Finished Object- Leaf Lace Hat

I don't think that I'm getting nearly as much done this weekend as I'd hoped:(  ....but, my bathrooms are clean, floors mopped, dinner's in the slow cooker, and dough for Halloween party snacks is in the bread machine......and I managed to complete a little knitting project that was hanging around.  This is my second attempt at the 'Foliage Pattern' from Knitty.com this time using Cascade 220 in colour 8908.... a nice aqua.  I was pretty happy with it.....and it seems my neighbour was too.  It now has a new home.  It is a nice little project for gift giving.....there may be more of these on my needles.  Hope your weekend is wonderful and productive!

Nice & Easy Cookies

Now here is a quick and easy cookie recipe for when time short.  It's quick, easy, made with ingredients you probably have on hand, and really quite yummy!  I had been thinking the last few days about what kind of cookie I could make that I had not made in a long time. This fit the bill and was pretty quick to boot.  It is a little different, but not so much so that you'll have to worry if some kids won't like them. They are pretty mainstream yummy....and the coffee flavour in them is really very subtle.  It makes a nice soft almost 'cake' like cookie.

Coffee N Chip Pan Cookies
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup coffee, (cold)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F  Line 11X17 inch pan with foil and spray with PAM.  Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla and cold coffee. Next beat in baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and finally the flour.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts if desired.  Spread dough evenly in pan.  Bake 15 minutes until cookie springs back when touched in the center of the pan.  Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.  Slice when cool and store in sealed container.

BBQ Sauce for Gift Giving or Keeping

Last weekend.....I think I mentioned....we had our neighbourhood pot luck BBQ and I brought over slow cooker BBQ brisket.  It is so easy I am embarrassed to tell you just how easy...it certainly does not warrant a recipe.  Take (1) 4 lb brisket and toss it in the slow cooker.  Pour over a half bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce and let it cook for 8 hours on low heat.  (I let mine cook over night while we were sleeping....I'm so lazy) Remove the cooked brisket and shred the meat.  Clean out the slow cooker and pitch out the liquid....there will be a lot of fat released from the cooking and you probably would like to get rid of that....I know I would.  Toss the shredded meat back into the slow cooker along with the remaining half bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce and let sit in the slow cooker on low or a keep warm setting if you have it.  You can add more BBQ sauce if you like it to be more saucy.  Serve on a split roll with coleslaw.  YUM.

Now this is the BBQ sauce we used.  I have made it in larger batches and canned it along with a few other different flavours to give away for Christmas gifts.  It's a nice gift for someone that you know who likes to grill!  The year we did this for gifts, DH made little wooden crates to hold a row of the four different flavours we made and we printed labels for the tops of each jar with the names of the flavours on it.  This time I just poured the batch into a recycled BBQ sauce bottle and threw it in the fridge.  Oh, and we added a 'saucy' little label....just for kicks.

 Smokey BBQ Sauce 
(Adapted from a copy cat recipe found on the internet many years ago)

1 cup ketchup
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp liquid smoke
Add all ingredients to a pot except the liquid smoke.  Bring to bubble and lower heat to simmer for 30 - 40 minutes to thicken the sauce.  If it become to thick, you can thin is out with a splash of red wine vinegar. Once it has been cooked down, stir in the liquid smoke.   Seal while hot in canning jars with the boiling water batch method to keep for long periods or for gift giving......or keep bottled in fridge for immediate use.