Cousins

Lucy is blessed with so many cousins! Unfortunately all of her cousins on the McElprang side of the family live in Idaho, so she hasn't been able to meet any of them yet. But all of the Shreeve cousins live close by and she is so fortunate enough to spend time with them. Last weekend her cousin Nixon was blessed and we were so happy to be able to be apart of his special day. He is such a sweet little baby and we all love him and are so grateful to have him in our family.

Nixon Daniel Arledge

The Arledge Family

The men who participated in the blessing

Uncle Dan and Aunt Sue with all the cousins under 2 years old

Uncle Dan and Aunt Sue with all the older cousins



in case you're looking for something new to read...

I would definitely recommend Matched. I bought this for Cami for Christmas, being a little selfish in knowing that I'd want to borrow it when she was finished. She finally read it so I got to read it last week and I loved it! The only bad thing is the sequel doesn't come out until November, so that's a bummer. But it is definitely worth a read if you are into books such as The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, etc.



Moose Track Brownies

A couple of weeks ago I saw a recipe for some moose track cookies. Since I'm more of a brownie girl, I thought I'd go that route instead. They turned out yummy and oh so good! Next time I will make them thicker and will add more of the white chocolate chips, just because I love white chocolate! These were still super nummy as is!



Moose Track Brownies

1 family sized box of brownie mix

1/2 cup chopped reese's peanut butter cups (I used the minis)

1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

1 TBS flour

4 TBS (give or take) of hershey's chocolate syrup

Mix the brownie mix according to boxed directions. In a separate bowl, mix the reese's and white chocolate chips with the flour (this helps them from sinking to the bottom). Mix the reese's and chocolate chips into the brownie batter. Pour into 9x13 pan (8x8 if you want thicker brownies). Drizzle the chocolate syrup on top and then run a knife through the mix to create a swirl pattern. Bake at 325' for appoximately 30-35 mins. Enjoy!

Pavlova

What could be better than crisp and chewy meringue, fresh whipped cream, and ripe berries? Not a whole lot! It's so easy to make and oh so delicious!

Pavlova

(alatered from this recipe from allrecipes.com)

3 egg whites, room temp

3/4 c. sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

1 tsp cornstarch

fresh, sweetened whipped cream

sliced strawberries, kiwis, etc.

Beat egg whites until they start to form soft peaks and then slowly incorporate the sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and the egg turns glossy. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites! When egg is glossy fold (or if I'm impatient I wisk) in vanilla, then lemon (if adding lemon), then cornstarch. Spread or pipe onto a silpat lined baking sheet. If you use silpat it definitely will not stick! Bake at 300' for approximately 1 hour or until lightly crisp and browned on the outside ---- to be festive I used a pastry bag and piped it into hearts and it only took about 40 minutes to bake. After the meringue is cooled top with sweetened whip cream and fruit. I've been told that traditional pavlova is topped with kiwi and strawberry but I always stick with strawberries...I think that maybe fresh blueberries, rasberries, and blackberries might be good too:)

This just happens to be one of Cory's favorite desserts, so I decided that we would have pavlova for our Valentine's Day treat. Happy Valentine's Day!

cold day remedy

Last week it was unusually cold for Arizona weather. So, what better way to warm up than some yummy corn chowder? I LOVE this corn chowder recipe from Vanilla Sugar. It is unbelievably easy and absolutely delicious! Definitely not a diet friendly chowder but I'm ok with that.

I think some homeade croutons taste extra yummy on a rich soup like this. My favorite homeade croutons are made with these yummy brown rolls from Wal-Mart

Just dice them up into a size you like

Drizzle with some yummy olive oil and sprinkle with some good kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Then roast in the oven until brown and toasty. Sprinkled on top of soup adds a delicious crunch!

This has become one of my most favorite soups. It is so easy to make and I adore sweet potatoes. MMMmmmm!