Food Friday! : Festive Butter Cookies

Buttercream Iced Butter Cookies

One of the many things that I fondly remember about the holidays (all of them!) was my mother's butter cookies (thanks Mama for the recipe!). Each holiday of course was represented by various holiday-appropriate shapes and the three of us kids devoured them. She would keep extras in the freezer, hoping we would never know they were there, and instead we just got used to eating frozen cookies. :) I almost prefer them that way now. I will admit, this recipe is a little bit labor intensive, with the rolling of the dough, cutting out of the cookies, baking the cookies, and icing them (and we never really appreciated the amount of work that went into them), but it is well worth it! And it makes for truly beautiful cookies, if I may say so myself. I hope you enjoy! 


Ingredients:


 (for cookies)
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tsp vanilla 
3 cups flour 
1/2 tsp baking powder


(for icing)
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 tsp vanilla
1-3 tbsp milk for thickness


Preparation


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Add beaten egg and mix well. Then add vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Stir into butter/egg/sugar mixture. Form dough into giant ball.

On a floured surface, roll dough (I start with about 1/4 of the total amount of dough) out until its about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.

Cut with cookie cutters. I use pumpkins and leaves for fall (although there is a very wide assortment of other shapes you can use).

Place on ungreased cookie sheet (or on silpat) and bake approximately 5-7 mins or until edges are being to lightly brown. Place on cooling rack to completely cool.

For the icing,  cream together 1/2 cup butter (softened) and powdered sugar. Then add vanilla and blend thoroughly. Begin by adding 1 tbsp of milk at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. I normally only add the 1 tbsp, but if you would prefer thinner icing, you can add more. Add food coloring dropwise until you get the color you want. I used several drops of both red and yellow for the pumpkin color and several drops of only green for the stem.

Ice the cookies once they are completely cool. It may even be the perfect opportunity to break up the task of making the cookies and ice them on a different day. The cookies can be stored in refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

To my Pumpkin Picker, On Sunday, you and I went hunting for the perfect pumpkin. Had you gone by yourself and brought home any pumpkin, I would have probably thought it was perfect, but since you took me with you, we were on a quest to find the epitome of a perfect pumpkin. Sorry it took so long, and thank you for putting up with my picky choices! :) Although, to be fair...we did end up with the best two pumpkins ever! (We paid $1 for the pumpkin in the picture, but I couldn't resist its cuteness!). I'm looking forward to carving at least the big one with you this weekend!
To my Small Group, I'm so thankful for the discussion that we had last night and I'm so grateful for the role that each of you has in my life! You are such a wonderful source of encouragement and support and I always am so refreshed! The Lord has truly blessed me with each one of you!
To my Social Mr. B., We are invited to a Halloween/Birthday/Costume Party on Friday, as in tomorrow... All of a sudden I'm so nervous about dressing up and I can't think of a single costume option! How about you just go and say I came dressed as the Invisible Woman?! P.S. Only a few more days of G.I. and then its off to General Urology! You'll be 1/3 of the way through your intern year! :)


Seriously though, any one have any great costume ideas?? For me or for me and HH as a couple? Think modest and respectful...

Food Friday! : Chicken Pockets

Food Friday! : Chicken Pockets

This is one of Handsome Hubby's favorite (recent) recipes I found a few months back on e-mealz.com, a subscription website that is great for help weekly meal-planning on a tight budget. This recipe is fairly quick to put together and I always double the recipe so we have more leftovers. This is also the kind of meal that I often buy the ingredients for somewhat in advance, except for the rotisserie chicken, and use as an "emergency" meal when we need it (and it is easy enough that HH has made it multiple times on his own!). I made these for Sunday dinner after a pretty busy day, and now the pictures are making me hungry just looking at them! Enjoy!! :)

Ingredients   (2 recipes worth)

1- 8 oz package of cream cheese (I use Light Philadelphia Cream cheese, but any kind really works)
1/2 cup of mayonnaise (I use Hellmann's Light)
2 cans crescent rolls, unbaked (I use Pillsbury's Light Crescent Rolls)
1 whole rotisserie chicken
1 tsp Italian seasoning, or seasonings of your preference to taste
1 beaten egg

PreparationPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, shredded chicken and seasonings in a bowl. It helps if the cream cheese is room temperature.

Open each can of crescent rolls and lay out dough to make rectangles (two triangle dough pieces pressed together). Place a heaping spoonful of the cream cheese/chicken mixture in the center and pull up the excess dough around it to form a pouch, pinching the dough together at the top to keep it together. Some will look nicer than others, but they all taste wonderful in the end!

 I then lightly spread the beaten egg using a pastry brush over the top of the chicken pocket, which can help "glue" the dough together and also gives a nice browned look to the pocket after baking.

I sprinkle the tops with a little extra seasoning, just for appearances. ;)

Bake at 350 degrees for 14-20 minutes, or until the pastry is no longer doughy to the touch and has nicely browned. Enjoy!

To Long Dog, Thank you for being such a good sport. You put up with so much! Handsome Hubby dressed you up in his t-shirt the other day and had you running around the house. Thank you for appeasing him and thinking it was all in good fun. I can't promise he won't do it again!
To the New Kitchen Faucet, The landlord installed you last Saturday and it has been glorious not to hear the incessant dripping of water (the volume of the TV used to be directly proportionate to the noise of a dripping faucet). I'm still getting used to the slightly new style, but I'm so thankful for this new chrome fixture! And on a side note, I had a constant reminder of what is said in Proverbs 19: A nagging wife is like constant dripping. May I never be a leaky-faucet-wife!
To Time, Where have you gone?! I can't believe it is Thursday already this week! It seemed like just yesterday I promised to fix my photo editing software and upload a Food Friday! It has been yet another week since I posted. Here's to living each moment of each day, not stressing about not having enough time, and asking for guidance on what the Lord would have me do this day. Tomorrow has enough troubles of its own!
To my Vampire Husband, I'm only kidding... but, seriously- You leave in the morning well before the sun comes up and you return home long after the sun goes down (and sometimes you even have blood on your shirt!). I know that in the craziness of patient care and surgeries at the hospital you may not know that the sun actually came up this day. May the Lord bless you today, and since you don't see sun, may you feel His presence shining down on you! May He grant you the encouragement you need, the recall that is necessary, and the confidence to be the best advocate for your patients to get the job done!

To my Sleepy-Doo, You are officially almost done with your second week on G.I. surgery. The best part? Not having to be at the hospital so early because you only have 2 patients instead of 27 (on trauma surgery!). What does this mean for your early mornings? We get to wake up together! No more frighteningly early alarms, no rummaging around in the dark to find socks, shoes, and whatever else. I've decided I like it so much better when I actually get to spend part of my morning with you. Two more weeks of G.I. and then its off to Urology!
To Banker Boy, A couple weeks ago you called me and said you had won an iPad2 at work that day...in a dodgeball tournament! Of the 80 teams that played in the during-work-hours dodgeball-a-thon, your team won! Who knew you had such mad dodgeball skills?! I would love to take a break from the regular grind and play in a work tournament...I need to work for a bank. Besides, that is where the money is kept!
To Weathergirl and Hurricane Hunk, Last weekend you graciously allowed us to use Weathergirl's season football ticket for the GT vs MD game. We were beyond thrilled and I secured the seat immediately behind it for myself. Handsome Hubby and I had a blast and can't believe it was our first football game (in person) in over 2 years!! Time flies... Thank you for your generosity! You made our weekend!
To my Loving Husband, You drove into the driveway yesterday, turned around on the parking pad and left. What a tease! But, when you came home a few minutes later, you said you had gone to buy me flowers from Rose Lady down the street...and, you had gone every afternoon this week, but all of the flowers had been purchased already. I love that you wanted to buy me flowers! Thank you for showing your romantic side. And you can keep checking her rose supply... :)





P.S. Food Friday post coming later (after work) so I can retrieve the pictures.

Happy (Dating) Anniversary!

Hello Blog Readers!

It has been a whole week since I last updated...I have been under the weather for the last several days (and then passed it along to Handsome Hubby) and took some time to recuperate. As a result of being sick, I also did not cook/bake much this week (although I did thaw some chicken noodle soup I had frozen especially for weeks like this and I made blue box mac and cheese one night for dinner...), so alas, no Food Friday today either. Sadness...

But, I didn't want to leave you empty handed on this beautiful Friday (that's right, almost the weekend!). Above is Handsome Hubby and my first costume party picture together on the porch of Theta Xi at Georgia Tech. This happened to be the night that he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, right there on that porch swing...10-7-2004...7 years ago today! It would be another 2 months until our first kiss (my very first ever first kiss!), almost exactly 2 years until he asked for my hand in marriage, and almost 3.5 years until we would actually tie the knot!

To my Sweetheart, Thank you for the time that we have spent together. Thank you for being the man that you are, the leader of our household, a wonderful friend, and an incredible companion. Here's to many more years together! I can't wait to share them all with you! I love you.


P.S. What really helps me remember this date is that HH used to use it as a password. :)

Food Friday! : Balsamic Vinegar Marinated Hamburgers

Balsamic Vinegar Marinated Hamburgers

One of our favorite things to do during football season is to grill out before watching the game (on tv... sad to say), and one of our favorite things to grill are hamburgers. A few years back, I found this incredible recipe for Balsamic Vinegar Marinated Turkey Burgers and we love it so much we use it with hamburger meat too. I remember making this for Handsome Hubby's PawPaw one time and he said it was the best hamburger he had every eaten...from a sometimes picky picky eater, that is a huge compliment! Try it for yourself...you might be impressed!

Ingredients

1 pound ground meat (turkey or hamburger)
One medium white or yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (it's your preference. I love this marinade, and I go for more like 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings

Preparation

Finely chop/dice onion or use a food processor. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Add the onion and mix. Pour over meat and mix together. I use my hands...it's just easier. Form meat into small to medium patties and grill until done. I serve this on whole wheat buns, with lettuce (hydroponic lettuce makes for a really beautiful looking hamburger!), avocado, and cheddar cheese (I promise it's not American in the picture), and HH always adds barbecue sauce. :)

Happy Eating! And enjoy whatever football game you may be watching this weekend! GOOOOO JACKETS!

To my Sweetie, Sometimes I leave you notes signed by "Mrs. Dr. B.". This is because I love being your wife, and I'm so proud of the accomplishments you have made!
To the Swede, There is nothing in the world I like more than receiving snail mail (although I don't much like junk mail...). Imagine my surprise when I not only got snail mail all the way from Sweden!!...but, it was a whole package! :) I completely forgot that you were sending it and it made my day yesterday. Hoping the cold weather isn't coming too soon for you already.
To my Small Group Girls, Thanks for a wonderful discussion last night! You ladies are such an encouragement to me and I am thankful for everyone of you...the new and the old! It is always so refreshing to fellowship with you all! Makes my Wednesday's just a little bit brighter. 
To my Dr. B., It was made pretty clear that you would not be doing any procedures/surgeries during your September rotation, but you had a nice surprise yesterday!- you got to put in a chest tube in the E.R. Now, I know it's no open appendectomy or a whipple, but when you haven't been in the O.R. for several weeks, placing a chest tube is an incredible task...one that you were excited to do! Here's to only one more full day in Trauma Surgery and then on to a new month's rotation...I hope filled with so many surgeries you can't even count!

To the Popmiester, Thanks for helping us fix our circa 1927 toilet! Can't believe anyone ever thought that using steel pipes was a good idea (...the pipes are filled with rust!). Thanks for your plumbing expertise and your willingness to work on a project! :) It now takes 2 minutes to fill the enormous tank instead of 30. I'm so thankful that you and Mama Ne' came for the weekend! And Long Dog is even more thankful that you brought along the White Dog. 
To my favorite M-I-L and B-I-L, Yay for figuring out facetime and chatting "face-to-face" with you, at least for a few minutes! It was great to be able to talk to you! We should definitely try and do that more often!
To Stray Kitty, You should really pretend to be more afraid of the dogs. I know you are great friends with Long Dog, but the White Dog spends all of her time licking her lips when she sees you and even tries to nibble your ears when you get close... I wonder what makes her think that kitty cats taste good?... :)
To my Dr. Hubby, My parents got a really good idea of exactly how much you work/ how little I see you while they were here this weekend. As much as they missed seeing more of you, I loved having them here on a weekend that you worked! T minus 3 days until the end of this rotation! Wahooooooooo!!


Picture: This is the steel tank lid on the toilet in our upstairs bath. It's hard to read with the rust build up, but the toilet was manufactured in the USA on June 3, 1927. That is one old toilet!

Food Friday! : Perfect Apple Pie

Perfect Apple Pie

With fall well on its way, and apples in season, I decided to make an apple pie for us to enjoy while watching the Yellow Jackets play last weekend. It turned out great! I must be honest...this is a collaboration of Paula Dean's apple pie filling (from her Crunch Top Apple Pie recipe) and a Cooking Light apple pie crust. It worked well together and the pie was delicious! When I found out Paula's pie crust recipe used 12 additional tablespoons of butter for the same amount of dough, I just couldn't bring myself to make it! 


Dough Ingredients:
 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (of course, I used half all-purpose flour, and half whole wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup ice water
Cooking spray

Filling Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt
3 1/2 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples(I use 3-4 medium sized peeled apples, depending on how stuffed you want the pie...)
1 (16-ounce) jar applesauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces


Preparation

Lightly spoon 2 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add ice water; toss with a fork until flour mixture is moist. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Gently press each portion into a 4-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap. Cover and chill 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 425°. Prepare filling: Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in apples, apple sauce, and lemon juice. Set aside.

Once the dough is chilled, unwrap and place 1 portion of chilled dough on floured wax paper. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Place dough in 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Spoon apple mixture into pie pan and dot with the 2 tablespoons chopped butter. Unwrap and place the second portion of chilled dough on floured waxed paper and roll dough into another 12-inch circle. Lay over the top of the pie and press edges of the pie together, also removing excess dough hanging out of/off of the dish. Cut several slits in the top of the dough to allow steam to escape. You can also decorate with any left over dough pieces.

Still unbaked, but having a little fun with some fall-inspired leaves!

Place pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet; bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven); bake an additional 40 minutes or until browned. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy (best served with vanilla ice cream)!  :)