Makin' Our Own Snow!

 Look! It is snowing outside! 

We had a brown Christmas this year and still no snow in sight!  Yesterday's temperature was in the fifties!  So we decided to make our own snow.   If you want to make your own fancy snowflakes here is a link for some fun patterns.

Then we made a snowman!

 After that we ate snowflakes, what kid doesn't love to eat snow?

 My 7 year old and I folded warmed, thin style tortillas and cut out shapes, like you would a paper snowflake but with a tortilla.  My 3 year old used mini cookie cutters to make her snowflake.

 Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with colored sugar or cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown and crispy.  I over baked mine, so keep an eye on them.  Click here for the complete recipe and more photos.

Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies

When I was a little girl instead of an orange in my stocking for Christmas I got a pomegranate. I love pomegranates and put pomegranate and chocolate together and it is one amazing treat!

Double Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen
bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes

1/2 Cup (1 stick) Butter--don't use margarine
1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening

3/4 cups White Sugar
3/4 cups Brown Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Salt

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pomegranate arils (those red seeds. 1 Pomegranate is more than enough)

In a Kitchenaid mixer (or in a bowl with a handmixer) cream together the butter, shortening, 2 sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Beat the mixture on medium-high for a full 3 minutes--this is important. During that time you'll watch the chemistry of the ingredients change into a very creamy mixture.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine it with the butter mixture and mix till everything is incorporated.

Add the pomegranate arils and chocolate chip, mix briefly to incorporate everything. A few seeds may burst while mixing but that's fine.

Scoop the dough into small balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.
Recipe adapted from MADE

B-rated Christmas

Do you have one of those Christmas shows you have to watch every year?  It started probably about 20 years ago for me.  My mom recorded a movie on VHS and it was called Bundle of Joy.  I fell in love immediately with the show and then it opened up my interest into Debbie Reynolds movies. The years passed and I had married and moved out of my parents house when I remembered this old movie.  At first my mom loaned me the recorded copy but in a moving process I misplaced it.  I went searching for Bundle of Joy online and it was not available and my kind husband even called the Movie Show on KSL Radio.  The Movie Guy thought we were crazy asking about a B movie! My favorite Christmas Movie a B-rated film?!  I finally found it on TV, TCM plays it every Christmas time and I DVR it.  So now that Christmas is upon is I start thinking about this movie!  I went searching  online and I actually found it to buy on TCM!  I am so excited, It is on it's way to my house as we speak.  Do you have a Christmas B movie you must watch every year?

Just a little trivia about Bundle of Joy.  Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher were actually married in real life during the making of this movie.  Debbie is a few months pregnant with Princess Leia, but you can't tell she is so tiny.  I believe this was Eddie Fisher's first movie and last.  I don't know what it is about this movie, but I love it and it is my tradition.

Last Day of Photo Gratitude Challenge

Day 30: Self Portrait

Today is the last day of the 30 Day Photo Gratitude Challenge.  I am thankful for my body and life, I know it was no coincidence that I was given this body and sent to my family.  Everything in my life has a purpose, the bad and the good.  I have gone through some hard trials but they have made me who I am.  I am thankful for all I have been given.  I love my life and I wouldn't change it for anything!

Daily Routine & Nighttime

 Day 27: Daily Routine

Our daily routine is like this PB&J sandwich, not to very exciting, simple, but tasty and who doesn't love a PB&J?!  I am thankful for my life.  I am thankful that I am a stay at home mom. 

Day 28: Nighttime

I am so very thankful for the nighttime.  I love it when all the kids are in bed and it is just me and my hubby.  Feet reclined, glasses of water, and a DVR show.

Artwork & Transportation

 Day 25: Artwork

I am thankful for my kids artwork.  Their artwork gives me a glimpse inside their wild imagination. 

Day 26: Transportation

I am thankful for our car. 



Gratitude

Day 24: Gratitude

This month we made a thankful jar.  I put a bunch of random things in a box and each day we picked out an item to represent what we were thankful for that day.  It was wonderful to hear what my kids were thankful for.  I love to look at how full the jar is and happy to know that my children have gratitude for all our blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!



Where I sleep in comfortable clothes

 Day 21: Where You Sleep

I am thankful for my bedroom.  I thankful for my comfy mattress, nice pillow and sheets.  My bedroom is my retreat that I could hibernate all winter with a couple good books.

Day 22: Clothing

I am thankful for comfortable clothes.  I love being at home in my PJs, cuddled up with my kids reading a book.



BFF and Seasonal

 Day 19: Best Friend

I am thankful for Brian.  He is my husband, father to my children and my very best friend forever.  I love him so much and I am thankful for all that he does for our family.  I love spending time with Brian and talking with him and laughing.  



Day 20: Seasonal

I am thankful for where I live.  I love the change of season and it just wouldn't feel like the holidays without it. 

Memories & Something New

Day 17: Memories

I am the youngest of 7 and I did not have a baby book, just a envelope of pictures, some with dates some without.  My husband Brian only has a handful of pictures also, so I knew that I wanted preserve some memories for my children.  I don't go super crazy with the scrapbooks but I at least try to hit the high notes and write the dates and a little journaling.  I am thankful that I can make these books for my kids, that everything is acid free and they can enjoy it and maybe their kids will have some fun looking at their cute baby faces.

Day 18: Something New

I am thankful for new shoes.  I have not bought me a pair of nice shoes in a long while.  I am also thankful that they fit, because I bought them online.

Techno Animals

 Day 15: Technology

Today I thankful for My DVR.  Who ever invented the DVR is a genius.  It is so awesome that you can fast forward, rewind, pause and record all your favorite TV shows. 

Day 16: Animals

I am thankful for animals.  I am thankful that my girls love animals also.  Petting a dog or cat can just make your day.

Written Words & Movement

Day 13: Written Word

 I am thankful for the daily guidance I can receive from reading my scriptures.

Day 14: Movement

 I am thankful for the beautiful movement our bodies can make through dance and music.

Something Old & Hands

 Day 11: Something Old

I am thankful for my sewing machine.  I got her from my parents when I graduated from high school.  She is just your basic machine so she is considered old to all those fancy shmancy machines that they have now.  But I love her and she gets the job done so I can make fun things for me and my family.  I am also thankful that I know how to sew it has come in pretty handy. 

Day 12: Hands

I am thankful for my Saviors hands.  He healed the sick, raised the dead, suffered and died for our sins and was resurrected all with these hands.  His hands are a symbol of Eternal Life, that we can be with Him again and our family.  He blesses me everyday and I am thankful for Him.

Inspiring Person & Nature

 Day 9:Inspiring Person

I am thankful that I got to know and love Grandma Bott.  She inspired me to live life to the fullest no matter what age.  Even in her 90s Grandma Bott was living by herself, shopping, gardening and even driving. 

Day 10: Nature

I am thankful for nature and all her magical beauty.

Funny Colors

 Day 7: Something Funny

I was a little stumped on what I was grateful for that was funny.  So I asked the kids what they thought was the most funny thing in the world.  Audrey said she thought William was funny and Aria said that Audrey was funny and William thinks everything is funny.  I guess I am thankful for the humor in things and that we shouldn't take ourselves to serious.   

Day 8: Favorite Color

My favorite color is green.  The picture above is the handle of one of my frying pans.  I love to cook and bake things for my family.  I am grateful I can do that for them and that they mostly love what I make.

Morning Sky & Books

Day 5: Morning Sky

I am thankful for each new day.  The morning brings new possibilities and many adventures.

Day 6: Books

I am grateful for the love of reading.  My girls love to read and the picture above was not staged.  I often find my 3 year old daughter with a pile of books next to her "reading" away.  Aria, my oldest daughter, loves to read also and she is an awesome reader!  Aria is reading at a 5th grade level and she is in 2nd grade.  I am also thankful for the library.  I grew up in a small town and we had to use the book mobile, nothing wrong with that, but the library is just cooler.  I remember when I got married and moved to the big city, one of the first things I did was get a library card. 

On our last library trip we checked out a book named Read To Your Bunny by Rosemary Wells.  In the back of the book was a message from the Rosemary and it rang true to me. 

All of us love our children more than anything in the world.  In their first years we feed them so they grow.  We bring them to the doctor so they are healthy.  We strap them in car seats so they are safe. 

But the most important thing in the first years of life is the growth of the mind and spirit.  This is when a child learns to love and trust, to speak and listen. 

After a child turns two years old, these things are very difficult to learn or teach ever again.  Trusting, singing, laughing, and language are the most important things in a young child's life.

And so they must come first for mothers and fathers, too.  Because we can never have those years over again. 

Every day, make a quiet, restful place for twenty minutes.  Put your child in your lap and read a book aloud.  In the pages of the book you will find a tiny vacation of privacy and intense love.  It costs nothing but twenty minutes and a library card.

Reading to your little one is just like putting gold coins in the bank.  It will pay you back tenfold.  Your daughter will learn, and imagine, and be strong in herself.  Your son will thrive, and give your love back forever.

                                                                                                                            R.W.



Happiness & Leaves



Day 3: Happiness

I am so grateful for my children, they bring me the most joy.  I never knew the rainbow of emotions you could go through having your own children.  Bringing home my oldest from the hospital I was completely continent for the first time in my life.  This is my purpose in life to be a wife and mother.  I love my children.



Day 4: Leaves

I am thankful for our garden.  I get so excited to see the first plants poke up through the ground with their little leaves.  I am so blessed with a little patch of dirt to grow food and then preserve the food to enjoy  all winter long.



Daily Gratitude Photo Challenge

It has been awhile since I have posted.  I have been just super busy enjoying life and my kids. Then when I have a moment I either want to sleep or just turn off my brain for a minute.  I wanted to do a daily gratitude on my blog for Thanksgiving but forgot until I saw that one of my friends on facebook was doing this 30 Day Photo Challenge.  It looked like fun because there would be a theme for each day and I love a theme!  So here you go!  I need to play catch up so I am going to post a couple at once.  Here is a link for the challenge.

Day 1- Favorite Food

Chocolate and all forms

Day 2-Smile

There is nothing like a babies first smiles.

Flourless Double-Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Dark Chocolate lovers do I have a cookie for you! This was a very fun and different cookie to make. Why it is a unique cookie is that there is no flour and made of mostly egg whites, so it is sort of healthy also. The ending product turns out to be kind of a meringue, dry on the outside but nice and chewy inside.

FLOURLESS DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Ingredients

3 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder Not regular Cocoa Powder, I used Hershey's Special Dark
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used semi sweet chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (or other type of nut)
4 large egg whites, room temperature


Directions

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa, and salt. Stir in chocolate and pecans. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated (do not overmix).

2.Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 3 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake until cookie tops are dry and crackled, about 25 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Snickerdoodles are one of my most favorite cookies to make when I don't have any chocolate chips in the house that is. To try and get a nice chewy Snickerdoodle is difficult sometimes but with this bar cookie every bite is nice and soft. Also this is a great dessert to take to a summer BBQ.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Yield: 24 blondies

Prep Time: 15 minutes Bake Time: 25 to 30 minutes

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla. Beat, scraping the bowl, until thoroughly combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Give the dough a final stir with a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure the flour is incorporated.

4. Spread the dough evenly into the pan (I found an offset spatula was the best tool for the job, as it’s a thick batter). Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

There are some great marriages in food.....peanut butter and chocolate, hamburger and fries, steak and eggs, etc. But strawberries and chocolate is one of my most favorites! Since strawberries are pretty inexpensive right now and are tasting very yummy, here is a great recipe to use up some ripe strawberries.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup diced strawberries
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350º

2.lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line with muffin papers.

3.In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and sugar. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender (or two knives) until it is in small pea-sized pieces.

4.In a small bowl, mix together the egg, vanilla, and heavy cream. Add all at once to flour mixture. The batter will be thick. Gently fold in diced strawberries and chocolate chips.

5.Spoon into muffin cups and bake in preheated oven 22-25 minutes (For mini muffins cut the baking time in half). Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Easter Brownie Baskets

Easter is one of my most favorite holidays. I love the feeling at this time of year when winter is over and new life is growing everywhere. Easter candy is a weakness of mine also, eggs filled with marshmallow or yummy goo that looks like egg....yummmmm. Anywho back to today's post, I made a variation of this recipe last year and then had the idea of turning them into little baskets. Enjoy!

Easter Brownie Baskets

WHAT YOU NEED

1 box brownie mix (Family Size that makes a 9x13 pan. I used Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge.)
1 can of cream cheese frosting or whatever kind you like
Sweetened Coconut colored with green food coloring
Twizzler Pull-In Peel licorice for handle
Jelly Beans, Sweet Tart Bunnies and Chicks, Mini Robin Eggs or whatever Easter candy you like.

HOW TO DO IT

Prepare brownie mix from the directions on the package. Line mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners. Fill each liner with brownie batter about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. This is the important part DO NOT OVER BAKE. Remove brownies from oven, while still warm take a small spoon and make a well in the middle for the frosting. After the brownies have cooled frost with frosting.

Sprinkle colored coconut on frosting. Cut licorice to desired size, stick in frosting and place candies in basket.

Makes about 37 mini cakes

Pictures and Recipe by Me

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

I think I could eat this pie all by myself...... Peanut Butter Cup Pie
1 pkg. (8 oz.)Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter, divided
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
2-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (or semi-sweet chocolate chips)

BEAT cream cheese and 1/2 cup peanut butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add milk and dry pudding mix; beat 2 min. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP; spoon into crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.

MEANWHILE, microwave remaining COOL WHIP and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after each minute. Cool completely.

SPREAD chocolate mixture over pudding layer in crust. Microwave remaining peanut butter in small microwaveable bowl 30 sec.; stir. Drizzle over pie. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Recipe adapted from Kraft Foods