Auntie Tamara strikes again!

One of the perks of not being tied down with my own family is that I get to be the "cool aunt" who showers her nieces with presents and flies in for special occasions. This weekend was Isla's first birthday and I am so excited I got to come out to Lubbock to celebrate with the family. She is at such a great age! She is smiling and giggling and so cute. She looks like a little Timmy, I love it! She was all dolled up for her party with a huge bow and pink tu-tu. My little one-year-old princess:

The first 15 minutes of her party were hilarious. It was like Isla was the model and we were all at a photo shoot. Everyone was just standing around taking pictures of her. But honestly... can you blame them?

Malee has a "rainbow" board on Pinterest so I got my inspiration from there to make Isla's birthday presents. I made a rainbow caterpillar toy and a rainbow hat. I love the hat! It reminds me of Dr. Seuss. She is my little who-baby.

I am not sure how much she likes it though. Although she looks adorable, Tim pretty much has her arms pinned down so she can't take the hat off. Oh well, maybe in a few months when winter is in full swing, she will be more accommodating.

Cookie Mashup!

Pinterest is awesome! I have said that before, but I get such great ideas from it. This week I found  this blog which talks about cookie mashups. I never thought about combining two different kinds of cookie dough and mashing it together to make one super cookie. What a brilliant idea! I jumped on board and made gingerdoodles (aka snickersnaps) I can't decide which name I like better. They are delicious! The perfect fall type of cookie, and they look so pretty.

Gingerdoodles (aka Snickersnaps)

Snickerdoodle Dough:

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 Tbs. vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cream of tartar

Cinnamon/sugar mixture for rolling cookies in

Gingersnap Dough:

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. ginger

Directions

Snickerdoodle Dough:

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix well, until creamy. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar and mix until combined.

Gingersnap Dough:

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add molasses and egg and continue beating. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease baking sheets with no-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Take a tablespoon of each dough and place both doughs together. Gently roll into a ball. Roll the cookie dough ball in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and slightly flatten onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

I also made another batch of soup. That makes two batches in one week. Fall food is so fun! I made chicken noodle soup. I normally make it every year on the day after Thanksgiving. It is the perfect way to use a giant turkey carcass. I feel much less wasteful when I can make a great broth out of it. Making the noodles takes a bit of time (cutting them actually) but it is worth it. Big, chunky noodles make the soup! Delish!!!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Egg Noodles:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 pinch of salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 Tbs. butter

Stock:

1 chicken carcass

Water

1st set of ingredients:

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery leaves, chopped

3 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbs. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper, ground

2 bay leaves

2nd set of ingredients:

3 cups chopped chicken

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup corn

1 cup peas

Directions:

Egg Noodles:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the beaten egg, milk, and butter. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Let rest in a covered bowl for 10 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired lengths and allow to air dry before cooking.

Stock:

Place chicken carcass in a pot and fill with water. Heat until boiling and let boil for 15-20 minutes. Let water cool and take out turkey carcass. Pull off any remaining meat from bones and add to rest of the leftover turkey. Strain the liquid through a cheese cloth. Refrigerate overnight. When cool, the fat will float to the top and solidify, once it does, spoon off all the fat and discard.

Soup:

Add 1st set of ingredients to the stock. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves.

Add in 2nd set of ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add noodles, bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve.

Pumpkiny Stuff

It is October, my favorite month of the year. I am sure I have rambled on countless times before about how much I love the Fall so I won't bore you with the current ramblings that are going on in my head. I will, however, give you a good "Fall" recipe. Pumpkin Spice Cake with Brown Sugar frosting. Oh yes... you heard that right - uh-maze-ing!  Pinterest is exploding with Fall recipes and I found this one there. It is a winner for sure!

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Cake:

2 sticks of butter
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ cup 100% natural solid pack pumpkin
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Grease and flour two 8” round cake pans. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.
Place pumpkin and buttermilk in a small bowl and combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugars. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase speed to high and beat an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs and beat on medium for 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and beat on high for 30 seconds. With mixer on low alternate adding the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl. Mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter, until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Immediately pour the cake into the prepared pans, spreading evenly. Bake on the center rack of a preheated 325 F oven. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes at room temperature. Invert cake onto a plate or cake circle. Turn the cake upright and refrigerate until needed.

Frosting:
3 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 sticks of butter, each stick cut into 4-5 pieces
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Heat brown sugar, heavy cream, 4-5 pieces of butter, cream of tartar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently while bringing the mixture to a boil. Allow the mixture to continue boiling while stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Allow mixture to stand at room temperature for 1 hour before proceeding. Place the cooled mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on low for 30 seconds. Then beat on medium for 2 minutes, while adding the remaining 6 pieces of butter, one at a time, until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to high and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on high for an additional 1 minute until light and fully. 

I also made some homemade vanilla ice cream this week so I will share that recipe as well. I LOVE my new Kitchen Aid ice cream maker, it is the easiest thing ever and it makes delicious, creamy ice cream. Tonight I have having a few girlfriends over to watch "P.S. I love you". That is one of my favorite movies. It is a tear jerker for sure, but on the upside it features both Gerard Butler and Jeffrey Dean Morgan with Irish accents. Swoon! Perfect for a girly night in. Plus, since I love Fall, I am making it a Fall night (I am ignoring the 90 degree weather we are having) I made my famous Hobbit Soup and Bushman Bread for dinner and a warm peach blackberry crisp for dessert. Homemade vanilla ice cream would go perfectly with the fruit crisp and since it is just as easy as buying ice cream I decided why not? And here you have it...

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup fine sugar, sifted

4 egg yolks, pasteurized (preferred for food safety)

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 scraped vanilla bean

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and egg yolks together. Beat the mixture until it is a thick yellow paste and set it aside.

Bring the half-and-half to a simmer in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Slowly beat the hot half-and-half and milk mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. This mixture should be hot, but not boiling. If it gets too hot or you add the egg and sugar too fast you will have scrambled eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan and simmer for a few minutes as you constantly stir to make a custard-like consistency. Strain the mixture into a large bowl to chill overnight in a refrigerator.

The next day, stir in heavy cream and vanilla before adding it to your ice cream machine. Follow the ice cream machine’s directions to freeze ice cream.

 Now, if only the weather would turn... it is October, darn it!