Wonderful appetizer - pretty simple, too!

 

Take a club cracker - add bacon, wrapped around it.

Top with brown sugar.

 

Bake 325 degrees 2 hours.  Super good!

 

Better double the batch - they will be gone in minutes.

We have been working on our addition for 2 years now. We have passed our final inspection, and hope to finish it this summer.

We put the swing Al go for his birthday from the kids in the new addition.  The grandkids seem to really love it.  It may be better there than outside!

This was a fun night - that ended with the grandkids
in the dark using lots of glow sticks for entertainment.

It was a great night.

Here are a few more birthday pictures.
It was a great birthday, Thanks to the
Whitneys for hosting it at their home.
Bren really outdid herself with all of
the great decorations.

Food, fun and friends & family . . .
what could be better?

My mom has a well.  It runs 24/7.  We have had such a cold winter!
She was proud of her ice sculpture this year.

It was very beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got my hubby a Kindle for Christmas. 
He does not like it.

I made him a cover.  It has deer and moose on it.
He takes the Kindle to church.

Mr. M said, "I know where Grandpa got that from".

I said, "Where?"

"From hunting."

Mr. M is hilarious!!!

I have a few minutes to write about a few things recently.

My hubby & I are trying to be healther.  I have been making
"Ruth's Diner" oatmeal for the past 3 weeks.

It consists of:

2 cups water
1 cup oatmeal
                  bring to a boil, turn down heat and add:

raisins - to taste
1 - 2 apples, chopped up
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg, optional
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
dates, optional

It's pretty much put in whatever you want.
I put creamer on top of mine.  Al puts
milk or almond milk on his.

It is very yummy.

My finishing prize - at Chick-fil-a!!

I forgot to put up pictures of my Valentines'
treats this year.  I covered fortune cookies and
large pretzels with chocolate and sprinkles.
I made a few "Cutler Cookies" recipe pinned
at Pinterest.  I put everything in a large bowl
from IKEA.

I like the way it turned out.

 

I did't frost my cookies, but dipped them in chocolate part way.

 

Cutler's Famous Sugar Cookies with Butter Cream Frosting or Glaze

Cutler's Cookies, Bountiful Utah

print recipe

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 cups cake flour


Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until blended well. Add dry ingredients and mix. To make dough easier to work with, chill before rolling.

Roll to about 1/4 inch thick and form (cut) cookies and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Cookies are done when top is slightly cracked and no longer looks wet. Edges may be slightly browned.

Top the cookies with either frosting or glaze, below.
Makes about 2 1/2 to 3 dozen, depending on the size of your cookie cutter.

Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup butter

4-5 cups powdered sugar

milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat soft butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Add a splash of milk and vanilla, blend well. Tint frosting with food color as desired. Decorate with sprinkles immediately after frosting.

Cutler's Glaze
8 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond emulsion* or almond extract
1 teaspoon meringue powder**

Place powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add almond emulsion or almond extract to the powdered sugar, along with water, a little at a time whisking to combine. Continue whisking until smooth. Add just enough water to make a smooth glaze that stays on a knife when the knife is dipped in the glaze.
Glaze the cookies by dipping the cookie into the glaze in a bowl and removing quickly when coated.
Place cookies on rack or cookie sheet until glaze sets.

Tips:
-*almond emulsion is sold at specialty cooking stores (Orson Gygi's in Salt Lake City) or stores where cake decorating supplies are sold.
-** Meringue powder is also sold at specialty cooking stores. Cutler's uses meringue powder to create a shiny effect on their glaze. It is optional when making the glaze.
-If the glaze starts to get too stiff, add a small amount of water until desired consistency.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Our tradition is to make corned beef and cabbage.  It's such a simple thing.  I was telling one of my friends at work how I make it.  She had never done it, but will try it today.

I use 1 - 2 cabbages, depending on how many people will be eating it.  I slice the cabbage in half, take out the core, and slice into 1/2 inch slices.  I layer it over a steamer in a large pan.

Chop up a few red potatoes - also in 1/2 inch slices and put over the cabbage.

Open a can or two of corned beef and place over the potatoes.  Steam with a couple of cups of water until the potatoes are cooked.

Serve with lots of butter, salt and pepper.

Yummy!

What is one of the craziest things to do in the winter?  
Chick-fil-a grand opening parking lot camping!!

SKye, Preston and veterans Brenda, Justine, Riley and Max 
talked me into doing the crazies with them.

If more than 100 people show up for these things, there 
is a drawing.  There was about 135.  Drawing time.
SKye was number 19.  Oh, a good thing about having 
your ticket drawn, you got to go into the warm building.
SKye took the kids inside with him.  Pres was number 36.
I was number 59 and Bren was 87.  My heart was pounding 
like crazy until her number was drawn!

This took place on February 27-28.  It was for a freezing 
24 hours!!  The high that day was 18 degrees.

We all got mugs and could have all of the hot chocolate, 
we wanted most all of the day.

SKye has lots of camping equipment, including heaters.
I would have been dead without them.  He brought a tent, 
lots of mats and heavy-duty sleeping bags.  I brought a 
couple of chairs and some blankets and pillows.  Bren 
and Pres had lots of stuff, too, 

The good thing about the parking lot camp is that you 
really don't need to bring any food.  Chick-fil-a fed us 
three meals that day.  Mimi's restaurant brought over 
muffins in the mid morning.  The Sweet Tooth Fairy 
provided each of us with one of their famous cup cakes.

So, when we went to go to sleep that night, the heaters 
didn't fit in the tent with all of us.  We were under the 
brightest Broadway light, and it was cold.  Bren & Pres 
and fam all fit into 2 sleeping bags zipped together.  They 
were sort of as snug as a bug - in a rug.  

There were no worries about sleeping in!  About 5:15 a.m. 
there was a huge blast of some cheery song to wake us 
all up!  We lined up, got our prize of 52 meal tickets and 
then started taking down our tents as fast as possible to 
have the lot ready for their 6:30 a.m. opening.

I don't know that I will ever go to another opening, but 
it gave me an appreciation for those who do.  I hope 
someday some of my grandkids think I'm a fun grandma.

We were very blessed to all be able to win.  As we have all heard before, "Winner, winner.  Chicken dinner!"