Month: December 2020

8 DIY Facial Treatments You Can Make With Things You Already Have

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SOURCE: 8 DIY Masks and Treatments for an At-Home Facial (thepennyhoarder.com)

Getting ready to send off 2020 here are a few at home recipes to have a very relaxing evening or New Year morning and of course a nice bubbly drink will help too! All ingredients can be found in your kitchen or bathroom, don’t forget your robe and slippers:

Chocolate Orange Sugar Scrub

Good for: Dry, winter skin

This scrub will exfoliate away your dry skin cells, revealing the smooth, soft, fresh skin below. Use it once a week to keep your face full of moisture, according to Essie Button, a former esthetician and makeup artist.

This recipe will yield eight ounces, so you’ll have enough for one large jar or two smaller ones.  (And by the way, this recipe smells good enough to eat.)

Ingredients: 

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp finely grated orange peel
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Mix all of the ingredients together. Gently exfoliate your skin, then rinse.

Coconut Oil Hydrator

Good for: Dry cuticles

Dry cuticles can be annoying and unsightly, but a coat of coconut oil can soften them up nicely. The cuticles and skin absorb the fat in the coconut oil, which prevents the cuticles from looking and feeling dry, according to Kryz Uy, a beauty expert and writer.

Coconut oil also contains Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant with protective properties.

Ingredients: 

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • Plastic wrap

Directions Apply a small amount to your fingertips, then wrap the plastic around them. Leave for 10 minutes. Rub the oil into your skin and rinse off the surplus.

Honey and Lemon Mask

Good for: Acne and blackheads

Honey has antibacterial and antiseptic properties, while the lemon removes dead skin cells and clears acne and blackheads, according to Toby Dash, a blogger at Five Star Skin Care, focused on skincare, health and beauty.

Make sure to do a patch test before trying this one, as both lemon and honey have been found to irritate some skin types. (If you have sensitive skin, avoid this mask altogether.)

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp honey

Directions: Squeeze the lemon into the honey and mix. Apply to your clean, dry face and leave it for up to five minutes. Wash it off with warm water.

Oatmeal Face Mask

Good for: Sensitive, reactive or redness-prone skin

Oats contain avenanthramides, which can have antihistamine-like benefits, says Cheryl Woodman, a scientist, skin expert and skincare formulator based in the United Kingdom. There’s also evidence that oats may help balance skin pH, which is vital for calm, happy skin.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp oatmeal
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Water (just enough to make a paste)

How to use it: Blend the oatmeal, and add the baking soda. Add enough water to make the paste. Apply the paste to clean, dry skin. Leave it for 10-15 minutes, and then rinse off.

Directions: Mix the ingredients and apply to your face and neck. Leave for one minute before gently rinsing your face with water.

Tea Tree Oil Cleanser

Good for: Acne, inflammation and dermatitis

Tea tree oil is a popular ingredient for homemade facial cleansers, says James Morgan, editor at Get Rid of Things. You can get tea tree oil at any grocery store, health food store and most drug stores.

Ingredients: 

  • 10 drops of tea tree oil
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • A few drops of coconut milk or coconut oil (skip this if acne is a concern for you)

Directions: Mix and apply once or twice a day to your face. Rinse off with warm water.

Turmeric Mask

Good for: Hyperpigmented skin

This mask helps brighten, tighten, condition and moisturize the skin, says Keione Gordon, a medical aesthetician

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp aloe vera gel

Directions: Mix the ingredients together and spread the mask on your clean, dry face. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Warm Milk Soak

Good for: Dry hands

This soak softens hard-working hands, says Uy. The fat in the milk (especially whole milk) softens the skin, while Vitamins A and E nourish it.

Ingredients: 

  • 2 cups of whole milk (you may need more if you have larger hands)

Directions: Heat the milk to room temperature — or you can pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds to make it slightly warm. Soak your hands for at least 5 to 10 minutes, and then rinse them off.

Yogurt and Lemon Lotion

Good for: Dry skin

Yogurt is rich in lactic acid, which helps lighten and cleanse the skin, while the Vitamin C in lemon brightens your skin, according to Dash, who created this recipe.

However, as with our other recipe that includes lemon, you may want to skip this if you have sensitive skin. And be sure to try a patch test on your skin before going full throttle with this lotion.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 cup of plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp of lemon

Directions: Mix the ingredients and apply them to your face and neck. Leave it on for 1 minute before gently rinsing it off with water.

6 Money Moves You Should Make Now to Set Yourself Up for a Killer 2021

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SOURCE: businessman-running-money-direction_23-2147507118.jpg (626×626) (freepik.com)

So now that we are getting ready to welcomed the new year it’s time to get down to how are we going to make the new year work for us financially? What are we going to have to do without or what are the small changes to our routine that can help our budget? Thanks to http://www.pennysaver.com they are here to help us before 2021 gets here:

6 End-of-Year Money Moves You Should Make Right Now (thepennyhoarder.com)

1. Set Your Financial Goals for the Coming Year

When you think ahead to the end of 2021, what would make you feel accomplished? What if you cut your credit card debt by half? What if you were able to boost your savings account to four — or even five — figures? Or build up that emergency fund you may have had to dip into this year?

Think about what you want to celebrate at the end of 2021, and then set some goals to help you get there.

We’re fans of the SMART method of goal-setting. A SMART goal is:

  • Specific
  • Measureable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Timely

For instance, “become financially secure” isn’t considered a SMART goal because it’s ambiguous.

On the other hand, “save $5,000 in my emergency fund by the end of 2021” would be considered SMART because it’s specific, measurable and timely.

By thinking through your financial goals in this way, you’ll have more clarity about what you’re actually trying to do, and that will give you a better sense of how to allocate your resources and energy in the year to come.

If you’d rather not bother with trying to craft your own goals, you can use our step-by-step guide to setting financial goals you can actually attain.

2. Review Your Spending Over the Past Year (and Be Honest About It)

OK, we know this isn’t going to be fun. In fact, it’s probably going to be pretty tedious. That’s why we suggest you put on your comfiest clothes, pour your favorite adult beverage and carve out some time to focus.

Here’s a shortcut: If you use online banking or an app like You Need a Budget or Mint, you likely have access to graphs that show how much of your income went to specific spending categories, like food, entertainment and household expenses.

However, you can still do this without digital tools — it’ll just take more time and elbow grease. This post offers some good tips to help you get started with expense tracking.

Why is this so important? So you know how you’re actually spending your money. You might think you’ve haven’t got a single penny to spare and that’s why tumbleweeds are rolling through your savings account, but tracking your expenses can reveal a different reality, one where you’ve actually spent quite a bit of money on, say, scented candles rescued from the clearance end caps at Target. (Not that we know anyone who does this…)

If you’re having trouble achieving your financial goals and can’t figure out why, knowing exactly where your money goes is the first step to bringing your actions in line with your goals.

Once you’ve tracked your expenses, you’re ready to move on to the next step.

A woman uses a bullet journal to track her finances.
Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder

3. Make a Budget That Works — Finally

Listen, we know a lot of people don’t bother with a budget. We surveyed 1,500 Penny Hoarder readers in April 2019 and found that 40% of them didn’t have a budget.

But you really, really do need a budget. This post outlines five good reasons you should have a budget, including helping you finally break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and identify where you’re overspending.

If you’ve never set up a budget before, read this step-by-step guide to budgeting for beginners.

We’ve also outlined four of the most popular budgeting styles. Look for one that best matches your needs and personality.

You can try out one of these budgeting apps we love, or go old-school with a pen and paper and set up a bullet journal, a budget binder or an envelope system.

Our motto: If it works for you, then it works.

But what if you’ve tried creating budgets in the past, and you always seem to blow them? Then now is the time to reassess your approach. It’s possible your previous budgets have been so unrealistic that, unless you lived in your parents’ garage and ate nothing but rice and beans, you were never actually going to adhere to them.

Be honest about what you’re capable of and what you need. If that means including a line item for clearance candles from Target, then so be it.

4. Pull Your Credit Reports and Examine Them for Errors

This is another task that should be part of your regular financial maintenance, but a lot of us either forget or we don’t really see the point.

But when you go over your credit reports with a magnifying glass, here’s what you might find:

  1. Accounts that aren’t yours. It’s possible you have accounts on your credit report that actually belong to someone with a similar name. Do you, Karen Smith, really want to have the overdue Dillards’ charge card belonging to Karen Smythe on your credit report?
  2. Accounts you didn’t realize were delinquent. Maybe your dentist’s office repeatedly sent the bill to the wrong address until the unpaid bill wound up in collections, leaving a giant black mark on your credit report, and you weren’t aware of any of this until your application for a car loan or mortgage was turned down.
  3. Outdated or incorrect information about your accounts. Perhaps you paid off a loan last year that’s still showing up as unpaid, or your credit card balance is listed as being much higher than it’s ever been. These could significantly ding your credit score, and those three little numbers hold a lot of power over your ability to access credit in the future.

All of these errors can be disputed by contacting the appropriate credit bureau. Here’s how to do it.

Before you shrug this off as something that’s unlikely to happen, consider that one out of every five credit reports has a possible error on it.

5. Make a Plan for Retirement and Stick to It

We don’t have to tell you that a lot of people have not saved up much for retirement. All you have to do is read Dear Penny’s columns to see that.

Instead of becoming yet another statistic, why not make 2021 the year you finally take retirement seriously? (That goes for you too, millennials — don’t think we haven’t noticed that most of you are in your 30s now.)

We broke down the process of retirement planning into a five-step guide that’ll help you get started.

The first thing you’ll need to decide is which kind of retirement account you want to set up. These accounts provide tax advantages for contributing to them, so you’re paying less in taxes and saving for the future — definitely a win-win!

If your employer offers a 401(k), make sure you’ve signed up for it. And if your employer offers a 401(k) match, contribute at least enough to take full advantage of it. After all, that match is part of your compensation. You’re entitled to it!

And if you’ve left previous jobs with 401(k)s, roll them over to your new retirement account. The process can admittedly be annoying, but it’s well worth your time.

If you don’t have access to a 401(k), you’ve still got options, including IRAs and Roth IRAs. This post has a list of questions you should ask yourself when trying to decide among them.

Once you’ve got your retirement account set up, contribute to it on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter if you can only put in $25 a month  it all adds up.

6. Celebrate Your Wins!

We know this post has been all about how to do better going forward, but we also know you’ve probably accomplished some things worth being proud of in 2020 too.

Maybe you managed to juggle your full-time job while helping your kids with online schooling? Maybe you lost your job and started a side hustle that helped you make ends meet? Maybe you managed to save quite a bit of money? Or maybe you started educating yourself about personal finance — after all, you’re here, aren’t you?

Take a few minutes to think about what you’ve done in the past year that you’re proud of, and give yourself some time to really let that feeling of pride sink in.

And now remember that feeling throughout the coming year, especially when things get hard and you encounter setbacks (because you inevitably will). Trust that if you stick to your plan, you’ll get to experience that delicious feeling of satisfaction again this time next year.

Toast To Our 1st Year!!!

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SOURCE: istockphoto-516084507-612×612

Celebrating the 1st year of The Project For The Day! Hope everyone has found something new and interesting to try out, I know I have. And during these Covid days I started making changes to my daily routine that have improved both my health and my wallet! So thanks again for stopping by and in honor of this special day I am putting together a list of 5 drink recipes to toasted with or if you just need a drink since it’s a Monday:

Raspberry Mint Prosecco Cocktail

SOURCE: Raspberry Mint Prosecco Cocktail – Just a Little Bit of Bacon

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup prosecco
  • 2 tbsp limoncello
  • 1/2 cup raspberry sorbet
  • 1 large mint leaf
  • fresh raspberries, as garnish, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add all ingredients to your blender. Combine until the drink is frothy and the mint is finely chopped.
  • Pour into two glasses and garnish with fresh raspberries if desired.

CRANBERRY ROSEMARY BOURBON COCKTAILS

SOURCE: Cranberry Rosemary Bourbon Cocktails | The Home Cook’s Kitchen

INGREDIENTS 

Cranberry Sauce

  • 1 cup cranberries fresh
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp orange zest zest of one orange
  • 1 tsp rosemary fresh and roughly chopped

For the cocktails

  • 1 oz bourbon
  • 1 tab cranberry sauce
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 1 tsp lime juice 1 squeeze of a lime juice
  • 1/2 bottles ginger beer
  • ice
  • 1 wedge lime
  • 3 fresh cranberries use as many as you want for looks
  • 1 sprig rosemary fresh

INSTRUCTIONS 

Cranberry Sauce

  • Place ingredients in a saucepan, bring to boil and reduce heat.
  • Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until cranberries have burst and sauce is thick.
  • Set aside to cool

Cocktail

  • Place 1 teaspoon cranberry sauce in bottom of glass.
  • Top with bourbon, orange juice, lime juice and ice
  • Top with ginger beer until desired strength has been reached
  • Garnish with lime, cranberries and rosemary.

Whiskey Champagne Cocktail

SOURCE: Whiskey Champagne Cocktail (annsentitledlife.com)

INGREDIENTS 

• ½ oz Irish Whiskey
• 3 oz Champagne
• 3 Ripe Strawberries, divided
• 2 Ice Cubes


INSTRUCTIONS 

• Place 2 strawberries inside a tall glass. Set aside.
• Break ice cubes into shards.
• Combine ice whiskey, champagne and ice shards in cocktail shaker; stir (don’t shake).
• Pour Whiskey Champagne over strawberries.
• Garnish with remaining strawberry.
• Serve.

Cranberry Mojito Punch

SOURCE: Cranberry Mojito Punch Cocktail Recipe | Sugar & Soul (sugarandsoul.co)

INGREDIENTS  

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup loose fresh mint plus some for garnish
  • 2 limes sliced and divided
  • 1 cup cranberries plus some for garnish
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 cup light rum
  • 1/2 cup cranberry juice concentrate thawed
  • 12 ounces lime seltzer
  • crushed ice

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Add sugar and mint to a pitcher and muddle.
  • Add the slices of one lime along with 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries to the pitcher.
  • Pour in fresh squeezed lime juice and rum, stir to dissolve sugar.
  • Pour in cranberry juice concentrate and stir.
  • Top off with seltzer or sparkling water.
  • Fill glasses with crushed ice, pour punch over ice and garnish with cranberries, mint, and a fun straw.

And My Favorite Christmosas!!!

SOURCE: Best Christmas Mimosas Recipe – How to Make Christmosas (delish.com)

INGREDIENTS

 2 Granny Smith apples, chopped

1 cup whole fresh cranberries

1 cup green grapes, halved

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup sparkling grape juice

1 (750-ml.) bottle Champagne (I love Wilson Creek Almond), Prosecco, or Cava

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine apples, cranberries, grapes, and pomegranate seeds. Pour over sparkling grape juice and Champagne and stir well to serve.

Hot Cocoa “Charcuterie” Boards?

~ theprojectfortheday ~ 1 Comment
SOURCE: Hot Cocoa “Charcuterie” Boards Are Our Favorite New Holiday Trend | Real Simple

So the new trend for having hot cocoa night is a sugary “charcuterie” board? I let my boys pick what other yummy creation we should have with our cookie making night and they found this! Of course Martha would find a way to making even hot cocoa more exciting! Not only making a nice spread of extras to add to the hot cocoa but also 15 hacks to make your cocoa even better:

15 Homemade Hot Chocolate Hacks | Real Simple

Frozen Hot Chocolate Milkshakes

Allow your hot chocolate to cool to room temperature, then pour it evenly into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer to make hot chocolate ice cubes. Once solid, drop the cocoa cubes into a blender, adding an extra splash of milk (or ice cream) and chocolate. Whirl until creamy. Serve with a straw and add a chocolate sprinkle topping.

Broiled Marshmallow Hot Chocolate

Fill an oven-safe mug with hot chocolate and a generous amount of marshmallows. Place the mug under your oven’s broiler. Leave the oven door open so you can make sure to avoid burning the marshmallows and watch as they toast and start to melt (this will happen quickly). Once they’re a nice golden brown, remove the mug from the oven with oven mitts.

Mocha Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Add 2 ounces espresso plus an extra sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon to each mug of hot chocolate before serving.

Pumpkin White Chocolate

Add 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips to the hot chocolate mixture and stir until all ingredients have dissolved and the mixture is thick and evenly combined.

Hot Chocolate Eggnog

Stir your hot chocolate recipe with equal parts warmed eggnog for the ultimate hot holiday dessert drink.

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate

Replace the semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in the master recipe with white chocolate chips, then add 2 ounces cream cheese, a splash of heavy cream, and 4 drops of red food coloring.

Chai Spiced Hot Chocolate

Add two pods of star anise, 10 cracked cardamom pods, 2 cinnamon sticks, ¼ teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 6 ounces of strong black tea, and 3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar to the master recipe. Simmer gently without letting the mixture come to a boil, then use a fine mesh sieve to strain the spice solids out before serving.

Mint Chocolate Affogato

Drop a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream in a small bowl, then pour hot chocolate over the ice cream and finish with a whipped cream topping.

Spicy Hot Chocolate

Add ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder, 2 broken cinnamon sticks, 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract to master recipe and simmer gently 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks. To kick it up a notch, add an ounce of reposado tequila to each mug.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Hot Chocolate

Stir a tablespoon of peanut butter into each mug of hot chocolate until dissolved, then top with a scoop of marshmallow fluff or marshmallows.

Salted Almond Hot Chocolate

Add an ounce of Amaretto liqueur and a pinch of sea salt to each mug. Stir and serve. 

Hot Chocolate Floats

Add a scoop of your favorite flavor of ice cream into your mug of hot chocolate and finish with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

Nutella Hot Chocolate

Stir a spoonful of Nutella into each mug of hot chocolate until melted.

Candy Cane Hot Chocolate

Coat the inner and outer rim of an empty mug with marshmallow fluff, then dip it into crushed candy canes before filling with hot chocolate and adding a candy cane garnish.

Stout Hot Chocolate

Warm a stout beer (such as Guinness) in a small saucepan, then add 2 ounces to each mug before topping with a splash of heavy cream.

Homemade Chocolate Truffles

~ theprojectfortheday ~ Leave a comment

Now that Christmas time is over does that mean no more homemade goodies of course NOT! You probably didn’t get your chocolate fix from all the hoilday gift baskets that get sent to your work but not to worry, here is a simple recipe for truffles! Best part of all is not too much time needed and you don’t even need to share but you can:

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 oz of a quality chocolate bars (very finely chopped)
  • ½ cup Heavy Cream or coconut milk (full fat)
  • 1 teaspoon Frangelico Hazelnut liqour or Vanillia Extract
  • Toppings unsweetened cocoa powder, sprinkles, crushed nuts, coconut flakes, melted chocolate

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop the chocolate finely with a sharp, serrated knife. Place in a small, heatproof mixing bowl.

2. Heat the heavy cream or cocnut milk in a small saucepan, just until it starts to boil. Remove from heat immediately and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds, then add Frangelico or vanilla extract carefully whisk together until the chocolate is completely melted.

3. Set aside in the fridge for one to two hours until chocolate mixture is solid but still easy to scoop.

4. One at a time, crush any nut toppings in a food processor (separately, not together). Place in separate flat dishes to be able to roll truffles.

5. Use a melon baller, scoop round balls of the chilled chocolate mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll each scoop of chocolate in hands to make a smooth, round ball.

6. Roll each ball of chocolate in the topping of your choice, serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Merry Christmas Time For A Buche de Noel

~ theprojectfortheday ~ 1 Comment
SOURCE: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17345/buche-de-noel/

Merry Christmas to everyone around the world. Since this time of the year is all about dessert, dessert, dessert, truffles, cookies, candy, etc. During our trip to France a few years ago I found out about a French tradtion during Christmas time. The Buche De Noel is a cake made to look like a Christmas yule log, decorated many differnet ways. The variaties of flavors are many now but this recipe definitly took my French family back to France just for the evening. I also found this recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com much easier than most of the others I found online:

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 egg yolks

½ cup white sugar

⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

¼ cup white sugar

confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 10×15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.

2. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form stiff peaks. Immediately fold the yolk mixture into the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioners’ sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes.

4. Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate, and refrigerate until serving. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

And if you want to make it extra special here is the recipe to make mushrooms for the decor:

Meringue Mushrooms

SOURCE: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/40322/meringue-mushrooms/

Ingredient

1/2 cup of egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon unsweented cocoa powder

4 ounces chocolate confectioner coating

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

2. In a large glass or metal bowl, use an electric mixer to whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla. Continue whipping until the whites hold soft peaks. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar so that it does not sink to the bottom, and continue whipping until the mixture holds stiff shiny peaks.

3. Place a round tip into a pastry bag, and fill the bag half way with the meringue. To pipe the mushroom caps, squeeze out round mounds of meringue onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Pull the bag off to the side to avoid making peaks on the top. For the stems, press out a tiny bit of meringue onto the other sheet, then pull the bag straight up. They should resemble candy kisses. Do not worry about making all of the pieces exactly the same. The mushrooms will look more natural if the pieces are different sizes. Dust the mushroom caps lightly with cocoa using a small sifter or strainer.

4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the caps are dry enough to easily remove from the cookie sheets. Set aside to cool completely. Melt the coating chocolate in a metal bowl over simmering water, or in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.

5. Poke a small hole in the bottom of a mushroom cap. Spread chocolate over the bottom of the cap. Dip the tip of a stem in chocolate, and press lightly into the hole. When the chocolate sets, they will hold together. Repeat with remaining pieces. Store at room temperature in a dry place or tin.

Xmas Eggnog Anyone

~ theprojectfortheday ~ Leave a comment
SOURCE: https://neworleansschoolofcooking.com/southern-egg-nog

So who doesn’t have eggnog for Christmas either homemade family recipe or from a bottled mixed! Well here are two recipes to try out and maybe compare to your eggnog? One recipe is from http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com and another one a recipe my brother in law makes every year:

Southern Egg Nog

Ingredients

3 cups sugar
12 egg yolks
1 qt. whiskey
1 qt. heavy cream
dash nutmeg
1 tablespooon of Sweet Treat

Instructions

Mix 3 cups of sugar and 1 tablespoon of sweet treat with yolks of 12 eggs. Drip a quart of Kentucky whiskey into the mixture, stirring slowly and constantly. Whip one quart of heavy cream stiff and stir into whiskey mixture. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Homemade Eggnog

SOURCE: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/homemade-eggnog/

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
ground cinnamon , for topping

Instructions

  1. Beat the egg whites and sugar in a separate bowl until you get stiff peaks.
  2. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, milk, nutmeg and salt. Stir often until mixture reaches a bare simmer.
  3. Add a big spoonful of the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously. Repeat, adding a big spoonful at a time, to temper the eggs.
  4. Once most of the hot milk has been added to the eggs, pour the mixture back into the saucepan on the stove.
  5. Whisk constantly for just a few minutes, until the mixture is just slightly thickened (or until it reaches about 160 degrees F on a thermometer). It will thicken more as it cools.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
  7. Pour the eggnog into a pitcher or other container and cover with plastic wrap.
    Refrigerate until chilled. It will thicken as it cools. If you want a thinner, completely smooth consistency, you can add the entire mixture to a blender with 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk and blend until smooth.
  8. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon, and fresh whipped cream, store homemade eggnog in the fridge for up to one week.

And if you already have too many other things to make for tonight there is always the ready made mix from any grocery store trader joe’s being one of them!

FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

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SOURCE: Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe (culturesforhealth.com)

Well you could just eat peanut butter on a spoon but than again you could just make peanut butter cookies too! And flourless means more peanut butter yummmmy, thanks to http://www.culturesforhealth.com:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1 cup sugar (almost any form of sugar will work)
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until well blended.
  3. Place mounds of 1 tablespoon each of cookie batter about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies.
  4. Bake until golden around edges, about 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  5. You can sprinkle these cookies with coarse sea salt, if desired.

TRADER JOE’S Olive Oil Cake Recipes

~ theprojectfortheday ~ 1 Comment
SOURCE: Olive Oil Cake | Trader Joe’s

I love shopping at Trader Joe’s there is so many deals and great varitie of items I need for trying out recipes. Well checking out the new recipes they have found this one I need to try out:

INGREDIENTS

  • TJ’s Canola Oil Spray
  • 2 cups TJ’s All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 ¾ cup TJ’s Organic Cane Sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons TJ’s Sea Salt
  • ½ teaspoon TJ’s Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon TJ’s Baking Soda
  • 3 TJ’s Large Eggs
  • 1 ¼ cups TJ’s Organic Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or your favorite TJ’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
  • 1 cup TJ’s Whole Milk
  • ½ cup juice from 12-14 TJ’s Clementines OR ½ cup orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon zest from TJ’s Clementines OR oranges, plus more for garnish
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) TJ’s Unsalted Butter, softened
  • 1 2/3 cup TJ’s Organic Powdered Sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon TJ’s Vanilla Paste
  • 2 teaspoons TJ’s Whole Milk
  • Pinch TJ’s Sea Salt

DIRECTIONS


Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with a circle of parchment paper and grease with canola oil spray, set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat eggs at medium speed. Continue mixing while slowly adding olive oil for 2-3 minutes, until mixture thickens. Add milk, clementine juice, and 1 tablespoon clementine zest and mix just until combined.

Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and beat on low speed just until combined (batter will be thin). Pour batter into greased pan.

Bake on center rack of oven for 45-50 minutes, rotating halfway through, until cake is a dark golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool 2 hours before removing from pan and frosting.

Prepare frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, add butter, powdered sugar, vanilla paste, milk, and salt. Beat on low speed until powdered sugar is incorporated, then increase speed to medium for 2 minutes. Add more milk if necessary, to reach a spreadable consistency.

Unmold cake and remove parchment from bottom. Place cake on a serving platter or cake stand. Frost cake, garnish with remaining zest, and serve. Cake can be covered and stored on the counter for up to three days.

Christmas Candy Cane Cupcakes

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SOURCE:

Need another treat for the kids or at least another way to use up all those candy canes that may be left on the tree? Well lucky for us not only does http://www.michaels.com sell candy cane by the dozen they sell all the supplies to make these delicious looking cupcakes. And we found this awesome vanilla peppermint recipe from Candace Nelson, owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes!

http://www.oprah.com https://www.oprah.com/food/vanilla-peppermint-cupcakes

Ingredients

Vanilla-Peppermint Cupcake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg , room temperature
2 large egg whites , room temperature


Vanilla-Peppermint Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , firm but not cold
1/8 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar , sifted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 tsp. milk


Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt

3. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

7. To make frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

8. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the extracts and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Do not overmix or the frosting will incorporate too much air; it should be creamy and dense, like ice cream. Add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.

9. Frost and top with crushed candy canes!