In Loving Memory

 On January 14th, 2011 the world lost an amazing woman. My mother-in-law Michele, was a friendly, funny, warm and loving person. She was the kind-of mother-in-law every woman hopes for. She welcomed me right into the family and told me she would always be there for us, but would never butt in. She often told me she wanted to be the kind of mother-in-law to me that her mother-in-law had always been to her.  Michele and I had a lot in common and I will miss her dearly.
Even though I only knew Michele for 4 years, we made some really good memories together. One of my favorite memories was a night shortly after Ryan and I got engaged we went to visit his parents. I had called Michele and asked to see some baby pictures of Ryan and when we got to the house she had pulled out two huge bins of pictures and two bottles of wine. We laughed and cried and managed to get through both bins of pictures and both bottles of wine that night! 
At our wedding shower, Michele gave us a gift that I will always cherish. She spent 8 months creating a family cookbook she called "Shannon Secrets to Good Eating". She gathered her favorite recipes from family and friends, organized them, and put them all in a book for us. In memory of her, I have listed a couple recipes from the cookbook that I like the most. These recipes will always have a special place in my heart.

Gazpacho Soup
This past summer, Ryan, Michele and myself went to a Dave Matthews concert. It was the middle of summer and of course, we wanted to tailgate all afternoon. It was scorching hot outside and Michele offered to make this soup instead of us doing the usual grilling. She made this gazpacho and it was so delicious and refreshing. I love gazpacho and every time I eat it I will be reminded of the fun memories we made tailgating and going to the concert that day.
- 4 large tomatoes chopped
- 1 onion minced
- 6 pitted olives
- 1 cup low sodium tomato or V8 juice
- 1 cucumber chopped
- 1 green pepper seeded and diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- salt & pepper
Mix all together and season with extra salt & pepper to taste. Chill several hours and mixture will thicken. Spoon into bowls and garnish with extra olives if desired.


Sour Cream Chicken
This was one of the first meals Ryan ever made for me and one of the first meals Michele taught Ryan how to make. It's a delicious meal that is easy to prepare. I hope to pass it along to my own kids someday.
- Chicken breast (enough for everyone eating)
- White mushrooms, sliced
- 1 can cream of mushroom
- enough cooking sherry to fill up half the empty cream of mushroom can
- 1 large container sour cream
- paprika
Place chicken in shallow cooking dish. Mix all ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour (or until chicken is cooked through). Ryan always served this to me with a side of angel hair and peas.

Michele's addictive, to die for dessert
 When Michele made this dessert for me she warned me that it was completely unhealthy, absolutely addictive and ridiculously good. I had no idea how difficult it would be to stop eating it! It is such an indulgent blend of salty and sweet. Her, Ryan and I finished almost a whole batch of this in one day! If you make this, be sure to pace yourself!
- sleeve or two of saltines
- 2 sticks butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- cup or so of white chocolate morsels
- toasted almond slices
Place a layer of saltines on the bottom of a cookie sheet. Melt the butter and sugar until it starts to brown. Add the white chocolate morsels and melt. Pour over the saltines and top with toasted almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Refrigerate for an hour or two. Break into pieces (like peanut brittle) and try not to inhale immediately.


These are only a few of about 50 recipes in this cookbook.When I decided to write this blog, I knew it would be hard. I wanted to do it though to honor her memory and I have to say, going through these recipes and asking my husband about them has brought about some great family stories and funny memories. The hardest part was reading the letter she wrote to us at the beginning of the cookbook. I have inserted a picture of this letter below.

Our family will never be the same without Michele. We will always miss her and wish we had been given more time with her. I am grateful for the relationship I had with her and the memories we made. I am so glad to have this gift from her as it is a great reminder that her spirit is always with our family.