Chicken Fantastic....

Need something quick, easy, and delicious? This casserole is a simple variation of an entree I ordered off the "Pike's Soda Shop" menu here in Charlotte. And if you love the popular 'green bean casserole', you will love this.

It has been 'tested and approved' by the officers I cook for - twice.

The first time I made this casserole for 2nd shift, I was a little embarrassed to serve it. It's delicious, but like most casseroles, when you plate it, it doesn't really look all that appetizing. It just looks like a a big mistake on a plate. But on this particular night, surprisingly, I ran out!

The picture on the left is of the actual dish at Pike's Soda Shop. Mine is pictured below...see, what I mean? Mine tastes just as good - and maybe even better because I don't have to pick out the mushrooms - but the presentation is so much prettier in the crock. I have some of those crocks, maybe I should use them next time.

Anytime I cook for these guys, it's a guessing game on how much to make, but that night, I think 12 officers stopped by. I had to set the table in the kitchen as an overflow. I never really know how many officers will be able to stop by, but it was that night that I decided (as a novice cook) that no matter what, I must always make three pans of whatever it is. They loved it!

Here's what you'll need:

CHICKEN FANTASTIC

1 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded (about two cups - I use white meat)
2 boxes Chicken Stove Top stuffing OR 2 packages Uncle Ben's Long  Grain/Wild Rice
2 14.5 oz can French Style Green Beans (drained).
1 small can of diced water chestnuts (drained).
1 SMALL can French's Fried Onions (located next to the green beans at the store).  My picture is of a large can, but get the small.
1 can Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 c. Whole Milk
1/2 stick Butter (if using the stuffing)
1-1/2 c. Kraft Finely Shredded Cheddar OR Colby/Monterey Jack (Colby/Jack seems to melt better)

I have made this both ways - with the wild rice (like on the original Pikes Soda Shop menu) and with chicken stuffing. Both are delicious!

If using the Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice:

• Microwave two packs (separately) as directed on the back of the package. 
• Spread both packs of cooked rice evenly in a greased 13 x 9" pan (I use Pam).
• Add the 2 cups shredded chicken on top of the rice.
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine the drained French Style Green Beans. 
• Add the Cream of Chicken Soup. 
• Add 3/4 cup of milk. 
• Add the drained water chestnuts. 
• Add 1 SMALL can French's Fried Onions (located next to the green beans at the store).  My picture is of a large can, but get the small. 
• Stir until the soup and onions are well mixed. 
• Pour the green bean mixture on top of the chicken. 
• Sprinkle about 1-1/2 cups of the finely shredded cheese on top of the green bean mixture. 
• Bake at 350" for about 35 minutes, or until hot.  

If using the stuffing:

Follow package directions, but use 1/2 stick of butter. Cover and let sit for a few minutes until stuffing is moist. Add a little more hot water if needed if it doesn't seem most enough. Sometimes for even more flavor, I will substitute the water with chicken broth for the stuffing. While the stuffing is softening, you can make the green bean mixture. Follow the steps above.

So you'll have four layers: 

        1- Dressing or Rice

        2- Chicken

        3- Green Bean Mixture 
        4- Cheese
    

Bake at 350 degrees until cheese has melted and casserole is bubbly (appx. 35 minutes). 

Enjoy!                                             

                                                                            ♥ 

Simple brown gravy

Every once in a while you prepare a meal and you just wish you had a little gravy to go with it. But without any pan drippings to build from, you resort to packaged or jar gravy.

Meatloaf is a perfect example.

I have been working on this gravy recipe since August 2012 when I made my very first meatloaf for my friends in blue.  And every time I made it, I tweaked the recipe just a little trying to get it just right and I think I finally have it where it is not only tasty - or at least as good as you can get it without pan drippings - and easy to make.

I really goofed it up one time and followed a famous Food Network chef's suggestion and added ketchup. Don't do that!

I wish I had a picture of how good this gravy came out today.  I made meatloaf for my friends in the South Division, complete with mash potatoes, those delicious green bean bundles, rolls, and sweet tea.

Not everyone cares for gravy on their potatoes, but for me it is a must.  No question!  And since I took 'To-Go' meals down to the station, everybody got gravy whether they wanted it or not.  This brown gravy is so much better than store-bought and super quick and easy to make.  Nothing can compare to a gravy made with pan drippings, but this is a close second.

I doubled the recipe that I followed, because if you think about it, 2 cups is really not all that much and then you'll have the extra 2 cups for leftovers or freezing.  I NEVER have any left over.

If you make this simple brown gravy, I would love to hear from you.

~ ~ ~ 

Simple Brown Gravy
Adapted from this recipe

2 cups water
1 'extra large' Knorr beef bouillon cube
2 cups of beef stock
1/4 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder *
1/8 tsp onion powder *
1/4 tsp black pepper *
Salt as needed
 
Thickener
4 tablespoons cold water
4 tablespoons corn starch

• Dissolve bouillon cube in 2 cups of boiling water.  Add the beef stock, butter, and all of other ingredients - everything EXCEPT the thickener.
• Once the mixture boils, mix the cold water and cornstarch in a coffee cup.  You may need to add a tiny bit more water, but it should be the consistency of runny glue.  
• Slowly pour in thickener, while stirring. Continue boiling for 2-3 more minutes, still stirring. Remove from heat and let cool to thicken more. 
• I added 1 extra tablespoon of cornstarch, plus 1 tablespoon water  
• Add more Kitchen Bouquet if you like your gravy darker, but I didn't think it needed it.  

* NOTE:  The garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper measure was based on the original recipe I followed for a 2-cup yield, so if you're making 4 cups of gravy (like I did) you might want to add more garlic and onion powder.  Start out though with the measure as shown, then taste and add more if needed.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes.....Oh. My. Gosh!

Okay, so most of you who follow my little blog already know I am not a 'trained' cook.  I am just a working girl with two jobs who enjoys cooking for my friends when I can. 

Every new recipe I make is pretty intense and there is always self-induced kitchen drama -- especially when I'm cooking dinner for 2nd shift.  I freak out over lots of little things because I don't know what I'm doing half the time.

So I really love it when a recipe comes my way that is almost 'fool-proof' -- like this one.  These Pumpkin Spice cupcakes, although a little labor intensive, came out perfectly by just following the directions.  

The flavors in this cupcake (pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves) all blend together so beautifully to make this little cupcake exquisite.

In fact, they were so good, I sold three dozen the very first time I made them.  And, except for a colleague who needed some cream puffs for a PTA meeting, I have NEVER sold anything I have made. Three different people, after having just one cupcake, asked if they could buy a dozen for their Thanksgiving dinner. And they basically said....'just tell me how much you want for them.'  Wow!  Now that's a pretty good guarantee that these cupcakes are delicious.  And no thanks to me....I just followed the directions.  It's not even my recipe.  Thank you to my colleague, Miss Heather B., for sharing this one with me.  I hope I made her proud.

Here it is!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz) package Jello brand instant butterscotch pudding mix

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (optional...I did not use in mine)

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
Paper cupcake liners
2 muffin tins (holds 12 cupcakes) * Recipe makes 24 cupcakes. I do not recommend halving the recipe, but make all 24. They will be eaten!  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins (12 ea) with 24 paper muffin/cupcake liners. 
• Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, and cloves in a bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color.  Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.  Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg.  Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.  Place one paper liner in each muffin space. Pour the batter into paper cupcake liner. (see my notes below)
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.  NOTE: I used a double-oven and put one tin in each oven.  If you have a single-oven,  I would probably bake one tin at a time.  I’m not sure how evenly it would cook w/ two tins in one oven, so use your own judgement there.
• After the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the cinnamon cream cheese icing.  

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing (Delicious!)

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth.  Beat in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until incorporated.  Add the vanilla and ground cinnamon.  Beat until fluffy.  NOTE: You may need to add a little more confectioners' sugar to thicken the icing.  Try it with 3 cups first, and then add more if you want the icing to be thicker, but not too much, as you don't want it so sweet it won't compliment the taste of the cupcake.  I did add a little more, but not much. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before icing them.

Notes:  

• The first time I made this, I panicked because after I stirred in the flour, the batter was VERY thick and was NOT ‘pourable’ as the instructions given to me called for.  I scooped the mixture out using a spoon. 
• The second time I made this, I used a scoop like this and it went much, MUCH faster.  I use this scoop for my cream puffs also and it is such a time saver.  The scoop size is a 2” circle. 
• If you use the scoop, put one scoop in each of the 24 cups, then go back with a spoon and evenly distribute the mixture until cups are ¾ filled.  Keep swirling the mixture around with a spoon to get the mixture to settle down. 
• You won't use all of mixture, so don't worry. 

I used a 16" pastry bag for the frosting and the Wilton tip #1M.

♥

Easy Peasy ROLO Chocolate Turtles

This has to be THE easiest sweet treat to make in the whole world.

I made these beautiful chocolate turtles for the first time last Saturday to take to the gift shop. By the time I left at 3:00 am, there were only 3 left, so I ate them.  

Nothing about making these is hard and the only time-consuming part is standing at the kitchen counter and unwrapping 50+ ROLO candies.

Enjoy!

This is all you need (plus parchment paper). 

Place pretzels on baking sheet lined with parchment paper - one for each Rolo.

Top each pretzel with one Rolo and bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes.

Top each softened candy with a pecan halve.  

And that's it!!  

♥ ♥ ♥

Easy Peasy ROLO Chocolate Turtles

Adapted from the back of the ROLO bag and here

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2.  Place one pretzel for each ROLO on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO Chewy Caramel in Milk Chocolate.

3.  Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melt.  Start checking the candy at 3 minutes.  You want to make sure the candy is soft, but not melted.  I think mine were ready at 3-1/2 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with pecan half. Cool completely.  I put mine in the refrigerator.

A taste of Tampa....Chicken and Yellow Rice

I forgot to add the peas!

It has been almost 23 years since I moved from Tampa to Charlotte.  Time stands still for no man....not even AHOP.  I am getting older by the minute and there's still so much I want to do with my life.  

There are a lot of things about Tampa I miss, but #1 on my list (besides friends and family) are all the great restaurants.  And my favorite cuisine is Spanish and Latino food. Cuban sandwiches to die for, and chicken and yellow rice....oh man! Nobody, and I mean NOBODY (not even AHOP) can make this kind of food as good as what you'll find in the Tampa Bay area.  

My best long-time girlfriend, Linda, whom I have known since the 2nd grade, shared this chicken and yellow rice recipe with me that her husband, a retired firefighter, used to make when it was his turn to cook at Station #10.  I have modified it a little and added a few notes of my own for clarification, but the awesome flavor is the same.

I have made this several times for my 2nd shift officers and they had no trouble cleaning their plates. This recipe (as written) makes a lot, so if you need a meal for a lot of people (or a lot of Po-Po), this is a good one - ie: covered dish church dinner, pot luck lunch at work, a dinner party.  Or if you make this for your own family, you will enjoy the leftovers throughout the week.  My co-workers always benefit from my leftovers and they love it!

Getting ready to plate-up!

♥ ♥ ♥

Larry's Firehouse Chicken and Yellow Rice

adapted from the recipe below

2 rotisserie chickens

1 bell pepper

1 yellow or sweet onion (not huge, just regular size)

1 'Family Size' Vigo Yellow Rice *

1 '10 oz.' Vigo Yellow Rice *

Swanson Chicken Broth - same amount as water called for on back of rice packs (heated)

4-5 garlic cloves

1 14.5 oz. Hunt's Diced Tomato w/ Basil, Garlic and Oregano (do not drain)

1 14.5 oz. Lesueur Sweet Peas (drained)

1 16" x 11" aluminum roasting pan (approx. size)

Olive Oil
'Bijol' coloring and seasoning (This makes the rice more yellow, but use sparingly.  I purchased this at a local Spanish grocery store).   

• Debone the rotisserie chickens.
• Saute bell pepper and onion in olive oil until peppers are tender and onions are translucent. Add the garlic when onions and peppers are almost ready and stir.    
• Substitute the water called for in each rice pack with equal amounts of chicken broth.
• Remove paper from aluminum pan and any sticky residue - rinse - and spray w/ PAM if you have some.  
• Add both rice packs, hot chicken broth, chicken, diced tomatoes and sautéed onion, pepper and garlic.
• Stir well and cover pan with aluminium foil. 
• Place in 350 degree preheated oven for approximately 50-60 minutes.  Ovens vary, so check it at about 50 minutes. 
• Heat peas and drain - garnish on top of yellow rice.  
• Serve with garlic bread, black beans and a salad.  

* Here's the Vigo yellow rice we always used when I was growing up in Tampa.  I wanted to show you a picture so you know what to look for.  The grocery stores here in Charlotte only carry one size or the other, so I had to go to a Spanish grocery store and by the second pack (and it wasn't Vigo), but it was good.      

See....it makes a bunch!

www.bijol.com

This is the original recipe page from a cookbook one of Linda's family member's put together and had published.  What a labor of love.  The cookbook is called 'Seeds of Love' and it is filled with wonderful family photos and her family's favorite Southern recipes.

 

Linda's sweet husband, Larry, in front of Station #10.

Seeds of Love Cookbook

Thank you, Linda and Larry, for sharing this recipe with me.  It is one of my favorite meals to prepare for my 2nd shift officers....and they love it!  

One final note....if you like peas, DON'T FORGET THEM.  I buy them, I heat them, and almost always forget to serve them.  

♥

Boiled peanuts....it's a Southern thang!

Boiled peanuts are definitely a southern dish --  you either love 'em, or you hate 'em.

One of the sergeants likes boiled peanuts, so I make them for him every now and then, and always make extra just in case other officers like them.

Where I grew up in Tampa, you could find a produce/vegetable stand almost every half-mile or mile in every direction. I miss that here in Charlotte. There would be a big hand-painted sign out front made out of plywood or cardboard that said 'Hot Boiled Peanuts'. If you had a hankering for boiled peanuts, you didn't have to drive far. You would just look for the sign. It was noticeable from the road and you usually knew who made them and who didn't.

One fond (but painful) memory I have is when I was a kid eating boiled peanuts with my best forever girlfriend, Linda. We'd sit and listen to records (remember those) and eat boiled peanuts with an icy cold Pepsi or Coke. Problem was....we both bit our fingernails at the time, and when the salt water hit our poor little chewed-up fingers, it burned. And it burned bad. Real, real bad! But there we'd sit...listening to records, eating peanuts, and blowing on our fingers to keep the pain down.  So funny when I think about that now.

Here's what you need! Not all grocery stores carry 'raw' peanuts -- I buy mine
at Food Lion. They're in the produce section.   

Optional step:  This is one step that I haven't seen in any other recipes, so it's not really necessary, but  I pinch the raw peanut open at the top before soaking. I just think the peanuts taste better and the salt water gets in there good.  It does take a little extra time (equivalent to snapping beans), so it's up to you. If you have a bunch to do, you might want to bypass this step or bypass it altogether. 

Tear the little strings off if you find any.  

A weighted plate helps to keep the peanuts under water (they float).
At least in the beginning.  

This is my 'test' bowl. After about 4 hours cooking, start sampling. Sometimes
I start sooner. None of these past the test, but they were still good. Add more salt if needed.

 Sure does make a mess!

Ready for delivery to my sweet officers in the South Division!

Boiled Peanuts

1 package Raw Jumbo Peanuts (1 lb. 8 oz. is what I used)

1/2 c. salt (I have used both table salt and kosher salt - both work well)

• Rinse your peanuts. I poured my peanuts in my stock pot, covered with warm water, and swished around for a minute. Then drained in a colander. 
• Refill the stock with warm water and add 1/2 cup of salt.  Stir well.   
• Add your rinsed peanuts and put a weighted plate on top to keep the peanuts under water (they float), cover and let soak overnight. I left mine on the stove to soak.  
• After soaking overnight, cover stock pot and cook for about 6 hours and at low boil. Keep an eye on the water level and add more water as needed. Start sampling after about 4 hours and add more salt if needed.  

Note: I have soaked the peanuts overnight (and not), and don't think there is much of a difference in the end result. The plus side to soaking overnight is all the prep work is now done and all you need to do is cook them.  

Enjoy! ♥

17 in 5.....

On the nights I cook dinner for 2nd shift, I am non-stop busy in the kitchen and around the house for at least 5-7 hours (sometimes more), never really knowing if they'll be able to come. It is a scheduled dinner, but their work will always take precedence.

Last night was one of those nights.

Right around 5:30 p.m., 30 minutes before they were supposed to start arriving, a Priority One call came in.  An officer called around 5:45 p.m. to give me a heads-up.  

At 7:50 p.m., almost two hours later, I received a text message from the same officer that said "17 in 5".  I took an uneducated guess thinking it might mean 'I will be there in 5 minutes'.  Uh....wrong! When three officers arrived (20 minutes later), I asked them about it.  17 means "en route", so 17 in 5 means "En route in 5 minutes."  With all the paperwork they still had to do, I was happy they could stop by at all.  The Sergeant was detained the rest of the evening, so I sent a To-Go box back with one of the officers.

The menu: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Salad, Garlic Bread, and Tea.  For dessert: Cheesecake, Banana Pudding, and Root Beer Floats.

"Worth the wait", they said.  Perfect Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.
P.S. This was my plate.  The officers plates had 4 pieces of chicken. Made this cook's heart smile. J

Today, I sent an email to the 2nd shift Sergeant to see if there was any interest in leftovers and, I am happy to report, eight officers stopped by throughout the evening.  I boiled two new boxes of fettuccine (so the pasta would be fresh), and every last piece of chicken and fettuccine noodle was GONE!!  

So here's my recipe for my Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.  And I use the word (my) only because I made it, but I found it on the Internet.  It really is delicious and everyone loved it!

If you try it, I hope you enjoy it!  ♥

Here's what you need! Oh, and some chicken tenderloins (not pictured).  

Put about 8 tenderloins in a large ZipLoc and pound them with the smooth side of the mallet.  To save money, you can buy boneless chicken breasts and cut them yourself, but I didn't think about it until it was too late.  I'm not sure if there is a cost savings or not, but I'm sure there is.

After you pound the chicken, put it in an over-sized container and add some Olive Oil and salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Put it back in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook it.  I fried my tenderloins in a skillet with some Olive Oil.
I added more salt and pepper during the frying process.

Olive Garden Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Adapted from this recipe

Serves 6

Okay, so here's the thing....this recipe says it serves 6, but I would recommend (for the average family), that you at least triple it. That will give you plenty of sauce to stir into the pasta, and then more to drizzle on top.  For the troops I cook for, I made this x 8, and I had very little sauce left over.  One pint of heavy cream is really not all that much liquid, if you think about it.

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt
Black pepper
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (preferably fresh)
1 lb. (one box) fettuccine (follow directions on box)

Note:  If you double, triple or quadtruple this recipe, be sure to double or triple everything (except for the salt and pepper -- that is still to your liking).  If you're not sure about the garlic powder, do it in increments, but I think you will find that you will need every bit of what it calls for. 

Directions

• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter.
• After the butter melts, add the cream cheese (use a little whisk if you have one to blend it well), but be careful not to whisk too fast -- you don't want the butter to jump out and mess up your your shirt (like it did mine)...I'm just sayin'.
• After the cream cheese is blended, add the heavy cream.
• Add the garlic powder (and don't underestimate this wonderful seasoning vs. using real garlic).  Some people think using garlic powder is a cop-out (no pun intended) and takes away from the 'real thing' (minced garlic), but I have to honestly say, I like it.  I really, really like it!  It seasons this sauce perfectly. So try it before you discard the idea.
• Add salt and pepper to your liking.
• Simmer for 15-20 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. 
• Remove from heat and stir in grated Parmesan.  

I like to stir the alfredo sauce into the noodles before serving so the noodles have a chance to soak up some of this delicious sauce.  When you plate it, add the chicken and a little extra sauce on top.  

Enjoy!  ♥

Waiting on the troops!

Love my Cuisinart electric skillet!

Since I make so much at one time, I use my Cuisinart electric skillet to keep this dish warm.  Pictured is 2 lbs. (2 boxes) of Fettuccine noodles.  If you're making this much, add a little Olive Oil to the skillet before adding the drained pasta and toss the pasta around with a wooden spoon.  Add about 2-3 cups of Alfredo Sauce, toss some more to make sure the noodles are evenly coated, then sprinkle on some Parsley Flakes for a little added color (I'm all about easy.)

Strawberry Santas....HO-HO-HO!

You will be the talk of the party if you arrive with these cute little Santa's.  I made these little guys for the first time today for the 10th floor Holiday Potluck at work, and they were a big hit!  I also took a plate down to the CMPD South Division.  Served on a bed of shredded coconut to resemble snow....so cute!

Here's what you need...and strawberries, of course!

Santa Strawberries

Adapted from this recipe

1 dozen strawberries

1 8 oz. Cool Whip    

Handful of chocolate sprinkles
Pastry bag and tips (or) two large ZipLoc bags

Using a paring knife, slice the leafy end off each strawberry so they stand up evenly. Then slice the tip off to make a little hat.  I did about 7-8 Santa's at a time and lined them up on a folded paper towel to absorb some of the juice.  This way you can place the hat in front so the hats don't get mixed up (no laughing -- I'm sure I have a little OCD somewhere in my family.)

All shapes and sizes....just like us.  :o)

I used a pastry bag to pipe out the Cool Whip.  If you don't already own one....it is a very inexpensive kitchen tool that you will use over and over and over and over!  Pipe out the Cool Whip for the little head, then plop the little hat on top.  

This is the size pastry bag and tips I used.  

You can buy these Wilton products at Micheal's and other craft stores.  The tips are very inexpensive (something like $.99/ea.)  If you don't have a pastry bag or you don't think you'll use it often, a large ZipLoc bag works very well.  For the buttons and hat, the hole should be no larger than a pin-head. Super tiny.  Use a separate bag for the face and cut a slightly larger hole.  Cut a very small hole for the face and test it.  If it's not large enough, cut a little more and test it again.  Keep testing until you get the size face that looks like the picture.  You can make the cut larger -- you can't make it smaller.

  

A Zip-Loc bag works well to pipe out the Cool Whip if you don't have a pastry bag, but
Wilton pastry bags and tips are an inexpensive addition to your kitchen gadgets.
Don't be scared....go get one! ;)

Place two chocolate sprinkles on Santa's "face" for the eyes.  

TIP: I found the sprinkles very hard to pick up and put on the face without messing up the face.  Dip your finger in water and then pick up a sprinkle using the flat side of your wet finger -- that made it easier to place the sprinkle on the face.    

This was the first time I've made these Santa's -- the next time I think I will chop up some of the sprinkles so the eyes are smaller.
  

You're done! Store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Enjoy! 

♥ 

Updated photos from 2014:

2014 Gift Shop Treat Table

I served these little guys on a bed of shredded coconut to give the appearance of snow
(an idea I saw in a magazine). Very cute!