cookies in a jar - cranberry white chocolate oatmeal

These cookies are a recipe I found for cookies in a jar on Launder, Fold and Repeat. I'm hoping to gift the jar for Christmas this year and I wanted to make sure the recipe would turn out. One year I found a chocolate chip cookie recipe and gave a handful of cookies in a jar to a few of my friends and I was super dissapointed when most of them reported back that the cookies had turned out tough. I'm glad I did a practice run on these, the recipe was great! I love the combination of cranberries and white chocolate.

Christmas Cookies in a Jar, adapted from Taste Of Home via Launder Fold and Repeat (makes ONE quart-sized jar)
18 Servings

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
1 cup vanilla or white chips

Additional ingredients (list these on a tag, or email me for the PDF of the label)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Using a quart sized glass jar, layer (use a canning funnel!) the white sugar, followed by the brown sugar. Tamp down between each layer to create a clean line. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour gently into jar and tamp down gently. Layer in the oats, cranberries, and white chocolate chips, tamping between the oats and cranberries. Cover and store in a cool place for up to 6 months.

To prepare cookies (provide these instructions to the recipient!): Preheat oven to 375. Pour cookie mix into a large bowl, stirring to combine. Beat in the butter, egg and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2" apart onto un-greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes until browned, cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

This was a really simple meal that came together quickly. I really liked it because it didn't have too much tomato (too much tomato, especially in a sauce, tends to give me bad heartburn), it had a nice crusty top, and the parsley made it taste so fresh. 

photo by food network

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

from Giada de Laurentiis

1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)

1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. 

Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish (I used a casserole dish). In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

My Happy List: 11-21-10

What a fun week it has been!!

 

We went to two concerts - Little Big Town AND Sara Bareilles (this was a treat for my upcoming bday)! Sara Bareilles was so incredible, I am amazed how beautiful her voice is! Her opening acts were really good too - Holly Conlan and Cary Brothers.

We have started painting the ceiling in our basement and I'll be very happy when it's all over! Super stoked for this next week. My birthday, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, that's when the holidays really begin for me! We had a bit of snow this morning, it was a cold 27 degrees out!

What's your happy list this week?

Thoughtless Thursday: Little Big Town!

Little Big Town came to town this week and it was a super fun concert! I don't know what was more entertaining - the band or this group of "cougars" next to us that were outrageously intoxicated and being escorted out by security!

My Happy List

This Sunday's Happy list is a recap of my relaxing weekend.  I mentioned Friday our aunt and uncle were going to visit us (they live about 3 hours away), and within an hour after they arrived Friday evening they got a call that their daughter-in-law was going to the hospital for some contractions she was having (she was due December 15th). Our visit with them was short since they had to pack up and leave very, very early the next morning but...little Maxwell Clay made his arrival early this Sunday morning at 5 lbs 14 oz and 18 1/2 inches long!

Because of their early departure, hubby and I decided to try some paint samples out so we can finally get to finishing our basement.

 

We picked blue for our bedroom and haven't decided what to paint our family room. It is a half daylight basement so we don't want something that will make it feel like a dungeon. I'm thinking the second tan in from the left or we may be picking another sample.

source

I also picked up this super cute apron after eating breakfast at Chaps (recently featured on Diners, Drives and Dives).  It was quite the popular place and we had to wait about 40 minutes to make our order but it was worth the wait! Boy was that blueberry muffin french toast delicious! I'm thankful this place is quite a ways away from us, otherwise we may be spending a lot more time there!

wordless weekend

Fun Friday

Our aunt and uncle are coming to visit us for the weekend! They are bringing their granddaughters, Jillian ("Sis") and Alley, who I just love to pieces! As if looking forward to their visit wasn't exciting enough, we will be waiting by the phone all weekend in case Sis & Alley's mom goes in to labor! Baby boy may be making his appearance earlier than predicted!

Thoughtless Thursdays

 I haven't had a pop since October 2. Hoping to knock off #12 off my list.  Also, I've started a plan to read the Bible in 90 days - #1.

One of my go-to blogs to read is A Teaspoon of Fire.  Briana and I were friends in high school and fellow band geeks as well as Breakfast Divas!  Her oldest daughter, Elena, was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this past Spring and I am just amazed at the courage this family has had throughout the entire journey.  Monday's post was one of my favorites, when Elena got to make a wish through the Make A Wish Foundation. I laughed. I cried. I laughed and cried some more.  

I really want nienie's new 2011 calendar. Doesn't it look so cute!

Tonight is taco night with the girls. Margaritas, Grey's & Private Practice, I can't wait!

Today starts the quarterly Gap Give and Get Program. You get 30% off your purchase at Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic November 11-14. I usually use this opportunity to go buy several of my favorite jeans and a few tops.  My friend that works there who gave me the coupon has chosen World Wildlife Fund to receive 5% of what I spend!  If you need a coupon, I saw Jenny still had quite a few to give away.  Anyway, I'm seriously loving this top. And bonus, it can totally hide my holiday muffin top that has made an appearance again this year!

Today's GOOP feature with the banana chocolate chip waffles look so tasty! Didn't Gwyneth Paltrow do an awesome job at the CMA's last night?

 

Day 30 – a dream for the future beyond the next year

day 30 - a dream for the future beyond the next year.  I've mentioned my 30 before 30 list recently and one of those items, Lord Willing, is to have a baby. Everyone around me is either preggo or has cute little babies and it is definitely tempting me with some baby fever! I told one of my coworkers who recently shared she is expecting to not think I'm a weirdo if she ever catches me staring at her longingly!!

Someday, when the time is right, I can hopefully start looking at things like this

and this

and this.

Until then, my hubby and I will continue to enjoy each others company along with our adorable 3 furrbabies!!

And with that - all about me in 30 days is complete! This has been fun and I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me the last month :)

Thoughtless Thursdays and Day 29 – hopes,dreams, plans for the next 365 days

day 29 - hopes, dreams, plans for the next 365 days. I can't believe 2010 is almost over! I have no idea what the next year holds but here are a two things that come to mind:

I hope to see my in-laws in 2011. With no weddings in sight for a while who knows when we will all get to see each other next. I miss them so much it hurts and wish we all lived closer to each other. I long for the simple things like being able to have them over for dinner and vice versa.

Back in September, my work situation changed significantly and since then I've been given a ton of more responsibilities (which means I have no time to read all my favorite blogs and do my best to catch up on the weekends!).  I've been working really hard to prove myself and hoping it shows. Who knows, maybe I will get a promotion. If not, I at least know I am becoming more valuable to the team with each day.

What are your hopes, dreams and plans for the next year?

Day 28 – what’s in my handbag/purse

day 28 - what's in my handbag/purse. I'm pretty surprised it's actually quite clean right now. I usually have tons of receipts I just throw in there.

Right now there is:

a camera

work cell

personal cell

wallet

clutch

halls cough drops

aleve

license renewal reminder

12 pens (I had no idea!)

perfume

antibacterial hand gel

mk lipgloss

Day 27 – my worst habit

day 27 - my worst habit. I am really bad about picking off my nail polish. Especially while I am in meetings. I don't know if it's a nervous thing or if it's because I'm bored. Either way, I find if I get a manicure I'm less likely to do so because I paid to have the nails done. Maybe I should use this as an excuse to get more manicures - think my husband will buy it??

day 26 - your week, in great detail

day 26 - once again I changed this up to your *ideal* week, in great detail.  Hubs and I haven't taken our honeymoon yet and we are crossing our fingers we can go in the Spring. Right now we have plans to go to Maui where we can lay on the sandy beach, wade in the warm ocean and just enjoy a week of paradise.

Day 25 – your day, in great detail

day 25 - I changed this to be your *ideal* day, in great detail. Pretty low key, just how I like it :)

Sleep in (yeah that's about 7:00 a.m. for me) and drink a cup of coffee while I read a book and wait for the hubby to wake up. 

Make breakfast.

Hit up the upick farm and play in the festivities going on.

Come home and plan and or make dinner/dessert.

Play with the dogs.

Grab a glass of wine, cuddle with hubby and watch a movie.

Go to bed early!

Day 24 – where I live

Day 24 – I changed this up a bit to what I love about where I live and that would be the community of local farmers that open up their farms for all to pick whatever produce is in season.  Every weekend during the fall there is music, food, and other fun festivities going on!  We've love going up there all the time; here is my husband in 2008 picking raspberries.

Day 23 – a youtube video

day 23 - this is a youtube video of my sister singing at her high school graduation this year. Yeah, I totally cried.

2010 Shutterfly Holiday Cards

Can you believe October is almost behind us? Where did this month go!! I know I've been MIA lately, but I've been swamped at work and by the time I get home I don't even want to look at the computer! I'm hoping to catch up on my all about me posts before the weekend is over. 

Anyway, since Monday is the 1st of November and Christmas is just around the corner, I've already got my headstart on Christmas cards for this year.  Earlier this month, I purchased 10 from Shutterfly and absolutely love them! I always look for a cute and great quality card that isn't going to bend too easily.  These definitely fit the bill.  Shutterfly has a great selection of Christmas photo cards and holiday cards to choose from, it was hard to narrow it down to just one.

These are a few of my favorites -

Also, I'm considering Christmas Thank You cards this year since my in-laws live on the east coast and we always end up mailing each other our gifts.  Isn't this one super cute? 

Check out more fun stuff at shutterfly.com!

*shutterfly is giving me 50 free holiday cards for this review. Want some too? Check it out here: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Day 22 – a website

day 22 - a website.  Here are a few of my go-to websites when I have time to surf the web!

Happy Money Saver - She shares lots of great deals and coupons throughout the day.

Kevin & Amanda - Not only does she have the cutest fonts around, she shares yummy recipes and other random cute things!

Joy The Baker - Yum. Yum. Yum. And Joy is uber-cool too!

NieNie - Her positivity is so contagious, I have to get my daily dose!

Day 21 – a recipe

day 21 - a recipe. I haven't been doing much baking lately. I've either had my nose in a book or we've been out of town/had company over for the weekend. I mentioned the boys went hunting last weekend and I cooked venison for the first time ever. I have to admit the idea of it was a little hard for me to swallow (how punny :) but the recipe was really good.

Be sure to check out more of the recipes I've shared on this little bloggy over the past couple of years :)

photo from taste of home

Three Bean Taco Chili

from Simple & Delicious Magazine

• 2 pounds ground beef ( I used one lb of venison, about half of an Italian Sausage)
• 2 cups water (I omitted)
• 1 can (16 ounces) refried beans (I accidently used pinto for these)
• 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (16 ounces) chili beans, undrained
• 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 cup chunky salsa (I thought it read 1 cup, so that's all I used)
• 1 envelope taco seasoning (I just put in about 1 palmful of cumin, some sprinkling of chili powder, garlic salt and oregano)
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained (I omitted)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the water, beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, taco seasoning and olives.

2. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Garnish with cheese. Yield: 9 servings.

Day 20 – a hobby of yours

day 20 - a hobby of yours. Last year we had so many tomatoes I didn't know what to do with them. So I started exploring in the canning world, my first recipe being canned salsa, and I have been hooked ever since! I even participated in a fun jam exhange earlier this summer.  Here are the recipes I sent to Leslie, my jam exchange partner. (Left one is tayberry jam, the right one is strawberry jam). 

picture from spilling buckets

Tayberry Jam

from Hitchhiking to Heaven

3 pounds tayberries
1 ¼ pounds sugar (2 ½ to 2 ¾ cups)
3 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Sterilize your jars and put 5 teaspoons on a plate in the freezer, to test your jam for doneness later.

2. Set aside approximately 1/3 of the berries.

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients (remaining berries, sugar, and lemon juice) in your jam pan.

4. Bring the mixture to boil.

5. After the mixture thickens a bit, add the remaining berries. I added mine at about 10 minutes, which was about halfway through the cooking process. This late addition of the berries helps your jam to have a nice texture in the end.

6. Boil the jam until it sets, using a large, shallow, stainless-steel spoon to skim the stiff foam off the top as it cooks. I started testing my jam for doneness at about 15 minutes and considered the jam finished at around 20 minutes. (Keep in mind that lots of factors can affect your cooking time; it may be very different for you, so be sure to watch the mixture and test it.)

To test your jam for doneness: Remove the pan from the heat. Use one of your frozen spoons to scoop up a little bit of jam -- not a whole spoonful. Return the spoon to the freezer and wait 3 minutes. Retrieve the spoon and hold it vertically. If the mixture runs very slowly or not at all, it’s done. Alternately, give the mixture a little push with your finger. If you see creases or wrinkles, it’s done.

7. Take care of any final skimming and ladle the hot jam into your sterilized jars. I processed mine for 5 minutes in a hot-water bath, which is appropriate for fruit at my elevation. Yields about 5 half-pint jars.

Simple Strawberry Jam

from The Pioneer Woman

5 cups hulled mashed strawberries
7 cups sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 49g package powdered fruit pectin

1. Place 8 or 9 8-ounce mason jars in a large hot water bath canner (or pot). Cover with water and bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer center lids in separate saucepan full of water.
3. Place mashed strawberries and lemon juice in a separate pot. Stir in pectin until dissolved. Bring strawberries to a strong boil.
4. Add sugar (measure beforehand so you can add it all at once), then return mixture to a full (violent) boil that can’t be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute 15 seconds.
5. Skim foam off the top.
6. Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water. Pour water back into the pot. Using a wide-mouth funnel, fill each jar with jam, being careful to keep the liquid/fruit ratio consistent. Fill jars so that they have 1/4-inch of space at the top.
7. Run a knife down the side of the jar to get rid of air bubbles.
8. Wipe rim of jar with a wet cloth to remove any residue or stickiness.
9. Remove center lid from simmering water and position it on top.
10. Put screw bands on jars, but do not overtighten!
11. Repeat with all jars, then place jars on canning rack and lower into the water.
12. Place lid on canner, then bring water to a full boil. Boil hard for 10 to 12 minutes.
13. Turn off heat and allow jars to remain in hot water for an addition five minutes.
14. Remove jars from water using a jar lifter, and allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
15. After 24 hours, remove screw bands and check the seal of the jars. Center lids should have no give whatsoever. If any seals are compromised, store those jars in the fridge.



Day 19 – a talent of yours

day 19 - a talent of yours. I've mentioned before that I was a major band geek in high school. I played the french horn (oh how I miss my horn section with Lori and Briana :) and sang in various choirs. Before that I played percussion and saxophone. I can't even tell you how many times people teased with "this one time, at band camp..."

Day 18 – your wedding/future wedding/past wedding

day 18 - picture from our wedding day. yeah, I so got him! And he was about to try to get his revenge! Check out more of our photos here, here and here. One day, I will get around to finishing those recaps!

Day 17 – an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)

day 17 - an art piece. I made this little clay heart when I was in 2nd grade! My parents had it hanging in their house until they packed up all my stuff and brought it to me when we bought our place. It's a little dusty, but a fun keepsake from elementary school!

fun fridays!

I've been looking forward to this weekend all week! Hubby and I are going to be hanging out with this good looking couple - the boys are going to be hunting while the girls bake cookies, watch movies and drink wine. Men aren't the only ones who love hunting season!

Day 16 – a song that makes you cry (or nearly)

day 16 - this song always gets me teared up! It reminds me how grateful I am for my parents with all of their love and support, particulary while I struggled through college. Now that I'm all grown up, married and making it on my own with my husband I can't help but know their encouragement is what got me through it all. And there I go getting teared up again!