Food Friday: Vanishing (Raisin or Cranberry) Oatmeal Cookies

This oatmeal recipe is one of my mom's cookie recipes that we used to make for Christmas cookies. This recipe not only tastes great but you can make a large quantity of dry ingredients ahead of time and add the wet ingredients when cookies are needed. That is exactly what we did as my brother and I mixed up the lump of real butter into the dry ingredients. Then on another day my mom would pull out the , add the egg and vanilla, and finish the baking.

Cream together in a large bowl:
1 cup margarine or butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar

Add:
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Set aside.

Sift together:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Add:
3 cups of oats
1 cup of your choice of raisins, cranberries and white chocolate chips, or chocolate chips

Store dry ingredients in cool, dry place for up to several weeks. When ready to bake, combine dry ingredients with creamed sugars and eggs. Then drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 1 minute before removing to a rack. Makes 3-4 dozen.

Shuffle Saturday: Prepping For A Holiday Party

We're having a housewarming/Ugly Christmas Sweater/Debate watch party tonight. I (with the help of my husband) made two different dips, a chocolate chip cheeseball and melted snowman cookies. All this morning.

The house? Yeah. I've learned my lesson. We won't be cleaning until AFTER the kids leave with Grandma for a friend's birthday party.

I used to clean the day before (or the morning before) a party only to have it completly destroyed by the time the guest came. And that made me one crabby hostess.

Here are a few tips:

1. Prep as much as you can ahead of time. Have dips that you bake? Mix them up and put them in the fridge. Bake them about 30 minutes before the guests come. That way you're pulling them out of the oven just before they come in.

2. Get Grandparents (or friends) to watch the kid(s) in the afternoon before the party so you can clean/organize/tidy up. There's really no point in cleaning while the kids are around...because if your kids are like mine, they'll just walk behind you making messes as you go.

3. Enjoy yourself. People really are not going to notice if there's a toy or two in the living room. You DO have kids after all. And if they're good friends, they'll understand.

Food Friday: Snickerdoodles

Need another batch of Christmas cookies and clueless as to what to make? Try these mouth watering, family favorites. From my experience, I guarantee you will not be able to eat just one cookie. So roll up your sleeves, get out your baking gear, and team up with the family to make a batch while listening to Christmas music in the background.

Ingrediants

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and the eggs. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls.

Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon; roll balls in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from baking sheet.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Make Monday: Make It Festive (And Smell Good Too)--Even If It Includes Mr. Hankey

Yesterday I came across a recipe for applesauce and cinnamon ornaments. The kids seemed excited about them to we made them. When I say "we", I mean "I". They stuck around for about 5 minutes before playing with the Angry Birds set.

When it came time to pick out the shapes, they were all about it. We have snowmen, Christmas trees, Candy Canes, Gingerbread Men and stockings.

I found I had just a bit of dough left, and not wanting to waste anything, I did something I wasn't proud of.

We made a Mr. Hankey Christmas ornament. It wasn't my finest parenting hour. But the kids had fun and it will make for a conversation starter at our house warming party.

The recipe I used is as follows:
3/4 cup applesauce
1 bottle (4.12 ounces)of ground cinnamon

That's it. Mix it, roll it, cut it. Before baking, use a straw to cut a hole in the top of the ornament so you can string it and hang it on the tree.

Bake at 200 degrees for 2.5 hours. It will make your house smell AWESOME.

Even if the last bit of dough is in the shape of, well, Christmas poo.

I love being a mom of boys, I love being a mom of boys, I love being a mom of boys.


(Note: Mr. Hankey was my HUSBAND'S idea.)

Food Friday: Peanut Butter Bars!

Peanut butter cookies are my favorite. A good spin off of those include these peanut butter bars. If you need to whip something up tomorrow for your church Christmas Cookie Walk, try these. Guaranteed you will not be able to eat just one! Happy Baking!

Frosted Peanut Butter Bars

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups unsifted all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, stir together peanut butter and butter until creamy. Gradually beat in sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into peanut butter mixture. Spread batter in a greased 13 by 9 inch baking pan. Beat in a preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes. Cool in pan.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

2 ½ cups confectioners sugar

For frosting, beat together creamy peanut butter and vanilla. Beat in two tablespoons milk and 1 cup sugar until smooth. Gradually beat in remaining sugar and milk until smooth and of spreading consistency. Use to frost cooled peanut butter bars. Cut into 24 equal pieces.

Food Friday: No Bake Cookies!

In spite all this yummy food from yesterday, I am craving my mom's homemade No Bake Cookies. Easy to whip up. So bring some apple cider and join me curled up in a front of a Christmas classic movie nibbling on some of these.

No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar

½ cup margarine

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups oatmeal

6 tablespoons cocoa

Mix together sugar, milk, margarine, and boil (rolling) 1 minute over medium heat. Add vanilla. Put oatmeal and cocoa in a bowl. Blend well. Pour hot mixture over dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly and drop teaspoonfuls on wax paper. Cool completely before storing.

Option:

3 cups oatmeal

½ cup coconut

½ cup nuts

Could use 8 tablespoons cocoa for real chocolate taste.

Food Friday: Homemade Apple Sauce!

Tis the season for apples. Apple orchards, caramel apples, apple cider, bob for apples, apple pies, and yes do not forget homemade apple sauce.

My family makes a trip to the apple orchards in Wisconsin every year. Our day traditionally is full of Fall activities surrounding our trip to the orchards. The leaves are often turning bright shades of red, orange, and yellow. Farmers are harvesting the golden corn out of the fields. And the Mississippi seems as blue as ever. Our day is usually complete after we taste tested and picked out some bushels of apples, finished the corn maze, and stocked up on some Wisconsin cheese. YUM!

Once at home, our leftover apples from pies and eating goes to making homemade apple sauce. We then stock the freezer full of the remaining apples into sauce for winter.

My first secret to cooking apple sauce is my choice in apples. Semi-tart, soft apples make the best sauce for cooking. For pies, I recommend Cortland Apples. These cook down to where they melt in your mouth. Cortland apples are also great for apple sauce. However, I typically use up whatever needs to be cooked before they go bad.

I peel and core the apples sometimes by hand and other times when the apple is still firm with an apple peeler. The kids love to watch the apple peeler. Many hands make this process light work.

I throw the pieces of apple into the pan to cook on low adding a little water. Next, I add my secret ingredient, a touch of cardamon, with plenty of cinnamon. I never need to add any sugar to my sauce. The apples continue to cook on on low until they have cooked down all the way.

Homemade apple sauce is made to serve hot. Store the rest into containers and stick in the freezer for a hearty winter meal. And enjoy.

Take advantage of cooking homemade apple sauce. Most family members are helpful for seasonal baking. Also, the smell of cooking apples and cinnamon make the house smell great for the Fall season.

Tip Tuesday: Be Frugal With Your Scents (cents)

HA! See what I did there? Now that you're laughing, I'm going to make you feel uncomfortable.

How does your house smell? No, really. How does your house smell? With two in diapers, my house smells rather...interesting, depending on the day.

I've been getting some great deals at Bath and Body Works on candles but it's not safe to having a candle lit around a toddler who likes to climb. I can light a candle when he goes to bed (and make sure I blow it out before I go to bed) but I don't want to forget it.

So what's a mom to do?

The other day, I made an apple pie. Yes, from scratch. I reserved the peelings from the apples and the apple cores and when I washed my hands of the sugar/cinnamon, I washed it over the pot (small pot) that contained my peels.

I put the pot on the back burner and set it on low. And boy, did it smell good. Granted, I did have an apple pie baking in the oven, but even after an hour after the pie had cooled (and made sure to add a little more water) my house STILL smelled like there was an apple pie baking in the oven.

Not only was I pleased that I re-used the apple peels (yay frugal!) but it made the house smell like all of my boys were potty trained.

I have a feeling potty training is still a few years away for Baby B. But at least my house doesn't have to smell like diapers!

Food Friday: Cornbread from Scratch!

September has been cooling down which means time to turn on the oven for some Fall baking. Pumpkins line the kitchen shelves. Chili or Split Pea Soup is in the crock pot for post a football game. Add some apple cider to drink and some home made apple crisp for dessert. Then all you need is some cornbread to complete your meal.

Cornbread would be an excellent addition to your Fall favorite recipes. Surprisingly making cornbread from scratch is so simple and easy. It can actually be a healthy, filling meal. So why not add some cornbread to your meal this weekend.

This is one of our home favorites!

Mix Together

2 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour
8 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup powdered milk (for optional added nutrients)

Make a well and add

4 beaten eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Stir until smooth and pour into greased 9 by 13 inch pan for 25 minutes. Cornbread should come out fluffy, golden brown. Serve warm with butter and honey.

Food Friday: Banana Bread like Grandma makes it!

Every year growing up my family went to Ohio for vacation to see my relatives. Traveling seemed long riding in a big van with four younger siblings and my parents for twelve plus hours (that counts stops). We would arrive at Grandma's in time for a late night snack and bed. Almost like clock work, Grandma would fix a big breakfast the next morning for us weary travelers.

I call it a Grandma breakfast: scrambled eggs with sausage, toast, oatmeal, and home made banana bread! Oh how Grandma's banana bread tastes slightly toasted and slathered with butter. Add a glass of orange juice or milk and you have a Grandma meal, the best kind!

Last night I had six over ripe bananas sitting on my kitchen counter that screamed "eat me." I guess Judah has not been asking for them as much lately, so there they sat, almost black. That is when I decided to call up mom for Grandma's banana bread recipe.

The house smelled so good with the baking bread in the oven. I know it would have tasted better at Grandma's house, especially in her company, but it was still good. And I forgotten how relatively easy it was to make.

Banana Bread

1 stick (1/2 cup) stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons milk
optional: walnuts

Directions

Melt butter and add sugar, mixing to a cream consistency. Add eggs and bananas until completely mashed. Next, add flour, milk, and baking soda, blending thoroughly. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from pan onto rack to cool.

Can I say, YUMMY! What special recipes remind you of your grandma?

Make Monday: Melted Snowman Cookies

I saw this recipe on Mommy Savers and thought I would try it. It is just a Betty Crocker bag of sugar cookie mix, baked to the drop cookie recipe. Don't worry if they're not perfectly round, they're "melting" anyway!

I then poured a container of whipped vanilla frosting into a glass measuring cup and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. After the cookies cooled, I poured the frosting on them. Again, don't worry if it isn't even or spread out.

Put marshmallows on a plate (spray the plate with no-stick spray first) and microwave for 30 seconds. With buttered (or sprayed) hands, put the marshmallows on the cookies. I used Cake Decorating gel (on sale for $1.00 a tube at Hy-Vee) and made the faces, scarves, bows, buttons and arms.

They are REALLY good and super cute! Enjoy making these with your kids! They'll love making the snowman faces!

Food Friday: Easy and Tasty Pumpkin Muffins

This easy recipe is perfect for fall and will make the whole house smell great. It's perfect with eggs and bacon at breakfast or for a snack for the kids (or yourself).

The recipe does not include any additional eggs or oil. You may be tempted to add either of these, but it is not necessary. Follow the recipe as directed and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix (Pillsbury works best)
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Mix the canned pumpkin puree in until smooth. Spoon equal amounts of batter into the prepared muffin cups.
4. Sprinkle top of muffins with brown sugar.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean.

For this blog entry, I put the muffins in fun Halloween liners.

Enjoy!!