Pioneer Woman

     I recently purchased something just for myself.....

     It is Pioneer Woman's cookbook!  Every stinkin recipe has a picture!  I love that kind of cookbook....and her recipes are so down-to-earth simple.  If you've never heard about her, you might live in a box...well, maybe not....her website is one I follow on my blog list.  She has an awesome website HERE where she shares her life as a wife, mom, cook...and lots of recipes.  She also has a show on Food Network that's fun to watch.

     So...I am browsing her website this morning and lo and behold...she has a brand new cookbook coming out soon.  Check out her website, you can browse her cookbook on amazon...or purchase your own copy.  I found mine on half.com for a deal...makes me think I need to sell some of my cookbook stash on there...

     This winter weather makes me think of trying new recipes.  What are you up to this winter?  I'd love to hear from you!

     On another note, I have joined the ranks of pinterest and have a button on my sidebar where you can follow me...it's a fun site where you can create "boards" or categories for anything that is interesting on any website...and then you can follow other people and see what their "boards" are filled with.  I love it because I'm old and forgetful and now I have all my web ideas in one spot...PINTEREST!

     Now to go try a new recipe....

Healthy Brownies!

     Have you ever heard those two words together???  Well, I'm here to tell you that you are one lucky dude today...I made them and have been told several times that they are really good!  I happen to be on a 21 day fast from sweets and pop...so...I have not tasted them yet...come Sunday I will find out how good they are!

     Here is all you need to make these brownies...

      I pureed the beans, juice and all, in my magic bullet...you can use your blender, mini chopper...you just want the beans to be lump-free.  Spray your pan...I used a 7 x 10 glass pan to make the brownies thicker.

I sprinkled these little goodies on the top of the brownie dough before I baked them.  If you don't like mint, you can use mini m & m's or chocolate chips, peanut butter chips...you get the idea...

Mine baked almost 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I only let them cool about 10 minutes...then cut them with my trusty expensive plastic knife...remember me telling you many blog stories ago about how neat the plastic knife is when cutting warm brownies, cake, bars, etc.  It's amazing!

I know, it looks like I'm all ready to eat this scrumptious plate of brownies with milk...it was a set-up just to let you see how thick and chewy they look...I put them back in the pan...just until the 22nd day...and then I drank the milk!  Just wasn't the same without the brownies!

     You can figure out the calorie count/WW points for this food by using the dry ingredient calorie count on the box, this one was 100 calories, plus the can of beans...figures out to 110 calories per 1/20th of a pan...not bad...no fats, no cholesterol...just chocolate!  I swear you can't taste the beans, but the fiber content makes it a reward to eat.   Enjoy!

Happy 2012....and a new baby!

     Blogging gets put aside as the Christmas season progresses...so much to do and never enough time!  Well, we were stopped dead in our tracks this year...we had a new grandbaby coming on Dec. 27th!  We took Wrigley to the doggy hotel and left for the cities on Dec. 23rd.  We played with kids, celebrated Christmas Eve services, spent Christmas morning with little ones...and welcomed our 10th grandchild and 4th granddaughter, Olivia Basil, on December 27th.  She will forever celebrate her birthday during the Christmas season, but I think she'll have no problem with that!  Here's a photo montage of our week....

We attended Christmas Eve services with our son and family at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, listening to Leith Anderson preach his last evening before his retirement.  Very moving service.

Captured a photo after church of Sam's family...before baby's arrival 3 days later!

Spent Christmas morning and day with these munchkins and their parents.  We don't deserve this much fun!

     On Tuesday, Dec. 27th, we arrived early to take care of our grandkids while Sam & Roz left for the hospital....Olivia Basil arrived that evening, surprising us all with who she was...her gender was a surprise to everyone, except probably the doctor!

I got to hold her within an hour or so of her arrival....love those fresh babies!

While Roz was in recovery, Sam & I took Olivia to their room and checked out all her teeny little parts.  She was perfect...of course!

Note the Daddy's face...he's mesmerized yet again by his fourth little one!  So cute!

Big sister, Monica, got her own "newborn" baby from Mommy when we went to visit her new sister.  She was very excited and aptly named her "Baby Weeva"  as she called her sister.  Ben, 5, was so in love when he met his new baby.  Lucien is here...but more interested in his Mom's tubes and wires!

Ben & Lucien introducing Papa to their new baby sister.

We are blessed to be grandparents to Olivia...and 9 more little blessings!

"Little Sister" trying to wake up and see the world...

I'm not saying anyone was tired on the trip home from the hospital, but....

We had a ball with these 3 kids for the 4 days their Mommy & Daddy were in the hospital.  I brought my pink DS, which is always a treat for Ben & Lu...the microwave timer was our new best friend...setting 10 minutes and letting the boys share play time and their sister content to sit and watch.

Sometimes electronics just do their thing when a Nana needs time to clean the kitchen or get dinner ready!

     We left our little charges and drove home on New Year's Eve, hitting a "warp speed" snowstorm when we were an hour from home.  It was beautiful and a rare sight this winter....

I captured this "blue" snowfall when we arrived home...breathtaking...and we were glad to be home!

I can't end this post without sharing our 3 kids up north!  They celebrated Christmas with their other Papa & Nana.  We will have our family Christmas next week with everyone...and I hope to get a picture of all 10 grandkids!  Stay tuned....