Good Friends

This past weekend we had a holiday baking marathon just for girls. Our very good friends Sarah and Naomi came over and we baked and baked and baked. We tried several new things and made some of the old stand bys. Everything turned out great and we had a great time in the process. It's great having good friends to share special holiday traditions with.

We made a special recipe (and in great number I might add) that was from my grandmother. Her special ingredient...lemon extract. Gives a unique twist to the timeless sugar cookie.  The girls waited all day to have their chance at decorating the cookies before they baked. They're very festive, not to mention tasty!

Grandma H.'s Sugar Cookies

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg well beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. lemon extract

Mix dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and flavoring. Add flour mixture 1/3 at a time. Chill about 2-3 hours. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Yours for the making,

redhairwithfreckles

It's what's on the inside that counts...

We have lived in our house 3.5 years and when we first moved in I bought a new comforter for our bedroom. I loved it then and still do. I spent lots of time making throw pillows for the bed, shopped for just the right fabric, etc. Some of the pillows have stayed, some have been replaced with store-bought pillows but the overall look of our 'made' bed is something I still very much enjoy. But something has been missing. I have always wanted some dark brown sheets and I've asked for them for several Christmases in a row. This year on Black Friday I got lucky with a great deal on a sheet set at JcPenney's.

Doesn't look like much I realize...

But it's the entire package that I enjoy the most...

 

 

Now if I could only find time to work on these windows...It's taken me three years just to get the sheets!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

My first try at pumpkin bread this year was a complete disaster. I don't know if it was me or the recipe I tried but the little loaves were like bricks, not only in texture, but in taste as well.  So, I set out to try again when I came across another recipe in a Quick Cooking magazine. The original recipe was submitted by Lora Stanley from Bennington, Kansas. While I don't know Lora, I thank her kindly for ending my search for a great pumpkin bread recipe. Try it for yourself!

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

2 c. cooked or canned pumpkin

1 1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into two greased 8x4x2 in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 min. before removing from pans to wire racks.

Yours for the making,

redhairwithfreckles

Want it so bad I can taste it!

So one of the blogs I follow, Somewhat Simple, is having a giveaway and ooooooh how I want it! It's a new blog design by Designer Blogs. Like you are probably thinking, boy you sure need it girlie! I really want to take this blog to the next level and the cutesie designs Designer Blogs has are just what the doctor ordered. Check them out for yourself. Here's a few of my favorites...

I love me some gingham check!

I'm starting to see a pattern here...maybe green's my new color of choice.

Man, it would be so hard to choose. But I'd sure like the opportunity. Wish me luck!

redhairwithfreckles

One cute craft project...

photo credit: Skip to my Lou

One of the first craft projects I found after I started touring the blogging circuit was the crayon roll. So cute, easy and the perfect something for toddlers through school-aged children. I've made several now. The first I made for my daughter with the intention of her taking it to church with her. Something to keep her occupied and also to keep the crayons contained after an unfortunate incident when she was trying to hold the five crayons I allowed her to take in all in one hand while holding the coloring book in the other. All of the crayons hit the floor and rolled under our chairs and into the row behind us! Now the crayon roll keeps the crayons in check and she can have a whole rainbow of colors at her disposal.

Although there are several tutorials online for the crayon roll, I found mine at Skip to my Lou. It's a great blog that has tons of great projects. Even if you are not a super seamstress, the crayon roll is a pretty easy sewing project. The trickiest part for me was using ric rac. All I can say is thank goodness for my seam ripper :)


Find the tutorial here http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/04/25/on-a-roll/


Your for the making,
redhairwithfreckles

This Pizza Delivers!

So if your drooling for pepperoni and cheese this isn't what you had in mind but it's g-o-o-d! Just like your typical pizza, you'll have to negotiate with yourself to just eat one slice.

Caramel Apple Pizza

1 tube (18 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 T. milk
4 c. sliced, peeled tart apples (about 3 large)
1 can (12 oz.) lemon-lime soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. caramel ice cream topping
1/3 c. chopped pecans


Press cookie dough into a greased 14 inch pizza pan.

(had a little help from one of the kiddos for this part)


Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.



Cool completely. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, brown sugar and milk until smooth. Spread over cooled crust.


In a bowl, combine the apples and soda; drain well. Toss apples with cinnamon.


Arrange apples over cream cheese mixture. Drizzle with caramel topping and sprinkle with pecans if desired. Voila! Caramel apple pizza!

(half with pecans, half without or the kids would have refused to eat it!)

Yours for the making,
Red Hair with Freckles

Summer Shoe to Fall Shoe Transformation

My daughter was the flower girl in a wedding this summer and although it was painful at the time to have to buy shoes she would wear once and then have them dyed to match the dress on top of it, I recently had an idea of how to get more wear out of these 'summer' shoes. Plus being off-white, these shoes were filthy after being an active flower girl as she was. She danced non-stop for three hours that night!


Although the fashionistas say that you can wear white any time of year these days, I'm old school and still abide by the no white after Labor Day rule. So with this in mind, plus trying to be frugal, I decided to take some black shoe polish to these relatively white shoes and winterize them. I also clipped off the little bows that had a rhinestone piece in the center because they made the shoes really dressy and other than Christmas there isn't any need for something this dressy, especially with our casual social calendar. So viola! We'll probably get at least 5 more uses out of these babies!

Fall is here!

At the first signs of the season changing I want to completely surround myself with all things Fall. I try to pace myself, why I don't know. I don't want to go full on into Halloween decorations and flavoring everything with pumpkin. At least I wait until October 1 to haul all of the orange and black tubs from the basement and decorate for the sacred holiday. But I ease into the season concentrating on apples at first and then once the apple thing is out of my system I pounce on pumpkins.

This is one of my favorite apple-type recipes. Perfect for a crisp Fall evening. Comfort food at its best. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

1 can (21 oz.) apple fruit pie filling, divided
1 - 9 or 10 inch graham cracker crust
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 c. caramel topping (like for ice cream)
2 T. chopped pecans


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside 3/4 c. of the pie filling (don't worry you'll get your turn, pie filling). Spoon remaining filling into the crust.



Beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. (Don't forget to put in the second box of cream cheese like I did because I was too busy taking pictures of each step I made -- novice blogger**smile). Add eggs and beat well - show those eggs who's boss.


Pour mixture over apple filling in crust and bake 35 minutes or until center is set.

After the cheesecake has completely cooled, mix reserved apple filling and caramel topping in a small saucepan. Heat one minute. Spoon caramel sauce onto the cheesecake and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve. And when you do, your friends and family will thank you for it.

It starts today!

I have been wanting to start a blog for some time now. As I was driving to a meeting last night I saw a sign with a pink ribbon on it that reminded me that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Something clicked when I saw that sign. Since breast cancer has recently impacted me personally with the recent death of my mother I am reminded that life is too short to wait to do things we want to do. So it seems fitting to finally start my blog on the first day of breast cancer awareness month.

To all the survivors, we admire your strength. To all those we've lost to breast cancer, we remember and honor you. To all of those still fighting, we pray for you.

I miss you, Mom.Please come back and visit my blog again. I promise my future posts won't be such a downer!