Ethan's Band

Ethan has gotten quite creative in the last few days since we have been home a bit more.  He built all these instuments with his Kynex set.  Thankfully they don't make noise :)

Geres National Park

Last weekend we were invited by some friends at church to go to a lake in the Geres National Park.  We were excited because we had been told that it was well worth the trip.  We headed out about 9am on Saturady morning and after a 2 hour drive (all the way to the Spainish norther border) and a 30 minute hike down the mountain, we came upon a beautiful small lake.  We all spent the day swimming, playing games and sharing a picnic.  It was beautiful and reminded us of our beloved East TN.  We will definitly visit again soon.

Trier, Germany

Each year we have a meeting with our colleagues in Western Europe.  This year we all met in Trier, Germany (the oldest city in Germany).  We had a great time with M friends and our friends from Paris, TN who came to take care of all the kiddos.  The best suprise was when my mom walked in with the folks from TN!.  It was a total suprise to us all - certainly a well kept secret.  On the last day we had fun checking out the city sites with friends from Spain.

HOT ROLL MIX

I came across this recipe and it is so easy.  I have made cinnamon rolls and doughnuts and they were so easy and good.

Hot Roll Mix – No Rise
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sour milk, buttermilk or yogurt
1/2 cup (or less) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups (or more) flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 tablespoon sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Mix and knead well. Place in greased container. Refrigerate. The dough will keep a couple of weeks. When needed, removed desired amount of dough and make into rolls. NO NEED TO RISE. Bake at 425°. This roll dough can be used in any recipe calling for Pillsbury Refrigerator Quick Crescent Dinner Rolls.

Rolls:
Shape as for regular yeast rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls:
Roll dough into rectangle. Spread with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll, slice and bake as individual rolls or put in pan with sides touching.

Bread Sticks:
Roll small amounts of dough in long strips about the size of your finger and 8" long. Put on cookie sheet. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle with sesame,  poppy seeds or parmesan cheese. Bake at 400°.

Pizza Dough:
With greased hands, flatten dough to fit greased pizza pans. Bake 5 minutes (to keep sauce from making crust soggy). Fill as desired and bake.

Doughnut Holes:
Make small balls, drop in hot grease. Drain. Make glaze of icing sugar, boiling water, 1 teaspoon vanilla or maple flavoring. Let drip on rack.

Beignet style Doughnuts:
Roll out dough and cut squares with a pizza cutter.  Drop in hot oil.  Drain and toss in powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar.