Gingerbread House

My 83 year old neighbor had fallen and was unable to decorate for Christmas this year. I offered to help decorate and put up her tree for her, but she wouldn’t let me. So, I decided that the next best thing to a tree was a great holiday center piece! I created this gingerbread house from a kit. It was a lot of fun and quite a learning experience! The roof décor didn’t exactly go as planned as I am impatient and didn’t allow the first layer of icing to dry before continuing. It was my first attempt at a gingerbread house, so I'll cut myself a break! The main thing is that it meant a lot to her and her husband. They were overwhelmingly grateful!

Holiday Baking!

 My Kitchen Aid mixer (left) and I had a wonderful afternoon/evening in the kitchen yesterday! I baked and baked. I must say that it went by fast, though. I think I've become faster at all that I do because of our darling 10 month old! But that's not a bad thing:)

I made cookies and fudge - YUM!

I made some peanut butter cookies, first. They are Oscar's favorite and well, we were both craving a peanut butter cookie! The batter was pretty "soupy" so I added more flour, against my better judgment. They turned out good, but the extra flour toned down the sweetness and made them a tad less peanut buttery. All in all I'll give them a 3.5 (out of 5). I used a cookbook I got over 10 years ago for Christmas and it brought back some good, sweet, and "home sweet home" memories and warm feelings!

 Next I made snickerdoodles - my favorite cookie to make as a child. However, they didn't look very appetizing!! After making the pnb cookies, I didn't want to add any additional flour to this rather sticky/soupy batter...maybe I should've! Oh well! I'll make note of this on this recipe. It was a new cook book that I received as a wedding gift. But, I will give them a 5 for flavor! Wow - they are YUMMY!!!

   
Third, I made my favorite Ginger Cookie recipe (from Cooking Light). This is a no fail recipe. They are always yummy and always look pretty.



 

Can't go wrong with fudge! This is my go-to recipe for taste and quickness. I get so many compliments on this 3  ingredient recipe. There are several variations to this recipe and they all sound oh.so.delicious!


 

 So I put a holiday plate together for my neighbors, minus the snickerdoodles!! I wish I had some pretty holiday plates, but I'll save myself the guilt ... at least I'm remembering the neighbors! I'm just glad I got to bake while my sweet husband watched the baby:).

Aprons, Aprons, Aprons!

This week I was blessed with my first THREE Xia Couture customers! I was so excited!!! I sold 4 in my current inventory and was busy, busy, busy sewing the rest - 8 aprons, 4 girl aprons and 4 ladies aprons. I was in my element creating these beautiful aprons. Oh me, oh my - heaven!

So pleased and proud to post these SOLD aprons:

 I made 2 of these girl cupcake ones - SO DARLING!

I made 2 of these fun, whimsical girl aprons

 

I made 2 of these ladys aprons

Best Margarita Ever!

So last Sunday my sisters came over and wanted a margarita. Well, leave it to me to have a fantastic recipe...in the back of my baby food cookbook...no, I'm not an alcoholic! Oh my it is yummy and I think, healthy ~ hehe!

Seriously, the recipe is in the back of my favorite cookbook for baby food. "Baby Love" has the best recipes for baby food, for the whole family, and even a Mango Margarita recipe. Best book ever!

6 oz premium tequila
2 oz triple sec
3 cups ice
2 cups frozen mango chunks
4 limes, juiced
2 lemons, juiced
1 orange, juiced
1/4 c. sugar
Blend for 2 minutes and yummy!

I omitted the sugar and messed around with the 1qty lemon, lime, orange. Fantastic - not quite on the rocks, not quite frozen - just perfect!

Yummy New Recipies for a Quick Dinner

My favorite recipes are ones that are
a) YUMMY,
b) QUICK, and
c) reasonably HEALTHY ( I'm not a lifetime Weight Watcher member for nothing;)!!)

So last night I decided to cook some more Turkey Soup as I love soup and the weather started turning colder. Here is what I did...

1/2 Ham Stock (frozen from when I boiled my ham bone) and 1/2 water - About 6-8 cups of liquid
Left over Turkey (can add ham or chicken) - About 2 cups
1 can of diced tomatoes in olive oil ( I usually add 1 can of rotel, but much to my dismay, I was OUT!)
About 1 1/2-2 cups mixed  frozen veggies
some herbs - basil, thyme, parsley, crushed red pepper , etc
I added some Mexican hot sauce, too (optional - depending on how spicy you like your soup)

I added all ingredients and brought to a boil and let it boil for about 15+ minutes and then just let it simmer for an hour. Of course I like my soup the next day to let all the flavor mix deliciously! Oh my, this soup is the best ever!!! Yum! Other than the - probably - high fat content from the ham stock, I would say this is a healthy meal!

Also, I made some mac and cheese with whole wheat pasta and added frozen spinach and broccoli and canned salmon. I threw in some dill - which worked very well with the salmon. Just boil the frozen veggies (any veggies will do) with the pasta and then mix in your cheese sauce and fish (tuna would work as well). Wow- This was yummy! I had cheese sauce from a box, but the recipe called for a can of condensed cheddar soup and milk. That way you can use reduced fat ingredients and save yourself (and your family) the extra, un-needed calories.

Because I coudn't decide what to cook for dinner, I made both (but only ate one!!). It took no time at all and both are a hit!

New Aprons!

I’ve been sewing, sewing, sewing! I made a darling little girls half apron and it turned out SEW CUTE!

 Apron front

Cute, whimsical buttons dividing 3 pockets

 Darling scalloped edges

Back tie

I also went to the fabric store yesterday and bought the most darling fabrics ever to make some sweet women’s and girls aprons WITH bibs. I’ve had a lot of request for girls aprons and women’s aprons with bibs, so I have listened! I plan to sew, sew, sew this week and knock out some gorgeous aprons! I love to sew – it is my therapy!

Pumpkin Muffins...

So I’ve been dying to make some pumpkin muffins… and make then somewhat healthy… Let’s just say the ones I just made,  I’ll give them a 3 out of 5! We all like them fine, but I wanted them to be a little more “crumb-ing”, rather than a little “bouncy”. The spice mixture was superb, though, I must say! I added raisins and shelled pecans from our backyard. Just sometimes when you substitute applesauce for the oil, the texture tends to change. I know there is a way to make them “healthy” without compromising the texture.
I’m not going to post the recipe … not until I find one that is OUTSTANDING (and I’ve spied one from my Cooking Light magazine from years past that I should’ve looked at first!). They are not bad. They’ll still get eaten over here. I’ll eat them for breakfast plain or with a little cream cheese on them with a cup of tea.
At least my little pumpkin loved them!! She ate one whole muffin with her dinner! Oscar liked them as well and, well, I’m just a little too picky to give them a 4!
Stay tuned for another PUMPKIN MUFFIN post:)

Yum!

I like pumpkin muffins!

Tree Decorating in Xia Couture

Had a great time decorating the tree with my family. Of course, decorating in a fun, flirty, and deliciously delightful apron always helps! Be sure to ask Santa for a Xia Couture Hostess Apron this year for Christmas! Visit my site on Etsy.com. Also, check out my facebook page and be sure to “like” it:) Happy Holidays from Xia Couture!

Such a Lady in Xia Couture's "Holiday Cheer" apron

Feeling "Ooh-La-La" and flirty in Xia Couture!

Tree Decorating in Xia Couture's "Holiday Cheer" Hostess Apron

Having a Ball in the Kitchen!

Friday was a BLAST! I was in the kitchen all alfternoon cooking and baking. Luckily the baby took a long nap, so I was able to tackle a lot!
I made Turkey Soup with our left over 20.83 lb Thanksgiving turkey. It is yummy! I’ll share my secret with you…add a can of rotel!  Rotel makes everything better!

Turkey Soup

Next I made some delicious cookies. I had to make a few alterations to the recipe and they were a hit! I shared some with my neighbors (Karl and Jo) and also with our friends the Guillens. Tomorrow my mom and sisters will be here to decorate the tree and I’ll share some with them over Mulled Cider – YUM! Originally the cookies were: McCormicks Coconut Cheery Oat Cookies with white chocolate chips. I didn’t have dried cherries or the white chocolate chips, but I did have craisins and regular chocolate chips, so I substituted those ingredients and they were fabulous! I should’ve added pecans that I shelled from our back yard. That would’ve made them even extra yummy! Make some yourself and see:)
2 cups flour
1 TLBS Cinnamon
1 tsp b.soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter (I used margarine)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups dried cherries (I used craisins)
1 cup coconut
1 cup oats
1 cup white chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1) Mix flour, cinnamon, b. soda and salk in medium bowl. Set aside
2) Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with electic mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Stir in cherries, coconut, oats and chocolate chops. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 1 1/2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
3) Bake in preheated 375 oven 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Oatmeal, Craisin, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Alternate view of the dozens of yummy cookies!

Next up was Xia’s food ( I use wholesomebabyfood.com and “Baby Love” as my inspiration). I used some left over turkey, some peas, carrots, and sweet potato. I mix it with some applesauce and she eats it up!!

Xia's Holiday Food - turkey, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas

Introducing Xia Couture!

I am so happy to bring Xia Couture to life and share my passions with the world!
I love to cook, I love to bake, I love to sew, I love to look cute, flirty, and pretty in the kitchen. It made sense for me to sew aprons and open shop – an Etsy shop that is!  I wasn’t about to open a restaurant or a bakery, I’m not that great! Sewing aprons gave me an outlet to share my love of being in the kitchen and sewing.  I can’t wait to share how I came to love being in the kitchen and how I got into sewing.
Here’s to my new blog and my new business adventure!