Holiday Chicken Salad

Tags

chicken, Christmas, cranberry, foodie, Holiday, luncheon, pecan, recipe, shallot

Spiced pecans and dried cranberries are two of my favorite seasonal flavors. When mixed together, they give a nice holiday spin to a classic recipe making it the perfect dish for a holiday luncheon.

Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 6 stalks of celery, 4 shallots, 1 c. dried cranberries, 1 c. spiced pecans, mayonnaise

Directions:
Poach chicken breasts and cool completely. Chop celery, shallots, cranberries, and pecans. Shred or cube chicken. Toss ingredients together, using only enough mayonnaise to wet the mixture. Chill for about 6 hours before serving. Mix again before serving.

*Serve on a fresh baked croissant or bed of mixed greens.

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Young Wifey’s Holiday Drink Guide 2015

Tags

beer, cheers, Christmas, cocktail, Entertaining, foodie, Hanukkah, Holiday, holiday spirit, sangria, wine

Grab a glass and give a toast! Here is my holiday drink guide for December 2015. Cheers!

 

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Christmas Button Art

Tags

button art, buttons, Christmas, craft, crafting, Holiday

Epiphany has arrived, and I wanted to share one more Christmas post before I packed up all the seasonal decor.

Each year, my eldest sister hosts Christmas dinner at her house. This year, she surprised us with a Christmas craft. First, we chose our frames and fitted them with our selected craft paper (I chose sparkly silver). Then, we sorted through a bowl of buttons and arranged and rearranged them within the frame. Finally, we carefully used a hot glue gun to secure them in place. I think I may use a silver sharpie to add the year to the base of the frame. We enjoyed creating our unique button Christmas trees and chatting around the craft table. Maybe each year, we’ll take turns planning a holiday craft.

Have you started any new holidays traditions?

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Cranberry Infused Vodka

Tags

cranberry, drink, Entertaining, gift giving, gift ideas, Holiday, infused vodka, personalized gifts, postaday2011, recipe, vodka

I tried this a few years ago with a citrus infused vodka. I’ve been meaning to try more flavors, I just never got around to it. This is so easy, I can’t wait to make other holiday flavors!

Cranberry Infused Vodka

Ingredients:
750 mL of vodka, 1 lb. cranberries, splash of lemon juice, 1/4 c. sugar

Directions:
Wash and sort cranberries. Add cranberries, lemon juice and sugar in a sauce pan. Simmer over low heat until berries burst. Using back of the spoon, burst any reluctant berries. Place cranberries and vodka in glass jar (I use a larger carafe). Stir, cover and set aside for one week. I give mine a shake once a day. Stain and discard berries. Make sure all particles are removed from vodka. Pour infused vodka back into original bottle.

Add a few drink recipe cards and this makes a fantastic holiday gift.

What’s in your glass tonight?

Cherry, White Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

Tags

biscotti, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipes, Christmas, Christmas Brunch, Christmas tradition, food, Holiday, holiday tradition, Italian, recipes

It’s time for the annual teacher’s holiday breakfast today. Last year I made almond biscotti with chocolate chips, some were even chocolate dipped. This year I made that again, but I also made a cherry, white chocolate & almond biscotti. Mmm… I used the same recipe as last year just switching around a few ingredients. I didn’t have very good lighting here, and there’s no natural lighting right now, so I apologize in the lack of quality photography.

Cherry, White Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. fresh whipped heavy cream, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp, salt, 1/2 c. white chocolate chips, 1/2 c. dried tart cherries, 1 beaten egg white

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together whipped heavy cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk and almond extract together. In a small mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and almond bits. Roll dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out into logs and place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Pat logs to flatten and then brush beaten egg on tops and sides. Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice diagonally. Bake for 10 minutes more.  Decorate and serve.

I hope there are a few pieces left over so I can eat them tomorrow morning with my tea before I dive into my last minute Christmas preparations…

What Christmas traditions do you have at work?

Fifth Day of Christmas – Melted Frosty Ornament

Tags

12 Days of Christmas, 5th day of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas decor, Christmas gift, Christmas Ornament, Christmas party, Christmas snow, Christmas tree, craft, custom ornament, easy craft, fifth day of Christmas, funny ornament, gift giving, gift ideas, handmade ornament, Holiday, holiday spirit, homemade ornament, kid craft, melted frosty, melted snowman, Ornament, party favor, personalized gifts, quick craft, snowman, snowman ornament, twelve days of Christmas, whimsical ornament, winter, winter craft, XMas, XMas ornament, XMas party

On the fifth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Today’s gift idea is a whimsical ornament surely to delight children and adults the same. This Melted Frosty Ornament is quick and simple to make. This is a great craft for older kids, supervised with the glue gun of course.

Melted Frosty Ornament

How to:
Heat up glue gun and set aside. Using black fleece or felt, cut small top hat. Cut small piece of ribbon and glue across hat. Cut a 6″ piece of silver yarn and knot ends together, trim excess. Cut a small triangle from the orange felt and set aside. Place foil or wax paper on cutting board, baking tray or rotary mat. Place silver loop on the foil, knot face down. Take glue gun and drizzle glue on top of the knot and downward to create a dripping face. Quickly press felt hat into place, add carrot nose, place two bead for the eyes and begin to arrange the remaining beads for the mouth. Try to keep the number of bead for the mouth odd, 5 or 7 looks better than 6. Allow glue to cool completely. Tear Frosty off of foil and make sure edges that are stuck to the ornament are smoothed out.

Customize your Frosty :
Make your Frosty smile or make your Frosty frown. Use small foil holly leaves and three red beads for holly berries added on top of the satin ribbon. For a shimmery Frosty, sprinkle a bit of glitter dust over the wet glue. Cut out a small pipe and glue to the mouth.  Have fun with it!

Approx. Cost:
1 square of black fleece = 50¢, 1 square of orange fleece = 50¢, hot glue sticks $2 a bag, small beads = $2 a tube, 1 sheet of tin foil 25¢, small skein of silver yarn = $2  Melted Frosty Ornament = under 30¢ each

Once again this ornament makes a great party favor for any holiday party, attach the to gifts in place of a box or give them out to students before break.

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

Second Day of Christmas – Wine Glass Charms

Tags

beverage, beverage charm, Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas party, cocktail charm, cocktail hour, cocktail party, craft, drink charm, food, frugal, Frugality, gift, gift giving, gift ideas, handmade, handmade gift, Holiday, holiday menu, holiday season, holiday traditions, homemade, homemade gift, hostess gift, party, party favor, party favors, personalized gifts, second day of Christmas, stemware, thank you gifts, vino, wine, wine charm, wine glass

On the second day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Simple and elegant as a gift or party favors. Make them match your holiday decor and give them to guests to keep as party favors. Customize them with a monogram and give them as a gift to the wine lover. Create a festive set and bring them to a party as your hostess gift. Kids can help  create this simple craft.

Wine Glass Charms

How To:
Select a charm and several beads, slide on hoop in desired pattern. Make sure each wine charm is unique to help guest easily recognize their glass. Place a bead of clear drying glue under the last bead to hold them on the hoop.

Approx. Cost of Project:
package of 10 hoops = $1, assorted beads = $2-4, 2 sets of charms = $5, you can make a set of 10 for under $10!

*If you’re hosting a holiday party, hand out wine charms at the beginning as a party favor. Set up a wine charm craft station; arrange little bowls of beads, charms and hoops, then your guest can each make their own wine charm.

Unfortunately all my stemware is in our storage unit, so I couldn’t model the charms in the picture. Remember to check out my blog tomorrow to see what gift idea I’ll be sharing.

2009’s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudgerecipe, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles,gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudgerecipe…

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends!