Happy Thanksgiving and the Best Lemon Pie EVER!

This is Angel Lemon Pie. I found the recipe this week on kutv.com. Lemon meringue is one of my favorite pies, so I was intrigued by this recipe, which has the meringue for the crust. I made this pie yesterday, along with the traditional pumpkin. It was pretty easy to make, and turned out absolutely, positively, DELICIOUS! This is now my favorite lemon pie. I like it more than traditional Lemon Meringue. *One note: the filling calls for grated lemon peel, but I didn't have any lemons laying around, so I substituted 1/2 t. of lemon extract for the lemon peel. I wouldn't make it any other way! This pie is very light, refreshingly lemon, and melts in your mouth! YUM!

Angel Lemon Pie

Crust:
4 egg whites
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1 c. sugar

Beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar, and beat until stiff. Gradually add sugar, and beat until stiff and shiny. Put into a greased 9-in. pie pan. Bake at 275 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn the oven up to 300 degrees and bake for 40 minutes more. Cool.

Filling:
4 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
3 T. lemon juice and grated lemon peel (I used all 3 T. of juice, and added 1/2 t. extract)
1-2 T. water
1 c. whipping cream

Beat yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Add lemon juice, grated peel (Or extract) and water. Cook over a double boiler until thick, stirring constantly. (This step doesn't take long, and I cooked it until it was the constistency of yogurt). Chill.

Whip the cream. (I added 2 T. sugar, and 1/2 t. of vanilla even though the recipe didn't call for it). Spread 1/2 of whipped cream over cooled crust, then spread the lemon custard over that. Add the rest of the whipped cream on top. Refrigerate 24 hours.

Here's to a SMASHING good time!

Nicole decided to ask someone to the girl's choice Christmas Dance this year! Way to go, Nicole! She put together this cute gift bag, filled with red and gold glass ornaments. Each of the ornaments is filled with confetti and one letter of Nicole's name. The letter tied on top says, "I think it would be SMASHING if we went to the Christmas Dance."

When she gets her answer, I'll take a picture and post it. Hopefully, it'll be "yes!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMELIA!

Our little princess turned 7 today! It's so hard to believe she's growing up so fast. Here are some pictures of her with the gifts she opened this morning. Her Sleeping Beauty video game, new shoes, and a cute shirt that describes her perfectly! We love you, Mia!!

Nicole's Little Obsession

Nicole and her friends got together and made special shirts to wear to the new movie, "Twilight." Nicole's read all the books; some of them SEVERAL times!

UTAH 48--BYU 24

UTAH GOES UP 12-0
LOOK OUT, BCS! :)

THE (OTHER) BIG ONE

Nicole is going to miss the game (GASP!! Didn't we raise her better than that??) to go with her friends to see Twilight. Later, I will post a picture of her in the shirt she made specially for this big event.

THE BIG ONE

TODAY IS THE DAY.
I don't think I need to say another word.
:)

Root Canal....done!

Okay, my first root canal is over and done with, and it really wasn't that bad. The hardest part was keeping my mouth open for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, with a rubber dam hanging out of it. Otherwise, it was a pain-free peice of cake. I'm still pretty darn numb, and it's just now starting to wear off. Hopefully the root canal will settle right in and I won't have much residual pain....we'll see!

Creamy Tortellini Soup--for the slow cooker

I am a subscriber to Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which I LOVE. I got this recipe from their website, and made it for tonight's dinner. It was easy and really delicious! I like to cook something meatless a few times a week, and this fits that criteria as well. I thought I might need a few more servings than the recipe specifies (we are a family of 8, after all) so I upped some of the ingredients.

1 1.8 oz envelope white sauce mix (I used 2 envelopes of Alfredo sauce mix because I couldn't find plain white sauce mix)
4 c. water
1 14-oz. can vegetable broth (I used 2)
1 1/2 c. slice fresh mushrooms (I had a 7 oz. can, so I used those)
1/2 c. chopped onion (I used 1/4 c. dry minced)
3 cloves garlic (I used somewhere between 1/2 to 1 t. of granulated garlic)
1/2 t. basil
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. oregano
1/8 t. cayenne (I don't like this, so I used 1/2 t. black pepper)
1 7-8 oz. package of dried cheese tortellini (I used about 12 oz. of tricolor cheese tortellini)
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
6 c. fresh baby spinach leaves, or torn spinach (I used some frozen, and less than the recipe cuz I'm about the only one who like it! Ditto on the mushrooms above)
Finely shredded parmesan cheese

Place dry sauce mix in 4 qt. slow cooker. Gradually add the water and whisk until smooth. Stir in broth, mushrooms, onion, garlic, basil, salt, oregano, and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high 3 hours. Stir in dried tortellini. Cover and cook on low for one hour, or high for 45 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk and spinach. If desired, sprinkle individual servings with black pepper and parmesan cheese. 4 servings (per original recipe). I got enough for 8, with 2 servings left over for tomorrow's lunch. I also made some french bread and we ate it with the soup.

Husband Tag

This is the Husband Tag. I tag whoever wants to brag up their DH.

1. Where did we meet? In Sociology
2. How long did we date before we got married? We dated 6 weeks, got engaged, then we were engaged for 6 months.
3. How long have we been married? 20 years
4. What's my favorite feature of his? I love when he's freshly shaved!
5. What's my favorite quality of his? I can trust him; his integrity.
6. Does he have a nickname for me? honey bunches
7. What's his favorite color? That would have to be red
8. What's his favorite food? He's a steak and potatoes man.
9. When and where was our first kiss? On my front porch, I think on our 2nd or 3rd date.
10. What is his favorite sport? Definitely, no question, football! Unless you consider hunting a sport. In that case, it might be a tie.
11. What is our favorite thing to do as a couple? Hmmm....how about home remodeling?
12. Do we have children? Well, the blog title tells you we have 6!
13. His hidden talent? He CAN sing, even though he says he can't. He just can't read music.
14. How old is he? 42
15. Who said, "I love you" first? I waited for him to say it first. :)
16. His favorite music? he probably likes country best.
17. What do you admire most about him? That he can do anything that he sets his mind to doing! He doesn't get overwhelmed looking at a task like I do.

Oh, my aching tooth!

That should answer any questions about the status of my tooth. It hurts! STILL! But I am managing to stay sane. Somehow.

I do have to go to a specialist for a root canal. Next Tuesday. The 18th. Not soon enough, but what do you do?

Meanwhile, I'm alternating a few Advils with extra strength Tylenol every 3 hours. Still, it gets a little hairy. When it flares up, it's more like a whole-left-side-of-my-face-and-neck ache. Yeah, my dentist offered Lortab, but I can't take that stuff. And I'm allergic to codeine. Besides, I can't afford to be loopy with 6 little people running around. Who knows what they'd get away with? ;)

80's Redux

This is Nicole before a stomp at school...the new thing in stomps is to look at crazy as possible. Those bright, shining pink things are mine, and NO, I do not wear them anymore! I actually forgot I had them until Nicole went rummaging through my drawers and found them.

I have a TOOTHACHE!

OUCH!!
I have to go to the dentist in a few hours. Even though I used to be a dental assistant, it's still not my favorite thing being on the other end of that vacuum! :)

However: 2 Advil, together with 1 Tylenol PM didn't do the trick last night, so I will "gut it up" as my hubby would say, and go see what's going on with my tooth. It's a tooth that had a large filling put in about a year ago, so if it needs a root canal, it'll be my first root canal ever. Wish me luck!

What every wife of a hunter needs (?)

I'm in the market for a new crock pot....and I found this interesting specimen at walmart.com. This is called the Eastman Outdoors Wildgame Slow Cooker. It's a whopping 7 quarts in size, and come with special seasonings meant just for wild game. Just what I need for cooking that deer meat in, eh?! I think Jeff would be surprised if I actually bought it, but I think I'll stick with a smaller stainless version.

Update: I emailed the link for this slow cooker to Jeff, and he answered back that anything with camo has to be better than a $5 rebate! That's how much he loves his huntin' stuff.

Newly Sealed Cracks:1 Rain: 0

After all the work Jeff did on Saturday patching cracks in our driveway, SUCCESS! It rained Sunday night and most of yesterday, and there was NO LEAKING into our storage room under the garage! YESSS!

That means, after Jeff patches the cracks around the stairs in the garage, we can park in there again EVEN IF IT SNOWS, and there won't be any leaking into the storage room. I am so happy about this thought I can't even tell you. :) Cleaning snow off a suburban is definitely NOT one of my favorite things to do.

Step on a crack, break your mother's back!

It wouldn't be too hard to do on our driveway! :) I posted a few weeks ago about one of our new projects being the repairing of cracks in our driveway. Jeff's been working hard on it! First, he has to take a concrete saw and cut the cracks--widen them and clean them up. Then he painted a primer inside the cracks that will make new cement (called "patchcrete") bond to the old cement. Next a "rope" made of foam goes down in the bottom of the cracks. Then they get filled with the patchcrete. Once the patchcrete is hard enough to cut, you actually re-cut the cracks, only now they are nice and clean cuts. This allows for expansion and contraction of the cement along these new cuts, and will keep the driveway from getting new cracks. After re-cutting the patchcrete, these new cuts are filled with a self-leveling polyurethane-type of filler that seals the crack but moves with the cement as it expands and contracts with the changing seasons.

It wasn't pretty....

But it was a win just the same!!
Utah 13-TCU 10

Way to go, Utes!! 10-0!!

THIS IS IT!

Only the BIGGEST game in the season so far (BYU-UTAH will always be THE biggest game in any season around here!) :

TCU VS. UTAH
Tonight! 6:00pm

This Is America!

This is America, where the first black President has just been elected. That in itself is an amazing thing, and a testament to the American Dream. Whatever color or race Barack Obama is has nothing to do with the fact that we don't agree with his ideas, his choice of friends and mentors, and his lack of experience. This is why we voted for John McCain. We're sad that a true American hero and fighter lost this race. But we can't forget that this is still America--America the Beautiful!

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Here is the yummy thing I baked today....having a snowstorm makes me wanna bake!

Pumpkin Sheet Cake
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
2 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
4 eggs
1 c. canola oil
1/2 c. chopped nuts
Your favorite frosting: I made buttercream this time. Cream cheese is good too!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, beat pumpkin with sugar to combine. Add eggs and oil, mix well. Add in the dry ingredients, and mix until well combined. Stir in nuts.

Spread the batter in an ungreased jelly roll pan with sides (15x10x1). Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the top springs back when touched lightly. Cool completely and then frost.

We are definitely having a snowstorm!

Just yesterday, I barbecued some turkey burgers for dinner. Don't think we'll be doing any barbecuing today.

Get out the Vote

We voted early, and considering that we're having a snowstorm right now, I'm really thankful for my hubby making me go early with him....we had to wait in line for an hour, but it was worth it! Here's hoping (and praying!) that McCain wins.

Tag, you're it!

I've been tagged by my sister Meredith! Here goes:

Ten things that make me happy (not in any particular order):
*Dark Chocolate (it's not an accident that I capitalize this)
*camping with my hubby and kids
*baking yummy stuff
*being in Primary
*My hubby
*my kids
*having sisters & girlfriends (they can be interchangeable!)
*reading a good book
*buying stuff for the house (wish I could do it more!)
*children who are getting along

Ten Things I Love about My House (again, no particular order)
*where it is
*the new kitchen
*the large yard
*all the fruit trees my hubby insisted on planting. Thanks, Honey!
*I can see the temple from the living room
*all the wonderful neighbors
*the new roof
*the view of the lake & the sunsets
*all the trees, flowers, shrubs, etc.
*the wildlife: quail, all the birds, and the deer when they aren't eating my stuff!

I tag anyone who wants to!

Happy November!

Well, I can't believe that it's November already! Seems like we just did the whole holiday thing, but soon it'll be Thanksgiving (otherwise known as Turkey Day) and then you know what comes entirely too soon after that! I wonder how many shopping days left 'til Christmas....