Brothers

You might think that Bud only has one brother, Joseph, the fellow on Bud's right. Well, if you count half-brothers, Bud has too many to count. We spent last Saturday morning inside this place. It was Mike's first time and he asked Bud to be his escort.

I think Mike looks more like Bud than Joseph, other than the obvious age difference (click on the photo for an enlargement so you can see what I mean). 

I know, I know. I'm going on a diet immediately. 

This other guy is Dan, and his wife, Anna. Dan is Mike's home teacher (Mike isn't short, these two are TALL!). They were also the witness couple on the session, so Mike got to sit between Dan and Bud. Pretty cool. Another cool thing was that our session's Adam and Eve were Mike's temple prep teachers! It was a very special day and we were happy to be a part of it!
P.S. Mike is single so if anyone is interested, you could be my sister-in-law. Wouldn't that be fun?

Who Dunnit

I carry a camera in my purse. I don't use it often. The other day I checked the SD card to see what needed to be downloaded to the computer. I found a bunch of pictures on there that I didn't remember taking. They looked like this.

I'm pretty sure I didn't take these pictures. 

And, I'm pretty sure this sweetie pie didn't do it either. 

So that just leaves these two. I'll only give you one guess which one it was. This should be an easy game. Bonus points if you can guess where those mystery pictures were taken! I'll let you think about it while I go get my new cookbook signed! P.S. that's a hint right there.

Going To Gygi's

Last week we had a Stake barbecue. No, they did not barbecue steaks at the stake barbecue. I had signed up to bring a dessert. No surprise there. I wanted to use up what I had on hand, so this is what I made. Both cupcakes are basically the same, but one is topped with sprinkles and the other with a boysenberry.

The frosting is Pastry Pride which was whipped up a week or so ago. It stayed fresh in the refrigerator very nicely. 

Inside the cupcake I squirted in some raspberry filling. I've been trying to use that up for a while. The random lady we sat across from at the barbecue bit into the cupcake (she took one with the berry) and proclaimed, "Mmm, this is gooood!" She didn't know me, nor did she know I'd brought those cupcakes. I smiled. 

The Pastry Pride and raspberry filling were both bought from Gygi's. I'm on my way to Gygi's tomorrow to get some of these books signed by Sara and Kate! Might as well pick up some more Pastry Pride and raspberry filling. Now that I've used it up, I need to re-stock! And yes, Jenny, I'll probably buy some sprinkles. What's a trip to Gygi's without buying sprinkles? 

Nora's Nails

With my oldest grand daughter getting baptized last week, a new tradition was started. I wanted to spend some one on one time with her and we decided (she says it was my idea and I say it was her idea, but she might be better on remembering things than I) to get a professional manicure for her.

Deciding on the color

And the winner is... (she first picked out a bright pink, but then changed her mind)

The "before" picture

Waiting for her turn

Buff, buff, buff

I think she's having fun!

I didn't know she would get a fancy nail or two

The center of the flower glowed under the fluorescent light 

All done...so pretty! 

So the new tradition is that I will take each grand daughter to get a professional manicure on their eighth birthday weekend. Fun! I wonder how to compensate my grandsons' eighth birthdays?

A Rare Occasion

When you think of my blog and recipes, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Dinner? Of course not! However, from time to time, I do cook dinner and occasionally it turns out well. Bud not only had seconds but complimented it...TWICE! He doesn't usually take seconds, so that's a rare occasion.

I snapped the following picture before I remembered to add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, so just pretend you can see it there.

The recipe is in the family cookbook, page 90. Thank you, Samuel, for including it (or should the thanks go to Holly?). I changed a couple of things.
Because I know that not all six of my readers own the Lystrup Family Cookbook, I will post it for you. I'll type out the recipe as is, then tell you how I changed it.

Bow Tie Chicken Supper
1 lb chicken
1 T oil
1 small red pepper, julienned
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4" slices
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt-free seasoning blend (it probably means Mrs. Dash)
1 cup bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
In a large nonstick skillet, sauté chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove from skillet and keep warm. In the same skillet, stir-fry red pepper, zucchini, onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Add the peas and seasonings; stir fry for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and pasta; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken and sprinkle with cheese.

Here's where I made changes- I had a green pepper, not red, and my onion was red, not yellow. I used Old Bay seasoning instead of the salt-free blend. My chicken was already cooked so I skipped straight to sautéing the veggies. I added the cooked chicken to the almost cooked pasta while it was still boiling in the water, just to heat up the cold chicken, then drained it and added it to the veggies. I used "grape" tomatoes instead of cutting up big tomatoes, and I loved how they burst in my mouth when I bit them. I also added a good pinch of kosher salt (so, less than 1/8 tsp).
This dinner was ready to eat in just a few minutes which was a good thing because we had to squeeze it in between Bud's home teaching assignment and his scout assignment, which was a very small window.

Nora's Baptism

I wish I could show you the whole family picture, but until the adoption legalities are over, I have to just show you these. Here is Nora with her parents.

Nora and Nana

My son and my grand daughter, dressed in white. 

Still a little wet, and super excited about the whole experience. 

Ready for church the following day. 

I'm so very proud of my sweet Nora for becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm also grateful I could be there to celebrate this special event in her life.