Easter is just around the corner and I’ve been on the prowl for some Easter goodies to make for Truett’s class.  I’ve seen these ‘Easter Carrots‘ before but most of them were filled with candy; reese’s pieces, orange jelly beans, orange m&ms, etc.  Because there is a little girl in Truett’s class that’s allergic to red dye (and yes, orange stuff does have red dye in it), I chose to use Goldfish Crackers.   They’ll need something ‘bready’ to soak up sugar from all that Easter candy anyways!

These Easter carrots are one of the easiest crafts to make and will make your little bunny grin from ear to ear.  Truett helped me by cutting ribbon so let your kiddos help if possible. It just makes the experience that much more fun!  You can find Easter crafts & recipes at Walmart (which is where I bought mine) and be sure to check back soon. I’ll be posting a couple of other easy goodies that anyone can make!

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart has provided me with compensation and gift card in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

When trying to figure out what food gifts to give this year, I thought I’d make something I usually don’t, which is homemade fudge.  I’ve heard horror stories when it comes to fudge so I can see how it can be quite intimidating for some, much like pecan pies tend to do but my recipe is pretty simple and what I feel like, is some of the best fudge ever.

My homemade fudge recipe isn’t a family recipe but it may as well be because it came from a jar of Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallow Creme jar.  Just like many food brands, Kraft has been around for years so you can imagine all the recipes from their boxes or jars, have become a family recipe, perhaps even a secret family recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 lb semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 7 oz. Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallow Creme jar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans that my FIL picked and shelled for me instead of walnuts)

DIRECTIONS

Try to have everything ready ahead of time.  It will make things a lot easier.  Chop the nuts and have the marshmallow cream out of the jar and in a bowl. In fact, I recommend you spray your spatula and bowl with Pam Cooking Spray before doing this because that creme is very sticky!  Line a 13″x9″x2″ baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

In a 3-quart saucepan, bring sugar, butter, and milk to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly once the mixture begins to bubble. Once the mixture reaches a boil,  you’ll want to remove the mixture from the heat once it reaches 234°F on a candy thermometer.  I just used a digital thermometer that I had but if you don’t have one, just remember it will take about 4 minutes to reach that temperature.

Remove from heat. Very quickly stir in chocolate and marshmallow cream. When those have melted,, stir in the vanilla and then the walnuts.  Pour into your pan lined with foil.  Cool to room temperature before slicing, at least 4 hrs or so.

Makes about 3 pounds of fudge.

You MUST let someone lick the spatula of course! Truett enjoyed this part of the process a great deal. Who wouldn’t right?

Once done, I placed some pieces of fudge in a Christmas bowl and put a whole bunch of fudge in these fun gift boxes from Wilton.  I really really like the gift boxes and bags. It made the whole food gift giving process easy for me and looked fabulous!

In my previous video, I made you Healthy Pumpkin Bread. Today, I bring you quite the opposite with Rocky Road Brownies.  When it comes to food gift giving during the holidays, so many people give breads and cookies but something we like to give, are brownies served in a dish.

I like to find pretty bowls or plates, place brownies in them, and wrap them up as a gift.  The receiver can use the dish over and over again instead of it getting thrown away, and the family can enjoy the brownies. Brownie pan was bought at my local Walmart.

HOW TO MAKE ROCKY ROAD BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Great Value unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 bag (12 ounces) Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick’s Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 cup Jet -Puffed Mini Marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chopped Fisher pecans or your choice of nut.
• Reddi-wip for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch-square baking pan or use a brownie pan like I did.

Step 2. In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of boiling water, combine butter and 1 cup chocolate chips. Heat, stirring occasionally, just until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Or you can use the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Just watch carefully.

Step 3. Remove mixture from heat; stir in sugars and salt, then eggs, and finally flour, stirring just until combined. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes.

Step 4. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips, then marshmallows and nuts. Bake until chocolate is shiny and marshmallows are puffed, about 5 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Cut into 16 squares and top with Reddi-wip!!! **DROOL*

Disclosure: Compensation has been provided by Walmart for my time and efforts to create the recipe, video and post. All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. Check out more holiday baking and gift giving ideas from my fellow Walmart Moms and from the Walmart website.

November marks the part of the season where we give thanks, give gifts, and help those in need.  Giving a homemade food gift is one of the most popular ideas because it’s so friendly to your wallet and it comes from the heart.

Today, I’m bringing you a healthy alternative to traditional pumpkin bread (found at Dashing Dish) and  sharing my food gift giving how-to idea.

Most of the ingredients for the recipe are items you probably already have in your pantry which will minimize the cost some.   To wrap up the loaves up and make them into a gift, you’ll need the following:

• Great Value Twist Tie Bags (100 ct) $2.76
• Matching Napkins & Paper Plates $2.00 for each.  There were at least 10 in the packages.

Because you are getting so many bags and so many of the plates & napkins for $6.76 total, you’re going to easily be able make quite a few loaves for a low price.  Gifts like these are great for teachers, neighbors, coworkers, and really just about anyone.

PUMPKIN BREAD RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1 (15oz) can pure pumpkin
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (about one individual portion of yogurt)
• 4 large egg whites – Eggland’s Best
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups Splenda
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. McCormick’s Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick’s Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. McCormick’s Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 1/8 tsp McCormick’s Ground Nutmeg)

Directions:

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350′. Spray mini loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. You can also buy those mini loaf aluminum pans that are disposable as well.

Step 2
Using a food processor (or blender), mix all of the ingredients together. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth. (I put the oats in first to make sure they were blended down well.)

Step 3
Place mixture into loaf pans, and place into oven. Bake mini loaves for 40-50 minutes (depending on your oven and altitude:), or until toothpick comes out clean, which is how I always check!

Cool loaves before removing from pans or if you are using disposable, just cool down before wrapping up to gift.If using disposable, you can omit the paper plates and find napkins to match the disposables that you used.

What are some of your holiday food gift giving ideas? I’d love to hear them and even perhaps make them this holiday season!

Disclosure: Compensation has been provided by Walmart for my time and efforts to create the recipe, video and post. All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. Check out more holiday baking and gift giving ideas from my fellow Walmart Moms and from the Walmart website.

I 100% recommend Eggland’s Best Eggs which is why I’m also proud to be an ambassador for EB & the Pink Dozen. So good for the heart y’all!

I’m excited to bring you my first holiday gift guide this season here at My Wooden Spoon!  With items from unique utensils to gourmet sin for chocolate lovers, you’re sure to find something for that special foodie in this guide.  Price ranges start out as cheap as $10 bucks and go up. I chose to breakdown this guide using product categories so that you can narrow down the type of item you might be looking for.

I hope that you all enjoy it and with that said………………..I present to you, My Wooden Spoon’s 2008 Holiday Gift Guide.

CATEGORIES:

FOOD

BEVERAGES

UTENSILS/CUTLERY & GADGETS

SMALL APPLIANCES

COOKBOOKS & BOOKS

BAKEWARE

COOKWARE

GREAT MISC. MUST-HAVES!

If you didn’t make the guide this year, there’s always next year!  I had sooo many wonderful submissions and it was very hard to choose. I wish I could have put them all in the guide.

Happy Shopping and Have a Safe & Wonderful New Year!!

IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN GIFT GUIDE, LINK IT UP AT THE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES ROUNDUP!

Welcome to the food section of the guide.  We have so many wonderful items here for that person who just loves food.  Food is also a great gift to give teachers or coworkers!  I think making a big basket full of goodies is the best!

Back to the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide Table of Contents

From Coco-Zen, give a gift that they can eat and use.  With these divine chocolate truffles and lovely tins, called Truffles-to-Give, you’ll be sure to be a hit and they are handmade from only Fair Trade & organic chocolate, all natural ingredients with no preservatives.

*******************************************************************************

Graeter’s famous French Pot ice cream is an irresistible treat for loved ones, especially those hard-to-buy-for mothers, and it can be shipped anywhere in the contiguous United States.  Flavor options include our signature Black Raspberry Chip, as well as Mocha Chocolate Chip, Caramel, Strawberry, Coffee and more.  We also have seasonal ice cream flavors, including Pumpkin Pie, Cinnamon and Peppermint, available in November and December.  A number of celebrities have touted their love of Graeter’s ice cream, including Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Glenn Beck and George Clooney.

*******************************************************************************

Let those special ones delve into the sheer delight of lemon bars so refreshing and light that they’re like a perfect spring day.  With dozens of items to choose from, finding that perfect gift this holiday season is made easy with Dessert Alert. They offer a wide variety of desserts by the half dozen, full dozen, or more.  Not only are they absolutely divine, but they can be delivered to that special person right to their door step in a stunning gold box with a ribbon on top.

*********************************************************************

Order Trail’s End popcorn tins for holiday gifts, and help the Boy Scouts at the same time.  If you know a Boy Scout, you can order on their behalf through OrderPopcorn.com, and they will get the credit. Otherwise, you can order on behalf of your local Council – 70% of the money from popcorn sales goes directly back to support local Scouting.

For people who would like to send popcorn to U.S. Troops serving around the world this holiday season, you can also make a donation to send popcorn treats to the Troops.

**********************************************************************

This year, give homemade jellies. But let’s cheat a little and skip the hours of back-breaking fruit picking and the berry-stained kitchen counters by using fruit juice.

R.W. Knudsen Family’s Just Juices work great – jelly-making in less than an hour. Just Juice Black Currant creates a tart fruit flavor – paired with clotted crème and a fresh scone it’s a holiday win.

********************************************************************

From fresh cheese and oysters to biodegradable plates, you’ll find that Marx Foods offers you the finest bulk food on the web!  They even have alligator and bison!  What a great gift to give to those fellas eh?!!

************************************************************************

Plush Puffs makes the highest quality, all natural, intensely flavored marshmallows ever! These gourmet puffs are good enough to eat straight out of the package, but are also amazing when melted in hot drinks or roasted in recipes. From ice cream toppings to exquisite rice crispy treats, marshmallows aren’t just for S’mores and hot cocoa any more!

********************************************************************

Salsa is always popular but I bet giving it as a gift didn’t cross many of your minds did it?  It would be neat to find a fun fiesta type bowl and throw in a bottle of Pace’s salsa with some tortilla chips!  How fun would be that!!  And by the way, if you have never tried new flavors, I highly encourage you to give it a try.  My husband didn’t think he would salsa with pineapple but he loves it!  You’ve just got to open your mind and give it a try!

********************************************************************

No guide would be complete without these little pieces of heaven from Donsuemor.  Remember my food porn post?  OMG, these are wonderful and would be such a nice treat for someone!

************************************************************************

Because everyone loves jerky!!  And what a great stocking stuffer, especially for the male crowd! The highest quality Beef jerky, Buffalo jerky, Venison jerky, Ostrich jerky, and Turkey jerky comes from House of Jerky®! Our jerky is made the old fashioned way, sliced from lean whole premium top round steak. It is not ground, chopped, processed or formed into strips.

************************************************************************

Scrumptious season’s greetings. Sweet delights head your way with this set of eight hand-dipped apples. The entire collection is dressed for the holiday with charming ornaments specially designed for the family tree. Individually wrapped in a gussied-up gift bag, the apples also make the perfect present pick! From Mrs. Prindable’s.

These are a great gift to give if you have to buy for a lot.  These apples are HUGE and there are many other sets that you can and save so check them all out.

These are my HOT PICK!

************************************************************************

Back to the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide Table of Contents