Cookies! Part 2

The next cookie recipe we made was Grinch Cookies, another Christmas cookie from a couple years ago.  

Rachel didn't quite get the "roll into a ball" concept.  She preferred to use it as play dough instead.

A red and blue sprinkle cake mix made them even prettier. :)

Speaking of blue, next up are Landen's accidental Hannukah cookies!  I had made a batch of these using green food color on Friday night and since we had more Kisses, Landen decided to make another batch.  Well, he accidentally used blue food color instead of green.  They would make excellent 4th of July cookies, too!

Peppermint Twist Kisses

(from Simple & Delicious magazine)

36 candy cane or chocolate Kisses (freeze before use)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp mint extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

4-8 drops red food color

Cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg yolk and extracts.  Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture.

Divide dough in half; tint one portion red, green, blue, or whatever color you wish!  Divide each half into 4 portions and shape into 9 inch long rolls.  Place one red log next to to one white log; twist gently to create one swirled roll.  Roll gently until it becomes one log.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Unwrap dough and cut into slices (about 9).  Shape each into a ball and place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Flatten slightly.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Immediately press a Kiss into the center of each cookie.  Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.  

Put in refrigerator to keep Kisses from melting.

Cookies! Part 1

This was the idyllic scene Saturday afternoon.  The ingredients for our favorite Semi-Homemade Gingerbread cookies were ready to go and Christmas tunes were playing on Sirius Radio.  Ahh . . . all was calm and bright.

Until it was time to cut out those cookies!  It was time to crank up that music just a little bit more!  Landen handled the cutting out this year while his sisters supplied him with their favorite cookie cutters.

It was important to him to be as efficient as possible.  

After that, it was time to decorate!  Teresa used our neon food color to make each color VERY bright and festive.   

Mmm!  These are so delicious and the best part is they turn out every single year.  We stashed some in the freezer to decorate later . . . if they last that long!

More cookies tomorrow!

Macaroni & Cheese Soup

What?  There is such deliciousness?  

Yes there is!

Hungry for a cross between homemade mac & cheese and soup, I searched on Pinterest and found this recipe.  As usual, I had to tweak it a bit to fit my pantry supplies, but the results were FABULOUS!

Only a tiny speck of bacon and one noodle remained!

I have a suspicion that hot dogs would be an excellent substitute for chicken in this recipe, too. :)

Macaroni & Cheese Soup

2-3 cups cooked chicken

6-8 pieces crispy bacon, crumbled

3 T butter

3 T all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup (or cheddar cheese soup)

1/2 tsp. mustard

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (1 1/2 if using cheddar cheese soup)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups macaroni or pasta of your choice

Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions, drain well and set aside.

Melt the butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk for 2-3 minutes.  Slowly add the milk and broth, whisking constantly. Stir in the canned soup, mustard, spices, and salt.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Once thickened, whisk in the cheddar cheese and sour cream and stir until melted.  Add chicken, bacon, and pasta.  Heat through.  Add more broth, water, or milk if too thick.  Serve immediately.

The original recipe may be found on Southern Bite.

Melius' Most-Read: What Happened to Merry Christmas?

What Happened to Merry Christmas? is actually brand new to our collection, just received from Grandpa & Grandma Melius.  It has been read several times already, though!

I am a stickler for saying MERRY CHRISTMAS.  Even though sometimes the Happy Holidays cards are cuter, I will always choose a MERRY CHRISTMAS design because that's the holiday I'm celebrating.  That's just me.  

This book addresses that same idea and where we can find Christmas in the Holiday season.  

What Happened to Merry Christmas? is available from Concordia Publishing--www.cph.org.

A Happy Thanksgiving!

This past Thanksgiving weekend, or Thanksgiving Vacation, was one of the best!  I don't have many photos to share, but I do have this one!

We started out by hosting the dinner at our home, with our parents and my Grandma & Grandpa Kallas.  Our dinner was perfect and included all of the necessary dishes.  We barely had any leftovers and decided that we must have had about the perfect number of guests, too.  (We did miss Uncle Vince!)

Friday was spent Black Friday shopping with my mom, sister, and Aunt Marian and concluded with a wedding reception and dance for David's cousins.  Our kids literally danced until they could dance no more!  

Saturday was the Neises gathering, full of food, swimming, and visiting.

On Sunday afternoon, it was time for a long winter's nap for this mama!

Whew!  Now it's time to celebrate Advent and prepare for Christmas!

We are looking forward to this coming month as we spend fun times with our family and friends.