experimental apple pie sunday project

Today I was feeling like experimenting! We had some gala apples that needed to be used so I grabbed one of my favorite cookbooks that my home ward had put together. The neighbors from Fruit Heights have contributed some really great recipes. I saw a recipe for apple pie but I didnt have the ingredients that it called for so I made up my own version and it actually was really really good.
I used the crust recipe from the pie pantry.
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of butter flavored shortening
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of ice cold water.
The crust came out very flaky and buttery! It was delicious!

For the apple filling, I cut up 4 gala apples
splashed them with lemon juice
sprinkled on some cinnamon and sugar and let that mixture sit for a few minute.
Right before filling my crust I sprinkled in some corn starch so that the apple mixture would thicken in the oven! It was a fun little project. I have no clue how to make pie but I think that actually worked. Thank goodness. We have too many projects that dont turn out!!
Dinner was a experiment too but it isnt done yet, so time will tell...

Great steak recipe!

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce
2 ribeye steaks
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1 very large yellow onion
3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Salt and pepper both sides of the steaks. Grill in 2 tablespoons butter until medium rare.
Saute onions in 4 tablespoons butter over high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until dark and caramelized. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in blue cheese until melted. Serve steaks on generous portion of sauce.

I WON!!!

Ye-haa!!! If you guys wanna check out a scrum-diddly-umtious website then you have to check out

www.just-cook-already.blogspot.com

This website just is yummy! Every time I visit, I want to run to the kitchen and make something!! Thanks guys for picking me! I am super excited!

Pumpkins!

Today my mom bought me this cute pumpkin. We had gone to lunch and talked about some cute ideas that people had done to their pumpkins.

We decided to go to Michaels and brainstorm.

In decided to paint my pumpkin black, put a R on the front for Razon and tie some ribbon on the top. I dont know if it even looks like a pumpkin but that is okay

I went to Tai Pan and found these cute glittered leaves that I stuck in the hay from Michaels.

Finished project

A-L-O-H-A!

These are in no particular order at all! Infact most of these pictures at the beginning are from the end of our trip to Oahu. I had been to Pearl Harbor along with my parents but Mitch hadnt ever seen it so we decided to take the tour again. I am so glad that we did! I had forgotten about what a special, spiritual place that was

Here are my parents inside of the memorial monument. They have build this white memorial building on top of the sunken ship that you can see in the water that still has men inside.

One of the days my parents decided to go and look for a waterfall but I hadnt had my feel of shopping yet so we went to the Alamona Shopping Center where I found this!

This is Hunama Bay. Such a great place to go snorkeling. The water was extremely choppy and so I didnt love it as much as I had remembered from last time but we still had a great time.

I love my phone!

Who is that cute man? Oh, I like the view from our hotel room as well! That is linda behind Mitch who had the room next to us. She is on her balcony.

Can you believe this picture! If you knew how huge those waves were you wouldnt believe it. On the North Shore we were able to see beach after beach with the most incredible waves and half pipes! I guess it was extremely early to be having water that was that intense. Normally the waves are like this in Jan and Feb.

Here is my pop at Hunama Bay

Sorry, skipping around again! More waves at the North Shore beach

I had to take a picture of our drink at the Polynesian cultural center. They were so beautiful but looked like they might be quite easy to make.

Mitch and myself at the Luau

Out of no where it started to rain, not sprinkle! It was a downpour! We found a little hut to take cover for a few minutes until the rain stopped.

At 2:00 they put on a water show where every country is represented. Very interesting!

Yummy Plumeria plant!

Mitch and I were trying to take a picture with the little mans had in the background. I am not sure what the official name of that mini mini island is but it sure is cute!

Doesnt that look like a turtle?

More of the china man hat? I think that is what they called it!

Nice hat Mitchell

These mountains were so incredible! This was the wet side of the island and everything was so green and beautiful despite their drout that they are going through

This was at the Macadamia Nut Farm. We were able to crack the shells and eat fresh Macadamia nuts! They were so yummy! Not sure why more places dont sell the Macadamia nut in the shell. That was the only place that I had seen that had them in the shell.

Mom and dad at the Macadamia Nut farm

Our neighbor had mentioned that we needed to eat at Dukes. They had the best salad bar! We actually ended up eating there twice

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet (notice the weather! Everyday it rained for a little bit but then was beautiful)

After a while you realize that almost everyone is selling the same stuff!

My dad and Mitch decided to get their teeth whitened while we got our shopping party on.

Dole Plantation!

My mom and dad in the gardens at Dole

This was in front of our hotel right on Kapauhuhuliililiuhh street. HAHA Just kidding! I have no clue what road we were on. That is pretty much how my mom pronounced it everytime we drove on that road though. After a while you realize that all of the street signs have K's P's U's L's I's .... we were in Waikiki

We had bought so much junk while we were in Hawaii. They have this really great Macadamia nut cookie so Mitch decided to share with the birds. We had quite a few little friends on our deck eating these awesome cookies! I hope that they loved them as much as we did!

Sunset from our hotel room

These stores are everywhere! I dont know what we would have done without the ABC store while we were in Waikiki! They have everything that you could possibly want.

The Market Place shopping center.

I believe that this was on Waikiki. So much fun

My precious mom and dad

Me and Mitchie

I already miss you Hawaii! Hopefully we will be back soon!

The bags are packed, the car is weighed down and yet, I still dont feel ready for this vacation!

A little bit of YUM

The other night it had been a long day at work and the last thing that I wanted to do was make dinner. I had remembered watching a foodnetwork special the night before on the Red Iguana in Salt Lake City where they featured their Mole. We had been there before but always ended up ordering the same old boring thing. This time we decided to branch out and try a Mole. Holy Mole am I glad that we did! If you are ever in Salt Lake and want really super yummy Mexican food you NEED to try the Red Pipian Mole. I still dont know how they got such a great flavor in such a simple sauce! It is a Pumpkin sauce that they spice up with peppers, onions and tomatoes and wow is it good! Thought I would pass it on if you love Mexican food like we do!
It is simply the best thing I think I have ever eaten.

The other day I was on my way to work. It was my night at work to close and be the manager in charge so I didnt have to be there until 1:00. I decided to leave a little early so that I could grab some lunch. I decided to stop at the Subway in American Fork.
I got in line and ordered my sandwich and found a seat. About 5 minutes later the entire place was packed full of students from a nearby Highschool. There must have been 30 or more students packed into that little tiny building. I noticed that at the very end of the line there was a short, cute little gal who was standing alone looking very uncomfortable. Not one person tried to include her or involve her in anyway. For some reason it was just killing me seeing her so lonely and uncomfortable. On my way out I mentioned to her that she had a cute backpack and the cute little smile on her face just made my day... I just couldnt quit thinkin about the situation.
I dont think that we ever know what someone is going through, life if full of challenges that are big and small. Lately there are times where it seems easier to feel sorry for yourself rather than getting up and trying to make a difference to somebody.
I hope we can all try to make a difference in some ones day.

Its coming....

Only 499 hours..... but who's counting!?!

Meredith and Abbey

(This was a email that I received and I thought it had a precious message)

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies..' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey &Meredith and this note:


***********************************************************
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by..
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

She kicked some bootie!

Here is Audrey getting ready to cross the finish line! I was down the road a little ways looking for Audge. I had runners passing me when I realized that about a 1/4 of the runners were asking me the time. So being a runner idiot, I kept looking at my watch and telling them at actual time. Later I found out that they wanted to know their time (running) not what time it actually was... oops! SORRY RUNNERS, I had no clue what their time was
The Canyon that you see in the background is where the runners were bused up to and then dropped off.
All the runners looked the same! We kept looking for Audrey hoping that we hadnt missed her. I told my mom that they would have a problem finding me because I didnt see one fat person there running... Not one!

Beyond Glazed

Have you tried Beyond Glazed?
I have driven by this place about a thousand times and never knew what I was missing out on. In Draper there is the best little doughnut shop! They make gourmet doughnuts.
Today I was craving a treat and decided to stop in and grab a little treat. I ended up getting the German Chocolate doughnut. Wow, is all I can say. They toast their coconut and swirl on Chocolate and some other swirl that I cant tell what it is yet but I dont care! It is YUM-O!
They guy at the counter said that they make a new batch every few hours so they are always fresh. If you are ever in Draper, you NEED to try this place! I took this picture from my friend Val's blog. She is the one who got us all turned on to these awesome treats!
At nearly $2 a doughnut they arent cheap but a fun little treat!

Go Audge Podge!

This is my sister Audrey. I am so proud of her! Tomorrow she has decided to run a half marathon in Utah County. She has been training for this for quite sometime and she is doing it completely alone. The only way I would run a half marathon is if a Alligator was chasing me and even then I am not sure that I could do it. Audrey is such a awesome woman. She is a independent, strong, smart lady and when she puts her mind to something, there is no going back! I am proud of you Audrey and I cant wait to see ya at the finish line! Love ya girl!

A fun party for Irene and Andrew

Maddie and Linda were playing this really cute game. I was in the other room when I heard my mom laughing and giggling. When we went in the front room, Maddie kept pushing her nose into Linda's over and over. It was darling

This is the happy couple (engaged at the time, now married!)

Me and Mitch

The group of boys that took Andrew out for his bachelor party. I think Robbie and Karl had way too much fun getting all the things ready for Andrew's party

Mitch and Robbie

This picture makes me laugh every single time. I walked out on the balcony and saw Mitch looking at me with these crazy eyes..

The Baird gals

Meliss and Michelle

The Clegg fam. Irene is looking super hot! We all helped make her outfit!

My cute sister and mama

The future bride. Doesnt she look fashionable! I love the hand made roses that Audrey and Liz created

Ally and Audge

Irene's vera wang dress... oh wait.. not quite!

What a fun night we had! Thanks guys for letting us help celebrate with you!

Family, Fires and Fun!

I have been looking forward to this upcoming weekend for quite sometime. After nearly a month of putting in extra long hours and some sleepless nights, the time has nearly come to go spend time with my family up in the mountains camping!!! I honestly cannot wait!

We purchased our first sleeping bags and a air mattress to make our stay a little more comfortable

One of my favorite things to do is to sit around the smelly fire and laugh and spend time with my family. We usually end up sharing memories that we have had and toasting our gooey marshmallows that usually end up charred and sootie . While growing up I remember my dad always having his copper pipes that he would bring camping. Sound unusual, that is because it is!! He has learned how to make the entire campfire glow with shades of purple, green and blues. It is quite mesmerizing.

I cant wait to see our family and spend some much needed time together

TODAYS HGTV FINDS!

New Color trends in the market are different shades of Earth Tones. I love drapes that elongate the room. My mom has some of those in her house and they are so beautiful! It really makes the room look bigger.

I thought that this was a really cute way to decorate with different shades of Green as well.

Cutest Boutique

I was helping a customer a few weeks ago that I hadnt helped since I worked downtown. I asked her why on earth she was all the way down in Orem Utah and she mentioned that she has to come and check out this cute boutique called Dear Lizzie. I hadnt heard of it so after work that night I stopped in to check it out. This is such a girlie girl store. I absolutely loved it. In one area they have a Bistro where you can order cakes, cookies and lots of other yummy treats. In the main area they have a clothing boutique section as well as many other rooms filled with Perfume and house decor. It was just darling.

HGTV's Before and After room

BEFORE

One of my favorite things to do everyday is go to HGTV and check out their daily Before and After section. Look how boring and simple this room is. It is very ordinary and blah..

After

This is the after room!!! It looks like a completely different house. I love how they have incorporated one of the biggest trends right now, Animal print! I love what they have done!

Tyrant Collection

The other night Mitch and I were invited to a awesome Launch party for our Friends new company. Brandon and Ty have put so much time and energy into this new company and you could not help but get so excited for these two. They make these super trendy new Necklaces and Bracelets that can have different words written on them. It was exciting to see all of their new product and how passionate they are. Its very cool! Check them out on Tyrantcollection.com

Terra Mia aka BEST PIZZA EVER!!!

It's official.. I am obsessed. The other day Gena and I decided to try somewhere new for lunch since we haven't really been able to take a "real" break at work lately, we decided it was time to take a real lunch break. We left Nordies and wandered over to a little complex by the new Movie theaters. We found this place called Terra Mia Restaurante. When we walked in we were immediately tempted by this awesome bar of Gelato ice cream but we decided to eat some real food first. The menu has a variety of authenic Italian dishes, not American favorites. The one I decided to order was the Margherita Pizza. It was heaven, that is all I can say. It had Sauce, Mozarella and Basil and dang it was so yum! The guy told us that everything is ordered directly from Italy and the Pizza chef that day was rated in the top ten in Italy for Pizza makers. Anyway, if you are in the area ever you should really check this place out. It was awesome!!
We havent tried any of the Pasta's or Salads yet but the Pizza is worth the drive alone!!
I was talking with the owner and he even came and sat at the table and started chatting, it was funny but he did mention that they are thinking of expanding to either the Lehi area by JCW's or up in Sandy by the new rack! I know that I am going on and on but it really was awesome!