Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Morning Casserole

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!! Hope you are
having a wonderful time with family & friends.

Christmas morning is always special & so I
thought I'd give you a Christmas Breakfast
casserole you can make the night before.

Recipe

1 (12oz.) pkg. sausage
3 cartons fat-free egg product or 6 eggs
1/2 sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. minced onion
3 cups cubed french bread
4 oz. (1 cup) shredded sharp cheddar or mixed cheese
paprika (optional) just sprinkle on top

Directions
1) Spray 13"x 9" pan with Pam. Cook sausage til pink is
gone & drain well..set aside.

2) In large bowl combine egg product, sour cream, dry
mustard & onion; blend well. Stir in bread cubes, cheese,
& sausage. Pour into sprayed dish; sprinkle w/ paprika.
Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 4 hrs. or
overnight.

3) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover dish; bake 40-50
minutes or until center is slightly puffed & knife inserted
comes out clean.

The above photo shows it after it has come out
of the oven & cut....It needed something...so you
can keep it as is with the recipe above or you
can do what I tried...

The photo below shows what I added...hash browns
on top with some shredded mixed (4 Mexican) cheeses

I think it tasted better....Your choice...Have a great
Christmas Breakfast & rest of the day!!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all
of you.... Thank You for your continuing support

of this blog & Santa's Gift Shoppe & Ideas.....
I hope we have helped you with some recipes/or
ideas with your celebrations during this past year!!!
We hope to bring you many more in 2010!!!

Plus more GIVEAWAYS!!!!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Chocolate Trifle Dessert Plus More Ideas for your Home

Here it is...One of the easiest elegant desserts
I know how to make! You can too!

Impress your guests with this "Chocolate Trifle
Dessert" We had it at our annual Christmas Party
& people were coming back for 2nds & 3rds...Yahoo!!...
I love it when people are eating, laughing, having a
great time...making wonderful memories...
(it was our 20th yr.) We have the best friends!!!
We feel so blessed....

It looks the best in a Trifle Bowl such as this
because you can see the layers better. You can get
the bowl @ Target, Walmart (places like that)

It's a really easy/fast recipe...so I wanted to
share it with all of you...Merry Christmas!

Recipe
1 pkg. Brownie mix
1 6oz. pkg. Chocolate Instant Pudding (Sugar Free)
(it's what I had on hand)
1 6oz. pkg. Vanilla Instant Pudding (Sugar Free)
(again it's what I had on hand)
3 Baby Ruth candy bars (sliced)
3 Heath candy bars (broken in pieces)
1 12oz. Cool Whip & 1 8oz. Cool Whip (or 2 8oz.)

Make brownies according to pkg. direction (set aside)

Make Chocolate Instant Pudding according to pkg.
(pour 1/2 into bottom of Trifle bowl to make
bottom layer)

Break up (in your hands) cooled brownies & put
1/2 on top of Chocolate pudding

Top that with 10oz. of Cool Whip
Put the rest of the Chocolate Pudding on top
of Cool Whip layer

Put (crushed or broken pieces of Heath bar) for
next layer (It won't cover all...that's OK)

Make Vanilla Instant Pudding (according to
pkg.) & put all of it in bowl as the next layer

Next...put (sliced) Baby Ruth Candy bars as the
next layer...Put the rest of the crumbled brownies
on top of that.....

Finish with the rest of the Cool Whip & put a
Christmas Flower on top & refrigerate for 3hrs.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!
In the photo below is the easiest way to dress
up kitchen stools for the holidays....Just measure
across the top of the stool add a few inches to the
circle (or you could cut a square) & tie with ribbons!

This is our heart cross-stitch hutch..
I love it...I found a Red Kettle a long
time ago & love to pair it w/the
Red Christmas Swan...

This is a toy soldier (out of wood) I
made for Santa's Gift Shoppe Boutique
last year....Also below "And the
Stockings were hung" w/4 stockings
was @ Santa's Gift Shoppe, too last year!
And last.....is an idea on giving an
EASY/CUTE Gift Box along with
the gift inside!!!
These were what we gave to our Party
Guests last Friday...I love to dress
gifts up with a BIG Ribbon & BOW...
I got these cute gift boxes @ Oriental
Trading Co.....Santa's & Snowmen!!!!
Their so cute all together....I did a close up
so you could see the great detail in the faces...
Well....Hope you got some NEW IDEAS that
will brighten up your Christmas Holidays!!!!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Christmas Ideas For Your Home

Merry Christmas!!! Only 10 days
& 4 hrs til Christmas Day 2009!
This is our Family Room fireplace,
lighted garland, wreath & stockings.
Does it make you feel Warm & Cozy?

I hope you've been enjoying the wonder
of the season...especially family &
friends...I have..We had a great time
at the boutique...Saw old friends &
made new ones!!!

As soon as santasgiftshoppe was over
we had to tear down & rearrange for our
annual Christmas Party (our 20th this yr)
So it's been a hectic few weeks...

I thought I'd give you a look at some of
the vignettes (in our home) in hopes to
inspire you as to some simple things that
you can do to bring a big impact into your
own home.

This is a favorite wall of mine..The Gingerbread
wall..
This is a lighted garland strung over the China
cabinet that is filled with A Christmas Dish
Collection. Some special Christmas items are atop
the China cabinet.
This home "Believes" I love that saying..
and ours does!!!
More Gingerbread men..
They are a favorite of mine, too!!
Above is an idea that is so simple...To change the
"look" of your Kitchen into a "Christmas Kitchen"
just make or buy RED curtains & instantly you have
changed the atmosphere to "Christmasy."
And last on the tour today is the bath.
Why shouldn't it look "Christmasy"
too??? All we did is put a poinsettia plant,
a Christmas Tree & a quilt wall hanging...
Plus on the wall (you can"t see) is our
"Elf Clock" easy to make out of card
stock...Their fun & cute!!
COME BACK SOON!! The RECIPE for
"The Chocolate Tower" Christmas
Dessert....will be on the blog!! You'll
really want to try this one!!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Winner of the Giveaway........is

Here are some photos of Santa's Gift Shoppe
Boutique we had Fri/Sat....It was Wonderful!!!!
Hope you had a chance to be a partaker of this
fun boutique!! It was great to meet New friends
& have reunions with friends we haven't seen for
a while!!!!

But first I'd like to Congratulate....
Jennifer from Fresno, California....
as the most recent winner in our Giveaway!!!!

She received a beautiful gold charger w/the
three wisemen & a wonderful saying on it...
She was really happy to receive it as she
finished her shopping @ Santa's Gift Shoppe....

Back to your Tour.....Below is a pic of the
"Contemporary" Section or Black & White
Section of the Boutique...I really had fun
setting it up!! Some of my favorite things were
the Aprons & the "Kiss the Cook" plates...
they also were fun to make...

A friend of mine had a great idea!!! Give the
"Kiss the Cook" plates to the husbands
& the aprons to their wives!!! (with recipes)

********I think after the new year begins
they will be available to buy from the blog...
You'll have to keep checking back as
to when I start getting that all pulled
together!!!!


This is the kitchen filled with breads, candies,
Cookies, & Jams..


The above 2 pics are some of the great gift ideas
we had for you...Note: The Nativity with tiny lights
behind the Glass...Gives a great effect!!

These are some of the Italian Stones (in various
shapes & sizes & different sayings) A Great Gift
for Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings, any
occasion...

I absolutely love these aprons...They were in
all colors for children & adults.....There are only
a few left...They went flying off the shelves.....

These are some pics of "Stackers", blocks &
Chargers with the vinyl sayings on them...
They are such a Hit!!


This is looking into the kitchen where there
was such a variety to choose from!!!



Below is the jewelry Section...With Swarovski
accented jewelry....sparkling!!

Below we look at the Family Room filled with
Chargers, ornaments of all kinds, Glass, novelty
items & fun stocking stuffers....
And the popular polka-dot hair bows, & flowers!!!
Always adoreable on our little girls or grand-
daughters!!!


And last..The Giveaways!! Below are the great
Giveaways we had at Santa's Gift Shoppe...
They went to 6 Lucky people....
Hope you had fun on our Virtual Tour
of Santa's Gift Shoppe!!!! Come back & see
us very soon... We love giving you ideas to
make your holiday more memorable.....

Friday, December 4, 2009

Santa's Gift Shoppe (2009)

Here is a gallery of what we had last year (2009) @
Santa's Gift Shoppe Christmas Boutique..
This year (2010) it will be:
Fri. Dec. 3rd (10am -7pm)
Sat. Dec. 4th (10am-4pm)

For an invitation EMAIL me @
SEE YOU THERE!!
We invite you to see the sights...

...the sounds...


...and the smells of the season...


There is something for everyone on your list! It's your one-stop shopping destination...



...Plus, there are all kinds of goodies for YOU!...

...complimentary wassail and cookies...

...free holiday decorating and entertaining tip sheets...


...4 free giveaways to be given during the two days of the boutique...and SO MUCH MORE! You'll have to come see for yourself...budget-friendly prices, a wide variety of home decor items, gifts, and lots of goodies. You won't want to miss it!


Bring a friend, neighbor, co-worker, family member, or just come for some "YOU" time and see the "difference is in the details." Believe in the magical spirit of the season all over again!


~WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU!~