Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

·         1 cup peanut butter

·         1 cup white sugar

·         1 egg

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.       Combine the peanut butter, white sugar and egg. Mix until smooth.

3.       Use a spoon to scoops up even amounts of dough and roll lightly into a ball, then place on cookie sheet.

4.       Use a fork to lightly push dough ball about halfway to flat turn the fork and push the dough ball again, (so you have the classic criss-cross top on the cookie).  

5.       Bake at 350 for 6 to 8 minutes. Do not over-bake! It's easy to do with these. 

I've been making these for years with a lot of compliments.  

*To make the Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies, instead of putting the criss-cross on top of the cookie, roll the dough, place on the sheet then using your fingertip make a "bowl" in the center of the ball, (careful not to press all the way through).  Fill the bowl with jam of your choosing and bake as per regular instructions.

**To make the Peanut Butter Chocolate Drop cookie, place the dough ball on the sheet and push a chocolate chip (for a light chocolate touch) or a Hershey's Kiss (for more of a chocolate punch)  into the center of the ball and bake as per instructions above.

Pipe Cleaner Fun!

Pipe cleaners can be really fun.  My four year old daughter and I had a blast making dress up jewelry for her today.  She'd tell me what she wanted and I'd make it and try and make it as cute as I could.



I think for the most part we did pretty good.  I know we will be playing with these again soon, so next time I'll write some directions for the designs we do.  For now...

OH! That purple and pink ring between the bracelets... THAT one was one we learned from a video which you can find here.

Meatloaf My Way

Meatloaf My Way


2lb Ground Beef
1lb Sausage
1/2 lb Bacon
1 cup Oatmeal (I usually use the 3 minute)
1 cup finely ground bread crumbs
3 eggs
1 cup Cheese (I usually use pre-shredded 3 cheese blend)
1 small can of tomato paste
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder (Basically season to taste)
Ketchup


Set oven to pre-heat at 350 degrees.


Cut your bacon into pieces (I go about 1 inch), toss into a large mixing bowl.  Add in your ground beef and sausage and mix thoroughly.  You want your meats to be completely combined.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  By the time you're done mixing your ingredients should be able to hold it's shape.  


Place in a non-greased 13x9x2 pan, drizzle some ketchup over the top, (For me this is more about making it pretty and not flavor), and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. (For slightly crisper and more brown edges go to about 1 hour and 30 minutes.)


Let cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.  This makes about 12 servings.


I can usually get away with hiding my children's vegetables in this, puree green-beans and add to the mix.  The blend of flavors hides the taste of vegetables for picky eaters.  I also make this large batch so that I can be sure and have leftovers for my husbands lunches.  Any extra that you don't wish to cook immediately can be frozen. I like to make some of it into "hamburger patties" and freeze for grilling or just place it preformed into a large freezer bag.   Write the temp, time to cook on the bag and the husband can easily prepare this for himself and the kids when you're having a night out.

Fairy Garden Dream Catcher

I made this just to see if I could.  It's about the size of a silver dollar and towards the center gets a bit more complicated.
During the process I decided that in future projects there will only be one center bead and the dangles more streamlined.
Directions have been added.

This project got it's name from a friend who's first comment upon seeing it was,  "That would be a great addition to my fairy garden!"

1 large keyring
yarn or thread (I used cotton doily thread)
beads of your choice, feathers, etc.
glue (optional)

step 1
Completely wrap the keyring with the thread.  You want to make sure there is no metal shining through. This is a bit of a tedious process but the results are definitely worth it.

step 2
Tie one end of the string to the top of the ring.  The webbing is made of a net of knots.  To make the first knot, loop the thread over the ring towards the back then bring to the front again by pulling it up through the hole you made between it and the ring.  Do this 7 more times (My image doesn't have the traditional "8 legs" of the web, but if you're going to make a Dream Catcher you really should use 8 knots to start your round.)

step 3
When you get back to the top of the hoop start the next round of webbing by making the knots in the center of the loops you created on the previous round.  Continue to do this until you reach the center of the web.

step 4
Close to the center you should add a bead before tying a knot in one of the loops, this will add a bit of decoration to your web.  You can do this at any point in your web weaving.

step 5
Tassels.  To make your tassels  cut a piece of string twice as long as you'd like your tassels to hang.  Fold the string in half and push the bent end through the bottom (or side, your choice of hanging arrangement here as with the beads.) and pull your ends through the loop created at the bend of the string.  Add beads, feathers, whatever you'd like as your tassel decoration and tie (or glue) the string to hold on the decoration.

step 6
Step back and admire your handiwork!