December Recipe Swap- Cookie Exchange

Ellen hosted our annual Cookie Exchange this month and there was a great variety of cookie and treats for us all to take home and share with family and friends.

Starlights Sugar Crisps (submitted by Sarah Nichol via Dorothy Britsch)

Soften 1 cake of yeast in ¼ c warm water.  (1 cake of yeast = 1.5 to 2 tsp. of instant yeast or 2 to 2.5 tsp. of active dry yeast).

In separate bowl, sift together 3.5 cups flour and 1.5 tsp. salt.  Cut in 1 cup of butter until particles are the size of small peas.

Blend in 2 beaten eggs, ½ cup sour cream, 1 tsp. vanilla and the cake softened yeast.  Mix thoroughly, cover and chill at least 2 hours or overnight – up to 4 days. 

Sprinkle rolling surface with vanilla sugar (see below).  Roll out half the dough to a rectangle about ¼” thick.  Fold one end of the dough over to the center, then fold the other end to the center.  Sprinkle the rolling surface with vanilla sugar again, turn dough by ¼ turn and roll out again.  Again, fold by thirds.  Repeat sprinkling sugar, rolling, and folding 3 times. 

Cut into strips of 4” x 1”, twist 2 or 3 times each, and place on a greased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 325 – 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Watch very carefully.

Vanilla Sugar

1.5 cups sugar + 1.5 tsp. vanilla, blended.  

November Recipe Swap- Green Smoothies

We had a record number of women attend this months recipe swap! Shelby O. talked about what she has learned about green smoothies and many shared recipes as well as tips on the best blender! Many people like the blendtec blender best.

October Recipe Swap- Apples

Apple Cranberry Crisp (submitted by Lindsay Bullock

Mix together and put in 9x13 pan:

5 Large Apples, peeled and chopped fine

1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped fine (I run mine through a food processor)

1/3 cup orange juice (I used concentrate J )

1-2 Tbls. Lemon juice

¼ cup sugar (or a little less)

1 heaping Tbls. Corn Starch

Mix together the following topping (I also put this in the food processor.  If you don’t use a food processor, use a pastry cutter or fork and make butter pea size or smaller):

½ cup oats

½ cup flour

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup cold butter

Sprinkle topping over apple/cranberry mixture.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  

September Recipe Swap- Meal Planning

This month we met and discussed meal planning about what has worked for people in the past and shared ideas of how to make it work for each specific family.

August Recipe Swap- Backyard BBQ

This month we had a backyard BBQ in Shaunna B.'s yard and shared our favorite summertime recipes. Shaunna made pizza on the grill with fresh garden basil and tomatoes. Yummy!

Pizza on the Grill (Submitted by Shaunna B.)

1. Place dough on grill. Cook until lightly charred on one side, 3 to 4 minutes; press lightly with a spatula to deflate any air bubbles.
2. Flip dough; layer with cheese and  tomatoes, dividing evenly. Cover grill; cook until cheese melts and bottoms of crusts are charred, 4 to 6 minutes. Garnish with basil.

July Recipe Swap- Summer Treats

This month's theme was Summer Treats or anything you like to eat in the summertime! Ice Cream and frozen desserts seemed to be the most popular favorite. Ellen's lemon Dessert was DELICIOUS!

Lemon Dessert (Submitted by Ellen P. from her Grandmother Pitchforth)

3 eggs beaten

1/2 cup sugar

juice and rind of 2 lemons

Mix ingredients well.  Cook in double boiler after water boils first.  

It will thicken in 3 minutes.  Mix with 1/2 pint whipped whipping cream.  

Spread over crushed vanilla wafers.  Refrigerate.

June Recipe Swap- Freezer Meals

This month we met at the church and made freezer meals for ourselves as well as for a bunch of women  in our ward who are about to have babies within the next couple of weeks. These 2 recipes below are really yummy.

Layered Enchilada Casserole (submitted by Elisabeth B., taken from joyful-mommas-kitchen.blogspot.com)

I make my freezer meals 2 ways. One way is to just make them all in a 2 day process. Compile my list, shop, and do meat prep. Then the next day I assemble them. The other way I like to do it is over the course of a week or two. I buy the ingredients enough to double the recipes, then I make one for dinner and just double it and put one away in the freezer. Then by the end of about 2 or 3 weeks, you have 10 meals frozen in the freezer ready to go for later. Your meals will do well in the freezer for 2-4 months.

I really love enchiladas. We eat a variation of them every week. My favorite thing about this dish is that I can mix it all in one bowl and layer it and bake. No rolling, no sauce, no specific order. It tastes phenomenal and it makes a really awesome freezer meal. Make one for dinner and make one to freeze. Just double layer it with foil before baking it and freeze. Then just thaw it and bake.
Layered Enchilada Casserole
2 cup cooked, shredded chicken (I just toss a few chicken breasts in the crock pot in the morning to cook)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (15 oz)
1 can black beans, drained (15oz)
1 tub Santé Fe Blend Philadelphia Cooking Crème
2 cup shredded cheese. ( I used a combo of 3 cheddar and Pepper Jack)
3 flour tortillas (I used 6 inch)
1. Mix the chicken, tomatoes, beans, and cooking crème in a bowl. Combine well.
2. Place a 1/3 cup mixture on bottom of a pie plate or 8X8  freezer pan.  I buy the foil ones. Top with 1 flour tortilla.
3. Top tortilla with chicken mixture and cheese. Repeat layers and end with chicken mixture on top and top with last bit of cheese.
4. Double wrap in heavy aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.  Label.
Cooking Instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees 30 minutes or until heated through.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole

(Submitted by Elisabeth B., taken from heavenlyhomemakers.com)

4 cups chicken broth (I avoid canned broth or bouillon because they are also loaded with MSG.  Here’s my easy homemade chicken broth recipe, which includes frighteningly ugly pictures of a chicken carcass.  Again, try not to scream.)
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups brown rice2-3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon (or more) garlic powder
Sea salt, to taste
1 1/2 cups cream (heavy whipping cream, or fresh cream which has risen to the top of whole, raw milk)

In a large pot, bring chicken broth, carrots and onion to a boil at high heat.  Add rice, stir, and place the lid on the pot.  Reduce heat to low and cook the rice and vegetables in the broth for 45 minutes.  (To avoid sticky rice, don’t stir the rice while it’s trying to cook – just walk away and ignore it for the entire 45 minutes.  You can do it.)

When the rice is done, stir in cooked chicken, garlic powder and cream.  Shake in liberal amounts of sea salt for best flavor.  (I use Redmonds Real Sea Salt, which is unbleached and full of natural minerals.)  Cook ingredients for about five more minutes to heat the chicken and cream.  Serve directly from pot, or pour into a 9×13 inch baking dish.  This meal can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated and reheated in the oven at serving time.  Cover and heat in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until hot through and through.  Serves eight.

(You can also freeze this meal.  To reheat, simply put the frozen, covered casserole into the oven, turn the oven onto 350° and cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until it is heated thoroughly.)

Cooking your rice in the chicken broth gives this dish a wonderful, naturally delicious flavor.  And in case I didn’t mention it before, the cream makes this dish…creamy.