Christmas FHE Idea with Holly Cookies for a Treat-3 Month Food Storage Recipes
This is a great lesson to share with your family and to help keep Christ in Christmas! I’m always fascinated with symbolism and how some of these famous symbols of Christmas came to be and what they REALLY mean. The legend of the holly is fabulous, heart warming, and worth sharing with your family! Not to mention I have a super easy recipe (think a spin on Rice Krispie Treats) that I grew up with that also works well for cookie exchanges, neighborhood gifts, or anything you may need to bring a treat to this Christmas Season.
The Legend of the Holly:
When Christ was born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night
A barren bush outside the stable blossomed full and bright
It bore a grim reminder of the crown he’d one day wear
It’s prickly leaves foretold the thorns of sorrow he would bear
Amidst the green there grew strange fruit – small berries scarlet red
As crimson as the blood our savior was to shed
In honor of the Prince of Peace
A flower pure and white
Blossomed sweetly when the Lord was
born that holy Christmas night.
* Author unknown
Christian tradition assigns significance to Holly:
The perennial green leaves represent eternal life.
According to tradition the pointy leaves
represent the thorns of Christ’s Crown.
The tradition says that holly was used to make
the crown of thorns at Christ’s death.
At that time, the berries were yellow.
In honor of the blood shed by Christ,
for our salvation, the berries turned red.
(While holly is most often pictured as having red berries, the berries come in other colors too.
One tradition say that white berries represent Jesus’ purity… green berries the cross of wood…
and black berries his death.)
Holly Cookies
These are very easy (so easy you could have your kids to most of the work-who doesn’t love that?!), very impressive looking, and will stand out in a crowd of other cookies.
1/2 c. butter
8 oz. mini marshmallows (or 30 large marshmallows)
1/2 t. green food coloring
1 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. corn flakes
Melt butter and marshmallows in microwave safe bowl for about 2 minutes or until it is melted together, stirring after each minute in the microwave. Add vanilla and green food coloring to marshmallow mixture and stir until well blended. Then add in the cornflakes and stir. Drop by fork onto wax paper. Press 3 red hot candies while into cookie while still sticky. - See what I mean? E-A-S-Y!
Note to the wise buyer: Red hot candies are much cheaper if you can purchase them in a bag instead of the little jars sold in the spice aisle of your grocery store-so check in your grocery store’s candy aisle for red hots in a bag. I’ve also been able to find big bags at my favorite store-the Dollar Tree.
This recipe makes about 2 dozen.
Neighborhood Gift Idea Index: Food Storage Recipes…in the gift form ;)
It’s so hard to be creative sometimes when it comes to neighborhood gifts. The buzz of the holidays can make us all go crazy! I’ve tried to make, at least this aspect of the holidays, as easy as possible. Below is a list of GREAT ideas, all that will also give the gift of food storage. (Remember, the best way to keep neighbors from knocking on your door in an emergency is to make sure they, themselves, have food storage! And Christmas is a great way to spread the good word about food storage!) These posts have everything you need: great ideas/recipes, printable labels so you don’t have any of the hard work, and a lot of them have how-to videos so you can see EXACTLY how to do it. You know me…I like to make things as easy for you as possible. So help spread the good news about food storage with awesome neighborhood gifts and tell your friends to do check out the list as well and to do the same…just not the ones you’ll be giving gifts too. 
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #1: Loaves of Bread-includes recipe, printable labels and how-to video
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #2: Slices of Bread (it goes further…meaning less work for you -includes recipe, printable labels and how-to video
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #3: Blender Wheat Pancake Mix in a Tin Can! -includes recipe, printable labels and how-to video
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #4: Cookie Tins with Easy Gourmet Flare! -includes recipe and how-to video
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #5: Mexican Wedding Cookies -includes recipe
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #6: Magic Santa Cookies- includes recipe and printable labels
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #7: Magic Fudge Sauce (like Magic Shell)- includes recipe and printable labels
Christmas Neighborhood Gift Idea #8: Minute Chocolate Mug Cake (perfect as a Visiting Teacher gift!)- includes recipe and how-to video
Thanksgiving Fanatic Friday Contestant #1: Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
I love this idea from Marci H. Personally, I never think about breakfast the morning of Thanksgiving, too excited for that turkey! Anyway, and growing up my mom definitely didn’t, too busy working on that turkey! I love that these can be prepared the night before and then baked the next day. What a wonderful idea! (Especially, since I’ve tested it and you can definitely enjoy more (READ: eat more) thanksgiving dinner if you’ve eaten breakfast…c’mon, by now you all should know I’m a little obsessed with food…and eating it!)
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
1 ¼ c whole wheat flour
¾ c quick oats
1/3 c brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
2 eggs (2 T. dry egg powder + 1/4 c. water)
1 c pumpkin
1/3 c veg. oil
1/3 c honey
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix until moist. Spoon into muffin cups. May be refrigerated overnight and cooked in the morning.
Bake 400º for 15-20 min.
Want to enter the Fanatic Friday recipe contest? December will be all about Neighborhood gifts. There’s no better way to make sure your neighbors AREN’T knocking down your door for food storage…and that’s by getting them hooked! Share what you’ve done and can do to try and get your neighbors excited about food storage through a neighborhood gift! Please share it with us at fanaticfridays@gmail.com! For more information on the contest click HERE. The winner will receive 2 Conversion Chart Magnet sets…perfect for Christmas!
Ultimate Visiting Teacher Gift & Final Neighborhood Gift Idea
Now to the Ultimate Visiting Teacher gift! I was sent this idea by Jenn (and what a great idea it is!).
*I forgot to mention the splash of vanilla that you put in at the end*
Here is the mug wrapped for drop off.
Here is the mug for immediate drop off, not wrapped. See how it looks like hot chocolate?! I love it!
Here is the recipe:
Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
1 coffee mug
4 T. flour
4 T. Sugar
2 T. baking cocoa
1 egg (1 T. dry egg powder and 2 T. of water)
3 T. milk (1/2 T. Dry Powdered Milk + 3 T. Water)
3 T. oil (or applesauce)
3 T. chocolate chips
small splash of vanilla
Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the eff and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla. Mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!
Love Soup & Breadsticks
Now you can all thank Teresa for the last Neighborhood Gift Idea. She sent this in for a Fanatic Friday and even included the label for you! (click HERE to download it) She told me…
I love this soup recipe! In fact, my oldest son (age 16) was disappointed he had to miss this meal because of an over-night school activity! I’m giving the bean mixture with seasonings to the ladies I visit teach and to the families my husband home teaches. It’s inexpensive, tastes great, and encourages others to use their food storage in a tasty, nutritious way! I’ve included the publisher file I used to make post-card size labels to attach to gift bags. Feel free to save as a PDF file and share with your readers.
Love Soup (because it makes enough to share with friends and neighbors!)
Bean Mixture: Mix the following ingredients together. Divide into 1-cup portions. (I got 11 portions out of this.)
1 pkg. (14 oz.) green split peas
1 pkg. (14 oz.) pearled barley (I had a hard time finding barley this year; I finally found it at Albertson’s; it should be in the same section as the lentils, peas, and beans)
1 pkgs. (14 oz.) lentils
2 cups brown rice
Seasoning Mixture (for each cup of beans): Place the following ingredients in a re-sealable snack-size baggie.
½ package Onion Soup Mix, which is about 2 ½ T. (I used the generic that you can get at Wal-Mart or Macey’s for 3/$1 or 4/$1 if on sale)
3 beef bouillon cubes
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
¾ tsp. chili powder
Packaging Options: Layer the following in a pint-size bottle or in a cellophane gift bag (less expensive option):
1. Bean Mixture
2. Baggie of Seasonings
3. Baggie of ¼ cup alphabet or small shell pasta (or leave this out since it is an optional ingredient and allow recipient to add own pasta)
For more tips and tricks for using food storage in your everyday recipes, please visit www.everydayfoodstorage.NET
