Scenes of the Nativity

We have several nativity scenes that are very special to me and we really enjoy getting them out every year. Gil brought me several back from a trip to Peru. This is one of them.
(You can click on the photos to enlarge them if you want to).

I love this one with their removable Peruvian hats and the smiling animals.

This one was made by women who were in a Peruvian prison. Mary broke into 16 pieces while in transit. I was heartbroken and glued her back together. She is fine now.

They have a beautiful glow to them in a dimly lit room.

This is the oldest and most important of all our nativity groups. I bought these unfinished in the fall of 1979, which was the year Gil and I got married. We painted them together and have enjoyed them for 30 years now. They posed this year for a photo shoot.

For many years they didn't even have a stable. Now they do.

The other day Zac asked me how all of them sprang for the stable because he grew up seeing them without one. He wondered if the three wise men bought it with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but then said that it would be hard for them to give something that had been stuck to them for so many years (literally). This led to a spur of the moment song, with guitar and vocal, which was titled, "Give Up Your Myrrh for God." Somehow the song went on to mention the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, and the year 1492. I know. Perplexing.

Memories and traditions have been really fun in our family. Create as many as you can.

Uncommonly Cute Reindeer

Zac surprised me with a these really cute little woodland reindeer yesterday. They are from Sojourns, which is in located on the north side of downtown Birmingham. (A very cool shop, by the way). I love the looks on their faces. Zac said that they reminded him of Izzy, our kooky dog that I rescued last year.

Do you see the resemblance?

Hmm... I'm thinking maybe so...

Yep, they are the reindeer version of her.

Festive Waxed Paper

This is an idea I got from Martha Stewart. It is easy and could be done for a variety of different occasions and is great to use for wrapping food gifts.

Materials needed:

waxed paper
copy or construction paper
paper punch
iron
pressing cloth or paper towels

1. First, lay cotton fabric or paper towels on your ironing board to protect it.
2. Lay one layer of waxed paper onto ironing board.
3. Place paper cutouts on top.

4. Cover with another piece of waxed paper:

5. Cover all with a cotton pressing cloth or paper towels.
6. Run an iron, set to medium heat, lightly over the layers to set:

How easy is that?!

Wrap something delicious with your newly crafted paper...

...and give it to someone special.

Chocolate Leaves with Peanut Butter Filling

I was in the mood for chocolate the other night, which is actually nothing unusual. I have leaf-shaped Wilton silicone molds that I hadn't used in a while, so I decided to try a version of the Reese Cup shaped like a leaf. I used crunchy peanut butter because I really prefer it, but creamy would be fine.

Chocolate Leaves with Peanut Butter Filling

1-12 oz bag semisweet chocolate morsels (I recommend Ghirardelli for both)
1-12 oz bag milk chocolate morsels
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1. Melt chocolate morsels in the microwave. Check and stir at 30 second intervals until completely melted.
2. In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla.
3. Slowly spoon or pipe a small amount of chocolate into each mold. You really only need just enough to cover the bottoms.
4. Place a small amount of peanut butter onto the chocolate. I did this with my fingers and shaped the peanut butter to spread it out inside the leaf. (To hopefully get a bite of peanut butter with each bite of chocolate!)
5. Spoon just enough chocolate over the peanut butter to cover it.
6. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Remove from molds.
Yield: about 18

Here are my molds. I got them at Walmart a couple of years ago.

Have your peanut butter mixture and melted chocolate ready:

Place a small amount of chocolate in the mold, then peanut butter, then cover with chocolate. Spread out with a spoon.


Chill until hardened, at least an hour:

Remove from molds. These molds make that part really easy.

They turned out to be oh, so yummy. I kept them in the refrigerator because I like the contrast of the crunchy chocolate with the peanut butter.

Happy Halloween

I hope that everyone has a fun and safe Halloween weekend! We are going to watch scary movies and eat good food by candlelight.

Autumn Leaf Fudge

This is a festive twist you can take on your favorite fudge recipe with the use of cookie cutters. My all time favorite is Fantasy Fudge. It is smooth, creamy, and full of chocolate goodness. It is a classic recipe and is on the back of the Kraft Marshmallow Cream jar if you should ever need it. I did a similar recipe to this for Christmas last year, which is great to do if you want to include the cookie cutter as a gift with the fudge.

Cutout Fantasy Fudge

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup margarine
1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1 pkg. (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate pieces (I recommend Ghirardelli)
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped nuts
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy 2 to 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches 234° F., stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

Stir in chocolate pieces until melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Pour into a greased 13-by-9-inch pan. Cool at room temperature. Remove the fudge from the pan, foil included. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

Line a baking pan with foil and then spray it with Pam. I used a 13 x 9 pan.

Make fudge according to the recipe. Bring to a rolling boil.

Make sure your candy thermometer reads 234°.

Add remaining ingredients:

Pour out onto foil and cool. Remove fudge and foil from the pan and cut with cookie cutters.

Chill until ready to serve.

Wish there were some left. I would have a piece right now.