4 Ways to Make Your Own Personalized Gifts

Anyone can go to the store and pick up a gift for someone, but to me one of the best gifts you can give is one that you’ve made or at least had personalized.? I cook so most of my gifts are creations from the kitchen and I personalize them with little stickers that say who they are to and from.? I sometimes try to find pretty bowls, glasses or dishes that has at least the person’s last initial engraved on.? But there are many other ways to personalize the perfect gift even if you don’t…

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4 Ways to Make Your Own Personalized Gifts

Coconut Bars

Martha – This is a recipe from Lillian that she found in one of her cookbooks dating 1964.? This is one example of how simple recipes were years ago.? I made these Coconut Bars and there is very little that I would change.? I did make the change from margarine to butter, I also used large shredded coconut which I found at a fresh market.? These bars come out like pecan pie but better, especially with the butter in the crust. Lillian – This is a good recipe from an old cookbook that my sister sent to me for Christmas that year.?? The book is “Favorite Recipes of Pennsylvania” , from Women’s Club Leaders of PA. View the full recipe by going to Martha’s Recipe Cabinet .

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Coconut Bars

Hidden Candy Cookies – Pulled

butter sugar vanilla extract flour nuts mini candy bars While waiting in line at the grocery store I saw a Christmas cookie book and decided to buy it. One of the recipes in the book gave me the idea for the above cookies. I had a bag of mixed popular mini-candy bars and decided to try them. I also used caramel squares cut in half. Yes I did try one of each and they are all great. Each one has it’s own special flavor. So go wild with this one. It’s a great way to use up leftover Halloween, Christmas and even Valentine candy. You can also change the flavor with the nuts. I used almonds but pecans and walnuts will work too. You can make these pretty by drizzling colored icing over them but they are really perfect as they are. Now that I have your attention I

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Hidden Candy Cookies – Pulled

Lillian’s Coconut Fingers – Pulled

This is a coconut cookie that is perfect for all holidays.? You can make them for Easter by shaping them into small egg shaped cookies and rolling them in colored coconut, for Christmas by using green coconut and adding chopped cherries.? They are as limited as your imagination.?? But I have to say that this recipe has been moved to the manuscript file for

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Lillian’s Coconut Fingers – Pulled

Coffee Filters

This was sent to me by a friend and I had to share with everyone. Coffee filters …. Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar store for almost nothing even the large ones.. 1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers. 2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome… Coffee filters are lint-free so they’ll leave windows sparkling. 3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish. 4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter. 5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust. 6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter. 7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter. 8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale. 9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods. 10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes. 11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter. 12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.. 13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.. 14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great “razor nick fixers.” 15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliquéing soft fabrics. 16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors. 17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews. 18. Use a

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Coffee Filters

Simple Christmas Cookies and Candies

Christmas is a great time to spend time in the kitchen with your kids. It’s so simple them to make festive cookies and candies without turning on your oven. All it takes is a little melted white and milk chocolate, some decorative sprinkles and their imagination. The cookies in the picture are actually crackers that I found, shaped like butterflies. They are iced with white chocolate and sprinkled with red and green sugar. The marshmallows are covered in milk chocolate and rolled in sprinkles, almond slivers and stuck a pretzel in the center. You can ice just about any cookie, cracker or pretzel and come up with some inexpensive, pretty treats. These are perfect for the kids to give to their teachers for Christmas and the kids will take such pride when they tell them that they made them.

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Simple Christmas Cookies and Candies

12 Days of Cookies – a bon appétit cookie extravaganza! Day5…Orange-Almond Lace Cookies

This wonderful event, in it’s second year, is the brain child of Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes , but this year is being organized and ran by Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench . How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity and after last year I sure earned my way in the hard way! There are 10 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies – A bon appétit cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking,

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12 Days of Cookies – a bon appétit cookie extravaganza! Day5…Orange-Almond Lace Cookies

Ginger Anytime

Now and then I run across a recipe idea that requires ginger and not the powdered kind. A lot of times I would reject a recipe that required ginger because I really didn’t want to buy and have to throw away the unused portion. Then I ran across this tip. Buy fresh ginger, chop in a food processor and place in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Pour enough sherry over your ginger to cover, screw on the lid and put into the refrigerator. If you run low on ginger or sherry, just add more. The ginger keeps indefinitely! Now I can always have ginger on hand and stop rejecting those recipes that sound so good. This also makes a nice gift for the cook on your Christmas list.

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Ginger Anytime

Dirt Cake & Kids

On my last visit to see and cook with my grandkids I decided that we would make a “Dirt Cake.” I’ve heard of these kiddie cakes but have never made one nor actually even seen one. So I decided to guess. I bought a chocolate cake, a container of chocolate icing and some gummy worms. The kids gathered around the counter. To the cake mix one kid added the water, one the water and one the oil. They took turns mixing and we had our cake ready to go into the oven. After baking I put it into the refrigerator to cool. This decision was made after being asked 50 times if it was ready yet. When the cake had cooled I broke it in half and placed it in a large bowl and told the kids to come on in and make some “dirt.” You should have seen the 3 of them standing around the table with their little hands in the bowl making dirt. Next I poured the “dirt” into a dish and put globs of icing over the top. This made our “mud.” All that was left was to insert the worms. This little adventure spent with my grandkids was wonderful! I don’t know what we’ll make next but not that I’ve sparked their interest in cooking I fully intend to keep it going. And guess what they are getting for Christmas? Aprons!

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Dirt Cake & Kids

Contest

I’ve decided to have a contest. Tomorrow I’m mailing out 5 copies of my cookbook Stir, Laugh, Repeat. Sunday I’ll be at a 1 day festival in Mint Hill, NC doing a book signing for Stir, Laugh, Repeat. This is how the contest will work. The person that buys book #25 will receive a $25.00 bonus. It will be the winner’s choice. You can take $25.00 in cash or $25.00 in an Amazon gift card. Now think about it. I’m already up to book #5. That leaves 20 more books to sell. I have the festival coming up so that will cut the numbers down even more. Plus, I’m selling the books for $12.00 which will also include shipping. If you want to learn more about Stir, Laugh, Repeat click on Stir, Laugh, Repeat The Cookbook in the right sidebar. If you want to order a copy send me an email at marthacheves@bellsouth.net and we will exchange addresses. Remember, the holidays are coming up and Stir, Laugh, Repeat makes a great Christmas gift. And the only way to get an autographed copy is by ordering directly through me. Also, if you need more than 1 copy, each book counts in the countdown to #25.

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Contest

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