Re-Purposing an Old Wreath

Can you believe that our Christmas tree is

up and decorated?

I know, I know.

Some of you are thinking that's

just crazy talk.

It's true though.

We love to put our tree up early

and with Thanksgiving being late this

year we (I mean I) decided to have our

tree up earlier than usual. Besides, I

have to be in the mood to decorate it

and I was in the mood. So up went the tree.

Once the tree was up and decorated I

figured since I was in the mood to decorate

I might as well keep going and

decorate the rest of the house.

Not only is the tree and house decorated,

our Christmas shopping is done!

Never have we been done this early with

our Christmas decorating and shopping.

Oh, and some of the presents are wrapped!

Just waiting for the remainder of them

to start trickling in to wrap.

WOOHOO!!!

One of the last decoration to go up

was a wreath for our kitchen.

I can't see buying a new wreath

when I know that I can make one

for very little money.

I started our with an old store bought decorated wreath

from a friend who was just going to throw it out.

I removed all the old, worn out

decorations and threw them away.

They weren't worth salvaging.

I wanted to have a blank canvas to start with.

The wreath itself was in good condition.

I didn't have any plan as to how I wanted it to look.

For inspiration I added this pine cone ornament

that I made last year.

Once the pine cone ornament was added I dug through

my stash of Christmas picks and decorations to see

what I could come up with. I randomly started placing

the picks and such into the wreath (I did not glue anything),

and stepping back every so often to see

how it was looking. Once I was satisfied with the

placement of everything, I fluffed the branches to

create fullness and to give it a more natural look.

Here is the end result.

Costs to create this wreath.

$0.

I've had these decorations and picks for years.

By not glueing anything to the wreath I will

be able to re-use these for years to come

to create new looks.

Don't overlook those tired and worn out

wreaths. You can always create something

new and beautiful for very little money.

 Now I can sit back and relax for the holidays.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Thanksgiving Dessert

Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner

or are you going to be a guest?

Hubby and I have hosted our share of

Thanksgiving dinners, as well as, being guests.

Whether we're hosting or are guests,

each year we look forward to

Thanksgiving dinner.

Not only do we look forward to the dinner,

how about those desserts?

My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is

always the Pumpkin Pie.

Our Thanksgiving has changed

over the last few years.

Our children grow and start their

own families and the holiday traditions change.

No more having our children for every holiday.

Never would I have imagined us going to a

restaurant to celebrate Thanksgiving.

But you know what?

We love it!

Not only is the food exceptional,

there is no mess to clean up.

I can actually sit back, relax

and enjoy my meal and Hubby.

This will be our 3rd year going to a restaurant

for Thanksgiving. We found an Italian restaurant

that serves an unbelievable Thanksgiving dinner.

We travel 170 miles just to go to this restaurant.

One of the desserts that they serve

is a Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake.

It had me at Pumpkin & Cheesecake.

I didn't even care that there were pralines added in.

All I can say about this cheesecake is,

OMG!

We love this so much that I knew I had

to find a recipe to create this dessert.

I found a recipe from 

https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-praline-cheesecake/ 

that tastes just like our favorite restaurant's cheesecake.

Here is my version.

Doesn't this look good?

Cheesecake with a gingersnap crust.

Count me in!

How about that praline topping?

Oh, it was SOOO good!

That's it for this week.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

No Knead Crusty Artisan Bread

We broke a record for the most snowfall

in October. We received 8 inches of snow

over 2 days. Our highest temperature this

week was 38° with our night time temps dropping

down to 19°.  I don't mind the snow,

it's the cold temps that I don't care for.

So not ready for this!

Saturday Hubby went to our son's house

to help him cut up a BIG tree that had fallen down.

It was cold, snowy & wet outside.

Since Hubby was going to be out in the elements

I thought I would surprise him by making

 a big pot of chili to have ready for him

when he got home to help warm him up.

While making the chili I realized that I didn't

have any crusty bread to go with it.

What's chili without crusty bread

to go with it?

I knew that our local little hometown

grocery store doesn't carry any type of

artisan breads. I really didn't want to leave
the house to try and find a loaf of artisan bread.

I have never made homemade artisan bread before

but I was willing to give it a try.

Crossing my fingers that it turns out

and tastes good too.

After a little research on the internet

I discovered a recipe for no knead

crusty artisan bread that only requires 4 ingredients,

which I had on hand,
could be mixed in a bowl with a spatula,
and could be made in under 2 hours.

Perfect.
 Just what I was looking for.

All those wasted years of not making artisan bread because I was
so intimidated thinking it was a complicated process.
How wrong I was.
This recipe has to be the easiest recipe I have ever made.

Simply mix all the ingredients into a large bowl until well combined.

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

After 40 minutes, place a 3 to 6 quart Dutch oven with lid into a cold

oven and preheat to 450°.

After the dough has rested for an hour,
place the dough onto a well floured surface and

sprinkle with a little flour.
Using a spatula, fold the dough over 10-12 times

and shape into a rough ball.

Once the oven has reached 450°,
line the Dutch oven with parchment paper and place the

ball of dough onto the parchment paper.

Place the lid onto the Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove the lid.

Bake uncovered for an additional 7-10 minutes.

Remove from oven and carefully lift out the bread and let cool

on the parchment paper.

Hubby was quite impressed with this bread.

He couldn't believe that I made it from scratch

and it was ready by the time he got home.

This bread has a soft, fluffy center with big holes
and a crust that crackles in your hand when gently squeezed.
And the taste... I couldn't stop eating this bread.

Hubby said that it tastes way better than any

store bought bread I've every bought.

I totally agree with him on that.

We loved this bread so much that I
made another loaf the next day.
Each loaf has its' own unique design.

Now that I know how easy this bread is to make

and the taste is better than any artisan bread I've ever bought,

I can honestly say that I will never buy store bought artisan bread again.

This bread isn't just for soups.
It makes great toast for breakfast.
Try it dipped in olive oil, parmesan cheese & black pepper.
Make a garlic bread to go along with your spaghetti & meatballs.
Use it to make bruschetta.
Make a toasted cheese sandwich,
or just add butter and eat as a snack.
The possibilities are endless with this bread.

NO KNEAD CRUSTY ARTISAN BREAD

Ingredients:

3 cups Bread Flour (All-Purpose flour works also), plus an additional 2-4 tablespoons for shaping

2 teaspoons RapidRise yeast, or 1 packet (7 grams)

1 teaspoon Salt

1+1/2 cups hot Water (up to 130°)

Instructions:

Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water until it's well combined. The dough will have a sticky consistency to it.

Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

After 40 minutes, place a 3 to 6 quart Dutch oven with lid in a cold oven and preheat to 450°.

After the dough has rested for 1 hour, place it on a well floured surface and sprinkle with a litter flour. Using a scraper, fold dough over 10-12 times and shape into a rough ball.

Line the Dutch oven with parchment paper and place the ball of dough on top,

Place the cover on the Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove lid and bake an additional 7-10 minutes.

Remove the bread and parchment paper from the Dutch oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.

Recipe adapted from: JennyCanCook.com

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica