General Conference

 Click here to read a talk given by Pres. Uchtdorf about preparing yourslef for General Conference.

Cleaning with Vinegar

So I thought I would try mopping with water and vinegar. I have heard people say that they use it. We'll I tried it, thought it was ok, and then it was put to the test. There was a sticky spot on the floor and lets just say it seemed to spread the stickyness around. Also the smell, it smells like your house just got pickled, I know people put scents in it but maybe I didn't put enought.

Lets just say I wouldn't recommend just water and vinegar.

W.W.W

W.W.W = whats with Walker

He is...

sleeping through the night consistently
walking around the furniture
such a good boy for the babysitter
loves to play with socks
has to be nosey during church (mainly sacrament meeting)
making constant vowel constent sounds
loves to eat solids
learning the word "no"
a super fast crawler
not a shy boy at all
loves to look at books
likes to have books read to him
and so much more!

Funny story...So I got up this morning at 5:30 to work out and I hear this banging noise. I walk to the kitchen becuase I thought it was coming from there. In my head I was thinking "ok doesn't sound like our neighbors...or the upstairs neighbors...so it must be coming from Walkers room...oh crap who is in Walkers room". All of a sudden I hear more banging follwed by laughter. I open he door and he is facing the wall, sitting down in his crib, in the dark, holding on to the rails shaking them and causing the crib to hit the wall and laughing about it! I couldn't help but laugh about it.

Butternut Squash Soups

This first recipe is the best butternut squash soup that I have found.

(serving size 4)
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash soap- peeled, seeded and cubed
1 (32 oz) chicken stock
salt and pepper
**When I made this I did not use the celery**
**I also baked the squash for 1 hour instead of cubing it, to me it was much easier to bake**

1. Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Bake butternut squash for 1 hour at 350. While squash is baking do step two.

2. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potates and squash for 5 minutes, or until lightly brown. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

3. Transfer the soupd to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any reamining stock to attain the desired consistency. Season with Salt and peper
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Another Butternut Squash soup. To me this has a more earthy taste to it, but I still liked it.

1 medium butternut squash
1 medium onion
1 tbsp ginger
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup water
3 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper

1. Cut squash in half. Scoop our seeds, lay upside down and bake for 40-45 minutes at 350. Set aside and let cool when done baking.

2. Scoop out flesh from skin once cooled.

3. While squash is in the oven cook the onion and ginger int he butter over low heat for 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Add squash to pan.

4. Transfer to belnder in batches and puree until smooth. Add enough water to achieve desired consistency.

5. Return to sauce pan until desired heat.

Not Really Chili

A friend of ours invited us over for dinner one day and made this yummy chili. It has become a must have in the fall. And with fall like weather here this is the first thing that I thought of that I wanted to make.

It is a vegetarian chili but if you wanted to you could add meat or chicken broth instead of the water, but I don't think that it needs it.

4-5 cups butternut squash-Typically 1 good sized squash
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 medium onion, chopped (any color)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
1 cup salsa
2 stalks celery. chopped (optional)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 (15oz) can of black beans, strained
2 tbsp coriander (crushed)
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Peel and clean our butternut squash. Cut into chunks.

2. Place sqaush on a microwavable plate. Then add about 1/3 cup water onto the plate of squash. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 8 minutes minimum.

3. In a stock pot, or large sauce pot, saute oil, onions, and garlic on high heat for about 2-3 minutes or until onions are starting to soften

4. Turn heat down to medium and add 1 cup water, salsa, celery, beans, rozen vegetables and crushed red pepper. Stir until all ingredients are mixed together. Let simmer

5. The squash should be coming out of the microwave at this point. It should be cooked all the way through. Strain the remaining water from the plate. And then add to pot.

6. Add the remaining seasonings: pepper, chili powder, coriander, and cumin. Flavor to desired taste. Add more seasonings if needed.

7. Stir until fairly consistent. You'll still have butternut squash chunks when finished, but they'll have mixed into the pot giving it a creamy look.

8. If for some reaon the chili cooks for too long and become paste like, add 1/2 cup water and stir until creamy again.

9. Top with sour cream (optional)

Visitors

This past week we had some pretty cool visitors come to Wyoming to escape the Texas heat. And lets just say we had a blast with my brother Jack, his wife Lorraine, and their children: Ellen, Jack Jack, Rose and Elijah. They got here late Tuesday. We just hung out on Wednesday because it was raining. Thursday we went to a must see place, Vedauwoo. At Vedauwoo, we went on a picnic, climed on rocks and went on walks. That night we did the yummiest thing ever, we went to the park and made SMORES! Who said smores can only be made while you are camping?

At Vedauwoo

At Washington Park