Home made Cream of Wheat {plus giveaway winner!!!}

First I want to thank everyone for your sweet comments on my Wood Connection guest post!  It's been a blast for me to host my first give away and I thank you all for being a part of it!  The winner of the $25 Wood Connection Gift Certificate is....

Ali Childs!!  

Congratulations Ali!  Please email me your address and I will send your gift certificate ASAP!
Thanks again everyone for entering!

Now on with the Cream of Wheat!  My husband and I discovered this a few years ago when we went to buy some Cream of Wheat and then didn't because it's expensive!! It's just ground up wheat right?  Wheat is so inexpensive.  We found some info. online and had to give it a try!  And guess what?!  It's amazingly easy and so cheap to make!  The only catch is you do need a wheat grinder of some sort.
Here's the how to:

Grind 3/4 to 1 C. of wheat.

Bring 4-5 cups of water to a boil and slowly pour the ground wheat into the water; whisking as you add the wheat.  Do not turn away for any of the cooking time!  If it boils over you might cry because it makes such a mess.  Just whisk and boil until it's as thick as you want it.  You can add a dash of salt like the boxed cream of wheat calls for, but I always forget and it's fine.

 Then serve it up warm and creamy (and even healthy!) We add brown sugar and milk to ours and usually eat it with a piece of toast.  My kids love it!  They ask for it at least once a week and it's quick enough to make that I can even do it on a school day!  It's a cozy kind of breakfast especially in cold and snowy weather.

The views out my front door and back door for the past month-lots of cream of wheat mornings!!  (I have since pulled out the candy canes.)  

Last tip for this recipe:  Don't skip wiping down the table and counters after this breakfast.  Have you ever had to clean up dried cream of wheat?  We're talking power tools!  It's crazy!  And yet somehow edible : ) And tasty : )

Christmas crunch and pretzel kisses

This is definitely a recipe worth sharing!  I got it from my sister in law a few years ago and have made it multiple times around Christmas since then.  It's actually great anytime, but somehow has just become a Christmas time treat for us.  It is AMAZING! 

What you need to make it and love it too:

CHRISTMAS CRUNCH

3 cubes butter

  1 C. corn syrup

1 C. sugar

Boil 2 minutes, let stand 5-7 minutes

2 C. Corn Chex

2 C. Rice Chex

                2 1/2 C. Honey nut Chex

                5 1/2 C. Golden Grahams

             1 pkg. slivered almonds

                         1 1/2 C. coconut (or as desired)

Mix cereals, almonds, and coconut in very large bowl.

Pour the butter, sugar syrup over the cereal mixture and mix well.

 This makes a lot!  It's great for taking to parties or giving as gifts.  I can only make it if 

we take or give it because otherwise we will eat it all!  Which can't be good.....: ) 

I packaged it up and gave it to neighbors.  Yum!!

One of our other favorite Christmas time treats are these pretzel kisses.  Have you seen or made these?  I love them!  I love the salt and sweet combo of pretzels and chocolate.  These are easy and fun for kids to help with.  Kids are actually a great help with all the unwrapping involved.

PRETZEL KISSES

Pretzels (I like these square ones best)

                                         Hershey's Kisses (any kind, I do milk chocolate and candy cane)

plain M&M's

Heat the oven to 170-190 degrees.  I have to heat mine to 190, it's old and electric.

Fill a cookie sheet with pretzels and top each with a Kiss.  My 4 year old loved helping with this!

Put in the oven for about 6 minutes to soften the chocolate.  The candy cane Kisses melt faster than the chocolate.  I'd probably do them on a separate cookie sheet next time : )

Once the chocolate is melty, press an M&M onto the top.  (You can see the candy cane ones are more melted.)  Then refrigerate for 10 minutes or so to harden.  Cute and yummy!