I heart Frozen Yogurt Junction!

(In memory of GAY's...)
There is a little mom and pop-style (self-serve!) frozen yogurt place Dan and I love. It's called Frozen Yogurt Junction. It's in American Fork, right next to Seagull Book, right by where the old Smith's was, by Chadder's. etc... I feel bad that it's not in a better location. The huge vacant building where Smith's was doesn't help either. Anyway, when we lived in Huntington Beach we loved getting froyo from GAY's (Great American Yogurt), so we were excited when we found this place. They have great flavors and great customer service. I'm all about supporting the small businesses...you should too. Give it a try, I promise you'll love it!

Become their facebook friend (and mention it!)and get $1.00 off today. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/American-Fork-UT/Frozen-Yogurt-Junction/58068158262

They also have a blog that lists their daily flavors. http://frozenyogurtjunction.blogspot.com/

Anyone want to join me in Draper on Thanksgiving morning at 8 a.m. for the Utah Human Race? All the benefits go to the Utah Food Bank. Come on, it's only a 5K, anyone can do it! ;) Anyone? Anyone?? Check out more details or register at http://www.utahhumanrace.com/

Sienna 1-year pics...

....give or take a couple of months! ;) She was probably closer to 13-months. My friend Emily and I went up Provo Canyon to check out the leaves before the big snow storm (which happened the next day so we were glad we went when we did!). It was such a pretty day and the leaves were so pretty. Emily took some amazing pictures of her little girl, and then was kind enough to shoot some of Sienna as well. Here's one of my favorite's of cute Liv.
Sienna was being a little booger and was refusing to cooperate, that is, until Emily gave her a sucker. That just kept her from screaming or moving quite so quickly, she still refused to really smile for us. She is definitely trying to tell me who's boss these days. Despite being quite difficult, she still took some sweet pictures. It's a good thing she's so cute!

Think she was done?

Flashback....

I just came across these pictures of Sienna from the Spring. I can't believe how quickly she has changed. I love the smirk. She definitely has some sweet facial expressions!

Steph's White Bean & Sausage Soup

This is a recipe of my good friend Stephanie Jensen. It was in our ward cook book and I finally tried it a couple of weeks ago. I have made it a couple of times and always get raving reviews and requests for the recipe. I made it with Amber's breadsticks and it was a perfect meal for a cold snowy day! I've never gotten a real copy of Amber's recipe for the breadsticks, she just explained it over the phone, so hopefully the verbage makes sense, and hopefully I didn't miss anything. Thanks, Amber & Steph for the yummy recipes!


White Bean & Sausage Soup
4 (15 oz) cans of white cannellini beans, drained
2 (32 oz) cans or boxes of chicken broth
2 (28 oz) cans dices tomatoes (I like to do 1 can of the italian-style tomatoes)
2 lbs mild Italian sausage (next time I'm going to try 1 package of hot sausage & 1 turkey sausage)
2 oz fresh basil (I used dried basil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook sausage in frying pan until cooked through (and crumbled). In large pot, add sausage and then add all other ingredients. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Amber's bread sticks
2 cups flour + 1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp active dry yeast (2 packets)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Garlic salt
Parmesan cheese (in can)
1 1/2 cubes butter

Mix 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar & salt with 1 1/2 cups warm water in kitchen aid mixer (it will be pasty). Add 1 1/2 cups flour (add 3-4 tablespoons more, if it's sticky). Knead bread for in kitchen aid mixer (with hook attachment) for a couple of minutes . Flour counter, form bread into mound and place on counter. Cover dough with dishtowel and let rise for 15 minutes. Place cookie sheet in oven with 1 cube butter (to melt). Roll out dough into a large square and cut with pizza cutter into long, narrow strips. Fold each strip in half, place ends together and twist dough. Roll each twist in the melted butter and place back on cookie sheet. Sprinkle bread sticks with a little garlic salt & Parmesan cheese. Let rise another 15 minutes. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes--watch closely! After baking, I like to melt 1/2 cube of butter and brush or drizzle on top.

SLC Gourmet Club

We had another amazing gourmet club the other night. They did a "Ghouls Night Out" theme--how cute is that!? Go HERE to see pics and to get fabulous recipes and fun ideas for entertaining! I'll add more details and give you a sneak-peak later, since I'm all blogged out for today!

Happy birthday, Mama Hanson!

We went to my parents house on Sunday to have a little birthday dinner for my mom. Her birthday was on Thursday, Oct. 22nd. My dad was out of town on her birthday, so he reminded her several times that her "real" birthday was on Sunday, and that she couldn't think about it before then. She was actually sick on her "real" (don't tell Dad I said that) birthday so it ended up working out to celebrate on Sunday.

For dinner, I made a White Bean & Sausage Soup, with homemade bread sticks & a really good salad. I'd never made the soup or the salad, but they were both keepers. Janelle made a pumpkin sheet cake, which was super tasty. My mom told us some neat stories about growing up (from a autobiography her sister Pat wrote). It was cool to hear the stories and to reminisce about the times we had growing up.

Happy birthday to the best mom & grandma in the world!

My mom is amazing.
A few things about my mom...
She is always thinking of things she can do for others.
Both she and my dad are such great examples of selflessness and compassion.
She is a great cook and homemaker.
She always puts others needs before her own, particularly her family's.
My mom is an amazing teacher.
She is a bookaholic and loves to learn.
She loves the Utah Jazz.
She loves playing games (even though my dad hates them!)
She is the ultimate friend.
I am grateful for the example and strength she is in my life. I rely so much on her support and advice and she never leads me astray. I love being to live so close to her now and spend so much more time with her. Sienna is so lucky to be able to have such an amazing grandma (who spoils and loves her to death!). Love your guts, mom! You're the best!


The Girls--Janelle, mom & me (miss you, Carolyn!)

Rob feeling left out

Brad, Grandma & me

Dan & Rob gaming it up (looking ever-so competitive). This is serious gaming going on.

My dad and Sienna. She really loves spending time with my parents.

Sienna was fascinated by Uncle Brad's scooby-doo shirt (pointing out the dog and saying "ruff, ruff...". Somehow it never gets old!)

Sienna is finally standing and just starting to take a few steps. Come on, she's 14 1/2 months! It's about time, don't you think? It's not like I'm in a rush, but I think I'd rather have her walking. It's not like she's not getting into things when she crawls, and her clothes are nasty and she is constantly finding things to put in her mouth. Maybe walking will slow her down a little.

....and she's down!