Thankful Sunday again ;)

Sorry, we were at our Grandparent's house on Thursday, and loving every minute of it :)!
This week I'm thankful for...
~Daddy's surprise visit home!!! He walked in the door about two hours after we got home Friday night, talk about excitement!
~Our trip to our Grandparents.
~Geo-cashing.
~Abbi's little artistic flare she just discovered. She has always colored/drawn, but Grandma gave her a coloring book a couple days ago, and she has really started to add details :).
~The news that Sarah Maxwell is writing the next Moody book! Don't believe me?
~Simple craft ideas. My Aunt showed my sister how to make some ribbon hair things while we were at my Grandparent's, and they are so cute :). So are these ladybugs.... although I can see a child eating the eyes instead of the chocolate, so I'm not sure about doing that one.... Oh, I should ask Aunt Tessa how she and Aunt Amber made those adorable mouse kisses they made several years ago, they would be fun to make with the little ones... although I could see a child eating the ears instead of the chocolate... Hahaha :)!
~Peter snuggles. Not the teething, though, poor baby :(...
~Peter's new little teeth, so cute :). He has gained three teeth since Wednesday....
~That we finally finished a project that Tori and I have been working on. We'll share it soon!
~And that finishing that project means I now know that I CAN make one that I've wanted to make for six months... I've only been able to for one month, though, so I'm not as bad as it sounds ;).
~On the lines of technology, that I didn't absolutely ruin my blog changing it up a bit, heeheehee ;).
~The little "Snugglesaurus" sleeping in my lap ;).
~That we made it to church today :)...
~Beads.
~Jewelry wire. (Do you remember me saying I don't wear much jewelry, just earrings and a few necklaces? Well, despite that, I have found that I love making the jewelry by beading ;). I've made a necklace, but my favorite was the hair pins Mommy, Tori, Bethi and I made for our Aunt's the other day... although they didn't quite turn out the style we hoped they would ;)...)
~Simple, delicious meals... Lasagna and Chicken Caesar wraps  made it on the menu while Daddy is home :).
~Tatting shuttles and thread.
~Bible reading plans.
~And the dear friend who invited me to join her in one :). We have done this a couple times now, and each time it has been a blessing :). Tori joined us, this time, too :)!
~The ability to read the bible openly!

 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

~Philippians 4:4

Homemade bread!

One of my friends asked me on Facebook, after I shared this post;

 "It's Homemade Bread Day :)... (November 16)"

if I would share our bread recipe.
This recipe was adapted from Miss Tammy's Whole Wheat Bread recipe. Over the past four years we have slowly changed this or that measurement or technique, as we read more and more tips for making bread, and it has since turned to this :).
Here, without further ado... (This makes four loaves.)

9 cups of flour. We grinder our own wheat, and we use 6 cups of Hard Red Winter Wheat berries to make our 9 cups of flour. If you are not grinding your own wheat, just go with the 9 cups of flour, but it won't be quite the same. And try not to use Soft White Spring Wheat berries, whatever you do, haha :).
6 T. of ground flax seed.
3 T. yeast
1 T. salt
1/2 cup of wheat gluten
1/8 + 1/4 t. of ginger
1/4 t. vitamin C. We buy tablets and then just crush one for each batch of bread, but do as you see fit :). We've left it out a few times,and it hasn't been too much of an issue, but it is better with :).

Mix all this in a large bowl. Let sit while you mix together

3 cups of water
3/4 cup of honey
6 T. olive oil
3 T. of milk (water works, but, it is better following the recipe, if possible...)

Combine both of the mixtures in a mixing bowl and beat on a low speed, adding flour until it is a soft dough, pulling from the sides of the bowl.
Knead it in your mixer on a higher setting, unless you want to knead it by hand. But I doubt that will be an option unless you are doing this out of boredom :). We use our large Bosch mixer set on the second speed (medium-high), and leave it for about 15 minutes. You'll have to play around with this if you have another mixer, or use a bread machine, as I've never made it in anything else. If you are using a Bosch, this dough beats the sides a good bit. We suggest putting a metal bowl in front of the mixer so that the bowl falls off and makes a racket before the mixer if it decides to move to the edge of the counter. We have had the whole thing wiggle to the edge of the counter, and yank the plug out of the wall as it sailed through the air across the kitchen!!! Thankfully, nobody was in the kitchen, and it didn't break!

Leave it to sit in the mixer for about 5 minutes after it is done kneading. This allows it to "relax from it's beating" ;). While it sits, butter four bread pans. (Ours are about 4 1/2" by 8 1/2".) If you live in a cold climate, or it is winter, you may want to warm your pans just enough that they are no longer chilly to the touch. Those cold metal pans can greatly stunt the rising of your bread.

Now dump the dough out onto a counter, and cut into four equal parts. Place each loaf in a bread pan. You can mold it so that it fits the pan perfectly, like Tori does, or leave it as is, as I do. The end result is the same :).

Now comes the part that most people find very, very odd :)...
Get a fork, and stab your bread right in the middle. Long or short ways, is doesn't matter. That wasn't so bad, was it? Okay. Are you ready? (Stabbing it was to give it a "mouth".) You are going to burp your bread.
For those of you who care for babies regularly, this is second nature. For those of you who don't, this isn't too hard.
No, really. We call it burping the bread, but please don't burp your babies these way!
Give the bread one, hard, resounding slap! If you left a small indention of your hand print, you probably did it right ;). Now your bread will be bread through and through, with no air pockets causing big holes in your slices!

I set the oven to 200 degrees and leave it for three minutes, then turn off and slide the bread in to raise. Your oven may be different, though, so be careful. You want to warm the bread, not start cooking it :). Let rise for 20 minutes.

Leave your bread in the oven, and turn your oven on to 350 degrees. Bake the bread for 35 minutes, starting the timing from the time you turned on the oven, not from when it was done heating, until it is a good brown shade on the bottom. Get the rest of the bread out carefully after five minutes of sitting in the pan (It will be cooler, so harder to squish, and will have sweated just enough to make it come out easier without sogging the bread. still be careful, because you can ruin the look of your loaf if it is squished, which is easy ;). Use a turner to loosen the sides, and hold it so the back is what is touching the bread.

Done! Enjoy!!!
This sounds hard and time consuming, but after you're used to it, you can spend just about ten minutes of hands-on time to make four loaves of bread!

Advent

I have been meaning to write a post on how we do advent/ what the purpose of Advent is for... almost four weeks. Since the Advent season started. Oh well... Here it is now :)...
Advent is really a time of preparation and reflection on the reason why we celebrate Christmas! There are four weeks of Advent, and, although there are many ways to celebrate Advent, here is how we do it...
On the first night of Advent, we make our Advent wreath. We have a golden candle holder, with spots for five candles. One Candle (the white one, white stands for purity) goes in the middle. This is the "Jesus" candle. It is a bit taller than the other candles, as Jesus is above all others. The other four candles (purple, the color that stands for royalty) go in the four corners around the white. These candles are the "Prophecy", "Bethlehem", "Angels" , and "Shepherds" candles. We put green garland and white ribbon around the candle holder, in a spiraling circle. Green stands for new life, circles for eternity (there is no beginning and no end to a circle), and of course, white for purity. We put holly berries on (drops of blood that Jesus would eventually shed for our sins), and pine cones (pine cones must die to give life to the next tree- Jesus gave his life so we could have life. We also put poinsettia flowers on the wreath, to stand for the Star of Bethlehem.
Sometime during each week of Advent, we try for Monday, we will make a meal of either red chili or white chili, just because chili seems like a nice winter-ish meal. No other reason :). It is just part of how Daddy and Mommy chose to make that teaching time different from regular winter suppers, make a point of how this is a special time (kind of like it is pretty much a must for everybody to eat turkey on Thanksgiving!).
That night, we do a Bible study (using the Bible that Daddy used while growing up, and that was used for family Bible time every night for years. We now have a newer Bible for family Bible time, and this one is getting saved for this time of year, due to the fact that we didn't want this one destroyed by the little hands that wanted to read to themselves during the day) on what that nights candle stands for. We discussed the candle for that night, review the candles we have done so far, and have a time of prayer.

The First candle is : The "Prophecy" (or, anticipation ) candle.

" Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

~Isaiah 7:14~

The second candle is: The "Bethlehem" (or, preparation) candle.

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

~Micah 5:2~

The third candle is: The "Angels" (or, rejoicing) candle.

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings, of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

~Luke 2:9-14~

The fourth candle is: The "Shepherds" (or, the reflection) candle.

"And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."

~Luke 2: 14- 20~

And the Fifth candle is: The "Jesus" (or, Christ)candle.

"For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, A light to be revealed to the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things, which were spoken touching him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary
his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against, (Yea and a sword shall pierce through thy soul) that the thoughts of many hearts may be opened."

~ Luke 2: 30-35~

Through these verses, (and, of course, there are many more to use if you wish!), a discussion can be started, that can be both informative and sweet :).
I have loved our family's Advent celebration the past few years (actually, I guess more than a few- four or five, at the least, which is considered several!). I think it has really helped our family really think about what Christmas is about, as a family, in a wonderful way!!!
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!

Easy caramel

Making homemade caramel is so easy, and so good!!!!!!

Dipping Caramel

One can of sweetened condensed milk

Fill a 9 by 13 inch pan half way with water.
Pour milk in a 8 by 8 inch pan (or somewhere close to that size...)
Cover small pan with foil and place in the large pan.
Bake at 425°F for an hour.
Caramel will cling to a spoon and be slightly thick when done. Remove from oven CAREFULLY. The water will be hot!
Serve with apples, over ice cream, etc.

Oh my... TOO CUTE!!!!

For a couple years now I have been know as our family's muffin maker. Daddy loves my chocolate chip banana muffins, and I make them for breakfast every Friday. Look what Mommy and Daddy gave me for my birthday... I love it :)!!!

This is a necklace with a *muffin tin* charm and a *set of teaspoons* charm :)! And the teaspoons actually have measurement sizes etched out on them... LOVE IT!!!!

Chocolate chip banana muffins

1 and 3/4 cups flour
Half a cup chocolate chips
Half a teaspoon salt
Half a tablespoon cream of tartar
Roughly 1/4 a tablespoon of baking soda
Two bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400°f. Oil muffin tins halfway up the side of muffin cups.
Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Combine, mix until just moistened.
Pour into muffin tins, filling about 3/4 of the way.
Bake for about twenty minutes.
Makes about twelve muffins.

The cookies that were (not) made...

I've got a sweet tooth (or maybe several, haha!). That sweet tooth has given me the job of head sweet-maker! And one day I got the bright idea of making No-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. And it made an interesting story...
Okay, so on the day that I decided to make cookies, we were running low on milk, Abbi was still taking a bottle, and Daddy wasn't going to be able to bring home milk until nine o'clock that night. So, we needed at least two bottles worth of milk left. But, I forgot that.
After checking with Mommy to make sure cookies were all right with her, I made my first mistake. I forgot to make sure we had all the ingredients before I started. So, I dumped in the cocoa, sugar, butter, and... Oh, no! I forgot that they need milk!!! After consulting Mommy about it, I half the milk with water so we're not using quite so much. Then I get to the peanut butter. No. We can't be out of peanut butter! Or, maybe we can. We are. You mean we just wasted a half a cup of milk? That could have been half a bottle!!!
After looking through all our cookbooks for a recipe that had somewhat the same ingredients as No-bake cookies, the closest we can find is Chocolate fudge pie. And we'll still need to make several changes (and make four pies to get the proportions right!!!). Not enough eggs for four pies? Use flax seed. There are four sticks of butter in four pies. Since we have a cup of "milk" that shouldn't go in the pie, we use that as two of the sticks of butter. Have we ever tried whole wheat flour in this recipe? No idea, but we don't have any white flour, so we'll have to try it anyway. Mommy comes into the kitchen and says "You've had to change so many things in this recipe, I have no idea how it will turn out. Why don't you add some chocolate chips to kind of help it along?"
So, we add chocolate chips, and pour the four recipes of pie batter into two pie pans (that was all we had at the time!). The pies take three times as long to bake as they should when made right, and we still have no idea how they will turn out! I serve the pie for dessert at lunch, and Mommy takes a bite...
"Wow! This is actually really good! In fact... I think this is your best pie yet!!!"
Daddy was working late that night, and got home at ten o'clock. He tucks us in bed, and goes downstairs. Two minutes later I hear "Bri!". I go down stairs and find Daddy eating a piece of pie. He's words: "Did you write down the changes you made to this? Because if you didn't- you need to!!! This is definitely your best pie yet!"
So, there you have it. All that worry... and it turned out better than ever before!!! And as that is the case, here's the recipe:

Surprise success pie

2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 chocolate chips

Mix, pour into an un-greased pie pan, and bake at 350°F for 50 minutes to an hour.
This recipe is cut in half from what I made on our "cookie making" day :).

Homemade croutons...

Four gallon sized freezer bags full of bread, five sticks of butter, five children in the kitchen equals...
One and a half hours in the kitchen and nine dehydrator racks and one baking sheet FULL of croutons (and a big mess, haha!).
This is the first time that the younger ones have helped Tori and I, and they thought it was great fun! And it made the work go much quicker! Tori and I alone take one and a half hours to make croutons with two bags of leftover bread.
Abbi helped me butter all that bread (when she wasn't eating bread... at least that made less to put on the baking sheets! Oh, or buttering our water filter, haha!). Then I cut the bread into bite size pieces. Andrew and Bethani were given the job of placing the buttered bread butter-side up on the baking sheets. Tori helped Bethi and Andrew, and did the job of fitting the bread in the dehydrator. Since we make our own bread, the bread slices are not always uniform in size, and so we have to make sure that the bread fits in the small spaces between the racks. After everybody was done with their part, I sprinkled on the spices and put them in the oven. At first we were worried the power would go off because of a storm we were having, but so far so good! Now we have lots of yummy croutons!
If you want the recipe for these, go to: http://tammysrecipes.com/homemade_croutons. We love to eat these like chips, or on a salad!

The day I shouldn't have cooked!

I'm not sure why, but Friday was not a great cooking day for me!
First I made bread, left it kneading in the mixer too long, and then let it raise too long. It burst after I put it in the oven, and it came out a hill-and-valley looking mess!
Then Mommy suggested that I make some brownies* for a treat during the time Tori and I were going to spend with her during the younger ones quiet time. We didn't have eggs, so I used mayonnaise instead. We checked those brownies when they were suppose to be done... and knew that we were not having brownies for our snack! Those brownies were BOILING in the oven!!!
When we finally gave up cooking them, they were burnt and STILL sliding all over the pan!
We settled on popcorn and coffee drinks** for a substitute treat. The fire alarms went off (for no reason whatsoever) while I was popping the popcorn. Then I bring the drinks into Mommy's room, hand Mommy her drink, and she asked "You put the sugar in it, right?". "Yes," I answered. "It would have been funny if you didn't," Mommy stated, referring to the fact that some thing had gone wrong with all the rest of my baking, cooking and mixing that day. Tori comes into the room to get her drink and asks- "Did you put sugar in it?" (Is anyone noticing that I must have forgotten the sugar a time or two?... Or three or four?...). Mommy giggles (she just asked the same question!) as I answer "Yes!". Tori then says "Wouldn't it have been funny if you forgot it TODAY!... What's funny?" She asks Mommy, who's rolling with laughter. I bet you can guess what was funny...
So, I learned two things. Mayonnaise does NOT do well in brownies for eggs... and it's REALLY time I start remembering the sugar in our coffee drinks.


*The recipe for the brownies can be found here (we leave off the cream cheese mixture), and the recipe for the chocolate sauce that we drizzle on top is:

1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 dash salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Stir together.
2. Boil 5 minutes, or more, until close to the consistency that you want, stirring rapidly. This will thicken slightly as it cools.
3. Store in the refrigerator.

Watch closely! This stuff boils over easy! Ask me how I know...

** Our coffee drinks:

1. In blender, shave two cups of ice,
2. Add one cup of milk, one cup of chilled prepared coffee, one cup of coffee ice cream, one-third cup of sugar, and mix in blender. Pour and serve.

"What's for lunch? We have bananas..."

Bethi:" So we can have 'nana bread?!".
Me: "Sure. If Mom says so."
Bethi: "Yummy!!!"
Me:"Can I make banana bread Mom?" "Sure."

Off the little one runs to tell the others and I have to fly around the kitchen for about twenty minutes. I just made this recipe for lunch last week:
Banana Bread
_______________________________ 
Half a cup butter
One cup sugar
Two eggs
Two bananas
Two cups flour
One teaspoon baking soda
_______________________

Preheat  oven to 350 degrees.
Soften butter.
Beat butter and the sugar together.
Beat in eggs.
Beat bananas until light and fluffy.
Mix together flour and baking soda.
Put all mixtures together.
Bake for an hour.
Enjoy!
_________________________

This is a good breakfast, lunch or snack!

O.k., who votes that I don't make Maple Twist again?

First, one time when I was helping Mommy make this yummy breakfast treat, Mommy went to do something and I got bored of waiting. Mommy was surprised when she came and found a pan of circles! These should be a circle in the middle and triangular twisty things around . That's one circle in the middle. Not all over the pan.
Then, one day I made them myself. I put in vanilla. Not maple. This recipe calls for maple. Oh well just add maple and see what it does. It's tradition now. Daddy couldn't tell the difference, so now every Fathers Day I make the *Maple* Twists- with vanilla.
Then- the day before Thanksgiving- I did it again. I didn't mean to. But I put the oven 100 degrees higher than it needed!
That's it. If mom wants me to make them again then I need to do it the day before I should need to start them.
Here's the recipe. And don't think that no mistakes can happen.

Maple Nut Coffee Twist
_____________________________________

Dough:

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon maple extract
1 egg
2 3/4 to 3 cups flour*
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast





*Self-rising flour is NOT recommended
 ______________

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
1 1/2 cinnamon
_______________________

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 or 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
_____________________

In the order above, put the ingredients in the bread maker, on the dough setting.
When the cycle is almost done, mix filling together.
Take the dough out and dump on a floured area.
Divide into three balls.
Roll one out, spread melted butter on top, and then sprinkle a 1/4 of a cup of the mixture on top.
Repeat, putting all the extra mixture on the last time.
Let rise 30 to 40 minutes.
Bake at 325 degrees for 18-22 minutes.
Cool for 5 minutes while you make the Glaze (just beat glaze ingredients together)
Spread glaze on Maple twist.

Three recipes in one!

We have found the perfect recipe for pizza - or three recipes - or four... Just three of them get used at one time though! Pizza is Tori's favorite food so that is what she wants for supper....and lunch.....if we ever have it for breakfast  then we will never have a break  from Tori's answer of, "ummmmmmmmmm..... pizza " when we ask what she would like to eat. "We'll see" says whoever asked in the first place. "What do you want to watch tonight?"  "Anne"." What do you want to play tonight?"  "Candy land." We've stopped asking her except when we want those things! So we have pizza a lot and I've learned the recipe all the way. Can come in handy when you can't  find the recipe (like the time we lost it at Granny's. We found it the next day...........in my sister's play pizza kit! The crust is one recipe, the first sauce recipe is my Aunt's, the second sauce recipe is mine, and the topping is from a different recipe. Here it is:

Three Recipe Pizza!
_____________________
 
Butter
One tablespoons corn meal
One cup warm water
One tablespoon yeast
One teaspoon sugar
One teaspoon salt
Two tablespoons oil
Two and a half cups flour
A  cup tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes*
Half a teaspoon oregano *
Half a teaspoon basil *
Forth Teaspoon garlic powder*
1/8 teaspoon pepper*
Half a block sharp cheese
Half a block mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni
Two tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Forth teaspoon oregano
1/8 Teaspoon basil
______________________
 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Butter a pizza pan and dust it with cornmeal.**
Dissolve yeast in water and add sugar.
Add the salt, oil and flour.
Dump on a floured surface.
Knead for five minutes.
Roll out to fit your pan.
Put on pan.
Mix sauce,oregano,basil,garlic powder, and pepper together.
Spread on pizza.
Grate cheeses and sprinkle over the top.
Put on pepperoni.
Mix last three things.
Sprinkle on Pizza.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
____________________

*You could also use this recipe:

1/2 Teaspoon basil
1/4 Teaspoon oregano
1/8 Teaspoon pepper
1 cup tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

Mix and spread!
_______________________________________
 
**This recipe can make one small and one medium pizza without doubling though you must double the sauce and topping.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
And here you have Three Recipe Pizza!

We love this recipe.....

...Try it!
Thimble Biscuits:
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease pan.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt three times (We don't bother to do this ;)).
3. Rub butter into the flour (We cut the butter into the flour).
4. Pour the milk on gradually, mixing all the while with a knife, until a soft dough forms (Perhaps not all the milk will be needed).
5. Turn dough on a well floured board.
6. Pat it with the rolling pin until 1/4 inch thick.
7. Use a large thimble as a cutter,and cut biscuits as close together as possible.
8. Place in pan a little distance apart.
9. Bake about 5 minutes.
10. Enjoy!
We love these biscuits! The two times I've made them there were none left! This does make a small recipe so the second time I made them, I made a double batch. Hope you enjoy!

"Oh Madam, will you let me fix thine dinner tonight?"

That's how it started. The dinner I mean. At eleven-something I started fixing supper. On the menu was: Pasta, bread, corn, and best of all something I've never had before -Carmel Pie! I made the Bread in the bread machine first. It was basic dinner bread. Then came homemade whip cream and by then it was quiet time. When we got up I started the pie. Then I made the pasta. Then I heated up corn and set the table then the meal began......

The recipes were all easy and fun and I think you might want to have them.

The bread:

3/4 cup & 3 Tbsp. water.

2 Tbsp. Dry milk

3 1/2 Tbsp. sugur

1 teaspoon salt

3 Tbsp. butter cut in six pieces

2 teaspoons yeast

Put everything in in the order it comes above. Put on the dough setting of your bread machine. When done, set on the counter for 15 minutes. Put in a pan for 1 hour and 1/2. After that is done, put in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

The Whipped Cream*:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Beat the heavy whipping cream in a chilled bowl slowly at first then more rapidly until stiff. Add the sugar slowly beating all the time (Don't beat the cream too long or it may turn into butter!). STIR in the vanilla. Chill until you are ready to use.

The Caramel Pie*:

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 cup water

2 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cup White sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 baked pie shell

1. In a bowl dissolve the cornstarch in 3/4 cup water. Beat the egg yolks &stir into the cornstarch mixture. Set aside.

2. Put the sugar, the butter, and the rest of the water (This may cause a cloud of steam so stand back while you add the water) in a big sauce pan.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the butter melted.

4. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring it constantly. Continue to boil slowly until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes.

5. Take the mixture off the heat, stir until smooth, and let cool. Stir in the vanilla and pour the filling into the baked pie shell.

6. Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes. Put in the freezer until ready to eat (preferably at least two hours).

Makes one pie.
The pasta recipe can be found here.

It was a pleasant dinner and it was fun to do!!!

*Taken from the book "The Anne of Green Gables Treasury.

Yummm...

Tori helped me make these delicious cookies a couple of weeks ago. They are really good!

Frosted Drop Cookies (Taken from the book "The Anne of Green Gables Treasury")
2 cups sifted bread flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. milk
3/4 c. butter
1 c. powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
FROSTING:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. cream
Tint with food coloring (opt.If using,use 1 drop red, 2-3 drops yellow)
Sift together flour and baking powder. Add vanilla to milk. Cream butter and sugar 2 minutes. Add unbeaten egg yolk and beat one minute more. Beat egg white until stiff. Set aside. Add flour and milk mixture alternately to the creamed butter, sugar and eggs; beat until smooth. Fold in egg white. Drop from spoon onto buttered cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Frost while hot.

"I'm going to have the daintiest things possible...things that will match the spring, you understand...little jelly tarts and lady fingers, and drop cookies frosted with pink and yellow frosting, and buttercup cake. And we must have sandwiches too, though they're not very poetical."    ~From Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Cooking Tuesdays with Bethani and Fridays with Tori.....

Bethi and I had a delightful day together the other day. We made these delicious candy bars called Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares from Tammy's Recipes.
These were absolutely delicious! Here is a picture of Bethi and I making them:



And one of my sweet kitchen helper:



And Tori's day...
We made Eggless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here's the recipe:

1 stick butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar (optional)
13/4 -2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 a teaspoon salt
1-2 cups chocolate chips
Cream butter with peanut butter. Add honey (you can't substitute sugar for honey, as it is your main liquid.)and sugar if desired. Mix well. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes, or eat raw!
I got this recipe from a pen-pal and her big sister and we love it :) (her big sister's blog is here)!

Here's a picture of Tori taken on our baking day:

Look at this...

Isn't he adorable? He actually ate almost a whole muffin in baby way. You know how they drop all of that food on the floor and the high chair ;). Here is the recipe:

Cinnamon Muffins

Muffin mix:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t. ginger

2 T. cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray. Stir together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients. Mix well. Put in muffin tins, bake for 15-20 mins.

Topping:

2 T. butter, melted

Cinnamon sugar

Brush the tops of the muffins with butter after muffins have cooled. Dip the muffins tops in the cinnamon sugar.

Makes 1 dozen.

Note: Don't stop to fill the spice bottles in the spice rack while cooking ;). When you do it takes twice as long. I've tried it ;).