Hummingbird Feeder Solution

This week has been a beautiful change of scenery and temperatures from last week's Blizzard-fest 2011. We have been out-of-doors everyday this week, playing basketball, going to the park, walking, and cleaning up a little around the outside of the house. 

I couldn't think of a better time to post this recipe for a little snack for our friends, the hummingbirds. I know winter won't be over for another month, but this just makes me giddy for the spring that's right around the corner. Unfortunately, we don't get many hummingbirds here in West Texas, but I'll try this solution anyway and hope for the best!

Here's how it's done:

 

Dissolve 1 part granulated sugar in 4 parts boiling water. Cool. Refrigerate until needed. Red food coloring is not necessary.

*Note from Linda at Penny-wise Women: I use this recipe myself in my feeders and never use food coloring. It works great, and we always have loads of hummingbirds...so neat to watch. I also highly recommend a DVD called First Flight: A Mother Hummingbird's Story. It is a nature documentary by Noriko and Don Carroll based on their book of the same name and published by Andrews McMeel. I highly recommend the hummingbird solution, the documentary, and the book to all you nature lovers.

Written by Lindsey & Linda at Penny-wise. Submitted by Gaeleen.

Star of Bethlehem Cookies

These cookies are simple to make and quite delicious--a great family activity to prepare for Christmas.


Ingredients:


4-5 oz. all-purpose flour
2 oz. superfine sugar
4 oz. butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
vegetable oil or cooking spray for greasing
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Place 2 oz of flour, half the sugar, and half the butter in a bowl and mix until the mixture is crumb-like. Add the vanilla and half of the egg yolk and mix again until the mixture comes together. Form into a ball, wrap in cling-wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.

Make a second batch of dough with the remaining flour, sugar, butter, and egg in the same way, adding the cocoa with the flour and omitting the vanilla. Chill as before.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a couple of baking trays. Thinly roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, sprinkling pin with flour to prevent sticking. Use three different-sized star cookie cutters. Place the biscuits on the trays. Gather and reroll the scraps to use all of the dough.

Bake for around 10 minutes, or until lightly colored, then remove and immediately loosen with a metal spatula. (Biscuits will break when moved if left even for a few minutes.) Leave to cool and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Family Night Idea: Make up a batch of these cookies along with your favorite hot holiday beverage. Sit around the fireplace or just around each other and read a heart-warming Christmas book. We'd like to suggest An Amish Christmas, The Polar Express, or The Jesse Tree Devotional Book. 

Submitted by Nicci