Cook2Gether - Our Couples Cooking Class

Welcome to our new Dinner Group 

Cook2Gether, where we are going to 

do couples cooking classes throughout 

the year.  Different couples will host 

the dinner and it will include hands 

on cooking experiences culminating 

in a dinner together.  

My friend Diana and I and our spouses 

had taken a cooking class together and 

we decided this would be a fun 

experience to continue with friends.  

Our first event took place in her lovely 

backyard.  We decided to use some of 

the recipes we had received in our class, 

so the theme was Mexican cooking. 

We had aprons made for the group with 

our logo of Cook2Gether embroidered on them. 

Diana is in the red.   

We couldn't beat the view in their backyard. 

The table was set with Diana's runners, dishes and 

goblets from Mexico.  Her husband was a Mission 

President in Guadalajara, Mexico for our church, 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

They spent three years serving in that capacity, and 

I and my friend Barb were lucky enough to 

visit them while they were on their mission there.  

She brought home so many lovely things and 

these plates and bowls are just spectacular.  

She brought home goblets in multiple colors and 

these beautiful table runners too.  

We set up a separate table for the hands-on 

cooking, with each couple having a stone 

molcajete to make Rosemary Guacamole 

and Tomatillo Salsa in.  

We made a Mint Limeade that they could drink 

while they were cooking, and we provided 

chips that they could snack on their guacamole and 

salsa with.  

Notice the same runner only in red on this table. 

A sprig of rosemary in the guacamole gave 

it an unusual and amazing flavor.  The serrano 

chili was provided for a little heat if desired. 

The guacamole used fresh garlic, ground together 

with the rosemary, and the Tomatillo Salsa used 

roasted garlic.  Flaked sea salt was used to flavor 

both.  

And of course, we needed lots of limes 

for our dishes. 

The couples stood across from each other 

for this and they took turns with the 

molcajete and pestle.  

For dinner, I had made tamales, which I 

demonstrated for everyone.

And we served additional salsas with the dinner, 

as we sat down at the beautiful table. 

We all felt like our first couples' cooking class was a huge success and we can't wait to do more of them. 
I will be posting this with Tablescapes Thursday

Tales of the Traveling Tote #28 and A Giveaway

Welcome to our September edition of 

Tales of the Traveling Tote, where 

ten adventurous ladies love to explore and 

share their adventures with you as they 

bring along their MacKenzie-Childs 

totes.

Guess where Miss Madi K is?  No, it is not on 

an airplane!  She is taking her first ever 

helicopter ride!!!  A couple of summers ago 

she got to pose by a helicopter before I took 

a ride, but she wasn't allowed onboard.  

This time she got to come along!

Miss Madi K has had quite the summer.  We spend 

most of our time during the summer back and forth 

from Lake Powell, and although that is spectacular, 

I have lived here in Utah since I graduated and came 

out to BYU for college, and have not seen all of the 

Five National Parks that we have in Utah.  My husband 

has gone to all of the parks as a Scout Leader, so this 

year I told him I wanted to hit some more of the parks.

Last year we had the good fortune of biking through 

Zion's Canyon.  Since the number of tourists were 

extremely limited last year in the National Parks, 

it felt like we had it all to ourselves.  This year we went to 

Bryce Canyon, which is just under 10 miles from where 

my mother grew up in Tropic Utah.  

We decided to start our adventure with a helicopter ride 

over Bryce Canyon.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  

We had participated in a family reunion many years ago 

down in Tropic, but somehow we didn't make it to Bryce!  

It is a park that is so unbelievably gorgeous.  Of course, 

pictures do not capture the majesty of Bryce Canyon.  

The helicopter pilot gave us a great tour and 

overview of the park.

Afterwards the pilot told us to go check out the 

last remaining airplane hangar from the WPA 

during the Great Depression.  The second to last 

one was in Boise, Idaho and it burned down last year. 

It is a beautiful old building with several airplanes 

parked in it.  Miss Madi K looks so good up 

against the old logs.

Next we headed in to Tropic to see my grandparents' 

graves and drive through Tropic.  

It still isn't much of a town, but 

has quite a few restaurants that 

support visitors to Bryce Canyon.

On the way back to Bryce we stopped for a 

short hike to Mossy Cave.  The hoodoos or rock 

towers in this part of Utah are spectacular.  

Hoodoos are also called Fairy Chimneys. 

 

Mossy Cave is a place my mom would have 

hiked to growing up.  She was born and raised 

in this area and moved to northern Utah during 

WWII for employment.  She married my father 

during WWII and then they moved to Wisconsin 

after the war ended.  My mom also worked at 

the Lodge in Bryce Canyon during summers.  

This whole area was her stomping grounds.

This waterfall on the hike to Mossy Cave was 

the exact same color as the rocks.  The channel 

the water comes down was created by the 

early Pioneers to bring irrigation water 

down to Tropic.

Next we returned to Bryce Canyon to drive and hike.

Part of Bryce Canyon is known as Fairyland, and 

that truly describes it.  

You can't quite capture the depth and scope 

and colors, but of all of the National Parks 

in Utah, this is just magical. 

Every lookout had something fabulous to see.  Because park attendance was moderate we were able to drive everywhere rather than take the bus. 

The arches are breathtaking but

in many areas the drop offs are a little scary.

We hiked down into Wall Street.  There is nothing 

like being down amongst the hoodoos and 

towering walls. 

Then the next weekend our oldest grandson had 

a pre-season game down in Southern Utah at Moab.

Moab is a little over 3 hours south of us 

and we have been down here for Glamping 

and side by side rides before, but I had 

never been to two more National Parks 

just outside of Moab. 

  

We decided we would go down for his game and 

on the way down and back we would hit two more 

of the Mighty 5 in Utah.

Our stop on the way down to the football game 

was at Arches National Park. It was just four miles 

outside of Moab.  This is the original 

log home that a family settled in.  It is 

beautifully preserved, although weathered.

We didn't have much time before the 

game started, so we raced up to 

the main arch in Arches, which is Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch is featured on some of Utah's 

license plates.  You can see someone standing 

next to it to give you an idea of the scope 

and size of this arch.  It was pretty much uphill 

the whole way, but since it was just before 

sunset  it wasn't a bad hike.  We raced down 

the hill to make it to the game. 

This was the view leaving the park.  The variety of 

red sandstone is so spectacular in all of 

this surrounding area.

We raced over to the ball field and although we were two 

minutes late, they had already scored and scored again 

as we walked up. His team beat Moab 

51-6. 

 He is just a Freshman, but he was 

able to get in on the second half of the game and 

catch three passes.  It was well worth the trip. 

The next morning we got up early because we wanted 

to see Canyonlands National Park, which is also 

right outside of Moab.  We had to race back home for 

another grandson's football game, but we were able 

to catch Mesa Arch in Canyonlands with the 

morning sun shining through the arch, and see a 

lot of the beautiful park. 

We left all three parks wanting more, and we plan on 

returning with our bikes and to do more hikes. 

Now, after living in Utah since I came to 

college, I can say I have visited all of the 

Might 5!  I did tell my husband that I 

needed to return to Capitol Reef National 

Park because we visited that too many 

years ago and I am pretty sure we 

didn't spend much time there.  

So Madi K has now visited 4 of the 

National Parks in Utah.  Lucky traveler! 

Now for our giveaway.  Visit Cherry Kay to enter 

our giveaway for these darling Halloween towels.

All of our travelers would love 

a visit from you, so click on the links below to 

see where they have been off to.

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths 

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box  

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply 

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader

Cherry Kay and Carrie Ann Hall @ Entertaining Women 

And stay tuned for our next adventures on Dec. 1st.  

Christmas adventures are always so fun.

Taco Baked Spaghetti Squash

Wow, we have been gone all summer, so I have 
been MIA for blogging.  We were home a week 
and then gone a week, and it seemed like there 
was just enough time to unpack, do a little gardening 
and cleaning, and then repack.
But I did keep the garden going, as a matter of fact,
it was my best garden ever.  This spot that never 
does very well was chosen for spaghetti squash, 
and wow, that plant has taken over and produced 
some of the biggest spaghetti squash I have 
ever seen.  
So I decided to try something new with the spaghetti 
squash, and it is so delicious. I hope you try it.

First cut the squash in half and clean out the seeds.  
Then brush olive oil on it and place it cut side down 
on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45-55 
minutes, or until fork tender.  Let it cool a little and then 
shred the insides with a fork.  

Add the spaghetti squash to your prepared taco mix.
Taco Baked Spaghetti Squash Recipe
1 lb. hamburger
2 pkg. taco mix
1 C. water
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C. frozen corn
1 whole spaghetti squash, cooked
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the hamburger and drain the grease.  Then add 
the taco seasoning and water and cook 5 minutes.  Stir in 
the beans and corn and heat through.  Gently stir in the 
cooked spaghetti squash.  Refill the spaghetti squash 
halves.  You may have some left over.  Top with cheese 
and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until heated through.  

This makes such a fun summer into fall dish.
Hope your gardens are bounteous too.
Thanks for visiting Purple Chocolat Home!!!

Tales of The Traveling Totes #27

Welcome to our June 2021 Tales of the Traveling Tote adventure. 

Join all of our lovely ladies to see where there totes 

have gone in the past couple of months.  It is summer, and it 

comes and goes so quickly, so I hope you have some fun things planned. 

 

As you know Miss Madi K and I have traveled back and forth 

to Cabo quite a bit this past year, as our house down there 

got finished, so this was the first trip we did besides Cabo.

Our 42nd anniversary was coming up in May and we 

decided to return to the Atlantis in the Bahamas to celebrate.  

As my Lunch Bunch friends and I were planning out our year 

of fun, someone mentioned going to the Atlantis. 

 Not everyone had been, and one lady 

had only stopped there on a cruise, so we decided to 

join our trip with theirs.  One of the five couples couldn't 

make the trip because of a death in the family, so we 

were a party of 8. 

We think the place is just magical in every way, inside and out, 

and they had a bonus of newly remodeled rooms in the 

Royal Towers.  Miss Madi K and I are checking out the 

reception area, which just takes your breath away.

Looking down from the foyer you can see window after 

window of their aquariums, which are called The Dig.  

You enter The Dig and are transported in a 

Disney-style experience as if you are part 

of the archeological dig to uncover the 

lost city of Atlantis, complete with sounds 

of archeologists digging.  

The aquariums are massive and you can even arrange 

for an opportunity to snorkel in them.  The tunnels of 

The Dig  are fun to walk through both day and night, 

and on occasion you may see a diver in amongst 

the fish.  

This iconic temple at Atlantis houses several slides.

Two of them go through shark tanks.  Don't worry, 

you are well protected in a plexiglass tube. 

The pools are open every day, but with Covid, the slides 

alternated days, except on the weekends.  

We were there for a week so that worked well for us.  

We weren't sure about how many restaurants would 

be open, but there were plenty to choose from between 

the resort and their Marina Village.  

We all love the ocean, pools, slides, sun and good eating, 

so the Atlantis is a perfect place for us.  

The weather looked like we might have thunderstorms 

every day, but we ended up having perfect weather.  I 

threw in a couple of decks of cards because I was 

worried about the weather, and we ended up playing 

King's Court every night.  We also ended up at the 

Ben and Jerry's store every night.  

They have a beautiful beach beyond their multiple pools.  

The water was incredibly warm so we were able to 

have fun playing and swimming in it.  I am cold blooded, 

so I don't like to play in the ocean if it is too cold. 

One of our favorite things was eating poolside.  These 

amazing shrimp were a dish they served at the pool.  Again, 

we didn't know if they would have food at the pool, as 

my friend had gone to Hawaii and their pool and hotel 

had no food.  They went across the street to an ABC 

store for breakfast and lunch!!  We were thrilled with 

the food and variety that were available.  Of course, we 

didn't know for sure, so we all brought snacks in our 

suitcases.  

Behind us is the Royal Towers section of the hotel.  We 

were on the 18th floor, the top floor of our section and 

had amazing views of the entire property and ocean. 

Because of Covid restrictions we ended up not leaving 

the resort.  We were required to get an additional 

Covid test at day 5 free of charge, but that wouldn't 

cover our required test for our flight home.  The kind 

lady at reception said they would give us a one day 

grace period, so we used that and were able to use 

that test for returning to the United States.  To leave the 

property and go into town you needed a current negative 

test which we had the last two days of our trip, but 

everyone said the town was only half open with no cruise 

ships coming into port, so we didn't mind staying on the 

property.  

Give me sun, water, food, friends and of course my 

dear husband and I am one happy lady.  And that 

Miss Madi K is sure one spoiled lady - she gets 

to come along everywhere!

Happy 42nd anniversary honey.  

All in all, it was a marvelous anniversary with 

wonderful friends in a very magical place.  

The Bahamians are some of the friendliest 

people I have ever met, and they were so thrilled 

to be able to work again.  They made us feel so welcome.  

We all agreed we will have to make this trip again.  

Now for the MacKenzie-Childs giveaway:

Ricki Jill and the Countess de Monet

at The Sketchy Reader are giving away this adorable MC 

light switch.  The giveaways are always so cute, 

I always wish I could win.  

Visit the rest of our ladies to see where they 

have been off to this quarter.  I know a lot of travel 

has been opening up, so it should be fun.  

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths 

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box  

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply 

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader

Cherry Kay and Carrie Ann Hall @ Entertaining Women 

And then see how we enjoyed those short summer months, 

when we have another edition of Tales of the Traveling Tote 

in September.