Mormon Bloggers

Ron Paul Original Chocolate Chip Cookies coming out of the oven Since giving a copy of The Ron Paul Family Cookbook to Adelaide, she has made Banana Nut Bread, Orange Rolls, and now Ron Paul Original Chocolate Chip Cookies. Ron Paul Original Chocolate Chip Cookies Cream the following ingredients: 1 cup Crisco 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla Dissolve 1 tsp. baking soda in 1 tbsp. hot water and mix with: 2¼ cups flour 1 tsp. salt 1 cup chopped nuts 1 large bag chocolate chips Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Adelaide says: I made the cookies a few nights ago. I didn’t add nuts, and I only put one regular sized bag of chocolate chips (opposed to the large bag it calls for), but they seemed to turn out rather well. The recipe made 4 dozen large cookies, and we ate 2 dozen that night, another dozen yesterday, and I sent the last dozen with Steven to work today. Overall, I think they were a big hit. Photo Credit:... Read the rest of this entry »

I have always wanted to be one of those women that does all her shopping with re-usable bags.  Over time I’ve gathered a few boring store brand ones, but I NEVER remember to use them.  Even if they’re in the empty seat beside me as I pull into the grocery store parking lot, I will grab my purse and not give a thought to grabbing them as well. My community does not offer any kind of curbside recycling, so it’s not a habit I’ve ever gotten in to.  In my house plastic bags go straight into the garbage.  I have absolutely no use for them (well, lining the bathroom trashcan, maybe).  I know stores have collection bins, but if I can’t remember a bag I paid for when I go in the store, there’s no way I’m going to remember a wad of dirty plastic ones.  If I’m quick enough at the checkout stand, I do usually get paper bags so I can cut them up and use for crafting with my kids.  I’ve been noticing, though,... Read the rest of this entry »

Last year for Christmas my sister Brooke brought homemade chocolate truffles to snack on.  I prefer to call them “Death by Christmas Treat.”  This year she is upping the ante and has promised to bring the truffles but also 6 additional chocolate sweet treats.  She’s going to kill me. I’m foregoing the cocoa-based delectable in my homemade goodies this year.  Instead I’m filling my cute Christmas tins with Sugared Cranberries and Candied Nuts.  What yummies are coming out of your kitchen this holiday season?   Read More →

If you were reading awhile back, you know that I love Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey and that I also struggle supporting that particular ice cream establishment due to our differing political views.  When I mentioned it just a few months ago I hadn’t found the impetus to make a definite turn away from my favorite frozen delicacy.  Today, however, I’ve taking my stand. With Ben and Jerry’s today throwing their corporate support behind the Occupy Movement, I will no longer support them even to indulge my strongest cravings.  Not because there isn’t good to be done buried somewhere deep in the mess that is the Occupy Movement.  And not because I disagree with their long-standing efforts to support employees and consumers over corporate interests.  The reason I can no longer sneak my Chunky Monkey has much more to do with their decision to fuel a completely ineffective and direction-less movement. Over the past few months I’ve found... Read the rest of this entry »

I’m taking part in a “blog campaign” and this was one of the challenges. 1.  I don’t like to be the center of attention.  This post is difficult because I’m saying, hey everybody these are facts about me.  Sometimes those facts just come out when I blog and am telling a story, but now I feel like you’re all looking at me and my fly’s down and I have spinache in my teeth. . . 2.  I am not a competitive person but I love to watch sports.  All my kids have played a high school sport–b-ball and lacrosse.  If I played, first of all we’d lose and second, I’d be curled up in fetal position on the court or field. 3.  I have great ideas but have a hard time implementing them.  I’m more of a thinker than a doer.  4.  I have a hard time making up my mind.  Wait no I don’t.  Okay, yes I do.  But just sometimes.  Probably. 5.  I took type in the 7th... Read the rest of this entry »

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 →