Today so far...

Today...
I finally feel better.
For some reason I thought that once on antibiotics I'd be out of pain really fast. Silly me.


Nate is at fire academy, his last weekend. After tomorrow he'll be able to go on calls. A couple days ago he brought home a radio/pager thingy that he plopped down on the end table between the couch and the wood stove. You know, the only one I have Christmas decorations on? Yeah. Boys. Sheesh. I wisely decided to not say anything, not having a cleaned off surface to offer as an alternative;-) You could say that's why he chose that spot, but... it's next to "his" spot on the couch, near a handy outlet... And it's not like after Christmas decorations are put away there's going to be anything on that table. Just, you know, my female sense of aestheticism is slightly offended :D




I made a totally scrumptious batch of gluten-free gingerbread cookie dough thanks to Shauna over at Gluten-free Girl and the Chef. Thank you Shauna and Danny! :) I can't wait to try the baked version after tasting the dough, Yum!! I don't keep ginger around since I am allergic to it. I was thinking that cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and molasses would still make a worthy cookie. But, I wanted that heat that would be missing without the ginger. Seeing that the recipe included black pepper in the spices reminded me of chai, so I added a little cayenne as well for extra heat. I also used fresh tangerine zest since I had them handy instead of oranges. Did I mention yet that that dough is delicious??? :D



My boys made sugar cookies (also from Shauna's blog come to think of it:) with Grandma while I wrapped Christmas gifts and worked on a project for Joshua. He loves to cook and loves to get kid's cookbooks from the library and pick recipes from the pictures and beg me to let him cook them. This can be more than a little frustrating since we have several dietary restrictions that make cooking a challenge at times. And he wants to make it just like the picture. Not always possible. I ordered some blank books from Bare Books, the big hard back, spiral bound ones. I'm typing or copying and printing our favorite recipes and a few we have yet to try and making him cookbooks of food we can eat by gluing the pages into the blank books. I'm giving him two for Christmas and two for his birthday in February. They aren't the prettiest thing, but I think he's really going to love them:)


I broke up the peppermint bark I made for Nate last night. I'm so glad one of his favorite Christmas treats is so stinkin' easy to make. Melt some almond bark, crush some candy canes, melt some chocolate...


I WILL get some writing (more than this here post) done this afternoon...



And make a gingerbread house with the critters...


AFTER I take a nap...

I hope...



:D

How to Crush Cornflakes

I thought I'd share a recipe we've enjoyed for years. First my siblings and I as kids, now our kids. These healthy little cookies are very tasty, although nowadays when I want DESSERT, they don't really hit the spot so well lol. The kiddos love them though. Without further ado I give you:

Sunny Oat Cookies

1/2c peanut butter
1/2c honey
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c oats (quick or rolled whatever you prefer)
1/2c sunflower seeds

Mix peanut butter, honey, and salt until creamy. Add oats and sunflower seeds, mix well. Drop rounded tablespoons on a well greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven about 8 min.

Since discovering gluten allergies in the family and having to eliminate or greatly decrease our consumption of oats I have created a new version of this old favorite.

In place of oats: 1 1/2 cups lightly crushed cornflakes (we use fruit sweetened).
In place of seeds: 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (shredded or flake)

Just as yummy. Crunchier (obviously :) and somewhat chewier. I would also like to share my method for achieving the correct texture of corn flake.

Upon arriving home from the grocery store remove the bag of cornflakes from it's box and give to enthusiastic four-year-old to carry to the house. Four-year-old tucks bag firmly under his arm the better to handle the large bag of potatoes that he, and only he, can carry(aka: drag) inside. He drops the bag no fewer than three times on the way up the path. Abandoning the too-heavy bag of potatoes at the bottom of the steps he decides to use the bag of cornflakes to knock on the door. Failing to elicit the desired assistance from within, and with his hands obviously "full", four-year-old gleefully kicks open kitchen door to make way for his triumphant entry. He drops the bag on the floor of the pantry. Halfway across the kitchen he suddenly changes his mind and decides to attempt to climb to the fourth shelf were the cereal usually resides, presumably out of reach of four-year-old boys. Mama enters the scene laden with bags of groceries and evicts munchkin from the pantry to go retrieve more groceries...

:) Result: perfectly crushed cornflakes lol.