Tuesday, February 21, 2012

♥ Finally....SNOW!! ♥

I love it when it snows on a day I don't have to go to work. ;) It began to snow Sunday around noon and continued all day. The snowflakes were huge and wet falling from the sky. We haven't had really any snow this winter to speak of, only a few days of my "decorative" snow that coated the grass and left the streets clean. I made a big pot of Mushroom Miso soup and declared, "Let it snow!" as I snuggled up in an afghan and watched movies all day. My kind of snow day. :)


I did make it out to work yesterday and it looked like campus also got about the same amount of snow that we did...about 6 inches or so. We live about 40 minutes away from where I work and "down" from the mountains so sometimes they don't get as much as we do at home.

OK, so the fascination with snow is over. We've had our one snow day and I'm ready for spring flowers and spring weather now!! :)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

♥ Tea on Tuesday: Strawberry Valentine Cookies ♥

Ingredients:
•2/3 cup butter, softened
•2/3 cup sugar
•1 egg
•1 tablespoon lemon juice
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1/3 cup strawberry drink mix
•2 teaspoons baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon salt

GLAZE:
•1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
•1 teaspoon shortening

FROSTING:
•1/3 cup butter, softened
•2 tablespoons strawberry drink mix
•1/8 teaspoon salt
•3 cups confectioners' sugar
•3 to 5 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions:
•In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and lemon juice. Combine the flour, drink mix, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2- to 3-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until set and edges begin to brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

• In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Spread over cookies; let stand until set.

• In a small bowl, beat the butter, drink mix and salt until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Add enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Decorate cookies.

Yield: about 2 dozen.

~~yummy recipe and photo from: Simple & Delicious January/February 2008~~

♥ Happy Valentine's Day! ♥