Squash...

I was at the farmers market today and bought some more yummy squash...I picked up some butternut squash, spaghetti squash, grey squash, summer squash and some zucchini.

I thought I would post some fun ideas of ways to eat the squash that I like...

Butternut squash...cut in half clean out the seeds, put in 9x9 or 9x13 (whichever will fit in your microwave) put 1/4 -1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the pan (after putting the squash in cut side down). Cover with plastic wrap and cook about 10 minutes. It will be soft to the touch when done. Then you can cut into smaller pieces...this one I generally eat just plain, it comes off of the peel very easy with your spoon or fork...tastes very yummy.

Spaghetti squash...cook same as butternut squash, when this one is done I scrap it out of the peel into a bowl and serve with spaghetti sauce. Much healthier than the carb packed spaghetti noodles :-)

Grey Squash...I have only ever seen this at the farmer's market. It is very similar to zucchini and I eat it the same way, just a slightly different flavor.

Summer squash and Zucchini I cook and eat the same way, just slice about 1/4 in slices and put about 1 inch of water in the bottom of a sauce pan. Cook until tender and eat. Again, I eat it plain, but it would be great with a little basil and pepper, or salt.

I started getting the magazine "Health" and it is fabulous. I absolutely love it. I found a couple of recipes in it that I have tried and many others I want to try, but thought I would share the recipes that I found so far, so here they are:

Parmesan Pork Tenderloin

1 lb pork tenderloin
3 Tbsp fine dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 small onion thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 small zucchini or summer squash, thinly sliced

Cut tenderloin crosswise into 12 slices. Place each slice on its cut surface and flatten with heel of hand to 1/2" thickness. Mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper; dredge pork slices to coat. Heat oil over medium-high heat in nonstick sauce pan. Saute pork for 2 to 3 minutes per side; remove and keep warm. Add onions, garlic, and zucchini or squash to skillet and saute 5 minutes or until tender.

I love this one, but I use some of both zucchini and summer squash. The magazine said to visit www.theotherwhitemeat.com for more pork recipes...I haven't tried that site out yet, but after this dish I can't wait to see what's out there.

Roasted Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

1/4 cup chopped skinned hazelnuts (I used walnuts and it was great)
1 pound butternut squash, halved seeded and cut into 8 wedges
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
5 cups mixed winter salad greens
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (I used grated)

preheat oven to 425
place the nuts on a baking sheet in the over, bake for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside
coat a 13x9 nonstick baking pan with cooking spray. Place squash on pan, cut sides down. Cover with foil, and roast in the middle of oven about 20 minutes or until tender
whisk together the maple syrup, vinegar and mustard in a serving bowl until well blended. Add greens and toss until well combined
divide the dress greens onto each of the 4 plates, and surround with 2 squash wedges. Sprinkle evenly with nuts and Parmesan.

This one I thought looked great, but sounded different...maple syrup and mustard. After trying it though, we will be having it again.

Enjoy the squash

Contact - Who initiate's...

I would love to hear your perspective if you have the time...

This is something that I have been thinking about for some time. In relationships, friendships, family relations etc.

Do you often feel like you are:

A. always reaching out
B. never reaching out
C. meeting in the middle

Do these feelings get to you? Whose "job" is it to reach out?

In my opinion there needs to be balance. I have experienced all of the scenarios that I have listed above. It seems to work best when the relationship uses option C. Otherwise there is too much strain on one member of the relationship, which slowly generates some form of resentment. Not necessarily always noticed by the other member of the relationship depending on how strong the resentment is, or how the relationship has been built over time.

(...still my opinion) In the end the best option is to reach out to those who you truly love and who help you to grow to become better people, when this happens, I find that option C seems very natural.

Just some food for thought. I hope that in all of the relationships in my life I can work to move all of those to option C...however, there is only so much that one party can do since communication takes 2 people.

I am going to try~

A Wonderful Day

Here are just a couple of photo memories from a Wonderful Day in my life.

Blog safety :-)

I was reading a blog the other day that had some wonderful information on how to protect your pictures. I did a little research and was able to protect this blog as well.

In the October 2009 Ensign there is an article titled, Finding and Sharing the
Gospel Online, the end of the article has some great safety tips for blogging.

The Internet is a very powerful tool and can help in Sharing the Gospel and life's experiences with those around us.

It all started a year ago...

It was one year ago today, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I had been home from the Mediterranean for 8 days. I was trying to get myself ready to be more social. When you are single for many years you see the pattern of your social life going up and down. Sometimes you just don't want to go out and be seen and other times that is all you can think of doing. I had been in a bit of a rut and was on the uphill side of a social lull. Having just been on a great vacation I thought I should put my best efforts into being social again. So I got ready for institute. I made sure I felt good about myself before I left the house (that way I could forget about myself and just have a good time). I actually remember what I was wearing too!

Anyway my friend was going to meet me at class so I sat on the back row (I was at least going, that didn't mean I had to sit on the front row). I made sure that there was plenty of room for her on either side of me. She was a little late but apparently it didn't matter that night, I felt like I must have had a sign on my forehead that said...Don't Sit By Me. No kidding, class had already started and people were going to the front row and climbing over others to sit in the middle of the pew rather than sit by me on the back row...bazaar. When she came in I bet her that no one else would sit on the other side of me, and I was winning for a while...then he came in.

...he was tall, handsome and dressed in a button down shirt with slacks and a tie. He made eye contact with me and I leaned over and told my friend that I lost the bet. He came right over sat down next to me and introduced himself.

Today he has been my husband for 3 weeks. Oh the memories the last year has held for me...

And so it begins

The Sweet life of R and R has officially started and so far it is just that...the sweet life. We don't have too much to say other than we are so blessed by the many generosities of those who have supported us.

As for the lack of postings...I can just say that right now it is a higher priority for me to make the house look presentable so when I can sit on the couch and not have to climb over things to get there I will get back to more regular postings. For now just know that we are happy and life is Sweet~

PS. as a side note can you believe that a year ago today I was flying back from my trip to the Mediterranean? How the time flies...