Wilton Chocolate Melter

WFMW
This is the time of year where cheer is spread and so are waist sizes! And all I can say is.... don't fight it.... EMBRACE IT! Gaining weight and eating sweets is part of the holiday tradition like the... singing carols, decorating the tree, and opening presents. And a way that you can help embrace your holiday weight is with the Wilton Chocolate Warmer.

The Wilton Chocolate Melter is a life saver around Christmas time with all the goodies being made and drop off. And I know that you might be asking yourself, "Do I really need a chocolate melter?" Oh my friend, the answer to that questions is a big "YES". Not only is this baby great for obvious reasons, like making chocolate covered strawberries, but you can make and store chocolate covered pretzels, home made truffles, and even use it as a fondue pot for cheese or chocolate.

These treats are not only tasty, but fun to have around and entertaining to make. They make great gifts too. I just finished making some home made truffles as a "thank you" to a friend for helping me out...granted, a bit of them never made it to my friend (We may have eaten a few). But because of the melting pot they were really easy to make, plus the melter helped the truffles have a nice professional look and is it wrong to admit that I felt pretty cool dropping off from-scratch home made truffles, because, honestly, who doesn't want truffles? :)

Some Great Ideas For Dipping
Strawberries
Cherries
Pretzels
Gummie Bears (my personal favorite)
Rice Crispy Squares
Make Your Own Chocolates with molds
Fruit
Marshmallows
Gourmet Carmel Apples
Rasins

Home Made Towels

My grandma makes the best dish towels. Yea that is what I said and I mean it. I never thought I could fall in love with something as silly as a dish towels, but I did. They absorb things great, dry dishes perfectly, drying hands are a snap, and they will clean counter tops till they sparkle. Besides liking the towels because they are perfect is every way, they hold a deep sentimental value for me.
.

They were different than other towels I had seen. They had such a cute country feeling to them and they always had an embroidered image on them that my grandmother had hand sewn. I grew up loving those towels and all the pictures of the kittens cleaning, puppies playing, and milk maids on the farm.

.
I recently decided that I wanted to make my own; my own set of dish towels that would work great and my girls could see and love also. So, I called my grandma and asked her what she used... and ... well... it was simple. REALLY SIMPLE. All you need is...

• Flour sack fabric (you can buy pre-cut and packaged fabric from Wal-Mart for about $4 bucks)
• Embroidery thread
• Needle
• Pattern (either one you have made from paper or an iron on transfer that can be bought from any craft store)
• Quilting hoop

First, make a pattern that you are going to use to cut the fabric that you want to sew on the towel. I wanted a bird, so I drew a bird with a pencil and when I got what I liked, I traced it with pen. I then cut out the bird, I also cut the wing out of the body because I wanted the wing to be a different color fabric.

When I had my pattern for the bird and wing, I placed them and pinned them on their fabric. Once they were succoured, I cut them out leaving me with one fabric wing and one fabric body.
.

Take one of the flour sack towels and iron it flat. Once you have it wrinkle free, go ahead and pin the fabric wing and body where you would like them sewn. Just make sure that you don't put them too close the the edge, or you wont have enough room for the hoop to hold the fabric completely. Once they are pinned on, put the hoop on.

Now take your thread and needle and GO TO TOWN. Stitch the pieces on any way you would like to. If you don't know how to stitch, there are plenty of websites that can show you how to. Here is a website that show some fairly good images.

You can really get creative with these towels. You can either sew fabric on like I did or buy iron on transfers that will put an image right on the towel for you to trace with thread; which are very handy and reusable. You can make a whole Sunday-Saturday towel set. You can even sew ribbon on the edges to help give it a nice crisp cut feel. So have fun and get creative.

Sandwich Maker

WFMW

My husband loves grilled cheese sandwiches.... and I mean LOOOOVES them. If I made them everyday for dinner, it would be one of his three wishes coming true. I literally know my husband would never leave me just because of my grilled cheese sandwich making skills. Sad....but true :) The only problem that I have with grilled cheeses is that sometimes I just don't feel like making them. I know, I know.... they only take, like what?, 10 mins to make. But still sometimes I just don't feel like standing by the stove constantly flipping and checking for perfectly tanned toast. Especially since I have a serious problem with trying to cook them too fast and burning them..... which still won't stop Curtis from eating them.
.

But luckily I found my way around this problem; the glorious sandwich maker! Oh what a beautiful, simple, easy appliance it is. It is basically a waffle iron for sandwiches...brillant...I know! And the best part is, is that you don't have to stick to sandwiches. Something that is really popular with us is make pizza pockets. Just add some pizza or spaghetti sauce with meat or veggies and toast. It only takes about 3 mins and then you will have a nice toasted, warm, pizza pocket. You can also use muffin batter and make quick little muffins for breakfast and even prepare personal fruit pies with batter and filling. This is great especially for people like me, who doesn't like making a WHOLE batch of muffin...because A. They won't all get eaten in time and will get stale.... or B. I will eat them all to keep them from going stale. Either way...I end up unhappy in the end. With the sandwich press I can simply and easily make 4 muffins for Curtis and I in just a few moments.

.

They are really easy clean up too. Simply take a wet cloth and wipe it over the ceramic plates.... and presto chango.... done! I am a sucker for easy clean up. But it isn't just the ease of cleaning that I am in love with, but also the price. You can easily find these any where from $15-$100 dollars. It completely depends on what brand and from where you get it from. The cheapest places I found them was at Target and Amazon.com (which surprisingly has a nice selection on-line).

If the sandwich maker isn't really your thang... then there is always a Panini maker, which simply toasts the sandwiches. So, if you are looking for a toasted sandwich OR a nice warm fruit stuffed muffin, the sandwich maker will be your new best friend. And if you don't believe me.... here is a short list of amazing sandwhiches that you could be eating soon. Please try and keep the drool from hitting your keyboard :)

Tex-Mex Chicken Sandwich - you'll need some shredded chicken breasts, salsa, bread or tortilla wrap, and shredded cheddar cheese. Once the sandwich maker is warm, place the bread or tortilla on sandwich maker with the buttered side facing down. Simply arrange the ingredients on the bread or tortilla and top with another slice. Cook for about one minute.

Cheesy Hotdogs - this sandwich maker recipe makes about two sandwiches. You'll need one whole hot dog, half for each sandwich, two slices of bread, one slice of cheese, and your favorite hotdog condiments such as ketchup, mustard, relish, chili, or sauerkraut. Arrange the items on the sandwich maker and cook for about two minutes.

Pizza Pockets - this sandwich maker recipe calls for a couple of tablespoons of spaghetti sauce, a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, pepperoni, and two slices of bread. Place a piece of bread on top with sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, cheese, and the spices of your choice. Cook for about two to three minutes.

Classic Tuna Melt - for this sandwich maker recipe you'll need a couple of slices of bread, a huge tablespoonful of tuna salad (your personal recipe), a slice of cheese, a tomato, and salt and pepper. Place the bread, buttered side down, on the sandwich maker then top with tuna salad, tomato, and cheese. Add salt and pepper and top with the other piece of bread. Close the lid and cook for two to three minutes or until hot.

Chocolate Melting Pot or Fondue Pot

WFMW
If you haven't been able to tell from other previous posts..... I love kitchen gadgets. I really do. I love how they can make jobs simpler, cooking faster, and I find I really just love cooking more when there are fun little gizmos to keep me entertained.


My latest phase right now has been my Wilton Chocolate Warmer. I have been in love with it. Mainly because I don't know how many times I have tried to melt chocolate chips in the microwave and as simple as that sounds....I fry em'! I apparently don't even have the skills of a hot summer's day. My poor husband has come home, many times, just to find me either crying or swearing at my messed up recipe.


So I finally looked around and checked out prices and found a nice little warmer. I got it over at Joanne's, I did wait until I got a 40% off coupon and then bought it. Because of the coupon, in the end it only cost me about 16 bucks.... which I am okay with, since I have already spent that much on ruined chocolate.


You might be asking yourself, "Do I really need a chocolate melter?" Oh my friend, the answer to that questions is a big fat "YES". Not only is this baby great for obvious reasons, like making chocolate covered strawberries, but you can make and store chocolate covered pretzels, home made truffles, and even use it as a fondue pot for cheese or chocolate. These treats are not only tasty, but fun to have around and entertaining to make. They make great gifts too. I just finished making some home made truffles as a "thank you" to a friend for helping me. Granted, a bit of them never made it to my friend (We may have eaten a few) Because of the melting pot they were really easy to put together, plus helping the truffles have a nice professional look.
And is it wrong to admit that I felt pretty cool dropping off from-scratch home made truffles, because, honestly, who doesn't want truffles? :)

IDEAS FOR DIPPING (don't forget that you can add sprinkles)
Cookies
Strawberries
Raisins
Gourmet Carmel Chocolate Apples
Graham Crackers
Pretzels
Fruit (Dried Fruit)
Make your own chocolates from molds
Rice Crispy Squares
Cherries

Chop Wizard

I need all the help in the kitchen that I can get. I am not completely cooking challenged, but I mainly get frazzled. Let me paint a nice picture for you of what it's like for me to cook. First I am usually running late, so I am in a hurried PANIC mode. Then there is my lovely little Lucy who is amazingly independent until I start cooking, then it is like....well....have you seen "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? Well, remember when the Nazis open the ark and the ghosts come out and suck the souls from everyone...... just picture that, but with my sweet little one in her saucer screaming at me because apparently I didn't get the memo about her only being clingy and whinny from 5-6:30 P.M. Then there is the realization that I forgot to buy a certain ingredient or with all the screaming I can't remember if I put in two cups or one cup in.
.
.
So, as you can see, cooking time can be a stressful time. One thing that has really helped me hugely is my Chop Wizard. It is great! You simply place your potatoes, green peppers, hard boiled eggs, onions...whatever you need.... press down on the lid and then prest-o chang-o, you have your self some nicely diced and chopped veggies. I especially love this contraption when I am making a stew or soup since many of them need lots of dicing. Great for salads too if you like to throw in diced ham and chopped onions. Even wonderful for tacos and all the toppings needed and fruits for tasty fruit salads!
.

It costs about $19.99 and even comes with two slicing options; dicing (a bigger square, good for potatoes, tomatoes and such) and mincing (perfect for onions and peppers). The Wizard also has a small cleaning tool to help you get the bits and pieces of food, that have been left behind, out of the blades. The compartment that catches all the food even has a measuring system of 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup and more, to help you know how much you have sliced.



The Chop Wizard is really just a great helper in the kitchen. Especially for the price... I think it has been worth every penny. I mainly love how it really saves time in the kitchen for me, which is something I need when Lucy is about to cry out "ANARCHY" :)