My mom used the front of last years Christmas cards as tags when we were kids. She hated to just throw away the beautiful cards. I have kept up the tradition but have upcycled it a bit further by using cute craft scissors to cut them into round or oval tags. Punch a hole and when tied with matching ribbon each tag is unique. It's also very cost effective as it costs nothing. 🌲
I have decorated brown paper bags with Christmas cards received the year before. I tried finding a similar theme or picture for the same bag. I used a glue stick to fasten them. It was fun and a good way to recycle and make the bag pretty.👍
Instead of buying gift tags,I use a pair of pinking shears and cut out images from last year's Christmas cards...they look beautiful and it is a great way to reduce, reuse, recycle ♻️😀
Hibiscus makes great tea! Eight hot or cold. We simmer half a handful in a saucepan of water and drink it hot or cold. Hibiscus tea will stain, it's very red almost like cranberry juice. It tastes floral but nothing delicate like rosehips. I know some people put fresh lime or lemon juice in it but not us. I love the different tastes and do not add sweetener.
I feel so special when someone gifts me with something they have created or assembled themselves vs. something they have purchased as is, it just says to me they took the extra time and care to share part of themselves-like your videos. As always so happy to see your bright ideas and inspirations, Merry Christmas to all.
I love to make candied almonds as a Christmas present. They're super easy to make, and not very expensive if you buy stuff when it's on sale in advance. The almonds were on sale for $3 a pound at Sprouts about a month ago, so I bought 10 pounds. I get around 2.5 jars of candied nuts per pound of raw nuts, and I save all my jars throughout the year to decorate and reuse for gifts. So for around $30 + maybe $15 for the other ingredients and decorations for the jars, I get 25 really nice presents that people always love.
That's a great idea. Thank you, I may try that next year. I love that you save and repurpose jars. So many times I have thrown out such pretty jars, now, thanks to you there's a creative & yummy way to reuse them. Merry Christmas 🌲😋
I love this idea. I was looking at some candied nuts today at Target actually and I didn't end up getting them because they were $!0😁 Would you mind sharing your recipe?
My niece's children made mug cakes DIY gifts a few years ago. I loved that it was made by the kiddies & all I had to do was add liquid for a special treat. Homemade gifts are really special, anytime of the year. My son is into candle making & gifts us with beautiful handmade candles for the holidays.
Michelle that was a great video. I have tried to make similar food gifts using a jar filled with hot chocolate mix and mini marshmallows. A pretty bow tie holding a couple of cinnamon sticks or candy canes finishes off the gift. My second gift Is a jar using assorted layered dried beans , or lentils and small dried pasta shapes and bouillon powder which will make a great soup if you tie a recipe with instructions on the lid. My last gift is a spice bottle containing my easy to make “ everything but the bagel mix “ Please Michelle , I hope you plan to show us soon a budget friendly Christmas dinner. You always have such nice recipes and decorating. Ideas.
These are great food gift ideas Yum 😋 Unfortunately, I'm not going to have time to get a Christmas dinner video out ☹️ I had to work so much overtime at my job in the past couple of weeks and it isn't going to let up until the first of the year. Hopefully one day I can just do UA-cam full time. That would be so much fun!
@@ArdentMichelle Maybe you can just show quick views of your holiday table decorations and the festive meals that you served to your family. Have a wonderful holiday
We don't buy gifts for Christmas, but I always make cookie trays for each family in a reusable container that they can use for food storage throughout the year. I also include some of the candied popcorn, those little German chocolates from Aldi, and candy canes. I love the salsa idea. My son prefers the smooth restaurant style that you made. I'll have to try it. Thanks for making these videos, Michelle. You are my favorite UA-camr.
Hibiscus tea is wonderful and has a sweet note to it (not as sweet as sugar--so don't expect that)...it always has a very red/pink dye to it, that makes the tea a lovely color...I used to live in a southern city that had hibiscus plants with the flowers growing outside my door, I would pick the flower petals, dry them and then I could use them for tea--it was a wonderful supplement to a regular tea bag (green or camomile would be a good choice)...dts/usa
Have you tried making fig jam? It's so expensive in the store, $8 to $10 a jar. It's so simple to make that I now make my own. It's delicious with pork chops but I like it on a peanut butter sandwich or on toast.
It really IS expensive. I love fig and brie grilled cheese with a slice of green apple in the middle and I definitely love this idea. 👍Can you give me your recipe? By the way...have you ever had a fresh fig and if so did you like it? I bought some at Trader Joes a while ago but they didn't have much flavor, and I'm not sure if it was because it wasn't ripe or that is just the flavor.
@@ArdentMichelle Yes, my daughter serves it with brie. Since I am alone, I am not that creative. Lol So sorry, I don't have a recipe. I Googled how to make fig jam to get the basics then just took it from there. I just chop up the dry figs, add some water or orange juice & sugar and boil till it's the right consistency. Have been cooking since I was about 12 so at 74 am more of a "seat of your pants" cook. Lol. I can't recall the last time I had fresh figs. Have only seen dried figs at my local produce store.
I live in Australia. Love figs. I make Fig and Ginger preserves, and Cumquat Marmalade. Very yummy 😋 We have a native tree here in Australia called Lilly Pilly which has small pink berries. It makes awesome jam too.
Love this video. We always make food gifts for the neighbors. I make homemade bread & strawberry preserves & honey. We also make almond bark covered popcorn w Christmas candy & sprinkles. Mini loaf bread is so cute too! So much fun!
My absolute favorite tea is Strawberry and hibiscus! Mix it up the day before and after the strawberries and hibiscus sit overnight it’s ready to go. I do not use sugar but you can if you like it sweet.
I've never tried strawberry and hibiscus tea....although it's been on my bucket list for awhile now. How are you adding in the strawberries? Are they whole or crushed?
@@ArdentMichelle honestly to me frozen strawberries are the best for this because you dump them in whole and as they defrost into the hibiscus tea it releases the natural strawberry flavor. You can crush if you want, but don’t waste the strawberry juices…crush directly into pitcher you will have your tea in. You can even defrost the frozen strawberries in the bag then pour the strawberries and juice directly into the pitcher.
I make Portuguese Piri Piri for friends that like spicy food. All you need is some olive oil and a bag of dried Birds Eye chilli. Place the chillies and the oil in an ovenproof container and leave in a low temperature oven for several hours, then bottle. Flavours will develop over time.
Hibiscus tea is great--red color and naturally sweet (not as sweet as sugar--but good)...I used to collect hibiscus petals from the flowers in my apartment complex, dried them, and added them to tea--wonderful...dts/usa
Loved all these ideas.. this just came up ,it's over a year ago. Lol. .... there are " Chalkboard pens ", I have used them, and the writing does not come off, unless you take it off of the item. Just thought I'd mention that. 🙂 That Salsa looks sooooo good ! I will have to try your recipe! I also love Pico , it's so delicious. You did such a nice job on the tags, they look fun and festive. I l o v e the Blueberry lemon bread !
Such a fun video, especially with the special touches you put on each gift. I hope you take us along with your house decorating, even though it's not food-related!
I'm afraid I'm not going to have time for another Holiday video ☹️ I'm sad about it too, because I purchased some great decorations at Dollar Tree. I guess we'll see what happens. I find it especially difficult to navigate the holidays with my job and also UA-cam. To top it off, year end is crazy busy at work so it requires a lot of overtime.☹️ I'm so glad that you enjoy my decor portion of the holiday videos. I have so much fun doing them.
Hibiscus tea is delicious and has many health benefits. It’s sour but if you put a little bit of sugar in it, it tastes amazing. I think you’d love it.
Jars can get expensive, but usually Mason/Ball jars can be purchased affordably when bought as a case of 12. A little over a $1 a jar for the basic ones. Also, Classico still serves their spaghetti sauce in a canning-style jar, so if you're willing to save and collect them over the year, that's a way to go, too.
@@ArdentMichelle I almost mentioned that too, once I realized the canning jars are now priced at over a $1, but felt it was kind of implied within your video. But yes, DT is an awesome option, especially if you don't need a lot of them and are only looking for a handful of jars or fewer.
I was up all night and your voice is so soothing. OMG I think I am going to be able to get some sleep. I watched the entire video. I love the ideas. I hadn't thought ahead about the festive gift tags yet 😂
Thank you for the lovely recipes. I won't be buying pickled onions anymore thanks to you. The lemon blueberry bread sounds so delicious & I have blueberries in the fridge. How did you know? Lol
This was the best him any of the Christmas gift videos that I watch Michelle you were so thorough and you gave so many delicious options and your gifts are wrapped so beautifully and As a professional in the design industry I was so impressed by what a great job you did! I do like to make food gifts as well and I love making the saltine cracker toffee, or sometimes they call it trailer park toffee and sometimes I make it for Hanukkah or on Passover and we use matzo instead of saltines am happy to give you the recipe if you like!
Yes absolutely I would love to have that recipe if you wouldn't mind. 😁 Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked this video. I'm disappointed to not be able to put another holiday video out but I'm just so crazy busy right now ☹️
@@ArdentMichelle (aka “White Trash Toffee”) Ingredients 1 sleeve (about 24) saltines* 3/4 C. brown sugar 1 C. (2 sticks) butter 12 oz. (2 C.) chocolate chips 3/4 C. chopped nuts Directions Preheat oven to 400° Line a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan with foil, spray foil very lightly with cooking spray (or use non-stick foil) and cover cookie sheet with saltines in one layer. Boil sugar and butter in a non-stick pan until the butter is completely incorporated into the sugar, stirring constantly. This takes about 1 minute. Do not overcook or the butter solids will separate and you will end up with grease with a sugary lump in the middle. Pour over saltines and spread evenly. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let set 2 minutes, then spread melted chips with spatula. Sprinkle with nuts, then press down lightly. When cool and chocolate is set, cut on a diagonal. You can accelerate this process by cooling to approx room temp and then putting pan in freezer for 20 minutes or in fridge for about 2 hours.
@@ArdentMichelle The recipe says saltines but I have made it with the buttery crackers you know the little rectangular ones and also you could make it with matzoh on Jewish holidays which is what my family does… I personally make it without nuts sometimes and sometimes I add other things like crushed candy canes. Once I made it without chocolate just the butter sugar mixture and let it harden and sprinkled some chopped nuts on it and that was delicious also!.. There’s lots of other recipes that are variations of it that you can check out people call it white trash toffee trailer park toffee, matzoh crack, matzoh toffee. You’ll love it and your boys will devour it!
I also had this idea that I was going to make it with graham crackers sometime so I haven’t done that yet but I think the saltiness is a little bit of the key so if I made it with graham crackers would probably sprinkle some sea salt
Saw the same cheese advent calendar at Aldi. Two aisles for pet items at Home Goods because so many more pets adopted since covid. I like Dollar Tree more than 99 Cent because it is easier to shop as wverything is the same price. The prices at 99 Cent seem random sometimes. Love the video, great ideas!!!
Glad you like this video. Wow I didn't realize Aldi had this advent calendar. I'll look there next year because they might be less expensive. Yes I bet you are right about the pets. 👍. Happy Holidays! 🎄🧑🎄
Buy a case of canning jars after canning season. It would be cheaper than the jars separately. Also a box of lids & rims after canning season usually on clearance. Do u shop at Dollar Trre/Family Dollar?
Yay! You mailed me a card? I'll go get it tomorrow after work 😁 That's so sweet of you. Thanks so much. I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier. I've been working so much for year end at work......☹️ Looking forward to the beginning of the year and less work.
The pet isle is my weakness. My dogs have 2 leather sofas, several beds and ‘houses’ to curl up in around the house and they even have the wicker ball swing but they are sadly too old to enjoy it anymore. The puppy is 15 now and the others are all older than him, up to 18 years old.
For this recipe I used 2 medium sized red onions to fill 2 small jars but you can use as many onions as you want to jar and then just double the liquid if need be. I love these on wraps also. I had some last night with my wrap with the veggie "chicken" nuggets and an extra sharp cheddar along with these, some lettuce, mayo and mustard and it was so dang good. 😋They add just the right amount of acidity to the wrap. Hope you enjoy!
I'm curious about the red onion. I want to try them . how do you keep them before you give them ? Do they need to be refrigerated ? and how long do they last if kept in the fridge ? TIA ❤
@@ArdentMichelle I can't put links here... but look up "canning jars" online. Even walmart carries them sometimes. The lids have two pieces... but they are totally fine and people don't seem to mind. They are still re-usable.
@@taraevans1108 ok got it. 👍 I was buying the individuals when I see them, but I should go ahead and buy a case. They come in handy for so many things.
Beautiful jars. I am just struggling to get over the Dollar Tree raising prices to as high as five dollars. I feel like it's a sort of bait and switch. After years of becoming almost dependent on DT for so many things, because everything was just a dollar, I really resent it.
Making Pepermint bark isnt hard. Get white bark crush a few peppermints leave some chunky an mix into bark and lay on parment paper or if you want to cut in to pretty squares put in nine by thirteen pan covered in parchment paper.
I love all these ideas. Great video!
Thanks so much 😊
My mom used the front of last years Christmas cards as tags when we were kids. She hated to just throw away the beautiful cards. I have kept up the tradition but have upcycled it a bit further by using cute craft scissors to cut them into round or oval tags. Punch a hole and when tied with matching ribbon each tag is unique. It's also very cost effective as it costs nothing. 🌲
I have some of those scissors in my craft drawer. I'll definitely be using this idea 😁 I love to recycle things over and over.
I do this every year! Haven't bought gift tags in ages. You can also dress them up with some glitter paint on the edges.
Great idea!
I have decorated brown paper bags with Christmas cards received the year before. I tried finding a similar theme or picture for the same bag. I used a glue stick to fasten them. It was fun and a good way to recycle and make the bag pretty.👍
Instead of buying gift tags,I use a pair of pinking shears and cut out images from last year's Christmas cards...they look beautiful and it is a great way to reduce, reuse, recycle ♻️😀
Another viewer mentioned that they do that. I love that idea. It's brilliant 👍
Usually thrift stores are my go to for jars.
Love thrift stores, you can find so many things that can be repurposed at affordable prices.
Good idea. 👍
Hibiscus makes great tea! Eight hot or cold. We simmer half a handful in a saucepan of water and drink it hot or cold. Hibiscus tea will stain, it's very red almost like cranberry juice. It tastes floral but nothing delicate like rosehips. I know some people put fresh lime or lemon juice in it but not us. I love the different tastes and do not add sweetener.
I feel so special when someone gifts me with something they have created or assembled themselves vs. something they have purchased as is, it just says to me they took the extra time and care to share part of themselves-like your videos. As always so happy to see your bright ideas and inspirations, Merry Christmas to all.
Thank you 😁🥰
Love your channel.. you always have great ideas ... Thank you
Yay! I'm glad you think so. Thanks for watching 👩🍳🥰
Ohmygosh I’d go crazy for that cheese advent calendar!!!! 🧀🧀
It was a lot of fun! Definitely doing it again next year!
I LOVE your doggie!! So cute how he / she begged for cheese!
I love to make candied almonds as a Christmas present. They're super easy to make, and not very expensive if you buy stuff when it's on sale in advance. The almonds were on sale for $3 a pound at Sprouts about a month ago, so I bought 10 pounds. I get around 2.5 jars of candied nuts per pound of raw nuts, and I save all my jars throughout the year to decorate and reuse for gifts. So for around $30 + maybe $15 for the other ingredients and decorations for the jars, I get 25 really nice presents that people always love.
That's a great idea. Thank you, I may try that next year. I love that you save and repurpose jars. So many times I have thrown out such pretty jars, now, thanks to you there's a creative & yummy way to reuse them. Merry Christmas 🌲😋
I love this idea. I was looking at some candied nuts today at Target actually and I didn't end up getting them because they were $!0😁 Would you mind sharing your recipe?
Theses are great ideas to make special for a child to give to a teacher.❤❤
That's so true 👍
My niece's children made mug cakes DIY gifts a few years ago. I loved that it was made by the kiddies & all I had to do was add liquid for a special treat. Homemade gifts are really special, anytime of the year.
My son is into candle making & gifts us with beautiful handmade candles for the holidays.
How fun! 😁
Michelle that was a great video. I have tried to make similar food gifts using a jar filled with hot chocolate mix and mini marshmallows. A pretty bow tie holding a couple of cinnamon sticks or candy canes finishes off the gift.
My second gift Is a jar using assorted layered dried beans , or lentils and small dried pasta shapes and bouillon powder which will make a great soup if you tie a recipe with instructions on the lid.
My last gift is a spice bottle containing my easy to make “ everything but the bagel mix “
Please Michelle , I hope you plan to show us soon a budget friendly Christmas dinner. You always have such nice recipes and decorating. Ideas.
These are great food gift ideas Yum 😋 Unfortunately, I'm not going to have time to get a Christmas dinner video out ☹️ I had to work so much overtime at my job in the past couple of weeks and it isn't going to let up until the first of the year. Hopefully one day I can just do UA-cam full time. That would be so much fun!
@@ArdentMichelle
Maybe you can just show quick views of your holiday table decorations and the festive meals that you served to your family. Have a wonderful holiday
I would totally buy one of the hanging pet chairs for my cat! 😁😄😆😂🥰🐱
Haha! My dog is my princess 🥰
Thank you for sharing these ideas. I will be making the red pickle recipe for this season. So expensive to buy. 🤗
Welcome 😁
We don't buy gifts for Christmas, but I always make cookie trays for each family in a reusable container that they can use for food storage throughout the year. I also include some of the candied popcorn, those little German chocolates from Aldi, and candy canes.
I love the salsa idea. My son prefers the smooth restaurant style that you made. I'll have to try it.
Thanks for making these videos, Michelle. You are my favorite UA-camr.
Thanks so much Barbara 😁🥰 I appreciate the nice complement. Food makes the best gifts. 🧑🎄
Great ideas!
Thank you! 😊
These are great ideas! I was looking for some coworker gifts! Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Hibiscus tea is wonderful and has a sweet note to it (not as sweet as sugar--so don't expect that)...it always has a very red/pink dye to it, that makes the tea a lovely color...I used to live in a southern city that had hibiscus plants with the flowers growing outside my door, I would pick the flower petals, dry them and then I could use them for tea--it was a wonderful supplement to a regular tea bag (green or camomile would be a good choice)...dts/usa
Thanks for sharing this info 👍 I want to try hibiscus tea!
Hibiscus tea is great for your heart and it tastes really good
Have you tried making fig jam? It's so expensive in the store, $8 to $10 a jar. It's so simple to make that I now make my own. It's delicious with pork chops but I like it on a peanut butter sandwich or on toast.
It really IS expensive. I love fig and brie grilled cheese with a slice of green apple in the middle and I definitely love this idea. 👍Can you give me your recipe? By the way...have you ever had a fresh fig and if so did you like it? I bought some at Trader Joes a while ago but they didn't have much flavor, and I'm not sure if it was because it wasn't ripe or that is just the flavor.
@@ArdentMichelle Yes, my daughter serves it with brie. Since I am alone, I am not that creative. Lol
So sorry, I don't have a recipe. I Googled how to make fig jam to get the basics then just took it from there. I just chop up the dry figs, add some water or orange juice & sugar and boil till it's the right consistency.
Have been cooking since I was about 12 so at 74 am more of a "seat of your pants" cook. Lol.
I can't recall the last time I had fresh figs. Have only seen dried figs at my local produce store.
I live in Australia. Love figs. I make Fig and Ginger preserves, and Cumquat Marmalade. Very yummy 😋 We have a native tree here in Australia called Lilly Pilly which has small pink berries. It makes awesome jam too.
Love this video. We always make food gifts for the neighbors. I make homemade bread & strawberry preserves & honey. We also make almond bark covered popcorn w Christmas candy & sprinkles. Mini loaf bread is so cute too! So much fun!
Wow you guys have so many great ideas. 👍The almond bark covered popcorn sounds delicious. I would love the recipe if you wouldn't mind sharing.
Great video one might look for jars at thrift stores to bring that price down a bit.
Great idea!! 👍
Thank you for sharing
You're welcome 😁
Love all your gift ideas thanks for all the wonderful videos❤
My pleasure 😁 Glad my videos are useful.
Wow, I just stumbled onto your channel and loved the content❤🎉❤. Great info. I viewed several that will be my go to gift items. 🙏
Welcome to my channel! 😁 Hope you will stay awhile.
My absolute favorite tea is Strawberry and hibiscus! Mix it up the day before and after the strawberries and hibiscus sit overnight it’s ready to go. I do not use sugar but you can if you like it sweet.
I've never tried strawberry and hibiscus tea....although it's been on my bucket list for awhile now. How are you adding in the strawberries? Are they whole or crushed?
@@ArdentMichelle honestly to me frozen strawberries are the best for this because you dump them in whole and as they defrost into the hibiscus tea it releases the natural strawberry flavor. You can crush if you want, but don’t waste the strawberry juices…crush directly into pitcher you will have your tea in. You can even defrost the frozen strawberries in the bag then pour the strawberries and juice directly into the pitcher.
Oooooo, a holiday video. I love Home Goods. Salsa sounds yummy. Everything is so cute!!🎄
Thank you 😁
I make Portuguese Piri Piri for friends that like spicy food. All you need is some olive oil and a bag of dried Birds Eye chilli. Place the chillies and the oil in an ovenproof container and leave in a low temperature oven for several hours, then bottle. Flavours will develop over time.
oh I love this idea 👍 where do I get the Birds Eye chili?
I missed what the onions are for? Relish? Wonderful ideas!!!!
Thank you 😁 yes, I use the onions on salads, sandwiches, wraps and bowls.
Love this video will be making these next Christmas 🎄 thanks
Hibiscus tea is great--red color and naturally sweet (not as sweet as sugar--but good)...I used to collect hibiscus petals from the flowers in my apartment complex, dried them, and added them to tea--wonderful...dts/usa
Thanks for the info Dana 😁 I want to try this tea!
I love a hibiscus tea!
Thank you for the ideas.
Thank YOU for watching!
pickled onions are great on tops of salads, as well...dts/usa
true 👍
Do they need to be stored in the fridge til you give them ?
Thank you for sharing your ideas with us! You have helped me save so much money and time! Thank you and keep up the good work!
I'm so glad! 😁 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 👩🍳🥰
Merry Christmas 🌲🎅 and Happy New Year 🥂🍾
to you and your family. 🥰
Thanks Pat 😁🥰 Merry Christmas to you and yours also🎄🤶
Loved all these ideas.. this just came up ,it's over a year ago. Lol.
.... there are " Chalkboard pens ", I have used them, and the writing does not come off, unless you take it off of the item. Just thought I'd mention that. 🙂
That Salsa looks sooooo good ! I will have to try your recipe! I also love Pico , it's so delicious.
You did such a nice job on the tags, they look fun and festive. I l o v e the Blueberry lemon bread !
I just wanted to wish you and your family a beautiful Christmas full of love. 💚❤💚❤💚❤💚❤💚❤💚❤💚❤💚
Thank you so much 😊🥰 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I ❤️ your holiday videos great gift ideas and Happy Holidays🎄
Thanks Gloria 😁 Happy Holidays to you and your family 🎄🎉
I love hibiscus tea
I can't wait to try it!
Hibiscus is used in aguas frescas and called Jamaica (ha-MAI-kuh). I like it!
I just bought some! I'm looking forward to trying it!
Such a fun video, especially with the special touches you put on each gift. I hope you take us along with your house decorating, even though it's not food-related!
I'm afraid I'm not going to have time for another Holiday video ☹️ I'm sad about it too, because I purchased some great decorations at Dollar Tree. I guess we'll see what happens. I find it especially difficult to navigate the holidays with my job and also UA-cam. To top it off, year end is crazy busy at work so it requires a lot of overtime.☹️ I'm so glad that you enjoy my decor portion of the holiday videos. I have so much fun doing them.
@@ArdentMichelle If you can squeeze us in, that would be great. But if not, we all understand. Either way, have a glorious holiday season!
Hibiscus tea is delicious and has many health benefits. It’s sour but if you put a little bit of sugar in it, it tastes amazing. I think you’d love it.
I'll definitely give it a shot. Thanks for letting me know 😊
Jars can get expensive, but usually Mason/Ball jars can be purchased affordably when bought as a case of 12. A little over a $1 a jar for the basic ones. Also, Classico still serves their spaghetti sauce in a canning-style jar, so if you're willing to save and collect them over the year, that's a way to go, too.
Great idea 😁 Dollar Tree has jars too.
@@ArdentMichelle I almost mentioned that too, once I realized the canning jars are now priced at over a $1, but felt it was kind of implied within your video. But yes, DT is an awesome option, especially if you don't need a lot of them and are only looking for a handful of jars or fewer.
Happy New Year. How do I send you a DM?
Thank you so much Diane 😁🥰 I appreciate the support. You can email me at ardentmichelle1@gmail.com
I was up all night and your voice is so soothing. OMG I think I am going to be able to get some sleep. I watched the entire video. I love the ideas. I hadn't thought ahead about the festive gift tags yet 😂
I'm so glad you found this video relaxing. I hope you were able to get some good rest. 😊 Thanks so much for watching my video.
super cute!!!
Thank you! 😊
Awesome
Thank you 😁
Truffle risotto cooks up nicely in a rice cooker--it has a nice flavor and is easy to make...dts/usa
The salsa sounds delicious. Will have to put that in my arsenal of yummy homemade items.
Lol, I would be good with double the garlic in mine. 😋
Haha 😂. Me too. Love garlic. 😋🧄🥰
Thank you
Welcome! 😁
Thank you for the lovely recipes. I won't be buying pickled onions anymore thanks to you.
The lemon blueberry bread sounds so delicious & I have blueberries in the fridge. How did you know? Lol
Yay! I'm so glad these recipes will be useful for you. 😁👩🍳
Your videos are so inspiring! I made chai tea mix this year - I put it in small mason jars to give to friends/family. 🎁🎄
Oh I love love love that idea 💜👍 Very nice.
and thank you 🥰
This was the best him any of the Christmas gift videos that I watch Michelle you were so thorough and you gave so many delicious options and your gifts are wrapped so beautifully and As a professional in the design industry I was so impressed by what a great job you did! I do like to make food gifts as well and I love making the saltine cracker toffee, or sometimes they call it trailer park toffee and sometimes I make it for Hanukkah or on Passover and we use matzo instead of saltines am happy to give you the recipe if you like!
Yes absolutely I would love to have that recipe if you wouldn't mind. 😁 Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked this video. I'm disappointed to not be able to put another holiday video out but I'm just so crazy busy right now ☹️
@@ArdentMichelle (aka “White Trash Toffee”)
Ingredients
1 sleeve (about 24) saltines*
3/4 C. brown sugar
1 C. (2 sticks) butter
12 oz. (2 C.) chocolate chips
3/4 C. chopped nuts
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°
Line a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan with foil, spray foil very lightly with cooking spray (or use non-stick foil) and cover cookie sheet with saltines in one layer.
Boil sugar and butter in a non-stick pan until the butter is completely incorporated into the sugar, stirring constantly. This takes about 1 minute. Do not overcook or the butter solids will separate and you will end up with grease with a sugary lump in the middle. Pour over saltines and spread evenly. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let set 2 minutes, then spread melted chips with spatula. Sprinkle with nuts, then press down lightly.
When cool and chocolate is set, cut on a diagonal. You can accelerate this process by cooling to approx room temp and then putting pan in freezer for 20 minutes or in fridge for about 2 hours.
@@ArdentMichelle The recipe says saltines but I have made it with the buttery crackers you know the little rectangular ones and also you could make it with matzoh on Jewish holidays which is what my family does… I personally make it without nuts sometimes and sometimes I add other things like crushed candy canes. Once I made it without chocolate just the butter sugar mixture and let it harden and sprinkled some chopped nuts on it and that was delicious also!.. There’s lots of other recipes that are variations of it that you can check out people call it white trash toffee trailer park toffee, matzoh crack, matzoh toffee. You’ll love it and your boys will devour it!
I also had this idea that I was going to make it with graham crackers sometime so I haven’t done that yet but I think the saltiness is a little bit of the key so if I made it with graham crackers would probably sprinkle some sea salt
@@wendoxia Yay! Thanks so much for this recipe 👍This will be fun to try.
Saw the same cheese advent calendar at Aldi.
Two aisles for pet items at Home Goods because so many more pets adopted since covid.
I like Dollar Tree more than 99 Cent because it is easier to shop as wverything is the same price. The prices at 99 Cent seem random sometimes.
Love the video, great ideas!!!
Glad you like this video. Wow I didn't realize Aldi had this advent calendar. I'll look there next year because they might be less expensive. Yes I bet you are right about the pets. 👍. Happy Holidays! 🎄🧑🎄
Very very smart and creative. ❤️Angie
So glad you thought so 😁🥰. Thanks for watching. Happy New Year 🥳🎉
Buy a case of canning jars after canning season. It would be cheaper than the jars separately. Also a box of lids & rims after canning season usually on clearance. Do u shop at Dollar Trre/Family Dollar?
*I meant Dollar Tree*
yes I buy a lot of jars from Dollar Tree. I need the regular canning jars with the lids that don't rust. I think they are white lids.
Hi, thanks for the great ideas. I also use that salsa recipe. Love it… also. Did You get the card that I mailed you?
Yay! You mailed me a card? I'll go get it tomorrow after work 😁 That's so sweet of you. Thanks so much. I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier. I've been working so much for year end at work......☹️ Looking forward to the beginning of the year and less work.
The pet isle is my weakness. My dogs have 2 leather sofas, several beds and ‘houses’ to curl up in around the house and they even have the wicker ball swing but they are sadly too old to enjoy it anymore. The puppy is 15 now and the others are all older than him, up to 18 years old.
Same here!!!! I swear there are weeks that I spend more on my dog than I do myself. 💰💰 It's just so fun to get her treats!
Do the pickled red onions have to be refrigerated until being gifted?
I would....unless you follow canning procedures and seal them in a canning jar.
@@ArdentMichelle Thank you!
My dollar store in my neighborhood in Philly does not have cold groceries. Just 1 aisle of cans.
That's too bad. ☹️Someone asked me to do a Dollar General challenge, but I haven't been there yet. I'm gonna check it out soon.
How much sliced red onions please?
For this recipe I used 2 medium sized red onions to fill 2 small jars but you can use as many onions as you want to jar and then just double the liquid if need be. I love these on wraps also. I had some last night with my wrap with the veggie "chicken" nuggets and an extra sharp cheddar along with these, some lettuce, mayo and mustard and it was so dang good. 😋They add just the right amount of acidity to the wrap. Hope you enjoy!
@@ArdentMichelle thank you so much!
I'm curious about the red onion. I want to try them . how do you keep them before you give them ? Do they need to be refrigerated ? and how long do they last if kept in the fridge ? TIA ❤
JARS- you can get a case (12) of canning jars for $10-12.
Where? Give me the scoop. I do need more. I'm doing food gifts again next Christmas.
@@ArdentMichelle I can't put links here... but look up "canning jars" online. Even walmart carries them sometimes. The lids have two pieces... but they are totally fine and people don't seem to mind. They are still re-usable.
@@ArdentMichelle and they come in different sizes
@@taraevans1108 ok got it. 👍 I was buying the individuals when I see them, but I should go ahead and buy a case. They come in handy for so many things.
Beautiful jars. I am just struggling to get over the Dollar Tree raising prices to as high as five dollars. I feel like it's a sort of bait and switch. After years of becoming almost dependent on DT for so many things, because everything was just a dollar, I really resent it.
yeah...I didn't like seeing those more expensive ingredients at Dollar Tree either.
Chalkboard marker are wayyyy better than chalk for those jars, in my opinion.
I bet they work so much better.👍
You can't do Christmas food treats under $5 if you already spent $3 to $5 on just the jars!! 😏
Some of my jars were from Dollar Tree and there was also the one I showed for $1.99 from the .99 store
For next year save spaghetti sauce jars or glass jars you buy for Xmas gifts
Great idea 👍
Making Pepermint bark isnt hard. Get white bark crush a few peppermints leave some chunky an mix into bark and lay on parment paper or if you want to cut in to pretty squares put in nine by thirteen pan covered in parchment paper.
thanks for sharing 😁 I'm thinking about doing another one of these videos this year.
Thank you
Welcome!