October 2010

Dressing up for my costume day at work and for the Harvest Time Fun Night at church.

Independence Day Recipes

One of my friends wanted everyone to post on facebook their recipes they made for the 4th of July. So, I thought I would post mine on here and then post on facebook! We had company all weekend so we only made a couple of things because everyone else who came over brought stuff too!

First I made our Chicken Wings and Sausage Dip (aka Evil Dip) that I posted on here before. They are SOOOOO yummy. There were NO leftovers!! :-)

Then I made my Bacon wrapped 'lil smokies -- aka "Swine on Swine".

Bacon wrapped 'Lil Smokies
2 pkgs. 'lil smokies
1 pkg. bacon
brown sugar

Wrap each little smokie in a quarter of a piece of bacon (cut bacon in half and then cut that piece in half lengthwise). Place them on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until bacon is cooked.

Also, our friend Olga made guacamole this weekend. I discovered a new trick. Place the pit of the avacodo in your guacamole to keep it from turning brown. I couldn't believe it.....it works! Everyone kept telling her she left the pit in there. She had to keep explaining that she knew that and why she left it there. It was pretty funny.

Christmas Saga

We had quite an "eventful" Christmas this year. The original plan for Christmas was to leave on December 23rd and travel to Sioux Falls, SD to spend it with my sister and her husband in their new house. Because there was a VERY large snowstorm coming we decided to leave a day early, so we drove up late on December 22nd. We got there just fine and were all settled in before the BIG storm hit. A few days before we left, Isaac started running a fever off and on. We didn't think too much of it since it wasn't consistent and there were no other symptoms. But once we got to Sioux Falls the fever got worse and worse. So, we decided we should take him to the doctor before it was Christmas Day and then we would have to take him to the ER. So, we took him to the doctor and found out he had pneumonia. The doctor gave him a shot of anti-biotics and we had to start giving him breathing treatments every 4 hours plus anti-biotics every day. The next two days it snowed, and snowed, and snowed; and Isaac's fever just kept getting worse and worse. The anti-biotics seemed to be doing nothing for him. So, on Christmas Day morning we took him into the ER. Thankfully, the doctor there said that because it was such a severe case of pneumonia it would take a few days before we started to see any improvement. So, we went ahead and had Christmas dinner and everything. It was hard to enjoy Christmas though with a kid that kept running a VERY high fever and kept throwing up because of all the flim in his throat. And then because it snowed for so long and so much (about 20" in Sioux Falls) we ended up staying 2 extra nights in Sioux Falls. After a VERY LONG week, we are finally home and all I can say is "Home, Sweet Home"!!

Decorating Easter Eggs

My mom, Isaac, and I all decorated Easter Eggs today. He picked out the Kung Fu Panda egg kit. It was alot of fun and I think Isaac enjoyed it.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a good 2008 and has an even better 2009!! Happy New Year to all my blogging buddies!!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging buddies! I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends. And I hope you remember who's birthday we are celebrating.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. " John 3:16

Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie
2 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
4 Tblsp. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup angel flake coconut
3 egg yolks
2 Tblsp. butter or oleo

Meringue: (I like whipped cream instead)
3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

Mix milk, sugar, egg yolks, salt, vanilla, and oleo in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; add coconut and cornstarch which has been moistened with enough water to be well dissolved. Continue to boil until thick. Pour into baked pie crust. Top with meringue of the beaten 3 egg whites beaten until stiff to form peaks. Add 1/4 cup of white sugar and beat well to be sure sugar is dissolved well. Sprinkle extra coconut on top and brown in 350 degree oven until lightly browned. (If using whipped cream, put pie in refrigerator after pouring in pie crust and then top with whipped cream.)

Christmas baking

My mom and I did some baking today (Isaac "helped"). It was a good day to stay inside since the roads were still pretty bad from the storm last night. So, here's some pictures along with the recipes we used.

Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1Tbsp. + 1 tsp. milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and milk. Beat until light and fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half and wrap tightly in wax paper. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Flour surface lightly. Roll dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut in desired shapes. Sprinkle before baking with colored sugar and candies or leave plain to frost when cool. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Cool slightly. Remove to cooling rack. Yield: 3 dozen (depending on size and shape)


Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat all together on low for 15 seconds and then high for 2 minutes.







Peppermint Bark
1 lb. chocolate (I used dark)
12 oz. white chocolate
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract
10 6-inch candy canes

Bring water to boil in the bottom of a double boiler. There should be some space between the water and the upper portion of the double boiler. In then meantime, line the bottom of an 11x17 or similarly sized cookie sheet with sides with aluminum foil or wax paper. Once the water is boiling remove it from the heat and replace the top of the double boiler. Put about 3/4 of the chocolate in the double boiler first and melt until it is smooth. Add in the rest of the chocolate and 1/2 tsp. of the peppermint extract. Stir until all the chunks have melted. Pour the melted chocolate into the lined cookie sheet and spread so the thickness is just under a quarter of an inch. Let the chocolate sit for a moment so it cools slightly and then place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. While the first layer chills, crush the candy canes. The size of the broken pieces should be about the size of a pea. Take the bottom layer of chocolate out of the refrigerator so it warms slightly before the second layer is applied. Again boil water in the bottom of the double boiler. Clean out the upper portion of the double boiler with hot water only, no soap, and dry thoroughly. Once the water is boiling, remove it from the heat and put the top of the double boiler back on. Place 3/4 of the white chocolate into the double boiler and stir until it is melted. Add the remaining white chocolate and 1/4 tsp. of the peppermint extract
and stir until smooth. Pour this evenly over the first layer of chocolate. This layer will be thinner than the first. Sprinkle the top with the pieces of crushed candy canes. Again let it sit for ten minutes before placing it in the refrigerator to set. After an hour the bark should be ready to be broken into pieces. Store in an airtight container in a cool place or freeze.

* I used the microwave to heat my chocolates -- just be careful not to over cook it!! Read instructions on package on how to heat in the microwave.
** Recipe from Sugar Savvy






Oreo Truffles
1 pkg. oreos
1 8oz. pkg cream cheese
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tblsp. shortening
1 pkg. vanilla almond bark

Crush oreos into bits (food processor works good). Cream together the oreo bits and cream cheese in a heavy duty mixer or use hands and work all together like dough (DO NOT USE HAND MIXER!!). Roll mixture into small balls or use a melon baller. Freeze until solid (about 2 hours). Melt almond bark. Use 2 forks or toothpicks to coat the truffle. Place on waxed paper covered cookie sheet and refrigerate until the almond bark sets. Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 Tblsp. shortening in microwave (30 seconds - stir - 30 seconds). Place in ziploc bag and seal. Trim small triangle off corner and squeeze to drizzle truffles. Makes about 50.

Early Christmas Presents!!

Jason and I will not have any presents under the tree this year. That is because we have already got our presents. I already wrote about the great deal we got on a Nintendo Wii. So, that is part of our Christmas to each other. That came on Tuesday -- and of course Jason CANNOT wait until Christmas to use it so we have already been playing it. Then we also bought a new Dining room table and chairs and that came on Thursday -- and there is NO WAY of waiting to use that until Chrismas -- we have to put it somewhere. So, that is also now in use!! :-) But it will still be a very fun Christmas -- Isaac is really starting to understand the whole present thing. So, I'm looking forward to Christmas with him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just want to wish everyone a VERY Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of the great blessings God has shown upon us this year -- what a GREAT God we serve!! I have a loving husband, a good kid, and a great family who all love the Lord -- and for that I am truly thankful. I am excited about spending Thanksgiving with all of our family. It should be a good day.

Psalm 136:1

"O give THANKS unto the LORD;

for he is good:

for his mercy endureth for ever. "

I also want to share a recipe with you that has become a request every year. It is for Chocolate Cream Pie -- yum, yum!!

Old-fashioned Chocolate Cream Pie

1 baked pie shell

5 Tblsp. flour

1 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

5 Tblsp. cocoa

2 cups milk

3 eggs, separated

1/2 cup oleo

1 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour with sugar, salt, and cocoa. Add milk. Stir until smooth. Place in a double boiler (or a saucepan -- that's what I use) and cook for 12 minutes. Stir to prevent lumping. Beat egg yolks. Add to the above mixture and cook for 3 minutes. Stir often. A wire whip is helpful for the stirring process. Remove from fire and add oleo and vanilla. Mix. Cool slightly and pour into pie shell. This makes a 9-inch pie. Top with Cool Whip.