Points of Intersection

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Points of Intersection

I slowly peeled the sticky note off the windshield as I read, my heart thumping faster and heavier with each word.

I quickly shoved it in my pocket as I glanced to see if my mom had noticed.

She hadn’t.

We were utterly exhausted and wanting to somehow leave the worry there at the hospital and symbolically drive into new hope and faith as we exited the hospital parking garage. We needed to gather up a little energy to give a little more to Dad over the next week.

They Didn’t Know

It was 7 pm and we’d been at the hospital since right before 7am.

The person didn’t know we’d only found out just a couple days before that the surgeon had found an almost totally blocked carotid artery and set surgery for right away.

They didn’t know we were inside fasting and praying as what had been said would be a shorter surgery turned into many hours and finally into all day of waiting.

They didn’t sit with us when the surgeon finally came out, wringing his hands with a serious face as he said, “it was much worse than I had expected.”

They didn’t know we’d just faced the reality that at any time one wrong step off of a curb could have taken a husband, father and grandfather.

They didn’t know we were relieved to have witnessed a miracle of discovery and removal but that we were still carrying the day upon us.

They did see that the left side of the car had too much space between the lines and the right side was sitting too close to the yellow line.

And that was enough.

Points of Intersection

We are all but lines on a world map and eventually we will come to what is known in math as “the point of intersection.”

What can be a total annoyance to one maybe someone else’s mere effort of survival.

Lines crossing lines without seeing where they are coming from.

I didn’t know this sticky note had followed us in the move but today I lifted a book and there it was.

A sticky reminder that I just want to act in a way that oth

Peppermint Fudge

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Creamy dark chocolate peppermint fudge is topped with crushed candy canes for a wonderful Christmas treat.

fudge with peppermint

Peppermint Fudge

Five-minute fudge recipes are my saving grace this time of year. I always want to be that hostess or friend with tons of holiday treats at her fingertips, but then time gets away from me.

Lightning-fast candy recipes can help you put together the prettiest and tastiest of holiday treats with the least amount of effort!

As an added bonus, a piece of this fudge will melt beautifully into a steaming mug of milk and make a wonderful cup of peppermint hot chocolate! I’ve already stashed this fudge in the freezer to make cocoa through the holiday season.

I have always loved making candy and treats to share. But have to admit the traditional candy-making process can get tedious. So, finding a way to get such delicious holiday flavors in an easy fashion is a winner in my book.

Easy Peppermint Fudge

The best part – no one knows the difference. No one will believe that you made this in just five minutes and five ingredients. I love adding this fudge to cookie trays to share with friends and neighbors.

Stored correctly Peppermint Fudge will keep nicely in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Store in an airtight container, separating multiple layers with parchment or wax paper. Serve from the refrigerator.

I strongly suggest storing Peppermint Fudge in its own container. Do not combine it with other treats in a tightly enclosed container. If you store them together, everything in that container will become peppermint in flavor.

I have a family member that prefers this fudge without the candy on top, so I usually only top about half of the recipe with crushed candy canes. The portion without candy is still full of peppermint flavor and everyone loves it.

squares of fudge stacked on board with striped towel

Can I Freeze Fudge?

Cranberry Pepper Jelly

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Tart cranberries and spicy peppers mingle in this sweet and spicy Cranberry Pepper Jelly. Everyone goes crazy for this spicy jam at the very first bite!

When I realized I had been buying cranberry pepper jam almost every time I was at the grocery store, I knew it was time to make my own version of this jam.

Cranberry Pepper Jam - get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

I first tasted this jam with brie and fancy wafer crackers. Then I poured the jam over a simple block of cream cheese and served it with Ritz crackers. My kids went nuts over that.

Next, I spread this pepper jam on the Best Ever Ham Sandwich. When you layer this Cranberry Pepper Jam with creamy goat cheese, salty ham, and fresh arugula, it’s the sandwich that everyone is going to be talking about.

Cranberry Jalapeno Jam

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned an upcoming recipe that has been as highly anticipated as this recipe for pepper jam.

I mentioned that I would soon be sharing the recipe when I first shared that awesome ham sandwich recipe a few weeks ago. In the time since, I’ve received countless emails, messages, and snaps asking when I’ll be sharing the recipe for cranberry jalapeno jelly.

I’ll apologize now for the delay, because the recipe just wasn’t perfect until this version. And when I say it is perfect, I mean it. It is absolutely positively PERFECT now.

Side note: if you love sweet heat combinations and cranberries as much as we do, you definitely need to put this cranberry jalapeno dip on your must-try list too!

Cranberry Pepper Jam is everyone's favorite appetizer!

Spicy Jam

When you’re working with cranberries, I’ve found that it’s really easy to make a cranberry sauce. As evidenced by this classic homemade cranberry sauce and this spicy hot pepper cranberr

Christmas White Chocolate Trash Chex Mix

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Christmas White Chocolate Trash Chex Mix

This white chocolate trash Chex mix is sweet and salty, can be made in minutes using only the microwave, and makes great neighbor or coworker holiday gifts!

This is the best part of Christmas for me, the traditions that my kids love. Every year we have a pile of Christmas movies to get through and while I only care about 2, White Christmas and Elf. Our little guy is obsessed, No, OBSESSED with Elf and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the new one not the old one). And over the years it has become something we all can’t wait to do because he’s SO EXCITED!

This last year he said, can we have a special Elf movie night with a Buddy the Elf snack? 

HECK. YES. WE. CAN!

You can add maple syrup extract to the white chocolate if you want to, but I’ll be honest, it’s too much for me. Otherwise, just throw it all in there and no judgments if you want to add pop tarts or leftover candy corn (best of luck finding any to buy in December).

A large bowl of white chocolate Christmas Chex Mix. It contains chex cereal, pretzels, vanilla wafers, peanuts and m&m candies. It is covered in melted white chocolate chips.

When Do You Watch Your First Christmas Movie?

Hey side note, when do you watch your first Christmas movie? White Christmas tends to be the movie we watch on Thanksgiving and I kind of love that tradition. 

What are Your Favorite Christmas Movies?

We would love to have you all comment with your must-watch Christmas movies and then update this recipe next year or even a whole separate post of Christmas movies for the whole family to watch. FYI, I totally have a Chick Flick one if you’re interested…

What Ingredients Do I Need for White Chocolate Chex Mix?

The ingredients for this Chex mix can be changed based on what you have on hand. That is one of the reasons it is called “trash” Chex mix. It is meant for all the little leftover odds and ends you have in pantry that you might otherwise throw away. I’m going to give the ingredients that we love best, but feel free to make it your own!

  • Corn Chex
  • Rice Chex
  • Mini Pretzels
  • Mini Vanilla Wafers
  • Dry Roasted Peanuts
  • M&Ms (plain)
  • White Chocolate Ch

The Little Things Newsletter #340 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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Welcome to the weekend, friends! I hope that your Thanksgiving was everything you wanted it to be this year. (And if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, I’m wishing you a wonderful weekend too!) We had a great visit with family and I’m happily enjoying some couch time and games with my boys this weekend.

ON THE BLOG this week: Tangy cranberry pancakes topped with maple syrup make getting out of bed on the weekend a little bit easier. I’ll be making these a couple more times for certain before cranberry season comes to an end.

Speaking of syrup, brown sugar and butter can be simmered together to create a caramel toffee-flavored homemade syrup like nothing you’ve ever tasted. This sauce is no substitute for maple syrup, Brown Butter Homemade Syrup is awesome all by itself.

Crisp baby spinach, spring mix lettuces, tart apples, sweet raisins, crunchy almonds, and the ultimate honey cider salad dressing are combined to create this fantastic Spinach Apple Salad.

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls are for those of us who love traditional cabbage rolls almost as much as we hate the time it takes to roll and bake them. Bites of juicy ground beef with fluffy rice and tangy tomato sauce are made even better in this simple one-skillet meal.

Just in case you haven’t yet tried it, many of you went absolutely CRAZY over this Cranberry Jalapeno Dip for Thanksgiving. “The sweet heat that you can not stop eating” is the best way to describe this creamy cranberry jalapeno dip. I am snacking on some this afternoon as I write this and I’m willing to bet I’ll be making more this weekend.

Oven-roasted cabbage with balsamic and roasted onions is nothing short of a crazy obsession for me at this point. Try it once and you will understand.

Do you have leftover turkey? Try adding it to this potato and vegetable soup for a hearty meal that you’re certain to savor. With some rolls and jalapeno honey butter on the side, this is a dinner I’m already looking forward to eating tomorrow.

What I’m CRAVING: Truthfully? Not a whole lot. Funny how a day of feasting does that to us, doesn’t it? Though I’m likely to be polishing off the rest of the Strawberry Pretzel Salad with every meal until it’s done.

My FAVORITE THING this week is Bananagrams. I played this game all week with both the adults and the

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