Well at least Cancun isn't supposed to be hit by a hurricane...oh wait.

We have some good new, some very mediocre news, and some very bad news. I will start with the bad news. It looks like Cancun is going to be 5 ft under water before we arrive and we may be spending all our vacation cleaning debris from the beach. The mediocre news is the guy finished the t-shirt although he was about the crabbiest crappy person I have ever worked with. Not only did he make the design to small, take too long, and over charge us he also messed up a shirt and then bought a replacement the wrong size. Oh well they turned out great all things considered. Just so you know we will never be making t-shirts in Mexico again...ever. And the good news is Kate has a job with a great non-profit in SLC and start a few days after we return. Finally after all this hard work Kate is going to be my sugar mama (Jim & Donna, it was just a joke I am getting a job as soon as I get back).

Either way we will have a fun vacation even if it is in Cancun, California. And at least we have the shirts.

Deseret Morning News: '101' cookbook series gives canned-soup cuisine a fresh update

By Valerie Phillips
Deseret Morning News

A lot of home cooks are prejudiced against recipes that use canned soup. They have too many childhood memories of dull generic casseroles.

"We thought the time was ripe for an update of the tired cream-of-mushroom or cream-of-chicken soup recipes, because canned soup can be used for so much more than that," said Donna Kelly, co-author of a new cookbook, "101 Things to Do With Canned Soup" (Gibbs Smith, $9.95).

Kelly, a Utah County prosecutor, has penned several other cookbooks in Gibbs Smith's popular "101" series. This one was written with Stephanie Ashcraft of Tucson, Ariz., who wrote the original "101 Things to Do With a Cake Mix."

There are so many more soups on the market now, added Kelly. She especially likes those with Southwestern flavors, such as creamy ranchero tomato and chicken chile verde.

The duo included some old classics, such as tuna noodle casserole. "But we added some interesting variations and new flavors," she said. "And a lot of the recipes are totally brand new, such as the Upside-Down Pizza Casserole, which uses drained minestrone soup as a base."

DO-IT-YOURSELF QUESADILLAS

3 cups cooked ground turkey or beef

3 cups minced onions and/or peppers

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1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes

1 10.75-ounce can condensed nacho cheese soup

12 8-inch tortillas

2 cups grated Mexican-style cheese blend

Place meat, onion, peppers and tomatoes in separate bowls. Allow each person to choose the amounts and types of fillings, as suggested below. Heat a 10-inch frying pan to medium heat. Spread 1 tablespoon of soup on a tortilla and place it dry side-down in pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup ground meat, 1/2 cup peppers and/or onions, 1/4 cup tomatoes and 1/3 cup cheese on top.

Spread another tortilla with 1 tablespoon soup, and place soup-side down on top of quesadilla. Press with a spatula to remove air bubbles. Cook uncovered about 2 minutes and then turn over and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Tortillas should be golden brown and crisp on the outside. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter. Garnish with guacamole, sour cream and/or salsa if desired. Makes 6 quesadillas.

Variation: Replace soup with chicken chile verde or southwest pepper jack soup.

UPSIDE DOWN PIZZA CASSEROLE

2 19-ounce cans ready-to-serve minestrone soup

2 6-ounce cans tomato paste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons dry Italian seasoning

2 cups diced pepperoni or cooked Italian sausage

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 3-ounce tube refrigerated pizza dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain and discard 1/2 cup liquid from each can of soup. Pour remainder in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Stir in tomato paste, garlic powder, seasoning and meat, spreading mixture evenly in pan. Sprinkle mozzarella and 1 cup Parmesan on top. Unroll pizza dough and lay on top of cheese; cut to fit. Make a few slits in dough to allow steam to escape while baking. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until crust is browned.

Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes. Cut in squares and turn upside down on each plate as you serve. Garnish with remaining cheese. Makes 8-10 servings.

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E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com

KELLYS ROCK!!!

I just wanted to say that Dad and I are so very excited for this trip - it will be so much fun with all of us there -

Thank you to Amy and Kate for working on the itinerary - - -

Thany you to Neil for the awesome T Shirt design - -

Thanks to Matt for taking time off work and Jake for missing his first whole week of college --

And let's all send out happy thoughts and prayers for Chris to do well on the MCAT next week so that he can relax and really have fun with us on vacation.

Hasta las Vista!!!

-- Momalicious Kelly

Cancun or Bust!

Hello all. We are getting excited for Cancun! We are heading out from here on the 19th. We'll stop at some ruins & possibly Belize on the way. The T-shirts are coming along nicely. They are a nice Pepto-bismol pink. A fitting color :)