Gaggies!!!

This recipe is a classic "Rougeau" family favorite. Most people will know these as No-Bake Cookies, but the interesting name my family has for them goes back a few years. If I remember the story correctly, my mother used to make these for friends before she was married, and one friend in particular was addicted to them. The addiction was so severe, and the cookies were so yummy, that she would not be able to stop eating them, almost making her gag. Okay, so it's not the most appealing name or story associated, but the taste makes up for it all!

You start with the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and milk in a saucepan and melt it down until...

...it starts to look like this. Looks rich with chocolatey-ness doesn't it?

Once it comes to a boil, you must boil it for 2 full minutes. No more, no less. Not sure exactly why it's this exact time, but I've never veered, and as a result have never had a disaster!

Then you measure out some peanut butter, and as you can see I kinda scooped a bit much, but don't worry, it's all okay!

Plop that peanut butter in the pan once you've removed it from the heat.

It looks like this when mixed together. All creamy and ready to just be eaten now. So tempting!

It's time to add the oats, right into the mix.

Stir it around until it comes together, making sure you coat the oats as much as you can.

So here's where I forgot that I didn't have wax paper to scoop these out on. No worries, just spray some cooking spray on a cookie sheet and all's well.

Resist the urge to eat them straight out of the pan while they're hot enough to burn your tongues like the Fires of Mordor. Once they've cooled, here's the final result. A nice, big, and addictive plate of gaggies, ready to be consumed with a tall glass of milk!

Gaggies/No Bake Cookies:

2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/4 lb. (1 stick) Butter

Mix in heavy pot. Cook and bring to full boil; boil 2 full minutes. Remove from heat and add:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
3 cups Oatmeal (small oats or quick oats work fine)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 pinch salt (Omit if using salted butter)

Stir in preceding mixture. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper. Let cool.

School is back in session!

And so, classes begin once again at Utah State University! Even though I'm taking an online STAT and Human Anatomy course and only on campus 2 days a week for other classes, I must admit that I'm excited for the semester! And we all know I tend to stress out and overwhelm myself with "too" much, but I do really LOVE school. It feels nice and right to be getting back into the normal swing of things, studying, learning, and what not.

I just found out the other day that I will fulfilling my practicum this semester at a Hospice in Logan. I'm so excited! This placement is the exact one that I secretly hoped for. And because I'm on my own and only working with my supervisor and not a partner, it's going to be such a great experience! I will learn so much from this I know! By the way, I really love this picture of such a cute child enjoying Music Therapy. I doubt I will be working with children this semester, as Hospice tends to lean in the adult-older adult area, but I still think the smile on his face shows how exciting and wonderful Music Therapy is and what it can do for EVERYONE!

If anybody is interested in learning more about music therapy and what it has to offer, please visit these sites:

American Music Therapy Association

Utah Association of Music Therapists
Western Region, American Music Therapy Association, Inc.

And there you have my plug for what I feel is the most amazing major or career anyone can have. I'm so lucky to have found something that I love to do and can share with others as I help them to improve, restore, and maintain their quality of life!

Finally...

Pictures of our apartment!!!

Living Room with wonderfully comfortable reading chair in corner that we got on KSL for FREE!

I know it's hard to tell, but we have vaulted ceilings in our living room. We love them.

So nice to have a laundry room!

My side of our office/music room. Filled with keyboard, djembe, ukulele, and a guitar that's out of the picture. And, oh yes...my MacBook. :)Michael's side, complete with all his computery stuff. He's so smart! You have to love the "Pain Heals..." signs.

Hallway leading into...
The bathroom. Isn't the green and brown a great combo?

Look at that beautiful dark cherry bed and the most comfy mattress ever. Our first big purchase together. We LOVE that bed.

Dining area...

Everyone who knows me knows that I love clocks. This one was a wedding present from my mother. It's such a blessing to our home as a symbol of everything we stand for.

Isn't this hutch great? We got this on KSL, just like the chair, for super cheap!

Oh, the kitchen...my personal sanctuary.

And the KitchenAid! Thanks to a great mother-in-law for purchasing a perfect gift!

My cookbooks. They bring such joy. Michael asked me the other day if I thought we had enough cookbooks and weren't going to be needing anymore...ever. Haha. He's so funny!

Drive-In Double Feature Date

Michael and I enjoyed a fun date on Friday night as we traveled to Ogden to see a double feature of G.I. Joe and Transformers 2 at the Drive-In!

This is Michael making a silly face on our way. I told him to show me how excited he was for the Drive-In, and just like him, he became all silly. Typical. I married a silly boy. This is my excited face and Michael's finger poking my cheek. Again, silliness!
Pulling up to the entrance as dusk was setting in...Our sweet set-up in the back of "Gator", Michael's Subaru. Seats folded down with blankets and pillows ready for some nice lounging!!!
I had to take a picture of Michael filling the back with all our yummy goods for movie entertainment.
Yes, that's a pizza. And that wasn't all that we munched on...we had popcorn, Twizzlers, grapes, and Peanut M&Ms. Perfect movie snacks!
It's almost time for the movie to start. See how happy we are? Little did we know the hours ahead of us, and the fact that the 2nd movie wouldn't end until around 1:30 am!
View of the screen and our "sweet spot". We threw a frisbee around here for a bit while the sun set.
I think this smile on Michael's face sums up our night. Goodness, I sure have a cute husband!

For the Love of Baking

Strawberry Crème Trifle...

...doesn't this just make you salivate? I make everything from scratch, including the most amazing and moist white cake you will ever taste. Layered in between the cake and strawberries is a cream cheese infused whipped cream. So sweet and addictive. And so easy that you don't really even need a recipe.

Strawberry Crème Trifle

Ingredients:

Strawberries, sliced 

Granulated sugar

Whipping cream

Powdered sugar

Vanilla

Cream cheese, chilled

White cake, cooled and cut into cubes (angel food or recipe above)

Directions:

1. Pour sugar over sliced strawberries and let sit, covered, in fridge for about 30 mins. so juices have time to emerge and work their magic. 
2. Chill a mixing bowl and whipping attachment, then blend whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla. Once soft peaks are reached, add cream cheese and whip until stiff peaks form and everything is completely blended.
3. Layer ingredients in trifle bowl, starting with cake at bottom, then strawberries, then whipped cream, until bowl is full and ingredients are all used up. 
4. Either chill for half hour in fridge, or serve and enjoy!

And last night at around 10 p.m. I decided that I needed...

Tomato Rosemary Muffins...

Baked in a mini-muffin pan because these are little morsels of goodness. There is so much flavor in a small amount!

Topped with Parmesan cheese.

And "Oh So Good"!

Tomato Rosemary Muffins

(Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Baking Book)

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tsps baking powder
½ tsp dried Rosemary, crushed
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp pepper
1 beaten egg
½ cup milk
½ cup tomato sauce (or store-bought Marinara sauce)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a mini-muffin tray.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, parmesan cheese, baking powder, crushed rosemary, baking soda, garlic powder and pepper. Make a well in the centre and set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl combine egg, milk, tomato sauce and olive oil. Add this mixture all at once to the dry mix. Combine with a wooden spoon just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
4. Spoon prepared batter into the greased muffin pan, 2/3rd full. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on each muffin. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. Cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes, then remove and serve warm.

Update of Many Things

So much has happened since our last post, and it's only been a couple weeks! Michael and I attended our ward temple night in Ogden, as well as the ward camp-out in Tremonton, we both got callings (more info on that later), and we traveled to my hometown in LA for a wedding reception there!

The ward temple night was beautiful. It was the first time that I have gone through a session since taking out my endowment before Michael and I were sealed and married. I was finally able to understand and experience how my mother used to tell me that the Ogden temple was gorgeous on the inside, even though it's outer appearance easily reflects the time in which it was built ;) It was unifying to join together with ward members in the house of the Lord and perform work for those who have passed on before. Michael and I forgot to take a picture of us in front of it, but we are determined to do so next time! We also have a goal to first, attend all the temples in Utah, then eventually the USA, and hopefully we'll make it to a few select ones around the world throughout our time here on earth. We know that we will grow closer as we serve our Heavenly Father in this special way!

Although we were only able to spend one night at the camp-out, we were excited to try out the new tent we purchased. Michael was so excited because it weighs only 7.3 lbs, making it light and perfect for backpacking. We enjoyed getting to know our ward members better and spending time with the Millsaps, our neighbors from below us in Sterling Pointe. They are such a nice couple and we enjoy having another young married couple nearby! Sadly, I have a terrible habit of forgetting the camera and therefore, have no pictures to share!

Now, it is my privilege to share the callings that Michael and I are blessed to have been given here in our ward. I was called to be a Primary Teacher of the Sunbeams! I must admit, I was hoping for something Primary oriented as I love to be with the future of our church and world and feel of their sweet spirits. There is so much to be learned from them and I daresay they will teach me more than I will teach them! And Michael, much to his chagrin, was called to be Second Counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency! We couldn't help but laugh as Michael has served numerous times previously in the Elder's Quorum, and just can't seem to get away from it. Maybe the Lord is preparing him for something to come in the future? He really is a wonderful, caring, and kind person and I'm grateful to have such an upstanding priesthood holder as my husband. It was exciting and new for us to be called in together to show support for the other as the calling was issued, yet reaffirming of the order and inspiration of our leaders in the church. What a blessing to have such opportunities to serve!

Lastly, the Louisiana reception was a rousing success! Michael and I are benefiting from the generosity of many friends and loved ones there. I was grateful to have so many sisters from my home ward pitch in and help with decorations, food, and everything. I believe we had about 50 people attend, which made it a quaint and lovely affair. Michael was able to meet many people who have known me since I was born, as well as one of my best friends from high school who I do not get to see that often. Also, two of my old high school teachers showed up out of the blue, which was incredibly exciting! Mrs. Cross, my junior English teacher, always encouraged me and built me up as I discovered my love for Edgar Allen Poe and even hired me on to grade papers for her throughout the year. Ms. Juneau was my French teacher, and believe me, made class fun through her "tell-it-like-it-is" personality and hilarious stories of past students and trips to Europe. It was a joy to have them crash the party! I believe Michael enjoyed NOT being sick at this reception as he was at the others previous. He was so attentive the entire night and made sure that my dress was under control and that I was properly hydrated and fed :) I do not have any pictures from that night, so I'll post when I get some.

Michael headed back to Utah on Sunday morning, in order to not miss work, and my mother and I made the trek back by purple van throughout the week. We visited with family in Louisiana and Texas, my mother had her annual breast cancer checkup, and we stayed with some old and dear friends in Houston, the Egans. What a fun family!!! Their hospitality was so kind and we couldn't have thanked them enough. Eventually, after driving about 4,000 miles round-trip, we made it back to Utah, where we were all happy to have arrived in safety to the comforts of our own home. Who knew I'd miss Michael so much after just a few days. I can definitely admit that we are typical newlyweds, happy to be reunited and together!