26th wedding anniversary

It is our 26th wedding anniversary today. Our big plans are really for this weekend but tonight, Steve and I went out to dinner to celebrate. If we really want to celebrate big there is one resteraunt that is a favorite. This place has the best steaks ever! The menu is a-la-carte which means you order all side dishes seperately. I ordered my favorite... a petite fillet mignon topped with a bleu cheese crust. It comes out sizzling on a plate baked to 500 degrees.

Steve ordered the chef's special for the night which was a petite fillet with a lobster tail (flown in fresh from Maine no less).

I'm tellin' ya, these steaks are to die for! I have never had better! The sides we ordered were their sweet potato casserrole and creamed spinach.Now, I know some of you may be turning your noses up at the creamed spinach but it is excellent and even better is the sweet potato casserole. The best you will ever have. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful this meal was. I had been looking forward to it all week. Of course, when you are celebrating one must have dessert and creme bruelet was the perfect ending to a perfect dinner.

Steve had flowers delivered to me during the day...well I wasn't home when they came so I had to go pick them up myself but it's the thought that counts and they are beautiful!
I am grateful to be married to such a wonderful man. He is my best friend. We have been through lots of ups and downs together but everything has brought us closer together. On this anniversary, Steve, to echo words already penned- "I don't just love you still, but so much more."

Creamy Italian Chicken Recipe

Jenny asked for the chicken recipe from our Valentine's dinner so here it is for all of you to enjoy!
Creamy Italian Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts ( I used chicken tenderloins about 8)
1 envelope italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup, condensed
4-6 ounces fesh sliced mushrooms
Place chicken in greased slow cooker. Combine salad dressing mix and water; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high 3 hours. In a small mixing bowl beat cream chesse and soup until well blended. Stir in mushrooms. Pour over chicken. Cook 2 hours longer on high heat. Makes four servings.

My crockpot seems to cook faster so I only cooked the chicken and salad dressing for two hours then added the rest and cooked it on low for 2 more hours. I served it over linguine but I bet angel hair pasta would be great, too.

New glasses

Unfortunately, my glasses were not wide enough to allow me the range I needed to see properly with the B word (bifocals,ugh!) so I had to get new ones in a different shape. My optomitrist's( how do you spell that?) office assured me that these new lenses are the in thing now but I'm sure she was just trying to make me feel good. Anyway, I have new glasses!

President's Day Weekend

Clint and Heather came down yesterday (sunday) and came with us to Grandma and Grandpa Passey's for our monthly get together. Kyle and Han met us there and we all ended up back at our house to play Loaded Questions. Sorry, no pictures, I forgot! We had a ball though and Kyle and Han decided it would take too much effort to go home so they stayed ( Clint and Heather had already planned on staying). Since we were all here we decided (OK, it was really my idea) to go to breakfast this morning at Doug and Emmy's. This restaraunt is an historic landmark in Layton and a very popular place to eat breakfast. They have yummy scones! After stuffing ourselves (again no pictures, sorry!) we came home and played Mario Kart. Heather won against Austin which very seldom happens. Go Heather!

Then it was Kyle and Han's turn... Kyle won showing no mercy for poor Han!

Clint and Heather are fearsome competitors and are expert racers...this time Clint took home the trophy!

Steve and I are the serious racers...

such concentration and we're not even any good at playing! Steve won , no surprise there but I did give it a valiant effort! Gizmo was feeling a little left out and posed so cute for me that I had to give her her moment in the spotlight too...

Isn't she just the cutest!

Valentine's Day

For many years now I have been making a fancy dinner for my family on Valentine's Day. With Heather and Kyle married I thought maybe I wouldn't do it anymore but Austin was still looking forward to it and it is so fun to do, so...

The table was set with our china and crystal and goldware. The centerpiece this year was an edible bouquet of tulips(strawberries with marshmallows in their centers). A favorite every year is my molded heart jello and of course we can't forget the bubbly!

Austin and Steve's gifts were in their chairs.

The first course was jello, salad and rolls, followed by the main course of Creamy Italian Chicken and Steamed Asparagus.

Thanks for the recipe Heather. It was delicious! A Big Hit! Tulip strawberries flowed freely throughout the dinner, mm-good! And what's a fancy dinner without a gourmet dessert....

A chocolate mousse cheesecake from the cheesecake factory! I know your mouths are watering!After dinner we opened our gifts. Steve got a gift card to Home Depot, a t-shirt from Aero and some chocolate raspberry truffles.

Austin got a gift card to Blockbuster, a T-shirt and M & Ms...And I got a CD of the Mormon Tab Choir singing songs about the prophet Joseph Smith.To top it all off, while we were enjoying our Valentine evening together, Mother Nature gave us a Valentine gift of her own...Couldn't ask for better than that! Happy Valentine's Day!

A Recipe for Yummy Bread

I was making bread today and thought "Why not share this great recipe!" It's one of my favorites to make because it is full of good stuff and quick to make. The recipe follows below the picture...enjoy!

Golden Oatmeal Bread

1 c. flour

3/4c. quick-cooking oats

1/2c. whole wheat flour

1/2c. sugar

2 tsps. baking powder

3/4tsps. baking soda

1/2tsp. cinnamon

3/4c. applesauce

1 egg

1 1/2 tsps. vanilla

1/3c. golden raisins

In a large bowl combine white flour, oats, wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl combine the applesauce, egg and vanilla: stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raisins. Pour into loaf pan sprayed with Pam. Bake @325 for 50-55 minutes.

This post is for my Mom. She wanted to see my favorite purse that I have made so far. I love making these purses... fun and easy!