by Sarah | Dec 24, 2012 | Holidays
The presents are wrapped. The stockings are hung. The cookies are baked. The tree is lit.
Tonight is the night of hopes, dreams & wishes for young and old. The night where each of us believes in Santa. The kindness of man. The giving of spirit.
This year our lives have been touched with great joys, our lives have been touched with deep sorrows.
Tonight is the night we hope for everything for our children, for our family and friends.
May all your wishes come true.
May your lives be touched with human kindness as ours has.
May you be able to share that joy with others.
May you have peace. If only for a day.
by Sarah | Dec 17, 2012 | All About Me, Holidays, Random
[flickr id=”8276894702″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I don’t know how I end up doing this to myself every year.
I swear I’ll pick “only a few”.
But then a new recipe pops up.
Or an old favorite is demanded (begged for).
And suddenly dozens of cookies in 5, 6, 7 different variations are accumulating on my table.
I’m on day 4.
I’ve got at least one day left.
If I don’t come out – send in the troops.
by Sarah | Dec 7, 2012 | All About Home, Holidays
*This is a re-post. These cookies are so good they demand numerous re-postings.
I have made a LOT of cookies in my 30+ years. I’ve tasted even more.
When it comes to cutouts, it’s tricky. Too much sugar and it’s just a sugar cookie – too little and they are way too dry.
I used to think my Mom’s were the best…but they always required a ton of frosting to counteract the dryness of the cookie (sorry, Mom) – I stopped making them when I got married and moved out. My aunt’s Christmas cookies, while good – were just never right either (and it’s been so long I can’t remember why).
I tried several recipes in the 8 years I’ve been married – and for the past 5 years I’ve stuck with these. I stumbled on the recipe when I was looking for Polish cookies – and that’s what these were called. BUT, the recipe called for Anise (*gag* *hurl* Blech)…and I was definitely not down with that. So I adapted the cookies to a flavor that was much better.
Let me tell you, this is the easiest dough I have ever worked with and the flavor, when done as I adapted it, is PHENOMENAL.
****
The Best Sugar Cutouts
1c. Butter
1c. Shortening
2c. Sugar
5 Large Eggs
7c. Flour
2Tbs. Baking Powder
1/2tsp. Salt
1/2oz. Almond Extract (original recipe called for Anise, this substitution makes deliciousness)
- Cream the Butter, Sugar and Shortening until smooth and fluffy
- Stir in the eggs one at a time until incorporated
- Add almond
- Mix in the first 6 cups of flour
- From here it’s by sight/feel. Add in flour until you get a moist batter. It should seem too sticky to roll, but solid enough to hold together.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Preferably overnight.
- Once thoroughly chilled, the dough is a dream to work with. Take off a handful and put the remainder back in the fridge while you roll it out for cutting.
- Place a hunk on a floured surface and roll out for cutting (about 1/8″ thick).
- Bake for 12-15 minutes in a 350* oven.
- Frost with frosting of your choice. I love a good buttercream w/ a touch of corn syrup for shine.
- Decorate all out for your holiday fun (and for Santa’s plate).
And that’s it! The strong almond flavor gives and added touch of yum. The cookies are moist enough that you could eat them plain…but really, who wants to? Frosting is 98% of why we eat the cookies, after all…right?
I hope you enjoy them if you try them. My search for the perfect cutout has finally come to a sweet and delicious end!!
by Sarah | Nov 18, 2012 | All About Home, All About Me, Story of Me
My mom taught me to cook and bake as I grew up. I would help her tear bread for the stuffing at holidays. Cut apples for applesauce or pie. I’d stir the batter for the most delicious brownies.
All along the way I’d glean tips and tricks to what makes my Mom’s meals delicious. Little nuggets of information that have stuck with me into my marriage.
One of my favorite secrets happens to tie in with my favorite fall treat.
Apple Crisp.
My Mom’s secret lay in the citrus that you add. Instead of a tart lemon, she used orange. Now, before you go crying that the citrus isn’t necessary because you expect the apples to brown in this delicious dessert…of course you do. But, if you add a touch of orange as your citrus – it’s a sweet little kick that punches up the flavor. The way you put in that citrus is up to you. I favor orange juice concentrate (a couple of tablespoons), you could use orange juice – heck, my mom has been known to use Tang. Yes, TANG.
Try it – along with my other secret (vary the apples, I use up to 4-5 different kinds). I bet you won’t regret it.
Recipe: Apple Crisp
Summary: Recipe is for one pie sized dessert. Increase as needed for larger desserts (as I did in my example pictures)
Ingredients
- Filling:
- 6 apples – at least 1 granny smith
- 2Tbs White Sugar
- 2Tbs Brown Sugar
- 2Tbs Flour
- 1Tbs Orange Juice concentrate
- Topping:
- 1/2 Stick Butter
- 1/8 C Brown Sugar
- 1/4 C Flour
Instructions
- Peel & Core apples
- Slice – granny’s hold up better so slice them thinner, the other varieties slice thicker
- Mix with rest of filling ingredients and put into pie plate
- Using pastry cutter or fork, cut together topping ingredients
- Sprinkle topping over pie
- Bake 50-60 minutes at 350*
- Turn on broiler for 3-5 minutes until topping is crisp to your liking.
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
by Sarah | Sep 6, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Home, All About Me
In the outer edges of Virginia. Just outside of Dayton. There’s a small little dirt road off of a dirt road.
That road is called Denver Lane.
That road is named after my son.
Yes. Literally.
See that house at the end of Denver Lane? We lived there. A lovely house on 40 acres. My dog Sohio is buried next to that large pond. My cat, Calicow, is buried in the yard by the shed. Denver was a baby in that house. We lived “next door” to the man behind one of the biggest discount tire stores in Virginia – and he had a son about 2 years old. We spent some time with them, had a couple of cookouts during that summer. They were good neighbors – and with each of us having so much land we didn’t encroach.
Back then Denver Lane was Rural Route 12 (or something like that).
And the city decided to renamed all rural routes for 911 calls, etc. We were told to make our submissions for road names.
Our neighbors submitted their sons name. We submitted Denver’s. We joked back and forth with them over who would win the road name. After all, at the time there was just the two of us on that road back then. Not many options to choose from.
Two weeks before we moved we learned the city had picked “Denver Lane”. Not just that, but our house number would have had the month, date, and hour of Denver’s birth.
Unfortunately, we moved away from that gorgeous land before we ever got to live on his namesake street.
But I know it’s there, and it’s on google maps…
So yeah, my kid’s awesome. They named a whole street after him.
by Sarah | Aug 17, 2012 | All About Home, All About Me, All of Us
[flickr id=”7665964374″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I became an official SAHM right after my hysterectomy almost 6 years ago. That’s 9 months after Kennedy was born, 6 months before her CF diagnosis. 6 years.
These days I’ve become more WAHM than SAHM…not that I’m raking in the dough, but between my writing and all of the activities and opportunities this blog is drawing in for me – I’m always doing something (even when that something involves sitting on my arse and typing away at the computer for hours on end).
The problem I’ve had since I became a SAHM is that there’s always been someone under foot. I adore my kids, I love my husband – but I have trouble focusing and getting anything done when there’s people under foot.
Basically what I’m trying to say is my house was a clusterf***-aw, you know – of clutter. We are pack rats, and we have a small house. That equates to more clutter than I care to share. Usually about once or twice a year I do a massive overhaul and things are gorgeous for a while…but then real life climbs in and it’s a pit again.
These days things are running a bit more smoothly.
Three kids – all of them in all day school.
From 8-2:30 I am unimpeded.
I’m still adjusting to the schedule and figuring out how to plan out my day better…but the clutter is lessening. I had my massive house purging last month which got me started off on the right foot. There’s still plenty to be done…but things are getting done.
I can work – blog, edit, write – and clean and still have time left over to just enjoy the quiet…or run an errand without panicking that I only have a couple hours to get it done in.
Plus? Oh, the wonderful plus?
I have more patience with my kids. Granted I’m still not Glinda the Good Witch all the time….plenty of the Wicked Witch creeps in…but I’m getting better, calmer, and enjoying my time with them more.
You know what they say…absence makes the heart grow fonder…and the mommy saner.
