Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!

**Photo by Danyelle, cupcakes by me....Thanks Danyelle!**

Psalms 100:4-5
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

I love how this time of the year really makes me think of all that I am grateful for.

5 things I am thankful for:

  • My family and how strong they make me
  • The blessings I receive by following the word of wisdom
  • The scriptures and the truths that it holds
  • Great friends, old and new
  • Ben and Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio ice cream....it can get you through anything!

While everyone is filling themselves with turkey and stuffing tomorrow, James and I with the company of my grandma and my sister in law Tiff we are going to feast on big ol steaks and twice baked potatoes. Why? Because we will be having turkey in a month, I am not even that big of a fan of turkey, I don't feel like cooking ALL DAY (as much as I love it) for only a few people, and just because James and I needed a good reason to go buy steaks.....we honestly haven't had steak for a year, we are excited :)

**also I am so thankful for my newest niece Martalica, she was born Saturday night to my wonderful sister Shannon and her husband Mario. She is just beautiful and can't wait to meet her!**

Have a wonderful thanksgiving!!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

favorite

James really knows how to make Kate smile

Since he has known her all the while

When she is happy sad or mad

A trip to the grocery store must be had

He wanders the isle knowing just what she needs

A pack of Riesens for a whole house to feed

But Kate will be the only one who will be satisfied

For she wont let anyone else even have a try

She will probably eat them all herself

She should maybe go put them on the highest shelf..........

Oh goodness, it is too late.........

All the Riesens have seen their fate....................

I'm gonna be sick.

:)

Monday, November 17, 2008

Smothered Pesto Chicken

So I have a thing for garlic. Which means I also have a thing for Pesto.....even just thinking about it makes me hungry. One of my favorite meals with pesto is Portabello Mushroom Sandwiches, so I decided to try to make a chicken dish that would compliment pesto. Here is what I came up with:

What you need:
4 Chicken Breasts
1/4 to a 1/2 cup pesto
1 cup bread crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic to your own taste
**Although, I like it with the bread crumbs...I may leave them off next time...the pesto didn't really let it crisp up at all.**

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dredge the Chicken in the pesto and then with the bread crumbs, place on ungreased baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

While baking, cut up 6 slices bacon (we use turkey bacon) into little pieces and brown in skillet, when they are fully cooked, drain on paper towel. Use a small amount of the drippings and saute 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups mushrooms and 1 tsp garlic till mushrooms are browned.

When chicken is done, layer mushrooms, then bacon pieces, then mozzarella cheese on all the chicken breasts. Place back in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Here is our finished product, it is full of flavor, and very good.....enjoy!!

Cherry pie pockets

As Thanksgiving is getting closer I have already made my share of pies for the season, I needed a different version of just the regular slice of pie since I am becoming "pied-out". Although this recipe is not totally from scratch, it is so tasty....you would be silly not to make them!
So here is what I came up with.........

One recipe for a single pie crust:
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 T sugar
1/2 cup cold water

Add all crust ingredients (except for the water) to a bowl and cut in shortening with a pastry blender till crumbly or pea size. Add ice water one Tablespoon at a time and mix until it becomes a ball and comes away from the edges. Wrap in saran wrap and put in fridge for 30 minutes.

While the pie crust is resting, make the pie filling....

Pie filling:
1 can cherry pie filling
1 tsp Almond extract
2 T flour
1/2 cup sugar

Mix all in a small bowl till combined.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. As soon as you are ready, roll dough out on floured surface into a circle (or as much of a circle as you can get it) Then take a pizza cutter and cut out a large circle (about pie pan size, 7-9 inches) Then cut into fourths....you will now have 4 triangles.
Place the triangles on an ungreased foiled baking sheet. On half of each pie triangle, place about 2-3 Tbsp of cherry mixture.
Dip your finger in egg white and lightly paint the edges of the pie crust (save remaining egg white for later). Then fold over to make a smaller triangle. You may have some spillage from the pie mixture, but just wipe it up before you bake. Make sure you really pinch the edges down or even pinch the edges with a fork. Take a knife and make a few slits in the tops to let out steam and air.
Place in oven for 15 minutes and then use remaining egg white to paint the tops of the pies and sprinkle with sugar....I used the coarse sugar sprinkles which added a great crunch. Then put back in the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes or until it they are golden brown.

Here is how ours turned out. We had them after dinner tonight, we warmed them back up and had them with some vanilla ice cream, they were perfect, the pie crust was flaky, and it had just the right amount of pie filling in them. Just right for our very very cold day. Let me know if you have any questions.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

the winner is

This is one of the funnest things I have done in a long time. I got the most comments on a post and I got to see all of the wonderful people who keep up with my sometimes exciting sometimes insane life of mine.

So I started with numbering each person (picture below) There were 64 in all! wow!....I numbered them in the order they commented....there was no mixing them up.

and then I made a little piece of paper for each person and put them a bag....don't ask about the different colors of paper....I just grabbed what ever scraps I had in my art drawer!

And here is what happened....make sure you turn your sound up!!!!



So WOOHOO!! I will get a hold of you Nicole and I hope you love surprises :) I can't wait for you to see your new cake plate!!!


Thanks everyone for participating...it was so much fun and I really enjoyed it....yay for giveaways!!!

Monday, November 10, 2008

1 day left and a link

Just a reminder about the giveaway ,and that I will pick a winner Wednesday morning and announce sometime that day.....Hurry! you only have one day left!!! :)
May the best person win!


Also....I said in a post a week ago about some cupcakes I made. Danyelle has posted them in the really sweet cupcake boxes on her Etsy shop. Make sure you go take a look....not only at the cupcakes, but at all the super cute lovlies that she has on her site...just in time for Christmas. I wish I had them all, she is so creative!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Pass it on giveaway

A few months back I actually won 2 things from others blogs....which is funny, because honestly I have NEVER won anything..........no joke.........

I got a really really nice gift card to one of the best places ever from this hilarious inspirational gal. With it I was able to use it to help buy something that I was wanting but never really found a good reason to buy it.......a Memory Foam Mattress topper......silly I know......BUT you have no idea what it has done for my sleeping....sooooo comfy. So thank you again Jan....you are the best.

I also won a super cute apron from this super cool girl that she sewed herself.....something I have never done, but wish to someday!! It is so nice to have an apron to wear so I don't ruin my clothes while doing cakes. So thanks so much Krista....I am so happy I found your blog :)
So now it is my time to "pass it on"......something I should have done a long long time ago......but after seeing how many people look at my blog every day (site meter).....and I have no idea who in the world who is reading (since it just says the city and state.....which isn't always right) and I am curious!!
So with this pass along I am going to share my love of cake stands. I have a few and love them....they really finish off a table and add such a nice decorative touch to anything. Here are a few that I have found online that I am in LOOOOOOOVE WITH........seriously........love.........

This is the first one.....Oh how I love simplicity.....the white with the slight beading on it. Just so beautiful.

This one is from Target....I liked the different bottom and the top, how it looks like wood. I am a sucker for white simple cake stands too....this would just be an interesting cake stand to have.....not sure what I would do with it though!


I love the dark plate and clear bottom. It looks a lot more sophisticated than the others....but oh so beautiful.....**this one is from Etsy**



This one is from Crate and Barrel, it reminds me of a summer picnic, can't you just see some yummy lemon bars on it?



This one is my all time favorite.....It is from amazon and is not in stock......I want it so bad and it isn't even available!!




I love the color of this one.....and what made me so happy was that it came in like 5 other colors! **this one is from Amazon**I really like this one, very different than all the rest. The delicate beading and glass top just make it look so much more special. ** this one is from Amazon**



So there they are. So all you have to do is leave a comment (either about what your favorite cake stand is, or anything random is fine) and in 5 days (that would be Tuesday) I will announce a winner and you will receive your very own beautiful cake stand to showcase your goodies this holiday season :) I haven't decided which cake stand yet, but just rest assure that it will be super super cute!!

Now comment!! you only have 5 days!!

**Just a side note.....these are just a few of the cake stands I WISH I had :) The one the winner will get may or may not be one these....it may be something different....who doesn't like surprises?!?!? :) **

Sunday, November 2, 2008

No cakes and Im Back!!!!!!!

I think the lack of posts has something to do with the fact that I don't have any cakes to share. Heather and I have been in a cake rut I guess you say.....we aren't bummed....its kinda nice.....just not a lot of people in need of cakes I guess.

I had the opportunity to make some cupcakes a few days ago for a sweet gal I only knew through blog land and had secretly hoped to meet her some day, lol. She was needing some super cute cupcakes for her Etsy shop for a new product she is selling. The cupcakes turned out super super cute, these pictures are in no way that great (stupid camera) so when she posts the pictures she takes on her Etsy shop, I will update the pictures.





I am in love with the one with the light blue stars on top...see the little sparkle flakes? they were so dainty and perfect.

**This week we are working on this gem. Actually 20 of them :)**

Super Saturday is this coming Saturday so Heather and I are going to be working all week on 20 little cakes and enough fondant for everyone. I am really excited, I get so happy when I do cakes...it really is a nice stress relief. So even though it will be a lot of work, I am happily looking forward to it :) wish us luck!!

Buzz Woody Jim and Pam

Mr Woody

Mr Buzz.....can you tell he loved his costume?!


Gosh, these boys were so over joyed for Halloween.


On our way out trick or treating

Our Halloween costumes....This is James best "Jim look"

Jim+Pam= love forever and ever

James is still trying to do his "Jim look" but it is almost coming across as if he is ticked off,lol


He loves me. Like my clean white keds? lol

Pam Beasley

I have been doing a lot of this a lot since halloween....the candy is going in the garbage on Wednesday if I don't stop soon!!



Really late pumpkin patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with some friends (this was 2 weeks ago) It was a lot of fun, we went to Eatza Pizza then headed out to pick out some pumpkins.

Nolan staring at the cows

Gabe showing off his muscles

Nolan crying because he was lost in the hay maze

I love this picture, the boys trying to be like dad

Pickin a pumpkin with dad

On the way out to pick a pumpkin

The family

Dylan and Gabe

Nolan was more drawn to the soccer ball and the goal than the barn full of animals.

Beginning of fall

We made our last trip to our favorite park a few weeks ago. It is always so quiet and the playground is so kid friendly. We decided to go have a picnic and enjoy the fall air. I have a feeling it will be the last time for a while :(

Nolan playing chase

Gabe with his laser shooter....can't you see it???


I love my husband :) he is hot.

Why can't I ever get a good picture with me and the boys? Seriously boys....look at the camera!!


Nolan was upset that we were making sandwiches and opted for a cold hotdog.......gross


Gabe take a time out from his sandwich to enjoy the view


My husband studying away.


Gabe is so darn cute....

Again with the laser shooter....he is so funny


Happy Fall!!!!! (okay, maybe almost winter)


want some new recipes?

Want some new recipes?

Here are a few links to allrecipes of the ultra-tasty recipes I have tried lately.....if you are in a run.....these are the recipes for you......you will not be disappointed!!
Cola Pot Roast......Weird, I know......I had my doubts......but, this is my new pot roast recipe, I will not look back.

Ham and Potato soup...I had to thicken it up a bit, and I added carrots and celery and omitted the onion. Next time I will do it with crumbled bacon. This was great, it is cold out and all we need is a nice bowl of potato soup. This actually reminded me of the Tony Romas Potato Soup.

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie....Okay. I know I say every recipe is great.....This apple pie is the best. I actually use the recipe for the middle to make mini apple pie pockets for James.

Apple pumpkin muffins....I will say that these are great, I loved the streusal on the top.

Lasagna...We used turkey sausage instead, but overall some of the best lasagna I have ever had.