Christmas Goodies

 

During the week leading up to Christmas, the making of batches upon batches of baked goodies to share with others has long been a family tradition going back to when I was a teen.  I remember all too well sitting down with my mom and making the list of what we were going to make that year.  There were goodies that we would make every year that were "staples" for our family. You know those "staples" that you only make once a year for the holiday time.  Then there were those recipes that we had found over the coarse of the year that we wanted to try for the first time.  Then we had to make sure that we were not making a bunch of the same flavoring of goodies there has to be balance to the plate.  Not all chocolate and not all peanut butter or mint!

I have tried over the years to keep this family tradition going with my kids.  I will admit that some years have been better than others.  There have been a few different years like the year that two days before Christmas my hubby had major surgery on his leg that goodies have been the last thing on my mind to do.  Then there are years like this year where my daughter is able to do the majority of the baking with a bit of coaching from me on some of the recipes. 

So this year, my daughter and I along with my youngest boy set out to make a some goodies to share with our neighbors. Here is a list of the things we made this year: 

• Chocolate Chip Bread
• Oatmeal Scotchies
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
• Snickerdoodle Cookies

Then we took the original Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Nestle Toll House and we used their basic dough but instead of using chocolate chunks in the recipe we used different bags of chips to make the following cookies...

• Chocolate Cookies N Cream Cookies
• Chocolate Andes Mint Chip Cookies 
  
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies using 1 1/2 bags of the Hershey's Reese's Baking Cups and Pieces.

• Oreo Balls
• Peanut Butter Balls

1 stick margarine
3 cups Rice Krispies-crushed

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups of peanut butter (smooth or chunky)

Mix all together. Make into balls. Freeze for 10 minutes or until firm. If the mixture is too dry add a little more peanut butter or 1/2 stick margarine. 

Place on wax paper and refrigerate.

Coating:
Take 2-8oz Hershey candy bars and a bag of chocolate chips. Melt in microwave candy bar and chips and dip balls in it.
My notes...I made these without the margarine and just added more peanut butter (like 1/4 cup) and they taste fine. I also have used just Hershey candy bars (at least 3-8oz bars). I have used just chocolate chips (2-12oz bags) and put 2-4 tbsp shortening mixed in with chocolate chips.  I use peanut butter over margarine if mixture is too dry. 

• Sugar Cutout Cookies with homemade icing...my daughter found a recipe and did it up.  This recipe is also one that you don't have to chill the dough before cutting out the cookies.   

1/2 cup shortening(Crisco)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 TSP. baking powder

1/2 TSP. salt

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 1/4 + 3-4 TBLSP. flour (shake and then level off with a knife)

Extra white sugar or colored sugar or frosting or icing(optional)

Sprinkles(optional)

Cream the shortening and sugar together. Add the egg, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Mix. Add the milk. Mix. Add about 1 cup of the flour at a time to the creamed mixture. Mix as much flour in with the mixer and the remainder by hand. Add extra if needed. Roll the dough using a rolling pin. Cut cookies to be about 1/4 to 1/3 inch think. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly golden brown or firm on the tops. (It will take longer for bigger cookies). Sprinkle white or colored sugar on top before baking or frost the cookies after they are baked and cooled. Makes about 56 cookies.  Note: These cookies should be soft. If you know your cooks darker, reduce the cooking time or lower the temperature to 375 degrees F. 

Holiday Goodie Plates

I love to bake!  I love to share my creations with others! What better time to share baked goods with friends and neighbors than at the holiday season. I am going to share with you how to make up holiday sample plates for gift giving to your friends and neighbors for the holidays.

After the Thanksgiving bustle is finished, I take the time to write down a list of goodies (around a dozen) and some are family favorites while a few others are new things to try.  I always look through my pantry stockpile to see what baked goods on the list I can do without having to purchase items to complete the goodies.  Once I have completed my list I look over it to see what goodies (like fudge, & bread) will freeze without problems and I mark those as the first to complete.  When I make my list I try to make things that share the same ingredients but are different, like my peanut butter & chocolate day, so that I do not have to get LOTS of different ingredients that I might not use again.

Now that we have the list of goodies figured out, it is time to get baking!  I try to make something every day during the first three weeks of December so that I do not feel overwhelmed, however, that doesn’t always happen!  Some years I have done one or two big baking days and called it good!  

One tip about baking cookies for the sample plates: if you have a small scoop or small cookie cutters or a cookie press use those instead of your larger scoops or cutters!  Using the smaller items means that you will get more cookies out of your dough and it will take less baking time, hence making things move a little faster and truly making the plates where you are able to get a sampling of everything that you have baked rather than just a few items.

The baking is done and it is a couple days before Christmas, now is the time to put your plates together! I purchased a couple of packages of Christmas styrofoam plates to use.  I got two different sizes, so that my neighbors who are widowed or just a couple get the smaller ones while the families with kids get the bigger plates.   I set out the plates and the goodies on my dining room table and the kids and I work at putting goodies on the plate.  There is a catch to putting the goodies on the plate…we put enough of each goodie for each person in the family. So if the plate is going to go to the family of five next door then we put only five snickerdoodles or five pieces of fudge and continue to fill the plate with five of the different goodies until the plate is full.  If the plate is going to the widow across the street then I will only fill the plate with one or two pieces of each of the goodies.  I also give a mini loaf of bread (yeast or quick) with the sample plate, I have those wrapped in foil and have labeled them as to what they are and give them right out of the freezer so that if the recipient wants they can place the bread back in the freezer to use at a different time.

Once the plate is full, I put a piece of saran wrap over each plate and fill out a gift tag and get a bow to stick on the top of the plate.  The plates are now ready to deliver. I put the plates together so it is hubby turn to do his part of the giving!  He and a couple of the older kids deliver the goodies to the neighbors either on December 23^rd or Christmas Eve before the different families leave for Christmas celebrations.

So even though the sample goodie plates take time and effort they are something that the whole family can help in preparing and the neighbors will appreciate the thoughtfulness.  

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

This post is linked to:

• Living Well Wednesday at Women Living Well Ministries!

Veteran's Day Tribute

As a wife of a Persian Gulf War veteran and a relative of veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam, I want to say thank you to those men, and women that are serving our country. I also want to say thank you to the families of those who served our country and gave their lives.

Sunday's Coming

Memorial Day Tribute

As a wife of a Persian Gulf War veteran and a relative of veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam, I want to say thank you to those men, and women that are serving our country. I also want to say thank you to the families of those who served our country and gave their lives.

Homeschooling: Poetry Resources

One of the tools that I found for helping me put together my children’s curriculum each year is the Educator’s Calendar! I love looking at the different months to see what happened on a day in history or what might be month long events or holidays that I might be able to work into my children’s curriculum. Instead of always doing whatever is in the textbooks, it makes for a fun time of research. According to the calendar, I found that April is National Poetry Month!

For the month of April we are working at reading and writing different poetry every day.  Instead of keeping all the resources to myself, I decided to share the wealth of resources with everyone!  Even though the month of April is just about over, you can use these resources at anytime during the year when studying poets and their work.

Here is a list of resources that you can use with any age level to enhance your poetry studies:

Scholastic’s Poetry Resource Page — bring poets and poetry to you to inspire your children through webcasts, printables and much more!

Scholastic’s Writing with Writers/Poets — Study poetry by taking part in step-by-step workshops with favorite authors.

Poetry 4 Kids — fun poems along with links, newsletters, rhyming dictionary and more.

30 Poets 30 Days — read fresh off the page never before published poems by your favorite poets all during the month of April.

Giggle Poetry — write poems, ask a poet, act out a poem and read and rate hundreds of poems

ReadWriteThink Poetry Resource Page — links, lesson plans and an activity

Eduplace’s Poetry Lessons — Ideas of age appropriate poetry activities to do with your child

Teach-nology Poetry Lesson Plans — tons of lessons to teach different styles of poetry

Web English Teacher–Poetry — click on the name of a poet listed and find some background facts about them along with a poem that they have written.There is also a poetry collections page with links to poetry available online.

Enjoy reading, writing, and studying poetry with your children!

Love of Homeschooling!

Can you feel it? Can you feel the love that is in the air? This is the week of the year where everyone is thinking about love! The love they have for their sweetheart, the love they have for God, the love they have for their family, the love they have for their children (if they have any) and the love they have for homeschooling! Well okay, maybe not everyone loves homeschooling, but you can love it!

I have taken the words “Love Homeschooling” to create an acrostic of the positives of homeschooling and why you can love homeschooling.

Less peer pressure — more strengthening of self-worth and character without the negative impact of peer groups. Even though your child might feel that their social life is limited, they will value and appreciate the time with their friends more.

Organization — nothing more frustrating than the inability to put your fingers on what you need when you need it! Organize your schoolroom or school space so that you are not wasting time searching for items. Okay maybe this isn’t a strong quality of yours so you don’t see it as a positive, but I have found that homeschooling has helped me to become more organized in how I keep my home.

Values — building your child’s character and helping them to see what matter most in this world.

Education Freedom — you control what your child learns! You can design a curriculum for your child’s unique needs, strengths and weaknesses.

Helping each other — Your child can help you around the house with chores. Or the older children can listen to the younger ones read.

Opportunities unlimited — take enrichment classes, piano lessons, gymnastics, participate in community sports, work to make a difference in your community. Just remember that just because the opportunities are unlimited doesn’t mean you have to participate in every one that is available!

Many relationships — your child is able to interact with wide range of ages and personalities.

Expectations — don’t fall into the trap of unrealistic expectations. Don’t set your standard too high! Have goals and direction, but be realistic based on your child’s strengths and weaknesses.

Support — having a support system of your family and friends is important.

Comforts of home — there is no better place to learn than in the security of your own home. You also don’t have to worry about walking in the rain to the bus stop and you can stay in your pajamas and still go to school!

Hugs abound! — there are never too many hugs! Building a relationship with your child is so vital to their development.

One-on-one tutoring — personal attention to your child, hence you will be able to know when they are struggling and need the extra effort to master a concept.

Own pace — no child is left behind! They can work at their own pace to master a concept before moving on.

Lifestyle simplified — realizing and remembering what in life really matters! Appreciate and enjoy life’s simple pleasures, like taking a walk together or watching ants work tirelessly.

Interests explored — Learn what your child is interested in and study it! It is okay to tailor-fit your curriculum to your child’s interests. For example, when my oldest son was six, he loved animals so we studied animals for a whole year!

No “SuperMom” — you have to realize that you will not be able to get everything done in one day! You are not going to have a perfect house or perfect children.

God allowed! — He can be talked about —and to— freely! He will be your friend in this homeschooling journey.

**this post was originally published as one of my contributing articles at Happy to be at Home!

1 Corithians 13---Christmas Version

I was looking through my archives and found this poem that I posted a couple of years ago when I was just getting my blog started.  It really still speaks to my heart, so I decided to repost it and share it again with everyone. We can bake cookies, cook extravagant meals, decorate the house inside(every room!) and out for the Christmas and totally forget what our focus should be not just during the holiday season but all year long! We need to keep our focus on the real Reason for the season! Christ came as a baby so that He could give us the ultimate gift of love by dying on the cross for our sins! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,

strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,

but do not show love to my family,

I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,

baking dozens of Christmas cookies,

preparing gourmet meals and arranging

a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:

I’m just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen,

carol in the nursing home,

and give all that I have to charity;

but do not show love to my family,

it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels

and crocheted snowflakes,

attend a myriad of holiday parties

and sing in the choir’s cantata

but do not focus on Christ,I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love does not envy another’s home

that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,

but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love does not give only to those who are able

to give in return; but rejoices in giving

to those who cannot.

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

and endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break,

pearl necklaces will be lost,

golf clubs will rust,

but giving the gift of love will endure.

~~~~Author Unknown~~~~

Home Looks Like Christmas!

Welcome to my home!!!!

This is a fresh swag of greens and berries that is gracing my front door. 

Here is our nativity set.  We have it on shelf over our window in our living room.  It is one of the first things someone would see walking into the room.  

Here is a poinsettia flower arrangement that I put together myself that I have setting on my desk.

Here is our fresh cut tree.  We get a fresh cut tree every year. We decorate it with white lights and various silver, red, and gold ornaments.  We also have several special ornaments, like Hallmark's baby's first Christmas that are adorning our tree.

We have snowman that are starting to appear on our tree too!  The snowman ornament on the left is a snowman family that we got when we just had four kids!  The snowman ornament on the right is a glass ornament and it came in a set with five others and they are scattered around on our tree. 

Here is another swag that we have setting on our entertainment center.  Also on the entertainment center is our stack of Christmas CDs that we listen to often during the holidays.

Phillips, Craig, and Dean's Christmas CD is one of my favorites while hubby loves the Ray Coniff singers!

I love having the simple decorations around the house! The basket of pine cones and the winter scene tins are just few of the simple decorations that you will find around my house.  These decorations are such that I can leave up through the winter months without feeling like they are just "Christmas decorations".

This year I add a few things to my decorations in my living room.  These items are on the top of a bookcase.  There is the ceramic Christmas bell that I made with my Grandma, who has passed away, when I was five. There is a bunch of poinsettia flowers and snowman.  The ceramic church in the picture was my hubby's Grandma's, who also has passed away and it was given to us because we were the only other ones in the family that actually went to church. The picture of the man in uniform is my hubby's Grandfather who served in World War II.  This picture was taken back during the war. I love having this picture part of the decorations because it reminds me to pray for our current men and women in the armed forces that are at home and abroad!


Thank you for stopping by my home today!  I hope that you enjoyed your visit!

This post is linked to: 

• Christmas Tour of Homes with the Nester  at Nesting Place!
• Home for the Holidays at Southern Hospitality!
• Holiday House Tour  at Hooked on Houses!
• Christmas Tree Party at Thrifty Decor Chick!

Veterans Day 2009

**Even though the video is a couple years old, it is still fitting for today!

Veterans Day

by Cheryl Dyson

On Veterans Day we honor all,

Who answered to a service call.

Soldiers young, and soldiers old,

Fought for freedom, brave and bold.

Some have lived, while others died,

And all of them deserve our pride.

We’re proud of all the soldiers who,

Kept thinking of red, white and blue.

They fought for us and all our rights,

They fought through many days and nights.

And though we may not know each name,

We thank ALL veterans just the same.

To my hubby, a Persian Gulf Veteran(and currently a Navy reservist)
To my uncle, a Korean War Veteran
To my cousin, a Vietnam War Veteran
To my grandfather, a World War II Veteran
To hubby's grandfather, a World War II Veteran
To hubby's uncle, a World War II Veteran
To my aunt, a retired Air Force Lt. Col.
To my cousin's hubby, currently serving in the Air Force
and to ALL other Veterans from the past and present and their families...

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT AND SERVICE!

There are several companies nationwide that want to recognize veterans for their service by giving them discounts or freebies!  You can find a list of them here or here.  You might also find that there are businesses in your locale that are also honoring veterans, like in my city there is a car wash that is giving free car washes to veterans today.

This post is linked to: 

• Veteran's Day Tribute at The Happy Housewife!

Pumpkin Recipes, Crafts & More!

Here in the next couple of weeks, we will be going pumpkin picking! Looking for just the right pumpkins to decorate our house or to carve or to cook to make into pies or in soups or a combination of things! I was doing some looking around online and instead of keeping the information all to myself, I thought I would share my findings!

Thinking on doing a unit study with your children on pumpkins, head over Easy Fun School where they have lesson ideas to recipes for pumpkin pie leather and pumpkin pie chips to pumpkin suncatchers crafts and pumpkin pie spice ornaments to a pumpkin book list!

Looking to do some kind of hands on activity with pumpkins but do not know what to do! How about doing The Pumpkin Seed Experiment?! There is six different activities with pumpkins and pumpkin seeds involving tallying, weighing, graphing, and more (from abcteach.com).

Looking for crafts for the children to do, the list over at DLTK's Pumpkin Crafts should keep them busy for a rainy afternoon!

Are you wanting to expand your palate and try new recipes, The Pumpkin Patch has tons of recipes anything from breads, biscuits, muffins to main dishes to cakes, pies, and cookies!

Here are my favorite pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin Cake Squares

Pumpkin Oat Strusel Muffins



Pumpkin Muffins

2 c sugar
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c. oil
4 eggs
1 (15-oz) can of pumpkin

Mix together all dry ingredients first, then add oil and eggs. Once this is mixed well (it will be thick), add pumpkin. Put in 2/3 cup batter into well greased muffin cups or or greased wrappers. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins (my oven baked them just right at 18 mins). I iced them with Cream Cheese icing!

So there are my pumpkin findings! Sound off: What are you planning on doing with your pumpkins this year? Do you have a tried and true pumpkin recipe that you would like to share?!

This post is linked to:

• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom!

**originally posted October, 2008