Around the House & More

Can you believe that Christmas has come and gone. Now the returns begin. I am luck, so far I only had to return one item. This Christmas season seemed to be more hectic than passed ones for us. I guess it is because our daughters are so involved with so many school activities. Now we are enjoying the rest of the season. Santa was good to me, I hope that he was to you. I really wanted a chair for my bedroom, so that I could go somewhere for some me time, and he came through. Now I can sit back with my new Paula Deen magazine that came the mail today and enjoy it in peace and quite.

I also, got a new George Foreman grill, I wanted one that the griddles could be removed. It will make clean up so much easier. I use my old one all the time. It is really good for grilling chicken and vegetables, when you are in a hurry for a quick meal. I dont’ recomend it for steak though, it doesn’t seem to cook it properly.

I love to make cookies, I also, love to eat cookies. It seems that I only make them around the holidays, unless the girls need them for school. Here are some tips that I would like to pass along. When I make cookies I like to use parchment paper, you can usually find it this time of year in the grocery store or you can look for it in kitchen speciality stores. When you use parchment paper you don’t need to oil the cookie sheet. Cookies will not stick and they cook more evenly. The most important thing to remember is not to over cook them. Make sure to set your timer and take them out when the time is up. Sometimes bakers think that their cookies are not done so they leave them in for a couple of more minutes, then the cookies are dry and brittle when they cool. The cookies will look like they are still raw in the middle but, they are not.

Allow them to cool a little on the cookie sheet then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Also, make sure that your cookie sheet is cool before you put more dough on them, if you use a warm cookie sheet the dough will start to spread out before they can begin to bake.

A friend just sent this to me and I wanted to share it with. You can have your choice of a Rachael Ray or Martha Stewart FREE Magazine subscription, plus a gift card.

I just signed up for mine. Click below for the gift pack.

Rachael Ray(TM) or Martha Stewart(TM) gift pack inside.

I love to collect Santa’s. I have to have a new one every year. I use to sell Christmas Around the World and that is how I got started with my collection. I am so glad that Home Interiors bought the company after they filed bankruptcy. I still make sure that I get one from them each season. Home Interiors have beautiful things to decorate your home, not just at Christmas but, all through the year. I bet you think that I sell Home Interiors, well I don’t. I just love their stuff. If you haven’t heard of them you should. You can take a look at what they at www.homeinteriors.com.

I can’t believe that I have never heard of Sandra Lee, where have I been. I have to get her cookbook: Sandra Lee, Semi-Home Cooking. I found a couple of recipes of hers in a Christmas magazine. They sound really good and very easy to make. Everyone will think it took you a long time to make them. The recipe that I liked the best was White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bark. Here is the recipe for that:
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
2 cups white milk chips
2/3 cup macadamia nuts or almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Line 13×9-inch cookie sheet w/waxed paper, allowing 2″ of paper to hang over sides.
2. Melt 1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate morsels in microwave on med. power for 2 mins., stirring every 30 sec. or until smooth. Pour melted semisweet chocolate onto prepared sheet and spread to cover entire surface and form 1 even layer.
3. Melt 1 3/4 cups of white chips in microwave on med. power for 2 mins., stirring every 30 sec. or until smooth. Drizzle melted white chips over semisweet chocolate layer. Using toothpick or skewer, swirl melted chocolates together, creating marbled effect. Sprinkle w/nuts and remaining 1/4 cups of chocolate and white chips. Gently press toppings into melted chocolates.
4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Remove waxed paper from chocolate. Cut or break chocolate into bite-size pieces. Makes 1 1/2 pounds.

Doesn’t it sound easy? I can’t wait to try making it.

I just received my free, yes I said free magazine from Kraft foods. I know I have already talked about this before but, it is their big holiday issue. I can’t wait to go through and read every recipe in it. Did you know that there are a lot of food companies that have web sites where you can find free recipes? Besides Kraft, try Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Pillsbury and Land O Lake Butter to name a few. Most of them have a news letter that they send out. All you have to do is sign up for them. I love getting them and the recipes that they send out.

My family is so busy, like most everyone else, that it is nice to have quick and easy recipes to prepare. After a hectic day we like to sit down as a famliy and have dinner together and talk about our day.

I love Friendship Bread! The kind were someone makes a starter, and after about six weeks has enough to make a cake and share the starter with friends. I am hoping to start one soon. This cake seems to only be made in the fall of the year. I am not sure why that is. Here is the recipe for the Brandied Fruit starter for the Friendship Cake:

1 cup cubed, canned pineapple
1 cup maraschino cherries, w juice
1 cup sliced canned peaches, w juice
3 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons brandy

In a clean gallon jug, combine pineapple, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons brandy. Cover lightly, do not seal or screw a lid on it. Let stand at room temp. Stir every day for 2 weeks with a wooden spoon. On the 15th day, add cherries, w. liquid, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons brandy, stir every day. On the 29th day add peaches, w. liquid, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons brandy. Let stand a room temp. for 2 more weeks, stirring every day. Covered lightly.
Separate fruit from liquid. The liquid is your starter. Give 1 1/2 cups of starter to a friend, with the recipe for making Brandied Fruit, and the recipe for the Friendship cake. The fruit, drained, is used in the cake. The brandied fruit also may be served separately, over pound cake or ice cream, if you wish.

I have to share one more Rachael Ray-ism. When she makes her lasagna, she uses ravioli. What a great idea. I never would have thought of it. The noodles and cheese in one. You know a layer of ravioli, sauce and grated cheese. Get the picture. Makes preparation and clean up easier. When you slice it it still looks like lasagna. I guess that is one way to keep her meal preparations to 30 minutes. If you still have not seen her TV show, check out her show on the web.

Everything at our house has really been busy the last couple of weeks. Thanks to our DVR I am able to record Rachael’s show and watch it later. The only thing is I am about a week behind. I sure hope that I get caught up this week. Don’t you just love her bottom of the jar recipes? I would never think to do that.

Can you believe that it is only 70 days until Christmas. Have you seen Paula Deen’s new Christmas magazine? I bought it last night. I think I’m going to be making the Half-A-Million dollar pie. It really looks good, it has mandarin oranges, pineapple, pecans and sweetened condensed milk. You can never go wrong with condensed milk.

Have you seen the new Rachael Ray show? If you have you know how great it is. I really love how much fun she has on her show. It just bubbles over into her audience and right through the TV into your home. She shares her life experiences with you and asks the audience to share theirs. I like Pot Luck Thursday the best. She gives the audience the their choice of what she should make and they get to try it after it is done. The show also, donates the one the audience didn’t chose to the food kitchen. If you have not seen the show I highly recommend it. It is fun and very entertaining. There is never a dull moment.