Microwave Peanut Brittle

Peanut Brittle

In a glass dish mix:
1/2 C white karo syrup
1 C. sugar
1 C nuts of any kind or mixture

cook on high for 8 min.* stirring at 4 min intervals

Add 1 tsp. vanilla

Cook and additional 1 min

Stir in 1 tsp baking soda into candy

Pour on buttered pizza pan and spread thin.

DO NOT DOUBLE RECIPE!!!!!!

*times may vary

Holiday Goodies

For Christmas this year Bret wanted to take some stuff to work for his coworkers. I decided to try being a Betty Crocker with one of my good friends and attempted to make some yummy Christmas goodies. We started off with making A very yummy microwave peanut brittle (just like peanut brittle but I don't like peanuts so we substituted with pecans). Our first batch we followed the recipe exact and torched the first batch... not a good start for us. The next 2-3 batches we thought were good - but they sadly didn't set up. (see first picture) We lovingly named this "the Christmas Blob" It tasted pretty good - but more like caramel than pecan brittle. Well at this point we decided to start on our homemade truffles. This was also a first for both of us out of a Kraft magazine I get each month with some really yummy stuff. We made regular cream cheese truffles and mint flavor truffles. It was pretty easy until we had to dip them in chocolate - that is a true art form that we have yet to find. They didn't turn out professional pretty but for first timers I think they ended up beautiful. On the tops of the truffles we put different foods to decorate them - crushed candy cane, nuts, powdered sugar, and red sprinkles.
We then took at nap/lunch break for the kids and two hours later we tried again with the brittle, only this time we were successful! We found out that with the first batch (thanks to help long distance from my amazingly patient mom, I called her a gazillion times) we hadn't cook the first batch long enough. After one hour, four batches, and several charred fingers (this stuff gets HOT!!) it was perfect!

What a fun experience. The lessons I learned:

• Don't eat the brittle while still hot no matter how good it looks
• Pecan Brittle hardens istantly when done right so you can't be slow
  
• use a hot pad when pouring the brittle into the cookie pan
• dipping truffles is a pain and I probably won't do it again

On the Go

So for us most of our Saturdays consist of deep cleaning, shopping, lots of shopping especially with Christmas sneaking up on us, naps for anyone under 20, and other random honey do things. Well, this past Saturday just ended up way busy but full of fun.

The day started for me at 5:30am when Cole decided he was awake and therefore mom should obviously be awake also. So we snuggled and played until about 6:30 when Bret woke up to cook a breakfast casserole for our ward party. At 7 we started our usual cleaning and then headed to the church at 8 for the Christmas Breakfast with the Bishop. Cole had a great time running laps around the church house and all the breakfast tables. So much fun that he actually opted out of breakfast. Cole also got to sit on Santa's lap and was kind enough to ask Santa to give his mom a cruise for Christmas - I'm not sure that even that will work for me but it was a try. Cole was fine with Santa but preferred the orange that was given to him by turning it into a ball and chasing it around the gym. We then headed home, finally got Cole to eat some breakfast, and then got ready and went swimming with some good friends at the Clearfield Aquatic Center. It was so fun but Cole took a really long time to stop shivering in the not so warm pool but that didn't stop him from having tons of fun on the kiddie jungle gym in the pool. Around 1 we called in quits and headed home, ate lunch, and Bret headed off to go golfing with Josh L while I put Cole down for a "nap" and helped his wife Ahshley decorate her tree and clean her house for family to come. Cole, being exhausted, decided not to take a nap. So he chased their dog Leah around the house and climbed in and out of her kennel while Ashley and I finished up on some fudge gifts she was giving all her neighbors. When Bret got back we headed to the store to pick up a movie for the pizza and movie night Scott (Bret's old roomie from college) had requested. We rented Journey to the Center of the Earth. As we were waiting for Scott to arrive Cole crashed on my chest so I let him sleep for 1/2 and then when Scott got their we ate pizza and played Scene it in which my trash got severly kicked by both guys. What can I say? I don't watch that many movies. After Cole went to sleep we watched that movie. It was pretty cool and I can't wait to see it in 3-D. Scott then left at 10:45 and we headed for bed after a very long but fun day. It was awesome but I'm glad that not every Saturday is like that!

Painting byMorgan Weistling

Tonight was our ward's Christmas Enrichment. They presented a program written by someone in another stake that was just lovely. The speaking parts all the different women/mothers from when Jesus was born - Mother of Mary, Elizabeth - Mother of John the Baptist, the wife of the Shepard, the wife of the innkeeper and so on. In between each speaker was a musical number and it was just so amazing.
I had the humbling experience to be the last speaker as Mary, the Mother of Christ. I can't even tell you how many times I had read and reread my part so that I could get it just right - but near the end of my part I still teared up - the Spirit was just so strong that it couldn't be denied. After my part they ended with a song that I had heard only once before when I was not a mother but have grown to love, because now that I have a child it means so much more to me. I want to share the lyrics with you.

Mary's Lullaby (Tonight You Are Mine)
All mine in your loveliness baby, all mine.
All mine in your holiness baby divine.
Sing on herald angels in chorus sublime;
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.

The wise men are coming to worship their King,
The shepherds are kneeling their homage to bring.
Out yonder the star over Judah will keep.
No harm will befall thee, then sleep baby sleep.

O let me enfold thee, my baby tonight,
While legions are singing in joyous delight.
A new star has risen to hail thee divine,
For you are a king, but tonight you are mine.

Away spectered future of sorrow and plight,
Away to the years that must follow tonight.
The pangs of Gethsemane, let them be dim,
The red drops on Calvary, not Lord, for Him!

O let me enfold thee, my baby tonight,
While legions are singing in joyous delight.
A new star has risen to hail thee divine,
For you are a king, but tonight you are mine.

Sing on herald angels in chorus sublime;
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.

It was such a beautiful program and it made me that much more thankful for the amazing responsibility that I have of being a woman and the mother of a precious child.