Home Teachers and Cereal Candy

My home teachers for the summer semester came today, Kade and Paul. They are very nice guys! Kade has been in the ward since fall semester, and Paul has been in since this semester hehe. Anyways, I'm very impressed with these young men. Kade has been the only one in the ward that recognizes that I am a member of that ward and that I just don't live in the apartments. Him and Paul told me today that they are going to work on letting me know more about the ward activities and help me become more of a part of the ward then I feel. I really appreciate that. What a nice kid! Paul is sweet too. I sat next to him in Sunday School today and he was very nice and talked to me for a little bit. It's so surprising to me what people in these wards actually make an effort to make me feel welcome and what people don't. I've always had my home teachers come and visit. But no visiting teachers. No one in Relief Society talks to me, not even the RS president. But I've always had the guys talk to me and make me feel welcome. Anyways, Kade and Paul talked about temples today and what a tool we are for the temples and how we are the power for them and we need to be able to make ourselves worthy and keep ourselves worthy to enter the temple and for the blessings of the temple. Also how to take advantage of the Atonement and understanding the Atonment and keep ourselves out of temptation. Kade shared a quote from Elder Richard G. Scott's conference talk "He Lives! All Glory to His Name!" that stood out to me. It says:

"I energetically encourage you to establish a personal study plan to better understand and appreciate the incomparable, eternal, infinite counsequences of Jesus Christ's perfect fulfillment of His divinely appointed calling as our Savior and Redeemer. Profound personal pondering of the scriptures accompanied by searching, heartfelt prayer will fortify your understanding of and appreciation for His priceless Atonement. Another powerful way to learn of Jesus Christ and His Atonement is through consistent temple attendance."

I really loved this quote. Is that not the most straight forward guidance? I love that. I want to be able to go to the temple more. Even though I'm not endowed, I still have the opportunity to do Baptism's for the Dead and I need to get a recommend to be able to go and do it often. Anyways, I'm very excited for my home teachers and I hope that I will benefit from them a great deal. :D

Mom and I made Cereal Candy for our Moab trip this weekend. It's super super easy and so yummy!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it:

1 package of Golden Graham cereal

1 package of Corn Chex cereal

1 package of coconut

1 package of slivered almonds

2 tsp of vanilla

2 cups karo syrup

2 cups sugar

2 cubes margarine

Mix karo syrup, margarine and sugar together in a pot over the stove. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add vanilla and pour over the cereal, almond and coconut mixture. Mix well and enjoy!

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Alright everyone, so I'm adding another "label" for my blog.

I've been wanting to work on my baking and cooking skills, and so my goal (and I made this one up when Cody left in February since I would have lots of time on my hands hehe!) is to cook new and more things and to bake more and new things. So far... haha I've kinda been slow at it. Last month, when Mom and Dad and Parker went on the cruise, I made Peanut Butter Buddies and Raspberry Creamcheese Bars. That's all since Cody's left. :0( Sad day!
So... my new "label" is, well I can't decide between Food Madness or Culinary Creations... hmmm... let me know what you think.
Well, I'm well on my way! Tonight I made Zucchini Chocolate Cake. Sooo yummy! And you can't even taste the Zucchini! I wanted to know what the health benefits of Zucchini was, so I googled it. And this is what I found.

- Zucchini helps to cure asthma as it contains Vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant, and has anti-inflammatory properties.
- Zucchini helps to prevent diseases, like scurvy, bruising etc, caused by the deficiency of Vitamin C.
- Eating zucchini also helps to support the arrangement of capillaries.
- Regular intake of zucchini effectively lowers high homocysteine levels. (whatever that is!)
- Zucchini also prevents the risk of having multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Zucchinis have high water content (over 95%), so they make perfect food for people on diet.
- Zucchini contains useful amounts of folate, potassium, and vitamin A, necessary for a human body.
- Zucchini contains Vitamin C and lutein, both of which are good for eyes.

Here's the recipe:

Mix together first - 1/2 cup Margarine
1/2 cup Canola Oil
1 3/4 cup of sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. of vanilla
1/2 cup Buttermilk

Add these ingredients into wet mixture -
2 1/2 cups flour
6 tbl. baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

After wet and dry ingredients are mixed, add 2 cups of grated zucchini.
Bake in greased and floured 9x13 pan for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.



Someday, I wanna do something like in "Julie and Julia", but I wanna do it with someone like Rachael Ray or Paula Dean. Hmm. Maybe someday. Probably when I have my own place.

Feel free to try this out and let me know what you think! More zucchini recipes to come! We love zucchini at my house so we have lots of recipes! :D