The Forgotten Letter

While dropping off my kids at my parent's house, not long ago, my Mom handed me a folded piece of paper and said, "Something for you to read while you wait for your appointment."

Puzzled, I took it and tucked it into my purse.

I checked in to my appointment and found a seat in the waiting room, then I pulled out the paper. After unfolding it I noticed the date first and began reading. I knew it was a letter from my Mom from when I was a kid, but at first I wasn't quite sure why she had written it. After a while I realized it was a letter she had written to me to read on the plane while I was traveling, by myself, to go stay in Mexico with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. I was 11 at the time. I guess she found it while packing.
Hopefully she won't mind me sharing this letter with you. Because of it I have gained a Heavenly insight.

Feb. 18, 1999

Dear Daughter,

Today you are leaving on a big adventure. You have grown up so much, and we are so proud of you. I can hardly believe you are the same person as the little girl that went to Monterrey 5 1/2 years ago, that was so shy and scared to be away from her mommy. You are now quite an independent young lady, even though I know you love us a lot and will miss us.

You may have times when you will get homesick. That's O.K. and it's normal, but don't let it get out of hand. If you feel homesick, do things to take your mind off of it, don't just sit around thinking, because then it just gets worse. In any case, give us a call, or have Danny send me an e-mail telling me to call you at a certain time.

If you have problems with your cousins or your aunt or uncle, you will feel sad, and it will make you miss your family more. Just remember that you also have problems with your Mom and brothers and sister every so often. It's a normal part of life. The important thing is to learn how to solve those problems. Most of them can be solved simply by talking to the person, and sometimes by just apologizing, even if you don't think it was your fault. Talking always helps when someone hurts your feelings.

I know your Spanish will improve a lot while you are in Monterrey. That will be wonderful. It's a skill you don't want to lose. Remember to try hard to speak it as much as you can, but if you really need help with something, Danny and Norma can help you.

Remember to help Tia Norma as much as you can, at the school and at home. I'm sure you can be a big help with your cousins' homework too. When you see Tia Norma fixing dinner, offer to set the table or to help with something. That will make her feel really good about having you in their home, and it will help so there won't be any bad feelings. Remember to do your laundry too.

It's going to be hard having you away for so long. The house will be so quiet. I might have to invite your friends over to have a party, just so it won't be so quiet (just kidding) ;) :)

Have a great time! It's your only chance to be in Monterrey, away from home. Take advantage of the opportunity. Don't forget to call and to write. We want to know everything about what you're doing. 

Love,

Mom


When I first read her letter I thought it was so sweet, and I was again grateful for a thoughtful Mother who was inspired to give good advice to me before my big adventure (I was staying for a month, by the way). Into my purse the note went and then I pulled out my phone to read on the Kindle app for a bit. I've been reading a really great book called "Your Endowment," by Mark Shields, and I began where I had left off which was about how the story of Adam and Eve is taught in the temple so that we will understand that it is not only real, but also symbolic of us as mankind.

Before Adam became a human man he was with God and helped to create the earth. At that time his name was Michael, which means "Who is like God." When his spirit was put into a body on earth he was given a new name, Adam. We use this stage of his identity to symbolize mankind on earth. After he died he was taken to be with God again and he was once again Michael, which again means, "Who is like God." So...

"Michael: Who is like God
Adam: Mankind on Earth
Michael: Who is like God."

In the book Mark Shields says "Using our vocabulary terms, when Adam meets the son of God, he begins his journey back to being Michael." So are we sent from heaven to a fallen world where we strive to become like God and then return to Him.

Anyway, while I was reading all this (and there's SO MUCH, it's very deep and beautiful), I was thinking about the process of when I left my heavenly home with my Heavenly Parents, and gently I was prompted to read Mom's letter again.

I re-read it two more times. The first time I read it in the context of her writing to me as I set off on my adventure of being a wife and a mother, but I read it in a deeper light that really struck me after that.

What if my own Heavenly Father had written this letter to me, or one like it?

Suddenly the words were popping out in such a beautiful, intimate, loving, and longing way. Perhaps it would have read more like this:

Dear Daughter,

Today you are leaving on a big adventure. You have grown up so much, and we are so proud of you. I can hardly believe you are the same person as the little girl that was so shy and scared to be away from her Heavenly Home. You are now quite an independent young lady, even though I know you love us a lot and will miss us.

You may have times when you will get homesick. That's O.K. and it's normal, but don't let it get out of hand. If you feel homesick, do things to take your mind off of it, don't just sit around thinking, because then it just gets worse. In any case, talk to me anytime in prayer.

If you have problems with your parents, or your family or friends, you will feel sad, and it will make you miss your Heavenly Home more. Just remember that you also have problems with your family here every so often. It's a normal part of growing. The important thing is to learn how to solve those problems. That's a big part of why you're going to earth! Most of them can be solved simply by talking to the person, and sometimes by just apologizing, even if you don't think it was your fault. Talking always helps when someone hurts your feelings.

I know your learning and understanding will improve a lot while you are there on earth. That will be wonderful. Those are skills you don't want to lose. Remember to try hard to learn and grow as much as you can, but if you really need help with something, your Mother and Father are there to help you.

Remember to help your Mother, family, and others as much as you can, around you and at home. I'm sure you can be a big help with the learning of those around you too. When you see someone struggling or needing help with something, offer to help. That will make them feel really good about having you around them, and it will help so there won't be any bad feelings. Remember your own responsibilities and to take care of yourself too.

It's going to be hard having you away for so long. The house will be so quiet.

Have a great time! It's your only chance to get a body and be away from home. Take advantage of the opportunity. Don't forget to talk to me often. We want to know everything about what you're doing. 

Love,

Your Heavenly Father

I shared this story in our church's sacrament meeting this month and the holy spirit was so strong as I told my ward family how I felt when I read those words. When I think of the pre-mortal life I kind of picture it as just so full of people everywhere and I suppose subconsciously I figured I kind of wouldn't be missed while I was here on earth, but I know now in my heart that He does miss me. My Heavenly Father misses me. He misses hearing my voice next to Him, asking Him questions, and learning by His side. Perhaps his house in heaven has some quiet places where he often thinks of me and misses hearing me there. I picture Him waiting my whole life to hear my voice speak to Him whenever I remember to, then He feels joy. And I know that as much as He misses me, and misses hearing from me and having me by His side, He also misses you. 

~Crystal

Our Emotional Painkillers

Everyone has pain in their life. No one is devoid of it.
Everyone also has to choose how they are going to react to that pain. Some will become apathetic to it, some will inflict pain on others in efforts to deflect it, some will turn to addictions, and some will turn to God.

There are many types of addictions. Drugs, pornography, sexual, food, etc. And it is now common knowledge that many people will "self-medicate" their problems with these things and more. It has become the most common and popular practice in response to our problems.

We know that there is no way to live pain free lives, or lives without trials and hardships of some kind. Recently I have realized that there is another point to our uphill climb in life. It is not just a test, and it is not just lessons, but it is also a way to determine which direction we will point ourselves each time we meet a boulder in our path.

What I mean to say is that the drawbacks in life give us a chance to say either "I'm going to medicate this pain with something that's not good for me," or "I'm going to give this over to God."

Recently I was on a spiritual high a couple months ago. I was learning incredible doctrine and understanding so many things, and feeling so much love! It was amazing! Then I felt like I was slowly coming down from that high, and then suddenly there were things in my life that I thought were dealt with, but they were coming back to pester and hurt me. I was still doing "everything right" and I was still trying hard to study and understand the gospel and God's word, but why couldn't I still have my spiritual high anymore? Why were hard things happening when I was turning them over to the Lord? I will tell you why. Because it's like choosing between a ladder or a slide. Chutes and Ladders if you will ;)
The ladder leads me to God, high spiritual understanding, and peace with each rung, but I can't just stay on one rung and expect to get higher at the same time. My hard times were God's push to say "Keep going, don't stop, don't get complacent."
To quote our beloved Dumbledore "We must all choose between what is right and what is easy." The slide is what is easy. Self medicating, choosing the filth that is heaped in front of us by that misery-loving serpent, Satan.
If we're not progressing we're regressing. It's that simple. God knows that and wants to help us get higher, but we can't if we stop where we're at. Hard times are a nudge and we decide which direction we will go from that nudge. Study harder, give our hearts, might, mind, and strength more wholly to the Lord and then we learn that the whole time it was exactly what we wanted from the beginning, but we couldn't see it.

Peace of Mind... Let's Get Some

I've been thinking about peace of mind lately, and how I've slowly come to have more of it.
As a kid and a teenager you kind of figure that there are things that you should become exposed to and you want to know everything about the world, and most of all you think you should be accustomed to these things because everyone else is. Also, because of school setting and social structures you don't want to be the "weird one" that doesn't do what everyone else is doing. I guess you could attribute watching TV or scary movies being one of those things that only "weird people" wouldn't do.

When I was a little kid my older siblings (they're actually all older than me) would be watching something scary and I was told to go in another room. "It's too scary for you," I was told. Why wan't it too scary for them? Actually it probably was. Especially for my sister who has a sensitive soul to things that are meant to frighten. For some reason I remember watching Jurassic Park with them. I don't know if I was peeking out from behind the bedroom door to watch, or if I sat and watched it and they just didn't think twice about the fact that this 6 or 7 year old was watching Jurassic Park with them. Either way it doesn't matter, the result was that I had nightmares about dinosaurs for years. It wasn't that I thought they were real, I knew by then that movies were movies and none of it was real. Everyone tells kids (even I've done this) not to be scared because it's not real. But the terror was real. The idea was real. The feeling was very real. The feeling of fright and terror was what drove my nightmares and started me to be frightened of things that I knew were not real in my own home. I knew that there wasn't really a dinosaur behind my bathroom door, but I felt that scared feeling anyway every time I opened it. That's what scary movies do to us. They leave us with a feeling of fear that is accompanied by suspense and thrill. The suspense goes away first as the plot of the movie rolls along, and the thrill is gone soon too, but the fear takes far longer to subside. It's like a residue in your brain.

So, one of the things I decided as an adult was that I would avoid scary movies. As a teenager there were movies like "The Ring" and other horror movies I considered totally worthless. I avoided those at all costs. I knew what it would do to me. Call me a wimp if you like, but I know myself, and those things are not good for me personally. I would occasionally watch movies like "The Others," or "The Village" I considered those suspenseful and not terrifying. I guess I would still call them suspense movies, but they still evoke a definite feeling of fear. So, right after I got married, when I was 21, I watched the last "scary" movie I would ever watch. I believe it was Halloween and we had some friends over to our apartment to watch "Signs." After the movie I realized how much I did not need it in my life or in my mind. Not that movie or any like it. Then and there I swore off scary movies. I could have argued with myself that it was artistically done and worth watching because of the plot, or the actors, or the direction involved, but I needed something more than I need to watch that movie. I needed peace of mind. I needed to know myself and be true to myself. Yay for step one.


When Ben and I got married we didn't have cable. We figured we didn't need it. We were newlyweds; living on love and passion ;) We didn't even have a TV. But then the Summer Olympics rolled around and Ben was dying to watch it, so we got a TV and cable. All 250 channels, or maybe more. The evenings we used to spend just being together, and maybe talking or going places, turned into watching the Olympics at first, and then Project Runway, Everybody Loves Raymond, and several other shows I can't even remember now.
Everybody Loves Raymond marathon? Sure we'll just watch a couple. At least that's what we thought, until it was three hours later and we're finally getting off the couch. Every evening it became habit to get a bowl of cereal and sit on the couch.

Ben was in school and working, and I was working full time, so the few hours we had together in the evening became hours of TV time. Sure we were spending them together, and I'm not suggesting it was horrible or anything. Actually some of my fondest childhood memories of being with my family was just all of us sitting and watching sitcoms together. Maybe that's sad, I don't know. I don't look back on it as something bad, I look at it fondly. But if I really consider the alternatives that might have been possible... what if we had piled those hours of TV together and had gone camping instead. I don't doubt that it would have brought our family closer together and that maybe I would have had, and would now have, a closer relationship to my siblings (who are all much older than me), and it wouldn't have to be camping (which my Mom hates), it could have been something active outside, teaching each other something, etc. But I don't regret or resent not having done that. We had family time together and that's something that I think every child wants, consciously or not. And bonus, I have an amazing family all around.

One day I told Ben, "I feel like there's a different spirit about our home since we got TV." He thought about it and agreed. He said "You know we pay for all these channels and when we go to watching something we can't ever seem to find something we actually want to watch. And it's really a waste of time anyway." So we bagged it. We haven't paid for cable for probably the last five years or more. We do pay for Netflix and use it. The girls watch Jr. shows and movies on there, and we're really particular about what it is they watch, but that's the closest to cable we have.

Of course around the time we quit cable they started putting the TV shows online... or most of them. We could watch a lot of shows the day after it aired. We started watching more and more for a while (Celebrity Apprentice, and others I also can't remember now), but really Ben is into documentaries, so that's what he watches on his laptop when he feels like it. I made a decision that there were plenty of shows to watch and just because they were entertaining didn't mean they were good for me to watch. I also noted that when I had shows to "catch up on" and my girls needed something while I was watching it I would get very frustrated and angry at them for interrupting me. Didn't they know that I was in the middle of a fight scene on Once Upon A Time?! Of course not, and it wasn't fair to them that I would get so mad because they needed me when I felt it was inconvenient. I needed to be a better mother, and I needed to get away from my computer more often. I needed less excuses to sit instead of getting things done; so I made a resolution. I didn't ban all shows. Instead I decided that I wouldn't watch anything that wasn't inspiring to me. That narrowed it down to three shows a week.

Wednesdays I watch 19 Kids and Counting, each episode is just over 20 minutes. Fridays I would watch Biggest Loser, a little longer at around 45 minutes, and Saturdays I watch Shark Tank which is about 45 minutes. There are times I watch something on Netflix at night to fall asleep to, which is not a healthy sleep policy to me, but when you're pregnant and sleeping is a luxury that doesn't always come when you  want/need it, sometimes I need something to keep me from going crazy while being awake for hours, usually in the middle of the night.

You know what benefit I've found from this TV purge? I am not so distracted. I have a clearer mind. I feel like I can think my own thoughts more clearly. It's kind of like someone who needs glasses, but they can't tell. From their point of view the world around them looks mostly fine, they can see things, until... they put on that prescription pair of glasses and realize that there is so much more to the world, and so much more detail than they had ever seen before. They didn't know before that they were missing out on so much, they figured that was just the way it is, but after being able to see more clearly they know better. That's how I feel. I don't have TV plots (that are designed to keep you thinking about them all week, btw) distracting me, or making me feel good or bad depending on my favorite character's story line. I can focus so much better on being who I am, and being a good Mom and wife. I can be a blessing to my family in a much better way.

I'm not suggesting everyone take up a TV purge, although I would recommend it, my main point is to know yourself well enough that you can tell what it is that is keeping your mind from peace and get rid of it. It might be hard at first, try a test run going one or two weeks without that thing that keeps you distracted or afflicts your moods and see if it's worth it. Hey, it's worth a try.

~Crystal

The "Gratitude" Red Herring

A lot of us suffer from something I would call a "blessing competition," or maybe even a "gratitude delusion." Such as when I was a kid I would start to feel down and pity myself and then say "Hey, at least you're not starving in Africa," or "At least you didn't have to cross the plains like the pioneers and lose the family you loved." Unfortunately it's something that's been passed down for generations. Think of everything bad in the world and all the misery others have endured to urge people to feel gratitude for what they have. It was the same in my family (with the best of intentions, of course).

Well, when I mentioned this to a very wise woman (actually, my therapist at the time) she said that the mental and emotional suffering most of us have today is just as hard as crossing the plains in winter, or any number of other hardships. Especially because it's such a lonely pain, it all happens within us personally. It's not a group trial. I think she would know since she saw the intense suffering of all her patients and their lives.

I know that every person on this earth will suffer trials in their lives. Everyone handles them differently, but what is hard for me, may not be hard for you, and vice versa. There were times when I thought I would much rather be pulling a handcart with my minuscule supply of belongings and empty belly, than deal with the trial that currently had me in it's grips. Everyone's trials are meant to test them and to help them build a stronger character, and since each person is unique, so are their trials. Makes sense doesn't it?

Anne Frank wrote in her diary about when her mother told a friend looking for advice, that since she was having a hard time she should think of "all the sorrow in the world and be glad you're not sharing in it." Personally that causes self-loathing in myself; feeling like I'm ungrateful. A feeling of shame for the pain I feel because my life could be so much "worse." Well, guess what, "worse" is relative. "Hard" is relative. My niece said "Hard is hard. My life is hard, your life is hard. Hard is hard." You've had trials in your life, and so have I. Comparing them is, to me, as bad as comparing how clean your house is to the neighbors'.

We try to force gratitude as a form of "perfectionism." The same way we always try to look perfect on the outside (house, family, clothes, etc.), we try to feel perfect on the inside too. But I strongly believe that it's okay to feel our pain and say "This hurts; this is hard." I'm not suggesting we just give up. There are a huge variety of things you can do to be happy again, or friends, or therapists you can talk to. We don't have to continue suffering, but I do hope that we stop feeling guilt and shame for our pain.
God wanted us all tested, the privileged and the poor. Don't EVER think that someone's life is perfect. Don't EVER assume that someone has it easier or harder than you. The blessings we recieve from the trials we endure are all different as well.
We're all in this together. And I also strongly believe that God could have put us all on individual planets to live out our own lives and trials, but he put us together because we need each other and we can help each other. I know that to be true, but it's still hard for me to accept the help of others. Pride, I know. 

Anne Frank wrote in her diary, in rebuttal to her mother's words: "What's the good in thinking of all the misery, when we are already miserable?... I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains." 
She also suggested going out into nature and feeling close to God and nature to cure your sorrows. 

That sounds like a much better plan to me. That and being there for each other without judgement. 

~Crystal

Cookbook in short

I was submitting most of my recipes for a tri-ward cookbook and I thought I should share them here too!

I have a beloved little blue book that I put notes and only my most favorite go-to recipes in. I pulled these recipes from there. It's almost a complete list, there are a couple that I can't share because they are now secret family recipes (mostly recipes that Ben and I have adjusted to perfection and if you read them I'd have to kill you). ;)

You'll notice that most of these recipes are very easy and don't require a lot of ingredients, that's because I am not a cook. I do like to bake, but I do not like to cook. Over time I have gained a little more pride in having a great dinner for my family, and that makes it more enjoyable to cook things for them, but still I would prefer to not have to cook at all...any day, ever. But yet I'm still kinda picky about what I make. I don't just cook something easy because it's easy, I'm all about quality. So, if it's easy AND it tastes great, then I'll take it! 

Here you go. Enjoy. 

~Crystal

Go-To Taco Soup

1 can corn (drained)

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cans chili flavored beans (I usually use Bush's, but generic works too)

1/2 packet taco seasoning

Toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, and chips. Avocados are great too. 

Put corn, diced tomatoes, chili flavored beans, and taco seasoning into a pot. Stir well and heat. Serve and add toppings to each dish. Fast and delicious! 

Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts (not frozen)

2 handfuls of uncooked string beans

4-5 Potatoes (cubed)

1-2 packets Italian dressing mix

1 stick of butter (melted)

Set oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the chicken breasts down the center of a 9x13 pan. Put the string beans along one side and potatoes along the other side. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning packet all over everything in the dish, then spoon the melted butter all over everything as well. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 1 hour. 

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

2 chicken breasts (still frozen)

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn (do not drain)

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin 

1 t chili powder

1 t onion powder

1 brick cream cheese 

Put the chicken in the crock pot. Top with the corn, drained and rinsed beans, ranch dressing, cumin, onion and chili powders, stir to combine then top with the cream cheese. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring one or twice to blend in the cheese. Shred the chicken and serve over chips or rice.

Creamy Chicken on Rice

2 chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken

1 brick cream cheese

Put chicken, cream of chicken, and cream cheese in a crock pot together on low for 8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Serve on rice.

Chicken Tomato Alfredo

2 chicken breasts

1/2 C butter (softened)

1 brick cream cheese

3/4 C milk

2 medium tomatoes (diced) 

2 t basil

garlic salt and pepper to taste

1 package fusili pasta (or your preference) 

Chop chicken into 1" pieces - cook in large skillet. Once fully cooked drain and return to heat. Add cream cheese and butter. When completely melted add milk , tomatoes, basil, garlic salt, and pepper. Stir, cover, and keep over low heat. Add cooked pasta. Mix well and serve. Great with garlic bread. 

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1 T Corn Starch

1 Can Pineapple Tidbits (with juice) 

1/3 C Vinegar

1 T Soy Sauce

Bring to boil all ingredients and add thawed meatballs. Serve on rice. 

Optional: Add bell peppers by sauteing them first in olive oil , then soak up oil with paper towel and add other ingredients.

Healthy Oatmeal Cookie Balls

1/2 C Peanut Butter

1/2 C Honey

1 C Quick Oats

1 C Powdered Milk

Mix and roll into 1" balls. Let sit in the fridge for a while, then enjoy! Kids love them!

Spring Break Pasta Salad

1 box penne pasta (cooked)

1 1/2 tomato (diced) 

1-2 Avocados (diced)

1/4 C Shredded cheddar cheese (or blend)

1/4 C Mozerella

2 T finely diced red onion (or to preference)

Sprinkle Parmesan

Add Balsamic Vinegrette dressing to taste

Mandarine Poppy-Seed Salad

Spinach

1 can Mandarin Oranges

Almond slivers 

Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing

Best Ever Banana Muffins

3 large bananas (best if they're very ripe)

3/4 C Sugar 

1 Large Egg

1 t Bakin gSoda

1 t Baking Powder

1/2 t Salt

1 1/2 C Flour

1/3 C Butter, melted

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, grease & flour tins. Mash bananas. Add sugar and slightly beaten egg and mix well. Add melted butter. Make a well in the middle and add dry ingredients. Bake 20 mins. Optional: add brown sugar on top of muffins before baking for a crunchy topping. 

Hashbrown Casserole

1 package frozen hashbrowns (2 lbs, thawed)

1/2 C Butter, softened

1 t Salt

1/2 t Pepper

1/2 C Chopped Onion

1 can Cream of chicken

2 C Shredded Cheese (cheddar)

Green onion

Bacon or bacon bits

1/2 C Sour Cream

Pre-set oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 cooking pan. Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix. Pour into the dish and bake for 35 minutes. Enjoy!

German Pancakes

6 Eggs

 1 C Milk

1 C Flour

1/2 t Salt

2 T Butter (melted)

Pre-set oven to 400 degrees. Beat eggs, flour, salt until smooth. Butter 9x13 pan (make sure it gets on the sides). Bake for 20 minutes and let your kids see how huge it is before it comes out of the oven; they will love it. 

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

(Makes 2 pies)

1 brick cream cheese

1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar

1 C Peanut Butter

1 C Milk

1 tub Whipped Cream (16 oz)

2 Graham Cracker Crusts (9")

Important, you must do the first steps in this order: Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together well. Mix in peanut butter and milk and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crusts, cover, and freeze until firm, then drizzle with chocolate sauce and serve. 

Tip: Freeze the filling without the crusts, overnight, and it makes peanut butter ice cream! 

Best Peanut Butter Bars

1 C Butter 

1 C Peanut Butter

1 C Brown Sugar

1 C White Sugar

2 eggs

1/2 t Salt

1 t Baking Soda

2 C Flour

2 C Oatmeal

2 t Vanilla (Mexican vanilla is best)

Topping: 1 1/2 C Peanut Butter

Chocolate Frosting:

1 stick Butter

4 C Powdered Sugar

3 T Cocoa

1/2-1 C Cream (milk if you must)

Bars: Pre-set oven to 35 degrees. Mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then mix together. Press batter into a large cookie sheet and bake 15-17 mins. Don't over-bake. When it's done remove from the oven and spread 1 1/2 C peanut butter on top (melt for 20-30 seconds in microwave to spread easier). When cool spread chocolate frosting on top. 

Frosting: Beat butter, powdered sugar and cocoa while slowly adding cream. Beat to desired consistency. 

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 C White Sugar

1/2 C Butter (softened)

1 t Vanilla

2 Eggs

2 3/4 C Flour

1 t Cream of Tarter

1/2 t Baking Soda

1/4 t Salt

2 T Sugar

2 t Cinnamon

Pre-set oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs. Stir in flour, tarter, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Shape dough to 1" balls. In a small bowl mix 2 T sugar and 2 t cinnamon, then roll dough balls in it and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the cookie sheet immediately and allow to cool. 

Delish 6 Minute Caramels

1/4 C Butter 

1/2 C White Sugar

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Light Karo Syrup

1/2 C Sweetened Condensed Milk

Combine all ingredients in medium microwaveable bowl. Cook 6 minutes in the microwave stirring every 2 minutes. Stir and pour into a lightly greased dish. Let cool, then cut and wrap in wax paper and store in an air-tight container. 

Optional: Add kosher salt or nuts to the top immediately after pouring into the dish and lightly press it into the caramel with the back of a large (greased) spoon. 

Lemonies

(Makes 8x8, good for one small family, double the recipe for bigger families or a group and put in a 9x13. These will go fast.)

Batter:

3/4 C Flour

3/4 C Sugar

1/4 t Salt (kosher is best)

1/2 C Butter (softened) 

2 Eggs

1-2 T Lemon Zest

2 T Lemon Juice

Glaze:

1 Rounded Cup powdered Sugar

2-4 T Lemon Juice

1/2-1 T lemon Zest

Pre-set oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x8 pan. Zest and juice 2 medium lemons, set aside. Mix flour, sugar, salt, and butter. In separate bowl whisk eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pour into flour mix and beat until combined and creamy. Pour into baking pan and bake 20-25 mins. Look for golden edges. Cool, then add glaze.