Monday Gratitudes

Heilige Abend or Christmas Eve is when we celebrate Christ's birth.

Around 5-ish we have a chicken or a ham dinner and then it's time for Santa to come.
Every year is a little different. Some years we have the kids go to their rooms to get their pajamas on and while they are getting dressed we quickly place the presents under the tree or my DH will take the kids and put them in the car pretending to heat it up for me (and while it's heating up, I quickly put the gifts under the tree) and then I get in the car and we run a few last minute cookies over to the neighbors and when we come back Santa was already there.
The kids are always so excited and really believe in Santa. It's cute.
Before we exchange the gifts, we read the Christmas story and sing some of our favorite Christmas songs. It really is a peaceful night. The rest of our evening is enjoyed and the children can play with their new toys until they are too tired to play anymore. And we all sleep in the next morning.
I really love this tradition that I grew up with and am grateful to be able to continue it with my own family.
There are a few more traditions that I didn't mention - have to run and get a few more cookies made.
I'm going to take a small blogging break.
So I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Try-it Tuesdays Winger's Chicken

I don't know how many of you have ever tried these, but this is as close to the real thing.

Winger's Chicken

2 lbs. chicken cut into strips
2 Tbls oil
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. Frank's Hot Sauce
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. flour
2 eggs
2 c. crushed corn flakes

Add brown sugar and Frank's Hot Sauce in a small sauce pan. Bring mixture to a boil then set aside and allow to cool.
Dip chicken strips in milk then put in a bowl with flour and shake to cover. Next dip chicken in lightly beaten eggs and roll in crushed corn flakes. Fry in pan until crispy. Place chicken in 9x13 pan and pour cooled sauce over it. Broil the chicken on second to top shelf (depending on oven) for about 5 minutes or until sauce thickens without burning. Tastes great with rice.

Gratitudes

Oh my, it has been a long time since I've posted anything. We've had some very interesting problems with our internet. I've been calling our internet company for the last 3+ weeks because the server constantly drops my connection so I'm lucky to get a quick e-mail off. Well finally they sent someone out Wednesday to fix the unknown problem and for a few hours everything worked and after the guy left - voila it started dropping the connections again.
Okay, at this point I'm starting to boil because they've wasted so much of my time. Well the company then decides it best to credit my account and send "a line professional out".
Okay, I'm thinking to myself..wasn't the last guy that came to the house "a line professional"? So I waited all morning and he doesn't bother to call or show up during my designated appt. time. That's it! They will be nixed.
Oh no...not during the busiest time of the season and who wants to wait another week or so for the other company? So to make a long story shorter (LOL)..they credited my account again and told me that they didn't need to come to my house after all because the whole system down the block went out. They replaced some type of huge central line and now everything works (still holding my breath). They blamed the problem on the cold weather. Ha....aren't they used to cold weather? Yes of course they are..but they have to blame something!
So to start off with my weekly gratitudes:

-I'm grateful for a working internet, it really is a fun tool that is so hard to be without.
-I'm grateful to be able to go the gym every morning for my daily workout. I'm even more grateful to be able to take my youngest with me because they offer free sitting. That is a definite bonus. You know how hard and funny it is to work out at home with a youngster crawling all over you.
-I'm grateful for yummy strawberry flavored(I think that was the flavor) homemade marshmallows. Hatsuho was so kind to send me some. It's so fun to open a cute package filled with yummy homemade treats. My kids really enjoyed them too, as you can see from the before and after pictures. Thank you Hatsuho!
-I'm thankful for a working heater in my home. You've probably heard that from me before -but a warm house is such a blessing to me. Right now I'm looking outside and my thermometer is reading 4 degrees Fahrenheit Chilllllly to say the least and my trees have ice on them. Not snow. ICE. Which leads into another gratitude.
-I'm grateful to be able to walk my kids to school. Even though it is absolutely freezing outside and they could take the bus to school (I'm still pondering that one)I know that years from now they will look back on this time with fond memories or long tales that they will tell their children.. You know the stories that start off with... When I was your age I used to walk miles to school.....It's all fun...Plus the air is fresh and exercise is good for you.

WOW She's outdone herself again! Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!! This is so cute. What little girl wouldn't want to wear this?

Christmas Giveaway from Hanne

I love Hanne's blog as she always something cute on it. Take a look at her fun giveaway.
It's giving me good ideas for Christmas gifts, if I can find the time between all the other stuff that I have to do.

Another One Check this Out!Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!
This is sooooo cute. My youngest would have so much fun in this.

Check this out!!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!Isn't this dress beautiful! A friend of mine sent this link and if you hurry there is still time to win it. I am absolutely amazed at the sewing abilities of this blogger.

Monday Gratitudes -Tuesday

Since yesterday was a holiday and all the kids were home from school, I thought I would take advantage of it and have them help me put some holiday decorations up. We decided to do something fun and a little spooky/cute with some black mesh, purple lights and purple glittery stars to decorate our front porch. Well I only finished a quarter of it and then noticed that over the top of my head were a ton of these scary looking spiders. I immediately stopped what I was doing and had to have my wonderful hubby spray the entire porch -every nook and cranny. Those spiders were huge and everywhere. Needless to say I did not get any posting done to my blog because I was so creeped out and had to check every website on earth to see if these were poisonous or not, I still have yet to find out what they are.
So my gratitudes for today are..

I am grateful for bug spray, poison, you name it-anything that can kill a pest.

I am grateful that I was oblivious to what was above my head or I would not have even started the task of decorating (It was a little dark outside-overcast). I'll try to post some pictures when I'm finished.

I am grateful that those spiders have too big of a body to be able to fit inside all the tight spaces around my house.

I am grateful for caulk, believe me I am going to start caulking every nook and cranny I can find. Can you tell that I am still a little creeped out? !

The picture I posted was taken this morning and that leaf that it is on top of is actually pretty big. I think if you click on the picture you should be able to see it better.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

I was so inspired by all of my friends blogs that have already gone to pumpkin patches in the areas they live, that we decided it was time to take a break this weekend, put all the kids in the mini-van, drive about 45 minutes and check one out. We had such a good time.

The place we went was in the middle of Amish Country and had been featured in Martha Stewart Magazine. It was pretty incredible. They have over 300 varieties of pumpkins and gourds that are simply amazing.

The farm is on 200 acres of land but I guess they only dedicate 63 acres of it to the pumpkin patch/gourd garden and all the mini shops and barns. The place was huge and so nicely decorated.

Each kid was able to get their own wagon to haul around their most favored prized pumpkin. My youngest really enjoyed that. He loves being a big boy and doing things all by himself.

On the drive home, the kids were asking us to take them back next week. I'm so glad they enjoyed it. It looks like this will become a family tradition.

Try-it Tuesdays One Hour Cinnamon Rolls

If you are in a time crunch -then try these fast cinnamon rolls. They are just as delicious as the ones that take longer.

One Hour Cinnamon Rolls

3 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
6 teaspoons yeast
Mix and let stand for 15 minutes, then add:
1 Tbls salt
3 eggs
10 1/2 cups flour
Blend, knead, let sit for 10 minutes.
Roll dough 1/2" thick. Spread with melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, nuts. Roll up jellylike and cut with thread into rolls. Put on greased baking sheet, let rise 15-20 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes in 350-375 degree oven. While warm spread with your favorite frosting. Enjoy!

Monday Gratitudes

I have a lot to be Grateful for.
So here goes..
-Grateful that my brother was able to come for the weekend. My kids absolutely love their Uncle Matt.

-Grateful again- that we had good weather so we could work in the yard.

-Grateful to live close to the city but be zoned through the county. Why? We've had a burn pile going for about 2 months straight because we have so much yard overgrowth. If we were zoned any other way it would take us even longer to clear out the overgrowth.

-Grateful that we could watch General Conference and be spiritually uplifted. For my friends and family that have no idea what I'm talking about....General conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are gatherings of leaders and members of the Church and anyone else wishing to hear messages of faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel. Scriptural doctrines are taught, hymns are sung and prayers are given, all in an effort to urge people to live more Christian lives.

-Grateful that my whole family is healthy. My youngest two children both had fevers on Thursday but were healthy again on Saturday.

-Grateful to be able to fast and pray for dear friends and family. I have seen many miracles.

Walnuts that look like Lemons?

I have been mowing these yucky fruit things for about a month
-thinking to myself the whole time, why in the world would anyone ever plant such a terrible tree that drops inedible fruit that looks like a lemon and almost smells like one and makes such a mess!
Well we had some church friends over for dinner last week and they noticed the fruits on the ground and told me they were walnuts.
What a surprise. I never knew that walnuts had another casing besides their nutshells.
My oh My -we have a ton of walnuts in our yard.
My son has decided that he wants to make some money so he has gathered most of them to wait for the casings to dry out and then he's going to market them. What an undertaking. I've decided to let him just go for it. We'll see what happens.

Fred the Frog

My oldest son wanted me to post pictures of 'Fred' so his cousins could see this cool pet of his.
This frog is just hilarious. He seems to always be under my feet. I'm absolutely nervous when walking around our yard at night because I'm afraid that I'll crush him by accident. Well if that ever happens we have plenty of tree frogs that might be able to take his place...Sh..jk.
If you click on the picture you can see him closer. He actually lives in a hollowed out railroad tie that is right next to the house.
He is a funny frog and my oldest son just loves him.

Try-it Tuesdays Gravy for Biscuits

I wanted to share this recipe (which I also found on the internet) to go along with the Biscuit recipe that I posted earlier. It's delicious.

½ pound ground breakfast sausage.
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups cold milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the sausage until it is cooked and has released as much of its fat as possible. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and DON'T drain the grease. You’ll need it to make the roux. (I said this was delicious, not health food). You should have about 2 tablespoons of rendered pork fat. Add the butter and melt it. Then add the flour a little at a time over medium heat, constantly whisking. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Now start adding the cold milk a little at a time, constantly whisking. Toward the end of the milk add the sausage back in. When you reach the desired consistency add salt and pepper to taste. Cut the biscuits in half, pour the gravy over them, and enjoy!

A few tips. The perfect roux has equal amounts of fat and flour. If for some reason your sausage renders noticeably less or more than two tablespoons of fat, adjust the amount of flour accordingly. If you end up making more roux you will need more milk so have extra on hand. Make sure the roux is cooked on no more than medium heat. You don't want to burn or brown the roux, just cook out the floury taste. Four things are necessary to assure a smooth, lump-free gravy. You have to constantly whisk the roux and the gravy throughout the process. You should add cold milk to the hot roux. You should incorporate the milk a little at a time. And finally, keep the heat at no more than medium. You can adjust the consistency however you like, but a thick creamy gravy is the target viscosity.

Monday Gratitudes

This week I am grateful for fishing. Okay, okay..
Fishing is fun— just ask any of my children who now thoroughly enjoy it!
I found out that fishing is not just about fish and being bored to tears— during our little excursions (2 weekends in a row) we enjoyed our family and friends, being outdoors and we also learned some new skills.
My wonderful hubby bought each child their own rod and reel and some fresh worms. I know -sounds appetizing.
Well we really didn't think that the kids would even get a bite let alone catch a fish but much to our surprise each of them caught at least 5 or 6. They had so much fun. My older kids have really learned to cast well and I was amazed at how my younger two were able to sit so quietly and wait for a bite. Impressive.
It looks as though we will probably go fishing for an hour or two every Saturday until the bad weather hits. If anyone is in the area or has time to kill, you are more than welcome to join us. The more the merrier.

I am also grateful that our wonderful friends let us fish in their pond -which is about a block away. It's nice being so close to a wonderful fishing spot.

Try-it Tuesdays Biscuits

I had to share this wonderful recipe with you. This Sunday was the first time in my life that I've made real Biscuits and gravy. It was delicious. The biscuits were moist and fluffy. The gravy was heavenly although loaded with fat. Yummy. As a kid I never had this. My parents never really cooked typical American food except for pizza and tacos (are those really American?). So here goes.

JP's Big Daddy Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet (silpats worked beautifully). Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to brown.
I found this on allrecipes.com. I did not knead the dough as it says in the recipe -they turned out great. I also doubled the recipe. Leftover biscuits are wonderful with fresh jam or honey.

Monday Gratitudes

Wow, another week has gone by so fast.
On Saturday we worked so long and hard in the yard trying to remove a pretty big chicken coop that had caved in.
We wanted to do yard work on Friday but the weather wouldn't cooperate and just kept right on raining. I think the riverbeds are over capacity. Let hope the fields don't turn into a mini lake again. On to my Gratitudes.

-I'm grateful that I'm able to work in the yard even when my body is a little sluggish at times.

-I'm grateful for the pear tree in our yard. I've been dehydrating batches of them since Saturday and you know - they actually taste pretty good. Even my kids enjoy them. So I'm stocking up for the winter. We'll see how long they last.

-I'm grateful that it stopped raining. My basement flooded (this is normal) and now it can dry out again. We have a lot of work to do on this house.

-I'm grateful to be alive and kicking.

Stick Family

I found this funny stick family through Sherilyn's blog.

Try-it Tuesdays Sugar Cookies

Okay, Okay....I know that there are a lot of sugar cookie recipes out there but I think I have found the best one. This is also one that I really never share, I know-terrible of me but today is a great day and you are lucky that sharing is a good thing. jj.

Best Ever Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
4 ½ to 5 ½ cups sifted flour (tip-for great cookies sift 3-4 times)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream and vanilla. Then add dry ingredients. If dough is sticky, add more flour. Chill for one hour (overnight works best). Roll out into your favorite shapes and Bake at 350˚ on an un-greased cookie sheet for 8 minutes. Tip-I always use my Silpat for cookies. Decorate with your favorite frosting, fun non-pareils, or sanding sugars. Get the kids involved and have fun!

Monday Gratitudes

This past week my hubby took vacation to study for yet another Board Exam (they are never ending) but he was also able to take a few study breaks to help get some things done around the house and help out a few of our neighbors.
So this week I am thankful for my sweetheart.

-I'm thankful that he was able to hang all the blinds in our house and take down all the terrible hardware that was left on each window.

-I'm thankful that we could go to the gym and workout together. This was the first time that we have worked out together in a gym. Okay, okay.. while he was pumping weights I would either be jogging or working on my abs. But for the most part we were together.

-I'm thankful that he was able to take off the wheel of our lawn mower to fix a flat.

-I'm thankful that he was able to tackle another section of our yard.

-I'm thankful that he was able to spray the breakfast nook and the boys bedroom with primer. That makes painting so much easier for me.

-I'm thankful for the ribbon holder he built for me. This was built while we were in Cleveland, but every time I walk into my craft room it's one of the first things I see and am still so thankful to have a place for my ribbon stash.

-When my kids are wild in the chapel, while we are in church -I'm thankful that he is the one to take them out and discipline them. Lately this seldom happens, but I know that he will always help me.

Thank You Dear - you are truly the best and my sweetheart.

Try-it Tuesdays Rootbeer Cookies

This is such a fun recipe and you can easily substitute the flavoring with anything that you have on hand.
My kids really love it.

Root Beer Cookies

1 c. sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. butter
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp. root beer extract
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets unless you have silpats. In large mixing bowl, combine sugars, butter, buttermilk, eggs, root beer extract, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add flour, soda, and salt. Beat at slow speed until soft dough forms. Drop by heaping tsp. 2" apart onto cookie sheets. Cool completely. Then spread frosting onto each cookie.

Frosting
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tbls. half and half
2 tsp. softened butter
1 tsp. root beer extract

Eventful Labor Day

We had a wonderful 3 day weekend filled with painting, swimming, more painting, parades, church talks and yet more painting. I'm trying to get the boys room finished as soon as I can so they don't have to sleep on the floor anymore. On the floor? Yes of course on a mattress placed on the floor.
Labor Day was great.
My shadow sees me and starts a beeline toward me.

We went with some friends to a very small town to watch a pretty long parade. The kids really enjoyed getting tons of candy. Here are some before and after pictures. Okay keep in mind that it was 92 degrees hot!

In the last picture you can see that my shadow has had enough and does not want to have his picture taken. He just wants to go home. Can't blame him.

Out of all the parades that I've attended the last 10 years or so, I would have to say that the Upper Arlington parade in Columbus Ohio was truly the best. Real American! Like you would see in a movie. Everyone participated. Even the onlookers clapped and waved their American flags.
What was your favorite parade? Why?

Great After School Snack - Pretzels

These nice big soft pretzels are really tasty and fun for the kids to roll out and twist. Make a double batch and freeze the leftovers so you can pop them in the microwave when the kids get home from school.

Pretzel Dough
1 tsp Yeast
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. honey
1 1/2 c. warm water
4 c. bread flour
2 tsp salt
3 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
pretzel salt, kosher salt or sugar & cinnamon

Stir yeast, sugar, honey, warm water in mixing bowl. Any mixer with a dough hook is great for this. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Mix flour and salt in bowl and slowly add to yeast mixture. Knead on low until smooth, 8 to 10 minutes. Put dough in large bowl oiled with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. Bring 4 quarts of water and baking soda to a boil. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper & coat with cooking spray. When dough has risen, punch down. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut down into 8-10 pieces. Work with one piece at a time (keep rest of dough covered) roll into 24" ropes. Shape into pretzel and place into boiling water and cook until set, about 30 seconds or so then turn over and cook other side. A wire skimmer is a great tool to put them in the water with. Transfer the pretzels to the lined sheet, Beat egg in bowl and brush onto pretzels. Sprinkle with salt. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until golden brown, about 15+ minutes. If you want to make them sweet then don't use the egg wash and as soon as they are baked brush them with a little butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top.
Tip-when rolling the dough into ropes, coat your counter top with cooking spray so the ropes don't stick together. The dough is very sticky.
Enjoy!

First Day of School & Kindergarten

What a whirlwind week. The kids had their first day of school and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope that feeling continues throughout the year. My oldest daughter is in 6th grade, my oldest son is in 3rd grade and my youngest daughter is in Kindergarten. How amazing~! I can't believe that I have a kid in 6th grade.

My youngest daughter started Kindergarten and was so excited for her Hello Kitty Schultute (a german tradition in our family) and book bag.
The only one left out was our youngest who was so sad to be alone with mom. He especially misses his best pal the Kindergartner. I wasn't even going to send him to preschool but I may have to rethink that decision. All day long he asked about the older kids and he wanted to go and bring them home.

We are so lucky to live right next to the school. I walked the kids to school and they seemed happy. They seem to have nice teachers and hopefully they can make some good friends too.

For lunch they're all going to eat pizza. Can't beat school lunch when it's pizza day.

I love when school starts! I can get back into a good routine and the kids seem to enjoy it as well. I do miss them but know that they are learning some great things.

Hurray for school!

Monday Gratitudes

I'm back. Yea! The Olympics are over. Not that I didn't enjoy them, quite the contrary -I enjoyed them so much that I was losing precious sleep trying to keep up on most of the events. What will be your memories of the Bejing Olympics? One thing that will go down as my greatest memory this past week was that my youngest son just up and decided that he was going to use the bathroom and be a 'big boy' and not wear any more diapers. What a wonderful triumph! For that I am truly grateful. You have to love 'Lightning McQueen' underpants. They helped seal the deal for me.
Seriously though, back to the Olympics. I was in awe of the Jamaican runners. What speed! and to win by such a long stride. It was interesting. I hope that in the near future we don't hear of any doping that went undetected.

I'm also grateful that my youngest daughter learned to ride a bike on her own. She was probably ready to learn last summer but we lived on such a big hill making it impossible.

I'm grateful that my wonderful hubby loves to work outdoors. He has really done a lot of work cutting down old trees, getting rid of tons of poison ivy, cutting back the numerous junk bushes, weeds and getting rid of a ton of yard waste that the previous owners just left. In this picture to the right used to be a barn. We have found some very interesting things trying to clear everything out.

Monday Gratitudes

I love watching the Olympics! It's always great to see an American win an event but I still love to see the Germans win as well.
Something interesting about my family that you didn't know is that my Grandfather was a very fast sprinter and would have been able to compete in the Olympics but it was cancelled due to the world war.
I'm grateful that many nations can come together for a short time and compete in multi-sports events and leave their differences behind them - even if it is only for 2 weeks.
Well this is short...I'm glued to the Tube.

What Happened

Wow, I don't know what happened to my Monday Gratitudes. I mean I thought about the things that I was grateful for -but I forgot to post about it. So here goes.
Some of you know that I've been researching digital cameras for quite some time.
I'm pretty diligent in my research and hate to buy anything on the spot unless I've completely done all my homework.
That pretty much covers any electrical device on the market that I might need in the future. I just hate spending my hard earned money on something that is inferior or will not make my life easier.
Well to get to my gratitudes - my wonderful hubby bought my first digital camera. Yes you heard it, my first.

I have a wonderful SLR that takes great pictures and it just wasn't necessary to buy a digital camera until we had a steady job.
Making the decision between the Canon Rebel and the Nikon D40 was a little tough, but in the end the Nikon won! A few more pros for me than the Canon.

I'm grateful that my kids still love to go to Museums. We went to the state museum this past week and the kids had fun.

I'm grateful for the tall trees in our yard. It's nice to drive in from town and know which house is ours because the trees tower over everything. My kids have so much fun climbing.

Try-it Tuesdays Grape Salad

I think grapes are one of the prettiest fruits. I love how they grow in clusters and more importantly I love how they taste. Natures Best!

Here is a very good recipe.
I usually don't give this one out, but since it's so hot here, I thought you might be able to enjoy this cool dessert as a special treat.

3 lb. Seedless Grapes washed and drained (I love using all the grape colors)

8 oz. Sour Cream
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 c. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
Mix well and fold grapes into mixture. Fits great in a 9X13 dish.

Topping:
1 c. chopped and toasted Pecans
1 c. Brown Sugar
Mix well and sprinkle on top of salad.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight and enjoy!
You can use light cream cheese and sour cream, but the completely fat free just isn't as good.

Try-it Tuesdays on Wed. - Fruity Pasta Salad

This is a great recipe for kids and a wonderful potluck pleaser! I always double or even triple this recipe-it's gone before you know it. You can substitute other fruits as well.

1 1/2 c. cooked spiral pasta
1 c. fresh strawberries quartered
1 c. pineapple tidbits
1 c. seedless red grapes, halved
2 kiwi fruit, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into slices

Combine together in bowl and pour dressing over salad. Gently mix and enjoy.

Dressing
1/2 c. low-fat vanilla yogurt (yoplait is good)
1/2 tsp. grated lime peel
1 Tbls. lime juice
2 Tbls. honey

Monday Gratitudes

I am Grateful for all the fun things that my kids find in our yard each day.
We found this huge Imperial Moth the other day while we were eating breakfast. It measured about 5 inches across. Huge!
My oldest son found a large toad living in one of the railroad ties right next to the house and seems to find little toads all over the yard.
We have several variety of birds: Robins, Cardinals, Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Finches, Wrens, and of course lots of Sparrows. We seem to find a new birds nest everyday.
We also have lots of very interesting insects.
We found a huge Wolf Spider carrying a large blue egg sack under it's belly. I think it was at least 3+ inches big. I wished I had taken a picture before it expired.
I found this picture that's pretty close to what we saw.
We usually find all the strange spiders and insects when we are cutting back the overgrowth and I never have my camera with me because it's such a dirty job.
I love our yard and am grateful to explore all the fun things it has to offer. It's wonderful to have a piece of earth that I can call mine. I love that my children can explore to their hearts content without mom having to watch over their shoulders.

Try-it Tuesdays Petits Fours

Most everyone knows that I do like a few of the finer things in life. Doesn't everyone? Well this is a great recipe and so so pretty especially for a Wedding/Baby Shower or a fine luncheon. Follow this recipe in exactness and it should turn out okay. If you have any problems, just call me and I'll try to help.

Cake:
3 1/4 c. sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 c. unsalted butter
8 egg whites
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. almond extract
1 c. whole milk

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In mixing bowl, whip egg whites until foamy, then add 2 Tbls. sugar. Whip until nearly stiff but not dry. In another bowl, beat butter and remaining sugar until light colored. Stir in almond extract. Alternately beat in dry ingredients. Gently fold in egg whites and pour into buttered and floured 9x13 inch cake pan. Bake at 350 fro about 20 min. Cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake from oven, cool and cut into 1 1/2" squares or other shapes with cookie cutters. Place shapes on wire rack with tray underneath to catch dripping fondant. Spoon fondant over petit fours. Let air-dry.

Fondant Icing:
2 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. corn syrup
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Combine sugar, water and corn syrup in heavy 2 quart saucepan. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Stop stirring and bring mixture to soft ball stage (238 on candy thermometer). Immediately pour mixture into kitchen-aid mixer. Allow to cool, to exactly 140 degrees. Add almond extract and mix until opaque, about 2-3 minutes. If you don't use this immediately, just reheat slightly until you get a pouring consistency. You can add color to this-start with very tiny amounts.

Royal Icing:
3 Tbls. meringue powder
1/3 c. water
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 lb. powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients on med-high speed until fluffy. Keep the bowl covered. Place icing in pastry bag and pipe flowers or designs on the petit fours or you can garnish them with tiny edible sugar flowers and leaves.

Monday Gratitudes

Well I'm a day late again. I was in Chicago at a Scrapbook Convention with my sister for the past several days and didn't have time to post anything. My gratitudes are all over the place today.

I am thankful for my own bed! What a blessing it is to be sleeping on my very own pillow. I used to take it (my pillow) with me when I travelled, but after losing it - I decided to never take it with me again. A very good pillow is not that easy to come by when your on a budget.

I am thankful for my good homemade pizza. My sister and I bought some authentic Chicago Styled Pizza -which came highly recommended while in Chicago and were sorely disappointed. It was yucky!
Okay, I've had some great Chicago pizza on the west side of Cleveland (go figure) so I think I know what a good Chicago style pizza should taste like?! The Cleveland pizza owners used to be from Chicago but decided that Cleveland was better and opened up shop. For you Clevelanders you really should take a drive to the west side and try it.

I am thankful that my hubby was able to get his first official paycheck this past week. What an exciting thing for us. Now we are finally able to start paying off our school debt and all the interest it has collected over the years. Yeah!