Monday, November 30, 2009

A Week's Worth of Food

Sorry for not posting for a whole week, but things have been busy and I have been a little lazy with my free time. :) (And to be completely honest, I just needed a little blogging break.)

Our Thanksgiving was very nice; we went out to my aunt's house around 4pm and enjoyed a wonderful traditional turkey dinner with my extended family. The desserts I made got rave reviews and so I have earned the job of bringing dessert every year now, which is fine with me - I love to bake! I brought Lemon Bars, White Chocolate Cheesecake and Kolacky Cookies. Here is the cookie recipe:

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KOLACKY COOKIES

1 - 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar, plus 1/2 cup
2 tsp. baking powder
2 - 12oz. cans Solo Fruit Filling

In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until soft and fluffy, about 1 minute. In another bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Slowly beat flour mixture into cream cheese mixture, beating until dough is smooth. Shape about 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball with your hands and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press your thumb into each ball to make a small well and spoon in about 1 teaspoon of fruit filling. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Dust tops of cookies with remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar using a sifter. Store in an airtight container.
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These cookies are soft and not too sweet, perfect for after dinner (or with breakfast) with coffee.

Last Tuesday I made Hot Dogs with Mac'n'Cheese, on Wednesday I made Pepperoni Pan Pizzas, Thursday was Thanksgiving, Friday was dinner out, Saturday I made Black Bean Chili, and last night we had Tacos.

Tonight we are having Spicy Marinara Pasta with Garlic Toast. I have been using Hunt's Zesty & Spicy pasta sauce and we really like it. Also on the meal plan for this week are: Baked Potato Soup, Chicken Quesadillas, Breakfast and Shepherds Pie.

Here's a cute story for you: On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as I dropped my daughter off at her classroom door, the kindergarten classroom bulletin board caught my eye. On it were little hand-print turkeys with each child's name and the words "I am thankful for..." Most of the kids had written "my family" or "my mom" or "my dog", but one little boy had written "corndogs". Too funny! It put a smile on my face that whole day.

Tomorrow is December 1st - are you ready for the Christmas craziness to begin? Have you started your shopping? Do you know what you are getting for each person on your list? Do you have your Christmas Eve/Day meal plan ready? My biggest goal this year is to get a picture of my daughter with Santa. I have a sweet one from when she was 3 months old and sleeping in his arms, and then the next year she was a screaming, crying blur. The last few years have been amusing; we go to the mall and walk back and forth in front of the big Santa area a few times while she gives him sideways glances before announcing that there is no way in heck she is going anywhere near Santa. >sigh< This year I have hope because there is a Breakfast With Santa event at her school. Maybe she will see her friends sitting on Santa's lap and feel more comfortable doing it herself. I've got my fingers crossed!

Happy eating!

5 comments:

  1. Lol, there are days when I am thankful for corndogs :) I have about half my shopping done, it's getting there slowly. Good luck with the Santa picture :)

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  2. Love kolackies! Maybe they will make it to my cookie tray this year. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving. We had it at home this year and I took off work so that I had 2 days to prepare ahead! Everything was delicious and well worth the work to me. I love to cook and bake, too, when I have the time!

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  3. Corndogs! I haven't had one in YEARS!!!

    I am ready for Christmas, but I'm not ready...if that makes sense.

    I love the holiday...but I'm not even close to having my gifts ready!

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  4. I think blogging breaks are sooo crucial!! take them and take them often :) like I tell people "blogs are always here" and that's the truth

    too funny with your daughter and Santa! my son was brave to see Santa if his older sister was there otherwise he would have nothing to do with him. His first Christmas, 9 months old, I told the ladies taking the picture "You get ready and let me know when to place him in Santa's arms because you'll have to take the picture right then." sure enough because when he turned and looked who was holding him, the tears and screams started. I liked having their pictures taken with Santa; it was fun to see how they grew from year to year

    I'm so not ready for the holiday; I'm hoping I can bypass it this year

    betty

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  5. Lots of good food! Good luck with the Santa picture. I'm hoping to get one this year, but I'm not holding my breath. My 5 year old will do great, but my almost 2 year old is certain to freak out. Happy Holidays!

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