How to Make Holiday Cut-Out Cookies

Amy Clipston Books: Win Amish Christmas ornament, calendar & Kauffman ...

Her book was recommended by Dining Downloads..one of my favorite places to get cookbooks for my Kindle!! Just starting her series...can't wait to read all five! I have to start with the first one though!
Amy Clipston Books: Win Amish Christmas ornament, calendar & Kauffman ...: Hi friends! New contest time! This week THREE WINNERS  will   receive each of the following items: An autographed copy of ...

30-Day Menu Planner

A few months ago, my husband decided he'd had enough of grocery shopping....LOL! For various reasons,  hubby took over the job of grocery shopping, and I simply cooked whatever was in the house. Meals were plain, often bland, but we ate!

So, now after, 30 some years, he's tired of doing it...and I have been assigned the job. So, I started out by doing menus, printing out recipes, making a shopping list, and going to the store. Hubby prefers Wal-Mart, while I like a local chain, Kroger's! So off to Kroger's we'll go! I began doing two-weeks, and then switched to a 30-day menu plan. I am somewhat familiar with Microsoft Excel, and found these menu planners. I don't use all the worksheets in the planners, but have adjusted them to my personal use.

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/meal-planner.html

In July, I planned out all 30 days with a different, new recipe. Big Mistake!! The planning process took forever to pick out that many different recipes, check my cabinets for ingredients, and make the shopping list! So..here's how I've simplified it!

First, do an inventory of your cabinets, fridge & freezer. Spices are especially important! I made one of the blank worksheets in the above planners to keep an Inventory list by location! Next, make a list of main dishes that you are used to having, and preparing, each month. I like to cook a double-recipe soup, stew, or chili on Friday nights, extend it into Saturday meals. No cooking on Saturdays!! Sundays are the 'extra-special' meal for the week!

Planned Normal, Usual Meals

Spaghetti (2 times/month)
Chili (2 /month) alternating weekends
Meat Loaf (2/month)
White Fish (2/month)
Salmon Filets (2/month)
Salmon Patties (2/month)
Chicken (4/month)
Beef (Roast) (2/month)
Beef Stew (2/month) alternating weekends
Pork Roast (2/month)
Pork Chops (4/month)
Liver & Onions (2/month)
Kielbasa (2/month)

Total = 30 months

Favorite Recipe Haunts

My spaghetti, chili, salmon patties & liver with onions are always fixed the same, so no need for recipes there! For the others, I look upon the internet first at a few of my favorite places:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/
http://www.pillsbury.com/
http://www.bettycrocker.com/
http://allrecipes.com/
http://www.food.com/

I print out the chosen recipes, and put them into order by placement on the menu. If there were no hints on any of these pages for side dishes, veggies, etc...I make those decisions now and add to the menu.

Make your shopping list by comparing what's needed for each recipe, sides, veggies, and special breads against your inventory! Once your shopping list is complete, you're ready to go to the store.

We buy 2 each beef and pork roasts ranging 4-5 pounds each. One of each roast is cut in half and frozen for later use. The other beef roast is cut into cubes, divided into 2 freezer bags for stews and then frozen. The pork loin roast (our favorite) is sliced, placed into freezer bags, and frozen. We like the cuts of roasts for use better than buying seperate cubed beef or pork chops. The ground beef for spaghetti, chili and meat loaf is bought bulk. Once the groceries have been put away, I get out my small kitchen scale, place a plastic bowl on top, and adjust the scale back to read at zero. The beef is divided into 1-pound groups which are placed individually into freezer bags and frozen. On chili day, I pull out 2 bags!!

I also plan on substituting some other soups, chicken & dumplings, or other type meal so that we do not tire of the chili & beef stew. I've not done that yet, but have downloaded some soup & stew books onto my Kindle. There's a nice Facebook page called, https://www.facebook.com/DiningDownloads  that sends a daily offering for free, or reduced-priced, cookbook!

NOTE:  For other free Kindle books, check out https://www.facebook.com/PixelofInk on Facebook. I have signed up for both. Beware though to check specifically for the "KINDLE PRICE" being set to zero, as these offers may not last very long. They're usually good for a day, but I've seen them disappear before the day is over! They also have Inspired Reads and one for Children (I can't remember the name for it!)

MY RECIPES

I only have 1 kidney and use no, to little salt, in my recipes! The saltines I use, are unsalted tops, as they were recommended by the hospital dietician has having less sodium! I use mostly olive oil for cooking also in the recipes that follow, but left it a generic option!

Salmon Patties

2-3 T. Oil
1 stack of saltines, coarsely crushed
1 can of salmon, undrained
2 eggs
1 T. dried parsley

Preheat oil in large skillet. Combine the saltines, salmon, parsely and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, and shape into patties. I get about 5 sandwich-sized patties. Brown each side, approximately 5-6 minutes each without burning! Times vary on this, so watch carefully!  We tried this with Zatarians Red Beans & Rice and really liked the combination! Otherwise, we usually have spinach and some flavor of mashed potatoes! We like leftover patties for lunch as a sandwich with mayonnaise, too!

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Spaghetti

1 pound of ground beef
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can, drained, mushrooms (4 oz)
1 can/jar of your favorite regular spaghetti sauce

Brown ground beef with chopped green onions until cooked. Drain grease. Add petite diced tomatoes, drained mushrooms and the can of spaghetti sauce. Lower heat, and let simmer while your cooking your favorite noodles to serve with the sauce! Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese! Can be served with garlic or french bread.

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Chili

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup frozen, chopped onions
1/2 cup frozen, chopped peppers
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Brown above ingredients until meath is thoroughly cooked in a large stockpot.  Drain grease! Then add:

1 large can kidney beans in chili sauce
1 can petite diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 can pinto beans with onions
1 T. Chili Powder
1 can tomato paste, 8 oz.
Water as desired

Add above ingredients to the stockpot. The amount of water needed depends on the consistency you like for your chili to have. I like more liquid so that I can crush my crackers into the chili and let them soak up some juice! Others like less liquid! Others like more spices, so add to your preference. Hubby doesn't like spicy chili, so I have to leave red pepper flakes, etc, out of the mix!

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Liver & Onions

2-3 T. oil
1 pound beef liver
1/2 c. flour
salt
pepper
1 large onion, sliced
1 c. water

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Put flour, salt and pepper into a large plastic bag. Shake to mix ingredients. Add 1 piece of liver at a  time and shake to coat the liver completely. Remove from bag and place into the skillet. Repeat for remaining slices. Cook over medium heat, until flour has set onto the liver and then flip onto other side. Salt & pepper to taste. Once both sides have been lightly browned, add onions and water into skillet. Lower heat, cover skillet with lid, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until onions are tender, turning once midway through the process. 

The steaming water helps to soften the liver, and makes a nice gravy from the bits of loosened flour. Great over mashed potatoes as a side dish!

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Meat Loaf

1 pound ground beef
1 stack saltines, coarsely crushed
1 can tomato paste with Italian seasoning (4 ounces)
1 egg
1/2 cup frozen chopped onions
1/2 cup frozen chopped green peppers
Salt
Pepper
2 heels of bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with 2 heels of bread, crust side facing up.Reserve 1 Tablespoon of the tomato paste to be used on top of the meat loaf!

Crumble beef into a large mixing bowl. Add rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into a loaf, and place into pan. Do not press the loaf down into the heels of the bread or they will stick to the meat loaf! Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a cut down the center of the loaf shows no pink. If any pink shows, put back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to cook thoroughly. Toss away the heels, as they're only for soaking up the grease from the hamburger.

Note: Because of my diet, I find the seasonings in the tomato paste to be sufficient. If you require more seasoning, try adding additional Italian seasoning.

Bake Sale Goodies for October

BAKE SALE Goodies for my daughter!

My daughter is in the process of divorce, full-time student, part-time worker, mother of 3 under the age of nine years. Can we say a busy schedule?? She keeps house, does the laundry, cooks, runs for little league, baton classes, and all that jazz. This wonderful woman holds my heart dear for all she is going thru, has accomplished and will continue to accomplish! So, when she mentioned that the Art Club was having a Bake Sale, I volunteered to bake some items for her. She didn't want cupcakes, or cookies, as so many people had already signed up to do those!

First up, "BUCKEYES", or peanut butter balls, always a hit around here! Many years ago, I used to do huge batches of different types of candies and freeze them for use over the holidays. Our freezer had been an old one given to us by my mother when she moved. It has died, and hubby sees no reason to get another one since it's just the two of us, now!

Anyways, on the Buckeyes...I had originally intended to do these to look like pumpkins with orange coating and a green gumdrop for the stem. However, Walmart had no Orange Coating and I couldn't find just green gumdrops...I know I've seen small packages of  these sold by themselves...spearmint flavor..oh, well...so I went with buckeyes!

Hint: Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper before starting these projects...consider if you need a coating of butter to help the items to release. The butter did stick to the chocolate pretzel rods, though!. If you've done a double batch as I can do with my handy-dandy 20-year-old Kitchen-Aid, then line 2 sheets!! While the balls are chilling, do the chocolate mixture right before you bring the balls out of the fridge. Here's how I make mine!

Buckeyes
1 - 18 ounce jar creamy peanut butter
1- stick butter, or margarine (I prefer butter)
1 t.vanilla flavoring

Coating:
1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 T. shortening

CREAM TOGETHER!! Then gradually, 1 cup at a time, add confectioner's sugar to the mixture...I start off with a 2-pound bag. You will most likely not use the whole bag, but just put the remainder into a ziploc bag to store for later! I find people like their candy either creamy, or stiffer, so the amount you add will depend on the consistency you prefer! Now, there are two ways I do this
   (1) Pinch off a piece and roll into a ball.
   (2) Take part of the batch roll out into a "ROLL" like a huge spaghetti noodle, or the way we used to roll out cookie dough to cut slices off for sugar cookies! I roll mine about 1-1/2" diameter. Then cut off equal portions to roll into balls! Place onto cookie sheet. Once the sheet is full, place into refrigerator to chill.

In the meantime: :)
Melt 1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 T shortening. Start off with 1 minute, stir chips, then do it in 15 seconds bursts until you are comfortable with the thinness for coating your peanut butter balls!

You can use a toothpick to pick up the ball and dip it into the chocolate. However, the the balls start to lose their chill, they will be harder to handle and fall off the toothpick. I prefer to use a fork...place the ball on the fork, dip into the chocolate, and bounce the fork up and down a few times to remove excess chocolate before placing onto the cookie sheet! Leave room between the balls for any chocolate that may spread out! Once the cookie sheet has been filled, place into the refrigerator again, and chill until hardened!  Once they've hardened, package up, or eat and enjoy!

I did not take any pictures. I may do that around Christmas time, if birthdays (five), holiday parties, health, and life in general allows time!

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Butterfinger Bars

Borrowed this recipe from here!

http://www.chocolatechocolateandmore.com/2011/10/tale-of-two-butterfingers.html#

I left my mixture in the fridge too long, and it was hard as a rock! Couldn't cut it! But placed in the microwave for 15 second intervals, until I was able to slice it into bars! I made a double batch and put into a 13" x 9" pan, buttered!!! After slicing into small bars  1-1/2" x 2", I dipped them into the same chocolate mixture as noted above for the buckeyes!! Chill, and enjoy.

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Chocolate Covered Caramel Layered Pretzel Rods
***This next item, I will not do again, until I learn how to do it right..it was a mess! I didn't bookmark the site, and can't find it now...but basically you use::

1 bag (14 oz.) caramels
1-2 T water
butter (to coat)
1 bag pretzel rods
1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 T. shortening
Chopped Peanuts

Buttered large 4 cup measuring glass. Unwrapped caramels, and added to measuring cup with 1 Tablespoon water (the recipe I saw used 2 Tablespoons). Microwave for 1 minute, stir. Continue to microwave at 30-second intervals until melted. Dip pretzel rods into the melted caramel. leaving 1-inch ( I found this to not be enough room for my big hands, though). Really need pictures on this, as I had to act as if I was going to pour the caramel out, to get it to cover the pretzel rod, without spilling the caramel, of course!! I rolled the rod around the sides of the measuring cup to get an even coating. The recipe said to hold it for a moment to let the caramel set, and then dip into the caramel. Hold for a moment, let the caramel set, then dip in melted chocolate mix and roll in chopped peanuts.Chill! (Oh, and I had to double-batch the caramel in order to get all 24+ pretzel rods coated!

Didn't work for me! The caramel would not set even though I only used the 1 Tablespoon of water recommended in the reviews , instead of 2 as the recipe said! When I tried to dip into the chocolate, they swirled together, got all mixed up. I couldn't get the rod to completely coat with chocolate! Then I had a major problem trying to get them chilled! I had nothing to stick them into that would hold them up to harden with only 1" handle at the bottom. I tried lining a cookie sheet with wax-paper. The first batch stuck to the wax paper when it came out of the fridge and I had a time trying to remove the wax paper! And the caramel ran off the rod onto the wax paper! I buttered the next sheet of wax paper, but still had trouble with the caramel running. Laying them onto a buttered wax-paper lined cookie sheet, they spread out and did not look attractive. If anyone has some hints on these, I'd love to hear from you! They sound delicious, easy, and fun..but turned out everything but!

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The peanut butter balls went quickly...the Butterfinger bars sold but not as quickly. One girl who purchased the pretzel rods, threw them out! So, maybe I should have stuck with no-bake cookies? Nah...I can never get them to harden either..they're always a gooey mess! Time for a candy thermometer, I guess! 

I'll have to work on some ideas for Christmas Candy again this year, as my 18-year-old grandson loved trying to help me with these when he came over after church Wednesday night! My family has said more than once they have missed my baking as it had really become a holiday tradition. With health issues, etc...I'd fallen off the habit. But with Facebook and Pinterest, I've found so many wonderful recipes lately. It all started with hubby making me do the grocery shopping again...but that's a tale for later...LOL! Happy Halloween! Be Safe and Have Fun!