A Valentine Goody

Although I have never been one to go crazy over Valentine’s Day, I have been part of some great traditions with friends over the years.  When I think about those late nights delivering surprise valentines, it makes me smile.   This year, I decided to embrace the holiday. I added few decorations around the house - even a burlap wreath with a metal heart ornament for the front door.   Since we were hosting the senior high half of our youth group this past Sunday night for their monthly devotional, I wanted to have some Valentine-themed candies and cookies for them.   I have a rule that I do not try new recipes on folks that are going to be in my home for the first time, but I kinda broke that rule this time.  I was very pleased with my variation of this Red Velvet Cookie recipe that I found online.

This is my version:

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c. + 1 Tbsp oil (I used safflower because it is what I had on hand)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well.  Dump all of the dough onto Saran Wrap or Press n Seal and wrap it up good and tight. Put in a ziploc type bag.  The original recipe says to chill 2 hours.  Because of my schedule, I had to chill the dough for a couple of days.  They were fine, but be sure to allow time for the dough to warm up to be malleable the day you bake them.  I had to let my dough sit out for almost an hour before I could work with it.

Next mix the following:

4 oz. (1/2 pkg) cream cheese

1 Tbsp butter softened

1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Dump the cream cheese mixture onto a separate piece of Saran Wrap or Press n Seal and wrap tightly.  The original recipe said to freeze this, but I just put in the fridge with the cookie dough since it was going to have to wait a couple of days.  It has to be scoopable consistency.

When ready to bake, roll the cookie dough into a 2" ball.  For me, the dough was sticking to my hands, so I put on some disposable gloves.   The rolling went much better after that.

Flatten the ball a little and press in the middle to make a well.   Put in 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the cream cheese mixture.   Pinch the cookie around it and roll again into a ball.   Place on a cookie sheet about 2" apart.   I did not use all of the cream cheese mixture at this point, but that is okay.  Hold onto it for later in the cookie process. 

Bake the cookies at 350F for 11-13 minutes or until done.   Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then move to cooling racks until completely cool.   

I then moved the cookies to wax paper, and with the leftover cream cheese filling, I added a splash of milk to thin it out and used it to drizzle over the cookies.   Let the cookies sit until the drizzled icing has hardened, maybe thirty minutes.  I was able to get 20 cookies from this recipe.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh Boy! Soup!

My husband’s family loves to tell the story of his mother’s famous, or maybe infamous, Oh Boy Soup. She would make a huge batch of soup with whatever leftovers she had in the refrigerator.  These ingredients could be anything, but it would always make A LOT.  So when the oldest son was in school and would come home and ask “What’s for dinner?” ,  the response would be “Soup”.   Initially, his reply was “Oh Boy! Soup!”  but then it became “oh boy....soup.”   The name stuck.

  

I have not been brave enough to venture into creating an Oh Boy Soup of my own yet.   I stick with a rotation of a handful of recipes.  They are great meals for us – they are warm comfort foods and make enough for leftovers for a few days.  Unfortunately, I keep my recipes all over the place, so I thought that I would consolidate my favorites into a blog for my convenience.  Matched up with a pan of cornbread or a grilled pepper jack on wheat, all of these make a great meal.  

7 Can Soup  (from Big T’s Aunt Gail)

1 can Hormel chili with beans

1 can Hormel chili without beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Campbell’s tomato soup
1 can Del Monte mixed vegetables
1 can whole kernel corn

Dump all cans into Dutch oven and warm on medium-low until thoroughly heated; about 30 minutes. Do not let boil.

Tomato Florentine(from allrecipes.com)

2 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth

1 can chopped stewed tomatoes
12 oz (1 ½ c.) V8
1 can Campbell’s tomato soup
1 T. sugar
1 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach
1 pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
½ c. cooked elbow macaroni (whole grain)

Combine broth, tomatoes, juice, and soup in a saucepan with a wire whisk over medium heat. Add sugar, spinach, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste, without thawing spinach. Allow to heat gently 20 minutes on medium-low until spinach is tender. Keep hot without letting it boil.  Add cooked pasta and cook for 10 minutes longer.

Easy Potato Soup

1 pkg frozen shredded hash browns (2 lb)
1 32 oz  container fat-free chicken broth
1 pkg Pioneer white country gravy mix
½ c. water
½ c. chopped green onions
Optional: bacon bits, cheese

Combine hash browns and chicken broth in Dutch oven.  Bring to boil, turn to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.  In a separate bowl, stir together water with gravy mix.  Add mixtures to potatoes, let simmer until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Serve hot with green onions and other toppings.  I have been known to add a package of cubed ham for a Ham and Potato Soup.

Chicken (sometimes noodle) Soup

1 can fat-free chicken broth
1 can Campbell’s Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
1 can water
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and chopped  (canned chicken can be substituted in a pinch)
leftover spaghetti or angel hair pasta, if available
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients in large saucepan.  Warm on medium-low until thoroughly heated.  I invented this recipe when I was single and sick with a terrible cold.  Not feeling like going to the store, I just used what I had on hand.  It was tolerable, so I kept it. 

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef
½ c. chopped onions
1 can pinto beans
1 can chili beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix

Brown ground beef with chopped onion and drain well.  Combine with other ingredients and warm on medium-low.  This can also be warmed in a crock pot on low heat for a couple of hours.

Update 12/27/13
Black Bean Chicken Soup 
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3 10 oz cans white meat chicken, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn
2 cans (or 4 cups) chicken broth
1 c. chopped onion
2 T. cumin
2 T. garlic powder
2 t. black pepper

Mix all and warm in large saucepan or dutch oven.

Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt

I saw this in passing on Pinterest, and decided to create my own list to suit my lovely hometown of Smithville, TN.   This was quite interesting, as that I am only in my hometown a few times a year, and I was not the driver.   My husband, who is from another end of the state, drove and my dad was in the backseat telling him where to drive.  (Lots of jokes here, I know.)  I had the list, pen, flashlight, and camera.  It was raining and we put ourselves on a timer, so the camera was not used this time.

Rules:
1. Time limit: I think we gave ourselves between 30 and 45 minutes to find as many as we could. 
2. Area boundaries: We did not give ourselves any road boundaries (like "only in the city limits"), but I would recommend that for a larger community.
3. Items per house: More than one item on the list could be checked off at the same house. It would be more challenging if a "one house, one item" rule were used.
4. Photos: In a team competition, must have photo proof of each item checked.

Our list is below.  Feel free to add comments for things you think should be included!  Happy hunting!!

Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt – Photo Ops

Lighted snowman

Santa with a sleigh

Boat on the water with lights

A house all in white lights (Bonus 5 points if all of another color)

A vehicle incorporated into yard decor (Points based on vehicle used-car, truck, tractor, etc)

Three or more inflatables in one yard

Lighted Christmas tree in a yard

House with 8+ wreaths

Penguin

Disney character in yard

Peanuts character in yard

Nativity scene with spotlight (Bonus 10 points for live nativity)

Yard with at least 5 reindeer

Grinch

Train

Giant candy

Cross

House columns wrapped with ribbon to look like candy canes

House with candles in the window

Chaser lights

Moving yard decorations

Decorations that incorporate a college football team

Store front on Main Street with a lighted tree

Solid white tree

Santa on the roof of a house

Light up presents

Christmas lights on a non-Christmas tree in the yard

 Boat, Disney, Grinch, moving decorations, and college team decor were the only ones that were not spotted.  Not too shabby for our first year!

I do have some Christmas light photos, but they are from the Huntsville Botanical Gardens walking tour in November:

Have a very merry Christmas and blessed new year with lots of light in your life!

Holiday Placecards - Candy Theme

I happened upon this place card idea on Pinterest, and I thought that I could modify it a bit for our church's Holiday Gift Drive dinner. Our decorators had chosen "Candyland" as our theme. Click on LINK to see the original by Martha Stewart.

For my version, you will need the following items:

Paper Studio Candy Cane striped paper, 8 1/2" x 11"
Vellum paper, 8 1/2" x 11"
Vellum adhesive
1 1/2" wide red ribbon

And the following tools:

Computer
Printer
Die Cut machine, like Big Sizzix
Oval die cut
Hole punch
Paper trimmer

I prefer to do each step individually, knocking out the whole batch.  Also, if you have a group of minions, you can delegate tasks.

Step 1:  Printing.  Print the names onto the vellum using Microsoft Word.  I created a document with two rows and two columns and chose a font in size 72 that would work for our event.   Then I moved the line between the two rows until it was at the 4" mark on the side of the document on the screen.  This evenly placed the names on the page.

Step 2: Straight cutting.   Cut each of the candy cane striped sheets into four 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" rectangles.  Cut each of the printed vellum sheets into four 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" as well.

Step 3: Sticking.  Adhere the vellum to the striped paper for each.  Since this is going to get trimmed in the next step, I recommend just putting adhesive where the name is and about 1/4" above and below.

Step 4: Die cutting.  Using the oval die cut, center the name for each and run through the die cut machine per instructions. Cut only one at a time.

Step 5: Hole punching.  Punch one hole on each side of the name, 1/4"- 1/2" from the edge of the paper for each.

Step 6: Ribbon cutting.  Cut an 8 1/2" length of the red ribbon for each.

Step 7: Ribbon adding.  Fold and feed the ends of the ribbon into each of the holes.  Adjust the curve of the paper to your liking.

Step 8: Ribbon trimming.  Fold the ribbon in half and trim the end toward the fold to make a V cut.  Unfold and fluff out.

For "regular" place cards where one is going to be placed at each seat, these will sit up nicely on the table by themselves.  We use these to identify a group, so I attached the card to a Skinny Stick. The brilliant ladies that decorate for our gathering came up with the idea of using brightly colored PlayDoh and glitter to make gumdrop bases. This raised the name about 6" so it could be seen from a distance.

Photo Card

Fun Merry Greeting Christmas

Turn your favorite photos into Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Photo Card

Fun Merry Greeting Christmas

Create personalized Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Breakfast Burrito

It’s the most important meal of the day.   Yet, I have always struggled with knowing what is the best choice for me – healthy and filling and fast.   When I met with the nutritionist, she made some suggestions, and with lots of trial and error and calculations, I have finally come up with my go-to breakfast for the work week – the Plain Jane Breakfast Burrito.  I call this Plain Jane because all I use is meat, no peppers, onions, or mushrooms like in other burritos and omelets.  But I might add mushrooms one of these days.

The key to keeping this low-cal and low-carb (per the nutritionist) is being picky about the wrap.  I read the labels of all of the tortillas available and tried the La Tortilla Factory brand, since they were low carb.  Next, I started out using real eggs but decided to try egg beaters one week.  They were not terrible and I still felt full, so for convenience and better numbers, I have stuck with them.  And last, the meat choice.  Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles is what I use most often.  I only use ¼ cup of the crumbles with ¼ cup of the egg beaters, so the package will last about two work weeks.   For variety I have used three slices of Publix thin sliced cooked ham or a couple of slices of leftover bacon.  I don’t add it to the eggs;  I just put them in the tortilla and cook the egg beaters by themselves and slap on top.  If I am out of everything else, I have been known to use some Oscar Meyer Bacon pieces.  Really, you can add anything – the aforementioned veggies, cheese, etc.  Just be sure that you check your nutritional values on everything.  Myfitnesspal.com is one of many websites that will calculate the nutritional value for any recipe or list of ingredients.

So after I add my sausage, I let it cook while I grab my lunch and pack it.  Then I flip it when it looks set, and turn the stove off.  Then I grab my diet Coke and my afternoon snack and pack those.  By then, it is ready to be assembled and wrapped in foil and in a few seconds – ta da – burrito ready to go.  By the time I get to work, everything is good and warm and I can have my breakfast while I check my morning emails.

The burrito with ¼ c. egg beaters and ¼ c. turkey sausage is 115 calories, 12 g of carbs, 7 g of fiber, 17 g of protein, and 565 g of sodium.