Let the baking begin...

For those of you who like to bake just because it's Christmas, and you can without feeling guilty... Here are some fun recipes for your tummy's enjoyment :)

Oreo Balls

1 package Oreos
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 package dipping chocolate

Crush Oreos in a food processor until very fine (you could also use a blender). Mix in the cream cheese. Form into 1" balls and chill for 1 hour. Melt chocolate and dip the balls. Set on wax paper to cool. Drizzle with melted white chocolate, if desired. Refrigerate.

courtesy of Little Birdie Secrets


Monster Cookies











3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce jar creamy or chunky peanut butter (i like chunky)
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup m&m’s
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup heath/toffee bits
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup raisins (optional. i don’t like them but lot’s of people do)
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the m&ms, chocolate chips, everything but the kitchen sink, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool

Courtesy of Katie Kepsel


English Toffee













1 cup sugar
1/2 lb (2 cubes) butter or margarine
2 T. water
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips or 5 Hershey bars
finely chopped walnuts, optional

Cook sugar, butter, and water over medium-high heat stirring constantly until golden brown (this happens very quickly so keep your eye on it). If butter separates just keep going, it will go back together. Part butter and part margarine separates less than all butter. Pour quickly onto an ungreased cookie sheet. While hot, sprinkle chocolate on top of candy. Wait a minute or two for the chocolate to soften then spread evenly with a knife. Top with nuts, if desired. When cool break into small pieces and eat like crazy!

Also courtesy of Little Birdie Secrets


Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
















1 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups uncooked regular oats
1 (11.5-ounce) package semisweet chocolate mega morsels
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350°.
Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring well. Add oats; stir well. Add to butter mixture; stir until well blended. Gently stir in morsels and pecans. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until brown around edges. Cool on pan 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

Courtesy of MyRecipes.com

finally decorated!

And it's finally decorated. I always procrastinate when it comes to decorating the tree, but I do LOVE getting out all of my favorite ornaments. So many of them have such wonderful memories!

"Christmas Vacation" Lappe Style...

On Saturday, we set out on the 2nd annual hunt to cut down the Lappe/Diehl family Christmas tree. We got kind of a late start, and the roads were a little less than optimal...

But none the less, we continued on our trek. Turns out, the 4-wheel drive is broken on the Ford, so once we make it up this steep narrow road...

we had to park the truck and continue our adventure on foot.

After hiking about a mile and a half up the hill in the snow, we FINALLY got to an elevation where the pine trees grow. Apparently "just around the corner up here" is Erik's way of keeping me going, rather than throwing myself in the snow and making snow angels instead.

TA DA!! Here 'tis

And here's Erik chopping it down, while I stand downhill from it to take photos (probably not the smartest place to stand). As you can tell. this is the part where the photos start to get a little blurry b/c I was shivering so much... Negative degrees, no gloves, and a snow storm apparently aren't optimal conditions for a photo opp.

At this point it was getting pretty dark, still freezing, and we had to hike the same mile and a half back to the truck (in more snow than was there before). We tried to be nice to the tree and carry it, but as it turns out, Erik has much longer legs than me and is not capable of walking slowly down a hill... So he had to drag it the rest of the way.

Good thing I had Hot Chocolate waiting for me in the truck when we got back! The whole story sounds a bit treacherous, I know, but it was actually lot of fun :)

AND here is our beauty-ful (8 foot tall) tree in our lovely little house! No ornaments yet, I know.

Hope you all have a very merry holiday season!

Very Clever...

These are very clever... Why didn't anyone think of this before?! I think they're a super cute gift idea.

You can buy them at cb2.com by Crate & Barrel. Only $15.80 for a set of 4.

Brandi's Gettin' BIG

For those of you who know how big Bandit is, I think Brandi has passed her up. Bandit still has a bigger head tho :)

Poor Girl's Facial

If you're like me and you don't have the time (or money) to go get a facial, I highly recommend Clean & Clean Morning Burst In-Shower Facial. I use it 2-3 times a week and I can really feel my pores being cleaned and my skin is so soft after. BONUS: It smells so good, and its citrus scent really helps wake you up in the morning.

Feeding the Horses

Brandi has finally come to terms with the horses in our backyard. She was helping us feed them carrots this weekend...intrigued by the cameraafraid of the cameraone of the coltsBrandi made friends with him"hey guys, where you goin?"

Trick-or-Treat

The girls have their costumes on... now if they could only convince me to take them trick-or-treating!

Pumpkin Fudge contd...

For those of you non-believers, here is the Pumpkin Fudge in a "real life" photo. Yes, I do try all of the recipes that I post. As I mentioned below, this one is de-lish!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Pumpkin Fudge

This is one of my favorite times of the year b/c I love, love, love pumpkin everything! Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting, pumpkin pie, and now.... PUMPKIN FUDGE! I mean I'm just saying, its really stinkin' good :)

Here's the recipe from myrecipes.com:




















PUMPKIN FUDGE

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate morsels
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft-ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 9-inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Thngs That Appear in My Backyard...

You'd be surprised at all of the things that appear in the alfalfa field behind my house! All in one week, we've had...

...a hot air balloon...

...a double rainbow...

... AND 11 horses...

I can't imagine what'll be next :/

Priceless...

who really opts for a PBR tallboy at the fanciest sushi place in town?! OH that would be me... It was on special for $2.50! (maybe that makes them not quite as fancy as I thought? :/)

Can't Let Go

This story posted to the NBC Philadelphia website gave me chills and I wanted to share it with all of you...

Little Soldier Girl "Didn't Want to Let Go"

Four-year old Paige didn't want to say goodbye to her daddy before he was shipped off to Iraq...

A family photo that shows a little girl beside her father and his fellow soldiers in uniform as they prepare to go to war has resonated well beyond the tight knit Bennethum clan.

Four-year-old Paige Bennethum really, really didn't want her daddy to go to Iraq.

So much so, that when Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum lined up in formation at his deployment this July, she couldn't let go.

No one had the heart to pull her away.

Story by VINCE LATTANZIO, NBC

Just a reminder that no matter what your political views are, we must support our troops. They are leaving their wives and children every, for months on end, to stand up for your freedom!

Pearl Jam Live!

Pearl Jam was in Utah last week for the 1st time in 11 years and we were there! In fact, my parents even drove out from Colorado for the concert. It was siiick. They played all the classics, from Even Flow to Alive, and stuck around for two encores! 135 minutes and 28 songs later, I remember why the 90's were sooooo rad.
P.S. I know you're jealous!

I heart Eddie Vedder*

Jeff Ament playin' bass**photos courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune

♥ DSW

If you haven't ever been to a DSW you are surely missing out! My favorite place to find fabulous shoes at awesome deals.

Exhibit A: $90 Guess leather pumps on clearance for $25

I realize that they are white and I will have to wait till next spring to wear them, but imagine how excited I will be come Memorial Day 2010!

P.S. I never buy anything regular price at DSW. You must head straight for the clearance racks, do not pass go, do not collect $200. They almost always have in season shoes for total steals!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Those lovely fall trees (pictured below) are now dusted with snow, making them even more beautiful to look at. Here's a warm and cozy recipe for a snowy fall day.


















Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients
* Cooking spray
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
* 1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets
* 2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

Preparation
Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

The Leaves Are A Changin'

Dogs ♥ Camping

We went camping last weekend and found a lovely little campsite, down by the river. So pleasant to wake up the the water rushing down stream :) Only one problem, now Brandi wants us to install a river in the backyard...

Bandit on the other hand, does not love water. She prefers to look on from afar.
After her adventures up and down the river, Brandi and Austin played some soccer. Yes, that's Brandi with an entire full size soccer ball in her mouth!Then she looked on as Aus and Erik played some 'shoes.
Then she finally found someone of her own puppy status that wanted to play with her. His name is Woodrow. He's a 3 month old Ausie Sherpard.
All tuckered out... Finally!
And a little bit of sisterly love ♥ They had a fun time, but definitely needed baths when we got home. Look how dirty Bandit's feet were by the end of the weekend...