Creamed Corn

• 20 ounces corn kernels, blanched, and removed from the cob
  
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• white or cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Place corn kernels, whipping cream, milk, salt, sugar, and white or cayenne pepper in a large stockpot. Bring to a slow, low boil beginning on medium heat, stirring frequently. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Melt butter in the microwave, or in a small saucepan on low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Stir into the corn until well blended. Enjoy!

School

So Yesterday, my two kids went to their first day of school. I knew Carol would be going without a doubt, but we didn't find out about John going to the school sponsored preschool until Friday afternoon. So, Monday morning I take them both to school. They both have their lunches packed away in their backpacks, new clothes and spiffy new shoes. As they lined up to go to their classes, my emotions overcame me. John says to me "Ok Mom, go home now." Carol just completely ignores me as she socializes and makes new friends in the 5 minutes before school starts. I stood there a little while longer, snapping a few pics and I thought,"Wow, Today is the day. I can't believe my kids are big enough to be lining up for their class and going to school." The both looked so beautiful to me (Don't tell John, he's handsome, Don't ya know!) and so ready to begin the next steps in their lives, without Mom there all the time. I knew they would be ready for this day, but my poor heart wasn't. I didn't shed any tears, my eyes just got a little misty and all. After they walked into their classrooms, I went home to 3 very quiet hours of house work and chocolate. I'm okay with this school thing now, but just for a minute, it was almost too hard to let them go.

Root Beer Float Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ready In: 2-1/2 hours

Serves: 12

1 golden vanilla cake mix

Root Beer (not extract or concentrate)

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 recipe Celebration Icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake according to package directions except use root beer in place of liquid called for and add vanilla and lemon zest. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake according to package directions. Cool completely.

Celebration Icing:

In a medium mixing bowl, beat 1/3 cup unsalted softened butter until smooth. Add 1 cup powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in 3 tablespoons root beer and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Gradually beat in 2 more cups of powdered sugar. If necessary, beat in a little more root beer to make spreading consistency,

Carol's first Horse show was just awesome! She took 5th in the Leadline showmanship and 2nd in Leadline equitation! Way to go my girlo!

Horse Show

Tomorrow, Carol-Anne is going to be in her first horse show! We are so excited! So today we tried on her show clothes and then had to take some silly pictures of her all dolled up with her T's crown and one of her Papa's trophy buckles! I think we have a future rodeo queen on our hands!

Thomas' Sauteed Mushrooms

1 package slice mushrooms
2 TBSP Poultry Seasoning
1 cube butter

Melt butter in a pan. Add in mushrooms and poultry seasoning. Sautte mushrooms until tender. Serve hot.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

4 ears of Utah corn, kernels removed
1 cucumber, diced
2 ripe Utah tomatoes, diced
1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 c. red onion, diced
Zest and juice from 1/2 lime
1 small finely minced jalapeno pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/3 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Blanch the corn kernels for about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Remove to a large bowl and add all the other ingredients and toss together gently. Make 4 cups.

Which Disney Princess Am I?

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Carol is disappointed in my Disney princess. She thinks I should be something more princess like instead.

Breaking Dawn Part 2

VICTORY! I have the book at last! At first my friend Carly and I went to the Barnes and Noble store to wait in line in Orem. What a joke! The line was clear down by the burlington coat factory store! So we had a bright idea and Carly and her boyfriend James walked over to the FYE store to see how long the line was. They discovered the line was really short there, so I left my place at B&N and went to FYE. 15 minutes later, I had the book in my hands. Joy! We had to walk past B&N to get to our cars and holy crap the line was still extremely huge out side! I swear we would have waited in line until 3 am just to buy this book! I'm so glad we went over to the other store! Well I'm going to go read now. I might not surface for a day or two!

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*

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.

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.

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!!!!

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!!!

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!

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!

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