Friendship Gifts...From Pepi and Pedro

My little elves Pepi and Pedro are back!  This morning they were busy preparing their elf food "Friendship Treats."  Even though they are a bit rogue at times, they know that it is better to give than to receive!

We used the same recipe from last year...
Elf Treats:

~Frosted cheerios

~Mini marshmallows

~Yogurt covered raisins

~Yogurt covered pretzels

~White M&M's

Pepi and his cousin Pedro are napping this afternoon, but will be up in time for Merlot Hour!

Thanksgiving Friendship Gifts

The taste of the season...Sweet Potato Muffins!

These muffins are topped with a crunchy sugar topping and are scrumptious served at breakfast with coffee and heavenly served for supper with ham and green beans.  Add chopped pecans, walnuts, or raisins if you choose.  They are perfect anytime of the day.

The Sweet Potato Muffins are always a hit whenever I serve them and are the most popular food product that I offer!

I always try to have "Friendship Gifts" on hand to give to those people who visit my home or to take as small hostess gift.  I was trying to come up with something easy since right now I am visiting my Mama in Georgia.  I wanted something that I could take to her neighbors who are all so good to her and to have on hand for friends who might drop by.

A couple of years ago, I baked the muffins in mini-muffin pans and used these cute Thanksgiving-theme treat bags I found at Hobby Lobby.

  I thought I was over the chevron design fad but last week I found these cute bags at Hobby Lobby with the turkey-motif toppers and the presentation was appreciated by recipients!

Each box of Sweet Potato Muffins makes 12 muffins or 48 mini muffins and cost only $7.95/box.  Click here to order.

A wrapped muffin mix makes a great hostess gift...

You can visit my Taste of Gourmet site here to find these and more gourmet food products to stock your entertaining pantry.

Thanksgiving Season Friendship Gifts

Although I'm busy putting out Christmas decorations, I also have decorated for Thanksgiving...the cornucopia is up and the Thanksgiving tree is decorated on the front porch {I'll show y'all photos of the tree this week}.

I've had this cornucopia forever and I just love the colors!

I decided to make the ever-favorite Pinterest "Thanksgiving Blessing Mix" treats to give as my "Friendship Gifts" during November.

I found these cute little cups with the turkey-pilgrim motif at Target.  They were 20 for $1.  Score!

I added all the ingredients {bugles, pretzels, candy corn, nuts, and dried fruit} and wrapped in cello.  Then I attached this cute little tag that shows the meaning of each ingredient!

Tied it up with raffia.

These were very inexpensive to make and a great idea for this season of thankfulness!  I made tons of these...some to sell at my garage sale yesterday, some to sell at the Church Bazaar, and of course, some to give as "Friendship Gifts."

I'm thankful that this toxic week is coming to a close.  Social media has been so full of negative messages about the election.  I'll admit that I'm disappointed with the outcome.  With the exception of one Presidential race and voting for a democrat boss, I've voted Republican since I became a registered voter.  All of us have issues that are important to us...Lord have mercy, even my husband and I don't agree for goodness sake!  However, there is no reason for hate.  

I wish that I could share with y'all some of the tacky and mean messages I have seen...from BOTH party supporters.  I will just say that I'm hoping that we all {moi included} start the new week off in prayer and good thoughts of hope for a better Amercia!

April Friendship Gifts

Quick, get the milk...my April "Friendship Gifts" are perfect for dunkin'!
Annie's Whole-Grain Graham Bunny Crackers...These little crackers were a no-brainer for my Springtime "Friendship Gifts!" Made in the shape of bunnies, they are the perfect snack for children and grown-ups. I found them in chocolate, chocolate chip, honey, and cinnamon.
The cute little polka dot cello bags and "Happy Easter" toppers came from Hobby Lobby.
Easy peasy and a healthy treat to enjoy with a glass of milk! Hop Hop! Happy Easter!

Friendship Gifts for the Christmas Season

Every Christmas I get all excited about the scents and tastes of the season...Cinnamon, gingerbread, balsam fir, peppermint, egg nog, et cetera. Right now, I'm enjoying everything peppermint! I decided to include a little bit of peppermint in my bags of "Friendship Gifts".

Here are my little gifts...ready to go!
Of course, I added my signature gingham ribbon to the cello bags and some red paper shred.
I purchased loads of the 'Twisted Peppermint' hand sanitizers from Bath & Body Works. Everyone uses these and since we are in the flu season, I'm hoping they will be welcomed by my family and friends during the month of December. I also added some peppermint candy to each bag. These treats are tres inexpensive y'all!
The scent and taste of peppermint...so fresh and cool!
Of course, I'm going around the house washing my hands all the time...with Bath & Body Works 'Twisted Peppermint' hand soap...LOVE it!!! Try it y'all...you'll love it too:)

Autumn Friendship Gifts

I decided to make mother-in-law's tried-and-true party mix to give as "Autumn Friendship Gifts." It's a very simple recipe...Lord have mercy, I kept the oven going all day on Sunday making tons of this stuff to have at home for snacking, to give to friends who visit, to take as hostess gifts, and just as "Friendship Gifts."

Put all the dry ingredients in the pan, pour over some butter and Worcestershire sauce, and sprinkle with garlic salt...husband LOVES this y'all!I used little cello bags and tied them up with a festive "Happy Fall Y'all" ribbon. You can buy the ribbon from The Suburban Princess here.
Recipe for Mary Gibson's Party Mix:
2 cups corn chex
2 cups wheat chex
2 cups rice chex
1 1/2 cup nuts
2 cups pretzels
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
Garlic salt to taste

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix dry ingredients, blend the melted butter and Worcestershire sauce, and pour over mixture. Stir all in a 13 x 9 x 2 pan. Add garlic salt and mix well. Bake one hour and stir every 15 minutes.

Thank you for stopping by and have a great week y'all!

May 2011 Friendship Gifts

Well, Easter has come and gone. All the Easter bunnies have been safely tucked away until next year and all the jelly beans have been consumed! Even with my obsession over the Royal Wedding, I found the time to put the decorations away. This is my kitchen hutch now...dressed for Spring.

Earlier this week, I decided to make Strawberry Preserves for my Royal Wedding 'Royal Tea'. While in Walmart to purchase the needed ingredients, I found some cute canning jar tops with cute little strawberry-motif gift labels. It was then I remembered I needed to come up with something fast for my May 'Friendship Gifts'!

As y'all know, I always have 'Friendship Gifts' on hand to give to visitors to my home. They are also great to use when I'm invited to someone else's home...as hostess gifts. And sometimes, I just give them as a 'happy'.

Here I am...modeling the latest edition to my 'Hostess Apron' collection. It's a darling strawberry-motif apron with lime green ric-rac trim. I'm wearing my pearls and sippin' Chardonnay from my wine goblet with a lime-green monogram:) I found this darlin' apron at the Spring Festival in Mt. Dora, Florida last month. The vendor was Pig And Company and you can visit them online at their Etsy store here.

I love the little red gingham tops of the canning jars and the strawberry-motif gift labels, "From the kitchen of...Miss Janice".

Recipe for Miss Janice's Strawberry Preserves:

2 qts. strawberries
5 cups sugar

Place 2 qts strawberries in a pot with 2 cups of sugar. Cook the mix on high heat for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of sugar and cook on high heat for 10 minutes. Remove the mix and let it stand {covered} for 24 hours. Can and seal!

The strawberry preserves were delicious with my British scones I prepared on Friday morning for the wedding:) I'm visiting my Royal Family in Georgia this week and will be taking some jars of the preserves to them. It's an easy and quick recipe to prepare y'all!

Remember, try to do something special for someone else everyday!

MARCH 2011 FRIENDSHIP GIFTS

I'm very happy with my "Friendship Gifts" for March! I love all things fleur de lis and since Mardi Gras is being celebrated, I decided to bake some cookies in the shape of the fleur de lis. I started with this fabulous fleur de lis cookie cutter...

Baked the cookies using the Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix...
Added purple and green sprinkles on top...
After Fat Tuesday, I can bake some more and add pink & green sprinkles for Spring...

I wrapped them in a cello bag and tied 'em up with purple, green, and gold ribbon. The cookies are a big hit and cute too...

Ready to go!

I sure do wish that I could be in New Orleans right now, nibblin' on a beignet and sippin' a cup of cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde. Since that's not gonna happen, I'm busy planning my own Mardi Gras fun...a Fat Tuesday Feast Dinner for next Tuesday night!

Y'all don't forget to enter my giveaway for a CSN Gift Certificate...deadline to enter is midnight, EST, Friday, March 4, 2011.

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me.

THANKSGIVING DECOR IN THE KITCHEN

Hey y'all! I hope that you are enjoying your weekend! I'm just puttering around the house today. Do y'all do that? I'm going back and forth from the garage to the house...looking at Christmas decorations...repurposing Christmas stuff. Every year I say, "I'm not gonna pull out all that stuff this year...I'm only gonna use a few things!" HA!!! My friends can testify that I have been known to have 20 Christmas trees in my house during the Christmas season. It's so true, y'all! This year, I'm planning to have about five max!!! I have decided to only decorate with colors and themes that actually go with MY house. So that's what I'm still doing...trying to bring it all together.

However, I'm not forgetting about Thanksgiving...I've taken down the Halloween stuff in the kitchen and replaced it with Turkey-friendly decor. Come on in and take a peek...

I love my little hutch. It just begs to be re-done for every holiday. I've placed some Gobble-ware on it...please excuse the bright sun shining in on my kitchen. It's a beautiful sunny day here in South Florida!
Getting ready for "Merlot hour!"

The breakfast table...

I've had these pilgrim candlesticks since I was a newlywed...can't let 'em go!

Like everyone else in blogland, I was inspired by Pottery Barn's creative use of Indian corn...I hot glued them all around the pot of mums, then tied it all up with a pretty Autumn ribbon bow...

Very Autumny...

Just in case you missed my "Friendship Gifts" for November...I made tons of Turkey Spice Rub!

Gobble Gobble Gobble! I'm going to mama's house for Thanksgiving, so what I don't give out here, I'll take home so mama can give some to her friends. She'll like that! Mama likes to take little gifts to people:) Bless her heart!!!

I'm off to continue my "Christmas decorating at The Roost!" Have a great weekend y'all!