Going to give it another shot...and Frozen Bubbles.

I decided to give school another shot this semester. I'm signed up for classed online through Weber state. Because I've had such a hard time with Organic Chemistry I decided to take it a step down and take Intro to Chem this semester. I'm also taking Physiology w/ the lab. They send us the lab kits in the mail if we live 50miles or more away from campus so that sounds exciting! I've ordered my books and I've got a list of different studying ideas I'm going to try. I would love any study tips any of you have please feel free to comment with them! My biggest hurdle right now is finding a proctor in the area to proctor my exams. I sent a request to UMary and BSC which are both here in Bismarck and UMary declined so I'm really hoping BSC turns out to work. Glad I started working on that early so I'm ready when it's time for that first exam.

In other news temps have been extremely low these past few days in Bismarck. This past weekend was the coldest it's been in about 20 or so years. With the windchill we were looking at around -50 to -60 temps. There were lots of warnings put out to the area about frostbit and hypothermia. The day before it got super cold I heard that supermarkets were just packed with people stocking up on food. Luckily we didn't have to go out and were were just fine with food. I had seen this thing on pinterest or facebook about blowing bubbles and how they would freeze before they hit the ground if it was cool enough so I decided to give it a try last night...it was AWESOME! I was really in awe by it and didn't even notice the cold as much because it was so cool! I was hoping to see what they looked like today but it snowed last night so that was a no go. In Utah I was so used to the snow not lasting for very long but here in ND it stays cold so all of the snow probably won't melt until spring. CRAZY! We went to Walmart last night and the parking was literally like an ice skating rink so scary! 

Frozen Bubbles

Sausage Zuppa Soup I made in the dutch oven to help keep us warm over the Freezing weekend!

This is Ice on the Inside of our front door! 

Ben's Christmas present to me arrived the other day. I'm "sew" excited! I have lots of projects I've been waiting to work on. I have to remember school comes first and sewing will be my reward for working hard ha ha! 

A North Dakota Thanksgiving

First off I am so angry I stink at taking pictures! I had the table set up all cute and a beautiful pie and food and I didn't get one stinking picture. I wish there was a way I could go back on my face time chats and get a pic from them but I can't as far as I know. 

Anyways, this was my first Thanksgiving away from my parents. Ben has had 2 while he was serving his mission in England. I was a little sad and bummed and so was Ben. Last week I was talking to my friend who works at the daycare and is also in our ward. She is married with one little one and one on the way. I asked her about her plans for Thanksgiving and she said they really didn't have any so I invited her and her family over. She agreed and we were both really excited! Wednesday night I made the pumpkin pie and a special cranberry with feta cheese tossed salad. On Thursday morning after the 5K I started putting everything else together and we started picking up around the house. I put the turkey in (it was boneless and just a small lil' 3lb thing) I also cut up regular potatoes and put them in the crock pot, and cut, cooked and mashed sweet potatoes. We went to Walmart to get some rockstars and other drinks for dinner (I have never seen Walmart so dead it was actually kind of nice.) We felt bad so we made sure we went through the self checkout as our way of trying to protest for making nice people work on Thanksgiving. Around 330pm I took the turkey out and covered it with tinfoil then I put the sweet potato casserole in the oven and called my mom to wish her Happy Thanksgiving! Her and my dad were up in Washington visiting my brother and his family so I was able to facetime with everyone! It was so fun to see them I'm so thankful for technology! Around 430pm our guests arrived. My friend Carolyn made home made stuffing (it was amazing) and an apple pie. Her husband is from Ethiopia so this whole Thanksgiving thing is still pretty new to him. We had 2 bottles of sparkling cider and we couldn't find our bottle opener. My friends husband did a special trick and opened them both up it was really cool! Ben turned on a movie for their son and we enjoyed our dinner. We just sat around and visited and watched some kid movies (Planes and Monsters University). It was very relaxing and chill and it was nice to have some company. We enjoyed pie both turned out delicious. After they left I went into the kitchen and noticed my crock pot was still on and then a lightbulb in my head went off... Whoops! I completely forget about the mashed potatoes! LOL all in all I think I did pretty good for the first Thanksgiving I was in charge of. 

I feel so blessed in my life. I have more than I will ever need and I have amazing people and relationships in my life. I am so grateful for all that I have.

Hope y'all had a fantastic Thanksgiving or maybe first day of Hanukkah!

This instead of That

I took this out of my nutrition book and found it very helpful.

If you usually eat this             Try this instead                                Why?

White Bread                              Whole Wheat Bread                  More fiber

Sugary Breakfast Cereal          Low sugar high fiber cereal       More fiber

                                                            With fresh fruit                               

Cheeseburger with   Turkey Burger and Baked Beans   less saturated fat

Fries                                                                                                less cholesterol

                                                                                                       More Fiber

Potato Salad                        Three bean salad                             more fiber

Doughnuts                            Bran muffin/bagel w/                     more fiber

                                                 Light cream cheese                         less fat

Boiled vegetables    Steamed vegetables                       higher nutrient

                                                                                                              Density

Whole Milk                         low fat of fat free milk                   less saturated fat

                                                                                                             Fewer calories

                                                                                                                More calcium

Ice Cream        Sherbert or frozen yogurt      less saturated fat

                                                                             Fewer calories

Cookies                           popcorn                                         fewer calories

Chips                                pretzels                                              less fat

Fiber is amazing for so many reasons. Women need to have at least 25grams of fiber per day and Men 38. Be careful though especially if you aren’t eating a lot of fiber already because fiber can do crazy things…just saying. Oh and stay hydrated at all times.

We love dutch oven cookin!

My dad (Lindsey's side) being the amazing cook he is made us an amazing dutch oven meal the other Sunday. Of course me being awesome I did not get any pictures of the food just of me and Ben and our outfits!

The menu was as follows:

BBQ smothered chicken

Hush-puppies (love 'em)

Turkey Sausage and Cabbage

Pineapple Upside Down Cake for dessert

Cooking with Linds

For any of you who have enjoyed reading about my cooking adventures I have decided to have a specific blog dedicated to it so if you want to go to this address...http://lindseyweberskitchen.blogspot.com/

You can keep tagging along with my cooking.

Granola Heck yes!

Found this granola recipe ... LOVE IT! Ya know how granola is like a million bucks at the store well this is super cheap to make and super easy!!! I've made like a gazillion batches so far and it tastes AMAZING too! Much better than the million buck stuff from the store.

Heres the recipe!

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Mix lightly for a few minutes.

You can add dried fruit or raisins after you cook it. Or you can add apples, bananas or strawberries and mix with yogurt.

Super yummy! Try it out!

Blackberry Cheesecake Bars

Just know that pretty much each of these recipes are super easy and super yummy!

Saying that these cheesecake bars are amazing! However I thought they were pretty rich but I'm sure for everyone it's different. Something really nice about these bars is that the recipe actually says to use blueberries but I'm pretty sure you can us any kind of berries. For instance, I used blackberries!

Here's the recipe. Enjoy!

what you need!

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

2 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 jar (10 oz.) blueberry jam or preserves

1 cup blueberries

make it!

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

MIX butter and graham crumbs in 13x9-inch pan; press onto bottom of pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

BEAT cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla; beat until well blended. Stir jam in jar until softened; spread evenly onto crust. Top with berries, then cream cheese mixture.

BAKE 30 min. or until slightly puffed. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Here's what they should like:

However, I was a bit behind and didn't get picture in until they had mostly been eaten... Mine did not turn out as stiff as they look in the picture either they were a bit more gooey. Not sure about that but they were definitely yummy!

Garden!

I few weeks ago I bought some berries plants. Today Ben bought me a wooden pot to put them in along with a Topsy Turvy Strawberry planter

I also got a starter kit that holds up to 50 seeds. We bought tomato seeds and pea seeds. I'm hoping to get started on everything tomorrow and hopefully have pics up soon!

Chicken Parmigiana with Fresh Tomato Sauce

What you need:
1/3 cup grated parmesean cheeese
1 pkt shake n bake extra crispy
4 small boneless chicken breast halves
1 small onion chopped
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
2 Tomatoes chopped
2 Tbsp chopped basil
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat Oven to 400F Add Parmesean to coating mix in shaker bag; shake gently to combine. Coat Chicken with Parmesean mixture, then bake as directed on package.
Meanwhile cook onions and dressing in large skillet on medium- high heat 4 min or until onions are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 to 3 min or until heated through, stirring occasionaly. Stir in basil. Keep warm.
Top chicken with sauce and cheese.


Lindsey's two cents:
About 2 minutes before taking the chicken out of the oven put the mozzarella cheese on top so it can melt.
We had it with a tossed salad: romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese (LOVE IT), and crispy onions!
It was super easy and extremely tasty!

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

My first recipe turned out pretty dang yummy! We took it over to the Parry family's sunday dinner for dessert and everyone loved it!
Saturday night Ben and I went and got the ingredients and then came home and smashed strawberries...we did this around 10pm and got a knock on our door that we did't answer..oops! I would also suggest putting them in a baggie and smashing them becuase they kinda got all over the place! I actually told Ben right after we smashed the strawberries to put the Oreos in a baggie and smash them and he says to me why didn't we do that with the strawberries...Right...
anyways then we mixed the milk,lemon juice,condensed milk,strawberries together poured them into the pan that had a lining of tin foil, melted the butter mixed it with the oreos poured on top of the whipped mixture and put in the freezer over night.
Right before serving the next day I frosted it with cool whip and put strawberries on top!
Here's some pics!









Here's the Recipe:
what you need!
4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
8 OREO Cookies, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
make it!

LINE 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Mash 2 cups berries in large bowl. Add milk, juice and 2 cups COOL WHIP; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

MIX chopped cookies and butter. Spoon over COOL WHIP mixture. Cover with ends of foil; gently press cookie mixture into COOL WHIP mixture. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.

INVERT dessert onto plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil. Frost dessert with remaining COOL WHIP. Slice remaining berries; arrange over dessert. Freeze leftovers.

In my spare time...

I have a subscription to Food and Family thanks to my sweet mother in law. They have some awesome recipes that I am really excited to try. So in my spare time, thus no time limit on it, I am going to bake everyone of the recipes! Sound familar? Kinda the whole julia and julia thing but...not. I will also post the recipes on here so you all can try them if you like! On the menu for tomorrow: strawberry whipped sensation!