Cooking Tip

I went to the Taste of Home Cooking School last night.  Lots of fun, prizes, good food and great recipes.

Here's a tip I learned last night.

After cutting an apple, pour 7-Up over the top to keep it from turning brown.  You can chop the apples in the morning then use in a salad or other recipe in the evening and they will still be fresh!  Other lemon-lime drinks don't work - just 7-Up. 

My giveaway ends tonight at midnight and the winners will be announced on April Fools Day!

Out of the "Mouths" of Babes

"S" was in our kindergarten class last year.  This year she's in first grade and is one of our speech students. After displaying anger toward a technician in her class, she was asked to write a letter of apology.  She has demonstrated considerable progress in her expressive language, sincerity, spelling and in her penmanship. 

Now, if she could just learn to spell "Snotty"

Tomorrow is the last day for my anniversary giveaway!  You don't even have to spell correctly to sign up!

Lion House Pantry Sinful Fudge Cake

I love The Lion House Pantry!  All the food is SO good!  Do you know there is a website for the Lion House Pantry?  On that website there are not only recipes for some of the delicious food but tutorials to take you through each step  This Fudge Cake is not only decadent, but easy to make!
Here is the recipe:

Sinful Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

10 oz. (10 squares) semi-sweet chocolate or 1 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used chocolate chips)

½ cup butter (1 stick)

¼ cup cake flour, stirred before measuring (I didn't have cake flour so I put 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch in bottom  of 1/4 cup measuring cup. Then I filled the rest of the cup with flour.  It worked out well. 

½ cup sugar

3 eggs

½ cup whipping cream

2 tsp. butter

Method:

Oven temperature: 400-degrees. Butter or spray with pan release a 9-inch pan (for easier removal of cake line the bottom of pan with parchment paper , spray the parchment with pan release)then dust with granulated sugar set aside. In a heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt 4 oz. chocolate (3/4 cup if using chocolate chips) and ½ cup butter stirring constantly. Remove from heat. In a large bowl combine cake flour, sugar and eggs. Mix together until well blended. With mixer on high speed pour in the chocolate mixture. Continue beating on high for 5 minutes until batter is light in color. Scrape down sides of bowl often. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  The cake will fall when it's taken from the oven.  Don't be alarmed, it's supposed to do that.  I found out AFTER I baked the cake that I used an 8" round pan.  I needed to cook mine a little longer.  The top got a little brown.

Allow to cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides with a knife. Invert onto cooling rack over a sheet of waxed paper. Allow to cool.   I did use parchment paper and it came out of the pan without a problem.

Ganache

In a saucepan, boil whipping cream 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining chocolate and butter. Leaving the cake on the cooling rack spread the ganuche over the top of cake spreading it to the edges and allow to it to drape over the sides (or spread it evenly on the sides if you don’t like the drape look). Allow chocolate to set 30 minutes. Using a spatula place cake on a serving plate.

The original picture on the website has sugared raspberries around the cake.  I didn't have raspberries so I used strawberries instead.

This cake is rich and very chocolatey.  My family loved it!

To see the tutorial, go here.

Don't forget to enter my anniversary giveaway!  You can click or just scroll down. It ends on Wednesday.

Anniversary Giveaways!

What a difference a year makes! 

Since I started blogging, I have made some great friends!  I've met only a few of you but I feel as though I know you all!  Thanks for sticking with me.  Many have been followers and have commented on my blog since I started.  Some of you I've just "met!"
I'm having a giveaway to celebrate my anniversary and to show my appreciation to all of you!  I'm giving away some things that I have posted about.. (Sorry, my grandkids aren't up for the giveaway!)

                     1. Cooking With Connie

This cookbook is a must if you have children or grandchildren.  There are some great, easy recipes that even I can make! It's filled with colorful, step-by-step instructions and facts about the ingredients!  Perfect for teaching a child about the world of cooking! There may even be a recipe for lemonade!

Included in this giveaway are these colorful hot pads.  One for you and one for...you!  You might not want your child taking hot things out of the oven!

2.    Run For Red

 Are you wanting to be more active and to be able to brag about the number of steps you've walked during the day?  Of course, you do!

(Not the exact pedometer but the same brand)

This digital pedometer is the tool you need!  Just clip it to your waistband (some of us are still looking for our waist) and it keeps track of the steps and miles you walk and the calories you're burning! 

Make sure you have s good pair of athetic socks and a supply of band-aids for any blisters!

3.   The Eyes Have It!

I need to have make-up on my eyes before I leave the house because if I don't it can be pretty scary and I always run into people I know!  I'm giving away some Mary Kay (surprised?) eye makeup.

You get this compact filled with 3 mineral eyeshadows and 1 cheek highlighting powder! (Not these colors) Sorry, you won't get the lipstick BUT that's not all...

...You need to finish your look with an eyeliner and mascara!

 

That's a value of $69.50! 

Three prizes = 3 winners!

Here is all you need to do. 

Leave a sweet comment to let me know what prize(s) you'd like to win! 

How easy is that?  If you follow my blog, you get another chance to win. You're welcome to blog or FB about this giveaway.  If you do that, just leave another comment and let me know. 

Good luck, my friends!

One Whole Year!

A year ago I came out of the "blogging closet."  

It has been an interesting journey.  I look at things in a different light, I take more pictures, I attempt to hone my writing skills, and I've made many friends.
Below is my first post.  I got one comment - from my brother.  I believe it was his first and last comment.

Stay tuned for a blog-iversary giveaway.

☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻

Living Dangerously

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. I had the day off work so I was busy cleaning, running errands, cooking, etc. While delivering a visiting teaching paper to a woman, I was accosted by an adorable, brown-eyed, black haired, 9 year old girl who asked if I'd like to buy some lemonade. I walked to her lemonade stand and saw some cups sitting on the small table filled with an orange liquid. I asked her about the lemonade and she told me it wasn't really lemonade but more of a juice. As I gave her the money and chose my drink, wondering how long it had been sitting uncovered in the sun and imagining how it was prepared, I had second thoughts about drinking it. I drank it anyway. I got in my car. Realizing that I may have just consumed a lethal dose of kid germs. I drove the rest of the way home without a seatbelt.

Like Father, Like Son!

Have you ever told a son or daughter that you hope they have a child just like them?  I don't know that I have actually said it out loud but the thought may have crossed my mind! Dave and Corban share a birthday month - almost shared the same birthday and they share the same creative, energetic, genes. 

Remember Corban, the self-proclaimed barber?  He turned 5 a few days ago. 

Here, he's wrestling with a cousin. 

It's hard to capture his boundless energy in pictures because most of the pictures of him are blurry!

Happy 5th Birthday, handsome Corban! 

We love you and are glad your hair is growing back!

This is Corban's Dad, David.  He too had lots of energy.  We put him in wrestling when he was 7 years old.  It helped!  Even though these pictures make him look like he's the under-dog, he went on to be a great wrestler in high school.

Dave's the one in the middle, notice his leg muscles!  Those legs were ALWAYS moving!

Here's this handsome boy looking very mild and innocent! (Looks CAN be deceiving!)

David turned 30!  We had a surprise party for him at PF Chang's.  He was flanked by his wife and mother-in-law - that's one way to keep him in line!  Dave has a great sense of humor and has us laughing most of the time! (HE can make me have a good belly laugh)

Happy Birthday, Davey Boy!  We love you!

I Wanna Talk About Me!

Sondra from "Happy Clean Living", gave me a kind award!  Sondra is an amazing lady.  Her blog is filled with recipes, ideas for primary teachers, food storage ideas, cleaning and organization tips and her family life!  You should go visit her.

I'm supposed to tell 7 things about myself.  Since I'm rather boring, you can go visit Sondra or Pioneer Woman during this post and come back for my next one.

                                       ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

1. I have an aversion to swearing.  Don't like hearing it or using it.  I prefer my vernacular to be more intelligent, such as, "poo knuckles!"

2.  When I sleep, I have to have a fan blowing on me and a blanket or the sheet up over my ears!  That may have come from having 8 different babies crying in the night and trying to muffle the sound so I could sleep!

3.  In the past, whenever I'd have the day off of work, I'd clean the house or finish a project.  Now, I blog!  (What a waste)

4. I'm a more patient grandmother than I was a mother.  Perhaps it has something to do with not having the grandkids 24/7 for 19 (or so) years!

5.  I enjoy laughing.  I don't laugh alot, it takes something really funny to get me to laugh.  (And usually it's just funny to me)  I smile a lot and if something's funny then I'll say, with a chuckle, "Oh, that's funny!"  But a really good belly laugh is an anomaly.

6.  I love freckles!  My hubs has freckles and so do all my children.  I think it makes people look more youthful and fun!  However, when I was a child, we  lived next door to a family whose kids had red hair and freckles and they were MEAN!  I'll blog about that one day.
I'll not think of those rotten, evil kids when I think of freckles.

7.  I have a sweet tooth!  I keep blaming my weight gain on an inactive thyroid while I'm eating the 3rd sugar cookie!   I think I'll go have it checked anyway, just in case!

If you're still with me, I thank you and wish I could tell you about all the hair-raising adventures I've had, the dresses I've designed, the famous people I've tutored and the royalty in my blood, but I'd be lying!

I'm supposed to pass this on to 7 people, but, I won't.  I'd love to learn more about each of you, so I will pass this to everyone who wants to do it!

Thanks. Sondra, for thinking of me!

She's My Little Deuce Coupe...

This past summer, we got a 2005 Ford Taurus. 

It was hand delivered and has been a good car...smooth ride, quiet interior, and no rust! Since then, we've had 2 children return home from missions, and have had a few cars "die." So, it's come down to this:

Since I don't drive as far to work as the others in our family, I get to drive the car that has been parked on the side of our house for the past month.

Meet "The Zipper!"

Jordan got this 1981 Toyota Tercel for free when he was 16 (the original owner was going to take it to the scrap yard). With a lot of work, money and TLC, it came to life. Jordan drove it all through high school. When he left on his mission, Jacob drove it. It's good to add some bedazzling to a somewhat hum-drum car...

whether it be flames, a flying eyeball or vinyl words on the back window. (I have no idea what it means but I keep my cell phone close so I can make that phone call)

There are some rules that go along with this car:

1. Make sure it warms up for a while or it will die when you push on the gas.

2.  Don't turn the heat thermometer to cool or the collant will leak out.

3. If you roll down the windows, you need to moisten (lick) your hands and pull the window up while cranking.

4. Don't drive it over 60 mph.

The upside of driving the car...the awesome boom-boom speakers in the back!  Oh yeah!

I'm not complaining.  It gets me where I need to go...just not where I WANT to go!

P.S. Are gas fumes ok to breathe?

Birthday Greetings!

Today is my Mom's birthday!

She was born...a few years ago...in Northern Utah.  Her father named her Cleo, after his favorite school teacher.  Then he wanted to add a little something for St. Patrick's Day, since that was the day of her birth, so he thought Patra would be a good middle name. Luckily Grandma had a few things to say about that and Cleo Patra was ruled out. 

Mom is a great example of  love, understanding, diligence, fortitude and charity. She made sure our childhood was filled with love and fond memories.

I could tell you some fun stories about her, but today I'll just leave it at this.

Thanks for everything you do for us!

Happy Birthday, Mom!  I love you!

Lion House Pantry Rolls and Signs of Spring

The Lion House Pantry is a restaurant in Salt Lake City.  It's famous for their delicious food and especially the rolls.  They're big, fluffy and delicious!  I bought some the other day and they were on sale for $4.99 a dozen!  I think that's expensive but I bought them anyway.  After getting home I decided to check to see if there was a recipe for these delightful rolls!  I not only found a recipe, but a video on how to form them! 

Lion House Pantry Rolls
2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder (instant or non-instant)
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
5-5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour

In large bowl of electric mixer, combine water and milk powder, stir until dissolved. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed. Add 2 cups more flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes as medium speed.

(Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand).

Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff.

(This is what mine looked like at the end. I tried to take a picture while it was still on the hook but wasn't fast enough.  I used 5 1/4 cups flour.)

(It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour.) Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about 1 T. vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl so it is covered with oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place until double in size.

(I sprayed a bowl with vegetable spray and placed the dough in that)

You can form it into what ever shape you want but if you want it to look kind of like the original rolls, watch this video.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Mine aren't as big as the store bought roll, but to be honest, they tasted better! 

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Here are a few signs around our house that spring is on it's way!

Daffodils ready to bloom.

Forsythia bush with yellow buds.

Apricot tree ready to blossom.

Jordan heading to UVU in his shorts and pink shirt.  I think he's going to get beat-up.

Enjoy your day!

IDES OF MARCH...37 years ago

Today is our 37th anniversary! 

A quick history of how we met.  Andy was my brother's missionary companion. I had heard about Elder Langston but hadn't met him. When my brother, Gerald, came home from his mission in May, Andy came to  the airport.  This picture was taken the day I first saw Andy. This was the second picture that I took of the two of them with my Polaroid camera.  The first picture had their heads cut off.  I'm sure Andy's thinking how dang cute I am!  My brother is thinking, "She hasn't changed a bit, just take the picture!"

We dated, then got engaged.  (I told you it was a quick history)

We were married March 15th in the Salt Lake Temple. I was 19!

We had our reception that night. This photo shows us looking at my ring - that I'll lose several years later!  No wonder we appear so serious.

Look how old we are! 

Robert Browning penned,

"Grow old with me.  The best is yet to come."

I'm thankful I have my best friend to accompany me in growing old!

Little did we know, 37 years ago, how much we'd grow!  We are now 24 strong! And we've only just begun!

Julius Caesar was told to "Beware the Ides of March!"  I'm glad we paid no attention to that warning!

"Yup, I got him!" (That's a wink)