For years growing up I watched my mother spend hours preparing, baking and decorating sugar cookies.  I never could understand back then why anyone would spend so much time putting so much effort into something which was going to be gone in a couple bites. Now, I am older and realize there are a variety of reasons we do things with such painstaking care.  It’s not just the love we pour into it, the carefully placed decorations or the satisfaction of a beautifully completed project.  So much more than any of those things is the joy it brings to others.   Please indulge me while I take a moment to thank my mother for teaching me something in which now I take so much pride in. Thanks mom!

Sugar cookies are fun and you can be so creative with how you design them.  I have seen some really amazing ones with so much detail and very simple ones which were just as amazing in their simplicity.  This past Valentine’s Day, I ventured out a little more with my sugar cookie designs.  I took a few minutes online pulling up images to gather ideas.  I incorporated pieces of the designs I found with a few spin offs of my own, using the decorations I had on hand.

The sugar cookies shown in these photos can take me up to three days to complete. Some of that time is probably because of my four little boys. First I mix the batter, refrigerate it for 24 hrs (it really only needs 2-3 hours), roll out what I need for the first batch and then back in the fridge until I am ready for the next.  I love this recipe as it seems to really go a long way and the cookies are amazing.  They are so soft when they are first out of the oven, then crisp up a little after cooling and become soft again after frosting and sitting over night. One important thing I learned over the years is frosting consistency.

Make sure it is not too thick or too runny. If the frosting is too thick it becomes increasingly difficult to spread.  A runny frosting, on the other hand, leads to loads of clean up on the cookie and your fingers. Take your time and start with a little frosting to get an idea how much you will need for your cookie design.  Helpful hint: after the cookie frosting is dry, take a sharp knife and scrape the frosting off the edges where you may have colored a little outside the lines

Of course, since I am a chocolate lover (preferably dark), I had to make a few small cookies with chocolate.  Here is a recipe my mother has been using for years, which is the same I now use. Enjoy!

How to make sugar cookies from scratch

1 Cup Crisco Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Eggs

1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

3 Tablespoons Milk

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Combine shortening and sugar in a mixing bowl on medium speed until well blended like a sugary cream. Add salt, eggs (one at a time, until blended), vanilla and almond extract, then mix till well blended. Dissolve baking soda and milk together, then add and mix again, before adding flour 1 cup at a time until all blended.  Then cover and chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.  Roll out only what you need for each ungreased cookie sheet on a floured surface.

Preheat Oven to 325-350°F degrees

Each oven is different, so it may take 8 minutes to 12 minutes.  This will also vary on the thickness of your cookie. A trick I use, is removing the cookies just before they are finished cooking and allow them to finish cooking on the cookie sheets for a few minutes.  Then you will place them on a cooling rack to finishing the cooling process, before decorating. Using a metal spatula will make it easier to place and remove cookies on the cookie sheet.

Powdered Sugar Frosting Recipe

1 Cup Confectioners Sugar

1 Tablespoon Milk

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla (optional)

Mix all together with a fork.  You might have to add more Confectioners Sugar to get the right consistency.  Then you will add food coloring based on your design.

My Little Monkey, Hunter!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

His new found love of climbing trees is totally awesome!

Hunter is such the little bug lover and has now mastered catching dragonflies by hand, if only he wouldn’t squeeze them so hard.

One of many favorite times, was after bath time just before I put the twins to bed.  We were silly, full of giggles, tummy tickles and lots of angel kisses.

So proud of himself once he accomplished climbing up on his giraffe, it was almost impossible to remove him without a complete meltdown.

Although, I wasn’t able to bring them both home the same day, it still amazing these two little boys once fit in the same bed together.

My Little Snuggle Buggle!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

My little Snuggles before I cut his hair off, after be begged me to have have hair like his brothers.  Miss is little curls and want to kiss his little cheeks every time I see this picture.

Beware of the hat full of smiles he is hiding under there.  He saves these for when he is in trouble with mommy and it works every time.

Always full of smiles and just an easy going baby.

This was Connor the day we were able to come home from the hospital.  So, now we have been blessed with four little boys.

Chocolate…chocolate…I love chocolate.   I realized a couple of years ago my simple chocolate covered pretzel rods were a big hit each year for my husband’s holiday platter. So, of course, in true Jennifer fashion I had to challenge myself to the next level of chocolatey goodness.  I had a burning desire to exceed my internal expectations.  Now, for years I have been using the chocolate wafers from D & G Occasions, which are amazing. While I was there I picked up a Valentine mold for my chocolate peanut butter cups.

After stocking up on my chocolates there, I headed over to Michael’s to pick up a starter kit they had for Pretzels, which I used for the pretzels below.  When I started making peanut butter cups, they were rolled balls of peanut butter dipped in chocolate, simple and still tasty.  The trick to some molds is to make sure whatever filing you decide to use it is even with the back to avoid having any lumps, giving you an even surface.   This is why I recommend doing a test run of your chocolates with your family, trust me your family will thank you for being able to taste such chocolate covered deliciousness. By doing this, it will allow you to determine if you may need more filing or chocolate for the mold you have chosen.

Now, let’s go have some fun and make chocolates!

How to make chocolate covered pretzels:

• Find a mold you feel comfortable working with.
• Have a test run and let your family sample.
• Melt wafers 20 seconds at a time in microwave.
• Make sure you stir after each 20 seconds of melting.
• Use squeeze bottles for chocolates to fill your molds.
• Do one color at a time, until set and then second, third so on and so forth.
• You can shorten wait time between colors by placing mold in fridge for 1-2 minutes.
• Most important, have fun!

So not very many people know that I also like to draw.  It started over 10yrs ago and when I am in the mood I love to sit down and have fun with it.  Most of the time I find myself drawing things for the kids.  Here are a couple of them and I will add more as I come across them.

This one is from about 6-7yrs ago. I can remember doing this one for Dalton after I has purchased him some new Spider Man shoes. He must have been about 4yrs old and it came off his shoe box.

I just started this one recently and have to finish. Poor Sponge Bob is missing part of his body.

So, after the drama of the kids popping their pool as they pretended they were white water rafting, we journeyed inside to start preparing dinner.  I had decided earlier in the day I was going to make spaghetti, which is just a fan favorite in our house. The smell of the yeast rolls rising…yummy! So there I am, just poured sauce in the pan, when Connor my youngest pulled his chair up and wanted to cook.  Now, mind you, he will be turning 3yrs old next month.  How could I say “NO” to this little heart of joy who wanted to help his mommy.  (My fingers are crossed ladies that he stills loves it as much in the future as he did last night).  I don’t know a woman out there that doesn’t enjoy a man cooking for her once in a while.  He was so cute as he pulled up his chair and asked for a spoon to stir the sauce.  I was just melting there standing next to him. He was acting like such a big boy.  Get this, he saw me testing the sauce and insisted he had a spoon to do the same.  Bless his little heart…as he stirred, tapped the side of the pan to get the extra sauce off the wooden spoon and then tasted it.  ’MMM…THAT’S GOOD!’  I melted  He even suggested a couple times we needed more sugar and salt.  Really!  Once we added the meatballs he insisted on more taste testing.  So, Connor and I finished cooking dinner and I prepared everything for my four little boys.  I mentioned to the others they should thank their brother for cooking dinner.  Oh my, the look of confusion on their faces. Priceless!

You gotta taste this! This is... oh, it's got this kind of... mmm, it's burny, it's melty... it's not really a smoky taste. It's kind of like a certain... Pshah! It's got like this " Ba-boom! Zap!" kind of taste. Dont you think? What would you call that flavor?

Spaghetti Recipe

1 Medium onion diced

Red, orange, green & yellow bell peppers 1/4 from each pepper diced

2-3 large cloves of garlic minced

1 Tablespoon of butter or margarine (optional)

1 1/2 Tablespoon of Extra virgin olive oil

1 Jar of Ragu red sauce (I use Garden Combination and/or Mama’s Special Garden)

1 Pkg of Johnsonville Italian Sausage (your preference)

2-4 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoon of  Iberia white cooking wine

1 Pkg of spaghetti pasta

Salt and Pepper

In your first pan add olive oil and butter on low heat.  Once the butter is melted add in garlic, onions and peppers on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. You can turn up the heat a little before adding in the cooking wine.  Once the cooking wine has been added, cook for 1-2 minutes.  Turn down to low and add in sauce.  At this point you will add in sugar, salt and pepper to taste.  Go ahead and get your water started and bring to a boil.  I normally add some olive oil so we can avoid noodles from discovering the buddy system.  ;)  I recently found myself on a kick of using Johnsonville Italian Sausage for meatballs.  I remove them from casing, then roll them out into balls.  You can make them into any size meatball you would like. Super easy and convenient with four kids running around.  Cook meatballs in a separate pan from sauce adding meatballs only.  I start on low heat and then slowly bring it up to medium. Cook slow to avoid them being cooked to quickly and having a crisp outside.  Once cooked add them into your sauce.  Let this simmer for 15 minutes while you finish your pasta.

This is a really quick and super easy recipe, even if you don’t have your own 2 year old sous chef. Feel free to substitute your favorite brands for the sauce, sausage and cooking wine. Or, even you have the time and are feeling adventurous…whip up your own homemade sauce.

Before you go…I have to tell you one little thing.  I never really liked spaghetti. So it’s kinda ironic the first recipe I write and share is about spaghetti.  I knew with my husband liking it so much I was going to have to create something I could eat often and really love every bite.  So I am glad to be able to share this with you and your family.  Enjoy!

I have always enjoyed the time of year when leaves start changing colors and weather gives way to gorgeous breezy days.  Lovely pumpkin patches where the kids go hunting for the perfect one.  Looking for just the right costume and lots of yummy candy treats.  The younger kids found pumpkins, in general, a lot of fun this year.  They picked out little pumpkins easy enough for them to handle and decorated them with markers.  My oldest got to pick the big pumpkin this year.

None of the boys were sure what to make of the “snot” inside the pumpkin.  They hardly got their hands inside before they ran for the hills.  This worked out just as planned in our oldest son’s mind.  It allowed him to be creative with his design.  It turned out awesome and I am so very proud of his hard work.  I enjoy these moments I can share with my children.  Being able to share in some of the same family traditions I grew up with.

Summer Breaks can be long, but one way we love to have fun here is WATER and lots of it.  My kids have a blast running around through their wormy looking sprinkler, dodging water balloons thrown by their big brother or just relaxing.  Either way we had a blast spending it outside this year.  Who doesn’t love a summer with the sun shining down making all things wonderfully hot.  At this time we don’t have any big adventures coming up…so we will have to wait and see.

My kids are now a little older and have a big fascination with water balloons.  I’m not really sure what I was thinking.  Tiny pieces of rubber in all kinds of places, including some melted to rocks because they were missed in the clean up.  Have you ever spent 30 minutes filling up water balloons to watch them all be gone in less than 5?  I chuckle each time this happens, when they come asking me for more.  Yummy Popsicle-stained faces, bellies and arms from them melting all over.  Yes, as you can imagine my life is filled with all kinds of amazing moments with my four boys.  I hope you had a summer as wonderful as ours.  Here are a few pictures of our little rascals:

Oh Man....we have an intruder! Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!

We love our Castle...no one can get us now!

Oh No! I Think I can defend the castle alone...every man for himself.

I think I can...I think I can...run from the wormy thing!

Look Mom...my new friend Mr. Green Frog. He is so silly!

I'll show you Mister!

Oh Boy didn't we have fun today!

Well, didn’t that look like a day filled with fun and laughs?  I can only imagine what is next for my four little boys.  Now, lets go NAP!