Forgot to upload the Valentine photos of the cookies.  I've been so busy lately it's been hard and the death of my sourdough starter really popped my balloon.

These were the kids Valentines this year.

Time for Valentines Cookies

My friend says this is the only website for decorating cookies that I will ever need.  http://www.kitchengifts.com/cookiedecorating.html

Thought I'd share.

I think I'll use this recipe for the sugar cookies this time

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk
•  3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 inch thickness, refrigerating remaining dough until ready to use. Cut into desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Leave cookies plain for frosting, or brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with candy sprinkles or colored sugar.
4. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

I killed it

Baking a batch of bread with my sourdough starter.  I do this every week.  I was preheating the oven and forgot that I was storing the starter in there after feeding it.  It's dead...I think I can salvage my glass bowl if I can peel off the melted plastic wrap.  So sad.  I'd been nurturing that starter since November and it was getting sooooo good.

devastation
Never preheat an oven before removing what's in it first.

Playing the Greatest Hits

Now that I have a set of recipes that the family tends to like I find I'm playing the greatest hits over and over.  I'm sure once the season changes I'll throw in some different hits but for now life is easier this way.  Do you find you play the classic meals every week?  I think this is often the case.

Sundays I spend baking up bread for the week, making the cinnamon rolls, making up the waffles that I freeze for our morning breakfast and an extra batch of cookies to keep on hand.  If your in the kitchen anyway...then why not make it all.  Oh, and I almost forgot the extra batches of pizza dough to keep in the fridge to pull out if requested and the pizza is requested often.

This probably makes the blog boring...but the real purpose of the blog was to keep track of what new recipes I was making so I could remember what works and what not to ever make again.  The process has been good but making new recipes all the time can be a challenge 1. to have all the ingredients on hand and 2. to have the time to research what it is I'd like to make.

wow..I just looked outside and it's snowing again.  Good thing I started the cinnamon rolls...those are the best with hot coffee on a really cold day.  And so winter is here to stay.

Quick and Easy Dinner

Last night Owen had hockey practice and Anne had dance.  Something quick and easy that I often forget to make in a pinch but works well is stir fried rice.  I have a wok but you can make it in a skillet.

You will need
the equivalent of 2 cups uncooked rice...cooked (can be cooled or hot)
vegetables..I use broccoli, shredded carrots and colorful bell peppers...the mini's work well...sometime I use been sprouts and mushrooms

I buy big bags of basmati or Jasmine rice form costco so I always have some on hand.  basically the cooking ratio is 1 to 1 1/2...1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups liquid

I made 2 cups of rice so used 3 cups of water

oil the wok and add in the vegetables on med high heat, add some water for steam and cover until steamed...sprinkl with a hint of ginger and soy sauce, cook for a minute more, and then set aside.  Add more oil (2-3 tables spoons)  to the wok and mix in 2 eggs to scramble up...after eggs are cooked through...add rice, sprinkle with ginger and a generous amount of soy sauce.  Stir it up until combined and add the vegetables back in.  Stir it all together and it's ready to eat!

Here are the directions again in case these seem confusing.