scrumptious and easy mini pecan tarts!

tomorrow is my favorite holiday! yay! i mostly like it because it has a simple purpose: to get together, give thanks, appreciate each other AND stuff yourself with delicious food! tom and i are blessed-- not only is it our first thanksgiving together, but even though we live a great distance from our hometown, we have family here to celebrate with! we are going to the family j's house. we are not just free-loading, however:

we are in charge of bringing my dad's famous dressing (so good!), sweet potatoes (i found a recipe that involves brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon) and a dessert.

i decided to make mini pecan tarts for our dessert contribution (also something learned from my pops). they are leeeetle tiny pies of pure goodness. and, they are relatively easy and totally delicious, so i'd encourage you to try them out if you need an easy dessert tomorrow or during the holiday season.

recipe:

Mini Pecan Tarts
from: Deanna's dad

servings: makes 24 mini tarts
prep time: about 20 minutes
bake time: 20-25 minutes
preheat your oven to: 350 degrees

ingredients:

shells:
1/2 cup margarine or butter, slightly softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup flour

filling:
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
(i bought a bag of nuts pre-chopped, it saved me a load of time!)

directions:

1. cream shell ingredients together. press into mini pie tins. mine are the little cupcake pans that make little pies about 1 sq. in. in size.

2. mix filling ingredients. pour into shells. i just use a spoon to dish it in the shells.

3. bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

4. remove from pan after cooling for 3 minutes.

5. indulge and enjoy!

i will post a pic of my finished product soon! that is, if we don't eat them all in the next 2 hours or so.

vegas lesson #274: stick with your buddy!

when you need to go shopping at a grocery store other than the commisary, (the commisary is what most air force bases call the grocery store on base. the BX is the mini-mall department type store on our base) TAKE A BUDDY(even though it's a great store, it is often fickle about things it carries. sure, you can find pickled pigs feet and cracklin' oat bran, but good luck finding cook'n'serve butterscotch pudding or dry bread pieces for your thanksgiving dressing). becky and i decided to go to the grocery store right outside of the base. we needed a few things that we could not find at the commisary, so we braved it and met at the large super store.

being cautious, we decided to meet there and park next to each other. it was a good idea.

granted, we've deduced that the area surrounding our gated community (we live on base) is a tad, well, scary/different than we're used to, but as if to prove the fact, the following things happened to us on our 20 minute shopping trip.

1. we are almost certain we heard a no-joke drug deal being made by a gruffy looking guy on his cell phone while he was picking out cantaloupe in the produce area.

2. we witnessed a finger-snapping insult exchange between two ladies in the bread aisle.

3. i was pan-handled in the parking lot.

4. two different groups of people tried to sell us tamales out of the trunks of their cars.

100 days!

today was the 100th day of our marriage! it's been 100 wonderful days of happiness, joy, growth, curry, chess, laughing, singing, cuddling, joy, homemade smoothies, projects, smiling, learning, walking, serving, tickling, playing, discovery, answered prayers, inside jokes, joy and most importantly- LOVE. yup, i know, some of you may have thrown up a little in your mouth reading that. but it's true! i am the most blessed wife in the world, and tom is amazing! i love him with my whole heart and i thank the LORD for each and every moment.

so, in honor of our 100th day, i got Tom some slippers (which i am testing out right now... shhhh... actually, he said i could after he opened the gift). i already have a trusty pair, they were hand-me-downs from my friend paula (thanks, lady!). i'll put up a pic of the two of us in our slippers soon. we need them because it is getting chilly here in vegas and our base house has cold plastic cafeteria flooring.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!.. even on my blog!

i just couldn't wait any longer! i changed my blog layout to a new holiday themed one, for free! this lovely design was made and offered by my cousin's sister-in-law, shannon. you can get one, too, at her website, eightcrazy designs. LOVE it! Thanks, Shannon!

she also happens to be the designer that created our wedding invitations earlier this year. she was fabulous to work with and the results were beautiful, more perfect than i ever imagined. here is my attempt at posting a photo of the finished results- i wanted to black out our middle and last names and i couldn't figure out how to do it on the original computer document without messing the whole thing up so i took a picture and then edited it in the paint program... needless to say, it ends up loking grainy after all of the conversions, not nearly as wonderful as the real deal, but oh well! i wanted to share it anyway. once again, it was created by shannon, of eightcrazy designs (see above link).




p.s. if you look closely, you can see the school-cafeteria flooring we have in our house! i laid the invite on the floor to take the picture. good thing we both have a pair of slippers now (see 100 days! post) cause this floor gets cold!

memories...

wow, it's been a while since my last post! i am at my sister's house right now nannying, and the little ones are napping so i thought it'd be fun to post some pics from her computer of tom and i, from the very beginning! the one up above is our first picture together (awwwww!), at the grand canyon. the next is also from our trip there (brrr!), and then there's one of us playing the great dalmuti, and another of us with my two siblings and their spouses. enjoy!

oh, and p.s.-- you should follow the link on the left side of my page to my sister's blog- she posted some of the beautiful new family photos the family j just had taken. i am such a proud auntie!

While I'm Waiting...

The Lord has brought this song to my attention a lot over the last month, and I have found it to be encouraging and pertinent, in my life, my walk, our world. Thought I'd share the lyrics.

While I'm Waiting

by: John Waller

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting I will serve You

While I'm waiting I will worship

While I'm waiting I will not faint

I'll be running the race

Even while I wait

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am peaceful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it's not easy

But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve you while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord