Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Homemade For Christmas

This graphic represents a summary of the words used in my blogging, the larger the font, the more frequent the word use. It was created by Wordle. It's not a surprise that the largest word is "Delilah".



I actually made something for my co-workers for Christmas. Although I briefly considered making a knitted gift (found this really cute knitted lump of coal, did you see his name is Grumpy? Ha!), but I didn't really have the time or the stamina to knit five gifts.

Then, I remembered a sweet snack called White Trash Mix, which I was introduced to at office party years ago. There are a ton of variations of the recipe out on the internet, but the way I remember it (and how I made it) is:

1. Melt 1 package of Almond Bark in microwave
2. In separate large bowl (sprayed with Pam), mix 2 cups of Corn Chex, 2 cups of Cheerios, half of bag of pretzels, a bag of M&Ms and one-half of a can of party peanuts.
3. Pour the melted almond bark into the dry mixture and fold in carefully.
4. Spoon out mixture onto wax paper and allow to cool and harden.
5. Once cooled, break up into pieces and keep in airtight container.

I ended up with enough for gifts for five co-workers and an extra bit for home. Here's a picture of what is left.



I also tried my hand at peanut butter fudge. However, I feel like I cheated because this was the easiest and most simple recipe possible. It turned out pretty good, but I have a lot left over. I love peanut butter so much, but this stuff is very rich I can't eat too much without feeling bloated.



I packaged up my White Trash Mix and Peanut Butter Fudge and gave them out in cute Christmas-themed chinese take-out boxes from Michaels. I was pretty satisfied with my efforts and I was confident that my co-workers would like it. We had decided a few weeks ago that we would not be extravagant in our gifts this year due to the economy and knowing that most of us were not in a position to spend a lot. This was especially true because we did not get Christmas bonuses this year. Only one person went overboard (in my opinion) and got everyone gift cards from Outback.

I made another knitted cap; I would imagine this is called a skull cap. I just love the pattern on the crown of this hat. This variation has two small stripes, so I can practice adding colors. I'm pleased with the results; I have some black and pink yarn I want to use next but I would like to include more than a stripe. I would love to do hearts or something feminine. I'm searching the web and Ravelry for patterns.

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