Cookie Cutter Christmas Craft

Yes, I know it's not Christmas yet, but it is Winter and it is the school holidays and that means...MID WINTER CHRISTMAS PARTY!!!  I've been having a lot of fun with  a few vintage cookie cutters and several balls of wool lately!

These are so easy and thrifty to make, simply choose your cutters and wrap wool around them.

Told ya! These are easy to make and really add some home made cheer to my table tops.

 I tied mine on to a simple vase to create a centerpiece but I think they'd look equally great on the wall or in a window display too....but then again, I am in love with these!

 1 cookie cutter 3 ways...

Our mid-winter Christmas party is next week. The woolen decorations fit the theme perfectly (as we have a Summer time Christmas here.) I am glad to for the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in BOTH seasons...all though without the presents this time!

I will be on the hunt for these cutters in the second hand shops now (I'm kicking myself for all the ones I know I've left behind before!) so I can make summer themed cutters too.

Thank you for visiting Ol' Mother Hubbard!

Home made chicken nuggets...MMMM!!

These beauties were even more delicious than they look!

 

 I adapted several recipes and mixed them up to come up with my own mix. I'm gluten and lactose free and I decided these would be too. Oh, I am glad I did! The recipe that follows is simple, frugal and gluten free although you can easily adapt it so it's not gluten free.

WARNING: Your family WILL request these again!

I used...2 cups of gluten free flour (premix, I don't attempt to make my own flour mix)

6 broken taco shells (for the crunch and flavour)

1 egg (it was all I had so I am glad that worked!)

1 kg of diced (imperfectly) chicken breast.

I made my crumb mix using taco shells that had broken (I couldn't throw them out) but you could easily use taco chips or cornflakes. Making them was a simple process of dipping in egg, allowing egg to run off and then rolling them in the crumb. I tried a non crumbly mix but after cooking a few and tasting them 'we' the family decided it need crumb for crunch! 

In yummery: 

I think that these were a frugal choice in comparison to the bought nuggets. It cost me $12 for 1 kg of skinless, boneless chicken breast (see below) $12 is actually a bit more per person than I usually spend on meat for our family  (2 adults, 2 teens, 1 tween.) You can buy a bag of nuggets for the same price BUT for my $12 I got 52 nuggets, no presevatives, no extra fat and I was able to make them gluten free. Divide the 52 nuggets by 5 people and that's plenty, if not too many, each. No-one complained about having extra! Funny that!

Against: 

The chicken was on special, down about $5 per kg so I won't be able to make this on a whim. I will need to find the breast on special first.

Personally, I would have liked a bit more flavour and I will add in spices or herbs next time.

May your nest be blessed,

Lisa


This post is also linked on Pinterest and Thrifty Thursday

Ol Mother Hubbard's Cupboard Part 1

We tried out this recipe for banana bread. I made it twice, the first time with 3 bananas (as the recipe required)  and the second time I doubled everything but the amount of bananas. It was devoured so quickly that I decided it would be better to make a bigger loaf next time...but I really should have doubled the banana. The banana's in the recipe make a nice moist bread that was still moist after2 days. It should add that it only lasted this long because I insisted on the kids having no more that 2 slices a day. This was not met with enthusiasm! The second loaf was bigger as I wanted but it was also drier. My bad. If I was after a firmer bread this would be the one.

 In yummery (he he that was too easy) I would say that this is a good recipe for using up ripe bananas or the frozen stash in the freezer.  I count it as frugal because it is low in sugar and butter and uses only one egg. It also uses NO milk.  Also to it's advantage is that is slices well and doesn't crumble so it would be a good lunch box addition.
On the flip side, it takes an hour to bake so it's not something you could make last minute. Problem or not?

May your nest be blessed,

Lisa

This recipe has also been contributed to Thrifty Thursday and pinned on pinterest Visit Thrifty Thursday to see the' linky thing' for other entries.
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