LOST LOST LOST!!!! I made my first attempt at meringue cookies last week, and they weren't good at all. Let's face it, they were horrible! I wasn't about to surrender to a cookie recipe, so I decided to try it one more time. They turned out perfect and delicious...not to mention really low in calories and fat! My mom used to make mushroom shaped meringue cookies when I was little. I know those are extremely time consuming, but very delicious.
Mint Meringues
4 large egg whites, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE...very important 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp mint extract green food coloring 3/4 cup chocolate chips, chopped smaller. You could just use the mini chips, but I didn't have any on hand
Beat eggs whites and cream of tartar on high until becomes white and foamy. Gradually add sugar until thick, then add mint, fold in chocolate, and add food coloring.
Preheat oven to 200. Line 2 baking sheets wit foil. Transfer batter to a large ziploc bag. Snip a 1/2 corner off the bag and squeeze meringues onto foil lined sheets.
Bake for 2 hours, then turn the oven off and let cookies sit in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy. YUM YUM YUM
I also made Snickerdoodles!
1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 shortening 1-1/2 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 3/4 cups sifted flour 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cream of tartar 1/4 tsp salt
Make a mixture of... 4 tbsp sugar 4 tsp ground cinnamon
Mix together shortening, and 1-1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time blending well after each. Combing flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Stir into the batter until blended.
Roll dough into balls, toss in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until lightly brown, yet soft. Also..YUM YUM YUM My freezer is SO full, it's not funny! Eric has fallen in love with the PB and chocolate covered cherries!!!!! I'm almost done with all of the baking I wanted to do. So far, I've really enjoyed doing all of it and am looking forward to sharing it all with our friends this holiday season.
Ok...I baked even more today! I spent all day in the kitchen except for when I ran to the gym and the grocery store.
The first thing I made is called Cherry Peanut Butter Balls. There's nothing in the world that tastes better than peanut butter and chocolate. Add cherries to that, and YUMM-O
1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups confectioners' sugar 24-26 maraschino cherries with stems Additional confectioners' sugar 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup shortening
In small mixing bowl, cream the butter, PB and vanilla; mix well. Slowly add conf. sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Pat cherries dry with paper towel. Dust hands with additional conf sugar. Wrap each cherry with a rounded tbsp of the PB mixture; shape into a ball. PB may need to be refrigerated while rolling cherries. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Melt choc chips and shortening. Dip PB balls, and place on wax paper. Put in fridge for at least 1 hour. NOTE - do not use reduced fat or generic PB!!! Eric taste tested these and said they were good!
Holiday Trees
2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 c softened butter 3/4 sugar 2 large egg yolks 1 tsp vanilla extract 6 drops green food coloring 1 egg white 6 ounces white chocolate, melted with 1 tsp canola oil
Blend flour and salt in small bowl. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar. Beat in yolks, vanilla, and food coloring. Stir in flour mixture until dough comes together. Divide in half, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Heat oven to 325. Roll out dough and cut tree shapes. Back for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and brush with egg white. Return to oven and bake 4-5 minutes more, until shiny NOT BROWN. Transfer to rack, cool, and dip edges in white chocolate. Allow to set on waxed paper.
These were easy and not too time consuming. All cut out cookies take a while, but these weren't too bad.
I also made mint meringues, but they didn't turn out very good. They are WAY too minty and I don't think the egg whites were fluffy enough before I put them in the oven. They took 2 hours to cook...THOSE are time consuming. Time to go to bed...pooped!
The holiday baking has started! I wanted to try a bunch of new recipes. I'll be sure to post all of them over the next few weeks. Here are the first two. I'm going to try to make the ones that have similar ingredients on the same day
Tiger Butter Candy
1 lb white candy coating 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 4 tsp half and half cream
Heat white chocolate and peanut butter in microwave until smooth. Pour onto a foiled lined baking sheet coated with non stick spray, spread into a thin layer. Heat chocolate chips and cream on high for about 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Pour and swirl over peanut butter layer. Freeze for about 5 minutes or until set. Break into pieces and enjoy!
This was SUPER easy and very delicious! Orange Cappucino Creams
12 squares white baking chocolate (1 oz each) 6 tbsp heavy whipping cream, divided 1-1/2 tsp orange juice 1/2 tsp orange extract 1-1/2 tsp finely grated orange peel 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts 2 tsp instant coffee granules 4 squares semisweet chocolate (1 oz each)
In double boiler, melt white chocolate with 1/4 cup cream, OJ, extract, and peel. Stir until melted, remove from heat and stir in nuts.
Cool for 10-12 minutes. Fill 1 inch paper cups about 2/3 full. Chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the coffee granules and remaining cream in double boiler. Cook and stir over low heat until coffee is dissolved. Add semisweet chocolate; cook and stir until melted. Spoon about 1/2 tsp over each cup. Store in airtight container at room temp. The picture shows HALF of what the recipe made.
These are pretty involved to make, but I'm always up for a culinary challenge. I will say, however, that I added more cream and chocolate to the topping. There was no way the original recipe would make enough chocolate to cover all of the cups. They don't look very pretty...not like the picture from the recipe, but they are still pretty good. I would add more coffee granules next time. I'm sure the chefs that make these recipes for their books don't have twins under their feet banging pots and pans and trying to grab the double boiler off the stove. HAHAHAHAHA
I got a call from Ft Bragg on Wednesday that there was another Developmental Playday on Thursday. We packed up and went !
The boys made Autumn placemats...
Next, they read a book about the changing leaves...
Brandon kept getting up from his pillow and pointing out the leaves, trees, and birds in the book..."lee", "tee", and "bir" I thought it was cute!
Next, they used leaf shaped cookie cutters to cut shapes out of apple slices. Connor was VERY good at it and loved pushing the cutters down. He wouldn't DARE eat any, but Brandon enjoyed them!
There was only 1 other girl there, so it was a nice quiet group. We'll probably have to pass on the one in December, but we'll definitely going to the January group!
Ok, I'm SO sorry for being such a slacker. Here's what's been going on the last few weeks.
I went to my sister's house over Halloween weekend to celebrate her 30th birthday. We had a total blast. It was nice to have a weekend without the kiddos, but I sure did miss them. I had a hard time just relaxing. I kept being told...KATE...SIT DOWN AND STOP PICKING THINGS UP. Habits die hard. We started out with the 5th Annual Fredstrom Halloween Party. Bridget and Jason were "flappers" and I was a fortune teller. I think Bridget had a great celebration filled with family, friends, and shots!
On Saturday, we went into Baltimore to visit the inner habor. It was very neat to see and unusually warm. I wanted to do things that I normally couldn't do if I had the boys with me. We did lots of walking, chatting, and just relaxing.
On Sunday, Jason had to go back to work, but Bridget and I headed into DC for the day. We payed out respects to the soldiers laid to rest in Section 60 of Arlington Cemetery. That is the section were the soldiers who lost their lives during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are laid to rest. I would have taken some pictures, but there were a lot of family members at the grave sites, and I wanted to give them their privacy and respect. Eric and I watched a documentary about these family members who visit Section 60, and it was very emotional. If you ever see that show on tv, please take the time to watch it. We did, however, make it to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just in time to see the changing of the guard.
We went to DC as a family back in 1990 and I know I saw the changing then, but it has a whole new meaning to me now that I'm married to a military man.
The boys are saying more and more words and are learning continuously. It really is amazing to watch their little brains work. Connor can say all kinds of words, but his newest ones are "ipes" meaning wipes, "tash" meaning trash, "doe" meaning toe, "I da da" meaning I love you, and a few more that I can't think of right now. Brandon had his first speech therapy session last week and amazed me. I think Brandon is just as smart if not smarter than Connor, but is dominated by Connor. Connor was at Mother's Day out while we had our session, and Brandon said things and mimmicked the therapist in ways I didn't know he could. He can clearly say mommy, daddy, nose, eye, dice, ice, bubbles, moon, dar for star, and many more. I think this therapy is going to help him surpass Connor and hit the "normal" range much sooner than expected. Mary Francis, his therapist, said his receptive skills are off the charts high. Meaning, he can listen and following directions correctly with little to no help. He's my little helper and loves to be given tasks. Whether it's to hand brother his cup, throw something away, pick up his toys, or put his clothes in the hamper, he's the man for the job.
Eric has recently become addicted to Craigs List. He found this really cute Lion Rocker last night and we couldn't resist.
See the little hands trying to get to it??? They instantly loved it and we were instantly annoyed by the songs it plays. Oh well, batteries eventually die...right???
Here's a video of them rocking the rocker
The boys are super silly after their bath...here's proof! They love Daddy Mountain!
On a different note, I'm thinking of going back to work part time for tax season. I've been looking for part time child care at a respectable location, but am not having much luck. I have a few places to go visit, but don't have anything set in stone. I'm looking to work about 20 hours a week. 2 - 8 hour days a week and a 4 hour Saturday. If anyone knows of any really good child care locations in Fayetteville, let me know! Eric will be gone for a few months at the beginning of the year, so it's a good time for me to see if I can handle part time work and the boys all by myself. Once he starts residency, I won't be able to count on his help on a regular basis like I do now. If it's too much and the boys aren't adjusting well, I will wait a few more years. I think it's worth a try. Wish me luck.
I'm off to watch some tv with Eric before I do my homework for class tomorrow night. My final will be on the 24th..which is coming up! I feel very comfortable with all of the information, but will start my hard core studying this weekend. Have a great rest of the week, and hope you all feel caught up with the Dankos!
We've been pretty busy lately. There's nothing special going on, but just normal day to day stuff. Eric took a few cute videos of the boys last Monday while I was in class. They were all watching Monday night football.
Here's one of Brandon blowing his nose. You can't hear him actually blowing it, but he is!
Here's another one of the constant brotherly wrestling that goes on. Brandon is almost ALWAYS the instigator! Gotta love boys.
Eric and I met while he was in Dental School at the University of Kentucky, and got married the summer of 2002 after I finished my degree at Eastern Kentucky University. Eric is a dentist for the US Army and has decided to stay in for the long haul. Stay tuned as we move about the country and experience all the military has to offer us!
I also made Snickerdoodles!
My freezer is SO full, it's not funny! Eric has fallen in love with the PB and chocolate covered cherries!!!!! I'm almost done with all of the baking I wanted to do. So far, I've really enjoyed doing all of it and am looking forward to sharing it all with our friends this holiday season.
