gorgeous quilt

I saw this quilt and thought of you Mom. I knew you'd be able to appreciate it. It's gorgeous! The "how-to" is here. I love all the vintage fabrics. Maybe someday I'll get there.

Check out the rest of this cool site at Cluck. Cluck. Sew

selflessness in marriage

I think we all need a little reminder of this sometimes.

Here's your reminder-“Mortal misunderstandings can make mischief in a marriage. In fact, each marriage starts with two built-in handicaps. It involves two imperfect people. Happiness can come to them only through their earnest effort. Just as harmony comes from an orchestra only when its members make a concerted effort, so harmony in marriage also requires a concerted effort.

That effort will succeed if each partner will minimize personal demands and maximize actions of loving selflessness.” -Russell M. Nelson

Slow Cooker 20 Garlic Chicken

This slow cooker/crockpot chicken is SO tasty, and better yet, SO EASY!

1/2 large onion, sliced
1 5-7 lb. whole frying chicken**
1 medium bulb garlic (about 16-20 cloves)
1 t. Salt
1 t. Paprika
1/2 t. Pepper
1 T. Olive Oil

1. Place onion slices in 3 1/2 to 4 qt. crockpot.

2. Remove giblets from chicken, rinse, drain, & pat dry. Place chicken breast side up in the crockpot (on top of the onions). Separate garlic in to cloves; do not peel cloves. Place garlic in, around, and under chicken.

3. In a small bowl, combine salt, paprika, pepper & olive oil. Mix to form paste. Spread evenly over top of chicken. **(If I use a 7 lb chicken, I make a DOUBLE batch of this paste.)

4. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 7+ hours.

5. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken, onion and garlic from slow cooker. Cut chicken into pieces and serve.

**Reserve cooked garlic cloves to spread on bread or in mashed potatoes!

Chicken and Rice, with a twist

*low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie*

1 lb. chicken breast, diced or cut in to strips
1 c. onion, diced
1- 14 1/2 oz. can of chicken broth
1 c. orzo pasta (PASTA's equivalent to rice)
3/4 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. lemon pepper
1/4 c. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled- **optional

1. Spray 10" skillet with spray (or use 1-2 T. olive oil) and heat on medium-high. Cook chicken until brown (about 2 minutes). Remove chicken and keep warm in a bowl. (Drain fat, water if desired. You may need to add more oil or spray for the onion.)

2. Cook onion in skillet (about 4 minutes). Stir in broth, pasta, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper & chicken. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low and simmer UNCOVERED for 11 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat and **stir in Gorgonzola, if desired. If the Gorgonzola cheese scares you, this recipe is great without it! But, we love it, so be brave and give it a shot. :)

(You'll have leftover cheese after you've used your 1/4 c. I foodsave what's left and it keeps for months.)

We all love this recipe, but Alivia LOVES it too! The Gorgonzola cheese adds a little tang, but it's not overpowering and it doesn't hinder her for liking it. At our house we call this recipe "Chicken Gorgonzola".

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Mix together-
1 small can of pumpkin
2 c. sugar
2 T. milk
1 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla

In another bowl, mix-
4 c. flour
4 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
*Gradually add this mixture to the pumpkin mixture.

Stir in:
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. nuts, chopped- optional

**Bake @ 375* for 12-14 minutes.

Butterfly Cake

Alivia asked for a "butterfly cake" for her birthday.
This is what I came up with.
It had to be PURPLE because that's her favorite color, of course!


Not only was this cake pretty (for being homemade by ME), but it also tasted great! Moist, dense cake and YUMMY frosting. Check it out below!


recipes from "The Cake Mix Doctor" cookbook

Mom's Layer Cake
1 pkg plain white cake mix
1 c. whole milk**
8 T. (1 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 t. pure vanilla extract

**Don't have any whole milk? Use dry nonfat milk. 1 c. cold water + 1/3 c. dry nonfat milk. Stir and add as directed below.

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 2 9" cake pans. Set aside.

2. Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase mixer sped to medium & beat 2 minutes more, scraping down sides as needed. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with a rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side (by not touching).

3. Bake 27-29 minutes until they are golden brown and they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger. Remove pans from oven and plan on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each cake and invert on to a rack. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes or more.

4. Meanwhile, prepare your Cream Cheese Frosting as directed below.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
8 T. (1 stick) butter, softened
3 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar
1 t. pure vanilla extract

1. Cream together cream cheese & butter. Add the sugar a bit at a time, blending with the mixer on low speed until the sugar in well incorporated, 1 minute. Add the vanilla, then increase speed to medium and blend in the frosting until fluffy, 1 minute more. (Add food coloring, if desired, and stir.)

2. Use at once to frost the top and sides of your cake (once it has cooled).

**If your cake is NOT ready to frost, put frosting in the fridge until you're almost ready. Get the frosting out a few minutes before so it will soften up.

Once I was done decorating my cake I made a spot for it in the fridge to help it set up.

The recipe does NOT call for it to be kept in the fridge, but where it has cream cheese...use your own judgement.

clues

In case the weather changing to COLD hasn't clued you in that it's fall, here are some other clues:
*Football can be watched in our 2-3 days a week, while following multiple games at a time.
*Made the 1st batch of apple crisp of the season. See the recipe below! SO yummy with warm apple crisp and cool vanilla ice cream swirling amidst. Breakfast anyone?
*Pumpkins, mums and corn stalks ABOUND at local farm stands
*Donned the 1st sweatshirt of the season about 2 weeks ago- it felt GREAT! I love jeans and sweatshirt time. Take me out to the football game!
*Switched over to our HEAVENLY flannel sheets! LOVE 'em!
*Dug the tea kettle out of it's hibernation location for some hot chocolate! (I wasn't ready for fall yet either because I didn't have ANY marshmallows for my hot chocolate, but I survived.) =)

apple crisp

another "everyday food magazine" recipe

Prep: 20 min. Total time: 1 hr., 25 min.
Serves: 8

3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. light-brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. + 2 T. sugar
8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking- although that's all I had and it was still awesome!)
3 lbs. apples- such as Empire, Gala, Braeburn, peeled, cored & cut into 1/2" chunks
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. cinnamon

4-5 dashes nutmeg (Chera's addition)

1. Preheat oven to 375*.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and 2T. sugar. Cut butter into flour, using a pastry blender or 2 knives, until mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Add oats, and use your hands to toss and squeeze mixture until large, moist clumps form. Transfer to freezer to chill while you prepare apples.

3. In another large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining 1/2 c. sugar. Transfer to a shallow 2 qt baking dish (aka 8x8) and sprinkle with topping mixture. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until golden and bubbling, 55-65 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

**A crispier crisp- The secret ti a crunchy, chunky topping is working the oat mixture into large clumps with your hands- this helps the topping hold together atop the apples while toasting to a golden brown.