Advent Day Five - Baking Sugar Cookies

Last evening the family packed up and went to Sam's Club for churros and groceries. It was a huge trip! I had to buy wipes, diapers, ground beef, chicken, and more, so I spent almost my entire month's grocery budget in that one trip. The meat and diaper wipes should last longer than a month, so I guess that's what's giving me hope.

I have done Once-a-Month cooking twice. The thought is that if you shop and prep on one day you can spend the entire next day cooking meals for a month. It's an exhausting process for the cooking day, and I mean all day, but you reap the rewards during the week when all you have to do is take a frozen meal out of the freezer. Well, I didn't feel like that extensive planning, so what did I do? I came home at 5:00pm and decided to use my favorite beef and chicken recipes right away and freeze those. So, I made four chicken dinner, or at least started the chicken, and five beef recipes. As you can see from my chicken if was quite a frenzy. However, as you can see from my freezer I am ready for a lazy "I don't feel like cooking" day. I have cooked chicken chunks ready for sauce and pastas, chilis, chili mac, chili cheese dogs, and taco meat at my disposal.

THEN, thanks to a wonderful husband who helped me put groceries away and bathe children AND a convenience meal from Sam's Club which was delicious, I baked cookies with Kaeley and Nathan. I'm ashamed to say that since I was so harried from the stupid cooking the baking experience wasn't as cozy as I had imagined it when I wrote it on our calendar. Oh well, all things being said, I think Kaeley really enjoyed cutting the cookies. Nathan? Well, he enjoyed nibbling off the dough when I wasn't looking.

Alynna was a grump, so Brad had to take great care to cuddle up with her in what we call the "daddy nest". She ended up falling asleep pretty early.

Our sugar cookies came from a box mix. I usually scoff at the idea of boxed cookies, but it made life easier that night. I figured that I was okay using this box since most of my other gifts are hand-made. We have a cousin who makes the most beautiful sugar cookies and has for years. I think she would say we have something to learn in baking this yummy treats. Ours certainly didn't turn out like her little works of art. BUT they're edible, and that's what's important. I didn't have as many cookie cutters as I thought, so the kids cut many gingerbread people, crosses, and the cloud shape is actually a Christmas tree.

Today I'll go to the store... again... and buy the decorations for the cookies.