BYU 9/11 Game "We Will Never Forget"

We got tickets to the BYU Football season opener game on September 11th. We got to be a part of this cool "card section" that wrote out the words "WE WILL NEVER FORGET". Can you see us in the upper left corner? No? 

These military men and women were holding a giant American flag they walked out on the field and unfurled. It was quite impressive. They were totally at attention holding it before the game. 

They snaked around the building the flag was so big! 

They made a lot of touchdowns in the first quarter. We sang the fight song over and over!!! 

I think this is my first selfie ever. It sucked. But I liked Johnny in his hat. 

This was my brother-in-law Jack's son's band Westward the Tide. They did an awesome job of singing the national anthem. 

Jack and Julie's son Cam is on the far right. He does keyboards in the band.

#BYUfootball is fun to go see once in awhile. John said he'd rather watch it on T.V. with all the people and traffic it is quite an ordeal just to get there and get home.

But these experiences are what make life worth living, dontcha know? Well I think so anyway. Gotta live it up while the sun shines. Cuz you just never know.

I thought the #BYUcheer team were all so darling. I loved their out uniforms and pom poms. And of course their BYU tatoos on their cheeks. I gotta get some of those. 

This cute girl sat in front of us. She had light and dark blue nail polish and some decals on her thumbs that had the Y from BYU. She bought them at Walmart! SO cute! 

Then she shared her Cougar Tail donut all around. We sat all amongst the BYU students. Yeah we are cool like that. Can you see how far up we are? Yeah. Nose bleed seats. Oh well. 

Taped to our seats was a card stunt. It was fun to do with everybody. It made out the words "We Will Never Forget. The peek hole is funny I thought. :D snicker......

The halftime show was fun to watch. I used to do a drill team in high school. I was a "Warriorette" for West Torrance High. We did the Rose Parade one year. We rocked as a band and drill team, winning lots of awards.

As we walked out in the 4th quarter....(yes BYU won the game...and it was clear early on) we walked past the Houston team's trucks and buses. And we got on T.V. that night! Woot. It was a fun experience for 2 former BYU alumni. Woot! Go Fight Win!

Fresh Peach Pie with Peach Jello Glaze

Fresh Peach Pie with Jello Glaze 

My daughter had a gazillion peaches on her tree so we picked a bunch and took them home. Our peach tree harvest, of course, had nothing but about 12 peaches again. What is fair in that? I hate my peach tree even though it is beautiful 90% of the year.

We only got a few peaches this year.....wah.......

Fresh Peach Pie with Peach Jello Glaze

I found this recipe that I liked and tried. It is from Taste of Home. I have a magazine subscription to Taste of Home and it is fun to see the pictures of yummy food each month.

Fresh Peach Pie with whipped Cream and Buttery Crust

But this peach pie was mouth watering. I loved it! And I'm on a diet. Bad Pattie.
The glaze is so similar to Strawberry Pie Glaze I've made a few times. My recipe for Strawberry Pie is here.  Once you have made a pie shell and baked it (I used Paula Deen's pie crust recipe but it is loaded with butter as you can imagine. I like Crisco (butter flavored) better I think for pie crust. It comes out lighter and not so heavy.

These little "Peaches" are sure a treat for me to play with! We had a Family Reunion last weekend and it was fun to play at the park with all the relatives. 

Pie Crust bake for about 10 minutes on 425.

Then cool the shell and start making your glaze. It is 3/4 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 2 Tablespoons of Cornstarch. Boil for 2 minutes. Then take off heat and add 1 small box of peach jello. Whisk it for a minute until dissolved. Then chill for 10 minutes.

Easy Jello Glaze on Fresh Peach Pie 

While it is chilling peel your peaches and slice them up. I did about 10 or 12 peaches. Some were bruised so I only used half of some. And some were small to medium. If you were using larger fruits you could get by with less. Use about 4 cups to make a yummy tall pie.

This pie was soooo SCRUMPTIOUS! Fresh Peaches are now in season so TRY IT! 

Lay them over the cooled pie crust and then pour the glaze over the top. Chill for 1/2 hour. Then serve with whipped cream. This pie is truly divine. I ate 2 pieces. And that wiped out all the good work I did today dieting after dental surgery. Oh well. It was worth it. Yum.

Turkey BLT Paninis using a George Foreman Grill

Turkey BLT Panini with Provolone and Avocado. It has just the right amount of crunch and fresh veggies. It's my kind of sandwich. 

I was looking at Panini makers the other day since I'm on a Panini sandwich kick. I looked on Amazon and saw a few on a great sale. I also saw some George Forman Grills for sale in the Panini category....hmmm......

"The Mean, Lean, Grilling Machine"  from George Foreman. Let's try making Paninis!  Fingers Crossed!!


It looks similar to a panini maker, doesn't it? Yes it does. Why buy one then? I'll just see how it works on my grilled sandwiches.

So I tried first to just make a grilled cheese panini sandwich. It worked great! Yummy! I just buttered the bread and slapped some cheese inside and laid it in the grill for 3 minutes or so. Both sides get done at the same time! 

So I decided to try it with a Turkey BLT with Avocado .....or Monte Cristo Sandwich it is sometimes called.

I just LOVE this California Sourdough Bread I get from Smith's Market. It is only $3.49 a bag and is really delicious for any kind of sandwiches or even just for buttered toast. I had some on hand so I used it for my Turkey BLT with Avocado. 

I used turkey, bacon, avocado, provolone and tomato and just buttered the sourdough bread with butter on the outside. So EASY PEASY! 

Ingredients for a Turkey BLT Panini 
2 Pieces of Sourdough Bread, buttered on outside only
2 pieces of deli turkey
1 slice of provolone
1/2 avocado sliced thinly
slices of tomato
2 slices of cooked bacon
salt and pepper

Put sandwich together and place on the grill and close it. Wait 3 minutes and check for golden stripes and melty cheese. You may have to go another few minutes. Mine had a light on top, but I wasn't sure if it was going to go off or not so I didn't trust it. :D I know, I didn't have faith in George after all......snicker......

But the grill DOES NOT DISAPPOINT!  Yummy Turkey BLT Panini with Avocado and Provolone cheese. 

This Hamilton Beach 25450 model Panini Press was only $29.00. I looked at Target and Walmart for Paninis too.  But I decided that I really don't need one after all! I'll just use the George Foreman Grill. It's been sittin' around NOT getting a workout for WAY too long anyways! Happy Panini making! 

Cauliflower Cheese Soup like Zupas

Cauliflower Cheese Soup like Zupas is one of my favorite lunchtime cravings.
We have a sandwich shop that I love in our town in Utah. It is called Zupas. I love that you can choose between like 12 different sandwiches and 12 different salads and 12 different soups EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!

Cauliflower Cheese Soup...so creamy and yummy! This recipe will get you hooked! I have gone there about 6 times this month (I've lunched with lots of friends since I'm a teacher off for the summer!) and have never gotten the same salad or soup or sandwich combination yet. And they always give you a little chocolate covered strawberry with every meal.

 Zupas is a delightful place! One of my favorite soups there (I have 3 favorites) is the Wisconsin Cauliflower Cheese soup. It is rich and creamy and the color of clam chowder. I like to add some crunchy tortilla strips or homemade buttery croutons to the top. Yum! 

Cut up and then Boil or steam the cauliflower florets in a pan.

So I decided to mess around with some Cauliflower and some online recipes and doctor them up how I like them. I wanted a rich soup, but not as cheesy as some recipes out there. So here is mine. It is similar to my potato cheese, only with the potatoes switched out with cauliflower. And a little richer than my Clam Chowder. 

I'll start by chopping up my medium head of cauliflower and boiling it in some water. I will save 1/2 cup of the hot water to soak the bullion cube in. Drain Cauliflower, then Dump it in a blender and add some of the Half & Half to cool it down. 

Then start chopping up your onion while the cauliflower is cooling down in the blender with the half & half.  

 Once your onions are chopped put them in a pan with the 2 Tablespoons of butter and saute for about 10 minutes till onions are clear and soft. 

Saute for about 10 minutes and then add flour to make a roux for your Cauliflower Cheese Soup.

Then add the flour and a little of the milk and make a roux with the onions and butter. Cook the flour for a minute before adding the milk.You don't want to taste flour. 

Once your roux looks like this and onions are clear and soft dump this mixture into the blender too, and blend the cauliflower and onion mixture with the rest of the milk and half & half till creamy. Then put the mixture back into a pan.

 Add the bullion cube that was sitting in the half cup of cauliflower water. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low till cheese is melted.Add the spices and let simmer for a few minutes....you are almost done! You can add some milk if you want a thinner soup. Add more spices if you like. Sometimes I like to add a dash or two of lemon pepper to my soups. 

Now I start making some fun homemade croutons for the top of the soup. 

Butter a piece of bread, and cut up into squares, then toast in the oven for less than a minute on broil at 400 degrees. If you want add some garlic salt, but this soup is rather rich so I think I like it better just with toasted, buttered croutons. 

This is a delicious soup for any time of year. It reminds me of potato cheese soup from Marie Callendars too. It is just a slightly different taste. Go try it this week! 

• 
  Cauliflower Cheese Soup
•      1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped, boiled and pureed
•      1/2 cup chopped sweet vidalia onion chopped,sauteed, pureed 
•      2 Tablespoons real butter
•      1/4 Cup flour for a roux
•      1  Cup half and half 
•      1  Cup milk
•      1 small can of chicken broth
•      1 chicken bullion cube soaked in 1/2 cup hot water
•      1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded 
•      1/2  cup Monterrey Jack cheese shredded
•      1/2 teaspoon Johnnys or Lawry's seasoning salt or to taste
•      dash of lemon pepper

• 

  Cauliflower Cheese Soup like Zupas. 

Everything should be done in about a half hour. It is THAT easy! And it is yummy. For a variation use potatoes and make potato cheese soup.