Our Thanksgiving

We made cookies this Thanksgiving, which we always do, and the kids did a gingerbread house.  They had a ball, as these pictures will demonstrate:)

 

They ate it basically as soon as it was put together.  There were some good photo opportunities then, but I had already put the camera away!

Dessert and Hot Chocolate

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate
4 c whole milk
1 dash water
3/4 c semi-sweet chips
1 t red food coloring paste
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 T sugar
1 t whipped cream cheese

Whip cream and sugar for 2-3 minutes.  Just before it peaks, add whipped cream cheese and whisk for 2 minutes.  Taste and add more ceram cheese to taste.  Do not overwhip!
In a medium saucepan, heat milk over medium.  Add a splash of water and chocolate chips, constantly stirring gently.  When almost melted, add red paste.  When chips totally melted, pour into mugs and top with whipped cream.

I didn't have the red paste, which, of course, does not affect the taste at all.  I also did not whip my cream cheese before adding it in.  I don't think it mattered!

Blackberry Cheesecake Pots
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla
4 oz blackberries

Whip the cream.  Add cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and beat with paddle attachment until smooth.  Add half the blackberries and beat until just crushed.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Top with remaining berries.

I used all the berries except for enough to put 2 on top of each dish.  This is a pretty and simple dessert that looks classy:)

Sorry!

I don't know what happened to the post about the dessert and hot chocolate.  I'll try to post it tomorrow!

Order

I think children are just so amazing!  They see so much that we are not aware of and really are like little sponges. 

Pnut made this: 

We haven't talked overly much about patterns.  There were some ABAB patterns in a book she did last year, but nothing like this.  I think children just see the order in the world God created and grasp that concept!

Joel and I got the stomach bug yesterday morning and were sick all day.  Joel was still feeling badly today.  Thankfully, I wasn't as I had to go to the dentist.  I haven't been for 6 years!  Thankfully, no cavities, and he was quite pleased with my teeth.  I've had one cavity, and never want to have another.  I passed out from the novacaine and that was enough! 

I'm trying to get this baby to come but without much success.  This would be the perfect time as my mom has off Thursday and Randa and Eric are here and could watch the girls.  But I guess we just have to wait on God's timing.

So now I need to lay down.  I may be over the yucky part of the bug, but I'm worn out tonight from activity!

Stew and Potatoes

Beef Stew with Mushrooms from The Pioneer Woman

1 lb beef stew meate
1 T flour
1/8 c butter (2 T)
1 T olive oil
1 whole shallot, minced
1.5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb cremini or white button mushrooms
1/4 c red wine
1/4 can beef consomme
salt and pepper to taste
1 sprig thyme
1 T flour

Coat meat in flour.  Melt butter and olive oil in heavy pot.  Sear meat over high heat in batches, remove to plate when brown.
Add shallot and garlic to pan.  Saute 2 minutes over medium-low heat.  Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.  Pour in wine and consomme (and extra half can water).  Add salt and pper to taste.  Bring to boil, then add meat back in.  Reduce to low and add thyme.
Cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes.  After that, thicken with 1 T flour with water and pour into stew.  Allow to cook and thicken for at least 10 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow stew to sit for 15-20 minutes.

NOTES:  I didn't use wine.  We don't drink and I did not want to get some just for this.  I also couldn't find beef consomme so I used canned beef broth and used the entire can.  I had read the notes people made about this recipe, and they said it could use more liquid.  I also added about a can of water.  I didn't have thyme so I put in dried rosemary instead.  I think mine actually simmered for about an hour before I added the flour mix in.  The longer you simmer, the more tender it is. 

Creamy Mashed Potatoes by The Pioneer Woman

2.5 lb potatoes
3/8 c butter (6 T), softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c half and half
1/4 t seasoning salt
1/4 t pepper

Peel, chop, and boil potatoes until cooked through.  Drain and put back in pot.  Mash over low heat.  Add all other ingredients and mash more.
Stir well and place in baking dish.  Put a few pats of butter over the top and place in 350 degree oven and heat until warmed through. 
If making ahead, pull out of fridge 203 hours before serving.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until cooked through.

NOTES:  I don't know if I can return to regular mashed potatoes after this.  Pretty much perfect.  Pilly loves them too!

Both of these dishes went over quite well at Cooking Club:)  They are lovely comfort foods and just right for fall!  The problem is not eating too much of them!  I'll post the dessert and drink Monday:)

In the previous post, the difference is that Pnut got a haircut!  I went to the grocery store the other night and Joel cut her hair.  We knew it needed it done, I just didn't want to do it myself.  I think it looks really cute and healthy now!

?

Do you know what is different?

A different salsa soup

I got this recipe from someone on facebook, and I love it!  The corn just makes it for me:)

1 box Swanson Chicken Broth
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can refried beans
2 c. salsa
2 c. frozen corn

Optional:
Diced cooked Chicken
Low fat sour cream
White Tortilla chips

Instructions:
Add chicken broth and refried beans together and bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Add salsa, black beans and cooked corn. Chicken may be added if desired. heat through and serve with tortilla chips. You may wish to garnish each bowl of soup with a small dollop of sour cream.

The only optional item we had was the sour cream, and it was delicious.  I think adding the chicken would be really good too!  We had quesadillas with ours and that just made it even better.  Really filling and warm for a cold day.

Snowball Cookies

These cookies are delicious and buttery!  The girls had a lot of fun with them too!  This makes about 2 dozen cookies.

3/4 c butter, room temp
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1.5 t vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1.5 c roughly chopped toasted almonds

Cream butter and sugar.  Once creamed, add egg.  Add vanilla.  Sift together four and salt.  Add to creamed mix and mix on low just until incorporated.  Add almonds and mix just until incorporated.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. 
Preheat oven to 350.  Roll about 1 T of dough into a ball.  Bake 20-22 minutes until lightly golden.  Let cool for 5 minutes, roll in 10x sugar.  When cooled completely, dust again with 10x sugar.

You can fit quite a few cookies on the sheet because they really don't expand much.

The girls each had a bowl of sugar to roll their cookies in.

And I wondered why I chose to do this on the same day that I had already washed the floor.

 In the end, the cookies turn out really pretty and taste awesome!

Best Friends!

Last night, the girls danced together.

Then they showed us their ballet moves.  They practice these frequently!

Then they were challenged to make silly faces.  Some were sillier than others.

Pnut demonstrated her ability to pick up Pilly, although she is getting a little tall for Pnut to get off of the ground.

And finally, hugs were given. 

I love these sweet little girls!

On a side note, sometimes they just do this:

They will run around the house holding hands or hold hands on our walks.  Pnut helps Pilly go a little faster and keeps her from tripping sometimes.  Pilly helps Pnut trip sometimes.  In any case, super cute!

Advice?

Alright, anyone who quilts and wants to give me some advice, now is the time.  I think I know why the edges puckered, but please correct me if I'm wrong.  The lady who I got the tutorial from said that she quilted the top to the batting before she attached the back, but I wanted the quilted look on the back too.  I think that there wasn't anywhere for the fabric to go so it puckered up at the edges.  I know I need to work on getting a more even look too to the edges.  That one end is pretty bad!  But I like it anyways.  I love the colors!  It feels all fallish:)

This was the little girls this morning.  I forget what they were playing, but they were funny.  Please take note of all aspects of Pnut's outfit, including the blue glove on her left hand:)

A Suggestion!

The girls and I had pancakes for supper tonight.  We added pumpkin pie spice to our recipe, and it was very yummy.  I added 1 t but would probably do a little more last time.  The cinnamon came through the strongest.  I can't find the pancake recipe on here, or I would link to it:)

Pumpkin Cookies

After making the dessert last Monday, I still had some pumpkin leftover that we needed to use.  We were going to make oatmeal cookies Friday, but Pnut asked if we could find a recipe for pumpkin cookies instead.  I really like the texture of these, nice and chewy and soft.  This recipe makes about 36.

1/2 lb butter, softened
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 c pumpkin puree
1 c rolled oats
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 c raisins, optional
2 1/2 c flour

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in egg, vanilla, and pumpkin.  In a separate bowl, mix together everything else.  Stir into pumpkin mixture.  Drop cookies onto tray.  Bake 12-15 minutes. 

I sprayed my cookie sheet this time because it said to use parchment paper.  They came off nicely without crumbling.  Cookies are one of my favorite things to make with the girls because there is so much to put in and nothing fancy usually has to be done to them! 

November Calender

My sister did something like this two years ago, and I thought I would make one with the girls this year:

I numbered each leaf, and in the morning, we will move the day to the bottom until all of the leaves have fallen off of the tree.  I'm thinking that maybe we will do the opposite in December.  We can make a Christmas tree and then put a new ball on the tree each day with the date on it.  This helps the girls keep track fo the days and hopefully helps with numbers too.  The trick will be keeping the leaves from being pulled off early! 

We had a very productive day yesterday!  I took all of their summer clothes out of their dressers, and we were able to move Pilly's clothes over to Pnut's dresser.  They each have a drawer for their things and share a drawer for pajamas.  Then we put the baby's 0-3 months and 3-6 months clothes away in Pilly's dresser.  There is not much in their!  My MIL is giving us a shower this Saturday so hopefully after that we will have a few things.  If babies didn't poop through their clothes so often, we wouldn't even need that much!  The clothes are so tiny!  The girls were fascinated by them while we put them away.  I also washed the car seat and boppy pillow cover.  We need to set up the pack-n-play in our room, but I don't think we will do that until right before we go to the hospital.  No use tempting anyone to crawl inside.  I also would like to make a nursing cover, but I need to go to JoAnn's to get the fabric to do it.  I'm thankful we still had most of our stuff!

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cake

4 eggs
1 2/3 c sugar
 1 c oil
16 oz can pumpkin
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1 t soda
6-8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 c butter, softened
1 t vanilla
2 c powdered sugar

In mixer bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy.  I don't actually know what that means, mine was just well combined!  Stir together flour, powder, cinnamon, salt, and soda.  Add to pumpkin mix and combine thoroughly.
Spread batter in greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool completely, helps to put in freezer if you need it to happen fast.
Cream together cream cheese and butter.  Stir in vanilla.  Add 10x sugar, a little at a time, beat until smooth.  Spread on cooled cake.

The recipe says that it is supposed to be bars, but I definitely think it is pretty much a cake.  The taste was good and really reminded me of a pumpkin roll without the work of rolling it!  I cut the recipe in half, which was pretty simple, and didn't end up with too many leftovers.  A lovely fall treat!

Hot Chocolate and Blackberry Cheesecake Pots

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate
4 c whole milk
1 dash water
3/4 semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 t red food coloring paste
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 T sugar
1 t cream cheese

Whip cream and sugar for 2-3 minutes.  Just before it peaks, add cream cheese and whisk for 2 minutes.  Taste and add more cream cheese to taste.  Do not overwhip or you will get butter!

In a medium saucepan, heat milk over medium.  Add a splash of water and choc. chips, constantly stirring gently.  When almost melted, add red paste.  When choc chips totally melted, pour into mugs and top with whipped cream.

NOTES:  The cream cheese is a little tricky.  The person who originally posted this recipe said to be careful about it because it can end up tasting really tart if you add too much so I was a little hesitant.  This stuff is so good!  I love real hot chocolate instead of that powdered junk!

Blackberry Cheesecake Pots

1/4 c haevy whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese
1 t vanilla
4 oz blackberries

Whip the cream.  Add cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat with paddle attachment until smooth.  Add half the blackberries and beat until just crushed. 
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Top with remaining berries.

NOTES:  This only made 3 for me, not 4 like it was supposed to.  And they weren't especially big portions or anything so I'm not sure what the trick is.  I added all of the blackberries but enough to put just 2 or 3 on top of the individual servings so I think mine had a little more blackberry than the author's.  These were really yummy and an easy version of cheesecake!

Princesses and Pumpkins

This weekend, the girls did something I have never done before...they went trick-or-treating.  They had a fun time, and we limited how many houses they wen to so we don't have too much candy.  I'm honestly not thrilled about trick-or-treating.  The origins just aren't good.  But, I think Joel has really good memories of it when he was growing up and wants that for the girls too. 

Pnut did amazingly well with talking to people.  Pilly wasn't quite as into that, and she was very scared of everything that was the least bit spooky.  I don't blame her!

We also finally got to paint their pumpkins this weekend.  We had to get different paint because their finger paint would not have shown up at all. 

Pilly ended up painting the whole way around her pumpkin.  It is quite colorful.  Pnut made one side spotted and put a face on the other side.  They were so funny because they took it so seriously!