Thursday, January 12, 2012

Baking and trying out my new Kitchen Aid mixer.

 For Christmas I got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  Today was the first time I've used it.


I made Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake.  Oh my goodness it is sooo good. 

My next thing to try out is going to be Strawberry Shortcake cookies.  I found this recipe on the blog BakedPrefection.blogspot.com  


Here's the recipe:

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
recipe very slightly adapted from Bakergirl

makes approximately 3 dozen cookies

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
scrapings of one vanilla bean
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, stir together the strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, vanilla bean scrapings, and remaining sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips until moist and fragrant.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the zest/sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Using a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. Add the cream to the bowl and stir until the dough starts to come together, then very gently fold in the strawberry mixture.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let the cookies cool. Serve the day they are baked.

Check back soon to find out how these came out.




Saturday, January 7, 2012

Dealing with Cancer.......

That's right it's a new day.  I am so thankful for that.  I am feeling some better, after being off work for a couple of days with asthma issues.  

As I mentioned in my last post, my college room-mate Charla, has a 15 year old son that is dealing with bone cancer.  He had a biopsy yesterday.  Tonight he is at home and resting, though not too comfortably.  From what I gather, this is a most painful form of cancer.  They were hoping to get an absolute definitive diagnoses, but that was not to be.  They did find out that it's not Ewing's but they will have to wait for the pathology report to come back, (probably Tuesday) to get an exact diagnoses.  

Right now he can't bear weight on his leg, so crutches is the thing.  His dad posted that his femur bone will have to be rebuilt.  They will use cadaver bones to do that.  (Amazing)  Medicine totally amazes me.

I would like to ask that you look to the sidebar and grab Harrison's button.  Post it to your blog, and pass it on to your friends in the blogging community.

 

Friday, January 6, 2012

Please pray for Harrison


Wow, life takes some interesting twist and turns doesn't it. About a week ago it took one such interesting twist, for my dear friend Charla and her family. Her 15 year old son Harrison was taken to the doctor for leg pain. Charla said he had been intermittently having leg pains, for a short while, and they had been treating it at home, but finally when it started hurting and keeping him from driving, (he has his learners permit and is always wanting to drive) they grew concerned and went to the doctor.

Cancer, what a scary scary word. I can only imagine how it would sound to a parent. Harrison, was suspected of having bone cancer and a ct would confirm. They were referred to an oncologist and today he had a bone biopsy. It's still not one 100% confirmed on the type of bone cancer, but Ewing's is ruled out.

This family is rooted strongly in Christ, but they still need our prayers. Prayer for peace and that the anxiety that comes in the middle of the night will be held at bay. God has got this, but I know that we as human's, will often let our minds go to places that satan tries to take us. Pray for healing.

Please note that any discrepancies in the events above are strictly mine. Please grab this button of Harrison and post it on your blog. Just save the imagine to your picture file then upload it in the side bar of your blog.

Thanks so much,

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Christmas Decorations from Around the House.







I love decorating my home for Christmas. I try to break each room down into a theme.

The Kitchen is Santa Claus, Snowmen in the den, the living room is Nativity, the entry hall is the Nutcrackers. Here are a few of the pictures from around the house.
I put up 3 trees, I was going to put up 4 but ran out of time. :) I'll post some more pics soon. I hope all y'all had a very Merry Christmas and that you have a Blessed New Year.