Sunday, December 28, 2008

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas (belated)!! We've been a bit busy with the marathon of family get-togethers...and then the Wii...and then the beautiful day today. I was able to finally get my new kayak out on the river to give it a try - I LOVE it and can't wait for spring!! Here are a few shots from Christmas morning....

On your mark, get set....go!!!!!!!

Oakley waiting patiently for his brother to help him open his gifts...


Pokemon! I can't believe it!!! (Who knew that a $15 pack of trading cards would be such a hit?)

Wii!!!
Merry Christmas everyone!!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Somebody stop me...


HELP!! Somebody call an intervention team!!!I can't stop baking/cooking! I need to clean, therefore I bake... I really do need to stop procrastinating on the cleaning or we're all going to gain 20lbs. before New Year...Hello New Year's Resolution!

Here are the recipe's for the yummy things we've been making...


Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes (DELICIOUS!!)
~Kraft Food & Family, Holiday 2006
Chocolate Truffles
1 lb. bittersweet chocolate, coarsley chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, sliced, at room temperature
2 T. Godiva chocolate liqueur (or whatever you like...we're doing Creme de Menthe next)
3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Melt chocolate with the cream in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Once smooth, remove from heat and add in the butter and liqueur. Stir untill all butter has melted and the mixture is completely smooth.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold and set, butu still soft enough to work with (about 2 hours).
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with wax paper (or parchment). Use a mini melon baller (or mini ice cream scoop) to scoop out balls of chocolate, and set them in the prepared baking sheet. Refrigrate for 20 minutes.
Put cocoa in a large bowl. Dust your hands with cocoa and roll balls (one at a time) between your palms until smooth (this gets a little messy...have a damp rag available for wiping hands every few minutes). Place each ball into the cocoa and toss to coat. Return to the lined baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. The truffles can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Saltine Toffee
Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
~Cottage Living, March 2008


Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Christmas Cookies...for the dog

Ok, so this might be a little crazy..but T. & I made homemade dog treats the other day and the dog loves them.
And when I say he loves them, I mean he really loves them. He has, on several occasions, stood alone in the kitchen "talking" at the treat jar...trying to get us to come in and get him one. If I didn't have first hand knowledge of the ingredients I might think there was some sort of addictive substance in them. ...he is a lab though, so maybe he's just not very picky - he does occasionally like to eat a nice stick or piece of mulch. It was a fun project for T. & I to do together...
Anywhooo...We got the recipe out of a magazine my mom picked up...can't remember the name at the moment...but here's the recipe for all of you dog lovers.
Great Gravy Cookies

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 small jars beef baby food
6 T. beef gravy
1 egg
1/2 cup non fat dry milk
1/2 cup water
1 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Lightly pat your hands with flour and shape the mix into a big ball. Flatten the ball using a floured rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes. Place on greased cookie sheet (we used non greased stoneware cookie sheet and they didn't stick). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Allow to cool, and then watch as your dog becomes addicted.

We're going to vary the flavor by switching out the beef baby food and gravy for chicken next time to see if he likes those...I'm sure he will.


This is what it looks like just before you have to clean the camera lens...I think Oakley was tired of the picture-taking and ready for another treat.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

It's beginning...

...to look a lot like Christmas!

Don't you normally do the chicken dance in front of the tree?

Even the light fixture is dressed for the holiday :)


Watching the Grinch, of course!!






Saturday, December 6, 2008

Handmade Garland!!

Ta Da!! The garland is finished, and up! It was surprisingly easy to make...and it's so much prettier than my old plastic stuff!!



..and so far it's still green, thank goodness for cold weather!


Speaking of cold weather...look what happened tonight!
SNOW!!
Ok, so it's just flurries...but to us it's a blizzard. Do you see T. in the background trying to fashion a snowball? PLEASE Mother Nature...can we get some real snow this winter...pretty please?