Gingersnap Cookies

we love to make gingersnap cookies this time of year.

and the house smells so delicious!

the recipe: ( i always seem to make these a little different every time, but here goes...)

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening or oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon groundcloves
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
small amount of white granulated sugar

Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg in a bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Form into a ball. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets lightly. Remove dough from the fridge and form into small balls about 1-2 inches. Dip the tops in white granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheets.
Bake 10-12 minutes. (makes 4 dozen)

(it's funny to me writing down recipes from my paper. there are always little nuances that aren't included. like the fact that i use a spoon to mix and stir everything up instead of an electric mixer. to me it makes a difference. or the fact that after i take the cookies out of the oven, i drop the cookie sheet on top of the stove or counter to flatten them out. is this the same for you? do you have little "tricks" you do when baking and cooking?)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The Raging Virgin

this is our view of the virgin river.

she is raging.

Two Dances

the first dance is zoe's. she's in the back for the beginning, but then moves up to the front around the middle of the dance.

the gingersnaps


the second is aryn's dance. it's a long one.

the dance of the flowers

Nutcracker 2010

the girls performed in The Nutcracker again this year.
i love to watch them dance.

Our Home Now

i've been called a tease...so i'm finally posting some "after" pictures of the casa. (remember the before?)

we moved back into our home just before thanksgiving. honestly, it was good to be home, but it didn't feel like the home i was used to.

now that we've been here a little while, it's starting to feel like our home again. there are still a few things to be finished and we haven't moved into all the spaces yet, but we are making plans for them.

two of my favorites:

downstairs: we moved the fireplace to another wall and put a window in its place. this opened the entire room up and now we can see the whole backyard. we changed the color to a happy yellow called pale moon (benjamin moore).

upstairs: the family room. this space is especially appreciated when i am making dinner and everyone else is playing upstairs. and i love the color we used. it's called lively yellow (sherwin williams), but it's definitely more of a chartreuse green.

p.s.   don't these pictures make it look like i keep a spotless house? well, you would be wrong to assume that. this home is certainly lived in by 7 people.
(this post is dedicated to you, mubeen. hehehe)

Calico Chili

this past summer aryn took a cooking class from Nicole. she learned all sorts of valuable skills and brought home dinner for the family every tuesday. (what a wonderful relief for me.)

she loved the class. she felt like a chef. we decided to keep tuesday night as this amazing girl's night to cook. even while we stayed at my mom and dad's house, she cooked.

when i was her age, i never really learned how to cook meals. i am so happy that she is learning. it's a sure sign that my not.so.little girl is growing.

wonder what she cooked for us last night?

 it's a recipe from Misti. you're gonna love it. shhh! it's a secret!

Here's the chili recipe:

1 lb hamburger (brown it of course)

1 or 2 cans chili beans

1 or 2 cans pork 'n beans

1 can stewed tomatoes (or go the extra mile and put a pint of bottled tomatoes instead)

1 pint salsa (the real recipe calls for half a bottle of picante sauce but I like my (that would be misti) salsa better)

chili powder to taste

1 tsp. sugar

Morse Code

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-./ ---  ../-./-/./.-./-././-  -.--/./-

.--/---/.../-  .../---/---/-.


for a translating help, go here.




just kidding.

we are back in house
no internet yet
will post soon