Rookie Cookie Swap

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I'm taking on something new this year and hosting a 1st annual (because I hope to do it more...) Cookie Swap. I'm a total rookie at this kind of thing and with fingers crossed and confidence in my co-bakers, it should go well. The most difficult part was choosing which cookies to try this year. Every year at Christmas I like to try a new cookie recipe. Some years that has gone swimingly, while in others, a big fat flop. :) But no one complains even about flop cookies! 

My selections this year are... {drumroll}....

Chocolate "Pretzels". They aren't really pretzels at all, just cookie dough formed into pretzel shape then coated with chocolate icing and sprinkled with white sugar or nonpareils to look like "salt". Cute and different. 

Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

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Yum! Who doesn't love some double chocolate AND the appearance of snowy caps?! I love how easy these are and how they kinda sorta will be delicious. 

And, my brancher-outer this year...

Norwegian Forest Cookies.

I couldn't find ANY pics of this cookie, which is exciting because I don't think a lot of people make them. :) Happy to add some culture to our swap! The secret ingredient and what makes them "Norwegian" is the ground cardamom. Picture something like this...only, a simple and different recipe and probably a darker shade. 

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I can't wait to see what the other swappers bring! Looking forward to a sweet time of cookie trading, hot cocoa sipping, and good Christmas cheer! Tis' the season. :) 

Cooking Thursday: In my Kitchen

Welcome! I'm linking up with Sandra today and sharing some recipe ideas for this Thursday day. :) Here is the view I've had most of the day so far, my kitchen. Hopefully you are enjoying a calm and quiet part of your day - I am! My littles are napping, a cake is baking, and it's rainy, dark, and gloomy outside. {This cup of French roast is helping the relaxation, too.} I really do love working in my kitchen and making delicious things to bless my family with. What a joy and honor to be the homemaker! Today everything is made from scratch and I have loved getting my hands messy in the carrot shreds, etc. Praise the Lord for this job! 

Thurday nights are pretty special around our home, as it's really like a Friday night to us. My husband has Fridays off and we use that day for family activities or just catching up on rest. It's glorious and such a blessing to work somewhere where time off is given and understood! Thursday nights I try to make a bigger meal - something everyone enjoys and maybe even a dessert. I usually cook every night, but Thursday I aim to make crowd pleasers... maybe avoid my preferred broccoli or veggie soups. Hey, I do have two small girls and a non-veggie loving hubby. I can handle it. :) 

Tonight we are having Ham Balls, Springtime potato salad and for dessert... Mango Carrot cake! Yum. Here are some recipes to share.

Ham Balls:

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground fully cooked ham

2 eggs

3/4 c milk

2/3 c crushed shredded wheat cereal

1 1/2 c packed brown sugar

2/3 c water

1/3 c vinegar

3/4 t ground mustard

1) In a bowl, combine pork, ham, eggs, milk and cereal; mix well. Shape into 2in. balls; place in a greased 9x13 baking dish.

2) In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, vinegar and mustard. Bring to a boil over medium heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4 mins. Pour over the ham balls. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 60-70 minutes or until browned. 

--->Bonus: used some ham chunks I had in the freezer, put it through my meat grinder - voila! Ground ham! 

Springtime Potato Salad:

3 c diced, peeled, cooked potatoes

2 hard boiled eggs

1/4 c chopped celery

1/4 c chopped sweet pickles OR sweet relish

2 T fine chop onion

3 T fine chop or sliced radishes

1/4 c mayo

1 1/2 T sugar

1/2 T vinegar

1/2 T milk

1 t prepared mustard

pinch salt

dash paprika 

1) In a bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, celery, pickles, onion and radishes. In another bowl, combine mayo, sugar, vinegar, milk, mustard, and salt. Mix well. Pour over potatoes; stir to coat. Cover and chill, sprinkle with paprika before serving. 

(this was doubled in my cookbook - so the measurements may seem odd here... I guessed in my head on a few things)

{picture courtesy of BHG.com}

And, as far as dessert goes - Better Homes and Gardens had a great spread in this months magazine on using fruit juices in foods. You can find the Mango Carrot cake, HERE. :) Mine is cooling now and making our home smell just wonderful! 

Happy cooking Thursday! 

Easy Feast

Ever have those nights where you feel like the QUEEN of the kitchen? Everything turns out perfect, smells amazing, and even tastes good. I had such a night last evening. :) It was an easy meal {tho different and special...} that came together perfectly. I even had a 3 year old asking for more of the "special salad". Spaghetti, Artichoke-Pepperoni Tossed salad, and Italian cheese bread. Yuuuum. I couldn't keep these recipes to myself in hopes that other mommas could have a smooth, semi-special, and delicious night, too. Better still - inexpensive! I found ALL of my ingredients at Aldi in one trip and spent WAY less then $20 for everything. I didn't break it up into servings and cost per plate, but, it was cheap. Love some cheap.

Now for the recipes:

Artichoke-Pepperoni Tossed Salad

10oz ready to serve salad (I bought Aldi brand salad and I've also made just a homemade salad, too)

14oz jar water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
4oz shredded italian cheese blend or mozzarella

3 1/2oz pkg pepperoni slices

2oz jar pimientos (we skipped those...I think they taste like bland gobs of goop)

1/4c chopped red onion

1/3c italian dressing

1)In a large bowl, combine salad, artichokes, cheese, pepperoni, onion and pimientos. Drizzle with salad dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

*Does not store well overnight so eat the WHOLE salad. :) Ahem, have guests over so there is someone to share it with.

Italian Cheese Bread

1/4c butter, softened

1lb French Bread, halved lengthwise (I used a Ciabatta loaf... and it was ah-mazing still)

4oz shredded italian cheese blend

1t dried oregano
1/2t garlic salt or just granulated garlic

1) Spread butter over cut sides of bread. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Combine cheese, oregano and garlic in a small bowl; sprinkle over bread. Bake at 350 until cheese melts, about 12-15 minutes.

For the spaghetti - no special recipe. Used whole wheat spaghetti and chose a new tomato basil sauce. Yum. {sigh} It feels so rewarding to serve a meal that everyone loves and asks for seconds on! :)

Seriously Good

For Christmas, one of my grandmothers bought me this little pack of helpful books. There is one for basically all of your pantry item - type things : salt, toothpaste, veggie oil, paper bags, lemon juice, foil, baking soda, cornstarch, vinegar, bleach. Each book contains several pages of little known helpful hints on how you can use them...aside from their obvious. For example, did you know:
-To remove urine from a baby mattress, blot dry with paper towels or a rag, then sprinkle area with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. Let dry, then vacuum.
-Help a poison ivy rash clear up more quickly by soaking irritated skin in very warm salt water.
-Remove severe grass stains by soaking in undiluted vinegar for a half hour before washing.
-Squeaky doors driving you crazy? Spray the hinges with cooking spray.

So, yes, there are several pages of info like this in each booklet. Some sounds crazy - but, others might be worth a shot! I love little kitchen and household helps like that. :)

And now... some SERIOUSLY good recipes to share! I've been quite the Susie Homemaker this week and loving every minute I can do it! My goal every year is to continue to provide healthy and delish meals for my family. And, after going out to eat basically every day over Christmas... it's time for some good ol' homecooked!
Today I'd like to share a soup and salad dressing recipe - both are Ah-mazing. :) And, both are pretty inexpensive to make.

Blender Salad Dressing

1 c. veggie oil

3/4 c. cider vinegar

1 med. onion, cut into wedges

1/2 c. ketchup

1/4 c. sugar

1 t. salt

1 t. ground mustard

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. pepper

In a blender, combine all ingredients; cover and process until smooth. Store in the fridge.
Makes about 2 3/4 cups!
*This may be similar to a Russian flavor - if you've ever had that, which, I haven't. It's very tangy and delish!

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 (14oz) cans Chicken broth

3 c. water

1 3/4 c. sliced carrots

1/2 c. chopped onion

2 celery ribs, sliced

12 oz. frozen egg noodles

3 c. chopped cooked chicken {or turkey}

10 oz frozen peas

2 envelopes chicken gravy mix

1/2 c. cold water

1) In large saucepan, bring the broth, water, carrots, onions and celery to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-6 minutes until veggies are crisp-tender.
2) Add noodles. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender.
3) Stir in chicken and peas. Combine gravy mixes and cold water until smooth; stir into the soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
*7 servings

Wow! We had this with company the other night and it's such a delicious, thick soup! The egg noodles and chicken gravy made it taste like something my mom would make! No runny Campbell's chicken soup here! Serve with some warm bread and you are all set! Best part is... lots of leftovers!!!

Week in review

**Whew** It's Saturday! We ditched our "normal" routine of not having much on the ol' agenda...for a jam packed, fun week of activities, events, etc. Gotta admit - it was wonderful! I'm so thankful that Ava was healthy all week and we were able to do so many fun things... winter has just been taking its time here and being inside soooo much was wearing us all a little thin. Here are some things we did this week -

Monday: a WHOLE LOTTA this --> Laundry day is actually one of my fave house chores. Weird, I know, but I do love doing it! And I had a lot of "catch up" work to get done as I was a sluggard about it last week. So this pretty much was our entire monday day.

Tuesday: Playdate with our "Mom's playgroup" at church. It ended up only being me and Ava with one other momma and her three kiddos - but still lots of fun! Ava has bumped up to the toddler nursery and just loves playing with the "big kid" toys! And I enjoyed some great conversation with a friend, over our mugs of coffee, of course! Tuesday night I was able to sneak out for a little bit with another friend, just she and I, for some more coffee at a little coffee place here in Des Moines called Smokey Row. Brad is happy to let me go out and I am so thankful for his selflessness in that area...because, momma needs some time away now and again!

Wednesday: This is our big day of ministry with the teens. We have youth group (The Mix) at night and it's the highlight of our week! This week we were learning about Jesus and the 3 offices He holds - Prophet, Priest and King. My hubby is an excellent teacher and I am so proud of him! Wednesday night after we got home, Miss Ava needed a bath. And this was the night she discovered how to turn on the shower! (uh oh...) So, yes, a VERY eventful Wednesday evening! And a good clean up job post bath time. :(

Thursday: Company's coming!!! We had some friends over for dinner Thursday night and I made my first Sausage Lasagna. Turned out to be very tasty! The recipe was really easy and can be found in any Betty Crocker cookbook. I just took some extra liberties with ingredients and added in extra parsley as I have tons to use up prior to it going bad.

Friday: I heard/saw a rumor about The Children's Place having their $2.99 sale so we headed to Jordan Creek for some shopping. Ava is growing out of everything so we needed to stock up. And, we can do $2.99! Sure enough we struck Gold!!! I was able to purchase 9 items (much needed items) and love what we found! Then I walked next door and found some shoes for the girl - I got two pair for a total of $8!!! So happy to have found exactly what we needed and for so cheap! And an added bonus to this trip was, of course, the play place! Ava loves running around on those cushiony, foamy, slides and jumbo butterflies, etc. And secretly, Brad loves it too! Can you see them?

The highlight of my week was going to "Cabin Fever Cure" last night at my friend Emily's house. Our church puts on this event every year as a way for women to get out of the house and spend time together! Each home hosts a different "theme" or activity for ladies to get involved in - or, in my case, learn from the host about something. Emily opened up her home to teach us some tricks to decorating on a budget. Her home is warm, welcoming and very well done and she makes close to everything she uses in her decorating! I left with a ton of ideas and am eager to get back to work on this house! It was also really refreshing just to visit with other ladies and hear about whats going on in their worlds.... I always come home more friendly, loving, and renewed after visits like that.

To end our exciting, busy, week we have a family birthday party and a dinner with friends tonight. I am so thankful for so many fun, out of the norm, things to do this week! Coming up next week... I'll start working on Valentines day decor. I'm starting small...but, you gotta start somewhere!

Blog recommendation

I'm still fairly new to all of this - I mean, I've been a "blogger" since 07 but I still don't know many of the tricks that make blogs so much fun and worth reading. But I enjoy the learning and will keep on keepin' on :) Last week I came across a blog that I REALLY like. It's, http://www.crockpot356.blogspot.com/ and its well worth your peek! This lady has created her blog all around using her slow cookers and the recipes to go with. MY kind of lady :) Today's recipe is some kind of duck, which, I won't be making today....but, it was still neat to read through and hear her thoughts about the prep and taste. I don't know about you, but, I can use all the help I can find about healthy menu planning, recipe ideas, etc. So, if you get a chance - mosey on over to crockpot365 and see for yourself. It's worth it. :)

Baking for Christmas...

I realize I just did a post about baking a few weeks ago. But, that was for Thanksgiving... so, I thought I'd share my Christmas baking list and see if anyone else has such a list that they might like to share?

** White Chocolate- Raspberry Bars
** Oreo Truffles
** Ultimate Sugar cookies (of course!)
** Splenda Gingerbread Cookies
** Cranberry - White chocolate & Macadamia Nut cookies
** Norwegian Forest Cookies

Also, a few websites that have really great {and simple} Christmas cookie recipes. Tis the season!

www.Pillsbury.com YUM...lots of great ideas and a lot of them are for already made (store bought) dough. If you are short on time...this might be a GREAT site for you!

www.kraftfoods.com Another site with quick and easy recipes! I get this one's daily recipe, which I've never done YET, but they all look amazing!

www.wholefoodsmarket.com More of a health nut? Or, just trying to incorporate a more healthful approach to cooking? This site may be helpful to you!

Have any to share? I'm always looking and always interested! Have a wonderful Christmas season and a happy time of baking!