Ghirardelli, anyone?

The time has arrived to put all things Christmas back into the attic, whether I feel like doing it or not. After bringing down all my totes the other night and starting to remove some of the ornaments from the tree, I realized that I needed to re-organize before I packed everything away. When I had first unpacked my Christmas stuff in the beginning of December everything was orderly as it should be, but this year I’ve realized that it’s time to let some things go (as I’ve gotten newer things), and that I had way more tree decorations than I was likely to use and that it all needed to be divided into separate totes to make future Christmas’s easier. Yeah, I really enjoy putting extra work on myself, as you can probably tell. What can I say? The idea of organization actually turns me on 🙂

What a mess!

So I must now devote an entire afternoon to sorting through everything, deciding what will stay and what will go, and then organizing the keepers into totes, labeling them so I know exactly where to find what I want next year, and the tuck them all back into my attic.

I think I’m going to need a little inspiration…

Now I know I said just over a week ago that my body was rebelling against sweets, (Oh, how I wish I had that problem all the time) but little by little my sweet tooth is coming back. I’ve been a good girl, you’ve seen the recipes and the pictures of what I’ve been eating, and I do feel good. But now it’s time for just a teeny tiny indulgence.

All my ornaments and knickknacks stored away in little boxes. You may think this is more work than putting things together in larger storage containers, but I use these little boxes for decorating, too, so I find it’s perfect for all my little breakables to be snuggled into their own boxes. Plus, these little boxes and tins make quick and easy work for arranging in the larger totes.

See? I realize that what seems organized and orderly to me may not to everyone else, but I am determined to find what works for me and make my life as easy as possible.

Six totes later…viola ~ Christmas has been cleaned up!

As you can see I haven’t finished labeling everything just so.

Now for that recipe…

Ok, it’s not really a recipe.

There are some great sites that allow you to plug-in the ingredients you have on hand and find recipes. This is good for when you just can’t (or won’t) make an extra trip to the store. I, however, didn’t really have anything to work with. Well, I did,  BUT I couldn’t find any recipes specific to what I had in mind, i.e. no mixing, measuring, baking, peeling, etc. What I wanted was just a little treat, something the boys would think is extra special even though it’s really just the same old stuff with a twist. What I wanted was to take what I had and “dress it up”. And that’s what I did.

We had plenty of leftover Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark. You say, how can anyone possibly have leftover Ghirardelli? Well, easy, actually. This is because as much as I adore Ghirardelli, I do not consume it often, and neither it is something I’d keep around the house all year long, just…tempting…me. So, I broke up about 5 pieces (I probably could have gotten by with just 4, using every last bit) and microwaved it for about a minute and a half, stirring every 30 seconds. Then I took 6 gingersnaps and dunked them on both sides, leaving only a slice bare. I added a few sprinkles for a little appealing color. Still very Christmas-y, but that’s okay.

I only made 6 because, let’s face it, we don’t need a whole batch of these lying around. A taste should be just that, a taste.

I hope you’ve gotten through the clean-up madness of Christmas, and that you are enjoying all the little “tastes” life has to offer!

Here is an article with links to 15 sites that find recipes for you based on the ingredients you have on hand:

http://www.instantfundas.com/2010/08/15-websites-to-find-recipes-by.html

Also, don’t forget to look for post #2 today: Romano-Crusted Chicken 🙂