Pizza.....

So I became ambitious tonight and made pizza dough from the hamburger bun recipe I posted on here earlier this month. The only difference was the formation of the dough. I made flat ovals intead of rolls and sliced them one they were finished baking. They came out very tasty. I fried up some sausage we had laying around, opened a can of tomato sauce and Danial grated a bunch of cheddar and mozzarella cheese. They were very, very good.

Thanksgiving pictures as promised!

http://community.webshots.com/album/568975698dPCaEo?vhost=community

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for many things this year, good health being just one of them. I had a glucose test earlier this week to test for gestational diabetes. The lab results came back that I am completely normal! (94 for whoever is curious!) Now I won't have to worry about that as an added stress for this pregnancy. Plus, my chances for have gestational diabetes for my other pregnancies and developing Type 2 diabetes later in life are substantially lower, I hear.

We drove up to Uncle Brian's house, on my side of the family, on Thanksgiving day. We decided it would be best to stay the night there since storms were supposedly coming, and I don't like driving in the dark on poorly lit mountain roads anyhow. Wonderful food and fun family made it a very enjoyable Thanksgiving. Danial, Uncle Brian and I played a game of Upwords, no....we did not keep score, it was Danial's first time playing it! We all got stuck at the end, Danial and Uncle Brian had 2 tiles each and I had three....they said I lost the game HA!

For those that are interested, we did take some pictures. I will be posting a link soon for pictures taken on my camera. Uncle Brian pictures are floating around somewhere.


Next.............CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm putting up Christmas decor today after I put something away from our trip. We'll only get to enjoy it for 2 weeks since we're flying to California soon. We are both looking forward to that!

Pictures of Me....

Some people (that live out of the area) are beginning to doubt that I am really pregnant. Well, on Sunday I had Danial take some pictures of me....so you can indeed tell that I AM pregnant. As tomorrow is Thanksgiving, more pictures will most definitely be taken! Enjoy and stay tuned.....

Pictures I have taken....

One of the Pollstar cats (where I used to work in California, had a couple of cats that hung out).

Summer 2007

August 2007

New Poll!

We have a new poll on our blog! Check it out! It's a Thanksgiving theme!

Voting....

A little late, but still good share. (btw the baby is kicking right now, but that's not why I'm making this post!) I posted my views on voting on MSN Groups, email, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook and Paltalk......but not on my blog!

The bottom line is....VOTE....it is a good thing.

In the great nation that we are a part of, we have the honor and duty of VOTING for what we want and need. Voting is important regardless of how you vote and the outcomes thereof. Voting is an important part of the democratic process. If people don't vote, they have no right to complain, regardless of the outcomes. If people DO vote, they have EVERY right to complain, regardless of the outcomes. Let your voice be heard: VOTE! If you don't vote, how will change happen? Voting is PARAMOUNT to democracy. When you do vote, make an EDUCATED vote. Don't just vote down the party line, because the candidate is a woman, the candidate is black, white, a certain religion, you know them or their family, etc, OR NOT a certain party, a woman, black, white, a certain religion, you know them or their family, etc, Vote on the morals and values of the candidate, vote on the issues that is important to the candidate. Vote on what is important to YOU, to your family situation. Vote with the Spirit of the Lord with you. Always pray. Voting is paramountly important. If you don't vote......your voice isn't heard, so don't complain if so-and-so didn't or did make it into office, this proposition didn't or did pass. Make your voice heard: VOTE! It is our honor and duty by living in this great nation.

So....next time....vote ;-)

Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake

This cake is just AWESOME. My sister totally rocks at making this cake!

Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake
Transcribed by Patricia C. Wrede
Altered by Jeanette M. Nicholson
Transcriber’s Note: This is the original recipe as used by the barbarian swordsman. Amounts and instructions for somewhat more conventional kitchens are given in parentheses. (And my alterations are given in italics.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First, round up the prisoners and have them make a good fire. Pile shields around it to hold in heat. (Preheat oven to 350 degrees.)

Assemble ingredients:
Butter the size of a good spear head (1 stick of butter or margarine)
A good big fistful of brown sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar, packed)
A big fistful of white sugar (1/2 cup white sugar)
A couple of eggs (2 large eggs)
A good splash of vanilla (2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
Secret Magic Ingredient (2 Tablespoons blackstrap molasses)
Milk from a chocolate cow (2/3 cup chocolate milk) (1 cup chocolate milk or cappuchino milk))
A small fistful of cocoa (1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa) (can use 2/3 cup Ghiradelli’s baking mix, but half sugar)
Two or three fistfuls of flour (1 cup flour)
Pinch of salt (1/2 teaspoon salt)
Two pinches soda (1 teaspoon baking soda)
Hunk of chocolate, hacked into bits with second-best sword (1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips) (use any chips you want, I use butterscotch, mint, smashed candy bars, etc.)

Pick a small shield and clean it, then grease it up good. Sprinkle in a little flour and save it for later. (Grease and flour a 13" by 9" pan.) (can make in two 8" or 9" pans, any shape, for layering.)

In somebody else’s helmet, beat butter and brown sugar and white sugar together—make sure helmet is clean before using! Add eggs and beat some more. Add vanilla and Secret Magic Ingredient and beat it all again. (In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine until fluffy. Add brown sugar and white sugar and mix thoroughly. Add eggs, vanilla, and blackstrap molasses, beating well after each addition.)

Stir flour, cocoa, salt, and soda together in whatever is handy. Add to batter, alternating with milk. Beat real good. Stir in chocolate pieces. (In a separate container, stir flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda together. Beat into butter mixture, alternating with the chocolate milk. Beat for 1-2 minutes, then fold in chocolate chips.) (wait to put chips into batter until right before the cake enters the oven.)

Dump batter into greased shield. Bake next to fire whole gathering loot. Give helmet back to sucker who let you mix cake in it; promise him first piece if he gets too mad. Eat warm while counting loot. Serves two. (Pour batter into greased and floured pan. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cake should be sort of flat and solid, not light and puffy. Let cool before cutting, or the pieces will fall apart and the gooey chocolate chips will get all over everything. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream. Serves a lot more than two, even if everybody really likes chocolate.) (Turn out cakes, let cool completely. Make up chocolate pudding as a layer between the cakes. Slather pudding on lower layer, gently set top layer on, then frost with triple-chocolate fudge frosting. Heat just before serving and add a dollop of vanilla ice cream to the plate.)

Pictures of FOOOOOD!

These are some of the things I have baked in the last week or so:

IRISH SODA BREAD (last week)

Hamburger Buns (minis) (today!) (They taste awesome! You could use the recipe for rolls too)

Halloween Cookies (last week)

Homemade Burger or Hot Dog Buns

INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm, 120 degrees F (50 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix milk mixture into flour mixture, and then mix in egg. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Cover, and let rise for 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. For Hot Dog Buns: Shape each piece into a 6x4 inch rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly, and pinch edges and ends to seal. Makes 12-16 hot dog buns. Let rise about 20 to 25 minutes. Bake as above.

I think I might let to dough rise for an hour before shaping and baking.

Election Night Food

With the Election upon us already, here is a menu I found online, which I find quite funny:

Sloppy Plumber Joes (for the dern Plumber everyone likes to talk about so much)

Kickin' Tator Tots (for those Donkeys that like the kick)

Red White and Blue Parfait (red and blue jello, cubed and layed with whipped cream)

I think I see White Russians from my backyard, non-alcoholic & non-coffee (for Palin's claim that she can see Russia)

Erin's Great Grandma Ortner's Cut Out Cookies

Erin's Great Grandma Ortner's Cut Out Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in egg. Add flour slowly and mix well. Chill 2 hours. Roll thin on floured pastry cloth. Cut out and bake @ 350 for about 10 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Cool and frost.

Erin's Frosting Recipe
1 cup butter
Approximately 3 lbs. of powdered sugar
Add cream or milk until the consistency is right
Add vanilla until the taste is right
*makes enough to frost a double batch of the cookie recipe*


I found this recipe on some other blog, and the pictures look so tasty, I had to take the recipe! I think I might try it for Thanksgiving. The cookies were leaves and decorated very nicely....and really tasty looking!