Sunday, November 25, 2012

Oreo Coconut Cream French Silk Pie (Quick, No Bake)

Yeah.  It would be hard to cram much more awesomeness into a single pie.  This was originally concocted by the amazing Miss Dorothy over at Crazy for Crust.  She made hers from scratch, but I saw in this the potential for a quick & easy and UH-MAZING dessert to bring with me for one of our Thanksgiving family dinners.  We had to bring two or three things to EACH of the family dinners we were going to, so quick & easy was an absolute MUST on my list.  But all the same…as a food blogger, people always want to know what new recipes you’ve been trying out.  So you sorta HAVE to show off a LEETLE bit.

After a crazy short week at work and with only last minute time allowance for “cooking”, this fit the bill perfectly.  So Dorothy, I hope I did your pie justice, because even with all the shortcuts, it was AMAZING!

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In the words of my brother in law, “the only problem I have with it is that you didn’t make enough.”

It was SO true.  We downed that pie in under 30 minutes.  I think the next time I make it, I’ll make the Oreo crust from scratch using Dorothy’s recipe, but in a 9 x 13 pan.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 pre-made Oreo pie crusts

1 box sugar free chocolate pudding mix

1 box coconut cream pudding mix

28 ounces low-fat milk, divided (14 oz per pudding mix)

1 cup coconut + 2 tbsp coconut for toasting

1 container fat free Cool Whip

 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350F.  When heated, spread the 2 tbsp of coconut on a small cookie sheet, and then bake for 10-15 minutes, checking on it every 5 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn. Once it’s a light golden, remove from oven & let cool. (FYI—feel free to toast a bit extra.  Toasted coconut is delicious on/in SO many things.)

Using a stand or hand mixer, blend the coconut cream pudding mix & 14 oz of milk for 2-3 minutes (depending on your box directions).  Then mix in the 1 cup of coconut.  Pour 1/2 of the coconut mixture into each Oreo pie shell & smooth out evenly. 

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Then rinse your bowl (so we don’t dirty too many dishes), and make your chocolate pudding mix w/ the other 14 oz of milk (whip for about 1 minute, then let rest for 3-5 minutes to set).  Pour that over the coconut cream layer, & spread evenly.

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Don’t mix up these steps—your coconut cream filling is more dense than the chocolate, so you want to have the lighter filling on top.

When you’re ready to serve, spread the Cool Whip on top, and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.

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Cut into 8 slices, serve, and then sit back, and watch the compliments roll in.

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Not as perfect a cross-section as I would have liked, but you get the idea!

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Seriously…how can you resist that???

NutriFacts: (makes 2 pies, 8 servings each)

Calories 190.5

  Total Fat 8.0 g

  Saturated Fat 4.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 2.1 g

  Cholesterol 1.3 mg

  Sodium 258.1 mg

  Potassium 121.3 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 22.1 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.0 g

  Sugars 13.4 g

  Protein 3.4 g

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Cranberry Pie: cherry pie’s evil (but gorgeous) stepsister.

Thanksgiving is upon us!  This year, we’ll be having a couple family dinners: we meet up with my side of the family this weekend, and then the Hubs’ family on actual Turkey Day.  Huzzah for two sessions of gorging, amirightmyfriends?

If you’re in need of a quick dessert recipe for your holiday feastings, look no further.  This delicious pie is both sweet and tart… like the wicked doppelganger* of the more traditional cheery cherry pie. (*Yes, I’ve been watching to much Vampire Diaries.)

And…I got to practice my crust decorating skills.

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In true Louisiana fashion, we have the fleur de lis!  Not bad for hand drawn/cut, eh?  I’m a little proud, if you can’t tell.

Ingredients:

2 pre-made refrigerated pie crusts
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
12 oz fresh cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 teaspoons light butter

Directions:

Heat oven to 425F.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugars, flour, cornstarch, salt, and water.  Bring to boil and cook, stirring constantly until thick & smooth.  Add the cranberries, orange juice, and spices.  Cook another 5-10 minutes until the berries pop. Remove from heat, and add the butter.  Stir until melted & combined.

Place one crust in a pie plate.  Then add the filling.

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Roll your other crust (the top) onto a sheet of wax paper or a flexible cutting mat so that you can cut your vents—whether you choose to be artistic or purely practical is entirely up to you, though I of course recommend the former.

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(For this, I just made small cuts with a knife close together---the lines aren’t actually connected, lest the whole pattern fall out while cooking.)

Place the top crust onto the pie, and then pinch the edges.

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If you have one, add a pie crust protector to the edge of the pan to prevent the lip of the crust from over baking & getting too brown. 

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(If you don’t have one, I highly recommend adding it to your Christmas list for Santa this year.)

Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the crust protector and bake another 10 minutes until the crust is a lovely brown.

Allow to cool fully before serving, so the filling can fully congeal.

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Buttery, flaky crust, fresh fruit filling, deliciously sweet & tart with a homey tinge of orange & holiday spices.

Life gets no better, my friends!

 

NutriFacts:

Calories 233.3

  Total Fat 8.8 g

  Saturated Fat 2.8 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 4.1 g

  Cholesterol 0.0 mg

  Sodium 230.6 mg

  Potassium 67.7 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 38.1 g

  Dietary Fiber 2.0 g

  Sugars 24.2 g

  Protein 1.3 g

Friday, November 16, 2012

CopyCat recipe: Famous Dave’s Mac & Cheese.

In case you weren’t aware, I am a carb fiend.  And a cheese fiend.  Ooey gooey mac-n-cheese is one of the world’s most perfect foods.  And in my opinion, Famous Dave’s is one of those places that has improved upon this delectable dish…

…by adding two of my other favorite foods: Jalapenos & corn.

Alas…who has the time or funds to visit Famous Dave’s every time you get a hankering for amazing cheesy mac? Not I.  In fact, we (tending to be a bit on the cheap side when it comes to dining out), usually only make it to F.D’s once a year, on “Dave’s Day”…when fellas who are fortunate enough to have the name Dave get a free entrée…and The Hubs AND his best friend are both Daves.  So there ya go.

Thankfully, it is wickedly easy to replicate this tasty bite at home.  You COULD make it totally from scratch if the notion moved you… or you can go to the other extreme and buy a tray of Stouffer’s and just add some jalapenos & corn to it. 

Me, I like to swing somewhere in the middle of that.  And earlier this month, we had a Grillmaster Potluck at work the other day…and what goes better with burgers and brats than some mac & cheese?

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Ingredients (makes one 9x13” pan):

2 boxes premium style mac-n-cheese (ie, comes with the packet of cheesy sauce, rather than the powder. Velveeta is recommended)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablepoons barbecue sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

4 ounces shredded cheese (I recommend pepper jack)

1/4 cup Parmesan

1 1/2 cups sweet corn niblets

2 jalapeños

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Topping:

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 tbsp butter, melted

 

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350F.

De-seed the jalapenos, then place on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.  This softens the pepper and gives it a more smoky flavor, in my opinion.  Once they’re out of the oven, remove the peels (they should blister and will come off easily) and dice.

Prepare the boxed mac & cheese as noted on the package in a large pot.  To this, add the salt, pepper, mustard, shredded cheese parmesan, corn, diced jalapenos, and parsley.  Stir well, and you can add more salt or pepper to taste at this point.

Pour the mac mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 pan, and then top with the breadcrumb mixture.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the crumbs are golden.

I made one full tray for our work potluck…but made a couple small servings for the Hubs & I to enjoy that evening. YUM!

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NutriFacts: (Makes 16 servings)

Calories 211.6

  Total Fat 8.1 g

  Saturated Fat 1.7 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.3 g

  Cholesterol 11.2 mg

  Sodium 205.9 mg

  Potassium 55.4 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 6.7 g

  Dietary Fiber 0.6 g

  Sugars 1.8 g

  Protein 4.0 g

Monday, November 12, 2012

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Burritos!

Oh yes.  Yes indeed.  I saw these on Pinterest and there was no turning back.  Especially since we had some apples in our fruit basket that were starting to soften.  I don’t know about you, but once an apple loses that reallllly crisp crunch, I don’t want to have anything to do with it in its raw form.  In their baked form?  But of course!

As you know, I’m usually all about FeauxFrying foods by baking them at high heat in the oven.  But sometimes…you just really gotta fry something.  There’s a crispiness and a golden color that just can’t be matched by oven frying.  But we can make it healthier by pan-frying rather than deep frying, and using juuuuuuuuust enough oil to coat the pan, rather than several cups worth.

FYI….this is totally delicious and decadent.  AND super easy.  I whipped them up in under 15 minutes.

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Ingredients: (makes 4 burritos)

8 ounces of fat free cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
4 flour tortillas (soft taco size, 6 or 8")
2-4 Tbsp vegetable oil, for frying (the original recipe calls for using a lot more, but it’s really not necessary.  You just need enough to coat the bottom of your pan.)

2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 stick light butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans
2 Tbsp sugar free caramel sauce
A few dashes of apple pie sice (for garnish)

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the apples, butter, sugar, pecans and cinnamon over medium-low heat, for about 10 minutes or until apples are tender.

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On a separate burner, start a large skillet with the oil over medium high heat.  The oil should just barely start to smoke.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Use a spatula to divide the contents of the bowl into four fairly equal portions.  Lay out your tortilla, and place one portion of the cream cheese filling in the center. 

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Fold in the sides, and then roll to make a cute lil’ flat burrito.

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Place this in your skillet, fold-side down.  (Cooking the fold side first helps seal the packet and firms up hat side so it won’t flop open while cooking.)

It shouldn’t take long—just cook until lightly golden & then flip.  Once both sides are cooked, then let drain on a paper towel while you cook the rest.

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Serve each burrito on it’s own plate, and top with 1/4 of the apple mixture.  Drizzle 1/2 Tbsp of caramel sauce over the top of each, and a dash of apple pie spice if desired (or just more cinnamon if you prefer).

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De…freakin’…vine.  And so easy.

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Now: is this a “healthy” dessert?  At 489 calories….err…Not quite.  But given that the original version (with extra oil, full-fat cream cheese, regular butter, and regular caramel sauce) would run about 850 calories per serving, we’re DEFINITELY doing better.  And this is a fairly decent sized dessert.  So if you’re looking to serve 4 people (who are all watching their waistlines), you could opt to make two burritos and have two people share.  After all, isn’t that half the fun of a dessert—the sharing?  :)

NutriFacts: (per burrito)

Calories 489.1

  Total Fat 22.5 g

  Saturated Fat 6.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 5.8 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 7.1 g

  Cholesterol 10.0 mg

  Sodium 902.1 mg

  Potassium 149.9 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 59.7 g

  Dietary Fiber 4.5 g

  Sugars 21.6 g

  Protein 13.6 g

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Thirsty Thursday: Pumpkin Beer Float!

Pumpkin beer.  It’s a passion I have.  Which makes this one of my favorite times of year.  I get to pick up mixed 6 packs and be a beer critic for a few months.  There’s a delicate balance to be found.  I should be able to taste all the typical “pumpkin pie” flavors…not just cloves.  Some brewers out there just hit WAY too heavy on the cloves.  If I wanted clove beer, I’d buy clove beer…but no, I bought PUMPKIN beer. 

Two of my favorite pumpkin beers are from right here in Missouri.  One is the O’Fallon Pumpkin Ale, which we featured in a Thirsty Thursday two weeks ago.  The other is made right here in Springfield, at Mother’s Brewing Company: Mr. Pumpkin.

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Delicious, delicious brew, and fantastic label art to boot.

So here we are, with delicious cinnamony holiday ice cream in the house, and a bottle of Mr. Pumpkin.  What’s a girl to do?

BEER FLOAT.  That’s what we do.

 

Ingredients:

1 pint glass

2 scoops holiday ice cream (if you haven’t made this ice cream yet, and don’t have time to, not to worry.  Pick up a pint of something like the pumpkin spice ice cream at Starbucks or a freshly made pint of either cinnamon or pumpkin from your local gelato or froyo joint)

1 bottle Mr. Pumpkin (or other, inferior pumpkin beer…)  ;D

Two straws

 

Directions:

Pretty simple.  Ice cream goes into the glass.  Beer goes over that.

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Add two straws, and share with your favorite someone.

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Pumpkin spice added over the top, ‘cuz weez fancy like dat.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Holiday Ice Cream!

A few years ago, my friend Sam brought this AMAZING ice cream to a birthday party, and the Hubs & I were just absolutely smitten with it.  All the flavors of cinnamon, cloves, oranges, almonds… it was like EATING Christmas.  I asked him to share the recipe with me, which he was kind enough to do, because he’s awesome. 

Now…here’s the thing.  I’ve been utterly swamped lately.  My company has a massive project starting next week that’s going to require nearly all of our field personnel and much of the equipment we have…so we’ve all been under the gun to get any OTHER field work completed before that project started.  So between field work, office work, school work, and the general craziness of Halloween, I’ve been getting home really late.  And when it’s late, I don’t necessarily feel like cooking.  Particularly if it involves a lot of steps.

Which this ice cream sort of does.  Sure, chopping the almonds was easy.  But candying orange peels?  Yeahhhhh…I burnt them the first go-round and almost swore off this recipe entirely.

Thankfully, I’m blessed with an amazing husband who works out of our home. So one afternoon, he pulled out this recipe, candied the orange peels, make the “custard” base, and by the time I got home, everything was ready to go into the ice cream maker.  Have I mentioned how much I love my husband recently? :)

Anyway, I recommend saving this recipe for weekend sometime, because there’s a lot of time involved, particularly once you have to chill your ice cream base mixture.  If you’re craving ice cream OMGLIKERIGHTNOWWWW, then you’ll have to run out & grab a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.  But if you’ve got some free time, this decadent dessert is TOTALLY worth it.

 
INGREDIENTS: Candied Citrus Peel
  • 1 large lemon or orange, preferably organic (no wax on the zest)
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1½ tsp light corn syrup
  • pinch of salt

Directions:

With a vegetable peeler, remove strips of peel from the citrus. Keep only the bright peel, leaving the white pith behind. Then slice the peel lengthwise into thin strips.

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Put the strips of peel in a small, nonreactive saucepan, add enough water to cover them by a few inches, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle boil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain the peel, and rinse with fresh water.

Combine the cup of water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in the saucepan. Fit the pan with a candy thermometer and bring to a boil. Add the blanched peel, reduce the heat, and cook at a very low boil for about 25 minutes, until the thermometer reads 230˚F (NOTE: check back frequently and stir, or you will end up with a large pan of black goo.  Just FYI). Turn off the heat and let the peel cool in the syrup for a few minutes. Once cool, lift the peel out of the syrup with a fork, letting the excess drip away, and then place the peels on a sheet of wax paper to finish hardening.

panforte 001 Tastes like an orange Tootsie pop.

You’ll end up with about a cup of this, but you’ll only need 1/4 cup to go in the ice cream recipe below.  You can sprinkle some over the top of your ice cream for garnish, and save the rest for other recipes.  I’m planning to use it in a cranberry-orange cookie recipe soon. You can store the excess peel in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 months.

 

Ingredients: Ice Cream (makes about a quart)

  • 1 cup fat free half and half
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 3 Tbsp honey
  • ¼ cup mixed candied citrus peel
  • ½ cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

 

Directions:

Warm the half-and-half, sugar, and spices in a medium saucepan. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over top. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the spiced mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium-low heat with a spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Don’t rush this step: it might take 10 minutes or so. If you hurry it along, you may end up with scrambled eggs in your ice cream. Then, pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Discard the cinnamon stick. Stir the custard until cool over an ice bath. While it’s cooling, stir the honey into the custard.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. This is vital.  If you pour warm ice cream mix into your ice cream maker, it’s not going to solidify properly.

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When cold, freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add the citrus peel and almonds. 

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After about 15-20 minutes of churning, you’ll have somewhat soupy soft-servey ice cream.  Pour this into a freezer-safe airtight container, place in the freezer for a couple hours, and let it get nice & firm.

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Serve with candied orange peel and/or sliced almond garnish. (I like mine with a little pumpkin pie spice sprinkled on top.)

I forgot to take a final pic, so you’ll have to just ogle this pretty pic snagged from the interwebs:

 

Other serving alternative to be featured in tomorrow’s Thirsty Thursday…stay tuned!!!

NutriFacts: (per 1/2 cup serving)

Calories 271.9

  Total Fat 16.7 g

  Saturated Fat 8.2 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 6.2 g

  Cholesterol 144.9 mg

  Sodium 59.3 mg

  Potassium 146.2 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 28.6 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.0 g

  Sugars 24.8 g

  Protein 4.0 g

Monday, November 5, 2012

Christmas Shopping: Keep it Local/Domestic!

With all the political mudslinging that flies around this time of year, and with all the “hot topics” that Mr. Prez & Mr. Romney chose to discuss during their debates (which we watched all of…even with the National League Championship going on), there’s something that I wish either (or both) of the candidates would have focused on: buying local/domestic.

It’s one of the easiest ways each & every one of us can benefit the economy.  Real, true, tangible results.  The Hubs & I were discussing the Reagan days on the way to church yesterday (because we were kids during that era and are therefore totally experts on Reaganomics…)  Reagan was faced with a similar challenge of coming into a crappy economic situation, and came out of his Presidency as the new Golden Boy of the Republican Party.

How?  Well, one thing was that he championed buying domestic-made products.  I remember going to WallyWorld as a kid and seeing banners everywhere that screamed “Made in the USA!”  “Proudly Selling USA Products!”  “Buy USA!”

“U.S.A’s A-OK!!!” (One of my favorite movies, everrrrrrr.)

Time Magazine  has reported on the benefits of buying local, noting that money spent in your community stays in your community, and helps generate and secure local jobs. 

I read another article (which I cannot find right now) that noted if every American adult spent approximately sixty additional bucks per year on domestic products, that it would create hundreds of thousands of jobs.  I can’t remember the exact number at the moment, but with some simple math we can make some assumptions: there are over 239 million adults in the United States.  If each of those adults spent $60 on domestic goods & services that they would have normally spent on foreign-made products, that’s over $14 BILLION staying in the domestic economy, rather than going overseas.

Granted—there are plenty studies out there that discuss how buying ONLY American goods would actually hurt our economy, since American-made products are often higher-priced, it would effectively decrease the “buying power” of the dollar, etc. etc…

But we’re not talking about boycotting foreign products.  I’ve tried that.  It’s next to impossible.  And that’s fine; we have a very global economy.  What we’re discussing here is the good ol’ “everyone pitches in a little” methodology.  Send one kid out to pick up trash, it takes all afternoon.  Send ten people to do the same job, and it’s done in 15 minutes.

 

ANYWAY… *hops off soapbox*  I’m here with a few suggestions for your Christmas Shopping Delight, so that you can perhaps take a stand and chip in your $60 while getting some truly fabulous Christmas gifts at the same time.

 

(NOTE: I refer to some local-to-here businesses in this post; if you’re not a fellow Missourian/Springfieldian, fear not—just seek out similar types of locally owned businesses in your own area!)

 

  • Have a friend who loves artistic knick knacks, or want to buy a gorgeous Christmas ornament?  Here in Springfield you can check out Springfield Hot Glass.  They’ve got beautiful hand-blown glass ornaments in a variety of colors and styles…and if your friend (or yourself) is a bit accident prone, no worries…they’re not overly delicate.

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  • Look for locally owned boutique shops that champion good works.  Here in Springfield, we have Five Pound Apparel, which carries the motto “Every purchase benefits someone, somewhere”.  Every brand they carry in their store has a charitable cause that they donate to.  The 5 Pound brand itself donates 5 lbs of fortified peanut butter to Nepal Nutrition for every article purchased.  It’s hard to feel buyer’s remorse when you’re helping fund something like that!

 

  • Heading to spend the holidays with your family?  Before you leave town, call up AmyCakes & reserve a pan of her famous take ’n bake cinnamon rolls.  You are guaranteed to be your parents’ new favorite child.

  • Got a company Christmas party coming up, and you want to get that truly AWESOME gift that everyone keeps trying to steal in the Dirty Santa game?  Swing by Mother’s Brewing Company, and fill up one of their classic glass growlers or NEW stainless steel growlers with some delicious Mother’s brew. 

  • Oh, beer’s not your thing?  How about a bottle of local wine?  Small, craft-style wineries seem to be popping up all over the place these days.  Missouri has over 100 wineries scattered across the state.  And if you visit their onsite stores, many of these wineries also sell other local artisan foods like jams, salsas, cheese…you could make a lovely gift basket of local goods pretty easily for $60!  Or heck…two small gift baskets for $30 each!

  • Did someone mention cheese?  Artisan cheese making is HUGE here in the US.  Missouri has the Osceola Cheese Factory (they make a chocolate cheese that tastes like fudge.  I’m not even kidding).  OR…if you’ve got an uber-foodie-cheese nut on your shopping list, pick up a Cheesemaking Kit for them!  Ricki’s is based out of New England and they have a big variety of supplies & kits.

(This is actually on my Christmas list.)

  • On the Louisiana front: Perhaps you want to play a role in the restoration of the famous Hubig’s Pie Company?  Their factory in New Orleans caught fire in July, and there has been an AMAZING outpouring by the public to help get these guys back on their feet.  You can purchase logo’d merch at their website and the proceeds will go to helping rebuild the factory.  Because seriously…I NEED these pies when I visit down south.

  • And since this is a Cajun blog: CajunGrocer.com offers a HUGE selection gift baskets, chock full of authentic Louisiana-made products, delivered straight to your door!

Sweets & Treats

  • For the person who has “everything” and doesn’t need “stuff”—go with services!  Do they like to be pampered? Get them a gift certificate for a massage, facial, or mani-pedi.  Got a gun nut?  Try a Groupon for the local shooting range.  Golf fanatic?  Seems like I see Groupons for golf courses at least once a week.   And the nice thing about Groupon/Daily Deal/etc specials is that a lot of the time, once your friend goes to get the service, the provider will often offer them a follow-up deal for a discount on a future trip as well in order to keep them coming back.  So there’s the potential for your friend to save money, AND give more business to the provider.  It’s a win-win!

 

  • Sometimes, even if the product isn’t necessarily domestic, the salesperson is: I’m talking about buying from independent consultants, and products like Thirty-One Gifts, Pampered Chef, or Scentsy… also, my cousin just became an Independent Designer for Origami Owl jewelry, and this stuff is SUPER cute:

  • And if someone’s been ESPECIALLY good this year, there’s always Kitchenaid!

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(Note: Only the stand mixers, blenders, and coffee grinders are made here in the US.  All the accessories are made overseas.)