The Future Design Interior: December 2008

Cranberry Buffalo Roast Stew

A hearty gluten-free Crock Pot stew to warm your celiac soul.

What could be more comforting as we face the chilly New Year than a slow roasted one-dish supper? Not to mention, easier. Especially after all the hustle and bustle of last week's holiday celebrations. All the sugar. And latkes. And eggnog. And hoopla. I'm exhausted just imagining it. So I'll stop. And share a recipe instead- a tasty little number I tossed together in my trusty Crock Pot over the weekend- a cranberry laced stew that cooked its sweet 'n savory heart out while I worked on creating more print-friendly recipes for you.

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Seasons Greetings!

Bunny tracks and a low flannel sky sifting snow. My view today. We have a buffalo roast with cranberries and wine in the slow cooker. A fire in the kiva. A quiet-as-a-field-mouse day here in northern New Mexico.

Sending out a bundle of wishes for a safe and warm holiday to all- be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, or simply Thursday. Be well, Dear Readers. And thank you for your comment love this past year. I appreciate every kind word, your recipe tweaks and stories shared.

My New Year's gift to you? During the next week- or two- I'll be busy behind the scenes creating unique pages for much improved printable recipes. Look for the new links on posts starting today (just beneath the recipe). I'm beginning with the most popular- and the most recent recipes- and working my way back in time. By the way, Dear Heart, if an errant older post or two slips through my RSS feed during this editing process I apologize in advance. Flooding your feed reader is not my intention.

Till my next post, then- which by the way, might have to be the killer olive oil and sea salt potato chips we made this week- be safe, be healthy, and be good to one another.

Merry Christmas!!!

Thank You Jody for the GREAT Cut File

Jody P of the Cricut Message Board shared her lovely cut files for Gift Card holders. Her designs were inspired by something she saw in the December issue Paper Crafts Magazine, though I believe she expanded the idea as there are three designs in her cut files. I used Basic Grey Wassail Christmas paper (for TOBY), ribbon, pearl embellishments, and glaze stickles to make two of Jody's ornament design.

Thanks again Jody!! My family members should love these!!!

Art Design Part 6

Art Design Part 5

BBTB Weekly Challenge - NA Presents

It is a busy time of year for everyone, but a fun time of year too. Over at Bitten by the Bug, Regina is keeping the design team busy with weekly challenges. This week's challenge was to use the Presents cut from the New Arrival cartridge. I decided to merge my busy season and my challenge entry together. I made a 9" x 7" tag for my son's very large package. The package is 4 ft x 2.5 ft, so it needs a big bow and a big tag. I also used a printable stamp which I purchased and downloaded from the Cuting Cafe (http://reginascutterdesigns.blogspot.com/), and a 2" circle punch to pop out the to - from stamp. This gift tag is going to be perfect. I cannot wait for ds to open this gift... He is going to LOVE it!! And I do love making my children happy!!!

Speaking of being happy, please drop by the Bitten by the Bug blog (http://regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com/ ) and check out the projects and the contest that is currently underway. You could end up with some happy, happy prizes!!!

The next few days may be an especially busy time at each of our homes, so I would like to wish each reader a very Merry Christmas!

Sweet Potato Latkes

Sweet potato latkes and ruby applesauce.

Happy Winter Solstice! Happy Hanukkah! Let's celebrate. The shortest day of the year is finally upon us. The darkest point in the turning of the seasons will tomorrow tilt toward light. The balance in power has shifted. Daylight gains. The darkness recedes, inch by inch, minute by minute. Light is reborn. Pretty powerful stuff. No wonder so many cultures have celebrated this in a myriad of ways (see Nika's list of Mid-Winter celebrations and her beautiful photos).

For Hanukkah- no matter how you spell it- it's also about light. An eight day Festival of Lights, in fact, and food is intricately woven into the tradition. Because Hanukkah celebrates the fortuitous finding of a flask of olive oil (a small amount that would, maybe, last a day, but miraculously burned for eight dark nights) recipes for celebrating are cooked in oil.

And that brings to me to one of my all-time favorite foods on Earth.

Latkes.

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Gluten-Free Layer Bars: Coconut Chocolate Nirvana

Gluten free layer bars recipes aka hello dolly bars and seven layer bars

Gluten-free coconut chocolate layer bars.

This is a quickie bonus post. Chocolate-coconut layered cookie bar bliss --- just in time for the holidays. A wink and a nudge to the retro cookie layer bar recipe I posted two years ago. This newer version is non-dairy using condensed coconut milk, so you lactose-free folks don't miss out on all the fun.

Now get ready to party.

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My A-HA! moment

Have you tried to make cake balls? Let's start with the name...as my cousin, Tara, wisely pointed out, "cake balls" is a little scary sounding. They are hereby renamed, "cake truffles." Much better!

OK...I was getting a little frustrated because my cake, um, truffles weren't smooth like I'd seen on some other blogs. Mine tasted good, but they were lumpy.

These are Gingerbread Truffles (really yummy!) made with a gingerbread mix, baked and mixed with chocolate frosting. My A-HA! moment....shortening! I added a 1/2 teaspoon of Crisco to the melted candy melts and stirred until it melted into the chocolate. (I melted them in a bowl over barely simmering water.)

Voila! Smoother coating...and much easier to work with! This time, I used a toothpick to dip the cake into the chocolate. This worked great, but I was left with an uncovered area on the top. My original idea was to flip it to be on the bottom, but that didn't work. Any suggestions? You can see how I covered it up with a dollop of chocolate on top and sprinkles. :)

I'll be out-of-pocket for a while...a little traveling and moving (yay!) is keeping our December busy, so MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!! Have a wonderful holiday!

Cookie packaging

Have you seen the cookie boxes from Martha Stewart? Oh my goodness....they are so cute! She has a few different designs. They are available at Michael's and WalMart (in the craft/fabric area)!

Here's the interior box...I love that little scalloped edge and there is a piece of polka-dot, waxed tissue paper for each box.

That box slides into the exterior box and it comes with pre-cut ribbon and a coordinating label.

When I went back to Michael's for more last weekend, they were sold out. :( So, if you see them and you're giving cookies this year, snatch them up while you can!!!

The Future Design Interior

Gluten-Free Appetizers + Snacks