Make It From Scratch Carnival

Come check out the Make It From Scratch Carnival this week! Some of my favorite ideas...

*Make your own Minestrone Soup . My favorite soup in the world!

*Recipes to make your own playdough . As a homeschool Mama, aren't I supposed to do things like this?

*A free crochet pattern to make your own Valentine's bag out of used grocery sacks!

*Got little girls who love kitchen play food? Check out this blog post that shows how to make your own little felt & bead pies from seed beads, felt, & a bottle cap. SO cute...what dollhouse couldn't use a few fresh pies?

There's plenty more to find at the Carnival...check it out!

Don't Buy Caramels Anymore...Make Your Own!

A few weeks ago, Jeff & I were talking about Christmas traditions and he remembered homemade caramels as a special Christmas time treat. Given my limited talent in the kitchen, I wasn't sure if I could pull off Homemade Caramels or not.



The first batch didn't turn out well. I didn't have a candy thermometer, so getting the caramel to the proper temperature was a guess...and I didn't guess so well! While it tasted really good, it was way too soft and had to be dumped. I guess we could have used it for a caramel topping of some sort, but it was just easier to start all over in this case.



After getting a candy thermometer, and giving it a second try, we were really pleased with the results. I was most pleased, though, that Jeff loved them!



Check out our yummy recipe & enjoy!



Ingredients:

*1 cup unsalted butter

*1 lb. light brown sugar

*dash salt

*1 cup light corn syrup

*1 14oz can sweetened, condensed milk

*1 tsp. vanilla extract



What To Do:

*Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add brown sugar & salt. Stir until thoroughly combined.

*Stir in corn syrup & mix well.

*Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.



*Cook & stir over medium heat until candy reaches firm ball stage (245 on candy thermometer). This will take about 45 minutes. Make sure you stir constantly so the cooking candy doesn't burn.



*Remove from heat & stir in vanilla.

*Pour into a buttered or heavy duty foil-lined 9 inch square pan.

*Cool in the fridge & cut into squares.



We also made some Turtles with the caramel. Lay 4 pecans on parchment paper (turtle's legs) so that they touch in the center of the Turtle. Pour a tablespoon of caramel in the center, top with melted chocolate & let cool!

And it's great to get those little hands helping wrap all that caramel!

Get Your Creative On With These Carnivals...

Blog Carnivals are such a great way to discover bloggers you may not have read before...and there's always tons of great ideas! I submitted our Chocolate Lollipop Recipe to the carnivals below. What else can you find?

*A recipe for homemade vanilla extract...oh yum!
*Crafts galore
*Christmas traditions
*Loads of recipes for gifts-in-a-jar (cookies, brownies, bread mixes)
*A cool instructional for a no-sew rag rug (save all those old bluejeans!)
*Make your own pressed birdseed treats just like in the catalogs
*Find 10 bargain birthday gift ideas
*

So join me at The Carnival of Family Life, The Carnival Of Recipes, The Make It From Scratch Carnival, and the The Festival Of Frugality

Make It From Scratch carnival

Come visit the latest edition of the Make It From Scratch Carnival. My recipe for Ham & Eggs On Croissant was featured along with so many wonderful ideas for cooking, crafting, & everything in between! I found the neatest recipe for homemade vanilla extract that I can't wait to try.

Make It From Scratch ideas!

Come check out the Make It From Scratch carnival for tons if great Christmas ideas you can make with your kids! I even had a featured recipe for body scrub...good stuff ya'll!