LESLIE B's GINGERSNAPS (WORLDS BEST!), AND LET THE MERRIMENT BEGIN!

Before I share with you my kickoff to Holiday Baking Recipe #1, I have a confession to make : This year, I decorated for Christmas WAAAYYY before Thanksgiving, which is normally a big No-No for me, as I hate rushing holidays. Usually, I like to celebrate the "Harvest" at Thanksgiving, and then decorate for Christmas afterwards. Not this year--HO HO no--the weather was just so nice and mild in mid-November, and I really didn't feel like having my fingers and toes go numb and blue, hanging little white lights on my porch. I just don't find it to be much fun anymore to be precariously perched on a step ladder with a staple gun and 65 feet of garland and lights in a blinding snowstorm, with ice pelting my cheeks. Call me crazy. Sheesh, I must be getting old!!

Another perk of decorating early ( after avoiding frostbite)--now I can really relax and enjoy the holidays at home, eagerly looking forward to our annual Cookie Party with Little Miss Thing and her friends. I've kept my decorating simple this year, inside and out...here's a little tour of my humble efforts at good cheer.......

Lots of red, gold and candlelight for cozy winter evenings......

My motto this year....SIMPLIFY!!......

I've had this little Willard truck ornament for a million years, and many moves.....

I made this 6 foot long popcorn string when we lived in Omaha, and am always amazed that our dog hasn't eaten it all up!......

Woodsy St. Nick.....

Lazy old dawg--he's NO help!.....

I added twigs and a bird's nest to our dining room chandelier....tres North Woods....

Outside, I like to decorate with buckets of fresh greens that I scavenge from our wooded lot...they stay fresh and green here until April, thanks to our super cold winter temperatures.....

I always fill up our little ball topiary planter boxes with greens, also.....

A fresh wreath from the National Honor Society booth at our annual Holiday Bazaar.....

Cheerful snowmen welcome you to our home....

And always a cozy place to rest.....

One of my homemade gingerbread ornaments from a few years back.....

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Back inside, I've been a baking fool....I like to make batches of cookie dough in advance this time of year, then freeze it in plastic wrap. That way, I can just defrost and have warm, fresh cookies whenever we'd like them. I started this year with my dear, dear friend Leslie B's WORLD'S BEST Gingersnaps....you may remember Leslie from previous posts............

Leslie used to be my boss as the Editor in Chief of our local newspaper. She is also one of my walking buddies....she, her darling dog George, Willie Nelson Willard and I  have been known to walk for miles and miles in zero degree temperatures.....stoic Adirondack women that we are!

Leslie was given this recipe by a quilter at our local Arts Center a few years back, and I feel so lucky that she's shared it with me, because it is simply one of the best cookie recipes I've ever tried..and soooo simple to make! And, you will not believe how heavenly your home will smell while these little babies bake. To begin, sift dry ingredients together..........

Cream Crisco together with sugar in a mixing bowl (can I just say how magnificent I think the new Crisco sticks are? No more messy measuring of shortening!)......

Add sugar and molasses and egg to shortening (here's a great tip..spray your measuring cup with Pam before pouring in Molasses, or any sticky substance, such as honey, and you won't believe how easily it pours out).......

Gradually add flour mixture to shortening mixture.....dough will be VERY stiff.......

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar...place on a greased or silicone lined baking sheet......

Bake for about 12 minutes, and cool on wire racks......so YUMMY with a cold glass of milk! Enjoy!.....

Here's the recipe.....

LESLIE B's GINGERSNAPS

Makes a billion

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. powdered ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves (or Allspice)

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 / 4 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup sugar

1 / 4 cup molasses

1 egg

Additional sugar

Sift together the first five ingredients and set aside in a medium bowl. Cream shortening until light. Add sugar, molasses and egg to shortening, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until smooth. Dough will be very stiff. Shape into balls, about 1 inch, and roll in sugar. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until firm. Cool on wire racks.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR.....

***The fun Thanksgiving B.A. and I had at the Adirondack League Club with some of our favorite members....lots of fun telling ghost stories, scaring the pants off of each other, and teasing our husbands. Good times!

***That our daughter has been spoiled rotten at her Grandparent's home in the Sierra Mountains this Thanksgiving.

***The cocktail party we will be attending tonite at a friend's GORGEOUS lakeside mountain home.....Home tour to follow in upcoming post, promise!

SLAP YO MAMA SWEET POTATO PIE!

Well hello there! How have you been? I'll bet you thought by now that this flaky blogger was NEVER going to come back here, now didn't you? I know, it's been awhile, but if you read my last post then you know that I've been busy (and Lordy Lordy how I hate that excuse, or any excuses, really......), what with re-vamping our local Arts Center gift shop, decorating my own home for the upcoming Holidays AND celebrating Mr. Badass's birthday weekend in style. In fact, we just returned from seeing a favorite blues artist of my husband's, Tommy Castro (who hails from San Francisco) in a famed Syracuse BBQ joint. If you'd like to check  a little of Tommy's music out, you can do so, HERE........

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So what are your plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday? Ours are a little bit "different" this year, as we won't be traveling back to California for the first time in EONS to spend Thanksgiving with our families. This year, it's just Mr. Badass and me. Our daughter will be staying out west, and will be driving from Berkeley up to my parent's home in the Sierra Mountains to feast with the elders.....God give her strength! Hee hee. And really, Badass shouldn't be leaving his office here in New York right now anyways, as his Office Manager just had brain surgery and will be out for a while longer, and we need to save our air travel pennies for our Spring travel extravaganza /   excursions to New Orleans AND Paris, France. So, we're spending the day with members at the club my husband manages, eating in the cozy dining room. No dishes! Yea! But alas, no leftovers! Boo!

So what is a leftover and stuffing lovin', pie eatin' girl to do? Why, make her own big fat pie, just for the two of us, that's what! This weekend I made one of my personal favorites, an incredibly rich and delicious Sweet Potato Pie. I am serious when I say it'll make you wanna slap yo mama--it's THAT good! Really, if you've never had a sweet potato pie, it's very similar to a traditional pumpkin pie, but I find I like the texture a bit more. It's a little less custard-y. And, you use real and fresh sweet potatoes, unlike the majority of pumpkin pie recipies, which call for pumpkin from a can. My secret ingredient for the BEST Sweet Potato Pie? Grated orange peel--it really wakes up the flavor! Well, that and evaporated milk--makes the pie super creamy.

To begin, you'll need about of pound of fresh sweet potatoes...............

Boil them in their skin for about 50 minutes, or until very fork tender. Run cold water over the sweet potatoes when they're right out of the boiling water--this will make the skins come right off (a cool trick, in my book!)...............

Break apart the sweet potatoes into a large bowl. Add butter, and mix well (I used my hand mixer)..............

Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and grated orange peel.............do NOT skip the orange peel, or you will be sorry!............

Beat with your mixer on medium speed until mixture is very smooth. Pour into an unbaked pie crust (I make my own, but you can always use a frozen pie crust, or those pre-rolled out refrigerated pie crusts. For my easy from scratch pie crust recipe, check THIS out).............

Usually I like to decorate the rim of my pies with a little leaf-shaped cookie cutter, but this year I used a little heart shaped cutter that I found in my ridiculously cluttered cookie cutter (or should I say, cookie CLUTTER?) collection. I cut out a trillion little hearts out of my leftover pie dough, then pressed them into the rim of the pie..........

Bake for about an hour, or until filling is firm....................

I am SO having a piece of this Slap Yo Mama Sweet Potato Pie for supper, tonite...............

Here's the recipe...........Enjoy!

SLAP YO MAMA SWEET POTATO PIE

Serves about 8

1 lb. sweet potatoes

1 stick of butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 / 2 cup Eagle Brand evaporated milk

2 eggs

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

finely grated zest of 1 / 2 orange

1 9 inch unbaked pie crust

Boil sweet potato whole in skin for about 50 minutes, or until fork tender. Run cold water over the sweet potatoes, and remove skin. Break apart sweet potatoes in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR.....

***Sweet Potato Pie in my refrigerator!

***The upcoming party-filled holiday season--a great excuse to buy a new dress, no?

***No snow, and it's November 21st! Please don't tell any of my snow loving friends that I said that.......

CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP, AND A SHORT BREAK.......

Lordy LORDY I have been busy as a bee lately, with no end in sight. Now I know you're probably wondering (because I sure would!) how a woman who doesn't "work" and has no kids at home anymore could possibly be all that busy, really. Well, I have recently amped up my volunteer efforts here in our little town, re-joining the Northwoods Women's Club AND doing lots of hours at our gorgeous new arts center, called View.

At View, I have volunteered to "re-do" their darling little gift shop, which is my very favorite thing to do in the whole wide world. Here's a peek at the outside of the shop.....

So I'm spending this next week tearing down displays and fixtures, and moving in new furniture and "props" that I've scavenged around town. Very exciting......EXCEPT--I need to be extremely careful with my precious energy, as I've learned with this f#%*ing autoimmune disease that overdoing it can lead to a big flare up of my symptoms. So, a task that would take a "normal", healthy person say, oh I dunno, 2 days to complete will probably take me a week. Thus, this is the reason I don't have a real "job" outside the home right now--I just can't predict what will make me sick, and when. Which totally sucks, especially for a former work-aholic like me!

Something's gotta give this week, so I probably won't be back here at Sugar and Spice until next week...but that's okay, because I think I'll lure you back with a wonderful Sweet Potato Pie recipe for your Thanksgiving feast! In the meantime, I have another of my mom's fabulous soup recipies, her Curried Butternut Squash Soup. I seriously make this ALL THE TIME.

To begin, cut a medium sized butternut squash in half (be super careful doing this--as good as this soup may be, it is SO not worth a trip to the E.R.!)...........

Roast halves in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, cut side down, until squash is very tender.......

Scoop the flesh out of the squash (once it's cooled down a bit) into a medium pot.......

Combine chicken broth, squash, and seasonings. Bring to a boil ; reduce to simmer over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Ladle into bowls--serve with Lime Crema (recipe follows), and dig in! Super nutritious and so yummy...enjoy!...........

CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Serves 2-3

1 medium butternut squash, cut in half, seeds removed

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. curry powder

salt and pepper

Roast butternut squash halves in a 350 degree oven, about half an hour, cut side down, until fork tender. Scoop flesh out of squash into medium soup pot. Combine broth, squash and seasonings. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer over medium heat, about 10 minutes.  Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Ladle into bowls. Serve with a dollop of Lime Crema.

LIME CREMA

1 / 2 cup sour cream

1 / 4 tsp. fresh lime zest

1 tblsp. fresh lime juice

Combine above ingredients and chill until serving time.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR.......

***The fun day shopping yesterday in "the city" with my husband, Mr. Badass. New boots for me, new jeans for him, and a fun lunch for us both!

***The fact that our daughter wasn't involved and / or hurt in the UC Berkeley Occupy Wall Street demonstrations the other day!

***That some nice man bought our daughter's car, thus freeing up a space in the garage so that her daddy can park in there this winter. No more scraping windshields for him!

LESLIE'S HEALTHY HILLBILLY SPAGHETTI PIE, AND YOUR LAUGH FOR THE DAY!....

(If you haven't watched the video (above) yet, you need to do so before readin' the rest of this post. It'll getcha in the mood for some real good Hillbilly Spaghetti Pie, right quick like! There WILL be a test, ya hear?....)

Just so you know, there have been lots and lots of Hillbilly Spaghetti Pie recipies floating around on the internet over the past couple of years, and I've always wanted to try them out. I mean, C'MON!!! How can I resist anything with the name "Hillbilly" in it? Brings to mind a bunch of guys cooking over a trash can fire, strummin' on banjos and whittlin', no? But after last week's Satan's Meaty Meatloaf extravaganza, well, I figured I should just lighten things up a little around here, so this is MY version, a Healthy Hillbilly Spaghetti Pie. A true ONE PAN wonder, and super easy and fun....gotta give this one a try ; we just love it here in the sticks!

First thing you'll need is a good old fashioned cast iron skillet, if you have one. If not, no sweat--just use a large, overproof skillet, preferably non-stick. Saute some green onions in olive oil.......

Add lean ground turkey (that's the first part of my healthy revision--the original recipe calls for ground beef and sausage) and brown over medium heat.............

Once browned, add crushed tomatoes (I like this brand), spices, chicken broth and salt...........

Add broken spaghetti (healthy revision #2--multi-grain pasta, thin variety), and PUSH spaghetti into liquid. Cover for 8 minutes......

Give the pasta a little stir after 8 minutes ; reduce heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Add Parmesan cheese and cream............

Stir well. Sprinkle top with mozzarella................

Place pan under broiler until spotty brown (keep your eye on your pie!)......let cool for 5 or 10 minutes, and DIG IN..................

MMMMM....I cannot tell you how good this Hillbilly Spaghetti Pie is--guess you're gonna have to take my word for it and make one for yer self! Here's the recipe...Y'all come back now, Ya hear?!

LESLIE'S HEALTHY HILLBILLY SPAGHETTI PIE

Serves 6-8

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 tblsp. olive oil

1 to 1 and 1 / 2 lbs. ground turkey, lean

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 / 2 tsp. red chili pepper flakes

1 / 2 tsp. dried oregano

1 / 2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. salt

1 and 1 / 2 cups chicken broth

8 oz. thin spaghetti, broken into 3 inch pieces

 1 / 4 cup heavy cream

1 / 2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese

Saute green onion in olive oil on medium heat until tender, about 3 minutes. Add ground turkey ; brown over medium heat. When almost brown, add garlic and spices. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add broken spaghetti. Push spaghetti into liquid and cover for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, stir pasta. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 5 minutes longer, or until pasta is al dente. Add Parmesan cheese and cream ; stir well. Sprinkle top with mozzarella and place under broiler until spotty brown. Watch carefully. When done, let pie sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve.

TODAY I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR....

***Hillbilly Pie--we are STILL eating the leftovers around here!!

***Books--just finished one great read and am starting another today!

***The sweet man that I've known for years, who told me I looked skinny! Who da thunk?