Snow Ice Cream

This winter has been BRUTAL.

Living in Nebraska, we are used to snow, but this COLD?

It's good for nothing.

One thing about this winter, though, almost all of the snow, has missed us.

It goes North ... It goes South...

it goes around us.

Our kids have had "cold days" but no "Snow Days" until yesterday.

We finally got some snow, to at least make the cold worth while!

The kid were home, I was in the kitchen baking all day and then we made 

SNOW ICE CREAM!

This isn't the first time we have made snow ice cream, but this was the first time using this recipe.

I had heard others talk of snow ice cream with Sweetened Condensed Milk and I thought it was time to give it a whirl.

Here is the recipe for my OTHER Snow Ice Cream.

This one is really good, too!!

I got it from Paula Dean!

Snow Ice Cream

Paula Dean

8 cups snow

1 - 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine in a big bowl until smooth.

Serve with your favorite toppings!

Chocolate Peppermint Stirring Spoons

I am one of the room moms for our twins' 5th grade class, and this Friday is their Christmas party.

My kids are lucky, they still get Christmas parties... I have talked to many friends, and their kids have "winter" parties.  I LOVE singing Christmas Carols and singing the kids all dressed in their Sunday best at their programs.

I am thankful my kids go to a Catholic school.

We are doing this cute craft I found on Pinterest

and having a hot cocoa bar!

My daughter and I made these cute Chocolate Peppermint Stir Spoons!

They couldn't be easier to make and so good in hot cocoa!!

Want to make your own cocoa mix?

CLICK HERE

Chocolate Peppermint Stirring Spoons

48 plastic spoons

6 candy canes crushed

2 cups chocolate chips

2 teaspoons crisco

Crush your candy canes.

Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. Rest spoons on edge of cookie sheet.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave for about 1 minute and then 30 second intervals until you can stir them smooth, add crisco and stir until incorporated.

**I used a glass 2 cup measuring cup ... worked great to pour the chocolate into the spoons!**

Pour chocolate into spoon well, and tap the spoon to make the chocolate pool evenly in the spoon.

Add crushed peppermints and place in the refrigerator to set up.

Swirl it through some hot cocoa and Relax....

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

I made a housewarming gift basket for my brother and his family last weekend, and it turned out super cute!

I'll blog about it AFTER the holidays ... but the cute basket included this homemade hot cocoa.

I searched Pinterest, and read different recipes, but found this one from a blog that I love called wonkywonderful.com   You have seen recipes from Nicole on my facebook page, she shares there every now and then, and her stuff is always AMAZING.

So hers it was!

rich and thick and stirred into hot milk ... no water here, friends!  

Do you have a Tuesday Morning where you live?  I love going in that store, it's sort of like digging for buried treasure.  It's where I found this "Chalk it up" Glass jar.  I love how it looks like a barrel.

This is one of my favorite mugs, given to me by my dear friend, Traci.

(aint that the truth??)

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

wonky wonderful

1 cup cocoa

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup instant coffee creamer

1/2 cup Ovaltine

Combine and store in an airtight container.

Add 3-4 Tablespoons to a an 8 ounce cup hot milk and stir.

Snow Ice Cream

SNOW DAY!!

The white stuff is really coming down out there!

The kids were home from school, and I had a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup 

simmering on the stove, and I told the kids, 

Today would be a great day to make snow ice cream!!

I barely got the word out and there was a gallon sized ice cream bucket on the patio catching flakes!

I remember the first time I ever made snow ice cream.  

I still have the recipe, written in my first grade teacher, Mrs. Hallstrom's handwriting.

My Mom would always let my brother and I make this on snow days after that.

This kind of white fluffy snow is the perfect kind for making snow ice cream!

Snow Ice Cream

1 gallon of clean white snow

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla

2 cups milk (I used a little more)

Combine all ingredients in a big bowl until creamy.  I did add a little more milk to mine.

Eat immediately.

The kids put chocolate syrup on theirs, you could vary the flavors by syrups or adding fruit. you could even use chocolate milk!

Enjoy a snow day with your kids,

make a memory using what Mother Nature is dishing out!

Homemade Sugar Scrubs - Great Holiday Gift

Sugar scrubs seem to be all the rage this year!

I have seen lots of posts, and hopefully you don't find this one "redundant," but I made some, too!

peppermint sugar scrub

My kids' school actually really does us and the teachers a favor by doing gift certificates for all of the staff.  

In early December we send in a donation, and they divvy it out.

It's a lifesaver.  

I usually try to make something homemade for them, and we buy them a book or two for their classrooms.

This year it sugar scrub!

these are the ones I did for their teachers

A month or so ago, my daughter Josie and I decided to make some.  

I made one for my friend, Lori, for her birthday.  

She had given me some sweet orange essential oil a while back for in my bubble bathes.

I knew she liked it, so I decided to make her a sweet orange sugar scrub.

(Wish I would have taken a picture of it!)

She loved it, and asked me for the recipe.

This one is for you, Lori!! 

(and all of you others who want something for dry skin this winter!!)




*** You can find Vitamin E Oil and Essential oils at Whole Foods, vitamin or nutrition stores! ***

Basic Sugar Scrub Recipe

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vitamin E Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon essential oil / or scented extract

Blend together in a bowl until oil is absorbed into sugar.

This is a basic recipe, I have just played with it for the different scents. 

brown sugar vanilla sugar scrub

This one smells so good!!  

Brown Sugar Vanilla Sugar Scrub

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vitamin E Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

Blend together in a bowl until oil is absorbed into sugar.

top view of teacher gifts

You can use leftover jars, jelly jars or find something cute like the ones above at your local craft store for around a $1.00

Word to the wise...DO NOT use garlic jars.  They may smell clean...but trust me, they will smell like garlic, so unless you're into Garlic Sugar Scrub, or you need to keep vampires away or something, I wouldn't recommend it!

I used ribbon, and scrapbook paper, Modge Podge, some fun "snowball looking" sprigs, and made tags on my computer.  Just use your imagination! 

Peppermint Sugar Scrub

1 cup white sugar

2 regular sized candy canes (crushed finely)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vitamin E Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil

Blend together in a bowl until oil in absorbed into sugar.

peppermint scrub --- I modge podged a reindeer scrapbook sticker on the front

bubblegum sugar scrub

Bubblegum sugar scrub was inspired by my beloved Bubble Gum Cupcakes!

This scrub smells SO DARN GOOD!!  

Bubble Gum Sugar Scrub

1cup white sugar

pink sugar crystals

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vitamin E Oil

1 teaspoon bubblegum extract

Blend together in a bowl until oil is absorbed into sugar. Add pink sugar crystals to "pink up" the scrub.

There ya go!! Easy, fun, economical and useful gifts.

I have made all kinds of them.... 

I can't wait to give them to the teachers,  some friends, my mail lady ... and a few others!

Cheers to smooth scrubbed tootsies this winter!