French Toast Bake

This was discovered when we had a loaf of bread that needed to be used. Found this on Pinterest and everyone enjoys it! The first time I made it plain but now we always add some kind of fruit to it. I always make more than the original recipe so the recipe below is the version that we use. Enjoy!

French Toast Bake
3/4 cup of butter
3/4 cup of light brown sugar
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups of milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
powdered sugar for sprinkling

1. Melt butter in a bowl and stir in brown sugar till mixed.
2. Pour and spread the butter and brown sugar into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
3. Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
4. Lay single layer of bread in pan.
5. Spoon 1/2 of egg mixture on bread layer. Place your favorite fruit on top of the egg mixture. (We like blueberries or strawberries)
6. Add 2nd layer of bread and spoon remaining egg mixture
7. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (covered for the first 30 minutes)
8. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Enjoy!

Old Faithful at Yellowstone

 Watching Old Faithful was great...and even better was watching it as a family! There are benches around it for all those watching to sit on. When we first arrived there was just a handful of people walking around but the closer it got to time for Old Faithful to erupt you couldn't find a place to sit.

 A few more pictures of our time at Yellowstone. Seeing the views, animals, geysers, hot springs, and all God's beautiful creation makes you know that there IS a God!

 On our last morning at Yellowstone we packed up and headed out through the southern end of the National Park. We planned one more stop before heading home (I will post those pictures next).

 This is one of those trips that I will never forget and I am very thankful that God provided an opportunity for Bryan and I to take the children on this trip.

 We had a great time as a family making lots of memories!

Thank you Lord for allowing us this opportunity to see some of your amazing creation! Seeing and experiencing your creation makes us truly worship the Creator!

Random Pictures of Our Trip to Yellowstone

 Isaac took a picture of Bryan and I as we were all out sight seeing.

 Here are the kids and I trying out our selfie stick.

 Can we say "Cheese"? Having fun just goofing off!

Timothy had to try the fishing thing too! This really was one of the best trips!

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

 These are a few pictures of our stop at "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone". Again, God's creation is amazing! Here is a closer look at the falls.

 Now this picture is same falls just further away.

 The children and I stopped for a picture with the falls in the background. The sun was brightly shining that day.

Beautiful! This trip was one of those..."I can't believe I am really here" kind of trips. Everything was like a postcard picture.

Day 4 at Yellowstone

 On day 4 we were entering in on the western side of Yellowstone and there was more to see. Yellowstone has lots of ground to cover so be prepared to spend at least 5 days.

 Here is a herd of Buffalo walking down the road. They are everywhere!

 Yellowstone Lake...Beautiful!

 Isaac had to see how the fishing was at Yellowstone. Because he was under 16 he could get a license for free. It was too cold to do too much fishing. He did catch this one.

 While Isaac fished Elijah and Joanna decided to play in the snow/ice. Here is Elijah whittling away at a block of snow.

 Joanna trying to climb this block of snow.

 Bryan and I at one of the geysers. This one actually made noise as the smoke rolled out, sounded like a dragon breathing.

Another one of the beautiful views!

White Chicken Chili

As I was scanning through my photos I realized that I have lots of recipes to share with you! Get ready because eventually I will get to them and hopefully give you a few new recipes to try and that your family will love! This one that I am sharing today is from a close friend. She made this a couple of times and we enjoyed it. I asked for the recipe so I could make it for us at home. This recipe she found on Pinterest (with the title Wicked White Chicken Chili), you can find the original recipe here.

White Chicken Chili

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded/chopped
• 4 (15 oz) cans great norther white beans, rinsed and drained. 
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 (10oz) cans Rotel tomatoes and chilies
• 1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup blend of diced onion, bell pepper and celery
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt (optional) *I do use the yogurt*

I grill my chicken and chop it up and set to the side. Drain and rinse 2 cans of beans and puree in a food processor. In my crockpot (with a crock pot liner) I put the pureed beans and the 2 other cans of beans drained and rinsed. Next I chop up my bell pepper, onion, and celery in the food processor and add to crockpot. Then add all the other ingredients except chicken. Stir together and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours. At the end of cook time add in your chicken and stir it in chili. Enjoy! 

Yellowstone Day 3 (Part 2)

We finally arrived at our campsite at Grizzly RV Park on the west side of Yellowstone and it was rainy. The lady at checkin told me that the temperatures would reach below freezing the nights we would be staying there so she asked us to unhook our water before we went to bed at night. Since the kids wouldn't be able to play outside we decided that I would take them into town and shop while Bryan prepared supper. (I thought that was a great idea!) :)

 We really enjoy going into souvenir shops and visiting unique little shops to have a look around. The children and I had a great time together! One of the small shops we stopped in was a bookstore and bakery. Sarah was loving all of that! She even shared that maybe one day she would open something like this. LOL! Love that girl! As you can see my children head right to the books, choose one they like, and began to read and enjoy every minute of it! Made this momma smile! Isaac was in the sportsman book section checking out some fishing books.

We arrived back at camp to a delicious meal! When we went to the bath house this was posted on the wall! Now I was a little nervous! We did not see any bears at the campground...phew! The weather did get a little better and the children were able to enjoy the nice playground that was there. This campground was really nice and clean.