Marie's Sunday Six

Welcome to my Sunday Six post for November 7th, 2010. I'm not feeling that great this morning. This cold is really wearing me down. I have the bad cough back again and it is just sapping me of all my energy. I will be glad when it passes.



Todd's niece June, and her boyfriend Jason make me smile. We don't have a lot of family over here in the UK, so the ones we do have mean the world to us. This lovely young couple arrived here to visit us yesterday and we are just enjoying this visit so very much. They are so cute and so much in love. They are hoping to be able to get married next year I think. Mitzie just loves them! New people to nibble on and play with!!



I just adore this recent addition to our Musical Library. We love, LOVE country music, especially Blue Grass and we adore, ADORE hymns and Gospel music. This beautiful album combines both in a beautiful way. I just can't get enough of it. The Lower Lights - a hymn revival is an album created by and highlighting a number of musical talents. The various talente convened in fall 2009 for five days of diving into the hymns – familiar hymns, overlooked hymns, Hank Williams hymns, and more. The hope was to connect with these beautiful old songs of testimony on a deeper level, to have a new and personal experience with them. Drawing equal parts reverence and celebration from the rich mine of hymns, they ended the week with 30-plus songs that feel part-revival, part-vigil. It's just plain magic and so very beautiful. I can listen to it over and over again and have been!



This picture of my baby Bruce dressed as Waldo for Halloween. I think he makes a very good Waldo. I love my son. He will always be my baby. We were estranged for a short time, but thankfully that is all made up now. People tried to come between us, but blood is thicker than water after all. That makes me smile.



This is a picture of Todd and I signing the register when we got married. This week we will be celebrating our tenth Wedding Anniversary. That really brings a smile to my face. I just adore this man and I am so very grateful to have him in my life. I am also grateful for the covenants that we have made together in the Temple, which tie us together for time and all eternity, not just until death do we part. Oh, I do love the Gospel so very much. I am so thankful that I have a husband who loves it as much as I do! That also makes me smile!



My good friend Lura makes me smile. I got to talk to her on the telephone Friday evening and it was such a wonderful conversation. I just love talking to Lura. She is the friend I always wanted when I was growing up and throughout my adult life. I am so glad that through this wonderful medium of blogging we were able to find each other! I wish that we lived a lot closer to each other and not a whole ocean and continent apart, but I am grateful for modern technology which means that we are able to stay in close contact often. I just adore her and her husband John. They are a wonderful couple and a fine example to me. Actually her whole family is, and their fine examples bless my life in so many ways. I just love them all so very much. The Staffanson family make me smile and smile again!



The beautiful autumn colours which are at the pinnacle of their beauty at the moment make me smile. Oh what a beautiful gift this is from our Heavenly Father each autumn season. What a joy to behold. We do not get the really vibrant reds and golds like they do back home, but we get enough colour and beauty to make my heart sing anyways. I am so thankful that I live in a country that changes with the seasons. There is always something to smile about now, and something to look forward to as well!

And there you have it, my Sunday Six Smilemakers for this week. In closing I'd like to leave you with a thought that brings a smile to my face, and I hope it brings a smile to your faces as well!

"Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us."
Oscar Wilde

This dish is fabulous and so very easy to make. It feeds a crowd and everyone (yes even the pasta hating Toddster!) loves it!




*Cheesy Italian Stuffed Shells*
Serves 8 regular people,
or two hungry missionaries and two adults
Printable Recipe

I love these. You can make them with low fat ingredients or you can make them with full fat ingredients. It’s all up to you. They’re always delicious regardless, so why not go for the low fat healthy alternative!

12 ounces jumbo pasta shells, prepared according to the box instructions
28 ounces of good quality marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

FOR FILLING:
2 eggs beaten
30 ounces ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup fresh flat leaf parsley sprigs, chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5.

Mix the beaten eggs, cheeses, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley together in a large bowl.

Spoon about ½ cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a 13 X 9 inch glass baking dish. Stuff each cooked pasta shell with about 3 TBS of the cheese filling and arrange them on top of the marinara sauce in the baking dish. Once you have them all filled and arranged in the dish spoon over the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle the ¼ cup Parmesan cheese evenly over the top and bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes until the cheese is meltingly oozy and the sauce is bubbly.

Remove from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.



Baking in The English Kitchen today, a traditional Treacle Tart!