A Favorite Christmas Cookie

Berry sage thumbprints have become a must have on the cookie platter around our house. This is my husband's favorite Christmas cookie so I especially enjoy making them. The fresh lemon zest paired with sage, tart blackberry and the slight crunch of yellow cornmeal is delicious and refreshingly different.

Berry Sage Thumbprints

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow corn meal (not self-rising mix)
1 1/2 tsp. dried sage, crushed (mine is a powder)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup blackberry preserves (I use b. berry jelly because I don't like the seeds)

preheat oven to 350 degrees

combine flour, cornmeal, sage and baking powder. Set aside.

Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat until combined, scraping sides occasionally. Beat in egg yolks, lemon peel, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball. Fill the centers with about 1/4 tsp. of the blackberry preserves. bake about 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely. Makes about 60.
From Better Homes and Garden's December 2001


Hope you enjoy. Maybe this will become a new favorite in your family too.

Turkey Handprint Shirt

Reposted from 11-2009

A few days ago I went to Made with Love and Glue and pulled up Rachel's archives from 2008. I remembered that she made 4 of her 5 kids Turkey Hand Print shirts last year (see picture below) and wanted to make my Sweet Girl one this year. (Picture courtesy of Rachel at Made with Love and Glue)

Aren't these adorable??? Love the little one below...

I followed the link she provided to One More Moore and followed the tutorial she listed. I also googled reverse applique and came across this blog and tutorial that was very easy for me to follow.

First I turned the tshirt inside out. Then I pinned the right side of the fabric scrap to the shirt

I turned the shirt right side out, traced Sweet Girl's hand on paper, cut it out and pinned it to the front of her shirt.


I sewed around the outline of her hand print.




Yes, my turkey legs are a bit small compared to the body. :)


Being very careful, cut a slit in the t-shirt...then cut out the design.
Sew a button on...


and voila (well 30 min later) you have a Turkey Handprint Shirt!



The sick girl modeling her shirt...

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Victoria~

Yes, I'm "bats"

Bats, bats, bats.
We don't normally decorate for Halloween but recently I saw this picture on Pinterest and loved the bats on the wall. We decided to cut some out and my husband had the idea of them coming out of the fireplace.

His first idea was to have me stand against the wall and have them coming out of my ears but I wouldn't stand still long enough. ;)

Just having a little fun with my family and enjoying this beautiful Fall season!

~Victoria~

Take Heart

Sorry about the earlier unfinished post...I am using a laptop and it does things all on it's own. ;)

This morning I read the blog Take Heart and read about her adoption fundraiser. What a wonderful opportunity to support this family on their road to adoption AND have a chance to win some incredible items. Seriously, you have to see these bundles! There are FIVE so be sure to look at them all!

Go on over and check it out - hurry though, today is the last day to take part!

~Victoria~

Corn Jumble

Looking for a new summer side dish to try? This family favorite is sure to hit the spot.

Corn Jumble

24 oz. frozen whole kernal corn, thawed and drained

3/4 cup diced cucumber

1/4 cup finely diced sweet or red onion

2 small tomatoes, chopped

Dressing:

1/4 cup sour cream

2 T. mayo

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

14/tsp. celery seed

a grind or two of black pepper

Combine corn, cucumber, onion and tomatoes. Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over vegetables. Taste to see if the seasonings need correction. We like extra celery seed, dry mustard and often salt. Chill for several hours or overnight. 6 servings

It's like summer in a bowl. Yum!

Christina

China Cabinet Redo

Ever since moving to my new home last year I wanted a china cabinet in which to put all the ironstone and other random pieces of china/glassware I pick up along the way. I knew I needed a skinny cabinet to fit the area in which I planned to place the cabinet. For months I carried my measurements around and finally found a perfect cabinet at a yard sale. They took $30 for the cabinet and I loaded it up and took it home.

(Forgot to take a picture while the doors were still on)

My husband claimed that the cabinet "looks and smells like the 70's" and it did!
I took all doors and hinges off and my Father-in-law pried off the decorative piece at the top.
I cleaned it, primed it with Kilz spray paint, then my sister-in-law brought her paint sprayer over and we painted the cabinet with two cans of Oops paint mixed together. After painting, I distressed the cabinet and decided to paint the back of the cabinet blue.

The cabinet originally had glass shelves; however I really wanted more of a shabby chic look than a curio look so I went to Lowes and had them cut a board in half for me. I have never used power tools but in March, my husband was out of town and with much fear and trepidation, I used two of his saws to rip the board then cut it to fit (go girl power).
Liking the bamboo detail

I bought knobs 40% off at Hobby Lobby and replaced the doors.

Tada...I now have an updated china cabinet that I love!

Click to make the pictures larger

I'm linking up to The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday. Hop on over there and see what other great projects everyone has been working on!

~Victoria~

Rainy Day Misc.

Relentless rain is coming down here in our little corner of GA. So in the midst of cooking and cleaning, here I am blogging. It has been way too long. My blog reader is a mess. With numbers like "25" unread beside some blogs.

Misc. #1

A steamy pot of boiling water is on the stove awaiting some spaghetti that will turn into sesame noodles for tonight's supper. It sounded comforting and the loads of veggies sound so delicious. Try it girls. If you don't think you will like it, open a bottle of sesame oil and smell. If that doesn't make you want to try it, I don't know what will.

Sesame Noodles

1 lb. Spaghetti or Japanese noodles (I prefer Vita-spelt spaghetti-yum)

Shredded Cooked Chicken-optional

Sugar Snap peas or Snow Peas cut on the diagonal

1-2 red or yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips (I adore red in this)

2-4 carrots cut into matchsticks

thinly sliced cabbage (any kind of green)

Any veggies that hit the spot would be fine. You can also add more or less of any of the veggies above.

Sauce

1/2 cup smooth Sun butter (substitute peanut butter if preferred)

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 jalapeño pepper-optional (remove seeds for less heat)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1-2 tsp. of sugar-optional (we always blend and taste without the sugar and then add if needed)

peanut butter is sweeter than sunbutter, so you may not need or want the added touch of sweet.

1/4 tsp. salt

Place these ingredients in a blender and mix until well blended.

Pour sauce over noodles and veggies. Serve immediately or chill.

If you are not familiar with these ingredients, the sauce may seem strong. Once you add to the veggies, the flavors mellow out. I think it tastes better if made ahead and chilled, but don't let that keep you from making it if you don't have time to chill.

Misc. #2

Painted the hall bath a couple of months ago. Still working on some accessories and a few updates. It looks teal, but it is a smoky gray--a little blueish. The color is one I mixed myself from several that we had. Unless something changes I am using my yellow tree photograph in there.



This heavenly candle from Target is for the hall bath. Loved the yellow pattern with the tin.

Hope to come by and visit some of you. I have missed visiting and blogging.

Christina

I ♥ Mantel

Sweet Girl and I shopped the house at the end of January to come up with our mantel for the month full of pink and ♥'s.

Apothecary Jar filled with old lace and pink yarn in front of one of my chippy old mirrors. I ♥ chippy old mirrors. ;)
Apothecary jar filled with pink and silver ornaments (Sweet Girl ♥'s pink.)
Pictures by my favorite photographer (Christina) clipped to a piece of string inside a frame.
Oh and see "valentine" spelled out with scrabble tiles? We did several of those throughout the house. Gave Sweet Girl something fun to do while Mom was doing the heavy lifting. ;)

Happy Valentine's to you and yours today!

~Victoria~

Score 1 for Mommy

Recently I found a copy of Deceptively Delicious, the cookbook by Jessica Seinfield, at the GW and picked it up for $2.50. I have poured over this baby and have enjoyed looking at the recipes, tips from Jessica, etc. It is actually a very interesting read for a cookbook.

Tonight I tried my first real recipe from the book and made Lasagna. This recipe calls for cauliflower and sweet potato puree and neither are veggies my husband will eat and I don't particularly care for cauliflower myself. Too, this is a somewhat easy way to add in extra veggies vs me preparing several sides.

I don't make lasagna in our home for a couple of reasons. First, my Sis always made lasagna growing up and made it well, so I just ask her to make it for my birthdays and occasionally a family get-together. Secondly, my father-in-law makes what my daughter calls "Grumpy's world famous lasagna" and they have us over for lasagna so I get my second lasagna fix that way. Pretty smart girl, eh?

Tonight I told Sweet Girl and Sweet Man "hey guys, this is a new recipe, used ground turkey, we all may hate it and I might never make it again". My parents happened by about the time I took it out of the oven and I gave them the same spill as I invited them to stay for dinner.

Fast forward 30 min and pan is practically empty. No one notices cauliflower or sweet potato! Woohoo! SCORE 1 for Mommy!

I'll let you know when I try the brownies made with spinach puree. ;)


~Victoria~

Favorite Things Friday

Paperwhites.....
planted in a few of my milk glass containers.


My husband and Sweet Girl don't like the smell but they don't bother me at all. :)

Happy Friday people!

~Victoria~