Project 365 Week 28, 29 & 30

Another 3 weeks have flown by! I just can not believe how fast the summer has gone. I really did have grand visions about how the summer would be spent and we have only done a few of the things that I thought we would but hey... seems that is how every summer goes. I was reading an article in Woman's Day that asked if you are a Summer Mom or a Back to School Mom. It was really quite humorous. I guess mostly because I could so see myself in the article. If I get a chance I will post some of the article in a later post. So if you had to guess which one I am.... Which would it be?

Also I want to give a big shout out to all who supported Cheyenne's craft classes. They completely filled and we had a waiting list but no one on the waiting list got in because everyone showed up. She is looking forward to some back to school shopping with her earnings.

Jounaling reads: We attended the Pioneer Day Picnic on Thursday. On Friday Savannah came in dripping blood & said she cut herself on a balloon -now how do you do that? It was a latex glove that had been filled with water and then it popped when she was holding it and it snapped the skin off her inner forearm. We are now harvesting a bit from our garden and made yummy taco salads. Meg didn't play with her new ball as much as I thought she'd do. On Tuesday we went to the Chuckars game. On Wednesday I froze peas.
Credits for both week 30 & 29: Thank You For This Day by LCC by Amy Stoffel, template by Brooklyn Designs, Font - 39Smooth

Journaling reads: Yet another week has come & gone. Savannah swam at a neighbor's until her sunscreen was gone. We had our day of babysitting Meg like usual. I started taking the coupon subscription to the paper to get my deals & ice cream was my major deal this time. I got 36 pints for $4. I spent lots of time with Cheyenne preparing for and teaching some craft classes to get her some back to school shopping money. Clayne spent lots of time fixing the sprinkler system.

Journaling reads: 9 Thurs. Went to the library with Savannah. She is a good little reader this summer. 10 Fri. Went to the drive in movie with Savannah & Carson. Saw Ice Age three. 11 Sat. Clayne built me another food storage shelf & then arranged the food for me. 12 Sun. A weird weather pattern wind blew a big poplar tree down in our back yard and that night was a lightning storm. 13. Mon. A fun day with Meg. 14 Tues. A sprinkler head broke at 2 AM and flooded the boys bedroom. 15. Wed. Finding creative ways to use Cheerios that I bought a while back for next to nothing. Since the kids are too picky to just eat them for breakfast.
Credits: Scrap Orchard July Mystery Mega, Freebie 26 Template by Chrissy W., Font - Adler

Cheerio Treats:
Bring 1 C sugar & 1 C light corn syrup to a slow boil stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in 1 C peanut butter. Return to heat and boil 1 min stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over 6 C cheerios & stir well. Add 1 C mini marshmallows and stir in. Spread in a cake pan and pour 1 C chocolate chips over the top. If the chocolate chips don't melt well enough pop the pan into a preheated 350 degree oven for just a few minutes & then cool completely.

Project 365 Day 25

Today's Prompt: "Another shape! Go hunt down some TRIANGLES."

Rather than a thought today I will share the tasty recipe for these.

Peanut Butter Bars
Cream the following ingredients together:
3/4 C butter
1 C brown sugar
1 C sugar
2 eggs
3/4 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Add:
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C quick oats
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 C flour
Press into greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Leave dough so it is still a bit doughy, but slightly browned. Cool completely. Spread creamy peanut butter on top of the bars. Frost bars with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 bag powdered sugar
4 Tbsp cocoa
dash of milk
Mix the above ingredients together. Add more milk if too thick or more powdered sugar if too thin. Spread on bars and enjoy.

Works for me Wednesday

I must admit that my tip today is from one of my digi scrappin friends blogs Theresa Marie. I am going to respect her privacy and not link you over to her blog. She share some menu ideas and I am always on the look for quick and tasty. I think these will fit the bill.

One of the recipes she shared was for goulash. I must admit that in my whole life I have only had it once and do not remember if I liked it or not. So I think it is a good idea to try it again and see. The only thing I do remember is that it was what was for dinner when I went on a babysitting job at the age of 11 or so. The family had 6 kids and paid 50 cents an hour and the babysitting was awful lol. And now....

Dinner Menu Ideas

Theresa said, "Goulash recipe = 1lb cooked hamburger, slightly under-cooked elbow noodles, 1 can tomato soup, 1 can tomato paste, 1 can pork & beans, 1 can corn and water as needed if it looks dry. put all on low in crockpot for 4 hours or so.... WAY easy :) and it's comfort food here."

And she shared the links to these two recipes too.
Honey Glazed "dump" Chicken
Chili Maple Glazed "dump" Chicken
I buy my meat in large bulk packages too and so I think these "dump" recipes will work well for me. I love the idea of adding the ingredients to the bag before freezing it and then it is ready to go when you thaw it. Can't wait to try these out. Hope you'll enjoy too. Thanks my friend Theresa! For more great tips click on the Works for Me image above.

Cupcakes Anyone?

When I saw these in the recent issue of Woman's Day magazine I just thought they were the cutest! I am a sucker for pastries anyway and cupcakes are so yummy. When I went to their website they didn't have a photo nor could I find one as cute on the net so if you get a chance in the check out line or at a dr office take a peak on page 124. I had to settle for a pic I found by googling. Still you get the idea. Here is the link for the above cupcake if you want to try that version of the recipe. It has a cream cheese filling and sounds heavenly.

The recipe in Woman's Day is as follows:

makes 24

Active: 20 min Total: 1 hour

Cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

Glaze

1 pkg (14 oz) 50 caramel candies

2 tbsp heavy cream

Ice cream sticks

Garnish: Red sprinkles

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. you will need 24 muffin cups lined with paper liners.

2. Cupcakes: Combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Beat applesauce, sugars, butter, sour cram and eggs in a bowl with mixer on low speed just to combine. Beat in flour mixture until well blended.

4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake 30 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in cupcakes comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.

5. Glaze: Heat caramels in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Add heavy cream and stir until combined. Cool 2 minutes. Working quickly, while mixture is still warm, spread top of each cupcake with 2 tsp of glaze. if glaze gets hard to spread, heat on low, stirring until more melted. Insert an ice cream stick into center and top with sprinkles. Place in freezer for 5 minutes to set.

Note: Cupcakes should be glazed and served the same day.

Per serving: 250 cal, 3 g pro, 44 g car, 1 g fiber, 8 g fat (4 g sat fat), 33 mg chol, 218 mg sod

These cupcakes were pictured in the mag and they were nice enough to have the image at their site so I could easily share it. Cute huh. In the mag though they didn't cut the top of the "trees" off. Still I think you get the idea. I just thought this was so clever for a fall cupcake. And while I was looking for that Carmel Apple cupcake I found this site. Lots of cute images for decorating cupcakes. Have fun.

Works for me Wednesday and some Grocery Tips

This week the topic is recipes with 5 ingredients or less. There are already over 300 entries to scan over and pick up some new quick and easy recipes. Click here to go to that post. I am excited to take a look. I am going to share one that we like.

Slush
4 Cups sugar
3 Ounce Jell-o, flavor of your choice
2 Liter Sprite
11 Cups water
46 Ounce Pineapple Juice

Boil 4 cups of water with the sugar until dissolved. Then add Jell-o. Add pineapple juice. Add 7 more cups of water and mix. Freeze this mixture. Take out of freezer about one hour before you plan to serve it so that it will become slushy. mix with Spirte and serve.

I also wanted to share a few grocery tips that I found in the newest copy of LDS living. I don't know why it had never occurred to me to freeze these two items: Milk or Eggs! If there is a good sale on milk or if you are leaving town and it will spoil before you return, you can freeze it. Just be sure to remove about a cup from a full jug to allow for expansion. And eggs - you know when they come on sale for a great deal around Easter or occasionally just on sale for whatever reason, well you can break them open and store them in a Ziploc bag. I will let you know if I find other helpful tidbits in this article when I have time to finish reading it.

Bread Making

Yesterday I did a demo at the church for the ladies on bread making. If there is one thing that I take great pride in for my domestic abilities it would be making my own whole wheat bread each week. It helps me to rotate the wheat in my food storage too. I own two essential appliances and those are my Nutrimill and my Bosch. I would replace them (with the same models) without blinking if something happened to either of them. I love them both and they are essential to my kitchen. I can not imagine making bread without my Bosch. I did make some bread completely by hand for a few weeks prior to buying the Bosch but it really did take most of my day and I knew I would not stay committed. Yes these two appliances are pretty pricey but I think they are worth every penny. I am going to post my step by step procedure here for anyone who missed my demo and you can just copy and paste to print out for your own use. I am also showing a layout I made in December about my Bosch. In the photo you will be able to see my "bread pans." I picked them up at Rush Kitchen Supply and they are about $9 each but I LOVE them too. They make such a nice big loaf. They are actually the warmer trays that are used in restaurants and buffets. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.

(For layout credits you can click on the link for my gallery on the side bar of my blog.)

Wheat Bread
From the kitchen of Tiffany Bodily

5 cups warm water
1 tbsp yeast
3/8 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup vegetable oil
3 cups white flour
8 cups whole wheat flour (aprox.)
1 tbsp dough enhancer
2 tbsp gluten
1 ½ tbsp salt

Pour warm water into Bosch bowl. Add yeast, sugar, oil, white flour and four cups of wheat flour. Turn to speed one until mixed well. Add dough enhancer, gluten, salt and about 2 more cups of wheat flour. Turn to speed two and continue adding wheat flour ¼ cup at a time until dough pulls away cleanly from sides of bowl. Continue kneading on speed two for 6 minutes. While dough is kneading, place oven rack so that the top of the bread pans will be at the center level of the oven. Preheat oven to 170 degrees or lowest temperature setting and then turn off for a few minutes.

Spray 3 bread pans with nonstick cooking spray. Oil/grease hands and counter. Divide dough into 3 equal portions and shape into loaves. Put dough into bread pans. Check oven to make sure it is not overly hot. (If it seems to warm, crack the door for a minute to let some heat escape.) Place pans in oven and let dough double in size. When dough has risen to double, turn oven on at 350 degrees. Set timer for 40 minutes. Note: The baking time of 40 minutes includes the time that the oven is heating up to 350 degrees.

After baking remove from pans immediately and allow to cool on wire racks with a thin towel resting lightly over the bread. When bread is cool, bag immediately to keep soft.

Hodge Podge of Stuff

I'll tell you right now that this post will be a hodge podge of information so be sure to scroll down to make sure you don't miss something that will interest you lol.

Update on my quickpage

Wow! I have been so surprised at the response to this quick page. Last time I checked 4Shared this page had been downloaded 286 times. I appreciate the comments that people have left. I wanted to share Ally Blank's page made from my QP. She added a few additional elements from Mandy's News Flash kit. Isn't it cute? Thanks Ally.New Wheels

Clayne bought his new wheels last week. Remember he rolled his Jeep a few weeks ago. He decided on a 2003 Chevy Avalanche. It is a pretty sweet ride with lots lof bells and whistles. He keeps trying to get me to drive it but I just have no desire. A little too big and too much power lol. It intimidates me. He even pointed out that it has a great feature for short people like me lol. You know how it is that often you have to adjust the seat forward in order to reach the pedals? Well in the Avalanche, you can adjust the pedals to come closer to you. I never heard of such a thing. I am loving that this vehicle actually has room to seat 6 so the whole family can fit. We never could take the Jeep when the whole family was going somewhere. Morgan and Cheyenne just had to get in the pictures here.

One Up

If Clayne needed a new truck then I guess I need something new too. I had a new washer delivered today. Gosh they have gotten expensive since I last bought one 11 years ago. I decided that as the kids grow, and the laundry piles too, that I should get me one of these big bad boys. It is 4.6 cu. If that doesn't mean anything... it is big lol. Now I just wish I had the dryer to go with it. Unfortunately when our dryer went out on us last fall we had it repaired and so now it is a keeper. It just can't keep up with this big washer though. So here is my idea... I will get another inexpensive dryer to put in the basement and then I'll have 2 dryers. Cheaper than upgrading to the big dryer shown here. I didn't really want to spend the money right now on this washer because we have had so many expenses in the last few months but mine was leaking and that just won't do. So any of you that live local, if you are thinking of upgrading your wash system in the next year and want to sell your old dryer (in good condition lol) let me know because if the price is right... you have a deal.

Egging

We went out Egging on Sunday for part of our Family Home Evening. It is much like going Booing for Halloween. When at my Sister In Law's a week ago I saw the notice on her door and thought it was a fun version. I hadn't heard of it in our neck of the woods and so we decided to get it started. My kids love to do this. If you haven't done it yet, make some copies and join in the fun.

You've Been Egged!

The days are getting warmer. Spring is near.

Easter is coming and the bunny's been here!

Now it's your turn to pass on the cheer

Better be quick before Easter gets here.

You be the bunny and make up a treat

Fill up 3 baskets with good things to eat.

Take them to neighbors and friends you adore

Give to a family you've not given to before.

Make up 3 bundles of goodies to share.

Take them to neighbors whose windows are bare.

Once you've been egged hang this note near your door

The "bunny" will see it and your home he'll ignore.

HAPPY EASTER!

Recipe Share

It has been a while since I have shared a recipe and so I think I'll share the treat we took egging. I got this one from a recipe book of my friend Jen. This one is quick, easy and Mmmmm.

Squirrel Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 ounces chocolate chips

Mix together first four ingredients. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder. Spread mixture in a greased 9"x13" pan. Sprinkle chips on top. Bake 3 minutes at 350 degrees. Take out and "marbelize." Return to oven for another 18 to 20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars to serve.

Movie Night?

Did you see that Enchanted was released today. I bought it at Walmart for less than $15. If you just want to rent this... or any other movie. Here is a free code "SPRING" (expires 3/24/08) to use at RedBox. I love this rental system!

A bit Random

Rexburg Temple Open House

Our family was able to attend the open house on Wednesday, Jan. 23. What a wonderful experience for our children. Savannah was enraptured with the beautiful chandeliers and all the wonderful details. In the Celestial room she bent down and traced the pattern of the flowers that was embossed in the carpeting, she looked in the eternal mirrors, and stood in awe. My children loved seeing the baptismal font where their Grandparents will be working. Clayne's parents are in charge of the Baptistery when the temple opens. They have been so busy but are such wonderful examples to us all of serving the Lord. What a blessing. Everything about the temple was so breathtakingly beautiful and I look forward to attending a session now and then in this gorgeous temple.

I was getting my hi lites yesterday at the hair dressers so I had a bit of time to look as my surroundings as well as through a magazine. She had an awesome tile plaque with a saying by President Hinkley that I want to remember so I am posting it here...

"Remembering who you are, changes what you do."

Isn't that cool? A simple statement but very profound. I love our Prophet and all his wisdom and love.

Now for the fun tidbits I found in the magazine LDS Living. I just may end up getting a subscription to this little gem. I have looked at it before, but yesterday I really liked it. I asked Susan if I could borrow it for the weekend and I am really enjoying it's contents.

A Plug for Blogging!

Did you know that Elder M. Russell Ballard has urged members to participate in Blogs? I was excited to know that I am doing something that I enjoy and following the council of the brethren at the same time lol. It was mostly in response to an increased interest in the Mormon religion with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Elder Ballard encouraged students to share their views on blogs to respond to news stories about the Church and to share the gospel in clear simple terms. While not every post on my blog is of a spiritual nature, I do often share things that clearly represent my religious preference. So let's hear it for blogging!!

Spiritual Downloads

I have often visited http://www.lds.org/ as well as http://www.byubroadcasting.org/ to search for information for a talk or lesson or to listen to a conference address or talk but I must admit that I wasn't aware of some of the other resources that were available there.

Did you know that at lds.org free downloads of the following are available:

• The Standard Works


• Ensign, Friend, and New Era magazines from 2004 to the present


• Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage


• General conference talks from 2003 to the present


• Songs from the Children's Songbook, Hymns, and other specialty music


• Select leadership broadcasts


• Select CES firesides

At byu boadcasting you can find:

• Classic devotional speeches given between 1949 and 1999


• Select Women's Conference broadcasts


• Select Education Week presentations from 1996 to the present


• David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies lectures

Anyway... I just thought it was interesting. Sometimes I actually will have a broadcast playing in a window while I surf the net in another. Makes me feel like I am not being overly idle while I surf lol.

A Recipe I want to try.

Bacon-wrapped Pork Tenderloin

• 1 pork tenderloin, cleaned and trimmed


• 3 slices of bacon


• 1 tbsp garlic powder


• 1 tsp seasoned salt


• 1/2 tsp oregano


• black pepper


• olive oil

Combine seasonings to make a rub for the meat. Rub seasoning on the meat. Wrap the tenderloin with bacon, using toothpicks to hold the bacon in place. Coat the meat well with olive oil. Place in a pan and bake uncovered in a 375-400 degree oven for 45-60 minute, or until pork reaches 155 degrees. Make sure the bacon is completely cooked. When the meat is done, remove from the dish and wrap in aluminum foil. Let stand for 10 minutes.

National Pancake Day

Yep there is such a thing lol. I think that there is a day for just about everything. Anyway it is on February 5. I think I will plan to serve breakfast for dinner that night in honor of the event. Another interesting tid-bit is that IHOP will be honoring it on the 12th of Feb. (they are doing it a week late because of Super Tuesday- which has to do with the presidential primaries) On that day you can go between 7-10 pm for a free stack of pancakes. They ask that you contribute the money you would have spent on the pancakes to a local children's hospital or another worthy cause.

Keeping Marriage Magical

There were tons of great ideas for dates because the focus was on Marriage with Valentine's Day around the corner. There were ideas for dates that cost nothing like...

• Walk through a crowded area and make up stories about other people's lives. Be creative! Be funny!


• Go to Costco and eat the free samples and then watch a DVD on your laptop in your car facing the sunset.


• Take your iPod or boom box to a remote parking lot and dance together in the beams of your car's headlights.

Some of these are a little corny but I do think we'd have a fun time doing them anyway lol. I want to try those listed above this summer.

Here are a few more ideas for creative dating...

• wishing date - Find a fountain that donates its proceeds to a good cause, and take a roll of pennies to throw into it. Take turns wishing with the pennies and talk abut what you wished for. If you want to, you can bring a picnic style dessert, or just pop into a nearby cafe.


• stargazing date - Find a planetarium or observatory in your city and go watch the stars move through the universe. Afterwards, look at the sky outside and look for any of the constellations that you learned about.


• tourist date - Find a tourist map of your city and see the sights. Go through the map with your date and decide which things interest you most.


• book date - Go to a bookstore and look at books together. Talk about books that interest you, things you've read, and things you want to read. Find a book on questions for couples and ask each other questions while you have dessert at a cafe.


• dining date - Go downtown where there are lots of restaurants close together and have appetizers, dinner, and dessert at different places, walking from one restaurant to the next.

I know this was a long post so thanks for reading and I hope you found some fun ideas too.

Recipe Share

My friend Shelly http://shellyabrown.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/12/a-bright-idea.html?cid=94049156#comment-94049156 has started a recipe extravaganza to share our favorite recipes. I have already been posting many of mine, but here is one more. I'm trying to go back through my posts and add labels (tags) to my previous posts of recipes so that you can easily go back to them if you missed them. Wish me luck lol. Ok so I don't know how to make a list of labels to go on the side of my blog yet, but if you just click on the label "recipes" at the end of this post it will bring up all previous posts with a label of "recipes" and you can scroll through them and grab the ones you want. Someday I'll figure out how to add my label listing on my blog - if any of you can help me in this endeavor, email me please.

Chocolate Dipped Oreo Balls

1 Package Regular Oreos
1 Package of Cream Cheese, softened

Pulse Oreos in blender until resemble a crumb mixture. Add in cream cheese and blend until smooth. Roll into balls and chill before dipping in chocolate. White chocolate is a nice contrast for dipping the oreo balls into. You can then melt milk chocolate in a zip lock, trim corner and use to drizzle over the white chocolate. Very pretty!

Hodge Podge of Stuff

It has been a busy week and there are things that I really wanted to get posted here so I am just going to take the time and do it. Here is a quick page to show our gingerbread house activity. We have been cheating the last few years buying the Wilton kits where the house is all assembled and you just add the decorations. One of these years I am going to use the molds I bought from pampered chef. (first I have to remember where I stashed them)

I wanted to share the recipe that we used for our cookie making activity last week too. It is a great classic sugar cookie recipe. Jen shared my other sugar cookie recipe on her blog a while back but in case you missed it I'll give you it too. This one is called Carol's soft sugar cookies and they are super tasty too. I love the cream cheese frosting. The reason why I sometimes go back to the classic recipe is that they are easier for the kids to decorate and the frosting sets so that you can put them on treat plates and the frosting doesn't stick to the plastic wrap. Happy baking!!! If you make them... bring me one.

Classic Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter flavor shortening
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk
4-5 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt

Cream the shortening and sugars together. Beat in eggs one at a time; add milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix into creamed mixture until well blended. Chill for one hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time, to about ¼ inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out with cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with colored sugars and decors or leave plain and frost when cooled. Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden. Remove immediately to cooling rack. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Buttery Cream Frosting

In a medium mixing bowl, combine 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, ½ cut butter flavor shortening and 1 ½ tsp vanilla. Slowly blend in 6-7 Tbsp milk to desired consistency. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes.

Carol’s Soft Sugar Cookies

3 ¼ C flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ C softened butter
1 C sugar
1 egg unbeaten
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ C thick sour cream

Sift flour, soda and salt. Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Mix sour cream into creamed mixture along with half of the dry ingredients. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir by hand. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Divide dough in half, roll out and cut. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ C softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
½ lb cream cheese
3 ¾ C powdered sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese together until well blended. Add vanilla and sugar; beat until smooth.



And finally, I have been wanting to share my "home improvement" with you. Remember that red wall I was going to paint? Well, I did it and I love it. It was a treacherous wall to do up and down the ladder worrying about dripping red paint on the carpeted steps below me. I had to put a stack of books on a stair to make a platform to put the ladder on and every time I climbed that ladder, I read the label on it that warned about incorrect use leading to serious injury or death. That was a comfort - NOT!

I went to Four Sisters in Shelley and had the vinyl lettering done with the scripture from 3 John 1:4 and I am so happy with it. Wish photos did it justice, but they don't so if you are ever able to, you should come and see it for real. Whew! I feel better to have all this posted - not that you aren't all too busy to read it lol.

Ok and one more little goodie.... I love http://www.pandora.com/ You can listen to any kind of music you want to there. Check it out! Now I am off to help my kids make their gifts for grandparents. Have a great weekend.

A Bit of Christmas Cheer

Last Wednesday we attended the Nativity Display at the stake center by the Temple. This has become one of our family traditions to kick off the Christmas season. We like to strongly reinforce that the Christmas season is all about the birth of our Savior and the gift of his atoning sacrifice. Looking at the dozens of nativities collected and displayed at the stake center helped us to remind our children of this. We so appreciate all the work that it takes for this display to be available. In conjunction with the tradition of attending the Nativity display, we have also started a tradition where the first holiday decoration (aside from the lights on the outside of the house, which are preferably hung before the first big snow storm) that we display in our home is the Nativity. At the beginning of December we hold a special family night and have a lesson about the Nativity and then we put our figurines out. Not until the Nativity has had a few days to take center stage, are the rest of the decorations and the tree put up. From my last post you will see that yesterday we put out our Nativity. Tonight we will attend the First Presidency Devotional. I am excited to see and hopefully hear from our beloved Prophet.

Today in Relief Society we had a wonderful lesson about family traditions. The spirit was very strong and it was a beautiful message. Thanks Shelly and to all the sisters who shared in the lesson. I am grateful for the traditions that we have in our family and I hope that as my children grow up that they will carry some of them into their own families.

Now a little gift to you for reading my post: I attended a super fun Christmas party this weekend where we all exchanged goodies. I took my gingersnap cookies which are already posted here on my blog as well as some yummy caramels. I promised to share this recipe on my blog. I had just enough left over after the party that I decided to wrap them up and put them away for the Relief Society holiday open house coming up this week so I am counting on all of you to enjoy this recipe, but not to take them to that party. (Sorry Heather B., but I have to take them to the party so that I won't finish eating all of them myself!!) With that said.... Here is the recipe. These are way easy. No candy thermometer involved and just microwaving for the cooking!!! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!!

Microwave Caramels

1 cup margarine
2 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt margarine in microwave bowl 1-2 min. on med/high. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, milk and salt. Cover with plastic wrap. Cook on high 10 min. Stir and cook uncovered 12-15 min. on med/high or until forms a ball. (Take a spoon and drip a small amount into a cup of ice water. See if it forms a ball.) Add vanilla and pour into a greased 12x7 pan. Cool and cut.

Just Another Sleepy Sunday

Ok, so some of us sleep on Sunday. I don't know how these two can do it when I am in the kitchen right behind the couch banging around and the other three kids are doing their usual rowdy stuff. I think that is the main reason I have given up on trying to nap on Sunday is that it is just never quiet enough around here.

What I was busy in the kitchen doing was making Pilgrim Pies. They are so tasty. We have been making them for a few years and they have become a family favorite. In fact I think I'll be making them as my assignment for the Thanksgiving dinner this week. Today's batch was for my visit teaching ladies. Wow this month went fast and after Thanksgiving there won't be much time left. We'll see if I can manage a visit that last month though. We got this recipe from Family Fun Magazine.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Pumpkin Cookies
2 eggs
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Filling/Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the eggs, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the pumpkin. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture a half cup at a time, blending each time until smooth. 2. Drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet, using a moist finger or the back of a spoon to slightly flatten each mound. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. 3. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the confectioners' sugar a half cup at a time, until the frosting is spreadable. 4. To assemble the pies, turn half of the cookies bottom side up and spread a generous amount of cream cheese frosting on each one. Top them with the remaining cookies (turned right side up). Makes 10 to 14 Pilgrim Pies.

What I really want to do is find some reading time. I had my name on the waiting list at the library for a long time and finally got this book it is the third in a series by Nancy Turner. The first is These Is My Words. The series is excellent and I would highly recommend it. Well, there are my random thoughts for the day. Well, I guess I can give one more for any Pepsi lovers out there. Winco had 12 packs on sale for $1.98 when I was there Saturday. I would think this price would be good until Thanksgiving. Now I must sign off and do the FHE thing. Hope you had a good Sunday.

A girls night out and a few recipes to share

I went to a girls night out at the church last night. We all brought projects of our own to work on. I worked on a baby album as a gift for my new niece that we'll be having a baby shower for next month. It is a simple little book where the recipient can add a photo of the newborn and then a photo of the baby for each month of the first year. There is also a page at the end to record "baby's firsts."

We ate lots of goodies and it was a fun time. I enjoyed seeing what everyone else was working on too. I had a request to share the caramel popcorn recipe for the popcorn balls I brought last night to share.

Caramel Popcorn (from Desiree Reading)

Pop 2 bags of microwave popcorn and remove any unpopped kernel
In a sauce pan combine: 1 cube of butter, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup

Bring to a boil

Add: 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk

Return to a boil

Pour over popcorn and mix well

Form into popcorn balls if desired

I was also telling Shelly about a easy and yummy recipe for banana bread last night and so I though I'd post that too. I picked this one up from the Real Simple magazine. I like to make it with vanilla pudding and since my kids don't like nuts, I never use them either.

Banana Nut Bread

1 box yellow cake mix

1 package Jell-O instant banana cream pudding and pie filling

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup veg. oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed

4 eggs

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix all the ingredients well. Pour into 2 large or 4 small greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 -45 min.

Look what I'm making!

This is soooo yum! My house smells delish too. It was originally a blueberry buckle recipe that I got from my SIL but I usually don't have blueberries on hand and always have canned peaches here so I started making it that way and like it better. It is kind of like a peach cobbler.

Peach Buckle

¼ Cup Margarine, softened
¾ Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 ½ Cup Flour
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
½ Tsp. Salt
½ Cup Milk
2 Cups peaches, chopped

Cream butter and sugar. Blend in egg. Add dry ingredients and milk. Gently fold in peaches. Can used canned, but drain first. Another option is to used drained canned blueberries. Pour batter into oiled and floured 8x8" pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping.


Crumb Topping

½ Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ Cup Margarine, softened

Mix together until resembles coarse crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 min. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream.

Casseroles & Dishes Using Cream Soups

Inspired by the soup sale at Albertson's this week, I had been considering a post to share some of my recipes that I make using cream soups. Christine even specifically requested it and I hate to disappoint. Now first let me make the disclaimer that no recipe using a cream based soup can really be that healthy for you... so don't be letting all the fat grams or calories be buggin you when you look at these recipes. These are considered "comfort foods" and in the cold winter seasons, we tend to eat more of these kinds of foods. I just try not to make more than one "comfort meal" a week and keep my serving size moderate. You'll have to decide what to do about this for yourselves.

Now my request to you.... if you try one of these and like it, let me know. If you don't like it, please be so kind as to not let me know about it Ü Another request... if you have a great recipe using cream soups, please share. Thanks.

Chicken with Peas and Potatoes

4 Chicken Breasts
2 Tblsp Olive Oil
1 ½ Cups Chicken Broth
1 Small Onion
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Cup Peas
4 Large Potatoes, Cubed And Peeled

Place oil in bottom of skillet. Cook chicken on medium, browning both sides. Add broth and cubed potatoes. Simmer 25 minutes on medium to low heat until chicken is cooked through. Add cream of mushroom soup. Just spoon in, all over the chicken. Simmer another 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Add peas 3 minutes before serving. Season to taste.

Pork Chop and Potato Scallop

4 Pork Loin Chops, boneless
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ Cup Sour Cream
¼ Cup Water
2 Tblsp Parsley
4 Cups Potato, Peeled, thinly sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown pork chops in a skillet. Blend soup, sour cream, water and parsley. In 2 quart casserole dish alternate a layer of potatoes - sprinkled with salt and pepper, with sauce mixture. Top with pork chops and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour 45 minutes.


Chicken Noodle Casserole

4 Chicken Breast, skinless, boneless
6 Ounce Egg Noodles
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Cup Sour Cream
Salt & Pepper
1 Cup Crumbled buttery round crackers
1/3 Cup Butter

Poach chicken in a large pot of simmering water. Cook until no longer pink in center, about 12 min. Remove from pot and set aside. Bring chicken cooking water to a boil and cook pasta in it. Drain. Cut chicken into small pieces, and mix with noodles. In a separate bowl, mix together mushroom soup, chicken soup, and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Gently stir together cream soup mixture with the chicken mixture. Place in a 2 quart baking dish. Melt butter in a small saucepan, and remove from heat. Stir in crumbled crackers. Top casserole with the buttery crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until heated through and browned on top. Note: A can of cooked chicken may be used in place of the chicken breasts.

Hot Chicken Salad Casserole

2 ½ C. Cooked Chicken
2 ½ C. Cooked Rice
2 ½ C. Diced Celery
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 T. Chopped Onion
1 C. Mayonnaise
1 Can Sliced Water Chestnuts
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 Cups chow mein noodles

Combine ingredients and put in a greased 9x13” pan. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. (1 hour if chilled in fridge.) Top with chow mein noodles or cracker crumbs.

Cheesy Chicken

1 Cube Margarine
1 Can Evaporated Milk
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ C. Flour
1 ½ C. Grated Cheese
1 tsp. Salt
6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

Place chicken in cake pan. Season with season salt or other desired spices. Cook for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. Flip chicken over and season other side. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Serve with rice.

Five for Today

1. Productive Monday - I forced myself to be very productive yesterday. I went to the home show last week and got really behind in my own home by doing so. There were a couple of the homes that I really liked, but some of them were just over the top. It was good that this year, I was able to come home and be happy with my own home Ü Anyway... I did 6 big loads of laundry and some house work. It is kind of fun (if you can call house work fun) to do a "home blessing hour." This is an idea that I got off of http://www.flylady.net/ The idea is that you make a list of 6 house cleaning tasks that each take 10 minutes, then you quickly get them done. I try to pick the 6 items that make the biggest visual impact after the weekend. In addition to my domestic duties in the home, I made a quick run to the grocery store and put in my 30 minutes helping with centers in Savannah's kindergarten class. Oh and then I got on to http://www.winkflash.com/ and ordered some pictures. They have a deal going right now for 6 cent prints.

2. Christmas shopping - Yep... gotta start thinking about it again. I was excited to come upon one of my family's favorites at the grocery store yesterday. I know that I told you I'd share all my good grocery deals, but this one I am keeping to myself. I bought 3 cases of this great deal. There were 24 in a case and they were 25 cents each, making the case $6. Whahoo! My neighbor/family friend gifts are purchased. You will just have to wait until the season is upon us and then we'll see if I remember to post what I gave my neighbors. Now all of you who are my neighbors will know how "thrifty" I am Ü Today I went to Deseret Book and got some really cute wall hangings to give as family gifts. I know there is a chance my SIL will check my blog and see this, but oh well. The rest of her family gift will be a surprise. I was hoping they'd have these on their web site, but the image is not available. You'll have to take my word that they are soooo cute and better still they are on sale for less than $9 each. Maybe later this week I'll take a picture and post it.

3. A bit of gratitude - I must say that I am so thankful to be able to be a stay at home mother. I love being here when they come home from school. I love having time to do my housework and even a bit of my hobbies. I remember the days when I worked - what I don't remember is how I managed to do it. I am especially grateful for the quiet time that I get each school day for 3 hours. It took a long time to get them all in school and I must say it is worth the wait. I decided to try a temple session while Savannah was at kindergarten today. I wasn't sure that I could get home before the bus brought the darlings home, but I did. I am now planning to attend the temple each Thurs at the 1:00 session. I know that there will be times when I won't be able to make it, but I'm going to try to do most Thursdays. I am not posting this to boast... I am posting this to let you know that I really do need to go to the temple more for self improvement and I also post this to invite any of you who live locally to join me. I'll admit that one of my motivations in increasing my temple attendance is to show Clayne that I really do need to be able to stay home because if I worked I wouldn't have time to do my temple work as well Ü Not that he is thinking of sending me back to work - but I'm gonna make sure he doesn't think of it.

4. There was quite a buzz on my posting for my yummy chocolate chip cookies and also some requests for the yummy gingersnaps. Not only do these taste fabulous, but they make your home smell so "fall."

Gingersnaps

4 Cups Flour
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Cloves
2 tsp Soda
1 ½ tsp Salt
¾ Cup Shortening
¾ Cup Margarine
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
¼ Cup Molasses

Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Cream shortening, margarine and sugar. Add eggs and molasses. Beat well. Stir in dry ingredients. Roll into walnut size balls then roll in granulated sugar to coat. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 4 ½ dozen.

5. Almost Wednesday - Are you getting excited? Are you anticipating the great deals? Ready to grocery shop? Be sure to check on Wednesday when I'll share what I find noteworthy in the grocery ads.

Baking Cookies

Just taking it easy this Sunday afternoon and making some cookies for family night that we'll have later. We like doing FHE on Sunday's instead of Monday Nights. It just works for us. Thought I'd share the recipe for our yummy cookies too. Many of you who share our last name already have this one, but for those who don't... ENJOY!


Bodily’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 ½ Cup Brown Sugar
1 ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Cups Shortening
4 Eggs
2 Tsp. Vanilla
2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Salt
5 Cups Flour
1 Cup Chocolate Chips - mini
1 Cup Mini M&M's

Beat sugars, shortening, eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda, salt and half of the flour; mix well. Stir in remainder of flour and chocolate chips/M & M's. Roll into balls the size of walnuts, place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes or until light brown. Makes 6 dozen.


I was reading the Sunday paper and came across an article about a mom who blogs who's name is Dawn. My friend Jen had sent me an email a while back about how this lady sold some Pokemon cards on Ebay for a good sum of money. Anyway... this lady is now being offered book deals, being asked to write a TV series for Nickelodeon, and even a movie screenplay. Who knows what she'll actually end up doing, but it all started from her blogging and ability to write in humorous ways about family life. I went to her site today just to look it over and will probably visit there once in a while for a laugh. Here is the link http://www.mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/


And as promised... (grocery deals) as I was reading the paper I saw that Fred Meyer has petite sirloin in thier ad for $2.99/lb this week. I think I'll try to color all text related to grocery deals in RED. Hope that helps.