Tree upgrade!

This year's tree!

Last year as we browsed the Christmas tree lots, we were shocked at how pricey Christmas trees are!  Last week I was at the grocery store and saw that they were selling trees outside, and I was shocked at how not pricey they were!  Our 7 foot tree that we bought from the grocery store was the same price at the 2.5 foot one we got last year from a tree lot.  That was fantastic!

We also got the chance to go to my work Christmas party, Sam's work Christmas party, eat gingerbread and hazelnut frozen yogurt (ohmybestflavoursever), sing with llamas (Ialmostcried), finish finals, and have our last days of work on BYU campus.  We get to have a bit of an early Christmas tomorrow with the White fam, and then we get to head up to visit the Brooks side in Canada!

Not going to lie, I always cry when I cross the Canadian border.  I'm really excited to see the rest of my family. Those little kidlettes who look SO grown up in the pictures I've seen.  It's hard to believe that my nephew is now baptized, my oldest niece is so grown up, and my youngest niece doesn't even seem like a baby anymore!  It's also going to be so nice to take part in those family traditions that I grew up with in the same setting they've always had.  Christmas eve fondue, Christmas day gathering at Grandma Frache's, Boxing Day gathering with the Brooks fam, and everything in between.  

I could go on and on about nostalgic things and everything I'm looking forward to, but now I'm just getting weepy, so I'll just end for now and instead give a report on the goings-on once they happen.  I'll see you soon, homeland!

Carollamaing!

Sam used to be in the BYU Men's Chorus, and as such he still gets event update.  He sent me the information on a charity Christmas show they were putting on, and I all but demanded that we go!

The singing was fantastic:

But the event was certainly made MUCH more merry by the fact that I was holding a llama!

That's pure joy right there.

Wondering if I could acquire additional llamas.

Sam even gave in and let me take a picture.

A very merry llama filled Christmas to all!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Oh my lanta, this cheesecake was fantastic.  Sam is pretty picky about his cheesecake qualities and doesn't even enjoy desserts a whole lot most of the time, but he loved this one.  And I did too!  It had a really nice texture and taste to it.  In my own words when tasting it, "it's decadent, but not so rich that I feel like I'm going to die after eating two bites!" (*cough*cheesecakefactory*cough*).  Plus, everyone will be super impressed if you brought this baby to a Christmas party.  It would look fantastic with a whipped cream garnish around the edge and some chocolate shavings!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

• 2 cups crushed oreos
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. (OPTIONAL: Use 1 jar of raspberry jam instead of doing this process!)
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil to make it water-tight.  Place in another pan (such as a jelly roll pan).  Fill the bottom pan with water, being careful to not go over the foil around the cheesecake.  Bake for about 55 minutes, or until done.  (You will know it is done when you tap the side of the pan with a metal spoon, and the whole cheesecake jiggles "as one".  Do not overbake!  If it looks done in the oven, it will be overdone when it cools!)  Turn off the oven and let sit for an hour.  Place in fridge and let cool for at least 4 hours-- preferably overnight.

Turkey Tortilla Soup

This soup was super easy and really good!  It was perfect for using up some of our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but you could also just cook up your own chicken or turkey to use.  I added a bit more chili powder to make it spicier, but it was really good as is, too.  We ate it with a bit of sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips. This one is definitely going into the regular rotation!

Turkey Tortilla Soup

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 4 cups water
• 1 (10.75oz) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup salsa
• 4 cups shredded cooked turkey
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes 
• 1 (14oz) can black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 cups frozen corn

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add minced onions and cook until onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

2. Stir in the water, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, salsa, turkey, parsley, and bouillon.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until bouillon dissolves.

3. Add black beans and corn.  Simmer 20-30 minutes

3.  Serve soup with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, chopped green onion, or other desired topping.

Vegetarian Noodle-less Lasagna

This lasagna was satisfyingly awesome.  You use zucchini and yellow squash sliced thinly lengthwise instead of pasta, fat free cottage cheese instead of ricotta, and delicious spinach instead of meat.  Even Sam, who is a big fan of classic lasagna, enjoyed it.  It's filling, delicious, and healthy.  I loved it and will definitely be making it again!

Squash Lasagna

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 2 medium yellow squashes
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 small carton of cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 package of frozen spinach (or 2 cups cooked)

Slice squashes very thin, lengthwise, using a very sharp knife (be careful, it's tricky!), vegetable peeler, or fancy-schmancy tool.  Cook very slightly in a frying pan to remove some of the moisture.  In a 9x9 dish, make a single layer of squash.  Cover with sauce, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and spinach.  Make another layer running the other direction, continuing until you run out of squash.  On the top layer just put sauce and shredded cheese.  Bake at 350F for 1 hour, and then broil for a few minutes to brown the cheese on top.

Feel free to use whatever type of cheese you want, to add cooked ground beef, to add more or less of the ingredients to your layers (I had some leftovers of both cheeses!), or add other veggies!  The beautiful thing about lasagna is that you can do whatever the heck you want and it will probably still be good :)

Overcoming and rising up

Most of you probably remember the Provo Tabernacle fire that occured about a year ago.  It was a very sad thing to see that beautiful building destroyed.  It paid a homage to the pioneers.   It hosted general conference a few times, back in the day.  It also held some personal significance.  Sam and I used to go sit on the grass in the park next to it and talk for hours.  We used to attend stake conference there.  It was where I first met his parents after a choir concert he was singing in.  It was just a very iconic building and the loss felt rather tragic.

reactions to the destruction from the fire

Recently I was talking to a friend about the purpose of weaknesses, trials, and heartache.  I feel like there are some challenges that we can see quite clearly how their will benefit us.  There are others that impact us so deeply and painfully that it makes it a lot harder to see the good in it.  My friend and I were trying to think of specific blessings that come through certain trials, but were struggling a bit.

I then though of the Provo Tabernacle.  How horrible and useless was it for fire to destroy tthat building?  What possible good could come from it?  Would they restore it?  Was it worth restoring?  What was the point?

rendering of the future temple

Last General Conference President Monson announced that the Provo Tabernacle would be rebuilt and restored as a temple. My initial reaction was excitement that our beautiful tabernacle would be put to such great use and not torn down!

Only just recently did it strike me how incredably significant it is that the tabernacle is going to be a temple.  The tabernacle was engufled with flames, and then left charred and of the verge of collapse.  How pointless and tragic it had seemed...  But from that tragedy came something amazing.  That damaged building will become a sacred, clean, holy temple-- dedicated to the Lord in the highest order.

How alike we are to the Provo Tabernacle.  We may endure the burning and pain, leaving us damaged and hurt-- on the verge of collapse.  It might seem pointless.  It might seem tragic and unfair.  But something great can come from our deepest weaknesses and heartache.  Something great will come if we rely on the Lord and let Him transform us into the great people we are meant to be.  Like the Provo Tabernacle, we have the chance to rise from the ashes of our own tragedies and rise to become something greater.

Fresh Cranberry Orange Loaf

Up until last week, I had never tasted a fresh cranberry.  While I was at the grocery store I saw a big bag of them for pretty cheap, so I grabbed one and decided to try making something with them.  When I tasted one, I was expecting something sweet and tangy-- but it was so bitter!  I was surprised, but apparently that's just what fresh cranberries taste like.  I guess cranberry sauce just has a LOT of sugar in it ;)
I found a recipe for a cranberry orange loaf, and let me just say that it is FANTASTIC.  This is definitely going into the holiday baking rotation.  It's amazing.  If my ward would actually assign me some people to visiting teach, this is what I would take them.  For now I guess Sam and I will just have to work on eating large quantities on this beautiful thing.

Cranberry Orange Loaf

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 T grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 c fresh cranberries
• 1/2 c nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c margarine, softened
• 1 c white sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c orange juice
  OPTIONAL GLAZE:
• combine icing sugar and orange juice to form a syrupy consistency
  

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a 9x5'' loaf pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and nuts. Set aside.
3. Cream together margarine, sugar, and egg until smooth.  Stir in orange juice.  Stir in flour mixture until just moistened.  Pour into pan.
4. Bake 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  (If desired, poke holes in the top, glaze and let sit another 5 minutes).  Remove to a wire rack and cool.

Tips:
I needed 2 large oranges to get the right amount of zest and juice.  To get more juice from your oranges, heat them up in the microwave for 10-20 seconds and then roll on the counter, applying enough pressure to soften it up.  Then cut in half and squeeze to juice it.

The glaze is delicious, but not necessary for it to be awesome :)

If you wait for it to cool completely it's quite easy to cut with a serrated knife.

Try making mini loaves to give as gifts!