Dana Marie's Country Living Blog

Here's an idea I thought of, to pass on to you.  I have a cake stand, which is stored in my kitchen cabinet upside down. For a long time, every time I'd see it, I would think about how beautiful it would be to leave it upside down and put flowers in the hollow stand section. I had been waiting for the opportunity to try it out, and finally the day arrived - I had a Christmas party, so there you go. The perfect time! I purchased some red and white roses along with various fillers like holly, berries, cedar, etc. Then I went to work putting it together. To assemble, just put some water in the hollow part of the stand, add the flowers and filler plant material, and load the flat bottom of the upside-down cake stand with Christmas cookies. What a beautiful centerpiece! So if you have a cake stand with a hollow pedestal, you can do this too. What fun!! ~ Dana     Cake Stand Floral Dessert Tray  Supplies a cake stand with a hollow pedestal fresh flowers cookies or other sm...

The second edition of my first cookbook, Olde Fashioned Christmas Desserts , is now available on Amazon ® . Currently the paperback and hardcover versions are listed, and the ebook version of this 2nd edition will be up soon. It contains many of the old traditional recipes that have been passed down through generations in my family. Thumbprint Cookies, Chocolate Crinkles The first edition of this book was published back in 2023. Ever since it went out of print at Barnes and Noble, I've had many requests to bring it back in hardcover and paperback. So I pulled together some extra recipes, tips and tricks, and a few Christmas projects to add to the original content in order to create an expanded second edition. It contains 33 new recipes. With a total of 82 recipes and 39 full-color photos, you'll find my tried-and-true recipes for beverages, cakes, candy, snacks, pies and cheesecakes. There are instructions for making 13 jar-mixes, some vintage recipes from the 1950s, a section ...

Back in November of 2020, my family had an unusual Thanksgiving. Here's what I wrote: "Well, Thanksgiving got canceled at my house today. I am so sad, but it is in the best interest for all of us. My mom is 75, and we need to do what is best for her health with the risk of covid this year. She and I will be together on Thanksgiving, but the rest of our family won't be coming. This holiday season is going to be so different for many of us. Either way, I will make a great Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. I am not going to let covid ruin my fun day of baking and cooking. What I have decided to do is make some extra dishes and desserts to deliver to my family. Nothing brings me more joy than to cook for family and friends! One disappointing thing is that I bought a set of vintage china and some beautiful glasses from Italy for the Thanksgiving table. I was so excited to be able to use them. I still am, but it is not as much fun without everyone there. I will enjoy the...

Look what I did! One has ham filling, the other has chicken filling. I made them up as I went. Oh so good! When it comes out of the oven, it only has to cool for five minutes, then dig in! Serve with a nice salad, and you've got a wonderful meal. ~ Dana  Ham and Potato Bake Ingredients 2 cups cubed potatoes olive oil as needed for sautéeing 1 cup chopped tricolor or regular carrots 2 cups sliced mushrooms 1 leek sliced thinly 2 cups cubed ham 3 tablespoons butter 3-4 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup whole milk 1/2 cup chicken broth 4 slices white American cheese     or any good white melting cheese spices to taste:     garlic powder     onion powder     salt & pepper 1 sheet puff pastry 1 egg for egg wash Cooking the ham & potato filling  Instructions 1 . Start by preparing the vegetables. In a hot skillet with olive oil, sauté the cubed potatoes and carrots until they have a nice brown color on all sides. Turn the heat down to medium o...

One of my best tricks at Halloween is to make spider cookies. They're peanut butter cookies with little peanut butter cups on top. Here's how I do it - Halloween Spider Cookies Step 1 . Bake a batch of peanut butter cookies using your favorite recipe. Step 2 . While the cookies are still warm, put a small peanut butter cup on top of each one and let cool. Step 3 . Melt some chocolate chips, and using a piping bag or a plastic sandwich bag with a hole cut in the corner, draw some legs coming from each peanut butter cup. Step 4 . Pipe two dots onto each peanut butter cup and apply sugar eyes. You can find them in the baking section of your local store. And here's my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe from my newest cookbook, Vintage Cookie Recipes , available on Amazon® . Have a yummy, creepy Halloween! ~ Dana   Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients 1/2 cup salted butter, softened 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla ...

Here are some fun Halloween candles I worked on this weekend. I used little plastic bones and glass bowls I found at the dollar store. They turned out super duper cute! When you're burning your new candle, as the wax starts melting, the bones float around a little, adding to the creepy effect. It's fun to do unique projects like this. You can make things that no one else has but you!  Happy Haunting! ~ Dana   Halloween Skeleton Candle Supplies candle wax a glass bowl 20 drops essential oil made for candles 3 pre-made candle wicks small decorative plastic bones coffee grounds image for the sign cardboard Mod Podge® hot glue gun double boiler Instructions 1 . Melt the candle wax in a double boiler. You can use whatever brand you like. I like organic soy wax because it burns nice and clean. Add the essential oil and remove from heat. 2 . Pour the wax into a glass bowl. Add the candle wicks right away. Be sure to use wicks made for candle-making. You may need something to support ...