Snow Day!!! A winter storm is brewing outside and I’m cooking up a storm inside. Winter weather, while not much of a big deal in many parts of the US, is a near disaster in the state of Arkansas. Overhead power lines and trees in desperate need of trimming nearly guarantee wide spread power outages any time snow or ice accumulates. But alas, a propane heater and a generator keeps us toasty, warm and in the lights come winter weather and so far…we still have electric energy. 
Now I understand why my 6 year-old nephew is so thankful! So, when winter weather hits there are a few things that I love to do.
- Sleep late.
- Make cookies. I use a traditional Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie recipe with two exceptions. First, I add 1 tsp. of Baking POWDER to the recipe. This gives you a nice fluffy cookie that stays just the right amount of chewy. Second, we often use a mix of chip flavors. Today we have dark chocolate and peanut butter. YUM!
- Turn on the Christmas lights and music! (You’re stuck inside so cozy up and enjoy!)
- Make a big breakfast. We’re having Petit Jean Bacon and pancakes this morning. (We would be having french toast but the store was out of bread!)
- Watch movies. We’ve got a collection of old favorites and if the internet connection persists we have Amazon Video.
- Read a book. I am currently reading The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.
- Get crafty. Next week is paper ornament week in my high school Art 2 class. This is a favorite yearly tradition of this class and is requested each year. We break out beautiful scrapbook papers and spend the week making a number of gorgeous paper star ornaments. I’ll be working on some samples today. Check out my paper ornament tutorial!
- “Cuddle!” And if you need some help in this department you may want to check out my friend Heather Davis’s new book TMI Mom: Getting Lucky (After Kids). This is one of the funniest and most entertaining books I have ever read!
- Eat comfort food. I have my favorite pork roast simmering away in the crock pot. It is so simple to make too! Lay 4-5 piece of smokey Petit Jean bacon on the bottom of the crockpot. Place a large pork butt, fat side up, onto the bacon. Cut little slits in the fat and insert 8-10 cloves of garlic. Sprinkle generously with salt. Now set the crock pot on the lowest setting and let this baby simmer for up to 16 hours! (Yes you read that correctly.) Don’t add any liquid to the pot! Once it’s done it will be falling-apart-tender and oh-so-good! I use the drippings to make a nice pan gravy and I serve it with some roasted potatoes, a green veggie, and some Parker House rolls. The leftover meat makes amazing tacos and is perfect for BBQ sandwiches. Honestly it’s the perfect menu for a winter weather weekend!
- Play games. We will be breaking out the chess board, the cards and scrabble before too long.
What are your winter weather favorites? I’d love for you to leave a comment! Stay safe, stay warm and have a fun snow day!
P.S. None of the links in this post are affiliate links. I share because I love the products. However, Petit Jean Meats does send me free Bacon on occasion because they are cool like that!
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