Taking Time to Think

Saturday was the annual Fish Fry at the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. So enjoyable, as always. Miss Smith and I got our usual to-go boxes of a fillet of fried fish, fillet of grilled fish, and a piece of chicken! No decision this way, just the chance to enjoy it all! I did feel rather complicated when the cashier asked, "For our records, are you getting fish or chicken?" "Well....both!" "OK, for here or to go?" "Well...I'm getting a to-go box so I can take home any leftovers, but I'll be eating here!" Keeping it simple has never been my talent. Maybe that's why she gave us all non-winning tickets! Oh well, I'd rather win nothing than some junk or clutter that I don't need! (Wow! Did I really just type that?! Maybe I am slowly becoming FlyWashed...but the bags of loot I scored at Aunt Donna's family garage sale wouldn't prove that...I could do a whole post on my treasures!) Anyway, after a Walmart grocery run for Miss Smith, I dropped Danielle off at Aunt Rhonda's and donned my camo and grabbed my bow before meeting Daniel to get my hunting instructions. I had forgotten to bring the bag that contained the artificial scent killer, so we crushed some cedar (leaves?? they don't seem leafy...maybe I should say sprigs??) and rubbed them in my hair and on the back of my neck. Major ITCH. Then I climbed the ladder and sat happily nature-watching while basking in the bliss of having time to just THINK. I can honestly say I have never been bored a minute in my life. It feels sorta Dr. Suessy, but oh, the thinks you can think! I love to have the chance to just think and think....I thought about past memories good and not so good, projects I want to do.... projects I will skip this year (sadly I shelf the adorable pumpkin family I had visually created) I mentally clean-swept our home of current clutter and relished its "new" look, I thought about God and His plans for me, I thought about how fast our little baby is growing up... that the days with her being this needy and clingy seem long, but that the years are short, and I need to consciously enjoy her tugging at my skirt and live in this moment...that this will be the only Fall that she is 7 months old! And that it doesn't matter how much my friends with babies can accomplish, I shouldn't compare and complain, because I am doing the very best I can.

Then I thought I heard a deer approach...crunch...step...crunch...step....BE STILL, my beating heart! THUD, THUD, POUND, POUND....slowly I turned my head to view with disdain, not a deer, but a fat o'possum! So I watched him creep around nibbling on my deer's corn while the squirrels fought like two-year olds, the birds chirped, the leaves fell, and the stars came out. Then I wrapped it up by thinking that even though I am still a bow-huntress with no bragging rights, it had been a most successful THINK. From now on instead of going hunting, I'm gonna go thinking! I know I'll always be successful at that! We even heard in church Sunday morning that taking time to think is a key to success, spiritually and financially! So really, going thinking should become a priority! If I ever do happen to snag a deer, it'll be a bonus!  

Outside my window....Tonight.

Outside my window....the darkness of night enshrouds the earth. 

I am thinking....that I should soon go to bed, but I love being awake when everyone else is sleeping!

I am thankful...that our new "Speed Queen" washing machine has been ordered via amazon.com! Hauling loads of laundry wherever I go is getting old! Thanks, my family, for letting me use your machines!

In the kitchen...  the dishes haven't done themselves! They are resting on their laurels amidst grease splatters from buttermilk breaded fried venison and loaded baked potato fries! (potatoes are vegetables, right?!)

I am wearing... lime green sparkly, sequined slippers!

I am creating...a new blog post at last! 

I am going...to take Miss Smith and Nana with us to the Firehouse Fish Fry tomorrow! 

I am reading.... Bringing Up Bebe AGAIN because surely if I reread it enough times I will figure out how to best mother Danielle! Our bitty bebe is beyond baffling to me at times! She went on a milk strike the other day for reasons unknown!? Thankfully her drinking problem seems to be resolved!

I am hoping...to get Danielle's birth story completed before she turns one! I've written as far as my first post-birth meal now!

I am looking forward to...finding out if you like the new "SUBSCRIBE" feature I added to this blog! Check it out! Also, you no longer need an invitation to view. Just type in carrottopcakes86.blogspot.com and you'll be there!

I am learning...that there's nothing better than witnessing the mutual love and complete adoration of a daddy and his little girl! She was so pleased to ride in the skid steer with Daniel today for a bit when he was working at Shane and Mel's shouse!

Around the house....things are looking like Hurricane Danielle hit! Hopefully FEMA (Female Emergency Mother Agent) will respond before midnight. 

One of my favorite things.... is breakfast from McDonald's! But stick with Starbuck's for a good pumpkin spice latte! My McCafe version this morning was WAY TOO SWEET! I'm not lovin' it.

Menus on Monday

'Tis Monday, and I haven't posted this week's menus! Forgive me for being such a foodie, and only blogging about food lately! Just hit delete when you see the word "menu" in the subject line if reading about food doesn't make your heart leap! (As if you need my permission to do this, but anyway!) We loved the French Dip sandwiches last week, but my choice of venison roast wasn't a good one. Too dry! A nice chuck roast marbled with fat 'twould be much better! I never made the apple salad...still want to! Made funfetti cookies instead of chocolate chip; life is always better with LOTS of sprinkles! I made them when Katie and I took snack to school last Thursday, and Ryan sarcastically said that I would probably blog the recipe so I dare not disappoint him! 

SOFTBATCH FUNFETTI SUGAR COOKIES

Move over cake mix. These easy, super soft cookies are from scratch and loaded with sprinkles. They're super soft and tender, with just hints of chewiness, and are my new favorite sugar cookies. They're pillowy soft without turning cakey or crunchy, thanks to a bit of cornstarch. It's my secret weapon for making softbatch-style cookies. The extracts used give the cookies a cake batter-like taste, while the abundance of sprinkles baked in adds texture and flavor to the rich, buttery dough. They're fast, easy, and the recipe makes a small batch size. Feel free to double it. Chilling the dough is imperative before baking and don't be tempted to overbake.

YIELD: 15 medium cookies

 

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

 

COOK TIME: 8 minutes

 

TOTAL TIME: 2+ hours, for dough chilling

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract (real vanilla extract may be substituted)
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons corn starch
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste (sharon here - I use 1/2 tsp.)
3/4 cup sprinkles (jimmies) (sharon - almost too many! Gasp! 1/2 cup would be better! Buy at Dollar Tree - bright, pretty, and peanut-free for $1!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, egg, extract, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). Do not shortcut the creaming process; make sure dough is very light in color and fluff, stop to scrape down the sides of the mixer as necessary.
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
3. Add the sprinkles and beat momentarily to incorporate, less than 1 minute, or fold in by hand.
4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two tablespoon mounds (I made 15). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
5. Preheat oven to 350F, line two baking sheets with Silpats, or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. These cookies should not turn golden or brown at all and should stay white. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
6. Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Adapted from Chewy Sugar Sprinkles Cookies and Sugar Doodle Vanilla Cookies

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

OK, here goes for this week! Believe it or not, we actually had some meals made with leftovers! Yay!

-SATURDAY LUNCH-

(We were so blessed to have Wayne, Tif, and Bailee join us!!!)

Chicken Wings

Baked Cheesy Potatoes

Lettuce Salad

Birthday Cake Cookies

Blue Ribbon Chocolate/Vanilla Ice Cream with homemade Magic Shell

-SATURDAY SUPPER-

Philly Cheese-steak Sandwiches

(Danl created these using leftover London Broil. I told him I thought it was the best sammich I had ever eaten!!!) 

(Leftover!) Potato Salad

-SUNDAY LUNCH-

(Leftover!) Fajitas

-SUNDAY SNACK-

Jalapeno Poppers

(Leftover!) Philly Cheese-steaks

Sprinklelific Cookies (only I devoured them, Danl abstained effortlessly!)

-MONDAY-

Grilled Hamsteaks with THEE best grilling sauce! (Pine Mountain $1/# at Piggly this week!)

(Bring to boil - 1/2 cup brown sugar, rounding 2 T. horseradish, 2 T. lemon juice. Baste liberally on ham before and during grilling.)

(Leftover!) Cheesy Potatoes

Canned Asparagus

-NO TACOS TUESDAY-

Pizza Hut! Our usual - CHEESE with Extra CHEESE! 

(I know I have to go to Atmore for various errands anyway...)

Apple Salad

Tossed Salad

-WEDNESDAY-

Shrimp & Grits

Orange Creamsicle Jello

Pan-fried Okra

-THURSDAY-

Hopefully we will attend Atmore's "Taste of the South!"

I absolutely ADORE this happy community event! You pay $10 for 5 "tastes" and get to walk around sampling the local restaurants', church groups', etc best menu items!

-FISH FRIDAY-

Fried Bream

French Fries

Green Beans

-FRESH FRUIT OF THE WEEK-

California Valencia Oranges

-DESSERT OF THE WEEK-

Pudding! 

(Vanilla! Chocolate! Coconut! because I have to make the white layers for Bill's upcoming birthday cake and I will have egg yolks running out of my ears!)

Goodnight, y'all! I should be "pudding'' myself to bed!

More Menus!

First off, a little run-down of last week's food! 

We loved the ice cream cake!!! 

Tuesday's Crock-pot chili for the Navajo Tacos was mushy-textured. Bleck!!! :( 

Thursday's meal of Crock-pot Country-style Ribs just did not sound good to either Danl or I! So I created a pizza that I dubbed "Veni-cheese-steak Pizza Supreme!" I used the mock Pizza Hut crust recipe from Peters' Cookbook and layered it with pre-cooked venison steak strips, caramelized onions, green peppers, and mushrooms, mild cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, and topped it with fresh spinach leaves! We loved it! I never got the deviled eggs made on Friday, so I planned them into this week since I still "have a taste" for them! 

-SATURDAY LUNCH-

Grilled Bacon Cheeseburgers

Great Northern Baked Beans 

(I used dry beans instead of canned ones just to be very virtuous! LOL not really! I just like to experiment in the kitchen! I loved cooking pintos from dry, but I was not totally happy with the results of these Great Northerns. So I need to tweek my method! I cooked a 1# bag with lots of water, a dollop of butter, and 1.5 tsp of salt on high in the Crock-pot for 5 hours and they were too done, sorta broken up. Then I added 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a lot of bacon grease and baked them an hour. Please give me some tips, any of you bean-bakers!)

Great Value Wavy Chips

Key Lime Pie in a Pan

Lemonade with Torani Fruit Syrups

We were so thrilled to have Andrew & Audrey and family join us for this lunch! Just like old times! :)

-SATURDAY SUPPER-

Pizza from the Hut! Danl's treat to me!! xoxo

(Be like us! Use coupon code 2226 - Carryout Exclusive Large 1-Topping for $5.99! Code good until 10/31/16- and order a large Thin 'n Crispy Light Sauce Cheese with Extra Cheese and an order of Stuffed Garlic Knots!)

-SUNDAY-

Ashton & Jessica's Wedding! 

Grilled Chicken Tenderloin with THEE best BBQ sauce made by Kelvin & Wendy! 

(I want to buy a jar! or hundred!)

Homemade Rolls

Salads of Your Choice 

(I think I tried 6 different kinds....all DELISH!)

Chips

Dessert??? 

(For some extremely odd reason, I somehow missed it?!)

-SUNDAY SUPPER-

Leftover Burgers

Jalepeno Poppers

-MONDAY-

Grilled Chicken Legs

Loaded Baked Potato Fries (Like you can get at Chili's)

Deviled Eggs

Apple Muffins

  (Aunt Rose's recipe in Schneider Cookbook)

-TACO TUESDAY-

Venison Fajitas

Sopa

Tortilla Chips & Salsa

-WEDNESDAY-

Italian-Fried Wild Turkey

Potato Salad

Cooked Spinach

-THURSDAY-

French Dip Sandwiches 

(Can't wait to try this, Pris! Thanks the idea/recipe!!)

Apple Salad 

(My recipe in Schneider...can you tell we didn't eat all the fresh apples I bought last week?!)

Broccoli

-FRIDAY-

Rhonda's Birthday Supper!

Tentative Menu: 

London Broil

Grilled Potatoes, Carrots, & Onions

Caesar Salad

Garlic Bread

Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake 

-FRESH FRUIT OF THE WEEK-

Green Seedless Grapes

Bananas

-DESSERT(S) OF THE WEEK-

Key Lime Pie in a Pan

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans

Menu Planning!

I used to do menu planning and loved it! So I'm not sure why I quit, but now I'm back on the bandwagon! Saturday is my current scheduled shopping day...I'd like to switch it to Wednesday to catch Piggly Wiggly's Wednesday Specials, but somehow Saturday seems to suit better at the present! (Since I'm working in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I want to CrockPot cook those days. I usually end up working a little bit from home the other days. This is my first week trying it. My Crockpot and I hardly know each other, but I aim to become friends!) By the way, I love the Pig app! After checking the weekly sales, I plan out a week's worth of menus on my huge FlyLady calendar that hangs on the inside of the pantry door. Then I make a giant list on my Wunderlist app, and away to town we go! Other than Saturday and Sunday, I only plan supper meals; Danl either takes sandwiches or eats out for lunch. I try not to cook more than what we will eat, because Danl does not appreciate my heated up leftovers! I did not inherit my mother's skill of reheating food. It's an art! So I eat the leftovers if there are any, for my lunches. For breakfast, since we both turn up our noses at most cereals, we (try to) keep the following on hand as staples:

Bacon

Conecuh

 Flaky Layers Canned Biscuits 

(did you know you can freeze the ones you don't bake? We bake four in the toaster oven and freeze the other four for another morning!)

 Brown Eggs 

Grits

Hashbrown Patties

Pillsbury Orange Danish Rolls (Sunday morning special!)

Saturday

Lunch: Grilled Hamburgers 

Pringles

Supper: Crawfish Etouffee (Love Tony Chachere's mix!)

Broccoli

Sunday

Lunch: Tacos, Beans, Rice, Chips 'n Salsa, Ice Cream Cones (Smith gathering @ Sheldon's!)

Supper: Grilled Chicken

Garlic Bread

Parmesan Roasted Carrots 

(new recipe from Pinterest, but I grilled them instead of baking them.)

Homemade Peach Ice Cream in the Donvier

We don't always cook a "real meal" on Sunday evenings, but sometimes we are "real hungry," so I plan one just in case! Tonight was one of those real hungry nights...

Monday

Grilled London Broil 

(eat rare, shaved thin w/ horseradish!)

PW's Crash Hot Potatoes w/ Homemade Ranch Dressing

Cheese Green Beans

Taco Tuesday

Navajo Tacos (put meat with chili seasoning in CrockPot)

Top of the Mountain Peach Jello 

(use Mt. Dew instead of cold water, add sliced peaches)

Wednesday

Vension Steak Lo Mein

Pot Stickers & Spring Rolls (both from Dollar Tree!)

Thursday

Country-style Ribs with Conecuh & Carrots (in CrockPot)

Microwave-baked Potatoes

Fish Friday

Fried Flounder

Cheese Grits

Deviled Eggs

Claussen Pickles

Fresh Fruit of the Week

Peaches

Granny Smith & Gala Apples

Bananas

Dessert of the Week 

(Make whenever it suits or strikes!)

Reese's Ice Cream Cake

Daniel saw this dessert somewhere online and said he thought it looked amazing! And it's amazing if he thinks a dessert looks amazing! So I added the ingredients to my list! Normally I would never have the stuff on hand to make something like this; it uses ice cream sandwiches, creamy peanut butter, Reese cups, chocolate & caramel sauces, and Coolwhip. But now I'm prepared! And that, my friends, is the beauty and fun of menu-planning! 

I end up swapping meals around somewhat and changing up the side dishes, but at least I have a plan to change instead of trying to make one at 5:45! 

If any of y'all plan your plates, I'd love to mooch off your meal planning for new ideas! Leave them in the comments or email me! 

-Thankful Thursday-

I feel THANKFUL 

for...

This blog! 

Even though I sadly neglect it, it's like an online diary of our life, and I love reading bygone posts.

Fresh peaches! 

Just ate one with a dollop of brand name Cool Whip (worth the extra $ veruse Great Value or any other brand in my humble opinion!) and the last spoonful of Bluebell Old-fashioned Vanilla.

Faircloth Land Services! 

Daniel is thoroughly enjoying putting his all into forestry mowing, harley raking, and whatever else that can be done with a skid steer!

Our baby!

She turned 5 months on August 20! So hard to believe! Soon she'll be driving a car!! Instead of just driving us crazily more in love every day! Her thankful list would read like this!

DADDY

MAMA

DIESEL

LEROY

MY HOUSE

MY WALKER 

(one of her favorite things is to scoot right up to the dog gate and screech and jabber at her dogs until they are almost exasperated with her lol!)

MY ROUTINES

MILK

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

PEACHES

BATHTIME

SOPHIE

PINK LOVEY BLANKET

CUPCAKE TOY

DONUT TOY

My job!

It doesn't get much better than working for your own dad! (Other than teaching! Nothing can top that!)

Menu Planning!

I'm still learning how to FLY (FlyLady system) and menu planning is an important part of a peaceful day! Tonight was Venison Meatballs with Brown Gravy over Rice with a side of Cheese Green Beans.

Good ole eBay!

Love the baby clothes that finally arrived from China today! Got this cloud set in two more bigger sizes since she has outgrown her first set! 

My bed!

I'm hoping to sleep off the "congestive head failure" (sore throat & headache) I've experienced today! 

Goodnight, y'all! 

#happysaturday

I know this is Sunday, well almost Monday actually at 11:59 pm, but I wrote this list in my head on Saturday, and I still want to share it!

1. Going to Market in the Park with Danielle...

(And later savoring the cinnamon rolls I purchased from Aunt Rose; gooey caramel pecan are thee best!)

2. Shopping WeCare with my sisters...

 Scored some apparently unworn BabyGap moccasins ($1.99) for Danielle and  classy black Yellowbox flip flops ($2.99) for me! 

3. Visiting Grandpa Smith at the nursing home...

4. Eating a corn dog, fries, and chocolate/vanilla swirled cup of ice cream from Dean's Grill...

(Thanks for the Food Certificate, Mr. Hiebert!) The gal at the window gave me a medium cup of ice cream instead of the small that I had the balance for! And a medium at this Southern food shop is a whopping 16 oz cup! I gave it my all and conquered!

5. Chatting with friends and neighbors at our hometown Piggly Wiggly...

especially made my day to say hey to one of my favorite Walmart employees there! Maybe we both share a love/hate relationship with Walmart!

6. Watching Danl operate his new machinery...

 He is so talented!

7. Taking a family walk on Garrett Road...

We all love the "new-to-us" jogging stroller!

8. Skipping cooking and dishes for an evening!

9. Ordering my childhood favorite menu items at Taco Bell...

(hard taco, soft taco, pintos 'n cheese!)

10. Hearing our baby "sing!" 

She loves to coo along to all her favorite little songs!