Hot Cocoa

I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas. I know I did. On top of winning an entire pan of my Aunt Annie's broccoli cornbread (this stuff is to die for!), it also snowed Christmas night. Now we didn't get more than about 1 to 2 inches, but it sure looked pretty. Snow is about the only reason to make Hot Cocoa around here. So here is a super simple recipe for y'all!

Hot Cocoa:
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
Dash of salt
3 1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, milk, salt

Put the cocoa powder, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a pot.

Stir until well mixed.

Bring mixture to a boil and then boil for 1 minute.

Stir in milk.

Heat until it is just about to boil. Take off the heat and then whisk in the vanilla.

Ladle into mugs and serve with marshmallows or whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

More Sashay...

Christmas is only 4 days away!!!

Did I mention how easy these scarves were to make? They knit up in an afternoon!!! I am using them for Christmas presents this year. So here is a semi-tutorial for making these scarves:

You will need 1 ball of Sashay yarn and a pair of knitting needles. Use a size knitting needle that you feel comfortable using. I will be using size 13 needles but I have also used size 11 and 9. Because the "stitches" come from the top row of loops, the gauge is not important. If my directions are a little confusing, a video can be found on the other Sashay scarf post.

This is what the yarn looks like when open. You will have to continue opening up the yarn as you go.

 Weave the needle through every other loop on the top loops. This will "cast-on" 6 times. 

 Turn the needle and knit the first row. To knit, insert the other needle into the first stitch, stick the right needle into the second loop on top of the yarn, pull through the first stitch on the left needle as in regular knitting, and then push the stitch off of the left needle. Continue with the other 5 stitches.

Continue knitting until there is about 6 to 10 inches of yarn left.

Cast-off like with regular knitting until the last stitch.

 Pull the last of the yarn through the last stitch.

 Tie a knot around the last stitch and then trim.

Two new Christmas scarves!

And this one is called "Hip Hop"

This one is called "Tango"

Merry Christmas!
Rachel : )

Sashay Scarf

Merry Christmas Y'all! I can't believe that Christmas is only 6 days away. Don't panic if your shopping list is not finished yet. Mine isn't either. Anyway... onto the project!

This scarf turned out sooooooooooo CUTE! The yarn is like netting that you stretch out and then knit the top of the netting. It was so easy and fun to make! The instructions on the label were a little confusing to me so I attached a video that I found helpful. I hope you enjoy the pattern.

Merry Christmas!
Rachel : )

Red Velvet Cupcakes!

For her birthday Eleanor wanted red velvet cupcakes! They were so fun to make, and they tasted so good! We got the recipe from Christy Jordan at Southern Plate. They were a good ending to the Papa John's pizza that Eleanor wanted for supper.(Oh yeah! We now have a Papa John's! We are moving up in the world!) Enjoy the recipe!

 Aren't they RED!!!

 Eleanor's TEN! Her fingers are red from the food dye in the batter.

 Happy Birthday El!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Orange Rolls!

Happy 10th Birthday Eleanor! (you make me feel so old)

Yes, the 14th was Eleanor's birthday.(I am really behind on these posts) One of my presents to her was homemade orange rolls. I got the recipe from Janet at Simply So Good except I made a few alterations. I used half whole ground flour and half unbleached white flour. I also made the rolls a little bit bigger and put them in a 9x13 glass baking pan like you would for cinnamon rolls.

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Buttery Pecan Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Today is a day to show how thankful we are for everything God has given to us. I am especially thankful for this recipe! : )

Fall is here y'all! I love to make this recipe in the summer to eat with homemade ice cream, but it could also be made in the fall with fresh pecans! This recipe is super easy. I got it from The Kid's Cookbook. The recipes from this cookbook are all really easy, but they taste excellent! These cookies are just like the Keebler Sandies, but my Grandmother says that these taste better. They are the bomb with homemade vanilla ice cream in the summer. I can make these "healthy"(some what) by using demerara instead of white sugar, and freshly ground spelt instead of all-purpose. (Though they taste great either way)

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2\3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1\2 cup chopped pecans

Butter, flour, pecans, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

Cream the butter sugar salt and vanilla until smooth.

Add the flour and nuts and continue mixing until combined.

Take the dough and form ito a log shape on some wax paper about 2 inches in diameter.

Wrap the dough in the wax paper and twist the ends to seal.

Refrigerate for about 3 hours, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap the chilled dough and cut into slices 1\4 inch thick.

Arrange about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet and bake 14 to 16 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

YUM!!

The dough can also be stored in the freezer until ready to bake.

Fly with Christ!

Rachel : )