So I realize I haven't posted in a while, time kinda slips away from you this time of the year! Christmas is 2 1/2 weeks away and I still don't have any cookies baked (with the exception of some oatmeal ones I did up this week to get me in the mood). Right around the time, my mom, grandma and aunt would be baking cookies and drinking wine. I wish that I was back home in that kitchen getting fussed at by Mama because Aunt PJ and I are doing the Hershey kiss cookies wrong, putting the kisses upside down or with the flags still attached. It's kinda lonely baking alone. Hopefully a friend will come over and help :) so here is the recipe to my favorite cookies. Coral island cookies. I think most people call them thumbprint cookies,mbut for as long as I remember, they were called coral islands. And the only way to make them is with homemade strawberry jelly. It just makes them irresistible! Sometimes I will do raspberry jelly, but I love my grandmothers strawberry jel, but use whatever makes you think of your family and what makes you merry! Coral Island Cookies 2/3 C butter or marg 1/3 C brown sugar 1 tsp almond extract 1 1/3 C flour 1 egg white - for dipping Walnuts chopped - for rolling Cream ingredients together, shape into balls (small, bite size) dip into egg white and chopped walnuts, put onto cookie sheet and make thumb imprint in the middle and fill with jelly (just the tip of the spoon is enough) bake at 375 for 20 minutes. I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do! Merry Christmas!!

Pie Crust 101

There are many things that my grandmother made when I was a child that I love, but there are a few things that stick in my head as my favorites and one of my favorites is her fresh apple pie. It's one of the few things in my life that I know I can count on to come out perfectly every time and taste amazing to boot. The key is to use FRESH FRUIT! Don't skimp out and get lazy and use canned fruits. It's ok in a pinch, but your family and friends will be talking always about how amazing your pies are! How you took the time to make it instead of picking up a pie from the bakery department at the local supermarket.
So here is the easiest crust in the world :)
   ~there are actual measurements here, so please follow them. Pastry baking is a science and one little oops and the entire thing is ruined

5 Cups flour (I sift it twice, Mama doesn't. I find that it makes the crust silky and so much easier to mix)
1 egg and enough COLD water to make 1 Cup (drop the egg in the measuring cup then add water to make a cup) and add 2 tsp vinegar
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tsp salt
1/2 C COLD cubed butter
1 Cup shortening (use the butter flavor and use the sticks. Tastes better and it's so much easier to measure!!) 1 tsp baking powder
Sift the dry ingredients together and add the wet and blend til its kinda sandy looking like, turn it out on to a floured surface and pack it together make sure it's all combined then wrap it up in plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour. Roll it out thin, fold it over in half, roll out thin again and fold it over in half. Do this about 8 times to make the flakiest crust. Don't skip this step, you will be surprised at how crazy your crust will be!

Mama says that this is enough to make 4 or 5 pies, but I find that it makes 2, each with a top crust.

Now if you want to make this an apple pie, you peel enough apples to fill the crust and cut into wedges and mix with 1 cup of flour and a tbs of cinnamon and a cup of sugar. Put 1 tbs of flour at the bottom of the crust BEFORE you put the apples in, then you will dot the top of the apples (after you put them in the crust) with a little bit of butter and you are going to bake it at 350 til it's bubbly. I find that once you start to smell the pie in the far reaches of your house and your mouth is watering, it's done! Let it cool down a bit before enjoying it. You don't want to kill your tastebuds before this one!

ENJOY!

Just random thoughts

So I realize that you guys know nothing about me! Well, my name is Erin and I am the wife of a staff sergeant in the Air Force and we are stationed in Charleston, SC. I'm orginally from the good ole 716 (western NY) and I miss it there a lot. Especially during the holidays. The hubby is from Charlotte, NC and both of our families still live in our hometowns. It does get lonely not having family close by, but it makes the time that we do get to spend together so much more meaningful. In about 5 months, we will be moving out west becuase of my husbands new job thus taking us even further from the family (and the ocean). I work part time at the mall and am a full time homemaker and I am also a Scentsy consultant (amazing product! Check it out at https://erinswickless.scentsy.us) and the proud puppy mom of Lucy Grace, the cutest Jack-Rat Terrier mix who is 3 1/2 years old.
There will be quite a few recipes this week because of Thanksgiving, so I hope you all enjoy it!

Lost. Recipes hanging out with the missing socks?

I tell you. It seems like every time I write down a recipe, it gets lost somewhere. Life has brought me 1,000 miles away from my family and their home cooked meals and desserts and with my lack of orginizational skills, I have lost most of the scraps of paper that I have written recipes down on! So in order to keep them in a safe place and maybe to discover and share some new recipes and maybe make some people smile with my silly stories, I have decided to start a blog. Hope you all like it and I will start this out with my mom's amazing BBQ sauce. I swear its like a meal in and of itself!
This is super easy! You take 1 medium onion, chopped and sautee it til the onion is translucent. Add a bottle of ketchup, a bit of yellow mustard (a few large squeezes), a bit of cayenne pepper (to taste), salt and pepper (again to taste), worchester sauce (I like a lot in there because it balances it all out), cider vinegar (again, I like a lot in there becuase it rounds everything out), brown sugar (about 1/2 a cup), a cup of water (this is a thin sauce) and mix it all up and let it simmer on the stove for a bit. Add some chopped celery (medium pieces, you want the celery to be cooked, but still crispy) and simmer for about 20 minutes.
We don't usually measure things out (as you can tell lol), but it seems to turn out better if you just feel the ingredients when you are cooking. I love this sauce on grilled pork chops. It keeps in the fridge for months (thanks to the vinegar!)
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving week!