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November 20, 2010

Girl cousin party time for Allison!

Here are some cute favors I made for the party with the cousins next week. I love these scrabble tile necklaces. They were pretty easy to make and you can buy the tiles at Michaels! The 3-D 2 I got at the thrift store and just decorated it. It will go in the middle of the table. I love it! I also made barrettes for the girls. I love having a girl to make stuff for!

This one is a cute peacock for Aunt Elizabeth


I love that it is personalized with the first letter of the child's name on the back!

Here is the link to the scrabble tile necklaces if you want to make your own.

http://www.makeandtakes.com/links/scrabble-tile-pendant-tutorial





Love,

Allison is 2

Two years ago this weekend we were praying and praying for both the birth mother and the baby girl. We did alot of driving around late at night talking and praying for God's will for us. The weekend had also been hard because some of our very dear friends were moving to Canada. It just seemed so difficult. Would we be taking home this precious baby girl, or just thankful that she was not aborted?Either way, it was a waiting game. Three days after the birth we finally got the call that the birth mom was ready to sign the papers, we had so many emotions. Sad for the birth mom, thankful for the gift of life and just losing so much sleep through the process. Thankfully, we took our little girl home and we have been so excited to have her in our lives. She has made it much more sweeter than we ever thought possible. Thank you Lord, for such a precious gift.

Now, over the mushy stuff, we had cake! Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. Feels like we have had so much cake this month, with only two birthdays in the family! I can just imagine how much cake the Dugger's eat monthly!! As you can see by the photos, it was a hit. Daddy tried to steal Allison's piece, but up comes her finger, NO DADDY and he frowned. Allison means business! Especially when it comes to cake. Have a great weekend everyone!


This picture was taken on the doughnut day




No, no daddy!


No, no daddy!!


I want to leave you with one of my favorite verses about life. It is precious and from God....every life.




This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

                                            Deuteronomy 30:19





Love,

November 9, 2010

Doughnuts

Doughnuts. Some are airy, some are caky, some are filled, and some are sprinkled. I love doughnuts any way. So, while looking through a cookbook I acquired after my mom passed away, I was happy to give these yummy treats a try. Seems like fall is the time to cook up your own doughnuts! This cookbook is copyrighted 1950. Much older than I am. It is old and tattered. Allison wants to play with it, but no way on this one! Whenever I cook with a cookbook, I usually give her one of my Everyday Food "cookbooks" to play with while I am using the real one! I love this cookbook because it has different things in it. I actually tells you how to be a good hostess, what to keep in your "traditional" kitchen and other cute tid bits that make me smile. I also appreciate it because it has my mom's handwritten recipes on the inside cover.




So, I attached my kitchen aid mixer with the attachment and got my ingredients together.
Here is the recipe:

Beat well 4 egg yolks (or 2 whole eggs). Beat in 1 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp shortening. Stir in 3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk. Sift together and stir in: 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Chill the dough for 2 hours. Heat up your oil while rolling the doughnuts. You need to have your oil at 390 the whole time you are frying them. Fry until brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Serve plain, sugared or glazed.

Here Tyler is helping, because he wanted to eat them!



He helped a lot! If you are doing it alone, have everything prepared before hand. It was much easier once he smelled them cooking and ran in to help me flip them! We used a powdered sugar glaze and didn't really care for it. I had some leftover chocolate frosting that I had made last week, and heated it up and dipped them in that! OH BOY was that crazy good! These doughnuts are a caky kind, so we found that they get too greasy in certain glazes. It was a lot of fun! I had never made doughnuts before. Enjoy!

Here they are! Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate and Powdered Sugar.



November 1, 2010

Happy 13th Birthday Harrison!!

Today, 13 years ago, I delivered a 9 pound 14 ounce  20 inches long boy. He was so sweet, cuddly and quiet. What happened? Ha ha. He has turned into a great young man whom I am very proud of. He loves so many things. Playing guitar, bike ridding, art, reading, games and much more. I am so happy to have him in my life. Happy birthday Harrison. We love you!






Coffee-glazed oven brisket

Got a great new recipe! Everyone knows how much I love coffee, so how could I resist a coffee glazed brisket? I couldn't! Really easy, yummy...it was a winner. Everyone loved it. I actually couldn't find brisket on my weekly shopping trip to Fry's, so I just got another roast that was similar.





Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season 3 pounds of beef brisket (thin first cut) with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven over high heat, warm two tablespoons of canola oil. Add the brisket, fat side down, and cook until well browned, 4 to 5 minutes each side. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup freshly brewed black coffee, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup chili sauce, 1/2 cup honey, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 minced garlic clove, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Pour over brisket. Cover; Bake, flipping halfway through, until meat shreds easily with a fork, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove from over: slice on the bias against the grain. Transfer remaining sauce from dutch oven to a gravy boat, or I just poured it over the sliced meat. Enjoy!!