Friday, November 27, 2009

Great Idea!


Oh my arent these cute?
Toni at
makes these Cookie Dough Rolls and gives them as gifts.
So sweet!
These might just be the gift of choice at our house.
But I have children coming home!!!
Yeah!
Maybe I can get us all to do them!



Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Dancing With The Stars!


Donny Won!
He was so fun to watch and his personality was great!
Did you watch?
I loved this season!
I was afraid Mya would win...
I am so glad Donny did!
Yeah Donny!
We will chat next season!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Lesli-Happy, Happy Birthday!


What can I say about Lesli!
She is ________years old.  Two years younger than me!
I can NEVER find a picture of her alone!
She HATES her picture taken...
hmmmm reminds me of mom. {snicker}
She is sooo nice and will do anything for you!
She loves her family with all her heart!
She is sooo pretty, (takes after me {SNICKER LOUDLY})
How can you not LOVE Lesli!
Happy Birthday my kind, beautiful sister!
I Love you!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Brekyn Birthday Princess


Brekyn is a Princess!
Ask her family!
Ask her...she will tell you, she isnt shy!
That is for sure!
She is beautiful,
funny,
smart,
and a turd, yep that is what I said!
She is silly and says the DARNDEST things!
I love her comments on life!
Happy Happy Birthday Missy!
love auntie!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Hello Again

Yes I know it has been a while...but have you ever had time slip away and your not sure why, or where it went.  Does anyone have any idea what happend?
I have worked everyday this week.
No I havent heard about my certificate...
YES I am going to call.
Tomorrow maybe?
But lets skip that and go into the GOOD stuff!
My kids are coming for ChRiStmAs!
It is offical...
December 22 until December 30!
Whoo Hoo!
I love my kids!
I cant wait!
I love good news!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Projects


This was my project tonight at Relief Society!
SWEEETA!




I found this adorable project below on U Create.
She has a link that has all the directions!
Easy Stuff!!!

It will be my next project! 
I Promise!    Happy Projecting!!


I promise to show my results!


PS
 When I am not so upset remind me to tell you about how my serger was "stolen" right out from under me when I went to buy it from the Craigslist lady. She sold it to some one else!   In front of my face!  I really wanted to cry! It was a perfect machine, never used. I guess I wasnt as cute as the young girl who got it!!  GRRRR
Well I guess I told you the short version...
If you want to hear the LONG  version just let me know, but I am warning you it's not pretty!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Gratitude Sunday



I am so grateful this week for my daughter Danielle!
I KNOW I dont tell her often enough.
I LOVE you Danie!
What a sweet young spirit.
She is helpful, I can ask her to do anything and she will with a willing heart.
So many times she just does things because she can see they need to be done.
She will set the table or do the  dishes.
It really means a lot to me Dainelle!
Thanks!
 I Love you!
Mommy


Saturday, November 7, 2009

wordle

Wordle: Thorne Family

Families are great!




Wordle: Untitled
 
This is a great website that you can make these fun Wordles. 
Go to Wordles.com and 
type in a bunch of words and then when you are ready you have it "go".
 You can change colors, the randomness of the words, and fonts.
It even has the HTML that you can copy and paste to add to your post...cool huh?
 I had fun, but little things amuse me!!
{snicker}

Thursday, November 5, 2009

I made this! Yummy!

Tonight I decided to make an old Ruby Tuesday's favorite of mine Sonoran Chicken Pasta.
Unfortunatly they no longer make it so I get if less often than I want to.
As I looked through my Top Secret Recipe book I came across the recipe again.
I realized I had all the ingredients!  YEAH!
Dont let the list of ingredients get you...it is easy and so good!
It's creamy and a tiny bit spicy, of course you can make it as spicy as you like!
Taylor is making a cookbook for Young Womens and she said this is a shoe in for it!
I love complements!!!


Sonoran Chicken Pasta
Ingredients


1 lb Velveeta cheese or 1 (16 ounce) jar Cheez Whiz (I used velveeta)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced red chili peppers (I actually used dried  pepper flakes)
4 tablespoons green chili peppers, minced (1 1/2 pepper)
4 tablespoons minced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 dash paprika
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
vegetable oil
1 dash dried thyme and 1 dash dried summer savory (I used Bells seasoning which has a combination)
1 (16 ounce) box penne pasta
1 tablespoon butter
green onion, chopped

Directions
1 Prepare the barbecue or preheat your stovetop grill.

2 Combine the cheese spread with the cream in a small saucepan.

3 Saute' the red chili pepper and 2 tablespoons green chili pepper, 2 tablespoons onion, and 1/2 clove garlic in the olive oil for a couple minutes then add the water to the pan so that the peppers do not scorch. Simmer another 2 minutes or until the water has cooked off.

4 When the cheese is smooth, add the sauteed vegetables, 1/4 teaspoon salt, sugar, vinegar, and cumin. Leave on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the other ingredients are ready.

5 Pour the entire can of beans with the liquid into a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining green chili pepper, onions, garlic, a pinch of salt, and a dash of paprika. Bring the beans to a boil, stirring often, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until everything else is ready. By this time the beans will have thickened and the onions will have become transparent.

6 Rub the chicken breasts lightly with oil, then season with salt, thyme, and savory.

7 Cook the breasts on a hot grill for 5 minutes per side or until done. When they have cooked thoroughly, remove them from the grill and use a sharp knife to slice each breast into 1/2-inch slices, so that they are easier to eat. Retain the shape of the chicken breast by keeping the slices in order with one hand as you slice.
(I cut the chicken into large bite size pieces and mixed into the pasta)

8 As the chicken cooks, prepare the pasta in a large pot filled with 3 to 4 quarts of boiling water. Cook the pasta for 12 to 14 minutes or until tender. Drain the pasta in a colander, and toss with the butter.

The following is preferance.
I added tomatoes, and beans into the  pasta with the chicken. We had a big crowd and it was easier to serve.

9 When everything is ready, spoon one-fourth of the pasta onto each plate.

10 Pour about 1/3 cup of the black beans over the chicken.

11 Carefully add a sliced breast of chicken, being sure to maintain its shape as you lay the slices on the bed of pasta.

12 Spread 1/3 cup of black beans over the chicken.

13 Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped tomatoes on the beans.

14Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of green onions on the tomatoes and serve immediately. Salt to taste.



And This...Delicious!

While cooking dinner  I came across this recipe!
 I had all the ingredients except the kale but decided to go for it anyway!
Holy cow did it turn out delicious!



Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb Italian sausage (I like Jimmy Dean)
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup precooked bacon
2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
Enough water to cover potatoes 1/2 inch (I used chicken broth)
3 chicken bullion cubes (and left out this)
pepper to taste
One bunch of Kale (I didnt have this, but that was ok...)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup precooked bacon, chopped
Brown sausage and garlic and onion. Remove from pan. Add potatoes and cover with water. Add bullion cubes. Boil until tender. Add sausage mixture back to pot. Add pepper, bacon and heavy cream. Heat through and then remove from heat. Add chopped kale. Serve.


I had so much fun tonight.
The dinner was a big hit and I have a YUMMY soup to eat for lunch tomorrow!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Mandy's Award Winning Chili!



We had a chili contest on Friday Night for our ward party!  She won 2nd place out of 14.  Yeah Mandy!

Italian Chili
Prep Time: 4 to 8 hours
Makes: About 6 servings
I made this for our ward Halloween party and won 2nd place. I was pretty pleased about it, since I haven't won any places for several years. The last time I won, I was one of five people that brought chili and everyone won a category... I just wanted to do something a little different than the regular chili and so tried this. I think of it as a spicy version of Pasta e Fagioli.

  • 1 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed*
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced**
  • 1 medium onion, chopped**
  • 1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cans (15 oz. each) cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained
  • 1 can (14.5 oz.) stewed tomatoes
  • 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning, crushed between palms
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp. ground white peppper
Brown sausage in water over medium heat until no pink remains, stirring to break up sausage. Drain and add sausage to a large pot or crock pot. Add olive oil to saucepan used to cook sausage and saute garlic, onion, and bell pepper until tender-crisp; add to pot with sausage. Add remaining ingredients. Using kitchen shears, cut stewed tomatoes in can and add to pot. Cook on low on stove 2 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Cook in crock pot on high 2 to 4 hours or on low 6 to 8 hours.

Serving options:
Serve over cooked pasta
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese
Top with grated Parmesan cheese
*The chili isn't very spicy at first, but it strengthens as it cooks. It ends up being somewhat spicy and to make it more mild, use half hot and half sweet Italian sausage or just sweet Italian sausage.
**I used 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic and 2 Tbsp. dried onion and added 1/4 cup extra water.
Posted by Mandy at 1:43 PM

Labels: freezable, Italian, Italian sausage, main dish

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloooween!

What a FuN Weekend!
Friday night we had our ward Halloween Party.

Taylor brought Lina and Tati!
They had fun.
Christine, Brianne Stacey and Zachary all came looking adorable in their doctor outfits!
They brought Christopher along as their patient. {snicker}
I am glad they came...but they forgot to say GOODBYE!

Danielle was Minnie Mouse...she looked soooo adorable!

This was our sweet candy holder this year...for the 10 kids that came.
(my $4 find!)
I made the YUMMYEST
Dinner in a Pumpkin.
I found the recipe online and decided I loved the ingredients so I would give it a try!
I forgot to take pictures.  Sorry!  But it was so pretty. 
All the ingredients cooked up in theIpumpkin.
If you haven't had dinner in pumpkin it looks a little scary, but it tastes sooooo yummy!
It has hamburger, some veggies and rice.
You eat the pumpkin...that was the best part!
yummmm
WE had the missionaries over for our pumpkin treat.
Taylor went out with her friends,
she was a basketball player (clever right?)
They didnt get much candy...too old for Trick or Treating maybe?
Still cute!

It rained so my little Trick or Treaters came home WET!
But Happy!
Hope your day was SpOokY too!

Gratitude Sunday!

Gratitude,
Love,
Bliss,
Appreciation
Pleasure
Excitement
Joy

I have decided that every Sunday will be
Gratitude Sunday.
It may be something that is so large in my life that Screams at me to share,
or something so small that you might find it silly to write.
Bear with me.  You will see the beautiy in all things!

My Gratitude Post today is the blessing we have to be able to have the missionaries teach
our friend in our home.  I am grateful to the missionaries for all the hard work they do!
They are good hard working young men and have set a good example to those around them!

BeBe is a bright young man who seems he has known the ins and outs of the
 church for many years beyond his short 19.
He catches on quickly and has a humble demenor about him.
He is grateful for the things he has and gets.
He is willing to work hard for those things he doesnt have.

I wish I had his wisdom and insight when I was his age.
I enjoy BeBe and I am grateful he is willing to be taught in our home so we can watch him grow!
This young man has so much excitement for the church!
He commited for baptism the end of December or the 1st of January.
I hope my whole family will be there...they would love it!