CookieD-oh

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  I don't really like to cook.  I can cook.  I'm a pretty good cook, actually.  But it's not something I really enjoy doing, like baking.  (And no, cooking and baking are not the same.)  So when it comes to making dinner, I like to go with as little fuss as possible, unless it's a special occasion.  (I do love to put on a big Thanksgiving dinner...I'm really not sure why...)  Although, in an attempt to be a little more healthy, I make our dinners from scratch, and don't buy ready-made food from the grocery store.  Go figure.  Anyhoo, this recipe fits the no-fuss rule.  And it's very popular at potlucks.  It's a win-win. Now that we've got all that out of the way, here's the recipe.  It's really yummy, too.  I make this when I don't feel like making real macaroni and cheese.  Which is pretty much all the time.  First, gather your ingredi...

Aren't they beautiful?  It's peach season.  Finally.  The fruit farm sent out a newsletter that said peaches are in, and we were all over it.  After we ate a few, I whipped up a quick peach crisp.  The recipe is adapted from the Pioneer Woman's Raspberry Crisp .  But we don't care for raspberries, and we adore peaches.  First peel and slice about 5 cups of fresh peaches.  Mix in cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.  Let that sit and get cozy while you mix up  the topping. In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar, white sugar, flour, salt, butter and oats. Mix it all up until it forms a nice crumb.  This is my favorite pie pan.  Only, I don't make pie in it very often. I make pie in my glass pie pans.  I like this one for all sorts of other things... Like peach crisp... Mmm...peaches.... Now put on the topping and pat it down... Pop it in the oven at 350 until it is golden brown and bu...

Well, it's certainly been a while since I've posted.  I have no excuses, except that it's summertime, and the boy is not in school, which means we have to do more stuff to keep him busy.  Which for us, usually just means going outside and running through the sprinkler...but it's something, anyway. So, my co-worker demanded asked that I make a cake for her son's 4th birthday.  She brought me a picture, but, again, I have no idea who made the original.  And here it is: I could have done better, if I'd had a chance to do it over, but it came out ok.  I'm not an artist, so I wasn't able to capture their expressions, but it's like enough so you know who it is.  I think.  I've never actually seen Cars.  (The original photo has a blue guy on top, but I have no idea who he is.  He has a monocle, though.) Top tier is strawberry, bottom is chocolate.  Vanilla buttercream filling and homemade chocolate marshmallow f...

So we've experienced a busy week.  The power was out for a few days...on the week we decided to play hookey from work...good times.  After the power came back on we took the kids to an amusement park, which was a hugely popular decision.  In the ensuing days we went to an historical farm, grilled out in the back yard, treated Daddy's sunburn, went to a parade, made popcorn and watched Goonies...it's been a fun-filled week. All that excitement meant that I was not anywhere near the computer for most of the week.  Which means I didn't post my 4th of July cookies.  So, without further ado, here they are! Please don't judge me for my picture quality.  I arranged them nicely and took some pictures, but they didn't turn out.  Lighting again. Some close-ups: Please note the America is not chubby. (Design above shamelessly lifted from LilaLoa  ) Disco Dust!!!! And that's all for now.  I sent most of these coo...

I made these in August 2010, but I thought I'd post them anyway.  The boy had some questions about the American flag, so we did a little study on Betsy Ross.  We researched her life and times, then talked about the Revolutionary War and George Washington.  The hubby looked up how to cut a 5-pointed star our of fabric with one snip; just like Betsy used to do.  It was not easy, but he did it! Then I made cookies.  And gave them to the boy's new teacher on the last day of summer vacation when we dropped his supplies off at the school.  Gotta love brownie points with educational value! Sugar cookies with glaze icing: I have a spool of thread cutter now.  I bought it because of these cookies. ^^^ Surfboard cutter...I chopped off the "tail".  This was before I learned about drawing on the cookie with an edible marker before piping, in order to maintain uniformity.  Live and learn. These were before I fully conquered...