The Recipe

I've had several request for the recipe for the pasta dish that I served so here it is.

First, thanks go to my MIL, SIL, and my SIL's friend. My SIL's friend brought the dish to her when her last baby was born. My MIL was visiting, loved it, and had my SIL get the recipe. My MIL then visited me and made it for us while she was here. We loved it and have made it several times since.

PENNE PASTA HOT SAUSAGE CASSEROL

1 lb Spicy Hot Italian Sausage (too spicy for my kids so I use pork sausage and add about 1 TBL of crushed red pepper.)
1 onion chopped (approx. 1/2 c.)
3 lg cloves of garlic minced

Brown the sausage and then add the onion and garlic and cook together.

Add to this:
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 TBL Basil
Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes (At this point you may refrigerate this until later but reheat to put together.)

Boil:
3 cups of penne pasta

Add:
1/3 c. pesto sauce to the hot tomato sausage mix.

Now, in a VERY large bowl stir together:
6 oz cubed mozzarella cheese (I usually use 8 oz)
8 c of raw spinach (I just use the whole bag so it is probably more like 10 c.)
1/3 c Parmesan cheese
cooked pasta
tomato mixture

Once mixed, put it all in a sprayed 9x13 pan and cover with 2/3 c Parmesan cheese.

Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Pictures

We got the pictures from the donation event so I've added them to the post below.

Guess Who Came to Lunch

(Sorry, this is really, really, really, long.)

One of the reasons that I didn't want to attend the temple on Saturday was that I was trying to get everything done that I needed to do in order to be prepared for the lunch that I was hosting on Monday. Before I can tell that story, I should give a little background.

In an effort to help provide us a more suitable place to have church on Sunday as well as a place for all the church activities that take place outside of Sunday, the current Chaplain has decided to build a religious education center. It will be home to not just our congregation, but other displaced religious groups here on post. This is an answer to years of prayers. For as long as there has been LDS services here, finding space for Sunday services and other church activities has been a challenge. The Chaplain first started talking with R about this almost a year ago. One of the major hurdles to the project is getting the funding to do all of the pre-construction work, site studies, architectural plans, permits, etc. After lots of communication with local and area church leaders as well as communication with Salt Lake and visits from general church leaders, it was decided that the church would help with this initial funding. Although the money is already in the bank, the "official" donation was made on Monday (May 2nd).

R thought it would be a great idea if we hosted a lunch for everyone after the meeting. I thought it was a great idea too but at the same time was a little concerned because here is who was coming to lunch: Elder Robert C. Oaks, an Emeritus member of the 70 and retired Air Force 4 Star General; Brother Clawson, the head of military relations for the church and retired Air Force Colonel; Brother Spallino, the church facilities director (or some title like that) for this area of the church; President Eye, our Stake President; Brother Fleek, the West Point historian and also a member of our branch and the person who's insight and help to R has been invaluable; and of course R and I.

My first challenge… deciding the menu. This was a struggle for me. I considered calling one of my good friends in Texas who loves to cook, has lots of great recipes and has probably hosted several of her own lunches. I thought about calling my mother-in-law who loves to host things. I knew she'd have lots of great ideas too. But instead, I went with R's suggestions and decided to cook a yummy Italian pasta dish with homemade French bread, and Caesar salad. Even after deciding that this would be the menu, I kept “rethinking” it. … Let me share a quick story. Shortly after we were married, R told me that his family’s mantra is “If it’s worth doing, its worth overdoing.” Not too many years later, after getting to know the members of my family better, R informed me that my family’s mantra should be “If it’s worth doing, its worth over analyzing.” (If you read one of my brother’s blog’s you will see that written in his header…now you know where it came from.) Since I am my father’s daughter, I too must “re-think” all of my decisions, trying to figure out if I’ve really made the best one. In fact, up until a week before the luncheon, I kept thinking about whether my menu choice was the best one and considering other options. I didn’t finalize my desert choice, because I was so busy analyzing all of the possibilities, until the night before I had to do the grocery shopping. (I decided on lemon aid ice cream desert).

The menu was my biggest hurdle but I also spent time “analyzing” who would sit where, how I would serve the food, etc. I wanted to be sure I did everything right. The great thing was that I wasn’t really worried and I didn’t feel stressed out. I just kept “rethinking” thing trying to be sure I got everything right. It wasn’t until we left the temple that Saturday night, and I was talking to my friend while we walked back to the car, that I had a moment of “worry”. I was talking to her about who was coming and I realized that Elder Oaks has attended and hosted many official functions. Since my husband is in the Army, I should know something about formal occasions but I don’t because, as I’m always telling people, we aren’t in the “real” army. (That’s another story.) For just a second I worried but then a feeling of calm returned. I was just going to do my best and I felt that everything would be fine.

Monday morning arrived and I was well rested…I’d slept great. R on the other hand, had not. He said he couldn’t wait for the day to be over. He was worried about the activities of the day and particularly about how he was going to handle “saluting”. I had no idea it could be so complicated. No wonder the army has to write volumes of regulations on everything. Here was the situation. R would be meeting up with Elder Oaks and those accompanying him, in a parking lot. R would be in uniform but Elder Oaks would not be. Since R would be in uniform and Elder Oaks is a retired 4 star, and R knows that, he should salute him. Okay, not too complicated yet. Next, R would drive Elder Oaks and the rest of the group to the next location where they would meet up with the Chaplain who, on a normal day, R would salute. But now, since R is accompanying Elder Oaks, and because Elder Oaks out ranks the Chaplain, R would not salute the Chaplain, he would kind of be in the background. Yet, R and the Chaplain are the only people in uniform so R said it just seemed like a weird idea to not salute the Chaplain. Thank goodness they would be indoors when they met up with the Superintendent. (You only salute outside.) The Supe is a 3 star so Elder Oaks out ranks him too, so it would be another complicated situation. After R explained all of this too me, I was glad that all I had to worry about was hosting lunch and not who to salute when. (By the way, here is how the saluting turned out…R saluted Elder Oaks in the parking lot and then asked Elder Oaks’ opinion on what he should do when they met up with the Chaplain. Elder Oaks said to salute the Chaplain so that is what R did. It is never wrong to do what the 4 star tells you to do.)

While R was off saluting everybody (and meeting the Supe) I was home doing last minute cleaning and cooking.

All went smoothly. Shortly after noon, everyone showed up. Lunch went perfectly. We served the food from the bar and had butter and water pitchers on both tables with the water glasses already filled. The Italian dish was a hit. As we were eating there were many compliments on how wonderful everything was and the casserole, in particular. In fact, as the lunch was winding down, I was standing by the bar with Elder Oaks. He was saying again, how wonderful he thought the casserole was and then he and Brother Clawson started asking me detailed questions about the ingredients and how it was made. After explaining, Brother Clawson said to R, I’m going to have to send you an e-mail so you can get me that recipe. I still had it out in the kitchen so I volunteered to make him a copy, right then. Elder Oaks then said, “Oh, will you make me one too and then I’ll be a hero” referring to taking it home to his wife. As I passed Brother Spallino on my way to make the copies, he leaned over and said, “Will you make me one too?” Clearly lunch was a success.

As for worrying about making sure I was a good hostess, here are two funny things that happened. I was trying to make sure that people always had water in their glasses and that I cleared dishes in a timely manner. During desert, Brother Clawson was doing lots of talking so everyone except for him, was finished. They still had lots of time until they needed to leave and Brother Clawson was in the middle of a story and since I didn’t want to interrupt or rush him I was waiting to clear the desert dishes. Elder Oaks was standing by his chair (he is 75 years olds and had said he needed to stand for a little bit if that was okay). Shortly after standing, Elder Oaks picked up his bowl and then asked R if he could “take his bowl too?” I quickly jumped up and in a playful tone said, “Elder Oaks, you aren’t going to clear my table”, to which he responded, looking right at me “I can do this.” And then he started clearing the desert bowls. I quickly helped.

When it came time to leave, everyone kind of waited for Elder Oaks to go first. He started towards the hall and then turned around, probably to see if everyone was following him. He must have seen the glasses, pitchers, butter dishes and stray pieces of silverware still on the table because he said, “We can’t leave you with this to clean up” and he walked back into the dining room. Again I said, “Elder Oaks, it’s fine, I’ll get it.” But he insisted on completely clearing the tables before he left. When we finished he said with a smile, “I’ll let you load the dishwasher because I know that loading a dishwasher is a very personal thing.” What a sweet man.

It was a successful lunch.

P.S. I typed this two days ago and just hadn’t gotten it posted yet when R received the following e-mail so I decided to add it here:

President S,

I was reflecting on our great visit to West Point and I realized that I had not thanked you and Sister S for the wonderful lunch we enjoyed at your home Monday. I gave my wife the recipe for the pasta dish and we are anxious to try it in our home. It was just delightful to be in your home and to feel the sweet spirit there.

In fact, all aspects of the visit were just right. Thank you for all of your efforts to make is so. I especially enjoyed the Fireside Sunday evening. Thank you for getting all of your folks there, and for all of your work as Branch President. We will hope to visit with you again sometime in the future. Please pass our warmest regards to your wife and express our appreciation for the visit to your home.

Warm Regards, Elder Robert C. Oaks

Sacrifice Brings Forth the Blessings of Heaven

Warning...this is really long. Sorry, but I had to share.

Saturday evening R needed to attend a training meeting in the temple after the 5:15 session. We found out about it about a month ago and decided that we would make this our monthly trip, attend the session, and then R would do his training meeting. When I realized that B would be gone that day and that we would have to hire a babysitter, I no longer wanted to go. We have been so spoiled to have B baby sit for us this last couple of years. We pay him, but only half of what we pay a normal babysitter. So, being faced with having to pay the full cost of babysitting, and for a longer time than normal, and paying for a meal since we were going to be gone the better part of a day, and with rising gas prices, it just didn’t seem to be in our budget. After discussing it, R said I should do what ever I wanted so I decided not to go and that R going would be “good enough” for this month. The first hint that your spouse doesn’t like your decision, even though he says “do what ever you want”, is when you have to keep re-discussing it. And the first clue that you haven’t made the right decision is when you have to keep re-thinking it. So, when Monday of this last week rolled around and we were still talking about whether or not I was going on Saturday, even though I had already said I wasn’t going, I finally realized that maybe I should be going. I decided to re-evaluate our finances for the month and then found the money for me to go so I decided to go.

Deciding to go and wanting to go are not the same thing. I spent the rest of the week dreading that I was going and wishing that I could just stay home. I can’t remember another time when I have been so frustrated with the idea of attending the temple. There was so much going on (I’ll explain more of that in the next post) and I really needed my Saturday afternoon to get some things done. Come Saturday morning I was still thinking about everything that I could get done if I didn’t have to go to the temple, when C came down with a migraine. Usually she gets these in the afternoon or evening and they wipe her out for the rest of the day. I was relieved that I might now have the perfect excuse to stay home, but sad that Rone was going to have to go by himself, and be the odd man out as we had planned kind of a double date with another couple in our branch who were going. For some reason, uncharacteristic of me, I didn’t start to worry. Instead, I gave C her medicine, she lay down for a nap, and I went about my activities as if I was still going, deciding that I would just wait and see what happened. (And you know I am not a wait and see kind of person…I must always have a plan.) After a two hour nap, C was all better and I gave her some more medicine just in case. My trip to the temple was back on.

At 2:00 we left for the temple. I was still wishing that I could stay home but more at peace with the fact that I was going. I had no idea of the many little blessings that were coming that would end up making this trip to the temple one of the best ones I have ever had.

As I approached the temple doors on the busy streets of Manhattan, a man, walking up from the side, opened the temple door and entered in front of me. Without thinking, I blurted out his name. I don’t now how I even recognized him with only a split second view of his profile and then the back of him. It had been over 15 years since I had last seen him. As he turned around, I started to tell him who I was and he said “I know.” Running into him was exhilarating. It was a friend from high school who I hadn’t seen since shortly after getting married. Thanks to facebook, I knew he was living in the city but I never thought we would run into each other. I don’t know what it is, but having a friend from your past appear in your life again is such a wonderful experience. We were able to catch up a little bit after the session and exchange information so that he can come up for dinner and a concert this summer.

The next little blessing occurred as I sat in the Celestial Room after the session. I knew that I was going to have to wait a while for R, and since Sunday was fast Sunday and we had already eaten our last meal, I decided to begin my fast in the temple. I can’t think of a more appropriate place to begin a fast. That opportunity blessed me with a feeling of peace and carried over to help me have one of the best fast experiences I have had in a long time.

After the session, while our husbands were doing the training, the group of wives that were waiting got to meet with the Matron and one of her assistants. They led an impromptu discussion and we talked about the blessings of temple attendance and the things that we do that help us learn and gain the most from our temple experiences. Wonderful and uplifting thoughts were shared and I came away spiritually fed.

The friends that we traveled to the temple with, brought their recently returned missionary son along. On the way home he wanted to know how and when we knew that we were going to marry our spouse and that it was the person that we should marry. So, the 4 of us each took a turn sharing our story. That too was such a wonderful experience. It was fun to think back and remember how I fell in love with R and hear R tell his side of the story. It also brought such feelings of gratitude and love for our Heavenly Father as I was able to again recognize his hand in that whole process.

So many little blessings, seeing an old friend, starting my fast in the Celestial Room, sharing thoughts and experiences with wonderful sisters, and remembering and sharing the story of R and I's courtship and marriage, combined to create a huge blessing in my life. As we arrived home from the temple on Saturday I felt such happiness, peace, love from my Heavenly Father, gratitude for the blessings in my life and the blessing He gave me that day, and strengthened to deal with my little set of trials and challenges…physically and emotionally. Going to the temple on Saturday was the most difficult for me that it has been in a really long time, but it was the most wonderful evening I have had in a really long time. It is true that “Sacrifice brings for the blessings of Heaven.”