JJ Thursday...or Friday

Was there a teacher who had a great influence on you or motivated you to be a better person? Describe them and what they taught you.
I have many teachers that have influenced my life. There were 2 teachers in elementary school that stand out. The first is Mrs. Wray (red shirt). She was one of those people who seemed to really care. I can really appreciate this because I am a teacher and I know how hard it is to care about every little thing that is important to children. Mrs. Wray was just such a wonderful lady. I wish I could be more like her. Then there was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Williams (blue shirt). She always stands out in my mind because she knew me personally and I always knew I was important to her. After she moved, she wrote me letters (which I still have) and I remember being blown away that my teacher would take the time to write to me.

Next, is Collete Christopherson (that doesn't look like it's spelled right). She was one of my Young Women's leaders at a time in my life that was very difficult. Our ward boundaries had been changed and my family ended up in a new ward. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail because it's hard to talk about, but Collete was amazing. She was so patient, fun, and understanding. I saw Collete a couple of years ago at my sister's reception and I didn't really talk to her much. Sometimes it's hard to tell the people that matter the most how you feel. I hope one day she'll know how important she is to me.

I can't talk about teachers without talking about my Seminary teacher, Bro. Nix. He was AWESOME! He prepared lessons that were so inspirational. He helped me to develop my testimony. He guided so many people down the right path. Bro. Nix had high standards. He is one of those people that you know you'll see again on the other side and you really don't want to let them down.

Finally, my Mom. She taught me to love to read. She taught me to love chocolate and she tried to teach me (through example) how to hide your good chocolates in the closet. I wish my mom lived closer so that we could go shopping on Saturdays like we used to. One important lesson that I learned from Mom was that it wasn't what you bought or didn't buy that was important. It was all about making time to be together.

P.S. If anyone reading this knows any of these people please let them know how important they are to me. I think they should know.

And now...for my Journal Jar Question from last week. OOPS!

What is your favorite food along with a recipe.

I love No-Bake Cookies (sorry Julie)

Chocolate No-Bakes

4 tablespoons cocoa
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned)

Combine sugar, milk, butter and cocoa. Boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in vanilla, peanut butter and oats. Drop onto wax paper. EAT! FYI- you don't have to wait until they cool. They are equally, if not more, delicious when they are warm and gooey.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

5 bell peppers
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 pkg. stuffing mix (any flavor, bread crumb or rice)
1 c. tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut off top of peppers and clean out centers. Fill a saucepan 1/2 full of water and bring to a boil. Place pepper in boiling water. Return to boiling, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.

In a skillet brown 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef and drain.

In a saucepan prepare stuffing mix as directed on package. Combine prepared stuffing, ground beef; and 3/4 cup tomato sauce and mix.

Remove peppers from water and drain. Place in a deep baking dish so that peppers stand on end.

Fill peppers with ground beef, stuffing and cheese mixture. Top with remaining tomato sauce. Place in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.