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Saturday, February 28, 2009

Shopping Without Tantrums

When Karen takes Caleb shopping, sometimes he'll want something he sees in the store. She always (or most always) gives it to him.

Such as seen here- at Sam's Club they're selling these felt buckets for Easter baskets. Very cute. However, just because something is cute doesn't mean we buy it. Caleb held the bucket the whole time we were shopping and then at the checkout, Karen tells Caleb it's time to put the bucket away. Here's the kicker...he's totally fine with giving it back! I don't know many kids that are like that. No tantrums. He turns two in a few weeks. Do you think there will be tantrums after he's two? Even if there are some, he'll probably throw polite tantrums. He is always saying please, thank you and excuse me. It's outrageous!
(disclaimer- I'm not saying Caleb's behavior is always perfect, but it's nearly perfect!)

Friday, February 27, 2009

Pancakes

Caleb loves pancakes. Every morning if I'm still home when he comes upstairs he'll ask me to make him some "kaykakes." He will eat one or two or occasionally three pancakes everyday, if they're available. I've got it down to a science in measuring out enough mix to make just three pancakes.
This was Caleb this morning, waiting for his pancakes. He was so cute I had to grab the camera!

He loves to eat them with Nana's homemade strawberry jam (no that's not what I'm sending out for my pay-it-forward prize).

YUM!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Pay It Forward

(photograph courtesy of Agnes)

It's Laura's fault. She posted this on her blog and for some unknown reason, I decided I'd play along. Do you want to play too?

The Rules

1. Be one of the first Three (3) bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item (I think that's a ridiculously long time and if you're going to take a YEAR to make/ship your item, well, all I can say is Sara, I realize you're 2 now and Nana has not yet even started to cut out the fabric for your quilt you were supposed to receive when you were born. I'm really sorry). This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love (if someone knows how to do that, let me know, because I'm not entirely sure)! If you are not one of the 1st Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

I only have one question though. If no one comments on my blog then does that mean I still get the handmade gift from Laura?

Perhaps you'd be more likely to sign up if you knew what you would be getting, however, that is a surprise (I actually have the item in mind and have sent away for the makings of it...should get here in a couple more days). Oh, come on! It will be fun! Sign up already! On your mark, get set, GO!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Delish Dessert

This is the dessert we had at Cheryl's house last week.

Cherry-Berries on a Cloud. It can be found here, but that isn't the version we ate. It's been revised either to or from this recipe in Sunday Dinner Cookbook by Betty Crocker.

Pastry Crust (recipe follows)
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
2 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups sliced strawberries (1 pt) or 1 bag (16 oz) frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) sliced peaches
Prepare and bake pastry crust. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat whipping cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold whipped cream and marshmallows into cream cheese mixture; spread over crust.
Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 48 hours.
Mix pie filling, lemon juice, strawberries and peaches. Cut dessert into serving pieces; serve with fruit mixture. Cover and refrigerate any remaining dessert.
Pastry Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes or until creamy. Spread in ungreased rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely. (For quick cooling, place in freezer 10 to 15 minutes.
Oh, and uh- prepared this way? Yeah, it's 20 more fat grams than on Betty's website with the meringue version. No wonder it was so tasty!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

My Oldest is Older

This is my firstborn, Samuel. He turns 32 today.
A very long time ago, he looked like this.
Look at his cute moccasins on his little feet in this next picture (never mind that I have my eyes closed).
And back when he was about 15...
Alert, alert, Amy watch out- here comes a picture of your favorite car... no, that isn't his natural haircolor, but it beats the green color he tried once.
Happy Birthday Samuel. You are an amazing person and I love you so much! You have chosen a terrific wife who has given you two of the most remarkable girls that live on God's green Earth (or anywhere else for that matter). We're anxious for little girl number three to arrive. You're a great father to them!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Playtime

Saturday night was fun. We all started at Wylie's house and had an exact replica of Olive Garden's green salad. It was delish! We would have had seconds but we knew more food was coming. We walked to our house and I fed everyone Avocado Chicken and asparagus. Everyone was kind and said it was yummy. Then we walked to Cheryl's house for an awesome dessert and Wylie's game, Nerts. We had a ton of fun.
You can't see them in the picture, but the winners were...

Karen and Jeffrey (who is now going by Jeff, unless you're family and then the names can never change, so he's still Jeffrey to me). I think Karen has a game-winning fairy that lets her win everything she ever plays, no matter who her teammate is! Brandon was keeping Caleb occupied so the rest of us could play. Thanks Brandon!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Agnes Is Three

Happy Birthday Agnes!

Three years ago, Agnes blessed my life by joining my daughter's family, becoming their firstborn child. Agnes needed to be a firstborn. Heavenly Father was aware of that. She takes good care of Eliot! This picture was taken in the hospital, just before going home for the very first time.
This is on her blessing day. The dress was handmade by Agnes' great-grandmother several years before Agnes arrived. Thanks for sending it, Bekah.
I was pretty sad when Agnes' parents decided to move away from Provo. It meant I wouldn't get to see this precious angel so often.
I got to visit on her first birthday, and she got a donut to celebrate the day. Her cake followed a few days later.
Last summer, Agnes and Eliot and their mommy spent a few weeks with me. We had a great time. Agnes is very creative, talkative, and spirited. She knows so much! She is really really smart and loves learning everything. She doesn't like to be idle. There's always too much for her to do for that! She's busy all the time, and has a great imagination.
Happy Birthday my sweet Agnes! I love you so so so so so much!
I hope you have a wonderful time at your carnival birthday!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Cake Wrecks Rocks

Probably the most fun I have in my day to day life (except for playing with Caleb) is reading blogs. Some of them are inspiring, others are entertaining, but this one makes me laugh right out loud, more times than not. If you haven't subscribed to Cake Wrecks, you're missing a daily dose of laughter (and we know laughter keeps you healthy and young- or at least that's what I'm hoping for). This one was posted on Wednesday and had me rolling. As the saying goes (you have to be pretty old to remember it...I qualify as old because I remember it), "Try it, you'll like it!" I don't want to give away the photos from the post, but on this particular day, this was the theme.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

These Cute Sisters

Isn't it amazing when kids grow up? You blink a couple of times and these babies are married and having kids of their own.

These two sisters are both currently pregnant. Joette is expecting her third child (second girl) and Kyanna is expecting her very first! We're so excited for her to finally be a mom. She's wanted this for a long time! Do you think she'll have a boy or a girl? They should know soon, so get your vote in! This will be Cheryl's 8th grandchild. Congratulations!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Sledding

You don't need this...
to go on a nice sled ride.

Watch and see...


When Karen and Brandon moved in with us, this is how they took Caleb's bed (mattress) downstairs. It was Karen's idea...and Caleb thought it was really fun.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Your Not You're

Last week we went to St. George. Being Valentine's weekend, the bakery at Lin's had many items pre-made. Every cake or cookie that used the word that should have been "you're" was spelled "your". Now, if it had only happened on one thing I would have overlooked it. Or, if the lady from the bakery wasn't standing right there loading more items onto the table, I wouldn't have hunted the baking/decorating people down to tell them. But since she was there, I told her I had a grammar issue with her decorator (hoping it wasn't actually HER that did the decorating). She seemed alarmed and asked what the problem was.

I'm borrowing this photo from Cake Wrecks (have I told you lately how much I love Cake Wrecks?). I had to borrow the picture because I couldn't remember my sign-in info to Flickr (had to use my phone camera at the store because my purse camera didn't have an SD card in it) and they (Yahoo) locked me out for "security reasons." By the way, the bakery lady said she'd let the decorator know about the mistakes.

I hope it wasn't mean of me to point it out. I'm conflicted all because of the reality show "True Beauty" and is this a complaining thing on my part or a whoops your dress is accidentally tucked into your underwear kind of a thing and let me help you fix it to save you from further embarrassment. I just don't know. What would you have done?

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day


Some friendly Valentine advice from Jonathan Carroll:

"You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover’s arms can only come later when you’re sure they won’t laugh if you trip. "


Thank you Martha, for teaching me how to make these cute candy holders, and thank you Laura, for the link!

Have a 'love'-ly day!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Was That Cheating?

Bud and I went to the movies yesterday. I say "movies" because we intended to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and thought that it started at 4:30 because that's what the website said. When we got there at 4:10 we found out it didn't start until 5:00. To pass the time, we ducked into the movie next to it, Last Chance Harvey, with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. I really like Emma Thompson.

It was a pretty empty movie as far as plot (and as far as people in the theater watching- 3!), but we stayed from the point we entered until the end and it helped pass the time faster. Dustin Hoffman kind of gave me the creeps the way he was always smiling/leering at Emma Thompson.

Then we went into the B.Button movie about 35 minutes late. I'm sure we didn't miss much as it was a 3-hour movie (that's the amount of time Gilligan's tour was supposed to last!)

It was really slow for me through the first 90 minutes or so. I started to enjoy it more about the time Brad Pitt started looking like himself. And I did cry but I can't remember if I laughed (criteria for a good movie- gotta have both). At the end, I decided I liked it but I don't think Bud thought too highly of it. The story was too far fetched for him to believe. I thought the make-up tech did a great job making Brad look like a teenager.
Do you think it was cheating for us to wait in a theater that was showing a movie instead of the empty theater for 50 minutes? I need to know if my conscience should be bothering me!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Cookies with Caleb

I've been having some fun with this boy.
Here he is unwrapping the butter.

Stirring the butter (unnecessarily, but don't tell him that)

Big smiles
Testing the scooper

And super-duper testing the scooper
These were Andes mint cookies, straight off the back of the bag (I believe I've introduced you to that recipe earlier). They turned out really flat this time. Hmm. I guess I was too light on the flour. But isn't Caleb's apron cute? Thanks, Laura, for the apron!

Shortly after I took this picture, Caleb bonked his head on the edge of the shelf the mixer is resting on. It put a pretty good mark on his ear. Now I cover the shelf with a towel so he can see the edges better.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Chinese Astrology

I never knew until yesterday that I am the Chinese sign of the Rooster. That means (according to what I've read) I am a quick thinker who is practical and resourceful, preferring to stick to what is tried and true rather than taking messy, unnecessary risks. Roosters are keenly observant. It's hard to slip anything past a Rooster, since they seem to have eyes in the backs of their heads (I thought that was just because I was a mom)! This quality can lead others to think the Rooster is psychic, but that's not generally the case; instead, this Sign enjoys a keen attention to detail (that's true).Above all else, the Rooster is very straightforward and rewards others' honesty in kind.
Roosters aren't shifty or cagey and have no interest in hiding behind a facade. They are the proverbial open book (I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve), telling the truth and keeping their word. If you show your hand, the Rooster will respect you for it. This kind of trusting behavior can tempt tricksters to pull a fast one on the Rooster, but that would be a bad move! Remember, this Sign doesn't indulge in flights of fancy and keeps those eyes wide open at all times.
Roosters tend to be perfectionists and expect to be in control, especially over their appearance (not so much). Primping and posing for the Rooster can go on forever (not THIS rooster)! Being noticed and admired is an aphrodisiac for Roosters, and they can go a long time on a few kind words. Roosters also adore being out on the town, especially if they're in the company of adoring friends. The Rooster will also be the best-dressed one of the bunch (again, this is about the only thing that isn't spot-on with me)-- style counts with this Sign, regardless of the cost (nope).
Roosters also expect to be in control of their surroundings, including whoever happens to be in those surroundings. Roosters keep an impeccably neat house and expect their lovers, housemates and family members to maintain the same high standards of dress and conduct as they do. This can cause problems with other, more relaxed types who just want to be accepted as is. The Rooster needs the right partner, one who understands this Sign's basically conservative nature. With the right person, the Rooster can be the most loyal, trusting and supportive mate around, one who bends over backward to please its loved ones. Some Signs may just end up feeling hen-pecked, however.
Roosters need to learn to value their heart and soul as much as their good looks (I never have thought I had good looks particularly). Their excellent people skills and sharp minds are qualities that others will appreciate as much as a pretty face. This Sign would also do well to learn to adopt the philosophy of live and let live; perhaps an appeal to the Rooster's logic -- that it's inefficient to waste time nagging others -- will help this Sign learn to let others be whomever and however they are.
Okay, I'm surprised at how acurate this actually is! And, on a side note, Bud is the sign of the snake and it says we are 104% compatible! No wonder we get along so well! I read some of Bud's traits and they were exactly right too. Who knew the Chinese always knew? Check it out for yourself here!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Draper Temple

Last week we went to the open house for the Draper Temple. It was really beautiful, but also rather small compared to Salt Lake or Jordan River or Los Angeles (the temples I'm familiar with). I loved the artwork on the walls, and the murals in two of the rooms. One room reminded me of Heber Valley. This is a "by appointment only" temple.

It's very convenient to have a chapel on the same site as the temple for serving cookies after the open house. We were told by Bud's cousin (who serves at the open house each Thursday) that they put out over 20,000 cookies a day (oops, I had two cookies).
This will be the 129th operating temple in the world, the 12th in Utah and the third in Salt Lake County. Tickets are still available at www.lds.org/reservations or by calling 1-800-537-6181 or 801-240-7932. Tours of the temple will be available on Mondays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesdays to Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tours run through March 14. The temple will be dedicated March 20. If you live in the area and haven't been yet, what are you waiting for?

Monday, February 9, 2009

Banana Pudding Squares


Last night I made this for dessert. Brandon and Bud both like banana cream pie and I thought this was similar but different at the same time. Turns out it was more similar than different, but in either case, it was gobbled up.
You can find the recipe here as well. This is the "professional" picture of the dessert. Banana Pudding Squares
35 Reduced Fat NILLA Wafers, finely crushed 1/4 cup
(1/2 stick) margarine, melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping, thawed,
divided 3 bananas
2 pkg. (1 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding
3 cups cold fat-free milk
1/2 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, grated

Combine crumbs and margarine; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
Mix Neufchatel cheese and sugar in medium bowl until blended. Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP; spread carefully onto crust. Cut bananas crosswise in half, then cut each piece lengthwise in half. Arrange over Neufchatel cheese mixture.
Beat pudding mixes and milk with whisk 2 min. Spoon over bananas. Spread with remaining Cool Whip; sprinkle with chocolate. Refrigerate 3 hours before cutting to serve.
That recipe makes so much more sense than the one I had previously printed out from their website. It said to only use 20 Nilla wafers and that didn't even begin to cover the bottom of the pan, so I switched pan size and used an 8x8, and then cut all the rest of the ingredients in half. I didn't do their tricky banana cutting, I just sliced it and then used 1% milk, regular Cool Whip and regular Nilla wafers, so we all gained more weight than necessary except Bud who never gains weight no matter what he eats.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

The Tiebreaker

Earlier this week, we found out that my next grandchild will be a girl so that will make it Boys 3, Girls 4! The girls are winning!
Samuel and Holly are expecting their third child around the first part of July. Nora and Sara will be getting another sister! Congratulations! So do you think they'll find another _ _ ra name? Here's all the ...ra names in the only name book I have, just in case they need some ideas.
Alexandra, Amara, Barbara or Barbra, Chakra (is that a girl's name or a boy's name?), Chandra, Clara, Ciara, Cara, Cira, Cora, Cassandra, Debra, Debora, Dara, Dora (no, not that one!), Devora, Eleanora, Flora (but not Fawna or Merriweather), Kendra, Kindra, Kara, Keira (I kind of like that one as well as Kira and Kiera and Kyra), Leandra, Lanora, Leanora, Lara, Laura, Leora, Lera, Loura, Lura, Mara, Mora, Samara, Samira, Shandra, Sondra, Sierra, Theodora, Tamara, Tamra, Tara, Tera, Tiara, Tierra, Tora (they just can't say it three times fast or one might think of a volcano erupting), Tyra, Vera, Xaviera, Xiomara, Yadira, Yahaira, and Zandra.
I just hope they won't name her Elvira. Chances are high they won't.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Chocolate Bowls

Who wants to come over for dessert with this as the star of the show? Yesterday, Stephanie posted this idea. I loved it (and I like her picture best, but I didn't want to steal it, so click on the link if you want to see a cuter bowl)! It's also on Paula Deen's website, as well as a few other places like CET's Amy's Table. (I "borrowed" all of these photos.)




Or for an excellent tutorial, watch this...Amy's Table

Amy Tobin says "But a word of caution: my daughter Katie and I once dipped the balloons while the chocolate was still too warm. The result? Balloons were popping, chocolate was flying and we learned our lesson!" Hey, that kind of sounds like fun too! Unless you're the one that would have to clean it up, then- not so much...

Chocolate Bowls
Makes 4-6 small bowls

12-ounce bag semi-sweet or white chocolate chips
4-6 small balloons, inflated
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Melt on defrost (or 50% power) for 2 minutes. Repeat in 30-second intervals until, though the chocolate may not look melted, a finger pressed in the center of the chocolate can go through it, about 3 minutes total. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Dip a balloon into the melted chocolate; twirl the balloon to create a bowl shape. Let excess drip off; place on parchment –lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chocolate and balloons. Chill until completely set, at least an hour and up to overnight. Snip the balloon with scissors; gently remove popped balloon. Refrigerate bowls until ready to use.
I like the parchment-lined cookie sheet directions better than the balloon resting in a cup because it gives the bowl a base or foot to steady it when you're ready to fill it.

If you've watched the tutorial and want the raspberry sauce recipe, this is it.

1 16-ounce bag frozen raspberries, thawed
Sugar to taste
In a medium saucepan combine frozen raspberries with enough sugar to sweeten slightly, bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool. Press through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Oreo Truffles

Last night I went to a neighbor's house to learn how to make Oreo Truffles.
She confessed she got the recipe from Kraft.

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.


How to Easily Dip Truffles
To easily coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Then use two forks to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove the truffles with forks and allow excess chocolate to drip back into bowl before placing truffles on prepared baking sheet.
Special Extra
Sprinkle truffles with colored sugar or sprinkles in addition to or in place of the cookie crumbs.
How to Soften Cream Cheese
Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 sec. or just until softened. Add 15 sec. for each additional package of cream cheese.

Those are the hints from Kraft. These are the hints from Nicole:
Melt four squares of chocolate at a time in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir until they melt, heating for a few more seconds if necessary (being careful not to burn it).
Dip the balls in batches (about 20 at a time, leaving the remainder in the refrigerator until needed).
Nicole used a spoon to put the truffle into the chocolate and then pulled it off the spoon with a toothpick. She wiped the toothpick off after each dip so it wouldn't be slippery for the next ball. After dipping about 4 balls, sprinkle them with the reserved Oreo crumbs, as they won't stick if the chocolate becomes too cool.
Switch things up! Try crushing some peppermint candies for the top, or dip in white chocolate, sprinkle with nuts, roll in sprinkles, get creative!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

NO Pictures!

Yesterday we had a patient walk in begging for help with his toothache. I told him if he'd come earlier in the day we would have had plenty of time to help him. He gave me a big sob story so I asked Bud if he could squeeze the guy in, which we did.
He had a strong gag reflex and our assistant couldn't get an xray of the problem area so Bud tried it. When a patient keeps gagging, we put some salt on their tongue and that usually helps so we can at least get a picture of what's happening.
This guy, however, as Sara would say, he "a-choo" into the trash can. It grossed me out. There were other people in the next operatory who had to deal with hearing it too (the mom covered her daughter's ears!). Oh goodness! I refused to clean it up...he didn't quite get it all into the can. Isn't that why we pay good money for our assistants??? Sorry if this story grossed you out. At least I didn't post a picture to go with it!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Stuck in a Rut

Last night we went out for dinner. I'll give you one guess as to where we went. This is Bud's salad. He always makes it look so pretty (except I don't know what the white blob is at the bottom of the picture...crab salad???).
I know Jenny always goes to the same 2 places (way to go for breaking out the other night though!), so my question is when you go out to eat, do you try new places all the time or are you like us and just return to the same place again and again? The bottom line is I'm looking for an exciting new place to eat (when I can pull Bud away from our normal place!)

Monday, February 2, 2009

The Magical Fruit


Our Stake Relief Society had a meeting Saturday morning entitled "All is Safely Gathered In." The keynote speaker was Leslie Probert, an authority on all things related to food storage. I learned a few things from her lecture, and then went out afterwards and bought her book. The whole wheat bread that I posted last week is a recipe in her book and I didn't even know it! She has 2 other wheat bread recipes I'll try later this week and let you know if they're even BETTER than the one from last week.

Did you know dry beans have a shelf life of only about 8 years? Did you know that the older the bean, the longer it will take for it to soften? Did you know that very old beans will not soften even if you cook them all day? Did you know that if you don't sort your beans before you start to cook them they might not all be beans, they might be rocks? I was glad that it wasn't just MY beans that had rocks mixed in with them!

Do you know how to make beans less magical? You know, "Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat..." I think you know the rest. If you don't, email me and I'll give you the rest of it. What you do is drain the soaking and cooking water from the beans, if you're using dry beans. Or if you're using canned beans, draining them before adding to a recipe will help there. And you know what? According to Oregon State University, eating beans regularly is the best way to overcome problems with ...gas. After awhile, the body just gets used to them and there's no more problem. So there you go.

Now, if you are dealing with very old beans, here's a little trick you can use. Add 1 cup beans and 2 tsp baking soda to 3 cups water and soak overnight. Rinse them twice! Then put the beans in a large pot, fill the pot with water until it is an inch above the beans and cook about 2 hours, until tender, adding more water if necessary.

Do you know what else you can do with beans that are really old? Make a bean bag for your grandkids, or make a footwarmer by putting the bean bag in the microwave for a couple minutes. Although this works really well to warm up your feet, in my opinion, it smells too much to do it. I'd really rather have cold feet, or just put on some socks!