A beautiful weekend in the country

So E and I found ourselves in the unusual position of being the only ones home this last weekend. TechMan was away on a business trip and my older kids were at their dads, which left E and I with a quiet house and a lot of free time. So, figuring that I could use the relaxation and E would enjoy a change of scenery, Friday afternoon I packed a small bag, loaded up the dog, picked E up from school and over the hills and through the woods to Grammy and Grandpa's house we went. Now when I say over the hills and through the wood that's exactly what I mean because their house lies on thirteen acres directly on the Trinity River that to get to you have to pass through a lot of meandering hills filled with cows and horses and a two and a half mile trek down a dirt road that literally winds through a forest.

This is our favorite place to go to when the hubby and I need to relax and unwind. It's a no makup, sitting on the back porch surrounded by nothing but the river, trees, and the occasional deer, kind of weekend; aaahhh, so peaceful. For the kids, it's about the fun. The kind of fun they can only get at Grammy and Grandpa's house. (I think that's just the coolest thing and the kind of memories they will remember forever.) 

It's about an hour and half drive, so we got there just in time for dinner. K had made a delicious chicken and wild rice soup that we ate out on the deck by the fire, while E played with Grampa's constellation app on his ipad that shows where all the stars and planets are in your part of the sky. (very cool technology)

You can find the recipe on the recipe page.

The next morning was a little chilly so we had our coffee by the fire again. E waisted no time getting on with the fun and she spent the better part of the day on her 4wheeler and doing crafting projects with Grammy in her art cabin. (Aren't you jealous, a whole cabin just for her crafting projects, I know I am!)

That's the cabin in the back.

That afternoon we decided to make cookies. E and I made these rosemary orange thumbprints that are... melt in your mouth... enjoy with a hot cup of coffee... totally mommy's, (and maybe daddies too, if you feel like sharing) divine. These aren't the cookies you make for the kids. These are the cookies you make when you have some girl friends coming over for afternoon coffee. 

These are without a doubt my favorite big girl cookies, at least for the moment.

You can find this recipe on the recipe page. 

E helped me with my cookies but she won't eat them so K helped her make these snicker doodles as well. (I didn't want her to feel left out while I was daintily chowing down on the rosemary thumbprint.)

 What else can you say about snicker doodles but "YUM". As cookies go, these are an all time favorite for the kids in my house, big and little. If you have never made them you should give it a try. They are supper easy and really, really yummy.

Sunday afternoon E and I said good buy to Grammy and Grampa and headed back to civilization, rounding out our wonderful weekend with a dinner out, just her and I. (Because who wants to cook after a weekend like this)

It was a great relaxing weekend, just what I needed to unwind after a busy holiday month, and as I sit here and write about it I am so looking forward to this afternoons cup of coffee and cookie. (Who am I kidding, it will probably be more like "cookies", as in 2,3... half a dozen. Who needs will power!)

Tell me where you go when you need to unwind.

Rosemary Orange Thumbprint Cookies

These are my favorite big girl cookies at the moment. Although marmalade is not one of my favorites, heating seems to take a lot of the bitterness out of it and it works really well with the rosemary, adding just a hint of sweetness. If your having girl friends over for afternoon coffee these would be the cookies to make. They are totally, melt in your mouth, divine.

1              cup         flour

1/2         cup         cornstarch
1              tsp          snipped fresh rosemary
1/4         tsp          salt
3/4         cup         butter, softened
1/3         cup         powdered sugar
1/4         tsp          almond extract
1/4         cup         orange marmalade
                              powdered sugar

In a small bowl combine flour, cornstarch, rosemary, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl beat the butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar and almond extract; beat until well combined, about 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over beat.

With clean hands, form a ball with the dough, incorporating any flour left in the bottom of  the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape dough into 24 1 1/4 inch balls and arrange 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Using your thumb, make an indention in the center of each cookie and fill with about a 1/2 tsp of the marmalade.

Bake for about 14 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Cool  on wire racks then sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.

And yes, I did eat the three that are missing. Along with half a dozen others.

To store, layer between wax paper in an airtight container.

Yields: about 24 cookies

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens 100 Best Cookies | 2011

Enjoy!!!

Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles

These cookies are supper easy to make and never last long in my house. It's fun for the little ones as well because they get to get their hands dirty rolling the dough in the cinnamon and sugar. YUMMY!!!

1/2         cup         butter, softened

1/2         cup         shortening
1 1/2      cup         sugar
2                              eggs
2              tsp          vanilla
2 3/4      cup         flour
2              tsp          cream of tartar
1              tsp          baking soda
1/4         tsp          salt
2              tbsp       sugar
2              tbsp       cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cream together the butter, shortening, and sugar  on med-hi speed for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice.  Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat until well blended.

In a separate bowl combine flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt, mixing well to incorporate. Add to butter mixture and beat until combined.

In a small bowl stir together remaining sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into balls and roll in the sugar-cinnamon to coat all sides and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 8 minutes for soft cookies or 10 for crunchy cookies.

As you can see they were a big hit with E. I think she ate a little more than half a dozen before we were done baking the whole batch. Each picture was a different cookie!

Good times!
Enjoy!!!

Yields:  about 48 cookies

Recipe gotten from:  allrecipes.com by Beth Sigworth

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup was recently made for us during one of our trips to my parents ranch house. My mom, K,  got the recipe out of her Taste of Home Classic Cookbook and OMG it is heavenly. With its creamy texture full of veggies, shredded chicken, and wild rice it is the definition of comfort food. It's not the most healthy soup, with all that 1/2 & 1/2 and butter, but every once in a while, on a really cold winters day, it's perfect. Add a salad or some hot buttered bread (your already in for all those calories why not go all the way) and you have a great cold weather meal. Just so you know, this recipe makes a huge amount, 10 to 12 servings. If you don't need quite that much you could always freeze half for another night or just cut the recipe in half.

 Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1              med       onion, chopped

2                              celery ribs, diced

2                              carrots, diced

1/2         cup         butter

1/2         cup         flour

4              cups       chicken broth

2              cups       wild rice

2              cups       1/2 and 1/2

2              cups       cooked chicken, diced

1              tbsp       fresh parsley

                salt and pepper to taste

In a big Dutch oven or soup pot, saute onion, celery and carrots in butter until onion is transparent. Reduce heat. Sprinkle in flour and cook until bubbly. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly to avoid getting lumps of flour. Bring to a boil; boil for one minute. Reduce heat and add rice cream, chicken, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender.

New Year's Resolutions

So here we are once again. At the beginning of a brand new year, full of possibilities and new resolutions  for the future, rainbows and blah blah blah. I mean really, do people ever really keep up with the resolutions they make at the new year anyway.  I'm not a cynical person but seriously, it's just another year. With that being said, and not wanting  to come off like a complete scrooge,  in the spirit of new beginnings and all that, I suppose there are a few things I would like to change in my life. We all have some things we can improve on, right. So after much reflection I came up with a list of changes, improvements and things I would like to accomplish. Here are a few I deemed worthy, or should I say appropriate, for the blogosphere.

1.            For a while now I have only been posting recipes in an effort to whittle down my pile of magazines. It has been a little bit slow going because most of the time I forget to take pictures. I kind of get in a groove with cooking and before I know it it's almost time for E to get ready for bed and we have to eat quickly. That is one of the things I would like to change this year. I am re-implementing  (because I used to do this and somehow got out of practice with it) weekly menus so I can spend less time deciding what to make and thawing out meat (because I always forget to take it out of the freezer) and more time actually eating the dinner and enjoying time with my family, and oh yea taking some pictures.

2.            I would really love to post all the recipes I have clipped and put into a binder, that is now overflowing, so that I can have a one stop shop for all my menu planning forays . Having to sort through all those clippings really does take the fun out of menu planning.

3.            I went around the house and made a list of things I wanted to get  done for each room. Admittedly, it is kind of a long list especially because the house we are in is a little older and really could use some TLC and a smidge of updating. I am presenting Tech Man with the list tonight, which I am sure he will be just thrilled about. (hee hee hee)

4.            I am really going to try to make time to do more little projects with E. We did a few over the Christmas break and she really loved it; and we came away with some pretty cute things (of course I forgot to take pictures).

So I guess it's not so bad to be hopeful for the new year after all. Actually I'm kind of excited to get started and even as I'm writing this I have thought of other things I can add to the list. I think I'll start with the picture wall I have been trying to do for, oh, about two years now. My sister will be so proud of me. I'll let you know when it's done.

Tell  me what New Year's resolutions you have committed to.