see the good

The Climb I'd Make by Paul Larson

Submit the Summit

Practice the pause

Sometimes carrying on, just carrying on is the superhuman achievement.

When nobody else celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else compliments you, then compliment yourself.

When in doubt, pause. When angry, pause.

When tired, pause. When stressed, pause. 

And when you pause, pray.

Embrace what is now

"Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test."

Believe in miracles Hope is never lost

You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be MOVED.

In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you. 

Andrea Dykstra

I want to be the woman who overcomes obstacles by tackling them in faith instead of tip toeing around them in fear. 

Renee Swope

Dinner Rolls

Makes 24 rolls

Tip: The fat in whole milk is absolutely essential to the lightness and flavor of these rolls. If you're in a pinch, 2% milk will work, but try to stay away from 1% or skim. If you're going to put all this work into these rolls, you want to make sure they taste amazing!

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk 
1⁄2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1⁄3 cup butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 packages (4 1⁄2 teaspoons) active dry or bread machine yeast
2⁄3 cup warm (105–115 degrees F) water
8–9 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 beaten eggs

Instructions:
1. Combine milk, 1⁄2 cup sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts into salty-sweet perfection.

2. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down faster. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

3. While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn't bubbled, you'll need to repeat this step with new yeast.

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes. Add beaten eggs.

5. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft—it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don't worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they're so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

6. Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half. Spray two 9 x 13-inch glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. We like to use a pizza cutter because it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like Play-Doh. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan. Use a kitchen scale if you want to ensure that the rolls are exactly the same.

7. Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15–20 minutes to go, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

8. Bake for 15–18 minutes or until golden brown.

9. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. Eat one now while it's still hot—that's your reward for making the world's best dinner rolls!

Maple Cinnamon Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) real butter
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons 100% real maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
1/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional)

Instructions:
Place butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl and beat (with a hand mixer, or the whisk attachment of your stand mixer) until combined and smooth. Add maple syrup, cinnamon, pie spice, and extract. Beat slowly until combined and then whip for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Serve at room temperature and drizzle with maple syrup before serving.

If you're making ahead of time, store in fridge, but allow time to bring to room temperature before serving. For best results, stir or re-whip before serving. Lasts for about a week or so in the fridge, several months in the freezer.

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink

The giving of Thanks

 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

Psalms 50:14-15

Twice Blessed

In a gospel full of magnificent beauty, perhaps the concept of forgiveness is the most beautiful gift of all. It is a divine grace, bestowed in its purest form through the Savior's Atonement and available to each of us daily as we receive and extend mercy. And each single instance of forgiving immediately becomes a double blessing, touching both the person who forgives and the one who is forgiven.

S. Michael Wilcox

Faith is seeing light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness.

Forgiveness is the greatest expression of love.

¶Then a said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what  they do.

Giving thanks is essential to the human soul

 "The unthankful heart . . . discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and . . . it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!" The difference is in the outlook of the thankful heart. Blessings can always be found when gratitude lights our way. 

Henry Ward Beecher

Greatest of all virtues . . . gratitude

When we feel weighed down with burdens, it can be difficult to see the beautiful and hear the positive. But that doesn't mean they are not there! 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients:

1 unbaked (9-inch) pie shell 
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg, plus more for garnish
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped cream, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, salt, and spices until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Pour into pie shell. Bake 55 minutes, or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. 

Cool on a wire rack and then chill in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

Old-Fashioned Pie Crust

Makes 4 (9-inch) pie crusts

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lard
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar
Water

Instructions:
Place flour and salt in a medium bowl and mix together. Add lard and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture is the size of small peas (or rub the flour and lard together between the palms of your hands).

In a 1-cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Add vinegar to the egg and add water to make 1 cup. Stir slightly and pour over first mixture. With a fork stir together until all dry ingredients are stirred in.

If the recipe calls for a baked pie shell, bake at 375 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes.

Thanksgiving Casserole

Ingredients

2 cups prepared stuffing

½ cup turkey gravy

½ pound cooked turkey in slices or pieces

½ cup prepared cranberry sauce 

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread the stuffing in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish.

Top stuffing with gravy, then turkey, then cranberry sauce, then mashed potatoes.

Dot potatoes with butter and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve at once, scooping servings all the way to the bottom so everyone gets a little bit of everything.

one with who you are

"The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person, or event through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within you, from consciousness itself and thus is one with who you are"    Eckhart Tolle

1y

you have a treasure within

Stop looking outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation, security, or love you have a treasure within that is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.

Find your peace

Ego says, "Once everything falls into place I'll feel peace." Spirit says, "Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place."

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those thongs and still be calm in your heart. 

Buddha 

"God promises to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life."

Faith

Faith can place a candle in the darkest night.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thankful Grateful Blessed

Turkey Club Sandwich Salad

 

Ingredients

2 large slices hearty bread, cut into ½ inch cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large slice turkey, cut up into bite sized pieces (about ½ to ¾ pound)

6 slices bacon, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces

1 medium head of romaine or iceberg lettuce, torn up

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Salt and pepper

Instructions

Make croutons by tossing bread cubes with olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and toast in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden.

Place turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and croutons in a large bowl and toss until well combined.

Mix mayo, sour cream, lemon juice and chives together to make the dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the dressing to the bowl and toss again. Serve at once.

it's not just ok to edit, it's essential

Make sure you don't start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don't value you. Know your worth even if they don't.

Sometimes life knocks you on down. get up, get up, get up!!! Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them.

At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.

Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.

This is my life This is my life... my story... my book. I will no longer let anyone else write it; nor will I apologize for the edits I make. 

Steve Maraboli

Because I do

Today and always

Angels Sing

Chicken Dumpling Soup

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

6 cups good quality chicken broth 

6 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch rounds

2 onions, peeled and cut into eighths

4 large celery stalks, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 medium leek, halved lengthwise and sliced into ½ inch slices (white and pale green section only)

½ cup fresh chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

5 large eggs

½ cup milk

3 tablespoons melted butter

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus extra for salting dumpling water

¼ teaspoon pepper

1½ cups flour

1½ cups cooked shredded chicken

Instructions

Melt butter in large saucepan and add flour, whisking until smooth. Whisk chicken broth into flour mixture and continue whisking over medium-high heat until smooth and at a low boil, about 5 minutes.

Add carrots, celery, leek, ½ cup parsley and thyme to broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

While broth is simmering, make dumplings. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Mix eggs, milk, butter, parsley, salt and pepper together until well-blended. Stir in flour (batter will be soft). Drop teaspoonfuls of the dumpling batter in the broth and simmer until tender, about 8 minutes.

Add cooked chicken to broth, simmer until heated through, add salt and pepper as needed and serve.

It's true

tick tick tick

Vs the alternative

if that doesn't

Have an awesome day and if that doesn't work try again tomorrow.

be all you can be

French Silk Pie

Ingredients

1 pie crust for a 9 inch pie, cooked and cooled (to ensure no puffing in the center, either pierce it a few times with a fork or use pie weights

4 ounces of your favorite chocolate, ground in a food processor

I cup heavy cream

1 cup white sugar

6 ounces soft butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs 

Instructions

Melt chocolate by placing it in a bowl and setting that bowl over another bowl filled with boiling water. Leave it for 3-5 minutes, take the chocolate bowl off of the other one, and stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth. Set aside.

Whip the cream until if forms stiff peaks of whipped cream. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer for 2 minutes or until fluffy. Add vanilla and whip for another minute.

Add chocolate and mix at medium speed until well combined.

Add eggs and whip on medium speed for 5 minutes.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until completely combined, Spoon into cooked pie crust and make pretty swirly designs on the top.

Refrigerate for 3 hours - you can even refrigerate it overnight!

Serve as is, or garnished with more whipped cream and/or chocolate shavings. Refrigerate any leftovers.

thankful hearts

"No" is a complete sentence.

 When you say no and you mean no

and the other person regardless of whether it's in a situation where

somebody wants to attack you or a situation where somebody want you just

to change your opinion, when you say no

and the other person continues to say no no no let me do it or no no no it will be okay, you should think immediately not how do I make it nice how to make it better but immediately think why is this person trying to control me because no is a

complete sentence.

Oprah Winfrey

I the Lord will hasten it in My time

trust

The Master Healer

He can make us whole, no matter what is broken in us.

Oreo Muffins

 

Ingredients

2 cups flour

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup chilled butter

1 egg

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

15 Oreos, broken into pieces

For the glaze

I cup confectioner's sugar

3 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 12 muffin pan.

Put flour, sugar, and baking powder into a food processor. Cut butter into chunks and add to processor. Pulse until the butter is fully cut into the flour and the mixture is crumbly.

Mix egg, milk and vanilla together. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir until combined. Add Oreo chunks to batter and stir gently to combine - this may be easiest to do with your hands.

Spoon batter into muffin tin and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes.

Cool completely on a rack. 

Mix confectioner's sugar, milk and vanilla together to make a glaze. Drizzle over muffins.

Thank you a million times over!!

We don't know them all, but we owe them all.

Thank You

Honoring all who Served

Freedom is not free

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients:

1 unbaked (9-inch) pie shell 
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg, plus more for garnish
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped cream, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, salt, and spices until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Pour into pie shell. Bake 55 minutes, or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. 

Cool on a wire rack and then chill in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

Old-Fashioned Pie Crust

Makes 4 (9-inch) pie crusts

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lard
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar
Water

Instructions:
Place flour and salt in a medium bowl and mix together. Add lard and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture is the size of small peas (or rub the flour and lard together between the palms of your hands).

In a 1-cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Add vinegar to the egg and add water to make 1 cup. Stir slightly and pour over first mixture. With a fork stir together until all dry ingredients are stirred in.

If the recipe calls for a baked pie shell, bake at 375 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes.

thankful <3s

 'S

Always

Trust

Fear is a reaction courage is a decision

Do not live out of reaction, rather respond to a decision in the best way that represents who you are.

 Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

Sometimes the fear won't go away, so you'll have to do it afraid.

Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success.

"Ten years from now, 
make sure you can say 

that you chose your life, 
you didn't settle for it."