The BEST Snickerdoodles

Right now I should be working on RS things or folding clothes, but instead, I'm here at the computer doing something much more important. I have to share another great recipe that uses whole wheat flour. This recipe comes from Monica Stewart, so some of you that read this already have it. For those of you that don't - you want this - believe me.

In a mixing bowl cream together:

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. butter

Add:

1 egg + 1 egg white

Mix well. Then combine:

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. Salt

Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix well until dry mixture is completely incorporated. Refigerate dough for 1-2 hours to become firm. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine:

1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

After dough becomes firm enough, form into walnut size balls (the small Pampered Chef scoop makes a great size) and roll in cinnamon sugar to coat well. Place two inches apart on a baking sheet. Cook in a 400 F. oven for 8-10 minutes, taking care not to overcook. Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container (if any make it that far!)

Yield: 4-5 dozen cookies

Amazing!

If you haven't seen/heard this yet, take a minute. You won't regret it. You can find more of their performances on youtube, but I think this is the best. They are know as THE CACTUS CUTIES.

What Would You Do?

Another Wal-Mart story. Just for the record, I bought only what I needed and stayed within my $$ limit for once. Here's what happened, though. I went in with two intentions - get only what I needed and remember to have the cashier price match Kroger's 2 for $5 price on the milk. So, shop, check out, and make a dash through the drizzle (fog?rain? Ohio weather, who knows?) into the car. Get in and grab the receipt to look it over quickly before heading over to get gas. I usually look over the receipt before I get out the doors, but today it happened in the car. As I'm looking it over, so very pleased with myself for doing so well with staying in budget, I notice that (1)- I forgot to have them price match the milk, and (2) - I paid $.o9 for a 10 pound bag of potatoes. According to the receipt, I saved $3.38. W-T-H???

Big sigh. Is it worth it to go back in? Yes, I want the price match on the milk, but hey, the "savings" on the potates more than covers the difference on the milk. Do I really need to take the potatoes back and pay the right price? It's not like I walked out of the store without paying for them. That would be a no brainer - take 'em back and pay. I paid what it scanned for, and it's certainly not my fault the bag wasn't priced correctly. Little Voice says TAKE THEM IN! YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD! Why is it that it seems like the Little Voice whispers at other times, but screams in situations like this?

What would you do?

GRRR. Fine, I'll run potatoes and milk back in. Come on, Micah, let's get a little wet again. Two minutes later I'm at the service desk being told this was obviously not the right price, but they can't change it. The produce guy needs to go reprice all the potates, so I get the potates for less than a dime! The milk? To heck with messing with that! I think the potatoes more than covered the difference in the price of milk, thanks anyway.

Blessings? Yes, little blessings.

The Big Five-O!

Can you believe it? Lance turned 50 on the 19th of May! He's officially over the hill, and heading down the other side. He's doing it in fine form though. Here are a few pictures to enjoy...

age 2

With best friend, Paul Hatchett. Nothing like a 'do and duds to age a guy!

80's Stylin'

Hmm. The rest of us change hair do's. Lance changes facial do's.

Putting out the bonfire on the cake (50 candles! We discovered we need to replace our smoke dectors after he finally got it out. Plenty of smoke but no alarm.)

With the help of my sister Laura , her husband Mike, and my friends, Cassie and Sandy, I was able to pull off a surprise party for him. His response as he walked in the door to a crowd yelling " Happy Birthday!" was - "Well it took her long enough. I didn't think she could do it." (He managed to pull one on me a few years back. Another story for another time) We had a few friends over and had Lance's favorite meal - fried chicken, mashed potatoes w/gravy, peas and carrots, biscuits, and strawberry shortcake. He thoroughly enjoyed it, which is a good thing, 'cause I'm not sure it'll ever happen again! Maybe if he makes it another 50 years.

My thanks to all who came and helped us celebrate, and especially to those of you who helped me get it together. Happy Birthday, Lance!

Mmmmmm.....Bread

Stacy E. this is for you!



One of my favorite things to do is bake bread, now that I've had enough "learning experiences" to get it right. I don't think there is much that can beat a piece of warm bread, fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter and honey. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I've even succeeded in changing my husband's perception of whole wheat bread. The recipe that I use was given to me by my wonderful friend, Cassie. If I remember correctly, it comes from her grandma, Fern Furness. With all the practice I got before getting it right, I've tweaked it just a bit. So Stacy, here's the recipe. Try it-it may erase your latest bread fiasco. By the way, have you burned that recipe book yet?

Okay - the recipe:


( In order of how I put them in the mixer)
2 Tablespoons shortning, room temperature
3 Tablespoons ground flax seed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cups hot water (I use the hottest I can get out of the tap)
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons dough enhancer
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)


Mix on low speed for approximately 5 minutes, then gradually add 2 1/2 - 4 cups whole wheat flour. Add flour only until the bread dough forms a ball and sides of the mixer bowl come clean. (I never use the whole 4 cups of flour.) Add 1 teaspoon salt to the dough, then turn the mixer to medium and continue mixing for another 8-10 minutes. Dough will be just slightly sticky and smooth. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Form into loaves on an oiled (not floured!) surface and place in greased bread pans. Allow bread to raise until doubled.


Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove loaves from pans immediately after taking them from the oven and cool on a rack.

That's it! Something this good is definitely worth sharing. Now, go make some bread and enjoy!

Just a side note: One of the best things I did to improve my bread making skills was to buy a Bosch Mixer! If you are thinking about making bread on a regular basis, you may want to look into it.

Murder on the Clothesline Express

I have a delima. Not major, but still a delima. To kill or not to kill. Carpenter bees. A few summers ago, I started noticing some holes appearing in the clothesline, and every once in a while I would see a large, fuzzy black bee go buzzing by. No problem. I don't mind bees. I've always had a "I don't bother you - you don't bother me" kind of relationship with them. Having been stung a couple of times, I've done my best to just leave them alone. After helping Christopher through a couple of years of bug collecting for 4-H, I learned that carpenter bees are pretty harmless. The males aren't equipped with a stinger, and the female are generally too docile to use theirs. However, the carpenter bees that have invited themselves to use my clothesline for their home have lately become quite aggresive in their quest to keep me from using my clothesline! Usually, when I go out to hang clothes, there is a male warrior out there in seconds defending his territory. He likes to do dive bombing fly-by's right about head level, and then he sits there hovering and buzzing at me in an attempt to drive me away. Well, today it was a different story. In the past when he gets all huffy with me, I swipe at him with whatever piece of wet laundry I have in my hand, and he backs off and hovers at a respectable distance. Today, he wouldn't give up, and when I let him know this was MY clothesline and I wasn't going away, he went for reinforcements. Do you know what it like to have two big, hairy bees ganging up on you? One went for the back of my head and one went for my face. Yes, I know they can't sting, but it was a bit of a heart-pounder. I swiped. They flew off a short distance, did a little war dance and came right back for round two. I quickly hung the last of the socks, and headed into the house. My only thought was "Where's the RAID?" I guess my delima isn't really a delima, because I'm going to win this one, even if it means killing the little pollenators of the back yard. I realize they serve their purpose by helping the green things to grow, but it's my clotheline, and I intend to use it. So, now that the next load is done washing, I'm off to do battle with the carpenter bees. Onward, clothesline soldier!

Bee Battle follow-up

The little buzzers were waiting for me! One at the back door as soon as I opened it, and the other waiting at the clothesline. This time, I started at the far end and all was happy until I got to the other side. Then the fly-by's commenced and the battle was on. I'm still alive and so are they. But guess what? The Orkin guy will be here Friday for his bi-monthly service, so enjoy life while you can, you little buzzy sqatters!