Christmas 2012

We had a nice time at Rodey and Coral's this Christmas, with marvellous meal at A. Heather and U Trevor's on Xmas day. The sad thing is, I have no pictures of Xmas day. Here are just a few I took on my phone. We had a sick baby this Christmas which resulted in Momma and Papa getting very little sleep. I blame the lack of pictures on my foggy brain.

 The night before Xmas and all through the house...the grandparents were smiling because the precious grandkids are all together.

 Gma gives some cuddles to Teija.

 Uncle Braden sharing his orange with the nieces. Gpa Ken looks.

Tiara laughs at her U Shawn because it took him about 3 hours to accomplish this game (a little metal ball that you have to roll through a series of challenging places without the ball falling to the bottom).

All the kids (can't believe how grown up my nieces are) together before we dispersed after Xmas.

Potato Buns thanks to my Mom and Gma.

 Well, these were my holiday contribution this year for the family dinner. I had never made them (even though I have had the recipe for a long time), and when I was told that I should bring buns for Christmas dinner, I just HAD to get the recipe out.

Then surprisingly enough, we got invited for another turkey dinner (tonight) so what did I offer to make? Buns! And so batch #2 is in the oven as I type.

For anyone who doesn't have this recipe, you must print it off and keep it for your next potluck/family dinner.

1pkg of active dry yeast - 2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup milk
3/4 cup melted margerine/butter or shortening
1 - 1 1/4 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
5-6 cups of flour (divided)
2 eggs beaten

1) dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside
2) combine milk, melted margerine, potatoes and blend in the blender
3) put blended mixture in a large bowl and add sugar, salt, and 2 cups of flour as well as the yeast.
4) add eggs and mix well
5) cover loosely and let stand for 2 hours (will be spongy looking)
6) Stir in remaining flour to make a soft dough and knead well. Only use the recommended amt of flour as a guideline. Use the sticky test. It should not stick to your fingers anymore but should also not be too dry and tough feeling.
7) put in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
8) Cover for 1 hour.
9) punch down and divide into 4 sections (3 if you want larger buns)
10) form into a bowl and roll out on a floured surface - 12 inch circle
11) cut each circle into 12 pie-shaped wedges.
12) Beginning at the wide end, roll them up and put pointed side down about 2 inches apart.
13) cover and rise until double

Bake at 375 for about 12-15 mins. Watch carefully as each oven is a bit different.

I have to admit, my first batch didn't look quite this nice...plus I wasn't thinking about taking pictures because I was in too much of a hurry.

MMM....nothing smells better than fresh bread out of the oven.

A wee update

Hi friends and family,

I keep forgetting who I have told and who I haven't told but for those that don't know, I accepted a part time job at my old school. My principal/boss called me at home to tell me about this position he wanted to create. It will be Monday-Thursday mornings. I will be doing reading intervention and resource support to students - individual or small group.
I start tomorrow and and the position will only be until the end of June.
I took a while to make the decision but think it will be good for both Hanna and I for 7 months. It will be good for me because it'll give me more of a structure in the morning and will be good for Hanna as she gets a little older. Raelyn Morton will be watching her and she'll be in good hands. Raelyn also looks after a little girl that is a year older than Hanna. Hanna loves being around other kids and perhaps it'll help push her to take some risks.

So in preparing for my job, I did something that I found on Pinterest. See this link for details: http://www.mamaandbabylove.com/2011/04/05/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker-recipes/

I cut up all the available veggies in my fridge, combined them with meat and spices and threw them in the freezer. How exciting it will be to dump them in the slow cooker and have dinner ready without a moment's thought.

We are currently hanging out in the basement because Daddy has to work on paperwork a lot lately and so we hang out where he is.

Andes Mint Cookies - I call them Double Chocolate Mint cookies

I definitely couldn't find "Andes" mints at the local Co-op. So I instead about some other kind of mint chocolate that could be melted on the cookie. I wasn't super happy with the way this turned out. My cookies flattened into a pancake. They still tasted very good and smelled even better. All you smelled when you opened the container was chocolate and mint.

They were still chewy (the way I like them).

The plus about this recipe...easy peasy, nice and easy thanks to a cake mix.


1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints (or other mint chocolate)

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Don't cook any longer than that! You don't want them to be overdone!
Take sheet out of oven and while the cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted. Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting.

Lemon Lime Refrigerator Cookies and Orange Creamsicle Cookies

I think I was in a citrus mood when I was baking this year. These were both very good!!

Lemon Lime  Cookies - Will make 4 logs. Each log does about a dozen cookies.

• 1 cup (250 mL) butter, softened
• 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) finely grated lemon rind
• 2 tsp (10 mL) finely  grated lime rind
• 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking powder
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 4 oz (113 g) white chocolate, finely chopped (optional) ( I used white choc chips)
• 1 egg white
• 2/3 cup (150 mL) finely chopped almonds
• Glaze:
• 1 cup (250 mL) icing sugar
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) whipping cream (I used half and half)
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter, softened
• 1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lemon rind
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) finely grated lime rind

Preparation

Line rimless baking sheets with parchment paper or grease; set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, then lemon and lime rinds. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt ; stir into butter mixture, one-third at a time; stir in white chocolate (if using).

In small bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Sprinkle almonds on waxed paper. Set both aside.

Divide dough into quarters. Place, 1 at a time, on large piece of waxed paper. Using paper as guide, roll and press firmly into 6-inch (15 cm) long log. Remove paper. Brush with egg white; roll in about one-quarter of the almonds. Wrap in plastic wrap, twisting ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours, rerolling as logs harden to keep round shape. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate logs for up to 3 days or freeze in airtight container for up to 3 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.)

With serrated knife, cut into generous 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick slices; place, about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, on prepared pans. Bake in top and bottom thirds of 375°F (190°C) oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until bottoms are light golden, about 10 minutes.

Glaze: Meanwhile, in bowl, mix icing sugar, cream, butter and lemon and lime rinds until smooth; spread over hot cookies. Transfer to racks to let cool. (Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container; store at room temperature for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks.)

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: December 2004

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest (for me that was the zest of 2 oranges)
2 cups white chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest and white chocolate chips.
Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Do not overcook! Cookies will be plump. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

From the blog: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/04/creamsicle-cookies.html

Egg Nog Fudge recipe...tastes exactly as the title describes

Yum Yum Yum. Braden came to my assistance with this recipe because it required a lot of stirring and a candy thermometer. It turned out a little dry and a bit crumbly but still tasty. I think next time when the temperature reaches the desired temperature, I would take it off the heat and stir the rest of the ingredients in. We kept it on the element and had to stir well otherwise the bottom was starting to brown.

One more thing...marshmallow cream can be found in the baking aisle.

Recipe courtesy of :www.catzinthekitchen.com/2011/12/eggnog-fudge-crazy-cooking-challenge.html

EggNog Fudge

Source: Recipe Girl

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup dairy eggnog

10.5 ounces white chocolate bars, chopped into small pieces

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus a little more for the top of the fudge

once 7 ounce jar marshmallow creme

1 tsp rum extract

Line a 8 or 9-inch square pan with foil and let it hang over the sides. Butter the foil.

In a heavy, 3-qt saucepan combine sugar, butter, and eggnog. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 8-10 minutes over medium heat or until a candy thermemoter reaches 234 F, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. 

Using a wooden spoon, work quickly to stir in chopped white chocolate and nutmeg until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in marshmallow creme and rum extract. Beat until well blended  and then pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with a little freshly ground nutmeg on top. Let stand at room temperature until cooled. Refrigerate if you'd like to speed up the process. 

When completely cool, cut into squares. Store in covered container. 

Cookie Recipe for Chocolate Cherry Kisses

Chocolate Cherry Kisses - courtesy of The Curvy Carrot blog

http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/04/cherry-chocolate-kisses/

Cherry Chocolate Kisses

Servings: approximately 36 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened, but still cool

1 cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons maraschino cherry “juice”

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

Granulated sugar, for sprinkling the cookies

36 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

3. Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and slowly add the powdered sugar and salt.

4. Add the cherry juice and the almond extract until combined.

5. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

6. Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the cherries.

7. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, and place the balls on a baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.

8.  Using your thumb, gently press each cookie in its center until the cookie is about 1/2-inch thick.

9.  Sprinkle each cookie with a little granulated sugar.

10.  Bake the cookies until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 14 minutes.

11. Once removed from the oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie’s center.

12.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

And the winner is...

 Cherry Chocolate Kisses - recipe to come if you're interested.

 Hanna's new past time. Get a basket full of stuff and pull everything out of itl

Enjoying a later afternoon walk on Saturday. The fresh air did her good...and us.

Pictures from November 4- November 18, 2012

 Happy Birthday Sarah! So glad we could be with you on your special day.

 Sarah and her friend Phil McDonald.

 Wednesday evening heading out to BC. In the background you can see the amazing bridge just before Golden.

 Thursday morning at Nana Radom's.

 Heading out...to discover a leaky tire on our vehicle.

 But we still snuck over to Newman's while the tire was getting fixed for a quick coffee and a chat.

 Thursday night at Ken's. Ken and the kids.

 Saturday morning at G and P's with L and A. Love those kids. Hanna was thoroughly stimulated by her cousins.

 A visit to the aquarium.

 Some neat presentation of the sea life.

 Going underwater...indoors.

 The boys and their girls.

 Hanna and I.

 The American Radom family.

 Ok...look closely. In the background you can see the first EVER Starbucks. 1912. We were dying to have a coffee but upon seeing the lineup, we decided we could live a little bit longer.

 Shawn and Greg and Paula. Look in the background...a very busy street. The cars were not moving.

 The beauties.

The two fellas...not bad for guys in their 30's. :)

November 18, 2012 - a rather long update

I can't hardly believe that it is already past the middle of the month of November. Where has the time gone??? I suppose the following long account will tell where it went.

Let me back up. Since Shawn's bday, we had our workers come to stay, a baby shower for Slade and Janie's baby, Sarah's birthday - two celebrations. One at Japanese Village with the girlies and then on her actual bday with supper here with Dennis and Bernice and Graham and Joey.

That brings us to November (for all who care you can keep reading). We fell back one hour (of which I ALWAYS seem to forget) so my folks have gotten a rather late phone call and I have texted my girly friends in SK when they were probably in bed.

That brings us to last week and weekend. We made a trip out to Vancouver. Shawn had a HVAC trade show he wanted to attend to meet someone regarding equipment. We spent the night with Melva and I spent the next day with her. We then toodled over (with a repaired tire) to Ken's for Thursday night and had a lovely pizza supper with some relatives of Shawn's (cousins) as well as Hayden and Glenna and family.

We left in decent time on Friday to go to the States to visit Shawn's brother Greg and Paula and family. We were met with a 90 minute wait (good thing Hanna was napping). We proceeded to have a lovely time with the family and Sunday after lunch we headed out on the Highway. We drove as far as Spokane on Sunday night and hotelled it there. We proceeded to drive the rest of the way on Monday. My hubby is a trooper for doing all that driving.

So that brings us to this past week. On Tuesday I was met with unpacking, laundry, tidying house and making at least 10 dozen cookies for a bake exchange I agreed to do for this past Friday. Braden came over and organized his things for special meetings because the next day, I drove him up to Edmonton to spend some time with the family up there. But back to the bake exchange....I tried several new recipes and the one that was the hit according to my hubby will be featured in the photos.
I started with:
Cherry Chocolate shortbread cookies
Orange Creamsicle cookies
lemon lime refrigerator cookies
double chocolate mint cookies
egg nog fudge

What do you think was the winner???

Thursday was driving back from Edmonton, an attempt at a massage to relieve my aching back muscles which didn't end up happening fully because Ms. Hanna decided to cry the entire time so I had to cut it short. Then to chiro to provide some extra relief and home to unpack again and to more laundry.

Friday morning was our amazing bake exchange and was I ever thankful I participated. I came home with some exciting goodies. All to be put in the freezer and brought out at a later date.

We fully intended to got to Jan Howden's funeral on Saturday morning (which meant another trip up to Edmonton) but Hanna came down with a runny nose on Thursday night and I didn't feel we can handle it. Which brings us to Sunday....Hanna had a terrible meeting. Upon taking her out and feeling in her mouth, I discover 2 more teeth have broken through. I just wanted to cuddle her pain away.

So after all the blabbing, you are now up-to-date. Photos to come...

Hanna with Dale and Carol

Well Uncle George arrived in Calgary last night and we had a nice day today.

Our main focus was to go and see Dale Yanke at the Foothills. I have never met him but he is my dad's cousin so I really enjoyed going with Uncle George and Braden to see and meet him and his wife, Carol. As some of you might know, Dale is quite full of cancer. I don't want to get any facts wrong so I won't go into detail.

He was in good spirits and was happy that we came. He has good memories with my dad and his brothers.

It's late and we have a big day of travelling tomorrow so Ill let this be all for now. I just wanted to upload these photos for the family.
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Hanna after gsp mtg - Nov 4

We are having a few over for supper tonight. We just got home from gospel meeting. What a wonderful day it has been.

Here is our big girl holding Daddy's bible.


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Pizza puffs

These will be a staple in our house.
They are easy and taste like pizza in muffin or bisquit form.

I pinned this recipe on pinterest if you have pinterest but if not...here it is.

I doubled the recipe. Mom...you HAVE to try this.

3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Pinch of salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes (opt)
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten (I of course used egg replacer)
1 cup shredded mozza (I used mixed cheddar and mozza)
1 cup cubed pepperoni (I used italian sausage so it wasn't so spicy for Ms Hanna)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1) Preheat oven to 375. Grease a muffin tin. It said to use mini muffin tins and thatd be ok if it was an appetizer.

2) Whisk together flour, baking powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.

3) Whisk in the milk and egg.

4) Stir in mozza, parmesan and pepperoni.

5) Let stand 10 minutes.

6) Scoop into greased tins and bake for 20-25 mins until puffed and golden. 20-25 mins.

7) Heat some pizza sauce (home made or boughten and serve with it.

Enjoy. Hanna inhaled it. She's my taste tester.
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Tasty Tomato Mac & Cheese - Maximum Taste, Minimum effort

You know when you get home from Sunday meeting and you have no idea what you're going to have because you haven't taken any meat out and you don't feel like making pancakes? As a matter of fact, you just don't feel like making a meal. Period! But alas, there will be no going out to eat because that costs money...

Well, I found this recipe in the "All you need is cheese" magazine that comes once in awhile. I like the homemade stuff but oftentimes it takes a little while to make. And time is of the essence. There are naps to be had before gospel meeting you know.

I recommend it for a quick meal. It is Hanna approved. Shawn gave her a portion and then he had to give her some more off his plate because she wanted more.

Servings 4-6         Preparation time: 10-15 minutes       Cooking: 15-20 minutes
1 lb (450 g) macaroni or other short pasta
1 Tbsp butter
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (I like old for more flavour), grated
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1) In a large quantity of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions but cook for 1 minute less. Drain in a colander.
2) In the saucepan used to cook the pasta, melt butter and brown garlic and onion for 2 minutes.
3) Mix milk and flour and pour into saucepan. Stir using a whisk and let simmer until mixture thickens.
4) Add tomato paste, oregano and parsley.
5) Gradually incorporate grated Cheddar and season.
6) Add pasta, stir with a large spoon, reheat, and serve it at once.

Hanna walks - Attempt #2

Does this work family? Some of you couldn't view the last one.

Walking

Hanna is on the move!

You HAVE to try this easy recipe

I had a "wow" moment today.

I found (on pinterest) a recipe for banana "ice cream". Except all the "ice cream" is, is frozen bananas blended to a pulp.

So cut up and freeze in discs 4 bananas. Then use a powerful blender (because it will test the motor) and blend it to a pulp. It will start to get creamy. Once its all creamy, add 2 Tbsp peanut butter and 2 tsp cocoa and blend. And that's it. Healthy ice cream.

I just had to share. Hanna loved it!
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Thanksgiving Dinner at Mom and Dad's

We were so privileged to have 3 turkeys this year.

Was great to be with these folks at Mom and Dad's.
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