Thanksgiving Baking!

It is the week of Thanksgiving! I work only 2 days this whole week - I am very excited. Although the shifts I work are overnight - it will be the longest 8 hours of my life tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully I can stay awake because the hotel is not going to be busy at all with our regular business travelers staying home to be with their families.

We are headed over to my in-laws house Thursday morning for Thanksgiving with them, my parents, and my grandma. We have been doing this for a few years since our families started spending holidays together after Chris and I had been dating for a couple years. I know we will have a great time!

I always get chosen to bring dessert because I love finding and trying out new recipes. My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is the traditional pumpkin pie but this year I wanted to do something different.

So I found this recipe that looks absolutely delicious:

Double-Layer Pumpkin Pie:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. milk, divided
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

BEAT cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk and sugar in large bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in half the COOL WHIP. Spread into crust.
WHISK remaining milk, pumpkin, pudding mixes and spices 2 min. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread over cream cheese layer.
REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until set. Top with remaining COOL WHIP just before serving.

Unfortunately, my husband does not like pumpkin (or any squash for that matter) so he can never try my pumpkin recipes. So I searched to try and find something to make that he could try and enjoy. And I found this recipe for fudge, with a twist:

Cranberry Fudge:

1 (12 ounce) package fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.Line bottom and sides of an 8x8 inch pan with plastic wrap. Set aside.
2.In a medium saucepan, bring cranberries and corn syrup to a boil. Boil on high for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to about 3 tablespoons. Remove from heat.
3.Immediately add chocolate chips, stirring until they are melted completely. Add confectioner's sugar, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract, stirring vigorously until mixture is thick and glossy. Pour into pan. Cover and chill until firm.

Yum, doesn't that sound delicious? I think I am going to try dark chcolate chips though since dark chocolate and cranberry are a good combo.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holiday Baking & Cooking!

New Schedule

Chris started a new schedule today. We're both pretty excited about it. Today he went to work at 12:30pm and will get off at 11pm. So I got to see him this morning AND I will get to see him when he gets off work tonight because we'll get off at the same time. Awesome!

It could change to being 10:30am to 11pm but hopefully it stays at less hours for now so he can get caught up on some rest.

I think his company is figuring out they can get more done if they spread their people out over the day instead of making them work until they are burned out. Who knew!!

Laminin

A few weeks ago in our Wednesday morning bible study we watched a video entitled "How Great is our God" by Louie Giglio. He talks about the wonders of the universe and how God created amazing stars and galaxies and yet knows all the hairs on our head intimately as well.

The following is a clip talking about a cell adhesion molecule found in the human body called laminin. It's so amazing! I love how God makes Himself known in every area of our lives from His creation in the mountains, oceans, and flowers to the intricacies of our very own bodies. He's put reminders of His love for us everywhere we look.

I hope you enjoy this amazing video:


"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." -Colossians 1:15-17

Beach Pics

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip to the beach. We had a great time. It was so nice to get away for a while and enjoy nature and being together - since we hardly see each other during the week. It was a beautiful drive there and back with all the fall colors.

We also had a great time at Justin & Kristin's wedding connecting with family & friends. It was a beautiful wedding and a great way to cap off our weekend.

Quick Update

A quick update on our lives:
1. I stayed home from work today because I had a huge sinus headache and just wanted to sleep all day. I have not stayed home from work in probably a couple years - maybe since college! I'm feeling a little better and hopefully 100% tomorrow. It just hit me without warning yesterday evening with coughing and a small headache then was much worse this morning.
2. We had a great time on our trip to the beach/Portland/Tacoma. It was so wonderful seeing friends & family along the way and getting away to the Oregon coast.
3. The wedding we went to was so much fun! We reconnected with friends & some family members and had a great chat with the pastor of our church in Pullman. It was so refreshing and a beautiful wedding.
4. I'm planning on making applesauce with my mother-in-law this Saturday. The apples are starting to get soft though so I hope to cook them up tomorrow and then re-heat to can on Saturday.
5. Saturday we get to see one of my friends from high school who I haven't seen in over a year. She got married this summer and is having a harvest party to celebrate since the wedding was in Wyoming.

Ok, enough energy exerted for now. Time to eat dinner, thanks to my husband cooking, and probably head back to bed! I'll hopefully post some pictures of our trip later this week.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone. While I don't celebrate all this holiday entails I do like carving pumpkins, roasting the seeds and going to harvest parties with friends. Well we're doing two out of the three this year.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Oregon Coast for two nights then Portland & Seattle to visit family and go to a wedding. We're looking forward to our five day weekend.


Here are some pictures of our pumpkin carving adventures:

You Must Make This!

Unless you don't eat pork - you must make this recipe. So easy and delicious, almost better then Famous Dave's! Richer flavor I think. I believe the secret is in the BBQ sauce. I used Bull's Eye Hicory Smoke - thanks for the guy & his mom who helped me pick it out in Winco. Very random but they pick a great sauce.

Sorry there are no pictures to go along with it - it's good and we ate it all! Next time I'll buy a bigger pork roast.

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork - adapted from Allrecipes.com:

1 tsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1 4lb pork shoulder roast (mine was 2lb, just half the recipe)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 large onion, chopped (I omitted this because we didn't have one)
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tsps dried thyme

Buns of your choice for serving. I used this recipe and used all white flour since I didn't have wheat. They tasted great although mine didn't rise - I think I killed the yeast. Oops!

Directions:
1. Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.

*I also opened the lid up every once and a while and basted the roast. This helped the sauce not to burn to the sides of the crockpot and made the meat even more moist I think

2.Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

3. Serve on a toasted bun.

YUM-O.

Fun Marriage Facts

I stole this from another blogger - SnoWhite - it looked like fun and I needed a mid-week blog post. :) Enjoy

♥ What are your middle names?
Mine is Marie & Chris' is Gregg

♥How long have you been together?
Well we dated for almost 5 years before getting married and we just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this past August. So 7 years total this January.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Let's see - we met in high school - so we knew each other a year and a half I think before dating.

♥ Who asked who out?
Chris asked me out, although we had been hanging out "as friends" for quite a while before.

♥ Who made the first move?
Hard to say. We had mutual friends and chatted on MSN Messenger for awhile before we started dating - but I think it was Chris because he asked me out.

♥ How old are each of you?
I'm the oldest at 27. And Chris is 24 until December. So from August to December I feel really old!

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Yes, good ol' PHS.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
Yes, good ol' P-town. But technically Chris grew up on the west side of the state. He moved to P-town before middle school.

♥ Who is the smartest?
I think we're both pretty smart but Chris can keep tons of random knowledge in his brain about sports, airplanes, the military, TV shows and just about anything. That gives him an advantage.

♥ Who majored in what?
I majored in Hospitality Business Management and Chris majored in Horticulture. He's closer to using his degree then I am.

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Probably me.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
I don't know if we have one place - we don't eat out a lot because we aren't home at the same times and we're trying to save money. But Chris recently discovered he likes Subway so we've gone there for Sunday lunch several times in the past month. :)

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Minneapolis where we went to visit our lovely friends and their new son.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
We don't really have bad tempers but I can be more mean then Chris if I'm angry.

♥ How many children do you want?
2-4

♥ Who does the cooking?
Mostly me. Since I work in the evenings I cook a big lunch and leave leftovers for Chris to eat for dinner and take to work. He's an excellent breakfast cook when he's not working on the weekends.

♥ Who is more social?
We are both pretty shy but I think I am the more social one of both of us.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Definitely ME! Sometimes it drives me crazy but I'm learning to be patient.

♥ Who is the most stubborn?
We are probably in a tie for that one.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Chris gets up earlier during the week because he works during the day and since I work until 11pm, I sleep in a little longer. But he's the king of sleeping in when he can.

♥ Where was your first date?
We went and saw "A Beautiful Mind" in the theater.

♥ Who has the bigger family?
We each grew up only children. Chris has an older half-sister and I have an older half-sister and half-brother. But we both have about the same number of aunts & uncles.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
No, sometimes I want more but most of the time I'm ok with it.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Well since we're both from the same town the past few years we have spent the holidays with both of our families. The only confusing part is Christmas morning where we go back and forth between houses and eat Christmas dinner all together. Since I work in a hotel, I do not get all holidays off so sometimes we improvise.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither of us are really jealous.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
A couple years, we had a long distance relationship and so we probably got more serious after Chris joined me at college and we were able to spend more time together.

♥ Who eats more?
Chris is a big guy but I can eat more then him unless we're eating pizza or pasta - his favorites.

♥ What do you do for a living?
I work at a hotel - trying to branch out into event planning.
Chris currently works for a seed company and is looking for new job - he wants to be a field man for an agricultural company.

♥ Who does the laundry?
That would be me but if I do it when we're both home, Chris will help me fold it. And he does his own if his work clothes get too dirty.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Chris knows way more then me but I know all I need to for what I want to do.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Usually Chris but we switch off on long trips. He loves to drive which is great with me.

♥ What is "your" song?
We don't really have one. Chris used to sing me an Elvis song when we were dating and we both love Casting Crowns "Your Love is Extravagant" which we played at our wedding.