Grandma Stories» Activities

Christmas For Grandparents – Personalized Christmas Gifts For Grandparents

Grandma — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:37:52 +0000

Choosing Christmas gifts for grandparents can at times be difficult, especially since many if not most grandparents have a home full of just about everything they need. Having seen several lists of what are deemed to be the “worst Christmas gifts for grandparents”, it is easy to see why gifting grandparents with things like cookbooks or knickknacks that must be cleaned or dusted aren’t the best ideas for gifting purposes.

Many grandparents have already or are in process of downsizing their homes to smaller abodes, so the last thing grandparents or elderly people need or want is more “stuff” to fill shelves and spend time on cleaning. Finding the perfect Christmas gift for a grandparent doesn’t have to be expensive, can certainly be homemade and dearly loved, and the more personalized the gift is the happier the grandparents will be.

While many grandparents love to receive new photos of their grandchildren for Christmas or other occasions, a new twist on the photo gift is to make a homemade iron on transfer and put the grandchildren’s picture on a sweatshirt or t-shirt for grandma and/or grandpa to wear proudly. Using fabric paint for the grandchildren to put their little hand prints on the front or back of the shirt is also a nice idea, and some parents even have their children use a fabric marker to write a special personalized message on the sweatshirt for an inexpensive gift.

Both grandma’s and grandpa’s love to bake cookies with their grandchildren, so one homemade gift idea might be to make “jar gifts” from your kitchen with dry ingredients for making cookies, brownies, muffins, cakes etc and place the ingredients in wide mouth jars or Mason jars in layers, decorated by the grandchildren with pretty ribbons and recipe instructions.

Another nice Christmas gift idea for grandparents requires a little help from the parents for making a homemade calendar with computer software with photos of the grandchildren for each of the twelve months. The grandchild(ren) can help select some of the best pictures to be used on the homemade calendar for a personalized touch, and may even want to use some decorative stickers for special dates like birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. Kids can make some kitchen magnets with self-photos using magnetic sheets, or plain kitchen magnets in various shapes with small photos applied, poems, special phrases or quotes.

For grandparents who have gardens, making some personalized stepping stones with clay kits is another cheap gift idea that grandparents will love, or handprint clay kits for young children to give their grandparents with hanging ribbon to display on the walls of their home. Personalized Christmas ornaments are lovely gifts for grandparents to trim their Christmas tree each year, and many other do-it-yourself craft kits for making grandma a necklace or bracelet and many other homemade craft gifts.

For Christmas, grandparents of all ages and abilities love nostalgia. Giving thoughtful gifts that bring back memories of long ago and perhaps forgotten over the years can brighten the smile on a grandparent’s face, being reminded of fun family times and family gatherings with a digital photo frame to cycle through important happy events. Grandchildren making a homemade scrapbook with help from mom and dad is another inexpensive but well thought out gift for grandparents to cherish.

Many grandparents love to read books but may have difficulty reading books with poor eyesight, which makes audio books a great gift option. Noise-cancelling earphones or headphones with volume controls allows grandparents with hearing impairment to enjoy listening to their favorite music or TV shows without difficulty. Senior grandparents who have difficulty getting around on their own, but enjoy activities to keep their mind sharp, find gifts like crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, board games, dominoes and crafting supplies wonderful gifts for grandparents to keep active.

Deciding on the best Christmas gifts for grandparents of any age is just a matter of knowing what their interests and hobbies are. Gift Grandma and/or Grandpa with a luxurious shower gift set or bath set for enjoying a soothing, warming and body-ache-reducing luxury bath or shower, perhaps with a bottle of their favorite women’s perfume or men’s cologne for a nice xmas present. As always, it truly is the Thought behind the gifts given that counts not the price tag, no matter how cheap the gifts may be, your thoughtful gift will be appreciated and cherished for many years.

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Christmas Preparation – Preparing Christmas Activities, Gift Lists, Cards and Xmas Dinner

Grandma — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:40:35 +0000

Christmas will be here before you know it. Year after year, we strive to begin preparing for Christmas very early into the holiday season, usually months ahead of time. Planning and preparing the various holiday season activities and parties to attend, as well as compiling a list of those we plan to buy gifts for, buying or making Christmas cards, preparing the Christmas dinner menu and guest list, and yes, all of the shopping for budget-friendly gifts.

As Dave Ramsey says, Christmas is not an emergency – it falls on December 25 every year, so you know it’s coming.

Preparing for Christmas well ahead of time, several months in advance even, helps a lot when on a tight budget. Watching for great sales and discounts on potential gift ideas throughout the year, and saving the gifts until Christmastime arrives, is a great help with sticking to a budget and not going overboard on expenses.

Creating a gift list with everyone’s names and any initial gift ideas, along with the total cost of each gift, can sometimes create sticker shock. By the time all of the names are added up, and what you initially think will be an appropriate amount to spend on each person, can sometimes come as a shock to the budget, where trimming names off of the list might be necessary in order to avoid going over budget.

Rather than actually removing names from the gift list, reducing the total amount to be spent on each gift recipient is a good alternative solution. Christmas doesn’t have to expensive, and paying for Christmas gifts with credit cards isn’t a wise choice either, which is why planning and preparing for Christmas by saving up money for purchases many months ahead of time is our preferred option.

We put a lot of thought into what to buy for someone as a xmas gift, and oftentimes we find buying something as a gift that we know is a true “need” vs just things on a “want” list brings us the greatest pleasure during the holiday season. Fortunately for us, it hasn’t been difficult to choose a gift for anyone we buy gifts for. Many times we gather ideas of what to give friends and family simply by paying close attention to any mention of something they’re needing and hoping to buy for themselves at some point in the future, making special note of what they’re needing, and we’re able to buy the item for them as a Christmas gift before they’ve had an opportunity to get it for themselves.

Homemade gifts for Christmas, or for any other holiday or birthday celebration, are among the most unique and thoughtful gifts one can give to another. The time it takes to make handmade gifts varies of course depending on how difficult the project is, which is just one reason why making fleece throw blankets and giving them as gifts is so enjoyable, because homemade throw blankets are quick and easy gifts to make and don’t cost much money to buy the fabric, and choosing fleece fabric that matches home décor is quite easy to do.

I’m not quite sure how many throw blankets I’ll be making and giving as gifts for Christmas this year, since I had already made around 25 throws and given most of them as birthday or anniversary gifts, or my personal favorite “just because” gifts. As much as we enjoy Christmastime with all the family gatherings, parties, dinner feasts and celebrating by giving gifts at Christmas, giving gifts to those we love and adore “just because” we love them dearly is our all-time favorite.

Every year, we create a spreadsheet containing all the names of people we’ll be buying Christmas gifts for, with added columns for jotting down gift ideas, estimated costs, and for making note of when Christmas cards were mailed out and to whom. We also include a column on the spreadsheet for the date gifts were shipped to family or friends living far away, and we keep the shipping tracking information close by to ensure the gifts arrive on time and aren’t lost in the mail.

For the most part, with few exceptions, we tend to spend an equal amount of money on gifts for each person. Sometimes that might mean one person may receive one wrapped present, while another person may receive two or even three gift wrapped presents, which only means we’re keeping as close to equal spending as possible. The only real exception to that is when we’re giving gifts to very young children and grandchildren, since at their tender ages, they can only see that another child has a greater number of gifts than he/she received and hurt feelings can ensue. We prefer to avoid that misunderstanding altogether.

Grandpa and I also find it helpful to split the gift list up, where he chooses gifts for some and I pick gifts for the others, so the responsibility is shared between us and reduces the potential of stress during the holidays. We don’t necessarily split the list equally, right down the middle, but that plan works well for us. Our family is continually growing, and we have another grandchild on the way, so somewhere along the line we’ll probably have to decide on making some adjustments on who we buy for and who may have to be dropped off the gift list.

Many families find that just buying gifts for the young children works well for them and their budget, and the adults receive no gifts at all, but still enjoy the love, fellowship and family gatherings even without gifts being exchanged. There really aren’t any “rules” to gift-giving at Christmastime, nor should there be, but it sure does help to begin saving up for the next year’s Christmas shopping spree in January.

Starting to save money for Christmas very early into the new year allows us the spur-of-the-moment gift buying for those we buy for that love their gadgets and electronics, and we’ve found many discount deals on what will ultimately become a Christmas gift by buying gifts well before the so-called “Christmas shopping season”.

By then, we’re finished shopping for gifts and they’re already wrapped and hidden away months and months before the masses hit the malls and struggle to find parking, while we’re comfy and cozy relaxing at home by the fireplace and listening to Christmas music. No Christmas shopping rush for us. That’s why Christmas planning works so well for us.

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Edumacation Schmedumacation – Edumacating Myself For Advancement

Grandma — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:19:48 +0000

No, that title is not a typo. I fully intended on misspelling the word education for the urban slang term edumacation, which is just a silly way of saying I’ve been swamped with educating myself for advancement opportunities I’m currently seeking in my professional life. Unfortunately, I’ve been edumacating myself and taking a whole host of tests for certification purposes while being sick, but nothing keeps this ‘ol girl down.

Furthering my education professionally, and getting my hands on the final test results and official certifications to add to my ever-growing collection of certificates of achievement and professional licenses, are among some of my many personal goals set for myself over the last year or two. I don’t care how old a person gets, I’m only 51 now, you’re never to old to learn and create advancement opportunities for yourself in whatever profession is chosen.

In my career profession, there are many options available for advancement and growth. I aim to grab onto every single one of the advancement opportunities available to someone with my level of education, certification/licensing and many years of experience, and see where furthering my edumacation takes me.

Onward and upward is a term I’m known to use quite often, being the type of person who refuses to take no for an answer, and being highly skilled at what I do professionally. Educating myself for advancement opportunities often includes change. Change in professional philosophy based on intense research and advanced education, and sometimes even change in where one performs their professional duties. Change is good for you, and change is good for me too.

Being stagnant doesn’t suit me well at all. I’ve always needed a challenge, new things to learn and do, increased opportunities for greater things especially in my professional life. Getting edumacated (hehehe) in ways that completely change your whole way of seeing your profession and how you choose to fulfill your career/job responsibilities can sometimes be startling, shocking really.

Once reality sets in, after the mental and emotional turmoil and extremely troubling realization that some professional philosophies are nothing but money-driven nonsense, anger and disillusionment sets in. Some forms of formal education should really be called schmeducation. Pure garbage really. One of the reasons I haven’t posted anything new on this blog for a few weeks is due to the fact that several things regarding my profession have been scientifically proven to not only be flat out wrong, but detrimental and harmful to one’s health over the longterm.

I’m in a service profession, providing an important and necessary service to clients in the health industry, and the devastating realization (scientifically proven facts) that at least some of the job responsibilities I’ve personally been responsible to perform or assist in performing are not only unhealthy, but dangerous to one’s health over time. The mental and emotional toll has been enormous, and my conscience no longer allows me to perform those same duties, nor advocate those procedures as safe and effective and healthy.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from furthering my education through research and study, is the vital importance of researching and studying the evidence presented by those who do not agree with a particular health subject, or any subject for that matter. Pick a topic, research and read about the evidence presented on the “for or pro” side, but then do the same research and study on the “against or negative” side of the subject. To say that I wish I knew then what I know now, specifically regarding my chosen health profession, is the understatement of the century.

The fact that I’ve been sick, due to the changing of the seasons, makes wrapping my mind around the scientific evidence against aspects of my profession even harder to deal with. Question authority, always. Questions and doubt are good things in my opinion. Blind faith in authority figures or authority organizations, without taking the time necessary to delve deep into the research study results on any and all health-related topics, is only asking for trouble down the line. Been there done that.

But no more. Having spent the last few weeks coming to terms with the truth behind various health matters in my career profession that are basically drilled into the minds of people through television, news media outlets and a multitude of high-powered health organizations (whose only focus and attention is on money and profits), change is coming my way. And the results are going to include enjoyable challenges, job promotion with much higher pay, continued advancement opportunities, and most important of all to me – a clear conscience. Change is good. Bring it on.

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Garage Saling is Supposed to be Fun, Right?

Grandma — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:25:29 +0000

Going garage saling can be a lot of fun, especially if you’re able to find some really good stuff at the garage sales you come across and the prices are reasonable. As much fun as it has been driving around neighborhoods checking out local garage sales over the years, and finding some great stuff to buy, the work and time involved in actually having a garage sale of our own isn’t something I’m really looking forward to.

We’ve been discussing plans to have a garage sale in coming weeks, and we’re just in the beginning stages of deciding what all we will sell and how much we will try and sell things for. It’s incredible how much stuff can be accumulated in a seemingly short period of time, but it’s become apparent to us that it’s time to get serious and plan a garage sale.

The weather is getting nicer as springtime and summer approaches, so it’s really the perfect time to get our thoughts together, get organized and start collecting the things we hope to sell into one area in order to start pricing each item. Planning a garage sale is hard work and takes a lot of time to schedule, arrange everything that will be sold in some sort of organized way, add price tags, schedule newspaper ads, make garage sale signs and run around sticking the sign posts into the ground for all to see.

We still have to make some room in the garage by getting rid of a couple large items that take up too much space, mostly likely by donating the stuff or maybe even taking the stuff to the dump if that’s even an option. There are actually things that even the city dump won’t take; figures.

It will be nice when the garage sale is all over and done with, and we can relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor by putting the money into savings. As tempting as it might be to just spend the money made from having the garage sale, we’re going to smart and frugal minded, especially considering the way this crazy economy has been. Prices are going up on virtually everything and it’s not looking like there will any improvement any time soon.

Having a garage sale now and getting rid of things we really don’t need and don’t use for whatever reason, will not only earn us a few dollars that could be put to much better use later on, but also frees up the space taken up by all the “stuff” we’ve managed to accumulate. Sometimes I wonder where all the stuff came from, but there’s no point in dwelling on that.

Since I’ve already had garage sales before in years past, and have helped other people have a successful garage sale, I know what things are necessary to do in preparation for a really great sale. Once the big stuff taking up so much space in the garage is gone for good, we’ll be able to focus on setting up tables in the garage and begin arranging everything on the tables, hanging clothes on hangars that aren’t already hung up and so on.

Once it appears that we’ve gathered up everything we intend to sell in the garage sale, we’ll have a much better idea of what specific weekend to hold the sale and for how many hours each day, arrange local newspaper ads to promote the sale, decide on the small amount of cash we’ll likely need when customers pay and need change for their purchases.

We’re very confident that the garage sale will be a success, and considering getting rid of some of the knickknacks will reduce the amount of dusting around the house, I’m all for getting rid of some of the stuff that just creates more work for me. Less cleaning and dusting that is necessary each week will definitely be an appreciated change by me, freeing up my time and schedule to do things I actually enjoy doing. Like gardening, sewing, reading and writing, amongst others.

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Submit An Article

Grandma — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:38:44 +0000

“Do you accept guest articles on your Grandma Stories blog? If so, what are the requirements for submitting a guest post?” I’m often asked if would accept guest articles on my blogs. Yes, I do accept guest post submissions on Grandma Stories, and you don’t have to be a grandma to write for this blog. I only ask that potential guest writers carefully review the guidelines and requirements for submitting guest posts here before emailing me to ask questions.

To submit articles for publishing on this blog, guest writers must be careful to follow legal standards for content and use of images within their guest posts, and adhere to a few specific guidelines for guest posts. Submitting guest articles for this blog is easy – just email me through the contact form with any specific questions or post topic ideas and I will respond promptly, or just email me with a copy of the guest article being submitted with whatever image is appropriate for the content.

Guest Article Submission Questions and Answers:

Do guest writers have to have a blog or website of their own? No.

Do you pay for guest posts? No.

Do you require guest writers to agree to write and submit articles on a weekly/monthly basis? No.

How many external links are allowed? Usually two, but sometimes three depending on the length of the article being submitted.

If you have your own website or blog, you can embed a link to it within the guest article and/or linked within your self-written byline paragraph at the bottom of your article that describes you and your site as a way of promoting you and/or your blog site or business.

No affiliate links and no “sponsored posts” are permitted. Guest writers who do not have a website or blog of their own may link to their Facebook page, Myspace page, Twitter page etc, or none at all – it is up to you.

Submit a Guest Article? Why?

Writing guest articles for publication online is a great way of expressing your creativity through words. If you don’t yet have a blog or website of your own but have been considering starting a blog, submitting guest posts helps to “get your feet wet” so to speak. There are many reasons for guest writing on blogs, especially for beginner blog writers wanting to get a couple links pointed at their site to build its search engine rankings.

I often find that people are more creative than they think they are, and writing articles is a great way of expressing that creativity. I’ve had people tell me in detail about a book they read or a product they tried, what they liked or disliked and why, and without even thinking about it for very long they discover they’ve just verbally written a guest article on that topic. When I ask them to write it down or type it out on the computer and send it to me as a guest post, they become very excited about the idea of doing more creative writing projects in one form or another.

Some blog writers are strictly confined within a specific niche on their own blogs and want to widen their horizons by guest posting on other topics of interest to them and others, but don’t want to start a new blog on that topic for various personal reasons.

Before submitting guest articles to me for possible publication on this blog, take the time to consider the kind of articles and subjects that fit best on this site. Grandparenting, Grandparent Visitation Rights, Aging, Health, Recipes, Crafts, Skin Care, Hair Care, Older Women’s Issues, Older Men’s Issues, Gardening, Canning, Recycling, Holidays, Religion/Spirituality, Technology and more. I prefer not to allow guest posts on Politics, nor do I write political opinion articles on any of my blogs, although I’ve been known to share my views on Facebook from time to time.

If you are unsure about a topic you would like to write and submit as a guest post, contact me and ask. I’m pretty easy. Religion, spirituality, bible/scriptural matters relevant to real life and family living are fine, as long as the content of the post is not highly controversial or inflammatory to individual beliefs or that negatively target specific religions or denominations.

Submitted guest articles do not have to be perfect, and I rarely ever reject guest posts unless the article has so many spelling/grammar mistakes that I would end up needing to virtually rewrite the entire article myself. Guest articles are run through spell checker and grammar checker, and I verify outbound link destinations and punctuation. Other than that, no changes will be made to the actual content of your guest article.

Submitted guest articles must be your own original work and must not be republished anywhere else on the web. No duplicate content. Articles are checked for duplicity with copyscape and google. Articles must have a minimum of 650 words, 800 + words are preferred, and image(s) must be free of copyright use restrictions and optimized appropriately. If you have an idea for a guest post you would like to submit, pitch your idea by emailing me through the contact form and I will reply promptly.

Guest articles should be submitted via word doc with desired image(s) attached. Once the submitted article is approved and published on the blog, the author will be notified via email along with a courtesy link to their published article. I retain the legal right to publish, edit or reject any/all article submissions for this site to maintain the integrity and reputation of the site and site owner (me). Guest article submissions requiring extensive editing will be returned to the author for rewriting, and if necessary rejected.

To submit a guest article for publication or if you have further questions about guest posting on my blog(s), email me your questions and check your inbox (or possibly the spam folder as it may filter there) for my prompt reply.

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Gaylord Texan Mother’s Day Brunch at Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel in Grapevine TX

Grandma — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:46:55 +0000

The Gaylord Texan Mother’s Day Brunch is being held again at the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel in Grapevine TX on Easter Sunday, May 8th 2011 from 10am to 2pm and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Mother’s Day brunch at Gaylord Texan includes a spectacular menu fit for a queen. Having attended and enjoyed the extravagant brunch at Gaylord last year, located in Grapevine Texas, it only makes sense to plan to go again this year.

The Mother’s Day brunch at Gaylord is by far the best buffet brunch in all of Texas. Champagne, mimosas, breakfast foods, seafood, salads and pastas of all kinds, a meats carving station and incredible entrees, a kids brunch buffet for little kiddos, cheeses and desserts the whole family can enjoy.

Gaylord Texan brunches are held in the beautiful Texas Ballroom at Gaylord, with spectacular brunch food, champagne/mimosa drinks, ice sculptures, a yellow rose as a gift for each mother, grandmother or mom-to-be.

Gaylord Texan Mother’s Day Breakfast/Brunch Complete Menu list

Breakfast Buffet Menu:

Omelets Made to Order: condiment choices include smoked ham, green onions, mushrooms, cheddar cheese and fresh herbs.

Classic Eggs Benedict; poached eggs on toasted English muffins topped with hollandaise sauce.

French Toast with cinnamon crusted pecans – whipped butter and Vermont maple syrup

Country style bacon and sage breakfast sausages

Southwest style breakfast potatoes

Scrambled eggs

Seasonal fresh fruit and berries

Assorted breakfast pastries, croissants, danishes, muffins, breads, biscuits and coffee cakes

Salad Bar and Pasta Buffet Options:

Classic Caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing, breaded chicken tenderloins, shaved parmesan cheese and garlic croutons

Sante Fe style mixed spring greens with roasted corn, zucchini & squash, julienne carrots and tequila marinated walnuts, colored tortilla chips and cilantro ranch dressing

Asian Shu Feng Salad with marinated beef and chicken strips, nappa cabbage, rice noodles, water chestnuts, fire roasted baby corn, marinated bell peppers and sweet Asian chili dressing.

Etruscan pasta salad with saffron ziti pasta, Italian sausage, baby spinach, sundried tomatoes, asparagus, gorgonzola cheese, basil and honey vinaigrette dressing.

Peel to eat shrimp and king crab legs, with cocktail sauce, remoulade sauce and other condiments.

Smoked Salmon with assorted cream cheese flavors, apple and horseradish sauce and other condiments

Assorted International cheeses, grapes, nuts and dried fruits

Antipasto display with grilled veggies, cured meats served with delicious marinated olives, cornichons and pickeled onions.

Assorted sushi display: ahi tuna, smoked eel, shrimp, sushi rolls with Japanese mustard, soy sauce and pickeled sweet ginger

Italian pasta dishes: cream cheese Mezzaluna, wild fennel, saffron risotto and penne pasta sautéed to order, herbs, grilled chicken and rock shrimp, alfredo sauce, arrabiata sauce, grated parmesan cheese and fresh seasonal vegetables

Brunch Carving Station and Entrees Menu

Raisin pineapple rum glazed ham

Cinnamon apple compote

Herb crusted beef tenderloin

Miso marinated grilled tilapia

Chicken saltimbocca

Lemon herb pork loin with dried fruit relish

Fresh seasonal spring vegetables

French Juliennes Mirepoix of vegetable with ponzu plum sauce

Creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes

Indian wild rice medley

Adult Dessert Buffet Items

Apple caramel tortes

Lemon meringue tarts

Chocolate truffle torte

Herringbone Frangipan torte

Fruited cheesecake varieties

Italian rum cakes

Royal Hawaiian bundt cake

Hazelnut and cinnamon Bavarian torte

Parfait assortments including crème caramel and mixed berries

White and Dark Chocolate Fountains with marshmallows, pretzels, strawberries, apple slices and pineapple chunks

Cherries jubilee with vanilla ice cream

Kids Brunch Buffet and Kids Desserts

Macaroni and cheese

Fried chicken

Pigs in a blanket

Peas and carrots

PB&J sandwiches

Mini pizzas

Double chocolate brownies

Texas cookies

Cupcakes

Jello

Assorted puddings in a cup

The price is the same as last year’s ballroom brunch, which costs $65.00 for adults, $25.00 for children 6-12 years old, and children 5 years old and under are FREE. The price includes food, champagne, yellow rose for Mom, self-parking, service charge and tax.

The Gaylord Texan website listed seating times for the brunch as occurring every half hour from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., however, reservations are not being accepted for the 12:30 p.m. time slot. Pre-registration and pre-payment for the Mother’s Day Brunch at Gaylord Texan resort hotel is required.

To make a reservation for the Gaylord brunch for Mother’s Day, call 817-778-1000 or buy tickets online at the Gaylord Texans website events page (gaylordhotels.com) before tickets are all sold out. Maybe we’ll see you there.

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Super Bowl Snacks – BLT Dip and Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipes for Super Bowl Sunday

Grandma — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:27:39 +0000

Super Bowl XLV kickoff starts in just a few hours from now, and we’re preparing our favorite Super Bowl snacks, dips and recipes for a fun Super Bowl party with family and friends. We’ve decided to add two more snacks for our Super Bowl Sunday gathering, the BLT Dip (bacon, lettuce and tomato dip), and the delicious Buffalo Chicken Dip commonly referred to as Buffalo Dip.

Our Super Bowl watching party would not be complete without many of the most popular snacks football fans want to have and enjoy while watching the Big Game. Buffalo Chicken Dip, BLT Dip, hot and spicy chicken wings, Frito chips and bean dip, popcorn, shrimp dip, stuffed mushrooms, guacamole, vegetable tray with dipping sauces, bbq chicken, potato skins, pasta salad, pizza, and my famous Mexican 7-layer dip. We’re skipping the chili this year.

Buffalo Dip recipes can be made with chicken, franks, blue cheese and various other ingredients, and can be prepared quickly or slow-cooked in a crock pot. We’re making the quick and easy Buffalo Chicken Dip and BLT Dip for our Super Bowl party this year, so we can spend more time enjoying guests and less time in the kitchen. Our favorite BLT Dip recipe uses cream cheese, but other times we’ve used light sour cream and light mayonnaise for a more healthy snack.

BLT Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 C ranch salad dressing

1 medium size seeded and diced tomato, reserve 1 T for garnish

6 crisply cooked and chopped bacon slices

1/2 C finely chopped celery

2 T finely chopped onion

1 t sugar

Medium size serving bowl, chilled

Lettuce leaves

How to Make BLT Dip

Place softened cream cheese in a medium size mixing bowl. Gradually stir in dressing; mixing until blended well together.

Add to the cream cheese mixture: chopped bacon, celery, onion, tomato, sugar; mix well.

Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to allow flavors to blend.

When ready to serve, line your chilled serving bowl with lettuce leaves, then fill with the chilled BLT Dip. Lightly garnish the dip with reserved 1 tablespoon of diced tomato. Serve with your favorite dippers such as crackers, chips or toasted bread.

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (10 ounce) can chicken, drained (or freshly-cooked, rotisserie, chopped chicken)

1 cup ranch dressing

3/4 cup Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce red hot sauce

Cheddar cheese, (amount to your liking)

Frito corn chip scoops, crackers, celery/vegetable dippers, toasted bread

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Dip

With your mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, ranch dressing, and red hot buffalo wing sauce until blended well.

Gently fold in shredded chicken. Spread buffalo chicken dip mixture onto pie plate lightly sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Add cheddar cheese on top and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve the buffalo chicken dip hot with your favorite dippers, Frito scoops, chips, crackers, toasted bread, etc.

When we make the Buffalo Chicken Dip, sometimes we use Texas Pete Buffalo Style Chicken Wing Sauce, but other times whatever hot sauce we have on hand.

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Super Bowl Recipes and Party Ideas For Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium

Grandma — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:52:05 +0000

By now, everyone should know when Super Bowl Sunday is this year since the date, time, schedule, and predictions of who will win the Super Bowl have been plastered all over the news and online to the point of overkill, but there are a lot of people who are still confused about the date and time for the big game.

I’ve grown weary of hearing about Super Bowl 45 on television, radio or sports news sites, so all that noise is turned off now so Grandpa and I can plan the menu for our Super Bowl party with friends and family, including healthy snacks and not-so-healthy party snacks for party guests to munch on before, during and after the Super Bowl is over with.

We’re not going to all the trouble of planning a big Super Bowl party with sports themed decorations, nor are we going to spend needless money on buying football themed paper plates and napkins. We’re just going to have a simple, but fun little party for the big game with party guests, who are all pitching in and bringing super bowl snacks and treats for all to enjoy.

From past Super Bowl parties we’ve hosted before, the popular and pretty much standard snacks for football games and this year’s 2011 Super Bowl XLV have to include chicken wings, chips and dips, popcorn, finger foods and nachos of various kinds, meatballs and meatball sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms and other appetizers, guacamole and spicy cheese dips, vegetable tray and ranch dressing for dipping, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, bbq chicken, bbq and ranch style beans, potato skins, hot and cold salads, pizza, my famous Mexican 7-layer dip and maybe even chili.

We’ve still got plenty of time to come up with more Super Bowl recipe ideas, especially for desserts, but I’m not worried at all. Between my own dessert recipes and cookbooks, and the ingenious cooking skills of friends and family, it won’t be hard to come up with a spectacular list of recipes for cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, chocolate fudge, Mexican desserts (homemade flan) and more to send our football party guests home after the game with a good sugar rush.

My 7 Layer Dip recipe is quite popular as a delicious and somewhat healthy snack, depending on how much of each ingredient I decide to throw in, and it’s always requested for Super Bowl Sunday. I think this year I’ll make my seven layer dip as usual, but I’m also going to make Rachael Ray’s 7 Layer Dip that Rachael calls Lucky 7 Layer Dip, for another quick and easy recipe that only needs to bake for 5 minutes.

Rachael Ray Lucky 7 Layer Dip

Rachael Ray’s recipe for her 7 layer dip only serves about 6 people, according to the recipe, so we’ll have to double or maybe even triple her recipe to make sure everyone that comes for our Super Bowl party is able to enjoy this dip.

To make Rachael Ray’s seven layer dip, you’ll these this list of ingredients:

1 15 oz. can of refried beans

2 (T) tablespoons hot sauce (mild, medium or hot)

Olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil preferably, to drizzle

4 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 16-18 oz. jar green chili sauce or tomatillo salsa

2 (T) tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 15 oz. can black beans (we prefer pinto)

2 (t) teaspoons ground cumin

1 16-18 oz. jar of chipotle salsa

2 cups sour cream (light sour cream if you prefer)

1 fresh lime, juiced

2 ripe avocados

2 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped

1 fresh lemon, juiced

1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped

Salt to taste

2 fresh plum tomatoes, diced

Jumbo size Spanish olives, pimiento stuffed, chopped

Tortilla chips, whatever chips are your favorites

How to Make 7 Layer Dip Rachael Ray’s way:

In a small, nonstick frying pan, heat refried beans over medium heat and season to taste with hot sauce until beans are hot. Transfer the refried beans to a small but deep casserole dish (a larger casserole dish if doubling or tripling recipe). Using a rubber spatula, scrape the frying pan clean and return to heat.

Add a little bit of the olive oil to the frying pan and turn the heat up to high. Once the olive oil smokes, add in the scallions and sear them for two to three minutes. Add the green salsa to the hot scallions mix and heat through. Then add the cilantro, remove salsa mixture from the heat, and layer on top of the beans in the casserole dish.

Once again, using the same frying pan on the stove top, lower the heat to medium and add black beans (or pinto), heat thoroughly and season with cumin, then layer refried beans on top of the green salsa.

On top of the black beans, layer with the chipotle salsa. Then, mix sour cream, lime zest and lime juice and spread the mixture all over the top of the chipotle salsa.

Make a chunky-type guacamole from the meat of 2 ripe avocados with garlic, lemon juice, jalapeno and salt, then layer the guacamole mixture on top of the salsa. Garnish your 7 Layer dip with a layer of diced tomatoes and sliced olives. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips and enjoy.

Rachael Ray‘s recipe for her Lucky 7 Layer Dip doesn’t call for any cheese, but considering our love for cheese on our own 7 layer dip recipe, we like to change up Rachael’s recipe a little and add some grated cheese to our layered dip on each layer. We’re enjoying trying out recipes from several Rachael Ray cookbooks we’ve bought so far, and Rachael’s dip recipe would be a healthier dish than our own, but hey, it’s the Super Bowl!

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Kids Luggage Suitcase Sets – Melissa and Doug Trunki – Disney Suitcases For Kids and Babies

Grandma — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:45:48 +0000

Kids luggage, specially designed suitcases for kids, babies and toddlers are very popular for children of all ages for travel or when going to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a visit. Children enjoy having their own luggage to call their own and put their clothes and toys in when traveling out of town, and since Grandpa and I have grandchildren that enjoy visiting, we thought it would be a great idea to look for kids suitcases for sale that are age appropriate and in colors or designs the kids would enjoy.

Kids luggage come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Children’s suitcase styles include backpacks, duffel bags, kids rolling luggage with wheels attached and are the right size as carry on bags when travel requires flying on an airplane. With a new grand baby on the way, we’ve of course looked for baby luggage as well. When our soon-to-be born granddaughter is coming to visit or spend the day/weekend with Grandma and Grandpa, the cute little baby girl will come supplied with everything she’ll want or need for a fun stay.

The toddler suitcases we found for sale are so cute, from popular luggage brands like Samsonite, and the Disney suitcases and polka dot luggage sets for kids or babies are not very expensive at all. To make it easy for young children to lug around their suitcases, luggage makers have fortunately made rolling luggage for kids, toddlers and even babies in the cutest styles.

Melissa and Doug Trunki Kids Suitcases

Since there is a new grand baby on the way, we were happy to find specially designed baby luggage by Child to Cherish in pink or blue colors that says Ready or Not, Here I Come Grandma on the outside of the suitcase. The very popular brand Melissa & Doug luggage called Trunki, part luggage and part riding toy, is prefect for little kids and toddlers who might otherwise grow tired pulling their suitcase or walking through the airport.

Older kids might be happy with solid color luggage or any number of character themes, patterns and styles of kids suitcases, but after seeing how cute the Melissa and Doug Trunki suitcase is for girls and boys, our grandchildren will have fun riding on their suitcase as a scoot toy and have the benefits of very own luggage all rolled into one.

While I’m sure there are many suitcase brands for kids of all ages available for sale to choose from, Melissa and Doug toys and wooden toys, puzzles, toy kitchen and play food, kids crafts, train sets, drawing easel, puppets and blocks for kids, and the extremely popular Melissa and Doug dollhouse for little girls are all high quality, trusted products. It only makes sense that Melissa & Doug’s luggage for kids on wheels, that little girls and boys can ride on and play with, would also be a high quality product parents and grandparents can fully trust.

Our toddler size granddaughter is almost two years old now and she has fun playing with all of the Melissa & Doug toys she has received so far and will continue to receive for Christmas, birthdays or as just because gifts, and the same goes for our yet-to-be born granddaughter when she makes her appearance into the world. Melissa and Doug’s Trunki comes in several colors for boys and girls, including Trixie pink, Sunny orange, Ruby red, Terrance blue, Jade green and Iris purple.

Disney Luggage Bags For Kids

Disney bags and Disney luggage sets and sleeping bags for kids are also very popular suitcases, with a variety of Disney character themes that toddlers and kids love. Some of the best known Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Tinkerbell, Minnie Mouse, Little Mermaid, Disney Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh and others are amongst the list of very popular kids rolling luggage, tags and backpacks.

With so many luggage options for little girls and boys, it’s sometimes hard to choose one over the other choices, especially when kids get a little older and become a tad picky. We’re nowhere near that kid stage with these little grandchildren being babies and toddlers, so until the children get old enough to voice their own preferences for a specific suitcase style or their parents choose their favorite, we’re going to go with Trunki by Melissa and Doug in pink and purple. Once the Trunki’s are received and tested out, maybe I’ll do a blog review about it.

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Mexican Christmas Traditions – Christmas Mexican Food For Christmas Eve Dinner

Grandma — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:34:17 +0000

We’ve been serving traditional Mexican food for Christmas Eve dinner for many years now, and Christmas this year is no different. Christmas Mexican-style, at least for the Christmas Eve meal, is one of our favorite things to do rather than the traditional foods we’ve all enjoyed over the Thanksgiving holiday.

By the time Christmas comes around, we’ve had all the turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, corn, deviled eggs, peas and carrots, bread rolls, cornbread, hot and cold salads, pumpkin and pecan pies etc that we can stand from a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Since we actually had two separate Thanksgiving’s this year, on the same day, switching over to some authentic Mexican foods for Christmas is a welcome alternative.

Traditional Mexican Christmas Foods

We won’t be including some of the Hispanic Christmas traditions from Mexico, like the nine-day observance of Las Posadas. Posada is the Spanish word for “lodging” or “accommodation”, and posadas (plural) is the Mexican celebration honoring Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and their search for lodgings, in time for the birth of Jesus.

Reading the historical origin of Las Posadas and its meaning to the Mexican culture includes the start and end dates of December 16 to Christmas Eve on December 24th for a traditional Mexican Christmas and how Las Posadas is reenacted throughout the Mexican holiday. The special Christmas celebration of Las Posadas focuses on the celebration of the birth of Jesus, being together as close-knit family and friends, as well as genuine hospitality shown towards neighbors and people who have no family in the area to celebrate Christmas with, and plenty of food and drink to go around.

A Christmas candy and sweets-filled piñata is broken during the celebration, along with joyous celebratory readings and singing, and lots of authentic Mexican foods for all to enjoy. Authentic Mexican Christmas foods for Christmas Las Posadas include bacalao a la vizcaina (dried, salted cod fish, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, olives, red bell peppers and capers), menudo or tripe soup, tamales, buñeulos de navidad (sweet fritters), chocolate caliente (hot chocolate), ponche navideno (punch), ponche con piquete (hot punch with wine or spirits added for adults) served with a cinnamon stick.

Feliz Navidad Christmas Mexican Style Foods and Recipes

Serving Christmas Mexican food for everyone on Christmas Eve at our house includes a variety of authentic Mexican Christmas recipes, mixed with a few dishes that are really Mexican-American Christmas recipes that are simply called Mexican cuisine. While I know how to make authentic tamales, and made homemade beef, pork and chicken tamales for years, I don’t have the time or desire to make homemade tamales anymore.

Making homemade tamales takes a lot of time to prepare and cook, and I have fortunately found a great place to buy authentic Mexican tamales at a very reasonable price locally. I much prefer to spend the Christmas holiday preparing and making Mexican foods that are quick, easy and cheap to make, added to the various Mexican dishes and desserts each of our guests will be bringing for a so-called Mexican Christmas smorgasbord.

Besides the delicious and handmade beef and pork tamales, our Christmas Eve dinner would not be complete without enchiladas, pozole (pork and hominy stew), Chiles Rellenos, Chicken tortilla soup, Mexican rice and beans, spicy hot salsas, avocado/guacamole, Tamales de Dulce, Sopapilla cheesecake, Mexican cookies (Mexican Wedding Cakes) and flan, and so much more.

Mexican Cookies for Christmas

Mexican wedding cake cookies are called by many different names (Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Sandies, Italian Butter Nut, Southern Pecan Butterball, Snowdrop, Viennese Sugar Ball and a Snowball), but these Mexican cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie rolled in powdered sugar after baking and are very popular at weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, christenings and at many other festive celebrations.

The real secret to making great tasting Mexican wedding cakes is to use high quality butter and pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla. The Mexican wedding cakes recipe for these cookies is one that kids and grandchildren can make, with help from mom or grandma when it’s time to put the cookies in the oven to bake or when finished baking. I’m asked quite often for my recipe for Mexican wedding cakes, so I usually have a few pre-written recipe cards made whenever these cookies are made and brought to gatherings.

Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe

Ingredients list:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup powdered confectioners sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup finely chopped or crushed pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

(Powdered sugar for rolling cookies after baking)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy in a medium to large size bowl (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 1-3 hours (the longer the better). Shape cooled cookie dough into balls or crescents. Place shaped cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake in the oven 15-20 minutes until tops and bottoms are light brown (oven temperatures vary).

Remove from oven, and while still hot from the oven, using soup-size spoons (to prevent your hands from getting burned), begin gently rolling the cookies in powdered sugar. Allow to cool completely on wax paper, parchment or aluminum foil, then re-roll in powdered sugar one more time.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Makes about 3 dozen Mexican wedding cookies, depending on the size of rolled balls or crescent shapes. I usually double or triple the recipe because these cookies are eaten and gone so fast that I like to make a “secret stash” of these Mexican cookies for Grandpa and I to enjoy ourselves. Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah to you and yours!

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