Clements Christmas

We had the best Christmas this year.  Branson and I were able to celebrate with both our families, so it felt like the fun was never going to end.  I love everything about Christmas-- from the hustle and bustle, to giving gifts, to the beautiful lights and decorations. It's also such a great time to spend with family and a great excuse to get everyone together.  Most importantly, it's a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and to remember Him and all that he has done for us.  

We celebrated Christmas with my parents on the 22nd.  My sister Nicole flew in from Reno, Jenee got work off and drove up from SD, and Branson and I were in town for a couple days.  We all slept at my dad's house the night before and celebrated the next day.  I never end up documenting the actual christmas morning because no one ever wants to be seen fresh outta bed. ha. So unfortunately I don't have any photos with my dad, but here are a few...

My daddio and his girlyfriend Stephanie in front of the Chritmas tree.

My dad got a new 3D TV and Branson is obsessed.  We watched a couple movies with the 3D glasses and it's prettttty rad.  

Love my dad's pretty garland and lights. I remember this was my absolute favorite part of Christmas growing up.  My parents would put garland in almost every room of the house and my dad would hang christmas lights outside.  We had vaulted ceilings so we would buy the tallest tree we could find.  The house looked so magical to me.  I really miss spending Christmas as a family {with both my parents} but I'm grateful that I will always have these amazing memories that make me so so happy.

Anyways, later that night once my mom got off work, we all met up with her for the evening.  We went out to eat at Don Jose's for some mexicana.  Yum.  After that we came back and exchanged gifts and hung out. 

My pretty mamacita. Seriously, it's December and she is STILL that tan? Not fair.

Sisters.

Boy do I love this man.

My gidgey girl in her Christmas scarf. Such a cute pup. Notice the red candy stuck on her chin.  Branson thought it would be funny to feed her a lollipop. haha.

Thug nasty.

I really cherish the time I get to spend with family.  We are all only able to get together maybe 2 or 3 times a year so we loved every minute of it.  So grateful for them :)

Temple Square

This is a must every Christmas season.  The lights around the temple are beautiful and everyone is in the cheery, holiday mood.  I just love it. A couple weeks ago we went with our good friends Danny and Malorie. We eat at Ztejas for dinner and then made our way to temple square.

 This was actually my first time going to the visitors center and seeing the Christus. 

Had to snap a quick pic.

All snuggled up...it was FREEZING!

 Mal and Dan

What a wonderful time of year.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Mission Beach

While Branson and I were in town for Thanksgiving break, we decided to go visit my sister down in Mission Beach.  We hadn't seen her place yet and wanted to spend the evening with her.  It is absolutely beautiful down there.  We walked from her apartment (which is literally less than a block from the water) down the boardwalk to Pacific Beach to eat dinner.  We eat at a place called the Ale House and it is right on the water.  We did a little shopping and people watching on the way back.

It was quite the peaceful evening.

Love you Nae Nae!

 Wearing the scarf that she made me :)

 It was a perfect day!

a day of thanks.

I was lucky enough to have about three Thanksgiving dinners this year.  The first one was at our friend Mandy and Spencer's.  A bunch of buddies from high school got together to enjoy good food and great company.  (Mandy...your gravy turned out AH-MAZING. good work :)

My second feast was a big Relief Society dinner at church.  The food was SO good.  I'm pretty sure I wanted the recipe for every single thing served that night.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos. Boo.

Thanksgiving day was spent at my aunts house in Palm Springs with my tini tiny familia.  My oldest sister didn't make it down so besides my family it was just my aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandma. However, we had a great time and got to enjoy the beautiful California weather.

 Sadly we use canned Cranberries... no one in my family really eats them? The outline of the can is not so appetizing.  Branson was NOT happy about that. ha.

 My favorite dish at Thanksgiving...my mama's yams. YUM!

 Uncle T cutting the Turkey

It's a tradition in my family to play Pictionary on Thanksgiving.  This game REALLY brings out my families artistic skills....

You can see why Branson fit in well by clicking HERE. (scroll down to the picture of Branson next to the drawing board.)

Hope you all had a Happy Turkey Day!

grandparents.

 My sister sent me these photos today of my grandparents.

I fell in love. 

I see so much of my dad in both of them.

Aren't they gorgeous?  

My grandpa passed away when I was only 2 years old.

My grandma passed away a couple of years ago.

From what I hear, my grandpa was a remarkable man.

I can gladly say the same for my grandma.
I hear countless stories of the undeniable love that they had for each other.

My sister found letters that my grandpa had written to my grandma during WWII.

I cannot wait to read them.

The best realization that I had was that they get spend eternity together.

I'm so very grateful for eternal families.

I cannot wait to do the temple work for my family and to meet my amazing grandpa one day.

God is good.

Pinterest delights.

As we all know, Pinterest is amazing.  I have loved it to store my favorite recipes and, of course, to try some new ones!  I thought i'd post some of the recipes that I have made so far. They are tasty, easy, and HEALTHY! 

Pineapple Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1 cup pineapple juice

1 cup cold water

2 tbsp. plus ½ tsp. soy sauce

1/3 cup raw cashew pieces (unsalted)

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 cup cooked edamame

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and grated or finely diced

½ of a medium pineapple, cored, peeled and diced

½ cup loosely packed basil, finely chopped

Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

Combine the quinoa, pineapple juice, ½ teaspoon of soy sauce and water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from the heat, let stand covered for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff with a fork.

Toast the cashews in a large skillet over medium heat until golden and fragrant.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

Return the pan to the stove and increase the heat to medium-high.  Heat the vegetable oil.  Stir in the bell pepper and edamame and stir fry for about 3 minutes, or until the bell pepper is slightly softened.  Stir in the scallions, garlic, ginger, and serrano and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the pineapple, quinoa and basil.  Mix well to combine.  Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and continue to cook for a few minutes more until everything is well blended and heated through.  Serve garnished with lime wedges, if desired.

Autumn Chopped Salad

Ingredients
*6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
*2 medium pears, chopped
*1 cup dried cranberries
*1 cup chopped pecans
*8 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
*4 to 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
*Poppy seed Salad Dressing (I like T. Marzetti)
*Balsamic Vinaigrette (I like Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Instructions
*On a large platter, combine the lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and feta cheese. Drizzle generously with poppy seed dressing, followed by some of the balsamic vinaigrette. (I would estimate that I used about a cup of dressing: 70 percent poppy seed dressing and 30 percent balsamic vinaigrette) If you prefer your salad to have more dressing, feel free to experiment with the combination.

Crockpot Baked potato soup

(okay, not the healthiest but SO tasty and easy on a cold winter day :)

Ingredients:
- 5lbs Russet Potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves of garlic, whole
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 16 oz cream cheese (I used 8oz regular and 8oz lowfat)
- 1 TBS seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning

Garnishes:
- Crumbled bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Green onions

Directions:
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning and chicken stock to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Remove and puree the garlic cloves along with 1/2 to 1/3rd of the soup, and then reintroduce to the remainder in the crock pot.
- Stir in the cream cheese and allow to melt. Stir every 10-15 minutes until soup is well blended.
- Top with your choice of garnishes & serve!

Yields about 10-12 servings.

Zuccini, black bean, and rice skillet

Find this one HERE!

I made this one last night.  I already had all the ingrdients on hand so it was perfect.  I actually used brown rice instead of white and olive oil instead of canola.  Much healthier.  

I'm actually eating the leftovers right now for lunch and it is mighty good.  Mmm Mmm....

Enjoy my friends.