December Notes

If you missed today's meeting (as did I - had to make an unscheduled visit to the pediatric dentist - everyone is okay!) then you missed out on learning how to make Carol's YUMMY pies! There was also a sock exchange and much fun and festivity.

We won't meet again until January 15th, with GUM meetings on the 3rd and 5th Thursdays of January.

HOWEVER - we are doing a Pint-Sized Adventure on January 8th. There will be more follow-up emails coming, so watch for those after the first of the year!

Carol's Recipe's from this morning:

Betty Crocker 8 or 9 inch Two Crust Pie
(But you are really going to make 3 crusts from it)
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 tablespoons cold water

Whip as 4 tbs water into the shortening. Add salt and flour and mix with a fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (adding remaining water if needed). Divide dough into three pieces and shape into rounds on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Roll pastry 2 inches larger than inverted pie plate. Fold pastry into quarters; unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

"His Favorite" Apple Pie

Make pie crust. Line a 9" pie pan with first crust. Prepare 6-8 cups pared, cored thin apple slices. Arrange half of slices in pastry-lined pan.

Mix 1 cup sugar,
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Sprinkle half of this mixture over apples in pan. Arrange remaining slices on top and cover with remaining sugar mixture. Dot 1 tablespoon butter over filling. Roll remaining dough and lay over apples. Fold under edges of bottom crust, press together to seal. Cut decorative slits in top for steam to escape. Brush pastry with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in hot oven (425 F.) 45-55 minutes.

We also talked about a streusel topping for pumpkin pie. This is the recipe for Gingerbread Pumpkin Pie with streusel topping (from Cuisine At Home Magazine).

for the pie--
1 baked pie shell
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz.)
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. table salt
1 cup heavy cream

for the streusel topping--
1/4 cup crushed gingersnaps
2 Tbsp. chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. chopped crystallized ginger
2 Tbsp. butter melted
Preheat oven to 375.

Whisk eggs, brown sugar, and molasses together in a bowl until combined. Add pumpkin puree ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, and stir until blended. Stir in cream until mixture is smooth; pour into prepared pie shell and bake until set, about 40 minutes. Prepare streusel topping while pie is baking. Combine gingersnaps, pecans, crystallized ginger, and butter in a bowl until gingersnaps are saturated with butter.
Scatter streusel generously over the center of the pie and return to oven. Bake until center is set, pie puffs in the center, and streusel is crisp, 15-20 minutes more. If needed, shield pie. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Easy Button Tree Craft

I pulled this one together last week, when BOTH girls were feeling crafty. I had planned on Emma doing a button wreath craft I picked up from Oriental Trading Co. but I only had one and Audrey was intent on being involved.

So I got out my felt and cut some Christmas trees out, pulled out our box of assorted buttons and the tacky glue and let them have at it.

Turned out pretty good, and kept thier attention for at least 30 minutes. Success!!

Nativity Conversations

A couple of days ago, I overheard Emma playing with our childs nativity. She was acting out some sort of scene in which Mary and Joseph were leaving the baby behind. An open door to talk about Jesus never leaving! What other opportunities have you had this month? Tell us about it!

Listening to her gave me a chuckle but it also hit home. How often do we leave Jesus behind in the hustle and bustle of this season? Just another good reminder from my kiddos just what we're celebrating this season. Not the gifts and the decorations and all such things, but God coming to earth as a tiny baby. A humble beginning with so much purpose!

Which brings me to the COD Living Nativity. If its not on your callendar yet, its this weekend! Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 6-9pm on COD's hillside. I hope I'll see each one of you there, as you experience the nativity with your kids.

Adventures in Turkey: Final Chapter

The finished bird.

I can't believe it! I've made a turkey!! And we ate it and it was juicy and tasty and delicious.
Here's the finished bird (prior to eating, of course):
Now the wings got a bit crispy there. Not sure why that happened, as I covered it loosely with tin foil pretty early on.
This beauty took a full 5 1/2 hours to cook at 350. I don't think it should have taken that long, so I think I better have my oven temp checked for accuracy. But it did finally hit 365 in the middle stuffing there, much to my relief.

So what have I learned?
I learned cooking a turkey makes your house smell yummy. Which makes me feel warm fuzzies and all homey.
I learned that doing something hard you've never done before is usually easier than you think it will be. Which makes me feel confident and adventurous.
I learned that at almost 30, I'm still calling my mom (and dad) when I need help. Which makes me feel safe and well loved.
I learned naming a turkey Tom can be confusing for others. And well, that just makes me giggle.

Thank you for following along this epic-to-me story. I hope you enjoyed it! What will you try for the first time now??

Adventures in Making a Turkey: Part One

You can read the full adventure here: Karen's Blog
Here's the highlights:

Making the Brine.









Giving Tom a bath.









This baby is resting before he gets stuffed!!









Brining smells yummy. Raw turkey not so much. But with only one quick call for a back up opinion, I have successfully clean and brined my turkey. In a couple hours I'll be making the stuffing, stuffing Tom and sticking him in the oven. IT'S TURKEY DAY!!!

Greater Than Flashcards

This is actually from a few weeks ago, but I thought you all would enjoy it just the same.

I was teaching Emma the concept of "greater than" today. So I pulled out the dollar store 3x5 cards and the stickers I have stocked away.

Together we made flashcards, 1-10. Each got a number sticker and then we put the corresponding number of objects on the card too. So the number 1 got one cow. And so forth. I also made one > card. Then I explained the "greater than" symbol and what it means facing each way. I used the old pacman analogy here, and actually drew a little > with a head. Like a giant open mouth, because Greater Than Man, likes to eat the most.

She giggled and I totally didn't think she was getting it. But then one right after the other, she picked two cards and put the greater than sign between them. And I bet some of your little ones will enjoy this too. It was easy, fun and cheap. (Although, now I have to buy a laminator so the cards will be around longer than today, but that's a whole other thing.)

Adventures in Cooking a Turkey: Prologue

Yesterday at GUM we had a tutorial on cooking. We covered two things: making a turkey, and some desserts. The desserts were de-lish...but what I really want to focus on is making a turkey. (Thanks Tina and Carol for you fab demos!!)

I'll be 30 next month, in 35 days to be exact, and if you've been reading my blog or ever had a conversation with me, you're likely to know I haven't handled the prospect of turning 30 with much grace. In fact, my husband has planned something special for me in an effort to coax me into my 30's. I told him it better be good, or I'm staying 29. I've also spent some time over the last year trying to come up with a list of things I should do before turning 30. I hadn't had much success with this list - until now.

Before I turn 30, I'm going to cook a turkey. My first turkey. Ever. I've never even HELPED make a turkey. Actually I've never even cooked a whole chicken. So this will be my maiden voyage in poultry. Probably a bit ambitious I know, but then I'm an ambitious kind of gal. I admit I am motivated by the thought of eating a wonderful turkey sandwhich (as they seem to have eluded me and my household so far this year). There's nothing like a leftover turkey sandwhich. And that's coming from the girl who thinks we should have ham at every holiday.

Either way, I'm making a turkey. I've comitted. I've posted about it here. And the adventure begins. I hope you'll follow me along the journey and are inspired and humored right along with me.

I'm off to read through Melinda Lee's website to read up on the recipe, the brine and make a list for the grocery store. Check back Monday for my next entry in Adventures in Making a Turkey.