Maybe one of these days I will take pictures to go along with these food ideas, but for now imagination will have to do.
I made Mac and Cheese again, and at Sarah's request, no ham. I don't know what went wrong but I ended up with too much cheese sauce. Sarah disagrees, since there is no such thing as too much cheese sauce. She must be right because when I went to get some for my lunch the next day it was GONE! The last batch we ate for three days.
I also made Butternut Rigatoni. My dad has always been good at crumbling cooking meat and I sure could have used him for the sausage. I don't like the big chunky pieces in this, but it still turned out pretty good. Matt said that he even liked it, and that was coming from a guy who was sick, tired, and doesn't like that kind of thing (casseroles).
I got the ingredients for Lasagna, but it is more labor intensive than any of these others, so we'll see if I can do it or if the ingredients end up in other dishes!

I've been cooking again, one of the fun things I like to do. First, I'm so glad I have the energy, and second I am so tired of take out food. Even sit down restaurant food has become boring. They always give you too much and leftovers have never been my thing. They also don't vary enough in their menus. The point is, homemade food, even the super simple stuff is a welcome return to normalcy.
Those of you who Facebook know where the links to these recipes are, though if you know me you will also know that my favorite chefs to follow are Rachel Ray and Anne Burrell. As I write this I am eating leftover quiche. I know I said I don't do leftovers, but sometimes homemade lends itself better to being leftover than some fancy steak. I am sure it has to do with reheating in the microwave.
This week I made Macaroni and Ham and Cheese. I have always maintained that I hate Mac and Cheese, but this recipe called for gruyere cheese, which I love, so I thought I'd give it a try. Yum! That is all.
I also made Herbed Chiken Cutlets. They took longer than planned, so Matt entertained the missionaries with pictures and stories from his trip to Isreal. I have never dredged in three steps, but it was actually easier than any two step process I have tried before. everyone loved them, with one sister and Matt taking 2nds.
I also made a quiche. This was by far the simplest thing I made, but since it was on a day after dialysis and driving Matt to the airport, simple is good. Like I said, I am eating leftovers now. That may be the only problem with the quiche. I can't cut the recipe in half for our small family. Ah, well. Sarah and I will take care of it. Matt doesn't like eggs, so he is "stuck" with the last piece of chicken.
Hopefully I'll be able to keep this updated, as I would really like to make it bout my adventures in cooking for a while. Thanks for listening/reading!

Here are the rules: You answer the questions below and at the end of the post you tag 4 people. Then go to their blog and comment to them that they have been tagged.
What is your husband's name? Matthew John Baker
How long have you been married? 18+ years
How long did you date? We started dating Friday, January 13. I met his parents at General Conference in April, went down to AZ in July, then he came back up to Utah to propose in October. We got married in May. So...18 months?
Who eats sweets? Only when under stress.
Who said "I Love You" first? I don't remember. I do know he kissed me first.
Who is taller? 6'2" vs 5'6". Matt wins.
Who can sing best? Definitely Matt. He used to have a beautiful tenor. Then puberty hit.
Who is smarter? He will claim it is me, but I think it depends on the subject. He really know the scriptures well! Now that is the smart that counts.
Who does the laundry? Sarah. What? Isn't that why we have kids?
Who pays the bills? We take turns by the year. This year is my turn.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? The right and left don't matter. All I ask is to be closest to the bathroom.
Who cooks dinner? Mostly me. He likes to cook, but doesn't get around to it often. Plus, with the complements he gives me, why should I give that up?
Who drives? Matt drives his car. I drive mine. Except when I don't want to.
Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Matt. I can be a real idiot.
Who kissed who first? He kissed me first. He claims I kissed him, but I was there, and he kissed me first. Definitely. No question. Without a doubt.
Who asked who out first? Matt asked me to go to the movies with his siblings and cousins. Shae paid for me, because Matt forgot to ask Chuck, who bought Matt's ticket, to get one for me.
Who wears the pants? That is a dumb question. I have pants, he has pants ...
How did you meet? The first time I saw him was when we were both volunteering at the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Georgia. He doesn't remember meeting me until the next day at my companion's birthday party. He claim that he definitely remembers the red dress I wore!
Now I'm supposed to tag 4 people. I tag Mom, Hillory, Holly, and Rhiannon.

Tag! Here's the drill (This one's kind of interesting...)1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

The rules are as follows: List 3 Joys, 3 Fears, 3 Goals, 3 Current Obsessions/Collections, and 3 Random Surprising Facts About Yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

Three Joys
1. Matthew
2. Sarah
3. Temple Blessings

Three Fears
1. Snakes
2. Failure
3. Judgements

Three goals
1. Learn to run
2. Finish my book
3. Build an "off the grid" Victorian

Three current obsessions/collections
1. Agent Pendergast
2. Laundry Soap
3. Disney Pins-vintage and villians

Three random surprising facts about me
1. I'm really good with knives
2. I have deep seated prejudices
3. I really wish I was a shape shifter

Tag, you're it!
I tag:
1. Lauren
2. Holly
3. Rhiannon
4. Dad
5. Stacey

We just finished a week or so with 5 of Matt's students from AZ. It was a lot of fun and it was a lot of work. It is amazing to remember the maturity differences from Frosh/Soph to Jr/Sr/Grad. I had to spend an entire day reclaiming my computer from the clutches of MySpace, etc.
Tomorrow we start in with a new batch of visitors. We have 6 girls and their leader from Ashburn, VA who are part of a youth conference/pageant tour, the Von Kampens from Mesa, and Susan, Seini, and Iolani. Yeah, you would think that I would have spaced these things out better, but communication is sometimes a problem. I told the Von Kampens they were welcome, then told the ward that I might be able to host some girls for the youth group, but could they call me first to confirm? No call came, just an assignment. Matt claims he told me the dates for Susan and Seini, but I don't think so. Anyhooo. Here we are, setting up all the airbeds, and hoping for the best.

Okay, summer has officially gotten in the way of my blogging. I have no idea how much or little I did in June after the 9th, because that was when we started having visitors. I do know that I went to Girls Camp with Sarah as a 4th year at the beginning of July, and managed to gain about 10 lbs. It really bums me out because the food was terrible. 4th years have to plan their menu and then cook it. They really needed help, but not much you can do once you are out in the wilderness. The first night it rained so we didn't eat our undercooked potatoes and cold salad until 9 PM. It didn't get a lot better after that.