Happy Christmas Eve!

Yesterday, since me and my brother were the only ones home, I decided that we'd do something fun. We decided we'd like to try out our new cookie cutters and make some sugar cookies. One reason we wanted to make them is so we could try our hand at decorating them! :) We had a lot of fun together! Here are some pictures of them:

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Here is a recipe for peppermint punch I'm going to make tonight. We've never made it before, but it sure sounds good!

Peppermint Punch

1 qt. pepprmint ice cream, softened
1 c. milk
2 -ltr. bottle gingerale, chilled
Garnish: peppermint sticks, finely crushed or whole

Directions:
In large punch bowl, blend together ice cream and milk; stir gently. Slowly add gingerale; stir until combined. Moisten rims of glasses with water and dip into finely crushed candy. Serve with peppermint stick stirrers, if desired. Serves 8-10.

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Christmas Eve and Christmas!

- Haley

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes :)

Hello everyone!
Yesterday I made some of these cupcakes and I thought I'd share the recipe. So, here it is! :)

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup powdered cocoa

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup corn oil (I use vegetable oil)

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp. mint extract

1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 dgrees. In large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in cocoa, sugar, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg. Stir in the corn oil , milk, and mint extract. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir in the chocoalte chips. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fill greased muffin tins. Bake for 18 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Makes one dozen cupcakes.

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On a side note, earlier this week I made some pumpkin mufins and I forgot to put the sugar in the mixture! When they came out and someone commented on how they tasted, well, sugarlees, I was like, "Oopsies!" So whenever somebody got a muffin they sprinkled sugar on the top. Man, they were gross without the sugar! Oh well, I don't think I'll do that again for a long time! :)

Canned Apple Pie Filling...

Last Saturday I made a whole bunch of canned apple pie filling. I've never made it before, so hopefuly it will be good! I started at nine thirty and it took me two and a half hours to peel and chop up the apples! Hey, it was five and a half pounds! It's just a good thing I like doing that. :) Here's a picture of the finished product:

Only some of the cans! :)

I was sure to label them.

Once we've tried some, and if it's any good, I'll be sure to post the recipe.

So that was how I spent most of my Saturday. I love cooking! :)

Cinnamon Apple Bread

2 sticks melted butter
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup sugar
1tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced apples

Topping:
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Mix well the butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then mix in the milk and vanilla. Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir into the butter mixture. Fold in apples and pecans. Bake in two well greased loaf pans at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Do not remove from oven but sprinkle the combined topping on both loaves. Bake for another 25-35 minutes. Makes two loaves.

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We have an apple tree in our new backyard and it's loaded down with apples, so I thought I'd use a few of them for some apple bread. After looking around awhile I found this recipe. It sounded really good and decided to try it. Well, it was a big hit with everyone and is definitely a keeper! I thought it tasted like apple pie! Yeah, kind of weird for bread, but hey, I didn't mind! :)

Just thought I'd share the recipe with y'all! Hope everyone's having a wonderful and blessed week!

For Him,

Jenna's Giveaway!

Jenna at Feminine Farmgirl is hosting a giveaway! She is giving away a DVD called The Art of Breadmaking. It looks like a really neat DVD so be sure to go to her blog and enter for a chance to win!

What I've Been Up To...

I am so sorry about not posting in awhile! Where does the time go?! I will just tell everyone what I've been up to lately.

Let's see, I have started getting up early, anywhere between 6:00 and 6:30 and discovered that I love it. I know, shocking! :) I may not love the getting out of a warm bed in the dark part, but once up it's lovely!

As of late I have been spending more time in the kitchen than usual making breakfast, supper, and/or dessert and so have appropriately been nicknamed Miss Betty Crocker! :) I like that nickname, don't you?

School has also been keeping me busy. Thanks to a few of my extra breaks I will be doing science and a little math into the summer. I certainly don't mind though, because after a few weeks into summer break I'm already bored! I wish that instead of summer break there was a fall or winter break. The weather is so much more agreeable during those months. I couldn't really help those breaks though because it's near impossible to read science and remember anything with people working on the house. I mean, the hammers, drills, talking, etc... plus it's just too exciting. :) I have a hard enough time remembering what I am learning about anyway. ( I am not very good at science) All the facts about electricity, the magnetic force, and everything else that comes with General Science go in and out of my head within minutes. But, as long as I do okay on the tests I'm good.

Besides the usual writing letters, reading, etc... that's all that I can think of that I've been doing.

I hope that everyone has a blessed evening and wonderful weekend!

For Him,