Happy Halloween From Mrs. Webster's Class

Or should I say. . . Dr. Webster's class :)

With Love,

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Pasta Bellissima!

• Bryson and I made a delicious pasta the other night that I just have to share! My mother-in-law made this for Bryson back when he got home from his mission and he has talked about it non-stop ever since. 3 years later, we decided to try it for ourselves and it really is amazing! I am a HUGE fan of any and ALL Italian food! I LOVE pasta!
  
  
  You will need:
  1/4 cup of butter
  8 ounces of Canadian bacon (cut these into long, thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick)
  1 8-ounce jar of roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped (I found them near the pickles)
  1/4 pound snow pea pods (cut them in half)
  1 cup of heavy cream
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1/4 teaspoon pepper
  1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
  1 pound fettucine, cooked al dente and drained
  
  
  In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the Canadian bacon and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the peppers and pea pods. Cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat with butter. Stir in cream, salt and pepper. Heat until boiling. Lower the heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly (for about 3 minutes). Add the parmesan cheese to the sauce and mix until well blended. Toss with warm fettucine and serve immediately.
  
  
  
  With Love,

  

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A Talent I Never Knew About...

My husband has many talents; some that I have known since we were both 16, and some that I have discovered slowly over our year and a half of marriage. I have learned that he is good at every sport he tries to play, I found that he is a great cook when he is cooking something that he loves to eat, and I discovered tonight that he is a true artist when it comes to pumpkin carving haha. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he sat still for 2 plus hours carving his masterpiece. I was a wimp and took the easy way out...and an hour after I had finished, he announced, "TAH DAH! I'm done." I am so proud! :) This picture is a piece of junk from my phone, I will post better ones of our pumpkin patch adventure and carving extravaganza later. :)

With Love,

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Leopold

Leo is the newest addition to our little family. He is seriously the cutest, sweetest thing in the world. We LOVE him. I never considered myself a "cat" person, but I am in LOVE. Just look at that cute face...and tell me how you can resist haha. He looks like a little stuffed animal. Something great about cats...they are SO easy! He came already litter box trained, he entertains himself and is quiet. He is super playful and so funny to watch as he jumps and pounces and climbs up everything.

With Love,

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Simplify

"We would do well to slow down a little and focus on the significant things that matter most. 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.'" Deiter F. Uchtdorf

I am working on simplifying my life this week and focusing on the things that are most important. In Relief Society a couple weeks ago, the teacher challenged us to find something in our life that was distracting us from being our best selves or from doing better things with our time. This week, I am giving up TV and Facebook...technology...and spending time instead with my husband, with my sister, reading good books, reading the scriptures, going to the temple and so much more. Of course, my very supportive husband has agreed to give up TV for a week also! :)

...and since we are starting tomorrow, we are laying in bed watching the Discovery Channel for the last time until next week. haha. :)

With Love,

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Ghosts...BOO!

"Teacher, teacher! Come quick!" I heard yesterday during morning recess. I recognized this voice all too well...it was the voice of a "tattle-tale." A little hand grabbed mine and tugged me across the field to the very back of the playground.

"See?" the concerned tattle-tale pointed at a group of three boys in my class throwing rocks through the chain-link fence at a house just over the fence's border, trying to break its windows.

"Boys!" I called sternly, "come here please." Three little pairs of eyes were suddenly upon me, mouths wide open...caught! "You know the rules, boys. No throwing anything at school, it's not safe." I pointed to the empty outside wall of the school, indicating the boys' punishment. Knowingly, they trudged back across the field and plopped down, backs against the wall and buried their little heads in their folded arms.

I was shocked. These were not my usual "trouble makers." These were great kids who caused me no trouble at all. These were in all actuality some of the "rock stars" of my class. "Great," I thought to myself with a slight frown. :) I pondered on this for the rest of the morning. During lunch, in the teacher work room, I turned to my teammate. "I had three boys throwing rocks at a house this morning during recess. They were trying to break the windows."

"Yeah," she did not seem surprised, "for some reason, all the kids think that house is haunted. Someone started that rumor a while ago...we need to lay that to rest once and for all."

Later, I questioned the culprits. "Why were you throwing rocks at that house, boys?"

"Well...." they hesitated.

"I need to know...why were you throwing rocks?" I prodded.

"Well...because we saw a ghost inside!" one boy piped up while the other two nodded in unison.

"Yeah, it's haunted and we saw a ghost and we needed to GET HIM THE HECK OUTTA THERE!" said another.

Truly...truly, these boys TRULY believed that house was haunted, that they had seen a ghost and that by throwing rocks, they were heroically saving the school.

I smiled. It was genuine, good-intentioned, albeit not allowable in this instance, boys being boys. There was no mischief, no intentional breaking of rules, and no "true colors" showing through. :) Boys...cute, sweet, hilarious boys.

With Love,

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PAzookie!!

There is a DELICIOUS little dessert place in Orem called The Chocolate. Kaitlyn and I or Bryson and I go there WAY too often and always order the same thing. The cazookie...a right-out-of-the-oven hot, gooey, giant, deep-dish style cookie topped with ice cream - peanut butter cookie flavor. It's big enough that you MUST share with at least one other person and have plenty of milk on hand. :) The only problem with this delectable dessert is the $6+tax price tag that comes with it. SO, tonight during our Grey's Anatomy "party," Kaitlyn and I decided to take a stab at making our very own version of the Pizza Cookie. :) Please try it, and PLEASE enjoy every last bite! :) Ours is big enough for 3 or 4. OR just one if you are feeling especially hungry. :) We eat it right out of the pan, no plates needed.

You will need:

1 package of pre-made cookie dough (we used the package of peanut butter cup cookie dough that comes in pre-cut little squares)

1 pie pan (we used the disposable 8-inch pans)

1 carton of ice cream

Pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees. Smoosh the cookie dough into the pie pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the outside of the cookie is golden brown. You want the outside to be crisp and done, while the inside/middle will still be gooey and delicious! Take out of the oven and top with ice cream. Eat, eat, eat. :)

With Love,

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Fall Butterscotch Apple Dip

Every year in elementary school, my mom was the mom that every teacher hoped for. She volunteered in the classroom, befriended all of my teachers, worked on the PTA and brought special treats for the teachers. I remember one particular day, I came home from school to a kitchen full of apples and the smell of butterscotch filling the air. "I made the BEST apple dip today," she said excitedly as she poured the gooey dip from the stovetop pot into a glass canning jar, twisted a square plaid cloth under the lid and tied a big orange bow around the jar. The next day, I walked proudly into school with a busshel of apples and a jar of apple dip in my arms. I presented it with a smile spread across my face to my teacher.

Over the years, my mother gave this dip to many teachers, friends and neighbors. Everyone LOVES this dip and everyone asks for the recipe. Bryson asks for this dip throughout the year, but I refuse to make it at any time during the year except fall. It is FALL apple dip, after all.

Fall Apple Dip

1 cup Butterscotch chips

1 can Sweetened, condensed milk

¼ tsp Salt

2 tsp White vinegar

¼ tsp Cinnamon

Heat chips and milk until melted (in microwave). Add remaining ingredients. Stir. Enjoy!

With Love,

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Brazilian Lemonade

I was at work the other day, when I get an email from Bryson. I opened it and there was a link to a website and a little note that said, "Tonight we're making these!" We LOVE Tucanos for this VERY reason...Brazilian Lemonades! I would go to Tucanos and pay $20 per person if ONLY to get a Brazilian Lemonade to go with it. They are seriously SO good! I was so excited that Bryson had found a recipe and we could pass on the expensive (but delicious) meal and make the delicious lemonade at home! It ended up being very easy to make...and they taste exactly like the ones at Tucanos. SO...if you are craving an amazing drink, go buy some limes and sweetened condensed milk and enjoy!! :)

Brazilian Lemonade

4 juicy limes (not key limes)
1 cup of sugar
6 cup of cold water
6 Tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar and chill until ready to use. We did this ahead of time.

Wash limes and then cut each lime into 8ths. Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender. Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice.

For more pictures and instructions, go here.

ENJOY! :)

With Love,

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Delicious and Nutritious Green Smoothie

Bryson and I have never had luck with blenders. Don't ask me why...but every blender we have bought since we have been married has been a dud. Our first one just didn't work at all, never even turned on. The 2nd one we bought wouldn't blend anything. The third one started smoking the first time we used it. Finally, we thought "let's splurge a little, spend a little extra money, and do it right this time." So, we bought a $40 blender haha, which for us...is a splurge. :) We've been making smoothies and salsa and great drinks because we FINALLY have a blender that works! So, for your enjoyment here is one AWESOME, amazing, DELICIOUS recipe that we hope you ENJOY as much as we do!

P.S. Don't be scared of the spinach...you can't even taste it! :)

Delicious Green Smoothie

White grape juice concentrate (completely thawed)

1 big chunk of pineapple (remove the rind)

1 half of a lime with the peel

1 chunk of orange w/out the zest (but with the white part still on)

1 banana (broken into pieces)

fresh spinach

ice

**optional: a couple baby carrots, a chunk of cabbage, pineapple juice concentrate

Pour just enough grape juice concentrate to cover the blades of your blender. Put the pineapple, lime and banana into the blender. Fill with spinach to the top of the blender and then cover with ice. Blend until smooth. Add more ice depending on how thick you want it.

Ahhh...delicious! :) AND nutritious!

With Love,

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