Will You Sign My Yearbook?

Try as I have to bury that 16-year old geeky girl asking the Student Body President to sign her yearbook... I have recently enabled comments on my blog. Please feel free to write what you want - other than Brian Smith's, "Peggy, you seem like a sweet girl. Good luck in all you do." I'd love to see who's reading and to go visit your blog, too. I also feel at this time I can finally go public with the crush I had on Bob Young, the guy on the upper far left side.

New Cooking Light Cookbook at Costco

The Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009 is now selling at Costco - $20.99 Uh, a little ouch? Last year's was $18.99 and they had a coupon, too. Still the same retail price - $34.95; (ouch x 2!) but 200 fewer recipes. 2008 -- "Over 1,000 New Recipes!" 2009 -- "Over 800 New Recipes!" I kept waiting for a coupon, but it seems Costco is all over the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks (with automatic register markdowns of $3 or $4) this year instead.

SNOW! ...sorta

It counts here in Houston, Texas! We'll take what we can get. Last time it snowed was a magical White Christmas Eve 2004.

And my car is back from getting the bumpers repaired. Yes, plural. Ten days after I hit the sheet metal on the Katy Freeway, I rolled into a Mercedes parked across the street directly in back of my driveway. I've lived here almost 23 years, and have backed out of my driveway how many times? Clunk! They sure don't make bumpers like they used to. (Or Mercedes). Our neighbor was very good natured about it. But he and his guests no longer park in front of his house anymore.

Let's Get Crocking - Creamy Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Another recipe from Prevention's Fall/Winter Slow Cooker magazine - page 21. I used a $1 box of Stovetop Stuffing - Low Sodium Chicken from the pre-Thanksgiving sales, a Costco package of boneless chicken breasts (3), 1 can of Healthy Cream of Chicken soup and 3/4 cup of water. Mix water with the stuffing in one bowl, mix the chicken and the soup in another. Beginning with the chicken/soup mixture, alternatively layer chicken and stuffing, ending with stuffing on top. I skipped the recipe's zucchini (2!), chopped bell pepper, 8 ounces fresh mushrooms and 1 chopped onion, as I knew they would get picked out. I served it with green beans on the side instead. Crock on Low for 4 hours (High 2 1/2-3 hours). Verdict - A solid B It needed more zip - probably salt since everything was low sodium, or maybe the missing veggies. The combination just did not appeal to me. But I liked the idea of an easy meal to toss together. I may try boneless chicken thighs for more flavor next time. Or try turkey cutlets with the turkey stuffing.

Southern Pecan Bars

This recipe is from the December 4, 2008 Smithville Times - in Barbara Phillips' "Rosanky N More" column on page 8A. I've seen other similar recipes on the Internet, but not this particular variation. These are very rich and gooey good. No chance of overeating these.

SOUTHERN PECAN BARS

1 1/3 cups flour

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

Cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients and mix until it is like coarse oatmeal. Stir in pecans and pat firmly in bottom of well greased 8" x 12" pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes only.

Add the following topping:

2 eggs beaten until foamy

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix well and pour over partly baked crust. Sprinkle 3/4 cup pecans coarsely chopped (whole works good, too). If desired, pecans may be added to filling before pouring over crust. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. (Start checking at 20 minutes and bake until golden brown. Mine was done at 25 minutes.) Let cool in pan and cut into bars.

American Sewing Guild Simplicity Patterns

Click here for the PDF to the American Sewing Guild's 2009 Creativity Contest using Simplicity patterns, along with the pattern numbers and thumbnail catalog photos. With Jo-Ann's sale this weekend, December 12/14, you can get them for $1.99. Even if you don't plan to enter the contest, these ASG-endorsed patterns are easy to sew and ready for your creative influence. If you Google around, you'll be able to find past years' winners and see how they transformed the basic pattern/s into something amazing! Last weekend I saw a friend wearing the 2938 jacket and it looked gorgeous sewn as is right out of the envelope.
(Simplicity 2903, 2925, 2938, 2939, 2940, 2958, 2977, 3588, 3807)

Obsession - Chocolate

Update: They've just been marked down to $4.97!

Bellagio Sipping Chocolate -- Run to your nearest Costco and look in the holiday gourmet food gifts aisle to get your own tin(s) of this before they are gone. These are Nos. 2 and 3 of my personal "collection" (stash). I think it will get me through the next couple of months, maybe. Two tablespoonfuls in a large mug of hot milk is enough to send you into chocolate nirvana. The recommended three (!) will surely induce a chocolate coma. Not only does it come in a cool metal tin (two big packages per), in neat color combination, but there are "recipes" for Sipping Chocolate - 3 tablespoons in 1/3 cup milk. Maybe they should call that Chocolate Sludge?! -- Decadent Mocha, Fondue for Two and Chocolate Martini. Low fat (1g/3T), sugar (16g) and 2g of fiber! 100% pure cocoa powder, pure cane sugar, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter.

Can't stand The Carol of The Bells either?!

Seriously.can't.stand.that.song. And the Wal-Mart commercial nearly puts me over the edge.

Usually I don't buy Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine on a regular basis, but I am a sucker for any magazine's Christmas and holiday issues. I tore enough pages from it to make it undonateable to the library, so it's a good one.

In particular was a song list for a wrapping party that had some pretty good holiday songs (no Bells!). I grabbed a couple of them* to add to my iPod's Holiday Playlist:

*"All I Want is You" Barry Louis Polisar

"Thank You Too" My Morning Jacket

"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" The Smiths

"This Gift" Sons & Daughters

*"For the Girl" The Fratellis (I got the Costello version instead)

"Is This It?" The Strokes

*"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" The Temptations

"My List" The Killers

"Objects of My Affection" Peter Bjorn and John

"Pretty Things" Rufus Wainwright

"Take It Back" She & Him

*"I Like It, I Love It" Tim McGraw

*Do these look like wreaths? That's what I was going for. . .

Sew For The Cure Pin

Sew Pink is being sold by the American Sewing Guild. Click here to purchase one or several. The cost is $4; which includes shipping. It measures 1 1/2" x 1" and has "ASG" on the right side.

Money Monday - Ho, Ho, Holes!

Shake and save! By covering half the holes, you'll make your shakeables last twice as long. You don't need that much cleanser to clean your tub or spices to season your food. Use either the peel-back sticker or a piece of Scotch tape. Who hasn't gone "whoops!" when too much came out too fast? That's waste and money spilling out. Try it!

Let's Get Crocking - Crockpot Corn Chowder

From Prevention's Fall/Winter Slow Cooker Recipe Book on Page 17 - Corn Chowder. I give it a C-, since no one else around here will touch it. I thought it was bland and needed more zip.

CORN CHOWDER

2 cans (15 ounce each) whole kernel corn, drained

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces

1 onion, chopped

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 cups 1% milk

1/4 cup trans-free margarine

chives, optional

Place corn, potatoes, onion and broth in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on Low 7-9 hours. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Puree half of the broth in a blender (the potatoes were soft enough, I hand mashed instead). Return pureed mixture to cooker and stir in milk and margarine. Cover, cook on High 1 more hour. Garnish with chives, if desired.

I only used one 11 ounce can of corn, good thing, and five small potatoes. It was corny enough with just one smaller can. I wished they had specified the size of the potatoes or the volume/weight. I also substituted skim milk for the 1% and skipped the margarine. I added a chopped carrot for color and extra oomph nutritionally, and seasoned salt and pepper to give it some kick. Will I make it again? Probably not this one. There are other potato soup recipes out there. I'll use the crockpot for my stovetop potato soup recipe instead.

Who are these people and why are they here?!

As you can obviously tell, I have a rather eclectic group of friends and fellow bloggers in the right alley. I thought each week on Sunday I would randomly showcase one from the list and why they are there. I love to discover new blogs, and I think you will enjoy the introduction for new places to visit in Bloggy Land.

This week - Notes From the Cookie Jar

I discovered Karen's blog when I was searching for those who had tried the Giant Sugar Cookies from of the April 2007 issue Martha Stewart Everyday Food. A Canadian, she leads an interesting life of cooking, crafting and raising her family. And her food photos are spectacular!

2008 Holiday Cookie Websites

Here's the link to the Land O'Lakes website for 2008's new holiday cookie recipes. . .

And the link to Nestle's "12 Days of Christmas a Dozen Different Ways"

Start your ovens!

Fence-d In!

A special shout-out to Missouri City Fence for the great job they did!

Gifts of Gingerbread

I have loved and used this recipe since last year. It's from the fine folks at Cooking Light. This morning I thought I would try making and gifting it in small loaves. I found the mini foil loaf pans in Target's baking aisle. They are made by Hefty (?!) and for about $1.25 you get a set of five measuring 5 3/4" x 3 1/4".

I tried unsuccessfully to find more holiday-ish ones, but shoot, wrap it in Saran Wrap, slap a red bow on top and you're done. Probably for a lot less. And the red bow hides the checking-if-it's-done knife poke mark.

This recipe nicely divies up into three loaves. I rotated the pans at 5-6 minute intervals. If you have a small baking sheet, I'd advise putting the loaf pans on that to avoid burns. (I did well until the third rotation.) You may need to lower the temperature to 340 for the last 10-15 minutes to avoid overbrowning the edges. The baking time stayed about the same - 25-30 minutes - as when using a 9" square baking dish.

I plan to eat one, gift one and freeze one today. Easy, affordable, tasty and healthy way to celebrate the holidays.

GINGERBREAD SQUARES
1 1/4 cups flour...1 teaspoon ground ginger...1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*...1/2 teaspoon baking soda...1/2 cup sugar...1/2 cup low fat buttermilk...1/2 cup dark molasses...1/3 cup butter, melted...1 large egg, lightly beaten...powdered sugar to sprinkle on top when cooled
Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, ginger, cinnamon and baking soda, stirring with a whisk. Combine sugar and next four ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in flour mixture. Pour batter into 9" square baking pan coated with cooking spray (or 3 mini loaf pans). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle gingerbread with powdered sugar.

From Cooking Light Desserts - page 56

*Penzeys Cassia Cinnamon

Taste of Texas -- Smithville, Texas - Bastrop County Cookbook

I love the fundraising cookbooks and here's the latest one for my collection. Just published and chock-full - 219 pages! - of Texas-style recipes and goodies. Such as Scrumdillyumshish, Old-Timey Buttermilk Pie, Popcorn Cake, Parmesan Enchiladas, Pecan Sticky Muffins, Sweet and Sour Asparagus, Southwestern Cheese Dip, Frog Eye Salad, Texas Hash, Peaches and Cream Salsa, and so much more. But let's be honest, we (at least I do and will admit it) buy these for the desserts, right? Take your pick of almost 200 of them. Wow your family, friends and coworkers. Well worth the cost of the book right there!

The cookbook sale benefits the Bastrop County Mental Retardation Association. To order yours by mail, the cost is $12 plus $4 shipping. Send your check to:

BCMRA

Attention: Kathy Lynch

P. O. Box 484

Smithville, Texas 78957

If you are driving on Highway 71 back and forth between Houston and Austin over the holidays, you can also purchase at copy at the Smithville Public Library and the Smithville Branch of Franklin Bank.

Not only is this a wonderful addition to your bookshelves, but these would also make great holiday gifts, too. (Email Kathy Lynch at k-rector-2@austin.rr.com to make sure they have enough in stock and maybe for possible gift-wrapping options.)

What Kind of Martha Stewart Cookie Are You?

Take the quiz and find out. I am Candy-Stripe Cookie Sticks.
A little complicated and possibly high maintenance, but well worth it.

Why couldn't it be an easy one? Like a drop cookie. I'm constantly dropping things. Not that I'm easy. But if you check the blogs of others who have attempted these, I think I'll just admire the photo instead. Besides, they look a little uptight, upright. Not that I'm that either. . .I'd better just end this post now.

Today's Costco Find - High School Musical 3 Dance Mat

Really, yesterday's and today's -- I went back to grab another for the Blue Santa toy drive. I bought this yesterday for Toys for Tots. It's hard to find tween girl things that are fun. When I was telling a friend about it, she said everyone she knew would love it. Hence the return trip and making this our designated toy donation for 2008. Costco has them marked down to $14.97. Batteries are not included, but I opened up the box and slipped a couple sets in so it will be ready to go.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Sales

Super Weekend Sale - Friday-Sunday December 12-14
50% off notions
50% off interfacing
50% of Red Tag fabric
50% off all irons and steamers
40% off quilting books
50% off regular price coupon (check for one online if you didn't get the circular in the mail)
$1.99 Simplicity patterns

December 18/20 - Butterick $1.99

December 7-24 - Magazines 10% off (use that 50% off coupon on the back page now!)

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Someone once asked why I blog post this information. I don't work at Jo-Ann's. This not only lets others know, but helps remind me what's going to be on sale and when. I know I would appreciate the head's up and hope others do, too.

Catnap Catnip

Not quite a bed of roses -- My mom's cat loves to drag out all the catnip patches I've made, line them up and then lie down on them. These are the Christmas 2008 editions for her cat and Monica's Spunky and Tripper. So easy, just cut 2"-3" squares of leftover fabric, and fill with approximately 1 tablespoon of the 'nip. Serge the edges closed. I straight stitch across the corners a few times to secure the threads and prevent them from being pulled out by a stoned kitty. Their brand of choice -- Kookamunga A .75 ounce/21 gram box goes a long way for a lot of fun.