Easy Cabin Crock Pot Stew

      The last time I got to the cabin was back in September.

     And thank God for high school football because it was the only reason I got up here it all in the fall.  My godson played a team only thirty minutes from here, so we all spent the night after his team dealt a Friday Night Lights thrashing ~ only to have to get up and leave the next morning to get back for my son’s Saturday Night Lights match-up. 

    It was a short-lived stay, but I am grateful for any bit of time I can spend here, surrounded by the beautiful Amish-crafted logs, up high above and away from “the real world”… a place where I wake up to a blazing orange sun pronouncing a new day as it rises from behind the mountains in the distance.

    So this past week, I got a chance to escape for a few days and see those glorious sunrises.  I hung up the Christmas cards I love to receive each year from family and friends, snapped a few photos, watched a string of movies, smacked a tennis ball around for my dog, picked at a thousand-piece puzzle, built an outdoor fire, baked some chocolate chip cookies, made some new playlists, checked out the stars, fed about twelve deer, enjoyed the “altar boy hour” it takes me to light the cabin candles, and made some Easy Cabin Crock Pot Stew.  Here you go:

Easy Cabin Crock Pot Stew

Stewing Beef (2 to 2.5 pounds cubed)

Tomato Soup (26 oz. ~ I use Campbell’s Family Size)

Dry Onion Soup Mix ( 1 packet ~ I use Lipton’s Recipe Secrets Onion Mushroom)

Frozen bag of Vegetables (I use this Hanover’s Vegetables for Soup, full of peas, corn, potatoes,

     carrots, green  beans, lima beans, onions, cabbage, rutabaga, and okra ~ and, btw, who does

     not think of big John Coffey in The Green Mile when you hear the word, “okra?” I don’t think

     I knew what it was before I watched that movie.)

Water (1 cup)

Salt (1 tsp.)

Pepper (1/2 tsp.)

     Turn crock pot on low, and pour in tomato soup, onion soup mix, one cup of water, salt, and pepper.  Stir, and mix in beef.

     Cook on low for three hours before adding a quarter cup of water with the frozen vegetables.  Let the stew cook at least another another two hours on low.  Serve over rice or pasta, with bread, or all by itself…all good in these cold days ahead.

     The scent of this easy little stew filled the cabin the past two days while I had the chance to be away to enjoy God’s beautiful creation and some peaceful, quiet time. I will be leaving the cabin today and heading back home for a New Year’s Eve celebration ~ and, best of all, the promise of a brand new day to become a better human being.

     Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, safe, and wonderful Saturday, & a great New Year J

Jillian 101

    

     So next Monday morning, probably better than half the country will wake up determined to get fit in 2012.

     I will be one of them, and, as I gear up for the daily battle of disciplined eating and regular workouts, I have chosen my weaponry with care.    

     In the past year, workouts with Jillian have brought me down fifteen pounds, so I am staying with her arsenal of DVDs ~ no matter how brutal she can be.

     If you somehow don’t know Jillian, she rose to fame on TV’s The Biggest Loser, where she won hearts with her tough-love style of motivating overweight contestants to not only reach their weight loss goals, but, even more importantly, to face the issues holding them back from personal growth.

     Her popularity has soared since then, in part due to an amazing work ethic that puts out DVDs, books, and video games on a regular basis.  But the main reason for her success, IMHO, is Jillian’s authentic desire to inspire people to reach goals they never truly believed possible. It seems to me that this genuine and strongly candid investment in the well-being of others resonates with the multitudes buying her products.

     At least, that is the case for me.

     Now, as I mentioned in a previous post, A Fitting Addiction, I have a slew of exercise videos lining the walls of our cabin fitness room, and I can sing the praises of many an instructor.  When I had not worked out for well over a year, Leslie Sansone’s walking DVDs got me moving again.  From there I advanced to the Queen of Fitness Video Longevity, Denise Austin, whose wide variety of videos, stepped it up a notch and for quite some time. I have also been successful with the likes of Cindy Whitmarsh, Kathy Kaehler (training both Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer), and Gunnar Peterson, among others.

    In the workout DVD world, I think there is someone or something for almost everybody.

    Since she was new and different and her reputation preceded her, I decided to try Jillian about three years ago, but gave up when things got too tough during the second week. I think I even gave the DVD away to one of my sisters.

     Last spring, I hit a string of life challenges, so one of my “gifts” to myself was giving Jillian’s growing collection another go-round. This time, I got serious and stayed with it. 

     For me, the strategy was to have at my disposal every workout DVD Jillian ever created.  That way, I would never get bored because I would always have variety, as well as an option to do shorter twenty minute workouts when pressed for time or longer forty minute routines when the time is there. (The only workout of hers I don’t have is her Yoga Meltdown.  My sister insists that the militant Michaels should not be mixing it up with something as calming as yoga, but I will eventually add this to my collection when I reach my goal weight.)

    If you are considering going with Jillian in 2012, here’s the “recipe” of how I personally use her collection:

     I start the week by looking at my calendar and determining which days I will do what workout, then I digitally post it on my desktop.  I check off each workout as I complete it throughout the week.

    Definitely own 30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30.  Between these two DVDs, you have seven twenty minute workouts.  The first one contains three levels and the second one has four, all of them progressing in difficulty as you move up.  Jillian leads you through three circuits of a 3-2-1 formula for each level:  3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs.  She offers modified versions of mostly every exercise, and, if you must, you can stop periodically for five seconds at a time. Like Jillian says, “You start where you start.”

    And, if you are just starting Jillian, I recommend buying both DVDs, and alternate doing Level 1 of each four or five times a week until you are ready to move up to the next level.  Mostly everyone can find twenty minutes in their day, which makes these workouts very likable. Doing both DVDs simultaneously adds variety.

     (I admit I never did reach Level 4 of Ripped in 30 in 2011 ~ so here’s to conquering it in 2012.)

     Add Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism and No More Trouble Zones.  I generally change up my weekly workout routine after about 4 to 6 weeks.  These two forty-minute DVDs are great for alternating even 3 or 4 times a week.  Both consist of seven circuits. BFBM is a full body work-out that requires no weights.  I used not to be able to do all the circuits, so, in the beginning I selected three or four circuits until I built my stamina to complete them all. (For me, it’s a killer, but may just be my personal favorite.)

     NMTZ is a weight workout that targets every body part and gets your heart rate up.  I do these workouts when I have more time in my day.  If for some reason I don’t have the time, I grab one of the 20 minute ones mentioned above to make sure I get something in ~ no excuses!

     Mix in 6 Week Six-Pack, Killer Buns and Thighs, and Shred It With Weights.  These DVDs are each about 30 minutes, and I like to throw them in when I need to mix things up a little bit.  6WSP has two levels, KBT has three, and SIWW has two.  One, if you really want to target a given area in a short amount of time, these are great.  Two, having them on your rotation allows you to do something different than what I consider the “staple workouts” above.

     For a variation, try Extreme Shed and Shred.  This is her latest DVD, which I have done both levels so far, and I really like the uniqueness of each workout.  (I will have to report back on how I incorporate this in to my fitness regimen in 2012.)

     Anyway, if you are thinking about giving Jillian a try but are worried that she is too tough, I think you will find that, yes, she admittedly is, but that she honestly helps you and pushes you through your workout with humor, information, and inspiration.  Plus, she offers you a whole bunch of workouts to keep things from getting dull.

     You can buy each of these DVDs for about $10 each if you shop around a little bit, so you are looking at an overall investment of about $70 ~ far less than any gym membership.  These workouts will go a very long way.  You need very little space and very little equipment, but you do need a lot of discipline, mental stamina, and desire. Just don’t get discouraged if you initially experience a little “shock and awe” because you probably will.

     Whatever your plan for the upcoming year, whether it’s Jillian or something altogether different that works for you, may 2012 bring you happiness, health, and an opportunity to meet your fitness goals.

    Wish me luck in losing another fifteen, and I wish you all the best in whatever it is you are seeking to lose ~ or gain.

     Have a wonderful, happy, & healthy Thursday J

   

The Big Wheel Disaster of '78

     For some, Christmas ends at midnight, December 26^th.  Not for me.  I still bake, enjoy family and friends stopping by, listen to Christmas CDs, burn cranberry-scented candles, and relish in my new gifts so generously given by loved ones.

     Not long ago, I wrote a blog called, The Spirit of Christmas Past.  In it, I listed my top ten gifts from Santa, who lovingly delivered them without fail to me and my eight siblings every Christmas morning in piles around our small town Pennsylvania living room.

     Coming in at the runner-up spot was the classic Big Wheel.  I am pretty sure if they made a big girl Big Wheel for a woman about halfway through her forties, I would have put it on my list right after Jillian Michael’s Extreme Shed and Shred.  (I promise, Jillian, I resume your workouts today ~ and after the way I’ve eaten since Saturday evening’s Seven Fish meal at my sister's, the obvious choice is Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism.)

     In times like these, a pile under the tree can look so paltry and pitiful yet cost Santa near a thousand dollars.  But the Big Wheel was just the opposite.  It lived up to its name without breaking Santa’s bank.  And I rode it until there was nothing left to that wheel.

     Even when Empire got innovative and decided to add a brake to the popular vehicle, the “King of the Sidewalk” happily remained within Santa’s budget. In fact, so popular was the ride, that when we visited our cousins in Delaware, we did not have to haul our own fleet in the family station wagon.  My eight cousins had a fleet of their own, including its most recent model with the brake.

    In those days, we didn’t have video games or cell phones or game systems like Xbox Live or the Wii.  If you wanted to play a video game, you had to gather some quarters and find the nearest 7-Eleven, where you waited in line for the Pac-Man machine to become available.  Eventually, you got to play Atari on your family TV, and I admit we would spend hours watching that little “ball” bloop across the screen as we raced to intercept it with our little rectangle-shaped “racquets” on each side.

    Still, the best games were the ones that involved hoards of neighbor kids running around, like “Kick The Can”, “Baby in the Air”, and “Hooper”.  They cost nothing ~ just a whole lot of energy to avoid being tagged or pegged by a ball.

    So, on one summer visit to my cousins’ home, we decided to invent our game involving the Big Wheel.  We only ever played it one time. 

     To start the game, you had to take the Big Wheel to the top of the street, which was on a pretty significant incline.  As the Big Wheel sat at that corner, which was about seven houses from my cousins’ front yard, my siblings and cousins would line up down the street along the way to my cousins’ home.  If you were older, you had to be farther away from their house, but the younger ones were allowed to be closer so they would not have to run as far.

    The object was simple: as a player, you had to avoid being mowed down by the Big Wheel once it was set in motion. If you got safely back to the base, which was the front yard, you won.  If you didn’t…well, I guess we really didn’t think this one through all too well.

     I don’t know which of us created this particular game, but I do recall that I and my other eleven year-old cousin agreed to be “it”.  Our logic was that with two largest kids on The Big Wheel, her sitting and me standing on the little space behind the adjustable seat, the vehicle would move slower and the contestant would thus have a greater chance of... “surviving.”

     I never took a physics class, but had I done so, it may have helped me to understand what happened next.  When my cousin and I shouted, “Go!” and the big bad Big Wheel with the new brake feature was unleashed from the top of the hill, instead of slowly rolling down the street, it gathered steam and went speeding like a bat out of hell.

    All the kids started screaming as they raced their way back to the yard.  Thank God, they were all pretty athletic, because had they not been, the outcome might have been far different.

     Only one little cousin, though, did not seem to immediately grasp the gravity of the situation ~ or the speed with which we were flying down the road.  All the other kids started yelling, “Robbie! Get out of the way! Robbie! Get out of the way!”  If he didn’t, we were all about to find out what it meant to lose this game.

     As my cousin and I approached him within a few inches, he finally turned his head over his shoulder, saw how we were right at heels, and he veered off into a neighbor’s yard at the last possible second.

     It was a very close call, but it did not solve our problem, which was, essentially, how in the world do we stop this thing?

    As we began to pass the front lawn where all the other children were safely gathered at the “base”, I got the idea to use the Big Wheel’s newly-added brake system.  I reached to the side of the roaring machine, grabbed the brake, and pulled it hard.

    Unfortunately, at that moment, we were coming up to two sections of side walk that had pushed up from the ground over the years to create a sort of ramp ~ one that we went sailing off of with a not-so-pretty landing.

     My feet fell off the back of the Big Wheel, while my cousin’s bottom fell off the seat.  For what seemed like an eternity, we were both being drug along the cement.  I guess I could have simply let go, but we were in this thing together so I held on until body weight (mine more than hers) brought the lone run-away wheel to a stop.

    She rolled off the Big Wheel and I finally let go, and we both lay on the sidewalk crying out in pain as our siblings surrounded us assessing the damage.

    “Look at her elbow!”

    “Look at her knees!”

    “Look at her arm!”

     After a few moments, the contingent of younger children helped us to our feet and moved our bloody bodies into the house, where we spent the next few days exhausting my aunt’s supply of Band-Aids and Bactine spray.

    We never played that particular version of tag again ~ but it did not daunt us from riding our Big Wheels in the future.  As I’ve said before, if I could, I’d still be riding one today.

     Have a wonderful Tuesday ~ and have fun playing with all your toys.


PS ~ Check out http://www.originalbigwheel.com/  for  little nostalgia :)

   

The Perfect Christmas Kiss

      I guess there's a lot you can think about when you find yourself doing something mundane.
    
     Last evening, as I sat peeling green, red, and silver foil off an eleven-ounce bag of Hershey's Kisses, I started to think about...well, kisses. 
    
     The kiss most certainly is a sweet creation.

     And I'm not talking about Milton Hershey's creation ~ though it really is impressive.  What the world knows as the Hershey kiss really does geometrically look like a kiss somehow.

     When I was begged to make those cookies with those Hershey Kisses on top last night, I confess that ~ in the midst of the boring procedure of separating every piece of colored aluminum and its little Hershey kiss banner from the "kiss" of chocolate the recipe calls for ~ I eventually began to think about actual kisses.

     In real life, I look around and see that kissing is one of life's most underrated, underused pleasures.  But on the silver screen?  Well, it is there that kissing is rightfully given the place it deserves.

     So, before I share today's Peanut Butter Kiss Cookie recipe, I will share my top five favorite Hollywood kisses:

     At #5... Jack & Rose moving across the icy waters through a gorgeous sky ~ even the well-known ultimate fate of the Titanic doesn’t douse the passion of this kiss.

     At #4... Mr. & Mrs. Smith decide they really don’t want to kill each other after all ~ all along, they really wanted to kiss each other.

     At #3... It took 365 letters, but The Notebook’s reunion kiss between Ally and Noah during a North Carolina downpour sure was worth it.

     At #2... In It's A Wonderful Life, it’s not so much the kiss as the five minutes of record-smashing, crabbiness, and foolish guardedness leading up to the moment when George Bailey finally realizes he loves Mary and their lips meet.

     At #1... Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy never actually kiss in the universal version of Pride & Prejudice (though to satisfy US audiences, the American version alters its ending to allow for one).  But the near-kiss in the midst of a rain-soaked and painfully civil but heated misunderstanding is so intense they may as well have passed a kiss between them.

    Afterall, passing up a good kiss with the one you love is just bad form.  And ~ unless you have a peanut allergy ~ so is passing up these classic Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies:

Butter (1 cup)
Peanut butter (1 cup)
Sugar (1 cup)
Light Brown Sugar (1 cup)
Eggs (2)
Vanilla (2 tsp.)
Milk (4 tbsp.)
Flour (3 and ½ cups)
Baking Soda (2 tsp.)
Salt (1 tsp.)
A bag of Hershey Kisses

     Preheat the oven on to 350 degrees, and remove the foil off of at least two dozen of the kisses. (You can do the rest once your cookies are baking oven.)
    
     Mix the butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, and milk in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour with the soda and salt before pouring into the mixture. 

     Roll into balls and roll them around in a small bowl of sugar.  Shake off and place about an inch apart on cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until done and remove from oven.  Plant a kiss on top of each one, pressing it a little to set in the cookie. 

    Cool, then serve these perfect little kisses to the ones you love.

    Have a wonderful Tuesday J

    

     

Christmas Peace

     I'm in the mood for a really good movie.

     Nothing heavy or sad or political or heartwrenching or disturbing.  Nothing cheesy or tear-jerking or silly. Just a good entertaining flick. 

     Something like The Mummy.

     The first time I saw The Mummy, it was on my television screen on a Sunday night as I was curled up in bed. When The Mummy Returns was released not long after, I made sure I bought movie tickets.

    Films like these are meant to be seen on the big screen. They have the stuff that makes cinema an altogether enjoyable experience...adventure, mystery, suspense, intrigue, romance..all with historic Egypt as its perfect backdrop.
   
     It it is there that Imhotep, "the Mummy", who since ancient times has been cursed with eternal suffering, is awakened when two camps of British and American expeditions crawl about the burial grounds of the ancient civilization.  When the Book of The Dead is read aloud, the Mummy is unwittingly unleashed on the world, leaving nothing but death and destruction in his path.

     It takes a little bit of time for the Brits and Americans to figure out that no amount of gun-slinging is bringing this Mummy down.  As the character of Ardeth Bay, the head of the Medjai commissioned to protect the tombs, makes clear to them:

     "He is the bringer of death," he declares.  "He never eats.  He never sleeps.  He never stops."

     Basically, until the Mummy is satisfied ~ or what he thinks is satisfaction ~ he is never going to cease killing and creating chaos in the world.

     I started thinking about what Ardeth said, and it made me think of the "mummies" around us.  I am pretty sure we all have come in contact them at one time or another.
    
     I am not suggesting that most of us are living alongside monsters on a mission to annihilate people and knock down buildings like Imhotep the Mummy.  Well, hopefully not.  But there is no doubt we encounter the restless, the dissatisfied, the peaceless in our daily travels ~ and many of them attempt to bring their havoc into our own lives.    
    
     The "unleashing" comes in many forms.  It could be as obvious as violent anger or as subtle as passive potshots.  It comes in many a guise: a judgmental attitude, accusatory tones , hypercriticism, complaining, bullying, intrusiveness, antagonism, backstabbing, manipulation, even deceit...all if it spilling out and over into boundaries beyond their own ~ and into yours and mine to be exact. 

     These people don't stop. If they aren't going to have peace, nobody is going to have peace.

     Or so they think.

     The good news is that each of us can still find peace in spite of those folk who can't feel anything beyond their own misery and who can't seem to sympathize with anyone's pain but their own.  For the most part, we can keep clear of the poison they want to inject into our lives, but we can also forgive them for their unrest, and we can wish them a better day.

     As frustrating as it can be to deal with these "mummies" who create toxic clamor at home, in families, around the workplace, in the neighborhood, at school... it does help to remember that their fixation on others and making static all around them is what they do to avoid facing their own shortcomings.  Indeed, "looking in the mirror" would very likely reflect an image as unattractive as The Mummy ~ and who wants to see that?

    So, like Imhotep, these kind pick and pull at pieces of others who are minding their own lives, their families, their children, their homes, their goals, their challenges, their dreams, their business...wrongly thinking it will bring them a wholeness that they will sadly never find.

     At the heart of the unrest could be pure evil like our favorite mummy Imhotep...but it is more likely to be borne from very human circumstances: low self-esteem, feeling unwanted, a hurtful past, the inability to forgive, depression, heartbreak, drudgery, a sense of hopelessness.

     No matter what the source, let's pray today for those who spawn drama and cause disruption everywhere else because they lack real serenity within.

     This week, as Christmas Day approaches, may its power of peace settle in all our hearts, a place where only we decide what lives there ~ or what dies there.
   
     Have a wonderful, peaceful weekend.  :)

The Sounds of The Season

    During this time of exchanging cookie recipes, baking cookies, and swapping cookies, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to B101.

    What is Christmas baking without the Bee?  Whether it's Christmas tunes in December or romantic songs with Delilah the rest of the year through, no baking session of mine is complete without turning the dial to Philadelphia's favorite soft rock station.

     There's nothing like lighting candles, setting out the ingredients, and turning on B101's mix of Christmas music. I'm convinced that ~ no matter what curve life has thrown my way ~ I'll probably never need therapy because of this regular little ritual.

    Who can deny the joy that music infuses into our day...especially this time of year? Sure, there's a Scrooge or two out there, but most of us are getting this.

     So, in honor of the joy of Christmas music faithfully brought by the Bee, here is my list of top ten favorites:

1) O Holy Night by Celine Dion ~ For me, this song captures the meaning of Christmas like no other. And her version? Wow.

2) The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole ~ This man could make a Twisted Sister song sound smooth.

3) No Place Like Home For the Holidays by Perry Como ~ I loved when Mom would bring out this and all those crooner albums the day after Thanksgiving.  I still don't break the No-Christmas-Music-Before-The Day-After-Thanksgiving Rule.

4) Silver Bells by Bing Crosby and The Andrew Sisters ~ It was hard to pick which of their combinations to go with, but this one always made me so happy as a kid, especially the line, "Soon it will be Christmas Day..."

5) Carol of the Bells by Trans-Siberian Orchestra ~ Just awesome.

6) All I Want For Christmas is You by Vince Vance & The Valiants or Mariah Carey ~ This one's a tie. Both ladies belt it out great.

7) It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year by Andy Williams ~ Who doesn't get fired up for Christmas when you hear this song?  (My only question about it is the scary ghost stories lyric.  I don't know of anyone telling ghost stories on Christmas.)

8) Another Year has Gone By by Celine Dion ~ Ever since I heard this song a few years ago, I had a permanent place in my heart for it.  Still a hopeless romantic, I guess.

9) Santa Claus is Coming To Town by Bruce Springsteen ~ I loved this tune since it came out when I was in the 8th grade.  I still laugh when he says, "Awww, that's not many...not many."

10) White Christmas by The Drifters ~ There are a lot of beautiful versions of this song, especially by Bing.  But I can't help but love this one because it conjures up images of little Macaulay Culkin running rings around two bungling burglars in Home Alone.

      If you are in the Christmas spirit like me, you've probably been listening to the Bee ~ just like the guy I saw jamming to the Beach Boys' Little Saint Nick at the traffic light at Broad and Main not too long ago.

     If you're not in the spirit of the season yet, try a little music.

     Have a wonderful Thursday.

Amish Sour Cream Cookies

     When I think of the quaint backdrop of Bedford Falls in the Christmas classic, It's A Wonderful Life, I can't help but think of the small town of Landsdale, Pennsylvania where I grew up. 

     Something about Main Street, Lansdale ~ especially this time of year ~ brings about the feel of the tight-knit silver screen community of my favorite Christmas film.  Not in every way, but just enough. Maybe it's the train station, or the lamps along the street, or the town taverns and mom-and-pop shops that are nestled through the little town. Maybe it's that its got plenty of stores, spirited schools, places of worship, its own newspaper, a radio station, and all the things that give it a buzz without losing a sense of neigbhorhood.

     In one part of town you will find a cluster of everything a town needs ~ a bank, the police, the post office, the borough hall, and, a place I discovered about the time I was ten years old, the public library.

    The Lansdale Public Libary was three and half blocks down the street from our house.  It's a lot different now then it was then, but I still like the joy of meandering down the street and into its quiet sanctuary of books, magazines, films, music, and other patrons lost in their own world.

     I confess that it's been sometime since I've experienced the pleasure of an afternoon in the library.  I guess it's because I am pretty sure I still owe a fine from about a year ago...could be longer. But I guess I should pay it so I can go back to the days when I walked out of the building armed with all kinds books on all kinds of matters ~ including cooking.

    On almost every trip to the library, at least one cookbook was handpicked.  It was likely that I never made a single thing out of most of those collections, but there is one in particular from which I made just one, and I still do to this day.

     I don't recall the title, but it was a small, simple book about Amish cooking.  In its pages, I found a delightful recipe for Amish Sour Cream Cookies.  It seemed like something I couldn't ruin, so I gave it a go.

     Over the years, I discovered that there are many versions of this recipe.  This is the one I like best because it requires very few ingredients, and it does not need to be left to refridgerate overnight if I want cookies in a hurry.

     Here it is:

     Amish Sour Cream Cookies

     Sour cream (1 cup)
     Brown sugar (3/4 cup)
     White sugar (3/4 cup)
     Eggs (2)
     Butter (1 cup)
     Vanilla (1 tsp.)
     Flour (5 cups)
     Baking Powder (2 tsp.)
     Baking Soda (1 tsp.)

     Turn oven to 375 degrees.  Mix sour cream, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Once mixed well, pour flour in a smaller bowl.  Add baking powder and soda, then stir in large bowl until dough is formed.

     Drop on cookie sheet with spoon about an inch a part (a dozen for a standard cookie sheet), and bake for 10 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown.  Cool when done.

     These can be eaten plain, or, if you are like me, I like to accessorize a little by dipping half of each cookie in melted chocolate or spreading buttercream frosting and sprinkles & sugars on each. 

     Years after I found this recipe in our local library, I learned that the Amish not only knew how to make a cookie, they knew how to make our log cabin ~ and I love it when these cookies scent the place with the smell of warm, homemade baking.  It's perfection.

     But it smells just as nice in an old-fashioned Lansdale kitchen, too.

     Have a wonderful Wednesday ~ and don't forget to share your cookies :)

  

PB & C Cookies: Get Your Peanut Butter in Your Chocolate

     Remember that this week's blog is devoted to our Christmas Cookie Swap.  We are swapping cookie recipes by either posting your favorite under comments or clicking on the little envelope and sending it along in an email. 

     As promised, my contribution to the cookie recipe exchange is short, sweet, and simple. 

     It is inspired by those memorable Reese's commercials from childhood.  You know, where the boy with headphones on roller skates eating chocolate crashes into the girl with headphones on roller skates eating peanut butter, thus combining to create the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. 

     If you didn't see that one, perhaps you saw the one where the astronaut eating chocolate trips into the robot coming off the elevator eating his peanut butter.

     If not, then you definitely remember the one with Ralph Malph eating chocolate colliding with Robbie Benson walking down the street eating peanut butter in front of a paperback bookstore.

    And, if you have no idea what I am talking about it, just search You Tube for "Vintage Reese's Cup commercials", and you'll find these unforgettable advertisements that tell the tale of peanut butter marrying chocolate.  The ads may have been cheesy, but the chocolate-peanut butter combination cannot be denied.  It works.

    So add a little peanut butter to your chocolate with PB & C Cookies:

Ingredients:

Butter (2 cups)
White sugar (1 and 1/2 cup)
Brown sugar (1 and 1/2 cup)
Eggs (4)
Vanilla (2 tsp.)
Flour (5 cups)
Baking soda (2 tsp.)
Salt (1 tsp.)
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (12 ounce bag)
Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (10 ounce bag)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs well.  Add the baking soda and salt to the flour, mix, then combine with the other ingredients.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a light golden brown.

     Take a moment to send your recipe...and don't forget to share your cookies.

     Have a wonderful Tuesday :)

C is For Cookie...G is For Giving

     In the classic film, It's A Wonderful Life, the days leading up to Christmas become increasingly overwhelming for the movie's main character, George Bailey. When things look like they are at their worst, he considers jumping off a bridge.

    Things can get crazy this time of year, but let's not get to that point or anywhere near it for that matter.  Instead, let's remember to take a breath, savor the moments, and enjoy our blessings.  They may not be here tomorrow.

    One friend of mine did just that yesterday afternoon.  For a few hours, she and her husband opened their home, where their guests enjoyed the senses, the sounds, and the spirit of the season.

    It was nearing five o'clock when I began to walk to their place to join the Christmas gathering.  The air was cold and fresh, and the falling darkness was lit up by the many different lighting displays sprinkled about the homes around the neighborhood. I breathed in the clean, crisp air as I looked at each beautifully decorated home.
   
    As I arrived to the party, a giant tote overflowed with Toys for Tots on the porch.  It was the first sign of giving, the very essence of the Christmas season.  Upon entering the house, I was greeted with warmth and hospitality that was followed by much laughter, plenty of conversation, and amazing food.

    The display of food was a gracious gesture of giving in itself, with turkey and ham and chutney and so many other dishes I couldn't begin to name.  Also dressing the table were incredible desserts, sweet concoctions, and all kinds of cookies.

    Now I'll admit that I heard Jillian Michael's voice as my eyes gazed over some of the most beautiful cookies I may have ever seen, so I didn't touch a single one.  They were greatly admired, however, and, in time, I will have my day to eat cookies this Christmas season.  But, as Aragorn declares before plunging into epic battle in the last of The Lord of The Rings movies, "It is not this day."

     When I left a few hours later, I walked back home thinking about what an uplifting time I and all of her guests had together.  How nice it was to stop for a little bit and just enjoy Christmas time with each other. 

     This little bit of time was so precious that even passing up the cookies there did not in any way leave me feeling deprived...but it did give me a thought that hopefully you will think about joining in on this week. It's a simple plan that may bring a smile to another's face, as well as a new kind of cookie into your kitchen.

    This week's blog is dedicated to a Christmas Cookie Swap:
    
     1) Find some time this very busy week to post or email a cookie recipe to share with others.  It
     does not have to be extravagant.  (Mine won't be, trust me.) If you don't bake, share the link with
     someone who likes to. To send the recipe, choose between the comment or email link right below
     this post.
     2) Once recipes have been posted, choose one to bake. But before you do...
     3) Go to the dollar store and buy at least one container, tray, or tin to put some of those cookies in.
     4) Give the cookies to someone who just may need a lift.  Make sure it it is someone who you would
     not think to give something to...someone who is not on your list each year. Maybe it's a lonely
     neighbor...or maybe it is your neighbor...maybe it's someone who has had a rough year....maybe it's
     someone who has been there for you in some way and you never thanked them for it...maybe
     it is someone underappreciated at work. Just pick a person who might need and welcome a small,
     kind gesture from you.

     Chances are ~ unless Jillian Michaels has his or her ear ~ they will probably enjoy those cookies.  But more than that, they are likely to be touched by the unexpected gesture of giving. It won't cost you much...just a few ingredients and a little time. 

      Have a wonderful Monday...and don't forget to share your cookie recipe this week :)

 

Sunday Game Day Platter

     Not so very long ago, I worked a part-time job in a nursing home.  My position was a weekend activities person every other Saturday and Sunday ~ at least, that is what the description in the classified advertisement said.

   

     But instead of calling Bingo, playing trivia, or running an exercise group, the program that I was assigned to lead was called Cooking With Bridget.  I'm not lying.

     Read my previous posts, and you will understand fully the risk my new employers were taking here.

   

    Any way, after a few short months, I found that the job ~ as much as I enjoyed it ~ was a little too much for me, particularly working a full-time position already and, most especially, being deeply committed to my family.

   

     I gave my two-weeks notice, assuring my employer that I would work the two days remaining on my schedule.

   

     So the final cooking session came, and, with it, the farewell meal.  As thirty elderly residents and their family members sat awaiting the Sunday dinner that I had prepared, the chicken alfredo sauce bubbling in the oven began to run over the side of the pan, sizzle on its bottom, and send smoke seeping through its doors and into the dining hall.

   

     Not just a little smoke, but a lot of smoke.

   

     It also sent the nurses' aides scurrying to open the windows and all the head nurses running down the hallway into the dining area to rescue my dinner guests.

    

      In the end, after the smoke had literally cleared, everybody at least appeared to enjoy this last supper before Cooking With Bridget came to an end forever.

    

     With my track record, I guess I have a good reason to stay out of the kitchen forever as well.

    

     But perhaps my share of culinary mishaps has created a woman on a mission to redeem herself.  If that means resorting to simple little no-fail recipes in order to please those willing to be on the receiving end of my effort...well then, so be it.

   

     Here is a recent holiday recipe success story that hopefully will cancel out the previous disaster...and it's just in time for Game Day:

     Game Day Platter

     Platter/tray (similiar to the one pictured below)

     Hot dogs (1 package of 8 of whatever variety you choose)

     Pillsbury Grands! (1 container of it or Crescents or whatever variety you choose)

     Four slices of American cheese (or a variety of your choice)

     Tortilla chips (1 bag or more if necessary)

     Salsa (1 jar mild or hotter if you can handle it)

     Velveeta Cheese (1 pound, cut into small pieces)

     Begin by turning the oven onto 350 degrees.  If you are using Crescent Rolls or another variety, adjust the temperature according to the instructions on the containter.

     As the oven pre-heats, slit the hot dogs to within about a half inch of either end and stuff each with half a piece of cheese. 

    If using Grands, you will need to press and stretch out each biscuit before wrapping it around each hot dog...voila' "pigs-in-a-blanket". (If using other Crescent or another variety, do what you need to do to wrap it around each hot dog.)

    When you place them on a cookie sheet, be sure the cheese sides are facing up.  Put in the oven for 15 minutes (or the time given on the container of the variety you have selected.)

    While the hot dogs are cooking, mix the salsa and the velveeta cheese in a bowl.  Place in a microwave and cook at one-minute intervals until thoroughly melted and hot (but not burnt!) Pour it into the middle of the tray. (The sauce in the middle of the tray can be ketchup, mustard, melted Velveeta cheese only, chili, relish, a homemade sauce like below, or whatever you desire to serve.)

    When the pigs-in-the-blankets are finished (the blankets should be a light golden brown), place them around the tray with tortilla chips, and serve to your guests.

   With this recipe plan, you might have to clean up some cheese sticking to the pan...but the chances of driving your guests out of your home seeking oxygen are extremely low.

     Have a wonderful Sunday...and may your favorite team prevail.

A Game To Remember

    When I think of the many football movies I’ve enjoyed over the years…Rudy…The Blindside…Knute Rockne: All American…Vince Lombardi: Legend in Granite…The Longest Yard…The Water Boy…All The Right Moves…Everybody’s All-American…Brian’s Song…We Are Marshall (which I watched on my honeymoon)… my favorite is one where a group of teenage boys and their coaches overcome their differences, prejudices, and fears to join together to reach not only greatness on the gridiron, but an understanding of some of life's most powerful truths.

    
     With a catchy soundtrack and Denzel Washington as the head coach guiding his team in a racially-charged climate, Remember The Titans is a movie worth watching and re-watching. Without a doubt, this film is my favorite football flick because it embodies what is best about high school football. 

     And since I already admitted my addiction to workout DVDs a few days ago, I might as well come clean again. I have just a little obsession with high school football.

    
      Of course, I am sure my father being a high school football coach for over fifty years has something to do with it. The game has been part of my life every weekend since before I was in kindergarten. (About that...if I ever talked to his coaching staff the way little Hayden Panettiere's character did in the film...well, let's just say I knew not to even think about it.)

     

     Yes, I root for my teams during Saturday’s college games and Sunday’s NFL contests, but there’s something about what happens under the Friday night lights that can’t be captured anywhere other than within a high school football stadium.

   

      In the past few weeks, when I have watched my son’s and then my godson’s seasons come to an end, I have to admit I got a little melancholy.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were waking these boys up for the humid summer camp sessions of August?  Even The Big Ticket, the area’s local weekly high school football show, has closed down until next September.  When I checked in at its regular time slot last Friday night, I was a little sad to find in its place the Channel 69 Noticias Edicion En Espagnol.

   
     It doesn’t seem all that long ago when it was the beginning of the season, and well over five hundred teams in four different classes across Pennsylvania started their mission to achieve some common goal.  Maybe it was a league championship. Maybe it was to reach play-offs. Maybe it was to finish with a winning season. Maybe it was just playing for pride.

     For the past few weeks, some of these teams’ dreams have been kept alive.  From east to west, they have clashed with their opponents ~sometimes from places unknown ~ in hopes of surviving another round and continuing their march to the center of the state, Hershey, PA.  It is here where the final showdowns take place ~ and only eight teams make it.

    In the next 24 hours, hundreds of boys will be having Hershey kisses tossed at them ~ the informal annual ritual performed by families and fans for the victors who have prevailed in earning the honor of representing their side of the state.  On the other hand, a few hundred others will fail in their attempts to get a chance to win a state title. 

     For many young and dedicated teenage boys who have clanged weights in the off-season and devoted extra hours to build their skills, strength, speed, and stamina..dreams will be dashed, tears will be shed, and the seasons that honestly started way back last December will all come to a heart-breaking end. 

     In the defining moment of my favorite football film, when it looks like the 1971 Titans' season may be coming to an end, the assistant coach confronts an unfair racist referee, knowingly sacrificing his Hall of Fame nomination as a result.  Fired up from the exchange, he returns to the sidelines to rally the defense, casting aside his usual laidback Southern demeanor and bringing his heart into the huddle: 

     “All right, now I don’t want them to gain another yard!  You blitz all night!  If they cross the line, I’m gonna take every last one of you out!  You make sure they remember... forever... the night they played the Titans!”

     All that I would hope for any of these boys is just what Coach Yoast barked at his players.  Someone is going to win and someone is going to lose, but ~ whichever you are ~ play today in such a way that it will be remembered forever.

    Have a wonderful Saturday…and best of luck to the teams whose hopes are still alive.

Timeless Turkey Chili

     My son and I made a deal early this week to find time to sit one night and watch a Christmas movie, no matter what our schedules.  My recommendations were The Santa Clause, Home Alone, or Elf.

     So the other night, when we found those cherished few hours, he scanned through the Xbox/Netflix combination for possibilities before turning to ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas. I must have done something right in raising this young man, because he wisely chose National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
    
     If you've ever seen the dinner scene in this classic comedy,with Chevy Chase ceremoniously cutting into the turkey...well, you may begin to understand why my own family gives me harmless little holiday responsibilities like microwaving the Harvard beets and making the French onion-green bean casserole.

    I guess it's because, for a good part of my life, I don't think I ever turned the stove dial to anything below "high".  That may be why my single attempt to cook in our rarely-used college kitchen just over twenty years ago resulted in three red trucks and slew full of firefighters ending up on our lawn outside.  The bad news was that the meal didn't work out.  The good news was that they took pity on me and waived the fine for a false alarm.

    When I think that there's been more than one time in my life that my cooking has driven people out of the building in order to avoid smoke inhalation, it seems almost audacious to share a recipe with anybody.

    But be assured that not all my culinary efforts result in potentially dangerous outcomes.  These are the ones I choose to share with you ~ the ones that didn't create fumes, that didn't compel fire sirens to sound, and that people actually liked and ate heartily.
    
     So, just two days ago, with the hint of snow in the forecast, I started dreaming of that crock pot of chili.  The snow was a no-show, but the chili was not.

     I am no Julia Childs, but I do the crock pot fairly well.  I love it and all that goes along with it, including recipe books like Fix-It-And-Forget-It or Facebook pages like The Crock pot Girls.  (By the way, remind me to tell you the story of how I lost my favorite crock pot someday...)

     If you want a crock full of chili that both the big people and the little ones will eat, try this:

    Timeless Turkey Chili
    (Timeless because it really doesn't take much time to make...its alternate name is Cheap Turkey Chili because it doesn't require a whole lot of ingredients either.)

     3 pounds of ground turkey
     2 packets of McCormack Chili Seasoning (Original)
     2 cans of Bush's Best Chili Magic (Traditional Mild)
     2 cans of drained diced tomatoes (I get the 14.5 oz. cans of Hunt's Sweet Onion and Hunt's 
     Roasted Garlic, but these are variable according to personal taste)
     1 small can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
     1 bag of tortilla chips
     1 box of any kind of pasta
     Shredded cheese (or slices to melt on top of each bowl)

     Turn on the crock pot to low and add the two cans of Chili Magic, the diced tomatoes, the tomato sauce, and one packet of the McCormack chili seasoning.  Stir it up and put the lid on the crock.

     In a skillet, over medium heat, brown the ground turkey in some olive oil.  Because ground turkey has a different texture than beef, I try to allow for some "clumps" of turkey here, rather than grounding everything to smallest pieces.  After browning well, add a little water to cover the bottom of the skillet and mix in the second packet of seasoning. Bring to a boil, let simmer 10 to 15 minutes, then drain.

     Add the turkey to the crock pot, and let it all sit for about two or three hours on low.  Serve over pasta or with tortilla chips and top with the cheese of your choice.  You can also throw on some hot dogs and put out some rolls so your guests have the option of chili, hot dogs, or a chili dog.

     One last thing...there's no chance of burning the chili, but the "hazzard" of the crock pot is drying out the meat (trust me, I know).  So keep your eye on the length of time your chili sits, and put it on warm after about four hours.  That way, when you take the lid off the crock, it won't look like Catherine's smoking turkey in Christmas Vacation.

     Have a wonderful and hap hap happy Friday.

    

    


   

   
    

The Spirit of Christmas Past

     In the movie The Santa Clause, Tim Allen reluctantly inherits the role of the world-famous, globe-trotting giver of toys.  On his first night on the job, Sarah, a little girl sleeping on the the couch awaiting his arrival, coaches the amateur Santa through the annual Christmas Eve rituals, including a reminder that he is supposed to drink the milk she has dutifully left for him.  Impatient and irritated, he replies that he is "lactose intolerant". 

    The idea that Santa couldn't drink milk was quite different from anything Sarah had ever heard.  The following Christmas, when Santa is considerably more seasoned, he finds that she has left him a glass of soy milk.

      I don't know about you, but, like Sarah, I noticed Santa Clause did some things differently when he came to our house, too.  For one, he did not wrap our presents.  For two, he did not put them under the tree. (He did, however, always eat the cookies we left for him every Christmas Eve.)

    The way Santa and his elves handled a family of nine children was simply to stack the gifts in piles all around the living room and leave a name tag for me and each of my siblings on top of the stash of gifts.  Once in a while, I would even notice a price sticker on one of the gifts.  This didn't seem to make sense to me because why would the elves, who made all the toys, need to put an orange JC Penney price tag on it?

     Years later, when I understood that Santa counted on the moms and dads around the world to help him out a little, the manner in which the gifts were left became irrelevant.  When I look back on my childhood, I feel a sense of great warmth and love that someone did their best to put the things we wanted most in each of those piles.  (Nine kids allowed five things each on their list equals forty-five requests.)

     So today, in honor of Christmas past, I remember my favorite gifts of the many placed in my pile by the loving, wonderful Santa Clause.

     10)  The first gift I ever cherished was the Chrissy Doll.  She was about a foot tall, wore an orange   dress, had very cool matching shoes, and her long brunette hair could lengthen or shorten using a dial in the middle of her back.  I don't know what inspired the concept, but this doll was wildly popular.  Plus she had a sister Violet and a whole bunch of friends that kept all us girls happy for years.

    

     9)  The Fisher Price Sailboat.  There must be a modern version of the toy, but the one back in the day rocked.  It was a big boat with a captain and passengers that floated in our bath tub, complete with a smaller tug boat in the event of an emergency.

     8)  The Fisher Price Camper.  Whoever invented this ensemble was someone after my own heart.  This camper had bunk beds, a rowboat that sat on its roof, a grill, a picnic table, and even the dog.

     7)  The Cynthia Doll. Her special gadget was that you put records in her side and she would say very hip things like, "Hey, do you wanna go the game?" or "Are you going to the party Saturday night?"

     6)  The Fisher Price Schoolhouse.  I got this toy as a five year-old (and future teacher), but so important it was to me that I climbed into a dumpster as a forty year-old to save it when some family member got possessed and threw it away.  Now I don't save everything, but you don't trash my Fisher Price Schoolhouse.

     5)  Timey Tell.  She was a cute doll with blonde curls and a watch on her wrist.  If you set it to a certain time and pulled the string on her back, she would tell you exactly what you should be doing at that hour.  Whether it was brushing your teeth, eating lunch, or going to bed, Timey Tell was the most disciplined baby doll of all time.

     4)  Charlie's Angel Doll & Action Gymnastic Set.  I have to group these two together because the Jaclyn Smith action figure was nothing without the trampoline, parallel bars, and rings, and vice versa.  All I know is that Kelly Garrett flipped around those bars thousands of times before I finally outgrew it.

     3) Knit Magic.  I never really learned how to knit, but this toy made me think I could.  The hardest part was getting started, but once you did, look out....all you had to do was crank and crank and crank, and you would eventually have all the scarves, hats, and potholders you could ever dream of.

     2)  The Big Wheel.  I love this toy, and, if I could, I would still ride this thing to this day. 

    

     1)  The chance to give Christmas to someone else.

     Yes, I eventually learned what every Scrooge of every cinematic version of A Christmas Carol learned ~ only thankfully without the torment.

     As a child, Christmas was simply about "getting".  But, over time, the great surprise in Christmas became that nothing tops the joy of giving.  For most of us, that giving is to our children. For others, it may the less fortunate, the lonely, the sick, even the imprisoned.

    No matter who it is, when we give to others, we get back something far greater than anything ever found in any one of those piles Santa stacked all over living room, or in any stocking, or under any tree, or in any material thing on the planet.

    Just for fun, I have posted images of the best things I "got for Christmas" below. Looking at these thing now, they bring happy and nostalgic memories...but their only meaning is in that someone found the joy in giving.

     It is a joy, too, that I am grateful to know in the Christmas of now.

   
     Have a wonderful Wednesday.