Omelet in

a bag.

We used to do these "omelets in a bag" quite often a few years ago, but I had totally forgotten about them.  Last night we were having our Halloween breakfast of french toast, pancakes, and buttermilk syrup.  I was thinking about what kind of eggs to make, and then I remembered these.  Since they sometimes come out in strange shapes, I thought they were just right for Halloween.

Omelets In A Bag

1.  Have each person write their name on a quart-size freezer bag with permanent marker.

2.  Crack 2 large or extra-large eggs into the bag (no more than 2). Shake to combine.

3.  Put out a variety of ingredients such as cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns,  

 4.  Each person adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag. Make sure to get the air out of the bag. and zip it up. Shake.

.

5.  Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes.

6.  You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water.   Open bags and omelet will roll out easily.

Then you are ready to sit down.

And when you bite into them, you will think

(like a black and white movie era actress):

Go Cardinals!

We've been very into the Baseball World Series the last two years.  Last year we followed the San Francisco Giants as they progressed into the series.  Justin, Tiffany's husband, grew up in that area he and his family are avid Giant's fan.  We were celebrating right along with them when they won.

This year we are following the Cardinals as they've progressed in the series.  Dan, Misty's husband, is from the St Louis area and they live there now.  Of course, being the baseball family they are, they are very excited about it.  What a game it was last night, with an 11 inning game and a home-grown boy hitting in the winning run.   They're playing game #7 tonight, and Gary is very unhappy that he can't be watching it.  He's doing the stats for Timpview's quarter final game.  So, I'm watching the series, making cupcakes for the BYU Soccer team, and recording the BYU game and the World Series for Gary.  Quite a sports themed day.

I hope the Cards win!

P.S.  A few hours later, They won!  When I texted Misty to say "Yeah, Cards," she texted back: 

"Yes.  Go Cards!  Dan's miffed because he had to wake me up to celebrate.  I had fallen asleep on his shoulder.  Can you imagine the travesty?"  

Well, Misty, you were probably worn out.   I happen to know that she has been substitute teaching the last two days, as she has several times each week since school started -- that in addition to her already very busy life.   So, you deserve a nap, even if the timing wasn't the best.  

This is my latest

culinary quest.  Making donuts in "Baby Cakes."   I first saw them demonstrated here:   Baby Cakes on Studio 5   I made the buttermilk ones that came with the machine and also tried the pumpkin spice recipe from the website.

 At my meeting last week,  I put them on the "cat," with the long tail for donuts, that dad made me many years ago.

I've got to figure out how to make the glaze or frosting so it hardens and doesn't make them soggy. 

 This week I tried them with my pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe.  They were the best yet.

 You just pour the batter in a Ziplock bag with a hole in one corner, pipe it into the mold, and cook them for 3 to 4 minutes. 

I went to DI yesterday looking for some cheap shelving for my pantry (anything to get away from the mess I was in).  I didn't find any shelving, but I did find an older version of a mini-donut maker for $3.  Next time I make them, I'll see if it works.  If it does, I'll be able to whip them out in no time with both of them. 

Here's my favorite Pumpkin Chip Muffin recipe (adjusting for the donuts by using small chocolate chips)

Pumpkin Muffins (18 muffins)

1 1/3 cup sugar
5 1/3 tablespoon shortening
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin ; canned
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
chocolate chips
5 1/3 tablespoon water ; hot

Cream sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add eggs and pumpkin. Add hot water. Sift together dry ingredients together and add to mixture. Add choc chips.  Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake at 375 to 400 degrees for 17-18 minutes.

I've lived in this house

for more than 26 years.  I'm mentally trying to figure out how many times I've cleaned out the pantry, reorganized it, and been convinced that this time I had it organized so it could stay tidy. 

I can blame the lack of being able to keep it organized on many things.  The bad design of the pantry is one.   It has very deep shelves, and I know that many of my neighbors (that have the same floor plan) have completely redone their pantries and made more shelves that are less deep.  Then there are the larger quantities I buy at Costco that take up large amounts of space.   But really, the only excuse I have is that it is a dumping ground for everything I want out of the way.

Well, I gave it another shot today.  I ended up pulling everything out while making a huge mess.  I tried to rethink the whole organization.  I've got it nearly done, with the exception of some containers that are in the dishwasher.   It looks pretty good right now.   But I'm not deceiving myself into thinking it will stay this way. 

I have thought of one thing that might help.  Maybe I should commit to posting a picture of it once a week.  Here it is today.   

Wow, when I look at the picture, it still looks messy. 

I guess I have more work to do tomorrow.

.

Our (now) teenage

grandaughter, Lydia.

We've been in Park City for the last few days with our friends, the Adairs.



I wasn't able to log on with my computer, so I missed blogging about Lydia.  Yesterday, the 22nd, Lydia turned 13 years old.  I've been looking at some pictures of Lydia, and they bring back so many loving memories.  They also make me miss her even more. 

  Here she is at 2 with her little brother Hyrum.  

Here are Lydia and me exactly 5 years ago, on her 8th birthday and day of her baptism. 



For her birthday this year, she wanted a new quilt, because the baptism one she is holding in the picture is too small to cuddle in now.  She wanted a another pink one, so this is the one I sent off to her last week.  (I really wish I had a picture of me hugging her with this one, too) 

Here is grown up Lydia, with Gary, when she visited this summer.  We talked to Lydia on our way to Park City, and she and Gary were still "arguing" about "banana whacker" rules and who won.

I love you, Lydia! 

And, I'll always side with you on "banana whackers."

I went to

see my friend, Dianne yesterday.  I had to take pictures of her front doorway.  She always does the most creative and amazing decorations.   The pictures really don't do it justice, but notice the details.

Spray painted dried  "Allium" (I think)

 Dianne holding the "Paper Lanterns" 

(these are all from her garden)

"Paper Lantern" pods over the lights

 Fake crows

 All the signs

When I first began my interest in gardening, Dianne was my advisor.  I would have her come down to tell me if what was coming up in the ground was a weed or a flower.  Now that's a friend!

I hope she will let me come up and snap pictures of her next holiday doorway.  If she doesn't, I'll just wait till  she's not home and take them anyway.   Isn't that what friends do?

"Good, Better,

  and best."

My mind has been weighted down lately with thinking about how I use my time.  I am reminded often of the short scriptural account of Mary and Martha in the New Testament.

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:  But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.  Luke 10:38-42

I can relate so well with Martha.  I do feel "careful and troubled" about many things.   But they are generally not the things of importance. (Things like, why did the cupcakes I made last night fall in the middle?).   In fact, I often think I fill my life up with busy work to avoid feeling overwhelmed with the needful things.  The better things.   But when I start thinking about all the needful things, the things that truly impact lives, I get overwhelmed with the "overwhelmingness" of it. 

Then I am reminded of the story of the man walking along the shore throwing starfish back into the sea.  He is questioned about what difference it made to throw one back into the sea, when there were so many more he did not save,  His answer to that was something to the effect of "Well, it made a difference to that one."

I think it gets back to my "all or nothing" mentality.  If I can't make it all better, then why try.  I hold back from giving or being a little involved, because then I will see more that needs to be done, and it will consume all of my time and thoughts.

Yes, I do feel careful and troubled.  But I'll work it out.  It's about balance, and priorities, and choosing the good part. 

Anyone who

knows me or reads this blog,  knows that I am a mess in the kitchen.  Actually, I probably shouldn't limit that comment to the kitchen.  Let's just say that I make a big mess anytime I am cooking or working on any project.  And usually it is not limited to the one room the project originates in.

Anyway, as I spent the day yesterday cleaning up from the cupcake class, I was reminded of a comment Tiffany made in August.  While we were cooking in the kitchen she said, "Mom, I'm proud of you.  I've noticed that you haven't left any paper towels (wet ones, dry ones, messy ones) in the sink or laying around on the cupboard." 

I laughed and told her why I was reformed in that aspect of messes.

Gary is the Ward Clerk in the ward, and because he has a lot of papers to deal with, he was always rustling through them during Sacrament Meeting.   It was distracting and noisy and was taking away from the reverence of the meeting (along with really annoying me).   After being annoyed by it enough, I called him on it.  His response was, "Ok, I'll quit doing that if you'll quit leaving paper towels on the stove and in the sink and on the cupboards."

Fair enough.  I took the challenge.

And the result is:  He doesn't rustle papers in church any more, and I don't leave paper towels around anymore.  And Tiffany even noticed.

I guess we should use that kind of bargaining power (or is it competition?) more often.  It gets results.   

A friend asked me to

teach a "Cupcake" class for her Relief Society tomorrow. 
She wants me to give tips and tricks, recipes, 
and demonstrations on piping on frosting. 
So today I've been baking cupcakes
(and ruining one batch of cupcakes because I forgot to add the flour). 
So here are the tips I wrote down. 
Now if I would just follow them.

Cupcake Making Tips I've learned

from lots of Trial and Error!

• Trial Cupcake: If using a new recipe, fill up just one cupcake liner and bake it. This way you can know how much batter to put in the cups and how long to bake them (without ruining a whole batch). Do the same if you are using a different oven than you are used to. Baking time can vary as much as 5 to 10 minutes depending on the oven and altitude.

• Assemble all ingredients: Measure out all ingredients before you begin adding them. (I've had far too many experiences where I've left something out).  Crack eggs in a small bowl before adding them to the batter to avoid getting any shell pieces in it.

• Prevent Sticking: Once you have the liners in the cups, spray Pam over the whole pan. Then fill the cups with the batter. This will make it much easier to remove the cupcakes if they spill over a little.

• Scooping Batter: Use an ice cream scoop to put the batter in the cups. It makes less mess and helps make it easier to get consistent cupcake sizes.

• Always let cupcakes completely cool before frosting.

• Salted Butter? Many recipes call for unsalted butter. If I only have regular butter, I reduce the amount of salt called for in the batter by at least ½, and it seems to work fine.

• Buttermilk Substitute: I seldom have buttermilk, and many recipes call for it. A buttermilk substitute is to put 1 Tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a one cup measuring cup. Add milk to fill to 1 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes (it should look like it is curdled) before adding to recipe.

• Soften Butter: Make sure butter is soft before mixing into batter or frosting. If I haven’t remembered to get it out of the fridge, I soften it by putting it in the microwave at half power, starting at 30 seconds, checking it, and doing more in small increments if needed. You don’t want it to melt.

• Most Common Problem: My most common problem is sinking in the middle. Possible reasons for this are: over-mixing the batter (once the flour is added); too much baking powder or soda (measure carefully); overfilled batter in the cups; or oven temperature too hot. You may need to experiment and adjust one of those

• Perfect Frosting: Follow frosting recipe directions. Consistency is important for piping on frosting. Add more liquid or powdered sugar in very small increments, if it is too runny or stiff.

• Shortcut to Piping Frosting: You don’t need fancy tips or bags to frost the cupcakes. You can fill a freezer bag with frosting and cut a small hole in one corner. Hold it over the cupcake and start squeezing it in a circular motion, starting at the outside and ending in the middle. You can also buy large tips, for as little as a dollar, if you want it to have a more decorative look.

• Cupcake Toppers: Picks can easily be made to place on top of the cupcakes. You can run off small pictures, cut any shape, or run off any message and punch out into a shape. Then you can glue a toothpick between two sides and stick on top of the cupcake. You can also add a something on top that shows what type of cupcake it is (lemonheads, strawberry slice, chocolate chip, etc).

• To Share a Cupcake: One fun way (especially if it didn’t turn out perfectly!) is to layer it in a jar. Cut the cupcake in half, pipe some frosting in, put the other half in, more frosting, and more cupcakes and frosting until the jar is full. You can use a cupcake liner over the lid and tie a spoon to the jar.

• Freezing: Cupcakes can be frozen easily. When completely cool, place them in a single layer in a zip lock freezer bag. They can also be frozen with the frosting on, as long as they are in a container where the frosting does not get smashed and it is made airtight. I also freeze left over frosting in zip lock bags. I hate running out of frosting and having to make more, so I usually make extra and freeze what’s left.

• Just Have Fun! There are so many cute and elaborate cupcakes that can be made. You can search for, and find, directions for just about any theme you want. Those are fun occasionally, but I prefer simple piped on frosting, adorned with sprinkles or a pick.

Thanks to Misty and Tiffany
for helping me proof-read these tips.

 

Anyone have any more to add? 

Some of the documents

I have been scanning in:

Grandfather Edward Owen Hall

Grandmother Pearl Averet  Hall

Favorite Poem of Grandmother

(I did the calligraphy for our family reunion)

Mom

Mom's obituary

Mom's Funeral Program

Dad's obituary

I'm glad to be getting these scanned in.  More to come!

I feel like I got a

"get out of jail free" card today. 

Let me explain.   About a year and a half ago I got a call from a son of one of my great-uncles (his Dad was my grandpa's brother).  I had no recollection of meeting him, though I must have at his parent's funerals.  He's been by several times to bring copies of documents, and he is such a nice guy. 

Anyway, he is an avid geneologist, as was his dad, Uncle Theron.   To make a long story short, I volunteered to type in indexes that could go on the website that he and his nephew were developing for the Hall family.  He didn't ask me to do it, I told him I wanted to help and volunteered.

Well, all this time later, I was only into the "C" last names.  It had taken me hours just to get that far, and it was very tedious.  But that is no excuse.  I spend hours on many things that are tedious, but frivolous. While this geneology project is something that does matter and is long lasting.  It has just not been a priority to me.

So, everytime I saw his name on caller ID, I would cringe.  Sometimes I wouldn't answer, because I felt guilty about not spending any time doing it.   Then I felt badly about not returning his calls, but I was tired of hearing my own excuses.  Finally, I decided I was going to answer his calls, but I wasn't going to make any more excuses.  He's never once pressured me, but just calls to report on the exciting things happening with the website.  So I talk with him and truly am excited about what is happening.   I just quit making excuses, because none of them are valid.  After each phone call, I would be motived to work on the index more, but that would last about one day. 

Anyway . . .  He called last night and left a message and said he would call back.  He called today, and I cringed, but answered it.  We chatted for a minute, and then he said, "I feel badly telling you this because of all the work you've done on the index, but we've found a way to put a search engine on the website.  So if a name is searched it will take you to everything about that person (including the the information on the indexes.)"  He felt badly that I had done "all that work," and that now we didn't need it.

Wow, I was so glad I answered today's call.  I didn't tell him that I felt I like I had been given a "get out of jail free" card, but I let him know that the news made me very happy and that he had absolutely made my day. I also told him that I would scan in and send him more pictures and documents of my grandparents, so he could put on the website.  That is a commitment I plan to keep.   Really.   To prove it I'll post them on the blog as I do it.   

In the meantime, here is a really cool website (that I've contributed very little to).   http://josephsmithhall.org/

I'm feeling very

relieved.  This was one of those events that involved a lot of planning, and also a lot of emotion. 

We were asked to put on a fashion show that emphasized modesty.  
The difficult part was deciding how to present it without hurting feelings or appearing judgemental.   It was completely out of my comfort zone, and I struggled with it.  But, there were many, many women who pulled through by finding the models, performing, planning the meal and decorations, and putting the program together.   

It's amazing what the energy of willing people will do for you.

I'm so grateful for them.

I'm also grateful for the 80 plus people who attended and supported it.  

I love Racheal and Kori, who were willing to to put their inhibitions aside and play the part of news reporters with me.   What a boost.  
They made it fun and comfortable.

The highlight of the evening for me was when Mona, who is 94, came out modeling a beautiful dress and blew kisses to the audience.   What an inspirational lady.


We had the lighting dimmed, so I've had to "auto adjust" the pictures so they could be seen.  But, here are some of the other pictures from the night.

Here's the table Donna put together for the necklaces we made.

(By the way, Valerie, thank you for sharing the idea with me and Tiffany!)

 


Gary knew how worried I was about it, so he was interested to hear how everything went.  Then he, very nicely, happened to mention that as he'd walked through the house and observed that I had been in project mode.  That is a kind way of saying that every room in the house looks like a hurricane hit.  I can't disagree.  That's what I'll be working on tomorrow.

Let me just say,

that I'll be very happy when tomorrow night is over.

I've seen these

"Cupcakes in a Jar," several places. 

This is my first version of doing it. 

 I ran out of time, but I've seen the lids tied with twine and a spoon attached. Here's a link:  (Studio 5) 

The cupcakes aren't baked in the jars, they are placed in it and layered with frosting.  Each jar used 1 and 1/2 cupcake.  The top is actually a cupcake liner.  (I adhere to the wisdom on the bottom of this liner.)

I love this idea because you don't have to worry about smashing the frosting or keeping it looking nice.

Now I just need to find some good deals on 1/2 pint canning jars.