Johnny Appleseed's birthday!

I just love to celebrate and remember Johnny Appleseed's birthday!

I've been substituting one day a week lately in our local school district,

and I just happened to be in a kindergarten class 
during the week of  Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  

We read two books about him, learned a lot about apples,

and watched the same sweet movie that I watched with my children 

several years ago when we were homeschooling and learning about Johnny Appleseed. :-)

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

Need a hearty, "won't want lunch until 2:00", type breakfast?

Martha Stewart's

Cinnamon Oat Pancakes

will do the trick! :-)

~autumn arrives~

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, 

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth 

seeking the successive autumns." 

~George Eliot

"What's in the cookie jar??" Wednesday

~Autumn Spice Cookies~

with Pumpkin Dip

Autumn Spice Cookies
3 dozen

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup molasses
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
extra brown sugar

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and molasses and beat well.  Combine flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Shape dough into balls, roll in brown sugar and place on parchment lined cookie sheets.  Bake at 375° for 8 minutes.  Let cool for 3 minutes and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Pumpkin Dip

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Combine ingredients and mix until well blended.

"What's in the cookie jar??" Wednesday

What's in the cookie jar this week at Heritage Schoolhouse?

This week it's Chocolate Nutella Cookies

from Our Best Bites.

That's right I said Nutella!  In a cookie!

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

3 dozen

recipe from Our Best Bites

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract

1/3 cup Nutella

1/3 cup milk

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder; set aside.  Cream butter and sugars.  Add vanilla and extract and mix until well combined.  Add Nutella and mix until well combined.  Add half of flour mixture and mix well.  Add milk and mix well.  Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix well.  Roll into one inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheets.  Bake at 325 for 11-12 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets and then remove to wire wrack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

~morning walk~

After months (literally!) of daily high temperatures over 100 degrees,

this week has been a very nice reprieve. 

It has been in the low 60's at sunrise each morning this week

and that has been SO wonderful.

The heat has kept me from walks down our road recently,

and I have been missing a lot!

This week I discovered a new baby calf in the pasture across from our house.

It was so good to see the horses that live down the road. 

And the mourning doves.

"For what human ill 

does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?" 

~Thornton Wilder

"What's in the cookie jar??" Wednesday

Milk's Favorite Cookie! :-)

It's that time of year again!

 Time to keep the cookie jar filled.

Filled with sweet treats 

for after school snacks and school lunch boxes.

 I'd like to get some more cookies in my repertoire this fall.

Maybe try out a new cookie recipe every other week or so?

My first endeavorer -

 homemade oreos!

Very yummy!

The filling tastes JUST like the filling in a real Oreo Cookie. :-)

The recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen.

Don't these look like they are just begging
to be dunked in a glass of cold milk?? :-)

Homemade Oreos

makes 30 cookies

from Smitten Kitchen

for cookies -

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 large egg

for filling-

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add butter and mix until combined. Add egg and mix until dough forms. Form dough into small balls, place on parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten slightly with fingers.  Bake at 375 for 9 minutes.  Let cool 3 minutes on cookie sheets and then remove to racks to cool completely.

Combine butter and shortening in mixer until creamy.  Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla until combined.  Turn mixer to high and continue to beat 2 or 3 until fluffy.  Fill a freezer baggie with filling and snip off the end.  Pipe the filling onto half the cookies.  Place the other cookies on top and press lightly.  Pour some milk and enjoy!

~Homemade Oreo Cookies from Smitten Kitchen~

:::Crazy Cooking Challenge:::

A few weeks ago Tina, from Moms Crazy Cooking Blog,

contacted me and asked if I would like to participate in the very first ever

Crazy Cooking Challenge.

I thought it sounded like fun,

and I agreed to join in.

The details were as follows -

to be part of the challenge, each month the participants are to 
(1) find a "new to them" recipe in blog land, 
not a recipe from a famous person or website, just a regular 'ol blogger ;-)

(2) prepare it, and 
(3) blog about it.

 Then Tina links up all of the recipes together,

every one (the participants and all of the participants readers) vote for their favorite, 

and a winner is declared.

The recipes for September are all to be macaroni and cheese recipes! Yum!

As I started to explore blog land for a new mac and cheese recipe to try,

I immediately thought of one of my favorite cooking blogs,

Jamie Cooks It Up!

so I checked to see if she had a good looking mac and cheese recipe.

Sure enough, she had one that looked delicious and I decided to try it for the challenge.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

7 servings

2 1/2 cups elbow macaroni

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

2/3 cup whole milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

3 1/4 cups cheddar cheese

4 ounces cream cheese

1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Cook macaroni until al dente and drain.  Place cream cheese in microwave for 30 seconds; set aside.  Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and seasonings until smooth.  Add milk and continue whisking.  Add broth and continue to whisk until sauce thickens.  Add 2 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and the warm cream cheese.  Stir until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.  Add the macaroni to the sauce and pour into a 9X9 inch baking pan.  In a food processor, grind the crackers into crumbs.  Top the macaroni with the remaining cheese and the cracker crumbs.  Bake uncovered at 350 for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Enjoy!

Jamie's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

was...

w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l!

Very rich and creamy 
and just really de-lish!

I hope you try it out.  
I have made many of Jamie's recipes and they've all been winners. :-)

All of the other participants are linked up below.  I hope you enjoy visiting many of them!  Don't forget to vote for the one you like best!

Thank you Tina for the opportunity to be part of the

Crazy Cooking Challenge!

~Tasha Tudor~

I've always admired Tasha Tudor's illustrations

as I've come across them in children's books

and in her own writings.

But, I never knew much about her,

until I checked out this book from the library.

Written by her daughter,

Drawn from New England

is 

A Portrait In Words and Pictures

by Bethany Tudor

After a busy Labor Day weekend of travel and company,

the house was very quiet on Monday afternoon.

As Mr. H. dozed on the coach,

I sat in my rocker and read Drawn from New 

England from cover to cover.

And, I discovered, a very kindred spirit! :-)

Menu Plan Monday

Supper Menus
September 5th-10th

Monday
venison sausage wraps, potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw
Tuesday
sliders, macaroni and cheese
Wednesday
cheese enchiladas, pinto beans
Thursday
bbq sandwiches, baked beans, potato chips
Friday
invited to friends house for supper
Saturday
swiss steak, mashed potatoes, buttered corn, dinner rolls, apple crisp

Miss LuLu

LuLu is six months old.  She loves to eat!

She roams the big barnyard now with the chickens.

We just have to keep her out of the chicken feed. ;-)

Happy half birthday LuLu!

It's September!!! :-)

September brings the Country Fair,

Falling leaves,

crisp autumn air.

~from Around  the Year by Tasha Tudor~

September brings ALL my favorite things!