Play dough :)

I made play dough for my little brother the other day. It is such a fun thing to make... and play with. And it is just so easy to make.

The Playdough Recipe
1 1/2 T. alum
3/4 c. salt
3 1/4 c. flour
Mix together in a fairly large bowl

Then...
3 1/8 c. water
3 T. salad oil
Bring to a boil (in a separate pan, of course)

Next, pour the hot water mixture over the flour mixture and stir with a fork. Mix it really well before adding the coloring. Then knead in desired food coloring and add flour as needed.

* You need to store it in the refrigerator. If you don't it dries out really fast. But it lasts about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
* I don't use whole wheat flour. Just white flour and plain table salt. And I would use canola oil.
* Oh, and you can get Alum at your grocery store, or at least I did.
* I just used tap water (thought I'd tell you this since I told you about everything else. Didn't want it to feel left out).

Enjoy!

Baking cookies, in pictures

The ingredients - essential part of baking.

This is how it should look after you mix the butter and honey. Nice and fluffy!

All the ingredients mixed in well.

All ready to bake.


The finished product. Aren't they beautiful?

My rules for baking -
#1 rules of baking - wash your hands.
#2 rule of baking (in my book), clean up as you go. When you are done with something, put it away. That way you know what you have used and what you've forgotten (if that's a problem). Then after you are done you have a few dishes to wash, a few counters to clean and a lot of cookies to bake.
#3 rule of baking... wear an apron. I myself tend to wipe my hands on it alot. It is a mess after I am done. I love wearing an apron.
#4 rule of baking (and the most important one) - have fun while you bake. Don't do it just because. Enjoy it!

Cookies, cookies and more cookies

I've been baking cookies today. I enjoy cooking so much. It lets you get your mind off things and you get to work with your hands. :)

Here's the recipe...
There is no name for this. They were called pecan cookies but since I add no pecans I guess they don't have a name anymore. We just call them THE cookies. And I changed the recipe to be healthier and so you might not have some of the ingredients. Just improvise.

Ingredients -
1 C. honey
1 C. butter, softened
1 t. vanilla
1 C. mixed flour
1 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. spelt flour (the ancestor of wheat - the happy grain)
1/2 C. undutched cocoa powder (optional - if you do this, decrease the whole wheat flour by 1/2 C.)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 C. chocolate chips

Instructions -
#1 rule of baking - wash your hands!
After you have accomplished the first rule, add honey and butter in mixing bowl and beat by hand (or on medium-high speed with beater, I prefer by hand since it's just one less thing to clean) until fluffy.
Add vanilla and stir in.
Next add all the dry ingredients and mix well (I have a hard time mixing it with a fork and so, my confession, I mix it with my hands. I do wash them really well before I cook, I promise!).
Then add chocolate chips and mix them in well.
After it is all mixed well, roll them into balls, put them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 6-8 minutes at 400 degrees, until they are the way you like them. I like mine a little doughy so I bake mine for 5-6 minutes. Bake them longer or shorter, as you wish.

Just a few explanations -
* We use mixed grain with our whole wheat because whole wheat anything tends to be really heavy so we add mixed grain to lighten it up. (see alexsrecipes.blogspot.com for more info on the mixed grain mix)
* We usually make a double batch of plain and a double batch of chocolate (to make plain don't add the cocoa powder. to make the chocolate, just add the cocoa powder). I know that's alot but we freeze about half of it. They go really fast when you have 8 people in the family. And I make them both AT THE SAME TIME! :)
* Baking, at our house, is not a science. It's amazing we actually have a recipe for this. It's usually "a pinch of this" or "a dash of that".
* We make our own chocolate chips. But that's for another time...

To see what your cooking should look life, see the next post.

Winter wonderland

It has snowed so much this year. It's so beautiful!
Here are some pictures. Enjoy.

Isn't it just gorgeous?

A Brand New Year

The church had this huge youth production called "A Brand New Year". I watched the DVD of it just last Tuesday and absolutely love it! It has the best music. And they have a website that has the songs on it and you can even watch the production! You can look at my side bar and click on "A Brand New Year" for the website.

ENJOY!!!

New Year' Eve

For New Years Eve, we party. We have a tradition that we spread out all over the family room floor with sleeping bags, pillow, blankets, and the likes. We have pizza, ice cream and all kinds of other treats and watch movies all night (and morning) long. Me and three of my other siblings set a new record - we stayed up till 3:45 am of the new year, just watching movies.
We also have a tradition that we all get pajamas. My mom had the thought that we should all have white shirts. Not a good idea. You should have seen some of our shirts. Stained with ice cream and who knows what else. A total mess! But that's okay... they look great!

We have a new camera and didn't know how to get it to take a picture on timer. This is one that we didn't know it was taking!

The best one.

And of course, a funny one.

We also have a tradition that we go over to my Aunt and Uncle's house and play games on New Years Day. We have a great time. Here are random pictures from that...

Playing Scrabble.

My sister and I playing Blink, the fastest game ever.

My other sister playing "THE BUBBLE GAME" on my dads phone.

And last but not least, the custest guy ever.