A few Recipes

Larry's family is putting together a family cookbook and I figured that as long as I was typing up some of my favorite recipes, I might as well post them here for you to enjoy too.

Spinach Cranberry Salad
Whisk together for dressing:
¼ cup Deli mustard
¾ cup Mayo
1/3 cup honey
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 bags baby spinach
½ bag craisins
½ apple chopped into small pieces, soak in lemon juice
½ cup slivered glazed almonds (put sugar in skillet with almonds and cook over low heat- it takes awhile)
Mix together and serve promptly

I inherited this recipe from my mom and luckily Larry likes it because I love to make it.

Won Tons
1 16oz. package won ton wrappers
¾ lb. ground pork
Water Chestnuts finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped green onions
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger or ¾teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg separated (reserve white for sealing edges of won tons)

Mix all ingredients except egg white and wrappers. Mix well. Put small amount of meat mixture in the middle of wrapper,
fold diagonally and seal with egg white. Fry until golden brown.

I got this recipe from one of my roommates in college, and I love it. Be warned that this recipes make a lot of won tons; I buy extra wrappers because I don’t like to fill my wontons too full.

Microwave Caramels
½ cup butter, melt in clear bowl
Stir the following into the melted butter:
½ cup white corn syrup
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sweetened & condensed milk
Stir well, microwave 6 to 8 minutes and pour into a sprayed 8" x 8" dish. If desired, line dish with pecans Cool 10 minutes
on a rack and continue to cool 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Cut and serve.

This is one of Larry’s favorite treats. Be sure to microwave them long enough or they will be especially sticky!

Cherry Cheese Danish (from my friend Jackie Bowman)
2 cans of crescent rolls
1 (8oz) cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract (I leave this out for Larry and it still tastes good)
1 can cherry pie filling (you will not use it all)
canned vanilla frosting (or homemade)

Preheat oven to 350°. Place crescent roll triangles on pizza pan so it looks like a sun (half of the triangle point should hang
over the edge of the pan). Mix with mixer: cream cheese, sugar eggs yolk, vanilla, and almond extract. Spread mixture onto
crescent rolls. Spoon cherries on top of the cream cheese mixture (all around the ring). Take the points of the triangles
that are hanging off of the pan and fold into the inside edge of the rolls. Tuck the points in (it will look like a wreath with a
hole in the middle). Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool. Microwave as much frosting as desired with some almond extract
in it until liquid. Use spoon to drizzle the frosting on top of the Danish.

This recipe looks impressive when it’s done, but it’s easy to make. I like to make it the night before I’m going to serve it and refrigerate it overnight.

Curry Cajun Chicken (from one of my old coworkers, Angie)
1/3 cup honey
¼ cup butter melted
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons Dijon or spicy mustard
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 – 3 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except chicken in shallow, oven-proof casserole dish and stir to combine. Add chicken and turn to coat.
Bake uncovered approximately ½ an hour or until chicken is cooked through.
Serve over rice.

Butterflake Rolls (from my mom, Kim Borup)
1 T yeast
1 T sugar
¼ c warm water
Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water to activate yeast, then add the rest of the ingredients and knead together.
1 c lukewarm milk (scalded and cooled)
½ c butter
½ c sugar
3 eggs well beaten
¾ tsp salt
4 ¼ cups flour
(I add butter to the milk after it has slightly cooled)

Let raise 5 - 6 hours – punch down – roll out half of the dough – brush with melted butter. Cut circle into 16 pieces (pie shaped) – roll up starting at wide end, place on greased cookie sheet, brush again with butter. Let raise another 5 – 6 hours. Bake at 375 for 8 – 10 minutes.

I don’t usually have a lot of time to bake so I only make these rolls once a year for Thanksgiving. The recipe makes 32 rolls and I always have to double the batch because they go quickly.

Crepes
1 ¼ cup flour
2 T sugar
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 ½ cups of milk
2 T melted butter
1 tsp lemon extract (I just use lemon juice)
Blend ingredients well. Cook in skillet sprayed with non-stick spray, turning over once until both sides are lightly golden

Filling:
Layer of sour cream
Layer of brown sugar
Layer of fruit

Put filling on half of crepe and then fold.

This is an easy recipe that Larry and I like to make for dinner once in awhile. You won’t need dessert afterward!

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes (from my friend Jeremiah Sharpe)
1 large can of sweet potatoes (about 40 oz.) drain and mash
Add:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick of melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
(some people like to add maple syrup too, but I don’t)
Mix and pour into baking pan sprayed with non-stick spray

Topping:
In a separate bowl mix:
1 cup brown sugar
Pecans/walnuts (I leave these out for Larry)
½ cup flour
½ cup of butter
¼ tsp cinnamon
Mix well and put on top of sweet potatoes in baking pan

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until not liquidy.

Larry and I both never really liked sweet potatoes until a friend introduced us to this recipe. It is VERY sweet and we have to have it every Thanksgiving.

Simple Bean Dip
1 can of refried beans
½ a regular size package of cream cheese
1/3 – ½ cup sour cream
½ package of taco seasoning
20 drops of hot sauce
Combine ingredients and bake in a small casserole dish for 20 – 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle top with grated cheddar cheese for last five minutes of baking.

All you need is this bean dip and some tortilla chips and you’re set to watch the next Buckeye football game!

Third Times a Charm

My little sister, Marissa, was spending the week in Louisville babysitting for Candice while Candice was teaching scrapbooking classes in Boston. Since Riss lives in Las Vegas, we had to take advantage of the opportunity and drive down to Louisville to visit her. Larry had to work on Saturday so we left that evening. It was A LOT of driving in a 24-hour period, but it was worth it to get together with my sisters.

Of course Marissa and my nephews surprised me with yet another birthday celebration! It involved a piñata that was so strong everyone got a chance to hit it

And fun prizes

And a yummy ice cream cake

Oh and did I mention that we got to visit the grave of The Col. Sanders? Yep, pretty much all my Kentucky dreams are complete.

My birthday

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes. I just wanted to let you all know that I had a great day (besides the having to go to work part anyway). I felt very spoiled, lots of birthday phone messages and e-cards, cheesecake from the cheesecake factory after my company took me out to lunch, Cat's lemons bars (which are one of my favorite things in the world), fun gifts from Larry like an FM transmitter so I can finally listen to my Ipod in the car and a copy of New Moon and the Doris Day DVD Glassbottom Boat (that boy knows me so well!), and an amazing Japanese dinner at Akai Hana (formerly Restaurant Japan).

Growing up I hated birthdays because we moved fairly often and my parents always tried to move us in time for the new school year, which meant right before my birthday, and starting at a new school where you know absolutely no one and you don't have a single friend to celebrate is never fun. When I first got married I didn't want to make a big deal out of birthdays, but I do make a big deal out of every other holiday and Larry's caught on, only now he makes a big deal about my birthday too. I've never been disappointed by him, he makes sure to always plan some special fun and I really appreciate it. He is the biggest reason I actually look forward to my birthdays now!

Early Celebration

Last night my friend Jen and her daughter came over for dinner. I was supposed to be doing something nice for them, but they reversed things and surprised me with an early birthday celebration. Yes, that's cheesecake in the middle of the table, my favorite dessert. It was delicious and I loved the Miss Spider party accessories. It was such a fun surprise.

Too bad Jen is moving to Cincinnati in two weeks. Have you noticed that's a recurring theme on my blog, all of my friends moving away? I know it's happy news for all of them, but pretty soon I'm not going to have any friends left!

Raspberries!

Well, Larry and I had a wonderful Friday. We dropped his car off to be repaired and then we followed my friend Robin's advice and went raspberry picking at Circle S Farms outside of Grove City.


It may not look that hot, but it was so hot! I’m not sure how much Larry enjoyed his afternoon as a farmer, but we ended up with about 6 lbs of raspberries.


I made two batches of freezer jam on Saturday morning and we still have lots of raspberries left over.

Saturday afternoon went with our friends Jason and Liz to see the movie Roman Holiday at the Ohio Theater. I know I’ve said this before, but that theater is so amazing! I would be happy seeing anything there because I just love being in the theater. Every summer they play a lot of old movies at the Ohio Theater because it was originally built to show silent films. They still have the original organ that pops up out of the stage and they play it before movies and during intermission. We decided to go to the matinee on Saturday because they offered a free tour of the theater afterward. They even demonstrated the different organ and lights capabilities (Lish, it was our favorite organ player, you would have loved it!) The season last for one more week so if you’re in Columbus, you still have a chance to watch a movie there.

Happiness

I already knew what I was going to blog about today, I was just waiting for my lunch break, but my boss just told me that since everyone else is taking today off, I can have it off too. He told me to pack up and go home to have some fun! Seriously nice, huh?

Talk to you soon!

Steph

So hard to say goodbye

Part of going to church in a married student ward means lots of goodbyes because every year people graduate and move on with life. Larry and I have just earned the title of the couple that's been in the ward the longest, which means we're also the couple who've said the most goodbyes. Last night we had to say goodbye to Lysle, Kamiko Oliveros and their darling little girls (who actually do smile, but it just never happens when I take a picture).

Lysle and Kamiko are one of the coolest couples that I know (probably a little too cool to be hanging out with us). Larry and I were talking last night on the way home from saying goodbye and we agreed that it's rare to meet a couple where you love both the husband and wife equally, but Lysle and Kamiko are both so amazing! They're moving to Texas so Lysle can go to graduate school to become a certified architect, and Larry dreams of one day having Lysle design our house. He also happens to be an amazing furniture designer and decorator and he's very handy. I loved going over to their house to see their latest projects (A new finished basement, a remodelled kitchen, fresh paint in one of the bedrooms, a new playroom, there was always something different). Kamiko says it's all Lysle, but I know she has a hand in it too and she's pretty handy with a sewing machine so she's always whipping up new pillows or slipcovers. I've heard she's becoming quite the photographer too. It was no surprise that there house sold after being on the market for a week and they didn't even hire a real estate agent. I love having such talented friends that I can learn so much from and I will really miss them.

Our Update

Larry worked all weekend, but we still managed to fit in some fun. We were able to go to dinner and movie with the Zozzes on Friday and had dinner with friends and dessert with the Zozzes later in the weekend too. Since Larry worked on Saturday and Sunday I had plenty of time to put together these shower invitations for my friend Rachel's shower. I'm pretty happy with the way the invitations turned out, but not too happy with the way these pictures turned out. Anyway, here are the pictures.
Invitations front: Invitation inside:Envelope Front:
Envelope inside:They were fun, but I'm gald that I'm done with them, and I'm sure Larry's ready for me to clean up my huge mess. Spending so much time at Donny and Jessica's has inspired Larry and I to do a little more work on our house. I can't believe how much work they've put into their house this last month, and it looks so good. We're going to try to patch the paint in the guestroom where a border was in hopes that we don't have to repaint, hang some of the pictures that we still have sitting around, and organize the basement (the task that I'm dreading the most!).

It seems like fall gives me the inspiration to set more goals and get organized. I know most people feel that way in January, but even though I'm out of school, the beginning of the school year always seems like the start of a new year to me (I'm sure that's partially due to the fact that Larry's residency falls into the same school-year schedule).

The happiest news of the weekend is that Keri found a couple to stay with Grandpa Ford. He is being released from rehabilitation and nursing this month, but he's not ready to live on his own and we knew the home healthcare that we have arranged would not be enough support for him. Luckily Keri found a young couple (and one that she actually knows well, which is a relief to us all) that will setup their home in Grandpa Ford's basement and help him a few hours everyday in between school and work schedules. Hopefully it will be beneficial to all of them. We feel so lucky to have everything worked out!

Knowledgeable stuff

I found a few more crafty ideas that I think would be fun to attempt.

1. I'm in love with this baby quilt because I love the white-on-white stiching with baby sayings. I doubt I'll be attempting this one myself anytime soon though.
2. I also liked the idea of making your own pins using shinky dinks. You can find a tutorial here.
3. This post made me want to learn how to screen print (you have to scroll down a little). Do any of you know how? I'd love to be able to make my own t-shirts using my graphic designs. There's a tutorial here, but I think I would need more help than that.
4. For those of you looking for ways to keep your toddlers busy, you have to check out Kiddley and Kids Craft Weekly for some fun ideas.
5. As fall rolls around I've also been thinking about taking some continueing education classes. The Parks and Rec departments for every community around here offeres classes. Check out the fun classes that they offer in Upper Arlington.

Eli update

I've been meaning to post these pictures that I downloaded from my mom's camera. They're both of my little brother, Eli, right before he left on his mission. The first one is Eli before he got his missionary haricut.

The second one is Eli with my dad on the day he left for Brazil.

Eli is still in the Missionary Training Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but he will be heading out to Florianoplis soon. So far he loves Brazil and he's picking up the language quickly.

It's so weird to think that I won't see him for two years. Two years ago he looked like a totally different kid. If he changes just as much in the next two years I won't even recognize him. At least we get weekly emails from him and I know he's the same funny kid inside.

WIP

Here's my current WIP (work in progress). Hopefully, it will be much cuter once it gets clothes and a face. If think I have the pattern figured out now so if I make another one, it will be a little better. I have enough fabric to make several so there's a good possibility you'll see more of these monkeys. I'll be happy if any of them turn out half as cute as the original ones from Hop Skip Jump.

Blah, blah, blah

Our weekend was fairly uneventful, but it was a good time for me to relax and catch up on things around the house. Larry was on call and worked from 7:00 a.m. on Saturday to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, which put him WAY over his 80 hour work-week cap. That left me with a lot of free time. I read a few books, went to a baby shower, picked up fabric at JoAnn’s, started sketching out my monkey pattern, and visited Larry at the hospital. Oh, and I started cleaning out my closet, which is a HUGE undertaking. There were things buried in there that will never fit me again, and if they ever did I will just reward myself with new clothes instead of holding onto clothes that someone else could be wearing. We went to dinner at the Erney’s on Sunday (our adopted Columbus family), which was perfect timing because I brought along loads of clothes for the girls to look through. Somehow it’s easier giving away old clothes that you still love if they’re going to people you love who are happy to get them. I made it through everything hanging in my closet, but I still have to brave my dresser, my sweaters (which Larry thinks is quite the out of control collection), and my shoes. Why is it so hard to get rid of some of this stuff that I never wear?

When I was little the cleaning fairy used to visit our house on random occasions, and when the house was clean she would leave us a treat. If the house was dirty she would leave us a note that she visited, but she was unable to leave a treat because the house was messy. Where’s the cleaning fairy now? I guess I’ll have to come up with some other way to motivate myself.

On a side note, while I was at JoAnn’s I saw that they now have a whole aisle of decorative letters of all different sizes and fonts. I don’t know if it’s the writer or graphic designer in me, but I’ve always been obsessed with monograms and words. I think this might inspire a new project.

Updates

Miracle of miracles, my sisters, Candice and Marissa have both recently updated their blogs. Check them out and notice that we all have identical haircuts at the moment.

In other news, Larry is doing an infectious disease rotation this month. He hopes to do his fellowship in ID so he is working hard to impress (plus he's working with a brand new intern and new third-year med students who don't know their way around the hospital or computer system yet) so he is working crazy hours. He came home at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and he wasn't even on call. Yesterday he got home around 8:30 p.m., which was better, but considering that he left at 6:30 a.m. it's still not great. I have a feeling it's going to be a long month.

My parents headed back to Utah on Tuesday. Candice and Mark took them to the airport because I was in charge of an event in Grove City for work that day so I couldn't do it. The event went from 4:30 to 6:30 with the mayor speaking at 5:30. I had to be there for setup and cleanup so I barely made it home in time to host book club at my house. I asked my mom and Candice to be sure to leave the house clean because I knew I wouldn't have time for cleanup. I just meant make sure all the toys and movies the nephews got out were put away, but they went above and beyond. The house was spotless, the floors were mopped, the laundry was done, the bathrooms sparkling, Candice made pies to serve at book club, and she also left fresh cherries in my fridge. I got a little teary because it was such a nice surprise after a stressful day.

With my birthday coming up this month, I reviewed my list of new things I tried this year. There are still a couple of things that I wanted to try this year, but I made it to 25 so some of those things can wait until after I turn 26 and I try to do 26 new things. It wasn't very hard for me to make it to 25, but imagine it will get harder and doing 72 new things when I'm 72 won't be so easy. A couple of things that I know I want to try soon are going berry picking, creating my own letterbox, visiting Old Man's Cave, and trying to make one of these monkeys without a pattern since the pattern isn't available.

Card Kits

I think that I told you awhile ago that Candice and I were working on creating some card kits for Creating Keepsakes to sell on the scrapnfonts.com Web site. They're finally up on the site for you to see here. They haven't posted the one that I like the most yet, but I think it will be up soon. Here's a preview picture for you though.