Clara's Cooking | Dollar Tree Peppermint Bark Recipe

Ah yes, it's that time again! We all have holiday traditions, and one of ours is to have peppermint bark every year! This is more of a "cookie" like version, and we love and prefer it! It is definitely a SPLURGE as far as calories/fat go (ohhh right - so THAT'S the reason I don't make this year round! LOL ).

See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDROgtdIQ48

This is an easy recipe that is great to bring to parties or include in treat bags for family and friends (and of course Dollar Tree sells treat bags too).

ALL ingredients may be found at Dollar Tree (YES my Dollar Tree had Ghirardelli chocolate! WHOA!), but some are of better value elsewhere, like granulated sugar. NOTE: THE DOLLAR TREE'S PARCHMENT PAPER WORKS GREAT! Give it a try and tell me what you think of it!


Dollar Tree Peppermint Bark Recipe:


Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temp
1 cup sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6-9oz bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 to 3/4 cup peppermint candies/candy canes chopped and partially crushed (make as course or fine as you prefer, or you can buy it already crushed for you)
Nonstick spray 
Parchment paper
13x9x2 inch baking sheet


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving extra paper hanging over the sides of the pan.

2. Mix flour & salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use paddle attachment to cream the butter for about 2 minutes.

3.Add sugar little by little to butter mixture until light & fluffy. Slowly mix in vanilla extract, egg yolk, and flour mixture on low speed.

4. Place dough onto baking pan and form a thin layer using moistened fingertips to press and spread the dough. Pierce throughout with a fork.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until light brown. While crust is still warm, IMMEDIATELY spread chocolate chips on top, gently spreading across pan. The heat from the crust will melt the chips. Sprinkle the candies and carefully press slightly into the chocolate to stick - warning the chocolate will still be hot!

6. Put while chocolate in plastic and allow to sit in a bowl of hot water until melted. Cut a tiny corner of the bag and drizzle the while chocolate over the bark. Chill 1 hour.

7. Lift the bark via the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board. Chop as desired.

What's your favorite holiday treat?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Love + light,

Clara

Dollar Tree Review - Chef Ernesto Vegetable Empanadas

Hi all! Time for another Dollar Tree Review!

I love when vegetarian products come to the Dollar Tree, so I had high hopes for this one. Plus, I thought their veggie burgers and samosas weren't too bad.

Each box contains four empanadas. I baked these at 350F for 5 minutes each side in the toaster oven. It had a good crisp skin but I'm not a fan of the texture inside. 

It's made primarily with black beans, so if you like black bean or lentil tostadas you might like these. Like the other Chef Ernesto products, it has Indian spices (which I normally LOVE), yet this time the taste fell flat.

It also was a bit dry so I ended up adding sweet chili sauce to make it a bit more appetizing.

Overall 6/10, and I would NOT buy it again.

What did you think of these?

Love + light,
Clara

Dollar Tree Learning Corner Tour & Organization

I posted a pic of this on IG awhile ago, and although this video has been on my "to-do" for over 6 months, it took a collaboration to get myself in gear!

A special THANK YOU to Jady A for inviting me to this collaboration, titled "Organized Children Spaces." I absolutely ADORE Jady A's channel and have for a long time (way before I started my own)! Check out her free printables for Early Childhood Learning at http://www.shelfwork.com.

This video takes you on a tour of most of the individual components of this system, and the star of the organizing show are Sterilite's standard shoe boxes. I originally bought the green ones from Dollar Tree, but lately have been finding them at Kroger or Family Dollar, also for $1 each. I like them way better than Dollar Tree Essentials' shoe boxes (I mention why in the video.

See video here: http://bit.ly/1HZecCK

Do you have tips and tricks to organize your child's learning spaces?

Love + light,
Clara

Yearly Questions for Kids

This year we will start a tradition of asking the all of the Slate kids (cousins, etc.) questions about life, and recording their answers in an Elf on the Shelf notebook I bought from DT! It'll be fun to see how their answers differ according to their unique personalities, especially over the upcoming years! 


YEARLY INTERVIEW FOR KIDS:

1.) How old are you? ___________________________________________.
2.) What's your favorite color? ____________________________________
3.) Favorite book(s)?___________________________________________
4.) Favorite toy(s)?_____________________________________________
5.) What is your favorite way to play outside? What sport and team do you like?
6.) My favorite TV show(s) is__________; my favorite movie(s) is_________.
7.) My favorite music/songs are ___________________________________.
8.) My teacher's name is ____________. 
      I love to go to school because _________________________________.
10.) I am really good at _______________, and LOVE to ________________.
11.) Every night I sleep at _____________, cuddling my _________________.
12.) I love to eat and drink _______________________________________.
13.) Animals are cool, especially the ____________because_____________.
14.) _____________________________________________make me laugh.
15.) ____________________________________________ make me upset.
16.) I want to be a _________________________________ when I grow up.
17.) My friends are _____________________________________________.
18.) If I had 3 wishes, they would be: _______________________________
                                                             ______________________________
                                                             ______________________________
19.) This year was busy with ______________________________________.
20.) My plans for next year are: ___________________________________
                                                             ______________________________
                                                             ______________________________


What questions would YOU ask? Feel free to copy and paste!

Happy holidays!

love + light,
Clara

DIY Home Goods Decor!

I LOVE Home Goods, but I refuse to spend $100 for a painting! Decided to use old sample paints to DIY my own Home Goods decor and make it a bit darker to fit my taste! 

See this quick 2-3 minute VIDEO here!

http://bit.ly/1I0FW9Y

I had old canvases in the basement that had paintings of trees, and I wasn't fond of the style nor color. I know it's taboo (VERY TABOO!!!) to paint over paintings, but I did it! I used a few thick layers of white primer paint, and POOF! Gone!

After painting the dining room, I was left will three sample paints in colors I absolutely adore. 

Sample Paint Used (from Home Depot):
Behr Ultra NYPD (medium gray blue, the color we chose for the dining room)
Behr Ultra Midnight Blue (dark gray blue)
Behr Ultra Deep Breath (medium blue)

After putting down some newspaper on the kitchen table, I used water to wipe the dust away and dried the canvases with a kitchen towel. Using the Behr Ultra Deep Breath (medium blue) paint, I started painting at the bottom, knowing that would be the darkest area of the painting (thereby a great place to make my first mistakes! LOL). Using a 1.5 inch Purdy brush (the same we use to paint the house), I dipped directly into the sample container and made large swiping motions across the canvas to get the look of the ocean waves. I did the same with a few swipes of the Behr Ultra NYPD (medium gray blue).

In an effort to make it as streaky as possible (yet make the waves better blend together), I used a little bit of water. As I approached the top of the painting (towards the "sky"), I used less and less paint. I then applied Behr Ultra Midnight Blue (dark gray blue) in thicker textured streaks to simulate rocks.

Optional Step: Working with a wrap around canvases, I decided to continue painting around the edges. Some people prefer to just leave the edges white or paint them black - totally a matter of preference!

And, VOILA! Is it as good as the Home Goods painting? Of course not. It's darker and moodier, but I love it! It's mine, and no else has a copy of this painting. :)

Have you done any painting around your house to mimic expensive decor you've seen at your favorite stores?

love + light,
Clara

I Hate Most Mom Groups - Clara's Confessions

Moms have enough pressure as it is without us putting more on each other. Seriously, WHY do we do this? Why do we pass judgement on each other without learning the full story? Or, why do we pass judgement at all? Is it really necessary? 

Are we REALLY trying to help other moms by "educating" them with unsolicited advice? Or are we trying to give them that advice (which was again, unsolicited) because insecurities? Are we trying to make ourselves feel better about our decisions? What do you think?

See YouTube Video Here: http://bit.ly/1PszJWF

love + light,
Clara

Repurpose a Detergent Bottle into a Cleaning Basket!

Although having a pedestal sink may look pretty, it sucks, yes SUCKS for storage! Storage under the sink in the bathroom usually holds items you may want to hide, like toilet paper, cleaning products, etc.

I was able to find a super inexpensive solution for toilet paper storage, but as far as cleaning supplies, I decided to store them in the nearby laundry room. For easy transport, I repurposed an old detergent bottle - small, but a perfect size! It held the following:

Basic Bathroom Cleaning Supplies (no bathtub/shower in downstairs bath):
- Disinfectant spray
- Toilet gel
- "Windex" type of cleaner
- Microfiber duster
- Microfiber wash cloth
- Wooden barbecue skewer

To see more details on how I made this, see my video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JrkU6GGE2I

Here are the basics:

- Mark & cut two large holes in the front and back to insert cleaning bottles, keeping the handle intact
- Make holes to store duster, washcloth, and barbecue skewer
- Cover detergent label with contact paper if you wish!

Wait, a BARBEQUE SKEWER?

Yes! A barbecue skewer is great for really tiny and narrow places that even a toothbrush has difficulty reaching sometimes!

What are some storage solutions you have for the bathroom?

Love + light,

Clara