Thursday, November 25, 2010

JumbleBerry Pie recipe

Ok, so Gwen asked for yet another recipe. Actually, she said she wanted some pie and all I could do was offer her the recipe. Let me tell you a little bit about this recipe. I searched for a recipe I could use frozen fruit with. That's all I wanted. When I found this freaking awesome recipe on BHG.com, I was so excited! However, I also don't have 4 hours to create a pie entirely from scratch (hence the FROZEN fruit idea!). So I go out and I buy a box of refrigerated pie shells (I know how to make pie crust, an advisor in our single's ward taught me before I got married! It's fun, but lots of time!) then I start making. I put 5 cups of mixed fruit in a bowl. Dump on the flour and sugar and cinnamon. Stir it, then pop it in the microwave to thaw out just a bit. Every now and then I'll take it out and stir it. Once I can stir it and no white from the sugar or flour is left, I put it in the pie shell. I take the 2nd pie shell and (on a flour sprinkled surface) I start cutting strips. I use a pizza cutter (but I just bought a pastry cutter that cuts the crimped edges!! But it works the same as a pizza cutter. Knives drag the dough along, pizza cutters ROLL!!) then I start laying the strips on the filled pie shell. Criss-crossing every one. 1st up and down, 2nd side to side. 3rd up and down. To get them to weave just pull up on the strip under it, so each strip goes over-under-over-under. It's hard to explain, alot easier to do!! Trust me! Ok, when the pie is all latticed up, and the edges are pinched together, I take a spray bottle filled with clean water, and spray the top. Then I sprinkle sugar on the top. I don't usually wrap the edges in foil, but today I did, cuz I was baking 2 and have to switch places 1/2 way thru. (Don't ask, I'm not even sure why that made sense in my head but it did.) After 50 minutes in the oven, it should be done! Serve with ice cream!! Mmm!

I added some little notes. Also, since BHG called it berry fruit pie, I decided to add my own title! Enjoy the pie!

I am thankful for family and friends, near and far. I am thankful for the roof over my head (even tho it seems like it's falling apart!), I am thankful for my husband, who know how to fix all the broken things!! I am grateful to live in this country, where I can practice any religion I choose, where I can dress the way I want to, where everything is a choice. I am grateful for my country men and women, serving this country and each and everyone of us. Thank you.

Love to all who are thankful. ♥

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Rosemary Bread Recipe

Ok, since my sister yelled at me about it... Here it is.

And yes Gwen, you did yell. All caps is yelling!! LOL

Love to those who love their families and sharing things with them, even if forced!! ;) ♥

This week so far

Ok, so last weekend, Shark and Steve went to Nebraska to shoot some deer. They both got one. Now my freezer is full of ground up venison! I'm so excited!! I love venison! I'm excited cuz I don't have to buy ground beef, not for a while at least.

And since Ang posted her Fantasy Football records. I decided to post mine too. They are just like her's : completely different in each league. In our family Yahoo League, I'm the champ! My record is 9-1, I only lost to Kevin cuz he stole my QB (Rodgers!) out from under in the draft! ugh. And in the ESPN league, I suck big time! It's not even funny! I have the same QB in both Leagues : Philip Rivers, and he's awesome. But for some reason, I suck in 1 league and am awesome in the other... Oh well.

Wednesday morning we woke up to find our back door didn't close right, so the house was freezing! And when I went to do laundry, I watched a frozen pipe bust right in front of me! I hollered for Shark to come help me, he jumped out of bed and ran in to help me. So did Bandit, who got sprayed with water. Bandit's pretty cute. (At a young age someone way mean kept spraying him with the hose to keep him our of her garden {ok, it was me!} so now he hates being sprayed with water.) He kept trying to punch the water and bite it to make it stop spraying. Shark found where our pipes start and shut off the water. Right now Shark is going to Lowe's or Home Depot to get parts for the pipes, and a space heater. :)

So all this week, I've been home sick. The thing is, I feel good, I don't feel crappy or anything, I just can't talk, and I cough every now and then. And let me tell you, it is not a nice cough. It sounds awful. So this morning I called work to see if they wanted me to come in. They are planning for today to be slow (with everyone heading out of town, getting ready for tomorrow, plus The Blizzard that his yesterday, I guess they aren't planning for lots of people.) So, the FE Manager said for me to stay home and get better. But that I had to promise to be there on Friday. I said, even if I can only bag on Friday, I will be there!

So now, I'm at home, probably baking pies today. and finishing up some Christmas presents. I also have to remember that Shark's birthday is the 5th!! Ugh!! I think I'll just make him a bunch of Rosemary Bread and get him some bullets...

Today I am thankful for my husband. For all that he does for me. He rescued me this morning when that pipe broke. He is always saving me. I love him so very much and I am grateful to know that he is mine, and has been mine forever. That we are meant/destined to be together. And I am so very grateful to know that no matter what happens, he will always be there for me. He's my best friend. I am so proud to walk beside him, to have and to hold him. Forever.

Love to those who hate having the most inconvient illness ever. ♥

Monday, November 22, 2010

Down with the sickness

Ok, so there is not going to be any menu for this week. First of all, I'm sick. I've got laryngitis. Shark took me to the doctor this morning and I got handed a Z-pack, it's a pack of antibiotics for pnuemonia and other throat illnesses, to stop my sinus's from making my throat gross... So, I don't feel like cooking. I called in to work today (I hate calling in sick!) cuz I'm contagious and no one can hear me talk. I need to not-contagious and people need to here me at work, I talk to people all day!! So, I am at home. Oh, and I don't want to cook, cuz I'm lazy. But also, I don't want to go to the store cuz I'm contagious, and I can't cook unless I have food to cook. So, yeah... Also this week is Thanksgiving (what a week to be sick, trust me, I already feel awful for calling in, but calling in THIS week, just makes it worse!) and we'll have plenty of food on Thursday to last us the rest of the week and weekend! That's what's been going on so far. Just me, sitting on the couch, watching movies, drinking tea, and sewing things. :)

Love to all who hate being sick ♥

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Saving my Dough

***Name changed because my husband has a dirty mind and when he first looked at the title, it did NOT say Pinching my Pennies, at least not to him it didn't. So I changed the name. Boys...***

So I have started on this website called Pinching Your Pennies, and that means lots of coupons and some Sunday papers. I'm not really sure how much I'll save since I already buy the cheap no-name brands, but we'll see.

Ok, since I never really finished the post I was going to write, I'll just start on this next one.


I finished making my apron! Yayay! I love it, and I do wear it all the time. Monday when I was making dinner, I handed Shark the camera, and told him to snap some shots. He stood there for the longest time, waiting for me to look, and we both started laughing! :) So that means I can check off one of my goals! #56 actually! (Those are my little square Gnocchi noodles!)

I can also start to check off #31, cuz I made Halloween decorations, and Fall/Thanksgiving decorations, and I just made an Ornaments Wreath!

Our little Ladies Night made them, and they turned out so cute!! Mine is non-traditional, cuz my tree is silver, blue and black. I love Christmas, but I'm not really "feeling" the red and green combo for decorating, not really.

Oooh! And Shark and I have a date night planned. It has been forever since we've gone to see a movie together, just us, so this Saturday we are going to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! We're both so excited! And no, we are not dressing up...

In other awesome news! Shark registered for classes today! We're both very excited that he got residency again, and he didn't have to wait 2 years! Him getting up for class will also give me reason to get up and go to an institute class! I'm excited! :)

POTD for 11.17.10 : It's just been this kind of day. I went up and down the stairs like 6 times and Bandit didn't even open an eye!

Love to those of us Muggles who are in love with the Wizarding world, but mostly just wish Accio would work. ♥

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Chewing

Ok, I went to church today (ok, I only went for 15 minutes! Shark's not here and I still don't know anyone!) and when I got home, I opened my door to this.

My Keds are destroyed!! I loved these shoes! With the stars and how comfy they were. Plus, they were $10!!

Needless to say, Bandit is locked out of the house. For. Good. No more Nice Girl, this is the 2nd pair in 3 days. Along with all the other shoes he ate while we were in Colorado. It's raining outside. Maybe he'll continue digging that hole.

I hope my dog digs to China...

Things that need to go

Ok, so a radio station here (around where we live) does this segment (not sure it's every morning, since I am rarely in the car at 9:30 am most days....) called Things that Need to go. I got to listen to it today, and it was pretty funny. And I got to thinking of things that need to go (in my life, or directly related to me in some way or another..)

1) People ditching items on endcaps. It is that hard to hand the item you've been toting around for an hour to the cashier? Why be all sneaky and try to hide those jingle bells in with that cup display? Yes, I saw that!

2) And you can push that cart the extra 10 steps to the cart return, I mean you were headed that way anyways, cuz the cart return is right by the exit. You have been pushing that cart for an hour, is it that difficult to push it for 30 more seconds?

3) Driving with your brights on... In the CITY! Not cool. Ever.

4) Sleeping with socks on. Waking up in the middle of the night with a random sock by your face is NOT awesome.

AND

5) Skinny girls (ladies) on diets. Trust me, any thinner and people will think you never eat. Embarrassment starts after they ask if you are anorexic, and then landslides into failure. Not pleasant on either end of that conversation. And if you're just saying you're on a diet to fish for compliments, epic fail. Step 2 is punching yourself in the eye for sympathy. Neither tactic works.

I thought of those on the way to work. Anyways, this weekend has been an ok one. Shark and Steve are in Nebraska shooting up some deer for my (and Heather's) freezer. {Shark's shooting for mine, and Steve is shooting for Heather's... But you knew that!}The boys left Thursday night, after Shark looked at the silver truck and diagnosed a crappy water pump. So that truck is sitting in the driveway, while I drive the red truck and Steve drove the 4Runner to NE. The boys made it there fine, Shark even called me to find out when the sun rises in NE. I hear they also made friends with some old guy out there. Apparently Shark helped him carry out the deer the old guy shot, and in return the old guy let them stay at his house down the road. Making friends is always good, especially when it means hunting on private land for free! Plus, I'm not that worried of someone abducting Shark. I mean, come on, the man punched a raccoon to death. See, now you're not worried either.

I can happily report that I have (mostly) finished step 1 of my Christmas presents!! Woot woot! I can also say that I have some Thanksgiving decorations.


Ok, so I bought the wheel barrow this year at the Post, and I just printed out the posters from Craftily Ever After. I love her printables! Mmmhmm! Might just have to print out tons more! I can't wait to see what she does for Christmas!! Yay! Oh, I bought the frames from Dollare Tree and then painted one orange and one yellow. :)

Anyways, that's the post for tonight/tomorrow. One last thought.

(5 more days!!!!) Goodnight!
Love to all those like these little signs. And if anyone knows what font it is they make them in, can you tell me, so I can make some. ♥

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

All in writing

We're getting our budget down on paper! Because I can never stick to it we're never sure what we've got left! So far so good, I bought 2 calendars to write everything down on. I bought 2, 1 for my goals (yeah, that list to the left is still REALLY long!) and 1 for our budget and money stuff. :)

I made a To Do list of all my Christmas presents this year. I can check 2 off! Yayayay! The items I make will NOT be posted until Christmas Day, so if you were hoping to peek, neener neener neener!! It feels good to get things done on my list. 

I went grocery shopping today and that means : NEW MENUS!! Yayay

M 11-8 ------- Waffles
T 11-9 -------- Crunch Wrap Supreme (homemade!!)
W 11-10 ------ Wings
TH 11-11 ----- Chili (Shark leaves for hunting)
F 11-12 ------- Tuna fish Sandwiches
S 11-13 ------- Mac & Cheese
SU 11-14 -----  Football
M 11-15 ------- Gnocchi (as found on Make it and Love it)
T 11-16 -------- Cheeseburger Soup
W 11-17 ------- Linguine Alla Carbonara
TH 11-18 ------ BBQ Beef Sandwiches
F 11-19 -------- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
S 11-20 -------- Soup
SU 11-21 ------ Football

Last night we made waffles as our FHE, and they were awesome! And tonight we made Crunch Wrap Supremes, as made famous at Taco Bell. I just guessed at it, but they turned out pretty dang good! (It helps that I bought this BIG huge can of Nacho Cheese 2 weeks ago... Nachos and Crunch Wraps for ever!!)

Yes, you read that right on Thursday's dinner.... Shark is going hunting... again. I'm crossing my fingers that he comes back with some deer! I need my freezer filled up!! Shark and Steve are heading to Nebraska for this big rifle hunt. I'm just excited for them to get some whitetails! I might even have to borrow Ang's dehydrator... Or maybe... Christmas is coming!! ;)

So anyways, that's what's been going on so far this week. :) Now it's time for me to go to bed. Good night all - and love to those who are crossing things off their To-Do list!! ♥

Thursday, November 4, 2010

As of Late

Ok, so new things... I started working on my Christmas presents! yayayayay! Which means lots of cutting and stuff. But what I'm doing this year is turing out way cute! I'm super excited!

I also scored this awesome craft table! I found it on ksl.com and then when Shark and I went to go pick it up, the lady said I could just have it! I don't pass up on FREE, so of course, we have a table, and some shelves she was getting rid of!! Which is awesome! I love shelves and tables!

Bandit has a fort. Basically that just means, I cleaned out room and put his pillows/bed under the table in our room, and he sleeps there now {instead of at the edge of my side or at the foot of the bed!}.


And you can now see my countertops! Yup, I finally broke down and cleaned my kitchen, sorta. I put my folding shelf in the kitchen for my cook books and some of my appliances, like my 2 crock pots, my griddle, and my Bosch.

Ooh, these are pictures from the Halloween Party, food and stuff.

Lots of fun stuff! Sorry I haven't posted all week. Things have been crazy here. Shark started being a courier at work, so he's driving truck now. But his folks are building a house, and he's been helping his dad with everything on that end. And I am now on the registers at the Post, which is awesome, but a switch from being on the sales floor. :) Things have been crazy, with Christmas happening now at the Post, and the girls tell me, it will only get worse! Oh man!

Love to all who find they really don't have more time... ♥