Family Recipe Book

 Check out this cool gift I got for Christmas.  My friend Kelly's Mom typed up her recipes she collected and served over the years and gave these out as Christmas gifts.  I got one too.  Yay!  I super love family recipes. I  treasure the ones I have, and have shared many, so I can't wait to go through Kelly's family recipes.  You know they are good because they've been passed down from year to year, and served over and over.  I get so caught up in trying the 'good looking' recipes on the net, and so often I'm disappointed, the best part about them was the picture, but I know these are tried and true, and I can't wait to dig in....my family doesn't have quite a collection yet, but maybe someday. But wouldn't this be a great Mother's Day gift.....OR if you a collection worth binding...now is the time to get started for next Christmas....and include me in that printing!
Her Mom typed up her story behind her cooking experiences to include in the book...

 ...and the photo on the cover and inside was based off of her recipe box she's used through the years. 

The recipes were organized the same way they are organized in her box, and she included stories at the beginning of some of the recipes-where they came from, when she served them, small tips for cooking the recipes etc.  She printed off the pages and then took the covers to Kinkos and had them laminated and bound. 
I heart it. 

My Europe Online Albums

Here is a links to all of my Europe Photos (well, the ones I put on Shutterfly at least).
Europe Trip Part One:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=a8e10d9cf40c5b046cdd16a80fdf8c46&sid=0AZMmrNw0YsmLIcA
Europe Trip Part Two:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0c0543df255ae80bcf4ab00f16ca9e1e&sid=0AZMmrNw0YsmLIvA
Europe Trip Part Three:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=309bdf4c1eb8f0af&sid=0AZMmrNw0YsmLI-A
Europe Trip Part Four:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=1ca91f32585888a66d9889752d9a603c&sid=0AZMmrNw0YsmLJBg

Day Six and Seven: Austria

One of the prettiest drives was from Germany to Austria, through the Alps. As we drove along the Alps, we could see the little towns running along the valley floors. The churches took a drastic change with little mushroomed tops. Cows milled around the fields with big bells hanging from their necks (maybe this is why the "Hills are alive with sounds of music"?), and the haystacks were those little mounds of hay that Monet spent a lot of time trying to capture in paint, I, unfortunately, didn't capture any great pictures myself, so you'll just have to go see for yourself. We dangled along the edge of the Alps as we drove through Fern Pass, and we made a stop at a little store/restaurant before descending back down through the pass. It was a spectacular view at the top.

We arrived in Interlaken in the evening for an overnight stay. Interlaken hosted a portion of the Olypic games a few years back. It's a pretty large city, sitting down in the middle of the mountains.

I tried Weiner Schnitzel (kinda like a chicken fried steak), and Apple Streudel....both were delicious!

Day Six: Rhineland to Innsbruck, Austria

Today we planned to take a Rhine cruise with views of "the Lorelei Rock, hilltop castles, half-timbered wine villages, and terraced vineyards." When we booked this trip, one of the things I definitely wanted to see where some 'castles in Germany.' Check! In the afternoon, we ride along the Autobahn to Austria.
The following is Wikipedia's description of the Lorelei Rock:
The Lorelei (also written as Loreley) is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 meters above the water line. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there.
Lorelei is also the name of one of the beautiful Rhine Maidens who lured navigators of this river to their dooms with their alluring singing, much as the ancient Greek Sirens did.
In 1395 the Loreley showed up as vineyard of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen.
The name comes from the old German words "lureln" (Rhine dialect for "murmuring") and the Celtic term "ley" (rock). The translation of the name would therefore be: "murmur rock" or "murmuring rock". The heavy currents, and a small waterfall in the area (still visible in the early 19th century) created a murmuring sound, and this combined with the special echo the rock produces which acted as a sort of amplifier, then gave name to the rock itself.[1] The murmuring is hard to hear today due to the urbanization of the area. Other theories attribute the name to the many accidents, by combining the word "luren" (lurk) with the same "ley" ending, with the translation "lurking rock".