Tony Grove/Bear Lake

I remember as a child that I loved camping but now as an adult I am not so sure anymore. Man, it is a lot of work to get ready for a camping trip. Then as I am packing I am thinking this is just crazy for two days and one night, all this work. But we went anyway, packed up the car and the kids and headed to the hills. Brian and I decided that Tony Grove would be a nice place to take the kids. Tony Grove was beautiful and it was so green with lots of pretty wildflowers. We were not able to check in until 2:00 pm so we had some time in the morning to get ready. We actually got there right at 2:00, I couldn't believe it. We found our lovely spot and found out right away that there was not any water, all the water was plugged shut. That was the first not so fun part, two kids and no water to clean their dirty faces and hands. There were flushing toilets but it was an uphill hike to them. Next we got all unpacked set up the tent and went for a walk to the Tony Grove Lake. It was beautiful! When we got pack we cooked hot dogs on the fire, the best. Then the second not so fun thing happened it started to RAIN! The kids and I ran into the tent and Brian hurried and put everything in the car. It probably rained for at least an hour straight and then started leaking in our tent, great! Brian and I could not decide what to do stay or go. We drove around until the rain stopped, Audrey fell asleep in the car and we made another fire and roasted marshmallows and decided what we wanted to do next. It was getting later and later and we thought we would just tough it out. We all got in the tent and snuggled down for the night. Third not so fun thing, Audrey would not sleep, so Audrey no sleepy, Daddy and Mommy no sleepy, but Aria slept like a log. Then next morning we had breakfast and headed to Bear Lake. Came home that night, tired, hot, and dirty. Not so sure we will camp again, maybe in a trailer next time.

Aria Rock Climbing

Tony Grove Lake

Girls at Tony Grove Lake

Tony Grove Lake

Tony Grove Lake

Morning sun peeping through our campsite

Bear Lake

Girls playing in Bear Lake

Our Sand Castle

Audrey smashing our castle

Cheetos and Sand, YUM!

Bathing Beauty

Fruit Filled Meringues Cups

My weight is always a constant battle and having my blog or following other food blogs does not help sometimes. I love trying new recipes especially desserts. I love baking, but my waist line does not. I have been trying to exercise more and eat a little less, but still not totally denying myself our I will just binge. I have been exercising on my elliptical or I do videos and I love Exercise TV on demand. Exercise TV on demand for Comcast customers gives me a wide range of workouts that I love and one recently I have been doing is 10 Pound Slimdown with Chris Freytag. Chris claims if you do her workouts for one month you could lose 10 pounds and she included some recipes and tips for free online. I was so happy to see Chris added some dessert ideas that will make it easier satisfying my sweet tooth and not cause so much guilt. In the recipe she said to use strawberries but I just bought a beautiful case of raspberries and thought they would be nice also. Really tasty and simple to make.

Fruit Filled Meringues Cups

4 large egg whites
1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup strawberries or raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups Cool Whip Light

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

In a large, clean bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until foamy, Add the cream of tarter and continue to mix until soft peaks form.

Slowly begin to add 3/4 cup of sugar. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form.

Make six equal piles of meringue on a parchment lined baking sheet. Using the back of the spoon, make indents in top of each meringue, they look like nests.

Bake for 1 hour, Turn off the oven leaving the meringues inside. Let them sit in oven for 3 hours, or until dry.

Place sliced strawberries or whole raspberries in a medium size bowl, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar, let sit to create a juice. Stir occasionally.

Remove meringues from parchment paper and spoon fruit into the nests. top with a dollop of Cool Whip.

204 Calories and 3.4 g total fat per dessert

I ♥ CARBON LEAF

If you have not figured it out by now I am in love with Carbon Leaf! Me and my bestest sister ever had the opportunity to see Carbon Leaf this last Monday. First off I was so excited that they were coming again to Utah, they came last year and I was overjoyed to hear them stopping by again. I bought tickets for my sister and I immediately when I found out they were coming and started counting down the days. The venue they were performing at was not one that I have heard of, Kilby Court.

So me and my sister headed into the unknown, but we knew it was still going to be great. We arrived at this kind of scary, run down street and then had to park and walk down a little side street. We came to the "venue" but it was really like some garage, not kidding. Some kid is making bank! But we really did not care because we were there to see Carbon Leaf. Everyone crammed into this shack and heard the opening band, really just a guy and a guitar, can't remember his name just wanted him to be done so we could get on with the good stuff. By this time we are all sweating and the only AC was outside doors and some kind of swap cooler blowing the hot air from outside on us. Finally the opening acted ended and the fun really began. My sister and I got some good spots, and we were about 5 feet from the band. Awww Carbon Leaf are such good performers and there music just puts a smile on face. My sister and I sweated and danced and sang! After the show we got to meet the band again and they were so cool and signed a shirt for me also.

I love you Carbon Leaf and I hope you continue to make great music and keep coming to Utah! If you want to know or understand what I am talking about click here or check out some of their songs on my playlist on my blog. Also below is a video of Carbon Leaf singing one of my most favorites songs of theirs.

Chocolate Chip Puddin' Cookies

I am addicted to cookie recipes! When I come across a new kind of chocolate chip cookie recipe I have to give it a try, right now my husband is searching for help for me and my condition. I have my usual, favorite recipe that I make often, but if you don't have one here is a really good one to make your "usual". What really is great about this recipe is that the cookies have amazing flavor and stay very moist which is very important for me in a cookie recipe. So give it a go this weekend.

Chocolate Chip Puddin’ Cookies

yield: 28 – 32 cookies depending on size

1 cup Butter (2 sticks), softened
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla, optional
2 1/4 cups AP Flour
1 Vanilla Pudding (3.4oz) Mix, (or any flavor)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Chocolate Chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cream the butter and sugars together, about three minutes. Next add the eggs (one at a time) and the vanilla if using.

2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry pudding mix, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet mixture and mix until combined.

3. Add the chocolate chips and combine again.

4. Prepare your baking sheet with either pan spray or parchment paper. Scoop out tablespoon sized scoops and roll in a ball, having at least 1.5 inch space between each cookie.

5. Bake 8 minutes and remove from the oven. Let cool on the baking sheet 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.


Pictures by Me

Recipe adapted from Natalie's Killer Cuisine

Penne with Carrots and Peas

My husband is often not at home at dinner time, so it is just me and my two little girls most nights. When making dinner for me and my girls I am always at a lost for what to make. I don't like making a huge meal that either one of them might not eat and then I went to all that work for days and days of leftovers. I am always looking for new recipes that are fast, kid friendly and does not make a huge amount. I got this recipe from an advertisement for Barilla Pasta in the FamilyFun magazine. I thought it was perfect for my girls, First, what kid does not love pasta? Second, there is cheese. Third, peas and carrots, my chicas love their veggies, weird I know, but they do. A conversation at dinner goes like this "Eat more meat and then you can have more veggies", true story.

Barilla Piccolini Mini Penne with Carrots and Peas

1 Box Piccolini Mini Penne (I actually could not find the mini size, so I used regular)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup white onion, diced small

1 cup carrot, diced small

1 cup frozen peas

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

HEAT the oil and onion in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute for 3 minutes or until onion is slightly translucent.

ADD the carrot and saute for an additional 2 minutes.

ADD the peas and saute for 2-3 more minutes.

Meanwhile COOK the penne according to the package directions. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

DRAIN and toss the pasta with the sauce, add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the sauce and saute for an additional minute.

REMOVE pan from heat, top the pasta with the grated cheese, and serve.

Parade, Pie Recipe and Fireworks!

Saturday was filled with lots of fun for us.

I grew up in a very small town that has a little 4th of July celebration. The festivities start early in the morning with a flag ceremony and then breakfast served by the Boy Scouts. After breakfast there is the parade that goes around TWICE, so we get double the candy, YES! I try to make it every year for at least some of the party.

After getting back from the park I made a pie..........

This pie starts out with the easiest crust on earth(no rolling out required)! And then filled with a yummy cream cheese filling.

You then could top this pie with a topping of choice. I choose strawberries and blueberries for a patriotic color scheme. With some leftover pie dough you cut and bake little stars to add some sparkle.

Berry Cheesecake Pie

yield: 1 pie

8 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 eggs
2 cups Strawberries, sliced
1 cup Blueberries
1 TBS Light colored Jam (any flavor such as orange, apricot, peach, etc)
Pie Dough Stars, pie dough star cut outs, baked 15 minutes

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Press pie dough into a 9 inch pie pan. Reserve a small piece of pie dough, about 1/4 cup full and set aside for pie dough stars if using. Press dough up the side of the pie pan, and use your finger to press indentions to create a border. Place unbaked pie crust in the fridge.

2. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy and fluffy. Add vanilla. With mixer (or hand mixer) on low speed, add eggs one at a time fully incorporating before adding the second egg.

3. Remove crust from the fridge and pour cheesecake batter into crust. Bake for 25- 30 minutes until firm and set in the center, and the crust is lightly tanned. Sprinkle cinnamon over the cake and crust immediately after removing from oven. Sprinkle over the stars (if using). Let cheesecake pie cool completely.

4. Rinse and pat dry the berries. Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut in quarters. Gently place the berries on top on the cheesecake.

5. Boil some water (in the microwave is easiest) and pour over the jam a tablespoon at a time until it has melted and is thick and syrupy. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the berries. This will create the shiny, glossy look.

6. Place the stars on the pie up to three hours in advance to avoid them getting soft or stained. The pie can be made 24 hours in advance.

Grammy’s Perfect Pie Dough

1/3 cup Milk
2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
2 1/4 cup Flour
1 tsp Salt

1. Measure the milk and vegetable and combine.

2. In a large bowl add the flour and salt. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and mix with a spoon.

3. Use this pie dough for any sweet or savory pie! Simply press in the pie pan rather than having to roll.

Recipe adapted from Natalie's Killer Cuisine

Perfect night for Fireworks.
This was Audrey's first time for fireworks. Audrey was more patient that Aria, but I don't think Audrey really knew what she was waiting for.

It was a great day! Happy 4th of July!