Merry Christmas Card Group Ladies!!!!

We've talked about having a place to collect all our recipes, etc., for quite a while. I thought maybe a blog like this would work out (and make a nice Christmas surprise for you). Here we can add our recipes or card examples or paper craft ideas. This is also nice because the labels act like an index for us to look up whatever we need to find.

I hope this will work out for all of us and that we'll really enjoy this blog. Any time you want to add something, just email it to me and I'll post it on here. And for those of you who blog yourselves (Julie and Jen) I'll give you the password for here and you can add your own stuff.

Thanks for all the fun and great ideas you always have. I love card group and appreciate each of you so much. Happy Holidays!!

Love, Erin

Jamie's One-Sheet-Wonder Pattern

Several years ago, Jamie showed us how to create 10 cards using one sheet of patterned paper. She even showed us how to make our own patterned paper. The picture I used here is just off the internet, but it gives you an idea of how the 10 cards come out. Maybe we'll have to put a real picture of some of Jamie's cards she's made using this template. Just click on the link to find a template to make your own.

Adrianne's Alfredo Sauce

(Note from Erin--This is one of the best Alfredo sauces I have ever tasted. Adrianne made it for a church dinner several months ago.)

1/2 c. butter

1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 c. milk

6 oz. grated Parmesean cheese (you can add more)

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Melt butter in a med., non stick saucepan over med. heat. Add cream cheese & garlic powder. Stirring with wire wisk until smooth (will still look bumpy). Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out any lumps. Stir in parmesean cheese and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reached desired consistency. Sauce will thicken quickly.

Post-It Notebook

Here's the project we made at my house in November. I thought I would include the instructions here just in case anyone lost their little paper. (And just a reminder that I got the little pens at Staples.)

Cut a piece of cardstock 7 3/8 by 3 ¼ inches.
Score at 3 ½ inches and at 4 ¼ inches. Then score in between those two score lines.
Fold at the middle score line and snip the fold at 1 3/8 inches and at 1 7/8 inches.
Apply sticky strip or tape to right scored side and pop out pen holder before folding in.

Jen's Chex Mix

Combine a large bowl:
6 cups Rice Chex cereal
6 cups Golden Grahams cereal
About 2 cups slivered almonds
About 2 cups cashews

In a saucepan, bring to a boil and boil 3 minutes:
1 cup Karo syrup
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar

Pour Karo mixture over cereal and nuts. Stir together and spread onto wax paper to cool.

Camille's Winter Fruit Salad

Salad Greens

Chopped Pear

Chopped Apple

Grated Swiss Cheese

Cashews

Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tsp. onion, grated

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup oil

1 Tbs. poppy seeds

LeeAnn's 7 Bean Chili

I would love to share my 7 bean chili. It is one 15.oz can butter beans, one 15.oz can black beans, one 15.oz can kidney beans, one 15oz can pinto beans, one medium size can of Nalleys chile beans, one 28 oz can of Bush's orginal baked beans, and one 28oz. can of Bush's honey baked beans. I also add 1 cup of honey-flavored bbq sauce and orginal bbq sauce from Kraft. I also add 1 cup ketchup. I also add a little grandma's chile powder (about 2 or 3 Tbs). I added one lb of ground elk burger with garlic, seasonal salt, and pepper. It is really easy and fast to make.

Julie's Cranberry Fruit Relish

1 lb. fresh cranberries, finely chopped

2 tart green apples, peeled and diced

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup orange marmalade

10 oz. package frozen raspberries

1 tsp. lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Can be served immediately--best if refrigerated overnight. Can be stored in the fridge covered up to 3 months. Makes 6 cups.

Mindy's Chicken Pasta Salad

Dried Cherry-Nut Chicken Pasta Salad

3 cups uncooked bowtie pasta
2 cups diced cooked chicken-I used left over rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 package 3.53 oz sweetened dried cherries-I used 1/2 Cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of slivered almonds-roasted (I bought the already roasted ones at the store by the salad section)

Dressing

3 Tbs. white wine vinegar
3 Tbs. sugar-I only used 2
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mayo-I used 1/4 cup mayo and 1/4 cup lemon yogurt, I think it lightens the flavor
2 tsp. poppy seeds

Cook and drain the pasta as directed. Rinse with cold water to cool and drain well.
In a large bowl mix cooked pasta, chicken celery and cherries. In a small bowl mix ingredients for dressing with a wisk until blended. Pour over salad and gently toss. Fold in almonds.

The dressing is pretty runny and it seems like it will be too much, but let the salad set for a couple hours and the pasta will soak up the dressing and it won't be runny anymore!

Mindy's Cheese Ball

Melinda's Cheese Ball

2-8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped red or green pepper
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp season salt-I used Morton Nature's Seasoning- I use this in everything, deviled eggs, tuna salad, casseroles, etc.
1 cup chopped nuts-I like pecans, but you can use whatever you have

Mix all but the nuts together. Form into a ball, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for an hour. Take out of saran wrap-roll in nuts. Serve with crackers.