Another NOM NOM NOM

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or you can subsititute wheat flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk (I use almond milk)
1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen, but thaw and drain REALLY WELL! Your batter will turn purple! TRUST ME!
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice if your a loser and forgot to buy it the last time you were out :/

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.
Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup.
Mix this with flour mixture.
Fold in blueberries.
Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.

Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Your ass and thighs will thank you. <3 Happy Baking!

Mrs. Fields... watch your ass.

Ok so as promised, here are some of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes. You may find these cookies to be so yummy they make you smack your mama.. or a complete stranger. Cookies. They are THAT serious.

Enjoy!

Just an FYI this is NOT my grandmother's recipe because hers is OLD AS HELL, and I really dont feel like typing it. This cookie is basically a copy of the traditional Italian Wedding Cookie. So if you happen to be Japanese - It is now your Japanese Snowball Cookie. Samoan? Australian? You get the picture...

SWEDISH SNOWBALL COOKIES  

1 c. nuts (English walnuts or pecans)

2 c. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. butter at room temperature

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 tbsp. water

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Additional powdered sugar to roll cookies in

• Coarsely chop the nuts. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine flour and salt in small bowl.
• Combine butter, sugar, water and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until well mixed.
• Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed using dough hooks until all the flour is moistened. The mixture will be crumbly. Add nuts and mix well.
• Form dough into 1" balls. Place about 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes. When slightly cooled, roll each ball in powdered sugar. After cooling, cookies may be rolled in additional powdered sugar for extra "frosting".
• Makes about 4 dozen 1" cookies.

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND MACADAMIA CHERRY CHUNKIES

  

Bake time: 11 minutes per batch

Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes plus cooling
Makes: 4 1/2 dozen cookies

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. butter (1 stick), softened

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. milk

8 oz. white chocolate chunks

1 c. roasted, salted macadamia nuts, chopped

1/2 c. candied cherries, quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease large cookie sheet. On waxed paper, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat sugars and butter 3 minutes, or until well blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to low; beat in eggs and vanilla just until combined. Add milk, then beat in flour mixture just until blended. With spoon, stir in chocolate, nuts, and cherries.
3. Drop dough by heaping measuring tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto cookie sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Store cookies in tightly sealed container at room temperature up to 1 week or in freezer up to 3 months.

Nutrition facts (each cookie): About 120 calories, 2 g protein, 17 g carbohydrate, 5 g total fat (2 g saturated), 0 g fiber, 14 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium.


CHEWY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES <3

The trick to getting a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake it. You can scoop it and then chill it, or scoop it, freeze them and store them in a freezer bag so you can bake them as you wish. I find they’re always thicker when baked from the cold — only a couple extra minutes baking is needed.

This is a half recipe. Feel free to double it if baking for the masses..

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins - I use the SunMaid ones FOR BAKING - they are much more moist. Or you can soak regular ones.
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

 

Grab a gallon of milk, anything with an elastic waistband, and throw down. Its Christmas!

 

Happy Baking!

 

- San

Welcome Yule

Just as Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, Yule celebrates the birth of the Sun God - child of the Goddess in the Pagan belief system. Today the sun stands still in the sky, & everyone on Earth knows that change is coming. The Winter Solstice celebrates the magic of birth, death, & rebirth, marking the journey from this year to the next. Enter your new beginning surrounded by those you love. Welcome Yule.

Sharing:

Since the first dawn, our periods of Solstice have been in a perpetual motion. Solstice means, "When the Sun stands still." Our calendar sets December 21 for winter and June 21 for Summer Solstices on Earth. Winter Solstice has long been known as the beginning of a period of rest. Before modernization and advanced mobility, Winter was a time known for staying indoors with periods of reflection of the past year with family and those closest to where you. A time of the year observed for planning the year/seasons ahead. Spring Equinox, being the planting and Fall Equinox, being the harvesting of your plans/seeds/goals for the year as determined during the Winter Solstice.

St. Nicholas paid a visit about two weeks before the Solstice and left candy and trinkets in the shoes of the children as told through the centuries, long before Christmas, known as following four days after Solstice. Eve of the Solstice is a time for inviting those who have left this world to be a part of Christmas in spirit, to once again be with you and lighten your holiday. Bringing the joy of past/present and future into one celebration of reflecting, joy, and looking forward in your life.

2010, brings a full lunar eclipse in celebration of Winter Solstice. For many, 2010 was found to be a culmination of the recession, seeing signs of hope and return of bounty and abundance into their lives. Possibly and not yet evident; taking residence in the heart of hope and healing of the year ahead with aspirations and anew in feelings of abundance ahead. Fitting, on this Solstice of 2010 for the moon to draw the curtain on the Sun and reopen the drapes of hope and prosperity in our world and allowing old energies and thoughts anchored in remorse to give way to newness in your world. How we choose to allow and accept this opening into our lives, is our choice whether to move forward with the celebration of the Sun and Moon or remained chained and anchored in what was to be of the future.

2011, is a year of coming together, finding resourcefulness united rather than divided, encouragement rather than despair. 2010, was a year to heal, recognize and repair aspects of ourselves from the past and present in preparation to be a world of hope and integrity. A time when voices grew strong, yet actions grew stronger. As you enter into 2011 in this night of the eclipse and beginning 2011 – how do you choose to grasp the available and bring this into your life now? Are you ready to let go when the new curtain of choices opens with the dawn of tomorrow. The choice is yours – all is available. You are the planner, architect, receiver and creator of your new year, embrace the gift!

Ho Ho Ho Bitches!

So tired... of.... laundry. I wish Xzibit would host a show called "Pimp My Laundry Room". Maybe if my washer was rollin on dubs, I wouldnt mind spending so much time with it. And my hands are so dried out too. :/ I’m an avid lover of all things lotion.  I’m not sure if it is the curse of fair skin, but my body never seems to have enough water or moisturizer.  Of course, if you know me, you know that along with my fair skin, comes ZERO color. My skin is as white as a gallon of milk. Its lovely being Irish and Swedish. I couldnt catch color if I tackled and sat on it. And now since I went blonde, my hair is thirsty as ALL hell in this weather.  We took our yearly trip in to get da PO-LISHHH SAHHH-SAGE and pierogi for part of Christmas Dinner. Gonna go with my daddy to Swanson's maybe tomorrow for our Bondost and other crap. Pick up some pizza kits from Rosario's for Christmas Eve... Speaking of food, I need to make out my grocery list. There truly are not enough hours in a day man. I seem to have misplaced my cape too..

I havent blogged in a hot ass minute. Busy with kids, busy with the elves, you know the drill. School is out and it is three against one. Its also a few days before Christmas, which as some may know, means the baking in this house is ridiculous. I will be posting a few of the recipes per your requests. And how does one maintain the energy needed to bake all day long? Allow me to introduce you to my new obsession:

Im willing to bet money if you sent a sample of this to a lab, they would be able to find traces of crack in the grounds. Im beginning to think this hazelnut coffee is the reason I am twitching like a dope fiend, standing at my countertop waiting for it to brew just enough for the cup in my hand. Who'da thunk it? Sandra - drinking coffee? Its unheard of I know. I am the first person to inform a coffee drinker that your breath is offensive and smells like your toothpaste of choice HAD to have been a stick of summer sausage. I have crossed over. Like the musical God, Robert Plant, once crooned..."I can't quit you...Babe".

This week I have decided to write about something that happened to me this week that really made me smile.  Was it the children, husband, or maybe a complete stranger?  How’s about all of the above?

• The Hubby: Boy did I SMILE when he came home from work the other night.  Though he was only gone for 13 hours, it seemed like forever. It's always fun taking 2 LOUD children and a tired, cranky baby anywhere.  Every time I talked to him it seemed like he would never be home:  I'm almost done (no your not - computers are bastards), I’m getting gas, stopping at McDonald’s (get me a caramel sundae with NUTS!)…The door opening was the sweetest sound of the day!
• Sons: I’m preemptively smiling at the thought of my boys having to clean up their bomb of a room.  I would seriously take a picture right now if it wasn’t just downright embarrassing.  They took out every toy and item they could displace in this room.   I am NOT cleaning it up this time like I always do.  I am, however, going to do a quick walk-through and pick up some junk that I want to throw away but they would never let me.  Dad is home and he’s due for a good cleaning excursion.
• The Ladybug: So, anyone that knows me knows I don’t do vomit.  Seriously.  It’s the hubby’s job.  It was in our marital vows, okay it wasn’t, but it should have been.  We’ve got this “understanding.”  This morning, I tried sneaking ham into her scrambled eggs.  Uh yeah.  Didn’t fool her.  She always gags with it.  Not this time.  She puked.  On her high chair tray.  Twice in a ROW.  Likke "Exorcist" style people...My mouth dropped open because I have to deal with this; hubby is at work.  I SMILED and cleaned her up.  No retching on my part I might add.  How good am I?  Not sure how I did it but I did.  Hubby owes me a few really bad diapers to cancel this out!  You seriously don’t know how proud I am of myself.  I will not do it again!
• Stranger: Nothing is sweeter to see someone drive past you, flipping you the bird and giving you the eye because you aren’t driving like Mario Andretti.  Nothing is sweeter than seeing said person get pulled over for speeding while you drive by giving them a smile.  I wanted to wave to you and congratulate you on your DOUCHEBAGGERY but thought that was just tasteless.  Yeah right.  I didn’t want to curse myself and my Karma.  Sorry about your luck crazy Honda minivan driver!

On a Sidenote: WOOOOOOOOOOSAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GO BEARS!!!!

Be back in a bit with the recipes peeps!  Gotta start 3 more doughs today!