Cranberry Orange & Oatmeal Rasin Cookie

Does this sound like an intriguing combination to you? A lot of times, I'll see a food recipe & use that as a combination for burning candles together . . . if it works for taste in cooking, why not for fragrance with candles? Over the weekend, I saw this recipe on a blog for Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies . . . its one I'll be trying & thought I'd pass it along to you, too!

Fruit Smoothie - single serving

I bought a bunch of strawberries really cheap this year, washed & cut up & then put them in the freezer. Here's what I'm going to do with them:

1/2 cup berries
1 Tbs. orange juice concentrate
1 Tbs. sugar
3/4 cup milk

Put everything in the blender & mix it up until no berry chunks remain. If its too thick, just add extra milk a little at a time.

Green Recipes

Do you make special green food for St. Patrick's Day? I grew up having Corned Beef & Cabbage on St. Patrick's Day & will be making it for my family this week. Just use a head of cabbage. Cut into pieces and boil until tender. After straining the water, add 1 can of corned beef and mix it all together until the corned beef is broken up and mixed in with the cabbage. Very simple & very good!

Here's a couple others that I've posted in the past:
Pineapple Lime Pie
Watergate Salad
Chicken Divan

And here's a recipe that I'd like to try:
(Add green food coloring instead of red)
Red Velvet & Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Leave a comment & share YOUR favorite Green Recipes!

Halloween Treats

Since I've been sharing some favorite Halloween display ideas, it got me thinking about favorite Halloween treats. One of the easiest & certainly most delicious treats to put together for your Halloween parties is just to combine an equal portion of candy corn with salted, dry roasted peanuts. Grab a handful to munch on & you'll be sold on this winning combination!

If you want to put a little more time into it, you could try these creepy creations that I found on a blog that I follow.

It's an Apple-icious Fall with Gold Canyon & these Recipes!

Caramel Apple is one of my favorite candle fragrances and I've recently found some caramel apple recipes that I just had to share through a couple of the blogs that I follow:

Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars (haven't tried this one yet, but you can be sure I'll be baking up a batch real soon!)

Caramel Apple Sticky Buns (I love these! Though I have to admit I made my own version here. I used this recipe for the topping - substituting light karo syrup for dark and buttermilk for the cream, since I had those on hand - but I used my own recipe for the "buns". They turned out soooo great!)

If you're in love with APPLES this fall, you'll also want to check out these goodies from Gold Canyon:

Apple Lantern


Apple-licious candle
(100% of Gold Canyon's profits go to the Prayer Child Foundation)

Warm Apple Crisp candle

Apple Dapple Drops candle

(this is actually the coconut pecan brittle candle, but its the same style
- just different colored packaging - as the Apple Dapple Drops candle)

Do you have a favorite Fall Apple Recipe or Apple fragrance? PLEASE SHARE!!!

Cherry Lime Rickey!

One of my favorite treats is a Cherry Limeade from Sonic - a drive-in restaurant that we don't have here in Maryland but that I enjoy treating myself to every time we go home to Arizona for a visit. We've even made the 2 hour drive to the closest Sonic (in Pennsylvania) a couple of times!

Well, along with the other Soda Pop Shoppe fragrances we have this summer, is a Cherry Lime Rickey -- mmmm! Its on the lighter side (for those that like lighter fragrances), but still fills up the house - as all Gold Canyon fragrances do! And when I got to thinking about this fragrance, I remembered that I had a recipe for a homemade version of a Sonic Cherry Limeade . . . enjoy!

Cherry Limeade
1 12oz. can of Sprite
2 Tbs. cherry syrup
1/3 of a lime

In a tall glass, add the cherry syrup & squeeze in the lime juice. Pour in the sprite & stir together. For a real Sonic feel, put a lime wedge in the bottom of the glass, add a lot of crushed ice & top with a maraschino cherry!

Home-made Chocolate Cake

As part of my 10 year birthday celebration with Gold Canyon, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite cake recipes. Wait, I have to take that back; this IS my favorite cake recipe! Not only is it great, but its filled with childhood memories since this was known around our family as "Grandma Johnson's Chocolate Cake". I loved my Great Grandma Johnson & her recipes were always the best! So, now I share her chocolate cake recipe with you:

Grandma's Chocolate Cake
Mix together in a large bowl:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 Tbs. cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Make 3 holes in the dry mixture and add:
In hole #1: 2 tsp vanilla
In hole #2: 2 Tbs. vinegar
In hole #3: 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. oil

Pour 2 cups of water over the above mixture, then stir all ingredients together. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes in a greased & floured 9x13 pan.

This cake is moist enough that it doesn't require frosting; just dust with powdered sugar! Its also great for families where there are egg or milk allergies since it doesn't contain either!

ENJOY!

Grandma's Chicken Divan Recipe

This is a recipe from my great-grandma’s cookbook. Now, there’s not any connection to candle fragrance here, but the broccoli makes this a green colored recipe that I thought would be fun to share!

Chicken Divan
Boil, debone & cut into pieces:
1 large chicken
Cook according to directions:
2 pckages frozen broccoli
Put cooked broccoli in casserole dish.
Cover with cut-up chicken.
Mix and spread over the above mixture:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
Sprinkle over top:
¾ cup grated cheese
Sprinkle over cheese:
¾ cup bread crumbs mixed with
2 Tbs. butter
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I "gottahave" . . . great green recipes!

Watergate Salad

This green colored “jello salad” has been a traditional favorite in my family as long as I can remember! It’s easy & is a great dish to bring to a potluck or serve along with any meal. Its pineapple & marshmallow combinations make me wonder about burning a Pineapple Coast & a Marshmallow Confections candle together. I think I’m going to have to try that!

Watergate Salad

1 20oz can crushed pineapple
1 box instant pistachio pudding
16oz. container of cool whip
mini marshmallows

Defrost cool whip. Add pineapple, undrained, and pudding. Mix until blended. Add as many marshmallows as desired.

I "gottahave" . . . Pineapple Lime Pie!

Mmmmm! When I was looking for some green colored recipes to share this month, this one struck me as interesting! We tried it out & it is a new favorite in our household! This different combination of Pineapple & Lime started me thinking . . . now I'm just dying to try out the combination of burning a Pineapple Upside Down Cake & Key Lime Pie candle together!


Pineapple Lime Pie
from 1999 Best of Country Cooking - Taste of Home cookbook
(with a slight variation from me!)

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, drained
2 to 3 drops green food coloring, optional
1 graham cracker pie crust (9inch)
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, combine milk, lime juice, and pineapple. Stir in food coloring. Spoon into crust and chill for 8 hours.

Before serving, beat cream, sugar and vanilla together until stiff peaks form. Spoon whipped cream over pie filling and serve!

I "gottahave" . . . fragrant memories . . . for Chase's first birthday!

Did you know that the sense of smell is one of our most powerful senses? A sniff of a familiar fragrance can reel you back in time to remember a long-forgotten memory. It is with that thought in mind that I bring you the first in a series . . . Fragrant Memories . . . and invite you to share your own comments on how a fragrance reminds you of a memory.

How fun it was to celebrate our little boy's first birthday! As I was baking the cupcakes, I smelled the batter & realized that I knew that smell . . . it was the same as the Birthday Cake candle! I had one on the shelf, pulled it out & smelled & sure enough, it was an exact match. From now on, I will always burn a Birthday Cake candle with good memories in mind of Chase's first birthday.

And a recipe for you, too!

My sister & I used to decorate wedding cakes, but my favorite part was making the gourmet cakes that everyone raved about the taste. I used one of our secrets in making Chase's special first birthday cupcakes.

Birthday Cake Cupcakes

Make up a classic yellow Duncan Hines cake mix according to the directions on the box but add the secret ingredients (1 small box of instant vanilla pudding & an extra egg). Add in a cup of mini chocolate chips, if desired, & bake, either as a cake or cupcakes. If baking as a cake, you will probably need to cook it a little bit longer than what it says on the box since the pudding & extra egg give you more batter. Top with your favorite frosting!

Fabulous Fudge Brownie & Sugar Cookie

One of my informal New Years Resolutions is to use lots of new recipes this year . . . things I've collected over the years or are in cookbooks on my shelves. I made this recipe yesterday that was to die for & as we were eating it I imagined I was smelling a candle combination that I hadn't thought of before: Fabulous Fudge Brownie & Sugar Cookie!!! Doesn't that sound delicious?

I thought I'd share the actual food recipe with you as well. Its from the Taste of Home "The Best of Country Cooking" 1999 cookbook:

Black 'N' White Cheesecake Bars

2 cups (12oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

In a double boiler or microwave, melt chocolate chips and butter, stirring occasionally. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs. Set aside 1/4 cup for topping. Press the remaining crumbs into an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in milk, eggs, and vanilla. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until completely chilled. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!

A Halloween Treat!

One of my favorite Halloween treats is so easy to prepare but so delicious! Just combine an equal amount of candy corn & dry roasted peanuts together & serve -- tastes just like a Payday candy bar!

And if you love candy corn, you won't want to miss out on our Candy Corn candle. With a perfect candy corn fragrance, it smells great but looks great too in its adorable specialty jar!
www.gottahavecandles.com

My Favorite Gingerbread Recipe!

Gold Canyon introduced a brand new fragrance this fall called Gingerbread House. It was love at first smell for me as it brought back memories one of my favorite desserts. For a great gingerbread scent in your house, you can make this recipe or just burn a Gingerbread House candle! Or how about trying out the recipe & keeping the candle on hand so that you don't have to cook EVERY time you'd like to smell the fragrance!



Gingerbread Cake with Streusel



Beat together:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses

Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves

Then Add: 1 cup hot water - mixing until smooth, then pour into greased 9x13 pan


Mix together:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cube margarine
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Sprinkle chunks of sugar mixtgure over top of the batter. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut when cool.


This is great served with cool whip or ice cream, just like the Gingerbread House candle would be great when burned with our Sugar Cookie candle!


To order a Gingerbread House candle, visit my website (http://www.gottahavecandles.com/) or order by phone (410-507-8136) or e-mail (kim.milius@goldcanyon.us).

Cranberry Freeze Recipe

My absolute favorite Gold Canyon fragrance is Cranberry Orange! For most of us, the thought of cranberries reminds us of Thanksgiving dinner. My mom makes a twist on the traditional cranberry sauce that is a big crowd pleaser & I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Maybe it could be an addition to your holiday meals this year!

And if you want the Cranberry Orange candle as a nice holiday gift for someone or even just to keep for yourself -- after all, its perfect for any time of year --, you can order through my website (www.gottahavecandles.com) or by phone (410-507-8136) or e-mail (kim.milius@goldcanyon.us).

Cranberry Freeze

Cream together: 8oz. cream cheese
3 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. mayonnaise
Add: 1 can whole cranberries sauce
1 medium can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Blend in 2 cups of cool whip & freeze to set.

Fabulous Fudge Brownie candle & ideas!

I just love the new Fabulous Fudge Brownie candle that Gold Canyon came out with in the fall catalog! I've burned it myself & it truly smells just like you're baking brownies . . . mmmmmm!

I also wanted to share some of my favorite brownie ideas. So, grab your favorite brownie mix, mix as directed & just add in whatever sounds best! Great brownie "add-ins": chopped up Ande's mints, chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet), white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, crushed toffee bar pieces, chopped nuts (your favorite kind). Or top with chocolate frosting with mini-marshmallows & chopped pecans for a "rocky road" style brownie!

Mmmm, are you craving chocolate yet? Host a "Death By Chocolate Party" with me this fall & we'll feature this Fabulous Fudge Brownie candle, you can make your favorite chocolate desserts or brownies & your friends will be pampered with chocolate from beginning to end! Contact me to select your date! kim.milius@goldcanyon.us