Service Auction

Thanks to all who participated this year. It was a great turnout and we all had a lot of fun. If you have forgotten who won your auctioned item, please contact Katie. Here is the recipe for the chicken salad we used in the croissants. Enjoy

Chicken Salad
Mix Together:
6 Cups Shredded Chicken
1 Cup Finely Diced Celery
½ Cup Chopped Yellow Onion
2 Cup Chopped Apple with Skin
1 Cup Toasted Slivered Almonds
Dressing:
1 ½ Cup Mayonnaise (light)
2 TB Honey
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Pepper
Stir together, add a little chicken broth or milk to make smooth if needed.
Pour Dressing over salad and stir till everything is coated. Should make enough for 16 croissant sandwiches using rounded 2/3 Cup each.

UNDERwhelmed in Food Storage

There was interest after the class for the recipes that were sampled. There is also more information about what was presented at this class at http://watchandbeready.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!


Southern Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
This recipe is a very, very simple “Open, dump, and mix” one.
4 cups of canned chicken, drained
1 package (6 ounces) of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice Original Recipe
1 can of cream of celery soup
2/3 cup of Miracle Whip (don’t substitute a different mayonnaise)
1 can (8 oz) of diced water chestnuts, drained (I like to chop mine a bit smaller than they come in the “diced” can)
1 2 oz jar of sliced pimento peppers. (diced is fine also)
1 can of French cut green beans, drained
1 ½ cups of chicken broth OR water
2 Tablespoons of pre-grated Parmesan cheese. (yes, the stuff in the green can is just fine.)

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well with a spoon. Transfer to a Dutch oven, or a pre-greased baking dish if you’re cooking in a solar oven. Top the dish with the Parmesan Cheese. If using a solar oven, be sure to cover the dish with foil or a dark towel. If using the Dutch Oven, simply put on the lid.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until it’s bubbling and the rice has cooked. Let cool about 5 minutes and then serve.


Corn Bread Casserole
Yet another easy dump, mix, and cook recipe! You won’t believe how addictive this dish can be. You can enhance it as a main dish by adding spam, bacon bits, or cheese to the dish as well just before baking.

1 can of creamed corn
1 can of regular corn, drained
1 cup of sour cream. (yes, you can make sour cream from powdered milk)
1 egg or 1 egg equivalent
1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of butter

Mix all of the ingredients together well. Place in a baking dish or Dutch oven. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. (I usually cook it the longer period because I like it a bit browner on the top than some do.) Serve as a great side dish!


Blueberry Dump Cake
The name says it all. This is easy!

2 cans of blueberry pie filling
1 box of yellow cake mix (18.25 ounces)
8-12 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Simply dump the blueberry pie filling in your baking dish or Dutch oven. Mix the melted butter together with the cake mix. Spoon on top of the blueberry pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until light golden brown on top.
If you have a way to make ice cream, this is a yummy dish served warm with some vanilla ice cream on top.

Party Class Recipes

Now that the holiday's are over and most of us are getting back to some form of normalcy, it's time for our cooking classes to resume. Our most recent "Let's Party" class was a success. The recipe's were phenomenal. Thanx to Heather and her sister for putting it together for us. Here are the recipes from the class, try them out, you will love them.

Let’s Party Recipes
Some Tips
• Choose about 6 different appetizers (remember colors, temperature, and flavors)
• Count on about 3 of each appetizer per person. If there is no main course, you may want to consider more.
• Have a fun drink to go along with the appetizers.
• Make only two or three and have the rest be easy like chips and dips, shrimp with cocktail sauce, or pizzas cut into tiny squares.
• You may want to consider having it a pot luck appetizer party and having your guests bring their favorites.

Meatballs
Meatballs from Costco
1 jar grape jelly
1 jar of chili sauce

Bake meatballs for 15 minutes at 350. In a saucepan, mix half jar of jelly with 1 jar of chili sauce and heat on stove till hot and bubbly. Pour over meatballs and serve. (Any questions, ask Heather)

Sweet & Sour Sauce
1 ½ c. sugar
¼ t. salt
2 T. soy sauce
½ c. ketchup
2/3 c. vinegar
Heat ingredients in a sauce pan till comes to a boil.

7-Layer Dip
Layer in a 9X13 pan:
1 can (not tall size) refried beans
1 pint sour cream mixed with Taco seasoning
Guacamole (2-3 Avocados and small bottle of Salsa—blend together in blender)
1 pint sour cream
4 ½ oz. can of chopped olives
1 c. each of cheddar and Monterey jack cheese
Diced tomatoes

Water Punch
1 T. lemon extract
1 T. citric acid
5 qt. water
3 c. sugar
Combine ingredients. It is really yummy with pebble ice and thin slices of lime floating on the top.

Hot Artichoke Dip
1 (8 oz) brick cream cheese
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. Parmesan cheese
1 can artichoke hearts (non-marinated)

Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, and Parmesan cheese. Add chopped artichokes. Put in a baking dish and bake at 350 until bubbly. Serve warm with French bread cubes.

Spinach Dip
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1 c. mayonnaise
1 pkg. KNORR Vegetable Soup, Dip & Recipe Mix
3 green onions, chopped

In medium bowl, stir spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, soup mix, and green onions until well mixed. Cover, chill 2 hours to blend flavors. It is fun to serve this in a large hollowed out soup bowl.

Water Chestnut Wraps
2 pkgs. Bacon
3 cans water chestnuts (whole)
Wrap bacon around water chestnuts and secure with toothpick.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Sauce:
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. mayonnaise
1 bottle of chili sauce
Heat.
Put chestnuts in crock pot. Cover with sauce. Keep warm in pot.

Buffalo Wings
12 chicken wings
½ c. honey
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
4 T. soy sauce
2 T. prepared mustard
2 T. cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350. Spray shallow baking pan with nonstick spray. Cut wings in three pieces at the joint. Place in baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over wings. Bake 1 hour. Serve with mayonnaise, Blue cheese dressing, or Ranch dressing as a dipping sauce.

Crab Dip
Dissolve 1 pkg. gelatin in 3 T. cold water. Blend into 1 can mushroom soup in saucepan. Heat to warm.
Add:
1 c. mayo
6 to 8 oz. fake crab (shredded)
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 c. finely chopped celery
Pour into bowl—put in freezer ½ hour. Unmold. Ready to eat.

Bruschetta
12 slices Italian bread, ½ inch thick
¼ c. olive or vegetable oil
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 ½ cups)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Place bread slices on ungreased cookie sheet. Drizzle 1 teaspoon oil on each slice bread. Bake about 8 minutes or until golden brown.
3. While bread is toasting, mix remaining ingredients. Spoon tomato mixture onto bread slices. Serve at room temperature
 
Spinach-Filled Triangles
1 lb. Feta cheese
1 pint cottage cheese
¼ c. Parmesan cheese
1 c. Swiss cheese
4 eggs
10 green onions, chopped
10 ounces fresh spinach, finely chopped (or a 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained)
1 teaspoon parsley, minced
1 pound filo pastry
1 pound butter, melted

Step 1
Combine all the cheeses and eggs in a large bowl and mix well. Add onions, spinach and parsley, and blend well.

Step 2
Cut the filo pastry into strips 2 ½ to 3 inches wide (see illustration). Brush each strip with melted butter and then place 1 teaspoon of cheese-spinach mixture on the strip, centered 1 inch from the end. Fold one corner over in a triangle and then continue turning over the triangle to the end of the filo strip (just as in folding a flag). Place each triangle as it is made on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Step 3
When done, remove the triangles from the sheet immediately and serve hot. They may also be rolled, stacked between sheets of wax paper, and frozen in airtight containers. When they are needed, separate them while frozen, place on baking sheet, and bake as directed with about 10 extra minutes of baking time.

Candy Recipes

First off, a huge thanks to Sister Ridge for her willingness in teaching this class. This class was amazing, Sister Ridge had so much information to share with us, and I know I left with more information than I could’ve hoped for. Before getting into the recipes she gave us, I wanted to share a few tips/notes that I got from her that may be helpful to you when making candy.
1. Use heavy pans. Thin ones will scorch the candy much faster.
2. If you want your candy to taste great, use good ingredients. The higher the quality the better it will be.
3. Do NOT ever get water into melted chocolate. It will ruin your chocolate.
4. You can freeze whipping cream (after refrigerating it for 5 days) as long as you are going to use it for baking/cooking.
We hope will enjoy these recipes and tips from Sister Ridge.

Getting Started
Candy making has its utensils and most of them can be found in the kitchen. You are advised to have the following equipment before starting.
• Candy Thermometer
• 3” wide paint scraper
• Small pastry brush
• Marble slab
(If unable to obtain a marble slab you can use a large glass Pyrex 13½ x 9 – no smaller)

The Thermometer
It takes 212 degrees of heat to cause water to boil at sea level and since no water leaves the batch until it boils, the start of the cook is really the boiling point, and as the consistency of a batch of candy depends on the number of degrees the batch cooks above the boiling point, we must adjust our formulas to the altitude at which we live. The higher the altitude the lighter the air pressure and the lower the temperature of water at the boiling point. The lightness of air at higher altitudes allows the water to escape the batch at a lower temperature. Therefore, when you buy your thermometer put it in cold water, bring the water the water to a rolling boil and note the degree of heat registered, subtract it from 212 degrees, then subtract this difference, whatever it is, from the degree of cook given in each formula in this book. For example, if water boils at 204 degrees at your altitude, then 212-204=8;
236-8=228, which would be the proper temperature to cook candy at such an altitude. Water boils at 1 degree less for every 570 feet above sea level. The recipes in this book are adjusted for 5,000 feet above sea level.


Creamed Fudge
• 3 cups sugar (rounded up)
• 1 Tbs. Karo syrup
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 oz. (1/4 cube) butter or margarine.
• ¾ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 2 level Tbs. cocoa
Make your marble slab ready, cold and damp. If you pour hot fudge on a dry slab it may cause the batch to grain or go to sugar. Put your sugar and cocoa in a heavy 6 Quart sauce pan, and mix thoroughly before adding the Karo syrup, cream and butter. Stir, mixing all ingredients before placing on medium heat. Bring to a boil and wash down the sides of the pan with a small wet pastry brush. Start at the top and wash all the sugar that sticks to the sides of the pan down into the batch. Fudge may be cooked without stirring after it comes to a boil. Cook to 235 degrees. Pour out onto cold slab. Allow to cool until it is neither warm nor cold (about 15 to 20 minutes). Now the fudge is ready to cream. Use an ordinary 3” to 4” paint scraper, working the batch back and forth on the slab using a stirring method. It takes about 15 minutes to cream fudge. Do not stop stirring once you start. As soon as the fudge starts to thicken on the back of the scraper, add your nuts and flavoring. The colder the batch during the creaming process, the longer it takes to cream, and the smoother and creamier the fudge will be.
Let the fudge relax for 15 minutes then knead it until soft. Divide into 4 or 6 equal parts and make into logs or rolls. Wrap in wax paper and then in foil and store in cool place. Will store for months if kept air tight. Do not wrap candy in Saran Wrap or it will sweat.
*If you do not have a marble slab, pour your candy on a large buttered cookie sheet with sides. Let cool until (15-20 min), then pour into a buttered large glass platter or casserole and stir as directed with scraper.
*This recipe can be doubled if you have a large enough pan and slab.
• 5 cups sugar
• 2 Tbs. Karo syrup
• 2 cups cream
• ½ cube butter
• 4 Tbs. cocoa
• 1 tsp. vanilla

*Fudge Variations
• Vanilla fudge – leave out cocoa
• Coconut – make vanilla and add 1 cup flake coconut during the creaming (good with nuts and coconut)
• Maple Nut – add maple flavoring to vanilla fudge instead of vanilla
• Mint – add ¼ tsp. oil of mint to vanilla fudge.
• Orange – add 1 tsp. orange emulsion to vanilla fudge.
• Black Walnut – add 1 tsp. black walnut flavoring and 1 cup black walnuts to vanilla fudge.
• Candied fruit (dried) to vanilla fudge.

Truffles
• 1½ pounds melted chocolate
• ½ pint of whipping cream
Beat together with 4-5 drops of peppermint. Blend well. Put in plastic lined 8-9 inch square pan. Chill until set.

Peanut Butter Cups
• 2 cups Peanut butter
• 1 package powdered sugar
• 2 cubes margarine
• 1 package graham crackers
Blend: Crush crackers until fine and mix other ingredients. Roll into balls and put on pan covered with wax paper. Chill till hard. Dip in chocolate.

Coated Nuts
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ evaporated milk
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
Mix ingredients and bring just to a boil. Stir in 4 cups of nuts. Dump on waxed paper stirring a few times while drying so the nuts stay coated.

Coconut Mounds
• 1- 14 oz. package coconut fine
• 4½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup eagle brand milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2½ nuts (optional)
• ½ cup melted butter
Mix all ingredients together and form balls. Let stand about an hour. Dip in chocolate. To make almond joys, put a whole almond on the top of the balls then dip.
*You can use toasted coconut for more flavor. To toast the coconut spread coconut out on a 13 X 9 pan and cook in a 250-275 degree oven for about 30 minutes (turning halfway) or until browned.

Almond Roca
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tbs. water
• 1 tsp. light corn syrup
• 1 cup finely chopped, toasted almonds
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar, water, corn syrup. Cook over medium heat constantly stirring. When sugar dissolves and mixture boils, raise the heat and bring candy thermometer to 290 (soft stage or as soon as it is the same color as a brown paper bag it is done). If you want nuts in it, quickly stir in ½ cup chopped almonds. Immediately pour the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet. Wait 2-3 minutes then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. In a few minutes when the chips are softened spread the chocolate evenly over the surface. Sprinkle remaining almonds over the chocolate. When chocolate hardens, crack the candy into pieces. Store covered. Makes 1½ pounds.

Penuche
• 1½ cups brown sugar
• 1½ cups white sugar
• 1 Tbs. Karo
• ¼ cube butter
• 1 cup cream
Follow directions for fudge. Penuche takes a little longer to cream than the fudge.
• This can be used for the center of your pecan log.
• This can be doubled if large enough pan and slab

Pecan Brittle
• 2 cubes butter (must be butter)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbs. Karo
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup pecans
Place in heavy sauce pan butter, sugar, Karo and water. Cook over high heat stirring all the time. Wash sides of pan with wet pastry brush.
Cool to a nice brown paper bag color (about 7 min). Remove from heat. Add vanilla and nuts. This candy is very hot, so be careful not to burn yourself with the steam. Pour onto a well-buttered cookie sheet and stretch it a little with the spoon. Let cook and break into pieces. Makes about 2 pounds.

Variations
*This can be used as your English Toffee also. Leave out nuts. Pour brittle out onto cookie sheet and let cool. Break into pieces and dip in melted chocolate and chopped nuts.
*Pecans can be substituted with walnuts, almonds, or skinless peanuts.
*Your brittle can be crushed into small pieces and poured into melted chocolate to make Heath bar clusters.

Caramelized Popcorn
• 3 cups brown sugar
• ¾ cups Karo
• 1 cube butter
Cook over medium heat and bring batch to a boil. Boil 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over popcorn. Pour caramel corn on wax paper. Spread out while cooling.
Popcorn- 8 Quarts popped corn. Make sure you shake all unpopped corn to the bottom of the pan, leaving the unpopped corn in the bottom of the pan.

Opera Cream
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cream
Stir until it dissolves and starts to boil.
Place a candy thermometer in mixture and wash down sides with a candy brush and cold water. Cook to 224 degrees. If you use canned milk instead of cream, cook to 222 degrees. Pour onto wet platter and cool- real cold. Then beat as fondant and knead the same. When soft and pliable add nuts and roll. You can add candied fruits and other flavoring.

Caramels
• 2 cups Karo syrup
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
In heavy sauce pan, place your sugar and Karo over medium heat. Stir until sugar melts. Wash sides of pan down with wet pastry brush. Cook for 15 minutes.
Place your cream and sweetened condensed milk in double boiler and place over low heat mixing well after it warms.
After your Karo and sugar have cooked 15 minutes add 1/3 cup cream mixture to that mixture. Mix completely. Cook 5 minutes. Repeat until all your cream has been added. Be very careful when you add your cream to your Karo batch. When you stir it in, it will steam and you can get burned very easily. When the last of the cream has been added place your thermometer in and cook to desired temperature.
Cook to 230 for caramels and 234 for turtles. Add nuts if desired. Pour into well greased 11x13 cake pan. Cool 12 hours before cutting. For suckers 237 degrees.

Turtles
Place two whole pecans on a buttered cookie sheet. Make several piles of 2 pecans each. Spoon 1 Tbs. of caramel over each pile of pecans. Place the pecans far enough apart so caramel will not run into the next pile.

Pecan Log
Take large cookie sheet. Butter well, cover sheet completely with whole pecans. Pour hot caramel over pecans. Let set up. Cut caramel into four equal squares.
Remove squares from pan onto Saran Wrap with nuts next to Saran Wrap.
Take ¼ recipe of creamed penuche for each square of caramel. Stretch or roll penuche on top of caramel square. After this has been done, roll caramel into log. Wrap Saran Wrap around log then foil around that. Store in a cool place.
Do not wrap caramel in foil or waxed paper or it will stick.

Recipes taken from Create Your Own Candy Kitchen by Kay barker

OK sorry ladies, there has been a scheduling conflict with the Candy Making class. We are going to just moving it back a day to Wednesday November 18th @ 7 PM. Disregard the last post. We are really sorry about having to reschedule, but we know you are going to love the class. If you have any questions give Katie a call.

Candy Making Class

Hey ladies, just in case you haven't heard, Sister Ridge is going to teach a candy making class next Tuesday night November 17th at @ 7 PM. There will be sign-ups this Sunday so be looking for them. It's going to be a great night with some excellent recipes. Hope to see ya there.

Lesson on Gratitude

Hey ladies,
I just wanted to send out a link for the devotional by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin that I used for the lesson that I gave yesterday. I hope you enjoyed the lesson. I learned a lot just by reading this talk and now I really want to live my life in "Daily Thanksgiving." Thank you for all of your input in making the lesson great. Also here is the poem that I handed out to everyone


I'll be Happy when

by Tina Marie Lundeen

A small child sat in the fullness of spring, surrounded by the beauty of each living thing.
All the wonders of nature never caught her eye, and she said to herself with a discontented sigh.
“When I get to be five, I’ll be happy then.” So continued her thoughts of I’ll be happy when.
The little child grew to a girl in her teens; still feeling that life is never quite what it seems.

I wish I were sixteen and had my own car; I’d be happier then, much happier by far.

That teenager grew to a young woman then wife, standing with her young man on the threshold of life.

Still she was not happy, and she thought perhaps, if I had a child to cuddle on my lap.

Children did come and the young mother often said, “I’ll be happy when these little ones have all gone to bed.

I’d be happy if I just had more time to myself, if I didn’t have to keep my nic-nac’s so high on the shelf,

if I didn’t have so many children to care for, I could buy a lovely new sofa, and rug for the floor.”
Well time passed by and the young woman’s hair turned to grey, and she found herself all alone one day.

With all the time in the world and her home most exquisite, she wished her children would come home for a visit.

I’d be happy if only they would visit me more, it’s so seldom I see a grandchild at my door.

She had lived with her motto “I’ll be happy when” never pausing, content, with the blessings of then.
And so she drifted through each season of life, neglecting the beauty while noting the strife.

Till at length she arrived at winter’s last days, feeling life was so unfair in so many ways.

Finally humbled and trembling on bended knee, she prayed to the Lord to answer her plea.
Dear Father, if thou art above, why ‘hast thou withheld thy love?

Am I not one of thine own? Yet, I am old, unhappy, and all alone.

All I ever wanted was happiness, instead, I find disappointment, and distress.

The answer came as a seedling of thought, to her mind. Perhaps, happiness isn’t something you find.

It’s not where you live, but how, and the time to be happy is not someday, but now!

It’s not something you buy, or win, true happiness comes from peace within!
“That peace my child is the key that comes only from serving me.”

Then she begged for forgiveness, as the tired heart swelled, the blessings had gone unnoticed, but never withheld.
So in the winter of life, instead of the spring, an old woman sat surrounded, by the beauty of each thing.

And not a wonder of nature escaped her eye, as she said to herself with a contented sigh,
“So this old body will soon be laid to rest, I, of all people, am truly most blest.”

Now old and feeble with shoulders bent, she was finally happy and truly content!


You guys are awesome!
love ya,
Katie Tucker