Pizza Casserole

This is a yummy way to use leftover roast. Ken, who doesn't really like macaroni, loves this. The picture shows rigatoni, but I just used elbow macaroni. I'm sure any kind would work. 1 1 ½ cups cubed leftover roast OR ½ lb ground beef 2 cups macaroni, cooked and drained 1 32 oz. jar spaghetti sauce 1 8 oz. pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese Parmesan cheese, grated Pepperoni, diced Black olives, chopped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brown the ground beef (if you’re using that) or cut up roast. Combine with cooked macaroni and spaghetti sauce in a casserole dish. Top with cheeses, pepperoni, and olives. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly and brown. Yummy!

Aubrey and Nephi Wed

Our nephew, Nephi (Ken's sister, Lorene's youngest son) married Aubrey Terry yesterday in the St. George temple. It was a beautiful ceremony and day. The event brought lots of family to town. Rick, Sherrie, Bryan, Noel, Eliza, Noel's mom, Kathy, and Mark stayed with us. Between the luncheon and reception, we enjoyed watching the BYU game with the FANATIC Rick Hintons. Now there's some BYU fans! Luckily, there was plenty to cheer about this week! The classic Hinton Hand Rub

Fun a Mile High

Ken had Government Audit training this week in Denver, so I tagged along. We flew out of Vegas on Sunday afternoon and got home Wednesday night. I enjoyed having time to catch up on reading and studying (I always study all the conference talks, looking up all the footnotes, and was behind in my schedule of that) and got my October RS lesson mostly prepared. It was wonderful to have uninterrupted time to get stuff done. I also finished the book I was reading "The Glass Castle" (loved it! Review to come) The hotel also had a wonderful lap pool, so I was able to get good workouts both days. We enjoyed our evenings together- exploring Denver(though it was cold and rainy), going out to dinner, and watching two movies. We went to the Denver Art Museum on Wednesday morning before we flew out that afternoon. It was so nice to have Ken to myself for a few days. Downtown Denver Delicious meal at PF Changs: Shrimp, Melon, and walnuts. We went to PF Changs in LA with Jessica and Adam last spring and Jessica told us about this dish. Ami had told her. So, thanks Jessie and Ami- it was delicious!!! Denver Art Museum Picasso Frolicking Foxes Sculpture Matisse Dish owned by the last Empress of China (if you've read The Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck) Recognize this? It's the original from which the Christmas postage stamp issued last year was copied- a beautiful painting!

Oh Cougars!!!

I'm trying really hard not to feel depressed, but I'm not succeeding. What happened?

Mackrorys Visit!

We had such a fun time last week with Kristen, Nathan, and Brielle. Jared was out of town, so they came to spend the week with us. They arrived on Monday. We took the kids to a neighborhood park/splash pad. They had such a fun time. Then we went home and barbecued Manti chicken and made homemade ice cream (Kristen’s favorite treat in the whole, wide world.) Throughout the week we shopped, bottled peaches, took the kids to “touch the temple”, and celebrated Kristen’s birthday. On Saturday, we made more homemade ice cream (I know!) and watched the Cougars “cream” their opponent. It was so cute to see how excited the kids were about game day. They couldn’t wait to get in their “Y Cougar shits”, as Nathan calls them. Then they actually watched some of the game. Indoctrinate them early! It was fun to see them with the homemade ice cream. They loved it. Nathan asked Granpa for more. Ken got him some. Soon thereafter he noticed that Brielle was finishing her bowl. He got so excited and kept saying , “Bwell! Bwell! Want some more??” It was like, “I know a guy who can get you more. It worked for me. I can hook you up." It’s cute to see how much they love each other. Thank you so much, Lu for coming! We made some great memories!

Chicken Choppese

Brown 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in butter or oil, salt, and pepper. Remove from pan and place in a baking dish. Melt 2T. butter. Blend in 1/3 cup flour. Cook and stir together until bubbly. Stir in 2/3 cup milk. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture makes a thick paste. Add 1 egg and beat well, cooking until mixture is shiny. Stir in 1 grated sweet onion, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp. salt, pepper. Mix well. Spread some of the mixture on each of the breasts. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. The original recipe was exactly the same, except substitute pork chops for the chicken breasts. The name Pork Choppese makes more sense! They are really good.

Delicious Fudge Pie

Brielle and I made this pie and a peach pie (see below for recipe) for Kristen's birthday. It was "easy as pie" and so delicious!! 2 squares (2ounces) semisweet chocolate, 1 stick butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, beaten (Brielle is an excellent egg beater!), 1 unbaked pie crust......... Melt the chocolate and the butter together in a saucepan or in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs and beat well. Pour into the pie shell and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Happy Birthday, Kristen!

Happy Birthday to Kristen! We’ve just spent a wonderful week with this precious daughter and her two children. It’s so fun to see her as a mother. She’s so selfless and fun with her children. They are lucky ducks. Though she has precious little “personal” time, I was touched that she spent some of that (after kids were in bed one night) serving us. She noticed (how embarrassing) that my lower cabinets in the kitchen had collected junk in the crevices, so she spent a couple of hours scraping and scrubbing and oiling my lower cabinets. A common expression between Ken and I is "Typical Luli!" She's always doing or saying something nice and we just say, "Typical Luli." This is just an example of many I could tell of how "tuned out" she is. We hope you have a grand birthday, Luli!!! We sure love you!

Who woke up Murphy?

I mean the one with the law, not the bed. Though, now I think of that ridiculous bed, they probably were the same guy! Anyway, Murphy came to visit our house this week. On Tuesday, I found a huge puddle of water under the dishwasher (that warped the wood floor a bit) and then on Wednesday, the dishwasher wouldn't start. (I have to admit, my first thought was, "Yipee!" I have hated that dishwasher, so am not sad to have to get a new one). Then on Thursday, the oven electrical went bezerk and now it won't turn on. We purchased both 4 1/2 years ago at the same time, and they go out on the same week. I guess Murphy is somewhat counteracted by spiritual powers, though because it is the Labor Day sales! We're headed shopping.

Now That's a New One!

Yesterday, while teaching voice lessons, I heard a new one that so tops "the dog ate my homework", "there was a hole in my mitt," or "the sun was in my eyes," that I had to share. I asked a student if she had learned the melody of a new song as I had assigned the week before. She said "No, I couldn't" Why? "Because my dad and brothers dropped my piano and it broke in a million pieces." Oh. Okay. I guess that's a good reason.