This is from my older neighbor LeeAnn who always tells it exactly like it is. This is really good, fast to make and my family (except for one daughter who would prefer that all sauces be abolished so she could have just plain noodles smothered in butter) love it. To be prepared to make this I buy a large container of grated Parmesan cheese at Costco and freeze it in one cup servings.

Makes 1 1/2 quarts - enough to generously serve with one box of spaghetti noodles

1 lb. hamburger
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz tomato sauce
16 oz tomato paste
1 1/2 c water
1 c grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
3 Tbsp parsley
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf

Saute hamburger, garlic and onion till cooked. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer uncovered anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 hours. Tastes even better the next day.

These are not fragile, melt in your mouth cookies that you have to refrigerate/freeze and roll on wax paper. These are kid friendly, make right away, sugar vehicles - able to withstand having mounds of sprinkles piled on without breaking.


1 1/2 c real butter
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c sour cream
3 eggs at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 c flour

Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients a little bit at a time. Roll out on floured surface to desired thickness. Cut and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool and frost with sour cream frosting.

My family is unanimous in deciding this recipe is a keeper. If you have never had it before the combination sounds strange - but it tastes delicious!


1 family size can cream of chicken soup

Dear Family and Friends,

Just returned from a fall walk. Really it feels more like an expedition with all the kids, roller skates, bike, wheelchair, dog plus our neighbor's dog who Spencer is dog sitting. But it is so nice and fall like outside with the Indian summer in full swing that who can complain. I needed to stretch my legs after today as I ended up with 6 hours of church meetings. I don't know how church leaders sit all day without loosing the feeling in their legs!

Monday I ran Allison to the doctor with Robyn tagging along. It turns out she wasn't kidding about her ear periodically hurting for the last TWO week. At least we got her on antibiotics before her ear drum burst and she has stopped the periodic waking up in the middle of the night to wail about her ear hurting. And as a bonus they got their flu shot/mist.

It is hard to believe that Miss Allison will be 9 this week. And then I looked at her tonight in longer jeans (she is so excited to have grown a little bit) and a fitted sparkly t-shirt with a dozen bracelets on her wrist and its a shock to realize that she has grown up! This week was parent teacher conferences. Allison is doing great. In fact I was a little shocked to learn how well she was doing. I knew that she had been going to fourth grade for math which isn't uncommon at their school. But since she is spending math time getting all her homework and any supplemental work done and then reading for half an hour they decided they wanted to bump her up to 5th grade. We don't want her skipping a grade entirely, so she will just be going with the 5th graders for math time. I am hoping it works out OK. When we told her that we decided she could do it for a month and then decide if it works she had mixed feelings. This is the note on my pillow: Dear Mom, I don't know what to do. I have butterflies in my stomach. Please help them go away. Sincerely, Allison. What a sweetie. But she has amazingly sweet teachers this year who will help her make the transition.



On Friday night, Allison had her birthday party. She invited 17 girls and all but one came. Inside I was just saying "dang, it" but Allison was thrilled to see all her friends. She has so many and they are interconnected so much that it is hard to invite one without the other and really she wanted all her girls over. She wanted a cooking/craft party. They made shrinky dink charms for a necklace that turned out really cute. They cooked stuffed shells, garlic bread, fruit shish kabobs and homemade rootbeer (all her choices). Then we frosted cookies, made root beer floats, opened presents and watched Camp Rock 2 while making friendship bracelets. Boy it makes me tired just saying it all. It ended up being a lot of fun even if it was controlled chaos most of the time. Jeremy took Taylor, Spencer and Robyn out to dinner and then Spencer came home and hid in the basement till the estrogen levels returned to normal.

Robyn has been in whine mode this week. She has stopped being cute in the middle of the night when she is up because of ghosties and pricklies getting her. I don't think I am very cute when I yell for her to go to her own bed or else either though. So hence the whine mode from lack of sleep most of the week. But she has been enjoying the sunshine, running outside or on bikes most of the day with her little friends. At dinner time she comes in literally dirty head to toe.

I was able to go to parent-teacher conferences for Taylor this week too. It was neat to meet his seminary teacher and tour the seminary building that is attached to his school. He has a main teacher and then each student has a one to one missionary aide. I thought it was very cool. His teacher and I talked about Taylor's diminishing abilities. Seizures just mess you up. But when he has a good day, it is a really good day - full of giggling, chirping and trying to see what body part he can use to activate switches with other than his hand.

Last Sunday I was able to go see Spencer get his 1st rank badge and his first merit badge - electricity. He led the flag ceremony and was anxiously studying the words before the court of honor to make sure he got it right. He doesn't seem to get as upset as easily since we adjusted his meds but his anxiety levels remain high over very little things - like having his shoes tied just right, his glasses rubbing his nose the wrong way, forgetting one word in a poem he has to recite. We see the psychiatrist this Tuesday to discuss options. His current teacher who had him for math last year says he seems to be much more social and open with people this year and to do better with other students - so that is a good sign. He was very excited that for guitar this week he got the song "Secrets" by One Republic, which was the theme song for Sorcerer's Apprentice. He thinks he is very cool when he plays it.


Jeremy has been working hard this week. He went to a photography night dedicated to learning how to do his lighting. He had a family photo shoot up in the canyon. And then he took on an extra design job that needed to be done by this week so he has been working some late nights. He has lost almost 17 pounds so far since he has given up eating anything beyond a small amount of healthy food. I have never felt so guilty about my sugar habit! Maybe someday I will join him when my will power and desire meet up.

Wednesday night was one of the highlights of the week as my brother Daniel came by for a visit. We were all so excited to see him and the fact that he brought Krispy Kreme doughnuts for kids and Trader Joe's chocolates for me was just icing on the cake. I would like to think I would treasure time with family just as much if they lived close by but I know that me a family visit is never long enough.

I canned salsa this week as our tomatoes finally turned red. It came out quite spicy as I put more peppers and pepper seeds in this year. One of our kids' favorite snacks after school is chips and salsa. Spencer has even learned that on a day he wants salsa he walks through the door stripping of his shirt on the way to the fridge for a bottle.

Last night the stake did a dinner/dessert thing for the broadcast. My part involved making lots of bread. So our house smelled like some wonderful bakery. But after that event and everything else this week I came home to kids all out and asleep early thanks to an amazing Jeremy. So I crashed on a couch with a mug of raspberry cheesecake hot chocolate (Stephens new flavor), a blanket and a super chick flick, Letter to Juliet. It was so nice just to lay there and be glad for my life.

Hope all is well with each of you,

Heather

Here is my favorite chocolate zucchini bread recipe. I like to think the whole wheat flour and applesauce helps cancel out the oil and sugar :)! We had this moto when Spencer started on one of his drugs that makes you constantly hungry. It is "you can't get fat on fruit and vegetables". So you can have fruit and vegetables in our house whenever you are hungry and it isn't meal/snack time. I am rethinking that philosophy as I watched Spencer today eat 2 apples, 2 bananas, 1 peach, a bunch of cherries, a handful of carrots, a cucumber and a serving of salad. At least he is getting his 5 a day! Here is the recipe courtesy of my Aunt Karol's real estate recipe/ad cards:

2 c flour (I use 1 c whole wheat, 1 c white)
1/3 c cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
3/4 c applesauce
1/4 c canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c chocolate chips ( I use the mini- kind. If you toss them with a bit of flour they stay mixed in better)
2 c grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 2 8" loaf pans. Combine dry ingredients and wet separately and then mix it all together and add chocolate chips and zucchini. (Often I just dump everything in the mixer together). Divide between pans and bake 55-60 min. Let cool BEFORE taking out of pan and then slice.

I usually double this recipe and make 3 regular size loaf pans. It cooks the same amount. Enjoy!

This is a cross between a mild chili and a soup. It is great for a food storage recipe as you can leave out the hamburger.

1 or 2 lbs ground beef
2 onions, chopped
2 cans pinto beans (15 oz each), drained
1 can kidney beans (15 oz), drained
1 can corn (15 oz), drained
1 can stewed tomatoes (15 oz)
2 cans tomatoes with chiles (15 oz)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pkg ranch salad dressing mix

Brown beef and onions in skillet. Drain excess oil. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Serve with sour cream, chips, avocados, grated cheese etc.

This is a recipe I found I think in high school. Although kids gripe when I make it, Jeremy and I enjoy it so we over-rode their decision to not keep this recipe. It really only works in the summer time when your vegetables are fresh but it is one of my favorite ways to eat zucchini. I will serve leftovers on top of lettuce as a salad or just eat it plain.