Baking: Ranger Cookies

Well it is time for me to start thinking about doing some Christmas baking.  I don't do a lot of baking but we do have some favourite cookies that we make only at Christmas time.  I am looking forward to shortbread, gingerbread, and sugar cookies.  However, as I don't have any baking on hand right now I decided to make these Ranger cookies first so we can snack on them and save the Christmas cookies for Christmas.  I wouldn't really consider these cookies a healthy cookie as they are fairly high in sugar and fat but they are pretty filling and make a yummy snack (and the oatmeal means they have to be somewhat healthy, right?)  I did reduce the sugar a little in this recipe and it was still plenty sweet.  I also used 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white flour.  The cranberries give them a little bit of a festive feel as well.  Enjoy!

Ranger Cookies

1/2 lb (1 cup) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups oats
1 cup corn flakes (crushed)
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups shredded coconut

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Then beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Then add to cream mixture and stir until well blended.
Stir in oats, corn flakes, dried cranberries, and coconut.  Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheet and bake in a 350*F preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.
If desired you can roll the dough into logs with the help of flour and wrap well with cling wrap.  Freeze wrapped cookie dough logs.  When ready to bake cookies, take logs out of the freezer and slice into half inch thick cookie disks and bake as directed above.
Recipe makes approx. 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Raspberries!

Raspberries are one of my favorite summer fruits.  I have a bunch of raspberry plants in the garden (you may have to wade through a jungle of weeds to find them but they are there).  We have been enjoying eating as many fresh raspberries as we can (Mmmmm raspberries on cereal, raspberries on toast, raspberries on ice cream, raspberries on yogurt, just a bowl of raspberries with a touch of sugar mmmmm!).

What we can't eat fresh we have been freezing.  Either as whole raspberries to eat throughout the winter or as freezer jam.  I have never really gotten into canning and preserving as it seems like a lot of work and I am a little intimidated by it.  However making freezer jam is really simple.

You start by washing your berries.

Then you crush them up.  I just use my potato masher for this.  This is a good job for the kids to do although if they get a little vigorous you may end up with raspberry splatters all over (ask me how I know).

Then you mix together sugar and pectin in a bowl.  As you can see I use Bernardin freezer jam pectin.  This is about $2.20 at my grocery store.  Follow the directions on the package for the amount of fruit and sugar to use.

Then you add your crushed berries to the sugar and pectin and mix well (my package says to stir for 3 minutes).

All that is left to do is pour the jam into any freezer safe container, let set for 30 minutes, and then store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks or the freezer for 6 months.  I just use old glass jars to store my jam in; taking care not to fill them too full so there is room for expansion.

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what we are eating this week.  On Tuesday I will bake a large ham and the leftovers will sustain us for a while.

Monday: Grilled steak, potatoes, peas

Tuesday: Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, corn, salad

Wednesday: Cheddar Ham Oven Omelet, fruit salad, biscuits

Thursday: Pasta with ham and cheese, broccoli & cauliflower salad

On Friday I will be heading to the city for the weekend to attend my sisters wedding stagette BBQ and do other wedding related stuff.  I can't believe her wedding is almost here.

For other menu ideas check out org junkie's menu plan Monday.

Rhubarb Jam

Yesterday I made some Rhubarb Berry Jam.  It was so easy and it tastes yummy.  I just sort of made up this recipe from others I have come across.  I used more rhubarb and less sugar than most of the recipes I saw.

First I cut up 16 cups of rhubarb and placed in a large bowl and then I sprinkled it with 3 cups of sugar.

I let that stand overnight and in the morning a lot of the juice had come out of the rhubarb and it looked like this.

Then I put it in a big pot on the stove and boiled for 15 minutes.

Then I added one can of wildberry pie filling and stirred that in until the pot came back to a boil.  Then I turned off the heat and stirred in three small packages of raspberry jello.

At this point I was pretty much done.  You can either put it in canning jars and process and seal or take the easy way out as I did, put in any freezer safe container, cool, and then store in the fridge or freezer.  As you can see I just used some old jam and condiment jars I had lying around.  I didn't fill them really full, leaving room for it to expand in the freezer.

Mmmm, yummy homemade rhubarb jam on homemade bread.  It doesn't get much better than this.

Focusing on the Basics

This morning I woke up and wasn't feeling well.  I have a head cold.  I was not feeling energetic at all.  So I decided just to focus on the basics and then rest without guilt.  I started a load of laundry, put a chicken in the slow cooker for dinner, and did the dishes.  Now I will just focus on caring for my son and getting some rest.  Sometimes when a person isn't feeling well, they have to take some extra time to rest without feeling guilty.  (Why as moms do we always feel guilty when we take time for ourselves?)  However, if we have the ability to get out of bed it is good to focus on some basic chores so the house doesn't completely fall apart.  I'm glad I was able to keep up with the dishes and have a plan for supper, so I can rest without worry.  Hopefully, I will feel better tomorrow.

Menu Plan Monday

Well it is time for menu plan monday once again.  Because of my Uncle's passing I did not make a menu last week. I have a busy week ahead so having a menu ready should make things go more smoothly.  On Thursday my son has a doctors appointment in the city so will be doing something in the slowcooker,  on Friday my daughter has bike day at school and I volunteered to help out so we will be having a simple supper that night, and on Sunday is my son's baptism. I was debating about what to serve after his baptism, thinking a brunch menu might be nice, but in the interests of keeping things simple I have decided to do a BBQ and will be having hamburgers and hot dogs, along with salads and goodies.  Also I picked up some sweet potatoes on a whim last week (they are not something I normally buy) so I am trying a new recipe with the Sweet-Sweet Potato Casserole.

Monday: Roast Chicken, potatoes, and veggies

Tuesday: Sweet Sweet Potato Casserole, leftover chicken and pasta

Wednesday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Fresh Bread

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff in the Slow Cooker

Friday: Leftovers or if not enough leftovers we will have an egg dish.

Saturday: Breaded pork chops, mashed potatoes, veggies

Sunday:  BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs, salads, goodies

For other great menu ideas head over to the org junkie for menu plan monday.

Golden Potato Rolls

Yesterday I made some potato rolls for supper.  These rolls are moist and delicious and a great way to use up some leftover potatoes.  They also freeze well and I like to have some on hand in the freezer ready to pop in the microwave, to add to any meal.  I got this recipe from my Aunt and she has been making them for years.

I will often use 2-4 cup whole wheat flour in this recipe and it turns out fine.  Also I generally throw whatever leftover potatoes I have in without measuring so this recipe is pretty forgiving.  The only time I have had this recipe fail me is when I killed the yeast by adding it to quickly to the hot potato mixture (it should be warm not hot). 

Golden Potato Rolls (3 dozen)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup margarine
8-8 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (approx) leftover mashed potatoes
2 eggs beaten.

Method: Dissolve yeast in water, set aside.  In a saucepan, combine milk, shortening and potatoes:  cook and stir over low heat just until shortening is melted.  Remove from heat and place in large bowl with sugar, salt, 2 cups of the flour and then add the yeast mixture.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Cover loosely and allow to stand for two hours (the dough will be like a sponge.

Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Knead.  Let rise until double.  Punch down.  Divide into thirds.  Roll into a circle.  Cut into 12 pie shaped wedges.

Roll up from the wide end.  Place on greased sheets. 

Let rise for 30 min or so. Bake at 400*F for 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Baking (sort of) With The Girls

Today the girls and I made rice krispy squares  (thats the sort of, making rice krispy squares is not really baking)  However it is good to spend time in the kitchen with them.  Yes, it is easier and faster to do it myself but it can be more fun to do it together and it is a great learning experience for them.  I am hoping that by doing this with them now in a few years time I will be able to sit back and have them bake me somthing.  I often have to remind myself to be patient and let them do things even if they are a little messier than I would like or it doesn't get done exactly right.  Today I showed my oldest how to operate the stove and she was in charge of melting the marshmallows.  The girls enjoyed watching them melt into a gooey mess and then mixing them into the rice kripies.  Yummmm!