Christmas X5

Not everyone has to take part in five Christmas celebrations but Paul and I do. For once in a good long while I didn't have to rush to get back to work -- the joys of self-employment. It was nice just really enjoy Christmas and lots of family time. Plus, one of my favorite Christmas traditions, the Christmas Eve Communion Service at my home church, Rolling Fork United Methodist Church.

Christmas began with Memphis to my Aunt's home with her family and my Mimi, next it was to Valley Park to my late great-grandmother's home where my Uncle Horace and Aunt Florence host the Newman celebration (Uncle Horace had to be taken to the ER that morning so when we arrived everyone was the kitchen preparing the meal. He's on the mend now.), then a day off from celebrating where we all just chilled in Rolling Fork, Christmas Eve lunch at my Grandma's with presents with my Grandma, Uncle, Aunts and Cousins, followed by church service, and finally Christmas Day with presents with my parents, Lisa, Landry, Bryan and Paul. After lunch, Paul and I traveled to my inlaws to eat supper and do presents on our way home.

The Christmas Cookies were a hit! I am sure everyone will be expecting them for years to come.
My sister, Lisa, niece, Landry and I started our own tradition this year of decorating Christmas cookies in our pjs on Christmas Eve Eve. Landry had way to much fun with the sprinkles. That was her job this year. Next year, we've all got to get matching aprons.

 

Christmas in Memphis

Christmas in Valley Park

 

 Christmas at Grandma's House

 

Christmas morning with Miss Landry at my parents' house 

 

Foodie Friday (Christmas Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing)

Every Christmas for as long as I can remember my grandmother has made her famous "Santa Cookies" and in fact, the last time I was at her house two or so week's ago, she had her apron on and was icing cookies. So, in the Christmas spirit of my cookie-baking grandmother, I thought I'd try my hand at it. Two sugar cookie recipes and three batches of Royal icing plus icing bags and squeeze bottles, food coloring, decorator tips and endless research has led to lots of Christmas goodies.

 

This came from Betty Crocker's Best of Christmas Cookbook.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth-Sugar Cookies

Prep: 25 mins.; Chill: 2 hrs; Bake: 8 min per sheet; Cool: 30 mins

Makes about 5 dozen

 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

 

Beat powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed or mix with a spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease the cookie sheet. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

 

Bake 7-8 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool completely. Then proceed with the decorating.

 

Note: I will say this -- Make sure you put in the cream of tartar. I didn't and I had a sticky mess but I got through it by adding more flour while rolling the dough out. You can live without the almond extract if you don't have any. Some people like lemon in their sugar cookies. I just stuck with the vanilla. I don't think I got 5 dozen cookies but that depends on the size of your cookie cutters.  

Now, the challenge -- Royal Icing. This recipe comes from Sweetopia. I looked at several recipes and all are basically the same.

Royal Icing
3/4 cup warm water
5 tablespoons of meringue powder
1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
2.25 lbs. of powdered sugar

Hand whisk water and meringue powder for 30 seconds; add cream of tartar and whisk for 30 seconds; and finally add all the powder sugar and use the electric with paddles and slow mix for 10 mins. Separate and tint with food coloring. To prevent drying, place a damp towel over the bowl to prevent drying out.

Notes: In this state, you should be able to remove the paddle and turn it upright and a stiff peak (like pie meringue). This is the perfect consistency for outlining your cookies with your icing bags and tips (No. 2 tip). And once that's done, don't touch your cookies.

About 30 mins. later, you can fill them in but you need to thin your icing a little. Do this in 1/2 teaspoon increments.  Bake at 350 has a great post on this.

And you get this....

And the final result...

If you don't like crispy, crunchy cookies, I suggest using this recipe for Sour Cream Sugar Cookies. It makes a lot of cookies. You've been warned!

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and fun making cookies. My sister, niece and I are going to be decorating some on Monday. She's almost 2 so it's going to be interesting.

Christmas Cheer

 

I'm a little late to this party but I've been up to my eyeballs in cookie dough and icing. So here a look around the Dees home for the holidays. I really worked hard on the tree this year. I said I wanted more stuff and less tree! I think I got it.

 

 

Our kitchen Christmas tree with our Mickey and Minnie bobble heads located on top of the fridge. We love Disney and every time we go, we return with a ornament.

 

My grandma gave me that Santa musical wind-up so that one day when she's gone I'll have something to remember her by. I think her exact words were "When I'm dead, you can say my grandmother gave me that." She's still very much alive at 82. The photo stays up year-round of Paul and I from our honeymoon to Disney Word. We were on a carriage ride at Disney through the decorated campground for the holiday season.

 

Part of the only thing I collect -- Snowbabies.

 

One of our sweet kittens, Phoebe, hiding in the deco mesh. She even took a nap while I was decorating and she hide from Scout, our cocker spaniel. 

The mantle with the remaining snowbabies on the mantle. Also, this is before the adhesive hooks holding the garland caused it to look less than perfect.

This is probably my newest piece of Christmas décor. A vintage Santa cookie jar that I bought at our monthly antique auction and it came from a personal collection of a well-known Kosciusko resident.

 

We do have a bathroom Christmas tree up on a shelf and its gold and covered in N.O. Saints ornaments.

 

 

 

And here's what you missing in Leslie's world...

1. We survived Paul's 25th football season (My 10th, well actually 9 1/2) and we won our last two games for a total of three wins on the season (one more than last year). We've had lots of ups and downs -- disciplinary problems and lots of injuries. That makes it hard in 1A football with 32 players but I'm proud of the way they continued to play hard and work as a team. There are also lots of players that aren't on the field that help make each Friday night an reality from our stat keepers to the parents to the wives and teachers on duty and of course, the cheerleaders and band. What really, really stinks is that I don't have many photos from the season since I am no longer working at the newspaper.

2. Over Thanksgiving Break, we took a trip to Branson. We had a really relaxing and chilly time. We did a lot of Christmas shopping and saw The Texas Tenors (They were on a season of America's Got Talent) and a capella group -- The Cat's Pajamas. We also did a little antique shopping and I got some metal cookie cutters just like my grandma's. Also, I have a great love of vintage Christmas decorations.

3. I am starting to assemble and make my own jewelry! I've been doing it for years for gifts and such and while, I'm still doing that this year I've toyed with the idea of selling some too. Maybe an Esty store or something. I love these!

Foodie Friday (Fall Bread Baking)

My dad grows pumpkins and everything seems to be pumpkin flavored these days so I tried this out. Plus, I've added my mom's awesome sourdough bread and my favorite banana nut bread! I know everybody wants to be gluten free but sometimes you just gotta have some bread! 

 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Courtesy of Pillsbury

1 can of Pumpkin

4 eggs

3/4 c. butter

4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/8 c. miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp  nutmeg

1 tsp salt

2 1/8 cups sugar

2 Tbsp pecans

1/2 cup water

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of two 8X4 loaf pans.

Next, mix dry ingredients and set aside.

Then in a large bowl beat sugar and butter with mixer until creamy. Next add eggs, water and can of pumpkin on low speed.

Add nuts and chips.

 

Bake for 1 hour 5 mins to 1 hour 15 mins.

Cool for 1 1/2 hours.

 

I have always loved my mom's sourdough bread. I usually make it for Christmas happies for Paul's coworkers. When I make a pot of soup and if I have time, I love making this bread! You don't have to feed the starter for days.

 

Sourdough Bread

Starter:

1 c. warm water

3/4 c. sugar

1 pkg. of yeast

3 T. of potato flakes

Bread:

6 c. bread flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. oil

1 c. starter

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. warm water

Make starter and let it sit in a closed container for 1 1/2 hours until smells sour.

Mix sugar, oil, salt and water together. Add starter. Stir in two cups of flour at a time. Place in greased bowl to rise in a warm place. When doubled in size, about four hours, knock down and knead. Divide into at least two loaves. Let rise again until doubled in size. Bake at 350 until brown.

 

Banana Nut Bread

1/2 c self-rising flour

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

3 med. bananas, mashed

2 cups flour

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped nuts

 

Combine all ingredients and pour in loaf pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 mins and then 350 degrees for 35-40 mins.

 

Being a coach's wife is hard but you've got to embrace it...

I follow several blogs written by coach's wives and there was a guest post on The Football Wife and it just made me so unbelievable sad. The wife talks about the resentment she felt about her husband coaching but she also discusses how she has dealt with it. I wanted to tell her -- you are missing out.

From the moment we set foot on Ethel High School's campus, I've totally embraced my role as a coach's wife even more so than I did at South Pontotoc. There are some great and rewarding moments and moments when you have to stop, take a deep breath and pray to God. We love them like they were our own children.

I've baked cookies, cleaned the field house, washed jerseys at our house and shed many happy and sad tears over the years and it's all because I've embraced the team and the coaches as my family. You take care of your family and support your family.

I've embraced that my husband isn't going to be home much and there will be many nights when his supper waits for him in the microwave. Sometimes, that's hard but I also know all the pressure he puts on himself and how hard the players and coaches work and that takes time. Every year it's an adjustment.

I've embraced that fact that we aren't going to have many true friends because of Paul's coaching. With the exception of the coaches and their wives and several teachers, we've got a small tight inner circle and I'd rather have five great friends than  several hundred "good" ones.

There is probably one thing I won't ever embrace or except and that's the critics. Win or lose, there is always someone out there that has their opinion about how Paul coaches. I know how hard he works, how much work he brings home, how many hours are put into each week...not to mention the devotions he leads on Friday mornings, the counseling his gives and how in a lot of cases, he's the only father figure some of those players have.

For nearly 10 years, I've either been the coach's girlfriend, fiancée or wife and I wouldn't trade where I've spent those Friday nights for anything in the world. Cause you see, my heart lies on that field.

I'm finally done with PUMPKINS!

I've pretty much been on the go the last two week of October as I've been traveling to Rolling Fork to work at my parents' pumpkin patch, Farmer Jim's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze, to not only work on the weekends but also to assist with the school field trips during the week. It's really been a great month and I've finally caught up with my sleep. Our school groups were awesome and I enjoyed every minute of their pumpkin patch visit. Plus, I got to see some old friends and some family.
 Yes, I've seen every one of Paul's football games too.

 Just an afternoon at Farmer Jim's!

 Landry and her pumpkin!

 

Educating school children on the life cycle of a pumpkin.