Our (Neurodiverse) Family

I love salmon. Growing up, my mom would bake the salmon and serve it with yellow rice and peas, and usually with lemon wedges or some lemon juice to drizzle over it. Yum! It's still one of my favorites My mom and I are the only real salmon lovers in the family, so now she only ever makes it when I come to visit because the male members of my family don't especially love it. Stephan...well, he used to say that salmon was either the fish he liked the most or hated the least, though I introduced him to tilapia a few months ago and now that's his favorite fish. Other than that, he doesn't particularly like fish. Did I mention he served his mission where you could get fresh-caught salmon? Yeah, he didn't care for that either. When we were first married, he gagged whenever I ordered sushi at our favorite Japanese restaurant. He tolerates California rolls, but that's pretty much it. It doesn't bother me; he loves Japanese food otherwise, so we can still be marrie...

Yakisoba is a Japanese noodle stir fry. In fact, yakisoba literally translates to "fried noodles". This is probably one of the most versatile, easy dishes you can have in your arsenal. You can customize it to your liking, using pretty much any spice, meat, vegetable, or sauce you like. And did I mention that it's really cheap too? Cheap, nutritious, and tasty...all good words for one dish! This is also a great dish for getting rid of leftovers. You're probably wondering, "Sounds great, but I need a few guidelines to start out." So did I! I'll show you what I did, and you can do what you want afterwards. Here we go! The cast of characters Chop up some celery (if you're using it) Dice up some chicken.... Boil some ramen noodles (I realize this isn't the most authentic, but hey, ramen noodles are cheap, and work great for this) Yep, three at once. Drain the noodles, and set aside. Heat the pan to about medium-high heat,...

I'm famous for these cookies. Whenever I make them, my name is uttered with reverence, men propose to me after taking a bite, children become angels, and there's peace on earth and good will towards men. I've occasionally thought that these cookies could solve all of our world's problems. Okay okay, all joking aside, these are really good cookies. But my husband *did* propose to me after sampling the batter. True story. He grew up in a household where peanut butter desserts were nonexistent because his dad and his brother are allergic to peanut butter. You've got to keep the peace, after all. I guess these cookies couldn't solve the world's problems because of peanut butter allergies *sigh*. I can dream, can't I? Of course, he was already planning on proposing to me that evening anyway, but telling people that he proposed after tasting the peanut butter cookie batter makes it sound better ;) So, if you want to increase your popularity, here's...

Mormons are known for a few things; jello and casseroles being a couple of them. I don't know the reason for the jello, but I do for the casserole-loving. We Mormons are known for having large families, and mothers of large families usually don't have the time or energy to make an elaborate meal. Casseroles are pretty easy to make, they feed a lot of people, so problem solved. The problem with most casseroles? THEY'RE BLAND!!! Not to mention some of the weird stuff people put in them. I'm not a huge fan of casseroles. Except for this one! It's kind of spicy, and it has lots of flavor. Plus, it's pretty easy to make.  Here's my version: Topping: 8 ounces tortilla chips 2 tablespoons of butter Filling: 4 tablespoons of butter 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped medium 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed (unless you want to call the fire department), peppers minced  1 medium onion, minced  1 teaspoon of ground cumin Salt and pepper 1/...