Monday Morning Musing

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I wanted to share my favorite Irish blessing. Have a great week!

Easter Basket Sale Extended

Hosting a Fall Open House

Early November is that quiet time after the indulgence of Halloween and before the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I like the idea of hosting an open house to bring friends together before the holiday craziness begins. A Christmas open house usually is more formal, with guests dressing in their holiday finest to spread Christmas cheer. A fall open house can be far more relaxed, with football on the TV and still enough warm in the afternoon sun for kids to play outside. Gentleman can gather in the living room discussing their fantasy football season. (Sidebar: the NFL geniuses who came up with fantasy football not only brought interest in every team and increased demand for NFL Sunday packages for TV, they also are cursed by women everywhere for taking away all attention from their men for several months because all they can think about is who they are going to start on Thursday.Thanks NFL.) In the dining room, women share cute decorating ideas for the holiday season and share stories from the new school year. Here are a few recipes to make this relaxed event easy to pull together with very little effort.

Make up some of these easy Creamy Chicken Pockets from PenniesOnAPlater. Cook them up and serve them on the lid of your new 9×13 Baking dish.

Creamy Chicken Pockets

Yield:  8 pockets, 3-4 servings

2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 small chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, optional

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook the chicken with the onions and garlic.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon softened butter until smooth.  Stir in the cooked chicken, onions and garlic.  Add the salts, pepper and milk.  Mix well.

Separate the crescent roll dough into the eight triangles.  Dollop a tablespoon of filling into the center of each triangle and fold the corners up to seal.  Press and seal firmly.  Place on ungreased baking sheet or stone and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.  Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with the bread crumbs (optional).

Bake for 11 – 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

Mix up traditional cheese and crackers with this idea from BettyCrocker. Use leaf shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes from cheese slices. Serve these up on the Woodcrafts cheese board.

 

Online Exclusives – Santa Stops By For One Day Only!

• All three Baskets are available in Santa Belly, Warm Brown, Rich Brown or Black.
• Save EVEN MORE when you buy all three! That’s right, you’ll receive an ADDITIONAL $28 SAVINGS when you purchase the set of three combo; baskets must be the same color selection. Look for the set of three baskets when you shop online!
  (The set of three combo is $169 and includes the Family Tissue Basket with WoodCrafts Lid, the Little Gatehouse Basket with Protector and the Cake Basket with Small Riser — a value of up to $258!)
• AND when you buy all three, you can earn a half-price item when you turn your order into a show!
• The NEW Family Tissue Basket with WoodCrafts Lid is the perfect size to hold your largest box of tissues.
• The Cake Basket w/Riser helps carry holiday dishes to family gatherings and parties with friends (you’ll want to add on the Insulated Cooler for toting warm or cold dishes).
• The Little Gatehouse Basket can hold candy canes or make sweet little stockings to hang on the mantel.
• Last minute reminder — this is the final day to pick up the Happy Holidays Basket for $19 with the purchase of any Basket on a show, including online shows!

Great Gifts Are In The Bag — Longaberger at home® Sisters Sale!

• Prices starting at $5!
• This is the best time to update your look for the season — get a handbag and coordinating accessory for as low as $30!
• Great gift-giving solutions for all the ladies on your list: friends, sisters, mom, grandma, teachers, day-care provider. Make your list and check off several names when you shop this sale!
• These are just a few of the items — shop the Longaberger at home Beautiful Bargains online for the complete selection of styles and fabrics!

Weekend Baking Bonanza

• 5 Items + 3 Days = 1 opportunity for BIG savings!
• Prices at only $19, $29 and $39 on great items for baking this fall and holiday!
• We have even snuck some retired colors into this sale!!!

American Valor Ornaments and Woven Flag

With Veteran’s Day quickly approaching (Sunday, November 11), these beautiful handcrafted ornaments are the perfect gift to honor our service men and women. Perfectly priced, these ornaments are great for fundraising, too. And, think even BIGGER with this offer and approach companies who honor America’s Veterans. You can easily share this special commemorative product without a sample. Simply print a color copy of this e-card, pick one of your favorite ornaments from the current collection (which began in April of this year) and grab an order form. Next, share the offer – make a plan to take it to where you work, send it with your husband and visit your local military service organization.

• Order as holiday gifts or for Veteran’s Day – only $20 each and you’ll receive them in time for Veteran’s Day!
• A portion of the proceeds from each American Valor Ornament sold will go to the Longaberger Military Cares Program. You’ll also have the opportunity to make an additional donation to Military Cares at checkout. Longaberger’s Military Cares program combines the efforts of employees, sales field and customers to support America’s military troops and their families through numerous charitable programs and contributions.
• Save over 55% on the Americana Woven Flag! Only $20!

Longaberger at home® Fall Blowout Sale

All new sale items available. With the new combined shopping cart, take advantage of monthly specials as well as these incredible sale prices!

• 4″ American Work Baskets for only $15, Candles as low as $6, fall décor items including fabric napkins and placemats!
• New markdowns taken!
• Pick up some extra items in the store and save on Shipping and Handling!

October is a Great Month to Host a Show

Well, to be honest, any month is a great month to host a Longaberger party. However, in addition to the great host specials listed below for the month of October, if you host a $250 show now and again in January, you can earn this beautiful host appreciation basket for FREE!

 

This beautiful little basket features the colors in the new Signature Plaid weave. With bold red, warm brown, and deep chocolate, this little basket will coordinate well with your holiday decor well into the late winter. Fill this basket with sweet Valentine’s Day chocolates or tiny pine cones for year-round decorating.  Host a show in your home, in the park, or on-line to qualify for this special gift.

Leaf Raking Party

When I was in high school, one of our service projects in the fall for our church youth group was to go and rake leaves for older members of our community. We would get a list of houses from our pastor and rake leaves all afternoon. When we were done, we’d come back to the church for hot chocolate and snacks. As a teenager, this was a great way to give back to my community, spend some time with my friends, and have a fun party, all in the same day! Here are some recipes and product ideas to host your own leaf raking party.

Put your new mini muffin pan to work and make these yummy Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes from PenniesOnAPlatter. Send your workers out with a full tummy of these goodies and they will have no problem raking up a storm!

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 40 donut holes
Serving Size: 2 donut holes

For the donuts:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• For the Coating:
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin with nonstick spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. In a separate large bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, about 1 tablespoon in each cup. (You will have batter left over for about another dozen.) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until passes the toothpick test.

Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. With the melted butter in one bowl and the sugar and cinnamon combined in another, dip each muffin into the butter then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm.

Alternate method: dump the sugar/cinnamon mix and the butter-coated donut holes into a gallon sized ziplock bag, then shake to coat (working with 1 dozen donuts at a time).

When everyone has finished raking and is ready to warm up, have a batch of this Crock Pot Hot Chocolate from MrsHappyHomemaker ready and waiting. Serve with some popcorn or toasted pumpkin seeds for a filling fall snack.

Creamy Crockpot Hot Cocoa

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups whipping cream
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups of milk chocolate chips

Instructions:

Stir together the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and chocolate chips in a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted. Stir again before serving. Garnish as desired.