THIS IS A CHRISTMAS TREE

This is a Christmas Tree

This is a Christmas Tree

This is a Christmas Tree

This is a Christmas Tree

This is a Christmas Tree

And these are Christmas Trees, too

These are NOT Holiday Trees

They are not Kwanzaa Trees

They are not Hanukkah bushes

They are not Allah plants

They are Christmas trees.

Say it...

CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas , CHRISTmas

Yes CHRISTmas -not Holiday

We are not celebrating the birth of a Holiday!!!

We are Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ!!!

So I would like to say to each and everyone of you

Have a Very Merry CHRISTMAS

and may GOD BLESS each and every one of you!!!

November 2009 Birthday Party

After Thanksgiving Dinner we had our November Birthday party.
We celebrated 4 birthdays this month.

Trevor age 4

Hunter age 8, his birthday was in September, but this was the 1st party he's been to since then.

Jasmine age 15

Kelsey age 16

We sang Happy Birthday and the kids opened presents. No need for cake and ice cream this month.

CLICK HERE to see more pictures.

Thanksgiving 2009

We were able to get together for Thanksgiving Dinner with Aunt Karen's family, again this year.

There was a large group of people, Family & Friends, as well as lots of food and pies.

This was a small part of the pies, there were more on the island and the counter behind the table.

It was a beautiful, warm day so we ate

inside

and outside.

We played

and visited

and napped.

After dinner was finished and cleaned up, a few of us went to see Randy & Kim's new house. It is huge and will be beautiful when it is finished.

The hearty souls in the group went over the Black Friday ads

and had their annual war council

CLICK HHERE for more Thanksgiving Pictures

Gluten Free Crispy Corn Bread and Corn Bread Sausage Stuffing

This comes from Country Living Magazine, We tried it on Saturday and it was very good.

CRISPY CORN BREAD
1 tablespoon(s) lard or unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup(s) stone-ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda, chopped
1/2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt
1 teaspoon(s) sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup(s) buttermilk
2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with lard; place in oven. Sift dry    ingredients together into a large bowl; set aside.

2.  Whisk egg until frothy and then whisk in buttermilk. Add wet ingredients to dry ones and mix thoroughly. Whisk melted butter into batter. Remove skillet from oven when fat is smoking and swirl until fat coats bottom and sides.
3. Pour batter into skillet and bake until top is golden brown and edge has pulled away from side of pan, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cut into 6 wedges in skillet, and serve hot. Or use for Corn Bread and Sausage Stuffing.

CORN BREAD SAUSAGE STUFFING
1 recipe Crispy Corn Bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 1/2 pound(s) bulk or linked fresh hot Italian sausage, pulled from casings if using links
2 large yellow onions
6 large celery stalks, chopped
3 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon(s) kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 cup(s) chicken broth
4 large unpeeled ripe pears, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes
freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 large eggs, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place corn bread cubes in 1 large baking pan or 2 small ones and bake until bread is just toasted and golden, about 6 minutes. Set aside in a large bowl.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Cook sausage in a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat, breaking into small pieces with a spoon until cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with corn bread. Sauté onions, celery, sage, and salt in sausage fat in pot, stirring and scraping up browned bits on bottom (if pot becomes dry, add butter, a tablespoon at a time), until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.
3. Pour broth into pot, bring to a simmer, add pears, and cook until pears are softened but still whole, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl and toss gently with bread and sausage to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. In a small bowl, whisk eggs and pour over bread mixture. Toss to distribute. Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking dish (or a square 9-inch baking dish, if you plan to stuff a 14- to 16-pound turkey).
5. Transfer mixture to dish and bake, uncovered, until crusty and browned on top, about 40 minutes. (If stuffing a 14- to 16-pound turkey, stuff main cavity loosely with about 3 cups and neck cavity with about 1 cup stuffing.) Roast as directed. Stuffing inside turkey should be cooked to a temperature of 165°F; if turkey is done before stuffing, transfer stuffing from turkey to a buttered baking dish and bake at 350°F until it reaches 165°F.

GLUTEN FREE HOLDAY GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Green Beans Deluxe
(from Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free & Wheat Free Cooking...)
Even better than the original that contains canned soup mixes. This recipe can be halved as well.
4 T. butter
5 T. flour (GF all purpose or the GF grain of your choice)
½+ t. salt to taste
1½ t. onion powder or dried onion flakes
1 t. sugar
½ t. dry mustard
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
2 t. GF soy sauce or 1½ T. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1-2 t. GF Worcestershire sauce, to taste
6 (14.5 ounce) cans green beans, drained (or approximately 10 cups of frozen green beans that have been cooked about half the normal cooking time; approximately 10 minutes)
2 (4 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms or 12 ounces of sliced fresh mushrooms that have been sautéed in small amount of oil
1 medium onion, sliced very thinly*
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese


Onion Ring Batter: 1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup flour, 2 T. GF cornstarch, and ½ t. salt.
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan or casserole with non-stick cooking spray.


Melt 4 tablespoons butter and combine with 5 tablespoons flour, cook for at least 1 minute. Remove from heat and add salt, onion powder, sugar, dry mustard, milk, sour cream, and soy sauce or Braggs and Worcestershire, returning to low heat until combined and thickened. Fold into drained green beans and mushrooms. Place into 9 x 13 inch oiled casserole.


Onion rings: Mix batter ingredients until the batter is a consistency that coats the onion rings well. Add more liquid or flour if needed for desired thickness. Fry the onion rings in deep fryer or in approximately ½ inch of oil in a deep pan. Drain on paper towels.


Just before baking, sprinkle ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese over top of casserole, then evenly distribute the crunchy onions over the top of the dish.


Bake at 350˚F in the lower-middle part of oven for 30 minutes until brown and bubbly.
Notes: *Make lots of the onion rings in advance and store in an airtight container until ready to use!


Makes: 10-12 servings.

BOOK SIGNING JOSI KILPACK & JULIE WRIGHT

Tuesday after work I made a trek into Mesa, to Seagull Book.
The reason for this trip was to attend a book signing.
Josi Kilpack & Julie Wright included Arizona in their 2009 Book Tour.

Josi Kilpack, Me & Julie Wright

It was a fun evening, visiting with 2 authors, whose books I've read for so many years.

Julie's sister in law sent her a cookie bouquet to her at Mesa Seagull. ( I borrowed this picture from Josi's blog)

Front: Me, Josi Kilpack, Julie Wright

Behind me: Peggy- the store manager and the store employees

Julie shared a cookie with each of the store employees and me. We posed for a picture, before some people ate their cookies.

I saved mine until after supper. It was actually enough cookie that it could have been dinner, but it was very good.

To learn more about Josi Kilpack's books CLICK HERE

To learn more about Julie Wright's booksCLICK HERE

If you ever have the opportunity to attend a book signing for these ladies, jump at the chance, you won't regret it.

HUNTER'S BAPTISM

Today, a few of us were able to gather for Hunter's Baptism.

Jordyn was excited for her brother and drew a picture of his baptism, as well as writing the names of all of the people in attendance. I didn't take a picture of her drawing, but it was quite good.

Uncle Chris, Hunter & Uncle Ed

Hunter was baptized by his Uncle Ed and confirmed by his Uncle Chris. Uncle Ed & the Bishop stood in the circle.

All of the talks were after the Baptism and confirmation. The 1st one was by a member of the Primary Presidency, she read a poem and gave Hunter a pair of new clean white socks, to symbolize how after baptism you are clean, along with a copy of the poem.

The Bishop gave a talk  about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, it was very interesting.
I am very happy that Hunter made the choice to be baptized, I know he will be blessed for his good choice.
After the baptism we went to Papa Walker's for pizza and a big cookie celebration.

LET THE FUN BEGIN

We are less than 6 weeks away from Christmas. In keeping with the tradition of homemade gifts, I have all the tools and materials gathered.

Bits and pieces are coming together

Lots still to do, who needs sleep anyway?

HUH????

Words fail me. I think I'll just go pick some chips off the

Doritos tree in the backyard….

ZIPLOC OMELET

OK I have never really tried this myself, but it looks like it would be fun for kids at a family reunion or something.

(This works great !!! Good for when all your family is together. The best part is that no one has to wait for their special omelet !!!) Have guests write their name on a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker. Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them. Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc. Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water. Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed. Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake; everyone gets involved in the process and a great conversation piece.
You can get these ready the night before, and put the bag in boiling water while you get ready. And in 13 minutes, you got a nice omelet for a quick breakfast!!!
I used tomatoes, ham, green onions, cheddar cheese and mushrooms in this one! MMMM . . .MMMMMMMM Try it. . . .it really works!!!

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY

Veteran's Day is Today November 11th. It was first celebrated on Nov 11, 1919 as Armistice Day to honor the Veteran's of World War I. In 1938, Armistice Day was made an official American Holiday. After World War II, citizens felt veteran's of all wars should be recognized. In 1954, congress changed the name to Veteran's Day. In the U.S., the holiday is celebrated by approximately 2.9 million U.S. veteran's with parades and ceremonies among other events.

Our family has had someone serve in every U.S. war since the American Revolution, including the Mormon Battalion.

Dad served in the Navy at the end of World War II, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

George Cottam (Dad's Uncle) served in Germany in World War I. He was Killed in Action.

John Donohoo (Mom's Uncle) also served in Germany in World War I. He came home alive and shortly after returning died of a ruptured appendix on the way to the hospital.

Robert Burns Donohoo (Mom's Grandfather) left Tennessee to serve with a company from Illinois during the Civil War.

Oliver Gaultry Workman (Jacob Lindsay's younger brother) was with the Mormon Battalion.

Dewey Donohoo (Grandpa) served in Panama in WWI

Uncle Ross (Mom's Brother) was career Military.

He served in a lot of different places.

Max Skabelund served in

the military in the late 50's

and early 60s

Rich Coppel was in the

Air Force in Viet Nam

Steve, served in Operation Desert Storm

Adam, right, served in the current War in Iraq.

Today is a day to remember the Veterans who gave of their time and endangered their lives to keep us safe and free.

I am grateful to the members of my family both the ones pictured and the ones not mentioned who served in the military, and gave of their time, and for the families that stayed home to wait for them, worry about them, and pray for them.