If you bake cookies, you probably have a sugar cookie recipe that you love. Mom made these cookies every year for Christmas; and if she had the time, we also got them on Valentine's Day. She had a rule about cookies - some were for the whole year and some were only baked at Christmastime. That way they'd be special. She was that way about her pumpkin pie; and to this day, I don't bake a pumpkin pie unless it's for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Anyway, I'm making a batch of these cookies; and here's the recipe if you'd like to try them.

JANE'S SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chill dough for several hours before cutting out with your favorite shapes. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately six minutes. Cool and frost with this other great recipe.


BUTTER FROSTING
1/4 cup soft butter
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

What a great way to start my day. Lorrie at Cute as Pie Cottage sent me an email that I won a charm pack she was giving away. Moda, of course, and it's Little Apples from Aneela Hoey. Angela at Fussy Cut got me interested in Aneela's fabrics; this is the first I've owned of her work. Now I'll have to check my Schnibbles book and see what I can come up with to us this line. Thanks again, Lorrie, for the win and for feeding my habit!

So what's on tap for the weekend? Sewing, of course, but only after the usual Saturday chores. I hope to finish up my flag and start Full House. The Fat Quarter shop has absolutely the best delivery and friendly phone staff.

We're having family over tomorrow for the game. I'll be stitching with Audrey and Melissa in the afternoon. I saw Pioneer Woman make Knock-You-Naked brownies on the Food Network last Saturday, and it'll be on our food table tomorrow. The name is hilarious; it's usually a catchy name that'll call interest to a recipe, but these ingredients will clinch it for sure - German chocolate cake mix, chopped pecans, caramels, and chocolate chips. Not for the faint in heart or dieters.

And Ree put this comment on the bottom of the recipe on Food Network. "Make them for someone you really, really love...or someone you want to love you back." Now isn't that a great idea?!

I made it - I'm finally on vacation until January 3. Well, there will be one morning after Christmas that I have to work; but that's far enough away that I don't have to think about it yet. It's been a rough month on top of a rougher week, so all this time away is even sweeter.

The job list is already posted on my refrigerator of the things I need to knit, sew, or quilt before Christmas; and it's really a do-able list. No stress here! I just don't want to wake up the morning of January 3 and wonder what the heck happened. I must have crocheted 100 slippers and knitted 10 baby hats this fall. Unfortunately, most of them were ripped out and restarted because I didn't care for how they looked. At this stage of the game, it's all about 'what gets done, gets done and there will be another Christmas next year.' I was joking with a supplier last week about how we didn't want our families to remember the year Mom had such a short fuse and ruined everything.

Thursday evening I had dinner with my quilt group, and on the menu was lobster macaroni and cheese. Now I didn't order it, but those that did raved about it. So sometime during this vacation I'll be putting this together using a favorite macaroni and cheese recipe from one of mom's dearest friends that was published in our church cookbook.

Shirley Paschke's Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni
1/2 cup margarine
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk
1/4 pound sharp cheese, cubed
1/2 pound Longhorn or Colby cheese, cubed
1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
4 slices bread, buttered and cubed

Cook and drain macaroni. Melt margarine; add flour and blend. Slowly stir in milk. Stir and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Add cubed cheeses and stir constantly until cheese melts. Mix with cooked macaroni. Pour into buttered 5-quart baking dish. Top with buttered bread cubes. Bake covered at 350 for one hour or until bubbly. This can be made in two smaller casserole dishes with one to put in the freezer for another time. Lobster is optional.

Retreat recap - the recipes first

This year's retreat was one of the best thanks to Donna and her helpers. Each year I think it can't get better than this, and they end up surprising us all.

Darcy made these really cute cookies after she saw the picture on Pinterest. Where I come from, sugar cookies always have frosting on top; but without frosting, they were still a great cookie. Definitely a recipe I will make.

Sarah made a ginger cookie from a recipe of her grandmother's that was written on the back of an old envelope. Don't you just love that kind of keepsake?! She didn't have her recipe with her, but ginger snap recipes are easy to find on the web. The twist that she added to her cookie was that she dipped half of it into white chocolate. I could have made a meal of these; they were excellent, and I plan to make these for Christmas.

I brought salad to go with Friday evening's meal. I just tossed romaine with baby spinach and had mandarin oranges and sugared walnuts on the side to toss with the greens. The dressing recipe I got from Our Best Bites' blog. It was a red wine vinegar with honey and garlic. If you ever need to try a good recipe, check out that blog. My cousin Audrey bought their cookbook, and it is superb.

I have a few pictures of projects from the retreat as well as some of the ideas we tossed around for future group projects. I'll share those in another post.

Something good for supper

I'm on a road trip this morning with some quilt buddies! I'm getting my housework done now so that when I get home, I can head straight to the sewing room. I've put this in the crockpot so I won't have to spend a lot of time cooking either. What a great day ahead! I got this recipe from a Pillsbury cookbook.




Rosemary Beef and Tomatoes over Noodles

2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon beef base
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 lb. beef stew meat
4 Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Combine butter, onion, beef base, salt, pepper, and beef in crock pot. Mix well. Cover and cook on low for 9 to 10 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, add tomatoes and rosemary to beef mixture and mix well. Increase heat to high. Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve over cooked noodles.

I omitted the salt since we're trying to watch our salt intake. I figured there would be enough salt in the beef base. I like this recipe because for once I've found a stew recipe that doesn't use canned tomates or cream of whatever soup.

Peach pie filling

We're canning peaches today, and I want to make some pie filling for the freezer. This recipe is from Farm Journals's Canning and Freezing cookbook. When the pie is baked, it tastes like it was made fresh.






4 quarts sliced and peeled peaches (9 pounds)
1 teaspoon powdered ascorbic acid
1 gallon water
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablesppons quick-cooking tapioca
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt

Place peaches in a large container. Dissolve ascorbic acid in water and pour over peaches. Drain.

Combine peaches, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, and salt.

Line four 8" pie pans with heavy-duty aluminum foil letting it extend 5" beyond rim. Divide filling evenly between pans. Makes fillings for four 9" pies.

To freeze, fold foil loosely over fillings; freeze. Remove from freezer when solid and turn filling from pans. Wrap snugly in foil and return to freezer. Recommended storage time is six months.

To bake, remove foil from frozen filling and place it (unthawed) in a pastry lined 9" pie pan. Dot with butter and sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Adjust top crust, flute edges, and cut vents. Bake at 425 F for one hour and ten minutes or until syrup boils with heavy bubbles that do not burst.

This tastes so good on a winter day!

Fun stuff

I love this idea! And this website is also one of the best for recipes. Audrey bought their cookbook, and I had a chance to see it. Definitely something to think about for my collection.

Apple-Raisin Bread

Today is stitch day with Audrey and Melissa. I made a loaf of this bread to drop off at Uncle Frank's. I imagine he's been given more than enough food these past few days, but this can be frozen until he needs it.

I have no idea where this recipe came from. Judging from my handwritten recipe card, I imagine I copied this one either before we were married or shortly afterward - 34 years this year!


APPLE-RAISIN BREAD

1/3 cup soft butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups gflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped, peeled apple
1 cup chopped raisins

Cream together butter, sugar, lemon peel, and cinnamon. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and lemon juice. Sift together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Stir until moistened. Fold in the apple and raisins. Bake at 350 degrees in a 5x9 greased loaf pan - about an hour.

I'm going to put a simple confectioner's sugar glaze on top of this just for fun.

Peanut butter bars

I hosted our sewing group today. Because Max and Natie had spent the night before, and I was running short on time, I needed a quick cookie recipe for the snack. Audrey bought me this cookbook, and every recipe I've tried has been really good. These bars went together quickly and were a hit. The book is available on Amazon.




Peanut Butter Bars
1 6-oz. package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cook oats, uncooked

Melt the chocolate over low heat; set aside.

Beat the butter and peanut butter until creamy. Add sugar, egg, vanilla and mix well.

Combine flour, soda, salt; stir into creamed mixture. Stir in oats.

Press three-fourths of the peanut butter mixture into a greased 13x9 pan. Spread the chocolate over top. Crumble remaining peanut butter mixture over chocolate.

Bake 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Passing on the traditions

Just seven days to go until Christmas! Yesteday I did some baking; and every year I say I'm not going to bake as much, but there are some cookies that just need to be on the cookie tray. As usual they are cookies that my mom used to bake. I always appreciate when my girls call to ask for one of Mom's recipes; it's nice to pass on the recipes I grew up on.

This morning I had email from my cousin Debbie. Her mom, Muriel, is my mom's sister. If you've read this blog for a few months, you'll remember that Muriel passed away this year. Debbie was asking for a couple recipes; and again, it was nice to pass along something Mom used to make.

I have a loaf of eggnog bread baking in the oven. My friend and I shared a bottle of this at lunch the other day. She picked it up at this dairy. For two people who aren't crazy about eggnog, we made quite a dent in it; it's that good. Here's the recipe for the bread.

1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 1/4 cups white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins

Combine butter, sugar, eggs and mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, salt. Sitr into butter mixture alternately with eggnog. Mix only until dry ingredients are moist. Fold in pecans and raisins. Spoon into loaf pan and baket at 350° for about 70 minutes.

This morning we are going to church with Julie and Travis. Natie's Sunday School Christmas program is this morning, and we wouldn't miss it. Another tradition - the Sunday School Christmas program. It just wouldn't seem like a Christmas celebration without it.

Baked chicken nuggets

Did you ever hear a joke or see a comedy TV show about the husband who brought home his boss for supper unexpectedly? It happened to me the other night. Fortunately it wasn't a canned soup and toasted cheese sandwich night. My husband isn't crazy about chicken; but the house smelled good when they walked in, and Henry seemed to enjoy the meal. Here's the recipe from a 1991 Southern Living magazine.




1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried whole basil
1/2 teaspoon dried whole thyme
4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
1/4 cup butter melted

Combine first five ingredients in a bag and shake well. Cut chicken into 1" pieces. Dip into melted butter and shake a few at a time in the bread crumb mixture. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Baket at 400° for 20 minutes or until tender.

MIA and TT

I have been missing in action because it has been a very busy summer, and I see no slowing down. Yesterday Jenny, Julie and I canned 20 quarts of peaches; we still have a few splints to do, but that will be tomorrow.

This 10,000 step challenge that I'm participating in at work has really taken a bite into my time. On Saturdays and Sundays I'm on the road and walking to Elgin and back; it's a 3.5 mile walk. Those two days it's easy to rack up the steps. Because I work at a desk, the rest of the week it's been difficult. So to get thos extra steps in, I've done a lot of walking at home and after supper; but my housework and sewing time has been neglected. I still walk to Elgin on the weekends, but I'm getting back to the things I want to do and let the steps come as they may.

The new camera my husband won has not been used much. He was given the camera but not the box the cord came in! Long story short, he should be getting the box and cord; and I hope to back in business blogging and showing pictures of what I've been sewing.

Tonight I am hosting my quilt friends (the TT group) at my house. From my Trish Yearwood cookbook, I'm making her recipe for chicken salad and serving it on mixed greens. I am also making Ina Garten's recipe for blueberry muffins. And for dessert, I'm making Fern's peach cobbler. Fern is one of my favorite aunts, and she was a wonderful cook. I'll share the recipe at the end of this post.

I'm setting up a couple tables in the backyard. My friend LuAnn (no blog, but I wish she did; you'd love her) has a knack for entertaining and decorating. She has given me some great ideas; I'll have pictures tomorrow to share. I think it'll be fun to put into action some of her suggestions; I know it'll be a fun evening just having these women together. See you tomorrow.

FERN'S COBBLER
5 cups fresh peaches, sliced
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Put sliced peaches in an 8x10 pan. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg. Add flour, sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Mix until crumbly; sprinkle over peaches. Drizzle melted butter over all. Baket at 375° for 45 minutes.

Hot pepper butter

The "putting by" bug has hit hard this year. Today Jenny and I are freezing corn, and I hope to make this recipe for hot pepper butter afterwards.

A couple years ago I got this recipe from my work buddy Betty. Although it looked interesting, I didn't think a whole lot of it until she gave me a jar to try. It really gives a good zing to a sandwich, and there's nothing on my grocery's shelves like it. I want to save a couple jars for myself and put one in each of the guy's stockings at Christmastime.

Now this calls for small hot peppers, and I'm not sure whether it's meant for jalapenos or banana peppers. Betty used banana peppers with some good old green peppers she had on hand.

HOT PEPPER BUTTER
42 small hot peppers to make 2 cups, chop fine
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups yellow mustard
4 cups vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 cup flour (white)
1 1/2 cups water

Mix peppers, salt, mustard, vinegar, and sugar together in a large pan. Bring almost to a boil. Combine flour and water to make a smooth paste. Stir into pepper mixture. Bring to a boil and let cook for five minutes. Jar and seal. Makes 6 - 7 pints.

Blueberry cake

Did you ever eat something and the first bite took you to a long-lost memory? A few years ago I was having lunch with my cousins Audrey, Barb, and Cathy. Someone had the idea to order the blackberry cobbler that was on the menu. One bite of that cobbler and eating it with these cousins made me think of summer days at Gramma Fisher's dining room table. I've loved blackberry cobbler ever since.

Yesterday my daughter Jeny and I took Natie and Max to the blueberry patch up the road from my house. We picked enough berries for the freezer, but I want to go back to get more so that I can make this cake. I haven't had it in years; it's really good, and I know there's a good memory attached to this cake as well.

BLUEBERRY CAKE
4 eggs separated
2 cups sugar divided
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanille
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
3 cups blueberries mixed with 1 tablespoon flour
Confectioner's sugar

Beat egg whites until stiff adding 1/2 cup sugar while beating. Set aside. Cream the shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar, vanilla and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. To the shortening mixture add the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Fold in the egg whites/sugar mixture. Add the blueberries mixed with flour. Bake in a lightly greased 9x13 pan at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes. When cool, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and serve with whipped cream.

Strawberries

Finally it is strawberry season in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The shipped-in berries that have been in the grocery store for the past couple months have been so irrigated that they are huge and have very little strawberry flavor. There used to be a farm up the road from my house that sold berries that had not been irrigated, and they were absolutely the tastiest berries. But the farmer has retired, and it's back to fat, watery berries. Just the same, we get a few baskets every year and enjoy them while they are fresh.

When the girls were little, I used to can fruit and vegetables just to make the grocery dollar stretch. Now that they are out and on their own, I haven't done much canning; and I have to admit that I miss it. My cousin Audrey mentioned that she was going to put up some things this year. Then Larry's niece Gail said the same thing, so I got the bug. I went through my Farm Journal Canning and Freezing cookbook as well as my recipe box and made a list of things I'd like to preserve and the months I'll need to do it.

I have frozen a bag of berries for making Christmas jam when cranberries are available in the fall. I made some strawberry/grapefruit juice, and I think this will taste great in the winter. Here's the recipe from Country Woman magazine.

4 quarts fresh strawberries
5 to 6 medium grapefruit
1 quart water
1 1/2 cups sugar

Puree berries in food processor. Squeeze grapefruit to make 1 quart of juice; strain. In a large kettle combine strawberries, juice, water, and sugar. Cook uncovered over medium heat until the temperature reaches 190°. Remove from heat and skim, then strain. Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4" head space. Process for 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Serve chilled and undiluted.

Another cookbook added to the collection

Now that the girls are married and out of the house, I cook differently for Larry and me. I thought my days of collecting cookbooks were over until I saw this one. I bought it and I think it's a winner. Jenny made the cole slaw for our Memorial Day weekend picnic, and it was very good. Here's the recipe:

CRUNCHY SLAW
1 head green cabbage finely chopped
3 green onions finely chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup butter
2 3-ounce packages ramen noodles, flavor packets discarded

DRESSING
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix cabbage and onions in large bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the almonds and sesame seeds in the butter.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. Just before serving, add the sesame seeds, almonds, and crushed raw ramen nooldes to the cabble and green onions. Pour the dressing a little at a time over the salad mix, then toss.

This blog will not become a Julie/Julia thing where I work my way through this cookbook. But I will let you know now and then what I've found out about this book. There are a lot of good recipes in this one.

Cinnamon pecan muffins

With the snow piling up outside, it'll be a good weekend to bake. I made these muffins last week for a snack day at work. With most of the office and several in the factory participating in the weight loss challenge, it may not have been a good idea to bring muffins; but should you have heard what they said about the guy who brought Krispy Kreme donuts!

CINNAMON PECAN MUFFINS
3/4 cup soft butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup sour cream

TOPPING
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Cream the butter and sugar; blend in vanilla and eggs. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Pour the flour mixture and the sour cream into the butter mixture and stir the ingredients by hand until blended. If the batter is too dry, addd a splash of milk.

Grease muffin tins or line with papers. Mix topping ingredients together. Drop one tablespoon of batter into each muffin paper. Sprinkle with one teaspoon of topping. Top with one more tablespoon of batter and then one more teaspoon of topping. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 375° or until a tester comes out clean.

Hope you like these!

Cream of tomato soup

Several years ago my cousin Audrey, her sister in law Julie, and I used to take road trips to the Hamburg, New York, area to visit cross stitch shops. Sometimes we would stop in the college town of Fredonia for lunch at a cute little restaurant that was known for its tomato-mushroom soup. I was hesitant to try the soup the first time because I am not crazy about milk in tomato soup. I'm not crazy about milk at all! But this soup was out of this world. We figured it must have been made with heavy cream because it was so rich. From what Audrey and Julie told me, the owner of the restaurant refuses to share his recipe. It keeps the customers coming back for sure.

This time of year I like to make a lot of soup, so I got out my "Is It Soup Yet" cookbook (by Dot Vartan) and tried the Italian Cream of Tomato. The recipe doesn't call for mushrooms (which you can add if you want), but the soup was thick and rich and hit the spot. My husband is not an adventerous eater; the same old stuff is just fine with him. But he liked this soup enough to ask that I pack some in his lunch tomorrow. Here's the recipe.

2 cups chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper (I used plain old black)
1 16-ounce can of Italian stewed tomatoes
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup half-and-half

Combine the chicken broth, onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for five minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the undrained stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half. Heat through and serve.

Something Special bars

Thank you for the kind email and comments about my lack of posting pictures of our Christmas decorations. Santa is a little peeved with me because of the broken camera, so I don't think this is the time to ask for a new one - if you catch my drift :D The tree in the living room was put together last night, but it only has lights on it for now. Sometime this afternoon I will put on the decorations.

When I moved furniture around to make room for the tree, I put an old washstand in the dining room and put my Jim Shore nativity set on it. Usually the nativity is up high on a shelf, but I wanted it eye level so Natalie could see it. And she had fun playing with Joseph and a shephard having them look out the windows of the creche. Somehow an ear got broken off the donkey. Fortunately she knew to hang onto the little ear. No big deal - it'll get glued back on, and we'll have another memory.

Today Larry and I are going to a Christmas brunch at Peek 'n Peak with the company he works for. The theme for today's brunch is Swedish Smorgasboard which isn't one of our favorite themes, but we know there will be lots of good things to eat. We had reservations for this a few years ago when the Nationwide golf tour made a stop at the Peak for the Charity Golf Classic. Unfortunately the men were more interested in getting outside to watch the golf, so we didn't get to enjoy the food for as long as we would have liked.

Friday evening was the Moonlight Madness sale in town. Our favorite store is called Something Special, and these cookies were on the table to share. Yesterday afternoon Jenny and I were back in the store for more shopping, and Theresa the owner had the recipe ready for me. Hope you like it.

CRUST
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix well and pat into an even layer in 9x13 pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

FILLING
8 ounces cream cheese softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat together and pour over crust while it is still hot. Bake 15 59 20 minutes. Cool completely.

FROSTING
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix together and spread evenly on baked and cooled cookie. Cut into bars.

Country Store Fried Apples

This recipe was featured in our newspaper, and my family loves it. We eat these straight from the crockpot, but the paper mentions they would be good over oatmeal or frozen yogurt. It's like eating apple pie without the crust. This recipe makes 8 servings. There are 102 calories per serving or one Weight Watcher point. The house smells good when these are cooking!

5 to 6 cups firm, tart apples (like a Granny Smith)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup apple cider (or use water if you don't have the cider)

Peel, core, and slice apples into medium to thick slices. Place apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small to medium slow cooker. Dissolve cornstarch in apple cider and blend well. Pour over apples and stir to blend. Cover and cook on low setting 5 to 6 ours; stir halfway through cooking.