Kathy

Hi! My name is Kathy Thomander. I was born in Germany, but since I was four we lived all around Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Dave and I met here in the Springs the summer before we both attended BYU-Idaho in the fall. We fell in love and were married Aug '02. I got two years of college under my belt, and then we were blessed to have Kayla. She is 4 1/2 and so happy and bouncy we call her "Tigger". I love being her mom.

Moscow was awesome. Mostly for the wonderful experiences we had, our ward, and the awesome people we got to meet. We miss it already. I loved the recipe swap! I loved the food and chatting and sharing. I miss all of you! This blog is awesome to help us keep in touch and continue the sharing!!!

This last May Dave graduated in Civil Engineering with a Bachelor's and commissioned with the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant Officer. We got stationed in Colorado Springs, CO; that's where we are right now!

I love to cook. My mom always let us kids help in the kitchen. My mom also participated in craft shows selling quilts and things and let me sell cookies and treats and keep all the profit from them. For family night I was often in charge of the treat, and spent many a Sunday afternoon trying out a new recipe.

I remember one disaster where we had bought a really yummy fruit filled braid from a school fund-raiser. (a.k.a.-expensive) It needed to rise, so I put seran wrap over it. After it rose I stuck it in the oven. Except, I had forgotten the seran wrap! The seran wrap had melted over the bread. It stunk of burned plastic and everyone was disappointed not to eat it. Whoops!

Some things I enjoy are cooking, reading, scrapbooking(I'm a beginner), being a mom, having tea parties, watching chick flicks(the good clean kind), having dates with my honey, entertaining in our home, and singing (esp. in the shower).

Liz

When I first saw the Palouse I immediately fell in love with it. The rolling farmlands, the smell of the rain, the sereneness of the arboretum, and the CLEAN air. We lived in Moscow for two years while my husband completed his Master's in Architecture. I thought moving to Moscow, away from family would be difficult. Moving from Moscow back to family was even more difficult.I felt like I left part of myself there.

I am currently working on the last few prerequisites prior to applying to a Dietetics program, working part time in an Urgent Care clinic, and trying to be a full time Mom. At times I think I am crazy. I find my respite from life through my hobbies. I love to read, sew, cook, and work in the yard. Weeding the flowerbeds is one of the best stress reducers I have found so far.

Stacie

Hey ladies! We are new to blogging (late in the game I know!) but I found this blog and Kirsten's and now here I am! I love all these recipes and hearing how everyone is doing. Oh, how I love Moscow.... Okay, just wanted to say hi and can't wait to get the recipes going (and coming!). Talk to you all soon, Stacie Beck

Katrina

Since it is almost the end of the month, I guess I better get this done. I grew up in North Idaho and went to college at Ricks & BYU and have a bachelors in Marriage, Family, & Human Development. I enjoy reading and scrapbooking and cooking!

I married Chris in 2003 and we moved to Moscow and were there for 4 years while Chris worked on his Bachelor's & Master's in Electrical Engineering. We recently moved to Boise, ID where Chris was offered a job. We also recently bought a house and have been working on it since it is a major remodel job! It has been an interesting experience living in a construction zone and trying to be find easy simple meals to cook and trying to do it without the use of an oven since I haven't bought a new one yet! :)

We have one son, Aaron who is 2 and are expecting another baby in October. We found out the other day that is a girl! It should be really fun to have one of both.

I haven't had a real big cooking disaster. I consider a meal a failure when Chris doesn't like it because he isn't very picky at all about what he eats. We have had plenty of those dinners since we have been married, especially when I try something new because I get tired of cooking all the same old stuff.

I have really enojyed this blog because it has given me lots of great new recipes to try that have been a success!

Lisa

Hi Ladies! It's me, Lisa Carter. This is the only picture "post-pregnancy" that I will allow to be seen publicly. J/K - So, I grew up in Orem, Utah where I met my husband Casey. We've been happily married for 7 years now and have 2 kids. Preston just turned 2, and Kaylee who is 3 months old. I've been a practicing hairstylist for 10 years and since having kids, I work occasionally from my home. I love music and playing sports. I taught guitar lessons for a while and I really miss having time to play.

We moved to Moscow 3 years ago to attend Law School. Now we are graduated and live in Seattle so Casey can do one more (and final!) year of schooling. He's doing and LLM in Law Taxation. We can't wait to finally be settled somewhere!

So, I've always been a very basic cook and if you know my husband (the pickiest eater ever) you'll know why I am still a very basic cook! (He thought trying a Ceasar salad on our cruise was being adventurous). I have loved this recipe group and really miss going to the actual food nights. As far as cooking disasters, the one that comes to mind is the first time I tried to make oatmeal raisin cookies. I was probably 12 years old. When the buzzer rang, I went to pull the cookies out of the oven and touched one to see if they were done. Well, it was still kind of soft so I put them back in for a few more minutes. I did this a couple times until the raisins had turned into full-blown little purple blimps! Little did I know that cookies harden as they cool. Who knew?

Keep the good recipes coming. I can use all I can get! You are all wonderful!

Keri

I’m Keri Christensen. Sorry I don’t have any recent pictures of me. My last ones that I have available are from my wedding day. Anyways, here is a little information about my husband and me. I grew up in Twin Falls, ID and Mike grew up in L.A., CA and Mesa, AZ. We both ended up going up to BYU-Idaho in the Fall 2004 and ended up in a dance class together. We had also met through our roommates but having the dance class encouraged us to talk to each other. We were married the in August 2005 in the Bountiful, Utah Temple. We both graduated with our bachelors last July from BYU-Idaho and then moved up here to Moscow. Mike is currently getting his Master’s in History and I work at a learning center teaching toddlers.

I’ve had several cooking disasters in my lifetime so it is hard to come up with just one. Since being an adult my biggest disaster was when I was trying to cook some pinto beans. It was a negative degree day in Rexburg so I decided Chili sounded really good. I started cooking the beans and put the water on high (first mistake). My husband called and said he needed to be picked up from school. I went to go pick him up without turning off the burner (second mistake). I was expecting to come straight home but I forgot and my husband and I went to go get a video (third mistake). By the time we got home our house was completely filled with smoke. I was lucky that it didn’t start a fire. We ended up will all the windows and doors open with the weather being negative degrees. It was a very VERY cold mistake!!!

Heather

I'm Heather. Half of the host of the Porter Party blog. I like this picture because it looks nothing like me. I normally have Medussa-ish curly hair and don't get a chance to get gussied up all the time. This was for family pictures and it happened not to be that humid of a day. Anyhow, my daughter, Ashlyn, is in the picture with me.

Our family lived in Moscow for two years ('04-'06) and ended up really liking it there. We were among the very few who weren't in law school. My husband grew up in Post Falls, Idaho and I grew up all over the place. (No, not a military brat, my dad worked for AT&T). I went to BYU and finished a BS in Health Science and then went to Physical Therapist Assistant school up in North Idaho where I ended up meeting my husband. He's crazy. We are a Singles Branch success story. Pretty sick, if you ask me.

Anyways, I worked as a Physical Therapist Assistant full time up until I had our son, Payson, who just turned 4. I have my license still and have worked either part time or per diem since then. Ashlyn joined us almost 18 months ago. We left Moscow for Illinois to allow my husband to finish a Masters degree which he is currently almost done with (August) and then we won't be students any more!!! YEA!!

I HATED cooking when I was growing up. I was more concerned with playing sports. I loved being around my grandma when she was cooking, but I had no interest in it at all. We had a babysitter once when I was about eight who let me and my younger brother make soup. We got a pot, filled it with water, added a few slices of torn bologna, tore up a few pieces of lettuce, and added a bay leaf-or maybe it was a real leaf from a tree. (Hey, I saw my mom do it in spaghetti sauce all the time). It was disgusting. I still have issues mastering soup recipes. I just told this story to my husband and he said, "What kind of babysitter did you have? Was she even watching you guys? What was she thinking?" As a parent now, I have to agree with him.

I've only created one recipe and posted it already. Mango Salsa. Yum. I'll think of my favorite recipe and post it later. We miss all you Moscow people, but I'm glad we got a blog started! It is fun catching up with everyone and getting to know all you new people who I have heard about from Kathy and Kirsten. I love trying out all your recipes, too.

Natalie

I grew up in Sandy, Utah. I got my first degree from LDS Business College in Interior Design, then finished my second degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication at the University of Utah in 2006. My husband and I just finished our first year in Moscow. He is in law school and will be doing the JD/MBA program and I am in the Master's of Public Administration program. I will be finished next Spring, given that all goes well with my thesis.

I bounced around a lot in choosing majors and degrees, but found a passion while at the U of U for service-learning. My dream job would be directing a service-learning program at a university. I am doing an internship in the service-learning office at UI in the Fall and get excited just thinking about it...sounds nerdy, I know, but I love it.

My husband and I got married last July, and prior to that I think I was suppressing my domestic tendencies while I was single. Now I have let them loose. I love to cook, but desserts and anything unhealthy are my favorites. On top of that, I'm a picky eater, so I'm always looking for new recipes that are healthy and will me help me branch out. I also like to sew (quilts mostly) and crochet. I love to organize things, but I'm also a bit of a pack-rat. I enjoy music -- playing the piano and singing, and would love to learn to use that guitar I bought years ago. I enjoy watching sports (which works out well for my husband), hiking (but I miss the Utah mountains), and waterskiing. I eat ice cream pretty much everyday and I am addicted to orange juice and grape juice.

My biggest cooking disaster was when I was a nanny. We were making cookies and there was a large tub of what looked like sugar in the cupboard. The thought did cross my mind, "what if this is salt?" but I wondered why there would be so much salt in the cupboard -- it was a large container, and I didn't see any sugar. So, I continued and tasted the dough before I baked them and it was horrible, so we started over, but the kids were pretty impatient by that time. So not too much of a disaster, but a big waste of time.

Leslie

Hi everyone, I'm Leslie. That adorable little baby in the photo is Evie. The pic is old, but I still love it. We've been in Moscow for 2 years and my husband has just 1 more year left of law school! I am not a native Idahoan, I'm from St. Louis. I came out to Idaho with my twin brother to go to BYU-Idaho. I met Paul when we both worked in Athletics. We were best friends for 1 year, dated for 2 weeks, engaged for 4 months and now married for 3 years! I graduated in Dec '05 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication, worked for a little while at Bed, Bath & Beyond in Idaho Falls as the Customer Service Manager, until we moved to Moscow. We had Evie last March & she's just the joy of our lives. We can't remember what life was like before her, all we know is we slept a LOT more!! I love being able to stay at home with her, but I do NOT like it when she is teething. :) Oh well, only 20 more months of teething right?
A little bit about just me now, I guess. I am one of those people that loves to be organized, ha... but my laundry never is. I love to plant flowers & garden and can't wait until we have a space of our own. I love babies and if all of my babies were just like Evie, I would have a dozen. I too am a craft addict. I sew & quilt & scrapbook & make cards & decorate... and I love to give gifts. I am always looking at my calendar to see what event is coming up next so I can make something, it's a problem I know. I have a family blog and a craft blog, so if any of you don't already know about them, just ask!
My favorite food magazine is Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I can look through it everyday. They are such good recipes, quick & easy... not the same old, same old. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I can't really remember a huge cooking disaster. I think my worst thing that I ALWAYS do is over-salt my food. I grew up around salt-addicts and I can't kick the habit. Popovers never turn out when I make them, I like to kill my steaks before I eat them (burn them to a crisp), and I could eat pistachio nuts all day long. One of the recipes that has turned out the worst recently is that chocolate praline layer cake that I made for our chocolate month. Ugh, sorry guys.

Kalia

Well, I'm Kalia and I've wanted to be a mom my whole life. I had a few ideas of what else I might want to be from schools asking growing up, like a teacher, or apparently a nurse, or my senior year I thought maybe an accountant, and my second year of college an interior designer. But, I was never really passionate about anything besides being a mom. So, now I am a mom and I love it. I am not great at it, but I want to get better and am glad that I can stay home with my kids to be their mom and keep improving. I got married in February of 2003, and gained a bunch of weight and have now been big for about 5 years. I hope to get fit someday and be normal sized again and feel good again (I just need some self control :-) which I've found harder to come by than I'd like it to be). I graduated with a Bachelor of University Studies with a focus on Interior Design from ISU in May of 2005 six months pregnant with my first son Atley. Now I am a mom of 2 beautiful boys, as Silas joined our family in February. I had a C-section with Atley and was glad to have a successful V-BAC with Silas (with a 3rd degree tear that still beat the pants of my C-section!). I like to weave tapestries, scarves, blankets, curtains, etc. I took weaving for 3 semesters in college and also bought a loom that I've been storing for a while since we have been short on space for such things. I hope to find a place to use it in my next apartment. I also like to sew, scrapbook, and be crafty, and I make lists for everything. My husband graduated this year and we will now start real life with a real income in Arizona. I hope to be good at budgeting real month to month money so we can live happily and pay off our student debt as fast as possible.

I am not a great cook, but I pulled off a great meal for graduation. We had Strawberry Pretzel Jello, Tortilla Snack Stacks, 8-layer dip, Homemade potato salad, and burgers, and besides the grilling, I did it all by myself. I was pretty amazed and proud of myself. Everything was delicious! I guess I can't think of a worst cooking disaster right now. I've had some issues, and I'm sure I would have had a huge disaster if I ever tried anything difficult especially with meat, but I haven't been very diligent in cooking my husband wonderful things. (I hope I haven't ranted too long, if I have, sorry!)

Jennifer

Okay, so a little about me. I have been living in Moscow for two years. My husband, Rich, just finished his second year of law school. Hurray! We have one daughter, Sadie, who will turn three in August and we are expecting a little baby BOY due in September. I think any of my friends who knew me in high school would be surprised to find out that I have become domesticated. I had only cooked one meal before Rich and I got married. And I only made that because one year I took turns with my roommates making Sunday dinner. So every time it was my turn I made Shepherds Pie. Then I married a man who loathes Shepherds Pie. I've quickly learned to cook. And now I LOVE it. I am also a crafting addict...scrapbooking, sewing, quilting---anything you would need to go to Michael's to buy supplies for. I decided to start a blog to post pictures of my latest crafting adventures. I've had the blog for a while and will start posting soon, I promise! So check it out some time.

I've had many cooking disasters, one of which I have already posted about (remember the whole chicken?). I have also managed to mess up boxed mac and cheese and even a microwaved baked potato. I'll spare you the details. Let's just say Rich lost ten pounds when we first got married. But I have made up for that now and I'm always on the look out for new recipes to try. So keep them coming!

Alita Is a Nut, I Mean in a Nutshell

I feel like I am writing a personal ad. I like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. Haha. I guess since this is a recipe blog I should share a bit about me as a non-professional cook.

1. I love recipes that are quick and easy. My most used cookbook is called 5-Ingredient 15-Minute Cookbook put out by Cooking Light.

2. My favorite foods are generally either Mexican or Italian.

3. I love using fresh herbs in my cooking and maintain my own herb garden so that I always have a supply of fresh herbs.

4. My husband married me because of my ability to make a good sandwich.

5. I have been trying to eat more healthily (is that a word?) recently so I have been on the lookout for healthy and low calorie meal options. Any suggestions?

Hmmm.... what else. ;) I can't think of any cooking disasters. Sorry. I guess I am not adventurous enough to have disasters. I have a personal blog that you are welcome to check out. Just leave a comment and I will shoot you an email with the address on it. (Again, why do I feel like this is a personal ad, should I give my personal stats here?)

Tessa

I liked Kirsten's post so I'm going to copy her idea of listing things you love. I love ice cream, reading, the smell of babies, cooking, writing goofy poems, blowing bubbles, summer, dancing, taking classes, going for walks, dressing up my baby girl and taking pictures of her. I have to admit that I cook for purely selfish reasons, because I love to eat good food, and not out of kindness to my husband (who I love dearly :).

My husband and I have been married for 2 1/2 years. We have one baby girl, Jeanette, who is almost eleven months old and extremely active and curious. She keeps me busy chasing after her, especially now that she is walking really well. My husband is in law school and I am working on a Masters in Literature. Just to give you an idea of some of what I do, I am currently finishing up a paper about the theme of sacrifice and death in Harry Potter. I grew up in Seattle, Collin in Salt Lake City; we don't know where we'll settle down after graduating next year.

My worst cooking disaster occurred when I was about 11. My mom asked me to make dinner since she had to go somewhere. She had planned for lasagna and explained to me how to make it. I thought that I could do it since I often helped her with meals. Then she left. It would have been fine, except that I couldn't find the tomato sauce. I looked everywhere. Finally, rummaging through the fridge, I saw my dad's bottle of hot sauce. My dad loves hot sauce and dumps it like ketchup all over everything. I had never eaten it. It looked like it was mostly tomatoes, so I figured it was close enough. When the "lasagna" came out of the oven and we sat down to eat it, I realized pretty quickly that it wasn't close enough. Only my dad ate it.

Kirsten

So a little about me: I love springtime, Halloween, getting emails, scrapbooking, playing the piano, singing in the car, reading blogs, coloring, walking down the street for ice-cream, traveling, camping, discovering fun books, the rain, Chinese food, getting my hair cut, sewing, playing with my boys, having people over, making desserts, vacuuming (it's just so rewarding when you have light carpet!), the beach, making lists, playing games and cooking for my family.

I hate seafood, raw onions, snow on my roads (why doesn't it stay in the mountains where it belongs), moving, drying my hair (it's a waste of time), buying gas, unpacking from vacations, and Baby Einsteins Language Nursery. I like Baby Einstein in general, but Language Nursery is horribly dull and Charlie LOVES it and wants to watch it all the time.

I will have been married to Mike for 5 years this July and we have two wonderfully mischievous little boys, Charlie (2) and Peter (7 weeks). I graduated from Idaho State in 2002 with a degree in Elementary Education and although I haven't used the degree since Charlie was born, I still keep my teaching certificate up to date just in case. I grew up in Utah, California, Alaska, and Idaho and I am completely surprised that Idaho is where I ended up staying. We'll probably stick close by here for a while, although Mike and I both have a secret ambition to move to the Northeast (like Maine or Vermont) for just a couple of years. I also have a secret dream to one day play Cruella de Ville at Disneyland, but I don't think I'll ever be skinny enough to do it . . . maybe I could pull off Ursula . . . ;-)

My worst cooking disaster was in 2000 and it involved a slow cooker recipe for teriyaki chicken. I have no idea what went wrong but is was absolutely disgusting. It didn't look good, it didn't smell good and it definitely didn't taste good. My roommate Mindy will attest to that. Oh and there was also the time I burnt the Jello . . . don't ask.

Becca

100th post! Cool! So I figure I will go first since I am the slacker that hasn't posted any recipes yet! But I will, don't worry. ! We live in AZ now and LOVE it. I am excited that Justin, Kalia, and the little nippers are moving down here to be by us! I like to cook but am not very good at it. My significant other is much better than I am, but he HATES following recipes. He is "the grill master". I am SO glad to have this blog as a reference because heaven knows, I need it BAD!

My biggest cooking disaster of all time: Cooking my mom's yummy homemade mac and chz and forgetting to cook the noodles first before I baked it, then not being able to figure out why it tasted so nasty and didn't taste just like hers! (yeah yeah, don't laugh)

Happy Cooking Everyone!