Snow Ice Cream

Well the forecast yesterday called for lots of snow around here, and we definitely got it!  So as I ran my errands in the morning, I made sure to pick up one essential ingredient, half and half.  Whenever we get the first snows of the season, my kids start asking me when we will make snow ice cream.  I've been making it for years with my three kids, and I don't think we can have winter without making it once!

As the snow started falling, I put my biggest bowl outside on the table on the deck to start collecting snow.  My girls had a half day of school and as soon as they got home, started monitoring the fullness of the bowl.  I received frequent updates as the afternoon wore on: "There's a LOT of snow in the bowl, Mom."  "Mom, the bowl is more than half full."  "Mom!  The snow is over the top of the bowl!!!!" 

Aaaah.  Now it is time to make the snow ice cream.  I brought the heaping bowl of fresh snow in and placed it on the counter.  My eager kids gathered around as I added the ingredients.  First, some sugar.  (The sugar always gets some ooohs and aaaahs from my kids.)  Then some half and half.  A little vanilla.  Some more half and half and some more sugar.  After lots of mixing and some taste testing, we declared this batch perfect!

I pulled out the pretty sundae glasses and served up the snow ice cream.  The kids loved it!

Now, if only I didn't have to go back out and shovel again!

My Nephew's Baptism

I attended my newest nephew's baptism this past weekend.  It was quite lovely.  He wore his great grandfather's christening gown that several members of his family have been baptized in, including his mother and grandmother.  There were only four babies being baptized, so it wasn't too long.  And two of my three kids got tapped to assist the priest by holding the oils that he anointed each baby with. 

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law hosted a great party afterwards.  Lots of yummy food (homemade lasagne!) and good company.  Our kids and my brother-in-law's nieces and nephews get along great.  Everyone had a good time.

As a Catholic, I take the sacraments that we can receive very seriously.  I bought my nephew a stuffed lamb and three board books about Jesus.  When I went to buy a card, the cards at the Christian bookstore were clearly not for infant baptism.  So I ran to the Hallmark store the morning of the baptism and found several nice cards that mentioned baptism and were clearly for infants.  I found one that had a sentiment that I liked and purchased it.

Fast forward to the party where my sister-in-law was opening the gifts.  She received three of the same card (not the one I bought) and that led us to a discussion of the lack of variety in Baptism/ Christening cards.  I mentioned how that is true at many stores, but not at Hallmark where there seemed to be at least five cards I liked that all mentioned baptism specifically.  One of the women there said that
 she doesn't like to buy cards where the wording is too "religiousy."  Really?  I just shook my head and smiled.  The reason for a baptism is to welcome a child into God's family and the church family.  Isn't that the point?  How can you be too religious with a baptism?  I just don't get it.

Where I Spend My Time

I have recently decided that I spend way too much time on the computer.  I think this blog is a good use of my time, and the other sites I visit can be useful, if I didn't get sucked in and spend 1/2 an hour (at the minimum) every time I log into one of these sites.  So I thought I'd share with you where I (waste) spend the majority of my computer time.

Facebook.  What a time waster.  I never wanted to get sucked in.  But I did.  Reconnected with my fourth grade boyfriend.  Reconnected with old high school and college friends.  But what I love most is being connected with family.  I am in touch with cousins who I know very little about.  They are so much younger than me, or live many states away, that I don't know them really.  Now, I know them a little bit.  Aunts and uncles.  I no longer see my aunts and uncles on any regular basis.  Occasionally, if I am lucky, I see them once a year.  More likely it is once every two or three years.  On Facebook I can chat on a daily basis.  Makes me feel a little more connected.  Brothers, sisters and nieces and nephews.  These are the people I especially love to see  on FB.  What a great way to stay connected when
living hundreds of miles away.  (Oh, and I love when people ooh and ahh over pictures of cakes and cookies I make are posted there.)

Ravelry.  I'm a new knitter.  Just learned at the beginning of 2011.  I love it.  So, I spend lots of time on Ravelry.com, a website devoted to knitting and crochet projects.  What I really love is that many of the projects are free or available for a small fee.  Also, lots of people post pictures of their projects and I can get a good idea of how something should turn out.  I save so many ideas there.  Have probably made about 28 projects this year.  Hope to make lots more (when I'm not wasting time on the computer!)

Finally, my friend Katie invited me to join Pinterest.  She told me it is a way better time waster than Facebook.  And I think she is right.  Oh the ideas, the beautiful pictures, the links to tasty food recipes.  Basically, if you have not heard of it, it is a website that creates virtual bulletin boards.  Any ideas you like, you "pin" a picture on a theme board of your choosing (say like "Christmas Ideas").  Then the picture is a link to the website where you can get the information about that item, recipe, party idea.  But here's the best part.  You can see other people's pins, and repin them to your bulletin board.  So many fantastic ideas!!!! It is brilliant.

There are other websites that suck me in, too.  Blogs, Allrecipes.com, Etsy, blogs.  But these three are by far the main way I spend my time on the web.  Where do you (waste) find interesting things on the computer?

Birthday Cookies

My two oldest nieces, Rose and Hannah, turned 16 this December, 6 days apart.  I wanted to make something special for the two of them.  I also had to make something that would mail safely and taste good after being in the mail for a few days.  So I came up with these sweet sugar cookies and a little birthday cash.

Here are some of Rose's cookies:

Her favorite color is blue so I chose green as a complementing color and then made these sweet little cupcake cookies. 

Hannah's cookies ended up being very similar, but I chose orange (her favorite color) and used pink as the complementing color.

 I really love how they turned out, and I'm really happy I was able to surprise them both on their special birthday!

Candy Cane Fudge

Need a last minute treat for Christmas?  This is it.  Simple, festive and tasty.  Make it. Today.

I made this last week to take to a friend's house for after caroling in her neighborhood.   Not only was it a hit, but I got several requests for the recipe.  It is so easy, and so good!

Candy Cane Fudge

2 (11 oz.) packages white chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
1½ cups crushed candy canes, divided

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Grease the foil.

Combine the vanilla chips and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until vanilla chips are almost melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chips are completely melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in peppermint extract and 1 1/4 cups candy canes.

Spread evenly into prepared pan. Top with remaining 1/4 cup candy canes. Press lightly into fudge. Chill for two hours in the refrigerator, then cut into small squares.

Yield: 1- 8x8 inch pan of fudge


Notes:  Make this a day ahead for the best pepperminty taste. 

I have really enjoyed taking this recipe trip with all of you.  I hope you have found a few favorites of your own that may become a tradition in your homes.  Have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Only 2 more days until Christmas!

Succotash

I actually have no idea what succotash is.  In my mind it is some crumbled meat mixed with some potatoes and other vegetables and served over toast or something like that.  I might have mixed it up with hash, but no mind.  When my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, made this for Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago, I was little skeptical.  I'm not a huge fan of many green vegetables, and ones that LOOK like lima beans are no exception.  But, I'm the polite sort and so I tried Elizabeth's vegetable dish.  I'm so glad I did.  This instantly became one of my favorite vegetable side dishes of all times.  I took leftovers home and ate them for the next three days.  It is that good.  I now make it for holiday dinners and introduced edamame (soybeans) to my Ohio family.  (Ironically, my dad grew up a farmer and my mom in a small farming town, but they had not heard of edamame - I guess it is a big city thing.)

 

Succotash

4 slices bacon
¼ cup onion, chopped
10 ounces frozen corn
12 ounces shelled edamame

Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry in pan over medium heat. After a minute or two add the onion and saute until bacon is cooked and onion is soft and golden. Drain fat.

Add corn, edamame and enough water (1/2 - 1 cup) to pan to cook vegetables. Cook until corn and edamame are cooked through and hot.


Notes: I really don't know if this is traditional succotash, but I don't care.  It is delicious.  The edamame has a nutty quality and of course the bacon adds yumminess to just about anything.  Add more onion if you are a fan.

Only 1 more recipe and 3 more days until Christmas!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

My family loves cinnamon rolls.  I love cinnamon rolls.  In fact for my birthday a few years ago I made myself homemade cinnamon rolls instead of cake.  What I hate about homemade cinnamon rolls is how long they take.  If you really want them for breakfast, I would have to get up VERY early, and they still probably wouldn't be ready until 10:30 in the morning.  That just won't fly with my early rising kids.  (And lets face it, I want my rolls, too!)  I found some different recipes and took the best parts of each of them and came up with this dynamite recipe for cinnamon rolls you make the night before. 

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
2½ cups warm water, 110ºF
1 (18.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix
7 - 8½ cups all purpose flour, divided
3 eggs
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1½ teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8oz.) cream cheese, softened
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
3¾ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add cake mix, 1 cup flour, eggs, oil and salt; beat well. Stir in 6 cups flour until soft dough forms.

Put dough hook attachment on mixer and knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, while kneading if dough is too sticky. Place in greased bowl, and turn to coat top of dough. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Divide into two equal parts. Roll out each part on a lightly floured surface to a 12x16-inch rectangle. Spread 3 tablespoons softened butter onto each rectangle. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of cinnamon mixture on each rectangle.

Roll up from long side of rectangle, pinching edges to seal. Cut each rectangle into 12 equal rolls with a piece of dental floss or knife. Place in two greased 13x9-inch pans (12 rolls in each pan). Spray plastic wrap with vegetable spray and tightly cover each pan. Place in refrigerator to rise overnight.

In the morning, take rolls out of refrigerator and let sit on counter for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

To make frosting:

Place cream cheese and butter in mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer on low speed until combined. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, blending with mixer on low until sugar is incorporated. Add vanilla extract and increase mixer speed to medium and blend until frosting is fluffy, 1 minute more.

Yield: 24 rolls

Notes:  This makes a lot of rolls.  Often, I only make 12, then freeze the other 12.  To do this, follow directions in recipe for one pan.  For other 12 rolls, after cutting, place on parchment lined cookie sheet so that rolls are not touching.  Place cookie sheet in freezer until rolls are hard, about 1 hour.  Take rolls off of cookie sheet and place in a freezer Ziploc bag.  Freeze for up to 2 months.  Get out of freezer day before and proceed as above.  Know that the rolls may not rise as much as the unfrozen rolls, but they will still taste great!  Remember to cut the frosting recipe in half, too.

Only 2 more recipes and 4 more days until Christmas!