Have you ever been to the North Pole? I think I live there.

I'm obsessed...

So this past Christmas season, Lauren brought home chocolate covered cinnamon bears from her dance teacher. She brought home two bags actually because a little girl in her class didn't like them, so she gave them to Lauren. I thought they kind of sounded like a gross combination...until I tried one. Love at first bite. Not long after my brother in law gave me another tin of them that they had been giving out at work. Soon after that my friend LeAnn, when I revealed my newest obsession with her, suggested I just make my own. I think it was that same day I headed to Walmart, picked up several bags of cinnamon Santas and baking chocolates, therein turning my kitchen into a chocolate covered cinnamon Santa factory. So naturally when Valentine season came around I found cinnamon lips...

Hilarious!

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I love this man...

I'm really not a mushy, valentiney kind of person. I actually think the holiday is a little on the lame side. I mean really, can't we tell each other how much we love each other every day of the year? With that said, this is a little tribute to my favorite valentine who maybe needs to be reminded how much I love him. A few reasons come to mind....

He has a great sense of humor. Jason always makes me laugh, even when I don't really want to.

He is intelligent. Jason and I took a few college courses together. I would study my butt off, he wouldn't study at all...and he would still get a better grade than me.

He is hard working. The life of a pediatrician isn't all runny noses and dum dum pops. Jason starts off early in the morning to round on babies at the hospital, works long clinic hours and stays up til wee hours in the morning finishing his patient charts. His patients are really lucky to have him as their doctor!

He is a kid at heart. He loves playing with the kids. He plays Mario Kart with Nate almost every night when he gets home and will pull out a board game with Lauren. He will get on his knees and play basketball on the mini hoop with Luke. And he does a mean Elmo impression. Our kids adore him.

He loves my cooking. For some reason that makes me feel like a better cook than I really am!

He knows me better than anyone else and he still loves me. That in and of itself is enough to love this man!

Our marriage has been an adventure...school, moving, children, challenges, etc....but I wouldn't want it any other way. I love you Jay!

And the winner is...

Kaytee!!

Last night I put all the names in a jar and had Lauren pick it out and read the winner. I put it all on video and it was really cute....but gosh dang it I could not get the video to upload. I didn't want the suspense to kill all of you (ha,ha) so I'll try and post it later. The cards are on their way Kaytee!

Feel the Love...and Share It!

I was meandering the $1 isle at Target last week when I found these cute Valentine theme chipboard stickers. The colors were a little untraditional, which is probably why I liked them. It got my creative juices flowing and I made several cards using the stickers and a bunch of scrap paper I had on hand. I was just planning on posting the cards to share the idea when I thought better than just sharing the idea, I would give them away! I realize these may not appeal to everyone's taste, but if you want these cards to send away to someone you love this month then leave a comment and I'll pick a random winner. (I'll mail them to you and include the envelopes). Blog stalkers, now's your chance to be known!!

I'll keep this open until Wednesday, Feb. 4. I love give aways, don't you?

What's For Dinner?

We've had more snow the last few days so being inside has made me want to cook a little more. For lack of something better to post, I thought I'd post the recipes for this weeks dinners. I make up my dinner list on Sundays and do my grocery shopping for the things I'm missing on Monday. It makes my life so much easier already knowing what I am going to cook each night. Of course I always have those weeks that I don't feel like cooking or things come up. Hope you find something worth trying.

I got this recipe off a recipe blog. This is only the second time we have made it but it is YUM!

Zucchini Soup

3 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. margarine
Melt in pot
Add:
1 medium clove garlic (1/2 tsp.)
2 medium onions, chopped
6-8 zucchini (chunks)
Saute till onions are clear.
Add pre-cooked ground sausage (1 lb.)
Cook 10 minutes.
Add:
2 (8oz) can tomato sauce
2 ( 15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
Simmer 15 minutes
Add:
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
4 oz. Longhorn cheese, grated
Simmer, covered, 10 minutes.
I use Monterey Jack cheese b/c Longhorn isn't something I keep on hand. Also, leave half to sprinkle in each bowl just before serving.
salt and pepper to taste

Italian Crock Pot Chicken
(I thought everyone owned this Utah classic recipe until a couple people asked me for it recently)

1 lb chicken ( I like to use the tenders but chicken breasts are fine)
1/4 c. water
1 pkg. dry Italian dressing mix

Put chicken in crock pot. Mix water and dressing together, then pour over chicken. Cook on Low for 3 hours.

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mushrooms

Mix together, then add to chicken. Cook 1 more hour.

(I always use the slower cooker liners and it saves a ton of work on clean up!)

Baked Potato Soup
Dont' be afraid to try the garnishes, its what makes this soup so good!

3 T butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 T flour
1 (14 ½ oz) can chicken broth
4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” cubes
½ t. salt
¼ t. white pepper
¼ t. black pepper
1 t. dried basil
½ t. garlic salt
1 cup half and half

Garnish with
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Crumbled bacon
Chopped green onions

Melt butter in a 2 qt saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often. Gradually add chicken broth. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, basil and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in half and half; heat through. Serve with garnishes. Serves 4, but easily doubles.

(I do not use the white pepper and I also use the frozen cubed potatoes about 1 generous cup per potato)

Spinach Manicotti

I love, love, love this recipe because you don't have to cook the manicotti shells ahead of time.

1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 28-ounce jar spaghetti sauce with meat
1 cup water
1 20-ounce package manicotti shells

In a large bowl combine ricotta, spinach, 1 c. mozzarella, 1/4 c. Parmesan, egg, parsley, onion powder, pepper and garlic powder. Combine spaghetti sauce and water. Spread 1 cup of sauce in an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti with spinach mixture and arrange over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40-5 minutes or until heated through. Do not have to refrigerate overnight.

For ANY pasta recipe that calls for a red sauce, I use my homemade sauce recipe that I got from my mother in law (I think its tweaked a little). It makes a ton, so after we use it for spaghetti night, I freeze the leftovers to use in lasagna, manicotti, etc.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 28-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 bay leaf
3-4 mild italian sausage links
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add tomatoes, brown sugar, basil and bay leaf. Cut open casing on sausage and break into sauce in small pieces to cook. Or add 1 pound of raw ground pork and let cook in the sauce. Simmer and serve with noodles.

Friday night is always homemade pizza and family movie night at our house. We've been doing this tradition for over a year now and we still haven't gotten sick of pizza once a week. This is my favorite dough recipe:

Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
1 T. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 T. oil
1/2 t. salt
2-3 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water and sugar. Add oil, salt and flour. Knead it well and let rise for 10-15 minutes. Roll out and add toppings. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

I have the type of yeast that you can add with the flour and doesn't have to be dissolved, so I just dump everything in my Bosch mixer and let it mix up real good. I add more like 2 1/2 cups flour when I want to use it for 2 pizzas (the kids is usually quite smaller). For only one pizza don't use more than 2 cups flour. If you like a thinner crust, I would cut this recipe in half. I also seem to have had good luck when I roll my dough out and let it cook in the oven for 5 minutes before loading it up with toppings.