Raising Memories: Making & Documenting Family Memories
Heather Lynne

From raising kids to empty-nest living, join me in exploring ideas for memory-making and intentional living to create a life you love, through every season of motherhood.

Sincerely,

Showing posts with label kitchen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kitchen. Show all posts

How to Make a Pumpkin Roll Video

It's Fall and it's time for my How to Make a Pumpkin Roll Video!  I recently had a friend ask for this recipe, and I thought it was about time I shared this recipe on the blog again.  With Canadian Thanksgiving just a few days away, it's a great time for Pumpkin Roll!

Years ago, I posted at HowDoesShe about the Pumpkin Roll recipe that I use that seems to be a hit everywhere I've taken it.

Since then I've had several people say that even with all of the photos in the tutorial, they're hesitant to try it. A friend of mine mentioned that a video tutorial might be helpful, so I had Ken video tape the process for me and I squished it into a 5 minute video.

How to Make a Pumpkin Roll Video


Easy Christmas Holly Wreath Treats

This Corn Flakes version of Rice Krispies Wreaths is my go-to treat to add to a Christmas cookie plate for neighbours or for a holiday party food display. 

Corn Flake "Rice Krispies" Wreaths



These Holly Wreaths are one of my favourite holiday treats to make because they remind me of when I was little. :) They're only slightly more work than Rice Krispie Squares which is a great bonus- and they're fun for kids to help with, too!

Rainbow Cookies

This rainbow cookies post became very popular so I created a recipe tutorial with pictures of how to make these cookies if you would like to check it out and try making them yourself!
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In honour of St. Patrick's Day one year, we made some fabulous rainbow cookies! :)


Rainbow Cookies
Rainbow Cookies


Easy Rainbow Cake! (with cake mix & frosting!)

You don't need any fancy baking skills or experience to make an easy rainbow cake using cake mix- the quick and simple version of  the infamous rainbow cake that Kaitlin from Whisk Kid created and blogged about, then shared on the Martha Stewart show!

(This photo is of my version)

easy rainbow layer cake

Apple Shaped Oreo Cheesecake Truffles

With Fall around the corner, it felt like the right time to share these Apple Shaped Oreo Cheesecake Truffles! I have a recipe for you, but don't feel you have to make them look like apples- they're good with any coloured coating, fancy-looking or not!

It's been nearly 10 years since I threw my sister a School Themed bridal shower, and made these Oreo cheesecake truffles, dressed up to look like apples! They were so cute and it's time to revisit that recipe!

Apple Shaped Oreo Cheesecake Truffles
My mom & I worked together on these with a recipe from a friend of ours that is so simple & so delicious! Want to try them? I thought so! ;)

Fridge Before & After with Frigidaire Gallery Custom-Flex

We had a pretty basic fridge when we moved into our town house 6 years ago. Some shelves, 2 crisper drawers, and basic shelves on the door. One open freezer at the top (no shelves except for the ones on the door). Our new Frigidaire Gallery® Custom-Flex™ Refrigerator has several different features that we are really excited about and I wanted to share those with you today!

The first thing is the Smudge-Proof™ Stainless Steel.  Ken and I have talked before about how we want to have stainless steel appliances someday when we graduate from renting, to a home where we'll have to provide our own appliances.  So we were excited about this fridge being the first in our collection (unless you count my mixer).  I hear, however, that regular stainless steel is not fun in the fingerprint department and we certainly have potential for a lot of those!  Lucky for us, this fridge has a special protective coating that resists fingerprints and smudges so that it’s easy to clean- that's my kind of fridge!  So, we've gone from regular white to stainless steel, and the bonus with this smudge-proof stainless steel is that it's still magnetic, so I can still use my calendar ;)


Next up is the Store-More™ Drawer.  I love this drawer for storing cheese (because we like to stock up on it when it's on sale) and sandwich meats. It's a very wide drawer and perfect for those low-profile items that you need to store but would prefer not to put on your shelves with more height available!

Fridge Organization for School Lunch-Making with Frigidaire Gallery Custom-Flex & A Giveaway!

I've been working on organizing my whole house (it seems to be an ongoing project that never really ends).  I wrote last month about how I've organized my container cupboard so that it actually stays organized and today I wanted to share a little about how I've organized my fridge to make school lunch-making easier.




Organization Tip:

As I continue to find better ways to organize areas of my house, I'm finding it helpful to think about:

- When I use things
- Where I am when I use them
- Which things I use together  

This helps me to figure out the best places to keep things. 

How to Make an Olaf Cake for a Frozen Birthday Party

Disney came out with a new movie just over a year go that you may have heard of called Frozen... ;)  My daughters both wanted to have Frozen-themed birthday parties this time around, so I have several Frozen birthday party idea posts coming up for you.  Today we'll start with an Olaf cake tutorial.  I know that "drawing" something onto a cake with icing can be a bit daunting, so I thought I'd take step-by-step photos of how I created this one for you so that it will be easier for you to attempt if you want to recreate it. :)



How to Make a Simple Olaf Cake

I started with a white cake mix (made with egg whites- no yolk).  I made one purple round cake and one blue round cake.  I also made a basic buttercream frosting recipe. I guessed on the amounts that I would need for frosting the cake and decorating the cake.

To Assemble the Cake:

How to Organize Kitchen Cupboards & Leftovers

I have been on a continual journey to figure out how to best organize my kitchen ever since we moved into our little town house. It is a small kitchen so I have had to get creative about how to store things and be careful about not storing things that we don't use very often. (Things we don't use very frequently tend to end up either donated or down in the basement- and that is a problem for another blog post!)

Today I'm sharing how I organize our container cupboard. It has taken a lot of thought and reorganization to find a system that works, but I'm happy to say I have found a great way to organize it (and I even know where to put (& find) each lid!)  You can see in the photo below that all of my lids aren't together, but they are all in a place that makes sense to me!

- Some lids stack with their containers
- Some lids fit on their side, beside their containers
- Some lids fit in a lid rack on the cupboard door
- Some lids fit best on their container
(in the case of the pitchers & the glass containers on the bottom shelf)


I'm pretty happy with the collection of bowls and other containers that I have gathered over the last decade, but the one problem I have been trying to solve is finding storage containers that I can use for leftovers.  I have tried a few different types and they have all fallen short for different reasons. Through trial and error, I have determined the following wishlist for food storage containers:

Egg Nog Candy Cane Fudge!

It's hard to believe that we're into the week of Christmas!  If you need to make a Christmas treat this week, I have a delicious one for you to try!  A friend of mine made this recipe for a cookie exchange years ago, and I have made it several years since and I LOVE it!  It's also a really pretty and festive looking addition to a plate of Christmas cookies.

I give you Egg Nog Candy Cane Fudge!








Here's What You'll Need:

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup egg nog
1 198g jar marshmallow cream
8 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp cinnamon
3 crushed peppermint candy canes

And Here's What You Do:

1. Line a 9x9 in pan with tinfoil (fold over sides because you'll lift the whole thing out when it's done)

2. Butter the foil (you want it to slip right off when it's finished)

3. Mix sugar, butter, and egg nog in a large saucepan



4. Bring to a boil (stir constantly) and keep boiling over medium heat for 5 minutes (stir constantly).



5. Remove from heat and add marshmallow cream, white chocolate, and cinnamon. Stir until smooth.

6. Stir in candy canes (save a bit to sprinkle on top if you want).

7. Spread evenly in pan (sprinkle the rest of your candy cane bits on top if desired)

8. Chill until set (2 hours or more).


9. Remove from pan (lift foil out).


10. Remove foil, cut into squares (I LOVE sweet things and can eat a lot of them, but I would cut this into smaller squares because a little is enough for me!)

Store in fridge.  Makes about 4 dozen squares


This stuff is AMAZING and I would say it's a must-try recipe for the holidays!  
Maybe you'll love it as much as I do and want to make it every year!






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Christmas Sugar Plum Classmate Gifts

When Talia was in Kindergarten, I made these little "Sugar Plum" Christmas handouts for her classmates.
I saw them here and thought they were adorable!


Here's What You'll Need to Make Them:

- candy melts
- lollipop sticks
- large marshmallows
- small clear bags
- sprinkles
- ribbon
- hole punch

And since there's already a great tutorial over at that link above, I'll send you there to see how to make them!
(That's also where you'll find a printable for the tags I made!)

This is another idea I didn't realize I hadn't blogged about and I thought you might think it was as cute as I did, so here it is!

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Hot Chocolate on a Stick

I was looking through some photos from Christmastime in years past and I found a cute Neighbour/Friend gift that I made back in 2011 that I had never shared on the blog! As soon as I saw this idea of "Hot Chocolate on a Stick" with homemade marshmallow squares on top, I knew I wanted to try it!



DIY Hot Chocolate on a Stick with Homemade Marshmallows

I didn't take photos of the process of making the chocolate, but you can find instructions for making the chocolate here. I did take photos while making the marshmallows and you can find that post and tutorial for homemade marshmallows here.

How to Make Homemade Marshmallows and Hot Chocolate on a Stick

After making those two recipes, you just stack a marshmallow on top of a cube of chocolate and stick a sucker stick through it, then dip it into a little plastic bag (you can find the sticks and bags at Michaels or Bulk Barn). Then I tied them up with a ribbon and attached a little printed note that I made and printed from my computer. The font on the front of the tag (with the little snowflakes) is called Frosty and is free to download.

I thought this was such a cute idea!  Thought you might agree and wanted to share :)


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Christmas Baking - Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookies

Today I want to share a Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookie recipe that we have been loving!



Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookies
Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookies


You'll Need:

3/4 cup room temperature butter
1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup for recipe, 1/4 cup for dipping)
1 egg, separated
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup crushed candy canes
40 Junior Mint Candies (or 2 1.84 ounce boxes)

Instructions:

Mix together butter and sugar. add the egg yolk and vanilla. Then add the flour a little at a time. Mix in candy canes just enough to get them spread evenly throughout the dough.


Next, put the remaining sugar in a bowl- I used a shallow soup plate.  Beat the egg white to make it frothy (just with a fork, for about 30 seconds).  Make balls of dough and dip them in the egg white and roll them in the sugar.

Bake on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Make finger or thumb prints in the cookies, then bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F.


As soon as they come out of the oven, press a Junior mint into the thumbprint of each cookies.  You can then put the cookie sheet back in the oven for about a minute then take it back out and let the cookies cook for a couple of minutes before putting them on a cooling rack.

Junior Mint Cookies
Junior Mint Cookies

If you try these Junior Mint Cookies, I hope you love them as much as we do! :)

Note: I found this recipe in Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites by Sara Wells & Kate Jones from Our Best Bites.  Their cookbook includes a ton of great recipes that we love- I totally recommend it!

More Great Christmas Cookie Recipes:





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