Mormon Bloggers

A few years ago, I treated myself to a Twinkie.  A fresh Twinkie from the grocery store.  And I hated it! It was too soft and spongy and I really disliked the texture.  I couldn’t figure out what was wrong because I had been eating Twinkies for years.  And then it hit me. I had been eating Twinkies for year…from the outlet store.  The Twinkies that were about to “expire,” or go past their freshness date.  That is where my mom always bought them, and where I always bought them.  They are so much cheaper than full retail price at the store.  So I had been eating nearly stale Twinkies. Hence, when I had a fresh one, I didn’t like it at all.  That wasn’t the way it was supposed to taste! I still can’t eat them from the store.  They have to be from the outlet.  That’s just they way it is. (But I love them frozen now.  Just freeze them, then eat them right out of the freezer.  Yummy!)  Read More →

Only two weeks to go to Labor Day, so we couldn’t let a Sunday pass by without trying to complete another item on our Summer List. One of our favorite activities from last summer was our first Iron Chef competition. We split our family into two teams, boys against the girls. Last year the boys won by preparing the judge’s (Grandpa) favorite fruit salad as an appetizer. This year the girls were  Read More →

 I’ve told you before that I grew up in small-town Utah. That meant everyone was pretty self-sufficient. Most people had farms or a few chickens (or turkeys) and almost everyone had at least a small garden to grow a few vegetables. My parents had both. We also had a few fruit trees and my grandparents had a gigantic pear tree. I can’t ever eat a fresh Bartlett pear without thinking of my grandpa.  Read More →

Remember a while ago I told you that I couldn’t think of anything to write about so I had Teach throw in some pics and then I had to write something about them? Just for fun, we decided to try it again. She chose some of my favorite pictures, but the story isn’t all that great, so I apologize if I’m a bit lame today. You all know that Teach is trying really hard to be a teacher. She has  Read More →

For scouts last week we did requirement 22f: Make your own rope. I thought it would be kind of fun to have the treat be something rope-y, so I made this: Ingredients: 1 tsp sugar 1/2 cup warm (110F) water 1 tbsp active dry yeast 1/2 cup oil 1/2 cup warm water 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp salt 2 eggs 3 3/4 cups flour (and up to 1/4 cup extra for kneading) 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water 2 tsp cinnamon (optional) The ingredient line-up Directions: Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Add oil, water, sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Mix until smooth, then gradually add remaining flour until dough comes together into a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle reserved flour onto a smooth surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, incorporating any of the reserved flour as needed (I just used my mixer.) Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap,... Read the rest of this entry »

Today was Scout’s first day of kindergarten! She was so nervous this morning that she was sick to her stomach. For a minute I thought she might have to miss the first day, but after a nice long shower she was finally ready to go. Scout is my 10th child to head off to kindergarten, so you would think it wouldn’t affect me…but it does. By the time my sweetie got home from work and things had  Read More →

 Teach invited me out for ice cream tonight, and never one to turn down an offer of a delicious treat, I agreed. We decided on Arctic Circle just down the street. After we waited in an incredibly long line for our Brown Toppers (vanilla cones dipped in crunchy chocolate topping), we headed for home. I guess the girl making the cones felt bad for us because they were quite a bit bigger than the  Read More →

I’ve told you before that my mom and dad raised 8 kids on a teacher’s salary. Mom was always SO careful with money. We had a farm, so that meant fresh milk and eggs. Mom made her own bread, so that was always plentiful. It was only natural that French Toast was part of our diet. Mom made hot breakfasts five days a week, Monday through Friday and the breakfasts were pretty set. We had eggs one day  Read More →

so food is one of Justin and my favorite things in the whole world. Here are some of the latest thing I’ve been drooling over via pinterest! -Heather roasted tomato soup here ooo dinner rolls! here oreo cream cheese brownies! SERIOUSLY! here homemade nutella. WHAT!!!! here cake batter cookies! here pretzel bites. here sea salt caramels. here oreo truffles!!! here Should I be alarmed most of these are desserts?   Read More →

Since I spent my weekend camping at the lake with the kids and the grandkids, I’ve spent most of today scratching mosquito bites and remembering past fishing trips mostly with my grandpa. Grandpa (not to be confused with my dad) was my fishing buddy. He was a quiet man and fishing was just right for his personality. We would sit for hours, me sometimes jabbering while he pondered (or maybe he  Read More →

I discovered maybe a real life “lifesaver” a Blentec Those of you who know me, maybe not even well, know that I do not like fruit. I never have. I refused to eat it when I was little, etc. etc… Before this bad boy- I might have been the most unhealthy person you know. How I am not 500 lbs is beyond me. My diet consisted of a few basic things… ice cream, candy, peanut butter, bread, and noodles. It is a huge joke in my family that I am on the “white diet.” And my brothers say that my anti-fruit attitude has now become an identity and a way to get attention. B.S. It is never fun to be at a shower, in your honor, and literally play with your food… Shower food is my least favorite- its always like very very small appetizers. Rolls and salad. And then treats in abundance or fruit platters… It’s my struggle. Luckily, I have this great friend, who acts as an assistant and we sort of switch off with the fruits, for example I’ll get... Read the rest of this entry »

I had a lot of fun making the cake, cupcakes, “ladybug” bagel pizzas, and peach lemonade (a huge thank you to Morley for helping with the pizzas, Grandma Jill and Sarah for the “ladybug log” breadsticks and “butterfly spots” jello salad, and Gramsie for the “butterfly garden” vegetables): And as a bonus, here’s Cassie eating her cake:  Read More →