Welcome to Day 2 of Christmas Cookie Week! Today I am sharing a delightful little poinsettia cookie that is created on top of an easy drop sugar cookie. The sugar cookie recipe is one of my tried & true recipes…just dressed up for a special occasion. This cookies takes a little patience to decorate, but the pretty sure does make up for the extra effort! And be sure to head over to my friend Grace’s blog, Sense & Simplicity, to see what she has in store for you today! Sugar Cookies {makes approx. 4 dozen} Ingredients: 1 cup butter Read More »
Gumdrop Cookies
Welcome to the 2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Week here at Echoes of Laughter! This year, my friend Grace from Sense & Simplicity and I are hosting another super fun Christmas Cookie week. Each day this week we will be sharing a yummy cookie or bar recipe with you in hopes of inspiring and motivating you to get some Christmas baking done early! Today I am sharing a cookie recipe that is loaded with one of our family’s favourite candies…the gumdrop. My mother makes gumdrop cakes every year at Christmas and mails one to us and we love that yummy pound Read More »
Homemade Grape Jelly in 10 Minutes
Yes. It’s totally true! You can have a batch of homemade grape jelly in just 10 minutes! Gone are the days when making grape jelly meant crushing grapes, straining through a cheesecloth and all that jazz. How is it so easy you ask? Welsh’s Grape Juice on the shelf at your local grocery store….that’s how! And this jelly is SO delicious and economical to make,,,with just 4 ingredients! This project is PERFECT if you are not a baker! All you need to be able to do here is read directions and stir! Delicious Grape Jelly in Just 10 Minutes Read More »
Gingerbread Scones with White Chocolate & Cranberries
I know. I know. I am sharing another scone recipe, but this one is my absolute personal favourite! I just love these SO much and everyone I have given them to has absolutely loved them too. It’s the kind of recipe that every time I take a bite, I just close my eyes and think, “Darn! This is so good”. This is, by far, better than anything you could buy and for less than 30 minutes, you have 16 little scones that are just the bees knees. I am making 4 batches of these to package in 8 parcels for Read More »
Chocolate Scones with Candy Cane Kisses…
Today is Day 3 of “GIFTS FROM THE KITCHEN WEEK” at Echoes of Laughter…and I bring you Chocolate Scones with Candy Cane Kisses. {and while I share yummy treats with you, it also becomes my “My Pants Get Tighter Week”.} Anyhoo…it’s no secret that I love scones. And I am so sorry if you have only had scones that are dry and sawdust-y type things because they are supposed to be tender and lovely to eat, with freshness to make you swoon in delight, and if these are not the types of scones you have tried….then you are totally getting a bum wrap! I put Read More »
Sweet Candy Cane Sauce
15 minutes. 15 minutes and 3 ingredients. That is all it takes to make this nifty little sauce! Doesn’t that make you smile? No long list of ingredients or hours of time. Anyone can make this wonderful little gift for those who love candy canes. And I don’t know about you…but I love peppermint… it’s one of my favourite Christmas flavours. Are you ready for how easy this is? Sweet Candy Cane Sauce {Makes approx. 3 cups of sauce} Ingredients 1 jar {7 oz.}marshmallow creme 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream 1.5 cups of crushed candy canes Directions: Read More »
Homemade Granola with Pecans & Craisins
Happy Monday! Welcome to HOMEMADE GIFTS FROM THE KITCHEN WEEK at Echoes of Laughter! I am going to be sharing some tasty treats from the kitchen that will make terrific Christmas gifts for neighbours, friends, teachers, etc. Although the gifts I will be sharing for the rest of the week will be super simple and only take 15 minutes to make, this one takes longer…mostly because of oven time. But the effort and time is so worth it…..this granola is the perfectly blend of sweet and crunchy and was a huge hit at my house. Homemade Granola with Pecans Read More »
How To Organize For Christmas In November For A Stress-Free Christmas!
For the past few years on this blog, I have been spreading this message: November is about getting ready for Christmas. December is for enjoying Christmas. I have shared how I used to leave things to the last minute and chronically under-estimate the time it would take to do things….so therefore, I was not enjoying Christmas at all. I found I was tired and stressed out. I began to think that perhaps there was a better way to ‘do’ Christmas. And there is. And the SECRET is this: *Start early.* *Give yourself deadlines.* *Do only the things you enjoy. Let Read More »
The Best & Easiest Waffles Ever…
I remember when I was a little girl that it was such a special treat when my Grandmother got out her waffle iron and made waffles. I can still the remember the smell and taste of those waffles…so SO good! I got my first waffle iron when I was in University…and I have made waffles many, many times. And tried many recipes…recipes that came with the waffle irons…recipes from cookbooks. And I can tell you that THIS recipe, from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook, is the BEST waffle recipe. It is easy to mix up, smells heavenly and tastes delicious. Crunchy Read More »
Why I “Let” My 16 Yr. Old Daughter Read ’50 Shades of Grey’
The week my daughter turned 16, we went to Chapters together one morning to browse. She came and asked me if she could read, “50 Shades of Grey”. I said yes. She picked it off the shelf, paid for it with her own money and went home and read it the very same afternoon. Done. Deal. First of all. Let me just say that it was very polite and respectful of her to ask me. She could have easily read it, without my knowing, in her room at night when I was asleep and I wouldn’t have been any wiser. Read More »
Jello Jar Monsters
How ’bout these cute little critters? These are so easy that you could whip them up just in time for an afterschool snack or dessert for tomorrow. And when I tell you they are simple…they really are simple. You have the option of making your own jello in jars OR you could buy the jello snack cups at the grocery store to make it even easier! All you need: Small 250 ml mason jars orange jello candy eyes assorted gummy candies for making hair and nose and fun! Directions: Mix jello according to package directions and pour into jars. When jello is Read More »
Get Ready For Cold & Flu Season
Today I want to share with you a seasonal organizing project which is especially important for this time of year…cold & flu organizing. Let’s face it…there is nothing worse than needing fever medicine for a sick child at 3 am and discovering that the bottle is almost empty. It’s happened to me before and I’ve been left driving around town in my pajamas and bad hair looking for the 24 hour drug store. Surely not a fun chore to do at 3 am, so I got my act together and I have been organized and ready for the cold & flu season for the past few Read More »
How To Organize A Beverage Center
It’s hot chocolate weather here. And that led me to do some organizing around these parts because my kitchen counter space was getting eaten up by machines….machines that spit out hot choc and lattes. And I wish we could narrow it down to just one….but we really like both…for different reasons. So I started considering other options for organizing a beverage center. I have a very small kitchen and I began thinking that a buying some kind of storage piece with ample counter space along a wall would do the job nicely. Although I looked at several options at IKEA…they Read More »
Cheesy Chicken Tater Casserole
With winter weather coming on now…I am on the hunt for some tasty new slow cooker meals to serve my family on chilly nights. Last week I was reading my friend Gina’s blog when I saw that she has posted a link to a recipe that was on her meal plan….Cheesy Chicken Tatertot Casserole. I was intrigued…plus it had 4 main ingredients that most families like…chicken, cheese, bacon & tatertots. Sounds good, right? I made it for my family and everybody liked it and it disappeared fast. And I even heard, “What smells so good?” as people came through the door….that is Read More »
Spooky Spider Snack
Today I want to share with you a cute little spooky snack that I used to make when my kids were younger. It is super easy…no baking required! This little snack is also mostly candy free..which is a bonus for a candy-laden holiday such as Halloween. It’s a satsuma orange with a pumpkin face made with a sharpie, a little spider made with ritz crackers, pretzels, peanut butter {you could also use cream cheese} and candy eyes from Wilton. And the drink is a orange punch with a gummy spider on a orange striped straw. {The orange striped straws came from Read More »
Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake
Hello everyone! I am so glad to be back to share this delicious recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake with you! It doesn’t take a lot of time to make…about 20 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of baking time, and it features one of this home’s favourite ingredients…Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Delish! Although this original recipe from Philadelphia Cream Cheese is made in a 9 inch springform pan, I had fun playing around and making single serving cheesecakes in 250 ml wide mouth mason jars. I loved how this dessert looks in the jars! Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients: •3 packages Read More »
A Halloween Party
There is nothing I love better than having a few girlfriends over for tea. It is such good fun to talk and laugh and share some food! I love Fall, so I created this Halloween-themed tea party to celebrate Fall & friendship. Although it may not look it, I kept this tea party quite simple by buying the cookies and sandwiches form the grocery store. I made the pumpkin spice scones with maple cinnamon frosting and pumpkin spice latte dessert {but you could easily buy the scones and skip the extra dessert} I know the trend these days is to Read More »
Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte Trifle
This little experiment came from my love of English trifle as a dessert. We usually have English trifle at Christmas, but I was really craving trifle with some fall flavours as I was sipping a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte this week. And then it dawned on me….what if I used an actual pumpkin spice latte as the starting point for a trifle. Instead of making a custard to soak into pound cake…what would happen if I used a pumpkin spice latte? I got busy and gave it a whirl. Using store bought ingredients, It took me all of 10 minutes to Read More »
Caramel Apple Bites
This is the cutest dessert ever….if I do say so myself! You know when fall comes and you crave caramel apples? If you are like me then you don’ t really want to eat a whole caramel apple, but a couple of bites would do the trick and satisfy the craving. Well hello caramel apple bites! I was looking for a little dessert to go with a little lunch that I am planning for some friends when I thought of these. Although we do love caramel apple dip in this house…the yummy kind with cream cheese…I have some Read More »
Pumpkin Scones with Maple Cinnamon Frosting
This baking project all started when I went thru the Starbucks drive thru to treat myself and they were all out of Pumpkin Spice Scones at 8:30 am in the freakin’ morning. Say what? So I went home and made my own. You don’t get mad…. you get busy! And I think that these homemade scones are infinitely better than any thing you could buy. I even upped the ante and frosted them with a delicious maple cinnamon frosting and sprinkle with vanilla spiced walnuts [I got mine at Safeway} to make them positively decadent! Pumpkin Spice Scones Read More »
A Mantel for Fall
Hello Monday! How nice to see you again! The weather here is beautiful this week even as the leaves are turning colour. I am working on creating touches of fall around the house still…sprinkling a little bit here and there. I have to say that the ‘mantel’ is one of my favourite areas to decorate…even though it takes me a little while to ‘play’ with it until I get it just so. This mantel started with the yellow sunflowers….with white and brown as the main colours and some orange added in. I added in my grandmother’s knitting basket filled with Read More »
A Pretty Fall Table
I turned my oven on yesterday to bake my son’s favourites….ribs and baked potato and it felt so good to be in the house with some warm & tasty heat and the smell of good things. As soon as he came through the door after school he asked, “what smells so good?” And both my kids sat down and had a plate of ribs, baked potato and caesar salad. I put together this pretty table for Fall. I just placed a grouping of different sizes of white candles down the middle of the table and place some fall branches and chinese Read More »
Fall Front Porch
I did a little outdoor decorating today…it was the perfect cold and rainy fall day to do it too! I put together this vignette by the front door using some fall mums, a lantern, and some pumpkins, etc. We have Canadian Thanksgiving coming up in October, so it’s a tad bit early for Halloween decorations in our neck of the woods. I guess I’m really for fall now. I wasn’t quite ready to give up summer, but the weather is nudging me gently in that direction. How about you? Are you transitioning into a new season yet?
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze
We have had a bit of a rainy long weekend, so I have been mixing up some after school treats for the kids, who go back to school in just a couple of days. I couldn’t resist playing ‘dress up’ with these adorable owl stickers I found at Michaels. I made them not only for the kids, but I am going to have some girlfriends over for tea and muffins the first day of school. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins {makes 24} 4 eggs 2 cups sugar 2 cups pumpkin 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup apple sauce Read More »
Mini Vacation Scrapbook
Vacations and trips are such important family times. I think it is so vital to get those pictures off of digital cameras and digital storage and into some type of format that can be enjoyed…be it a mini-scrapbook, picture frame, shadow box or photo album. After all, if the pictures aren’t enjoyed, then why do we take them? I love having family pictures displayed in various ways around our home…it’s important to me and my family. I made this mini scrapbook {just 14 pages} to remember our family trip to Florida last year for Spring Break. The shared family times on the beach… Read More »
Blueberry Grunt Dessert
This is the quintessial Canadian Maritime Dessert.Have you heard of it….Blueberry Grunt? It is a type of dumpling dessert that has long been popular in Nova Scotia…where I come from. It’s strange name, “grunt, ” is said to have come from the noises made by the fruit as it softly stewed in a pot on the wood stove or fire. It’s definitely an ‘old time’ dish made in just about every household in Nova Scotia at one time or another. In many homes, grunts were often not considered to be desserts, but were served as an easy main course, where a Read More »
Packing School Lunches Made Easy
Who likes the chore of packing school lunches? I do…when I have a strategy and some super cool & fun products to use! If you have kids just entering the school system for the first time and are packing lunches for your littles for the very first school year, it may seem fun….at first. But then it becomes gradually….not so fun. I have been packing school lunches since the fall of 2001 when my daughter started full-day school at age 5. Over the years, I have really learned how to get the chore done as quickly and as easily as possible, and Read More »
Breakfast Cookies
Who doesn’t love a cookie for breakfast? You won’t feel guilty giving your family these cookies…chock full of good stuff that will taste great with a glass of milk and fill a tummy. I like them because they are not overly sweet, and are also a nice soft, moist cookie. My husband and daughter like them, but my son is not crazy about them because they are not a ‘chocolate chip’ cookie, which is his idea of a ‘cookie breakfast’. Ha! They also freeze very well and make a great breakfast on a the run! {And see those Read More »
How To Photograph Teens…
Last weekend, some of my teen daughter’s friends organized a birthday dinner for her ‘Sweet 16’ . Such a lucky girl! My daughter and 5 of her best girlfriends dressed up to go out for dinner on a Saturday night and I used the opportunity to gather them together for a fun photo shoot. I asked them if we could meet an hour before the dinner reservations to ‘do photos’ and they all agreed. And let my tell ya….I had SO much fun with these girls! I never laughed so hard! Sixteen year old girls like to dress up as Read More »
6 Best Organizing Tips for Back To School
I love organizing for kids. I really do! I find when the kids are organized, the house just feels so much better. There is less stress, less chaos and less mess to contend with. That is why it is so important to take a little time to organize and get some systems in place before a new school year begins. It’s time to look at what worked last year, what didn’t work and change things up for the better. My kids go back to school on September 4th, so this week is ‘go’ time for getting things in tip top Read More »
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