First homemade pie

So I found this recipe online and it looked DIVINE so I decided to try it.  I was feeling a bit domestic when I got home from church.  Here's the recipe:

Granny's Cocoa Cream Pie

1/2 C. cocoa
1/4 C. cornstarch
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 C. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 C. milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix cocoa, cornstarch, beaten egg yolks; sugar and salt, ten add milk gradually, while stirring in a pot over med-high heat.  Cook until thick, beating it smooth.  Cream pies take some time to thicken so stir...and stir (10-15 min). Using a heavy bottom pan really helps.  Keep stirring until it's super thick.  Pour into a pre-baked pie shell.  Put in the fidge to chill, add whipped topping....YUM!

Here's the finished product:

I also found a delicious pie crust recipe.  Here it is:

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies

2 1/2 C. Flour
1 C. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1. tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
6 to 8 Tb. ice water
*This crust recipe makes 2 crusts so I just froze the other one.

The most amazing bread EVER

Ok so lately I've been having a bread feddish, for a few weeks thats all i cooked was bread.  Not healthy I know haha. But it was delicious.  Anyway, my wonderful sister in law Megan introduced me to this bread recipe, and it is so easy and seriously tastes like Harpers. It's made now at pretty much all family gatherings.  I've had many people ask for the recipe so here it is:

Homemade Harpers Bread

3/4 hotttish tap water
1/4 c sugar
4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast(not instant)

Put these in your bowl to let the yeast proof (get bubbly) about 5-7 minutes.

Add:
2 2/3 c hottish tap water
1 TB salt
1/2 C. Softened butter
7-10 c flour 

Add about 4 cups of flour to the mixture and mix in your mixer using
the fough hook until combined. Then continue adding cups of flour
until the dough begins to pull away from the sides (it is okay for it
to be a little sticky). I have found that for my bosche mixer (and all are mixers are different), that the perfect amount of flour is about 8 1/3 cup. I've found this to be the most delicious batch.

Now you can either let your mixer knead the dough for about 10 minutes
or you can knead it by hand for the same amount of time. I just leave it in my mixer.

Put in a large greased or buttered bowl and cover with a clean
dishcloth or greased Plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (about 1
hour) put it in a warm place away from drafts.

The fun part: punch the risen dough as hard as you can.  I let Tanner do this part hahaha. 
divide into three equal portions and roll out to get rid of any bubbles.
Shape into 3 loaves.  Place in 3 greased bread pans.
 Cover and let rise again- for about another hour.

Preheat oven during this time to 375.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn out of pans immediately. using a stick of cold salted butter, rub
the tops of each loaf until shiny and delicious looking. let cool on a
wire rack (if they last that long).

After they cool, place in plastic bags and secure. If you do not let
them completely cool, they will sweat in the bags and get mushy and
nasty. The same thing happens to the bottoms if you don't put them on
a wire rack to cool.

Side note: I never wash my bread pans. Just leave them. They shouldn't
have any crumbs, only grease, which is good!! This keeps them nice and
seasoned for every batch!

Enjoy!

Here's the masterpiece.  This was my very first batch so they don't look perfect...haha but they were still yummmy

So I found the Texas Roadhouse's honey butter recipe and it is DIVINE on this bread.  Here's the recipe:

Texas Roadhouse Honey Butter

2 sticks butter at room temp
1 C. powdered sugar
1 C. honey
2 tsp. cinnamon

Whip the butter until fluffy.  Then add powdered sugar and honey and mix together. Then add the cinnamon.  Mix altogether until light and fluffy!

A month for Gratitude

Well, this morning I find myself being very grateful.  Grateful for trials. No trial is easy, but we all have them.  God doesn't give a person a trial that he knows they can't handle.  That's a really comforting saying for me. One that I've latched onto for quite a while. This morning as I was struggling to find comfort, I stumbled across a couple blogs. One was about a couple that's been struggling with infertility for 3 years, and their long and hard journey with that.  Another was a family friends daughter's blog. They lost their baby girl after she was a few days old due to many complications.  It was very comforting reading these blogs.  It made me so GRATEFUL for what I DO have right now. I have found that positive thinking trumps negative thinking.  So here are some things I have to be grateful for.

1.  I have an awesome husband, who never ceases to make me laugh. He is the hardest worker I know, and he never ceases to amaze me with his weirdness. haha.
2. I have wonderful parents who love and care for Tanner and I. They are such amazing people, I love them.
3. I have loving in-laws who never cease to amaze me.  They care for and love everyone around them, and it strengthens me. They raised just the son that I wanted to spend forever with.
4. I'm grateful for the job that I have.  A relaxed job that helps me de-stress and ponder about life.
5. I'm grateful for my schooling.  Online dental assisting is a bit difficult, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm excited to help people with their teeth!
6. I'm grateful for family. For the knowledge that I have that Families can be together forever.  So comforting.
7. I'm grateful for the gospel. Grateful that I can turn to my Father whenever I need him.
8. I'm grateful for life.  Grateful for my mom, who basically gave up her entire self to get me here.  Life is such a sacred and special thing.
9. I'm grateful for modern day medicine.  Without it, Tan and I would probably have no chance of having kids.
10.  I'm grateful for my husband.  Yes, I know he's on here twice, but he deserves it.  He is my everything, and I don't know what I'd do without him. He never complains, even when he has to work 8-9 hours in the freezing cold 5 days a week.  He knows when and how to comfort me. He's such a goof ball, and I'm grateful for that.  It makes our marriage more fun.  I'm grateful for him, for being married to such an emotional me.

If we didn't have trials, how would we become stronger?
This church is true, and I'm grateful for everything I have.

I just got to thinking, the gospel is a powerful thing.  I don't know how on earth I'd get through my trials if I didn't have the gospel to turn to.  What a blessing.

-Maddie

I love this.

Happy Halloween!!

So...this Halloween didn't exactly go as planned.  Tan and I invited his little sis Aubree and her boyfriend over to watch a scary movie and make Halloween truffles that night. Well, Aub got in a pretty bad accident and ended up in the E.R. I got a text from my mother-in-law that said that they were in the emergency room, and that Aubree got bucked off a horse. Her feet slipped out of the stirr-ups, and she landed on her hip and head.  She started seizing and the ambulance rushed to her. So I rushed up to the hospital as soon as I could, and me and her boyfriend pulled up at the same time.  He was a mess.  I gave him a hug, I felt like he could use it.  The nurse wouldn't let us back because it was too crowded. So we were left with nothing, except that Aubree was really hurt. Finally they let us back there, and said all the x-rays came back fine, there was no internal bleeding, just a bad concussion and some bruising.  WHAT A BLESSING.  I was really nervous not going to lie.  Tanner called me and thought that she was for sure going to have some brain damage.  That really scared me, I must've said a billion prayers in a half hour. The nurses all said that Aub got really lucky.  Such a blessing that she is okay, love ya Aubs!

We all went out to the Stevens just to be with Aub to make sure she was alright. We watched a scary movie called, "Mama," and I made homemade bread. yum.

Oh, I can't even explain how grateful I am that nothing serious happened to Aub.  I was so nervous, and after what Tanner said I just couldn't let that happen to her. SOOO glad she's okay. God lives, and He definitely saved Aubree's life yesterday.

Happy Halloween!

Deep Love

So a couple weeks ago I was asked to play in a rock opera called. "Deep Love."   I was skeptical at first because I had no idea how a rock opera would be.  When he said I'd get payed $25 an hour he sold me. haha. And I figured it'd be good experience.  Well it turned out to be awesome! Our first performance we found out we'd be getting our hair and makeup done pretty crazy...like dead people.  hahaha.  We had 2 performances in Rexburg, and 2 in Idaho Falls.  It was SUPER FUN! I don't necessarily like rock, but I grew to love the music that we played.  Here's some pics:

 Mckenzie and i went in the basement and we found this...haha pretty funny.

 Okay this picture speaks a thousand words.  So Mckenzie had 3 people redo her hair and make-up.  Well her last re-do the girl made her look like the joker! hahahaa she's doesn't look scary at all.  She and I, and the violist cried to the point of tears it was so hilarious.

I'm glad I was able to perform with these guys! It was super fun! My husband even came twice...haha what a sport.

Thoughts of the Day

I've been doing a lot of pondering today, about how this time would've marked a totally new adventure for Tanner and I.  We were due today actually, Octover  23. It's been interesting having gone through a miscarriage, and seeing women I love all around me, pregnant. When we found out,we also found out that 2 of my sisters, and 2 of my sister in laws were expecting. All of us were due within 3 months of each other. I was so excited to go through this with all of them. probably too excited, haha. The past 9 months have been difficult for me at times.  It's really been a struggle for me to see all my 'sisters' still be pregnant. Not that I'm mad at them for it at all, I just wish I was still pregnant like them!  But on the other hand, I'm super excited to have 4 new little ones to snuggle and hold and play with.  My sister Aubrey and I miscarried around the same time, and it was so comforting to have her there going through the same thing I was.  It really was a blessing at the time. I couldn't have done it without her. All our late night chats, really helped me. Thanks sis. She's now pregnant again, woohoo!  Tanner and I have always loved children, probably because we both still act like one :) I love the snuggles, the energy, the chats, and the fun that children bring. I can't wait for that day when I can have one to call my own.

When Tan and I got married, I had no idea what we'd be going through to try and have a child.  A year of fertility treatments wasn't what I expected.  But I'll tell you what, getting pregnant on the second treatment has left us with a little ray of hope and sunshine, because we DID get pregnant.  So it CAN happen.  And I know it can.  It may not be the right time, or it may just be a bump in the road, but we haven't lost hope. I recognize now that God has his hand in all things, and that it will happen when HIS timing is right.  It's taken me a while to realize that, but I realize it now.

There's something that's been on my mind through this whole experience, and since this is basically my journal, I'm just gonna express it.  I have been very frustrated at times when people say things like, "You've been married for 2 years and don't have a baby?" or "so...when are you gonna have a baby?" or..."Any new news?" or "oh you're on fertility treatments....those aren't good for your body.." etc, etc.  Going through this has made me see people in a new light.  You really don't know what a person is going through.  All you can see of a person is their outward appearance, but on the inside, everyone has something that is causing them heartache. everyone does.  whether its a new job, can't have a child, divorce, stress at home, arguments, etc. everyone has something in their lives that is causing them to hurt. When people have made those kind of comments to me, I used to just tell people we weren't trying for a while, but that was a lie. So, I started saying things like, "Well, we actually have been trying for a year and a half."  or "I had a miscarriage this past march."  Not that I want to say those things to be rude or make them feel stupid, but I say them to help people understand that these things are personal, and it's not necessary or considerate to ask a couple why they can't have a child.

Having gone through this, I am grateful.  I'm grateful because it has taught me to really not judge people. To not ask people invasive questions about their lives, and to not say things before I think. Words can be a very powerful thing, we just need to learn to use them in the right way.  I'm grateful to all the people that are supporting Tanner and I and that use their words in a kind, gentle, and courteous manner. We love our friends and family!

This just cracks me up.  I am definitely getting this for our child.  It would put a smile on anyones face. hahahahahaha love it.

                      Or better yet this one....to honor my husbands hideous mustache....haha

Anyway, today is a good day. A day full of pondering, thinking, and wondering. :)

This just made me bawl like a baby:
http://www.faithit.com/a-powerful-story-of-love-and-commitment-you-wont-forget/

Annual Pumpkin Carving

It's become a tradition to carve pumpkins with our friends, Becca and Mitch.  We did it last year when they were engaged, and now this year when we're all married.  I've never been a huge fan of Halloween but I decided I want to do at least one festive thing for each holiday. It's more fun that way!  I found this super fun idea on pinterest to make ghosts out of milk jugs...and I just HAD to try it.  I love how they turned out!  All you do is cut a hole at the bottom of the handle to put your tea light in, then you draw your ghost face with a permanent marker, and walah.  It's a ghost....haha.  I thought it was fun and different for a change. Anyway, so I made 3 ghosts, while Tanner and Becca and Mitch carved pumpkins.  Tan made a cyclopes pumpkin HAHAHA it's hilarious. We roasted the pumpkin seeds and man were they to die for! Word of advice: melt butter and pour it over the seeds, then sprinkle with season salt. AMAZING! Last year we just used cooking spray with season salt. The butter makes a world of difference! We took pictures in the freezing 20 degree weather, and then watched Hocus Pocus.  classic.  Thanks Becca and Mitch! Happy Halloween ya'll!

p.s. this is me for halloween.