Our Family- Minus 2

Even though we had a great Thanksgiving, we missed Brian and Lindsey being with us. We can't wait till Christmas when they get to come for a visit! Thanks to M for taking this picture!

The Best Cookies...Ever!

And I'm not joking! I'm not really a cookie eater, but I can't resist these. They are also Peter's favorites, and they don't last long when he's around! I think M might have given me this recipe...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies- makes 3 dozen
Mix together:
1 c. sugar
1 c. pumpkin
1/2 c. oil
1 egg
Combine and add to pumpkin mixture:
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
Dissolve 1 tsp. baking soda in 1 tsp. milk. Add to dough. Then add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 pkg. milk chocolate chips. Preheat oven to 375. Drop dough by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until VERY lightly browned around edges. Do not overcook. Cookies do not spread much, and will be soft and moist.

I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing...

Remember that commercial? That's how I felt yesterday after dinner at I&K's! We ate like kings- big, fat kings.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. My day started at 6:00 a.m. with the ritual of gutting then stuffing a turkey for leftovers. Bruce would die with out turkey leftovers. Two of my Thanksgiving traditions- the fatty, ad-filled newspaper and the Macy's parade on TV.
Shannon made a yummy apple pie at the annual Dickson pie baking day:
Then it was off to I&K's. On the way we called Brian and Lindsey. They were about to leave for the beach. Not feelin' too sorry for them! Ian made some yummy carrots and parsnips- I even ate some!
K's mom brought-seriously- about 8 dozen homemade rolls. They were so good!
We had plenty of delicious food:And the kids cooperated for pictures, except for Peter, who kept saying something about the "paparazzi" Well, Sophie cooperated for picture taking, mostly because she fell asleep about 15 minutes into the meal.
Brady had a large slice of every pie, with whipped cream. He knows the good stuff when he sees it!It was a great day full of family and great food. Hope your's was just as nice!

Grandmother Stratford's Rolling Pin

Happy Thanksgiving! We'll be heading down to my brother's house for dinner in a while. Bruce's Thanksgiving priority is leftovers, so I have a turkey of my own going in the oven right now. Tonight when we get home, there will be a fridge full of yummy leftovers for us to eat. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, 7-up salad, rolls, pumpkin and banana cream pie and no vegetables! Speaking of pies, I made those yesterday, using Bruce's grandmother's wooden rolling pin. When we first moved to Ogden, we lived in the old Stratford house on 21st Street. A few of the old kitchen things came with me when we moved on- including the rolling pin. It's stood the test of time, even if the only handle it has is the one you can see in the picture. I figure it's been used by Stratfords to make Thanksgiving pies since maybe the 1930s. I love that family connection.

Year-End Awards

Rocko won two year-end awards this year! He was 3rd place in both the Pre-Green and the Open Hunter divisions. What a good boy! We got these ribbons last night at the annual UHJA banquet, held at the Hilton in Salt Lake. The banquet always makes for an interesting night- it's a people watcher's heaven!

A Trendy Dessert

Have you noticed how trendy bread puddings are these days? Everyone on the Food Network has their favorite. This recipe came from Sandra Lee's magazine. The genteel ladies at my DUP meeting slurped it right up!

Butterscotch Bread Pudding - 8 servings
8 c. (1-inch) stale French bread cubes
1 (12 oz.) package Butterscotch morsels, divided
2 c. milk, divided
2 Tbs. sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Vanilla Ice cream

-Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread bread cubes and 2/3 c. butterscotch morsels in bottom of dish.
-In a heavy sauce pan, cook 1 cup milk over med. heat until small bubbles form around edge of saucepan (do not boil); remove from heat. Add remaining butterscotch morsels, stirring until melted. Add sugar, stir until dissolved.
-In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1 cup milk, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually stir in about 1/4th of hot butterscotch mixture; add egg mixture to remaining hot butterscotch mixture, stirring constantly. Pour over bread cubes in baking dish, pressing bread cubes to absorb mixture.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Philly Steak Potatoes

Yum yum!

Philly Steak Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 1-1/2 cups frozen pepper strips
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 pound sliced deli roast beef, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Colby cheese
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3/4 teaspoon prepared horseradish

Directions

• Scrub and pierce potatoes; place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 15-17 minutes or until tender, turning once.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook peppers and onion in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in roast beef; heat through. Cut an "X" in the top of each potato; fluff pulp with a fork. Spoon meat mixture into potatoes; sprinkle with cheese. Combine mayonnaise and horseradish; spoon over tops. Yield: 4 servings.

A Casbah For Rich Horses

A few miles down the road from the house in Scottsdale we came upon this little gem:
Built by a very wealthy man in Chile, it's the nicest stable I've ever seen. Each of the 105 stalls has a nice little window for the horses to look at the world.It even has a hose swimming pool. That's right. The horses swim for exercise here. Rocko would be all over this!The interior courtyard- you can rent this space and the horses can watch you party:Don't forget the inside party place with the big screen TV:They also have an outside covered ring, complete with an Arab Prince statue:I liked the barn rules and the neat, tidy stall area.Ah, maybe someday I'll build myself an unassuming horse casbah!

Gotta Love Arizona!

I tagged along with Bruce on a business trip to Scottsdale for a few days last week. We stayed in our friend's home, which was beautiful and right on a golf course:
It had it's own little mini pool and hot tub:True to Bruce's adventuring nature, we drove out to a dam in the mountains:
And got to enjoy many different kinds of cactus:We checked out to uber-hip Hotel Valley Ho:And ate dinner at Trader Vics:On Saturday I went to Westworld where Shannon and Sophie competed in a show when Shannon was a senior. There was another show going on, and I wished Shannon and Rocko had been there- they would have cleaned up!

I'm sure missing that 80 degree weather right now!

Temperature Shock!

Yesterday I was here:Then I came home to this:
What's up with that?

Happy Birthday to the Boys!

Happy birthday to two of my boys that share the same birthday- Peter and Ben. Even though they are 7 years apart in age, they get along like best buds, even agreeing on Banana Split Pie for their birthday treat. So, happy 26th birthday to Ben:And happy 19th birthday to Peter!
Poor Ben, having to put up with such a unique BIL.

November Wysocki

I finally got around to putting away my Halloween things yesterday, and Thanksgiving decorations are up! Here's the Charles Wysocki print I'm hanging in my bathroom, of all places. This is the style he's more famous for- semi primitive country scenes with lots of detail. This one is called Pumpkin Hollow.

Dorm Drop-In

Since we were in Logan, we took the opportunity to drop in on Peter's dorm. I was pleasantly surprised to find all of his spaces tidy and neat! No overflowing garbage, disgusting bathrooms or unmade beds!I tried to take a decent picture of the Logan temple at night with the moon rising behind. Wish I'd had a tripod for this no-flash picture!

Edna's Birthday Dinner

Last night we went to Sharon's house in Logan to celebrate Edna's 75th birthday. A lot, but not all, of us were there. Bruce and I picked up Peter at his dorm and brought him with us. Bruce's present to his mother was a family history story that he wrote about some of his childhood adventures. Peter presented the birthday dessert:Bruce got into the party mood:The grandkids who were there posed with Grandma:

Recognize This?

Fall Back!

I have mixed feelings about this Daylight Savings thing. I'd rather have more daylight in the evenings- sundown at 5:00 is just too early for me! I do like having an extra hour today, although Fast Sunday is going to seem very long. And, it seems the older I get, the longer it takes me to adjust to the time change. Enjoy that extra hour, everyone!