Spiced Pecans

Ok, so one of my friends posted this recipe. It is AWESOME. seriously. you can't stop eating them. Thought i would share it.


1 egg white (wisked until frothy)
Add in 1 lb (4 cups) pecan halves. Stir until coated.
Add 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt/

Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake them at 350 for about 20 minutes. Turn half way through. ENJOY these wonderful little holiday delights!

~*Christmas tree hunting*~

This is one of my favorite part of the holidays. Cutting down a tree and decorating it! Saturday we put on our snow gear and took off on our family adventure. Screw the fake tree in the box in the storage room. Let's go freeze our butts off and pay $25! No, I love the look and smell of the real deal. It is not christmas until your floor is covered in pine needles and tinsel! Not to mention the smell of fresh pine! A few things we learned this year. 1...Bring enough warm clothes for the kids on the tree finding journey. 2. Make sure everyone (including myself) uses the restroom before the hike!!! that was interesting to say the least. 3. Don't forget to take the tree off the top of the truck before driving into the garage. Luckily, We survived. And so did the tree!!!
Afterwards we went to Red Robin, our fav burger joint, and ate our FREE ((big huge greasy 90- million calorie)) birthday burgers. They were freaking awesome to say the least. sidenote: RR has the BEST campfire sauce! Have a blessed holiday season! :::

Fun weekend at the cabin

A few snapshots of the boys at grandpa and grandma's cabin up north....

Pumpkin Bread

1-15 oz. can pumpkin
1- 1/2 c brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 eggs, beaten
3-4 cups flour
2 T baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. chopped walnuts (ethan likes chocolate chips)
Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, butter and eggs until creamy. Mix in the dry ingrediends Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 2 loaves

Fall Tip: Dip your pumpkins in bleach water to prevent mold, and they will last alot longer!

Pasties

When the weather starts getting cold, there is nothing quite like a warm pastie right out of the oven. This is my mom's recipe, I made it the other day and it brought back so many memories! Memories of Fall. Good memories of my dad and hunting for rabbits with him in our backyard. memories of my mom's kitchen. This recipe has a buttery flaky crust that is to-die-for!
I like dipping mine in ketchup.

Pasties:

Brown 1lb ground beef in a skillet. When the meat is starting to brown throw in one chopped onion.
Season with salt and pepper and some minced garlic.
Remove from heat and add chopped carrots, diced potatoes, turnips or parsnips. set aside in a separate bowl.

Pastry crust:

Mix together 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar. Cut in 2 sticks of butter, and add 1 cup cold water. Blend with a pastry blender. Roll out on a heavily floured counter and cut into squares. Place your meat in the middle of the square and fold over into a triangle. Dip a fork into flour and press along the edges of the dough to seal it. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

For the love of Lindy...and really cool pink porta potty's

Well i ran my very first 5k this saturday.
What a great time. There were alot of people there. It was powerful and exilerating to see literally thousands of women running together, supporting each other and standing together. Well running rogether. It was a blast. Lindy we love you! and we can't wait to run with you next year! Amy even let me spray her hair pink!

Also, i had to add a few pictures of the porta potty's. They were awesome. I loved them.

A nice getaway

This past week Bill and I went on a little trip just the two of us to the UP to spend some time together without the kiddos. It was a blast. We went to TQ falls and did alot of hiking to waterfalls and along the Pictured Rock lakeshore. It was beautiful. And so much fun to hang out together and have uninterupted conversations... We both were totally in our element out there. Just us two, and God of course! A few pictures of our trip....

A few of my favorite things about FALL

Couldn't resist this last one... :)

Top ten highlights of summer 2010...


1. Levi turned 1 last month, He is walking and has two bottom teeth!

2. Ethan is done with training wheels!

3. We adopted a Yorkie puppy! Ethan named him "Jojo" (He is a little stinker so he fits in with our family) :)

4. Our grass has totally come in full and green.

5. Bill is graduating with his BA in computer science in December. He is on his last class! (thank you marine corps!)

6. Bill is officially out of the inactive reserves as of yesterday! (this just means they cannot call him back or deploy him. ) He is safe!

7. Witnessed 3 of my best friends tie the knot!

8. Took the boys to the zoo for the first time ever!

9. Biking with the boys to Holland state park and grand haven...bonus: both have "pronto pup")

10. My favorite part of the summer was spending time with bill and the boys. sunsets. bonfires. beach and the smell of sunscreen and bug spray.

I have to say, however, that i am ready for FALL! Pumpkins and mums! Apple picking and fresh apple pie. The smell of leaves burning and watching the leaves change color. I love it all!

Play -Doh

Here's some rainy-day fun! Make some good old fashioned play doh! This is the recipe my mom made when i was a kid, and it seems to last alot longer than the store bought, and is alot cheaper!
1 c. flour
1c. water
1/4 c. salt
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 T canola oil

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry in a sauce pan over med heat until it thickens and turns into a ball. It's pretty sticky at first, so just hang in there. It will get thick.
Add whatever food coloring color you desire! Ethan's is always blue. Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag. (: