I made this for dinner last night and it was really yummy! Nicole, from my ward, made this for a Book Club. I wasn't there for it, but I got the recipe and tried it. Even Dave loved it and he hates eggs and quiche, so that's saying something!


CHERRY TOMATO AND BASIL PIE
Serves 6 to 8 - From The Oregonian

To Prep: 15 Minutes
To Cook: 26-28 Minutes

Ingredients:
1 package (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt
1 tsp dried basil - I love basil and the recipe
originally called for fresh, but I like dried better
here. See tips if you want to try the fresh version.
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream or whole milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Open the package of crescent roll dough and separate it into 8 triangles. Arrange the triangles in a 10-inch tart
pan or pie pan with the long points toward the center so that the bottom and side of the pan are covered with
dough. Press the edges of the dough triangles firmly together to seal them. Bake the crust until it is lightly
browned and puffed, 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half (slice cherry tomatoes crosswise and grape tomatoes lengthwise).
4. Remove the tart pan from the oven; leave the oven on. Press down on the crust with the back of a spoon to
flatten it. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, on the bottom of the crust, completely covering it. Drizzle the
olive oil over the tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt, then scatter the basil evenly over the top. Crack the eggs
into a small bowl, add the cream and mozzarella cheese, and whisk to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the
tomatoes.
5. Bake the tart until the custard has set and the crust is a deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the tart
from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool, 5 minutes, then slice the tart and serve it.

Tips:
• 1/2 cup finely sliced fresh basil or parsley - The most efficient way to slice basil leaves is to stack them, roll
them into a cigar shape, then slice them crosswise. This creates basil slivers, or a chiffonade.
• You can add slices of garlic to the tomatoes if the mood hits you.
• If you use half Parmesan and half mozzarella cheese, the tart will have a richer flavor and the top will be browner.

Lil and I were cleaning out her closet today, I was asking her- "do you want to keep this?" and "let's see if this still fits" and "let's organize this a bit better". We were enjoying our time together and getting her closet sorted out. Then the conversation went a little like this:

Lils says to me, "Mom, you're kind of like a servant."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Lils: "You, know, like a princess that has a servant that does things for her and gets her whatever she wants."
Me: (after a moment of reflection) "Well, I guess I am."

(I put a picture of Ariel up, because if Lils could be any princess, it would be Ariel.)

I surprised Dave with a weekend getaway to San Fran to see "Wicked" last weekend for his big 30th Birthday Bash! It was such a fantastic weekend! His parent's and brother were so great and watched our kids for us and we were able to stay the night in San Fran... and actually SLEEP IN! I was so mad when 8 am rolled around and I couldn't sleep anymore. Oh well, my body clock is all kid-ified now.

But we drove out around 2:30 on Fri and headed off to San Fran, Dave still not knowing where we were going. We made a gas/bathroom pit stop and as we got in the car to drive off, I told Dave he had something in his teeth (romantic, I know!). He looked in the rear view mirror to see, and I said, "No, Dave use the visor!" (b/c I had hidden the Wicked tickets up there), he opened the visor and out tumbled the tickets onto his lap! he was so excited! He is a manly man, but loves his musicals, too OK! So, we got to San Fran, went to an amazingly fancy restaurant, delicious! Then went to see "Wicked". Dave and I didn't know anything about the show, so we were absolutely blown away! I am obsessed with the music now. Then Dave sweet-talked the lady at the hotel to give us a free hotel room upgrade- so we got one of the best rooms in a 4 star hotel in San Fran for $70, not bad! (Orbitz)

Lil Rose just crawled for the first time! She's 10 1/2 months old now. My favorite is E's reaction, he really CAN be sweet! We have proof!

Guess who we ran into at the Las Vegas airport! Wolf from "American Gladiator"... dude! The guy was huge!

My sister and I just did a great little Easter activity with the kids! We put these together and taught the kids about the resurrection of Jesus, while also making a delicious treat- like cinnamon rolls! I am just so grateful for the Savior and the atonement. I feel so humbled and in awe when I think about the Lord and his sacrifice for all of us! I hope we all can remember Jesus and his love for us this Easter season, please watch the video at the end of this blog for an incredible message!

Resurrection Rolls

• 1 package Cresent rolls
• melted butter
• large marshmallows
• cinnamon
• sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Give each child a triangle of cresent rolls.
The cresent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Give each child a marshmallow.
This represents Jesus and His purity.

Have child dip the marshmallow in melted butter.
This represents the oils of embalming.

Dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar.
This represents the spices used to annoint the body of Jesus.

Wrap the coated marshmallow tightly in the cresent roll
(not like a typical cresent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside)
This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
The oven represents the tomb (pretend like it was 3 days and nights!)

When the rolls have cooled slightly, the children can open their rolls (cloths) and discover that Jesus is no longer there,

HE IS RISEN! The marshmallow melts and the cresent roll is puffed up,
but like the tomb - IT IS EMPTY!

Last Monday Lils really wanted to sell something to earn money to buy this $10 unicorn. So, I drew a unicorn on paper, made some copies and then she colored them all different colors and sold those along with some bird feeders in our driveway! She did it all, poked the string through the paper cups, covered them in peanut butter and then rolled them in bird seed. She sold the bird feeders for 50 cents and the paper unicorns for 11 cents! She made little posters and drew pictures of birds and wrote the money amount all by herself! It was so fun to watch her work. She then taped the posters to my coffee table and I took it outside to the driveway around 3 o' clock. She sold her first unicorn to Margie, the neighbor next door. Lils was so EXCITED!!!! By 4:30, she had sold almost everything and earned $3. So we packed up shop and she put her money in a safe place. She also has chores like replacing the garbage bags around the house and scooping Wookie poop everyday. She gets a quarter a day for that! And yes, I know her outfit is horrible, but she has a mind of her own about what she wears now, nothin' I can do about it! :)



E-bomb is doing great, he's cute and mostly happy. His favorite thing to do now is to cuddle and read for hours in the love sac every day. While Rose is napping from 9:30 - 12, I'll straighten up the house and then we'll read book after book until lunch time. Those are the sweet moments I really cherish with Lil E since he is usually riding his bike or throwing things. His favorite books are the dinosaur books that used to be Dave's.

Rosie is the best baby ever! She naps from 9:30-12, and then from 2-4:30 everyday and then sleeps at night from 7-6:30. We'll give her a bottle at 6:30 and she'll hang out in her crib until 7 or 7:30! Pretty awesome! When she's awake, she's scooting on her bum from one end of the room to another... slooooowly, you'll see her playing with one thing and the next time you look, she's somewhere else, still sitting up. She sort of scoots around somehow. She is happy, sweet, and has a VERY snookie nose lately. She also eats whatever we're eating as a family, which is nice. She hated baby food- we fed her that for a few weeks, and just gave up! She eats meat like crazy! It's her favorite- she had a whole slice of tri-tip the other days, wrigglin' her wrists like crazy with excitement!

We went to Utah with Jeff last weekend! It was the best trip! We got two babysitters on Saturday (mine and my sister's kids, a handful!) and my sis and I went shopping and now I have some really cute clothes! She helped me pick out clothes I never would've chosen ('cause I always get the same lame shirts from Old Navy or Gap... but we went to Kohl's and she taught me how to look cute again!) Dave and Brian went with his bro and my cousin up in the mountains to shoot their arsenal of 14 guns between them all. We had a great time!

I studied graphic design and art in college, but I feel like I am discovering Photoshop all over again! He's a little tweek I did: