Happy Flowers

Zinnias are pretty much one of my favorite flowers. Such happy colors! This year, with the wet Spring, they struggled a bit and only about half of my seeds sprouted. I even planted some of the new light green Zinnias, but none of them came up at all. When the dry weather finally came, the plants that survived perked up and the fence line where I always plant them filled in alright. Not as amazing a display as usual, but respectable. Better luck next year, I guess!

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Mmm..yummy!! Decadent chocolate overload- that's what this sister recipe is. Easy because it calls for ingredients you have in your cupboard. At one point in the recipe, you pour boiling water over all of the ingredients. Fun, huh? Then when you eat it your teeth can look like this:
Chocolate Pudding Cake- serves 8
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. sugar
6 Tbs. cocoa powder
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbs. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. boiling water

Heat oven to 350. Mix flour, baking powder, salt sugar and 2 Tbs. cocoa powder.Add milk, butter and vanilla.
Mix until smooth. Spread in a greased 10x6 inch baking dish. Combine brown sugar and the remaining 4 Tbs. of cocoa powder.Sprinkle over batter in pan.Pour the boiling water over all, and do not stir. Do lean over the pan for a cocoa facial.Bake for 40 minutes or until top appears to be firm. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve warm, pudding side up.

Twinners

Can you tell the difference between these 2 phones?Neither can I.
One is mine and the other is Brian's.
When Brian was here on Tuesday, he took his phone home with him, and he took my phone home with him. For 3 days he was my social secretary, passing on all of those voicemails and work texts. I had to set the alarm on my clock radio, of all things, to wake up.
I called him twice a day to check in.
He's glad I have my phone back.
But not as glad as I am.

In the 7 minutes I have before I need to move on to something else, I will share with you some pictures I took during the week. I feel the Cold Breath of Autumn creeping up on me, and felt the need to capture some September-like pictures. Here's what I came up with:

This is the picturesque fence I pass on the way to work.Do sunflowers make you happy? Me too!What are these called? I really don't know, but they look like they could be used as a deadly weapon! I've seen RS ladies put black eyes on these to create fuzzy-looking creatures. :)
Times up! Have a great day!

Pesto Turkey Burgers

Let's say you are looking for a yummy alternative to the usual hamburger. Let's say you like pesto. Let's say you like blue cheese. Added bonus: lean turkey burger. Try these- they aren't dry like other turkey burgers I've tried, and the Blue Cheese mayo puts them over the top into stratospheric deliciousness.

Pesto Turkey Burgers- makes 4 burgers
1 lb. lean ground turkey
2 Tbs. prepared pesto
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
4 large rolls

Preheat outdoor grill to high heat. Mix together ground turkey, pesto, salt and pepper.
(Mmm, raw meat is so appetizing, don't you think?)
Add bread crumbs and mix till blended. Form into 4 patties.
Mix together mayo and blue cheese. Chill.Grill patties until no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes each side.
Half and butter large rolls. Toast rolls on grill. Serve burgers with blue cheese sauce.

My Hero

Have you ever checked out The Pioneer Woman? (www.thepioneerwoman.com) She is my hero! Her pictures are amazing, her posts are hilarious, and her recipes are delicious. She just tells it like she sees it and I look forward to reading her every day. She's like a sister, but not quite as funny, and with no broken arms.

Changing Seasons

Since Bruce had a meeting, I took myself up to Snowbasin after dinner to check out the changing leaves. And to take a few pictures. The maples have definitely changed:
Not so much the oaks or aspens, but there was lots of color and it was beautiful. I love the combination of bright leaves against the still-green trees. I'm slowly coming to grips with the fact that Fall is coming. Sigh...

Tater Dews

Ok, so they aren't really called Tater Dews, but Brian calls them that. Something to do with apples and the French calling potatoes the "apples of the earth". You'll have to ask him to explain. These are really called Apple Dumplings, and they are filled with many decadent ingredients including butter, sugar, and Mountain Dew. Yep, Mountain Dew. And just to give you a glimpse of how uptight and anxiety-prone I am, it was torture for me to buy that MD at the neighborhood Walmart. I was afraid that someone from the ward would see me buy a drink with Caffeine in it. But, my mental issues are a subject for another day. On with the recipe:

Apple Dumplings-8 servings
2 whole Granny Smith apples
2 cans (8 oz.) Crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter (can you hear Paula?)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can (12 oz.) Mountain Dew soda
Cinnamon, to taste

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple in a crescent roll and place in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir and pour entire mixture over apples in the pan. Pour Mountain Dew over all. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. All of that butter, sugar and soda will make a delicious sauce to spoon over the dumplings. These are super-good with ice cream!

Before It's Too Late

On my way to work in Park City this morning I noticed that at least half of the leaves had already changed on the mountains! It looks like this will be an early but colorful year for Fall leaves. So, before everything freezes, I need to show you some of the flowers in my yard! Here are this year's nasturtiums-And my little kitty shadow, who looks a bit perturbed/alarmed at the lawn mowing going on next door. What a diva!

I Am Alarmed.

At the horse show I noticed this alarming development:not, Not, NOT ready for fall or fall-like temperatures!! I need at least another month in the 80's!

My camera has returned!! I am so happy, and it looks brand spankin' new. They even replaced the rubber hand grip that fell off in March. Now, when I look through the eyepiece, I don't see pieces of things- like lint- and maybe bug parts. Anyway, I took it to the horse show yesterday at Lynnleigh Farm. And I was brave! I experimented with my manual settings, mostly on the S setting, to sped up my shutter speed. I think I like this new-fangled way of taking pictures! Here are some of the results:

We started off with warm-ups at 7:00 am, before the sun came up. This is what I got with no flash. Kind of dark, but at least Rocko looks happy.
The best jumping picture of the day- I'm glad Shannon is steering, because Rocko is jumping with his eyes closed again.
Rocko loves Lynnleigh because he gets to eat grass all day long. Or dig dirt holes under trees.Turning heads. I'm sure those people on the bench are thinking that Rocko is too gi-normous for his Little Mother.
My favorite picture of the day. Happy girl, horse looking for food:

Lemon Blueberry Bread

We had this sweet/tart glazed bread with our picnic in Park City on Monday. It got thumbs-up all around, so that means it makes it into the official recipe book! This is some of the best quick bread I've ever made!

Lemon Blueberry Bread- 12 servings
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. white sugar
3 Tbs. lemon juice
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbs. grated lemon zest
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 c. white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 c. sugar, 3 Tbs. lemon juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in lemon zest and blueberries. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining lemon juice and sugar. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.

Elder Pics

It's always so exciting to get pictures from a missionary! Peter's are funny- mostly landscapes and not much of him. Gonna have to talk to him about that.

Check out this view- New Zealand is a beautiful country!
Here's one of an entertaining town display. This is just the kind of thing Peter would find amusing. He probably wanted to climb on it and pretend to take a bite.Then he sent this one of his companion taking a siesta. This companionship does a lot of driving. Hundreds of miles a week from their missionary lair in the mountains. Look at this van? lorry? junker? that they are driving. And if you'll notice, they are on the wrong side of the road.

Labor Day Bobsledding?

Mmmm... What to do on Labor Day. Ride bobsleds, of course! Everyone, except Lindsey, who had to work, who we missed very much and wished she were with us, next time fer sher, went to the Olympic Spots Park in Park City to ride the rides.We started with the Ultra Zipline:Then moved on to the Xtreme Zipline:The Quicksilver Alpine Slide was next:And after lunch we fulfilled one of Bruce's dreams, to ride the Olympic 4-man bobsled. It was crazy fast- 69 mph, very bumpy, but such a rush! Brian's big cabeza slowed down the kid's bobsled, but we all made it down in one piece. The menfolk even got to push off some of the sleds!Today I really missed my camera. Update: they promise it will be ready on Wednesday!!

Swiss Potatoes

This is close to the perfect potato casserole recipe. Why? Because it's different. Because you can feed a few or feed the ward. Because you can switch out the kind of cheese, depending on what you have. Because it can be made ahead of time. Because it can be frozen. Because it uses frozen potatoes and you don't have to peel! Yep, just about perfect. Today's sister recipe is Swiss Potatoes.

Swiss Potatoes - 9x13 pan
2 lbs. frozen shredded hash browns
2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 c. butter or margarine3 Tbs. flour
3 c. milk
1 tsp. salt1 tsp. onion powder or 1 Tbs. dried minced onion1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional in my world!)

Combine frozen hash browns and shredded cheese in a 9x13 pan. Set aside.Melt butter in small saucepan and stir in flour. Add milk and spices, Cook till thickened and bubbly. Look! There's my hand!Pour sauce over potatoes and cheese.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Market Mickeys

Check out my new grocery bags. I love them! :)