December is Here...

So today I did a little makeover to my blog.  I love changing things up, so this won't be the last time I change the background.

I have been so busy this week that I haven't had time to blog about what I've been up to.  We are dogsitting Maddie for Aaron and Jen, which has been a hilarious experience so far.  She is the same height and length as Shelley, just not as heavy, so it's definitely interesting to have two very large dogs running around the house.  It kinda reminds me of when we had Spot, the only difference being that Spot was so old and lazy that she would just lay on the couch all day, whereas Shelley and Maddie play together and chase each other around the house.  They spend a lot of time outside because I just can't handle both of them being underfoot while I'm trying to cook.  I let them run around the house when I'm not really busy, that way I can monitor their playing and keep them under control lol.  Right now they are in their respective spaces, Shelley being in our room and Maddie in her crate.  They were barking at each other and stealing toys while Ellie was napping, so I decided it was time for some quiet.


I spent $43 on groceries this week.  In my initial grocery shopping trip I spent $28, which was on all the essentials for the week.  I went back to Kroger yesterday to pick up some ingredients for a recipe I found, and most of the ingredients were things I don't keep on hand, so I spent $15 in that trip.  I probably could have found better deals, but Ellie was crying and carrying on so I just raced through the baking aisle until I got what I needed and then I zoomed out of there.  


So yesterday I made homemade marshmallows.  I found a recipe for them on Money Saving Mom and thought that it would be something different to try.  I've never heard of making homemade marshmallows...I didn't even know it was possible.  But I decided to give it a try.


The recipe is pretty simple, but WARNING: it makes a huge mess!  It's the messiest thing I've ever made, but it was fun and they came out well I think.  The woman who demonstrates how to do this did a great job in explaining the process step by step and even includes a video to show what each stage should look like.  This was immensely helpful to me, since I am not a great cook or baker, and it really helps to be able to see what each stage should look like.  You can visit her website here and view the recipe and video at your own leisure if you would like to try this out.  By the way, she made peppermint marshmallows, which is what I decided to make yesterday, but you can always omit the peppermint or add something else.


I will give a brief rundown of the recipe with some pictures from yesterday.  You need several ingredients for this that you may not keep on a regular basis.  This is what I purchased yesterday:

I needed corn starch, light corn syrup, powdered sugar, unflavored gelatin, food coloring, and peppermint extract.  I bought extra sugar because I was running low and I already had the vanilla extract in the cabinet.

I first poured some water and the 3 gelatin packets in a bowl and let that dissolve.  Meanwhile, I mixed 2 cups of sugar, some water, and corn syrup in a pot on the stove and brought that to a rolling boil for one minute.  This is what that looked like:

I then mixed the boiling sugar mixture into the dissolved gelatin and mixed it with my hand mixer for 12 minutes.  This was a very tiring task (I thought my hand would fall off!) and this is where things get messy.  After mixing for a long time, it basically becomes marshmallow cream, which we all know is extremely sticky.  I meant to take a picture of this stage, but it was so messy and I was panicking because I couldn't get the bottle of vanilla extract open.  Meanwhile, the marshmallow cream was starting to solidify already and my hand mixer smelled like it was burning up inside lol.  Fortunately I was able to get the bottle open and I added a tablespoon of vanilla and a small amount of peppermint.  I mixed that in and then poured half of the mixture into a square baking dish.  I added a few drops of red food coloring and swirled it to give them a peppermint look, then poured the rest of the mixture on top and repeated with the food coloring.  

 It looks like a huge mess, and it definitely was.  I spent a lot of time cleaning up while I let this sit.  It needs to solidify for 4-5 hours before it's ready to cut.

After sitting for 4 hours, I used my kitchen scissors to cut the marshmallows.  I mixed powdered sugar and a little cornstarch together in a bowl, coated the scissor blades, and cut the marshmallows into cubes.  I threw each marshmallow into the bowl of sugar and cornstarch, making sure to coat it completely so that it wouldn't be sticky.  This is the final product:

A ton of marshmallows!  I didn't realize that it would make this many, but they definitely taste like marshmallows.  I think I went a little too strong on the peppermint, so next time I think I would omit the peppermint and just use vanilla extract, or possibly try a different flavor.  I think these would be super yummy with chocolate, but I'm still brainstorming on how to do that without adding a ton of extra work.  I did try these in a cup of hot chocolate, which was very tasty.

If you like hot chocolate with a candy cane, this tastes exactly like that with the added bonus of marshmallows.

All in all, it was a fun experience and definitely something I've never tried before.  This recipe passed the taste test (Billy and I) and I think I will use it again in the future.

Last month I talked about setting monthly goals for myself.  For November, I made it my goal to make a dinner calendar and stick to it as closely as possible, which was a huge success!  We've eaten fast food once in the past month (compared to at least twice a week in the past) and we've stuck to our one date night a week.  I am continuing this indefinitely.  It has been a huge help for me to have a calendar that dictates what we will eat each night so that there is no question about what we will have for dinner.


My plan for the month of December was to create a cleaning schedule that spells out what I will clean on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis so that I can have an easier time remembering what needs to be done around the house.  It's already December 3rd and I haven't had time to get started on this, so I think I will leave it for January.  I've been brainstorming what to do this month and I think I might just stick with the theme of trying new recipes.  I've been thinking a lot about Christmas and how to cut down on my spending, and I've been researching how to make homemade gifts to give to people.  I enjoy making things, and since I have more free time as a stay at home mom I think I can devote some energy to this.  If you are in my family and you are reading this, sorry in advance if you don't like my homemade gifts lol.  So the goal for December: try some new recipes, and make some homemade gifts!


I think that's it for now...Ellie is starting to fuss so I guess I will see what she's up to.


Blessings.....Kristen