Potatoes vs. Sewing

So, I've been having trouble with my cheap little Singer sewing machine and haven't sewn a stitch for a good while. I've been crocheting a bit instead. And cooking. What else is there to do in this brutal winter weather?? Remember this is a family oriented blog! Besides, pre-heating the oven warms up the house!
So, I found these Hasselbeck Potatoes over on Nigella Lawson's blog (you can get there by clicking the picture) aren't they so cute and yummy looking? I could live on potatoes (and bread and chocolate). I want to try them as soon as I get Scott to convert all the metric stuff to whatever it is you convert metric into so I can understand what I'm supposed to be pre-heating the oven to. And as soon as I figure out what a hob is. Really, I'm sure I can wing it.
I also found another great cooking blog: The Sisters' Cafe It has great sounding recipes and really good photos. It's nice to know what you're making is supposed to look like.
That's about all I have other than Dewey is now fine. He has stopped limping after his squirrelin' mishap, and I wouldn't have given him this much credit where intelligence was concerned, but it appears that he was really working the sympathy angle over at Scott's parents' house. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's dumb. I just never thought he was quite wily enough to limp more if he thought he might get a little more attention. Unfortunately for him, he forgot to limp on the right leg all the time........

Brrrrr!

How many times have you heard that in the last two days? Seems like it's cold everywhere too, out on the west coast where my sister lives in Issaquah, Washington and down on the Gulf Coast for my brother in Houston. Dang!
I've been housebound for the last three days as we've had a whopper of a storm. I won't share too many details because many of you lived through it too. But in a nutshell Monday night was our first round of snow and the roads iced up, into Wednesday we got a total of 14 inches and then the wind started gusting up to 50 mph. Needless to say we were snow bound by the up to 8 foot snow drifts. The county finally got to our road out here around 2 pm or so, and I can't see what the point would've been yesterday at all. It would've blown back over within the hour.
But don't worry! I tried to keep busy. I made another round of cookies for the cookie event at work and also a new batch of toffee as that last one just didn't cut the mustard. The recipe is super simple 2 cups of butter and 2 cups of sugar in a pot and bring to a boil and then the recipe says to bring it to 285 degrees on a candy thermometer. Either my thermometer is off or the recipe is wrong. The first batch didn't set right, so the second time around I used the thermometer as a guide and then waited until the mixture came to that toffee brown color and then took it off the heat (stirring occasionally throughout). Perfect! I guess I might as well finish up the recipe for you since I started it, and since it is so simple: pour the toffee mixture onto a large sheet pan covered with parchment paper. When it cools slightly and is partially set pour enough chocolate chips on top to cover, give them a few minutes to melt and spread the chips evenly with a spatula on top of the toffee. I had to put it in the freezer after it cooled and I had broken it up because I COULD NOT STOP EATING IT! I also made a pan of brownies with frosting and dived into the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I made earlier. I think I've gained about 5 lbs. this weekend alone. Yikes!
On the pup front Dewey is a little under the weather. He went out to do a little of what we refer to as "squirrelin' " on Tuesday and had a big wipeout in the snow. He gets a little excited about chasing squirrels. He even does this little high pitched yipping while he's chasing them sometimes. We joke that he just wants to talk to them, he needs to know how they run so fast on their short little legs, he needs to learn the trick so he can keep up with the big dogs. Anywho, he's gimping around and if it doesn't clear up by Monday I'm afraid he's going to have to pay a visit to the vet. He really hates that.
So I hope everyone is home and cozied up. I'm going to go put the finishing touches on the beef stew and hot rolls I'm planning on putting in front of Scotty when he comes in from shoveling out my poor little hyundai so I can finally go back to work tomorrow. What a guy!

Chocolate Cobbler....

Omigosh...this sounds sooooo good, and it's a really fun blog too!

Monday, Monday

Thankfully I came to my senses on Friday and didn't venture out into the world of retail. I did stop at Fareway on my way home and pick up the necessaries for cookie and candy making, and also a 12 lb prime rib roast for Christmas dinner. Can't wait for that! I didn't have a very successful cookie baking session unfortunately. My first batch of chocolate cookies were just a little off. Scott and the boy ate almost all of them anyway. :) I set about 2 dozen in front of them while they were watching Daddy Day Care and came through about a half an hour later to see an empty plate. Holy Mackerel! They looked pretty sheepish, but I'm glad they didn't go to waste. The second batch turned out fine and are now packed up and ready to bring in for cookie day at work. I also made a batch of toffee that I'm still not sure how it turned out. I'll report more on that later.
Hope everyone is enjoying the snow we got! More looks to bearing down on us by Tuesday night. Hunker down, and drive safe.

I need to shop!

I rarely feel this way, but I guess it's because I'm having a slow day at work. Why fight the feeling? Think I'll leave at 3:30 and do a little Christmas shopping and maybe pick up a treat for myself! Happy Holidays!
LB

Shanty Clauses

What a wonderful website. Be sure to read the about section for a great story of how the santas came to be. Click to picture to visit.

It's so hard!

I find that the men in my life are so hard to buy for. The other night I was asking Scott for about the umpteenth time for Christmas ideas. He told me he had thought of something earlier that day....but that he'd forgotten it already, and that maybe he would remember it by the 23rd or the 24th. Sigh. Then there's my Dad, and Scott's dad. Another sigh.

I have no trouble picking out gifts for myself. Above are a few to entertain you. Just click the picture to be taken to Etsy to view the pages. And let me know if you have any ideas for the men in your lives. I sure could use some help. :)