On Thursdays, I usually post a thankful status on my Facebook page, asking folks to tell me at least three things they’re grateful for right now. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy reading all of the responses because they’re evidence of the true state of our heart and often remind me of new things to be grateful for that I hadn’t even thought about before!

Well, since this is Thursday and an unusually busy one at that, let me tell you that today I’m going to be grateful for dentists who are good with kids and take emergency appointments, optometrists, veterinarians, teachers who taught me how to spell veterinarians, my daughter’s Christmas program at her school, a car and gas to take me to all of these places today in a span of about four hours, and grace that is given to me on a repeated basis to remain grateful, even when I feel a little frazzled on the outside. Most of all, I’m thankful for God hand picking every single member of my family and putting us together.

I’m also going ot be grateful for these sugar and spice pecans when I come home tonight.

Oh how I love these! Some people call them Candied Pecans, some call them sugared or cinnamon pecans, either way this recipe is one that I look forward to making every year because it is just the right blend of sweet, cinnamon, with a hint of salt to set it all off to perfection.

The only problem with making it is the price of pecans. Of course, I’m saying this as two giant pecan trees sit in my yard. For the past three years though, I’ve harvested a grand total of three pecans. Three. However, all is not lost as apparently I am the overseer of the Fat N’ Happy Squirrel Refuge!  If pecans are a little out of your budget, feel free to make this recipe with other nuts as well. Peanuts, Cashews, and even Almonds would be great prepared this way.

Or, you can just come and shake down some of my squirrels…

Trust me, they’ve got plenty!

The ingredients for this are as simple as can be!

Sugar, egg, cinnamon, salt, and pecan halves.

*As I said before, you can use other nuts such as peanuts, cashews, or even almonds in this recipe.

Combine sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.

Stir that up real good.

In a mixing bowl, place your egg white and 1 tablespoon of water.

Save the yolk for something else if you like, but you won’t need it for this recipe.

Beat that egg white with an electric mixer until it is frothy.

Throw your pecan into the bowl with the frothy egg white. 

That would be a good name for a music band made up of Moms. The Frothy Egg Whites!

~thinks~

But then again, when would a group of moms have time to form  a band or…er…have a social life?

Stir them up until they’re coated pretty well.

Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Taking a few pecans at a time, toss them into your bowl of sugar mixture and flip them around a bit with your hand to coat and place on baking sheet.

Repeat until all pecans are coated.

Place this in a 325 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Don’t cook them any longer than this and keep an eye on them in case your oven cooks hot and they get done faster.

They will lightly brown, but you don’t want them to get dark brown.

Remove from oven, stir again, and allow to cool.

Store in gift bags or airtight containers.

These make wonderful gifts, but I never get around to gifting them because we eat every last one! lol

 See more Christmas Candy and Gift ideas by clicking here.

Now tell me at least three things you’re grateful for right now in the comments below!

Ready….set….GO!

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:

the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

~Burton Hillis

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/11/sugar-and-spice-pecans.html/feed 80 http://www.southernplate.com/2008/12/homemade-hot-chocolate-mix-and-snowman-soup-kits.html http://www.southernplate.com/2008/12/homemade-hot-chocolate-mix-and-snowman-soup-kits.html#comments Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:50:29 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=1223

Today I’m bringing you another kid friendly recipe sure to please! I don’t know any child who doesn’t love hot chocolate, but very few who have gotten  to make their own hot chocolate mix. This is a recipe from my first grade teacher, Mrs. Menotti. We made it as a class when I was six years old and then everyone got to bring a sampling of mix and the recipe home. I was so thrilled when Mama then went out and got the ingredients for us to make, too!

As a child, we used to mix up a batch of this at the start of each winter and it would last the entire season. I’m letting my kids mix it up and then packaging it into little kits to give as “snowman soup”, another great gift idea for classmates, friends, family, or anyone  else your children would like to offer a special thank you to!

You will need: instant powdered milk, powdered coffee creamer, Nestle’s Quick (Although I would have gladly gotten a generic chocolate milk powder if they would have had one!), and powdered sugar. As always, exact quantities are at the end of this tutorial!

Now we’re just going to pour all ingredients into  large bowl or my trusty red dishpan!

Katy pours in the powdered milk…

Brady adds the powdered coffee creamer

Katy adds the confectioner’s sugar….and only a small cloud poofed up when she dumped it all!

I had to step in to stir it because they were a bit zealous and we had random sprays of powder being shot out..

When you are done it will look like this! This one batch made over 45 servings!

Now, to make your snowman soup, I measured out a heaping 1/3 cup of mix into a sandwich zipper seal bag.

I then folded the bag over and taped it and added ten marshmallows, two kisses, and a small candy cane.

Next, I packaged it in one of those clear party treat bags and folded the top over, stapling the tag with the poem to it! Voila! Snowman soup, ready to give! I left the title letters open so your kids could color them in if they like!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Snowman Soup

This is a popular and very thoughtful gift. If you’d rather not make homemade hot cocoa mix, the idea works just as well with an individual packet of store bought hot cocoa mix!

To make Snowman Soup, place 1/3 Cup mix into sealed bag (or an envelope of store bought mix) and package with a small candy cane, ten miniature marshmallows, two chocolate kisses, and tag with instructions and poem. There are several poems available online but this is my favorite and printer ready tags (with poem) are available here!

(This one recipe made over 45 servings!)

Other Gift Mixes:

Fruit Crisp Mix

Pecan Pie Muffin Mix

Chocolate Gravy Mix

S’more’s Kits

In the age of outlandish holidays with ever growing price tags, just about everyone appreciates a heartfelt gift personally made for them. Gift mixes are an excellent way of doing this.

Baked goods are always well liked, but mixes offer even more time saving convenience on the part of the giver and give the receiver an opportunity to have some special time in their kitchen. Even people who work full time can squeeze in time to prepare a special treat if they have a mix!

Now, before you start doubting the value of your gift of a mix, check the price tags of some ready made mixes in specialty gift shops and such. My grandmother once bought an apple crisp mix in a bag for $8.00! It was enough to make an 8×8 dish and tasted exactly like my apple crisp. I like to mentally place a monetary value on the gifts I give, in order to make sure I am giving gifts of equal value to my child’s teachers and such. I consider this to be at least a five dollar value, in case you needed a guide.

Chocolate gravy makes an ideal mix to give. Those familiar with it instantly respond with widened eyes and “ooh’s” and “aah’s”. Those unfamiliar with it are intrigued and anxious to taste this chocolatey concoction. Another plus? When was the last time you saw chocolate gravy mix for sale anywhere? You’ve got the added bonus of rarity on your side as well!

My original post on Chocolate Gravy, including step by step photos of how to make it, can be found here.

Each time I bring you a mix, I am going to show you several inexpensive wrapping options as well as providing you with printer ready gift tags(note that these are two sided)!

Now, on to chocolate gravy….

Do you see these party bags? I get them in the party section at wal mart and try to ALWAYS have them on hand. Their uses are limitless. They make great packaging for small loaves of banana bread or a few cookies if you are sending them as gifts. You can use the enclosed twist ties or curling ribbon to seal them, your choice. They are also ideal for party favors or any other baked goods or small gift items. I buy them in a bag of twenty for a dollar and some change. I highly recommend you look for and purchase them now as they run low often.

Plain old zipper seal sandwich bags are a must have as well. I like to place my mix in them to seal it and then package.

Or you can simply place your jar inside a small gift bag and attach some curling ribbon or raffia to it.

But the simplest of all is to simply put your sealed bag of mix inside a clear cellophane party bag and tie with curling ribbon.

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:
the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

~Burton Hillis

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This mix is special for two very important reasons.

1. It is a coffee drink!!

2. Thanks to sugar free products, I can actually drink it!

What a perfect gift for that person who is dieting or has to watch their sugar. At last, something for us!

Most of you don’t know that I have issues with sugar. I have to really watch it and generally avoid it altogether except in very small amounts. Come January, after all of our holiday eating transgressions are over, I’m going to bring you some special recipes I use when I want a special treat. Low sugar, no sugar, and a weee bit healthy – but don’t let that scare you, they are all still gonna be awful good, I promise you!

Tomorrow I will draw a name from the comments left on each of my gift mix posts and mail them one of each of my gift mixes in one of those red plastic dishpan that I love so much! To enter, simply comment on any gift mix post. One entry per comment!

You’ll need: Instant coffee, No Sugar Added Nesquik (or any brand no sugar added chocolate drink mix), Powdered coffee creamer, cinnamon, nutmeg, and Splenda (not pictured). I use generic splenda.

Now personally, I don’t care for nutmeg and I never have. However, I bought it just to use for this recipe and decided I’d put it in as the original recipe called for. I figured I’d change my mind and perhaps realize that I hadn’t given nutmeg a good chance before. Guess what? I learned that I just really don’t like nutmeg. If you do, that’s great! If you don’t, I would encourage you to leave it out and add more cinnamon in its place.

Put all of your ingredients in a bowl in the quantities listed in the recipe below. I have tweaked this recipe a bit as I felt it didn’t have enough creamer in it.

Stir that up well and you’ve made cappuccino mix!

Of course, I am doubling this because y’all know how I like to double things!

I just put mine in a little half pint jar and cut a circle of Christmas fabric with pinking shears to put under the screw on ring. I have tags available as well to put on this!

Sugar Free Cappuccino Mix

(makes about 3 1/2 pints of dry mix)

• 1 1/4 Cup powdered coffee creamer
• 1 C no sugar added chocolate drink mix (I used Nesquik)
• 2/3 C instant coffee granules
• 1/2 C splenda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (if you don’t like nutmeg, use more cinnamon)

Mix all together and store in airtight container. To prepare, place 3 T in a cup and add 8 OZ hot water. Stir.

To get printer ready tags for give giving, visit this link.

For other gift mixes visit here.

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While I dig in to do several tutorials today, two guest bloggers are here to bring you a great and inexpensive gift idea for classmates, young children, or even a thoughtful little gift for coworkers and neighbors!

Even the youngest child can help put together these great treats and hand them out with pride, knowing that it was their thoughtfulness which brought the gift about. I encourage you to get your kids in the kitchen this holiday season. This is a great way to teach them the joy of giving gifts from their own hearts and hands.

These are VERY inexpensive to make so no matter what your holiday budget, your kids are free to be as generous as they like with their very own gifts. I’ve also have printer friendly tags for for your kids to color at the end of this post!

You’ll need: Graham Crackers, Snack Sized Chocolate Bars, and Marshmallows.

I got the Christmas shaped Marshmallows because they are so pretty . You can use another sized chocolate bar but I found these to be the least expensive and just the right size. If I had of found generic chocolate bars y’all know I would have used those! I have no particular attachment to Hershey’s. They were also out of generic Graham Crackers because y’all know I would have gone cheaply all the way with no looking back!

Place two graham squares into a bag. I am using those party favor bags I told you about in my first gift mix post. I think it helps if you stick out your tongue like Katy is doing here. I tried doing it both ways and the tongue out really made a difference. Is Brady doing a nutcracker impersonation?

(Make sure your wee ones have clean little hands for this!)

“Katy, now you hand the bag to Brady…”

(At this age, every photo is an action shot)

“Baby, now hand it to him slowly….That’s better”

Brady put the chocolate bar in.

Then they each got to put in one marshmallow. Katy put in pink “because I’m a girl and pink is for girls!”.

This is Brady putting in his green marshmallow.

“Mama Is green a color for boys so Brady gets to put green in?”

“Yes, Katy, that’s exactly it!”

If any of y’all don’t have kids you are likely reading this and thinking it was somewhat ridiculous to have them take turns doing every little thing. Those of you who do have kids know that its these small acts of diplomacy which prevent world war three from erupting at your home.

A Christmas miracle would be a photo in which both of my children are in focus.

Still, they’re kinda cute, aren’t they? ~Grins~

This is one way of packaging it.

Your kids can simply attach the tag and have a gift ready to go.

Print them out…cut them apart…

These gift tags can be found here. Don’t worry, I’ll put the link in again later in the post.

We enjoyed coloring them. This is one Brady did.

This is another way of packaging that we liked better in the end.

Just fold down the top twice and put the tag on the front… (I love using those little … <dot dot dots>)

And staple on the front.

I love how this one looks.

Would you believe I saw similar S’more’s kits this past weekend for $5.00 EACH?

Y’all know I just about choked when I saw that!

S’Mores Kits

Ingredients

• Graham Crackers
• Marshmallows (large ones or Christmas ones)
• Snack sized chocolate bars

Instructions

1. Assemble in each bag: One chocolate bar, two marshmallows, and two Graham Squares. Seal. Color and attach tags. Have a Happy Holiday!

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http://www.southernplate.com/2008/11/smores-kits-great-gift-for-classmates-from-guest-bloggers-brady-katy.html

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I hope y’all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have started a new category: Southern Plate Kids. In this category your kids will be able to find Southern Plate tutorials just for them! I already have some kid friendly posts and more are coming so grab the kidders and let them surf! Stay tuned for more great holiday gift ideas just for kids, too!

These pecan pie muffins have been a huge hit on Southern Plate. I’ve had so many readers email me singing their praises that I thought they’d make the ideal gift mix for the holidays! For this packaging, I went for a more “retail” type look and had a good bit of fun making the tags! On the backside your recipient will find instructions on how to use the mix to make their own delicious pecan pie muffins!

If you’d like to see the original tutorial and recipe on how to make the muffins themselves, please visit this link.

You’ll need: Plain flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans.

Place all three ingredients in a bowl.

Stir it up until well mixed.

For this tutorial, I chose to place mine in quart sized freezer bags. You can package it like I am doing or use one of the packaging ideas from my other mix tutorials (I have links to them at the bottom of this post for your convenience), or come up with your own of course!

Look at this photo if you wanted one more reason why NOT to buy name brand. The Ziploc brand bag won’t work for this packaging idea because they have way too much writing on their bag for us to be able to hide it. The bag on the left is the cheapest, a store brand. Its going to work just fine.

Print off your handy dandy bag headers which can be found here.

(Don’t worry, part of the tag is supposed to be upside down..)

Trim those up and separate the sheet into two pieces.

Fold over the top of your bag and tape that down.

Once you have your two headers cut apart, crease them and fold them, then place them face down and put insert the top of your bag into the fold. What I did was let the front of my tag hang down longer than the back. The back has all of the instructions on how to use the mix. Isn’t that handy?

I was going to staple my header onto the bag but I couldn’t find my stapler. So instead I just taped the top of the bag on the inside of the header and then used tape to secure it on the outside as well. You can use either method, I kinda like it better with the tape now that I see it that way.

See, here is where I folded the back down and taped it to the bag…

Then I turned it over and put a little tape at the bottom on the front, too. All ready for gift giving!

See my other great Holiday Gift Ideas!

ALL mixes include printable tags with instructions!

Save Money AND Give Better Gifts!

Thank you for taking the time to read Southern Plate! If you enjoy it, please tell a friend!

Have a wonderful evening!!!

Gratefully,

Christy

This year we all seem to be feeling or at least dreading the crunch on our wallets more than ever. Whether its fear of job security, more payments than usual, or a simple lack of money, one thing is clear : This is not what Christmas is supposed to be about.

Christmas is about family, love, a giving spirit, and that special holiday magic. Generosity of heart is the time honored tradition which outweighs generosity of wallet by far. Lets go back to an old fashioned Christmas and give gifts from our heart, rather than gifts from our credit cards.

This time of year, everyone looks forward to holiday baked goods, but some of us simply don’t have the time to bake 20 loaves of banana bread or umpteen dozen cookies. Why not streamline that by giving home made gift mixes? These mixes can be made now and last for several months (or longer), cutting out the last minute gift rush completely by allowing you to finish your homemade goodies before December even arrives!

Whats more, by giving a homemade mix, you are giving your friends and loved ones an opportunity to share something special with their family, even when they might not have otherwise had time to do so.

Today I am bringing you the second of my holiday gift mixes, an all purpose (and totally delicious) fruit crisp mix. I am including links to printer ready labels which you can include with this mix that have the directions on one side and the entire recipe on the back. If you missed my Chocolate Gravy mix last week, be sure to check that out for more packaging ideas (and printer ready instruction labels) as well!

This is a very versatile mix in that it goes with pretty much any type of fruit you have on hand to bake with! I generally stick to apples and peaches because you can get them canned all year long and they are relatively inexpensive.

Who doesn’t love a good fruit crisp? Served piping hot with vanilla ice cream slowly melting into the yumminess, fruit crisp makes the ideal dessert. You can often this mix for sale on the shelves of specialty shops, with an astonishing price tag! I have seen a single recipe of a crisp mix selling anywhere from $5.99-$7.99. If you want to add in an additional bonus (for around a dollar more), you can include a can of peaches or fried apples along with your gift mix. I have a cute idea on how your kids can help you package those later in the post.

This is the same recipe we have used for our fruit crisp for as long as I can remember. When I was a girl, this was the special dish that Mama always let me make. I remember being as young as five and stirring the oats, flour, and brown sugar together. I would carefully cut in the margarine (making a mess, I’m sure!) and then Mama would place an 8×8 dish with peaches spread over the bottom so I could begin sprinkling the topping over it to complete the dish. I loved the evenings Mama decided to have peach crisp for dessert because I always got such praise for my cooking skills at supper that night!

You’ll need: Brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, and all purpose flour.

You can add nuts in this if you like, but that makes your mix considerably pricier. If you only have self rising flour on hand, just use that and it will be fine. Likewise if you only have quick oats versus old fashioned or dark brown sugar versus light brown. This is a very forgiving recipe. Just remember: Fruit crisp loves you and doesn’t want you to make a special trip to the grocery store on it’s behalf. Just use what you have.

Place flour and oats in a medium mixing bowl.

Add brown sugar and cinnamon.

Stir and your mix is made!

What I do is dump this mix into a plastic zipper bag and then make several others while I have everything out.

Like this!

What I did to package this one (and again, just see my Chocolate Gravy Mix if you’d like more packaging options – I’ll also have more in future gift mix posts!) was cut a rectangle of Christmas fabric with pinking shears and fingerpressed the sides inward.

Like this. Just turn the side over and press with your finger or nail along the fold. Isn’t it fun to be lazy? Keep that iron put up for another day.

Now just roll up the sides over your bag and then fold up the ends so that it looks like a sack…

Like this. I just tied mine with a scrap from the actual fabric.

Then, I inserted a Christmas Pick which I bought from Big Lots for a whopping fifty cents to make a beautiful presentation of my gift. You can simply print off my printer ready tags and attach them to have a completed gift with instructions on using the mix as well as the recipe.
(See bottom of post for links to tags)

If you’d like to make it even more special (and give your kids a chance to get creative), you can include canned fruit to use along with your crisp mix and let your kids make new labels for the cans! (Trust me, they LOVE this!)

My son and I made labels for apples and peaches.

You can then place them both in a gift basket, goodie bag, or gift box.

Or just give as is! This is a gift sure to be enjoyed and appreciated!

For the front of the tag, go here.
For the backside of the tag, go here.
(the tags include instructions on how to make the Fruit Crisp!)

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!
Gratefully,
Christy