Espresso me

Donut Cake

2012-01-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

Doughnut Cake

This moist cake tastes just like a cake doughnut.
Ingredients:

1 ½ cups butter i use unsalted

8 oz. cream cheese
2 ½ cups sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla powder (or gluten free vanilla)

3 cup rice flour or my flour blend below

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixer beat the butter and cream cheese on low speed until smooth. Add the sugar and whip for 4 minutes. I use setting 3 on my kitchenaide with the paddle. Add the eggs one at a time, vanilla, salt, and the flour. Beat on low until smooth.

Pour into greased well greased bundt pan and bake for 55-90 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. The top will be golden brown and not shake when pan touched in oven.My bundt pan is old and very heavy, if you have a new thin nonstick you may need to play with bake time.

Shucking corn

2011-11-28T11:16:00.000-08:00

My friend Julie shared this with me, you have to watch!

Fall 2011

2011-10-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Jeff has been gone to his new job and comes home tomorrow. This is the first time we have been apart 28 days. The leaves are turning and so pretty. I anticipate excitement for us and the kids. I saw this quote and really liked it. He will really notice a change in the kids and they are missing him bad. I feel for those military families, what a way of life.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
Albert Camus

Family Fun Run In Idaho Falls - Local News Story - KIFI Idaho Falls

2011-05-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Family Fun Run In Idaho Falls - Local News Story - KIFI Idaho Falls

Values Based Sport: How to Create an effective Values Based Sporting Environment.

2011-05-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Values Based Sport: How to Create an effective Values Based Sporting Environment.

Controlling My Chaos: Teacher Appreciation Bookmarks

2011-05-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

Controlling My Chaos: Teacher Appreciation Bookmarks

Jill, thanks for sharing! I am making them this year:)

Nicholas turns 8

2011-04-09T20:31:00.001-07:00

Make your own slideshow

Spring break day 3 and 4

2011-04-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Our friend Lana and her kids came out in the AM and we had a great time in and out. The kids jumped on the tramp and swing on the swings. We popped popcorn to show Lana the cool coconut and turmeric seasoning. We got caught up on the diet stuff we do for our kids and just let the kids play. They had a great time and so did we!
We had a great Wednesday, we went and visited two beautiful malamutes. They are named fluff and pronto, The kids loved it. It started to rain just as we were about to leave. Perfect outing and got a doggy fix for Nicholas. They were as tall as Paisley and she ran once and got scared. She really tried to be brave and did a great job. Nicholas invited Kian to the AWANA at our church. Nicholas was awarded the wings, trooper badge and four jewels. He could not have been more proud for his friend and his mom and dad to see him earn this! He worked very hard and with last week being such a challenge for him, I prayed he would be blessed with a good week, and he was!!
Thursday we did a finger-painting activity and they loved that also. We had two neighbor boys and they enjoyed the popcorn and body tracing and painting, we even put on glo in the dark paint.!! We have swam all week and that has been really good too!
The raw cinnamon toast did turn out well and tasted great with butter and cinn/sugar. It took forever to dehydrate, 30hrs. I really do like the end product and it swelled great cooking and drying. It will be good to give to Nicholas and Paisley before they swim each day.
http://themommybowl.com/2011/03/29/raw-cinnamon-toast/

Spring break day two

2011-04-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

We were planning on visiting two special dogs and made homemade dog biscuits, but the weather is rain and they are muddy. We will try for tomorrow. Nicholas has been needing some doggy time and Holly is willing to let him play with them. The recipe turned out good ......

Apple Dog Biscuits Are a Healthy Treat
for Your Dog

Your Dog will love the sweet taste of apple dog biscuits.
Apple Biscuits for Dogs
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
1 apple -- diced into small pieces
1 egg -- beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 Tsp. Flaxseeds i used ground flax
1/2 cup water (add more if needed)
1/4 c. natural applesauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet. Combine flours into a large mixing bowl. Add apple, egg, oil, and water; mix until well blended.
On floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4"-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters of your choice. Bake in preheated oven 35 to 40 minutes. Turn off oven. Leave treats in oven overnight to harden.

Store baked treats in airtight container in refrigerator or freezer.
Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen

We will plant some flowers and grass for Balto! Nicholas has enjoyed his new legos, air stick and down time reading in the new hammock. I am going to try a new raw recipe. It is cinnamon toast and I will let you know if it is good. You use the dehydrator and apples and nuts so we will see. We have a play date with the dogs tomorrow and some friends are coming over in the morning for a sensory play date. We are looking forward to all of it! Swimming the rest of the week will also take up some afternoon time. I have also been cleaning Paisley's room and this weekend we moved her bed back into her room. It is coming together nicely and she will be a bit more organized. It is amazing how much stuff little girls accumulate!!

Soaked Pancakes Gluten free-Nicholas turns 8

2011-04-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

Nicholas at Idaho Elite Gym for Paisley bday

Nicholas is eight today and we made him pancakes. These are very good and good for you. You can make it not gluten free also. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments. Some days are so hard and he conquers and rises. Autism is just a diagnosis, we make the plan and can make each day better for him! Today he is planning water balloons, pet store, lego's, seafood for dinner, cake and homemade ice cream, and the championship basketball game! Butler is his chosen team, he loves their coach! GO Butler!!

I found these on Heavenly homemaker and twinked them to our gluten free liking! Give them a try, the sourdough flavor is good. Nick liked them and they are filling.

I make them by soaking my flour in buttermilk overnight which breaks down the phytates and makes them more digestible, thus creating sourdough pancakes. Here’s the recipe:

Simple Soaked Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour (or whatever grain you want) i use 1 cup brown rice flour and 1/4 cup oat flour
1 cup cultured buttermilk i like hungarian
1 egg or two egg whites
3 T. melted butter (or oil)
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. sea salt

Stir the flour and buttermilk together in a glass bowl. Cover with a cloth and leave on the counter overnight. In the morning, stir in the egg, melted butter, baking powder and salt. Whisk together, adding extra milk or buttermilk for the desired batter thickness you prefer. I add kefir to thin the dough down to liking.

Cook pancakes on a well buttered, hot skillet or griddle, flipping once bubbles begin to form. I used a griddle and set it at 350. Serve with real maple syrup, honey, applesauce, jelly, or any of your favorite pancake toppings!

It’s a Gluten Free Recipe Parade!

2011-04-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

It’s a Gluten Free Recipe Parade!

I will be taking part this week and it is spring break for us. I am focusing on some new gluten free breakfast ideas and am excited to see what she will share.

Valentines Day 2011

2011-02-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

I have been running around crazy trying to get ready for a weekend swim meet, spirit week for piranhas, Valentines day class partys!etc. The day was grand. I am putting dishes away today and love all the heart stuff I have collected over the years. Jeff brought home chocolates and gorgeous peace roses, 12 of them. They are beautiful! We had a great dinner and played family love bingo. I found it in my Family life magazine and printed it off and had them laminated. We loved it!

Last night after our nice steak dinner, rissoto, salad and gf cupcakes, Paisley asks me while she is getting into the bath...Mom, what do you think Nick will be when he grows up? I said well, it is hard to say but I imagine something with water or his hands. She says...NO he will be either a gonzaga bball player, a playground duty, or a lego master. Nick heard her and said ...Pais, we have to get money to go to GONZAGA. Paisley says, Dad, could we get some money and go to school at GONZAGA? Dad says honey lets get through preschool first, but your ideas are great! I loved it. They have so little to worry about but yet they think about the future in such large terms.

I will post some pictures when I have time. xoxo April

Swimming calms kids with autism | swimming, boys, weeks - Education - Brownsville Herald

2011-01-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

Swimming calms kids with autism | swimming, boys, weeks - Education - Brownsville Herald

Coach sent this article to us. We read it to Nicholas and he really enjoyed it. He says it is true. The water feels like a calm touch. He loves it!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2011-01-19T11:24:00.000-08:00

These are great, you can NOT tell they are gluten free!!

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. all purpose GF flour

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 c. GF rolled oats

3/4 c. chocolate chips

In a hand mixer, mix butter and sugar until just combined. Add egg and almond extract and mix again. Separately, mix flour, xanthan gum, salt and baking soda. Then mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Chill dough in freezer while oven preheats to 350 degrees. Spoon dough onto cookie sheet (should make approximately 1.5 dozen cookies) and bake for 12 - 15 minutes.

Gluten free bread

2011-01-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

NOTE: tim a coworker of Jeffs made it and used guava honey in place of molasses
and 1/3 cup brown rice flour and 1 cup white rice and turned out fine

This is the best!!! Enjoy.............

My mom in law is always looking for good GF bread recipes for us. This was posted in the Spokesman Review paper by the winner of the Fleischmann's Yeast Bake for the cure contest 2010 Spokane County Interstate fair.

I am so excited, this bread is light....brown....airy....

great flavor....makes high rising 10 inch loaf!!! For real, I know it is hard to believe. It is not soggy when buttered and feels like whole wheat bread. I am still too excited that we really have a good recipe for bread! Paisley loves it and there is not a tough crust. Nicholas said he likes bread again...yeah...praise God!!

Pass this on to anyone you know that has not found a great bread!

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup millet flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup flax seed meal(ground)
1 tbsp xanthan gum
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs room temp
1 1/4 tbsp Molasses
4 tsbp coconut oil, melted slightly
1 tsp water
1 packet active dry yeast i use SAF plus one tsp sugar for proofing yeast
1/4 cup plus 1 cup heated water 120 degrees for yeast to grow

I followed this to a T. Read carefully before beginning.
Be sure all dry ingredients and eggs are at room temp. Grease bottom of 10-inch loaf pan. Heat oven to 200;turn off right before you put the bread in oven to rise.

In the bowl of your standard mixer (use the paddle not the dough hook for this recipe), sift together all dry ingredients (the brown rice down through salt).

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, molasses water and melted coconut oil. Heat water for proofing yeast.

In a small measuring cup, combine yeast and sugar and then add 1/4 cup heated water. Let set for 10 minutes. It should be foamy and active. If not, start over with another packet of yeast.

Once the yeast is ready, add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Then add the yeast mixture. Then slowly add one cup of water until you reach a cookie dough like consistency. You do not need all the water, so be sure to add only a little at a time.

Beat dough on medium speed for about five minutes -do not over beat or punch your bread, this will make it hard.

Turn oven off. Put dough in prepared pan. Take some parchment and loosely cover bread pan. Place in warm oven..i added a pie plate with warm water on the rack below the loaf pan. Bread should be double in size, up to the lip of the bread pan.

Take off parchment, heat oven to 350 and bake for 40 minutes, Mine got a bit brown on top but was not over done, it was perfect!

Yield: one loaf

Gluten free Flour Tortillas

2011-01-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas

4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour mix

3 teaspoon xanthan gum

4 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoon salt

2 cup warm water

2 tbsp olive oil

enough milk to make it come together in ball in mixer

Mix all of your ingredients together. I like to mix the dry ones together first to make sure they're all blended. I use my kitchen aid. Then take your blob and divide it into 32 parts. Place them in a large bowl and cover with saran wrap until you're ready to roll them out. Roll out a ball at a time on a floured butcher block. Use a spatula to scrape off the dough if it sticks and add a little more flour to the rolling pin, if necessary. Gluten-free flour can be a sticky beast, so be patient, and just keep working with it until you're comfortable.

When the tortillas are rolled out, place them on a heated griddle (I use my big pancake one so I can cook 3 at a time). I keep the temperature at around 355 degrees and keep them on there until bubbles form. Then flip and wait for the tortilla to be ready.

I feed these to my husband and kids all the time. It makes burritos a gourmet feast that everyone loves. There is nothing so delicious as freshly made tortillas. Serve them with melted butter and salt. Use them for sandwich wraps. Have fun and enjoy. I promise this one is easy and will be a hit.

Create a Gumdrop Topiary | Activities | Education.com

2011-01-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

Create a Gumdrop Topiary | Activities | Education.com

This was harder than expected. They did ok and had fun, but you must have a dowel and a base really strong.
We used large gumdrops and they are heavy, we would do dots next time, Nicholas suggested that while making it.
Ours did not turn out as cute but was a good project. It is MLK day and we read his dream and talked about his life while making our craft.

April's Gluten Free pancakes

2011-01-16T10:10:00.000-08:00

April's Delicious Gluten-Free Pancakes

This is a great way to use your flours. It is more economical than the mixes and tastes great. ENJOY!

Serves 10

1 cup Aprils gluten free flour blend
1/3 cup clear jel
4 tablespoons dry buttermilk powder
15 drops vanilla creme stevia
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 eggs
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups water or i like to use seltzer or club soda

For a change.....Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 tsp poppy seeds.

Directions

In a bowl, mix or sift together the rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, dry buttermilk powder, sugar substitute, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum. Stir eggs, water, and oil until well blended and add to dry and stir till few lumps remain.
Heat a large, well-oiled skillet or griddle over medium high heat. 350' Spoon batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles begin to form. Flip, and continue cooking until golden brown on bottom. Serve immediately with condiments of your choice.

A great toppind for oatmeal or pancakes is this:

Blueberry Sauce:

2 T cornstarch

2/3 cup cold water

2/3 cup sugar

1 t. fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

In medium saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in cold water.

Add sugar, lemon juice and salt. Stir over medium heat

until thick. Gently stir in blueberries. Refrigerate sauce

until serving. Serve sauce hot or cold. Great on many things!

My dear sister is Christ Julie Schweinsberg shared the blueberry sauce with me!

The best salad dressing, by Paisley!

2011-01-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

Paisley's Blue Cheese Dressing.... never buy bottled dressing again once you taste this.
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise (Hellman's)
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 c. crumbled Maytag blue cheese

Blend together dry spices then add the Worcestershire sauce. Add the milk then let it sit for a few minutes, to dissolve the spices. Have the mayonnaise measured out as well as the blue cheese crumbles before you add the vinegar to the milk mixture.
Add the vinegar to the milk mixture. It will start to curdle; this is normal.
Add the mayonnaise and whisk together well. When blended, add the Blue cheese crumbles.
The longer you let this refrigerate, the better the flavor will be. A must have for hot wings!

Makes 3 cups.

BEANS!

2011-01-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

I am serving parent to parent these beans with chips and rice and cheese this Friday! So I thought if they like them I had better post how to make them!
A blogger friend of mine Sherelle inspired me to try beans. My brother in laws mother also taught me a few tricks. We use the leftovers as refried in breakfast wraps or a quick taco or mexi side dish. They are super cheap and the flavor is great!. We've been cooking them a lot, and I have finally found a way to prepare them, that is so yummy. Dry beans are perfect for food storage. They have a long shelf life, and they are super cheap...but I can't stand bland food (and almost every recipe I've tried for beans has been bland), so I have adapted this recipe to give them pizazz.
Beans have to be made in advance. I usually put mine on the stove after morning chores and before I start work for the day. This way, I can let them simmer all day
To start with, you'll need to decide how many beans you'll need (dry Pinto Beans). I usually cook about 1.5-2 cups (remember, they will expand though). Wash the beans really good using a colander. You'll want to make sure to wash the well, because beans are dirty...you won't believe the dirt that comes out of there!

After washing, place beans in a large pot and cover with about 2" of water. Bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover and let sit for 1 hour. This is a fast soak method. Once your beans have soaked for an hour, remove the lid and season. Here is where you add all the flavor. I start by adding 4-5 slices of bacon to the pot. Then, I add a few slices of jalapenos (you could add more or less, but I promise the flavor is better if you add at least a little slice). I usually mince up 2-3 cloves or garlic and throw in the pot, and then season generously with the following: seasoning salt, pepper, garlic salt, cumin, chili powder, dried onions (you can also add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper if you like it spicy). Use at least 1-2 tsp of each! Now, make sure that the beans are covered with water (some may have been soaked up by beans during the soaking process). I always keep my beans covered with water, so you'll want to keep checking throughout the cooking process. Bring to a boil again, and then turn down to simmer. Replace the lid and simmer on the stove for about 5 hours, checking it every now and then to make sure there is plenty of water and stirring. Sometime after about 2 hours of simmering, I take out the bacon and jalapenos. The flavor the jalapeno adds is amazing and it does not make it spicy. Towards the end, I usually add a little more seasoning if needed. Be sure to taste the beans as you go.
I usually whip up a batch of gluten free cornbread and we simply eat beans and cornbread for dinner. It is honestly so tasty...I never thought that something so simple could taste so good! We like to add a bit of sour cream and cheese to the beans as well. You can even add fresh chopped onions and cilantro as toppings.
Refrigerate left over beans in an air tight container. When you're ready to make refried beans, just add a little olive oil to a skillet and then scoop in some beans. Season with a bit of cumin and chili powder and start mashing them once they start getting bubbly. Turn and mash again. We like to make scrambled eggs and refried beans for breakfast, and add them to a warm corn tortilla with a little bit of mexican blend cheese. It makes the best breakfast burritos, and my kids gobble them up.

Check out Steven Gray

2011-01-12T22:11:00.001-08:00

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6013770

Our new hobby!

2011-01-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I took a Martini class as one of his Christmas presents from me. We had a great time and it inspired us to make some of our own infusions. Mom was here and really enjoyed the pomegranate vodka we made last Christmas. Tonight we made several. We used 77.4 Percent alcohol as our mixture of Vodka to the fruit.

Tangerine Cranberry 1 cup sugar to 3/4 gallon
Orange Cranberry 1 quart 4 oranges, zest of four oranges, 1/2 cranberries, 1 cup sugar
Grapefruit 1/2 pink, 1/2 pomelo, zest of 1/2 pink, 1 candied ginger slice chopped fine, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 quart jar
Pomegranate 1quart 3/4 full
Pomegranate and Huckleberry 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup huckleberry, 1 cup pomegranate 1 quart
Pomegranate 1 pint 3/4 full
Huckleberry 1 pint full with 1/2 cup sugar
Orange pomegranate 1 quart 2 oranges 1 cup+ pomegranate 1/2 cup sugar

We will keep you posted on our creations! Yum :)

Gluten Free Brownie

2011-01-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

I have played around with flours and different recipes for brownies and I have also used the betty crocker mix and I really prefer the texture and taste of this brownie. I have made it several ways and am ready to post the recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! The flour is on my blog. I modified a recipe from a friend Michelle Gibbs when she was cooking gluten free. I really love the potato flour in it, it is the secret I believe to a great texture and taste

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup gf flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp xanthum gum
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.I like to flour with the cocoa.
In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.I did exactly 30 min in a glass pan.
To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. You may need a bit a milk to get it spreadable. Frost brownies while they are still warm not hot.
ENJOY, you will love these...my family is in love with them and I am happy to have a money saving recipe!

Christmas fun and highlights for our family in Washington

2011-01-07T21:32:00.000-08:00


Bitty and Paisley...matching angels!

Nicholas sporting his new PIRANHAS backpack

Star Wars and Legos!

Polly pocket Cruise ship!!

Paisley said something funny when I was getting ready for New Years Dinner...I was shaving my legs and she walks in and asks "mom are you cutting the pine needles" I laughed so hard!! She says some of the darnedest things!
I made some soup one night and Nicholas said "mom I think I like american soup, not this greek soup!


Nicholas and Balto..he loves the tree!

This was so funny, our tree got so dry this year. We got it at Fred Meyer and it must have been cut early. He took the branches off one by one and bagged them so the needles would not get in the shag carpet. He was loving it and I had to get a picture! I put it on face book and everyone loved it!

This was our tree before Daddy Grinch got a hold of it!!

The compote is a gift from mom on one of our shopping trips to the antique store! I love it, it is so old it is turning a lavender color, that is the lead in the crystal exposed to sunlight. I can't wait to serve a dessert in it! Thanks mama!

Frying pan cat!

Don't we look cute!!

A new bike helmet!

Star wars legos!

Nickle Pickle!!

Santa brought a remote control heli..way cool!

A Star Wars tv video game from Grandma!!! Hours of fun will be made by this I am sure.

Aditi Shankardass: A second opinion on learning disorders | Video on TED.com

2011-01-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

Aditi Shankardass: A second opinion on learning disorders | Video on TED.com
After seeing a neurologist the fall of 2009, We had Nicholas tested with a Sleep Deprived EEG and it did show spikes related to silent seizures. We put him on a medication and he did make improvements. His sleep patter is better and he does not move near as much as he did before medication. He is doing so well and our coach sent me this video and I thought I should share our story. This was a costly adventure but well worth it. I would be curious with the mapping of the new EEG what we would find.

Merry Christmas from the Walkleys 2010

2011-01-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Hope it is filled with Love, Laughter and lots of good food with your family and friends!
xoxo
Love,
The Walkley's

A new year, I was not done with 2010!

2011-01-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

Just a few December highlights and pics!
Thanks for stopping by to see our fun :0)

Gluten free gingerbread is a challenge and he did so well, just a little frustration when it turned into a fort and not a house! I am very proud of you Nicholas!

Feed for the birds if there are any in this -8 degree weather we are having!

Our tree, it was very fragrant and pretty this year. We did the same color and added a few antique bulbs this year. Mom and I had fun at a new antique store this visit!

He even has a fish pond and barbque!!

Time does fly, There has been so much I wanted to share so I will try to do so in several posts. While mom was here, we did the 12 days of Christmas in crafts. They are still asking what is the craft for today. They loved it. Here are a few pictures to showcase a few we made.

Paper snowflakes
Gingerbread houses
self decorated t shirts
snow crystal ornaments
ornament painting with the years favorites on the back
toy mice for balto out of recycled socks
Snowmen out of paperplates
Christmas food for the birds on bread with peanut butter and cut with cookie cutters
flower hair accessory
glow in the dark snowmen
foam snowglobe fun
the last one we have not done yet...it is a ornament made out of glue blob! maybe next year:)

We glow in the dark!!

Balto loved the catnip inside!


We loved this, it is a pipecleaner and borax! Beautiful Crystals!!

The year has been filled with many blessings. We are all healthy and the Lord has provided everything we needed and more! We are thankful for Jeff's employment and our home. Nicholas has had great therapy and we are able to make payments on some of the bills. He improves weekly and we are so proud of him. Paisley is loving school and loves to do any baking, crafting, book reading etc. She does not like to clean!! She will dust, I am thankful:)

These are what some neighbors and friends got this year. They were really fun and they are very pretty. I got the spoons at Sams and we wire wrapped them and filled the spoon with homemade peanut butter cups, fudge, caramels and cookies. I tied that all in with cello wrap and tagged it with Have sun serving up spoonfulls of Christmas Cheer! Mom helped me and loved the idea and is making some for her friends too.

Frying pan cat..he tried it out before I could even cook something up!

Gluten free sugar cookies are the best!

We love our shirts!

Old barns

2010-12-01T21:19:00.001-08:00

For any of you that like the country, check out this blog! Wendy and her photos are amazing. Makes me miss home a little.

http://almotaroses.blogspot.com/2010/11/buris-barn-circa-1919.html

USA swimming, what to bring to a swim meet.

2010-11-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

We gave Nicholas 3-16oz bottles of Nitrilite sport drink replacement. I did not know the dose for him is one bottle the entire meet. Please read below if you are not informed about sport nutrition.

Nutrition Center from usa swimming

Nutritional Cheat Sheet PART ii
BY MIKE MEJIA, M.S., C.S.C.S//Special Correspondent

Provided that you've adhered to the guidelines we published in last week's article, there are a couple of steps you can take the day of the meet to help make sure that you perform at your best.

Eat Breakfast

Start out with a proper breakfast. This does not entail grabbing a bagel with cream cheese and eating it in the car with a large orange juice on the way there. The bagel, especially if it's made with white flour can really jack up your blood sugar levels. Granted, the fat in the cream cheese will blunt this affect somewhat, but add in the OJ and you'll be all fired up for warm-ups and likely crash shortly thereafter.

The best-case scenario is to sit down and eat some slow cooked oatmeal (prepared the night before) with fruit, or some eggs and whole grain toast, or whole grain cereal with skim, or low fat milk. If it's an early meet and you must eat on the run, at least make it a whole grain bagel with peanut butter, as the these two foods together make up what is known as a complete protein by providing your body with all the essential amino acids it needs. Trade in the OJ for a lower sugar sports drink and you're good to go. Some more foods to stay away from include bacon, sausage, croissants, doughnuts and sugary breakfast cereals.

As far as what you should have in your bag for snacking, I think the best way to address this is with a list of what you should bring, vs. what you should not bring.

What to Bring:

1. At least 32 oz. of water to drink during and after the meet.

2. No more than 16-20 oz. of sports drinks that meet the above criteria.

3. Energy bars: Try to stick with bars that have less than 10 grams of fat, and less than 35% of their calories from sugar (the lower the better). To calculate this: multiply the number of grams of sugar by 4 and then divide that number into the total calories. Some recommended brands include: Kashi TLC Bars, and Odwalla Bars.

4. Whole grain pretzels, crackers and cereals.

5. Nuts, seeds and dried fruit (in limited quantity due to the relatively high sugar content).

6. Lower Sugar Fruits: Strawberries, Apples, Cantaloupe, Blueberries, Raspberries and peaches.

What not to bring, or bring less of:

1. Chips of any type. Most are loaded with fat and calories.

2. Goldfish, Cheese Nips, or any other types of crackers made with white, enriched flour.

3. White Bagels and Breads.

4. High Sugar Fruits: Banans, Raisins, Pineapple and Grapes.

5. High Sugar Energy Bars: Many types of Power Bars fall into this category.

6. Fruit Juices of any type: Too high in sugar and don't clear the gut as rapidly as sports drinks, possibly leading to stomach cramping.

7. Soda. This one's an absolute no-no!

8. Cookies, candy, gummy bears, or anything else along those lines.

Why can they not make a sport drink with real sugar?

2010-11-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

Nicholas was poisioned at a swim meet with a sport drink containing sucralose. I did not know sucralose is splenda! Do you? Please read on if you are not informed on artificial sweetners.
He was so miserable, he was begging we take him to 911 and this lasted with a fever for 4 days!! He had a headache, no appetite, anger, pain, he was oveheated, felt like he was going to blow up, hyperventilating, sour stomach, he was in a ball, feeling like he was hit by 1000 footballs are his words!
This was very scary. He is sensitive and I am very sorry I did not do my research. He swam 6 events and 2 relays and I thought he needed the replacement. I do not use Gatorade because it is made with high fructose corn syrup. We see a huge difference when he does not have corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup. The drink I gave him was nutrilite. This is the difference between it and several other competitors.
Compare NUTRILITE® Sports Drinks to Gatorade and Powerade.

	NUTRILITE® Sports Drinks	Gatorade G Original™	Powerade Sports Drinks
Calories	60	50	57
Sodium	110 mg	110 mg	51 mg
Potassium	30 mg	30 mg	32 mg
Sugars	14 g	14 g	15 g
B-Vitamins	Yes	No	Yes
Antioxidants	Yes	No	No
Artificial Colors	No	Yes	Yes
Artificial Flavors	No	No	No
Preservatives	No	No	No

Based on Internet and label claims, August 2010. Serving size = 8 oz.. Trademarks: Gatorade and G-Original (Stokely-Van Camp, Inc., Chicago, IL.); Powerade Sports Drinks (Coca Cola Company, Atlanta, Ga.).

Grape
Water, Sucrose, Natural Flavors, Malic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, Fumaric Acid, Nutrilite® B-Lenium Blend (Niacinamide, Acerola Concentrate, Maltodextrin, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine, Hydrochloride, Sodium Selenite, Cyanocobalamin [B12]), Sucralose.
Dr. Hull's Book About The Potential Dangers Of Splenda^®

Splenda^®: Is It Safe Or Not?

In Splenda^®: Is It Safe Or Not? Dr. Janet Hull reveals the scientific evidence strongly suggesting the chemical sweetener sucralose may harm your body. Perhaps there is no “free ticket” to eating all the sugar-free products you want without paying a high price physically – even weight gain.
Don’t despair – in Splenda^®: Is It Safe Or Not? Dr. Hull gives you plenty of safe alternatives to keep life “sweet” visit Is Splenda Safe.com.

Before you tear open that little yellow packet of sweetener and stir it into your coffee, please read this.

Do you want to:

Avoid certain diseases and maintain health and vitality well into your later years?
Save your children from a slow poisoning from hidden toxins in their food?
Discover scientific data about overlooked poisons in your everyday life?
Avoid those vague health symptoms of illness that puzzle your doctor?
Be informed with inside information mainstream media won’t tell you?
Have control over your health through knowledge?
Desire to enjoy your grandchildren (and great-grandchildren)?
Not allow advertisers to “teach” you what’s good for you?

Interested? Then we need to talk about a sweetener war sweeping across America. Perhaps you can sip on that cup of coffee black until we straighten out the confusing selection of artificial sweeteners out there. This information is a tool to protect your health – and your children’s health – from a hidden danger that marketing experts have packaged attractively and seductively. You’ll be shocked at what the “quiet side” of scientific research reveals.
It’s time to admit that there is no free ticket to eating all the sugar-free products you desire without paying the high price of harming your body in the long run. The “technology of foods” (artificial sweeteners and manmade foods) has gone too far, and will not secure eternal health, beauty, slimness, or youth. Laboratory sugar-free chemicals are not your answer.
This information will “wake you up” more than that mug of java you’re holding. But don’t despair – there are plenty of safe alternatives to keep life “sweet.”

ASPARTAME VERSUS SPLENDA (SUCRALOSE)

The dangers of aspartame are now widely known, but the risks of using Splenda are not documented – until now. Splenda may not penetrate the blood brain barrier as aspartame does, hence entering the brain and creating neurotoxin havoc at the brain center, but Splenda CAN adversely affect the body in several ways because it IS a chemical substance and not natural sugar.
December newsletter Equal Sues Splenda
The same patterns with aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal) are repeating with sucralose (Splenda). Their claims of product safety and research results are identical to those used by The NutraSweet Company. Note the comparisons and repetitions between the products, the corporations, and marketing. Maybe now, consumers can prevent damage to human health sooner than with NutraSweet, which has damaged the health and lives of millions of innocent consumers since it was placed in the public food supply in 1982.
Has the FDA repeated the aspartame approval process for sucralose, allowing a product with proven carcinogens to flood our food supply? Only time will tell, as it has with aspartame. Yet at the cost of human lives.
Knowledge is power. As an educated consumer, you have the awareness to choose what you and your family will ingest. Unnatural artificial sweeteners may affect your health. Why take the chance? With this book, you woke up and smelled the coffee just in time. Now you can drink it safely.

SPLENDA® Is It Safe or Not?

After twenty years of NutraSweet® (aspartame) dominating the sweetener market, people are realizing for themselves that aspartame really is a foul food chemical tragically harmful to their health. Now, people think Johnson & Johnson’s Splenda, made from sucralose, has come to the rescue as the newest chemical sugar replacement “made from real sugar.” People don’t want to hear that it may be just as dangerous as aspartame, and this white knight of sweeteners is no better improvement.
New chemical sweeteners (like Splenda) and the sweetener blends (aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K blended together in one product) may be causing users to show signs of weight gain, disruption of sleep patterns, sexual dysfunction, increases in cancer, MS, Lupus, diabetes, and a list of epidemic degenerative diseases. The corporations continue to stand tough in their denial of any connection to chemical sweetener additives.
This website takes you into the world of Splenda; ready or not, here we go again.

The Chlorine In Splenda

Chlorine is commonly found in nature, but almost always in combination with other building block elements. Chlorine's structure makes it very reactive and because it is so reactive, it is very useful to chemists, engineers and others involved in making things humans use every day.
The inventors of Splenda admit around fifteen percent (15%) of sucralose is absorbed by the body, but they cannot guarantee us (out of this fifteen percent) what amount of chlorine stays in the body and what percent flushes out.
So, do you feel lucky today as you sprinkle that yellow packet of powder in your tea? You will be alarmed once you realize how chlorine, this common chemical we’ve trusted as a “purifier”, is actually affecting our health in more ways than you know. Hopefully, this chapter will make you hesitate before you let your toddler take another sip of your diet cola.
What Are Sweetener Blends?
I’ve written about how artificial sweeteners like sucralose (found in Splenda) and aspartame (found in NutraSweet) can have a negative impact on your health. Now the sweetener industry has gone a step further in their quest to copy real sugar’s sweet flavor. They are mixing Splenda and NutraSweet and other artificial sweeteners together! Mixtures of any artificial sweeteners are called “sweetener blends.”
Instead of one harmful chemical coursing through your body, you now have two or three (or more) interacting with each other, and in ways we may not know yet. If one substance is hazardous, do you think adding toxins to it will make it better? It is just one more potent “alien” mixture with unknown interactions that your poor body will try to use, excrete, or store. Its mix n’ match chemistry at the expense of your health.
The Unsafe Sweeteners Out There
Artificial sweeteners: This category of non-nutritive, high-intensity sugar substitutes includes ASPARTAME, ACESULFAME-K, NEOTAME, SUCRALOSE, and ALITAME. The two sweeteners that have recently undergone current and pending FDA approval are SUCRALOSE and ALITAME, respectively. Cyclamate lost its FDA approval in 1970, but is currently up for re-approval. Numerous new sweeteners are currently in various stages of development and approval.
Saccharin, Stevia and Other Safe Alternative Sweeteners
Sugar and the quest for weight loss represent an enormous growth opportunity for the food and beverage manufacturers worldwide. And as everyone in the industry knows, the average human prefers taste to nutrition. Let’s see how we can reverse this trend.
The two safest choices of sweeteners to date are saccharin and stevia. Yes, saccharin! Saccharin is actually similar to stevia in its origin. It originally came from a plant imported from China, and in its original form, is a complex sugar extract from the plant itself. Stevia is extracted from a plant grown in South America, and is also a complex sugar extract.
According to FDA documents, saccharin has never caused cancer. Years ago, saccharin was sold in tiny pin-sized pellets, and merely two or three were enough to add sweetness to coffee or iced tea. This is what I consider a natural sucrose (sugar) substitute!
The Real Scoop On Sugar
Everyone needs to know that there is a difference between sugars - natural sugar, refined sugar, and corn syrup. Sugar is like a two-sided coin: heads – if natural, it can be useful to the body, and tails – if altered by man, it can be harmful to the body. How do you know the difference, and where can you buy the right kind of sugar products? Here’s the scoop...artificial sweeteners are not the solution.
Dying To Be Thin: Weight Loss and Weight Gain
Do diet sweeteners really help you lose weight, or do you eat more and gain weight in the long run? Do diet sweeteners make you fat? Yes, because they trick your body and don’t feed it what it needs
According to researchers, there is no clear-cut evidence that sugar substitutes help people lose weight. These days, more and more data suggests that these chemical sweeteners may actually stimulate appetite. Aspartame has been on the market for over twenty years, so most of the information in this chapter refers to weight gain in relation to products made with aspartame. It is too early to know how these patterns will repeat with sucralose (Splenda).
Are Your Kids Depressed and Aggressive?
If you have kids, you’ll be the first one to notice health and behavioral changes in your children. Children are reacting to artificial sweeteners in harmful ways, but this aspect of the sweetener wars has gone unnoticed in the mainstream health community. The sweetener corporations market to children by placing soft drink machines in public elementary schools, and by influencing doctors that diet sweeteners don’t cause abnormal behavior and emotional stress in children. When you have exhausted all the other reasons for your child’s poor health or mental/emotional problems, then diet chemicals could be the culprit.
The rising numbers of mental disorders have gone unexplained until now. A diet of chemical foods means a diet of malnutrition, and when the body is starved of nutrients, it becomes mentally and physically stressed. Don’t raise your children on diet chemicals – search for healthy alternatives.
Sugar-Free With Diabetes
Diabetes may be a common disease these days, but it is still misunderstood. Most people think diabetes is simply a disease that means you just can’t eat sugar. The artificial sugar industry markets fake sugars as totally harmless to the diabetic, and tempts them into believing they can eat and drink all they want by “tricking” their bodies. But what works for one person may not work for another. What makes this matter even more difficult to understand: diabetes is just a little bit different for every diabetic. This is why no one artificial sweetener company can truly make a blanket statement that their product is “safe for diabetics.”
As delicate as diabetes is, how then, can diet chemical sweeteners be safe when a person with diabetes requires such precise chemical management?

Who Will Win The Sweetener Wars?

The immediate dramatic success of Splenda has shaken things up in the artificial-sweetener business, dominated for decades by the rivalry between the blue and pink - Equal and Sweet'N Low®. Each of these brands has come up with a new marketing approach to deal with the ravenous dynamics of the ‘diet’ marketplace. Are they playing fair or playing on consumer trust?
In the midst of the continued controversy over aspartame, many pharmaceutical and health food manufacturers - Pro Lab, Twin Lab
and Ross Products, makers of Pedialyte®, for example - have switched to using sucralose in their manufactured products. But who are these major big corporations ‘fighting’ in the artificial sweetener wars, and what do these mega corporations really stand for? This is an important question to answer before buying their products.

Rising From The Grave’s Disease

Justin Dumais is a 2004 Athens' Olympic Silver Medalist, a Grave’s Disease survivor, and aspartame victim. Merely months before the Olympic trials, Justin contacted me for nutritional help in recovering from a diagnosis of Grave’s Disease caused by diet colas with aspartame. He read my first book Sweet Poison, followed my recovery experience from my own case of Grave’s caused by aspartame, and cured his disease in six weeks (just like I did) by simply removing aspartame from his diet, cleansing, and restoring his depleted nutrients. His recovery from a “false” diagnosis of Grave’s Disease came merely months before the 2004 Athen’s Olympic Trials. But, like me, did Justin really have Grave’s or merely aspartame disease?
Nutritional Alternatives To Stay Healthy
Nutritional diets are critical to long-term health, but when you are polluted with chemical toxins from your foods, such as chlorine in sucralose and methanol in aspartame, it is important to remove these toxins as quickly and as safely as possible. Removing chemicals from the human body is a two part process – eating right and cleansing from the chemicals permeating your tissues.
Go here for the nutritional protocol for restoring good health I used to recovery from my own near-fatal disease. I pass on to you the best of my nutritional programs and recommendations for removing harmful food chemicals from your body in the 10 Steps to Detoxification and The Richardson Cancer Diet, most importantly – how to cleanse from artificial sweetener chemicals.

Splenda Product List

As of May 2004, the list of over 3,000 products containing Splenda was thirty-four pages in length. Note: some of the products are not labeled sugar-free, and some products also contain aspartame. The best advise is to read ALL the labels on anything you buy for you or for your children’s safety.
The list includes a variety of foods and food products, pharmaceuticals and children’s medications, vitamin supplements, protein powders, protein bars and weight loss products, liquid and powdered drinks, popcorn, gums and mints, toothpaste, and water.

Aspartame Case Histories

Case histories are an excellent way to share the experiences of those who have faced one of life’s hardest challenges – nutritionally turning disease into health. Most of these case histories have happy endings, and after considering the evidence, especially after their long and arduous struggles for health, what these people have learned serves as a beacon of hope for others.
Aspartame has been on the market since 1981, so over twenty years of aspartame use has passed. Let’s hope our new awareness of the influences of sucralose and the other chemical sweeteners comes much sooner to prevent any more human suffering.

NutraSweet Product List

The original product list containing NutraSweet’s twenty-year product monopoly is impossible to find these days. Taken from my book on aspartame, Sweet Poison, the original list of NutraSweet’s novel 5,000 products from the 1980s was sent to me directly from the NutraSweet Company.

Splenda Research Studies

Bottom line – what’s the research say about sucralose? Well, the studies proving the safety concerns are out there, but they are hard to find and technical. Nonetheless, they prove the claims of concern are valid and I have spent the past 10 months uncovering the research thanks to my contacts around the world.
With this website, you woke up and smelled the coffee just in time. Now you can drink it safely.

View Recent Entries

Recent Posts

01/15/09 - New Splenda, Sucralose Study Reveals Shocking Potential Harmful Effects
08/15/08 - Update on Splenda Lawsuit Filed by Sugar Industry
06/27/08 - Splenda Advertising Legislative Hearings in California
06/19/07 - Some Soft Drinks May Seriously Harm Your Health
05/15/07 - Equal, Splenda Settle Lawsuit Over Ad Claims
04/ 6/07 - Makers of Artificial Sweeteners Go To Court
03/26/07 - Citizens For Health Says Splenda Causing Health Problems
01/30/07 - Sweetener Soured
09/24/06 - Bristol, Connecticut, schools join state program to limit artificial sweeteners, sugar, fats for 8800 students
08/ 7/06 - Excess Soda Could Raise Esophageal Cancer Risk

Messiah, Hallelujia

2010-11-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

600 people singing, pretty cool!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU&feature=player_embedded

Closing Yellowstone Nov 4 2010

2010-11-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

The new overlook at Gibbon falls. They did a great job with the new bypass and parking. I thought it looked great. Nicholas was thinking he was not feeling well after looking over the edge. The wind was cold and and day was overcast. The drive into the park we saw Bison, Elk and squirrels. The kids used the animal park list and found almost all of them by the time the park closed.

Jeff Surprised me and took me to the time share in West Yellowstone for the night. He told the kids it was a surprise. He packed the bags, food, everything! He even brought swimsuits for the boiling river!
Nicholas has a art for finding hearts! He found this heart on the chair in the time share, after dropping a lego and bending down to get it, he yells "MOM THERE IS A HEART FOR YOU!" I am amazed by his will to find hearts for his mama!

We had never stopped at the Sheepeater Cliffs. They were really cool and Jeff loves columnar basalt. The kids learned something new!

This is the first and original entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It is grand and beautiful. I am so glad to have gotten to see it for the first time in our 15 years spent in and out of the park by way of the west entrance. This is at the north end of the park and was so cool!

Mountain sheep were hanging on the hill outside Mammoth. There were about 7 sheep and they did not care we were there.

This is the parking area to the only hot springs you can soak in Yellowstone. The Gardner river flows through and allows for cooler water to make it a great soak! It was extra hot this time and really enjoyed by all of us. It is one of our favorite spots. We still need to get Grandma Kristi there. Maybe next year!

Dad, this is going to be so fun, don't you think?

Paisley is excited to be taking her baby to the hot springs for the first time, she even brought a bathing suit for her!

Nicholas along the trail to the hot springs. He loves to float the river along the hot springs!

Now those are some serious cockle burs!!

Upper terrace at Mammoth, so dry!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Calvary Harvest party and then to a few houses in the neighborhood. They enjoyed it and were ready for bed after a few treats. Nicholas was a storm trooper and Paisley was a kitty. She did not wear the entire costume, maybe next year. I baked a GF cake and made soup. Jeff traveled home from Spokane with grape juice for some yummy wine to be made soon. He is great at making wine and loves it. He is very excited to be playing in some since it has been almost 5 years.

This free picture collage created with Smilebox

Happy Birthday Aunt Ann

2010-10-30T13:46:00.001-07:00

Personalize your own greeting

2010 First day of 2nd grade and preschool

2010-08-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy morning. Nicholas got up at 3:45 am and said it is time! We tried to get him to go back to sleep...no luck. He wore a new pair of jeans from grandma Kristi and his favorite Toni Hawk green shirt from Grandma Alcie. He was styling and even wore his new hiking boots. He ate a great breakfast and Paisley woke up at 6:30 am. She walked Nicholas out to his bus in her jammies, barefoot in the pouring rain, hugged him and said have a good day brother. I cried....he has the best bus driver and aide. Marge is a godsend and really loves him. He is liking the special needs bus much better than his old bus. It was too loud and way too crazy per Nicholas. He had a good day per his teacher. He did not have much to say, just wanted to line up his Lego's when he came in off the bus. His teacher Mrs Huntsman is great and she said" Hello, for the most part I feel that Nick had a good day. As the day wore on and he began to tire he was resistant to working. However, when I sat with him he started to work. He did not cause any problems in class, he was well behaved and seemed to make a friend. He did very well in the assembly even with all the noise." He ate a snack and it was time to go play for 45 minutes with is dear friend Hallie. She asked if he could play and he was out the door like a rocket! His special ed teacher even called to see how his day was. She made sure he got off his bus and to his class. She put him back on the bus to come home and said he did really well. What a hard day for a boy who is so sensitive to change, noise, routine, sleep, meals etc. He forgot his lunch bag and said I did not know where to put it mom. It is the same school but everything is different, different time, lunch table, room, etc. Just think how you would feel if that were all different and it all bothered you. I am so proud of you Nicholas for holding it all together. You are amazing and I learn from you each day!

Paisley went back to BEIC and has Ms Cindy and Mrs Loa Jenkins. They are amazing and I cant believe Pais will be in kindergarten next fall. She is so mature, shy and intuitive. She loved getting ready. She wanted her hair in two piggies and wore the outfit her Grandma Kristi made for her. The rain had stopped so she wanted a few pictures outside. She was so excited to see her friends. I helped on the first day and was glad, she was timid. I was glad I was there for her. Today is her second day and gave me a high five when I left.

My babies are growing up quickly. I cherish each moment and try to always be attentive to their every need. Each day brings something new, it is fun to see how I choose to handle it. I want to be the best mom ever. My mom always did an amazing job making us feel #1. I can't remember a day I did not feel her love. I want it to be that way for my kids.

FUDGE!

2010-08-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Fudge by Grandma Alcie

5 cups sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
1 can 12 oz evaporated milk
Bring to rolling boil and mark the timer for 5 minutes exactly. Stirring constantly for the five minutes, then take off heat. Stir in 12 oz any chocolate chip, and 1, 7 oz marshmallow cream .
Mix well with large strong spoon and pour into large pan 9x13 or larger. Cool and cut, will freeze nicely too. I like to make it night before and refrigerate. You can add nuts if like. I have used mint chips, butterscotch, dark choc, peanut butter, white chips etc. Have fun and enjoy!

Gluten Free

2010-07-31T15:44:00.000-07:00

Gluten Free

This is a great link to a great blog. The recipes, ideas, and inspiration is wonderful. Have fun searching, my friend Julie told me about it and I have loved looking!

Blue Angels 2010 Idaho Falls Idaho

2010-07-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

The day is beautiful, sunny warm and not too windy. At 200pm we went as a family to the Blue Angel's practice open to Make a wish children. Nicholas was invited and we thoroughly enjoyed the show. Nicholas took a jet his Aunt and Uncle had given him and the night before he painted it to look like a blue angel. He had it signed by the F/A 18 Pilot 4 Maj USMC Chris Collins and pilot 5 LCDR Frank Wisser. The C130 Fat Albert was there to show off along with the 6 jets.

There first formation of four...wait till the other two show up!

This experience was incredible for us and Nicholas. The time he had with the pilots and the special attention to be up close...front row seats for two and a half hours! The music was very loud, but he managed pretty well. He was definitley ready to go home, but will never forget the experience, nor will we! He felt very special and had no idea how cool it was to be there. We could have never made it through the day, the event was perfect!

This is way fun, thanks Daddy for bringing us!

We got to see Greg Poe and his stunt plane, he started the show. Very great acrobats! We also got to see 3 MIGs in formation. Absolutely the most cool sound to hear them hum over you. We also saw a F16 falcon and a F15.

This was on takeoff and the deck crew is in the background.

After the show Jeff was able to go to the tarmac with Nicholas to get his signatures and pictures taken with the pilots. This was a wonderful and very special experience and we are very grateful!

Nicholas happy and glad he stuck it out for those signatures on his plane!

Paisley enjoyed the planes and she thought the noise was amazing! It was AWESOME and The PLANES ARE COOL and That IS ALL!

The make a wish kids with some of the pilots at the end of the show. Lots of mommy's were crying by this point. Things like this where these pilots take time to show these kids how special they are is truly incredible! Thank you BLUE ANGELS!

I Heart Faces • Play

2010-06-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

I love this photo of Paisley playing tea party! She has the glasses and heals and is ready to be a mama! She loves to get out her tea set from Mema and play. We do this almost daily and the stuff she will say is so cute. She loves to act real grown up and loves to dream I love this about her and we have some good tea visits. Balto is even invited every once in a while. Be sure to check out the other photos at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful day and may God bless you abundantly! Love Paisley and April

Birch Creek and our Maiden voyage in our new tent trailer!

2010-05-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

This is our new used pop up trailer. A Coleman toas. We told a friend we were interested in getting one and a few months later she phoned and said she found one. It is perfect, 8 feet long to tow and really spacious. We set up the shower and changing room outside and the table can be in or out. It was super fast to set up. We went Birch creek, about 1 hour and 15 minutes from our house. The kids loved the short trip and we loved trying out the trailer. Jeff bought a generator so when we are at a site where there are no hookups, we still have power. It was so great to have heat and lights. We had a family movie each night and kept warm as the temps dropped in the evenings. This is a picture of our first supper. We had watermelon, cauliflower and broccoli, penne noodles with wine marinara sauce and dinner sausage. The stove can be used in our out, so we cooked outside and sat under the awning. It is a moment I will always remember.

We played play dough and enjoyed the evening. We watched a movie and the kids were ready for bed. We showered and bedded down. The stars were beautiful, I had to get up and go potty and there were so many you could hardly find the big dipper! There was a large void in a rock across the camp and the kids liked looking at it with the binoculars. I thought this was so cute until they started fighting over them!

These are the remaining charcoal kilns that were used in the late 1800 to extract the ore out of the viola mine site. There were 14 kilns and three remain. They were very interesting to learn about and explore. Nicholas could do a report on them some day. Very cool history right in our back yard. We stopped by the creek farther north of the campground and Jeff put in lines for the kids and could not resist. I love how you can see the orange line in a circle as he is casting. It was a great spot for the kids, they both caught baby brooks and had to put them back.

These are a gluten free Smore! They were great. We used symphony bars, marshmallows and grahams. They are thin crackers with a not so sweet crunch. I purchased the grahams at wealth of health, the only place i have seen them. It was perfect and the the kids loved them. We also roasted the famous starbursts! They are wonderful and I am so thankful for our neighbors who taught us to do that!

The first morning, after eggs, sausage patties and fruit. The kids loved playing Lego's and relaxing. We headed to the mountains to hike and fossil hunt. Jeff found two and Nicholas was thrilled. We went up Skull Canyon and Paisley did not want to walk. She had had enough of a hike after exploring The Viola mine road. We hiked by lots of old mining rail wheels, and the wire used for the trolley. We never made it to the actual ghost town and mine, we were getting tired and did not take enough water. We will attempt it again this summer. This is a picture of Paisley reeling in her first fish. You can see it directly out from Jeff's hat brim about an inch. It was tiny and cute, she really wanted to cook it up, she may be the fisherman!

This is when Paisley's dislike for hiking really set in. This was a very steep hill and she hiked all of it but about 50yards. She was having a fit on the way down, I did not take a picture. This is of her on the way up and look how far Nicholas was, almost to the top. He has on a red shirt. There was a lot of calcite veins and the hike was filled lots of whining by the famous Paisley. She said hiking is for Jeff's and Nicholass'! We thought the arch was cool and we got real close, the kids did think that was neat. The picture to the left is in Skull Canyon. Jeff did find a few fossils and Nicholas loved the exploring. Paisley and I sat in the car. After we got back to camp he was more than ready to cuddle in his blanket and hold Rich, yes Rich want with us too!

Nicholas was so excited for sleep the second night. He got to use his glow in the dark sword! It was green of course and He really enjoyed using it the next day and at home too. It really stayed glowing and something in it also made my diamond in my ring glow. It was amazing, I had never seen my diamond glow in the dark, Way cool I have to say!

We loaded up the gear and were getting ready to get showered up before we headed for home. I had to take this picture of paisley waiting for her shower! Way to cute and just a little nudity! )
We really enjoyed our maiden voyage and can't wait for many more. Way fun and lots of family memories to be made.

Boy with autism races in swim competition | KIDK CBS 3 - News, Weather and Sports - Idaho Falls - Pocatello - Blackfoot, ID - Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot - Idaho | Local & Regional

2010-05-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Boy with autism races in swim competition | KIDK CBS 3 - News, Weather and Sports - Idaho Falls - Pocatello - Blackfoot, ID - Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot - Idaho | Local & Regional

Homemade Yogurt

2010-05-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

I love this recipe. I have had a lot of requests for it. If you are a yoplait fan you can save $600.00 a year making your own and adding your own sweetener. The kids love honey and fruit on it. It is not tart but has a distinct flavor. The texture is smooth and very creamy. I love the idea there is no added sugar. I like to use Reed's whole milk. Their cows are hormone free.

So here is the recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients
1 gallon of milk. I use Reed's whole.
1 cup yogurt starter(you can use a small cup of plain mountain high or nancy's yogurt, or you can use a cup from your previous batch.)

1. Place four quart glass canning jars, four lids, and four screw-tops in a large pot. Fill with an inch of water; cover with lid and heat to boiling. Boil for ten minutes. Leave the lid on the pot and move it off the heat until you are ready to use the jars.
2. Pour one gallon of milk into a large, heavy bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven. Heat the milk to 185-195 degrees Farenheit(90-90 Celcius). I like to add two vanilla beans at this point.
3. Place the pot in a sink filled with cold water and let the milk cool to 120-130 degrees farenheit(50-55 degrees celcius)
4. Stir one cup of yogurt starter into the cooled milk, using a whisk. Stir well to ensure that the starter is thoroughly incorporated into the milk. Take out the vanilla beans.
5. Pour the milk into jars, and put the lids and bands on. Place them into a cooler.
6. Heat one gallon of water to 120-130 degrees F(50-55 degrees C) and pour into cooler.
7. Shut cooler lid and leave in a warm place for three hours. When the three hours are up, place the yogurt in the refrigerator.
To make a delicious vanilla version of this yogurt, add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar to the four quarts of milk when it’s cooling in the sink. Then stir in 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla, depending on your preference, and proceed as usual with the recipe. I have also used stevia, vanilla cream is my favorite. 15-20 drops is good for us for 4 quarts.

--
Have a great day!
Love April

Sand, Sun and FUN

2010-04-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday is beautiful, the day was perfect! Nicholas loves the sand and the neighbors enjoyed playing with both kids. They buried them and loved it. I took some pictures to capture the day and he will remember the fun for days. Paisley even wanted to try out being buried. Nicholas loved playing with all the kids and sand is such a sensory calming thing. I am so thankful to have a sand box right out the kitchen window!

Angie loves to play in the sand with Nicholas and they had a blast today. They had a tang break over in her yard and decided to get out the sand toys. Jeff worked in the garage and yard with his dad all day. Spring is here and the first few batches of daffodils are opening,
Paisley even decided to get into the fun and loved being buried too. Her ears were full of sand!

White Chicken Chili

2010-04-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

This recipe is great, it is a must make and keep! Enjoy, I was given the recipe by a dear neighbor friend and we serve it alot to company and guests.

To make it GF just use rice flour in place of regular flour.

I Heart Faces Photo contest

2010-04-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

I Heart Desserts!

This week's challenge at I Heart Faces is "Desserts"! And I absolutely LOVE desserts! This cake was made by my mom for my daughters 4th birthday. She loves pirates and we tried to make it as girly as possible. I have another post of her party if you want to check out the ship my son and husband made for her! The cake was wonderful and everyone loved it!

Palm Springs Day 2

2010-03-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Swimming, Food, Airplanes, Grapefruits, and Cheesecake = a really fun day and tired kids.

We loved the pool and tried a Gluten Free popcorn microwave that we all loved. We will be going back to get more to bring home. After lunch and a shower we all headed to the Palm Springs Airport to view the museum and honor the anniversary of flight.

Planes always make me think of Grandpa Wayne. Nicholas loves flight and the planes. The noise of some of the ones taking off today got to him, he just covered his ears. He sat in several and Paisley liked them too. There were numerous planes and very interesting retired military men to visit with. Nicholas was able to paint on a plane and he thought that was really cool.

we got to see this plane take off!

On the way home we stopped to get dessert at the Cheescake Factory. Oh boy, Nicholas got to try the new gluten free key lime and Jeff got the gluten free Godiva Chocolate. Paisley picked the brownie cheesecake and it had 1258 calories, she took two bites and it is in the fridge. I picked a vanilla bean, looks wonderful, I will try it after I am done blogging.

now that is a grapefruit, Nicholas hand for size comparrison

Cheese!

While I was cooking shrimp stir fry for dinner, Jeff took the kids on a walk and they came home with a bag of grapefruits and a lime. They are beautiful and a very sweet. They are white grapefruit and Nicholas loved juicing a few. We watched Life on tv as a family and Paisley fell asleep, real asleep. We are off the Sea World tomorrow and I am so excited and blessed to be able to go as a family on such a special trip!

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

This is sunrise in the desert, after trying to sleep for a few hours in the Denali

We are on a vacation to southern California, Palm Dessert. We have a nice time share with three pools and great area, very quiet. We checked in this AM after driving 12 hours. We had lots of snow and scary roads in Utah last night. We took turns driving and pulled off to sleep for 2 hours early this AM. The kids could not stand another minute in the car seats. They were both crying and miserable. We thought it would be better to drive at night but after experiencing it, maybe day would have been easier on Nicholas. It is always so hard to know. Today we checked in and went to the pool.
We put on sunscreen and spent the afternoon playing and relaxing. The kids loved the pool and showing daddy all their new swim moves!

We had a great time and I even got a nap. The weather is beautiful and warm! We took the kids to Trader Joes to shop Gluten free and then took the car to a wash. It was a mess.... We had a great pasta dinner and Nicholas set the table and even put a centerpiece...a beautiful pineapple! I could not find the camera, it was so sweet. He did really well and fell asleep before we were done with books. He has still not moved and neither has Rich, he has been pretty attached to him this trip. We are loving seeing Paisley swim and her growing vocabulary.

This is a grapefruit tree right off our deck. They are large and we wish we could reach them!
Jeff and I are watching the Gonzaga girls play in the sweet sixteen. They are doing well and vacation is such a wonderful thing, The wine is good too and just having time together is special. The flowers are beautiful and the palms are so awesome. The kids are loving the change of scenery and activity. It was time for spring vacation!

Nicholas has been doing really well with eye contact lately. The pictures are proof. He loves vacation and I love to see him free and enjoying the day. He has been confused on the time of day but he will get settled in and then it will be time to head home and the moon will be full!

St Patricks Day 2010

2010-03-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Happy St Patrick's day!

We had a great day all green. The kids loved the simple things i did and they had fun at their schools too. I took GF sugar cookies to Nicholas and he loved them. We delivered some to our two neighbors who are GF too. The pics say alot.
Green yogurt, green applesauce, and apple juice and green milk!

The Eggplant was from our new bountiful basket we get each week and the recipe I found was great. I called them Pizzas and the kids gobbled them up. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup egg white with 1 tbsp Italian dressing
1 cup glutino dry bread crumbs salted and peppered and 1 tsp basil
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds 8-10 slices
salt to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, sliced or 1 pt stewed tomatoes
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or Asia-go
1 cup crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese
1 cup of Gruyere grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place eggs and bread crumbs in 2 separate bowls. Dip eggplant slices in eggs, then in bread crumbs to coat. Fry coated eggplant slices in the skillet until golden brown. Season with salt, and drain on paper towels.
In same pan put onion and tomato with juices and cook down till no juice, similar to pizza sauce.
In the prepared baking dish, layer eggplant, onion, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, feta or goat cheese. Top with Gruyere.
Bake 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 307 | Total Fat: 18.5g | Cholesterol: 106mg

Dutch Sugar cookie recipe

The sugar cookie made me giddy, it rolls out beautifully and tastes great, you can cut it good with cookie cutters and the joy it brings to my boys faces when they can have a treat like the rest of us.

SERVES 36 -40 , 36 -40 cookies (change servings and units)

Ingredients

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup Butter Flavor Crisco I used plain and it was fine too
1 large egg or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup potato starch, for kneading

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Have on hand 2 ungreased cookie sheets.
In a small bowl, whish together the flour mix, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, cream sugar and crisco. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, mixing enough to combine. The dough will be a soft ball. With your hands, knead in enough of the potato starch to make the dough easy to handle and roll out.
Using about half at a time, place a piece of plastic wrap over the ball and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness. This is so easy I didn't even use the plastic wrap.
Cut into desired shapes and place on pan.
Decorate with coloured sugars before baking or use frosting to decorate after baking.
(With this dough, you can use all the scraps.) Just scrape them together and roll out again. They will not get tough.
Bake for about 10-13 minutes. Cool very slightly before removing from the pan.

i heart faces

2010-03-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

This week’s photo challenge theme is: “Bundled Up”

Paisley was so cozy warm while we were out doing a frosty morning photo shoot with Grandma. This is one of our favorites! Go to the http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com to check out the other great and fun photos!

Thai Peanut Sate' with noodles

2010-03-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

This is a family favorite, you can spice it up as hot as you like, it is pretty and is a great dish for company. They have no Idea it is gluten free. So here goes and enjoy...

In a skillet heat 2 tsp of canola oil over med heat, coo 3 minced scallions and 2 cloves of garlic until softened. Stir in 1/2 lb of cubed chicken breast , 2 tsp fresh grated ginger root, 1 tbsp LaChoy soy sauce and hot red pepper flakes to taste. Cook until chicken is cooked. Mix in 1/2 -1 cup plain nonfat yogurt and 1/4 cup adams peanut butter. Toss with 12 oz of hot cooked rice noodles and chopped chives or cilantro.

To reheat leftovers I add a little more yogurt and stir over low heat to warmed. Enjoy!

I can't find the picture of the thai peanut so here is a picture of our family on the only day we went skiing this year! We went to Jackson hole, Wy.

Sunday, Sunny, Spring, Snow is melting and fast!

2010-03-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

The kids are still in their jammies, me too! They are so hungry for sun and good weather. It is 52 degrees and they had their tents inside, Nicholas could not resist after feeding the birds and hanging his bird houses. He just had to get out! I had to take a picture and capture the day. Daddy is gone and we ususally let the house look like a tornado has hit and eat oatmeal for dinner, and graze all day on whatever they want. Kinda fun to have a messy day! The neighbors are going to think we are moving outside.

Paisley Lyn......the Girly Pirate who turns four!

2010-03-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

Paisley Turns 4 years old

Grandma Kristi made her cake and Paisley designed it! She loved the finished product and it tasted yummy!

We used coins, rock candy and a candy necklace to decorate the hands and necco wafers are the hat polka dots. The lips and nose are jelly candy and the yellow is lemon filling.

We chose a purse and filled it with pencils, jewels, paper dolls, headband and a mini note book. We had one boy guest so he got a treasure map bag filled with a pop gun and spiderman socks. My friend Lana made the paperdolls on a day we scrapped and Paisley got to pick the colors. Each bag had a flag, treasure map and box, hook, clothes, shoes, hat, sash and sword and telescope. The food Paisley chose was cannonballs(grapes), rubies (strawberries), coins(tater rounds), nuggets (chicken), pirate teeth (corn) and pirate booty...the best puffed corn snack ever! They sell it a fred meyer and it is addictive. It is gluten free also.

This is the SS Paisley Lyn PW2010! She loved it and so did the guests. Dad and Nicholas designed it and helped decorate it. She had a blast. The ladder is part of Nicholas's home therapy and can be changed out to a platter disk and swing. It is always there and we built the ship around it. Turned out really cute we thought. The flags are from the latest Stampin up party set. They were easy to punch out and string on. My friend Lana was the visiting pirate. She was all decked out and did a great job! one girl was frightened but she is super sensitive. She smiled as time went on and I called her mom and there were no nightmares! Lana..you really made Paisley's party extra special. Thank you!

This game was called walk the plank....the kids loved it and there were treats at the end. Jeff built this balance beam for Nicholas and it worked great for the pirate theme. Jeff is so talented and his help was wonderful. I love you sweetie! We uses a table cloth I had that had fish on it and told the kids they were killer fish and don't fall in! There were treasure maps and at the end was a treasure box decorated by Nicholas. Inside were purses filled with large gold coins. They loved the hunt and the treasure. My little girl is four and she is really changing. This is so fun yet sad. I love each stage but she is not as needy of her mom and can do a lot by herself.

Yucky week and Pet day!

2010-02-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

Some weeks just seem like they go in the records books for crumbiest week. I am so spent and I think I expect my children to just be perfect. I was making breakfast for Nicholas and Paisley decides to put the cat in the shower with Nicholas and get out daddy's aftershave! What more...I can't believe how some days start. I went to lunch with Nicholas for parents day and had a good time with him. There were bag pipes and he enjoyed them for about 15 minutes. We saw lots of neighbors and and it was good to just be with him. Paisley was in preschool and I took our neighbor boy to be with Balto and Paisley for pet day since he has no pets and adores Balto. It can only get better and I am convinced God will settle me down. He has too! We will know about our work situation soon and that will help also. Am I doing the right things for Nicholas and what is too much? Some days just seem that way. now i can't figure out how to get a picture attached...oh boy! I am quiting and will be back later

My Dad's Birthday Feb 17

2010-02-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

I am thinking about my Dad today. He would have turned 60 today. Did he have a fun childhood? Did he get birthday parties, gifts and a day just about him? The pictures look like he loved his dog. As an adult I know he was a work aholic and he wanted his kids to have everything. He just could never show me with a hug or a kind word. Was it his parents that made him feel inferior, was is vietnam, was it me? Who will ever know. He is in heaven I pray but I do not know. A friend said he did accept the Lord. Today is a day just for him. The day he was born into this world and I hope he is celebrating it in glory.

“I Wanna Dance!” Photo Challenge

2010-02-16T07:43:00.000-08:00

This picture of Paisley is taken in the yard last summer the day her Grandma Kristi sent her this new handmade dress and matching purse. She danced all day! I love the innocence and fun in her face.Please check out the other great pictures on http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/. Have a great day and dance till you drop!

“We Heart Kisses” Photo Challenge

2010-02-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

When I read about the challenge this week a photo came to mind immediately. Our little Nicholas is very kinesthetic and loves to kiss. He is very serious and very good at it as grandma found out in this great shot! She said to Jeff and I that maybe we should worry just a bit about how good he is at kissing!)

Grandma turns 59!

2010-01-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

We had a fun day and a great salmon dinner. Jeff cooked the salmon and I made a verde pesto style sauce. It was wonderful. Jeff cooked the salmon on a cedar plank and we had a great reisling from Covey Run. After dinner we went to Toni's for a fashion accessory party. It was fun. Our breath was horrible because of the garlic in the sauce. It called for 5 heads and I would do 3 max next time. I highly recommend it and We all liked it better than a regular pesto with pine nut.

The cheese cake is great and the crust was wonderful. You would never know it is GF. The verde sauce mom found in Taste of Home.

Verde Sauce
6 green onions
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp lemon peel grated
3 cups loose pack basil and 3 cups parsley
1 jar sliced green olives with pimento
3 1/2 oz capers
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes opt
1 cup grated parmesan and romano cheese
1 cup olive oil.

Blend all ingred but cheeses. stir in grated cheeses and enjoy. Freezes well and makes 3 cups. Can be served warmed or cold. Great with fish and pasta!

White Chocolate Cheese Cake

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs gluten free
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the filling:

4 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups white chocolate wafers or 8 ounces of white chocolate baking bars

Directions

Preheat the oven 325 degrees.

1. In a 9-inch springform pan, mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar together. Press the mixture across the bottom of the pan and up the sides to form the crust. Put the crust in refrigerator while you mix the filling.
2. With the paddle attachment of your stand-type mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Melt the chocolate. Drizzle in the melted chocolate while the beaters are running. Pour into the crust.
3. Bake for 50 minutes or until the cake is done. Let cool on a wire rack. After ten minutes, loosen the sides with a spatula and remove the ring. Refrigerate the cheesecake to cool completely.

Baker’s note: Drizzle in the chocolate while it is still warm. If the chocolate cools too rapidly, you will have clumps in the cheesecake.

Mamas first night

2010-01-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

Chicken Korma

4 servings
1 large potato cut and peeled
1 large onion
1 3" cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
1 tbsp canola oil
1 lb boneless chicken
1 garlic clove 1 tsp curry
1/2 tsp minced gingerroot
2 medium tomatoes chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sourcream and 1-1 1/2 cups chicken broth

This was very good, we did not taste the cinnamon, the flavors were great and the aroma was fabulous. We served it with rice and a cucumber salad. Jeff would not eat the cucumber salad but did taste it. He is not fond of cucumbers but mom and I loved it!

The salad is
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chopped cucumbers
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium tomato chopped
1 tbsp chopped jalapeno pepper
cilantro optional

combine the yogurt, sour cram, and salt
add the cucumbers, onion, tomato and jalapeno
stir until blended
garnish with cilantro if desired

Mexican Chicken Salad

2010-01-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Tonights dinner was great and easy. Very fast to prepare and liked by all. Mom is coming for a visit tomorrow and so I wanted something easy and allowed me time to get other things done. She will be here till the 8th so I will do my best to keep up with recipes and ideas. She doesn't mind eating Gluten free so it is easy to cook for her. If you don't like rice and veges it can get kinda hard to come up with ideas. I really try to keep a good variety of menu items and rotate them so we do not get bored or burned out on one thing. My sweetie is grinding me an espresso for morning..yeah! He is so great. Good night and sleep tight!
6 Large servings

4 cups torn lettuce, rinsed
2 cups corn
2 roma tomatoes chopped
1 bunch green onion chopped
1/2 cup ranch
1 red bell pepper chopped
15 oz can black beans rinsed
1 avocado sliced and chopped
1/2 cup bar b que sauce
3 cups chicken, grilled and cut up
1/8 cup red onion
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
Mix ranch and bbq sauce
Mix corn, chicken beans and grated cheddar1/2 cup
Pour dressing over lettuce and rest of ingredients. Toss and serve. Very filling and Yummy!

Baked Halibut Supreme

2010-01-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

Tonight's dinner was very good. I have made this before but not gluten free. I do recommend you not leave out the onion. I have made it both ways and it needs the onion in my opinion. This recipe came from a cookbook I love from Alaska. I used gluten free crackers and they worked great...we liked it better than the bread!

1 cup white wine

1 tsp salt

1 pound Halibut or white fish

5 slices of bread or 20 GF crackers crumbled

1 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup chopped onion

Paprika

Mix wine and salt, marinate one hour. Drain fish dry with paper towels. Dip both sides of fish into crumbs and place in buttered baking dish. Mix mayo, sour cream, and onion and spread over halibut. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs and paprika. Bake at 500 for 20 minutes or until fish flakes with fork. I like to serve it with mango and avacado, they really go well with the mild fish>

These are the crackers I used. Jeff likes them with cream cheese and they are more flavorful than some.

Nicholas lost his front tooth today and he is hoping Balto will bring him good luck from the tooth fairy! These are all the quarters he got for his grades. When Nicholas put his money on Balto and he stayed there he said hurrry mommy get a picture. this really cracked him up! He got all A's (9)and we are so proud of him! He also improved on social and reading by leaps and bounds! Good job Nicholas...mom and dad are proud! Mrs Tubbs is also very proud of him and we are so thankful for her and her dedication to our Nicholas!

Cupcakes and Tea

2010-01-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Paisley and I made Martha Stewart cupcakes...you can see we had fun! The recipe is from her living magazine and is not online yet. I was impressed with the frosting and the cupcakes are even better today, more moist! We always have fun cooking. I love those times especially since today was not so fun...she colored on the walls, sassed and was a little devil. Something got into her and I know tomorrow will be better.

Cabin 2010

2010-01-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

It has been a few days since I posted a recipe. The reason is we went on a 3 day snowmobile vacation! It was super fun and we got to be with friends and people we like to call family. The cabin was sweet and the food was wonderful. The snow was perfect and the weather was gorgeous. The kids had a blast and I even drove a snowmobile. Jeff and Nicholas did great eating gluten free and tonight's dinner is from leftovers the night I cooked. Three families took turns with meals and we all enjoyed the time away. The soup is made up but turned out good and Nicholas had seconds! This is always a good sign it was really good. In fact he said "mom you are a great chef and you should be in a cook-off" I said with who....."i think with Karri" too cute!
I am thankful he likes my cooking and appreciates good food.

Leftover beef soup

I did this in the crockpot.

1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots chopped
1 can green beans drained
1/8 tsp horshradish
1/8 cup cream
2 cloves garlic mashed
3 1/2 cups water
22 oz marinara sauce-i used home canned
8 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup Mrs Leepers corn elbow macaroni
1 cup left over prime rib shredded
parmasan cheese for garnish

Stir all ingredients into crock pot and turn on low for 5 hours. It made 6-8 large servings.

Nicholas enjoyed the sleigh riding and the snow. The snow machines were too loud for him so he did alot of walking. The Tetons were beautiful and it was a good weekend. Balto really was happy to see us and has not been very far away from one of since we got home. There is lots of laundry and wet stinky clothes so I better get busy!

Soup and its so good Nicholas had seconds!

2010-01-14T17:04:00.000-08:00

This is from my friend and photographer Evelyn Hymas. It is super easy and yummy! I highly recommend it and it is GF.

Spicy Bean Soup

1 can spicy refried beans
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
1 can stewed tomatoes, cut up
1 can 4 oz chopped green chilies
1/4 cup salsa

Optional: add 1/2 pound browned ground beef

In a large saucepan, combine the first 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 8 servings

From Evelyn Hymas

Dinner Sausage Rice and Broccoli

2010-01-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

This is one dinner I make when I am tired and not wanting to cook. The rice can be brown. The dinner sausage I get from The Schwans man. The broccoli is from our garden. We blanched it (jeff did ) and froze it. It is so yummy. I layer the broccoli in the bottom of the crock pot then rice then sausage. I cook it on low for 4 hours. I like to use the gluten free dressings from Fred Meyer called Walden Farms Balsalmic Vinegrette. It is also sugar free and tastes wonderful on the rice. Dessert was a flourless chocolate torte. Very decadent and very rich! The other dressings they make are also very good. My Aunt Ann and Uncle Jer really like them and they told us about them is june at our family reunion.

Flourless Mocha Torte

Yield: 8 servings

7 ounce(s) 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar
4 ounce(s) Milk Chocolate Baking Bar
1 tablespoon(s) instant freeze-dried coffee
3 tablespoon(s) boiling water
6 eggs, separated
2/3 cup(s) sugar
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt (optional)
2 cup(s) heavy whipping cream for frosting
1 tablespoon(s) instant freeze-dried coffee for frosting
1/4 cup(s) boiling water for frosting

Directions
Melt 6 ounces of the bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler over hot, but not boiling, water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is smooth. Set aside. Dissolve the 1 T coffee in boiling water; set aside. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of the pans with waxed paper, and grease the waxed paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites on medium until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add 1/3-cup sugar. Increase the mixing speed to high and continue beating until stiff peaks form. (The meringue should be shiny.) In another large bowl, whip the yolks, the remaining 1/3-cup sugar, and the salt until thick and lemon colored, approximately 5 minutes. Slowly add 6 ounces of chocolate and 1 Tbsp coffee; beat until well blended. Gently fold ¼ of the egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it. Carefully but thoroughly fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake on the center oven rack for 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside for 5 minutes with the oven door closed. Transfer the pans to a wire rack (the centers will fall). Remove the waxed paper while the cake is warm. Cool completely.

Dinner made with a friend!

2010-01-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

I have this great friend who loves to visit friends. She brought a recipe today and said lets cook, is that ok? Of course, I love to cook and it was a wonderful time. We made a sausage, spinach cheese stuffed wonton. I made the boys out of rice paper. Nicholas could not do the texture. He ate the filling no problem, and loved it. We served ours with soy sauce and rice. They were suppose to be served with cheese and marinara sauce. I would definitely make them again. Thanks Aniko...you are truly special.

Pie Crust that is delicious,,,,,very flaky and great flavor. Not sweet like Pamelas pie crust I posted earlier this month.

I canned apple pie filling this fall. I used Clear Gel A so it would be gluten free. This was hard to find. I finally found it at a store here in Idaho Falls called Four Seasons. It is a wonderful smooth thickener. I use it a lot, no funny aftertaste and not globby. Great stuff! I will post a picture of the pie filling once I find the picture.

CRUST:

1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon apple cider or white vinegar
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

COMBINE rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Form well in center. Add egg and vinegar; stir gently with a fork until just blended. Sprinkle with water; blend together with a fork and clean hands until mixture just holds together and forms a ball. (Be careful not to add too much water as dough will be hard to roll.)SHAPE dough into ball and divide in half. Cover one half with plastic wrap; set aside. Place remaining half on lightly floured (use rice flour) sheet of wax paper. Top with additional piece of wax paper. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Remove top sheet of wax paper and invert dough into 9-inch deep-dish (4-cup volume) pie plate. Slowly peel away wax paper. Trim excess crust. Turn edge under; crimp as desired. Repeat with remaining half.

Fried Rice

2010-01-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

This is very fast and easy. The kids love it and I make the rice in the morning so it can totally cool. It fries much better that way. We add the soy Sauce to each plate, that way you can adjust the flavoring. Enjoy

Nicholas's Gluten Free Fried Rice

1/4 c. cooking oil
1 Tbs. butter or margarine
2 c. cooked rice
1/2 c. finely chopped carrot
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. Frozen sweet peas
2 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 c. gluten free soy sauce I use LA Choy

Directions:

Heat oil and butter or margarine in a large skillet or wok.
Add carrots, onions and peas.
Cook on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize.
Move carrots, onions and peas to the sides of the skillet or wok.
Pour slightly beaten egg into the empty part of the skillet and scramble finely.
When egg is fully cooked, mix egg and vegetables together.
Add rice to mixture.
Pour gluten free soy sauce over rice. or see note above
Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently, until flavors and ingredients are combined and heated through. (About 10 minutes.)

Gluten Free Chicken or Pork Fried Rice

To make Gluten Free Chicken or Pork Fried Rice:
Thinly slice one large chicken breast and add to hot oil in pan before vegetables.
Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes.
Add carrots, onions and peas and cook according to the Gluten Free Fried Rice recipe.

This Gluten Free Fried Rice recipe contains no added MSG. Some soy sauces do contain MSG. Be sure to check the ingredients of the soy sauce you choose to purchase if you have a sensitivity to MSG.

"Best Face Photo" Challenge

2010-01-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

This was Christmas morning 2009. Paisley was playing with her santa gift...jewels and makeup! She could not have been any more into it....you can tell she is questioning how she looks. I missed the smile after this shot but it was priceless. I love the bags under her eyes too. I love you Paiser! Go check out the other great and fun photos at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com You will be impressed.

Saturday Popcorn and Sunday Pizza

2010-01-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

We purchased a old fashioned stir on the stove popcorn popper and had to try it out. We watched the Gonzaga game and had cherry coke floats and popcorn. Way fun! Tonight we are trying a new pizza recipe. I made it up so we will see. I have one I do really like and tastes wonderful but the bean flower is so stinky! It almost makes me sick to work with it. This recipe will be an experiment. I tried a loaf of GF sourdough last night. It is wonderful flavor, somewhat dense and very crunchy crust! Jeff really likes it, just wished I would have not made a round loaf. This stuff is so hard to work with you all know why i made it round. I baked it in stonewear and that may have made it more crunchy on the crust too. The pizzza dough has a bit of sourdough starter in it too.
The original pizza crust is:

2/3 cup Gluten Free Garbanzo and Fava Flour

1/2 cup Tapioca Flour

2 Tbsp. Milk Powder (Non-Fat Dry)

2 tsp. Xanthan Gum

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Gelatin powder, unflavored

1 tsp. Italian Herb Seasoning

2/3 cup Warm Water (105�)

1/2 tsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Cider Vinegar

Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 425�F.

In medium mixer bowl blend the yeast, flours, dry milk powder, xanthan gum, salt, gelatin powder, and Italian herb seasoning on low speed using regular beaters. Add warm water, sugar, olive oil and vinegar. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Add water if the dough is too stiff. The dough will resemble soft bread dough. Put mixture into 12 inch pizza pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle extra four onto the dough, then press the dough into the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, top with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for another 20-25 minutes.

*If dough becomes too sticky, use oil or water on your hands to help work the dough.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
(For an 8 slice pizza pie.)

For 1 slice serving size Calories 90, Calories from Fat 15, Total Fat 1.5g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 160mg, Total Carbohydrate 15g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 2g, Protein 3g.

The pizza crust was ok, first time I was full with one piece. Very filling and I would not make it again so back to my original GF pizza crust.!

Celiac Sourdough Bread
By Beth Hagman
A bread that is springy, chewy, tasty, crusty and good both hot and cold. This recipe s a variation of one Margaret Powers offers in her excellent book "Gluten Free and Good".

Ingredients:
3 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 cup Milk Powder (Non-Fat Dry)
2 tsp Xanthan Gum
3/4 cup Sourdough Starter
1 cup Warm Water (110 degrees)
3 large Eggs
1½ cups Low fat Cottage Cheese

Bread:
Use nonmetal pans and utensils as much as
possible when mixing this bread. Since this is
a stiff dough, you will need a heavy-duty mixer
and a bread hook.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, sugar,
salt, milk and xanthan gum in mixing bowl
and blend together on very low speed.

In another bowl, beat together the sourdough starter, water, eggs, and cottage cheese. Mix them slowly into the flour with bread hook of mixer. Beat for about 4 minutes.

Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Don't hurry. This may take up to 1½ hours.
Beat again for 5 minutes. Fill greased pans three-quarter full. Let rise until dough is almost to top of pans, about 40 minutes.
Bake in 350° oven and watch to see when dough rises to top of pans and rounds on top (about 10 minutes), then increase heat to 400° to finish baking.
Feed Starter: After each use, the remaining starter must be fed to provide enough quantity for the next use and to reactivate it.
1 cup starter
1 cup warm water
1½ cups rice flour

Mix together in glass jar or crock. Let stand until double in bulk. Starter is ready when it has bubbled and mounded up. Refrigerate.

Jeff was the Chef tonight

2010-01-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

Last night was left overs and clean out pantry night. Tonight Jeff did kabobs and fruit. It was very good. Broccoli, cauliflower, shrimp, and steak. We are having a bonfire to burn christmas boxes and the tree. Should be fun! The smores are ready, and the grahams for the boys are called S'moreables by kinnikinnick. They are great in anything, don't get soggy and taste like regular grahams.

Busy day food

2010-01-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Today was a blur and totally worth every minute. I was able to help a friend in need with her kids(3 0f them) and serve at my church as overseer of the nursery. Jeff helped me with our extra 3 and off I went after a fast supper. It is so wonderful having a husband who can put 5 to bed. I made Monica Leishman's Potato Chowder. It is very good and very gluten free. The kids liked it and it is filling and fast to make. I got Nicholas to swimming and to Dr and home and dinner from 3:00 to 5:45. Pretty good huh.

Baked Potato Soup
6 bacon strips diced
2 small onions chopped
2 stalks celery sliced
6 tblsp cornstarch
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup instant potatoes

6 cups chicken broth
4 large baked potatoes peeled
2 cups fat free half and half
shredded cheddar cheese
green onions sliced

In large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tbsp drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion, garlic, and celery in bacon drippings till tender. Stir in cornstarch, instant potatoes, salt, basil, and pepper. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil: boil and stir 2 minutes. Add potatoes and cream;heat thru but do not boil. Garnish with bacon and cheese and onion. Makes 8 large servings.

Not a Kids dinner..just ask Nicholas and Paisley

2010-01-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

I think they would have rather gone without dinner but I made them eat it. It was not that bad. The pork was a loin and pretty dry. The sweet potato casserole is a favorite but this time i made it with a turban squash. The squash was pretty soft...nick did not throw up..just gagged. The cranberries are wonderful and go with so many things. We keep some in the fridge for oatmeal, yogurt, ice cream etc. I would not suggest you use a turban unless you are a squash lover. I am and so I loved it. The squash recipe is from a family friend in Spokane named Louise Holloway. This dish is a great one to serve during the holidays....even squash haters love it made with the sweet potatoes.

2 cans 29 oz sweet potatoes

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all above and pour into 9x13 pan Sprinkle with a mixture of 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour(i ised gf blend) 3/4 cup pecans and 1/3 cup butter. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or till heated thru.

This will serve 10-12

The cranberries are easy and so good. I got this recipe out of a Susan branch cookbook.

1 lb bag cranberries

1/3 cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

3 cloves

zest of one orange(this really makes it)

segments of orange if desired

1 cup OJ

Simmer covered for 1-2 hours till berries pop and mixture is thick. You can sweeten it more if desired.

Now to think up something for tomorrow. Jeff will eat leftovers for lunch which helps. It may be soup. I start my new job tomorrow night at the church so it will be something easy, especially since we have swimming, chiropractor, homework etc.

Potato Ham Quiche

2010-01-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

I found this and twinked it from the Prepared Pantry. Jeff could tell it was Gluten Free pie crust but said it was excellent. The texture was nice and tasted buttery, flakey. I made some crusts ahead and froze them at thanksgiving. It froze well and unthawed very quickly. I would make this again and Nicholas did enjoy it. I especially loved using the new pie dish my mama got me for Christmas. I think it is beautiful. Dessert was Chocolate chip cookies. I love to use the recipe on the Pamelas bag. I make up the dough, and refridgerate the dough I don't cook, then I can make hot cookies anytime the boys need them. They don't stay fresh very long so I have found the refridgeration idea to be best.

1 pie crust shell
2 large eggs
2 cups half and half i used reeds dairy whole
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup ham, diced
1/2 cup cubed new potatoes, sautéed until nearly cooked or frozen hashbrowns
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced and sautéed until nearly cooked
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the oven rack on the lower 1/3.

From the crust in a nine-inch pan, preferably a silver or light colored pan.
Whisk together the eggs, half and half, salt, and pepper.
Stir in the ham, cooked vegetables, and grated cheese. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.
Bake until the internal temperature of the filling is at least 165 degrees but not more that 185 degrees (about 45 minutes).

Pie Crust

1-1/2 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix or gluten free flour blend
2 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup ice water

Yield: one, 9-inch pie crust

Combine Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix and sugar in a bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with two knives until butter is in very small pieces. Add oil, then ice water, slowly until dough comes together, not sticky. You may not need all of the water. Roll dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper to about 1/8-inch (it will puff and swell when in bakes). Peel the top paper off and invert into a pie dish. Peel off the second sheet of paper and arrange, fix crust edge. Or instead of rolling out, press dough into pan with fingers, the thinner the better.

Unfilled Crust: Use fork to perforate crust then bake at 350º for 12 to 15 minutes.

Filled Crust: Fill crust and follow baking directions from your pie recipe.

Helpful Hint: Baking pie on lower racks allows the bottom of the crust to bake more thoroughly. Foil can be placed on edges to decrease browning the crust edge.

2010 and Gluten Free...or we will see!)

2010-01-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

2010...and Jeff is Gluten Free for a month along with Nicholas of course. So I was searching recipes and am going to make a month of recipes to track his progress and our likes and dislikes.

This recipe impressed me with a new way to make roux. I really like the smooth texture, it is light and creamy, it reheats well and was very flavorful. We put a little pepper and dash of salt and we all really enjoyed it. the kids can eat it seperatly or mounded all together.

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice

1. Put 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer, cook for 20 minutes or until tender.

2. Cut up 2-3 stalks of broccoli crowns into florets, discarding stems. Place in a covered casserole with one tablespoon of water. Cook in microwave for 7 minutes or until tender-crisp.

3. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add two tablespoons of cornstarch and stir until thick. Add one can of chicken stock and simmer until thick. Add one can of drained chicken or 1-2 cooked cubed chicken breasts or turkey. Add one cup of your favorite shredded cheese, like monterey jack, colby jack, cheddar, swiss, or gruyere. Add 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese or aged asiago and stir to melt.

4. Layer rice, broccoli and sauce on a plate and eat it all up.

The best holiday recipes

2009-12-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox recipe

I ♥ Faces “Sweet Dreams” Photo Challenge

2009-12-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

I love this picture taken after a day of searching sunstones. We are so lucky to live in Idaho and be so close to such treasures! Grandma Kristi was with us and she is holding sleeping beauty's chin. Check out the drool! Nicholas is out too....not a common sight for him. He is usually taking it all in. I love the sunset in the back windows and the telephone poles. It was a fun day and I found the largest sunstone....lol!

"Sun Flare" Photo Challenge

2009-11-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures taken just before the sun started to go down. I guess this is what you would call a sun glare or sun wash.Stop on over at I heart faces to see some other wonderful shots with the sun.

Nicholas is a winner!

2009-11-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

Thank you to all our family and friends who pledged Nicholas at his first Pirahna-thon! It was a huge success and he swam for an hour. It was 32 laps and 64 lengths. That equals almost a mile in one hour. Way to go Nicholas, Mom and Dad are way proud! He was awarded a water bottle and a sweatshirt! There was a little girl who won nothing and Nicholas walked up to her to give her his water bottle and she declined! Talk about a tear jerker.

"Balloons" Photo Challenge

2009-11-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

I heart faces has Balloons as the weekly challenge. I decided to enter this cute candid shot I took outside our photographers studio in the parking lot. The kids were dressed for crazy hair day at Vacation Bible school. I had to run to Hymas Image to pick up some prints and get Nicholas's 6 year taken. We went to the beach after and played. It was a really fun day. The kids faces say it all.

School Pictures

2009-10-27T13:28:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

Tea Party for memah

2009-10-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Halloween Treat

2009-10-20T21:29:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox recipe

I ♥ Faces “Pink” Photo Challenge

2009-10-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

I dedicate this week to my mom and mom in law who are both surviviors! This picture of my mom and Paisley is so special considering we are so lucky to have her here with us. The pink glasses are priceless! I will never forget the morning she phoned me and said she had a old fashioned marble size lump and her doctor said to watch it! I phoned a surgeon and had her in the very same week and a diagnosis! It was a very aggressive breast cancer and they were able to do surgery, chemo and rad. The last six years are such a blur. Not for my mom, she has been through it all. Way to be the best mom and survivor I know. She thanks Jesus and so do we. Love you mama. http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=9272302&fr_id=22257&pg=personal

October is breast cancer awareness month, take time to stop by and look at all the great pink photos at I Love faces!

Nicholas and Paisley

2009-10-18T22:03:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Caving 2009

2009-10-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Spice!

2009-10-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

I love the flavors of fall, here is a bite size treat sure to spoil your taste buds!
Black Bottomed Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

8-10 whole Oreos, finely ground in food processor

1 1/2 Tablespoons melted butter

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Cup pumpkin puree (I used Libby’s)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

caramel topping

24 Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine ground Oreos and melted butter into a bowl until well combined. Spoon into 12 mini cheesecake cups that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Press into the bottom of each cup so the crust is flat. Partially bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven.

2. In a stand or electric mixer beat the cream cheese, sugar and pumpkin until smooth. Beat in egg, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined. Pour evenly into the 12 cups filling about 3/4 way full. Spoon about a teaspoon of caramel into the tops of each filled cup and swirl with a toothpick gently. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until cheesecake is cooked through. Let cool completely.

3. Remove cheesecakes from pan and top each with a spoonful of remaining caramel and a Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kiss. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

24 mini cheesecakes

I will post a pic when I get them cooled! They smell fabulous.
I found the pumpkin spice kisses at target.

I ♥ Faces “Excited” Photo Challenge

2009-10-12T09:55:00.001-07:00

When I saw excited I knew the picture I would enter. Nicholas was so tickled to catch a brown trout and a big one to boot! This is a priceless picture and will be one of my favorites for many years to come. Please stop by I ♥ Faces to see the other great pictures!

Chocolate cake and grapes!

2009-10-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. The smells are so crisp and baking is so fun. I made a cake for Nicholas today and twinked the recipe a bit to make it more fall like. It is hard to believe frost and pumpkins are here.
Jeff has a weekend plannned to close Yellowstone Park. We always try to open and close the park. We love it there and the kids enjoy the timeshare and swimming too. We are going to check out a hot spring right outside the park and soak our feet! I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who takes time for family and my children who teach me so much.
We are making wine this year and have had fun with the crush. The kids had never stommped the grapes.
They are merlot from the Prosser area in Washington.. Jeff makes wonderful wine and this is the first batch to be made in Idaho Falls. The grapes we planted here are doing better this year. We hope to get a little juice from those also.
the recipe is following, enjoy and thanks for stopping by.
Amazing Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Wow, this is one of the better gluten free cakes we've had. Very light, fluffy, and so moist!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups gf flour blend (see sidebar at right for recipe)
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped nuts (opt)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
1 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
2 With a mixer, beat together the shortening and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the shortening and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.
3 Alternately mix the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition. Mix until smooth.
4 Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan (I used a 9x13 pan, as I didn't have a bundt pan). Bake in the oven for about 40-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool if baking in bundt pan. Otherwise, leave in 9x13 pan.
5 Drizzle a glaze of your choice over cake.

I made it with substitution of 1 cup pumpkin plus 1 cup zucchini and left out the vanilla by accident. I added 1 cup white choc and 1/2 cup dark choc chips. This made 12 large muffins, costco size large. The cocoa i used was Gourmet Ramstadt breda rich dark cocoa.

Both ways are wonderful, enjoy!

The last day of summer 2009

2009-09-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe what a great summer we have had, hardly any wind and good temperatures. We took the pool down and winterized a bit. The eves are suppose to get into the 20's so I guess fall may be short. We are headed to Kellogg for two days to enjoy the water park and then to the Walkley's for two days. We will miss our baby, Balto will be at the kennel. We are thankful for our families and friends. Jeff and I have enjoyed putting up the garden and canning. It is so rewarding to see it preserved. Tomorrow is the last day, pickles are on the agenda for our Nicholas!

The best Photographer

2009-09-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed to have Evelyn in our lives. She has captured images unimaginable of All of us. This one of Nicholas is especially sweet. He was featured on her newsletter. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments considering his disabilities and he has a love for life and everyone. I love you Nicholas. Here is the article and picture. Gone Fishin' ff

Little kids love to go fishing and play in the water. Come and enjoy the lazy days of summer at our inside fishing hole. Bib overalls, fishin' hats, and willow fishin' pole are available at the studio or you can bring your own.

Creative Sessions: $49

Watch Me Grow or Children's
price list apply to this session.

Quick Takes are also available. $69
includes one 8x10 - two 4x5's and 4 wallets. Studio edits to best pose.

Gonzaga

2009-09-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

We have been fans for over 10 years and this video clip is so touching. This team is in our hearts and you will see how awesome they are when you hear past players talk and see these men cry. I will be ordering a copy. enjoy learning who the zaggy dogs are why they touch our hearts, and why our world stops when they are playing. Go Zags!
the link is http://www.youtube.com/user/GUBulldogs

I ♥ Faces “Contemplative” Photo Challenge

2009-09-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

I love this photo that was taken this summer at a local lake. When I saw the contest, I had to enter this one. Look at all the other great pics at I ♥ Faces.

Sinful

2009-09-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I received from a dear friend Caroline Loftus. I was asked to share it with our Aunt Nellie.....so here it is!

Microwave Carmels

2 C sugar
1 C real butter
1C white karo syrup

stir: cover with wax paper, cook 5 min on high
stir: add 1 can eagle brand milk, cook 4 minutes
stir: cook 4 min more
stir: cook 4 min more
stir: add 1 tsp vanilla

Pour onto bottom of inverted buttered 13x9 pan and cool, I have poured mine onto parchment paper, sometimes it sticks and is trouble to get off. Some pour onto counter or marble but I did not have as good a luck with that either. Cut in small pieces and wrap in wax paper after totally cool. I like to cut with a pizza cutter.
*note: take butter and smooth some over the top edges of the glass so that the caramel boils to top and touches paper, it won't lift it off and spill all aver the microwave.

These are the very best carmel I have made, I also like to lightly sprinkle the caramel with course sea salt after pouring into 9x13. Just a little....ENJOY

Balto Walkley

2009-09-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well, we have new member. He is 2 mo old and we are in love. He is a cuddly, soft, loving kitty. He loves to knead our necks and purrs beautifully. We think he is handsome. Nicholas has been asking for a year with less and less time in between askings! We caved when we saw this guy. He is fun to play with and we are excited to have him in our family. I have been a little busy this summer so I will update summer activities and recipes soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Cuddly the tank!

2009-07-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

When Grandma was here Nicholas built with cardboard a tank called Cuddly. Daddy said it is in the way in the garage, so he made a deal. If he could fire off a firework out of the cannon then daddy could burn Cuddly up. So we videoed the burning and Nicholas was emotional. It is hard for him to give up something he created. I asked Grandma and Nicholas how did they come up with the name Cuddly? There was no reason. Sounds a bit girly for a TANK don't you think? The video is 5 minutes long but worth the wait. Hope you enjoy, I did get frustrated with how long it was taking for daddy to build the fire! I love to see Nicholas' imagination at work. Tomorrow he is going to build a mini scale of cuddly he can keep in his room. I am sure he will paint it and draw flames this week. We are going on a mini vacation this weekend to Spokane. Jeff's parents are having a family reunion in Spokane. We are staying with his sister so the kids can be with Alexis as much as possible. They have a beautiful pool and I am sure we will be in it the entire time. Nicholas loves to swim with Lexie, he wants to show her his new swimming skills. I will be taking lots of pics I am sure. Paisley is starting to really enjoy the water and can imitate Nicholas and most of his moves! She looks really cute in her swim cap!

2009-07-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

My cousin Darin aka Pyro tech since age 5...did a great fireworks display and here is a link to view it on utube. It is a great show, awesome job Darin!

Grandma Kristi part 2

2009-07-07T12:58:00.003-07:00

Just a few more pictures to show what a great time we had. We enjoyed every minute of our vacation together. Paisley got sick the last few days, but we made the best of it. We even tried out some of our gluten free recipes on grandma and she loved them. Mom and I even got to so shopping for a few hours by ourselves....no kids. Thanks for spoiling us and wanting to spend a few weeks with us. We really enjoyed having you.

2009-07-07T12:58:00.001-07:00

Grandma Kristi

2009-07-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

What a great two weeks we had with grandma. We got to spend a week in Yellowstone, one of her favorite spots. We enjoyed coffee, laughs, sewing, kids, food, cooking together and most of all just her company. She loves to play with the kids and will do any adventure we ask her to. She got up at 6 am to go to swimming, played pirates, swam in our pool, did the laundry and ironing...all of it....., bought transformers, jewelry, kitchen glasses and a BIKE for Paiser! She really spoiled us. We took lots of pictures and wanted to share some of our fun times. We love you Grandma and miss you tons!

Gluten Free Banana donuts

2009-07-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

Nicholas loves donuts. I have been buying GF Donuts at almost $1 a piece. I found this recipe and converted it to gluten free by using rice flower mixture and some pamelas baking mix. Nicholas loves them and so does the rest of the family. I hope you enjoy them.

Glazed donut drops /Jenny Flake
Ingredients

* 3 large ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices
* 2 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
* 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
* Vegetable oil, for frying
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1 egg
* 1 cup cinnamon chips (recommended: Hershey's)

Glaze:

* 1/3 cup milk
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place sliced bananas into a small baking dish. Top evenly with cubed butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Remove and coarsely mash with a fork, still leaving chunks of bananas. Set aside.

Heat 3 inches of oil into a large Dutch oven or large deep-fryer over medium heat, to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Gently whisk the heavy cream, sour cream and egg until just combined. Slowly stir banana mixture, cream mixture and cinnamon chips into dry ingredients until just combined.

In batches, using a medium cookie scoop (that holds approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons); scoop dough and carefully drop into hot oil, about 8 at a time. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes turning frequently, or until golden brown. Transfer doughnuts with a skimmer onto a paper towel lined plate to drain, until all have been fried.

In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, mix the milk, butter, and vanilla until the butter is melted. Slowly add sugar, beating until glaze is smooth. Dip doughnuts into the glaze, turning to coat, and carefully transfer them to a large sheet of waxed paper to dry.

The ingredients for the GF version are

1 cup rice flower
1/2 cup pamelas baking mix
1/4 cup tapioca
1/8 cup potato starch

Pictures, Frosty's, Donuts

2009-06-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Nicholas had his 6 year pictures taken at Hymas Image, Evelyn set up a fishing/pond scene. I am going to have a hard time picking from the 100+ pictures she took. She always does a wonderful job. I will have to take daddy to help sort them down, he is really good at it. After, we took Grandma to Jefferson Lake. It was so fun, had a picnic and took lots of pictures. I loved it. We stopped at Wendy's on the way home for a gf frosty. It was a wonderful treat. Today after swimming we stopped at Bakers dozen for donuts. Nicholas had a knickinak donut and mom and I had a fritter. Paisley had a cake. Too good....almost heavenly. We delivered some to daddy at work too. The donut shop is next to where there used to be the best scrapbooking store. It was called Scrap Coop....Paisley looked at the empty store and said where is the crap poop! We all cracked up and got the hysterics for a couple minutes. It has been a good laugh today!)

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