Yami Guru's Creative Vortex

Project: Perler Christmas Ornaments

Here are some ornaments I melted together for the holidays. The first set is made out of the Biggie Beads and bells.  The second set is made with standard size beads.  Fashion Victim Penguin in a scarf, Gingerbread Man, Elf, and Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer!

Project: Primitive Jingle Bells Ornament

Here is an ornament I made for a friend to help bring in the holiday cheer.  I used five rust painted bells and craft wire. I added floral, a cloth bow, a button, and then jute string.

I also made the tag as well.  I took a shipping tag, stained it with tea, then sewed on the cloth lace, punched out the snowflake with a MS craft punch, glued glitter onto the snowflake, and then stamped it with a festive greeting.

Project: Primitive Waterless Snow Globe

I made this for a friend over the holidays. Everything is recycled.  I took a old jelly jar, hot glued a bottle brush tree to the lid and added artificial snow.  I decorated the jar with tissue paper, glitter, gems, cloth, jute, felt (hot glued on the bottom of the jar), and a snowflake button.

I wrapped the globe in tissue paper. Then I placed it into the recycled can that I previously painted a snowflake on with white craft paint then quickly added glitter before that paint could dry.

Here’s what’s cooking at my house:  New Year’s Dinner!

Stuffed Dates (appetizer)— Goat cheese and bacon infused dried dates served at room temperature.

The Never-Ending Chicago Winter Beef Stew— This insanely delicious one-pot meal infuses beef with layers of exciting flavors: salty fish sauce, tart vinegar, and sweet fruits (including pineapple, which also helps tenderize the meat). 

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 lb. beef, cubed chuck
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, mined
• 1 pineapple, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
• pear, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatos
• 3/4 cup fish sauce
• 3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp sambal paste
• Freshly ground black pepper and salt

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil over high heat in a large soup pot.  Add half of beef to pot and season with 1/4 tsp pepper.  Brown meat (5-7 minutes) and remove.  Repeat with remaining beef.  Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Add another tbsp vegetable oil to pot and lower heat to medium.  Add onions and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent (about 3 minutes).
3. Add pineapple, apple, pear, and wine.  Simmer to reduce the liquid by half (about 5-7 minutes).
4. Add cooked beef along with chicken broth, cider, tomatoes, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, and sambal.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
5. Cover and simmer until beef cubes fall apart easily when poked with a fork (a little more than 4 hours).
6. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 ºF oven for up to 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Easy Yorkshire Pudding— Izard’s take on Yorkshire pudding calls for bacon fat and bacon crumbles because, well, everything taste better with bacon.

• 1/2 lb. bacon (8 slices) cut into 1/2-inch pieces (opt for a cured, smoked variety).
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 eggs, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425 ºF.
2. In a dry sauté pan over medium heat, cook bacon until the fat is rendered and the meat is crisp, about 15 minutes.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon; set aside.  Reserve fat from pan.
3. Whisk flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl combine milk and eggs.  Fold wet ingredients into dry mixture until combined into a smoth batter.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap; let sit for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.
4. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with 1 tsp bacon fat per cup.  Transfer to hot oven for 10 minutes.
5. Carefully remove muffin tin from oven; pour batter into each cup, filling up to two-thirds of cup.  Return to oven.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 ºF.  Bake for another 12-15 minutes, until puffed and golden.
7. Before taking puddings out of the oven, use a food processor to chop cooked bacon into fine bits.  Remove tin from oven and sprinkle puddings with bacon evenly as they cool and deflate slightly.  Serve warm.

Recipe from: Instyle Magazine / January 2012

Project: Holiday Treat Sleigh 

These treats are a collaboration of clever ideas I’ve seen floating around online.  I got the sleigh at my local thrift store.  I’m very proud of my bow making skills.

Holiday Treat Sleigh Contents:

• Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Logs
• Marshmallow  Reindeer with Gumdrop Noses
• Marshmallow Snowmen 

Project: Chocolate Covered Oreos

I got a Wilton Snowflake Oreo Cookie Mold. (After Christmas sale— Whoo hoo!) A very good investment!  These are so easy to make and they are awesome gifts. (^_^)b I used the Martha Stewart Holiday Treat Bags and a Snowman Tin for presentation.

Project: The Peppermint Chocolate Cake Experiment 

Conclusion: I’m not a fan of peppermint and chocolate together.  I can have one or the other, but both of them together is like a delicious sensory overload.  (>_<);;