Almond Butter Bars

This recipe is a family tradition.  My mother-in-law gave us the recipe and we have made it every Christmas! It wouldn't feel like Christmas without these.  I've adapted the recipe a little and have figured out the easiest way to make them.  So here it is if you ever want to try them:
Cookie Mix 
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 Tbs salt
2 tsp. baking powder
6 cups flour
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (I use my Bosch mixer) until it is fine crumbs.  Store in a covered dish or ziplock bag in the refrigerator up to 4 weeks.  Makes 8 cups. (2 batches of almond butter bars- I make one for Christmas and another on New Year's Eve)

Almond Butter Bars
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp. almond flavoring
2/3 cup butter + 2 TBS  butter, softened
12 oz (1 1/2 pkg.) cream cheese, softened
4 cups cookie mix
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs (separated)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  In a small bowl, combine sugar, almond flavoring and food coloring (red or green) for the filling.  Set aside.
In a large bowl (I use my Bosch mixer) combine 2/3 cup butter, cream cheese and egg yolks.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in cookie mix and 2/3 cup sugar.  Knead on a floured surface about 25 times until pliable like pie dough.  Divide in half.  Using packing tape, tape a sheet of parchment paper slightly larger than your cookie sheet onto the counter, then roll out 1/2 of the dough about 1/2" thick into a rectangle the size of the cookie sheet.  Pick of parchment paper and flip dough onto the foil on the cookie sheet.  Spread butter over the top of the dough, then spread the colored sugar mix on top, leaving 1/4" edge.  Place remaining dough on the parchment paper and roll out to the same size.  Spread with butter, then flip onto the top of the sugar, making a sandwich.  Pinch edges of dough to seal.  Brush the top with egg whites (I like to beat them first) and sprinkle with sliced almonds, pushing them into the dough slightly.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  cool completely, then transfer cookie to a cutting board by lifting the foil off the pan. cut into 3" long strips (I use a pizza cutter) and enjoy.

Gingerbread Men

 A has been begging me to make Gingerbread Men with him, so last Friday we went to work.  He had a blast cutting them out and putting on the eyes and buttons.  He really liked his one-legged boy!  After getting them all ready, he tasted one and didn't like it.  After all that work!  He sure is a cutie though.  He loves using face paint and asks me every afternoon to paint his face- hence the Tiger make up in the picture. 

Gingerbread Men Recipe:

4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup molasses

Cookie Frosting:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 to2 TBS milk        food coloring (optional)

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the molasses.  Gradually add the dry ingredients, blending until the flour is thoroughly mixed in.  Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a round, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a baking sheet (or line with parchment paper). On a floured surface, roll our one half of the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut out gingerbread people with a cookie cutter.  Use a spatula to transfer them to the baking sheet. 
Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool.  Make frosting by mixing all the ingredients together and adding more milk if needed to thin.  Place frosting in a sealable plastic bag and cut the tip off the corner. Then decorate by piping the frosting around the cookie and adding M&M candies for the mouth and buttons.

Teacher's Christmas Gifts

 I put together some Christmas gifts for my children's teachers this year. I took big bottles of hand sanitizer, took off the front label, then printed the Hands poem onto transparency, rolled it, stuffed it into the bottle and unrolled it using my sharping tool from my knife set and pressed it up against the front of the bottle. Voila!







A useful and personalized gift. I took the idea from a blog that I enjoy: http://www.mymixofsix.blogspot.com/
She had made them on small bottles of sanitizer, you can also put them in soap bottles. I just enlarged them to fit the big bottles so they would last longer. I love giving gifts that are useful as well as creative and thoughtful.

Kiss My Cookies

Tonight I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Blossoms.  I used Hugs as well as Kisses for a festive look.

Hershey Kisses (or Hugs)
1/2 cup shortening (I used half butter, half shortening)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
granulated sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Unwrap Kisses.  Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended.  Add sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk, vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into butter mixture. 
Shape dough into 1 inch balls (TBS size).  Roll in granulated sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Immediately press a chocolate into the center of each cookie; cookie will crack around the edges.  Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Then cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

So far, I've been choosing cookies that freeze well and I am storing them in the freezer until we are ready to put together our Christmas plates for sharing.

Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

Today I made a double batch of Glazed Pumpkin Cookies.  I chose to make the glaze white, but you can color it with food coloring, or use a bit of Jello powder to make a sprinkled effect in the glaze.   Here is the recipe:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 TBS milk
1 TBS melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg and 1 tsp vanilla to butter mixture and beat until creamy.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls, flatten slightly. 
Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven.  Cool cookies, then dip into the glaze to coat the tops. 
To make the glaze: combine confectioner's sugar, milk, 1 TBS butter, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Add milk as needed to achieve drizzling consistency.  Makes about 36 cookies.

Cookies!

My first cookies this year are Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles.
Our family doubles this recipe so we have lots of cookies for sharing:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 TBS soft butter
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup cream cheese (or sour cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest
colored sugar or edible glitter

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the shortening and butter.  Gradually mix in the sugar.  Beat in the egg until blended, then the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. 
With a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture half at a time, until evenly mixed.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. 
Shortly before baking, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one or two large cookie sheets (or cover with parchment paper).  Put the decorative sugar into small bowls. 
With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch thick balls.  Roll the balls in the colored sugar and place them on the baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart.  Bake the cookies on the center oven rack for 15 minutes.  Do not over bake or they will be as hard as rocks.  Let cool.

I hope to make 5 or 6 more types of cookies over the next 2 weeks.  I'll post all the recipes on my blog with a picture of how they turn out.

39 Wonderful Years Have Come to an End

Today is my 40th birthday.  I feel strong, confident, healthy and happy.  I don't feel old, even though when my parents turned 40, they were really old.  I feel energetic, except at the moment my stomach feels distended because we just finished Thanksgiving dinner, followed by cake and ice cream.  It was a delicious Thanksgiving and I'm so grateful to have celebrated both of these holidays in one day surrounded by my family and a family of a close friend.

Now to go over the 39 goals that I set for myself last year.  Before you review them and judge me to be a failure because I did not complete many of them, I need to say that I do believe that because of the goals I set a year ago, I can see how I have changed and even matured in just one short year.  I realize that the things that I thought were so important to do last year might not have really reflected my values and priorities and were more like wishes than goals.  The goals that really were important to me were kept in my heart and I tried very earnestly to complete them, even if I only reached them partway.
Now, to end your suspense here is the report on my goals:

• Add $399 to each of my children's bank accounts We added $500 to each account at the end of 2010.
• Archive old film and prints on a memory stick I have scanned some prints into my computer, but this is a time-consuming project that will have to be completed when all my children are in school.
• Attend 3 cultural events I don't think I went to anything officially cultural the whole year.
• Compile a Family Favorites Recipe Book I continue to think about this and I have an ongoing file on my computer that I will put together at some future date.
• Complete a free on-line class signed up for the class but didn't have time to finish it.
• Do my visiting teaching monthly 100%, even if there were a few phone or doorstep visits, I contacted them all every month
• Do not yell in anger ever again I'm working on this, still :)
• Fast correctly 1 time a month I have been doing this for several months now, and feeling closer to God because of it.
• Finish cross-stitch for Mitchell It is finished and at the framing shop!!!
• Finish scrapbooks for A and M Both are completed, M will receive his for Christmas.
• Get a manicure at least 9 times 2x at the beginning, then I decided I had better things to do with my money
• Get my hair cut every 3 months I had it cut 3x last year, I've decided to grow it out for now.
• Get my weight to 139 lbs I reached my lowest in June at 142 lbs, but then we went of vacation and school started and I had to drop my gym membership, so I'm back to 148 again, but I'm doing a lot better eating healthy and I think that is even more important than weight at this point.
• Go on 3 camping trips with my family We went on 1 small trip and 1 2 week trip.  Our camper needed a lot of repairs, so we weren't able to go as often this year as we had hoped.
• Go on a date with S 2 times a month I haven't been keeping track of this.  But we do go out more often than we used to.
• Go to the temple 9 times We were able to attend 4 times.  The distance and cost of gas has just proved to be a huge factor in attending to this goal
• Have a professional family portrait taken We have an appointment at The Picture People on Saturday, so only 2 days late!
• Help G earn his Arrow of Light He received his Arrow of Light in August!
• Help J earn his Eagle Scout Award Jake has finished the project and is waiting for his Board of Review to have it approved.
• Keep a blog of my 39 goals :) Here it is!
• Make 39 humanitarian kits 12 completed last Christmas and we plan to keep this up as a family tradition
• Only spend $275/week on groceries I'm not very good at keeping track of this, but we haven't bounced any checks.
• Organize a "Friends in the Park" Day Other people have done this and I've been trying to attend
• Read 39 books I have finished 29 books!  I'm giving myself to the end of the year to complete this goal because I started it late.  I plan to list which books I read in the blog once I finish all 39.
• Read the Book of Mormon I'm reading 4 pages a day and hope to finish by the end of the year
• Read the New Testament I've only read passages that inspire me, I still plan to read it cover to cover next year
• Read to my children every day I do not do this every day, but I do it often and with love
• Sew/Make 3 projects or crafts Made Easter Bunnies from water bottles, see volunteer info below
• Spend 30 hours doing community service  I have spent at least 30 hours at my children's school, helping the teachers and as the Craft Club teacher (teaching k-3 students how to do a craft each week)  I've also spent quite a few hours fundraising for our family's Christmas angel, Sophia.
• Take cookies/brownies to 9 people We took 10 plates of Christmas cookies to people. I have also taken random plates of cookies to my neighbors and friends throughout the year, but I didn't keep track of how many.
• Take each of my children on a 1 on 1 "date" J and D are done. 
• Take my children to the zoo 9 times 5x
• Take my family to 9 local attractions.  2
  
• Try 1 new recipe each month I think that I have done this, but I didn't really keep track
  
• Write 1 letter a month to a family member or friend I have written my parents and in-laws a few times but not each month. 
• Write in a journal weekly (my own or one of my children's) I have written in all of my children's journal (except D and J's) as well as my own on a monthly basis, but not weekly 

Follow up on Pie Party

I just wanted to let you know that the Pie Party was great.  We had Stuart's sister's family, 3 of our neighbor families and many of our church friends come. We had delicious pie and I really enjoyed chatting and getting to know everyone a little bit better.  There was $105 donated to Sophia's adoption fund.  So, all of my goals were met, and my family has decided they want to have a pie party every year! 

Pie Party Pot Luck

Tonight is our family pie party.  We have invited all our neighbors, friends and and even the one family member who lives close enough to come.  I have 3 purposes in hosting this party.  1. To celebrate the Thanksgiving season and enjoy the company of people with whom I enjoy spending time.  2. To celebrate my 40th birthday, which falls on Thanksgiving this year.  (Yes, I'm going to report back to you all on my 39 goals that day) and 3) To help raise awareness and funds for the adoption of my Christmas Angel, Sophia M. 
I think about Sophia every day and pray for her and for the hearts of the people I know to be willing to make a small sacrifice on her behalf.  I'm grateful that already, someone (or more) has made a $70 donation.  I still have almost $900 to reach my goal, but if all my friends and family donated just $5 each, I think we could reach that goal easily.  So, if you are reading this, and haven't donated yet, please consider making a small donation (or a big one) so that one little girl can have a better chance for a better life.  She looks so happy in that picture, I would hate to have that smile disappear. 

I'm so grateful for this time of year when I think of my blessings both big and small.  The love of my family (a big one), friends, good neighbors, the gospel of Jesus Christ, a good education for me and my children, my husband's job, a home, vehicles that work well, good health and access to health care, healthy food, and many more blessings come to mind immediately, and of course, PIE!

Summer Vacation 2011 Part 3

Our group at Bryce Canyon National Park

Diane, Megan and Carina

Adin enjoys his S'more

Dinner at Camp

On Wednesday, we headed toward Bryce Canyon National park.  We were happy to arrive in time to drive around and view the canyon before dinner. At one of the most popular view points, Mitchell became the subject of the cameras of many Asian tourists.  They seemed to be fascinated with his blond hair and blue eyes, not to mention his adorable smile!  That night we had a campfire and made S'mores and told stories.  The girls slept outside under the stars.  In the morning, Stuart and I took a hike to watch the sunrise over the canyon.  It reminded me of the one other time we had visited Bryce, when I was 6 months pregnant with Diane.

Greg enjoys breakfast at Bryce

Tammy and me at sunrise at Bryce Canyon

On the Shuttle bus in Zion's National Park

As soon as we had everything packed on Thursday, we drove over to Zion's national park, ate a picnic lunch at a campground just outside the park and left the camper and Stuart's parents rig at the campground, loading us all in the van to enter the park and drive through it's famous tunnel.  Once we got to the visitor's center, Stuart's parents stayed behind with the dogs while the rest of us got on the 90 minute shuttle tour around the park.  The bus was hot and it was even hotter outside so we didn't get out until the very last stop. What is unique about Zion's is that you tour the park in the bottom of the canyon, while other the parks we were on the rim.  After Zion's we got some ice cream in town, then headed to the  North Rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Zion's Park from the Tunnel

At the last bus stop in Zion's

Jacob on the rim of the Grand Canyon

Me and Adin as close to the rim as I will ever get!

Carina and her mule, Leslie

Gregory rode on Ben

Diane

Chad

Stuart on Jackson

Me and Blue

Me and my best friend down in the Grand Canyon

Our Muleteer Group

We arrived in time to set up camp and make dinner.  Then we hiked over to the canyon to watch the sunset.  It was an awesome view, though not as impressive as the South Rim.  On Friday, we signed up to go on the 3 hour mule ride down the canyon. This was another of my favorite parts of the whole trip.  I'm so thankful for my in-laws who patiently took care of the little ones and the dogs so Stuart and I could go with the older kids.  Elijah was old enough to go on the 1 hour ride on the rim of the canyon, so the next morning, he and Grandpa went mule riding while the rest of us broke down camp.

Posing with some Pink Javalina's in Sedona, AZ

Taking a walk around Sedona, Az

After saying goodbye to Stuart's parents, who were  heading back home to Utah, we pointed the van toward home on Saturday. After dropping Megan off at her brother's house in Flagstaff, we found a private campsite in Sedona on Oak Creek to spend the night.  The creek ran by the property and the kids had a lot of fun sliding on the rocks and swinging from the rope into the creek.  We walked around the town of Sedona that night, it reminded us a lot of Park City, but with our gang, it wasn't much fun, so we went to a grocery store and got some ice cream and went back to camp where we watched a movie on the laptop. 

Our last lunch on the road, a rest stop north of Phoenix

Sunday was our last day of driving and we pulled into our home that afternoon. We were so happy to arrive safely.  It was a great vacation and really brought us all together.  Thankfully Megan and Carina were good sports and are still talking to us!

Summer Vacation 2011 Part 2

 Thursday, July 14, started out quiet, as we planned a day to do laundry, watch movies and rest.  I took the kids to the park for a picnic lunch where we met my sister-in-law, Jessica and 5 or her 6 kids.  The cousins enjoyed playing together so much that some of them went over to their house to play for a few extra hours before coming back to Grandma's house. Stuart helped Justin at USA Emergency supply, which is now located in a warehouse in Orem, Ut instead of our garage. That evening there was a beautiful full moon over Utah lake which we enjoyed standing out on Grandma's back porch.

Cascade Springs

Greg, Adin and Chad, Best Buds!

       The next day was Friday- 1 week since we left AZ.  We had another traveling day, this time we did the Alpine loop.  We stopped and hiked around Cascade Springs, it was so beautiful there.  The best part of the whole trip (in my opinion) was seeing Gregory and Chad getting along (so rare) as they made a 2-man carry for Elijah and Adin.
 
We then drove over to Sundance and Grandma and Grandpa took the 2 youngest boys and the dog home while the rest of us ventured up the trail to Stewart Falls.  I had never hiked up there before and it was so fun.  We were so hot on the hike, but once we got to the base of the falls, there was snow on the ground because it was so cold!  God's creations never cease to amaze me, and this one took my breath away.   We ate at Subway for lunch on the back and went to Heather's home for dinner and a movie (Nacho Libre with 7 layer Mexican dip- yummy!)

Stewart Falls

I picked up Diane, Jacob and Megan at 7 am on Saturday.  They were tired, but happy and we were so glad to have the family back together again.  We spent the day doing laundry, grocery shopping and packing for the last half our our camping trip.  That evening we made hamburgers and celebrated Jim Butler's birthday.  The cousins really enjoyed being together again.
On Sunday we attended church with Heather and Jim's family.  Then we had  spaghetti and meatballs for dinner over at Heather's house.  Saying goodbye to them that evening was hard, we sure love being with them.  When we got back to the Robert's home, Ellise, BJ, Phillip, Bree and Kevin Roberts were waiting for us. Their parents were out of town and Julia was with friends, but we also enjoyed their visit, not believing how much they have grown in the 2 years since we last were together.

Our big group with both campers in the background!

Arches National Park

On Monday morning, we packed up the campers and the cars and headed south once again. Our first stop was the town of Moab where we found a little out-of-the-way campground called Pack Creek Campground.  After setting up camp, we headed off to check out Arches National Park.  As we arrived at the visitor's center, it began to rain just enough to cool everything down. We did a quick drive through the park that evening, and watched the sky put on a lightening show for us as we walked around Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch and other famous structures.  It was beautiful, there was even a rainbow.  Had dinner at Wendy's that night.

Diane caught a lightening bolt on film!

The next morning we returned to Arches to visit some parts of the park that we hadn't seen the night before, then we got lunch and rested during the heat of the day, then drove over to Canyonlands National Park, which is where we lost our camera.  After that we had to use Diane's and Carina's camera.  Thank goodness we had downloaded all our pictures to our laptop before we left for the park.  Canyonlands was pretty cool, but we were tired out, so we didn't stay long.  We had dinner at the campground and listened to the rain and wind as we fell asleep. 

Summer Vacation 2011 Part 1

Our family summer vacation started out on Friday, July 8th as we pulled out of our driveway towing our tent trailer heading for Page, AZ, where camped near Lake Powell. All 7 of our children, plus D's friend, M.M., helped set up camp, then we went swimming and played on the beach.

The next morning, I got up just in time to see the sun rising over the lake.  It took my breath away.

Our dog, Tammy, on the dock at sunrise.

After breakfast, we packed up camp, took one last photo, and headed ourselves towards Utah.

 

Q and B

 After 8  hours or so, we finally arrived at my in-laws home in Saratoga Springs, Ut.  The next day was Sunday and we attended church with S and L, then went to my sister, G.S.'s, home where we visited with her family, my sister K, my nephew Q. and his fiance, B., and my nephew Z. and his wife E. and daughter L.

Me and M with E, L and Z

Me and my sisters, K and G

We had dinner with them, and played dominoes later in the evening.  G, E and A decided to spend the night with their cousins and the rest of us headed off to the airport, where we picked up our friend, C.C., who had just flown in from Germany to spend 4 weeks with us. 

Monday morning, we woke up pretty early for a vacation day and drove up to Provo, where we checked D, J, and M.M. in at EFY (Especially For Youth) camp at BYU (my alma mater).  They will spend 6 days there having lots of fun.  Meanwhile, the rest of us went to the Life Science Museum and toured other parts of BYU, showing the kids our favorite places.

My dear husband

C.C. "Goldilocks" and the 3 Bears

On Tuesday, we packed a picnic lunch and headed up to Salt Lake City with S and L.  First, we learned about the early settlers at This is the Place Monument and Utah Heritage Park.  We rode a train, toured some early homes, took a pony ride, went to school in a one-room schoolhouse, made some crafts, played hoops and had a wonderful time together.

On the train.

A rode on "Honey"

Utah Heritage Park 

With our Bingo Sheets at the Capitol Bldg.

After the Pioneer Park, we headed to the Utah State Capital Building, where the children played an Architecture Bingo game that we printed off ahead of time from their website.  We found everything on the Bingo page and received a prize. It was a great way to get the kids to look around and observe the building and not be bored as the adults looked around and read things.

Ready to work.

Learning how to can food.

Our next stop was Welfare Square, where we watched a video about how the church welfare program helps people all around the world to become self-sufficient. Then we were able to can some fruit punch at the cannery.  The kids enjoyed putting on the hairnets and aprons. 

Then we headed over to Temple Square, where we walked around and took some pictures.  After that, we headed to dinner at our favorite buffet, Chuck-A-Rama, where we ate a disgustingly large amount of food before heading back to Grandma's home for the night.

In front of the Salt Lake City Temple.

In the Tabernacle on Temple Square

Today is Wednesday and was another full day of fun!  S and Grandpa took the boys fishing on the edge of Utah Lake.  They didn't catch anything, but they sure had fun trying!  Then we headed up to Park City, Utah where we had lunch and then rode the Alpine Slide and the Alpine Coaster.  It was a long wait for a short ride, but we all had a blast.  Heading back home, we first stopped at Granny's Restaurant in Heber, where we ordered their famous thick milkshake. Then we looped around past Wallsburg to look at the home that Stuart spent 6 months of childhood.

Grandpa the Speed Demon!

C on the Slide

G loved the slide.

C.C., A, and S on the Alpine coaster.

C.C.

Going up on the chairlift.

Coming down again!

 Milkshakes at Granny's - a family tradition!

 So far, our summer vacation has been a blast, filled with so many great memories, and we still have more than a week left.