Come What May and Love It

Leif and I wanted a treat last night but wanted it to be a little on the healthy side. We were at the store when we were talking about it. We decided we wanted to try to make some sort of Ice Cream sorbet. We wanted fruit. So we picked out a mango, a carton of strawberries, and lemons. We were not sure if these 3 would go well together but hey, it was worth a try. After a little tasting and trying here is what we ended up putting together. Mango Strawberry lemon Sorbet 1 mango 1 carton strawberries juice of 2 lemons 1 cup milk 1/4 c sugar 1/2 t vanilla dash of salt (it helped cut the tart without adding more sugar) We blended everything together in a blender and then put it in the Ice cream maker according to manufactures instructions. Then I put it in an air tight container in the freezer for about 30 minutes It could have stayed a little longer but over night it gets a little hard. It would need to be set out before serving if left overnight. It was yummy and very satisfying for your...

D's all time favorite food that she could eat anytime anywhere is Pasta salad. This is one meal that I make that has no recipe. I just throw in some of this and some of that. I cook up a big pot of multi colored pasta. Drain and then chill. I usually drain the hot water off and add cold water with some ice cubes, stir it until the whole pan feels cold. Then drain and make sure there are no more ice cubes. A must have in this salad is green onions. Beyond that it is whatever is in season or in the fridge. I put in carrots, celery, green peppers, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, etc. During the winter, I have done canned veggies like corn or green beans. Sometimes I add cubed cheese. I stick this in the fridge so when the kids want a snack or get their dinner on their own they can just get it. The dressing is what makes the whole salad! I use Good season Italian dressing. I have not had a salad made with any other Italian dressing that was as good. When you serve the salad is when you ...

One of my families favorite meals is meatloaf. Yes you read it right ... meatloaf! My kids love my secret recipe. They have eaten meatloaf made by other people and they understand why meatloaf is not liked by most of their friends. hehe It makes me feel good that they like it so much. :) now for the secret. First if I get my usual hamburger of 93% fat free it makes the meatloaf too dry so I get 85%. I cook it on a broiler pan. That way the extra grease drips out too the bottom. Now for the secret recipe. Hehe Shh don't tell anyone I cheat. The recipe comes on the lipton onion soup mix box. If I did not have the box I could not make it. Click here to find it for yourself. Prep time is about 10 -15 minutes. Bake time is 1 hour and whala it is the best meatloaf ever. To finish the meal we like baked potatoes and some green beans. Oh and I like to serve it with Bulls eye BBQ sauce. Hope you end up liking meatloaf as much as my family does.

Everywhere I look there are trials. I look at my children and their friends. I look at my son and being in middle school. That is a trial in and of itself. I look at my 15 year old daughter and the pressures of getting ready to date. She also has a friend whos father is missing. D is not sure how to handle it with her friend. She wants her friend to know she is there for her but she is afraid that if she says anything it will just make her cry. She knows that the friend is in school and doing things to keep herself busy so she does not have to remember. My heart also breaks for her friends family. I look at my college student. L has all the pressures that come with college life. Finding friends that she can have some fun with, wanting to feel special in the eyes of some boy, (only premissionaries) getting good grades, making good choices, ect. I look at the friends and family around me and see more trials. My mom says she is sick and tired of being sick and tired. I feel bad for her. M...

My favorite meal at a restraunt is a Carino's, Spicy chicken Romano. mmmmm. So I decided I wanted to try to make my own. I bought a box of Ramano's Macaroni Grill Pasta Alfredo. (I found it at Wal-mart) I followed the instructions on the back. While cooking the sauce I added crushed red peppers so it can release the flavor. I cut thin slices of chicken. For me this makes a huge difference. When the pasta is all cooked according to the package, I added a can of artichokes (drained) and some sun dried tomatoes. I tried both the dried tomatoes and a little can of sundried tomatoes. I think the little jar had a better flavor, but they are a little more pricey. I am not a fan of mushrooms but if you are, add them at this time. Warm thoroughly. Enjoy.

One of my hero's is a little boy named Mattie Stepanek he only lived to be about 11. He was wise beyond his years. This is one of many poems that he wrote. We need to stop. Just stop. Stop for a moment. Before anybody Says or does anything That may hurt anyone else. We need to be silent. Just silent. Silent for a moment. Before we forever lose The blessing of songs That grow in our hearts. We need to notice. Just notice. Notice for a moment. Before the future slips away Into ashes and dust of humility. Stop, be silent, and notice. In so many ways, we are the same. Our differences are unique treasures. We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts To nurture, to offer, to accept. We need to be. Just be. Be for a moment. Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting, Like children and lambs, Never judging or vengeful Like the judging and vengeful. And now, let us pray, Differently, yet together, Before there is no earth, no life, No chance for peace. September 11, 2001 © Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepan...

I love going through the internet and finding recipes that I would like to try. I decided I want to keep them in the same places. So for my first one here it goes. I hate squash, or I thought I did. People would give me squash and I would turn it down. I hate squash cooked in the oven with a little butter and brown sugar. Yuck! One day I got some butternut squash in a Bountiful Baskets So I decided to research and see if I could find a squash recipe I could handle. I found garlicky butternut squash click here I LOVE SQUASH! well when it is made with this recipe. It says to peal the squash. The first time I made this, I killed my hands and it took almost 45 minutes to peal it. The I found a tip that helps a lot. Blanch (boil)the whole unpeeled squash till when you press your fingernail or tip of knife it turns the skin a different color. (about 5 minutes). After you do that, the knife slides under the skin with ease. Much easier! Squash soup. On a cold day Leif and I took the recipe o...

I have a good friend who passed away a few years ago. She was only 76 years wise. I have been thinking about her a lot this week. She was a little grandma about 5'2 and lots of wit. My children and I still have a lot of Nonaisms. not a day goes by without us talking about Nona's pennies from heaven, or Nona bear, or Nona bites (the burnt edges of different dishes) ect. This week as I have become aware of others struggles I am reminded of her one bit of advice. Keep your chin's up. But when said to her, She would follow up with which one? I have recently had the luck of reading her life sketch and found that she really went through a lot in her 76 years of life. No wonder she had her wit and humor. She also said she had learned in life if I don't laugh I would sit and cry. I am watching some friends go through some trials right now and I spent the day fasting and praying for them and wondering what I can do for them. One of these friends has on her blog a scripture that ...

For two of my children their natural high is Ballroom. They love it. H has found a little self confidence through ballroom. His team competed a week ago and got a blue ribbon - first place. I think it was the cha cha. They also got a 3rd place ribbon for another team routine. The next day he got 2nd place in syllabus. (couple routines) That ribbon was the cha cha. One of the last dances he learned was the paso doble. He kept getting call backs and he could not beleive it. He got 6th place! Let me explain how cool it is to even place at these competitions. In H's level of competition all of the children get to dance the first time. (up to 50 couples) then they split it into two groups the first 1/2 (A group) are the technically better part of the dancers. the two groups are then cut down to about 12. after that the next call backs are the final 6. When the final 6 are out there you know they will get a ribbon. Both of H's ribbons were in the A group. For D's level it is acco...