2010 December | I Should Be Folding Laundry

Archive for December 2010 – Page 2

Ritzy Peanut Butter Cookies

Monday, December 20th, 2010

By Beth

Here it is, another super-easy Holiday recipe for you!

Anna and I whipped these together this morning. From start to finish, these took about one hour and I can not stop eating them. But since they’re so easy, I will be making more.

They are so good.

This is what you need:

Grab a butter knife and make peanut butter sandwiches. I’m not going to lie, this really is so simple, uses just a few ingredients and there’s no need to turn on the oven but it can be pretty tedious.

Fortunately, I have a lovely helper, who was willing to take a break from playing Barbies to come and help her Mama.

She attempted the sandwiches, but we figured out the best way to do it was for me to spread the peanut butter on the bottom cracker and she would place the cracker on top.

Make sure you keep the flat side of the crackers facing out. (hint: the more peanut butter you use, the tastier the cookie.)

(duh)

In the meantime, take the almond bark and cut it up into pieces.

You want to melt the almond bark. I use a double boiler because I like the consistency and the consistency. (does that make sense?) You can microwave the bark, just be sure to take it out often to stir while melting, do not overcook and about halfway through dipping the sandwiches, you’ll want to place back in the microwave to keep it from becoming to thick and cold.

Brian helped take a few photos. He took one of Anna and I. (yes, her apron is an Anthropologie towel clipped to an ugly-ish apron using binder clips. So what?)

Once the bark is nice and melted, you’ll want to dip the sandwiches completely and place on a cooled cookie sheet. I definitely recommend placing the cookies on wax paper. Just trust me, it will make your life easier.

I recently purchased a candy dipping tool set by Wilton. I bought it at Micheal’s, it cost less than $10 and let me tell you, it made this process much easier.

However, for years I’ve used forks and spoons and it works just fine. So, you need not be fancy. (see binder clips.)

Once you’re done dipping, place the tray in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (feel free to decorate with sprinkles, etc, I prefer leaving these clean and simple. Feels super festive to me on a super cute plate.)

And then you’re done.

One pack of almond bark should cover about 50 sandwiches.

And then you’ll eat one and then you’ll agree with me that these are incredibly delightful.

I store these cookies in the refrigerator. I have no idea how long you should store them because they never last more than 8 minutes in my house.

I’m off to make another batch.

Enjoy, friends!

(Santa plate is from this Etsy shop, I could NOT be happier with this purchase and it’s not the only thing I bought, but the other item is a secret, but it’s equally awesome.)

Categories: Handmade for the Holidays, Holidays

Handmade & stuff

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

By Beth

Can you believe I’m posting on a Saturday?! Neither can I.

It’s not that I don’t like posting on Saturdays, it’s just that I never seem to have time. And not that I have time right now but I wanted to share a few things with you that I think are very important and it should not surprise you this important stuff has to do with food.

Below, I have reposted one of my most popular posts from last year. Remember my Handmade for the Holiday series? Really tasty food that is unbelievably simple to make? Well, see below for the repost and then early next week I will be sharing a NEW recipe. So, if you run to the grocery store this weekend, please pick up these THREE, yes, just three items. I’m all about preparing you.

Ritz crackers

Peanut butter

Almond bark

Do as I say and also as I do. You’ll be glad you did. (I promise.)

Also, Megan asked me to post the photo of my kids visiting Santa in color, I just can’t resist her, so I’m doing just that.

santa-in-color

Remember, I don’t use flash, I really cranked up my ISO for this shot. (ISO 3200)

A few other questions answered:

Anna’s boots are from Target. That Santa is at Bass Pro Shops. We take our kids there every year, not only is it free and they give you a free printed awesome photo, but you’re allowed to take pictures! And the staff is amazing and the Santa is perfect and there’s even a fake reindeer that looks really, really real. Like too real. Like maybe it’s real and I just put my kids’ lives in danger real.

Yes, I signed up for the discounts at Justice.

Now onto the recipe that you must try.

I know quite a few people who do not like to bake, who say they don’t know how or who are just too busy to do so. So, I’ve decided to share one of my favorite recipes that is so easy, I guarantee ANYONE can do it. The best part? It’s a great gift…I promise it is.

Also? You need not turn on your oven.

First…take two cookie sheets and put them in the REFRIGERATOR. Don’t forget this step, it’s of upmost importance.

Do you have a double boiler? ( if you do not have one, that’s okay, I went without for YEARS and just used a regular saucepan with boiling water in it and a heat-safe bowl on top. It gets super hot, so be careful.

This is what a double boiler looks like:

You’ll also need the following:

what you need

Specifically, you’ll need-

16 oz (2 boxes) of Semi-sweet bakers chocolate
Peppermint extract (NOT mint, okay?)
2 sleeves of ritz crackers
some holiday sprinkles, of course!

Friends, what we are basically making is a nice little replica of thin mints…it’s not exact but they are very good. (some people say they are better, but I disagree and I am an expert.)

A cookie. Made with Ritz crackers. Can you believe it?

ritzy'

Begin boiling your water.

Cut up your chocolate, I cut each half in half

Once your water is boiling and your ingredients are ready (I believe in totally prepping before beginning the baking/cooking process, you should, too.) add your bowl or top saucepan to the boiling pan of water. I turn the heat down to medium.

Add the chocolate, stirring often. Once the chocolate is completely melted, add 1/2 tsp of peppermint (NOT MINT) extract. Stir thoroughly.

Retrieve one of the two cookies sheets out of the refrigerator and line with a single layer of wax paper. Dip a cracker into the melted chocolate covering just enough of the cracker that your fingers do not get burned, then use a utensil to dip the undipped side. I use the Pampered Chef skinny scraper, but you can use anything, really.

I also try to keep the flat side of the crackers as the top of the cookie but that’s just me, I prefer the way it looks.

Tap off excess chocolate (do not touch the chocolate with your fingers, you’ll burn your skin off) and place on cookie sheet. If you do not put your cookie sheets in the refrigerator, your chocolate will pool up and your cookies won’t look as pretty, so keep em’ cold. If you do not use wax paper, your chocolate will adhere to the cookie sheet and you will not be able to get them off of the sheet without breaking them. I know this because I’ve done this. This is also known as FAILURE.

You should stir your mixture up nicely after every sixth cookie or so. K?

If you have a broken Ritz, do not use it, just cover it with Cheese Whiz and pop it in your mouth. The last thing you want are crumbs in your chocolate mixture.

ready for cold

I do not decorate all of the cookies because some people prefer non-decorated cookies but if you do decorate them, this is the time to do it, while the chocolate is still nice and melty. (yes, that’s an official term)

Have your sprinkles ready. That’s important.

cookie decor

Once you have filled up the cookie sheet, place back in refrigerator. Take out other sheet and fill up that bad boy with more of the ritzy, chocolate, peppermint (NOT MINT) goodness.

Once the chocolate is all used up…you’re done. That’s it. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for approximately 30-45 minutes.

Remove and place in muffin papers and place in cookie tins. I was able to fill up six muffins liners, five cookies high and then filled up the other side of the cookie tin with Dove chocolate.

Who wouldn’t love this gift?

tin of yum

*if you use mint extract and not peppermint extract, your cookies will taste like toothpaste and that is disgusting.*

*trust me.*

Friday Morning Coffee

Friday, December 17th, 2010

By Beth

Hi friends.

I’m sitting here, laptop on my lap, sipping coffee from my favorite mug. I just had a bowl of my new favorite cereal, it’s shredded mini wheats, the chocolate version with a little bit of powdered sugar on them. They are very, very delicious.

I’m feeling sort of like a rock star because Elijah and I have been very busy so far this morning. We got the kids off to school with snow pants, boots, extra shoes, slippers (pajama day), stuffed animals, gifts for the bus driver and 320 teachers. We came home and played on the toy piano, answered emails, sorted and packaged print packages for clients, packed them up, slobbered, rolled around on the ground, played with spit-up, figured out how to print labels from home and schedule package pick-ups, ordered more boxes, cried and decided it was nap time.

Now Eli is sleeping and I’m sitting, surrounded by toys and boxes from UPS.

On Wednesday, I did a ridiculous amount of online shopping, I’m giddy that some of the items arrived yesterday!

Noah had a short play at school yesterday afternoon. Afterwards, Brian and I left the three babies with Grandma and Grandpa and he and I shoved off to try to complete our Holiday shopping. Brian has been exempt these past few years from shopping, so he was a little rusty. The first thing we did was upgrade my iPhone to the iPhone 4. It was a wonderful, smooth process, we were both extra jolly and flirty and carefree.

Then we went to Justice, which is a store for girls. We have never shopped here before but we both know that Anna is fascinated with this place, despite never stepping foot it in. It’s very glittery, furry, bright and full of Justin Bieber.

We decided to do stocking stuffers at this store, when we received our total, we both looked at each other in complete and total disbelief. Like someone had just walked up to us and shot us in the kneecaps and walked away. We just blinked at the cashier, Brian robotically handed her his credit card and we walked out, stunned. (I kid you not, the cashier seriously had to ask Brian for his card because he would could not hand it over.)

“what just happened?” Brian asked. “I don’t know.” I replied.

Then we went to Toys r’ Us and spent triple that amount. At this point, I thought Brian would not make it through the night. He was looking very pale, I tried to explain to him that this is how it is, especially when you do all of the shopping in a two day period. I don’t think he understood the words coming out of my mouth. I think he just saw dollar signs floating away.

(I have to admit. I did, too.) Nevertheless, he was really fun to shop with, we had a great time. I can’t wait to do it again next year. (sorry, honey.)

We persevered and continued to shop. We finally realized we were going to eat each other’s faces if we didn’t have dinner soon, so off to a restaurant we went where we had beer and greasy food which made it all seem a little better.

I am *thisclose* to being done with my Christmas shopping, which is amazing, considering I hadn’t even started a few days ago.

I am dying at the thought of the kids waking up Christmas morning and seeing their gifts. I know it’s not all about the gifts, so don’t *tsk* me. (I heard you!) You can’t deny this excitement.

or the cookies, the tea ring, the holiday cards and the carols.

Today is the last day of school for Anna and Noah, so now it feels like the Christmas season is finally upon us.

I am very happy about this. I hope you are, too.

babies-and-santa

Categories: Friday Morning Coffee

You Capture | Outside

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

By Beth

Apparently, if I choose “outside” to be the You Capture subject then it will snow like crazy, causing a state of emergency and the temperature will plummet to subzero temperatures and you’ll never want to go outside just to freeze your jolly nutcrackers off and you’ll put it off until this morning when it’s warmed up to 19 degrees.

This morning, say about 35 minutes ago, I put on my boots, my hat and my coat over my pajamas, grabbed my best friend, The Camera and we headed out for an outdoor adventure. After a walking a good, I don’t know, maybe ten feet. I took these photos and ran back inside.

for-the-birds

ISO 320 | F/4.0 | SS 1/400

winter-flower

ISO 320 | F/4.0 | SS 1/400

and guess what? I’m really happy with these shots. Which is the beauty of You Capture. Had I not picked “outside” as the assignment, we wouldn’t have these photos.

So, three cheers for You Capture!

or not. Whatever.

Now it’s your turn to share!

PLEASE READ THIS GUIDELINES, especially, yes, especially if you have never linked up!

1. Anyone can join in on the challenge at anytime.
2. Please make sure the photos you use were taken for the challenge, meaning do not search your archives for an appropriate photo. The goal of You Capture is to get you out taking photos each week!
3. Use YOUR photos.
4. When linking up, only link to your You Capture blog post, not your main blog URL. (incorrect links will be deleted.)
5. You MUST link back to You Capture in your post.
6. I encourage you to visit other participants and leave comments. This is a great way to meet new friends!

{more You Capture info can be found here.}

Holiday Magic. (or light)

Happy Capturing!

Categories: you capture.

Answers

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

By Beth

so-big!

I can not believe there are so many of you who rely on Vaseline. I honestly thought I was alone.

I’m going to quickly answer some of your questions…Eli is playing quietly for the moment, when he sees that I’m not looking at him, he will start to complain…so be very quiet.

my-boy

I can’t believe Eli is so old. He’s crawling backwards, except it’s not so much crawling as it is sliding. He gets to wear he needs to go and honestly, I think that’s all that matters.

What’s in Eli’s diaper bag?

His diaper bag is a serious mess. There are some clean clothes (that are probably too small), a few diapers, wipes, toys, diaper rash cream and a changing pad. And probably some old french fries.

What is your absolute favorite TV show?

I really, really love Grey’s Anatomy but I never watch TV. Like NEVER. So, I have only seen the first episode of this season. I also love Modern Family but haven’t even finished last year’s season, yet. In fact, I recently told my Mom that I was waiting for the new season to start and she looked at me and told me that it had started a long time ago.

I need to watch more TV.

What’s my tattoo of?

It’s a circle with colors and symbols that symbolize my family and Brian. I didn’t take a picture of it because I don’t want to, I have no idea why, I just don’t. I had it done 11 years ago and it’s still really pretty and I do plan to add to it. Someday.

But for now I’d rather buy other things with my money, like favorite candles.

Besides vaseline, what are the essentials (make-up/hair wise) that are a must everyday/when you go out? I put makeup on every single day. If I don’t, I can’t accomplish anything. I use a lot of Bobby Brown makeup, which is expensive but totally worth it and it lasts forever. (special thanks to Erin for introducing me to this fine line of cosmetics.) (Brian thanks you, too.)

If you could go ANYWHERE in the world with your hubby, you two best friends, and their hubbies…where would YOU pick to go? Somewhere warm and tropical. I would slather my body with SPF 100 sunscreen and sit in the sun on the sand by the pool or ocean for hours and hours and hours and hours. We went to Barbados on our honeymoon. Maybe we would go back!

Where are you in the birth order of your family? Are you close with your brothers and sisters? I am the second to youngest. and yes, I am happy to say that I am very close with all of my siblings. They are all almost as cute and charming as I am. Okay, they are all way cuter and charming than I am. (I’m a little bitter about that.)

Do you want more kids once Eli is a little older? Hmmm…the door is ajar. It’s not closed but it’s not as wide open as we thought it would be. But it’s open.

How could it not be?

yummy-thumby