Zucchini Bread on a crazy day....

Hi everyone!!  It is Monday yet again...we are joining in with Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday

-AND (!!!)-

with Emily at The Nest for Craft♥Advent.

So, the weekend started really great - visits to family and friends, creative time with the kiddos....come Sunday afternoon, it got downright crazy.

It all started just as we got the cookbook out...

And consulted our favorite recipe for Zucchini Bread....

Last summer for a bumper crop of Zucchini, so plenty ended up shredded and put up for the winter. 

And on Sunday, into the microwave it went to defrost for Zucchini Bread....a recipe from Ms. Crocker that is soooo good, even my kids will eat it!!

However, just as the microwave finished however, it came to my attention that there was a growing puddle of water under the fridge....and then after a dash to the bathroom, we saw that that floor was soaked....and then after flinging ourselves at high speeds down to the basement, we found that it was raining.

Raining!

So, long story very short....the washer malfunctioned, hence soaking a good portion of my house, which in turn allowed for the zucchini to finish defrosting...Glass half full, right? ;)

And after 3 additional hours, all was mixed up and into the oven it went!

All ready for holiday gifting!

For more organized and less crazy holiday crafting and fun, head on over to Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living and Emily's at The Nest for Craft♥Advent.

I will see you there!

    

Craft♥Advent - a more traditional take on shortbread...

Happy Friday everyone!  We are joining in with Emily at The Nest for Craft♥Advent today :)

And...we are taking another go around with the shortbread cookies....  The last ones we tried were fun, but really, REALLY crumbly....and since many broke before they were packaged up, more needed the be made.

So, today, we are going for a more traditional, solid shortbread cookie.  And once again, ingreadients are simple: butter (a whole pound!!), cup of brown sugar, and nearly four cups of flour...

Once again, the handy mixer has been pulled from the sidelines and into action.

A big hunk of dough is mixed up and set out for shaping.

Dough is rolled out until about 1/2 inch think, then cut into squares (I used our circular pizza cutter), and then poked with a fork to get the dominoe-like dots....

In to the oven at 325 degrees F, for about 20 minutes

Cookies are then set on a rack to cool.

And then packaged up for the coming weekend of early gifting.

For other adventures in Craft♥Advent, check out Emily's site at The Nest!

Happy crafting everyone!!

Craft♥Advent - Shortbread Cookies

We are so happy to be joining in with Emily at The Nest for Craft♥Advent.

Today, we are making shortbread cookies...which just so happen to look like tree ornaments ;)  Fancy, right?  ;)

These have got to be my very most favorite cookies for the holidays...although I am not quite sure whether this is cause they are so tasty, or because they require all of three ingredients - not counting the decoratives. :)

And what are these ingredients, you ask?  Butter, flour, and sugar.  It doesn't get much simplier than that! 

And to aid in the work, we have the Kitchen Aid mixer, a hand-me-down from my grandmother (haven't a clue how far back it dates....), and the my trustee Betty Crocker CookBook (aka.  my bible - no offensive intended...).  Delightful friends, they are!

Once the three very important ingredients are mixed up, it is on to the cutting board with the handheld roller.  A fun, but messy part....leaving my kitchen kinda covered in powdered sugar...

I was kind of a slacker in cutting the shapes, using a simple drinking cup to cut the circles...but, in public, I will say that I didn't lose the cookie cutters...I was planning to make circles....really, I was... ;)

As a side note...these have green food coloring added to add some holiday cheer...and my kids did ask me why I was cooking Play Doh.  And later ate said "Play Doh"...hmmm....

For decoratives, I simply added a smattering of peppermints with sprinkles...

And...Ta Da!  15 minutes in the oven...and they are DONE!!

See?  How easy is that?

If I can do it, anyone can! 

As a bit of a sidebar...for those of you who may not be in the know...in our house, when the smoke alarm goes off, my son calls up "Is dinner ready?" and then grabs a pillow to aid in fanning the detector....Yup - that's us!

For other adventures in Craft♥Advent, check out Emily's site at The Nest!

Happy crafting everyone!!

A Handmade Holiday & Craft♥Advent - with fabulous pairing!

Hi everyone!!  It is Monday yet again...but I am excited to be joining in with Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday

-AND (!!!)-

with Emily at The Nest for Craft♥Advent - Day 5!

Each year, we gift a bundle of goodies to our families to be enjoyed with the holidays.  And since the celebrations are nearly upon us...Sunday was all about these edible creations :)

One of my favorite goodies to make are some of the most simple.  And...you can never go wrong with chocolate and pretzels - a most fabulous pairing!

To start, I set up a mock double boiler out of a sauce pan, a Pyrex measuring cup, and a canning ring for which the glass to stand upon.  Don't want to burn that chocolate!!

After a few minutes, the chocolate was melted and had taken on a glossy sheen.

And then, it was time to bring in the salty friends!!

The key to this fun is to keep the chocolate warm.  Don't boil and don't cool...just a nice even kneel.

Then, it is all about the dip and twist :)

I don't know about you...but they look delicious to me!

The pretzel twists get a different treatment....a recipe for a delicious bite of fun that I learned from of a friend this past summer.

First, a generous dollap of chocolate goes into the center of each...

And then...we add the M&M's

Then...the only step left to do is to bag them up!  And, of course, hope my little ones don't find and eat them all up!!  :)

For more fun, head on over to Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living and Emily's at The Nest for Craft♥Advent.

I will see you there!

    

A Craft♥Advent Gingerbread kind of day!

We are so happy to be joining in with Emily at The Nest for Craft♥Advent - Day 4!

For our craft....we tackled the gingerbread village!

Now, I would love to say that I baked the gingerbread and made the whole kit and kaboodle from scratch...but, well...it just isn't true.

For this fun, we had to employ the gingerbread in a box kind of approach.

The kit was pretty complete, with gingerbread, icing, and candy, all ready to go.

But, as you can see from above, sneaky fingers kept creeping over to, let's say, confirm that quality of our building materials.... 

The icing in a box worked pretty fast, which is a great thing...the kiddos were able to jump quickly into decorating.

But, I did have to remind them several times that icing should not be licked off of gingerbread houses... ;)

All assembled, we had a delicious set of five little villages houses...the kiddos assigned one to each two-legged member of the homeside (and I must say, my abode is just lovely!). 

And being my kids...the fifth home has been assigned as the outhouse.

Really.  Hmmm....

It is a lovely snow covered village :)

Well, at least until someone starts snacking! ;)

For other adventures in Craft♥Advent, check out Emily's site at The Nest!

Happy crafting everyone!!