Sugar Cookies and Chocolate Mint Sugar Cookies - Sis 2

It's a tradition! Every year for Valentine's Day I make my husband some heart shaped sugar cookies. While we were dating he told me he loved sugar cookies, so I bought him one of those Granny B's sugar cookies with the pink frosting. But every year since we've been married I have made him sugar cookies as part of my way to show him I love him for Valentine's Day. (I don't know if he understands that cooking yummy things for him is one way I try to show him I love him.)

This year I was looking through my "Taste of Home" magazine and saw some chocolate mint cookies dipped in mint chocolate. I thought they looked pretty good. But, I also thought, I have to make sugar cookies and the recipe I use makes a huge batch so maybe I should just make some of them chocolate; and so that is what I did.
I made my favorite kind of sugar cookie dough, and then took half out and added some cocoa powder and peppermint extract. How's that for scientific??
My favorite recipe for Sugar Cookies happens to come from the Lion House Desserts Cookbook.

Cutout Sugar Cookies
pg 103 Lion House Desserts Cookbook

2 cups granulated Sugar
1 cup shortening ( I always use butter)
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract (this time I omitted the lemon, since I would be doing the chocolate later.)
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
In a large bowl cream sugar, shortening and eggs. Add milk and vanilla; mix at low speed. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, soda and baking powder. Add to the sugar mixture until well incorporated.
This is where I changed it up. I took half of the cookie dough out of the bowl and wrapped it in some saran wrap and put it in the fridge. To the other half of the dough that was still in the bowl I added 1/4 cup of baking cocoa and 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. I then put that dough in the fridge also. I always leave my dough in the fridge until the next day. When you are ready to bake the cookies preheat the oven to 350. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 in. thick; cut out in desired shapes. Bake for 6 minutes, or until when you lightly touch the top it doesn't make a dent. Be careful not to overcook them. I iced the regular sugar cookies with a can of store bought icing, and then sprinkled them with fun stuff. The chocolate sugar cookies I dipped in melted Andes mint pieces and then sprinkled with fun sprinkles.
To melt the Andes mint pieces put them in a microwave safe bowl and put it in for 30 seconds on power 5. Then I stir it up and work in increments of 15 seconds keeping the power setting on 3 or 4. You don't want to burn your chocolate.
They are cute, and so delicious.

Car Seat Canopy - Sis 2

One of my best friends just recently had a baby. So I decided I wanted to make her a car seat canopy. I made a canopy for myself when I had my last baby, and I loved it. It makes the car seat nice and cozy so the baby can sleep where ever you go, and it also sheilds the baby from strangers touching or bothering them. I mean, every mother loves to hear that their baby is so beautiful and precious, but no mother wants strangers coming up and touching their baby. Especially, during cold and flu season. These Canopies are very easy to make also. I found the tutorial for this canopy here Try it out. Lot's of fun and so CUTE!

Vanity - Sis 3

Tuesdays are junk mail day. That's the day our mail box gets crammed full of grocery ads, super saver coupons, mailers and what not. I rarely buy frozen pizza; I have no need for cat food; and I've thankfully never needed a terminator. So usually, I indiscriminately throw all the ads straight from the mailbox into the trash. Last week, I didn't.

A coupon for beauty cream caught my eye.

My last birthday put me perilously close to the big 3-0. I remember when my best friend turned 15, she spent a good part of the day lamenting that she was halfway to 30--an age almost too old to comprehend. If she was worried about 30 all those years ago, shouldn't I now have a healthy sense of doom for the impending event? With the onset of wrinkles looming large, I couldn't pass up a $3 coupon for the latest in advanced skin smoothing technology.

On my next trip to the store, coupon in hand, I searched out the new miracle treatment. Being somewhat cheap, I was nearly dissuaded by the $20 something price tag for a .6 oz tube. Really?! I stood there reading the label for a good ten minutes. The drug company touted 10 years of research and promises of rejuvenated, stress-free skin in a matter of weeks. Dark circles, fine lines, crow's feet would all disappear. Finally, I reasoned, I did have my $3 coupon and if the stuff cost that much, it must be good. The marketing department, at least, knew what they were doing; hopefully the chemists were as smart.

I took the bait and put the wonder cream in my cart--only to take it out again moments later. $20+ for .6 oz? My consciences couldn't do it. But, the dark circles are getting worse... With that, I grabbed the tube and hurried out of the aisle before my thrift could catch up.

At the checkout stand, I carefully placed my budget-saving coupon on top of the package so as to be as conspicuous as possible. The cashier took it, placing it strategically on her keyboard as she rang up my purchases. She pushed total. I slid my card. She gave me the receipt. Then...

"Oh, I forgot to scan the coupon."

Before I could say anything, she left in search of her manager. By the time the cashier returned, manager in tow, a long line had formed at the register, head by an obviously impatient gentleman with two kids and a basketful of groceries. The manager explained that she would have to return the original purchase and re-ring it up, to which news the gentleman behind me heaved a rather pointed sigh.

"Don't worry about it," I tried to smile as I took my bags.

The cashier thoughtfully handed me back the coupon, "You can use it next time."

Hmm, not likely. One full-price tube of wonder cream ought to last me quite a long time.

Designer Cookie Cutters - Sis 1

If you ever want to make cookie cut-outs and don't have the shape you need, just make your own cookie-cutters.

You'll need:

Galvanized Steel Hanger Strap (You can get 10 feet for about $2.50 at Home Depot, in the plumbing section.)

Pliers

Tin Snips (Really heavy-duty scissors might work.)

A Twist Tie

or

A Food Can

For more complicated shapes you're better off using the hanger strap. You can make a lot of cookie cutters out of 10 feet, and I use hanger strap for other things, as well, so it's really a good investment if you like to jerry-rig things like I do.

Draw out your shape on a piece of paper. As you can see I drew a helmet that was too big first, and decided I'd have to make a lot of dough if I were going to use that size of cookie cutter, so I re-drew it smaller.

Using the tin snips, cut a piece of strap about the length you'll need to go all around your shape. It's better to cut it too long than too short. You could measure the length you'll need with a piece of string, but where's the fun in that? Place one end of your strap at a corner, if there is one in your shape. Now start bending your strap to fit the drawing on your paper. It bends quite easily, so you can do most of this with your hands, but you may need to smooth curves or make tighter corners with the pliers.

Once you have the shape right, cut off the excess strap and thread the twist tie into the two closest holes to the ends of the strap. Twist until tight, making sure to meet the two ends up at the right angle. If there are no corners in your shape, overlap the strap a bit before you cut off the excess, then use your twist tie to connect the ends parallel to each other. Cut off the extra twist tie. Wash your new cookie cutter in with soap and hot water.

If your desired shape is very simple and based on a circle, just remove both ends of a food can and bend it to the proper shape. If you can't remove both ends, it's okay, but it will be easier to remove stuck cookie dough if you cut off both ends. Wash your new cookie cutter. I don't feel the need to keep tin can cookie-cutters around. They're so simple that you can make a new one next time.

I used this recipe for my Super-bowl cookies, but I added an extra yolk to the dough to help keep them from falling apart so easily.

Removing Nail Polish from Carpet - Sis 1

Bear never fails to take advantage of open doors.

I keep my nail polish in a closet with a child-proofed door knob. My son, Bear, has not yet learned how to open child-proof door knobs. But, on occasion, someone else in the family opens this door and leaves it that way. That happened today.

I already know how Bear opens nail polish bottles, as I've seen him do it before. He grabs the lid in one hand, the bottle in the other, and pulls. There's that super-human strength. With all that force being exerted, when the lid comes off, the polish splatters everywhere. Which also happened today, but this time it was on the carpet in the hall, along with Bear's pants, arms and hands.

I was lucky enough to catch him very soon after he had finished splashing the polish on the carpet. I have also had to deal with this mess a time or two in the past and know how to clean it. So, here's how:

Immediately pour a generous amount of rubbing alcohol over every bit of polish-splattered carpet. Now, it's a good idea to go put on some rubber gloves, if you don't like your hands turning white and being so dry that they crack ( I skipped that part). Come back and quickly dab out as much polish as possible with a white paper towel. You will need lots of these. Bring the whole roll. Now rub the carpet with the paper towels, adding more rubbing alcohol as needed until all of the nail polish is gone.

There will probably still be staining from the dye in the polish though. Now pour a generous amount of hydrogen peroxide onto the affected carpet. Rub that thoroughly with clean paper towels until the color is gone. You may not be able to get ALL of the color out, but it will definitely be lighter.

I used my blow dryer to dry the carpet so you could see the results in the pictures. Wet carpet looks worse than dry.

The pants weren't worth saving.

Unfortunately, Bear was also busy while I was cleaning up the polish. I have found all but 7 of the keys now.

Cheese and Sausage Puffs - Sis 1

These are a yummy appetizer to take to the football party.

Ingredients:

Puffs:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups grated pepper-jack cheese

Filling:

1 lb. sausage

1 can peppers (I used mild, but if there had not been kids in attendance, I'd have used jalapenos.)

2 8 oz. blocks cream cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit. In a small saucepan, stir butter, water, salt and sugar over medium-high heat until it boils. Turn off heat and add flour, stirring quickly. A dough will form, pulling away from the sides of the pan. Stir until a thin crust forms on the bottom of the pan.

Transfer the dough into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each egg is added. Beat in all of the pepper-jack cheese.

Drop by heaping tablespoons (I use my cookie scoop) onto greased cookie sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches around each scoop. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and quickly poke a hole straight down through the middle of each puff with a clean toothpick. Return the puffs to the oven and bake about 3 more minutes, or until the puffs are golden-brown. Remove from oven and cool thoroughly and cut each puff in half, leaving just a small bit holding the two halves together.

Brown the sausage in a big skillet. Drain the grease and add the peppers and cream cheese. Stir until well mixed.

Spoon the hot sausage mixture into the puffs and serve warm.

Groundhog Puppet - Sis 1

They say that Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. H certainly wouldn't have where I live. Although winter is my least favorite season, I will gladly take 6 "more" weeks of it this year. We haven't really had winter yet.

To celebrate Groundhog's day, we made puppets.

You'll need:

Construction paper

Hot glue gun

glue sticks or other glue suitable for children

1 can for each puppet

1 small piece of closely matching felt or other stiff fabric1 sock for each puppet (I used women's tan ankle socks. They were perfect, but don't get too concerned about this. Crafts should not cost a ton of money. Use what you have or can find very cheaply.)

1 small piece of red card stock or cereal box (you can paint it red or glue red cons

truction paper to one side of it.)

eyes (I used a hole punch and a piece of craft foam. Googly eyes would be great.)

First find a can that has a removable top and bottom (as opposed to the kind with a curved bottom), preferably one that contains something you would like to eat for dinner tonight. This can should be fairly wide, since you'll be sticking your han

d through it. I used a 15.25 oz pineapple can. Remove top and bottom, along with the label.

Measure a piece of construction paper and cut a strip as tall as

your can and a little more than as long as your can's diameter. Glue it around the can and decorate it. This is the part

that small children will be able to do best, so let them have at it. The goal is for the can to look like the ground, or the hole your groundhog will be popping out of.

Cut an egg shape out of your red card stock and ears and arms out of the felt. Fold the egg shape horizontally, with the narrow end down. Using hot glue, glue the egg-shaped paper to the bottom side of the sock, about where the underside of your toes would be, if you were wearing it. Glue the ears to the seam that would be across the top of your toes. Glue the eyes somewhere between the mouth and the ears and the arms down a little and to either side of the mouth.

Slip the groundhog (sock) inside the can, with the head pointing out the top of the can.

stretch the cuff of the sock over and around the outside of the bottom of the can. Lift a section of the cuff at a time and hot glue it to the can.

Have a puppet show about being afraid of shadows.