Christmas Notebook

holiday icebox oatmeal cookies

October 17, 2008 – 11:06 am

These are the cookies I am making today. Click the link for directions and pictures from a previous post.

Holiday Icebox Oatmeal Cookies
(one of my personal favorites…not real fancy, but crispy delicious)
Makes 6-8 dozen

2 c. margarine or butter, softened
2 c. confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. uncooked, quick-cooking oatmeal (I measure, then grind the oats in the blender)
red and/or green sugar crystals

In large mixing bowl, cream margarine and conf. sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir well.

Stir in oatmeal.

Chill dough until firm enough to form into rolls. Shape into four rolls and roll in red or green sugar crystals. Cover with foil or plastic wrap. Chill until firm. (Or freeze at this point until needed.)

Slice into 1/4″ slices and place on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated 325 oven about 15-20 minutes or until set and lightly browned.

From Country Folk Art’s Quick ‘n Easy Home Cooking, p. 15, December 1995

Here’s the finished product…so far…ready for the fridge. After they have time to harden, I’ll take them out, cut them, and bake them.

These cookies are easy to make and yummy good. I usually use one cup margarine and one cup butter when making them for Christmas.

~~Rhonda 🙂

Elfin Bites

October 16, 2008 – 9:33 pm

Scotch Shortbread

Sandy and crumbly, as the perfect shortbread should be.

1/2 pound butter (1 cup or two sticks; do not substitute margarine)
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350*F (180*C).

Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating well.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together and add to the first mixture, combining thoroughly.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick, then cut into desired shapes.

Put them on ungreased cookie sheets, prick each cookie with a fork, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they turn lightly brown around the edges.

To make “Elfin Bites,” add 1 1/2 T. small, round, multi-colored candy sprinkles to the dough and mix evenly. [I double the above recipe and use 3 T of candy sprinkles.] Roll cookie dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, then cut with a crimping wheel into ½” squares (yes, one-half inch…just big enough for an elf to enjoy). Do not prick with fork before baking. Bake these smaller cookies for 12-14 minutes. These are very cute piled onto a cookie tray with a variety of other cookies.

This recipe is from “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook”, p. 561.

I double the above recipe and get about 10 dozen little Elfin Bites.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cookies | Tagged cookies, elfin bites, recipe | Comments (6)

Nutmeg Logs

October 16, 2008 – 3:30 pm

I’ve been making these cookies for Christmas since 1994.

Nutmeg Logs

1 c. margarine or butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp ground nutmeg (or 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg)
1/2 tsp. almond extract (or rum extract)
3 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat margarine in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat till fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, nutmeg, and extract; beat well. Add half of the flour. Beat at low speed just till combined. Stir in remaining flour.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to just over 1/8-inch. Cut into 3×3/4-inch logs. (I use a crimping wheel to cut them.) Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet, or line the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake in a 350* oven for 15 minutes or till bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely.

Drizzle cookies with powdered sugar glaze (powdered sugar mixed with a little water or milk) or melted candy coating (vanilla or chocolate). Or dip one or both ends into candy coating. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg while coating is still soft.

Makes about 85. Freezes very well.

If you don’t like them thin and on the crisp side, just roll them a little thicker, up to 1/4″. They will take a bit longer to bake and you won’t get as many, but they will be softer.

From “Christmas Cookies” magazine, 1992

I use freshly grated nutmeg in this recipe. Actually, I grate nutmeg for all recipes calling for nutmeg. It has a much better flavor than ground nutmeg from a jar or can. I cut the amount down a bit, as it is a stronger flavor.

Nutmeg Logs is the first cookie recipe I make each year for Christmas. They will be stored in the freezer for our annual open house.

I like to use the pastry wheel to cut the cookies. It gives them a decorative edge.

The Nutmeg Logs can be placed close together as they do not spread.

I roll them thinner than the recipe originally called for.

Drizzled with powdered sugar glaze and dusted with grated nutmeg. When the glaze is dry, I’ll layer them between waxed paper in a plastic container and store them in the freezer.

One recipe down…20 or so to go.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cookies | Tagged cookies, nutmeg logs, recipe | Comments (4)

niko

October 16, 2008 – 10:02 am

I’m listening to lots of hammering as the new floor goes down. It feels great to just sit back and wait before I have to do anything else in the addition.

I thought I’d post a few more pictures of our new kitty, Niko. He is still staying mainly in DD#2’s room/bath (by his own choice), though he saunters downstairs now and then to see what’s going on. If he and another cat meet while he’s out of his room, they just sit and look at each other until one moves on. But he will defend what he sees as his own space. Buttercup walked into his room the other day and he fluffed up and chased her out. He did the same to Zilli. He has no problem with them sitting just outside the door looking in at him. We leave the door to his room open all the time now, and I have found Buttercup, Zilli, and Happy lounging just outside the bedroom door watching, at one time or another.

Niko loves to drink running water from the sink. We can find him by turning on the tap in the bath if we need to. He’ll come running. Can’t resist the sound of running, dripping water. We find him napping in the sink a lot, which is funny as none of the other cats have done that. DD brings him down to the kitchen every morning to get him used to coming downstairs. He seems pretty relaxed and happy.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cats | Tagged cat, niko | Comments (0)

painting, painting, painting

October 15, 2008 – 10:25 pm

We’ve been painting all day, not to mention all week, trying to get the guest room, the laundry room, and the hall done because the oak floors are being put down tomorrow.

This shot looks from the music room into the hall of the addition, which was added to the house in 1962. At the end of the hall is the guest room. The door to the left leads into the laundry room and through that room is the bathroom.

The first coat of paint in the hall, the darker yellow on the left, was too bright. Brighter than it looks in the picture. This morning I bought a lighter creamier yellow and love it. So the hall got a new coat of paint.

We are using three shades of blue. Dark (closet ceiling), medium (closet wall), light (hall ceiling.

Looking from the laundry room, into the yellow hall, with the closet door open.

In the laundry room, dark blue on the ceiling, light blue above the chair rail, and medium blue below the chair rail. The window to the left is next to the doorway to the bathroom.

The oak flooring is stacked in the guest room. It is supposed to be installed tomorrow.

DH works on paint trim in the guest room.

Dark blue ceiling, light blue walls, and medium blue chair for the guest room.

Eager to see how the floor installation goes tomorrow…

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in remodeling | Tagged addition, remodeling, renovating | Comments (1)

apple pickin’

October 14, 2008 – 6:24 pm

Last Saturday (seems like weeks ago) we went to the orchard with our son and his wife. It felt great to leave town for a while, getting away from the remodeling work. It waited for us, no problem…

She’s twittering. 🙂

The trees were loaded…

…and the apples were beautiful…

…not to mention delicious.

The sky was blue and beautiful with big fluffy clouds.

Just enough to take home.

DD picked out a tiny pumpkin.

DS and DDIL

Looking for Granny Smiths.

DD found a new friend…Sammy, the orchard kitty.

On the way home, southern Illinois through the windshield.

The worst case of wind-blown corn I’ve ever seen. This wind damage was caused by leftover winds from Hurricane Ike. We saw a lot of damaged fields. This was the worst one.

There will be no combining of the above corn. Looks like a loss. But we saw lots of combining being done. Here, the farmer is harvesting soy beans.

It’s always good to get back home, even if it means getting back to painting.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in family | Tagged autumn, orchard | Comments (0)

I think he likes it…

October 14, 2008 – 1:49 pm

Niko came downstairs late last night to check out the paint colors for the laundry room. He’s very curious! So far, he hasn’t picked up any new fur colors.

~~Rhonda ::still painting::

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cats, remodeling | Tagged cat, niko, remodeling | Comments (0)

paint choices

October 13, 2008 – 9:47 pm

Still painting here. What a big job. The guest room is coming along. The baseboard and the crown molding have one coat of paint in this picture. I’ve put two more coats on the baseboards today. The white makes it look fresh. Half the walls are painted. The ceiling is done. The oak flooring (sitting there in the boxes) will be installed on Thursday, so we need to get all the painting done before then.

The hall got a coat of yellow and I think it’s too bright. We have some leftover pale yellow from the kitchen (painted two years ago), so DH is going to paint it over part of the hall this evening so I can see if I like that better. I painted the first coat of white on most of this woodwork today. Oak flooring will be put down in the hall and in the laundry room, as well as the guest room.

I’m heading back downstairs to do some more painting. ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in remodeling | Tagged paint, remodeling, renovating | Comments (1)

menu plan monday ~ october 13, 2008

October 13, 2008 – 11:05 am

Our remodeling to-do list is long, so I am trying for some easy meals this week. Several crock pot recipes and other meals that do not take a lot of prep.

Monday
pulled pork on buns ~ We have leftovers from last week. Delicious!! I followed the recipe’s ingredient list, but I didn’t blend them. I put the roast in the crock pot and threw everything in on top. I know it’s not the same as roasting it, so it was different than the meat the original recipe would produce, but it was still delicious!
chips
grapes

Tuesday
chicken cordon bleu (crock pot)
spinach salad
lima beans
corn

Wednesday
taco salad

Thursday
spaghetti
garlic bread sticks
green salad
peas
corn

Friday
pork chops (crock pot)
mashed potatoes (special request from DD)
corn on the cob
steamed snow peas

Saturday
refrigerator buffet

Sunday
pork steaks, grilled
baked potatoes
steamed green beans
grilled zucchini and yellow squash

There are a lot more ideas for your own menu on Laura’s “I’m an Organizing Junkie” site.

~~Rhonda (back to painting)

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Tagged menu | Comments (3)

creative outlets

October 12, 2008 – 11:09 pm

I’d be quite unhappy if I didn’t have some kind of creative outlet. I must confess, I have more than several areas of interest, but one of my favorites is photography. You’ve seen a lot of my photos on this blog. Following are some that don’t fit my usual blog topics.

I am a member of quite a few flickr groups. Two of my favorites are “7 Days of Shooting” and “Macro Mondays.” Both give photography assignments with weekly topics. Here are a few pics I’ve taken for those groups. If you click on the picture, it will take you to that photograph at my flickr site where you may find more details about the shot.

7 Days of Shooting / Theme: Zig Zags

7 Days of Shooting / Theme: Electricity and Electronics

7 Days of Shooting / Theme: Music

7 Days of Shooting / Theme: Liquids

Macro Mondays / Theme: Straight out of the Camera (no post processing)

Macro Mondays / Theme: Birthdays

7 Days of Shooting / Theme: Food
and Macro Mondays / Theme: Negative Space

Macro Mondays / Theme: Eighteen

You can tell from the pictures, I suppose, that I have a liking for maco shots. I find them fascinating. The closer, the better. My submissions for “7 Days of Shooting” are often macros, even though it isn’t a requirement in that group as it is in “Macro Mondays.”

I hope you enjoy some creative outlets of your own. They’re good for you!

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged flickr, photography | Comments (1)

Christmas Notebook

holiday icebox oatmeal cookies

Elfin Bites

Nutmeg Logs

niko

painting, painting, painting

apple pickin’

I think he likes it…

paint choices

menu plan monday ~ october 13, 2008

creative outlets

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