Chapman Cooking Cousins

It's A PARTY!!!!

2011-12-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder of our big Chapman Family Enchilada, aka Pinata, aka Posada, aka Grandma Chapman's Pizza Party.

When - Saturday December 10th @ 5 pm (If you have time to help set up tables and chairs or make enchiladas we can use your help earlier)

Where - Grandma & Grandpa Chapman's

Who - All you Chapman grandkids young, old, married, single and hungry

What to Bring - your assignment and a costume for the nativity for your kiddos

I have been asked for gift suggestions for Grandma and Grandpa (this is the party where presents are exchanged) They don't need more stuff. They don't listen to cd's and they watch the same movies over and over.

They love these types of things:

Seedless jams and jelly's of all kinds

Mixed nuts (without peanuts if possible)

Symphony Candy Bars (Grandma's favorite)

Honey Crisp Apples - look something healthy

Roasted peanuts in the shell

Beef Jerky

Gift cards to Red Lobster, Wendy's, Taco Bell, El Pollo Loco (grandpa's favorite), McDonalds, Arby's and a gift certificate to Steve's Crazy Subs or Seafood Market

I have spent enough time with them to know that mom doesn't want dad to have so much salt and dad just ignores her, ha ha

We are so excited to see everyone and look forward to spending the evening with all of you!! Question 410 725-2940 or call Aunt Pat.

Love you all
Auntie Janet

Possibilities Decor

2011-11-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

Mary Jo and Shelle Clouse are holding a Furniture Sale! Their stuff is so cute, and I'm really excited. Mary Jo made a cute flyer for it, but my computer isn't recognizing it as a jpg file, so I just get to type the information out instead.

Possibilities Decor

Friday and Saturday
November 18th and 19th

10AM - 4PM

Mesa, AZ

If you are interested in coming, or know someone that might be, email me for the exact address.

2011-11-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Chapman Family Enchilada Party will be Saturday, December 10th, 5:00PM, at Grandma's.
This is also the grandkid party where grandma hands out her gifts so it will be the night to bring a card (they love the ones the kids make) or family picture to grandpa and grandma.
You might be asked to bring a Jello-poke-cake. yum.
Also bring costumes for kids to be in the nativity.
The pizza is gone but there will still be a pinata.
This was a biggie for grandma to combine both parties so make sure to put this on your calendar right away.
PS - Remind your family members to check out the blog. This is your invitation.

Candy Pot

2011-09-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Now that the kids have been back in school for over a month, my mind is starting to organize and plan. I have my canning jars ready and waiting for the fruit that is coming from Utah, I have a list of ingredients ready to pick up to make my yearly batch of enchilada sauce, I have my neighbors pressure canner humming this week canning pinto beans that will make quick refried beans and I have begun buying extra butter and brown sugar every time I am in Sams Club.

Yep, I am already thinking about Christmas Candy. (It may have been the Christmas Chapter in the Little House in the Big Woods I read to the kids last night before bed)

Anyways...MANDY I was think about a time a ran into you at Target and you had just bought a "Candy Pot" from Ebay and your were pretty excited about the deal you got. I was just wondering if you could find one like the one you bought online and send me a link or send me a picture of yours. I am just wanting to see what it looks like so I can start a hunt myself.

I hope all is well with everyone...lets all cross our toes that it cools down soon.

Happy Birthday Grandpa! !

2011-08-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Chapman's birthday is Sunday so let's get together to celebrate. Come by and wish him well anytime after 5:00 at his house and bring a dessert to share. I'm flying in to suprise him and call me if you have any questions. Help get the word out and let's PARTY!

Help for School Lunches

2011-07-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Help, please! Spencer is going to be in 1st Grade, and will, for the first time, needs to take a lunch to school every day. (He was in 1/2 day Kindergarten last year.) I am all for Peanut Butter sandwiches (sans jelly), but I think that will get really old, really fast. So I am putting out a call for school lunch ideas.

Thanks!

Mother's Day Gift

2011-05-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have been racking my brain (what's left of it!) for the last several weeks over what to do for Mother's Day. Late one night, I had a brilliant idea that would have been perfect - but I neglected to write it down, figuring that it was so spectacular that there was no way I would forget it...Well, I did forget it. C'est la vie.

So, in case you find yourself in a similar boat, I thought I would post what I finally decided upon: Sugar Scrubs! These are so easy, and come together quickly. Most recipes on the web call for using Sweet Almond Oil, but say that you can substitute a myriad of different oils. Since I couldn't find Sweet Almond, I decided to go with alternative Grapeseed Oil, found at Trader Joe's. It was also a lot cheaper than the Almond Oil would have been. (Side note: I love Trader Joe's! Not as much as I love Target or Amazon, but it's definitely close. And the fact that it is right by my house totally helps.) I did come across Coconut Oil at Walmart Marketplace when I ran in to have them price match milk before it went off sale tomorrow, but after having used both, I would just stick to the Grapeseed Oil. A light Olive Oil without much of an aroma would also work well.

Note: You can totally swap out any of the essential oils for different ones. These are just the three I picked.

Peppermint Delight Sugar Scrub
1 C. Granulated White Sugar
1/4 C. finely crushed (ie: more or less totally powdered) Peppermint Candies
1/2 C. Coconut Oil
1/2 tsp. Vitamin E Oil (not totally necessary, but acts as a natural preservative)
4 drops Peppermint Essential Oil

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix well.

Directions for use: rub onto skin, focusing on heels, feet, elbows, and hands. Rinse well.

Lavender Brown Sugar Scrub
1 C. Brown Sugar
1/3 C. Grapeseed Oil
1/2 tsp. Vitamin E Oil
10 drops Lavender Essential Oil

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix well.

Directions for use: rub onto skin, focusing on heels, feet, elbows, and hands. Rinse well.

Orange Blossom Sugar Scrub
1 C. Granulated White Sugar
7 Tbsp. Grapeseed Oil
1/2 tsp Vitamin E Oil
8 drops Orange Essential Oil
4 drops Vanilla Extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix well.

Directions for use: rub onto skin, focusing on heels, feet, elbows, and hands. Rinse well.

Another Crockpot Success

2011-02-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

This was so easy! I started it about Noon, and it turned out great. I will make a huge batch of green enchilada sauce (just like I do with the red sauce) every few months, and freeze it in the 3-cup Glad containers. These were really mild, and both kids surprised me by asking for seconds!

Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas

Corn Tortillas
1 bottle chicken, drained (or about 2 cups cooked chicken)
2 1/2 - 3 cups green enchilada sauce
shredded cheese

Layer everything in a 4-quart crockpot, making three or four layers. Top with remaining sauce and more shredded cheese. Cook on HIGH 1 hour, then turn to low for 4-5 hours. Vent lid with a wooden skewer for the last hour. Turn off crockpot, remove lid, and let set for 5-10 minutes. Serve with chips, salsa, and sour cream.

This is the same process you use with red enchiladas. Just substitute beef or pork if you want.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

2011-02-14T17:45:00.000-08:00

I am in love with my Crockpot. I don't know why it took me so long to discover just how wonderful it is. I have used it often for Sunday dinners, but it has been amazing to me to find out just how helpful it is for weeknight meals. I used my birthday money from Grandma Honey to buy myself a new 4-quart, red, beautiful Crockpot so that I don't have to haul out my massive 6.5-quart Smart Crockpot. I had a 4-quart that my mom gave me when she bought herself a new one many, many years ago, but lately I hadn't used it because it started burning on one side. Hence, I retired it, and got a new one from Amazon. (Totally different topic: I am in love with Amazon - almost as much as Target. And that is saying a lot. Right now, I get free 2-day Prime shipping from the Amazon Mom program. It has made a good thing even better! Anyways, back to the Crockpot...)

So the reason I love the Crockpot is that I can make dinner while the kids are happy and occupied with something else early in the day rather than trying to get everything on the table when they are whiny, underfoot, and we are all starving. I found this blog a year or so ago, but it wasn't until I got her book from the library (I love my library - you order everything ahead of time, and they having it waiting for you to pick up...including new release movies! It puts the Mesa Library to shame.) that I realized just how practical the slow cooker could be for everyday meals. Some of her recipes are duds, but some are really good. Try the Chicken Dumpling Soup (mine looked way better than her picture) or Enchilada Casserole (sans olives...unless you like olives). Note to self: Don't make her chocolate mousse recipe. It sounds great, but after three attempts and some consultation with Mary Jo, I have come to realize you cannot whip hot cream. You just can't - the fat melts, and it won't hold it's structure. (Why I didn't realize this when I very first read the recipe, I don't know. Maybe I'm pregnant or something...) It makes a fine chocolate pudding, but it is definitely not a mousse. Just FYI.

Anyways, the biggest lesson I have learned is that it is totally okay to experiment on your own. What's the worst that could happen? You end up having to pick up In-n-Out? That's a risk you take with any recipe, Crockpot or not. At the moment, I happen to have an abundance of red, yellow, and orange bell peppers (totally different story for a different day). Naturally I thought of fajitas. I didn't really feel like beef, so I decided on chicken. I was having a slow morning (I've been having a lot of those lately...) so by the time I got around to figuring dinner out, it was 11:30 - the perfect time to start chicken for dinner at 5:30-ish, depending on traffic for Johnny. (It turned out not to matter - he got held over on something, and ended up being late. Hence I decided to type this post before he got home so I would remember how I made the chicken because it turned out really good.) So I got out my slow cooker, some frozen chicken, and away we went. I spend a good part of Saturday evening slicing bell peppers, so they were ready to go.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
This fed the four of us, with left overs for Johnny's lunch tomorrow. If you need more, use more chicken and peppers.

4 small, frozen chicken breasts (mine were actually giant chicken breasts that I had cut in half before freezing them)
Bell Peppers, cut into strips (I have no idea how many I used. Probably 4 or 5 total because like I said, I have an abundance at the moment)
Italian Salad Dressing
Poultry Seasoning, Garlic Powder, and Salt

Put your chicken and a few pepper strips (probably one pepper's worth) in the Crockpot. Pour on some Italian dressing (like 1/3 of a bottle. Don't use anything strong - just a plain old Italian dressing. I used Wishbone light because it's what I had.) and add the rest of the seasonings to taste. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 Hour, then switch it to LOW for 3-4 hours. Once your chicken is cooked through, about an hour to an hour and a half before serving, (the chicken should no longer pink inside - 165° if you want to be technical...which I am when it comes to temperatures...) slice it or shred it depending on your preferences. I felt like sliced tonight, and I liked how it turned out. Add half of the remaining peppers to the slow cooker, and then put the chicken in. Add the rest of the peppers. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt (not too much). Turn the Crockpot to HIGH, and cook for another hour or so, until the peppers are softened the way you like. Mine were perfect right at an hour and 15 minutes.

So, here is your basic synopsis:
HIGH - 1 Hour
LOW - 3-4 Hours (this will kind of depend on your slow cooker and the size of your chicken. Mine only took 3 hours.)
HIGH - 1-1.5 Hours

I hope you like it!

Deal on Chicken

2011-01-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

I just got wind of a great deal on fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They are $1.49 per pound, but the catch is that you have to order 40 pounds. It is through a company that is based in Washington State. I have heard really good things about both the product and the company. If you are interested in the details, check the website www.zayconfoods.com and click on the "Events" tab. The order for Arizona is due by Saturday, January 15th, but they may sell out sooner. Pick up is January 22 in Gilbert.

Max helps Mollie

2010-10-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of Max!

It's En-chi-lada Time!!!

2010-10-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hola mi familia,

Tis the day after Thanksgeeeving,

And all through the casa,

Our stomach's are growling,

They are saying "Que Pasa?"

We ate turkey and pies and some dressing, si si,

But where are the tostadas and enchaladas por me?

No problamos mi amigo,

Fiesta time is near,

It's the Chapman Enchilada Party,

That happens each year.

November 26th at 5:30, don't siesta,

La Mesa 20th ward is the site of the feast.

We need help at 3:30 to get ready for fun,

So come by car, or burro or you can just run.

Wear blanco, or negro or rojo por favor,

A new family picture we hope to restore.

Call Tia Elaine, Pat and Colleen for preguntas and questions,

And Uncle Steve if you need a few Spanish lessons.

Bring a costume for your ninos (they might get some candy),

We need a Mary, a Joseph and some shepard's mas grande,

So come to our fiesta,

We hope you'll have fun,

We promise the best enchilada's,

En la Valley of the Sun!!!!

Adios!!!

Dinner Rut

2010-10-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

I am totally stuck in a dinner rut, and it's driving me crazy. I thought I would appeal to you guys for help. So tell me, please, what are your top 5 favorite dinner ideas? What are the 5 dinners that you make the most (in case they aren't the same)? And if you want to share more than 5 ideas, that would be awesome.

THANKS A MILLION!!!!!!

Okay, so it's only fair that I post mine, too. These are what I make the most:
-Spaghetti/Colette's Baked Ziti
-Noodles & Gravy (either chicken or beef gravy - this is Anne's favorite meal in the whole entire world.)
-Tacos/Taco Salad
-Fish (bleh, but it's good for us...I tolerate it as long as I can drown it with mango salsa)
-Summer Pizzas

Incidentally, the side I make the most often is either brown rice or quinoa. (I love my small rice cooker!)

Chicken Salad for Cream Puffs

2010-09-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

Chicken Salad Cream Puffs-It seems like a pretty standard part of many family receptions/occations from back in the day... I remember Aunt Helen making them for RuthAnn's first reception (ehem).

Doees anyone have a recipie for how she does/did it?

I know I can wing it BUT I wanted to read how the Chapmans did it. My puffs are all made and just waiting. (Some are going to have chocolate cream in them for and RS thing before the broad cast tonight.) Any help would be great.

Susan
new email:
smcookmom@gmail.com

Tuul's Thai Curry

2010-07-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Tuul gave us the most wonderful and fabulous recipe for Thai Curry while we were at the beach last week. It was so good, I just had to share!

Tuul's Thai Curry

Thank You One and All

2010-06-28T08:27:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all your help to make Emily and Nate's day so beautiful!!!

The Bean Recipe

2010-05-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

As requested, I posted the recipe for the barbecue beans from Will's wedding dinner. I had to write it down before I forgot what I did! Thank you to all for all of your help, love, and support.

www.classichomemaking.blogspot.com

Lemon Butter Sauce

2010-05-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have deleted one of my two blogs - there are many reasons for this, but you can find all of my recipes, etc. at Classic Homemaking with a Modern Flair. Also, my ward has started a food storage/canning blog to which I post once a week. If you are interested, you can find it at Gilbert 4th Ward Canning.

You will love this recipe for Lemon Butter Sauce. It is so fabulous over spaghetti, especially with a side of roasted zucchini from my garden. One of these days (when I'm not supposed to be making stuff for a wedding), I am going to make homemade pasta with some amazing fresh eggs that one of my friends brought me from her chickens.

Lemon Butter Sauce

This is a great vegetarian recipe, adapted from Cook's Illustrated. Start heating the pasta water before beginning the sauce.

Lemon Butter Sauce - makes about 3/4 cup, enough to dress 1 pound of pasta

2 tsp. olive oil
2 shallots, finely minced
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. minced parsley, cilantro, basil, or spinach
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shallots and cook until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Add broth and increase heat to high; simmer rapidly until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter, lemon juice, herbs or spinach, and salt, pepper to taste. Pour sauce over hot angel hair pasta that has been cooked al dente. Serve immediately topped with sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and grated parmigiano-reggiano.

Improvements

2010-04-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

I'm still not crazy about the flavor or this frosting (tastes like cocoa instead of chocolate), but as far was piping it goes, it was a dream! Mary Jo recommended I try heavy cream instead of milk when making frosting, and it made a big difference. I guess 1% milk is just too thin. Johnny definitely approved, and since it's his birthday cake, his opinion is the one that matters. It's a sight better than Spencer's dinosaur cake, don't you think? I was amused however, when Spencer asked Johnny what toy he wanted on the top. I guess the dinosaurs were a hit!

Party at the Woods House

2010-03-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

Come join us at our home for a welcome home party for Elder Steven Bradley Woods, Saturday April 17th 5:30 to 8:30 pm.

Elder Woods will be speaking in the Augusta Ranch 1st Ward on Sunday, April 18th @ 1:00 pm. The building is located on the corner of Madero & Crismon Rds., in Mesa.

The Mouse Ran up the Clock

2010-02-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

So I had to show the cute mouse that Melanie came home from preschool with. {chocolate covered cherry, hershey kiss and sliced almonds}

One Year Ago

2010-02-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

So I was at mom's today and I remembered that one year ago we had our sweet Systa Sweden's Missionary Shower.

We love you and miss you and we are so proud of you Elise!!!

Will is Engaged!

2010-02-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Just letting all of you know that Will is getting married. He proposed Saturday to a wonderful girl named Charisse. We like her a lot. They are getting married on May 21. We'll keep you posted.

SOS Need Frosting Help!

2010-01-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

Now I know that there may have been a deeper reason my mother used whipped cream for her beautiful cakes. Yes, it's pretty, and yes, it tastes good, but in the past few days, I have stumbled upon the real reason. Do you want to know what it is? Come closer...let me whisper this little secret in your ear:

It's reliable!

That's the real reason - I'm convinced! Well, maybe not, but once you know what you are doing with whipped cream, it's actually pretty easy to work with. Not like buttercream. "What?" you say? "Mandy, are you crazy?" Well, maybe I am just a little. But it's not my fault! It's the frosting's fault. "Well isn't buttercream what they use on the cakes at the store?" NO! NO! NO! What they use at the store is NOT buttercream. It may be buttercream-ish, and yes, it tastes great, but it's not real. It's junk. And being my mother's daughter, and our grandmother's (and let's not forget Grandpa in all of this - he has a fairly intense personality, too, after all) grand-daughter, I set out to create the perfect birthday cake for Spencer.

I've dabbled in the murky world of frosting before, but I was never serious. Now, I'm serious. I must find a recipe that fits my needs.

I know exactly what I need in a frosting. The list is really short - two things actually: reliability is first because it comes first alphabetically - it needs to be firm enough to go in the middle of the cake, as well as to be piped. It needs to be soft enough to spread smoothly, but I would happily have it more on the stiff side than on the soft side. And when I make it, it shouldn't be soupy or wicked soft, even after I add an extra pound (4 cups!) of powdered sugar. Seriously. I felt like Ms. Clavelle in Madaline: "Something is not right!" And I typically don't have overnight for a frosting to set up (nor room in my refrigerator), so I need it to be stiff after I make it. So, this is what I mean by reliability. (But if somebody - like Katie - tells me I am being unreasonable, and that any truly great frosting needs to set up overnight in the fridge, well then I'll adapt... But is a stiff, fabulous frosting too much to ask??? I hope not!)

And is should taste good - not like crap. So that "Wilton" cake decorating recipe, though mostly reliable (but not always!), doesn't work because it tastes horrible. (And it has a funny after texture, but that's being picky, don't you think?)

So, America's Test Kitchen has let me down. Twice. I would chalk it up to not following their instructions perfectly enough except that I did! I read the recipes before I started. I read them again as I was making the gigantic messes. I read them when things went horribly wrong. And I read them again in despair as I tried to figure out where the heck I went wrong. Nope, couldn't find any reason for the messes. The first recipe had promise. After I added an extra 2 or 3 cups of powdered sugar (I lost track), and a whole bunch of cocoa powder, what was originally supposed to be an "Easy Vanilla buttercream" became a very soft, difficult, hard to work with, but tasty buttercream. I quickly piped it onto cupcakes for preschool the next day and stuck them in the fridge. It never would have worked on a cake because it would have slid down the sides, however, before setting up in the refrigerator. Just like the actual birthday cake in the picture. Not cute.

The second recipe required constant wisking while cooking eggs, vanilla, and granulated sugar over simmering water until they reached 160°, whipping them until they reached room temperature, and adding butter. Then whipping it again for 5 minutes. No powdered sugar in sight. Maybe it was my negative attitude (as I watched it whip and kept thinking "This is never going to work!") or maybe it was the fact that in the back of my mind, I really was hoping that it would work because it was a major pain to cook the eggs, but if that's what ATK says to do, well then it must work. Right? RIGHT? Well, no. It didn't work. And a pound of powdered sugar whipped in made it manageable so that I would finish Spencer's cake. But it oozed out the middle. And slid down the sides. And only the facts that I covered it in sprinkles and stuck 2 dinosaurs on top could even remotely hide the mess that it was. (Spencer requested a dinosaur cake, so I did a throw back to my mom's classic Barbie cakes, but with dinosaurs, obviously.) It did stiffen in the fridge, but there was no way I could have ever piped a border on.

So, I am appealing to you, dear family, for help! I NEED a great frosting recipe. At this point, I would even settle for a decent recipe. My only stipulation is that I don't want it to have shortening in it. And if it does have shortening, then it must have more butter than shortening. Like a good pie crust.

HELP! Please!

Is anybody out there?

2010-01-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

Hey Family,
remember when this blog was new and exciting and we all posted on it? Ya, I miss that. So anyway I am going to post one of my favorite recipes.....

now you can't mock it, until you've rocked it! My kids use to say it was their favorite meal, until social conformity got the best of them. So here it is...okay, big breath, I can do this...

CHEESE Waffles!! Yes I said CHEESE Waffles.
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces buttermilk)
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
and some shredded cheddar cheese

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients; combine the wet and dry ingredients just until smooth. Pour 1/3 cup batter on waffle iron and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese over batter before closing iron. Let cook just as you would regular waffles. Top with homemade buttermilk syrup. It is so good I promise!

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup buttermilk

boil above ingredients for 2 minutes in large saucepan. remove from heat and add

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla

and stir.

PS the above picture of Amy has nothing to do with cheese waffles, but there is a funny story behind it. So if anyone makes cheese waffles, I will tell them the story. Lame prize I know.

Grandma's Party...& eggplant

2009-12-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

So, this post is a reminder about Grandma's party on Monday, and also about eggplant. The two aren't related, but that's okay. They are both important.

Grandma's Pinata Pizza Party
Monday - Dec. 21 @ 5:30

Now on to the eggplant. Today at Superstition Ranch, they had the biggest, most beautiful eggplants I have ever seen. They were amazing, and they were priced at $0.50 each! I couldn't believe it, so having never ever cooked eggplant before, I bought two. Then, I was further surprised when at the cash register, they rang up at 3/$1! So they were even cheaper than I was planning on. So now I have two beautiful, huge, really cheap eggplants, and no idea what to do with them. I might try eggplant parmesan (it's the only eggplant dish I've really ever seen a recipe for), but what in the world should I do with the other??? Suggestions? Comments? Random thoughts?

Also, they had really great looking sweet corn 10/$1. Corn on the cob is Spencer's most favorite food in the whole world! And cute little yellow squash was 4lb/$1, and cucumbers were 6/$1.

Enchilada Update

2009-11-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Our party is fast approaching - This Saturday, November 28th.

New Time: 4:00 pm - Aunt Pat's

Come Help: 1:00

Bring: Food Assignment

Whatever Christmas decorations you have to help decorate the tables

Costumes for your little ones for the Nativity.

We will be leaving with full tummy's and happy memories, but sorry no goodie bags this year.

See you all Saturday!!!!!! (Questions, call Aunt Pat or Aunt Janet)

Baby Athena Has Arrived

2009-11-13T09:25:00.000-08:00

Well, baby Athena Merrill made her entrance into the world yesterday evening. Weighing in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces, and 21 inches in length, it should be no real surprise that they ended up needing to do a C-section after a very, very long labor. So, please keep Tuul in your prayers.

They are all doing well, and Brian says he will send pictures soon so we can post them for you.

Grandma's Christmas Party

2009-11-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

Good Morning, everyone! I talked to Grandma last night, and she asked me make a Post to let you all know that we will be having the Grandkid's Christmas Party (aka Pinata Pizza Party) the same time we always do - the Monday before Christmas:

Monday, December 21 - 5:30 PM
at Grandma & Grandpa Honey's house

Enchilada Time

2009-11-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

So here are the assignments for our holiday Enchilada Dinner.

Where - Aunt Pat's

When - November 28th

Help roll enchilada's, decorate & set-up 2:00 pm

Dinner - 5:00 pm

Aunt Marianne's Family - Poke Cakes (3) & organizing a Nativity for all the little kids (Mary Jo - Aunt Elaine said she would look for the last one we did for the Crum Party)

Aunt Pat - Enchilada's

Aunt Elaine - Chips, Salsa & Treat Bags

Aunt Janet & Aunt Colleen - Tostada Bar

Aunt Colleen - Provide Keyboard and Darren's talent if possible

Stay tuned for more info. We are excited!!!!

Preguntas??? Call Aunt Pat

Save the Date

2009-10-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Look at me, I am posting on the blog! Thanks Mary Jo. Don't forget our birthday lunch for Marianne this Saturday , 11:30 at Gecko Grill. The mother, the sisters, the daughters, the nieces... all are invited. You might want to bring some pictures and some sweet stories to share. Hope to see you there.

Aunt Marianne's Birthday

2009-10-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

This post is from Aunt Pat
Let's get together for lunch in loving memory of Marianne this Sat. Oct. 31st. ( Did you know that 50 years ago on Halloween was the day Marianne was baptized? ) We will meet at 11:30 at Gecko Grill, her favorite! All are invited. After lunch, we'll go to the cemetery with flowers for who ever would like to go. At 9:00AM some of the sisters will go and help grandma with her house. She requested a small group this time so we'll just have the sisters.

Also, make sure to mark your calendars for Sat. Nov. 28th. We will have our Chapman family Christmas enchilada party. It will be at the Freestone's and assignment will be posted on the blog.

Baked Ziti

2009-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

My Friend Deborah gave me a great tip a few months ago. She told me to go to allrecipes .com type in what you want to make, find the one that has the highest rating and most comments and use that one. I wanted the make baked ziti one night and did what she told me and the ziti was AMAZING!!! I made it for Bonko last night and it was a hit. I buy everything at fresh and easy. The traditional marinara sauce is my favorite.

Ingredients
1 pound dry ziti pasta (I use whole wheat)
1 onion, chopped (Never add it)
1 pound lean ground beef (I used ground turkey last night and it was good. I was also the 1st time I've used meat...i think I like it better without)
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.(I turn the broiler on the last 3 minutes to make the cheese crispy)

Pecan Bars

2009-10-07T13:10:00.001-07:00

So I made these tasty treats for Conference. It was a good thing there were lots of people to help eat them so I wouldn't eat the whole pan myself (which I could). Don't worry that these have 9 cubes of butter, it makes it better.

Pecan Bars from the Barefoot Contessa

Crust:

1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup good honey
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.

Now Collette need to post her great recipe for baked ziti...

Help for your 3 Month Supply

2009-09-29T14:12:00.001-07:00

I am starting a new experiment for October. You can find details at my cooking blog (Classic Homemaking). It should help you with your 3 Month supply. But I need help, too! Please, if you make the recipes, let me know what you think, and how they work for you!!!

Thanks!

PS - if you are wanting a pressure canner, they are on sale right now on Amazon! And, you get free shipping. This is the exact one that I have and I love it. $85 is an AMAZING price!

Max

2009-09-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

Max Montague was born Friday, September 25th. He was 8 lbs., 14 oz, and 21 inches long. Mollie is doing well, and is very glad to be done. He's very cute, and so far, he is only interested in sleeping.

(Sorry, I don't know how to rotate this picture...)

Lemon & Garlic Roasted Green Beans

2009-09-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

I picked up green beans for $0.89/lb at Superstition Ranch. I know Cook's Illustrated had a recipe like this, but I didn't take the time to look it up - I just made it up as I went, and it turned out pretty good.

Green Beans (ends snapped off, and cut into bite-sized pieces)
2-3 Tbsp. fresh Lemon Juice
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Toss everything together in a bowl until beans are well coated. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes.

A Request

2009-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have Aunt Marianne's recipe for the bread she would make in her bread maker? I remember my mom telling me that she would make bag with everything in them for Brian and freeze them. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Does anyone have it?

PARTY!!!

2009-09-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks for Coming

Thanks for The Yummy Food, The Fantasic Company, The Clean-up Help and the Fun Party!!

Party Time Assignments!

2009-09-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hi family,

Party - Monday September 7th - Swim - Dinner @ 5:30

Here are the assignments for Grandpa's birthday party:

Pat - chips

Elaine & Katie-dessert

Colleen - drinks

Fort Cousins - hamburger/hotdog fixin's

All other cousins/nieces/nephews/friends and neighbors: Salads of some sort

Mom/grandma is providing all meat & buns.

We will swim until 5:30 then eat, then swim again if you want. Come anytime after 4:00.

Please let me know how these assignments work for you, either with a comment or you can email me.

See you all at the party.

Love,
Aunt Janet

It's A PARTY!!!!

2009-08-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

We all miss Sister Coleman!!

Hi Family,
This is a "save the date" for Grandpa Chapman's Birthday Bash/Swimming Party/BBQ. It will be on Labor Day at the Woods Party House. Grandma Chapman is providing all the meat, so we will be assigning all the yummy sides. Mark your calenders and plan to join us.
Love you ALL!
Aunt Janet

Miniature Meatloaf

2009-07-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try this for some time, and finally decided that tonight was the night. I think the idea first came from Jane4Girls, but I might be mistaken on that. This recipe turned out great, and I am optimistic that freezing the other half of the batch, as well as the meatballs, will work great, also.

The easiest part of this whole experiment was portioning the meatloaves. I used my ice cream scoop (the one that looks like an over-grown cookie scoop, which I have actually never used on ice cream, but that's beside the point) to scoop the meat mixture in to the muffin tin. (I portion cake batter for cupcakes the same way.) Then, I used my cookie scoop to portion the meatballs into the mini muffin tin. I probably should have rolled them so they would be round all over, but I didn't. Oh well.

Johnny declared these to be a "10", and insists that I need to start making them regularly. I think the key was the fresh Hot Italian Sausage that I found on clearance at Spouts today, and added on a whim. It gave it just a little kick (along with the 21 Season Salute from Trader Joe's that I LOVE), and great flavor.

Mini Meatloaf
Makes 12 meatloaves using a regular size muffin tin, and 8-10 meatballs in a tiny muffin tin.

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. fresh pork sausage
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Oat Flour (Again, just an experiment, but it worked well. Make the flour by running some oats through the food processor or blender.)
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
Some dehydrated onion, garlic, Italian herb blend, 21 Season Salute, and any other seasonings you want

Mix everything together in a large (and I do mean large) bowl. It's easiest to just use your hands. Once it's well combined, portion in to a regular muffin tin for mini meatloaves, or a mini muffin tin for meatballs.

For the meatloaves: Cover with foil, and bake at 350° for 20 minutes, remove foil and bake for 5 minutes longer, until a thermometer in the center of each meatloaf registers 160°.

For the meatballs: I don't know. Mine were rather overdone. I think next time, I will try cooking them for only 10 minutes, covered, and 2-3 minutes uncovered, and then check the internal temperature.

Obituary

2009-07-07T08:36:00.001-07:00

RIP to Rip the cat
Rip the cat was born sometime in 2004. Before he was adopted by the Coleman family it is believed he was a stray and went by the names Stupid Cat, Get out of here, and Let me get my Pellet Gun. He used many of his nine lives early in his short life when he climbed up a 30 foot power pole and was nudged off by a super long fiberglass pole. Rip enjoyed cowering when other cats ate his food, meowing at Joe's window, and licking his rear end. He received the Bob Barker treatment when he was just a few months old therefore he has no survivors. His life partner Clhoe who is pretty stupid was always an attentive and good friend. He will be missed by his human family. There will be a viewing Monday morning. If you drive by the Coleman house you can lift the lid of the black barrel and view him. There will be no police escort to the dump. Please drive carefully and don’t follow the Garbage truck too close.

*This was on my family blog, but some humor is not appreciated by everyone. Wink Wink

I have a surprise for you

2009-06-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

It is just a true type font that you can put on your computer and then you can use it like you would any other font. If you would like a copy of it then email me at mjm328@cox.net and I will send it to you with instructions on how to install it.

She did it!!!

2009-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Emily!!!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

2009-05-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

This is what we had for dinner last night. Very easy and quite delish! You could probably put it in your crockpot to cook too, if you didn't want to heat up your house. Maybe one to two hours on high? Just watch it to make sure it doesn't burn.

Cilantro Lime Chicken
INGREDIENTS
Marinade:
Juice from 3 limes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoons cumin
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons honey (i used a little more)
2 whole breasts boneless, skinless chicken
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
Mix together marinade ingredients in a bowl (I prefer to put all ingredients in a gallon-sized ziploc bag--that way I can mix them up and let the chicken marinate without dirtying any dishes!), stirring thoroughly. Pour marinade into a large ziploc bag or shallow baking pan. Cover baking pan and refrigerate for one hour (or longer if you have time--the longer the better!). After one hour, when the chicken has absorbed all the flavors of the marinade, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Serve over brown rice with low-fat sour cream, lime wedges, and salsa.

Easiest Baked Spaghetti Ever

2009-05-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

This is quick, easy and YUMMY!

1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 Box Rotini Pasta (I use whole wheat)
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Pound Ground Beef
Mozzarella Cheese (or Italian Blend)

Cook pasta according to directions. Brown the ground beef (I throw some dried onions and garlic in for flavor). Mix everything together and throw it in a casserole dish. Top with the cheese. Bake covered with foil at 350 for 45min.

This recipe can easily be tweaked to your preference by adding spices, italian sausage, more sauce, cheese, ect, but it is soooo easy! I like to put mine in two 8x8 pans and throw one in the freezer.

Emily's Open House

2009-05-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

We are so excited for Emily!!!

You are all invited to Emily's Open House

Friday May 15th

7:00 - 8:30

Steve's Party House

- We would love to see you.

Emergency Cake

2009-05-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

So, this picture really has nothing to do with this recipe, but I thought I would share it anyways so that you could all see how beautiful Katie's cake for Brian's wedding turned out. Amazing! Thankfully, there was no cake emergency there!

Anyways, I got this recipe from my father-in-law's best friend's wife. She is an America's Test Kitchen enthusiast, a caterer, and a really, really great cook. She calls this her "Emergency Cake" because it's perfect for when you need a cake at the last minute.

Emergency Cake
1 box Pillsbury Golden Butter cake mix (it has to be this one - I had never heard of it before, but it is worth the effort to find. It's mighty tasty!)
2 cans of Pillsbury Classic White Frosting
1/2 bag of Heath Bar toffee bits

That's it! Make the cake according to the directions - USE REAL BUTTER! Theresa says that's the whole key: this particular cake mix, and real butter...and the Heath Bar - it always makes everything better. After it's baked and cooled, frost it, and top with the Heath Bar toffee bits.

I Love Lemons

2009-03-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

Growing up on 11th Place we had fresh lemons almost year-round (The tree was very prolific). Steve and I have planted a lemon tree at all 6 of our houses and the love affair continues. The tree we have now produces lemons the size of grapefruits, so I am always trying to find ways to use them. Here are some yummy recipes:

Lemon Curd:

3 eggs

3 T. butter

1/2 Cup Sugar

2/3 Cups Lemon Juice

Zest of one large lemon

Put sugar, juice and 1/2 of the zest into a saucepan. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Turn off heat.

In deep bowl beat eggs until foamy and light yellow in color. With beaters running - slowly add the lemon/sugar mixture in a thin stream.

Pour mixture back into saucepan. Cook curd on low heat stirring fast until foam disappears and curd becomes thick. Do not let mixture boil. (Been there, done that - YUCKY) Cut butter into small pieces and stir into curd along with remaining zest. Pour into small jelly jars (2) and cool in refrigerator. Once cool, put lids on jars and store in refrigerator. It will set up like a custard.

This is great on gingerbread (Fresh and Easy has a very yummy moist mix), in a parfait with strawberries and whipped cream, between two sugar cookies, a filling for cake or whatever sounds good to you.

Cilantro Lemon Rice

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This recipe is similar to confetti rice with some additions and subtractions.

5 bouillon cubes

1 cup Uncle Ben's rice

2 1/2 cups of hot water

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion (I use dehydrated and I usually don't measure)

2 to 3 T. lemon juice

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (more or less works)

4 T butter

I put all this in my rice steamer and cook for about 40 minutes until liquid is absorbed, or you can bake it at 350 for 35 minutes uncovered, stir, cover and bake another 30 minutes.

Cilantro Lemon Chicken

Our cilantro is getting ready to literally bolt so I'm trying to use it up.

In a blender add:

Juice of one lemon

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 small green onion

1/8th t. granulated garlic

1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing

Blend until smooth.

Marinate chicken for 4 hours then get your husband to light the grill!!!

Fresh Lemon Meringue Pie

1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup cold water
½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 egg yolks, well beaten
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 ½ cups boiling water
½ lemon grated peel
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
1 (9-inch) baked pie crust
Three-Egg Meringue:
3 egg whites
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
6 Tbsp. sugar

In a saucepan, thoroughly combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Gradually blend in the cold water and lemon juice.
Stir in the egg yolks.
Add the butter and boiling water.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to medium and boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and stir in the lemon peel and food coloring.
Pour into baked pie crust.
Top with Three-Egg Meringue, sealing well at edges.
Bake at 350o F for 12 to 15 minutes.
Cool for 2 hours before serving.

THREE-EGG MERINGUE:

In a bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy.
Gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Makes 6 servings

Update on the Merrill's

2009-03-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

There's a lot going on, so I thought I would update everyone.

Will get's home from his mission Wednesday, March 25th. He will speak in Church (Lindsay & Pueblo building) on Easter Sunday, April 12th, at 12:30. We aren't doing a big open house for him the day he gets home - instead he will get to see everyone at the family gathering that will be on Conference Sunday.

Brian is getting married April 30th in Utah. There will be an open house here (Mesa), May 6th.

Mollie will find out in 5 or 6 weeks if she is having a boy or girl.

And I can't speak for Mary Jo, but I for one am thrilled to a) not be the one that has to speak in Church in a couple of weeks b) not be the one to have to pick a million details for a wedding, and c) not be pregnant.

It's a Girl!! It's a Girl!!

2009-02-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

Call Marie for details.

Summer Pizzas

2009-02-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

I made this last night, and we LOVED it! And it was really easy, too. Enjoy!

PS - I talked to my dad last night, and they have Will scheduled to speak in Church on April 12th.

Summer Pizzas

So, this recipe really isn't a pizza, but that's what my friend Amy called it, so I'll stick with it. I made it for dinner last night, and it was really good, really fast, and really simple. It was perfect with some sour cream and homemade salsa. The original didn't call for the lime juice, garlic, or cilantro, but I sure like it with them.

Summer Pizzas with a Pita Bread Crust

1 can Black Beans
1 can Corn (not creamed corn)
1 can Diced Tomatoes (the Rotel Brand with jalapenos that was free a couple of weeks ago works really well)
1 bunch green onions, chopped fine
Garlic to taste (you can use dry, minced garlic or garlic powder)
juice from 1 Lime
1/2 bunch Cilantro, chopped fine

Drain the canned stuff, and empty into a medium bowl (not metal - it will react with the tomatoes and the lime juice). Add in the rest of the ingredients, and stir everything together. Cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes for all of the flavors to blend. (If you wanted, you could mix everything up in the morning, and put it in the refrigerator all day. Try and take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to eat so that it won't be totally cold when you're ready to cook it.) Turn your oven on to Broil, and put two or three pita breads on a cookie sheet (however many comfortably fit). I used whole wheat pita bread from Fresh & Easy, and we loved them. Toast the bread for 2 minutes. I didn't remember to move my rack up to the top of the oven, and I think it worked out just fine. It probably would have burned if I had moved the rack up. Anyways, as soon as the 2 minutes are up, take the crusts out of the oven, and put a few scoops of the vegetable mixture on them, draining off as much juice as possible. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, and put them back in the oven for 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Oh yeah, Amy says she likes to make "chili crusts" by brushing the pita bread with a little bit of water, and sprinkling it with chili powder before baking. I meant to do that for Johnny and forgot. Maybe next time.

Open House for Sister Coleman

2009-02-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

We have decided to have Elisabeth's missionary open house March 8, at 6pm. So please come then and not on the evening of the 22nd of Feb. Daren and I really want to stretch out every minute of this mission call. We have stake conference that day so it is a perfect nite to have a part-ay.

Two Great Recipes

2009-02-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

I am in need of some dinner ideas. What are you all making these days? Anyway, here are two recipes that I love. The granola is Rebecca Freestone's recipe and I eat it everyday with strawberries, blueberries and my 1 point yogurt from WW. It's very yummy! And the other is from my dear friend Nancy. She brought it after I had Chase. I love getting meals after having a baby because I feel like it opens the door to new dinner ideas! Almost worth having another baby...okay, I won't go that far.

Rebecca's Granola

7 cups old fashion oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1 cup walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup honey
1/3 cup oil

mix all together and spread onto large, greased cookies sheet. bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Once it is done I like to turn off the oven, but leave the granola in there for about a half hour.

Nancy’s Vegetable Stew

2-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes (Sometimes you can find these already prepped in the produce section.)
1- 16 oz. can petite diced tomatoes with seasonings (basil, oregano, garlic)
1- 15 oz. can whole corn kernels, drained (or frozen)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. salt
scant 1/4 tsp. pepper, restaurant style
1 can pinto beans, partially drained
1 can kidney beans, partially drained
1 can black bean, completely drained
1 red pepper, cut into 1" squares
Bring 1/2 cup of the broth to a boil. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 min's.
Add squash, tomatoes, corn, thyme, salt, pepper and remaining 2 cups of broth.
Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes.
Add the beans and the bell pepper and return to a simmer.
Cover and simmer about 10 minutes.
Sour Cream - a dollop atop each bowl of stew

Serve with cornbread, green salad, and some fruit. Or not.

Side Note: If you or someone you love, does not like a lot of chunks (like me) in their soup, you can blend the onion, garlic, and red pepper with a little bit of water and saute that first.

It's a Sister Sweden Shower!!!

2009-01-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

You are invited to a Missionary Shower for Elise -

Valentines Day - February 14th

Grandma Chapman's House @ 1:00 - 2:30 pm

Please bring a salad to share - any kind

These are the things she needs:

Button-down shirts--usually a large or size 10, also I need lots of different sleeve lengths.
Sweaters! Large/10 long
Sheets--I only need 4 flat ones...apparently the bed sizes are different in Sweden. I wonder if Dwight Schrute made them.
Towels & washcloths--2 sets
Slips--white, cream & black, mid-calf or below the knee (don't need more than 3).
Nylons/tights--I don't know what sizes..they're usually different depending on the brand, but I'm 5'11" and I weigh about 170lbs.
Garments--I like the drisilque(34R) or carinessa(MD-R) bottoms and the drisilque(32T) or cotton 50/50(SM-R) tops.

If you have any questions, email or call me or Aunt Pat.
Love you guys

A Big Thank You

2009-01-19T17:31:00.001-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came Saturday. Let's do it again soon!!!!

Does anyone have Limes?

2009-01-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

I have lots of lemons, but I want limes. If anyone has a lime tree, and would like to trade, let me know. My kids and I are willing to come and pick them and all. Okay, well probably just me while the kids play - I'm a realist. I also have navel oranges, but they aren't that great, at least compared to the ones at my parents' house.

See you all on Saturday!

Happy Birthday Month Plus 2 Weeks to Me

2009-01-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hi Family,

We are going to celebrate my birthday again this year since we had so much fun at the Pizza Party!! Everyone and anyone is welcome to come to all or part of the celebration. On Saturday January 17th @ 10:00 am we are going to meet at Grandma Chapmans house to help her with a New Years Cleaning. We will be one hour and if we all work together we can get it done fast. Please bring mops, rags, cleaners, carpet cleaners, bathroom cleaners ..... whatever you have and we will have a silly, fun time. We will then go to lunch at a little soup & sandwich place on McKellips just west of Greenfield (I'll get the real address if you are interested). After lunch we are going to go by and see how Marianne is doing.

I want all of you to come so we can spend some Grandma, Auntie, Niece and Cousin time together. Call me if you have any questions.

Homemade Pasta

2009-01-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

I made homemade pasta for the first time last night. Aside from the fact that it took forever because I didn't know what I was doing, it turned out pretty good. I make about a 1/3 of the dough into short noodles, about the width of fettucini, and the other 2/3 I made into angel hair and put in the freezer for later. About halfway through the angel hair, I had everything figured out and it went pretty quick.

Basic Egg Pasta

In a food processor add:
2-2 1/2 C. Flour (whole wheat, white rice, spelt, etc.)
4 large Eggs
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 tsp. Salt (or 3-4 tsp. Sea Salt)
1 tsp. Garlic Powder

Mix until the dough mixture forms ball. Remove and work in more flour as needed until smooth and easy to handle. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. In the pasta machine, run each piece of dough through 3 times on the widest setting. Continue to run the dough through once on each machine setting through five. Drop into boiling water for 3 minutes.

The recipe is from Shar's Bosch Kitchen Center.

Interesting Blog

2008-12-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

I came across this blog a couple of weeks ago, but with everything that has happened, I had yet to post it for everyone to see.

http://safelygatheredin.blogspot.com/

It is run by a couple of ladies who take food storage very seriously, and has some pretty good ideas.

Enjoy!

2008-12-18T06:07:00.001-08:00

Mom

Can't Resist Rolls

2008-12-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

It's not often I'm willing to try new recipies for bread or rolls. I have my old faithfuls and know what works. This summer I tried these on a whim and was glad I did. Once I tried them, I knew Thanksgiving would never be the same. Another bonus is that they freeze great so you can make them ahead of time and no one can tell the difference.
************

Can’t Resist Rolls

2 Tablespoons Yeast (2 1.4 oz packages)
½ cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups milk
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
8 cups flour
4 eggs
½ cup butter (melted)

*In a tall drinking glass, dissolve yeast in warm (not hot) water with 1 teaspoon sugar.
*In a large microwavable bowl add milk, sugar and oil and warm for one minute. Add salt.
(I use a small one because I use my bosh and just dump the mixture in after warming)
*To milk, sugar, egg, and oil add 2 cups flour. Mix.
*Add eggs. Beat.
*Stir in yeast mixture.
*Add 3 cups flour. Mix again.
*Add last 3 cups of flour and mix in with spoon.
(Again, I don’t bother with that because of the bosh)
(Also, at this point the dough is VERY sticky and I always end up adding an extra cup of flour-even then it is still very sticky)
*Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough inside and cover. Let rise for 2-3 hours or until at least double in size.
*Separate dough into 4 equal balls. (Because the dough is so sticky, I end up kneading about 1/4th a cup of flour into each ball just so it won’t stick to the counter when I roll it out.)
*Roll out each ball individually into a ¼” thick circle, brush with melted butter and cut like a pizza into 12 pieces (I always get 16).
*Roll each wedge wide end to point – like a crescent and place on buttered cookie sheet,
*Cover and let rise for another hour.
* Bake @ 375 for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

Old Faithfuls

2008-12-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

Bless my husband's heart. I love him dearly. Having said that....Jake has been doing the grocery shopping for me the past few weeks (I know, he is awesome). I have been having some back issues with this pregnancy. Something about my psychotic nerve, I mean my sciatic nerve. Anyways he comes home with lots of food...like cans of artichoke hearts....and five blocks of cream cheese....and three large bags of flour...and egg nog. So last night I was contemplating what I could make for dinner and this recipe came to mind. I usually always have these simple ingredients in my cupboards and I did! It was really good too! Thanks Jake!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Cut boneless chicken breasts into strips (I usually use 3-4 chicken breasts).
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. (I just dump a bunch of cornstarch on the chicken and mix it with my hands (yes I touch raw chicken) until they are all coated and then dump them in the egg (1 egg) and do the same thing.)
Fry in a little oil until brown.
Place in baking dish.
Cover with sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes.
Serve over rice.

never use frozen or even partially frozen chicken pieces for this because the batter won't stick. I thaw my chicken completely and then cut into bite-size pieces. Also, I've doubled the sauce before but all of it cooked on top of the chicken made it soggy so now I just pour the normal amount over the chicken and bake it while meanwhile heating another batch of the sauce on the stove to thicken (I also about 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes to the second batch of sauce, because I like mine hot! But the kids don't) and to be served alongside the cooked, saucy chicken.

Indian Fry Bread

2008-11-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is a fast and easy and not to mention delicious meal to make. Make it when the kids are starving and you have other things to do.

2 c. flour
5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
about 3/4 c. warm water

Mix together adding flour until not sticky. Form into balls and flatten out. Fry in a little oil until brown and delicious. Serve with beans, cheese, salsa, powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon sugar (wipe the drool off your face), lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

The Secret GooSock

2008-11-29T07:54:00.000-08:00

So we enjoyed a great Thanksgiving dinner and ate lots of GooSock Turkey. For those of you that can appreciate this fine delicacy here is the recipe.

GooSock

1 quart white vinegar
1/2 c. canola oil
1/3 c. black pepper
1/3 c. dry mustard (powder)
1/3 c. salt

Put in pan and heat on medium until dissolved together. Pour over beef or turkey in a brown n bag. Also, works well in large crock pot.

Lets start posting our favorite holiday recipes.

Mew, Mew

2008-11-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

Anne is playing with a cow right now, and saying, "mew, mew, mew." She also calls the moon mewn, so it's fitting. Oddly enough, it got me thinking about all of the free evaporated milk I got while it was on sale at Fry's these last two weeks. So here is my top 10 list of ways to use Evaporated Milk. Please let me know if you have any further suggestions!

1. In Mashed Potatoes...mmm!
2. In Stroganoff - I did this last week instead of using sour cream, and it worked well, just needed more salt.
3. To make Macaroni & Cheese from Cook's Illustrated.
4. To provide amusement to your husband when your son wants to help carry in the groceries from the car, but decides that the canned milk is too heavy to carry so he leaves it in the middle of the floor for you to trip over.
5. Use it when making Mary Jo's awesome Hot Fudge Sauce.
6. As a catalyst to further your knowledge of history - Evaporated Milk was widely used as infant formula starting in the 1920's, all the way through the 1950's. Grandma says she never used it on any of her girls, but she knew about it.
7. For Scallopped (Funeral) Potatoes
8. PUMPKIN PIE!!!
9. Have Anne drop two of the cans on your foot just to make sure that your foot is still attached to your leg.
10. Weights when you are making a poster outside and the wind keeps blowing it away.

Bran Muffins Revealed

2008-11-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

So it is bran muffin season and I pulled out the "new" Crum Family Cookbook and the Bran Muffin recipe is just weird. I always use the recipe in the old "What's Cooking With The Crum's" book and it is so much better. Here's the "real" recipe:

6 cups All Bran (just use the whole box)
2 cups boiling water (pour over bran in a large bowl and cover with foil to help soften, I use a
little more water too)
In large mixing bowl (or Kitchenaid) cream:
1 cup shortening
1 1/4 Cup sugar
add:
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla (optional)
Alternate adding the following (about 1/3rds) mixing just until blended:
1 quart of Buttermilk
5 cups of flour
5 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
Pour over softened Bran and fold together until combined
Bake 400 for 15-18 minutes

This makes a ton and it freezes great. Just thaw it out in the fridge and gently stir if seperated.

YUM!!!

Cracker Chicken

2008-11-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks Colette - this is not printed in the Crum Family cook book - I wrote it in but it is from my mom and might be in the "older" copy of the cookbook. So here you go - it is SO easy and really is just homemade Shake and Bake.

Cracker Chicken

Ritz crackers (about 20)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 T Mrs. Dash
1/2 T dried minced onion
Dash of garlic powder
2 T melted butter/margarine
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Put Ritz crackers into a large Ziploc and crunch with a rolling pin. Add all seasonings and shake to incorporate. Dip chicken into melted butter and then coat with cracker mixture. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Quick Question ...

2008-11-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

about Natalie's big "Bundt".

When you use the yellow cake mix do you use chocolate pudding or vanilla? Do you add chocolate chips or leave it yellow?

I have made the chocolate version of this several times and it had been a big hit. )'specially for my anti frosting boy) I'm just looking to shake things up a bit.

Anyone???

Another (non-treat) Rice Krispie use

2008-11-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite recipes is the cracker chicken from the Crum family cook book so to switch it up a little try this - instead of crackers try the rice Krispies. It is yummy and Alexis loved that it was different:)

Scotcharoos

2008-11-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. Karo
6 c. Rice Krispies
6 oz. chocolate chips
6 oz. butterscotch chips

Combine sugar and Karo in saucepan. Bring to boil while stirring - the second it starts to boil remove from heat and add peanut butter. Stir well. Add Rice Krispies and gently mix well. Spread mix evenly in a buttered 13 x 9 inch pan. Melt chocolate and butterscotch together on low heat, stirring constantly, or in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Spread evenly on top of Scotcharoo's. Allow to completely cool before cutting.

**** Just as a quick note do NOT use Splenda with this recipe. Sadly I ruined a double batch by doing so for a party and had to quickly run out to buy more ingredients. The Splenda for some reason makes the treats really soggy and Gross!!!

Creative Uses for Rice Krispies

2008-11-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

So, I got 9 boxes of free Rice Krispies yesterday at Bashas. They were on clearance for $0.75, and now I need some recipes for them aside from the basic Rice Krispy treat. Any ideas???

Key Lime Pie

2008-11-02T18:29:00.001-08:00

Last week, they had big, beautiful limes at Superstition Ranch Market. They were 12/$1. I bought 24, and was really glad I did. They are very juice, and absolutely wonderful! This afternoon, I decided to make Cook's Illustrated's (America's Test Kitchen) Key Lime Pie. It says you will need about 4 limes to yield your 1/2 C. juice, but with my perfect limes, I got a full cup easily from 4 limes. This was great because I made a double batch.

4 T. Lime Zest
4 Egg Yolks
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 C. FRESH Lime Juice

1 Graham Cracker Crust (I cheated and used a premade one - CI would not approve!)

Wisk together your zest and egg yolks in a medium size bowl until well combined, and light green in color, about 2 min. Add your milk and wisk until well combined. Add the lime juice and wisk until mixture is uniform. Cover, and let stand until thickened, about 30 min.

Meanwhile, make your crust. The crust needs to be warm when you add the filling, so if you're like me and cheated, then put the crust in the oven for about 4 minutes to warm it up. Set the oven to 325°. Add your filling to the crust, and bake until the filling jiggles slightly when shaken, 15-20 minutes. (Mine was just right at 17 minutes.)

Remove the pie from the oven, and set on a wire rack to cool for 1 hour (I only did 45 minutes), then loosely cover, and refrigerate until the filling is cold and set, about 3 hours longer. Serve with whipped cream or Cool Whip.

Haunted Houses

2008-10-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

When my kids decorate gingerbread houses at Christmas they end up looking pretty spooky. So for the last couple of years now we decorate Haunted Houses.

Super easy.

Graham Crackers and sugar. I just put about a cup of sugar in a nonstick pan and heat it on medium heat until it is all melted (about 3-5 minutes). Then I turn off the heat and dip the graham cracker in it and then stick it to a paper plate. The melted sugar is very hot (it will burn, I know) and it sticks instantly. (FYI - When you are done, just soak the pan in water for a while and it dissolves off.)

I make the houses ahead of time so that they can spook them up for FHE.

Spooky Werewolf Sandwiches

2008-10-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make these a yearly tradition at our house. They are so easy and make me feel like a fun mom. This picture is from last year. I sent some in Caleb's lunch and told him there was a spooky surprise waiting for him. I guess he was so embarrassed he had something "different" that he wouldn't even pull them out of his lunchbox to eat them. Go figure. Amy thought they were cool...

1. So you take a piece of bread (I used wheat).
2. Cut off the crusts and roll remaining bread with a rolling pin until flat and rectangular.
3. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter and jelly or whatever you like on your sandwiches. I wonder what egg salad or tuna salad would look like?
4. Then roll it up and pinch one side together sealing it.
5. Press down on sealed side and place a sliced almond on top (you might need a little jelly under the almond so it will stick).
6. With the back of a knife make lines in the middle of the sandwich for knuckles.

That's it! It's kinda fun.

Disneyland food fix...

2008-10-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Without ponying up the cost for a ticket. Ok so I officially love Disneyland (not as much as some of our family members) but one of my FAVORITE things to eat there is the Bengal's BBQ skewers. De-lish as obnoxious Rachel Ray says! I found this recipe on the Internet (of course) and made it twice since then and I have to say it tastes exactly the same and you can enjoy it in the comfort of your home in your unglad rags and not have to fear the possibility of being someone elses people watching experience and/or make an unfortunate appearance on their blog. This sauce makes a TON and can be freezed until the next time you need it. Also the bacon wrapped asparagus is my all time favorite - my dad figured these out all by his lonesome and I love to make these as a side dish when asparagus does not cost me a small fortune.

Bengal Barbecue Beef Skewers with Korean Sauce

Yield 2 3/4 cups
Portion Size: 6

Sauce:

Soy Sauce 1 cup
Water 1 1/2 Cups
Ground Black Pepper 1 Tbsp.
Sesame Seed Oil 3 Tbsp.
Ground Red Pepper 1 tsp.
Cayenne Pepper 1/2 tsp.
Granulated Garlic 1 Tbsp.
Cornstarch 3 Tbsp.

To be grilled:

Sirloin Beef Chunks 18 Pieces - 1 oz. each
Bamboo Skewers 6 each.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients above and bring to a boil,adding cornstarch to thicken. Soak the bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes to avoid burning prior to grilling. Place 3 pieces of beef on each skewer and cook on the grill 3 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. Brush with sauce and serve.

Bacon wrapped asparagus

Bacon (I use the microwavable kind so that it is completely cooked when it comes off the grill)
Asparagus
Bamboo skewers

Clean asparagus and cut off and discard the ends if needed, then cut remaining part in half. (Now for the milking mice part) Cut the bacon pieces in half and the wrap each asparagus piece with bacon and skewer on bamboo. Then grill until the bacon and asparagus looks done, cooking time depends on how hot your grill is.

Pumpkin Cake/ Bars (whatever you call them, they are good)

2008-10-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

I love love love this recipe that I got from my sister in law Kate. I was giving these away as fast as I could so that I wouldn't eat the whole entire thing.

Pumpkin Bars

2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. oil
2 c. (15oz. can) pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
2-3 T. milk
2 c. (16oz. box) powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Mix sugar, eggs, oil and pumpkin together. Add rest of ingredients. Pour into greased cookie sheet (12x16). Bake at 350’ for 20 minutes or until done. When cooled, prepare frosting and spread on top.

Comfort Food

2008-10-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

So it has been pretty warm here in Iowa. Highs in the 70's. We have been drinking it up, because we know this is not going to last. Yesterday it was rainy and in the 40's...oh no! Here comes winter! So anyway, I made one of my favorite soups that I got from my mom. This is a family favorite and it so good on a rainy day with milk and some warm sourdough bread (no, of course I don't make the bread, it's the California Bread Co. that makes it, I just buy it at Wal-mart when I am throwing my budget to the wind).

Tortellini Soup

½ to 1 LB Italian Sausage (We like the hot)
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 green bell pepper
½ cup water
5 beef bullion
5 Cups of water
½ cup white grape juice
1 cup shredded carrots
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon basil
½ tsp oregano
1 8oz can tomato sauce
4 cups tortellini or two 9oz packages
1 T parsley
Garnish with parmesan cheese

Brown sausage, set aside.
Chop and blend onions, pepper, and garlic with ½ cup water. Then sauté’ in a non-stick pan.
Add 5 cups water, beef bullion, grape juice, carrots, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and spices (except parsley)
Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer ½ hour (10 to 20 minutes).
Stir in tortellini and parsley and simmer for another ½ hour or until noodles are soft.
Garnish parmesan cheese and serve!

Mother's Cookies Closed It's Doors

2008-10-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

I read an article last night about the Mother's Cookie Co. filing for bankruptcy protection, and closing it's doors. I can't imaging not having those lovely pink & white animal cookies - they are part of the essence of childhood! I hope someone buys the recipes and keeps making them. Not to mention, they just came out with a lemonade cookie that is pretty fabulous! I'll have to go to the store this morning, and see if I can stock up.

Mother's Cookies

Hungry Girl's Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

2008-10-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

Let me just say that these are so good I did a little happy dance. And for only 3 points a cupcake they love you back.

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin

Mix together. I used a big cookie scoop to put them in their places and then bake 400 for 15 to 20.

Done.

Tis the Season

2008-10-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

Superstition Ranch Market had GIANT pumpkins on Friday...and today's weather actually made me believe that fall might actually be on it's way. We'll see...

Pumpkin Muffins

1 C. Oil

4 C. Sugar

1 large can Pumpkin

5 C. Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Cloves

½ tsp. Salt

4 tsp. Baking Soda

Mix all ingredients together. Add up to a whole bag of mini chocolate chips. Stir by hand to incorporate. Grease muffin tins, and bake at 350° for 12 minutes for mini muffins, and until a toothpick inserted comes out clean for larger muffins (approx. 17-20 min).

Feed the Elders!!

2008-10-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

I know that this isn't a cooking post, but I found this picture of our cute Elders and know that somewhere, someone is feeding them. (Colleen I hope this makes you smile!!!!)

Whole Wheat spaghetti with garlic zucchini and tomato

2008-09-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

I decided I better contribute to this blog before you all think I am starving my family.
I got this recipe off of Stephanie Nielson's Blog. I used regular spaghetti noodles, but otherwise followed the recipe. We all liked it a lot, but the onion was very strong and we all picked it out. Next time I will use less onion, or slice it bigger, use it for the flavor, and then remove it.

Whole wheat spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
course salt and pepper
small red onion cut into thick slices
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large zucchini cut lengthwise into sticks
2 plum tomatoes cut lengthwise into strips
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Boil noodles in salted water
Sautee 3 garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 minutes
Add zucchini and 1/2 cup water. Let sit on med. for 10 minutes
Add tomatoes, onions and 1 tablespoon of oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add cheese.

Disneyland 101

2008-09-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know this is the recipe blog, but I need some advice. Mike and I have decided to go to Disneyland for our 2nd anniversary/Christmas this year because Mike has never been. I know, it's like he's never really experienced true happiness. So I've been trying to plan the absolute cheapest trip. Then it suddenly dawned on me that I am related to about 15 Disneyland experts who frequent the place more often than the Japanese tourists. So I'm wondering:

What's the best/cheapest/closest (within walking distance) place to stay?
Is it better to fly or drive?
What day of the week is best to go?
Do you know where to get discount tickets/hotels?
Do they have a Coleman/Woods discount yet?
What are the loopholes, i.e. how do you go on the most rides for the least amount of wait?
Is California Adventure really worth getting a park hopper ticket for?

Mike is done with school Dec. 12th, so we can go anytime after that. I'm sure the closer it is to Christmas, the crazier/more crowded it will get. We're thinking about maybe driving over on Sunday, Dec. 14th and going to Disneyland Dec. 15th. Anyways, any tips or advice would be great. Thanks!!!

I Like BIG BUNDTS and I Cannot Lie!

2008-09-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

This Cake is so yummy! It is the most requested B-day cake. In fact, we had it today to celebrate Caleb's Birthday. His birthday was a few weeks ago, but Jake just got home yesterday, so we had lots to celebrate!! After we ate it with Mint 'n Chip icecream I decided I better share this goodness with all of you!

Super Moist Fudge Bundt Cake
1 devils food cake mix or yellow cake mix
1 4-serving instant chocolate pudding mix4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (not low-fat or fat-free)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Stir down sides. Continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared (i.e. greased and floured, I use powdered sugar) bundt pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 20 minutes. Invert onto serving platter. I usually dust mine with powdered sugar for an elegant look before digging in. Today there was no powdered sugar to be found in the pantry so I used a little granulated sugar just for texture.

The Wisdom of Grandma Chapman

2008-09-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

This past week, as I was having some lab work done, I was chatting with the nurse and assistant about how wise our mothers are. Wanting to show off Grandma Chapman's wisdom, I opened my mouth, disengaged my brain and spouted off , "My mom says that if you play with your belly button your legs will fall off." Pam, the nurse, whom I have worked hard to become friends with, FROZE, with her finger on the plunger of a rather large syringe, I might add. Then after a few heartbeats said, "My sixteen year old daughter has a bellybutton ring." To Pam's credit she did not plunge an air bubble back into me. Then the assistant, a young nursing student from MCC said, "I got a belly button ring, but it got infected and I ended up in the emergency room.

Later, the lines of of the song came to mind, "Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?" The answer would be NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Crockpot Fun...

2008-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that I did not get a crockpot until 2 years ago? I know how did I function? That being said I am not a fan of too many crockpot type meals but I love to throw a roast in it in the morning and poof dinner is almost done - my kind of cooking - or lack thereof. The only problem is there are always leftovers and I am not such a fan of those; however the ease of using it makes up for the quantity:) Aunt Marianne asked for some good crockpot recipes so here is my {smallish} contribution. Sadly these are some of the only ones I have found that I like so if you have some post them because crockpot cooking is easy = awesome! Also, I LOVE the crockpot liners that you can buy at the store, they make clean up a breeze.

Cream Cheese Chicken

1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1 pkg. dry Italian dressing
1 pkg chicken tenderloins (about 10)
1 pkg frozen broccoli (optional)

Add everything but the broccoli into the crockpot and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Add the broccoli when there is about 1 hour left in the cooking time. Serve over rice or noddles.

Chicken Spaghetti

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 pkg. chicken tenderloins
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 T dry Italian dressing or dry ranch dressing
1 T garlic powder
Red pepper flakes to taste

Saute onion in a little bit of olive oil until caramelized then add to crockpot along with everything else. Cook on low 6 to 7 hours or high 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Serve over your favorite type of pasta.

Creamy Ranch Potatoes (aka yummy side-dish)

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
1 8 ounce container sour cream
1 pkg. dry ranch dressing
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Add everything but potatoes into crockpot and mix together. Add potatoes to crockpot and stir so that the potatoes are evenly coated. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Stir gently before serving.

Wassail

Disclaimer: This recipe always shows up at our Alexander Christmas Eve party and while I am not a huge fan of actually drinking it (hot apple cider and/or hot chocolate is just not my thing) it makes your house smell wonderful!!! We always make this in the morning and then let it warm all day - this smell always reminds me of Christmas Eve!

2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves
5 allspice berries
1 piece ginger
4 cups apple cider or apple juice
2 cups orange juice
1 cup lemon juice

Boil water and sugar together for 2 minutes. Add all spices, remove from heat, cover and let sit for at least 1 hour. Strain out the spices and add to crockpot. Add remaining juices and heat on high until hot and then switch to low or warm (if you have this setting).

I feel like Chicken tonight...

2008-09-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

I hadn't thought about those old school chicken commercials, complete with the theme song, in a long time. It's funny what you remember when you are trying to come up with a title for a blog post.

Anyways, I just made this for dinner, and it turned out so well, I had to share. The original recipe is over on Picky Palate. This is my version, which makes quite a bit of gravy because we: a) really like gravy and b) Johnny takes leftovers to work. I also made mashed potatoes (instant ones that I got for $0.20 today at Fry's) that were great with this. The only thing missing was cold peaches, but everyone was about to explode by the time I got everything made, so I didn't take the 30 seconds necessary to open one of my jars of peaches. Besides, they weren't cold, anyways.

1 Sheet thawed puff pastry
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 Cups Milk (1 used 1% and it worked great)
1 bottle of Chicken Chunks (the original calls for a can of chicken chunks from Costco)
3-4 Tbsp. Chicken Gravy Mix (this adds a lot of chicken flavor, and helps thicken things a little)
1/2 package (1 1/2 C.) frozen, mixed vegetables
Dry Basil
Poultry Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Fresh Rosemary
Lowry's Seasoning Salt
Salt & Pepper

1. Thaw your puff pastry. It takes about 40 minutes on the counter. If you forget (like I did!) put it in a big ziplock and submerge it in cool water for about 5 minutes or so.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully unfold the pastry sheet onto a lightly floured counter. Cut into 9 squares and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

3. While the pastry is baking, in a large (4 qt.) pot, whisk together the juice from the chicken, the cream soup, the milk, and the gravy mix over medium heat.

4. Bring to a low boil, stirring often. Add the chicken (shred it as you're adding it), vegetables, and seasonings. Return to a low boil, and stir frequently until sufficiently thick. It should be ready right about the time that the puff pastry is done cooking.

5. Put the puff pastry squares on serving place, and spoon the chicken gravy over the top. Jenn from Picky Palate says that she cut the puff pastry into little squares for her boys first. I should have done that, but I didn't and we all survived.

Adult Only Corn Bread

2008-09-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

So this weekend our adult only ward party had chili and cornbread. So this is my adult only Cornbread recipe. I'm usually not that big of a cornbread fan but my friend Rachelle changed that point of view with this tasty recipe. My kids love this too, I made a pan for them and Nate had 3 pieces.

Corn Bread

1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. cornmeal
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl mix buttermilk (or 1 c. milk with 1 T. lemon juice) and baking soda together. After blending add to sugar mixture. Mix dry ingredients and add mixing until moistened. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes in a greased 8x8 pan. (Can double the recipe and bake in a 9x13 pan.)

For the cornmeal I put popcorn kernels in my Nutrimeal and grind them up. Mandy said to put the setting on 'course' and 'low' when you grind the popcorn or something bad may happen. I accidentally had it set on 'course' and 'high' and I was living on the verge.

Need Dates?

2008-09-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Please come see me ASAP if you need dates. I will be home tomorrow afternoon and after church on Sunday. They are small, good and free!!!
Aunt Janet

Cheesecake

2008-09-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

It's officially cheese cake season in our neck of the woods...

Read here about my not so shining moment in motherhood...regarding you guessed it-cheesecake.

Anyway here you go...somebody please make it and tell me you loved it OR invite me somewhere and assign me to bring it.

Richetto Cheesecake

Crust:
1 ½ cups graham crackers
2 Tbs. Sugar
2 Tbs. Butter (melted)
Combine ingredients and spread over 9” pan
Blind Bake crust @ 350 for 10 minutes and let cool completely.

Batter:
24 oz cream cheese
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sour cream

Let cream cheese thaw to room temperature - then mix until creamy and light.
Add eggs one at a time and beat into cream cheese.
Add vanilla then sugar until creamy.
Finally hand fold sour cream into mix
Bake: 375 for 35 min, cracking is normal
(If using a water pan 45 min)
Set in fridge for 5 hours minimum - preferably over night.

Raspberry Sauce
(This makes way more than you’ll need for the cheesecake-half would easily do it)

2 packages (12 oz I think) frozen raspberry sauce
1½ cup sugar

Put into sauce pan and cook until just starting to boil.
Meanwhile mix together 1½ Tablespoons cornstarch with a dab (1/8 cup?...doesn’t really matter) of water.

Add cornstarch and water to hot raspberry sauce, stir lots while it gently boils for a minute or two. Cool a bit and strain out seeds.
Serve over cheesecake or anything else you love!

Weight Watcher Recipes

2008-09-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

I had a fun morning over at Mary Jo's new house this morning. It's very cute, but according to Mary Jo has a lot of projects that need to be done. And Trent if you are reading this, I really like the blue wall down stairs.
Anyway, She asked me what some of my favorite Weight Watcher recipes are. I told her some and she told me to post them. My mom has more and so does Angie, so I'll have to get them to post them, too.

Core Cornbread
1 1/2 C. yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c fat free plain yogurt
1 tbsp canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400. Generously spray 8 in cast-iron skillet with PAM. In small bowl, whisk together cornmeal, baking soda & salt. Stir together. In separate bowl, stir together yogurt, oil & egg until blended. Stir in dry ingredients, just until mixed. (don't mix to long or it doesn't turn out good. make sure your oven in ready before you do this step, too.) Pour in skillet. Bake 25-30 min or until golden brown. Let cool 10 min.
8 servings 2 pts or all CORE

Tex-Mex Rice Casserole (great for a side dish)
2 C. cooked brown rice
1 1/2 c salsa
1 tsp chili powder
15 oz can black beans
7 oz can whole kernel corn
2 on fat free cheese

combine all in 2qt casserole, microwave on high for 12 min.
Makes 5 cups

And we decided that when to Twilight movie come out we are all going together as cousins and Aunts to go see it. Because husbands will not want to see it. Sounds fun, huh? Those of you that live out of state are required to come.

Yummy Jacob Treats!!

2008-09-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I thought last nights Open House for Jacob was great!!! Marianne did a beautiful job setting up and the desserts were divine. So here is my request.

Dear Dessert Fairy,

Please send the following recipes:

Chocolate/cream cheese sandwich cookies

Soft yummy sugar cookies

Mississippi Mud Cake.

Thank you,

One who loves sugar for breakfast!!!

PS, I am one of your biggest fans unless you make pinto bean fudge or carob no bake cookies.

Some Recipes from a Well Known Restaurant...

2008-09-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

I thought everyone might like these! (and I'm trying to put off starting the laundry as long as possible, so I thought I'd post them now...)

*Café Rio Pork*
5-6 lb. Pork Roast
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 c. brown sugar
20 oz. bottle coke
12 oz. Red Taco Sauce

Place roast in crockpot and cover half way up with water. Cook roast in crockpot on low for 12 hours. (Save liquid from roast in separate bowl*.) Add remaining ingredients to roast and cook for an additional 4 hours. Take out roast and shred. Put pack in sauce and cook for an additional 2 hours.

*Strain the fat from the liquid (place in fridge for a little while). Thicken with cornstarch and then add a can of Chili Verde Enchilada Sauce to liquid.

This sauce can then be placed over burrito.

*Café Rio Chicken*
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts

Roast all ingredients in crockpot on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken, roast an additional 1 hour.

*Café Rio Rice*
3 c. water
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
4 tsp. minced garlic
½ bunch chopped cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
1 can green chilies
¾ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter
½ medium onion, chopped
3 c. rice, uncooked

Bring water to boil, add all ingredients. Cook for 30 min.

*Creamy Tomatillo Dressing*
1 pkg. buttermilk Ranch dressing (powder)
3 tomatillos
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. chopped cilantro
3 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp. cayenne

Mix in blender & chill

Alright, well, I guess I can't delay the inevitable forever! Maybe I'll go rearrange my sock drawer or clean out the medicine cupboard or something else like that... No, I won't, but sheesh, I really have to motivation to do laundry today! I think it stems from knowing that as soon as I wash all of Anne's Big Girls, she's going to have another accident, and I'll have to do it all again! I HATE POTTY TRAINING!

Grandma's Gingersnaps

2008-09-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Grandma’s Gingersnaps

2 C. Butter

4 tsp. Baking Soda

1 C. Shortening

4 tsp. Cinnamon

3 C. White Sugar

4 tsp. Ginger

1 C. Brown Sugar

2 tsp. Cloves (optional)

1 C. Molasses

1 tsp. Salt

4 Eggs

8 C. Flour

Cream the butter, shortening and sugars. Add molasses and eggs. Beat well. Combine dry ingredients and add to batter. Drop onto cookie sheets, and freeze. After frozen, roll in sugar and immediately bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Makes 14 doz.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2008-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe online and love it. I'm asked to make it anytime we are with the Goodman family. They all say it tastes better then any restaurant and I agree.

1 big pkg frozen spinach, thawed
1 jar marinated artichokes, chopped (I don't chop them, just pull each layer apart)
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
8 oz. shredded Monterey jack cheese
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 stick butter
red peppers flakes to taste

Saute onions in butter, adding ingredients while mixing and blending well after each addition. Add ingredients in this order: spinach, cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, artichokes, crushed red peppers flakes.

Remove from heat and put in crock or microwave dish. Top with Monterey jack cheese and melt.

Serve hot with chips or bread.

Lemon Cookies/ Jacob's openhouse

2008-09-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

MaryJo has been on a quest for years to find a lemon shortbread cookie like the ones they use to make at the Wildflower Bread Company Any ideas?

We also need some good, very easy, fast, crockpot ideas.

Don't forget that this Sunday is Jacob Coleman's swan song before his mission departure, 9 a.m. at G-ma and Gp's building, and Sunday evening is an anti-openhouse at the Coleman's around 6PM.

Sweet Potato Muffins

2008-09-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Okay so where have I been? I can't believe I missed the speedo party!! Looks like a great time! Maybe I'll get to go next year...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we move closer to home! I can't believe you are all still swimming! It is already cold here! My kids are in jeans, sweaters, and jackets these days! Crazy! And I love the 70's pic that brought oh so many memories back. I realized that I am related to a majority of the people in that picture now. That's fun and I kinda want Sara's dress for reals...Is that weird? Have I been living out in the cornfields too long? Anyway on to my recipe--------------

These muffins are probably my favorite ever!! We have them on special occasions, like monday mornings....tuesday mornings...wednesday mornings...okay you get it. I've used canned pumpkin, or butternut squash for this recipe too and it is just as yummy. Just don't forget the sugar...they aren't so good that way...

Sweet Potato Muffins
1 1/4 c uncooked oats
1 c flour
1/3 c chopped pecans
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c mashed sweet potato or canned pumpkin
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil
1/4 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/4 c oats (quick oats work best)
1/4 c flour
1/4 c brown sugar
3 Tb chopped pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c butter

Stir together dry ingredients of topping then cut butter in using pastry cutter. (Or you can rub together using your fingers.)
Combine dry ingredients, add moist ingredients. Stir until just moistened; do not overmix. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full. Sprinkle liberally with topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes. Makes 12-15 muffins.

PARTY!!!

2008-09-08T18:06:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone who made our Cousins and old folks party so much fun. We missed all you guys who had other obligations. A big thanks to our chef /backyard cleaner/chair & table getter/pool boy :-) -Uncle Steve. Thanks to Trent and his boys for helping with the table and chairs. Please come swim anytime, we love having you.