Of Snow Days & Apple Fritters

 Some things just go together...

like peanut butter and chocolate,
sunshine and flip flops,
and apple fritters and snow days.

When I saw the weather forecast,

I wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought of yet another snowstorm!

But then I realized that spring is just around the corner,

so why not just enjoy the weather I'm given?

There's something about the snow flying that makes me want to get in my comfiest clothes (namely pj's)

put in a good movie and snack on some yummy food.

Sunday night was the perfect time to do that!

I didn't complain about having some extra time with my man,

since he'd been gone to Indiana for a conference for the previous 3 days.

After the storm had ended, I bundled up the kiddos and we trudged through the snow to the mailbox.

The snow was deep enough that Hadassah could barely walk through the drifts,
but she still insisted on doing it herself!

Since my strategic plan to slip out the door while the baby slept didn't work the way I'd hoped,

I resorted to holding the baby in one arm

while snapping pictures with the other.

She happily hopped in her car, but didn't make it very far.

Someone really ought to make toy snowplows;

just think how much fun they'd have and we wouldn't have to shovel the walks!

After putting the kids to bed, I happened to open my Bible to Job 38, and thought it was the perfect passage to read after seeing the blanket of snow.

"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow? (v22)

Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice?" (v28, 29)

I'm in awe of the power of God!

All of creation speaks of His glory.

Now, about those apple fritters....

I always think of doughnuts on snow days, but don't really want to make a whole batch for us to eat.

I looked on Pinterest and found a recipe for apple fritter bites.

It was a small batch, so it was perfect for us!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup chopped apple, (can use granny smith, gala, and rome apples) pea size
1 cup powered sugar
3 tablespoons milk or half and half
oil for frying

Directions: 
In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, stir together milk, egg, vanilla, and butter until egg is mixed well. Pour into dry ingredient and just stir until all ingredient are mixed; add apples and fold in gently. Heat oil around 365 degrees and drop in oil with a small cookie scooper being careful not to over crowd. Once in the grease bubbles, turn fritters over and flatten a little and fry until golden brown. It takes about 35 seconds on each side on this size. Adjust cooking time on size of the fritter and the temperature of the oil.

In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar and milk until smooth and creamy; set aside.  When golden brown, remove the fritters from the hot oil and lay on a sheet pan lined with paper towels.  When slightly cooled, dip in the glaze and place on a wire rack over a sheet pan to let the excess drip off.  Eat warm.  Enjoy!

I used my Fry Daddy, and turned it on before I had the batter mixed up so the oil was hotter than it probably should have been, so they ended up being a little darker than I'd planned.

But it didn't seem to matter after I'd rolled them in glaze.
Oh. My. Total deliciousness!

These are a treat for sure.

Let's just say, I made my husband's night!

And mine :)

I believe we have ourselves a new snow-day tradition!

Throw in a bowl of French onion soup,

and I'm in heaven!

Somebody, remind me again why I don't like snow days!

NYC Getaway: Part II

I'm finally getting 'round to Part II of our fun NYC getaway!

[If you missed Part I, click here.]

Sunday was unforgettable, starting with a beautiful service at the Brooklyn Tabernacle,

and ending at The Lion King show in Broadway!

Both were inspiring, in totally different ways of course.

Monday was more of a sightseeing day for us.

We walked...and walked...and walked!

A word to the wise: if you don't know exactly where you're going, 

that's probably where you will end up! [Ask me how I know]

We were looking for a sweet little spot for brunch,

and we stumbled into this place around noon, quite famished.

Ferrara's is known for their sweets, 

but they had an assortment of delicious brunch foods as well.

We chose the eggs & bacon with feta on a crescent roll. Yumm!

Since we'd snacked on cannolis from a street vendor, we didn't have an appetite for any pastries.

So sad...

          

We headed next to Ground Zero,

and saw lots of interesting old buildings along the way.

Ladder Co 10

The Christmas tree at the fire station, covered with memorabilia from the fallen firefighters.

We waited in line for a few minutes, and then we were informed that they were sold out of tickets to Ground Zero. Really??!! 

It was so disappointing that a site of national importance

would sell out of tickets and people would miss the chance to pay their respects.

Just another reason for us to visit again!

We walked from there to Battery Park and took the ferry across the river to Staten Island.

The ride is free, but there is a mob [literally] of people that board it.

 It was a 30 min ride one way and gave us a chance to relax after all that walking!

The NYC skyline was stunning!

We shivered as we crowded on the deck of the boat,

waiting for the Statue of Liberty to come into sight.

I thought about all the immigrants that came to Ellis Island for the first time

and the emotion they must have felt when they first caught a glimpse of this statue.

It hadn't occurred to me when boarding the ferry that we would be able to watch the sun set behind

the Statue of Liberty.

Happy surprise!!

As the sun set, the lights came on and twinkled over the water.

We couldn't have planned this better if we'd tried!

The sunset was glorious.

Lady Liberty, how beautiful you are.

The view of the city at night was pretty special too!

And yup, another tourist shot in front of the Christmas ornaments!

Coolest [and biggest] ornaments ever!

Radio City and some Christmas tree love

When we pulled the curtains back in our room, this was our view!

I could have sit at that window all. night. long.

Of course, I didn't.

And one last shot of the city in the morning...

If you've never visited NYC at Christmas, it is worth the trip!

Don't forget to see a Broadway Show while you're there :)

What are your favorite sites in the city?