Merry Christmas

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Enjoy this holiday season and I hope Santa brings want you wanted most!

Happy Halloween

It was a dark and stormy night... Okay, it was a warm and clear night, but it was a fun Halloween. They boys collected lots of candy. They wanted to create their own costumes this year and this is what they came up with. I thought it was very creative. They cut slits int he top of the box and taped a pillowcase underneath the slot on the inside to catch all the candy. Lots of men who were handing out candy thought it was very inventive. They got lots of compliments last night, such as best costume yet, great idea, how fun, one little lady said back in the day she went as a die too. There were also lots of jokes about gambling and lucky number 7, which the boys didn't get. I had to explain to them and told them just to laugh when people were making comments about gambling. I think they did a great job of coming up with their own costumes and with using paint and paper we already had, the total cost for both $1.70. Pretty darn good!

New Recipes

I am always looking for new recipes and, of course, love a good dessert recipe. I found a couple today while I was surfing the internet and thought I would share. They both look pretty easy and very tasty!

OREO TRUFFLES
2 sleeves Oreos
8 oz. softened cream cheese
Handful of white chocolate chips
Handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crush the Oreos in a food processor (should be like crumbs). Pour into a mixing bowl/mixer. Add in the cream cheese and mix until well blended. Roll into balls. In a separate bowl, melt all the chocolate chips together and drizzle over balls. Hint: Melt the chips in the microwave, along with a teaspoon of Crisco. Once melted, place them in baggie & cut the corner of the bag (a very small hole) and drizzle over the balls. Even better, use an icing bag if you have one. Store truffles in the fridge. Yield: About 30 truffles



BLACK-BOTTOM BANANA BARS
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. baking cocoa

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla; beat until thoroughly combined. Blend in the bananas. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide batter in half. Add cocoa to half; spread into a greased 9" x 13" baking pan. Spoon remaining batter on top and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the bars test done. Cool.

Bon Appetite!!

Yipee!!

I have not had to put gas in my car for three weeks thanks to being able to walk to work and having no money to go shopping so I just stay home. Today, I went to Costco and got some gas and was delighted to see that it was down to 2.79 a gallon. Here's to hoping that this trend continues and that we can see below 2.50 before long! Yipee!!

Why is it that every Sunday I am so excited to be done with church? is that a bad

Another Year Older

Okay, so another year has gone by and I am one year older. This year has gone by really fast. What people say is right, the older I get, the faster time goes by. I really appreciated all the wishes for a good day (I even got some good wishes from work, which is unusual), and I must say, it was a really good day!

Yummy Salad

The boys and I were shopping at Trader Joe's and they had samples of a great salad. We went home and made a version for ourselves that was really good. Here is all you need:

Spinach leaves or salad greens
feta cheese crumbles
strawberries, sliced
candied pecans
poppyseed dressing or balsamic dressing

Just placed all ingredients in a bowl and toss and serve. We had both dressings and they were both great, but I prefer the poppyseed dressing.

If you are interested here are recipes for Honey Poppy Seed Dressing and Candied Pecans. Both are super easy and very good.

Honey Poppy Seed Dressing
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. Honey
1/4 c. vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1 tsp salt
1 thick slice sweet onion
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 c. olive oil
1 Tbs. poppy seeds

Blend all ingredients in blender except oil and seeds. Add oil in slow stream while blending. stir in poppy seeds.

Candied Pecans
2 Tbs. Sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg white
1 1/2 c. raw pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325.
Spoon sugar and cinnamon into a large bowl or plastic bag. Mix well and set aside. Place egg white in a separate bowl and whisk until frothy. Add pecans and toss to coat completely. Add pecans to cinnamon sugar mixture and toss well to coat all pecans. spread on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool, breaking them apart with a spatuala.

Enjoy!

Thoughts on Conference

Conference always delivers. I need to be reminded of several things and this time was no different. Reminders to rely on our Heavenly Father more, show more gratitude for what I have, and my favorite talk, from President Uchtdorf, the message of hope. I have been a little anxious of late and it was a nice reminder to have hope and faith and that if I am prepared, I need not fear. I am working on it, but can always use these reminders. I really do love conference!

Keeping Busy

Cameron and Aaron have found all sorts of projects to keep them busy over the three week break from school. Adam (who is Cameron's friend) and Cameron came up with the idea to make this biodome out of tightly rolled newspaper. They also make coats of armor out of cardboard and they each have their own set. Now if I could just contain the mess!

Who Me -Blogging?

Who would have thought that I would start blogging. Not me! I finally caved to all the pressure and I decided I should blog. It really is a good way to journal and keep all informed of what is happening in our lives (that is what I keep telling myself). I really enjoy reading other people's blogs. Here's to hoping mine won't be too boring!!