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Month: December 2013

Simple Ways To Ring In The New Year

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Ringing in the New Year is a fun tradition, and Simple Solutions Diva has a few simple ideas on how to bring in the New Year with a little style and not a lot of money! A BIG thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living (Weekdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m) for inviting Simple Solutions Diva on to share these ideas!

Choose To Make Nicer New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be about loosing weight or radically changing behaviors. Those types of resolutions are much harder to keep because they require drastic changes.  Try making nicer resolutions that are more like goals you work towards all year. Need some ideas? Print out this Nicer New Year’s Resolution Worksheet below; it includes prompts to help you get your creative juices flowing! (Be sure to print it out in landscape format!)

Make a resolution to be nicer to yourself when it comes to your resolutions! Use this Printable worksheet to get your creative juices flowing!
Make a resolution to be nicer to yourself when it comes to your resolutions! Use this Printable worksheet to get your creative juices flowing! (Be sure to prit in landscape format!)

 

Plan a Giving 2014 New Year

This is a great idea for a family celebration! Each family member submits several family volunteering ideas for 2014; Use New Year’s Day to decide, as a group, what volunteer opportunities the family will commit to for 2014 and schedule them into your calendar. Giving back and helping others really makes life enjoyable!

Start A Memory Jar For 2014

2014 Memory Jar, from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.
Remember the fun times all year with a 2014 Memory Jar, from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.

Create a Decorative Jar filled with memories collected over 2014; near New Year’s 2014, open the jar and relive the fun memories from 2014!

Image 5 Supplies Needed:

  • A Clean Glass Jar
  • Small, blank tags, cards, or bookmarks (I used bookmarks)
  • Chalkboard Self-Stick Labels (I got this little packet, including chalk, for $1.00 at Michaels!)
  • Decorative Pen

Instructions: 

Clean the jar and remove all sticky price labels. Let dry. Apply the chalkboard label to the glass jar.  Write 2014 on the chalkboard label. Add blank bookmarks or cards and a pen. Place Jar in active place in the house (ours is in the kitchen). As fun events or memories happen, write them down on the blank cards and place them in the jar.  At the end of year, sit down with family and revisit all the fun times over 2014 by reading the cards aloud.  Wipe 2014 off with a slight damp cloth, and write the new year and start all over again!

 

Kids New Year’s Eve Party

Pick a time in the early evening to invite the kids over and toast the New Year early with DIY Noise Makers and a Cookies & Milk “Midnight” Toast!

DIY Kids'Noise Makers, from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.
DIY Kids’Noise Makers, from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.

 

 

Image 6DIY Noise Maker Supplies:

  • Empty and clean water bottles, with labels removed.
  • Craft Beads
  • Variety of stickers

Instructions:

Add a handful of craft beads to the empty water bottles and secure the top. Lay out the stickers and let the kids decorate their own shaker.

 

 

New Year's Eve Kids "Midnight" Cookies & Milk Toast, by SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.
New Year’s Eve Kids “Midnight” Cookies &Milk Toast, by SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.

Cookies & Milk “Midnight Toast Supplies:

  • “Fancy” glasses (these can be champagne glasses, wine glasses or whatever works for you)
  • Hot Fudge Sauce (I used Smucker’s brand)
  • Colored Sprinkles
  • Milk
  • Chocolate Chip or M&M cookies (I bought mine pre-made from the grocery store)

Instructions:

Using a knife or back of a spoon, rim the top of the glasses with room-temperature hot fudge sauce. Pour sprinkles into a bowl or small plate. Roll the fudge covered rims of the glasses in the sprinkles, so sprinkles adhere to the glass & fudge. Fill with milk. Place a cookie on top of glass and serve.

 

Simple Party For The Adults

SSD Party

Try a Dessert & Champagne Party! Simple Solutions Diva featured a whole “how-to” video and outline to create a simple party.  Click Here to see the video and all of the suggestions to make a party easy for you!

 

Dessert And Champagne, Anyone? How To Host A Simple Holiday Party

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Simple Solutions Diva’s Tips For

A Simple Holiday Party:

 

For easy invitations, try using the website Evite.com, where you can customize one of their great designs and import email addresses to send out invites electronically! Good for you AND the environment!

A Champagne Bar is easy to do! Offer a variety of add-ins for your champagne, like cranberry, peach, pomegranate juices, strawberries and pomegranate seeds.  For Champagne, I served Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut, recommended by the wine expert at World Market. With a price point under $7.00, I was a bit wary.   I was extremely surprised by how wonderful the champagne tasted! It was rated by Wine & Spirits Magazine as the Value Brand Of The Year for 2013 (3rd year in a row!).

Desserts are so simple! Use a combination of store-bought and homemade desserts. Items on my dessert table included:

  • A tasting plate of flavored dark chocolates – Chipotle Chili, Pomegranate and Strawberries & Champagne.
  • Ginger Crisp cookies and Chocolate Lace cookies from World Market.
  • Two beautifully decorated mini cakes from Publix Supermarket.
  • Store-bought Chocolate Truffles
  • Homemade Coconut Macaroons – Wonderfully easy recipe from JoansFoodWanderings Blog.
  • Homemade Peppermint Bark – Here is my recipe for peppermint bark.
  • Store-bought Chocolate Truffles
  • Homemade Candied Pecans – This recipe was so simple! I made them in the crockpot! You can find the recipe Here!
  • A Cheese Plate featuring Manchego, Triple Cream Brie, and Boursin Cheese.
  • A Fruit Plate
  • The big hit on the dessert table was the Toasted S’mores Bar, from the website by South Florida Chef,  Ron Lock.

 

Have a wonderful holiday!

 

Simple Flatbread Appetizer Done Four Ways

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Flatbread Appetizer Four Ways, by SimpleSolutionsDiva.com
Flatbread Appetizer Four Ways by SimpleSolutionsDiva.com

Flatbread is a great way to create a variety of easy appetizers! I used Stonefire Naan flatbreads from my supermarket to create these four appetizers; feel free to go crazy and make your own flatbread! I try to assemble all my ingredients prior to starting, then just go down the “assembly line” to make the variety of flatbreads!

Note: All amounts noted below in each recipe are variable, depending on your taste and the amount you plan to make! Each flatbread recipe makes approximately 16 appetizer-sized pieces.

General Preparation: 

Place a pizza stone inside the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. If using a regular cookie sheet instead of a pizza stone, set the temperature to 450 degrees.

Lay the flatbreads on a clean, flat work surface.  Distribute the cheese slices evenly on the flatbreads;  assemble the remaining ingredients on the flatbreads (except for the finishing drizzles as noted!).

Place flatbreads on pizza stone and bake for approximately 5 minutes. Remove when cheese is melted. Remove from oven, drizzle with appropriate finishing drizzles (if called for), and slice into appetizer-sized pieces. Serve immediately.

 

Apple, Brie and Cranberry Flatbread Appetizer from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.
Apple, Brie and Cranberry Flatbread Appetizer from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.

Brie, Apple and Cranberry Flatbread Appetizer

Ingredients:

  • 2 Stonefire Naan Flatbreads (They come packaged in twos)
  • Wedge of Brie, sliced into thin slices. (I try to remove most of the white rind on the cheese)
  • One apple – skin removed, cored and sliced into thin slices.
  • 1/2 cup (Approx.) Dried, Sweetened Cranberries (I used Ocean Spray Dried Cranberries)

 

IMG_4559
Apple, Bacon Cheddar Flatbread with Maple Syrup Drizzle from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.

Apple, Bacon and Cheddar Flatbread Appetizer With Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

  • 2 Stonefire Naan Flatbreads
  • One apple, peeled, cored and sliced thin.
  •  1/2 cup crumbled bacon (I used Boar’s Head Precooked Bacon – I like keeping things easy!)
  • Cheddar Cheese, sliced thin.
  • Real Maple Syrup (This is for a finishing drizzle on top of this flatbread)

 

Fig, Procciutto, Provalone
Fig, Prosciutto, Mozzarella with Honey Drizzle Flatbread Appetizer from SImpleSolutionsDiva.com.

Fig, Prosciutto, Mozzarella Flatbread Appetizer With Honey 

Ingredients:

  • 2 Stonefire Naan Flatbreads
  • 4 dried figs, chopped
  • 4 slices of Prosciutto, thin sliced
  • 8 oz. fresh Mozzarella, sliced
  • Honey (This is for a finishing drizzle on top of this flatbread)

 

Pear, Gorgonzola
Pear, Gorgonzola, Provolone, Caramelized Onion Jam With Balsamic Vinegar Drizzle Flatbread Appetizer from SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.

Pear, Gorgonzola, Provolone, Caramelized Onion Jam Flatbread Appetizer With Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients:

  • 2 Stonefire Naan Flatbreads
  • One pear, peeled, cored and sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup Gorgonzola Cheese Crumbles
  • 8 slices Provolone Cheese
  • Caramelized Onion Jam (you can find this in specialty food aisles of your supermarket, or specialty food stores)
  • Balsamic Vinegar (This is for a finishing drizzle on this flatbread)

A Big Thank you to Stonefire Naan for providing me with a wonderful selection of Naan Flatbreads for this post!

Holiday Shopping – When Do You Get It All Done?

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Simple Holiday Survival: Easy Christmas Cake With Cranberries

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This wonderful recipe is the perfect blend of sweet and tart (I happen to LOVE cranberries)!  Here is the recipe:

SSD Cake

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 12 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 pan.

Mix together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl, using a mixer on high speed, for 5-7 minutes. The mixture should double in size and lighten to a soft yellow color. Do not skip or shorten this step – it is what provides the cake’s light texture.

Add the vanilla and softened butter, beating until the butter is thoroughly mixed in – approximately 2 minutes. Add the flour, mixing until it is completely moistened. Stir in the cranberries using a spoon, then pour the batter into the buttered pan.

Bake 40-50 minutes, until the top of the cake is light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

I found this recipe on BarefeetInTheKitchen.com, a site chockfull of wonderful recipes!  Check them out when you have a chance!

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