Nicole Wilker

Just me, in your face!

Archive for December, 2009

Instant Chai Tea

Dec 30

Posted by nwilker in Recipes | No Comments

I made this for my sister, MIL and SIL for Christmas. I put it with bags of black tea because i couldn’t find the instant unsweetened tea, until right after i packed the box and shipped off the presents! I found the recipe on Busy Cooks It makes a ton, so get a big bowl!!!  And i could never find vanilla powder in the store and on line it was more money than I wanted to spend, but using liquid vanilla is fine, just let it try before putting everything in the blender!

I also limited the sugar, figuring more could be added later, but couldn’t be taken out.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
  • 2 tsp. vanilla powder  (see bottom for options)
  • 2-1/2 cups sugar  (i used stevia or splenda from the bag – less than 2 cups)
  • 1-1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea  (leave this out and add the mixture to a cup of black tea or earl gray)
  • 2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1 tsp. ground cardamom

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. In a blender or food processor bowl, place 1 cup at a time, and process until mixture is blended and the particles are fine.Add 2 heaping serving tablespoons Chai tea mixture to a mug of boiling water and stir to mix well.

*If you can’t find vanilla powder, mix 2 tsp. vanilla extract with some of the sugar until blended and dry. Then process with remaining ingredients in blender or food processor.

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Home Remedies

Dec 30

Posted by nwilker in Ramblings | No Comments

Found this in a sunday paper a while back and wanted to keep them handy – just in case and thought you all might get a kick out of them!

Gas:

Teaspoon of olive oil on empty stomach each morning to prevent gas

Tummy trouble:

Mix  1/2 tsp of baking soda with 4 ounces warm water. Drink.  It will make you burp.

Bloating
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a cup of hot water and enjoy

Cure constipation:

To achieve regularity, consume 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar 2 times daily, in an 8 ounce glass of water.

Avoid heartburn

Before meals, mix the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of salt int an 8 ounce glass of water and drink. After meals, try a teaspoon of honey to soothe your heart burn.

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Quiet Christmas in the Wilker Abode!

Dec 28

Posted by nwilker in Ramblings | No Comments

The morning began as usual…  Hopping out of bed before the sun rises!
Phillip was game and joined me downstairs!

We cleaned up, filled hubby’s stocking, opened Phillip’s stocking – and he systematically moved each piece of the stocking up stairs for safe keeping (it was one of those multi toy thingies)

I made small pot of coffee – I had a feeling there might be a much cooler and better functioning one under the tree, got the paper from the front stoop and read it through!

By that time the clock read 7:30 and the sun was up – so that meant – THE REST OF THE HOUSE MUST GET UP!!!!!

Hubby arose with little effort, i hopped in the shower while he filled my stocking!

Hubby doesn’t like to sit around in his jammies doing the xmas morning thing… sigh. My present to him was to let him clean up!

We started with the biggest box instead of the stocking since it contained the wonder of wonders… The new coffee pot!
It was voice controlled – mom got that part for hubby! It will stop spewing when you remove the pot. It makes 10 cups in a blink of an eye. And the on-off button works! (our last one’s switch stopped switching… )

From then on it just kept getting better. Hubby enjoyed his stocking and presents. And I mine!
For him:
Gift cards, peanut butter trees, wii games, gloves, a wind up dinosaur and more
For her:
Pink and red jelly beans, ramekins of all shapes and sizes, books, book marks, immersion blender, pajama pants, useful stuff in the stocking (hand cleaner, hello kitty bandaids, tide pen) and more!

We got lots of goodies, some home made, some from the store!
We ate a breakfast of champions – sugar and mimosas!
Then it was time to relax and enjoy the day! Hubby spent most of it on his new games!

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Popcorn!

Dec 27

Posted by nwilker in Crafts, Ramblings, Recipes | No Comments

Popcorn!

So quickly we forget!
Prior to Christmas I found an awesome caramel corn recipe and made it the first time with a microwave bag of popcorn.
After that first time and how yummy it was I determined I needed to find a different way to pop popcorn.
Then i went back in my memory banks and recalled a time when there was no microwave and we have a big metal contraption to pop the popcorn and corn came in a bag… Oh yeah.

I did some research and to my joy I found one could pop popcorn in the microwave without a brown paper bag nor oil! Woohoo!

Basically you get 2 soup bowls, shift then just a tiny bit so the steam can escape, pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes and 45 second for 2 tablespoons of kernels and whala – you have a bowl almost fully popped! Sweet!

It was just a sad state that we had come so far as to forget how to pop popcorn…  Didn’t the pilgrims and native americans do it ages ago, over an open fire even…

Technology just might kill us!

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Caramel Corn

Dec 27

Posted by nwilker in Recipes | No Comments

Caramel Corn

Ingredients

    Cooking spray
    1 cup packed dark brown sugar
    1/2 cup light-colored corn syrup
    1/4 cup butter
    1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    12 cups air-popped popcorn (6 T kernels)

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a large jelly roll pan or baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a medium or large heavy bottomed saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring 3-4 times to scrape down the sides of the pan and keep the mixture from bubbling up. If you have a pastry brush, dip it in cool water and use it to brush down the sides of the pan. Be careful; the mixture will burn you if it boils over. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Place popcorn in a large bowl; pour sugar mixture over popcorn in a steady stream, stirring to coat.  (find a second person or spouse to stir while the other pours!)

Spread popcorn mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven; stir to break up any large clumps. Cool 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Let the popcorn cool completely before storing. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Serving size is about 2/3 cup.

Number of Servings: 18

(for some extra umph – melt chocolate in the microwave and sprinkle it over the popcorn – put the tray in the fridge to harden the chocolate)

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Merry Christmas!

Dec 25

Posted by nwilker in Ramblings | No Comments

Merry Christmas to one and all! Have a fabuloud day!

Mocha Fudge

Dec 24

Posted by nwilker in Recipes | No Comments

Mocha Fudge

This was a Sunset recipe that i gutted due to what I have in my house. But it turned out tasty and could be very bad to my “bottom” line! I’m sure the recipe creator is rolling in their grave since I removed the whole essence of the fudge, but we like it!

Time: 30 minutes, plus at least 2 hours to chill. There are few treats in this world better than a smooth, chocolaty, decadent morsel of fudge, and this recipe is one of the best we’ve tried.

Yield: Makes 36 pieces (1 in. square)

Ingredients

  • 1  pound  bittersweet chocolate, chopped 2 cups chocolate chips
  • 3/4  cup  unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup margarine, at room temperature
  • 3  tablespoons  instant espresso powder
  • 2 1/2  cups  sugar
  • 1/4  cup  corn syrup
  • 1  can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
  • 2  cups  chopped toasted almonds

Preparation

1. Line a 9- by 13-in. pan with foil, letting foil hang over edges. Set aside. In a bowl, combine chocolate, butter, and espresso.

2. In an 8- to 10-qt. pan (i’d suggest bigger than 10), combine sugar, corn syrup, and milk, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent boiling over, until mixture reaches 235° on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes.  (use the thermometer! more like 20-30 min)

3. Remove pan from heat and pour chocolate mixture into hot milk. Stir until smooth. Pour fudge into prepared pan, smoothing top with spoon. Chill at least 2 hours.

4. Invert fudge onto a cutting board and peel off foil. Cut fudge into 1-in. squares.

Make ahead: Up to 1 week, chilled airtight, or up to 2 months, frozen.

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Cayenne Beer Brittle

Dec 24

Posted by nwilker in Crafts, Recipes | No Comments

This is a conglomerate of 2 or 3 different recipes!

I like how it turned out. Up or remove the heat to your taste!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1 cup beer

1 tbl butter

1 tbl Cayenne peppter

1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanuts

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preparation:

Line a jelly roll pan with a silpat

Combine sugar, corn syrup, beer , cayenne and butter in a heavy sauce pan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar disssolves.

Cook 30 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 275.  (use the thermometer)

Stir in the peanuts.

Remove from heat, stir in baking soda and salt. Mixture will thicken, bubble and turn opaque

Quickly pour mixture onto prepared pan.  Spread to a 1/4 inch thickness using a wooden spoon coated with cooking spray (or just use the one you used to stir everything with!).

Cool completely.

Break brittle into bite sized peices.

(while still setting  the brittle can be scored for more even breakage once hard)

Other options:

Chardonnay Brittle – replace beer with wine, remove cayenne, add 1 tsp vanilla

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Spicy Almonds!

Dec 23

Posted by nwilker in Recipes | No Comments

I finally re-created the recipe i used last year! Yeah!!!

Ingredients

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp cayene

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 rounded cup of almonds

Preparation:

Spray pan with pam. Add spicy olive oil – a drizzle or 2.

Once oil and spray is heated over medium heat, add spices to pan.

Move around the pan till it forms small clumps.

Add another drizzle of spicy oil

Add almonds

Combine almonds with spices until almonds are toasted. Stiring occasionally

Cool on aluminum foil.

Store in an air tight container.

Enjoy!

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Bucket List

Dec 22

Posted by nwilker in Question/Survey of the day | 3 Comments

I received this from both my mom and mom-in-law, so figured i should answer it!
BUCKET LIST
“place an X by all the things you’ve done and remove the X from the ones you haven’t, then send to your friends (including me). This is for your entire life!”

(x) Gone on a Blind Date
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to  Canada
(x) Been to  Mexico
(x) Been to  Florida
( x) Been to  Hawaii
(x) Been to  Europe
(x) Been to  South America
(x) Been to Central America
( ) Been to Asia
( ) Been to Australia – i hope to some day!
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter – oh hell no!!
(x) Been on a Cruise
( ) Visited All 50 States
(x) Been lost in a neighborhood I knew
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
(x) Gone to  Washington D.C.
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers/cowboys and indians
(x) Recently colored with crayons – colored pencils?
(x) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t
( ) Made a prank phone call
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose.
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
( )Been skinny dipping outdoors
(x) Gone to the movies
(x) Skipped school – with permission from mom!
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(x) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Been deep sea fishing
(x) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving – oh hell no!
( ) Gone snowmobiling
(x) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x) Gone on an unplanned vacation
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(x) Saw the Grand Canyon
( x) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( ) Rode in a Fourth of July Parade
(x) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(x) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(x) Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle
(x) Been horse back riding
(x) Ridden on a San Francisco Rail
(x) Been to Disneyland
(x)  and Disney World
(x) Believe in the power of prayer
(x) Been in a rain forest
(x) Seen whales in the ocean
(x) Been to  Niagara Falls
(x) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calve
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(x) Been water-skiing
(x) Been snow-skiing
(x) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
(x) Swam in the Mediterranean
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
() Been to a National Football League game