small snaps. & a fun recipe.

small snaps. & a fun recipe.

Life last weekend? Christmas-y, sweet and so, so enjoyable. 
Take a look-sy....

My Meme's homemade Christmas ornaments. 

Recipe below.

Beer cheese soup and homemade pretzels.

So much Christmas cheer.

Homemade pumpkin pie. DUH.

Interested in making your own cinnamon apple  Christmas ornaments? DO IT.  Just be warned that your house will smell like Big Red followed by cinnamon rolls for several days.  Yes, days.  Read on.

Meme's Cinnamon Apple Ornaments

-a ton of cinnamon (we're talking 3cups-ish)

-a spot of applesauce (yep I said a "spot")

Preheat oven to 250.  

Mix a bit of applesauce with the cinnamon until your dough begins to resemble cookie dough.  DO NOT ADD too much applesauce or your ornaments will be two sticky to roll out/cut out.  Trust me, I experienced this.  Once it resembles cookie dough consistency roll out the dough to be about 1/4 of an inch thick.  Do not make your cut outs too thick or they will bubble while baking.  

Before placing the cut-outs on a greased cookie sheet, be sure to use a pencil to make a hole in the ornaments before baking.

Bake the cut-outs for 6 hours at 250.

Let cool and tie with pretty string. 

Enjoy your new cinnamon factory (er...home?). 

Here's to another lovely weekend! Happy Friday!

little red hen.

little red hen.

I got it. And I did it.

Friends, I would like to announce the shiny, long awaited arrival of my brand new, sparkling white Kitchen Aid Mixer.  

(Insert photo of me hugging the mixer when it was still in the box. This really happened.  Pathetic, I know.) 

And I made bread with this magical mixer. 

History: As a little girl, I spent countless hours, days and weeks on my grandparents farm.  My Meme (my grandma), my sister and I spent our days riding horses, arranging wildflowers, picking berries, sewing aprons and....baking.  We baked our lil' hearts out with Meme's white Kitchen Aid Mixer. And ever since I can remember, I've wanted a white Kitchen Aid Mixer just like Meme's.  And I wanted to make bread...


just like Meme. 

Well, I did it. I fired up the mixer and went to town on a relatively easy bread recipe. And although I have a tendency to overdo it with most things in life, I chose a simple recipe.  That was my first victory. 

And as I waited for the bread to bake, I felt as if I had accomplished a small rite of passage. I was giddy all night about my bread and I could not wait to try it.  But I was oh so nervous for the taste. Would it turn out?  Would it even come close to Meme's?  Honestly, people, I was a Nervous Nelly.

And this is where the Little Red Hen comes in.  I work all night and Joe reaps the benefit of my....wait for it, wait for it....

delicious, aromatic, beautiful, homemade bread.

 

And I served it warm with butter and cinnamon sugar.

Just like Meme. 

But I guess I don't mind sharing delicious bread with my husband after all. :)