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Friday, December 17, 2010

Holiday Baking Recipes

Here are the recipes I am making this year ... I will try to add some pictures once everything is all complete! This is only about a quarter of what I usually make, but time and money are both tight this year so here is what we are having.

Velveeta Fudge

  • 3/4 pound Velveeta cheese, cut up
  • 1 cup butter
  • 6 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
  • 1 TBSP light corn syrup
  • 2 pkg. powdered sugar (32 oz. total)
  • 1 TSP vanilla
Place Velveeta, butter, chocolate and corn syrup in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high 2 minutes; stir. Microwave an additional minute; stir until well blended. Add chocolate mixture, in batches, to sugar in a large bowl, beating with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour into greased 13X9 pan. Smooth top with a spatula; cover. Refrigerate several hours or until firm. Makes 96 pieces.

(We'll see how this tastes this time ... I forgot the corn syrup!)

Double Layer Mint Fudge

Fudge Layer:
  • 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
  • 1 can creamy chocolate frosting (16 oz.)
Peppermint Layer:
  • 1 bag white vanilla baking chips (12 oz.)
  • 1 can creamy vanilla frosting (16 oz.)
  • 2 drops red food color
  • 1/2 cup finely crushed peppermint candy
  • 2 milk chocolate candy bars, chopped
Line 13X9 pan with foil so foil extends over the sides of the pan; lightly butter foil. In a 3-quart saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in chocolate frosting. Spread in pan. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a 3-quart saucepan, melt vanilla chips over low heat until smooth. Stir in vanilla frosting and food color until well blended. Fold in crushed peppermint candy. Spread carefully over chilled chocolate layer. Sprinkle chopped candy bars over top; press in lightly. Refrigerate until set and cut. Makes 96 pieces.

For this one, I usually add just a little bit of peppermint flavoring to the mint layer to make it more "minty".

Fudgy Mint Cookies

  • 1 pkg. devil's food cake mix
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 TBSP water
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 TBSP confectioner's sugar
  • 2 pkg. chocolate covered thin mints
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter and water. Add eggs; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls; roll in confectioner's sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until set. Immediately press a mint into the center of each cookie. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

JELL-O Pastel Cookies

  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 TSP baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 pkg. JELL-O, any flavor, divided
  • 1 egg
  • 1 TSP vanilla
Preheat oven to 400. Mix flour and baking powder; set aside. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar and 1 pkg. of the dry gelatin, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended after each addition.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with the bottom of a clean glass. Sprinkling with remaining dry gelatin.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Cake Balls

  • 1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13X9 cake)
  • 1 can cream cheese frosting
  • 1 pkg. chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
  • wax paper
After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together but be warned it will get messy.) Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on a cookie sheet. (Should make about 45-50.) Chill for several hours (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.) Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. Only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken.

For this, you can use any combination of cake and frosting that you like. For Christmas, I decided to buy the funfetti cake mix and frosting. We'll see how it works.

Nutter Butter Balls

  • 1 pkg. Nutter Butter cookies (broken, use the cookie with the cream center)
  • 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 pkg. chocolate bark
Finely crush all but 5 cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency. Combine with cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy. makes about 30 balls.

Carol's Caramels

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 pound light brown sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
Combine all ingredients. Bring to 244 degrees. Add vanilla after removed from heat. Pour into foil-lined and buttered 9X13 pan. Refrigerate until firm and cut.

and just for good measure ...

Tricia's Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • 1 cup butter-flavored Crisco
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 TSP salt
  • 1 TSP vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 TSP baking soda
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 bag chocolate chips
Cream together Crisco, both sugars and eggs; add salt, vanilla and soda until well blended; add in flour one cup at a time; once well mixed add chocolate chips; bake at 375 until golden brown.

For this recipe I typically double it and use a mix of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and white chips. This was my grandma's and my sister's recipe.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Nissen Card 2010


Joy And Magic Christmas 5x7 folded card
Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.
View the entire collection of cards.


Thursday, November 25, 2010

Henry

Click here to view this photo book larger

I Spy Nissen News 2010???

Typically I have already ordered, addressed, and stamped all of my Christmas cards by now so that they can get sent right after Thanksgiving. This year has been a different year though. Because of my student teaching, I just have not even had time to get it done. Also this year, with me not working since August, money is a little tight right now.

I had a really fantastic idea that I might still try to pull off - I Spy Nissen News 2010. I was going to set out a bunch of memorabilia and pictures on my table and take a picture. The "Christmas letter" would be a list of everything that can be found in the picture. It sounds fun and very original, but is it worth the work?

Or would it be easier to just use a couple of great pictures of the girls and an adorable card like any of these from Shutterfly:



I like that this card is square. An original idea.


Then there is always one like this where I can do one good picture of each of the girls and then either a family picture or one of both girls in the middle.




But this one would be perfect with the picture of the four of us at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River.




DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS! I better make my decision quick though! Shutterfly is offering 50 free photo cards to bloggers, so at least that would help with the budget issues!

What about you, what do you do for holiday cards?

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Teddy Bear

Today was my last day of student teaching. It was quite busy. It was emotional. It was fun. And I received a most beautiful gift from my parents.

This little white teddy bear doesn't look like much, does it?





But this little white teddy bear will always hold a special place in my heart. It was my sister's bear. I look at the bear and see her face, a face I have not seen since December of 1992. It is the best gift my parents could have given me today. I truly have felt my sister's spirit willing me on, pushing me forward as I worked through this degree program.


And now that I have this teddy bear, it will always have a special place to live. For now, it will live with these two bears, which were made from Tricia's dresses and Grandpa's suit coat. But someday, when I have my own classroom, this teddy bear will be with me. It will stand as a constant reminder that I have a special angel on my side. I will keep her teddy bear in every classroom I ever have so that Tricia can always be near. I know that as long as she is by my side, anything is possible.

Thank you, mom and dad for this wonderful gift. I will treasure it always. I will treasure her always. I will treasure you always.

I have not shared pictures of my class on my blog yet, but today I will share just one. This is me and my wonderful 2nd graders at the end of the day today. They were all sugared up and ready for a nice long vacation. I love each and every one of these guys and know that they will all go on to be the best that they can be!




Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Slacker Girl Project Life Tuesday

So I've been a big-time slacker girl! Gee, I wonder what I've been doing? I have succeeded in taking pictures most days though. I just have not succeeded too well in getting anything done with them!

So here is a bit of a catch-up post. I'll try to get all caught up!

September 20, 2010
This is a picture of Mrs. Weber and the class during class color day for Homecoming week. I'll omit the picture in this online version of Project life.


September 21, 2010
Just for giggles I decided to put my old pedometer on to see how many steps I take in a typical work day. In my "old" life as a secretary, I had to really work to get the thing to 5000. Today I logged three times that many! No wonder my feet hurt!


September 22, 2010

It is hard to see, but that rain gauge says over 5 inches of rain. It has been raining and raining and raining! Today I am glad we do not have a basement!


September 23, 2010

This is just one picture of the flooding that happened in Pipestone today. The town came together today and helped with sandbagging efforts.


September 24, 2010

And here is another result of all the rain ... Miss Holly looking a little more like a black lab than a yellow lab. Poor baby.


September 24, 2010 BONUS

And a bonus picture! Tricia and her friends at the homecoming football game. The team lost, but she had fun!


September 25, 2010

Wouldn't you know that the week of the flood would be our previously planned trip to the lower level of Camden State Park ... We started in the lower level, but had to leave in a hurry. Well we had to wait until they stopped the water from gushing over the road. Here is what the little creek looked like just before we left the lower level.


September 26, 2010

Troy decided to make some popcorn over the fire for the first time. He did not know exactly how much oil and popcorn to put in the kettle. Yep, a little popcorn explosion! Surprisingly enough, the popcorn was still there on the ground when we woke up!


September 27, 2010

So, the date is not right, this picture was actually taken on Sunday when Tricia and Troy and the dogs went on a hike to find the walking club clue at the State Park. They saw several deer tracks and Tricia took this picture.


September 28, 2010

This is the remnants of Ryleigh's tub time. She was FILTHY! Gotta love camping after a major rainstorm.


September 29, 2010

Tricia played tennis again this fall. She has a blast doing it. Hopefully all this early practice will pay off in a couple years when she is able to play for real.


September 30, 2010

My class made these cute Mudge pictures for art this week. They look so cute hanging in the hallway!


October 1, 2010

We took the girls to the Renaissance Festival this weekend. Tricia and Ryleigh rode on this giant rocking horse and had a blast!


October 2, 2010

Ryleigh was the first to get her face painted. She got this great butterfly. I was very impressed how still she sat while it was getting done.


October 3, 2010

Wrong date on this picture too, this was Saturday again. Tricia also got her face painted with this cool pattern. Of course, all of that hard work and money quickly went down the drain when we went swimming back at the hotel.


October 4, 2010

Again, wrong date on this picture! Clearly this picture was taken on Saturday. This is what the girls looked like when we made it back to the hotel.

Oh, and what a disaster it was when we got back to the hotel. We came back to the hotel to find out that they had taken all of our stuff out of the room and given the room to someone else. For some reason, our reservation was only put into the computer as one day. After quite a fiasco (and two now very crabby girls) we were put up in a different hotel for the night.


October 5, 2010

All three of us girls got our hair cut today. Just look at all that hair on the ground! We all got pretty short cuts again.



October 6, 2010

And not to be outdone, Holly decided to make a mess of the floor! She got ahold of the car wash mitt and destroyed it. I have no idea what the poor mitt did to her ...


October 9, 2010

You can't really see it in the picture, but this is our big wuss of a dog. She is very fond of laying right on top of the furnace vent. We are not sure she will make such a great hunting dog, she likes the warmth way too much.


October 11, 2010

Dave and Ryleigh came out to Tonia's house to pick me up after a long weekend of scrapbooking. Adam wanted to take her for a 4-wheeler ride. They both have the biggest smiles on their faces and Adam was a perfect gentleman and made sure to go nice and slow.


October 11, 2010

GO VIKINGS! The games this year have pretty much sucked. But Mr. Favre did manage to throw his 500th career touchdown pass. He threw it to Randy Moss no less (Randy did not last very long with my Vikes though ... two weeks and out!).


October 12, 2010

Tricia made these cool snow globes for three of her friends. They were adorable even if the glass pieces inside came loose. I love having a daughter who loves to craft!


October 13, 2010

Two of the smaller pumpkins from our garden. The one Ry is sitting on has strange coloring because it was hiding under the raspberry bushes.


October 15, 2010

One of Tricia's friends is moving away so I snapped this quick picture during recess at school.


October 16, 2010

Tricia and Ryleigh decided that they wanted to clean up the back entry way where Holly spends her time. It looked and smelled much better when they were done!


October 17, 2010

It is difficult to see, but Ryleigh made pictures of her Squinkies. You can just barely see the Squinkies sitting on the bottom of her easel. And yes, she is still in her jammies!


October 18, 2010

The girls and I made some 7-layer bars today! So yummy! Half with nuts and half without, of course.


October 19, 2010

Today we finally threw out all of Ryleigh's old sippy cups. She didn't really use them, just if we were going somewhere. So here she is waving goodbye! My baby is getting too big for her britches!



October 20, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!

Holly has been spending her days out in the kennel. She loves to be outside as long as it isn't too cold.


October 21, 2010

Tricia had a dentist appointment today. This is her TRYING to smile a few hours after the appointment was done.


October 21, 2010 BONUS

And my bonus picture for the day ... those darn squirrels! They love to eat our pumpkins!


October 22, 2010

We weighed the big pumpkins today. This one is 91.6 pounds. Not sure how accurate it is, but they are BIG this year!


October 23, 2010

Patty, Livi, the girls and I got a hotel room and went to Zoo Boo in Sioux Falls today. It was not as much fun as it had been in the past, but the girls still had fun. The pumpkins are just excellent.


October 24, 2010

Ahh, memories! The girls and their neighbor buddies were out in the yard raking the leaves into a leaf house. I remember doing this all the time when I was a kid. They made a pretty elaborate house, with TVs and couches and everything.


October 25, 2010

Today I was out on Main Street taking pictures of the historic buildings for a project for school. I've always loved the looks of the Geyerman's building.


October 26, 2010

Tonight was Halloween party day! We went first to the party at daycare and then we went to the Fall Festival at St. Paul preschool. Ry and Tricia both posed for a picture.


October 27, 2010

Pumpkin carving day! I helped Tricia make a skull and crossbones pumpkin and Dave helped Ryleigh carve hers.


October 28, 2010

Ryleigh decided to play with her ponies tonight. She had every pony out on the floor! Crazy kiddo.


October 29, 2010

Two pictures for today. The first is our entire class in our tie-dyed Halloween shirts. This is such a fun project and I am definitely going to keep this idea tucked away for my future classroom!

The second picture was not actually taken today, but I wanted to include it. It was during a lyceum at the school. They had the second grade teachers come up to take part in a dance.




October 30, 2010

The city organized a trick-or-treating event downtown today so the girls got dressed up and we headed out to go get some candy. It was a beautiful afternoon for trick-or-treating.


October 31, 2010

Tonight we went trick-or-treating in Holland as usual. When we got there, we were surprised to see Troy, Patty and Livi there. They surprised mom and dad and showed up unannounced. Tricia decided not to go trick-or-treating so Dave, Patty, Livi, Ryleigh and I went out at filled up our candy bags and buckets.


November 1, 2010

Tricia begged to make a cake so together we made a yellow layer cake and Dave helped the girls make some cream cheese frosting. It was a yummy treat.


November 2, 2010

Ryleigh painted this little pumpkin at daycare. She was so sad when she came home and saw that the squirrels attacked it. If you look closely in this picture, you can see the alligator tears on her cheeks. She made me take a picture so she could always remember her baby pumpkin.


November 3, 2010

Mom went with the girls and I to Villager for lunch. We finished a yummy lunch with one of their famous brownies.


November 4, 2010

Again with the eating out?!?! We don't usually eat out this much! But again, mom met us at McDonald's to have some play time and supper. Then they went to the video store to rent a couple videos for the after school program.


November 5, 2010

This picture does not do the moment justice. I was finishing up baking a double batch of chocolate chip cookies for the deer hunters this weekend when Tricia started reading to Ryleigh. She read four books before she finally got sick of it.


November 6, 2010

The mighty deer hunters were pretty fruitful this weekend. Two bucks and one doe. The girls were a little leery about getting too close to the critters hanging in mom and dad's tree.


November 7, 2010

I got a picture of Mrs. Weber reading to the kids today. She got her hair done and the kids hardly recognized her when they came in the classroom!



November 8, 2010

On Friday, the kids earned a matinee so we had popcorn and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid during math time!


November 9, 2010

What is it about dogs and the top of the dog house? Vegas used to do this all the time and now Holly is following suit.


November 10, 2010

And here she is again. I have a similar picture of Vegas standing on the house but he looked considerably more imposing. Holly just doesn't have a mean look about her. Of course, she is about half the size of what he was so that could be the reason too!


November 11, 2010

I really wanted to get a picture of the beautiful flags today for Veteran's Day, but they were taking them down by the time we left school. So instead, we took a picture of this old building that took quite a beating in the wind the past few days.


November 12, 2010

YUMMMMMM! Dave made such a delicious supper for all of us! Steak, baked potatoes, corn and garlic bread. There are many, many days that I thank my lucky stars that I have a husband who loves to cook. Today was definitely one of those days!


November 13, 2010

SNOW! Okay, not much. But we did get a dusting of snow today. It looks pretty on the pumpkins.


November 14, 2010

Ryleigh made her cookie look an awful lot like the Batman logo today. She was pretty proud of herself. Just look at that grin.



So there you have it ... How many days was that? TOO MANY TO COUNT! Enjoy!


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