Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

6-8 Green, Red or Yellow Peppers (I like a variety)cleaned with stems and seeds removed

2 Tbl. olive oil

1/2 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red pepper diced

6 oz. mushrooms quartered

2 Tbl. fresh chopped basil

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups butternut squash, cubed and steamed

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with chiles (I like Trader Joe's)

1 cup plus 4 Tbl. tomato sauce (I use a favorite spaghetti sauce)

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup shredded cheese (I like mexican blend)

Cook onion, pepper and garlic in hot oil until onion begins to soften. Stir in mushrooms and basil and cook until mushrooms are just beginning to cook through. Add tomatoes and 1 cup tomato sauce; simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in black beans, squash, brown rice and cheese until well combined and cheese is melted. Sea salt and pepper to taste.

Place remaining tomato sauce in baking dish. Stuff peppers with mixture and place on top of sauce. Add 1/2 c water, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Enjoy!!

I made this up as I went along and it turned out great! My kids LOVED it! (Except the younger 2.... it was a little spicy for them!)

Roasted Vegetables

1 small butternut squash, cubed

2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

1 red onion, quartered

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the squash, red bell peppers, sweet potato, and Yukon Gold potatoes. Separate the red onion quarters into pieces, and add them to the mixture.
3. In a small bowl, stir together thyme, rosemary, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss with vegetables until they are coated. Spread evenly on a large roasting pan.
4. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.

This is good as a main dish!!!

Sweet and Spicy Tomatillo Salsa

I made this recipe up in an effort to come up with a salsa that was similar to Tia Rosas!

10 tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed and dried

1 small sweet onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small serrano chile, rinsed and stem cut off

1/2 cup cilantro (depending on how much you like cilantro, i love it and say,the more the better)

2 Tbsp lime juice

2-3 Tbsp brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like things)

2 Tbsp white sugar

salt to taste

Roast tomatillos, chile and sliced onion (rubbed with oil)at 450 for 20 minutes. Immediately place in blender along with the remaining ingredients except the cilantro. Blend well. Let cool to room temperature and then add cilantro and blend again. Enjoy!

****For an extra treat... cook refried beans mixed with loads of shredded cheese (I like the Mexican blend) and taco seasoning until hot and cheese is completely melted into the beans. Scoop the hot bean dip with your tortilla chip and then dip into the green salsa..... and welcome to heaven!!

Trader Joe's Black Bean, Roasted Corn & Avocado Salad on A Bed of Red Quinoa

1 cup Red Quinoa

2 c. Chicken Broth

15 oz. can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups roasted corn kernels (sold frozen at Trader Joe's)

1 avocado, cut into 1/2 " pieces

2 vine ripened tomatoes, cut up

1/2 c red onion fienly diced

3/4 c. Cilantro Salad Dressing (I like Fresh and Easy's)

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

1/4 c. olive oil

Zest of 1 lime

sea salt and pepper

Place 1 c. of quinoa and the 2 c. broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook until all the broth is absorbed - 10 to 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, combine beans corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion. Top with Salad dressing and toss gently. Add salt, pepper and lime zest to taste. Add 1/2 of the cilantro and gently toss again. Set aside.

When quinoa is cooked, toss with olive oil; salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool. When ready to serve, spread quinoa on plate and top with the corn and bean mixture. Garnish with remaining cilantro.

YUMMY!! I made this for lunch and it was excellent!!

Thanksgiving and Abraham Lincoln

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was the President that started it all??

In 1863 he set aside the last Thursday in November as a National Day of Thanksgiving.

Abraham Lincoln had this to say about giving thanks...

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other Nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.

“It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our … sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” (John Wesley Hill, Abraham Lincoln, Man of God, 4th ed., New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, p. 391.)

WOW!!

Las Vegas with Kids!!

I really was't sure if Vegas was a trip I wanted to take with the kids.... and there were a few uncomfortable moments ... but overall it was a blast!! We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Resort which was on the strip... but in the older area down by Circus Circus (although the Hilton is new .... and still has 1 tower under construction...)

We thought this particular "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign was the best choice with the kiddos!! Who doesn't love 5 stories of M&M's!!

We explored our favorite hotels - The Bellagio, The Venetian, Caesar's Palace, etc and went to all the free shows. The Fountain show at the Bellagio and the erupting volcano at the Mirage were both huge hits!! All the free shows that run every 1/2 hour to hour all were great... except one.... Treasure Island!! The pirate show has changed a LOT since the last time I saw it years ago!! I miss the fighting pirates!! "Sirens" (aka Strippers) and stripping pirates? ......well... I guess it is Vegas.....

The kids LOVED the gardens at the Bellagio. They were all decorated for Fall.... complete with Lord of the Ring type talking trees!!

You can just glimpse at one of the talking trees right over the girls' heads!

Sophie especially LOVED the talking trees!!

The older girls really enjoyed the Grand Canal Shops in the Venetian....

We just HAD to find our cheap Vegas prime rib dinner ... and we did!! $4.99 for a 12 oz with veggies and baked potato at the Gold Spike in downtown Vegas... and it was GOOD!! The girls all skipped the huge slab of meat and ordered the breakfast plate for their dinner.... and it was really good too!

I am loving my new phone more and more....It kept Sophie totally entertained while we waited for our meals!

The kids' favorite part was probably Caesar's Palace. We had a lot of fun identifying all the statues!! (Our family LOVES the Lightning Thief series!!!)

And Away We Go!!

2 days and counting until we leave for Salt Lake for my niece, Becca's wedding!! All 4 of my girls have matching blue and brown dresses to match the wedding colors that I got at a boutique in Mesa a few months ago.... they just happened to match! Yay!!

Finally today I found a GREAT dress for me too! Chocolate brown with a gathered princess bodice and cap sleeves... form fitting.... all the way to the floor! A slit on the side to the waist with cream fabric underneath (no... not leg!)

It was a little more dress than I was looking for.... but I couldn't pass up the price!! It was 75% off!! So... it was only $28!! Aahhh!! (But it makes me feel like a million!!) I don't know when I will ever wear it again.... John will have to take me to a black tie event!!

Now to get fancy matching bling-e flowers from Marci!! (for the girls... not me!!)

Blue Banana Breakfast Boost Smoothie

OK..... I made this up this morning.... catchy name huh??!!

3 very ripe bananas

5 baby carrots

1 cup Trader Joe's Vanana yogurt (Vanilla-Banana)

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1-2 Tbsp. flax seed

8-10 ice cubes

orange juice - enough to cover all in the blender....

Blend for 2 minutes on high. ENJOY!!

**DYN** (Did You Know...) Almost all yogurt has high fructose corn syrup in it? Check your labels!! It is even in the specialty yogurt that is supposed to help your digestive tract!! Trader Joe's uses natural cane juice to sweeten its yogurt.... HFCS is BAD!!!

Back in the Saddle Again...

I have had so many thoughts whirring around in my head lately that I have decided the time has come to re-enter the blogging world.... if for no other reason than to get them out of my head!!

Now... with the GFAA play coming up, dog shows and puppies coming... we will see how long I last this time!!

Blogging World... Here we go Again!!

Children and Pride

This morning during scripture study we talked to the children about pride. John looked up an amazing article from 1986 by Ezra Taft Benson about pride that he remembered from his mission.

I couldn't believe how amazing this article was....and IS!!.... and how right on.....especially given the political climate now....

May I now discuss a subject of grave concern that deserves deeper development than we have time. It is the subject of pride.

In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin, as someone has described it.

Mormon writes that “the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.) The Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39.)

Essentially, pride is a “my will” rather than “thy will” approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness (see Alma 13:28), or teachableness.

In the early days of the restored church, the Lord warned two of its prominent members about pride. To Oliver Cowdery, He said, “Beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation.” (D&C 23:1.) To Emma Smith, He said, “Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride.” (D&C 25:14.)

“Thou shalt not be proud in thy heart,” the Lord warns us. (D&C 42:40.) “Humble yourselves before God,” says the Book of Mormon. (Mosiah 4:10.)

When the earth is cleansed by burning in the last days, the proud shall be as stubble. (See 3 Ne. 25:1; D&C 29:9; D&C 64:24.)

The great and spacious building which Lehi saw was the pride of the world where the multitude of the earth was gathered. (See 1 Ne. 11:35–36.) Those who walked the straight and narrow path and held onto the word of God and partook of the love of God were mocked and scorned by those in the building. (See 1 Ne. 8:20, 27, 33; 1 Ne. 11:25.)

“The humble followers of Christ” are few. (2 Ne. 28:14.)

Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention.

Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where He was. The devil wanted to be above men.

Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was not my will, but thine be done.

Pride is characterized by “What do I want out of life?” rather than by “What would God have me do with my life?” It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.

Humility responds to God’s will—to the fear of His judgments and the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts.

Someone has said, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.” Of one brother, the Lord said, “I, the Lord, am not well pleased with him, for he seeketh to excel, and he is not sufficiently meek before me.” (D&C 58:41.)

The two groups in the Book of Mormon that seemed to have the greatest difficulty with pride are the “learned, and the rich.” (2 Ne. 28:15.) But the word of God can pull down pride. (See Alma 4:19.)

With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings. For example, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (D&C 112:10.) The humble will “be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge.” (D&C 1:28.) The Lord is “merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts.” (D&C 61:2.) Humility can turn away God’s anger. (See Hel. 11:11.)

My beloved brethren and sisters, as we cleanse the inner vessel, there will have to be changes made in our own personal lives, in our families, and in the Church. The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change. But we can do it.

We have made some wonderful strides in the past. We will be lengthening our stride in the future. To do so, we must first cleanse the inner vessel by awaking and arising, being morally clean, using the Book of Mormon in a manner so that God will lift the condemnation, and finally conquering pride by humbling ourselves.

As a parent it is very important to me that my children have a strong sense of self worth.... that they are PROUD of who they are. BUT... I never want that to translate into them thinking they are BETTER than anyone else. If they win an award after a competition, I want them to be proud of their hard work.... but NOT to be prideful in thinking how they were BETTER than everyone else in the competition.

There is nothing wrong with winning.... but what kind of winner will you be?

As an example... It is important to me that my kids try as hard as they can to get straight A's... but certainly not because I want them to have higher grades than anyone else. I want them to believe in themselves... to believe in their abilities enough to KNOW that they can achieve that goal.

What an important value to have.... what an important knowledge to have as they grow up!

I have told my kids time and time again.... worry about yourself... not "the other guy". Do things to make yourself better.... don't worry about being "the best". There will always be someone smarter, faster, prettier, etc. etc. Just be happy and proud of who you are!