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