Hot Cocca Mix Gift with Printable Labels

With all the snow that's fallen in the last week, we've all been craving a little hot cocoa around here. Especially since I made batches of it to give as gifts before Christmas. Yes, so after lots of playing in the snow, shoveling, and sledding, we were all ready for a nice hot cup... too bad I'd given it all away!

Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, I had decided to make up some Hot Cocoa mixes for some of the folks on my 'Nice List' - after reading the Brown-Eyed Baker's Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix. I'll be whipping up another batch tomorrow to serve my well-deserving little clan.

(Don't mind my photos, I've been utilizing my camera phone a bit with all the holiday rush.  It doesn't give me the greatest photos all the time, just it does fit in my pocket.  Despite the less-than-stellar quality, check out my two little cuties - I just love those little grins!)

 

 

So let me tell you about making this cocoa... My ever-present trusty helper Ethan was excited to help since it meant using his all-time favorite kitchen appliance - the food processor.  This is an easy (though potentially messy) idea for teacher gifts, and an inexpensive one for your child(ren)'s friends, too.

With his love of all things chocolate, Ethan of course proclaimed this to be the best present idea ever for his teachers (and his sister's teachers, too!)

Hot Cocoa Mix

Ingredients:

3 cups nonfat dry milk powder

2 cups powdered sugar

1½ cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

1½ cups white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate)

mini marshmallows

Directions:

Start by pulsing the white chocolate in the food processor until it is finely ground, though a few larger chips won't hurt.  Whisk together the chocolate with the powdered sugar, milk powder, and cocoa.  Carefully scoop the mixture by 1/3 cups into a canning jar or bag.  (Each 1/3 cup scoop will make 1 serving).

 

Top the jar or bag with the mini marshmallows - we used about 10 for each serving... though Ethan was in charge of this part and I think he may have been a bit overzealous on the mini marshmallows toward the end!

To serve the hot cocoa, put 1/3 cup of the cocoa mix in a mug and stir in 1 cup of hot milk and some of the marshmallows. YUM!

To make the jars look pretty, I just cut a piece of fabric and screwed the band around the top.  I added instructions for making the cocoa by using a hole punch and threading a pretty ribbon ribbon through before typing a bow.

Download these simple Hot Cocoa Labels:


Download these serving instruction tags:

PS - Today is the last day to receive my awesome 300x100 Mama's Spot ad spaces at half off!  Hurry over and take advantage of the code THANKYOU and you will pay just $3 for my best ad spot!

My Favorite Recipes of 2012 - Plus Vote for Yours!

I have enjoyed sharing my cooking and baking adventures with all of you this year.  Looking back, there were a few disasters, but lots and lots of really tasty recipes.  Today, I'm sharing the collection of my favorite recipes in 2012:

 

I adore Mac & Cheese - a splash of white wine and touch of basil make this really special - perfect for any grown up meal, and great for feeding a crowd.

 

 Talk about a crowd pleaser, these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares tempt even non-pumpkin lovers.

 

This chicken is moist, flavorful, and perfect when served with a tasty margarita!

 I love how versatile this recipe is - you can substitute any jam you like for a really tasty treat.  These are great after school snacks, and awesome to take on picnics, too.

  

My Gram's Chocolate Zucchini Cake has been a favorite long before this year. It's the perfect snack cake - light, chocolatey, and - best of all -  loaded with zucchini, which you can't taste, so it will please the pickiest of eaters.

 

What's not to love about these muffins? Stuffed with tons of bacon and cheese, these make a great addition a brunch menu, or side dish to a hearty soup or stew.  I dare you to make a batch and have any left over!

Sure these little apple tarts are a bit more work than a traditional pie, but they make a pretty awesome finger food during your fall gatherings.  Besides, anything mini is fun, right?

This may just be Mr. Juggling Act's favorite recipe of the year.  The pie is sweet and the crunchy crumb topping is to die for... once you make it, you may not go back to using regular crust again!

 

This salad is both healthy and hearty, and with no mayo, it's a great recipe for cookouts.  Plus it's awfully pretty, don't you think?

And finally, a classic peach cobbler - an easy dessert to throw together with the amazing ability to win over just about anyone who scoops up a spoonful of it.

So what do you think?  I want to know which one is your favorite - please vote below:

Silly Smiles

Despite tons of snow falling outside our windows, Miss Olivia is ready for summer - what do you think, does she know how to rock her accessories, or what?

Hope your day is full of silly smiles, too.

Mama's Spot Special

Quick Little Annoucement for my blogger friends!

Sign up between now and the end of December and recieve my awesome 300x100 Mama's Spot ad spaces at half off!  Hurry over and take advantage of the code THANKYOU and you will pay just $3 for this awesome spot!

If you'd like too swap buttons with me, use the code SWAPS and send me an email on how to upload my button, too.

 





Thank you for supporting Juggling Act Mama with your readership, comments, and sponsorships!

 

Merry Christmas

Dear Friends & Family, I hope you have had a wonderful holiday - ours has been a busy one, but one filled with lots of love. I promise lots of stories, recipes, and projects from our vacation and holidays, but until then, here's a quick (grainy) glimpse of our Christmas morning:

 

DIY Button Magnets from Love & Laundry

I love DIY projects, especially this time of year when they can double as great inexpensive, but thoughtful gifts.  Today I'm happy to have a wonderful guest post from Shatzi from Love and Laundry and she has a great tutorial for you today - enjoy!

Hi Juggling Act Mama readers! I’m Shatzi and I blog over at Love and Laundry. I’m a stay-at-home mom of three (completely awesome) kids. And I love crafting, cooking, sewing, reading, and of course, playing with my kids! Today I’m going to share a really fun and extremely easy project. Button magnets! I made loads of these a few years ago for Christmas presents. I spelled everyone’s name out and made a magnet of each letter. It was a huge hit!

Here’s what you need:

• Button Magnets – I got mine at Wal-Mart in the craft department
• Glass Beads – make sure that one side is flat. You can usually find these in the floral department
• Scrapbook paper cut into circles – just trace around the magnet to get the right size
• E-6000 glue –  My favorite glue. It dries clear and lasts forever!

These really don’t need a step-by-step tutorial, but humor me while I do one anyway.


The first thing you need to do is apply a little bit of glue to the magnet:







Place the paper circle on top:







Add a little bit of glue to the flat side of the glass bead:






And finally, place the bead on the magnet:






See? Ridiculously easy! You’ll want to let them dry for about 24 hours before hanging them on the fridge. Aren’t they cute?





Thank you, Ang, for letting me hang out here today! It was fun visiting your corner of the internet!

I’d love to stay in touch! You can find me on my Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Blogging Day of Silence In Honor of Sandy Hook Elementary School

I've  been quietly trying to comprehend and cope with the tragedy in Connecticut... my heart aches for the community of Newtown, and as a mother, I'm devastated by the loss of such young children especially - one is too many, but twenty... I am at a loss for words.  The media so often talks about 'unspeakable' acts - and yet, they continue to speak about them, which I cannot watch and listen to... it's not that I don't care, but that it's too much for me to process - and I've never been a fan of sensational news reporting.  Personally, I do not this think type of journalism honors the victims, respects the privacy of their families, or helps their community begin to heal.

Today, I’m honoring all the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy by joining some of my fellow bloggers in a day of silence. Please join me in posting nothing more today then this button and information.

 

The blogging community is raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is called The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services. Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to:

“Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.
ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING.”

Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation.

We can’t imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays.  We would love for you to spread the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let’s make a difference and use blogging in a positive way. Thank you in advance for participating.

p.s. If you would like to, copy-paste and repost any part of this, please do. Share on.

Homemade Mild Taco Seasoning

I'm deep in the trenches of creating my homemade gifts for the holidays. Along with my in-editable gifts (some of my most popular are the Coconut Sugar Scrub, DIY Scented Bath Salts, and Gardener's Soap), I'm working on some tasty items, too, like the Basil Salt I shared last week..

There's something so wonderfully simple about DIY spice blends.  I can't decide which part I like best -  knowing exactly what I'm cooking with, or  tweaking the recipe until it's just right....

Either way, I've got another tasty one for you today - Homemade Mild Taco Seasoning - forget those packets from the store, two tablespoons of this blend and you won't use another packet ever again!  And it's not just for tacos - use it in chili, enchiladas or anything that needs a little Mexican flavor.

Homemade Mild Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoons coriander

1 tablespoons plus 1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tablespoons plus 1 tsp black pepper

2 tablespoons oregano 1 cup chili powder

Directions:

Gently whisk the spices together to combine, and spoon into an airtight container.  This mix will last up to six months.

[If you like things a little spicier, (like my sister Kate), try adding 2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon of paprika.]

Plus, this mix is totally giftable!  Get yourself some cute little spice jars (here are the ones I use), throw a pretty ribbon around the top, slap a label on (see below!), and you're good to go.  This would be a great gift along with a jar of homemade salsa, too!

DIY Glitter Ornaments

Have you ever had a moment when you do a double-take at something someone says? I think I'm very open-minded, but every now and then I'm struck by something that I have a hard time comprehending...

Did you know that there are people in the world afraid of glitter?!? Yes, it's true - I even Googled it to see if this phobia has a name, but the closest would probably be Selaphobia (Fear of Light Flashes) combined with Acarophobia (Fear of Itching).

I guess not all people are brought up in a Winter Wonderland of sparkly glittery ornaments on their Christmas tree (to be fair, most people were not raised by the woman that puts Martha Stewart to shame at Christmastime...) - but fear? 

Well, it's true. In fact, one of my very best friends despises glitter, and yet, I decide to invite her family over to create - what else? - glitter ornaments.
 

Opps.

Lucky for me (and her?), there were a sinkful of dirty dishes from dinner to distract her from the task at hand, while the rest of us made our little DIY Glitter Ornaments.

You too can invite over your glitter-fearing friends and make these!  I found a great tutorial at The Ornament Girl and made some minor adjustments.  Here's how we made them:
 

DIY Glitter Ornaments

Materials:

Clear Ornaments

Small or Fine Glitter

Floor Cleaner (yes, really)

Small Funnel

Pretty Ribbon

Super glue

Permanent Marker (optional)

Instructions: 

Since our group included two four-year-olds and two not-yet two-year-olds, we used plastic ornaments.  I found some cute tree shaped plastic ornaments at Walmart.  Remove the top of the ornament and put out of reach of the kiddos.  The adults carefully (well, mostly carefully, ahem) swirled the floor cleaner around in the ornament, then dumped it out.  Be sure to cover all the inside surface so your glitter will stick.  Dump the rest of the liquid out (keep reusing it!)

Now choose your glitter color and pour a little bit into the ornament using a funnel.  Swirl the glitter around the ornament (this is very fun for the kids!)  You could dump out the extra glitter, but we chose to leave ours in it - you know, to contain the glitter mess. 

Carefully, replace the top of the ornament (after the kids went to bed, I used a bit of glue to make sure the tops don't pop off, but don't use hot glue because the metal tops will conduct the heat and you'll get an boo-boo, trust me on this!)Tie a pretty ribbon on the ornament and you're done!  We also chose to write the children's name and the year on the ornaments, but you could skip this step if you were looking to make a bunch of them for gifts.

When all was said and done (and glittered), my glitter-phobia friend and to admit that they were very pretty, and it wasn't so bad since the glitter is contained.
 

After our friends had gone home and the kids had gone to bed, I decided to make a few glass ornaments, with some pretty beads on the top.  The Ornament Girl has some great tutorials for that, too.  Here's how mine came out:

 

If you're looking for more ornaments to make for yourself, or with kids, check out The Ornament Girl's list of 25 Ornaments to Make.  She has some really beautiful ornament tutorials - and even has adorable DIY Ornament Craft Sets for sale.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial and will have a chance to make some of these with your family, too.  Happy Holidays!

 

Pumpkin Bread & Muffins

Pumpkin Bread and Muffins are the most requested baked good (aside from cookies, of course) in our house.  It happens to be a favorite for even my pickiest eater, Ethan.  So when he hears Mumma is going to make bread or muffins, he always asks if it’s going to be pumpkin, and then starts pulling over a chair to get a closer look.

“Oh goody, goody!  “Mumma, can I help? I can hatch the eggs!”

Yes, hatch.  That’s a technical term, also known as cracking.

This is a great now and later kind of recipe – as in, serve the muffins now (they’ll keep about a week in a sealed container).  I freeze the bread in a freezer bag) for up to three weeks to have later when I don’t have time to whip up a fresh loaf.

This makes a lovely gift for friends and family, also – if you like, you could skip the muffins altogether and use mini loaf pans.  I like using the aluminum ones from the grocery store, or the pretty decorative ones that you can get a Christmas Tree Shoppe or the Dollar Store.

Pumpkin Bread & Muffins
2 cups canned pumpkin (or fresh pumpkin puree)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Lightly butter and flour one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, and line a muffin tin with baking cups.  (Or, if making mini-loaves, you'll need to grease and flour four pans).

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, cooled melted butter, and applesauce.  Add the vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree, then the sour cream.  Fold in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined – don’t over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. 

For the large loaf of bread, you’ll bake it until a toothpick comes out lean, about 55 minutes. 

For the muffins or for mini-loaves, bake about 20-22 minutes again, until the toothpick comes out clean.

Whichever you decide - large loaf, mini loaves or muffins - wait about 5 minutes, and then turn out your scrumptious goodies onto a wire rack to cool.  

I love to serve the bread cold, but the muffins warm with a big pat of butter - yum!

 

Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

You know how we love pancakes in our house, but sometimes I get a little bored with them, you know?  So that when I start thinking about ways to shake it up...

What better way than to whip up a little quick strawberry sauce to use instead of syrup? 

Simple Pancakes

2 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Strawberry Sauce

1/2 pint strawberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In a bowl with a spout, whisk the eggs, then add in the milk and vanilla.  Sift in the dry ingredients and mix to combine.   Be sure you don't beat these to death, it's breakfast, not a work out!  (Although maybe you'll need a workout afterward...)

On a lightly greased electric skillet, pour the batter into little circles; and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. I tend to make my pancakes on the smaller side - they're easier for little hands to pick up!

Mr. Juggling Act likes to eat these with a big 'ole dollop of whipped cream for what he calls 'Dessert for Breakfast.'