make cubes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, place treats about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely then add Fido’s K9 Yogurt Icing and allow to harden before storing in a paper bag (storing in an air-tight container will make them soft, but they’re still edible).
Consider adding grated carrots or sweet potatoes, a little bit of parsley (which helps with bad breath), blueberries, or some peanut butter to your next batch!
Thank you to Curbly for the treat recipe
Recipe: Peppermint Candy Cane Fudge
Is anything better than creamy peppermint fudge topped with marshmallows, white chocolate, and candy canes?! NOPE!
Ingredients:
- 1 bag (12oz) white chocolate morsels
- 1 bag (10oz) Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips
- 7 oz jar marshmallow creme
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup of heavy cream
- 2 cups of granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 pkg (16oz) vanilla Candiquik, melted
- 3 cup Mini Peppermint Marshmallows
- 5 peppermint candy canes, broken
Directions:
- In a mixing bowl, add white chocolate morsels, Andes baking chips and marshmallow creme, then set aside.
- Prepare a 13×9 baking dish by lining it with parchment paper, then set aside.
- In medium saucepan, heat butter, heavy cream, sugar and salt over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and continue stirring. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- Pour over morsels and marshmallow creme, beating with a whisk until smooth and melted. (I highly suggest using an electric stand or handheld mixer- this fudge is thick)! Pour fudge into prepared baking dish.
- Melt vanilla candiquik according to package directions. then allow to cool slightly (about a couple minutes). Fold in the mini marshmallows and pour over top of fudge. Immediately sprinkle with the broken candy canes. Allow fudge to set for about 2-3 hours. Cut into bites and enjoy!
Thanks to Shugary Sweets for the yummy recipe!
Recipe: Santa Strawberries
Make these adorable Santa Strawberries along with these Grinch Kabobs for a more nutritious snack for the kids this year!
Ingredients:
- 1 dozen strawberries
- 1 cup whipped cream
- chocolate sprinkles
Directions:
- Slice the leafy end off each strawberry with a pairing knife so they stand up evenly. Then slice the tip off to make a little hat (isn’t it perfectly shaped for that?).
- With a spoon or icing tip, put 1-2 tsp of whipped cream on top of the strawberry base. Put on the hat and put a tiny tab of whipped cream at the very tip to look like the puff on the top of Santa’s hat.
- Put 2 chocolate sprinkles in the “face” to look like Santa’s eyes.
- Add 2 tiny tabs of whipped cream down the front of the strawberry base with a toothpick to look like buttons.
- If not eating immediately, cover and put in the fridge to keep from melting.
Thanks to Leanne bakes for the recipe!
Recipe: Peppermint Crunch Bites
Add a little something new to your holiday sweets plate this month. These are yummy all winter long!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp shortening
- 2-1/2 cups Captain Crunch Cereal
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 Hershey’s Candy Cane Candy Bar – broken into pieces
Directions:
- Measure cereal & marshmallows & set aside.
- Prepare candy bar & set aside.
- Mix white chocolate chips & shortening in a glass bowl.
- Microwave the mixture on high for 1-2 minutes – stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.
- Add in cereal & marshmallows to the mixture. Stir to coat evenly.
- Scoop tablespoon size drops out & place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle chopped peppermint candy bar on top.
- Refrigerate to firm up at least 1 hour before serving.
- Store in air tight container at room temperature.
Thank you to Kleinworth & Co. for the picture and recipe!
DIY Snowball Wreath
Do you have a ton of snow? Do have no snow and wish you did? Either way, this super easy snowball wreath will be the perfect decoration for the whole winter season!
What You’ll Need:
- styrofoam wreath form
- assorted styrofoam balls (the picture shows 8 large, 4 medium, 20 small, and 10 tiny)
- fake snow
- decoupage medium
- decoupage brush
- red satin ribbon
- low temp glue gun
Directions:
- Using the low temperature glue gun, glue the large snowballs to the wreath form, then fill in with the medium, then small.
- Add a thick layer of decoupage to the styrofoam. Make it really thick in some places.
- Add the fake snow over it.
- Add a bow and you can add a little decoupage and fake snow on it to make it look more realistic if you’d like!