fluffy waffles

when I made these for dinner the other night (yes, breakfast is one of our favorite things to have for dinner), I asked the girls to tell me if these were “so fluffy they were going to die!!”

(more “despicable me”, I can’t help myself.)

they were indeed pretty fluffy.  I was told many times over the line that I wanted to hear.

waffles

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup cooking oil

2 egg whites

in one bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder.  make a well in the center and set aside.

in another bowl, beat egg yolks slightly.  stir in milk and oil.  add wet mixture to the dry mixture all at once.  stir until just moistened.

in a small mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up).  gently fold the egg whites into the batter.  make sure to leave some lumps of the beaten egg white.  do not overmix!!

bake in your waffle iron per manufacture’s instructions.

we like to set out just about everything to put on top of our waffles.  syrup, butter, jam, powdered sugar…

they are pretty fluffy!

payday bars

of all places, a funeral luncheon was where I discovered these.  I am thinking of presenting another “rule” to add to the church handbook, that when someone brings something to a funeral luncheon, or another church gathering, they need to bring copies of the recipe as well.
so when I came home, I hunted them down.
I have made them twice already, so I am more than qualified to tell you some of the tweaks and tips to make you love these as well.
here’s where I found the recipe.
PAYDAY CANDY BAR COOKIES
1 yellow cake mix
1/3 c. butter
1 egg
3 c. miniature marshmallows
2/3 c. white corn syrup
1 package (12 oz.) peanut butter chips
1/4 c. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. salted peanuts
2 c. Rice Krispies (I left these out.)
Mix cake mix, egg, and 1/3 cup of butter (room temperature). Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 18 minutes (watch it closely after the 12 minute mark), or until golden brown around the edges. Spread marshmallows over the top and return to oven for three to five minutes until melted. Cool completely. (I popped them into the freezer while I made the topping.)
In heavy saucepan, mix peanut butter chips, syrup, butter and vanilla; heat and stir until smooth. Add peanuts and Rice Krispies (or leave them out). Spread over marshmallows. Cool and cut.
I learned to freeze these for just a few minutes, long enough to get that marshmallow layer solid.  when you pour on your hot mixture over the top, if those marshmallows aren’t settled enough, they will melt when they come in contact with the topping and then you will only have marshmallow on the outer edges.  but merrill likes it that way because he “doesn’t like marshmallows”?  issues with that boy…
after I top them, I pop them into the fridge to let the topping firm up, and then cut them and let them come to room temperature before eating them.  cutting them while they are cold, helps the knife go through easier and your lines are pretty.  (cut the ones in the picture too soon, I was obviously too excited.)
I also tried adding another egg to the cake part to see if we liked it more cakey, but we all seemed to prefer it less cakey.
it is definitely a keeper of a recipe!

texas roadhouse rolls (copycat)

thanks to a friend, I pinned this recipe a while back, very excited to try it out.  but it just wouldn’t be right to have them unless they were paired with pulled pork, and well, we have really cut back on the meat intake in this house, so it was going to be a while.

and then I finally got to it!

so I don’t have a picture of my own to pair with this recipe, because the first time I made them they kinda got eaten fast.

the second time I made them (I made them again when we had leftovers because that recipe for pulled pork makes a lot!!!), I let them raise while I was out shoveling, and that took longer than I thought, so they rose, and then they fell, and they were delicious, but not cute.

so, no pics.

but here is the pin.

here is the link.

and here is her pic:

Texas Roadhouse Rolls - Copycat Recipe

adapted from: Good Stuff Maynard

(Printable Recipe)

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm

3 tablespoons of melted butter, slightly cooled

1/2 cup sugar 

2 quarts all purpose flour (7-8 cups)

2 whole eggs

2 teaspoons salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar.  Add yeast, milk, sugar and enough flour to make a medium batter.  Beat thoroughly.  Let stand until light and foamy.  Add melted butter, eggs and salt.  Beat well.  

Add enough flour to form a soft dough.  Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto counter and let dough rest.  Meanwhile, grease a large bowl.  Knead dough until smooth and satiny and put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. (I used the dough hook on my Kitchen-Aid to knead this for about 4-5 minutes).  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.  Punch down.  Turn out onto a floured board.  Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes.  Shape dough into desired forms.  Place on greased baking sheets.  Let rise until doubled.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Baste immediately with butter.  Yield: 5 to 6 dozen.  Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter.  

*Jenn's Notes: I shaped my rolls by rolling out the dough into a rectangle, about 1/2-inch thick, then I folded the rectangle in half, making it about 1-inch thick. I used  my rolling pin and rolled over the dough, ever so gently, just to seal the two halves together.  I then used a dough scraper and cut the rolls into squares and placed those on my greased baking sheet.  I cut the recipe in half and I got exactly 12 big rolls and baked them for 16-17 minutes.  In order to get the 5-6 dozen rolls like the recipe states, you would have to make really small rolls.   

*Mindy’s notes:  I found the first time that I made them, I used too much flour.  I prefer a softer roll, so the second time I used about 6 1/2 cups of flour instead of the 7 1/2 I used the first time.  it was a stickier dough, but the rolls were softer.

kickin’ it.

(as per usual, click on image for full list of credits.)

this kit is absolutely charming I tell you!  we have a budding little soccer player on our hands, and lots (tons!!) of pictures of her playing, or laughing on the field while others are playing, and lots of pictures of her running hard.  this kit is without a doubt what I needed to motivate me to scrap these cute pics.

it is on sale today. :)

as for the rest of what goes on around here, lots of knitting and crocheting, peyton thinking she can crochet (putting a couple of hooks in a polly pocket dress and moving them around), and it’s quite cute.

and finally, snow!!  (like snow that should hopefully stay, not get rained away, or melt.)

and with that snow: cocoa.

and more baking on top of it all.  seriously.

church isn't just on sunday at our house.

while peyton might prefer to not stay in her primary class on sunday, it doesn't mean that she doesn't love church.

i have heard her many times, while playing house, bless the food with her babies or say a bedtime prayer.  she has played church with them as well.

after a mistake was made one sunday on the sacrament prayer, she asked me why they had to say two prayers on the water.  i explained that the sacrament is an ordinance and that there can be no mistakes in the prayer.  she seemed to accept that.  at dinner that night, she volunteered to say the blessing on the food.  well, she made a mistake, and then started her prayer all over again!

"i made a mistake!  i had to start all over."

then there was today.

we were getting ready to go over to the school to be the mystery reader for lynn's class, and needed to get shoes on peyton, so we went into her closet.  there were her little people, all lined up in rows, one up front, sitting on a trike, just a little higher than the rest.

"i made a church for my little people mommy!"

yes, she did.

oh how i wish i had gotten a picture of that..

this whole post might be because my kids watch “despicable me” too much.

this is peyton:

she is almost 4, loves her purse (doesn’t like hannah montana though), eats just about everything (but oranges have been a favorite lately), and is my favorite sidekick.

part of her duties as sidekick include making me laugh.

(like just now, she informed me that her panties are hanging out of her skirt.)

this child, as well as my other two, love the movie “despicable me”.  I can’t blame them.  I find it pretty darn funny myself.  I am not sure if I love it enough to want to watch it everyday though.

there is just one certain part of this movie that has seemed to have stuck in the brain of my little nearly four year old.

imagine, the minion.

“whaaat?”

go, see for yourself. 

now pair it with this sweet face:

and here’s a story to put the two together for your enjoyment:

sunday has changed in our home.  we have moved from the 1-4pm church to the 9am-12pm block.  it’s still taking a little getting used to, but for the most part, we are loving it.  sundays have also changed in the fact that peyton is no longer in nursery.  she is a sunbeam!  (she is also the only one of my girls who would not allow me to take a picture of her after her first sunday as a sunbeam with her new ctr ring.  stinker.)  her first sunday in class, no big deal.  she rather enjoyed it.  I was rather relieved.

the second sunday, I was gearing her all up for another fun sunday as a sunbeam (!!!).  we got there, and despite another kid, crying incessantly, she went to class without hesitation.

now, merrill and I teach the oldest two classes in primary.  during peyton’s class time, we are in music and sharing time, during our class time, she is in music and sharing time.  so just as we make the transition to go to class, right when we are going to have the opening prayer, there is a knock at the door.  it was the primary secretary and peyton’s teacher.

and there was peyton.  big tears on her cheeks.  her teacher explained that she thought peyton wasn’t feeling well, she stood the whole class time and didn’t want to sit down.  she didn’t cry for a while, but at the end of class, she started to cry and said she wanted me.

so I took her into class with us, but when she started to get too comfortable in there (read: she was being a distraction) I had merrill take her out to see if she wanted to go into singing time.

(come to find out she didn’t like that either.)

well, after sacrament meeting, when we were going home, I decided to ask peyton what happened in class to make her so sad.

“well..  I was just trying to play with all of my friends, but they didn’t want to play, so I was like ‘whaaat?’ and then I was sad.  and I didn’t want to sit down, and so I started to cry.  and my teacher was like ‘whaaat?’ and she asked me why I was sad and I just couldn’t talk.  so I said I wanted my mom.  and well, then she took me to you.”

that girl…

other funny things she has said lately:

sunday night when she wouldn’t go to bed she told merrill:

“when I am grown up, I am going to stay up all night, and I am going to be tan.”

she also told him that she was going to change her name, but he couldn’t remember what name she said.

she also likes to bust in on conversations by saying, “what?  are you guys eating chicken nuggets over there?”

I love that I get to spend all day with her, and merrill, that does not give you permission to say anything about when she starts school, in the very, far, distant future, and leaves me all by  my lonesome.  her position of sidekick might just have to be filled if you say anything that makes me cry.

and well, I kinda sorta got my picture of my new little sunbeam in a round-about kind of way after all.

snow at last!

I love where I live, I love everything about it.

I cannot pick a favorite season, because I love things about each and every one.

but, really, to be completely honest, winter is my favorite.

I am not sure if it is because I have such fond memories of my childhood that are associated with winter, if it is because Christmas is in the winter season, or if it is just because the usually white  landscape is just so quiet and peaceful.  I really tend to believe that I love it, because the cold and the snow puts us all at home together, inside, sharing time together.  whether we are all cozied up watching a movie, reading books, or just being together, it is my favorite place to be.  maybe it’s the cocoa….

(yeah, stick with me, there’s a rocking awesome recipe coming up.)

this year has not been a typical (and disappointing) year in the way of snowfall.

we got a little bit, and it stayed around for a minute, then slowly melted only to reveal all the dead and ugly foliage that lay beneath the surface.

(and let me be honest again, for just a minute, maybe two.)

we love the snow, for many reasons, one of the top being that it directly affects our summertime recreating.  not a lot of snow = less water in our lakes.  especially our beloved lake powell.  low water levels there just aren’t fun.

but I should add, that there are a bunch of weirdos that I am related to, that don’t like the snow(?!?).

so as we were watching the weather friday night, watching the channel we trust most when it comes to meteorologists, we were warned that we might get a “skiff” or light “dusting” of snow.

well, we were disappointed to say the least.  we were hoping that the storm would turn into a monster and dump on us.  so we went to bed, expecting to see our “skiff” the next morning.

before I go on, thanks must first be given to my younger brother (the intelligent brute), he is quickly approaching 30 and decided to get himself an early birthday gift.  a motorcycle.  that was on friday.  (tempt those weather gods!!!)

saturday morning, very early, obscenely early, I was wakened to most of the feeling in the right side of my body gone.  whatever wasn’t numb was cramping, and the reason, there was a little extra body in my bed.  I got up to put ashley in her bed and glanced at the clock: 5:12.  as I was glancing at that clock, I was distracted by how bright it was outside.  uncharacteristically light for 5 am.

I looked out the front glass, and…

we had much, much more than a “skiff” of “dusting” of snow.  my guess was about 3 inches at that time.

once we were really up for the day, when all was said and done, we had six lovely inches:

and I would have gladly taken more.

I shoveled, and my neighbor, being incredible, cleared out our mailbox and driveway entry with his atv, and the girls played in the snow.  they even got to use their new sleds that they got for christmas!! 

ashley was slightly emotional, either because she is a girl, because she was so overcome with our snow, because she was cold, or maybe just because she is a girl, and cried about nearly everything.  she cried mostly because she kept crashing into the small tree in the front yard. 

“I wish this tree were never invented!!”  (sob.)

so to ease the emotions, and the obviously cold limbs and such, we went inside and made the best cocoa EVER.

so basically, we are very happy to have the snow we have, and will be hoping for obscene amounts to follow in the coming weeks.