Taffy Pull

I remember...long, long ago... going to a birthday party where we got to pull taffy. I had so much fun. I have wanted to make it again but haven't dared...until now. I found a great recipe. It's not too tough, the kids loved it, and it turned out great. It's a great activity when your kids have lots of friends over because you need a lot of hands to pull...it makes 12 pieces. Here's how:

Pioneer Taffy

recipe from The Lion House Cookbook

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp glycerin (found at the pharmacy)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp butter

Put all ingredients except for the vanilla and butter into a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Keep boiling until your candy thermometer reaches 258 degrees (about 30-35 minutes).

Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter. Stir until butter is melted. Butter a large cookie sheet. Pour taffy onto the sheet. Let taffy cool until it is cool enough to handle (about 10 minutes). Pinch taffy into 12 separate pieces (smaller pieces are much easier to pull and turn out a lot better). Once taffy is cool enough it is time to pull. The trick is to pull then fold back together over and over until it turns white and gets a little stiff.

Don't worry, at first it is pretty sticky, gooey, and messy...just keep pulling

 and in about 10-15 minutes it will turn into this:

When you are done, roll it into a rope and put it on a piece of wax paper.

Have fun!!!

Sopapilla Bars

This was a SUPER EASY and TASTY dessert. It would be fun to make for a Mexican Fiesta Night...or anytime for that matter!

Sopapilla Bars

• 2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls (you can get them in a sheet that just rolls out into one piece. They fit perfectly in a 9x13 pan)
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• cinnamon and sugar

Spray 9x13 pan. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Unroll a sheet of crescent rolls and press into the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top. Cover with the second crescent roll sheet. Brush the melted butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown. Cool completely in the pan before serving. I refrigerated mine after it had cooled and they turned out great!

Enjoy!

Stained Kids, Clothes, and Swingset

What do you get when you combine Spring Break, a sunny day, 3 bored kids, and a bucket of wood stain?

You get one less day of Spring Break, small sunburns, 3 brown kids with stained clothes, and a newly painted swing-set.

Good job guys!!!

Chef Kaylee

Kaylee loves to cook....probably because then she can make things that she likes to eat, lick the beaters, try it before anyone else, and choose the biggest piece once it is done. Whatever the reason, I am glad that she likes to cook. That is her go-to activity when friends come over or when she is bored. She came up with an idea to cook for our family for the entire day...breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. She planned the entire menu and became Chef Kaylee for a day (with me as assistant chef). She did a fabulous job...

 Breakfast...French Toast Dippers

 Lunch...Chicken Noodle Soup

 Dinner...Chicken Strips and Mashed Potatoes

Phew, what a day! After dinner, Kaylee said "Wow, that is a lot of work...I feel like I was cooking and cleaning up food all day". I couldn't agree more!

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

I love General Conference. It is a time to listen to our Prophet and other church leaders. It is a time to be fed spiritually and be taught how to be a better person. But it can also be frustrating when there are kids who don't want to listen while I do. This year I found an idea to get my kids more involved with watching and learning from Conference.

A few days before, I found a match game about the First Presidency and 12 Apostles. One card is a picture of the person and its match is a card with different facts about that person...here is a link to print that out.

When we found a match we would read about the person and decide on a treat that went with the Prophet/Apostle. Then during Conference, when that person speaks we eat the treat/snack while we listen.

Here is our list of facts and treats that go with it:

• President Monson - Loves to fish--Swedish Fish
• President Eyring - Last name is Eyring--Ring Pops
• President Uchtdorf - Is a pilot--small packaged airplane snacks (peanuts)
• Elder Packer - Makes bird carvings--Peeps
• Elder Perry - Knows how to milk a cow--Chocolate milk
• Elder Nelson  - Likes to ski -- ice cream
• Elder Oaks - Last name is a tree--apples (since they grow on trees)
• Elder Ballard - Likes to fish--Fish Crackers
• Elder Scott - Was a nuclear engineer--Doughnut Holes (little bombs)
• Elder Hales - Loves baseball--Gum
• Elder Holland - Last name--Dutch chocolate
• Elder Bednar - Was President of Ricks College in Idaho--Potato chips
• Elder Cook - Last name--Cookies
• Elder Christofferson - He is happy--Snickers
• Elder Andersen - Speaks Spanish --Mexican treat

 Eating our "Bombs" while listening to Elder Scott

I need to go...Conference is starting. Come and listen to a Prophet's voice with us...and have a little fun while you do it!