A woman is like a TEA BAG - you never know how strong she is until she gets into HOT WATER. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Sunday, October 10

Apron Collection - First Apron circa 2002


Jim hasn't gotten around to photographing our apron photo shoot yet (really, he wants to - yeah, right!) but look what I dug up today - a blast from the past! This is my first apron - a gift from Jim in 2002. It's from Williams-Sonoma - I am about 6 months pregnant with Owen. The cookbook, How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson was one of my first cookbooks and it was a gift from Aunt Marsha-Marsha-Marsha. Who knew that a short 8 years later, I'd become completely obsessed with both aprons and cookbooks...

Wednesday, October 6

Find of the week ... at Walmart, no less!

Every harried (not hairy) and frenzied mom should have this cookbook. It makes me happy (and yes, there are lots of things that make me happy - silly, nonsensical things, I know!)

This cookbook is grounding and needful. It makes me want to be a farm girl and live on a ranch and make up a gritty, Stetsonish sort of name for Jim. It has meatloaf with 6 slices of bread in it and gives frame by frame shots on everything from frying cubed steak to the infamous Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls - need I say more?

This book is for the girl who craves the small town life, who thinks that everyone should be taken care of with a pot and a spoon, some cheddar cheese and heavy cream - this book will speak to your soul. Now if I can just convince Jim that I really CAN be a farm girl... I have the boots!

Skinny Girl Margarita - only 100 calories girls!



My friend, (and mom to the other Owen) Wren, recently had a home party where she made Skinny Girl Margaritas. Up until this point, I had never heard of this lovely concoction and was further enchanted to find out that this is the brain child of Bethenny Frankel (The Real Housewives of NYC.) The Skinny Girl Marg is pretty darned good and I thought I'd share the 411 with you!

Here is one of her books:
And info about the Skinnygirl Margarita ...

“Everyone loves margaritas, but no one wants the guilt or the calories. That’s why I created the Skinnygirl™ Margarita. At only 100 calories for a full 4 oz. serving, all natural ingredients, no preservatives or artificial colors, lightly sweetened with agave nectar and made with premium, 100% Blue Agave Tequila, Skinnygirl™ is the margarita you can trust.”

Tuesday, October 5

For JBird - Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls



Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls
Prep Time: 1 Hour30 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Difficulty: Intermediate Servings: 24

Ingredients:

Rolls:
4 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Canola Oil
9 cups All-purpose Flour
2-3 packages (4 1/2 Teaspoons - measure it out) Active Dry Yeast
1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1 stick Butter - plus more melted for bottoms of pans
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 cup Brown Sugar
½ cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1-½ cup Chocolate Chips Or Chocolate Chunks
1 cup Chopped Pecans (optional)

Icing:
1 package 8 Ounce Cream Cheese
3 cups Powdered Sugar
1 stick Butter, Softened
1 cup Whole Milk
2-½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
¾ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions
Mix milk, 1 cup sugar, and canola oil in a pot. Heat until very warm but not boiling. Allow to cool until slightly warmer than lukewarm.

Sprinkle yeast over the surface of the liquid, then add in 8 cups flour. Stir gently until totally combined. Mixture will be very wet and sticky. Cover with a tea towel, keep in a draft-free place, and allow to sit for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add in an additional cup of flour, as well as the salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until combined. Refrigerate dough, covered, until you need it. (Refrigerating the dough helps make it easier to handle.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread some melted butter in the bottom of pie pans or 9 x 13-inch baking dishes.

Divide dough in half. Store one half in the fridge for another use. Turn the other half of the dough onto a floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle, about 24 inches wide by 10 to 12 inches deep. Add vanilla to melted butter, then drizzle mixture all over the surface of the dough.



Use fingers to spread evenly. Mix sugar and salt and sprinkle it evenly over the butter.



Follow with the brown sugar, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts.

Beginning at the side furthest from you, roll dough toward you until it’s in the shape of a tight log.

Pinch the edges to seal. Slice into 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick rolls and lay, cut side down, in buttered baking dishes.

Allow to rise for 20 minutes...



Then place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until deep golden brown on top.



(This is my counter after the butter smearing and sugar shaking...)




Make the icing: Mix 1 stick butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt in an electric mixer or until smooth and pourable.

Remove rolls from oven and allow to sit five minutes before drizzle icing all over the rolls. Be sure to get the icing all around the edges and covering the surface so they’ll be nice and moist! Sprinkle tops with extra chopped nuts.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Saturday, October 2

Maple Iced Sweet Rolls



I try a lot of recipes - and this one will be made every weekend because it is that good and that easy. I think I've decided that it is the nutmeg that makes it that much better than your typical sweet/cinnamon roll.

(2) 8oz. tubes crescent rolls
4 tablespoons melted butter, plus more to butter the pan
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (this makes it taste so good!)

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp maple syrup
splash or two of strong coffee (hot or cold, both will work)

Separate crescent dough into 8 rectangles, sealing at perforations. Brush rectangles with melted butter. Mix granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle equally over each rectangle then press lightly into the dough. Roll each rectangle jellyroll style, starting at the long side. Seal the seams (or not because I couldn't get mine to seal!) Twist each roll a couple of times and then shape into a ring and pinch. Bake at 375 degrees for 14-15 minutes until golden brown. Combine powdered sugar and maple syrup until smooth, add in coffee. Drizzle over warm rolls. Aren't these better than any other cinnamon roll you've ever tasted? Wasn't that easy?

Friday, October 1

D is for Doughnut

A couple of weeks ago, Miles' class was studying the letter D.

D is for Doughnut...

Lots of them...




I wish we could have taken pictures while frying them - sort of a tutorial, but as fast as you drop them in the oil, you have to flip and then pull them out!

Afterwards the class got to shake the warm doughnuts in bags of powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar.



And as you can see, this was big fun for Miles...

At long last ...


Cowboy baby... How 'bout them boots?


We are football people...



Earlier this month I wrote a post about being soccer people. It was just so comfy-cozy watching my child sail down the field in fierce vengeance after that black and white ball. Sometimes one has to step out of their comfort zone... and watch their child get knocked hard to the ground by a child weighing 125 pounds. Those first few weeks were tough and we were at the bottom of the learning curve.

Now I am happy to say ...we are FOOTBALL PEOPLE!



There is nothing like the smack and crunch of helmets and shoulder pads. We have something similar to fall weather here in Georgia - the almost-crisp air, the "wrap 'em up!" from the coach and that one heinous Dad that screams "smack 'em in the lip - knock his legs off!" at his kid, has strangely become quite the norm to me ... God bless football - GO RAIDERS - GO PACKERS - GO BRETT FAVRE!

Bliss: Sept 23, 2000 to Sept 23, 2010



Ten years of marital (hard work) bliss. "It is not easy!" That is what I tell young hopefuls engaged and looking for (or usually not) sage advice on marriage. While I am not an ancient soul yet, I have learned enough over the last ten years to tell those sparkly-eyed love birds that marriage is hard work. That goo-goo feeling dissipates eventually and what is left is a tug-of-war of give and take, having patience and running out, crying hard, laughing harder, and a whole lot of get-it-done. There are moments of wisdom and shiny, happy brillance and contentment that makes it all very, very worthwhile. Like Owen's coaches say in football "Keep diggin'" and "Keep those feet movin'!" God bless Jim Murphy for sticking around his (crazy, anxiety ridden, shake-ya-tail-feather, entirely too excited and jacked up to be normal) wife! Amen.

God is Alive in Effingham...



There are several churches in our area that brighten my day with clever, "make ya think" phrases. Some have been so thought provoking that I was inspired to chronicle the signs here on my blog. Coming to this blog soon...

A good man ...


On his way from the airport after a recent trip, Jim stopped in to buy a treat for his wife.

A good man brings Starbucks - 'nuff said.

Farm Day at 1st Steps Preschool

I love 1st Steps Preschool. They have a 3 year old program and 4 year old program. Owen went to both and now Miles is in his last year there. The teachers are adorable! A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. I am missing them already and it isn't even the middle of the year yet.

There are all sorts of fun things that go on - like Farm Day.



Here is my farmer boy...




At first he didn't like the idea of wearing overalls (I was just psyched that I could find them because they were Owen's!)



But we made a deal and if he would let me take his picture with the hat on, I would let him take mine... (He is quite the budding photographer.)



Being a farmer though, is tough work, and sometimes us farm folks need a little break...

Wednesday, September 29

31 Handbags Fold 'n Go... the perfect grocery store companion!

My friend, Wren, recently hosted the perfect home party - purses, jewelry and candles all at once. She had three friends bring their wares - 31 Handbags, Scentsy Candles and a friend who makes jewelry. My favorite buy was the Fold 'n Go, which became the perfect grocery store companion.



It has an elastacized pocket that holds my coupon organizer and pen...


and a place that holds a 5 x 7 pad of paper (write your grocery list on this) and a velcro pocket to hold cash and debit cards, plus cell phone.



I love leaving my purse in the car and let this portable work station work for me in the store. It fits perfectly in the kiddie seat at an angle perfect for seeing what comes next on the list - hands free baby!


(This obviously will not work if you have a baby in the seat.)

For those of us who have that sweet little 3 hour time block between 9am - noon while child #2 is at preschool - this is the perfect little grocery store companion!

Sunday, September 19

Next on the hit list...



I am sluggishly making my way through the last half of Water for Elephants. It is a GREAT book (a book for mature adults only - good grief,) but for some reason I can't commit long enough each night to read it.

Next, however, is Eat. Pray. Love - and I almost bought the hat at World Market to go with the book. What a dork. It didn't fit with my hair piled on top of my head, so I left it at the store. Excited about the book though - and God willing, I will start it next week!

P.S. They are selling the books for $7.99 at HomeGoods. Go get yourself a copy! If Julia Roberts is playing in the movie - it has got to be good, ya know?!

Saturday, September 18

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls...



I am hoping they will turn out as pretty as this picture... we will have to wait and see tomorrow morning! Check back in then...