Recipes & Journal
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July Recipe - BBQ Pork 1 Pork Tenderloin Roast Pork Rub Garlic Salt Liquid Smoke Worchestershire Sauce
Make several cuts into the meat with a sharp knife. Mix 2 TBSPs of the pork rub with a TBSP of garlic salt. Then sprinkle it on the meat and work it in. Mix 1/2 cup of Worchestershire sauce and 2 TBSPs of liquid smoke in a bowl. Place meat into the mixture and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Transfer roast to a baking pan and cover with foil. Bake at 300 for 3-4 hours (keep checking regularly). The meat is done when it falls apart easily when checked with a fork.
Drain off all the fat and allow meat to cool. Then pull it apart into small pieces and mix in 1/2 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (I use Big Bob Gibson's red sauce). Can be served by itself or on buns as a sandwich. Freezes well. June Recipe - German Chocolate Upside Down Cake (I put this recipe in Backtrack - but if you haven't tried it you should. It's delicious and would be perfect for a picnic or family reunion since it travels well - no frosting to melt or smear)
1 cup shredded coconut 1 cup chopped pecans 1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix 1 stick margerine 1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese 1 - 16 oz box powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Combine coconut and chopped nuts in the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour cake batter on top of coconut and pecan mixture. Put margerine and cream cheese into a sauce pan and melt over medium heat. When margerine and cheese are melted, stir in powdered sugar. Spoon this mixture over the cake batter and smooth. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool completely before slicing and serving. DO NOT INVERT CAKE ONTO A PLATTER. Delicious with vanilla ice cream! May Recipe – Cream Cheese Brownies Step one – 2 sticks margarine ½ cup cocoa 4 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla ½ tsp salt 1 ½ cups flour Preheat oven to 325º. Coat bottom of a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl melt margarine. Add cocoa and mix. Add eggs, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Add flour and mix just until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Step Two – 8 oz pkg cream cheese 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk 1 tsp cornstarch 1 tsp vanilla 1 large egg In another bowl, combine all Step Two ingredients. Mix well. Spoon into brownie mixture and ‘swirl’.
Bake at 325º for 35 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on a wire rack. To really make it extra special serve with ice cream and top with hot fudge. April Recipe - Easy Banana Pudding 2 lg pkg Vanilla Instant Pudding Milk (amounts on pudding box) 4 large bananas 1 box Nilla Wafers Small Cool Whip Prepare pudding according to package directions. Chill. Line the bottom of a casserole dish with vanilla wafers. Top with a layer of sliced bananas. Cover with half of the pudding. Put another layer of cookies on top and all around the sides. Top with bananas and rest of the pudding. Allow to set, then cover with Cool Whip. March Recipe - Spinach Quiche ¾ cup butter 1/2 tsp garlic salt ¼ tsp Pepper ¼ cup grated onion 10 oz pkg frozen spinach (thawed, drained, squeezed) 8 oz lowfat cottage cheese 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese 2 – frozen pie shells 6 eggs, beaten 1 cup cream ½ cup milk Preheat oven to 375. In a medium skillet melt butter. Add onion and cook until clear. Stir in garlic salt, pepper, spinach, cottage cheese and half the Cheddar cheese. Allow to cool. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk and cream. Gently stir egg mixture into cooled spinach mixture and pour half into each pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes (until top is golden brown and center is set). Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
February Recipe - Ham and Cheese Sandwiches - 2 pkgs ready-made biscuit rolls 1 pkg thin sliced smoked ham (like Deli-Select) 1 pkg sliced Swiss Cheese 1/2 stick margerine, melted 3 TBSPs mustard 1 TBSP grated onion 2 tsps poppy seeds Preheat oven to 300. Slice rolls in half (all together). Leave one side in the pan and put the other side on a plate. Mix margerine, mustard, onion and popply seeds. Divide evenly and spread on the biscuit halves still in the pans. Chop ham and sprinkle on top. Put cheese slices on top of that and then replace top half of biscuits. Wrap securely with foil and bake for 20 minutes (until cheese melts). Slice into 2 biscuit peices and serve warm. Perfect for a baby shower or brunch or even dinner. January Recipe -
Chinese Cole Slaw
2 bags angel hair slaw 1 bunch green onions - chopped 1 cup slivered almonds 2 packages oriental flavor Ramen noodles 1 cup sunflower seed kernels Mix slaw and next three ingredients. Break apart uncooked noodles into small pieces. Reserve flavor packets for dressing. Mix noodles into slaw mixture. Dressing: 1 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup sugar Noodle package seasonings Combine all ingredients for dressing. Toss with slaw just before serving. |
Betsy's Journal...
FOR EARLIER JOURNAL ENTRIES PLEASE CLICK 'JOURNAL ARCHIVES' IN THE DROP-DOWN BOX. THANKS!!! July 23, 2008 - Right Place/Wrong Time - Tommy is on his way to Uganda. His plane left about 45 minutes ago and he should be there in less than 4 hours. I'll be so thankful to have him settled at last, under the care and watchful eye of his own mission president (and the mission president's wife). He emailed me on Sat the 12th (2:00 in the morning our time) and said that was when he would have computer time the next Sat as well if I wanted to get up so we could 'chat' by swapping emails (something I used to do when Jamie was in Sweden). So on the 19th I got up at 1:00 am (just to be sure I didn't make a mistake in the time difference and miss him). Right about 2:00 he emailed me that he was there. I was so excited!!! I sent him back a quick email and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally he emailed back and said he only go 20 minutes on the computer and had over 100 emails that he'd been trying to wade through. He said he had to go but would email from Uganda. I couldn't believe it! I didn't even get to ask him what day he was leaving. Or why he was wading through 100 emails when he knew I was sitting there at 2:00 in the morning waiting to talk to him...It's a good thing I love him - and that he was in Africa. So I emailed Sister Libby who works in the mission office in Uganda and asked her if she knew when he'd be arriving there. She emailed back and said he was coming today. So this morning when I got up I had a nice long email from him. The traveling missionaries were all packed up so they had been allowed a little extra computer time - when I WASN'T there to chat back. But it was still good to hear from him. He was excited to get to Uganda and meet his new companion. And on a related topic (my other kids say all I talk about is Tommy - which is not true - although this journal entry does kind of back up their claim) I joined an Missionary Moms email group shortly after Tommy got his call (like the next day - I needed reassurance). The group has been very supportive and informative and just a pleasure to me. One mom, Shannon Tolman, has a son Peter who is 4 months ahead of Tommy - so she was able to give me very practical advice about how to get him ready. She has some friends (the Cowans) who work for the Church and are currently assigned to South Africa. They go to the MTC frequently to let the missionaries 'practice' on them. While they were there on July 11th they met a missionary from Ethiopia (Elder Shegena) who was headed to Capetown. Elder Tolman is currently serving in Ethiopia and had met Elder Shegena before he left for the MTC. So the Cowans took a picture of Elder Shegena and his companion and sent it to Shannon. When Shannon saw that Elder Shegena's companion was from Alabama - she knew it had to be Tommy and forwarded the picture to me. What are the odds? How huge a blessing was that? To see Tommy happy and smiling in the MTC across the world? The picture is posted on my "About Me" page if you haven't seen it. Anyway, sometimes I am in the right place at the right time - or friends of a friend are anyway!!! July 7, 2008 - We got a short email from Tommy on Friday and another longer one on Sat (which he says will be his P-day while in the MTC). He is safe and happy and I can relax a little (even though I still miss him). We had a fun weekend. Cathy and her family came over and we got to watch the girls light sparklers (or sprinklers as Abbie calls them). Jamie and Paris came for dinner too so we had a nice crowd. Now we're all trying to get back into the regular routine.
And speaking of regular routines, mine is about to change. After much discussion and prayer and wailing (and probably even nashing of teeth) we have decided to move our boys from the private school they have been attending and put them back in county schools. We hope to be able to get them into McAdory where most of their church friends go. Emily will stay at the private school this last year since she is a senior. What this means is that our financial situation will be greatly improved (I will actually be making money and we won't have to pay tuition for Andy or Clay). But what that means for our quality of life is that I will be working again. If I have to have a job - its the best kind. I have the same hours and holidays as the kids. But I hate that we felt so good about the decision for me to quit and stay home. And I've LOVED my 'retirement'. But anyway. I mention this only because in October when my two new books come out I'm not going to have much free time. So I decided to try and make the book-ordering process easier for me (and hopefully a little less expensive for my readers) by offering pre-orders. That way I can go ahead and make up the mailing labels and envelopes and just have everything ready and waiting once the books arrive. If you're interested - see my Order Books Page. July 3, 2008 - It was so fun talking to Tommy yesterday. He didn't use the calling card that I bought him - he said there was a number on the wall that said for calling cards dial this number and then it had him put in his debit card number. So every time he called he got charged $10 - but worth every penny. He got to talk to Butch once and I talked to him twice. When he called back the 2nd time they had found another elder who was on their flight to Johannesburg but would eventually be serving in Capetown. He said he figured there was at least one more elder there somewhere and they were going on a search and find mission as soon as we finished talking.
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Bonus December Recipe Contributed by Kristy Nelson Sourdough Waffles 2 c flour (we like to grind whole wheat and use it fresh) 2/3 c powdered milk 1 Tbsp sugar 3 c water Combine in a large bowl, loosly cover and let sit overnight. In the morning, add: 2 eggs 1 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp. salt Mix well, add some water if it seems too thick. Add 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil and just gently fold it so the oil kind of sits on the outside of the batter. Bake in waffle iron. If you would prefer to make these into pancakes, just thin with a bit of water or milk until desired consistency. December Recipe Cream Cheese Pecan Pie 1 - Deep Dish frozen pie crust 8 oz Cream Cheese (softened) 3 eggs 2/3 cup sugar 2 tsps vanilla 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup Light Corn Syrup 1 cup chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350. Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and salt with mixer until smooth. Pour into crust. Sprinkle with pecans Put corn syrup, 2 eggs, remaining sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla into a bowl and mix just until blended. Pour on top of pecan layer. Place pie on a cookie sheet and bake 50-60 minutes until pie is set (but don't let the top burn). Cool on a wire rack for at least one hour. May be served warm or cold. November Recipe Mini Pigs in a Blanket 2 – 8 ounce cans of Crescent Dinner Rolls 48 fully cooked cocktail smoked sausages Preheat oven to 375. Separate dough into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into thirds. Place sausage on shortest side and roll to opposite points. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown. Serve warm. October Recipe Strawberry Squares Crust: 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup butter or margerine, melted Filling: 2 cups powdered sugar 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 8 oz. Cool Whip 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries Topping: 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup flour 3 TBSP Strawberry Jell-O 1 cup water Crust - In a casserole dish, combine melted butter or margerine with 1 1/2 cups of flour. Press evenly along the bottom and bake at 300 for 15-20 minutes until just done (not brown). Cool. Filling - In a large bowl, mix powdered sugar and cream cheese. Add Cool Whip. Spread over cooled crust. Top with sliced strawberries Topping - In a saucepan combine granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour and strawberry Jell-O. Stir in 1 cup water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbling. Remove from heat. Cover and allow to cool (about 30 mins.) Spoon cooled Jell-O mixture over filling. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Cut into squares before serving. September Recipe (Finally!!!) Buttermilk Syrup Shared by my friends Larry and Gladys Cooper - I tried this weekend and it's GREAT!! I'll never buy Mrs. Butterworth's again! 3 1/2 cups sugar 2 cups buttermilk 2 cubes (TBSPs) butter 3/8 cup light corn syrup 1 TBSP baking soda 1 1/2 TBSPs vanilla In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add sugar, buttermilk, corn syrup and baking soda. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Add vanilla and stir. It's best to make this the night before using it so the foam can dissipate. It makes about 1 1/2 quarts. Bonus August Recipe (Contributed by Penny Skinner) Penny's Guacamole 4 avocados 1/4 red onion 2 Roma tomato's 2 limes coarse salt Mash avocados into medium bowl. Squeeze one lime over avocados. If it needs more limes, repeat with other lime. Add chopped red onion, chopped tomato, then coarse salt to your own taste. Serve with homemade style tortillas or chips.(We all like the Tostido's Hint of Lime the best.) Save the pits of the avocado to put in the bowl. This stops the browning process until it is ready to be served. August Recipe
Mississippi Mud Ice Cream Pie
Original Recipe -
2 pints vanilla ice cream
2 tbsp bourbon
1 chocolate-cookie crumb crust
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 pints coffee ice cream
Cool Whip
Jar of Smuckers Hot Fudge Sauce
Soften the vanilla ice cream in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, then spread it evenly in the prepared crust. Mix bourbon into fudge sauce and pour half on top of the vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle with half the pecans and freeze for about an hour. Soften the coffee ice cream, and spread over the now firm first layer. Top with remaining fudge sauce and pecans.. Freeze for one hour. Top each piece with a dollop of Cool Whip before serving.
LDS-Modified Recipe –
1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 chocolate-cookie crumb crust
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Cool Whip
Jar of Smuckers Hot Fudge Sauce
Soften half of the vanilla ice cream in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, then spread it evenly in the prepared crust. Mix vanilla extract into fudge sauce and pour half on top of the vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle with half the pecans and freeze for about an hour. Soften the other half of the vanilla ice cream, and spread over the now firm first layer. Top with remaining fudge sauce and pecans. Freeze for one hour. Top each piece with a dollop of Cool Whip before serving.
Recipes for July
Corn Salad
(contributed by Betty Oglesby)
2-15 oz. cans of white whole kernel corn (drained)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup green pepper (finely chopped)
1/2 cup purple onion (finely chopped)
1 (9 3/4 oz) Chili Cheese Fritos (coarsely crushed)
Mix all ingredients except the Fritos. Add Fritos just before serving (to keep them from getting soggy). If you're making the salad and don't think all of it will be eaten at one time (one meal) you might want to keep the Fritos in a separate bowl and let everyone mix them in individually. That way the leftover salad won't be full of soggy chips!
Punch Bowl Cake
(this is soooo good!!)
Pound cake (homemade or store-bought)
1 large box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
3 cups milk
8 oz carton of sour cream
Large Cool Whip
3 cups Strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
Slice strawberries. Add sugar and a little watter. Stir and refrigerate. Mix pudding according to package directions. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 the Cool Whip. Break the cake into bite-sized pieces. Line bottom of a punch bowl with 1/3 of the cake pieces. Top with 1/3 of the strawberries. Pour 1/3 pudding mixture on top of strawberries. Repeat layers twice and then top with remaining Cool Whip.
Recipe for June
Homemade Oreo Cookies
2 Devil's Food Cake Mixes (Pillsbury)
1 Crisco Stick
4 3ggs
Cream Cheese Frosting (your own favorite recipe or store-bought)
Pour dry cake mixes into a large bowl. Add other ingredients. Mix WELL with clean hands or a strong mixer. The dough will be compact and thick. Roll mix into small balls (1-1 1/2 " diameter). Bake at 350 on cookie sheet for 9-11 minutes. Cool cookies on a rack. Use two cookies to make a cookie sandwich with frosting in the middle. Recipe for May
Peanutbutter Cup Cookies
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 TBSP milk
1/4 cup margerine (softened)
1/4 cup Crisco
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanutbutter
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
40 minature Reese's Peanutbutter Cups
Preheat oven to 375. Sift flour and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream margerine, Crisco, and sugars in a mixing bowl. Add egg and vanilla. Dissolve soda in milk and add to sugar mixture. Add flour and salt. Mix. Divide dough into 40 balls (about 1 inch). Press balls into an ungreased muffin pan. Cook for 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking remove wrappers from Peanutbutter Cups. When cookies are done, remove from oven and press a piece of candy into the center of each immediately. Allow to cool and remove from pan carefully. |
July 2, 2008 - Well, Tommy is on his way to his mission in Uganda (with a 3 week stopover in Johannesburg at the South Africa MTC). In the process of getting him off I learned a very important lesson (not for the first time - but hopefully for the last) and the experience was so harrowing I want to share it in hopes that others can learn from my mistakes and avoid the same nearly disastrous consequences. I don't even know how many times I have read over Tommy's mission information during the 4 months since he received his call. We checked and double checked and I couldn't imagine a problem we had not anticipated and planned for. But apparently the warnings to arrive at the appropriate gates early didn't register. Yesterday morning started off great. We got up early. Butch had a doctor's appointment and I ran a few errands while Tommy and the kids watched home videos and a DVD of the Trek they went on a couple of years ago. I bought pizza for an early lunch (since who knows when he'll actually eat again) and we enjoyed a couple of pleasant hours together as a family. When the appointed time to leave arrived we double checked that Tommy had everything and then headed to the airport. On the way Jamie called to say that he and Paris were on the way to the airport but were stuck in traffic. I told him Tommy's plane left at 2:25 so he'd have to go back to the gate by 2:00. He had over an hour and hoped to make it. We got to the airport a little before 1:00 and checked Tommy's bags through to Johannesburg. Some kids from our ward were there to see Tommy off so we sat around and visited with them. Jamie called periodically to let us know where they were. Finally at 1:55 Butch said Tommy had to get in the security line (which was basically non-existant at this point). So I called Jamie and told him he was going to miss Tommy. He asked to speak to him and Butch made an exception to the no-cell phone rule to let Jamie say goodbye. Tommy got in line and we walked along with him for a couple of minutes. Then Jamie called back and said they had gotten out of the traffic and were now only a couple of minutes away. He asked if Tommy could come out to the curb and they'd just say goodbye to him there. Now here's where I made my big mistake. Tommy getting to see Jamie one last time before he left was important - but making the plane was MUCH more important. I should have said, "No, Tommy can't come out to the curb. He has to stay in the security line. You hurry and get here and maybe you'll be able to wave to him as he walks down the ramp to his gate - but that's the best we can do." However, what I said was "SURE!" I pulled Tommy out of the 'line' right as he was about to show his ID and boarding pass. We rushed out to the curb and waited. After about five minutes Butch came out and got Tommy. He said the line was growing and he had to come NOW. So I waited for Jamie and Paris. They arrived about 1 minute later. I got in their car while they ran in. They were able to say goodbye while Tommy stood in the security line (again - this time not nearly so close to the front). Finally they came out to reclaim their car and I hurried back inside. Tommy was near the front of the line to show his ID again and I got to talk to him for just a couple of minutes. I wasn't thinking and didn't realize how close we were to the departure time of his flight - so I didn't even tell him to hurry. Once he was past the checkpoint I went over to stand by Butch and the rest of my family where we could watch Tommy go down the ramp to the gates. Butch told me then that they had already made the final call for Tommy's flight. Since Tommy was three people away from going through the metal detectors at this point, I ran around the corner to the ticket counter and asked them to hold his plane. They told me they couldn't do that. I was horrified and explained what had happened and the lady was very nice - but said there was nothing she could do. They would be closing the doors to the plane any minute and if he wasn't on it - he would miss it. I asked if he could be put on another flight and she said this was the last flight from Birmingham to Chicago on Tuesday. She said if he missed the flight he would have to wait and go on Wednesday!!!!! (Which meant he'd be late arriving at the MTC, he wouldn't get to travel with the other boys in his group, there might be additional expenses...) During this conversation she was continuously checking to see if he'd been boarded and finally she looked up and said, "They just dropped his name from the passenger list. He missed the plane." Trying hard not to throw up, I asked her if there was a plane leaving from Atlanta that we could get him on. She checked and said if we could get him there in 3 hours there was a plane that would get him to Chicago in time. I ran back and explained the situation to Butch (who I'm sure wanted to kill me but he was very patient). He said there was no way we could get him to the airport in Atlanta, into that huge airport and onto a flight in 3 hours. I felt so guilty and upset. I didn't want to tell Tommy we were just going to give up and go home, so I wanted to try at least for the flight to Atlanta. Finally Clay said, "Why are we going to Atlanta?" I told him Tommy missed his flight. And Clay said, "But he didn't come back." I looked down the ramp and it was true. No Tommy. Before I could even start to hope, the lady from the ticket counter came running around the corner and said the most beautiful words I've heard lately, "They put him on the plane." I cannot begin to explain my relief and gratitude. Because I didn't think - I almost sacrificed something that was VERY important for something that was much less so. I hope I can keep my priorities straighter in the future. I KNOW I will at airports! And the final blessing in all of this is that I'm so thankful he didn't miss his plane I can't even be TOO sad that he's gone!!! Besides, it hasn't really sunk in yet. And as Clay said when it was all over - "This sure will be a good story to tell." I just got a call from Elder Green from the airport in London. He's met up with the other two elders who are in his group. He sounds wonderful and happy and didn't even know he almost missed his plane. He said when he got to the gate the guy just waved him over and said, "We didn't think you were coming." Then it turns out that the flight crew was based in Salt Lake and most were Mormon. They asked him about his mission and even took pictures! He loved his flight on British Airways. They fed him dinner and breakfast and gave him a little care package with socks and a toothbrush (things that might come in handy while in Uganda). He and Elder Ashdown had eaten a nasty hamburger for dinner at a fast food place in the airport. We'd been warned that the food there was really expensive ($6 for a candybar) but I wanted him to eat real food for at least one meal while he was there since his layover was 11 hours. Anyway, they got hamburgers and they were gross and the waitress was rude and finally she gave them the check and for both of them it was $22. He thought $11 for a hamburger was high - but not too bad. Then they found out that was 22 POUNDS - which was approximately 48 DOLLARS ($24 each). He said it made him sick every time he thought about it and he'll never like English accents again. When it got to the end of that second conversation I was so sad. We had run out of things to say and he was wanting to go hunt for other elders, but I hated the thought that I wasn't going to hear his voice again until Christmas. It just seemed like I couldn't stand it. But finally I let him go - that last, final separation. Then I tracked his plane online all night and have checked my email about a gazillion times today but nothing so far. But I know he made it (because I was tracking his plane). Today is Clay's birthday and I'm trying not to act sad...Before you know it I'll be putting him on a plane for his mission. June 13, 2008 - Once again I've let a huge chunk of my life pass without journaling about it. On June 1st I turned 50 years old - which is quite a milestone. It's so strange to think that I've been around for so long (even stranger for my father and grandparents to realize that they welcomed me into their lives that long ago!!!). I spent several days reflecting - thinking what I'd do differently if I could go back, wishing I could see people who are not an active part of my life any more and grieving over the time that is gone and can't be reclaimed. But finally I decided that while I didn't do everything perfectly - I've learned a lot in my 50 years on earth. I'm grateful that overall I made good decisions. I married a wonderful man and through that decision I have been blessed with 8 fabulous children. I have 2 hardworking sons-in-law, a beautiful, patient daughter-in-law, and 3 (soon to be 4) precious grandchildren. I have a roof over my head, food to eat, the freedom to chose my path in life, the knowledge that Jesus is my Savior, loyal friends, a loving extended family and I even get to write books for a 'living'. I really shouldn't ever complain about anything again. May 29, 2008 - Emily chastized me yesterday for not journaling often enough - but I didn't realize that it had been over a month. I'm so SORRY!!!! And the worst is I can't even think of a good excuse. Tommy's home - I guess I can blame it on him. Our big news is that Paris is expecting our 4th grandchild. We don't have a due date yet but I think early next year. We can hardly wait (and won't really have to - time flies so fast the baby will be starting school before I know it). Also, by way of book news - I have a title and a PROJECTED release date for the sequel to Hazardous Duty. Covenant is naming it Above and Beyond (as in 'the call of duty'). I really like that although I didn't think of it. And it's slated for release in October. YAY!!!!!! I was so slow getting it finished I really put myself and my editor and all of Covenant in a time crunch to get it out by fall. I can't say how much I appreciate them for working extra hard on it. I am currently working on the next book in the Haggerty series. I hope to have it turned in by the end of June and expect it to come out next spring. Then I'll do the final book in the HD series and then - who knows. I promise it won't be a month before I post again!!!
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Recipe for April Gail’s Hershey Bar Pound Cake 2 cups sugar 7 Hershey bars 1 can Hershey’s syrup 2 sticks butter 2 ½ cups all purpose flour 4 eggs ½ tsp salt ½ tsp baking soda 1 cup buttermilk Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease and flour a pound cake pan. Break Hershey bars into pieces and melt along with Hershey syrup in the microwave – stirring regularly. Set aside to cool. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs. Dissolve soda in buttermilk then add to butter/sugar mixture. Mix flour with salt and add. Pour in cooled chocolate and mix well. Bake for 1 ½ hours. Cool completely before serving. Good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Recipe for March Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas Submitted by Kristy 1 can of Enchilada Sauce
Frozen Chicken Tenderloins (at least 1 per person)
Cooked Rice
Grated Cheese
Sour Cream
Tortillas (large)
Put frozen chicken and enchilada sauce in the crock pot and turn it to low. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the sauce and shred it. Return to sauce and allow family members to 'build' their own enchilada using any (or all) of the ingredients listed by taking a tortilla, putting a layer of sour cream, rice, chicken and cheese. Then roll and eat. Note from Betsy - When we did this I used a box of Spanish Rice. It was delicious and fun for the kids. Reciple for February Easy Cream Cheese Danish 2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls 2 8 oz packages of cream cheese 3/4 cups granulated sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsps sour cream Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a casserole dish and press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom for the crust. Pinch the seams together. In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese (softened), sugar, vanilla and sour cream. Spread filling on top of crust and then top with other can of rolls. Bake for 20-25 minutes. While danish is cooking, prepared glaze: 1 cup confectioner's sugar 1 tbsp milk 1 tbsp melted margerine. Mix the above together well. When danish is done, drizzle glaze over the top and then allow danish to cool. Serve warm but not hot. Recipe for January Sausage Balls 1 lb regular Jimmy Dean pork sausage 2 cups Bisquick 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp garlic salt Mix ingredients together well. Roll into 1 inch balls and place about an inch apart on a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool and serve warm. Can be frozen and re-heated. For recipes from earlier months please click the drop-down box and choose "Recipe Archives". Thanks!
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April 23, 2008 - I write every day for a while and then not at all for a couple of weeks. I guess that just proves I'm consistently inconsistent!!! Today I am so thankful for having Tommy home. He is such a pleasant, easy to get along with, undemanding person. He has caused a little drama though. He got his temple recommend in Provo. (For readers who are not members of our church, this is a little piece of paper signed by the bishop - who presides over an individual congregation like a preacher - and the stake president - who presides over a group of congregations. A recommend is required to enter our temples and church members who want one have to answer a list of about ten questions asking if we pay our tithing, keep the word of wisdom - no coffee, tea, smoking, drinking - refrain from sexual sins and that sort of thing). Anyway, he had his recommend so I set him up an appointment to go to the temple for the first time this Saturday. But when he arrived from Provo - the recommend was lost. Since his membership records are still in Provo (and the bishop of the ward where your membership is has to interview you) this posed a fairly huge problem. But after numerous phone calls to bishops, temple presidents and stake presidents - we've determined that his records can be requested from his BYU ward tonight, our bishop here will interview him immediately after that and our stake president can see him on Friday evening. Whew. Nothing is ever simple with us. Ever. One of my favorite daydreams over the past few months has been Tommy's farewell at church right before he leaves for Uganda. Laura said she thought she and Harrison could come but Josh definitely couldn't since he'll be doing his training. Grace and her roommates had planned a driving tour of the country that included a trip to Savannah, GA and a meal at Paula Dean's restaurant, a few nights at the beach in Flordia and culminating with Tommy's farewell here. But the driving tour is probably going to be impossible thanks to the rising (horrendous) cost of gas and Laura isn't sure she can come either. For years our family took up an entire middle row in the chapel of our church. Slowly we've shrunk down to a little corner. I fantasized about looking out and seeing my family taking up a whole row (maybe more). And Tommy has always wanted his sisters to sing In the Hollow of Thy Hand at his farewell, so I invisioned my girls and Paris standing around the microphone singing. Then afterwards we've planned a gathering for family and friends and all my kids would be together - for the last time for at least 2 years. I'm not giving up completely - but it's not looking good. Things might work out. But I have been so greatly blessed with wonderful children - I shouldn't ask for more. So I'm trying to "Love the ones I'm with" (remember that song - I never thought I'd consider it words to live by - but I never thought a lot of things...) April 4, 2008 - The sequel to Hazardous Duty has been turned in (notice I didn't say finished - I will still make many corrections before it reaches a published state). Butch hasn't filed for divorce, and the health department hasn't condemned my house - so I'm saying we made it through okay. April 2, 2008 - Spring is here! And at least so far in Alabama it's been mild and beautiful. We're getting up into the 70s during the day but still going down into the 50s at night. Now in a few months when it's still 86 at night - I won't be so happy. But for now I'm enjoying it. And - I'm going to email in my sequel to HD today. Finally!!!! I cannot tell you how happy I am to be through with it and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I promise to begin immediatley on the 3rd and final book so it won't be a year before it comes out!And I wanted to share just one quick thought. I work in the Birmingham Temple twice a month in the office and it has been a wonderful, learning experience. One important lesson was taught to me by an assistant to the matron, Sister Geniel Van Kampen. One Sat morning we had a family arrive at the temple to be sealed. The parents were going through first and a man from their branch had driven them quite a distance to get there. The only problem was they arrived without white clothing for the children and without a babysitter for the kids. The escorting man said he called ahead and was told that we provided children's clothing and babysitting. Now up to this point I was sympathetic - but we are a tiny temple and have never had a lot of clothing and don't even have a place to babysit - so NOBODY told him that. He just assumed it because he's from out west where there are big temples and he never considered the possibility that we wouldn't. Once he tried to blame us - I lost my spirit of cooperation. But Sister Van Kampen was so kind to him and I'll never forget what she said to us. She said "The important thing is that they have a good experience in the temple today." Which was completely true. We scrambled and came up with clothes for the kids. Sister Van Kampen herself watched the kids in the lobby. All was well. I learned a lot from that experience when it happened, but since then I've come to appreciate it more. My daughter, Grace, loves being in the temple. She has started going quite often to various temples in the SLC area to do baptisms (and never calls ahead). She took Emily and Tommy and my neice and nephew with her while they were visiting a couple of weeks ago (again no appointment). Every time she goes Grace talks about how wonderful everyone is to her. No one ever scolds her for not making an appointment. She leaves with a great feeling and can't wait to come back. How thankful I am to all those people I'll never meet - who are living Sister Van Kampen's words, contributing to my daughter's happiness and helping her testimony to grow. Sorry, I know I said this would be short!!!! March 25, 2008 - Well, I'm back from Utah. It was a really busy - but mostly fun trip. The highlights were - Every single flight (3) on my way out west were delayed and I arrived at the airport too late to get a rental car. So Laura had to come pick me up in the middle of the night (the silver lining here is that I was able to spend a little extra time with Harrison). On Thurs. I finally got Tommy's mission papers and saw how much we needed to do. So I insisted that he get a haircut on the way to work (for his passport pictures). We stopped by the first place we saw and I explained to the girl that he needed his hair cut but it didn't have to be severe since he didn't leave for another 3 months. She proceeded to scalp him. It's the worst haircut I've ever seen. I took him on to work, bought him a cap, and made a Mexican Fiesta for my kids at Jamie and Paris's house. On Friday I stopped by the Orem Seagull on State Street where the ladies were SOOO nice to me. Sharlett and Sue were particularly kind and even cut my bookmarks for me. Then I went to the South Orem store for a fun signing with Kerry Blair. Then to lunch with Kerry and some folks from Covenant. After lunch I took Tommy to apply for a passport and get immunizations while Laura took the other kids to Temple Square. We met back at the Mayan that night for dinner and on the way Josh (Laura's husband) hit a deer and totaled their car. On Saturday I had lunch with some cousins on my mother's side that I had either never met or not seen for 40 years. It was fun. Then I had 3 quick signings at Deseret Book stores in Downtown, Layton and Ft. Union. They were all very nice to me as well and I had people come to see me at each one - so it was a good afternoon. I hurried to the hotel where the Whitney Dinner was being held and it was (blessedly) delayed a little so I had time to get dressed. My aunt Sally was my date for the evening and we had a good time catching up. Sitting at my table was Covenant's Managing Editor Kathy Jenkins, the very entertaining Toni Sorenson (her new book called Master is awesome), Jennie Hansen, Michele Bell, Marion Jensen and my aunt. We had a good time. I got to see so many author friends and meet others and it was just a very nice evening. Hazardous Duty did not win the Suspense category - but I can try again next year with the sequel. On Sunday morning I left very early from the hotel and made my 7:20 flight. I flew from SL to Chicago, then to St. Louis, then to Dallas and finally to Bham. Jamie sent home a suitcase with me and it arrived but my suitcase, which contains nothing valuable - just everything I own and TOMMY'S MISSION PAPERS - is lost. They still haven't found it. But they'd better. Our internet modem died while I was away and until the new one arrives I'm handling emails, etc. from the FHC at church. So, that's it in a nutshell. The boys survived without me (although Clay says they ate hotdogs for almost every meal - I think that's an exaggeration but I'm not going to investigate because if it's true - I don't want to know!) Back to writing - I've promised my editor the second book in the Duty series by the end of the week and I'm tired of being a liar. March 8, 2008 - Today is Tommy's 19th birthday. The time sure did pass quickly - but it's been great! I hope the next 19 years are as good for him and for us. The big news is that he finally got his mission call. He was expecting it 10 days after it was submitted. When it didn't come that Weds, we figured it was going to take another week. But when it didn't come the next Weds - I started to feel a little panicked. By then Tommy was friends with his mail lady. They had exchanged cell numbers and she was calling him every morning to let him know if it was there (is she NICE or what??). But finally on Thursday she told him that it had arrived (on Grace's birthday). He is going to the Uganda Kampala Mission and reports to the MTC in South Africa on July 3rd (Clay's birthday). When Jamie read his letter and I heard that he was going to Sweden, I had an immediate affirmation that this was the right place for him. My great grandparents immigrated from Scandinavia and it made sense and was like a chance to give something back to the country of my ancestry. But when Tommy read his letter my initial reaction was not completely positive. I've worried about that - feeling faithless - for a couple of days now. But finally I know that Uganda is the right place for Tommy to serve. Some of my initial hesitation stems from the safety, health and potential starvation issues associated with a mission in Uganda. But mostly I think I had a hard time bonding with the idea just because it wasn't what I was expecting. Butch and Jamie both went to the Provo MTC. So that was a family tradition of sorts. When Jamie left Tommy and I flew with him out to Utah. We ate breakfast at the Provo IHOP. I took pictures of Jamie and Tommy in front of the IHOP sign and the sign in front of the MTC. My plan was to have similar pictures of all my sons. But Tommy leaves straight from here - by himself - and flies for over 24 hours to get to Africa. He'll have to get a shot for yellow fever before he goes and will take malaria pills every day while he's gone. He'll walk 10-12 miles a day along alternately muddy or dusty roads and live in conditions that are pretty much unheard of by American standards. But he'll have an opportunity to change and effect lives that isn't available everywhere. I'm so thankful for him and the life that he's led to this point that has made him worthy and willing to serve the Lord in Uganda.
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