Food Storage Frosty

Here is a great recipe from the Newsletter that uses food storage items.  It is really good!

1 1/2 C to 2 C ICE cold water-really really cold

1 1/2 C non-fat dry milk powder

2/3 C sugar

1/4 C unsweetened cocoa

2-3 C ice cubes

2 T vegetable oil

Place ALL ingredients into the blender, including the oil.  Use less water for a thicker shake, or more for a shake that's easier on your blender motor.  With lid on, process for two minutes.  Makes about 4 shakes.

Christmas Party

The ward Christmas party was Friday, December 5th.  The Ballard's did a lot of work and it turned out really nice.  They did all of the food, which was very good, and somehow, they got Santa himself to come to the party.  Santa read a story to the kids and let the kids sit on his lap.  We had a great turnout, and it was nice to be able to see everyone and chat!  Thanks again to the Ballard's and everyone who helped.

Book Of Mormon

The Bishop gave a great lesson last Sunday about both temporal and spiritual welfare.  It was a good reminder of what our priorities need to be.  We also set a goal as a ward to have the Book of Mormon read by May 1st, which means you need to read about 25 pages a week to get it done.  Doing this as a family will help bring the spirit into our homes and provide teaching opportunities for parents.  Ice cream party for all who finish (put on by the bishopric, I'm sure:)!!!

Holiday Dinner

Enrichment this week went really well! We had a great dinner, thanks to several sisters in the ward: Audrey Hutchinson, Sherri Ivie, Carol Jones, Morgan Pambo, Fern Heap and Lisa Saunders. Thanks for your help! The decorations were great to help us get into the Christmas spirit. Thanks to all who let us use their Christmas dishes. The room was very beautiful with all the nativities that sisters brought to share with others. And a big thanks to the Young Women who had a beautiful singing program. Thanks to all the hard work from the Young Women, their leaders, and all who helped make the night work!


Here are the recipes from the dinner:

Holiday Dinner Recipes

Chocolate Cake

1 milk chocolate cake mix
Bake in cookie sheet 18 minutes. Cool.
Mix together: large chocolate instant pudding according to directions and 16 oz. softened cream cheese
Spread over cake. Put in fridge until set up. Spread large cool whip. Shave chocolate on top.

Great Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
1 small bottle Russian dressing
1 (16 oz.) can whole cranberry sauce

Flour and brown chicken, put in crockpot. Mix Russian dressing, Lipton soup mix, and cranberry sauce. Pour over chicken and cook on low setting for 4 to 5 hours.
Serve over rice

Pear Cinnamon Salad

1 6-oz. Cherry Jello
2 Cups water
¼ C cinnamon candies

bring to a boil and stir until all the red hot candy is dissolved.
Add 1 ½ C pear juice to the jello mixture
Pour Jello mixture over 1 Quart of cut-up pears (well-drained).
Garnish with whipped cream and sliced almonds.

Pickled Carrots

5 C carrots, sliced
1 purple onion, in round slices
1 green pepper, in round slices
1 can (10 ¼ oz.) tomato soup
¾ C vinegar
¾ C sugar
½ C vegetable oil
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Cook carrots in boiling salted water for 10 minutes (until crispy tender). Drain. Cool. Combine with onion and green pepper. Set aside. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over vegetables. Cover. Refrigerate 12 hours or up to 2 weeks. Drain and serve. Yield: 8 servings.

________________________________

An unknown author wrote:


I am the Christmas Spirit.
I enter the home of poverty, causing pale-faced children to open their eyes wide in pleased wonder.
I cause the miser’s clutched hand to relax and thus paint a bright spot on his soul.
I cause the aged to renew their youth and to laugh in the glad old way.
I keep romance alive in the heart of childhood and brighten sleep with dreams woven of magic.
I cause eager feet to climb dark stairways with filled baskets, leaving behind them hearts amazed at the goodness of the world.
I cause the prodigal to pause a moment on his wild, wasteful way, and send to anxious love some little token that releases glad tears—tears which wash away the hard lines of sorrow.
I enter dark prison cells, reminding scarred manhood of what might have been, and pointing forward to good days yet to come.
I come softly into the still, white home of pain; and lips that are too weak to speak just tremble in silent, eloquent gratitude.
In a thousand ways I cause the weary world to look up into the face of God, and for a little moment forget the things that are small and wretched.
I am the Christmas Spirit.


I look forward to this Christmas season and I hope we can all keep our eyes open for those who are in need this season. We are so blessed to live in this beautiful valley, surrounded by friends. I hope that during this season we can look to others that need our help, and in so doing, we can bring the Christmas Spirit into our homes and neighborhood. This is such a special season, a time to reflect on Christ, what we have, and what is possible because of him. Remember the Christmas spirit this time of year!

-Megan Tanner

Sisters Share

A delicious quick easy treat for the holidays!

Quick Caramel Popcorn

Melt in saucepan over medium heat:

1/4 c. butter/margarine

1/4 c. brown sugar

7 large marshmallows

Pour over 2 quarts popped popcorn.

-Lila Cooley

Sisters Share

I love this time of year! The crisp fall mornings and the smell of cinnamon pine cones put a smile on my face! I love the excitment of little children and how the world seems to get a little bit kinder as the holidays are approaching. I love hot cocoa, warm blankets and twinkling christmas lights. Family gatherings, left over turkey sandwiches and Christmas carols. I'm a simple person, and simple things please me. I hope you will enjoy this recipe of another simple favorite of mine, Pumpkin Cookies. ENJOY!
-Angie Fonnesbeck

1 Duncan Hines Spice cake mix
1 small can pumpkin (not the pie filling)
Chocolate chips if desired (and who wouldn't)
Seriously, that's it.
Combine ingredients. Bake at 350 12-15 minutes

Click here to visit Angie's blog

Sisters Share

We are going to start a new thing on the blog-We are going to ask Sisters to share their own ideas-tips, recipe's, books they've read, thoughts, things that are going on in their lives, etc. etc. to put on the blog. Look forward to a call to share your thoughts, or if you have some you'd like to share already, let Sister Tanner know, and we'll get it up on the blog. Thanks in advance for all your help!

Sisters Share: Julie Ballard

Thanks Julie!

Hearty Lasagna Soup

1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

3 1/2 cups Swanson Beef Broth

1 can (about 14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes

1/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed

1 1/2 cups uncooked corkscrew-shaped pasta

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:Cook the beef, onion, garlic, and parsley in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until the beef is well browned, stirring often, pour off any fat.

Stir the broth, tomatoes and Italian seasoning in the saucepan and heat to boil.

Stir in pasta in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium, Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the cheese. Serve with additional cheese, if desired.

From: Cambell's Kitchen

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Lessons

Sister Heap gave a very nice lesson on being grateful and having a positive attitude. It was a great lesson for this time of year as we have so much to be thankful for. Next weeks lesson is chapter 19 from the Joseph Smith manual.

Dutch Oven

Thanks to everyone who helped with the October enrichment. A special thanks to the Brewers for all their help and their instruction. It was nice to learn more about cooking with dutch ovens, and the importance they have in our emergency preparedness kits. Thanks to Lisa Saunders for putting all the recipes together for everyone, and thanks to all who helped with the food, set-up, and clean-up. It turned out great!

This Week

The ward party is planned for this Saturday at 5:30 at the church. It should be a lot of fun, so plan on being there! Also, the lesson for next week is Joseph Smith Ch 20, Page 239. "A Heart Full of Love and Faith." Please try to read it before church on Sunday. Have a great week :)

Pitas

This recipe comes from the Foodie Farmgirl blog. (which, by the way, has some great recipes!) Here is the link to her recipe with pictures

1 T sugar

2 t yeast

1 C warm water

2-1/2 C bread flour

2 t salt

2 T good olive oil

Place water, sugar, and yeast in bowl and let stand 5 minutes until bubbly.

Next, add oil and salt. Begin adding flour, a little at a time until the dough is slightly sticky, but firm. Remove from bowl and cut into 6 equal size pieces. Roll into 6 balls, cover with a wet towl, and let stand on floured counter for 40 minutes.

Warm up the oven to 500 degrees. Cover bottom rack of oven with tin foil. Roll our 2-3 pitas at a time and place on pre-heated oven rack for 4-5 minutes until puffy and golden. Remove and stack on top of each other so they deflate. Let your oven heat back up between batches. I like to double the recipe and you can freeze the leftovers (if there are any :)

Girls Night Out and Lunch Bunch

This week we had a couple of great activities. We had a girls night out, and Kirsten Barton taught how to make barrettes. Wanda Carey brought a very cute blanket that she is working on for her niece. It was fun to chat with other sisters and learn how to make cute barrettes. Thanks to all who attended!

We also had Luch Bunch this week. Several sisters met at the Coppermill for lunch. It was great food and great company. Julie Balard, Audrey Hutchison, Carol Jones, Bernadene Peterson, Susan Brewer, Della Buttars, Lila Cooley and Megan Tanner attended. We will plan on doing this each month, and it is a lot of fun, so plan on it next month!

Next month we will be having a dutch oven instruction and meal October 22nd at 6:30. The Brewer's will be teaching how to cook with dutch ovens, and a dutch oven meal will be provided. A children's class will also be provided.

Garlic!

It is finally fall, and we are all waiting paitently for our tomatoes to ripen. While we are waiting, it is the time of year to plant garlic in your garden. It is so easy, and the garlic will keep for a long time. All you do is buy the garlic bulbs (I got some at Anderson's for $1 a head), break them apart, and plant each clove of garlic in the dirt, a couple of inches deep. Then, when the snow melts after a long cold winter, you will be able to see your garlic already growing!

It is ready in the middle of the summer when the tops start to fall over or turn yellow. You can then pull them up and store them for months. You can braid them together,

and hang them in the garage or with your food storage. The garlic has a stronger flavor than the store bought variety, so you won't have to use as much in your recipes. There are several vareties out there, but I don't really know the difference between the types. Some are richer in flavor, some are a bit spicy.

You can also plant onions now from seed if you want. You can buy starts in the spring, but you could also do it from seed now. Enjoy the nice weather while we have it! Happy gardening!

Stake Conference

Next week is stake conference. There is an adult session at 7 PM on Saturday. Sunday, conference will be held at 10 AM, at the Tabernacle, with overflow at the Stake Center. Elder Robert D. Hales will be attending.

Lesson Next Sunday

Next weeks lesson is Joseph Smith Ch 17, page 207. "The Great Plan of Salvation." Please try to read it before Sunday :)

(Strawberry) Rhubarb Pie

(No, this is not my pie...I wish mine was this pretty!)

Here is a great rhubarb pie recipe, and I added strawberries to it. It would be good with just the rhubarb too. The crust is pretty easy too!

Pie Filling:
3 C chopped rhubarb
1 C sugar
1/2 t orange peel
3 T flour
1/8 t salt
2 T butter

Mix all ingredients except butter. Let sit while you make crust. Add the butter cut into cubes on the top of the pie filling before you put the top crust on.

Crust:
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 t salt
1 C shortening
1/4 C water
1 T vinegar (I used apple cider)
1 egg

Mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening until it is crumbly. Mix water, vinegar, and egg. Add to flour mixture.

Roll out bottom crust. Pour in filling with butter chunks on top. Add top crust. Sprinkle sugar on top.

Bake 450 for 10 minutes, then 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

BBQ Chili

1 lb beef
1 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
2-4 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 C ketchup
1/3 C brown sugar
1/4 C molasses
1/4 C Worchstershire sauce
1 T dried mustard
6 C cooked beans (could use white, pinto, or black)
5 strips cooked bacon
water

Brown meat, onion, and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients except beans and bacon. Cook 20 minutes on stove. Add beans and bacon. Cool covered 30 more minutes

Welcome!

Welcome to our Relief Society blog! This is a place that we can share ideas, get to know people, post pictures, and keep up on what is coming up and what is going on on in the ward. Feel free to post or add comments as you would like. If you would like to make posts, let Megan Tanner know, and we can get it set up. Thanks!