Flavorful Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

This is not my normal Oatmeal Cookie recipe. I usually make simple cookies which are also delicious (one day I will post the recipe...I will have to make them first though so I can have a photo.). This recipe has a lot of different things in it which give them a wonderful flavor that you don't get in your normal oatmeal cookies. I designed this recipe specifically to be used with raisins. You could add nuts if you so choose. I wouldn't add more than 1 cup of nuts though. 1/2 might be best. I hope that you enjoy these because I sure do!

Ingredients for Bowl 1

1 1/2 cup flour

12 cup wheat germ

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 cup water

Ingredients for Bowl 2

2 sticks butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring

Add These Ingredients Last

4 cups oats

2 cups raisins

Directions

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Start with the ingredients for bowl one. Add the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, cinnamon, coriander, and cardamom. Mix well with a whisk or spoon before adding the water.
3. Using a separate, microwave safe bowl melt the butter in the microwave. Add both sugars, molasses, vanilla and almond flavors. Mix well.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Stir until mixed.
5. Add the oats to the flour mixture. Stir until well mixed.
6. Add the raisins and stir.
7. Roll the dough into 2" balls. I can fit 15-16 per cookie sheet. Place on greased cookie sheets.
8. Bake in oven 9 minutes if you don't use raisins, and 11 minutes if you do use raisins in this recipe.
9. Let the pan sit 2-3 minutes before removing the cookies from it.

Notes

 

~You can make these cookies without the raisins. If you do the cooking time is about 2 minutes less than if you used raisins in the mix.
~The cookies will look dark. This is because of the molasses.

Keeping Your Special Roses

You can keep more than just roses, but I was drying my yellow roses which were given to me by my wonderful boyfriend and thus the title was written. You may recognize these roses since they were used in this post where I talked about Autry and how he has helped me to realize that life isn't about the big things, but the little things instead.

The roses used in the picture are the very same that Autry had given to me in July as a surprise. He showed up after work one day with a stuffed pony in his jacket and a dozen yellow roses behind his back. It was wonderful!

Now for the purpose of this post... I have only one other flower bouquet which I have dried and saved they are the flowers I caught at a friend's wedding in 2010. I had never caught the bouquet at a wedding before or since then so they are special. I am thinking they might be displayed at my own wedding reception...not sure if I will actually do that yet or not.

Here are a few photos of the flowers Autry gave me. Aren't they beautiful?

Drying Flowers
When your flowers are getting to the end of the 4-5 day range (could be more or less...I think mine lasted 6 days) then it is time to pull them out of the water and wrap a bunch of string around the ends. I use basic sewing thread, but you can use yarn or something else you might have. Before you wrap the ends make sure the flowers are arranged like you want them to stay once they are dried, then wrap away! Make sure the stems are secured before you stop wrapping.

Hang your flowers in a place to dry for 1 1/2-2 weeks.

Hang your flowers in a place where they will be out of the way. I chose to hang them in the bay window since there was a hook which could hold the flowers by the thread. (You can see that I wrapped the stems with a LOT of thread!)

These flowers have been drying for about 4 days.

Now it's time to wait. My flowers were left in the window for 8-9 days. Basically you want the whole flower to be dry. If a week has passed and the flowers still don't look dry all the way then you can leave them for another week. Leaving them to dry won't hurt anything.

Once your flowers are dry they should look about like this:

Now store them in a vase and display them proudly for years to come!



This vase was found at a garage sale last week for .50 cents!
I love the design. It is so beautiful!
When I get married this will be on my dresser in my bedroom.

Quote | Gordon B. Hinckley

How are you enjoying life? I am loving mine! I have spent the last two weeks working with apples...peeling, cutting, dicing, slicing... I now have several jars of Apple Cider Vinegar in the making (8 as of today!); I have a wonderful Apple Pie recipe which I have made a total of 4 times already; Apple Butter made in the crockpot is one of my favorite ways to use all the Granny Smith Apples I was given; and I am working on a recipe for Apple Pecan Spice Bread...only a few changes need to be made before that recipe can be shared with you!

As far as apples go I have been given apples from two trees already, and I have two more trees which aren't quite ready for harvesting! I see a lot more "apple factory" days in my near future!

Summer Style | White Ruffles & Lace

I find it difficult to create titles for my outfit posts. I don't think I'm very creative when it comes to title names for my blog posts on outfits. Oh well...I'm sure it really doesn't matter that much. :)

This is the outfit I chose to wear when I went to see my brand new nephew! He is SO cute! I did not want to stop holding him.

White Shirt w/ Lace @ Top | Maurices, Thrifted for 1.49!
White Tank Top | Old Navy, Bought for $4!
Light Blue Cardigan | Old Navy, Bought for .97 cents new!
Denim Skirt with Ruffles | Made by Me!
Brown Sandals, Mossimo Supply Co. | Thrifted for $2.50!

As a special feature, here are a few pics to show off the hairstyle I did!



The front. I was not feeling well that day...
thus the look on my face.

The left side view.

The back view. Sorry it's so blurry, my little
sister was in a hurry lol.

Hairstyle: Three Wrapped Buns.

Section out an area in the front to be your 'bangs'. Divide the remainder of your hair into three sections. Top, middle, and bottom. Each of these will go into a wrapped, semi-messy bun. Starting with the very top bun (making sure not to include your 'bangs' hair), pull your hair into a ponytail, after you've wrapped it around twice leave a little 'loop' of your hair not pulled all the way through. Wrap the remainder of your hair around this loop. Secure with bobby pins. When you go to pull your hair into the second ponytail make sure to include your 'bangs' hair. (You may need to go ahead and add a small bow to keep them where they should be.) Repeat the ponytail with the loop and wrapping and securing with bobby pins. Do this for the third bun as well. There you go! It is supposed to have a semi-messy look, but it's not supposed to look like the Messy Bun.

Medicine Card for your Wallet

Not long after my wreck (October 2010) I started attending cognitive therapy where I met the most amazing woman, Terri. Over the many weeks and months that followed she became almost like a mother figure to me because she would get onto me like I was one of her children. I learned so many useful things when I was going through those therapy sessions. I am very grateful to her for all the hard work she put into me to get me back to the functioning human being that I am today.

One of the things which Terri taught me was to keep an index card in my wallet with all of my medicines and doctors listed on it. Because of the brain injury I had a difficult time retaining information and keeping up with constant medicine changes was a huge challenge for me. In order to help me overcome this she had me make a card and write all the information down that I might need to know at any point in time. To this day I still carry a card in my wallet with this information, in case I should ever need it. For the past two years that card has been unused, although changed out for an updated card as medicines changed.

The reason I have this card in my wallet is in case I should need the information, but cannot remember it when I need it. Or, if I should become unconscious/in a car wreck (I sure hope not!) all of the information that the emergency personnel might possibly need is accessible. Even if you do not have a brain injury this card is a smart idea. If you are on any types of medications or have any illnesses then you should definitely consider making a card for your wallet.

Information You Should Write Down
~At the very top of the card write your name, the purpose of the card and the date of the time you are making this card. Reason: your name is so that whoever may need to look at this card will know it is yours. Your wallet will probably have other identification information, but this is just a helpful thing to have on the card. My card is labeled "Med List" because I keep my medicines listed on the front, and other info on the back. The date on the card is highly important so that the reader will know the card is current. I rewrite my card each time I have a medicine change.
~Next list each medication that you are currently taking. Write the name of the medicine, the dose amount (including the mg. etc.). Finally add what each medicine is used for. I currently have a medicine for depression/brain chemical imbalance (caused from the brain injury), and migraine prevention pill which are taken daily. Those are listed first on the card. Next I have listed the other two medicines which I take as needed; one for back pain, one for migraine relief.
~If you have any current diagnoses' list them in order of importance. I have 4 total: Closed Head Trauma (TBI), Fibromyalgia, Global Amnesia, and finally Migraines of the head, chest and abdomen.
~Now it is time to write doctor information. Start with your primary care doctor then follow with other doctors or specialists in whose care you are under. List the doctor's name (Including Dr.!), what the doctor is for, and the phone number at which he/she can be reached at. I am finally down to two doctors who take care of me (I had a lot more, but thanks to prayers and time I no longer needed to see them). I have my primary doctor and my neurologist. If the doctor uses a nurse make sure to add her name under the doctor's name.
~Emergency Contacts. This is another important section, especially for someone else who may need to contact someone for you. Try to list three people who live close enough that they would be able to assist you if necessary. I have my mom, dad, one sister and Autry listed on my card. Include cell number, work number, and home number if you can so they can be sure to be reached.
~Finally if there are any other notes which may be important to a reader of this card add them at the bottom of the back side of the card. My card states: "Unable to drive or work due to brain injury & global amnesia. Effects short and long term memory." This would be important for emergency personnel to know.

I hope that this idea/tip encourages you to think about making one of these cards for your wallet. This may also be a good idea for a child to keep on them if they have allergies, etc. and may end up needing medical assistance. This may also be a good idea for elderly people who may have a difficult time remembering all the information they might need to know.

I like my card. I feel more freedom knowing that if something did happen, all the information that anyone would need to know is right there in my wallet (one of the first places emergency personnel look). Please consider doing this project! One day you may be glad you did!