Groovy Mom

A friend of mine made this drink for me last year. It is very tasty. You take a wine glass, put a shot of whiskey in it, add a cup of hot coffee, mix in a couple lumps of sugar (or not); stir. Top with freshly whipped cream, a sprinkle of sugar, and freshly grated nutmeg. I like a little cinnamon, too.

Very yummy.

On Christmas Eve I got all of my cookies wrapped and ready to be delivered. I wrapped almost 100 little baggies filled with goodies. The fudge, I put in waxed paper instead of baggies. I underestimated how much I had made and the gift bags were overflowing.

I didn’t get a picture of the gift bags before they left the house. I had a lot of fun baking those cookies, trying a few new recipes and whipping up some old favorites. I think I might have added a few pounds to my midsection in the process, though.

My family loves brownies (especially warm ones with ice-cream), and I simply have not, in all my years, found a made-from-scratch recipe that renders a good brownie. I like them chewy. I end up settling for boxed brownies all the time. They are good, but I prefer to make them myself (from scratch) I like to eat the sides and the corners because they are the chewiest pieces. Most recipes I’ve tried either taste nothing like brownies, or they are too cake-like.

On a whim I decided to try a recipe from the Hershey’s site titled, Hershey’s Best Brownies.  The family, always the brownie critics, gave them a thumbs up – which is a step in the right direction. As far as flavor goes, they were delicious. I’m still working a bit on the chewy part (they were given out as gifts and I didn’t have a real chance to “test” them) and will make them again to try. But for the most part, this is a recipe I can work with. If I can find a brownie recipe that I can make from scratch and not have to buy a box for, I’ll be happy.

HERSHEY’S Best Brownies

Ingredients:
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 4 eggs
* 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Frost if desired. Cut into bars. About 36 brownies.

Yesterday I dropped my older son off at wrestling practice, and then I hit the after-Christmas sales. Target was my first stop. I was dismayed when I walked in the door and saw a 30% off sign, worried that the days of 50% off Christmas merchandise were over. But Target persevered and, back in the corner, there was plenty of goodies to choose from. I hit the paper, the ornaments, plates, lights… I picked up a good amount of decorations already (at Goodwill) for a more-than-reasonable price, so I wasn’t so much shopping for those. But I do like to find paper plates and cups on clearance, and the wrapping paper. I get some for next year Christmas and some as neutral as possible, for wrapping gifts during the year. Last year when we made the switch to cloth napkins I found the best deal ever on cloth napkins.

After Target I hit Shopk-o. And I have to say, they be a wee bit greedy on their “sale” prices. They boast of 70% off, but when you see what the starting price was, you’re hardly getting a deal. I picked up a cute snowman potholder (figuring I could use it all winter) and it rung up at $4.29.

That’s the SALE price?!

The cashier nodded, and then said under her breath, Yeah. That’s the “sale” price. I picked up a couple things too and once I rung them up, I put them back.

Girl, I can see why. Oh well.

I hit Wal-mart, too, and they still had some candies and fragrance sets left. I picked up a candy dish (have been looking for one for a while) in the shape of an egg.

There were a lot of shoppers out, but nothing like two days before Christmas, which I’d call the New Black Friday, ’cause it was cur-ay-zee.

Do you hit the sales (or avoid them) after Christmas? Is there anything that you specifically look for when you go? Any tips on finding the good stuff?

I finally finished all of my cookie baking, packaged them up and delivered. It was quite an undertaking, but a LOT of fun.  I’ll post pictures soon. Too tired tonight, though and still need to stuff some stockings.

This recipe is all over the place, so I take no credit for it. But it is SUPER duper easy and strangely tasty with the sweet, salty, crunchy combination in the simplest form.

Ingredients:
approx. 1.5 sleeves of saltine crackers
1.5 cups of chocolate chips (you can mix chocolate and butterscotch or use white chocolate, etc.)
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar

Line a jelly roll pan with tinfoil; lightly grease with Crisco. Place a layer of saltines, side-by-side, covering the entire bottom of the pan. On medium-low heat, melt butter and sugar in a saucepan until bubbly; stirring often. Pour over saltines, use a spatula to smooth and distribute across the crackers. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Place in heated oven (350 degrees) for a few minutes – long enough to soften the chips, but be careful and do not burn them. Remove from oven and use the spatula to spread evenly. Cool completely; break into pieces. Enjoy or package for gifts. Easy!!

You could grind up nuts and sprinkle those on top before the chocolate cools, or use white chocolate and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies for a Christmas treat.

I posted this recipe years ago after visiting my girlfriend in Minnesota and pigging out on her cookies. I never asked if she noticed how her cookie stash seemed to diminish every time I “went to the bathroom” or “got a drink of water.” It is probably a good thing that I forgot about them for a while because they are one of my most favorite cookies in the entire world. Yes, they are that yummy. They remind me a bit of the Girl Scout Samoa cookies. But better. Yes, I said it. BETTER.

Again, though, I caution. This is a dangerous dough. Word to the wise – this is an edible batter. There are NO eggs in it. For cookie dough eaters, your moment has arrived and you will be in grave danger of having a very small turnout of actual baked cookies if you do not restrain yourself. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya, sista-girl.

GIRLFRIEND’S GRAHAM COOKIES

Ingredients:
1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs
1/2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 (14oz.) can sweetened, condensed milk
1/2 C. butter, softened
1 1/3 C. flaked unsweetened coconut
1 (12oz.) bag of chocolate chips (or 2C.)
1 C. chopped walnuts

Mix crumbs, flour and baking powder in one bowl. In another bowl, beat butter and milk until creamy; add to crumb mixture and combine. Add coconut, chips and walnuts; combine. Place tablespoon-sized balls on cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 min @ 375 Be cautious in the baking process, these will go from good to burnt rather quickly… take them out when the edges are browned and the top starts to look toasty. Let cool for a few minutes before removing them. Once finished, box up half of the cookies, and send them via overnight to my address. Gracias.

Well, we did end up getting dumped on by snow. And we did end up having yet another Snow Day. I don’t know why I thought it might pass over us, or we wouldn’t get the expected amount (well, I DO know why – because sometimes those durn forecasts are wrong, you know). At 11pm, just before I went to bed, I checked out the window to see if snow was falling by the bucketful. Not so.

At 6am I looked outside and it was a foot deep on the roof of our van. Snapped on the television and waited for the school closing list to scroll to our city. Closed. I went to the bathroom, told my husband, and went back to bed.

Kind neighbors we have came down with their plow and got the sidewalk. The plows that go by carry snow from the street and push it right onto the opening of the driveway, so there was still shoveling to be done. Frank went out there with my brother and some other neighbors and dug it out.

Looks like we’ll be getting another 3-5 inches tomorrow as well. White Christmas indeed!!

After dropping my daughter off for a doctor’s appointment, I decided to take a quick walk around the neighborhood. Despite the cold, I had been sitting most of the day and couldn’t stand the thought of parking myself in the waiting room for a half hour or more.

I have a difficult time walking without a direction or “plan” so I mapped out a nice square in my head that would bring me back to where I needed to be.

It was actually an enjoyable walk. An experienced cold-weather walker, I know that the first few minutes are a little chilly, but once my body warms up, it isn’t so bad. My gait was tentative at first, growing more and more confident as I covered more ground. As I walked past the Catholic church, I gazed up at the building, admiring the bell towers, paying less attention to my walk and more to my surroundings.

That’s when I went down. Not a bannana-slip – feet out from under, onto the rump. But a “whoa, is this happening?!?”  slippery slide, rolling the incident in my head as it happens. I felt silk beneath my feet and a calmness that generally escapes me in any moment where I think I may fall, the potential to break something imminent. My feet slid about, and it registered that I was on my way to the ground. I put a hand out and descended about as gracefully as a chubby momma my age can go do.

My brain quickly registered that I was not broken, but my glasses (which are quite pricey, you know) were hanging precariously from my face. I placed them back on my nose with my mittened hand, surveyed the large rink-like patch of ice I was seated on, and brought myself to my feet. Dust off the pants… brush the gloves, and I was off again. Knocked the cocky right off of me. How dare I walk down a snow-caked sidewalk and take my eyes off the path in front of me? Silly lady.

Expected weather coming in 24 hours:

A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect from 6 PM Thursday to Noon on Friday.
A major winter storm will move over southern Wisconsin and much of the upper Midwest during this time frame. Heavy snows are likely over much of southern Wisconsin, and there may even be thundersnow! And to top it all off, winds will become strong and producing blowing and drifting of the snow. This system will pull away quickly on Friday, but not before leaving 8-12 inches of accumulation across most of southern Wisconsin, with the heaviest amounts over the Madison area. Stay tuned for updates on this dangerous Winter Storm – wkow.com

I’ll start taking bets for yet another snow day on Friday? Oh how sweet it would be. (Question mark?) That day is also our oldest son’s birthday and a day that our middle son is scheduled to go on a ski trip with the ski club.

Frank’s trying to decide whether he should get a snow-blower or not. He’s wanted one since last year. I still think the five shovels and our troop of boys works just as good. And, it’s cheaper for sure. Considering we’d have to put the snow-blower on financing and would be one more debt, I’m not too excited about it.

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If you’re in the mood for some music for the Holidays, here’s something that should easily fit into the budget – one free MP3 download per day at Amazon.com!! Good stuff.

You know moms can’t get sick, right? I mean, you physically can get a cold, or the flu, or have tummy issues… but you just can’t acknowledge or cater to it. If you’re feeling under the weather, you just need to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and keep on, keepin’ on. Get the kids up, pump your body full of medicines to mask your illness, go to work/about your business.

Right? ‘Cause if I’m wrong, please let a girl know, ’cause I didn’t get the memo.

Pity party, table for one?

If I were a kid, staying home from school, I’d have been back in bed a long time ago. Or at least tucked in on the couch complete with blankie and soup, with my mommy taking care of me. But… that’s not going to happen. So I’ll at least be thankful that I can relax on my couch,  by a blinking Christmas tree, snow-covered rooftops peeking through the windows, in quietness of my house with a warm mug of coffee at my side. Maybe I’ll pop in one of my new Christmas CDs and wait for my aspirin to kick in. Yeah, that’ll do.

Beautiful weather isn’t always 85 and sunny. Today it was 8 degrees and snowy… and it was beautiful.

Driving down the Interstate at 35 miles per hour, careful not to go off the road. Walking into the mall with icy cold flakes hitting my face. Strolling across the parking lot to buy a ream of paper at Staples, climbing over a small snow mound left by the plows. Back across the parking lot to drop the package in my van, and then to the grocery store for odds and ends. I took my time packing the groceries in the van, flakes of snow falling so quickly, they covered the last remaining bag in the cart.

On my entire drive (from store to store and then home) I listened to my new Christmas CD’s (Elf: Music From The Major Motion Picture and Merry from Lena Horne) – both fabulous albums. The Elf album is a lot of fun with a variety of styles and songs, and Lena Horne’s voice is silky smooth with the BEST rendition of The Little Drummer Boy.

The music was perfect. The dusty snow and cold air made flakes that danced and glittered on the road in front of me. Driving home I was looking at the road glittering in front of me and admitted to myself that my slow crawling pace had more to do with thoroughly enjoying the ride and less to do with the road conditions.