The Girls!

Isn't this a great picture?! I think it's pretty darn cute. It was taken at the wedding (I know, you couldn't tell, right?). That is Lake Tahoe in the background. The girls looked so beautiful that evening (well, they looked more beautiful) so it's fun to have this great picture of them. Enjoy!

Cutting the Cake!

Here are Crista and Jerrad cutting their beautiful wedding cake! They did a good job and didn't even smash each other when feeding each other. Good thing too, cuz Crista HATES cake! (I don't know how that happened, she might have been switched at birth....) I'll post more pics soon! (Well, soonish....)

Soup Season

It's the season for soup so I thought I would share some recipes! These are so yummy!

White Chicken Chili

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cubed (or 1 rotisserie chicken torn into small pieces)
½ med onion, finely chopped
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 T garlic powder
1 T vegetable oil
2 (15.5 oz) cans of Great Northern beans, drained
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 (7 oz) can green chilies chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 c sour cream
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp pepper
½ c whipping cream

In a large pot sauté chicken, onion and garlic powder in vegetable oil, cook until chicken is no longer pink (or if using rotisserie chicken, cook until chicken is heated all the way through). Add beans, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for approx. 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve immediately. Top with cheese, green onions and sour cream.


Potsticker Soup

5 cups chicken broth
8 – 10 shrimp (or desired amount)
8 potstickers (or desired amount)
Frozen stir-fry veggies
1 – 2 cups fresh asparagus
Cut up chicken
Green onions to sprinkle on top
1 c. cooked rice

Boil broth and add stir-fry veggies and fresh asparagus until soft. Cook the potstickers in a separate pot, add to veggies. Cook shrimp, until just pink, and add at the very end.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

The Allred's!

Here is a cute picture of Lisa and Sam. This is where Crist & Jerrad had their reception. Poor Sam was pretty sick, but was a trooper for coming and hanging out with us!

Have some cake!

Here they are sharing the cake with each other! Aren't they sweet? (Of course Grandma J begged them to be nice to each other during this process. She absolutely didn't want them smooshing it into each others faces!!! I have to say that worked for me too!!)

Grandma & Grandpa with the Happy Couple!

Here is the happy couple with Grandma and Grandpa Jones. We just did some work on my computer and I'm having trouble finding all the pics. I think this is one our family took. I don't know where the ones are the "photographer" took. But, this will have to do for now!

Culinary Skills

Amanda and her boyfriend Chris have some mad baking skills. Last Halloween Mom sent them some ghost and pumpkin cake tins and this is what they made. In Amanda's words these are "really great cupcakes".

Mexico Cruise

In May of this year Robert and I took a 5 day Mexico Cruise. We were actually celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. Our anniversary isn't until June, but we got a good deal on this trip so we went a little early. It was pretty fun. (It was way better than driving down there, which is what we usually do!!!) Anyway, the first pic is of us at Ensenada at La Bufadora natural blow hole. It was very pretty. The second picture is on Lover's Beach and we used our mad acting skills to strike a pose. (Boo! Not so great a skills!!) But the water is gorgeous!!

Beware of Chocolate!

DO YOU EAT CHOCOLATE?

We were raised on chocolate as kids and even into adulthood. I will never eat it again. I hope you will throw yours away whenever you get given any from now on. It seems as though nothing is safe to eat anymore.


This is what happens when you eat chocolate!

Chocolate will make your feet small!!

I'm glad this didn't happen to me

Mr. & Mrs.

This weekend we were all in Tahoe for Crista and Jerrad's wedding! It went pretty perfect thanks to Crista's wedding binder :-)

Sassy the Cat

This is a good way to introduce you to my cat Sassy! She thinks she is just one of the girls and loves any attention she can get. Mom and Dad were her this weekend and Sassy made herself right at home with Mom.

Oh Yeah

I find great videos online

Tom The Cat!

This is our cat, Tom. I know, that's a really orginal name, huh? Kara chose the name for him. And, she chose him! If I had my way, no CATS! But, apparently, I don't get my way!!°Ü° (what else is new?) We have a 3 planters on the front porch. Only one of them has a living plant in it (that's cuz I take care of them, not Robert!). Robert caught Tom chilling in the planter. I guess he thought it was warm or something. But, let me tell you he makes a mess of the porch and the house when he hangs out in there! So, Robert now has a piece of plywood covering the planter. Maybe he's waiting for me to plant something???

Love This Commercial!

This is most likely my favorite commercial ever!

Grandma D and Harvey

The youngest in our fam graduated this year and we had a lovely little party for her a couple days after that. Lots of family and some friends came to celebrate with us. This is a picture of Robert's Mom and her husband Harvey. They are currently serving a Family History mission from home. They will be released from that mission in just a couple of weeks. They help people all over the globe with questions or problems they encounter while researching their family trees. Edith and Harvey are also Misha's babysitters. They usually keep her anytime we need to go away and she can't go with us. Anyway, just thought you might like to meet them.

Crista's Bridal Shower!

Last Saturday we had Crista's bridal shower here. I can't believe the wedding is almost here!! Wahoo! Anyway, I thought I'd put some pictures up today of the special girl and some family members! Don't worry, I'll post more later. Unfortunately, lots of them didn't turn out so great. (I mean literally, not that the subjects aren't so great. °Ü°)
















Aunt Sharon and Aunt Bev enjoying their drink of choice


















Emily & Margaret Hawe, Tami McArthur, Kara Duncan
















The Bride & Aunt Sharon...working for her prize

















The Bride & Kara Duncan





















The Bride thrilled with her gift

Recipe!

Last night for dinner I made this new recipe. Crista, Jerrad and Robert LOVED it. It wasn't my most favorite ever, but I'm the weird one. (Kara has no opinion cuz she was working and didn't eat any of it...) Since people liked it so much, I thought I'd share it here.

Pork Chops With Cheesy Has Brown Potatoes

6 boneless prok loin chops
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced (I used my pampered chef garlic press)
1 (10 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom & garlic soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 (30 oz.) pkg frozen hash brown potatoes
1 1/2 cups shredded baby swiss cheese (I just used swiss cheese, I don't know if it was baby or not....)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, brown pork chops in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat, turning once to brown; set aside.
3. Add onions and garlic to pan and cook and stir over medium heat until crisp and tender.
4. Add condensed soup and milk; cook and stir until bubbly.
5. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
6. In 9x13" glass baking dish, combine potatoes and cheeses and toss to mix.
7. Add the soup/onion mixture and stir to combine.
8. Place the browned pork chops on top.
9. Bake casserole, uncovered, for 55-60 minutes.
(Okay, I suggest thawing the potatoes and stirring the cheese and potatoes together in a bowl. Then add put them in the 9x13" pan after you've sprayed with Pam. Makes clean up a whole lot easier!!)

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