Monday, July 28, 2008

Breaking Dawn

I'm out of books to read at the moment. But I refuse to start another book and become engrossed in it only to have to place it aside to gather dust while I submerge myself in the new Stephanie Meyer book, Breaking Dawn. I'm just so excited about this book! And once I read it through once, I'll have to start the series over again from the beginning just to get the whole story. Not that I haven't read the first three books a trillion times over, it will just be awesome to read the series all the way through! 4 days and barely patiently waiting. *sigh*

Friday, July 25, 2008

Cajun Salmon

4 salmon fillets
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon oregano
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne
1-teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Lightly brush each salmon fillet with olive oil. Rub about 1 tablespoon Cajun mixture into each fillet. Place on oiled baking sheet, skin side down and bake about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Tagged

4 Places I Visit Over and Over Again:

1. Harmons
2. Spanish Fork
3. West Valley
4. Salt Lake City

4 Bands/Groups I Love to Listen To:

1. Celtic Women
2. Nirvanna
3. Trans Siberian Orchestra
4. Evanescence

4 Movies I'd Watch Over and Over:

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Broken Trail
3. Sara Plain & Tall series
4. LOTR Trilogy

4 Places I'd Rather Be:

1. Jackson Hole
2. Alaska
3. New York
4. Italy

4 People Who Call/Text Regularly:

1. Thomas
2. Mom
3. Tiana
4. Work

4 Favorite Foods:

1. Mom's Chimichangas
2. NY sub
3. Mom's Turkey dinner
4. Mom's seafood Christmas dinner

4 People I'm Tagging:

1. Tiana
2. Dan
I don't know anyone else on here

Gram's Triple Berry Pie


  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 packets of non flavored gelatin (junket)
  • 1 quart strawberries, hulled
  • 2 pints raspberries
  • 2 pints blackberries
  • 2 (9 inch) graham cracker crust pie shells
  1. In a saucepan, combine water, sugar and cornstarch. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the strawberry gelatin. Allow to cool slightly. Arrange berries in the pie crusts. Pour gelatin mixture over, covering the berries. Place in refrigerator and chill overnight. Serve with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Mixed Berry Topping

This versatile topping can be used on cake, cheesecake, ice cream, waffles, pancakes, crepes or Jell-o.

2 - 1 pound containers strawberries, rinsed and hulled, keep pound separate
2 cups raspberries
2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon

Place one pound of strawberries in a blender and puree. Add in 1 cup blackberries and 1 cup raspberries. Blend to chop up just a little bit. Pour into a bowl and add the remaining raspberries and blackberries. Slice the rest of the strawberries and add to the mixture. Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on mixture and stir to mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

My Dad, Part 2


So as you know, my Dad is an awesome roper. He won 2 saddles, 2 buckles and money at the Big Daddy #8 roping in Cheyenne Frontier Days on Saturday. Well, Dad competed again on Sunday in another round of the Big Daddy roping. He won ANOTHER trophy buckle and trophy saddle!!!!!! That's some pretty hot stuff! So now he's coming home with 3 trophy buckles, 3 trophy saddles and about $2000 in prize money! I can't wait to go out to see Dad and Mom when they get home!!!! Way to go Dad!!!!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

My Dad!


So my Dad and Mom are in Cheyenne, Wyoming right now for the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Dad is roping in some of the big jackpots they have for the USTRC. He called us this morning to let us know whats happening. At first, he wanted to talk to the kiddos but they happened to be sleeping in. So he tells me that he won $1400 yesterday. I was pretty excited for him! Then being the turd that he is he says that he also won two trophy buckles! I was even more excited! Then at the end he says, "Oh, by the way, I won two saddles too." What a tease! The kids woke up after they heard me whoohooing and had to come talk to their Papa. They were pretty excited about Papa winning lots more trophies! I'm so proud of Dad! For saying he hadn't ever won a saddle and then a year ago he finally does, he's sure getting a collection of them! Good job Dad and keep roping the race!!!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Salmon in Creamy Dill Sauce

4 TBSP Olive Oil
1 bunch green onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 TBSP chicken broth
3/4 c. half and half
4 TBSP dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 salmon steaks

In a large fry pan or dutch oven, heat olive oil. Sautee green onions for about 4 minutes in the oil. Add in cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, half and half, dill weed and salt & pepper. Whisk together and bring to a quick simmer. Place salmon in the sauce and cover the steaks with some of the sauce. Cover the pan and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Temp the salmon. Once in reaches about 130 degrees internally, serve! Place steaks on a plate and spoon sauce over them. Goes well with steamed asparagus or rice pilaf!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Lavender Shrimp

2 lbs large uncooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
4 bunches lavender
2 lemons
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat grill. Place shrimp on kabob sticks. Spritz shrimp lightly with 1/2 lemon. Turn grill on low and place lavender bunches on the grill. Place kabobs on the lavender and grill shrimp on each side for about 7 minutes. Squirt the rest of the lemon on the shrimp while they cook. Serve while hot!

Rosemary Kabobs

10 Rosemary sprigs, make sure they are long enough to make kabobs with
2 bunches fresh sage
2 bunches fresh thyme
your favorite grilling veggies & meat, cleaned and cut large enough to put on a skewer
salt and pepper to taste

Heat your grill. While the grill is heating, use the rosemary sprigs as kabob sticks. Thread your favorite ingredients on the rosemary sprigs. Turn your grill down very very low and place the sage and thyme bunches directly on the grill. Then place your kabobs on top of the herb bed. Let it cook until veggies are tender crisp and the meat is done. Season with salt and pepper. Serve & enjoy!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Something Manly for Dan

Is it really possible to ignite farts?
The answer to that is yes! However, you should be aware that people get injured igniting flatus. Not only can the flame back up into your colon, but your clothing or other surroundings may catch on fire. A survey done by Fartcloud (the site, alas! is no more) indicates that about a quarter of the people who ignited their farts got burned doing it. Ignition of flatus is a hazardous practice. However, if you want to try it, and you don't have a friend to light your fart for you, you might find it easier to accomplish the job using the Fartlighter.

There have also been cases in which intestinal gases with a higher than normal oxygen content have exploded during surgery when electric cautery was used by the surgeon.

http://www.heptune.com/farts.html

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Kids

So, last Thursday night we went to Benjamin, UT to watch my brother Mitch (Lew) and my Dad rope at a jackpot team roping. My kiddos love watching Papa "rope the race" and had a grand time as always rooting on Papa and Uncle Lew. Well as it turns out Lew won the roping that night and Papa also placed. The kids where so excited! They knew Papa and Lew had won some money but kept asking if they got the trophy. I kept trying to explain to them that the money was the trophy, but that wasn't good enough. So it's been their thing all week, asking about the trophy. Well, tonight, we went out to Genola, UT to watch Papa rope at a series roping. It was such a fun time! During the 3rd go, Papa tied with another man for first place points and they had to have a two steer rope off to see who would win. It was so very exciting! It was a pretty close call, but in the end, Papa won!!!! After the roping Papa had the kids come over with him to get his trophy, a very nice trophy breast collar! The kids and Papa were just tickled pink with Papa getting the trophy breast collar. Way to go Dad! John and Carol got to hold the trophy for Papa and they even had their picture taken with it! Such a big deal! On the drive home from the roping, all Carol could talk about was Papa winning the trophy, holding the trophy and such. Then she says," See Momma, I told you my Papa always wins the trophies!"