Eldest

Emil Michael's birthday was yesterday. 

(It just doesn't seem right to not see your child on their birthday.)

He is a Writer

He is Enigma 

He is 20!

 He has become such a handsome, articulate man. 

Polite and humorous, witty and kind. We're so proud of who he is and how he stands strong to his convictions.  I can't wait for him to come home from school in April!

Since I haven't blogged in a month...

On Valentines Day Emil and I made a nice candlelight dinner for Noah and Kirstin.

Dinner was good but dessert was my favorite part. :)

Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake

I had never had Chocolate cheesecake and decided it was time to fix that. It was AMAZING!

Just click on the name to go to the recipe. Make sure you have peeps to share it with because it is rich and you don't want to end up eating it all by yourself!

On Feb 22-23 I had a camp retreat in Nags Head. I'm the Camp Director again this year so this overnighter was a chance to get all our leaders Adult and Youth together to talk about the theme and what we needed to focus on as well as assign them Levels to work with.  

The view from the cottage we stayed at! Too bad the weather was yuck

Our gals doing a craft. Kirstin's on the left in grey & red

It was a great get together and everyone enjoyed themselves but I think I did too much because the next day I was home sick. After 2 long naps and a full day of rest I was ready to go again. 

I've also been working on the home projects I told you about. We sold our dining room table so now the room is bare but I'm hoping to start making my dream table soon! 

We rearranged the study and this weekend, when we go to the temple, we'll pick up the remaining two bookcases to finish the built-in bookcase for that room. I wanted to paint but Emil said no. He likes the blue. :(

Last night we had some friends over and I tried a new breadstick recipe. It was Yum. Give it a try! 

Easy Breadstick Twist

Easy? Well... as easy as making your own bread is. However, the kids loved pulling them apart and they were quite tasty! I topped them with a light sprinkling of this garlic bread seasoning which I use all the time! 

Summertime S'mores

So I pretty much have about hundred recipes I'd love to try. 

I subscribe to several food blogs, ok, I must confess, most of them are dessert blogs. 

They go by names like

 Bake at 350, Cookies & Cups, Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Our Best Bites, Two Peas and Their Pod. 

You get the picture. So I get at least a couple recipes in my email everyday. When I saw these I just knew they had to jump to the front of the list.

They are called Mini S'more Cookies

They are so good! And cute!

Here's the link to the recipe.

 It's on a site called Two Peas and Their Pod, 

they also make healthy food but I haven't tried any of that stuff.

When I was setting up the link for this post I noticed a Mini Rocky Road Cookie I think I may have to try. Hmmmmm. 

You should have all the ingredients you'll need but you may be lacking these little babies.

They are new to me and I found them in Target above the regular marshmallows.

They're like the marshmallows found in the hot chocolate packets. They're the crunchy type of marshmallows like the ones in Lucky Charms. Or so I've heard...

Since crunchiness may be adversely affected by the high humidity in my region I think I should use them up soon. Like to make the Mini Rocky Road cookies maybe. 

 Don't want to go wasting food! I'll let you know how they turn out!

Squash Soup and the Picture

Here's the drawing I talked about in my last blog. I guess I must have accidentally deleted it before I posted the blog! Anyway thought you might like to see it.

Yet another recipe.... It's really good.

Winter Squash Soup Serves 6-8

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 C. chopped onions

1 lb. winter squash (butternut, acorn...) aprox. 2 cups

1 small clove garlic, minced

2 1/2 C. water or light chicken stock

salt & white pepper to taste

dash of grated nutmeg

pinches of light brown sugar, if needed

1 C. milk or half & half

1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Melt butter with the oil in a heavy sauce pan, adding the onions. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is very tender & slightly golden, about 15 minutes.

2. Cut squash in half, and remove the seeds and fibers, lay on a plate with a bit of water and microwave until tender, about 6 minutes or so.

3. Scoop out 2 cups & stir into onions.

4. Stir in garlic, stock or water, salt & pepper, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg.

5. Cover and simmer until all is very tender.

6. Puree mixture in blender or food processor.

7. Wipe out pan and return puree to it.

At serving time, add milk and return to simmer. Thin with a little more milk if the soup is thicker than you want it. Sweeten if needed with a little of the brown sugar. (I've never found this necessary) Serve hot with a dusting of the cheese.