Jesus - The Ultimate Christmas Gift

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." Micah 5:2 -

It is so good during the busy Christmas season to remember why we celebrate Christmas. It is because of that night long ago in Bethlehem, when the angels heralded the arrival of the Mashiach Nagid, our Messiah the King, as a babe born in Bethlehem. It is when the CREATOR entered His own creation to become the ultimate sin offering for you and me. It is so humbling and awesome to know just how much God loves us. Jesus sums it up in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His ONLY begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus willingly and with a love that we cannot even begin to fathom the depths of, offered Himself as the atonement for OUR sins. Jesus is the ULTIMATE Christmas gift!! We just have to accept the gift. Thank you Jesus!!!

Jane and the Giant Cookie...

For quite some time I have known Jane has been hunting for her "perfect chocolate chip cookie". Now to define what makes a "perfect" Chocolate Chip Cookie to Janey.....it must NOT be one of those flat, crispy, chewy, buttery jobs! Bite your tongue!! And it CANNOT be a hard, crunchy excuse of a cookie! I knew all of the things that her "perfect cookie" WAS NOT, but it was not until we were sitting in a coffee shop one night, and the waitress brought out a chocolate chip cookie that I finally knew what the cookie WAS. This cookie made Jane's eyes light up. She glowed! The object of her affection was a large, cakey, thick, crispy, soft chocolate chip cookie.

It just so happened that I tried the following recipe for the first time the following week. When they came out of the oven I KNEW I had stumbled upon Jane's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.....or at least until a better one comes along. I hope you will try the recipe and enjoy it as much as we have!

Jane's Giant Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp salt

14 TBSP (1 3/4 sticks) butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 TBSP vegetable or canola oil

8 oz good quality chocolate chips - bittersweet or semi-sweet, bakers preference1 cup toasted nuts, optional

Directions:

1. Mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Mix eggs, vanilla and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Microwave butter until just melted, but not hot. This will take about 30-45 seconds.
   
2. Mix sugars in a large bowl. Add butter and oil, and stir until smooth. Add egg mixture; stir until smooth and creamy. Add dry ingredients, and stir to form a smooth dough. Stir in chocolate and nuts, if using.


3. Using a 1 1/2 ounce (3 TBSP) spring action ice cream scoop, spoon 16 dough balls onto a pan that will fit in your freezer. Don't fuss if the balls are crowded. They will pull apart when frozen. Freeze until dough is hard, about 30 minutes. At this stage you can freeze the balls in a freezer bag until you are ready to use them. They will keep for about 3 months.


4. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Working with half batches, place 8 frozen dough balls on a cookie sheet. Do not press them down. Bake until set but not brown, 8-10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue to bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges and lightly brown on top, about 10 minutes longer. Let cookies cool completely on sheet. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Enjoy!!!!
   

"The Great Pumpkin" Pancake

Tis the season for a bit of pumpkin and spice. Here is a wonderful recipe from Martha Stewart for pumpkin pancakes that I wanted to share with my friends. This has become an overnight classic at my house. Ross asks for them every day!

Great Pumpkin Pancakes

Dry Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour (unbleached or all-purpose)

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 pinches of ground cloves

Wet Ingredients:

2 cups milk

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup melted butter

2 eggs, seperated

Directions:

In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients with a whisk. Mix well. In a medium bowl combine milk, pumpkin, and egg whites. In a smaller bowl stir together melted butter and egg yolks. Pour egg yolk mixture into milk mixture. Stir to combine** .Pour wet ingredients onto dry ingredients. Fold to combine. Do not overmix. Put a bit of butter or cooking spray on your griddle or skillet. Use about 1/4-12 cup of batter for each pancake....or whatever looks right to you. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. There are a ton of topping choices for these: maple syrup, whipped cream, sauted apples, pecans.... just to name a few!

**you can skip separating the eggs and combine all of your wet ingredients at once if you want to save a bit of time.

Homemade Glass Cleaner

I have tried a number of recipes for window cleaner through the years, but this one wins.....for now. This recipe can go head to head with the store bought cleaner. I actually prefer it, especially when you read the list of ingredients in the store bought version! Did I mention, you will save a bundle too?

Window Cleaner

1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
1 TBSP Vinegar

Mix ingredients together and pour into your spray bottle. Your empty glass cleaner bottle works great.

You say taquito, I say enchilada....

I made the filling for freezer beef taquitos last week. I should have read the fine print. The recipe called for the taquitos to be fried when you were ready to use them. I hate frying food! But I had already wrapped and rolled a fair number of them.
A couple of days later I decided to use the rolled "taquitos" as enchiladas instead..... let me just say, I have never eaten so many beef enchiladas in my life! Truly! They were delicious. I have made freezer enchiladas before and frankly they always taste just slightly mushy to me. Still yummy, but mushy. The nice thing about this recipe is you can use them as either taquitos or enchiladas. And I had dinner in a baking dish and in the oven in literally 5 minutes flat. So here is the recipe......

Beef Taquitos/Enchiladas

2 lbs beef chuck
2 T oil (more if you need it)
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 medium onion, diced
7 oz can chopped green chilies, undrained
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup water
salt to taste
24 corn tortillas

In a dutch oven or skillet, heat oil on medium to medium high heat. Brown roast in hot oil on all sides, adding more oil if needed. Place roast in a crockpot along with the onion soup mix, onion, green chilies, bay leaf, pepper and water. Cover and cook for 4-6 hrs on high or 6-8 on low, until beef is very tender. Cool beef and shred. Add any remaining juices back into the beef. Don't overdo this though. You don't want soup. Add salt to taste, if needed.

To assemble the rolls:
Between two paper towels, heat in the microwave approximately 4 corn tortillas. It will take about 15 seconds.Spread 2-3 TBSP of filling of meat mixture on corn tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down on a cookie sheet, on a piece of wax paper. If you need to, stick a toothpick through the roll to keep it held together. Keep them loosely covered with a piece of saran wrap or a towel while you work. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling until you have used it all. Place tray in freezer. Freeze in a single layer until they are firm enough to be placed in a ziplock bag. Make sure you take the toothpicks out after only about a 1/2 an hour though or you won't get them out in one piece.

When you are ready to use them for a meal:

For the taquitos...

Extra ingredients needed:

Cooking oil
condiments

Directions:

Thaw taquitos slightly. Heat 2-3 inches of oil on medium-high in a stockpot or dutch oven. Fry taquitos a few at a time for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and heated through. Use slotted spoon to remove taquitos; drain them on paper towels Serve immediately with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or whatever you like.

For enchiladas...

2 cans of enchilada sauce - or whatever amount of sauce you prefer
shredded cheese - at least 8 oz
diced onion
sour cream, gaucamole, or whatever condiments you want to serve with the enchiladas

Preheat oven to 350. Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Place enchiladas in pan. Pour your favorite store bought enchilada sauce over the top, or take a bit more time and make your own. Sprinkle onions over the top, this is optional. Sprinkle shredded cheese over entire dish. Cover and bake until heated through, approximately 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven. Let them cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

**I had to borrow the picture. I couldn't find my regular camera so I took one with my camera phone, but it did not turn out.

A Tale of Two Cakes.....

I made this cake last week for my friend Jane's Birthday. It is the Tuxedo cake from The Pastry Queen Cookbook. But here is the problem....I wanted one too! It just looked so good! It would be wrong to send something off without knowing if it tastes good....right? I mean, what if it was horrible? What if it made you sick? What if....
I made cake #1 with the intention of it being my "tester cake". I wasn't completely thrilled with the outcome of the recipe. I was being over the top, I know this comes as a shock :) . I was convinced it was not just right because of the way you added in the baking soda. The vanilla, salt and baking soda were the last three ingredients added to the cake. The baking soda was not mixed in with anything. So on to cake #2 I went. I was so pleased with the way the batter turned out and was sure this was going to be perfect (except for that little voice inside my head that told me to get rid of a little bit of the batter).....and then I turned the oven light on.....only to see Mount Vesuvius had erupted in my oven!! I am NOT kidding!!! There was hot batter flowing over the edge of one of the pans!! FLOWING!!!! I opened the door of the oven, only to have the batter change course and pour out the door and onto the lower oven! It was a mess of epic proportions. But I must say, well worth it in the end! I kept that cake. It was just a two layer, rather than the three layer it was supposed to be. The cake was yummy and looked lovely. It did not last long at all. Owain and Ross have both requested it for their Birthdays. I will definitely make this again....minus the eruption!! Although I must say my boys looked at me adoringly for actually making a real, live volcano in the house! I will post the recipe this weekend.

If You Give a Kid a Pancake......

Ross wanted pancakes for breakfast this morning. Of course he did...it is Saturday and that is just what you should do, have pancakes with smiley faces made out of chocolate chips. Whipped cream always makes great hair. It does not get much better than that when you are 8. Owain, my 10 yr old was angling for crepes but Ross got his request in first. He went to sleep last night talking about breakfast, I swear he probably dreamed about it. If you know my boys this should come as no surprise. They are very much like their mother. Food is a HUGE part of life.
I always like to use new recipes because I am sure the "perfect" recipe for each thing I make is still to be discovered. I bought a "new" cookbook at the half price bookstore the other day. It is called "The Perfect Recipe". How appropriate. The author is Pam Anderson(no, not of Baywatch fame). She claimed her recipe for pancakes is the best. She has tested recipes for them every way to Sunday. My kind of girl!!! I am here to say that until I find the next "perfect pancake recipe" this one holds the title.

Perfect Pancakes

Dry Ingredients:(combine in a large bowl)
2 cups flour
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients:
2 eggs separated
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
4 TBSP melted butter

Preheat skillet or griddle. The pan is ready when drops of water sprinkled on it dance for you.
In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients. Use a whisk for this making sure you really distribute the leavening agents. In a medium bowl stir together the egg whites, buttermilk and milk. In a smaller bowl mix together the egg yolks and melted butter. Stir yolk mixture into milk mixture. Dump the wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients and gently but quickly mix together. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Pour about 1/4-1/2 cup of batter on pan. If you want to add chocolate chips, blueberries or any other yummy addition just wait for 30 seconds after you poured the batter on the grill then gently sprinkle your add-ons on the top. When you see little bubbles on the surface of the pancake and a few of the bubbles have popped (2-3 minutes) it is time to flip them. Cook until browned on second side, approximately 1-2 minutes. Then slather with butter and enjoy!!!!