Our talented and patient sister-in-law Lucinda took these for us! Everyone cooperated, it was fun, and look at the results! Thanks so much Aunt Cinda!!!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Soup that You Want to Make For Dinner
So Doug served a mission in Argentina and LOVES Gnocchi's. I spent an evening in the grocery stores, trying to find them in Missouri, (Hint, they're in the international food section in the dry goods, not refrigerated like I assumed!) to make this special soup for his birthday. Which is tomorrow, but I made it sunday, to celebrate a week of Doug turning 35.
Here's the recipe, I wholeheartedly endorse it! (Note, I did increase the vegetable amounts, 1/2 a carrot seemed ridiculous, and I waited to add the half and half very last. I did the cornstarch/water at the same time as the broth, then the spinach, then the half and half. The fresh spinach tasted great!)
Olive Garden Style Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Recipe #348802
This is very close to the Olive Garden soup. There's another recipe on the web which was the basis of this recipe, however I have changed it to use less cream. Still tastes good! I did end up using a little cornstarch to thicken. I guess you could sub heavy cream for the half and half to make it a little thicker without using cornstarch. The gnocchi is usually in the spaghetti section of the grocery store.
by Anne G.
35 min | 10 min prep
SERVES 8 -10
* 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
* 4 cups chicken stock
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 1 stalk celery, diced
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* 1/2 carrot, shredded
* 1/2 onion, diced
* 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* salt and pepper
* 16 ounces potato gnocchi
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
1. Saute the onion, celery, garlic, carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
2. Add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.
4. (Heat to boiling and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp water at this point if you want a thicker soup.).
5. Ladle into bowls and serve!
Here's the recipe, I wholeheartedly endorse it! (Note, I did increase the vegetable amounts, 1/2 a carrot seemed ridiculous, and I waited to add the half and half very last. I did the cornstarch/water at the same time as the broth, then the spinach, then the half and half. The fresh spinach tasted great!)
Olive Garden Style Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Recipe #348802
This is very close to the Olive Garden soup. There's another recipe on the web which was the basis of this recipe, however I have changed it to use less cream. Still tastes good! I did end up using a little cornstarch to thicken. I guess you could sub heavy cream for the half and half to make it a little thicker without using cornstarch. The gnocchi is usually in the spaghetti section of the grocery store.
by Anne G.
35 min | 10 min prep
SERVES 8 -10
* 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
* 4 cups chicken stock
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 1 stalk celery, diced
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* 1/2 carrot, shredded
* 1/2 onion, diced
* 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* salt and pepper
* 16 ounces potato gnocchi
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
1. Saute the onion, celery, garlic, carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
2. Add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.
4. (Heat to boiling and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp water at this point if you want a thicker soup.).
5. Ladle into bowls and serve!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Here's the article so you don't have to subscribe...
It has been several years since Doug and Claire Fogelquist were presented with the idea of choosing something for their son, Monte, through Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.
To receive a wish through the foundation, a child must be diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition such as a progressive, degenerative or malignant condition that has placed the child’s life in jeopardy.
"It is kind of bittersweet that you qualify," Claire Fogelquist said.
Her 8-year old son, Monte has cerebral palsy and it bling and deaf and relies on a wheelchair to get around.
She and her husband talked about everything from a trip to Disney World or Mexico and even thought about a room makeover for Monte's wish.
"We always went back to how much he loves to swim," Claire Fogelquist said.
Her son is highly sensory oriented and being in water allows Monte to move freely.
"The best way to understand Monte is to be blindfolded and have ear plugs in," she said.
He is also "wired" differenly, his Mother said, explaining the way he holds his neck and arms is much different than most other people.
Several months ago, the family finally turned in their request for Monte to have a hot tub as his wish.
"We wanted something he could experience everyday," Claire Fogelquist said.
On Thursday, April 22, Monte's hot tub was installed at the family's Branson home. "It is absolutely amazing to think of the things her will be able to do beause of this," said Doug Fogelquist.
Wyndham Vacation Resorts in Branson helped make the wish come true.
To receive a wish through the foundation, a child must be diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition such as a progressive, degenerative or malignant condition that has placed the child’s life in jeopardy.
"It is kind of bittersweet that you qualify," Claire Fogelquist said.
Her 8-year old son, Monte has cerebral palsy and it bling and deaf and relies on a wheelchair to get around.
She and her husband talked about everything from a trip to Disney World or Mexico and even thought about a room makeover for Monte's wish.
"We always went back to how much he loves to swim," Claire Fogelquist said.
Her son is highly sensory oriented and being in water allows Monte to move freely.
"The best way to understand Monte is to be blindfolded and have ear plugs in," she said.
He is also "wired" differenly, his Mother said, explaining the way he holds his neck and arms is much different than most other people.
Several months ago, the family finally turned in their request for Monte to have a hot tub as his wish.
"We wanted something he could experience everyday," Claire Fogelquist said.
On Thursday, April 22, Monte's hot tub was installed at the family's Branson home. "It is absolutely amazing to think of the things her will be able to do beause of this," said Doug Fogelquist.
Wyndham Vacation Resorts in Branson helped make the wish come true.
We're in the newspaper...and Online!
We got interviewed for the local Branson paper, here's the result:
http://www.bransontrilakesnews.com/news/article_38dd7c66-4f1d-11df-a9b9-001cc4c002e0.html
Happily, it's not bad! The picture is even pretty cute. What do you think?
Always nervous to wait and see how you'll be represented by the media... :)
http://www.bransontrilakesnews.com/news/article_38dd7c66-4f1d-11df-a9b9-001cc4c002e0.html
Happily, it's not bad! The picture is even pretty cute. What do you think?
Always nervous to wait and see how you'll be represented by the media... :)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Monte's Make a Wish!
I'll post more pictures soon, here's a teaser...Monte's getting his Make a wish granted this week!
Allison's Wedding Pictures!
Ok, so I'm SO not a photographer, and my camera in just a simple Nikon Coolpix, but my sister-in-laws set up such fun shots, I had to take some too! I've had some requests for pictures, so while you wait for the really good ones, here's mine...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The BYU-I Scroll Article: Video game features disabled student’s image
This is so cool!!! I called The Scroll after reading it, and asked for them to forward the article to me. I wish they'd included his picture, but I'll try to work on that later... For now, just read it, and comment what you think, please!
Claire
Video game features disabled student’s image
Have you ever contemptuously thought to yourself that those playing sports video games should go play a “real” sport?
“To most people it’s a video game, to me it’s a dream come true,” said Hans Smith, a junior studying communication, of the upcoming release of MLB 10 The Show, which will feature his image as a player in the game.
Smith’s dream is to become a radio baseball commentator. Smith also has cerebral palsy, which confines him to a wheelchair and affects his hands and arms, making physical participation in sporting activities all but impossible.
“Your disability is what you have, not who you are,” Smith said. “Your mind determines your reality. Now I can be me. Now I can be a baseball player.”
Smith has loved baseball since early childhood and remembers when his two older brothers explained the games to him as they would listen together on the radio. “We were one of five families [in the country] who didn’t have cable TV,” Smith said.
Later, when his parents bought him a Sega Genesis so he could play baseball video games, Smith surprised his family by beating his two brothers. Owing to his physical disability, Smith’s parents had doubted his ability to use the video game controller. “I absolutely killed ‘em,” Smith said. This started Smith’s career of “virtual baseball.”
Not all baseball games, however, are alike to Smith. In the fall of 2007, when Smith saw a commercial for MLB 08 The Show, he knew it was better than what he had been playing.
“This game was unbelievable,” Smith said. Along with excellent graphics and a first-person play mode, “… you had to read coaches’ signs … [and know] when to be in position for a double feature.”
The new game more fully recreated the feeling of being an actual baseball player. Smith was sold, and he got rid of his Xbox in order to be able to purchase and play the new game on the PlayStation 3. Little did he know that his decision to buy this game would lead to him being a “part of the action” in more ways than he expected.
“I decided to play a whole 162 game series,” Smith said. “About the middle of the season I realized I would be extremely ungrateful if I didn’t thank [the makers of the game].”
“I wanted to write Sony … to tell them how much I appreciated their game,” Smith said. “[When I wrote to them] I said…you have given me an opportunity to do something that I would do in real life, but I can’t because of something that is out of my control.”
The senior director of the MLB game franchise for Sony called Smith in response to his letter. He told Smith how grateful they were for Smith’s expression of gratitude. “[He said] ‘we would like to make your dream of being a baseball player even more a reality,’” Smith said.
Thus followed a trip to the studio in San Diego, where Smith had his head scanned with a 360 degree camera and his voice recorded.
Sony even agreed that his player, which bears his name, will continue in the game every year until the franchise ends. This means that how Smith performs in his virtual MLB season this year will affect the statistics of Hans Smith the baseball player in next year’s game, just as with real Major League players. “This is like my rookie year,” Smith said.
Even as he begins his baseball career, Smith is tries to avoid placing too much emphasis on himself. “I think what [this article] does more than [telling] my glamorous story is showing the power of gratitude,” Smith said. “It’s the power of saying thanks.”
Smith is also thankful to God for blessings he has received. “Several times I have actually prayed to Heavenly Father and told Him how thankful I am that I can play baseball,” Smith said.
When he begins his season sometime after the game is released on March 2, Smith says he plans on entering the draft. His player is a catcher. He will then play the season, never compromising the reality of the experience or his 13 credit homework load by playing more than one game per day.
At least one pre-season game will give friends and potential fans the opportunity to see their player up close and in person. The Reading Center, where Smith works part time, plans to have a party for him when the game comes out, said Department Faculty Julie Engstrom. There will be a big-screen baseball field to boot, and Smith is looking forward to some spectators. “One thing I can’t simulate in a baseball game,” Smith said, “is the crowd.”
Claire
Video game features disabled student’s image
Have you ever contemptuously thought to yourself that those playing sports video games should go play a “real” sport?
“To most people it’s a video game, to me it’s a dream come true,” said Hans Smith, a junior studying communication, of the upcoming release of MLB 10 The Show, which will feature his image as a player in the game.
Smith’s dream is to become a radio baseball commentator. Smith also has cerebral palsy, which confines him to a wheelchair and affects his hands and arms, making physical participation in sporting activities all but impossible.
“Your disability is what you have, not who you are,” Smith said. “Your mind determines your reality. Now I can be me. Now I can be a baseball player.”
Smith has loved baseball since early childhood and remembers when his two older brothers explained the games to him as they would listen together on the radio. “We were one of five families [in the country] who didn’t have cable TV,” Smith said.
Later, when his parents bought him a Sega Genesis so he could play baseball video games, Smith surprised his family by beating his two brothers. Owing to his physical disability, Smith’s parents had doubted his ability to use the video game controller. “I absolutely killed ‘em,” Smith said. This started Smith’s career of “virtual baseball.”
Not all baseball games, however, are alike to Smith. In the fall of 2007, when Smith saw a commercial for MLB 08 The Show, he knew it was better than what he had been playing.
“This game was unbelievable,” Smith said. Along with excellent graphics and a first-person play mode, “… you had to read coaches’ signs … [and know] when to be in position for a double feature.”
The new game more fully recreated the feeling of being an actual baseball player. Smith was sold, and he got rid of his Xbox in order to be able to purchase and play the new game on the PlayStation 3. Little did he know that his decision to buy this game would lead to him being a “part of the action” in more ways than he expected.
“I decided to play a whole 162 game series,” Smith said. “About the middle of the season I realized I would be extremely ungrateful if I didn’t thank [the makers of the game].”
“I wanted to write Sony … to tell them how much I appreciated their game,” Smith said. “[When I wrote to them] I said…you have given me an opportunity to do something that I would do in real life, but I can’t because of something that is out of my control.”
The senior director of the MLB game franchise for Sony called Smith in response to his letter. He told Smith how grateful they were for Smith’s expression of gratitude. “[He said] ‘we would like to make your dream of being a baseball player even more a reality,’” Smith said.
Thus followed a trip to the studio in San Diego, where Smith had his head scanned with a 360 degree camera and his voice recorded.
Sony even agreed that his player, which bears his name, will continue in the game every year until the franchise ends. This means that how Smith performs in his virtual MLB season this year will affect the statistics of Hans Smith the baseball player in next year’s game, just as with real Major League players. “This is like my rookie year,” Smith said.
Even as he begins his baseball career, Smith is tries to avoid placing too much emphasis on himself. “I think what [this article] does more than [telling] my glamorous story is showing the power of gratitude,” Smith said. “It’s the power of saying thanks.”
Smith is also thankful to God for blessings he has received. “Several times I have actually prayed to Heavenly Father and told Him how thankful I am that I can play baseball,” Smith said.
When he begins his season sometime after the game is released on March 2, Smith says he plans on entering the draft. His player is a catcher. He will then play the season, never compromising the reality of the experience or his 13 credit homework load by playing more than one game per day.
At least one pre-season game will give friends and potential fans the opportunity to see their player up close and in person. The Reading Center, where Smith works part time, plans to have a party for him when the game comes out, said Department Faculty Julie Engstrom. There will be a big-screen baseball field to boot, and Smith is looking forward to some spectators. “One thing I can’t simulate in a baseball game,” Smith said, “is the crowd.”
Monday, March 22, 2010
Check out this link!! Our awesome friends...
http://www.standard.net/topics/features/2010/03/17/ogden-girls-find-way-give-back
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Inspiring Quotes for the Month:
I have really enjoyed reading the Church News, The BYUI Scroll, and MormonTimes lately. While maybe not the most political or scholarly publications, I feel a bit more uplifted and educated when I take the time to read them. Here's a few things that really touched me:
The Scroll February 23, 2010 Video Game Features Disabled Student's Image.
I'm trying to find a digital copy of this, but it was SO cool! I hate to summarize it, you just have to read it.
LDS Bobsledder Chris Fogt: "I try to carry myself a little differently. I don't want to make (the church), the Army, myself or my family look bad-ever."
Wow, if we all lived that way, imagine the difference in the world!
For those that watched the bobsledding, I guess there were a lot of accidents. His dad said before the race: "Most parents are praying for medals, We're praying for the safely of the athletes...We have a little anxiety because of this track...but I'm sure the good Lord will bless these young men." They did crash, and didn't get to finish the competition, but he said, choking back emotion after taking the brunt of the crash for the team to protect them, "I'm still safe."
John Powell, a brain tumor survivor and Vietnam Veteran is an athlete as well, and had this to say, "I ask my Heavenly Father to come with me and have as much fun as I do in competition. This has helped me to excel in any competition I am in. It is not about the medal for me. If I win one, that is great because it will not matter what color. It is all about carrying myself in competition to be honorable as a church member and to let my Heavenly Father have as much fun as I do. It was during the priesthood session of general conference in 1988 when President Thomas S. Monson ...said that every member should have the chance to play in sports. I have held onto this for all these years because no matter what my ability is I can compete in any sport."
And finally, totally off subject, but cracked me up for days, "In the famous words of John Wayne, "Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid."" Let us all remember that.
The Scroll February 23, 2010 Video Game Features Disabled Student's Image.
I'm trying to find a digital copy of this, but it was SO cool! I hate to summarize it, you just have to read it.
LDS Bobsledder Chris Fogt: "I try to carry myself a little differently. I don't want to make (the church), the Army, myself or my family look bad-ever."
Wow, if we all lived that way, imagine the difference in the world!
For those that watched the bobsledding, I guess there were a lot of accidents. His dad said before the race: "Most parents are praying for medals, We're praying for the safely of the athletes...We have a little anxiety because of this track...but I'm sure the good Lord will bless these young men." They did crash, and didn't get to finish the competition, but he said, choking back emotion after taking the brunt of the crash for the team to protect them, "I'm still safe."
John Powell, a brain tumor survivor and Vietnam Veteran is an athlete as well, and had this to say, "I ask my Heavenly Father to come with me and have as much fun as I do in competition. This has helped me to excel in any competition I am in. It is not about the medal for me. If I win one, that is great because it will not matter what color. It is all about carrying myself in competition to be honorable as a church member and to let my Heavenly Father have as much fun as I do. It was during the priesthood session of general conference in 1988 when President Thomas S. Monson ...said that every member should have the chance to play in sports. I have held onto this for all these years because no matter what my ability is I can compete in any sport."
And finally, totally off subject, but cracked me up for days, "In the famous words of John Wayne, "Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid."" Let us all remember that.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tidwell's Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake w/Claire's Raspberry Sauce
This is the cake that I made myself to celebrate my birthday, it's amazing, if I do say so myself...
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup Crisco or oil
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup baking cocoa
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
ICING:- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 4 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- In a large saucepan, bring butter, Crisco, water and cocoa just to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda; add to cocoa mixture. Stir in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 16-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- In a saucepan, melt butter; add milk and cocoa. Bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour over warm cake. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 15 servings.
Raspberry Sauce
Ingredients-
Psst: might need to decrease the water and increase the cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1-3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Directions
- In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, 1-3/4 cups water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Mash raspberry mixture and strain through a fine sieve into a 2-cup measuring cup; discard seeds. Add water if needed to make 2 cups puree. Return to the saucepan.
- Combine cornstarch and remaining water until smooth; gradually stir into raspberry mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; cool. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 cups.
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