I KNEADED!!!

Oops, I forgot to take a pic, I need to get on the habit still. I am loving to cook these days, well, most days... there are times when I am too tired to get in the kitchen or get the creative juices flowing. (I don't really have "creative" juices, for me that means, just making something! :) Because of a great Pampered Chef show idea, Power Cooking, (cooking up extra beef or chicken and then having a couple more dinners ready after one night in the kitchen) I had some ready to use beef in the freezer... what should I make... Well, I have been wanting to try calzones since we ate them at our beloved friends', the Bantas, (very delicious homemade calzones). So, I looked up the pizza dough recipe on The Food Network and found the one they used, poured some sauce over the ground beef and my sweet husband stopped at the store for cheese! The kids got into it and helped, patting out the single servings of dough, adding ingredients, folding over, crimping the edges and we sat down to a delish dinner! But the part I am most proud of, pathetically, I know, is the dough! I have always secretly wanted to bake bread, etc. but never attempted it for various reasons, the biggest one probably being fear of failure... oh, and that too familiar excuse of too busy and tired. Anyway, I was pretty proud of myself at the kneading part! I was like, 'Look at me! I am kneading!' I conquered my fear of kneading! And the best part is, it turned out yummy. My children ate, for the most part, at our house partial participation deems it a success. And John liked it too!! YAY! I like to make him happy. So, sorry there is no pic, but I think we will be doing it again soon and I will try to snap one for y'all!
XOXO

Anniversary of our engagement

Yesterday, Ellie said to me, Mom tell me about something that has only happened to you once in your life. So I started to tell her about when Daddy asked me to marry him because it is a funny story! And then I realized yesterday, March 15th is the 17th anniversary of our engagement. It was a weekend much like this one was, uncharacteristically warm. A beautiful day for a walk in the park... (the above pic isn't from that day, its from 1990, the summer we had graduated and just started dating. Look at my hunk-a-hunk-a-husband! woot-woot!)

We had out portraits taken after we were engaged.

I don't remember what year this was, maybe 1991, John's fam took me on a family vacation to Lagoon and Lake Powell. Young love...what fun! And what fun that trip was!

This is the same trip. There is John's little bro, Jake, sneaking into the pic. :)

So, do you want to hear the story??

Most of you have already heard or know it...but what is a blog for but, self-indulgence?!

I am going to tell the story.......

Once upon a time there was a girl in love with a boy, and she schemed with the boy's mother to help the boy see that they were m.f.e.o. (ref Sleepless in Seattle, "Made For Each Other"). The boy's eyes were opened, much to the relief and joy of the girl! So they were in love. They spent many hours together and one day, unbeknownst to the girl, the boy had decided to ask the girl to marry him. They went to the park on a lovely day in March and were just walking around and talking, as they did often and enjoyed. Boise has several very lovely parks and they are big enough to walk around in and enjoy for hours. (something I took for granted until I moved to a two park town, count them two, and while they are enjoyable for children, well, fair warning; bring a book!) Back to the story...

Right away, in their walk, the boy made the first of several comments about how many people were at the park that day. Of course, after the fact, this distracted observation is understandable when you know that the boy was planning a romantic proposal, but at the time, it was one of several odd behaviors of the boy that the girl noted. However, not to worry, she did not put the clues together and ruin the surprise, oh, that she would have got a clue and acted with much more grace....read on.

After walking a bit, the boy asked the girl if she would like to sit for a while. Now, mind you this is a lovely park, but for some reason there are no benches in this part of it, so we, I mean, the characters of our story would have had to sit on the ground. Usually, this is perfectly fine and enjoyable, but this park had a little pond, home to geese and ducks, which roamed the area, leaving behind... welllll.... things dropped from their behind! (My apologies to those of a delicate nature in our reading audience, forgive the inappropriate subject matter, but it is pertinent to the story!)
Also, it was March and the ground, where not 'dropped' on, was a bit muddy. So her response to the boy's offer to sit was no, thank you. (Our poor hero, can you imagine what he is thinking??) They continue to walk and it seems he asks her a few more times if she would like to find a place to sit. She declines and again does not 'get a clue' as to what is going on this lovely pivotal day in their story. And as completely ignorant as she is, she even offers that he may sit if he likes, but she is not going sit in the mud or the.... well, you know. Why the boy did not abandon the plan because of the girl's unseemly attitude about sitting in the park on that lovely day, I do not know, but hero's have a way of prevailing, don't they?!

Our couple came around to a little empty parking lot...(this part of the story sounds worse than it is, trust me, Jacob was just as horrified as you will be, when I was telling them the story last night) and I long to defend the girl, but, alas, my small rationalizations and justifications are just that: small. So, finally, the boy decides to forgo the lovely grassy spot under a tree idea, (I am so sorry, again I apologize for my brattyness that day!) and the girl concedes to sit...oh, it is so horrible to write...on the curb. I want to try to make it not sound as bad as it does, but it is what it is, a curb. So here sits our young couple and our hero proceeds to recapture the moment. He begins to wax romantic, or gets mushy is what our clueless girl is thinking (not that she doesn't enjoy words of love, but I am telling you she was not gettin' it this day).

Ah, well, on with the story....
Having declared his love, our hero next asks the girl (for she surely has not earned the title heroine although she is the 'principal female character of our story', yet, she is not 'admired for her brave deeds or noble qualities') to marry him. Now, I would like to say she redeemed herself with a beautiful glistening tear on her cheek and a heartfelt sweet loving yes, and they lived happily ever after... um, not quite, no.

First she reminded him that they had agreed no more joke asking between them or one day it was going to be the real thing and she would laugh or joke and ruin it! In response, he looked down to his hands, when she followed his gaze, she found he was holding the most beautiful engagement ring ever! (a one of a kind, designed by him for her!) Oh, no, she cried out and began to ball, as the day came flooding to memory with unbearable embarrassment and horror. She clung to him, apologizing repeatedly. Not your typical perfect sweet, full of grace type of response to the hero's actions, is it?! (One of the first of many she blew over the years, but our hero is a Hero and he persevered!) Again, acting as the hero does, he saves the day and brings her back to the point, Well?, he says, you haven't answered my question. Oh! Yes! Yes! She will marry him.

And now they have a great story to tell. And the hero rescues the girl.

The End...NOT!

Aren't people amazing?

I find myself constantly amazing by the things people say.... I am guilty, surely more often than I even realize, and I could share some of my 'the time I said something stupid' stories, but it is much more fun to tell other people's stories and laugh and shake our heads...pretending we would never say anything so completely devoid of intelligent thought. (Devoid; not possessing, untouched by, void, or destitute) HA! I know you know what it means but the definition drives my point home. :)
Yesterday, I was working at our coffee shop deli and a lady came in, who was just passing through, as became glaringly apparent. She ordered her latte and then snickered as she was leaving, "Cowboys drink coffee?"
What?!
The girl I was working with is very sweet, she is bright and bubbly, I am sure there are few who don't like her. Well, she was fired up. Just because we live here we are all cowboys and cowboys are too...whatever? to drink coffee? First of all, I know they do drink coffee, b/c I have been reading Louis L'Amour(so there, haha) and those tough ol' boys drink something a site closer to coffee than what this lady had ordered...full of milk and flavored syrup. Second, out of all of the people we have met that live here, I can only think of a couple who actually ARE 'cowboys' or ranchers. (And who knows, maybe they do like coffee, and when I say coffee now, I am talking about lattes) The rest of the people we have met here are just like the city-folk only we live in a small town. We don't ride a horse to work, or only drink...I don't know what stereotype she was even referring to! "Cowboys drink coffee?" What in the world... beg yer pardon, w'sure do, maam, 'scuse me fer smellin' like cows an' all. Y'know we ain't got runnin' water an' I gots to get down to the creek an' warsh up so's I can build me a fire an' rustle up sum grub. I'm plumb empty. No, we ain't got none o' that there city coffee, t'ain't good 'nuff fer us, y'know. Sure, thanks fer gracin' us with yer presence. Well, yup maybe one day we will get 'nuff educatin' an' "drink coffee," but I can't say as I'd bet on it.
Y'all come back now, y'hear!

More cooking....

I have a new-found desire and enjoyment in cooking. This morning I made these Oat Cinnamon Scones (would have been perfect with some glaze or whipped cream....just now thought of that). But I have been wanting to make 'scones' for some time, any kind, I tried some out on our poor Mcfam when they were here @ Christmas, but they weren't very good. But today's were very tasty! :)
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 400*.
Combine 1 C flour, 1 C rolled oats, 1/4 C brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Cut in w/ pastry blender 1/2 C cold butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
(Optional stir in dried fruit at this point)
Add 1/2 C milk; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead gently 8-10 times. Roll out dough onto 13" baking stone into 9" circle, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into wedges; separate slightly.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Delish!!!

And....drum roll please....(believe me these are worthy of it!)
MOLTEN CHOCOLATE MINI CAKES
Preheat oven to 400*.
Generously spray wells of Silicone Floral Cupcake Pan w/ nonstick cooking spray. (wipe excess cooking spray from top surface of pan)
Coarsely chop 6 oz fine bittersweet chocolate (60% cocoa). Combine chocolate and 1/2 C butter (DO NOT substitute); microwave on high 1-2 minutes or until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring after every 30 second interval. Remove from microwave; cool 5 minutes.
Whisk 3 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks into chocolate mixture. Add 1 and 1/2 C powered sugar and 3/4 C all-purpose flour; mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
Divide batter equally among cupcake pan wells (using slightly mounded PC Large Scoop).
Bake 13-14 minutes or until outside edges are set and center is still liquid. (Cracks will appear wet. Do Not Overbake)
Remove pan from oven; immediately, carefully, invert onto large platter. Gently press on tops and sides of wells to loosen. Slowly lift pan, checking to see that all cakes have released. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.......WOW.
Even the next day these are YUM!