Christmas Photos finally!

Finally around to posting some photos from Christmas for my family near and far. Even though Christmas had to be postponed to due a stomach bug I had (YUCK!) We did get around to it eventually once I was feeling better! Here is our newest addition...Ashlyn Rosie's first Christmas

All of the kids got awesome presents, but as usual had more fun having a paper fight with the left over wrapping!

Experimented just a bit with my new camera (7 months old now, but still new to me) and the Christmas tree. It was sooooo beautiful this year. Perhaps it was because I had time or took the time to enjoy it!

Our other new addition...Julio...enjoyed himself in the midst of all the chaos with a nap!

Santa brought the Wii Fit Plus for the kids this year... and new Christmas Jammies!

Aubrey got many things princess this year...including this card from her Grammie. There is nothing like Christmas will little ones!

Now that I felt better, we gathered for a hearty meal of Ham, mashed, broccoli gratin, rolls, deviled eggs, and ambrosia. Yummmm!

It was wonderful to be together...

in the real life snow globe we've been living in...

Lacey just can't get enough of the snow! She runs around like a crazy dog and usually has a face covered with snow. After trying for more than 10 shots to get a picture of it, I gave up. She has a way of shaking the snow off her face right as I take her picture!

Speaking of little ones...we finally had EVERYONE at Grammas this year. Gramma, two kids, two spouses, 6 grandkids, and 6 great grandkids. So awesome. Do you think we took a picture of us all together? Heck no! How crazy is that?

We did however take SOME pictures...

Grammas not really drunk, in fact she rarely drinks. She just manages to look 'drunk' in every picture!

This is my favorite Christmas picture this year...My mother in law collects rocking horses of all types, shapes, and sizes. She has quite the amazing and beautiful collection. I have a baby great niece Lizzy, who looks an awful lot like my big girl...check it out...

How stinkin cute is that?!? Couldn't they be sisters? Next time you visit the Ruchus, that ones' gonna be framed on a wall. So precious.

Finally, a few more cookie shots and one more recipe...I love cookies that taste good AND cookies that are beautiful...

These cookies taste good...Raspberry thumbprints...

And these cookies are beautiful...Strawberry Sandwich Cookies

My new recipe I'm sharing is Carrot Cake Sandwich cookies. Sorry that I don't have a picture....but MAN were they yummy.

Here's the recipe...

Carrot Cake Cookies

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

8 oz. unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 C chopped or sliced almonds

3/4 C shredded coconut

2/3 C pureed cooked carrots

2/3 C drained, crushed pineapple

Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz. room temp cream cheese

6 T sweet butter

3 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs and vanilla until combined. Add four, salt and baking soda. When flour mixture is combined, add remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Portion onto sheet pans prepared with parchment paper lining using a #40 scoop.

Bake at 350 degrees F 10 - 12 minutes.

While cookies are baking prepare filling by combining all filling ingredients until smooth and well combined.

After cookies are completely cooled, turn over using a metal spatula. Frost every other cookie bottom with 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese frosting and top with unfrosted cookie.

Enjoy!

If you double this recipe (as I did) you only need a single batch of frosting to frost all of the cookies.

Single batch makes 29 cookies.

Finally...as promised!

Computer glitches are my very least favorite thing...however...I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaack! So sorry for the delay in the Christmas pictures, baking pics, and recipes. I'm going to do my very best to catch up. Here goes.

As my children get older, my helpers get more limited. I was lucky to have at least one helper per day...

Some new recipes were a total flop... and will not be making a return next year. This was the first batch of chocolate chip kiss cookies. Even after adding enough flour to avoid this...the cookies were still not very good. So long chocolate chip kiss cookies...

Other tried and true favorites were amazing as always... like my very favorite cranberry orange walnut cookies...Total yum. I pink puffy heart these cookies as does my mother in law. Whenever I show up around Christmas time at her house, I best be carrying a baggy of these little darlings for her!

Finally a new twist to an old favorite...Check out these peanut butter blossoms...

A few years ago we added red and green sugar. This year we added Brach's stars instead of kisses. Aren't they so pretty? The good news is, I overbought the stars and have 4 bags left...so there will be more of these come some cold snowy day.

Here is the wonderful cranberry walnut orange cookies recipe...I can't give credit...I know I got this recipe out of the newspaper about 5 years ago. It quickly became a family favorite.

Cranberry Orange Walnut Cookies

If you double this recipe and use a 1 tablespoon scoop, it makes 5 1/2 dozen cookies.

1/2 c butter

1 c granulated sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c milk

2 tbsp orange juice or orange liqueur or 1/2 tsp orange extract plus 1 1/2 tsp water

**I prefer to use orange juice. The orange extract is too strong a flavor for me

1 large egg

3 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 c chopped walnuts or pecans

2 1/2 c coarsely chopped frozen, fresh, or dried cranberries

**I use craisins. They stay soft in the cookies

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease baking sheets. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Stir in milk, orange juice and egg. Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in nuts and cranberries.

Drop dough by tablespoons about 2" apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

Remember...if you store these in a zip lock with a slice of white bread, they stay amazingly soft and chewy.

Enjoy...

Stay tuned for more recipes.

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR~

Baking....sweet baking

Christmas baking in our house is a big event. BIG. I learned somewhere along the way about a 6 day baking process which we have cut down to 4 days, which works really well for us. We make about 100 dozen cookies, many of which will proudly have their pictures displayed here in a few short days. Here's our 'sane way to holiday baking' breakdown. First of all. TAKE NOTES! It's important to know how many cookies you made last year, what kind, what worked and what didn't. We always make the tried and true favorites, and then we always add a few new varieties to the bunch. Some of the new ones stick around, and some...well, let's just say they're not so lucky!

This year, the tried and true varieties making their returns are corn flake wreaths, cranberry/orange/walnut cookies, peanut butter blossoms, Russian tea cakes, raspberry thumbprint cookies, and strawberry jelly sandwich cookies. The cranberry, thumbprint, and jelly sandwich cookies, were all new once but now have become Christmas staples. The cranberry are our favorite cookies of all! After I've started the baking, I'll share some recipes with you. Perhaps they'll be 'new' at your house next year!

OK, this year for 'new' cookies I'm making peanut butter balls (I found a recipe without rice krispies, even though my husband insists they should have them...yuck!), chocolate Swedish spritz cookies (because I am the proud owner of a new cookie press compliments of my daughter :), carrot cake sandwich cookies (oh my gosh, I'm drooling just thinking about these...more on that later) and finally kisses chocolate chip cookies. These are chocolate chip balls with a kiss inside, drizzled with chocolate. We might call them 'death by chocolate' instead!

Now, back to the carrot cake sandwich cookies. A few weeks ago I toured an inner city Chicago School when I was at the school board convention. This school had an award winning culinary program. They gave us these MOST delicious carrot cake sandwich cookies AND the recipe. The cookies had almonds, pineapple, carrots, and coconut. They were filled with cream cheese frosting. Simply delicious! Sadly, I promptly proceeded to lose the recipe. Soooooo....I had to find the school, contact them, feel foolish, and ask them if I could please have another copy of the recipe. They did indeed fax me a copy. I searched google high and low and there were no recipes similar to that one. I cannot wait to make a wonderful batch of those. I know that they will not be on the 'new' list for long.

Enough about that, now on to the system. Now that you know to take impeccable notes...the next part is easy. I keep a 'cookie folder' in my cook book cabinet, where all my cookie notes go. When it's time, all my recipes and information are safely stored in one spot. Here is our 4 day process.

Day 1: review notes, recipes, yields, decide what you'll be baking, add a few new recipes. Make a list of what you'll be baking. Make a list of recipients (if you give cookies for gifts as I do) Figure out how many dozen will be required.

Day 2: create your shopping list. I make a list of all ingredients, i.e. butter, flour, eggs, sugar, etc., and then stroke tally how many cups of each I'll need. I convert this into my shipping list and shop. Don't forget things like cookie tins, parchment paper, and any tools that need replacing. For example, last year we broke the 1 tsp. cookie scoop. I got a terrific new one at Walmart this year. They now carry Wilton...(I have a tremendous crush on all things Wilton by the way)

Day 3: make all of your dough. Most dough performs better if it has been refrigerated. Roll it up in plastic wrap and label the outside with temp and cooking times with a sharpie marker.

Day 4: BAKE!

Optional Day 5. Day 5 may be required if you have cookies that need to be decorated. In years past when I made gingerbread men or cut out cookies, we would decorate on a separate day, when we were fresh and not tired from baking. This year we're using the cookie press instead of cut out cookies...so no day 5 for us!

At the Ruchus, we have day 1 and 2 complete. Tomorrow is baking day. Here's the real kicker. Every year about this time I remember I only have one oven rack. Every year I swear I'm going to remember to order another. Every year I don't. So....baking is truly an all day thing here, with my one lone oven rack. We will start by locking the pets in a room and scrubbing the kitchen...I despise pet hair in the cookies personally...If we have lots of energy, we may begin baking tomorrow.

Now...I'm going to share my final trick. Listen closely...I do not like crisp or crunchy cookies. Yuck! I know some of you do...I do not. So, you know the easiest way to keep your cookies chewy until delivery day? Store them in zip lock bags with a slice of cheap white bread in each bag. I don't remember where I learned that tip from, but it works like magic. Truly!

So, there you have it....the Ruchus baking system. Stay tuned for pictures and recipes...and if you're lucky enough to be on the list....yummy cookies!

Let the competition season begin...

My big girl has begun her dance competition season. Yesterday, after finishing class I headed to Schaumburg to watch her compete. They ended up getting second in pom (I missed that one so no pictures) and second in hip hop. They were 1/2 point from qualifying for state, but they have 4 competitions to go to qualify. It was such fun watching them! My big girl is on the far right.

Except for this pic where she's second from the right...

It's nice to see that all those years of dance lessons paid off! Bust it!

Winter wonderland and other beauties...

The first real snowfall arrived today. I walked out my front door to a winter wonderland...

How beautiful is that? I actually had left the house, realized I forgot my camera, decided to go on without it, but then realized I had forgotten my snow scraper, and there was no way I was heading anywhere without that! So...back home I went to get the snowscraper and the camera :) I often wonder if my neighbors think I'm stalking them...especially when I stop the car, roll down the window, and take pictures! The roads were actually very clear and I was able to do the speed limit all the way to work. The only hazard was the large mounds of snow left by the plows often in the intersections, oh...and...the hazard to the mailboxes. Ours didn't fare too well... I actually consider this a small price to pay, since it took my husband a looooong time at 4 AM to get the drive and walks shoveled and snowblowed. He even scraped my car and put it in the garage to warm up when he was done. What a lovely bonus that was!

Other very beautiful things I have had the joy to experience lately are 1) more time with this little one...

who is just getting bigger and sweeter every time I see her.

Time with this little one...

who was so excited to get her first advent calendar from her Grammie!

And then there's these two...

Finally, a good picture of them together...teasing and poking fun at each other (as usual). My big girl and her Gramma.

I'm off to study for finals finish a few school projects and then enjoy a month off school and two weeks off work. Only 7 days to go!

Tis the season...

For Christmas Concerts! My precious one had her choir concert on Tuesday...

The house was packed! They did a great job and I was SO impressed with the singing and solos from this group of young people. They did one number that recognized a variety of celebrations and cultures. My precious one was a Svenska Flicka... or....little Swedish Girl...for you non Swedish speaking folks :) I whipped up this Saint Lucia dress on Monday night for her. Her Gramma Bee and Poppy would have been so proud!

Thursday night it was band time...

I am so glad to see such interest in the music programs. Our district does a good job promoting the arts and my artsy fartsy kids are living proof! Kristina plays the trombone...that's her down there...in the second seat.
Next week is filled with High School Christmas activities...stay tuned.

Clarity

Do you ever pray for clarity? Are you ever grateful for clarity? I read Kelly Epperson's column in a very small local paper in my town. She is wonderfully known as a spreader of joy and I went to high school with her. I recall reading one of her articles recently that reminded me to list things everyday that I am grateful for. It has been a tough few years...grad school, tanked economy, j-o-b challenges, raising adolescents, finances, yada yada the list goes on and on. After reading Kelly's article I was driving down the road the other day (where most of my thinking takes place) and I began my gratitude list...I'm grateful for the blessings and challenges that are my children, I'm grateful for medication that makes MRI's a little less daunting, I'm grateful that my husband is there...and knows me...and knows when I need support...and lets it be ok that I don't wanna talk...and just a whole host of other things, including being my best friend. I am grateful for my mothers...my own and my mother in law; what an awesome example of motherhood they give me...I'm grateful for therapists...to talk to one, and to be one...I'm grateful for having the most wonderful job...two of them actually...and as I was listing all of my gratitudes...the word clarity came to mind. I am grateful that in the midst of it all, God sends me clarity so I can see things in a light of gratitude. I have friends battling chronic illness, terminal illness, loss of their husband, loss of their child...UGH! I am grateful to have the problems I have...the children challenges, the stress, the craziness, and most importantly the blessings...of which I have an abundance.