Christmas Time Homemade Graham Cracker House Recipe/Instructions!

 Background of this recipe: 

  This is one of the sweet memories I have as a child during the Holidays!   My mom would get all of this ready for us, and then we would each decorate our own house while Christmas Music would be playing in the background!   It was always so much fun, and there were always so many good laughs.  My brothers would always do some crazy things with their houses (like they would put Army Men around the house, etc....boy stuff, ha.)   I always loved to cut the candy licorice and put them around the outline of the house, it gave the house a little more pop!  

  Before we had the babes, Eddie and I continued this tradition in our little family with just the two of us (so fun!!!  We are little kids :)  ), and we are so excited to keep doing it with the babes this year now that they are older, I'll have to post a picture of the houses once they are all made! :)    

(Okay, so everything below is what my cute mommy emailed to all of the girls in my fam, she even has instructions that show how to cut the graham crackers to create the roof part of the house, if you would like those as well, let me know and I'll email it to you....it's basically using a knife to cut out triangles that will form the roof of the house.  For the base of the house, she would cut out a square of cardboard and then cover it with aluminum foil, that way the house is on a firm foundation, and then there is a lot of extra space to be creative).    

Happy Decorating! :)

Ingredients:  

2 Egg Whites

Cream of Tartar (I went to make these houses today with the boys and realized I needed the cream of tartar....you can find this in the spice section at your grocery store).

Powdered Sugar
 

Frosting Cement Recipe (This is what keeps the house together)

-Beat 2 egg whites until stiff with ½ tsp. of cream of tartar

-Add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat 5 minutes with electric mixer

-As this mixture will dry quickly – keep it covered with a damp cloth when not in use.

After assembling the house, I let it sit for an hour or so until the icing has hardened.  Otherwise, it will collapse when the kiddies are stacking candy on its' roof.

Here are some ideas for decorations:

Snow landscape – use cotton balls or sprinkle with coconut.  I just covered the cardboard base with aluminum foil.

Roof- mini marshmallows, sprinkles, mini shredded wheat, M&M’s, red hots

Other fun candies to use: Parellils(sp), lifesavers, gumdrops, lollipops, licorice sticks, small wrapped Santas in chocolate (cute to have standing at the door), small candy canes for mailbox, etc.

[Of course, lego men make wonderful ‘reindeer warriors’  for those of you who need to express yourselves]------(okay see, haha...this is what I was talking about what my brothers would do, haha)

The Dollar Store has little Christmas jewelry like earrings that I used for wreaths at door, bells on ‘mailboxes’.  I also found that pharmacy stores (CVS and Walgreens) have a really good selection of candies that you don’t usually see at the grocery stores.

Another thing I did at the end of this fun project was to put the individual candies in ziplock bags to store in a box for next Christmas.  They store amazingly well and it certainly saves money!!

So crank up the Christmas tunes and have fun!

Chicken (or turkey) Noodle Soup

  

3 cans chicken broth
If chicken is not pre-cooked, then boil it in the broth with a stalk of celery for about 20 minutes. Remove from water and cut into cubes. Meanwhile, add to the water the following:

1-2 cups carrots 
1-2 cups celery
Bring to boil and then turn down heat to medium and cook until tender (approximately 10-15 minutes)

Add additional water (1-2 cups) and powdered bouillon to desired taste.

Bring back to a boil.
Take fresh fettuccine noodles from package and cut the entire clump into thirds so the noodles are smaller. Add to boiling water and boil for 3 minutes.

Add a cup of frozen peas and the cooked, cubed chicken and cover with a lid turn the heat off.  Peas will cook in the hot water.

Enjoy with hot rolls. Perfect winter meal.

Lion House Rolls

 

Lion House Rolls:

Ingredients:

           

2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)

2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk
2 Tablespoons dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup butter (softened)
1 egg
5-5 1/2 cups all purpose flour (bread flour can be used if you have it on hand and will make for a lighter roll)

Method:

In large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water and the milk powder and stir so the milk dissolves. Add the yeast to this mixture then the sugar, salt, butter, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 2 more cups of flour then mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes.

The dough will be getting stiff and you may need to remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in the remaining flour by hand. Add approximately ½ cup of flour and mix again (this can be done by hand or mixer). The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour). Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately on tablespoon of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered with the oil. (This helps prevent the dough from drying out.) Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size.

Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with flour and put the dough on the flour. It is now ready to roll out and cut into desired shape and size of rolls.


You can roll these into crescent rolls or do it the traditional Lion House way. There is a video on YouTube showing how to roll them the Lion House way. Roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and brush with melted butter. I probably use 1/4 cup melted butter brushed on here.You want to cut the rectangle into smaller rectangles that are 2″X4″ (a little smaller than a dollar bill).  If you make and “L” with your thumb and pointer finger that will show you how wide and tall to cut your rectangles.


Then you roll them (or flip them like in the video) and place them on a greased (or parchment lined) baking pans with the end of the roll resting on the pan. Cover again with a kitchen towel so they don’t dry out as they rise.
Let rise in a warm place until the rolls are double in size (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours). Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are browned to your satisfaction. Brush with melted butter while hot. Yields 2 to 2 1/2 dozen rolls.