Tag: cookies

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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I’ve been actually going to bed early this week and we had some car trouble, so I only made a few new recipes. I am hoping to make a few more new ones over my little break from work.

My clients were amazed that I was coming back to work on Wednesday, but the Husband doesn’t have time off anyway, so I don’t need the extra time. I’m sure Fancy would love it if I were home to snuggle her, but I didn’t really have much planned. A friend and I are going to get together to do some Zumba, I think, but it should be a relaxing couple of days.

I do need to make this cherry fudge for the Husband’s work people. They’ve been asking for it since I made it last year. The problem is, I dislike the fudge itself and it’s a pain to make. The recipe list includes cherry jello powder, white chocolate, and marshmallow fluff… It’s too sweet for me and that should tell you all you need to know about it. It was, apparently, the best thing I made though, so they’ll get it on Wednesday, I think. I have all day Tuesday to make myself do it.

I made two more cookie recipes from the December Food Network magazine, Lemon Spritz and Walnut Cardamom Crescents. They were both good, but I liked the lemon ones better.

1- Lemon Spritz from FN December 2017

I used my Grandma Florence’s cookie press to make these, so that was special. I actually have cookie presses from my side of the family and from the Husband’s dad’s side. Oddly enough, I was gifted both of them for Christmas the same year, I think, from my mom and M-I-L. Now I have to use my second one for another recipe to honor both sides. Oh darn… will have to make another spritz recipe… 😉

These were good, nice and crisp, with a hint of lemon. I had gold sanding sugar too, so they were all sparkly. I brought an entire tin of these to my work, which only has about 7 of us, and when I went back in the afternoon to see how they had gone over, the entire tin was almost empty! The office manager said she had been eating them all day. 🙂

One of the cookie presses has a dog shaped form and I may try to pipe some dog cookies for Fancy with the biscuit recipe I have. Would that be weird though? “Here Fancy, eat this other pumpkin flavored dog…” :p

2-Walnut Cardamom Crescents from FN December 2017

I may have toasted the walnuts for slightly too long. They didn’t look brown, but had a very strong flavor. I couldn’t find the cardamom in them after they were baked. They are a very delicate cookie and kept breaking  when I tried to roll them. I might just stick to my traditional snowball cookie recipe.

3- Stovetop Mac and Cheese, by me.

This version had shredded pepperjack and cheddar cheese in it. It was pretty good, nice and gooey. We used small shells for it.

4-Tacos, by me

No picture, too hungry! I browned a pound of hamburger, drained it, added about a 1/3 of a jar of salsa, cumin, garlic and onion powder, and salt and pepper. I used the leftover meat for quesadillas the next day. Mmmmm…

5- Sweet Chili Chicken and Carrots from Sweet Pes and Saffron https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/7-chicken-marinade-recipes-freezer-friendly/

I added the carrots so there would be a veggie. We used leg and thigh pieces instead of breasts. We had it for lunch one day when we were both home. It was good. I was having trouble with meat texture, but the taste was good. We had it over rice. I may use the leftover chicken in stir fry for lunch tomorrow.

We are just headed out for a lovely Friendsmas party. I’m wearing my annual Christmas pun shirt. It features a large mustache and says “Staching through the snow.” It is my very favorite holiday shirt. 🙂 I may need to look for another punny holiday shirt though, so I have an extra one. Maybe I’ll find one on clearance!

Have a wonderful day!

Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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I blinked and the week was done! I only got two cookie recipes done this week. We had a lot of snow and my night commutes got very long.

I made up a recipe and we had chicken divan, which is the Husband’s favorite meal. He had his work holiday parties this week too and one of the prizes was an Instant Pot. I’m going to have to dig out the Food Network magazine with the Instant Pot recipes in it. I know it’s the hot gift this year (no pun intended) so it’ll be fun to try it out. It’s basically a pressure cooker, so anyone have any good recipes?

Here are the recipes!

1- Honey Sugar Cookies from Food Network December 2017. 

I found my Christmas cookie cutters! I have a just a few, which is fine. I don’t often make cut outs. This dough was easy to use though. I haven’t made the icing for them yet and I got meringue powder specifically for it. The second batch will have icing. I was empowered by the recipe which just had cut out circles with icing and peppermint candies. That’s my kind of cookie decorating.

2- Mexican Hot Chocolate Crinkles from FN December 2017. 

These need more cinnamon, in my opinion, but they are nice and tender and taste good. These might be made for the party as something different to try

3- Crockpot Taco Soup, recipe by me.

No pictures and it was loosely based on a recipe given to us for our wedding. Here is what I did.

1lb ground beef, browned. I can diced green chilis,  1 can tomatoes, 3ish cups beef broth, half a cup of frozen corn, cumin, garlic and onion powder, salt, pepper, and chipotle chili powder. All the spices were to taste.

I put it all in the crockpot and cooked it for 8 hours. We had it with fritos and cheese. It was decent for a quick dinner. The Husband doesn’t like beans, otherwise I would have added black beans.

I have no idea which cookie to make next. I have a bunch of recipes including peppermint truffles, walnut cardamom crescents, and chewy coffee crinkles. I might go to bed early tonight though. I am exhausted. Baking cookies while tired is not good. I forget things like sugar or baking powder.

Tomorrow is my long distance baking day with my Mom, wearing our matching shirts. I may be baking with a friend as well, assuming I’m feeling okay. Hopefully an early night will help.

25 Days, Sewing, and Anxiety
Life Posts · Recipe Roundup

25 Days, Sewing, and Anxiety

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So since most of you know me pretty well, I wanted to share a little bit more about what my life has been like lately. I have some anxiety traits or trends, I guess, which started back in grad school. I’ve since officially been diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder, which went away for a bit. Lately it’s flared again, mostly due to transitions, I think.

I’m struggling with over thinking every decision, from what to wear to what to write about on the blog. Even what cookie to make next is freaking me out. Once I start mixing dough, I do feel a bit zen-like though, it’s just the decision part.

Our fridge has a whiteboard which used to have freezer meals on it, but is currently holding a list of tasks that I want to get done broken down by day. It changes, but never seems to get any littler.

As a counselor, especially one specializing in working with people with anxiety, you’d think I would be better able to manage my own, but it’s not exactly as easy as that.  I can tell people all day how to breathe, how to have self-care, and how to relax, but when it comes to me doing it? Ha.

The pupper is very good at helping me relax, she sits on me when she senses I’m upset and snuggles me in the mornings.  She also forces me out of bed most mornings to take her for a walk or play with her, which helps. She also has begun to tell us when it should be bed time. 🙂

She’s a snuggle bug for sure.

Now, I try very hard not to let the anxiety take over, but lately it’s been making it very hard for me to do things like post on my normal schedule or get household stuff done. I’m determined though and been through worse before, so I will not let it get to the point that it did before, full panic attacks and all. I need to do things like bake and sew and read my stack of library books. Sticking to a schedule helps me feel like I have a purpose and control too, which helps me calm down and stop freaking out. That’s where this blog comes in. Posting helps me plan my days and even when stressful can be a good way for me to actually get out what’s bothering me.

So now that I’ve gotten that long-winded explanation of why my posts have been inconsistent, I’ll get back to recipes and sewing.

I made two pot holders on my sewing day with Kayla. I went to her house, so I didn’t have to worry about Fancy guarding the sewing machines or trying to eat our lunch. 🙂

They are double lined with the cool reflective hot pad material. I lined the back with the brown polka dots that is around the edges. They each have a loop on them for hanging. I’ve been using them a lot and it’s kind of fun to have holiday themed household items to use. They are about 8 inches.

For cookies, I left off at the non Food Network recipes, so here are some more that I’ve made.

1- No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars from Sally’s Baking Addiction. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/07/02/no-bake-reeses-peanut-butter-bars/

These were surprisingly good. I don’t think I got a picture though, they got eaten quick. 🙂 I was nervous about the graham cracker crumbs, but it did taste pretty much exactly like a Reese’s cup. I would make these again.

2- Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies by Spinach for Breakfast. http://www.spinach4breakfast.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-2/

The office manager at work said “Well, I guess if you can’t have gluten or dairy, they would be good.”  🙂 They tasted a bit under baked, even after baking them for over the amount of time. I don’t have a lot of experience making gluten-free baked goods, so I don’t have much to compare them too. Taste-wise, you got both the pumpkin and cinnamon.

3- Chewy Chocolate Cookies from A Quilter’s Christmas. 

These tasted very chocolaty, but they had so much sugar in them that the Husband said that it felt like he was chewing on sugar. I don’t think I’ll make these again. They were not a hit with us, although they did get eaten at both of our workplaces.

4- Flourless Chocolate Orange Cookies from Grandbaby Cakes. http://www.grandbaby-cakes.com/2015/01/flourless-chocolate-orange-cookies/

These are also dairy free, which meant my craft lady friend could eat them. She, in fact, volunteered to save us from the rest of them, which I thought was so nice of her. 😉 These will be going on the party list.

They were utterly delicious, kind of like a meringue base. Not very sweet actually for having a lot of powdered sugar in them. The orange smelled very strong, but was just the right amount.

Fancy has been giving me this face lot lately, as she hasn’t been getting any of the delicious smelling cookies coming out of the kitchen. I should make her  cinnamon spiced one, I think. She would like that.

She’s giving me the bedtime stare at the moment and I should probably listen to my own advice and go to bed. The Husband just started his very exciting Saturn 5 Lego set, so who knows when he will be sleeping.

Thanks for reading about my current emotional state! Sorry if you just came for cookie recipes and dog pictures. 🙂 I promise there will be more to come.

Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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I did it again. I made a freezer recipe and lost the original. This one was Barcoa Beef, based on a Chipotle recipe. I really need to figure out where these recipes are saving themselves. I checked both the work and home Ipads, favorites, Pinterest, and bookmarks. Nowhere to be found. I did remember to take pictures though.

1- Barcoa Beef

It was pretty good. Nice and spicy. The rice helped cool it off spice wise. We might try it as a taco filling.

We had soup and grilled cheese and some leftovers as well.

2- Stuffed Italian Meatballs from a Food Network insert.

I stuffed them with marinated mozzarella balls. We had them with a homemade marina sauce, garlic bread, and noodles.  They were very good! I would make these again.

3- Basic Corn Muffins from Pillsbury Best Muffins and Quick Breads. Section: Savory Muffins

No pics, I froze them right away. They were good. I didn’t have canned corn, so left it out.

Now for the good stuff! My cookie progress.

I’ve made many cookie recipes. My list so far is 4 cookies from the December 2017 issue of Food Network, and 5 from other sources. I kept running out of things like brown sugar and chocolate chips. I wasn’t completely prepared for this marathon.

Here’s the ones from the December 2017 Food Network.

4- Peppermint Sugar Cookies- from the insert.

Delicious! So crispy and soft in the middle. Light peppermint flavor, not overpowering. They have been added to my party list.

5- Chocolate Shortbread

A little dry for my taste. They dough was a dream to work with.  I normally hate cutout doughs, but this was nice and smooth. I don’t think I have a set of Christmas cutters, so hedgehogs and snails it was.

6- Hibiscus Ginger Cookies.

Fresh ginger hurts on dry hands and I’m a little bitter that it didn’t just call for bottled ginger juice. They were alright, very lightly flavored. Kind of a cross between a snowball and a shortbread.

7-Crispy Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies.

These smelled like heaven.  It called for browning the butter before adding it in. I wanted to lick the pan. I forgot to take a picture before sending them with the Husband for work.

The other 5 recipes I’ll talk about on Monday. I have a very playful puppy leaping on my Ipad. Apparently it’s playtime. 🙂

Monthly Review
Monthly Review · Uncategorized

Monthly Review

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It’s hard for me to believe it, but I’ve been writing this blog for 11 months! 11 reviews, multiples of 11 of new recipes, and probably about 11 craft projects completed. 🙂

Fancy has found 11 new places to nap, most of them in spots where we would like to sit or were previously sitting.

She’s also making new noises. We thought we had a quiet dog, but when she wants something that is not the case at all. Lately she has decided the coffee table makes the perfect launch pad to the couch. We’ve shut that one down quickly. No jumping on tables for her. This is her after getting yelled after one of those times.

So this month wasn’t a strong sewing month, although we did get two big organization projects done. We organized the cookbooks and the pantry area downstairs.

I also finished my Rainbow Snowball Quilt! It hasn’t made it to its new owner, but is completed finally.

I started a tunic, but got confused by the directions and put it away for a little bit.

I also started a new rainbow quilt. This one may have a home, but I have to measure it when done first. I can’t have sibling rivalry going on over my quilts.

It looks like I may only have finished one sewing project! Yikes! I need to get on that. Here’s a sneak peek of super secret Christmas projects to make up for it.

These two will be together. The next two are just pictured together, they will be separate projects.

This one was a complete impulse buy, but it was on clearance and I wanted it. Who doesn’t like winter walrus?! I will probably make myself a Christmas apron out of it. 🙂

I’ve also found several Christmas flamingos, one of which is this Welcome flag.

The neighbors thought they would escape flamingos at Christmas! Ha! Silly neighbors!

The Husband has not yet agreed to the large light-up scarf wearing flamingo for the yard, but if it’s still there for Target’s 70% off clearance, it’s coming home with us. 🙂  It’s possible I have a flamingo problem.  Send Legos for the Husband so he’ll be distracted and won’t notice additional flamingos!

Food-wise, I did better with meeting goals. I used 7 new cookbooks, a couple of new techniques, and 24 new recipes total.

We had 4 misses. The squash tasted bland and wouldn’t flambé, the shortbread was a weird texture, the souffle tasted too processed, and the seed cake was too dense and dry.

Hits were the French Onion Pot Roast, Fancy’s pumpkin pb treats, the Creamy Chicken dish from Natasha’s Kitchen, the Chocolate Banana Muffins, and the beef stew with barley and carrots.

This month I want to try to get the Husband a little more comfortable with cooking a few dishes, so I can leave more things for him. I also want to keep trying some new techniques. I’ve been hinting strongly for a kitchen blow torch for Christmas. There are creme brûlée yogurt parfaits to be made!

Craft goals for the month: I would like to focus on finishing Christmas presents and also making some household items, like potholders and seasonal table runners. I have Christmas and Thanksgiving fabric. Perhaps a table runner will encourage me to keep the table clear!

I would like to make at least one clothing item and finish a UFO, but that might be a back burner goal, depending on how Christmas goes.

I’ve also got to collect info for my year review! It’s exciting and scary at the same time.

All the 25 Days of Cookies recipes will be included in the weekly Recipe Roundups and will have their own post sometime after Christmas. Tonight I made no bake pb bars and glazed ginger hibiscus cookies!

Now it’s off to bed. I have a sleepy dog and a long day tomorrow!

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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The featured picture was taken on Wednesday, perhaps it was a warning of things to come. When I pulled the ice cream out of the freezer, it came with a disappointed face in the lid. I have a feeling the Husband and I will be sending it to each other frequently when we need a laugh.

I had a pretty productive week, up until yesterday when my day involved the dog’s poo bags breaking, a violent and unpleasant digestive reaction to ham in my salad, and an unexpected guinea pig in session. I never thought I would need to utter the phrase “Please don’t bring live animals to session.” But now that it has happened, at least I will be prepared for the future…

I made four new recipes this week and two were not main dishes! I have plans for this weekend for the smoker, assuming it works. The Husband has had it for years, but hasn’t ever used it. If those recipes work out, it will be very exciting, as one of them is homemade bacon! It’s up in the air about whether or not I will actually be able to eat the homemade bacon. I had a bad stomach ache from store bacon in the last few weeks and now a terrible reaction to ham. I’m hoping they were just isolated incidents, but this is how the pork issues originally started, so I’m a little nervous.

Anyway, here are the recipes I used this week.

1-Fresh Herb Scones from Pillsbury Best Muffins and Quick Breads. Section: Biscuits, Scones, Popovers, and Doughnuts.

Modifications: I added a little more rosemary than needed, but it didn’t make them taste any different. I used herbs from the garden: rosemary, parsley, and thyme. We had these at a belated dinner for my father-in-law. They turned out nice and fluffy and tasted good. Everyone seemed to enjoy them.

2- Chewy Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies from Baking Unplugged by Nicole Rees. Section: Cookies & Bars

Modifications: None, I did follow the recipe. These were eaten too fast before I could take a picture. They did not brown up as much as most cookies do, so I was a little worried they would ve doughy, but they turned out nice. I was even eating them and typically I don’t like them. They did have melted butter in them, which changed the browning and texture, I think. It also called to use a bowl and spoon, but I was in a hurry and used the mixer. These got the Husband’s stamp of approval.

3- Caramelized  Onion Grilled Cheese from Food Network. October 2016, V.9, N. 8

Modifications: I completely forgot to add in the sherry and added the thyme last minute and used dried, instead of fresh. I also used Texas Toast, as the Italian bread I had was too thin, I thought.  We had it when I was hosting craft night and it was lovely. I used pepperjack and Gouda in two of them and Colby jack in mine. We had a friend staying with us and she loved them as well. The onions were an extremely delicious addition. I would definitely make these again.I was so distracted that I almost forgot to take pictures of the sandwich and had to steal the Husband’s half eaten one to make sure we had a pic. We had this with salad.

4- Whiskey Marinated Rib Eye Steak from The Book of Steak. Section: Up Front Cuts

Modifications: I marinated the steak for longer than it called for and it got extremely whiskey soaked near the ends. It was quite strong! The other flavors were good though and I cooked the steak perfectly, according to the Husband. We had salad and scones with this. I debated putting the salad on the plate, but the steak was dripping everywhere and I don’t like steak flavored salad. I couldn’t do it, even for pictures. I only ate about half the steak and if there are leftovers, I may make a potato steak hash with it for breakfast over the weekend.

Fancy was haunting the kitchen while I was cooking and was extremely disappointed that she couldn’t have any. I caught this picture gem while she was trying her puppy dog eyes out on The Husband. After I showed him the picture he said “Oh, just give her the steak!” The marinade and sauce were definitely not okay for pups though, so she didn’t get any.

The other cool thing about this steak recipe was that the sauce was flambeed! I watched my Dad flambé things a lot when I was a kid and it was fun to do it myself. It burned for a surprising amount of time. The paper towel in the background is not on fire, I just didn’t think to move it before pictures.

It was pretty neat, but hard to get it lit. On TV, it looks so easy, but in reality, I was attempting to not pour sauce all over the stove. I would definitely flambé more things, now that I’ve tried it once.

I do have one more recipe, although I think it is more of a method. I used the yogurt maker to make my first batch of yogurt. I didn’t have time to heat it, like it said, so it made a looser yogurt. I had some yesterday with the rhubarb marmalade and had an orange, strawberry, coconut milk smoothie for breakfast today with more.

I just followed the directions in the instruction book. It turned out very good. Unsweetened of course, but I typically use jam in it anyway. This would be perfect for baking. I did use 2% milk and I think I’ll experiment with whole milk and non-dairy milks as well. It made 7- 6 0z jars. I am also going to try making it in a large Pyrex bowl and straining it for Greek yogurt. I’ll make sure to take pictures and write reviews for comparison. It is the basic Euro Cuisine yogurt maker.

Today is the first anniversary of moving into our house! If my head stops hurting, I may make a cake I will use a new recipe, of course! 🙂