Love my new Wilton Ultra II Cookie Press

Hi all,
  Here is one of the new toys I got for Christmas, the Wilton Cookie Pro Ultra II.  I just love it!  (Thank you "L" :) ) It is so easy to use, and I had no problem cleaning up after all the fun.  My DD and I had a blast trying all the different shapes.

  I just used the Krusteaz cookie mix that was on sale at Publix recently, and off we baked.  The cookies came out perfectly.

Pre-Baked

Pre-Baked

After Baking

After Baking

  We decorated them with some vanilla Betty Crocker frosting that I colored with the Wilton frosting dye.  I used my new piping bags, and tips I got for Christmas.  (Thanks to my aunt :) ) Piping was fun, but I need A LOT of practice. I just love getting new kitchen goodies!  I'm sure my DD and I will be baking lots of cookies in the near future, and having fun practicing our piping techniques. :)

Happy Baking!

Jennifer

P.S.  If you are interested in the cookie press, look to the right, under "My Favorites" for a link to Amazon to check it out.  You'll be helping fund Just Peachy in Dixie if you purchase through the link. ;)

Linking up at:

Dollar General Sweepstakes...Play daily

Hi all,
  Dollar General has a Fresh Start Every Day Sweepstakes game going on through 1/31/11.  Play daily for your chance to win instant prizes, and to be entered into the drawing for the $100,000 grand prize!!

Have fun, and good luck!
Jennifer

Wednesday blog hops....

Hi all,
  Join in the fun, at a blog hop!

      

Happy Hopping!
Jennifer

Homemade chicken and rice soup

Hi all,
  I thought I would share with you the homemade chicken and rice soup recipe I made last night.  I had a lot of chicken left on my roasted chicken from the night before, so I decided to pull off all the meat and set aside.  Then I followed this recipe with a few minor changes.

  Step 1: I followed with these adjustments:  I only used about a 1/4 of an onion, because we are not much on onions around here, but I figured it needed it for the seasoning.  I didn't have minced garlic, so I just put in some garlic powder (sorry, I didn't measure...just threw some in).  I didn't have "seasoning salt,"  so I just threw some celery salt in there.

Step 2: I followed exactly.

Step 3: I did not add anymore onion.  I did not have any green beans, so I just used the left over canned corn I had in the fridge from the night before, and added some extra celery and carrots.  While the veggies were cooking in the broth, I made the rice separately on the stove.

Step 4:  Since my chicken was left over roasted chicken, it was already cooked and seasoned, so I just broke into small pieces and threw them in along with some butter.

Step 5:  I added the rice that I cooked on the stove top, and let soup simmer just a bit.  This is also where I taste tested to determine what seasonings I might need to add.  Needed more salt, a little more celery salt, pepper and a touch more of garlic powder.

This would have been great with some crusty garlic bread and a salad, but I had also made a cake with homemade chocolate icing (I'll share that in another post) that takes about 2 hours to make so I was just not motivated to do anymore! :) It was just fine alone, with the cake for dessert.  There was plenty left over for me to put some in the fridge for tomorrows lunch, and froze a large container for dinner another time.

Enjoy, and Happy Cooking!
Jennifer

Free Olay body wash at Dollar General!!!

Hi all,
  My local Dollar General has 8.4 oz. body wash on sale for $2.  There was a $2 coupon in the 12/26 P&G, making it free!  It did scan for $3, but when the total button was hit, it went down to $2.  Gotta love free body wash! I'm not sure how long it will be on sale.

Happy Shopping!
Jennifer