2 Weeks ago... Hammy

Ham or turkey sammies-

We used the leftover bread from PB & J day- cut up a bunch of sharp cheddar, romaine lettuce, cut bread in half, rolled turkey and ham slices, set it all on individual platters, with a veggie tray and condiments and wuh-la!

Breakfast Burritos

Last week:

It being an Easter time of year, we, my temporary new quasi co-chair for the weekend, Matt, and I prepared for a trip to breakfast burrito land. My former co-chair of 7+ months jumped ship for Utah without any prior notice.

Matt and I bought:

3 double packs of tortillas (probably could've done 4)
12 dozen eggs
2lb. block of sharp cheddar
1 Costco pack of bacon
1 Costco box of turkey sausage
1 jar of Jack's salsa
1 8 carton box of dehydrated hash browns (you'll only need to make 6 of the cartons)
6 pack of frozen O.J.

A jug of Log Cabin syrup came from Vons.

and used some of the Krusteaz pancake mix we still have, kickin it in the Clerks office fridge. Josh Del Bello had the brilliant idea to add cinnamon and brown sugar in the mix. People loved it.

We cooked the eggs, mixing in cooked bacon to one batch and the sausage in the other.
We did a small amount with just egg and cheese for any veggies.

People LOVED it!

2 Weeks ago...

From Costco:

We did multigrain cracker-chips
5 pack of variety crakers
3 kinds of dip
Veggies (baby carrots and celery)

Surprise!

I have a visitor; Insomnia came a'knockin so now I'm bloggin.

Fast Sunday usually falls on the Sunday after General Conference- (first weekend in April and again in October.) Tradition has it that this has always been the case for El Dorado Ward- breaking the mold of other wards who hold their fast sundays the Sunday before Conference.

We had planned on doing a P.B. & J Linger Longer, so imagine my horror when I'm sitting in Sacrament meeting and the conducting Bishopric member takes to the podium to share his testimony-- Whaaaat?! It can't be Fast Sunday- But it was. Consequently I was 3rd to share my testimony- I expressed my surprise and apology for the forthcoming food of the day- not exactly a meal, but reflected on how a great portion of the world has no food at all and how blessed we are to have anything to eat.

Was is really worth it to freak out over this miscommunication? No. It's not important. I shared my experience of attempting to meet Autumn at Costco yesterday, forgetting my phone at home, going into the store to shop, feeling prompted to leave my cart and go outside. I thought I got the prompting because Autumn would be walking up as soon as I got to the entrance. Instead Samarie from the Purple Side and her parents Sean and Jenny were walking towards me. They let me use their cell phone, I left a message on Zack's phone, and Samarie wanted to shop with me so Jenny and Samarie came with me and Sean went a separate direction for their grocery items.

I got to talk about why I was at Costco. Jenny asked what church I attend. She used to go to Parkcrest, but felt it was getting too big. She felt lost. Ironic. I wish I would've told her about visiting teaching rather than invite her to church, which invitation she declined- I learned a lesson from that experience- share the aspects of the gospel that would fill a void in others lives.

However, Jenny and I both agreed, we were meant to meet that afternoon- a blessing:)
Autumn and Zack ended up finding me in the checkout line- perfect timing. They got their syrup, I got the milk and we had a ton of leftovers today!

The big hits:

Sweet Hawaiian bread by Orawheat (Costco) I'd bought 16 loaves- 5 different kinds of bread-

The several kinds of jellies from Smart and Final- Zack loved the Apricot- seedless Blackberry was popular too-

Brooke LOVED the Kirkland brand organic peanut butter

We had bananas too

Non-fat, 2%, and soy milk- Br. Hafen and Sean Gardner thanked me for the Soy Milk-

We had Hershey's Syrup to add to the milk--

I was so surprised we got good reviews- McCall said, "It's the simple things."

I learned we don't have to go big every week. Johnathan said Cypress ward has done PB & J for BtF deliberately. We way outdo them all the time...

Sister Holloway said our committee is creative, does a great job with the menu- Johnathan added, "I don't think we've ever duplicated."

Just GREAT feedback all around.

I love this calling and I love the El Dorado Ward!

Possibly the BEST Break the Fast Yet!

Even though I stressed about having enough veggies, ward members don;t seem to eat their greens- so my worries were in vain. All the food was eaten and people ate till they were full and loved the food- Hardly any leftovers! what more could we ask for? I love it when people are able to eat till they are satiated!

Here's what we did:

From Costco:

Six 6 lb meat lasagnas
Six bags of spinach and cheese ravioli
2 jars of Prego
2 bags of 6 Romaine hearts
1 bag of large carrots
4 bags of roasted garlic french bread (2 loaves in each bag)
1 block of sharp cheddar cheese
1 box of sweet cream butter

From Vons:

1 bag of celery
Double pack of Ranch Dressing Seasoning: Buttermilk Recipe
1 quart of buttermilk
1 medium jar of mayo (1 quart)
1 package of cherry tomatoes

Put the Lasagna into the oven before church starts. Boil water for ravioli 1/2 hour before BtF. Chop lettuce and tomato, put in large salad bowl and set aside. Slice bread (about 15 pieces from each mini loaf.) Butter bread, grate cheese on top- put in oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Add Prego and seasoning packet to ravioli. Mix up Ranch dressing. Chop up carrots and celery. Make lemonade and fill water pitchers.

I am thrilled that it was so successful. I always worry about having enough food. Today I didn't have to- Momma's payer was answered.

Thank you to all the hard work of Josh Delbello, Josh Orhtel, Johnathan Hawley, Dierdra Harr, Heather Puhl, Chad Gleason, and Jon Elkins.

I Should've Said

Mac n'Cheese please.

What you'll need:

Three 15 packs of Kraft Mac n Cheese
1 gallon of milk
12 sticks of butter?
3 lb of grated sharp cheddar
3 cups Parmesan cheese
Mesquite flavoring
Emeril's Season Salt
Pepper to taste

We added Kielbasa to one batch and jalapenos to another-

Chop some fresh cut veggies and throw them on the side and whola-

A Stawberry Walks Into a Bar...

And a blueberry, and a fig, and an apple. Have you heard that one?

Last week Johnathan and I went to TJ's, after nixing Costco- we were going to do yogurt, granola, and fruit- but then we found out yogurt's a thousand dollars a quart and went with an assortment of cereal bars, granola bars, and O.J.


The week before that I was in the mountains with familia, so Brittany Williams stepped in and she and J concocted a Nacho Bar- fitting, as it was Super Bowl Sunday!

Cereal con Leche

We bought 2 double bag boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, 2 triple bag boxes of Lucky Charms/Cookie Crisp/Fruity Pebbles, 1 double bad box of Macadamia Cranberry Crunch, 4 gallons of 2% milk, and a box of(8th Continent-3 cartons)Soy Milk--

Only one of the 4 bags of Honey Nut was consumed- and 2 gallons of milk- I thought for sure we weren't going to have enough milk- brought 2 gallons of milk from my fridge and called 2 people to bring a gallon each- we all got our milk back and gave 2 gallons of reg milk away and almost 2 cartons of soy away.

Note*** people drink fat free milk- next time buy 2 gallons of 2% 2 gallons of fat free and stick with the cartons of Soy- try to convert others to Soy, letting them know how evil cow's milk is- it's meant for baby cows- period- our bodies don't know how to digest cows milk-- everyone is lactose intolerant, some more serious than others- also, think of the poor cows- being tricked into producing milk constantly- if it were left to nature, their poor utters would get a break every once in a while!

Soupish!

It was an ALL NIGHTER! Who would have thought that making soup would have taken SO long! (Transporting and buying it all was quite time consuming!) We did:


~Chicken and Rice
~Chicken Tortilla
~Creamy Tomato Basil

Two pots of chicken broth, made from scratch and one viewing of Something Wicked This Way Comes! We peeled, cut, chopped, and processed onions, garlic, & carrots-
Justin and I drove two piping hot pots of chicken broth to the chapel, then back home when the door code wouldn't let us in--at midnight!! Scoop out chicken to put in fridge, let broth simmer all night cause there's no room at the inn for those big pot-olas!

Baked cornbread first thing in the morning- pureed all the poe-poe's, beel peppers, onions, and garlic for the Chicken Tortilla Soupage...

Johnathan did a pick up- then I took the rest to church just in time to take the sacrament- Lei was sitting outside- she helped me carry everything in to the kitchen.

Travis, Sharon, and Sandy Holloway made grilled cheese sammies for 2 hours!!!

It was a crazy hit-

Notes: Buy more bread!!! 4 blocks of Sharp Cheddar is enough- (6 lbs)

You need two LONG griddles to get the job done in 2 hours.

I'm so glad it's over!

When the Moon Hits Your Eye...

It really hurts!

Sunday December 28th-- We literally Lingered LONGER!!! We put together crescent roll pizza pizazz! Topped with sweet bell peppers and olives- Yum! And the sauce! Let me explain:

I put 1 large can (6lbs!) of spaghetti sauce (from Costco) into a pot- put half a large white onion and 6 cloves of garlic into a food processor- processed fresh basil- pepper and vegisal- all in the pot- 1/3 c. of Parmesan cheese- and simmered it all together, stirring occasionally for 2 hours- Oh the smell that filled the kitchen!

We used 6 boxes of crescent rolls (each contained 4 canisters of rolls...) Broke some into triangles, stuffing and rolling like calzones- and used the other portion of the dough for flat bread pizzas- People dug the calzones!

They just took a long time to cook- we should have had them completely oven ready by 2:15 with oven preheated- and then started the baking- People stuck around though! Till almost 5:30- some of the dough began to rise as it sat on top of the cookie sheets, still hot from the previous load!

Pot o' Gold

I'm a little leprechaun! Give me me pot of gold! Pot Luck that is. We had one today, in honor of the 5th Sunday. I was humbled and thankful for the amount of support and participation we received from our Ward family!

Andrew brought chicken tortilla soup, Angel made tacos... Marie brought Spring Rolls, we had all sorts of chips, dips, crackers, pretzels, veggies, and sweets...and Brad Wright brought his prize winning green jello salad...stuff;) It was beautiful!
I love the El Dorado Ward!

Previous Linger Longer Offerings

1. (Today we're having bagels with cream cheese, or spinach dip, or PB...)

2. Two veggie trays and assorted Asian rice crackers.

3. Oatmeal cranberry cookies and 3 fruit trays

4. Granola Bars and fruit leathers

5. Halloween was lemon cake, chocolate cake, and candy- (never want to do this one again- too much sugar!)

Future possiblities:

Pot Luck

Taquitos and Guac

Hummus and Pita Bread (veggies?)

Our budget is waning-

The Crazy Chicken

Thanks be to Roland Spongberg!!! He has been hookin up the El Dorado Ward with juicy zesty flame broiled chicken for over a decade now! November's BTF was Thanksgiving style: Chicken, mashed po-po's, stuffing, gravy, spinach salad with white balsamic dressing, roasted asparagus and carrots, Kings Hawaiian rolls w/ sweet cream butter, and pumpkin pie w/ whipped cream for dessert. We are SO blessed to be able to eat like this!

We had enough food for all, and even a bit leftover- it was great!

BTF for October

Breakfast for din din. Always a treat! We had belgian waffles (that were close cousins to senor funnel cake). All the wafflely trimmings: fresh strawberries, banana slivers soaked in orang juice, peanut butter, syrup, real butter, and would have had ice cream too, but the Woodruff ward ate it! Mango and orange juices, milk, scrambled eggs, turkey sausage... I think that's it- what a mad, wild rush it always is trying to cook everything and keep it warm in under 2 hours. It was muy yum.

Do you know that Belgium has over 2000 chocolate shops within the parameters of it's small little country self? And the waffle shops, a second diabetic heaven!

9~14~08

Last Sunday we served left over wedding cup cakes (thank you Kara- they were beautiful and tasty!) We also did Costco's Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies and 100% Natural Fruit Leather. I think for this coming Sunday 2 veggie trays and some sort of yummo crackers are in order...a co-worker was chowing on a bag of Wheat Thin brand Veggies crisps today. They looked delightful!

Water Water Everywhere...

And LOTS of melon to drink... We bought 7 watermelons this week- weren't sure if it would be enough...turned out to be too much. We sliced up 4 of the 7 and had plenty of leftovers. The dripping, luscious rose colored flesh of the melons surprised me each time a new melon was scored. I know how to pick a good melon! These are exciting times! Cutting them in a fashion that cause them to stand up straight is another matter. :) Next time, 4 melons will do- spend the remaining $15 on an alternative. (Cut melons into 8 sections, then cut each section into 8-10 pieces.)

Have You Seen the Muffin Man?

Neither have I.

We kept it simple yesterday, in light of the El Dorado 5th annual Dance Magic Dance Show. I bought 5 pallets of Costco muffins. (Although I should preface "simple" with: I don't know the meaning of the word. I almost had an anxiety attack trying to figure out the best flavor combination!) I learned that chocolate is SO very poop-pew-ler.

Next time remember: Lots of chocolate- by the bucket full, and keep the quarter system. P.S. Johnathan and I spent many long hours cleaning- even mopped the floor. Someone please, pat us on the backs. :) P.S.S. I love my committee!

Sunday August 10th- Spinah-chee-Atrichoke Dip

What we needed:

3 lbs Sour Cream
1.5 lbs. grated Parmesan
2 c. Mozzarella
1 bag Ranch Dressing mix
2 bags chopped frozen Spinach
2 bags frozen Artichoke hearts
half large white onion
6 cloves of garlic
Salt (we didn't use enough).

2 Costco Bags of Mission Tortilla Chips

Puree the artichoke hearts in blender, set them aside in a bowl.

Puree the onion and garlic- sauteed in butter- added spinach and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Combine spinach mix and artichoke.

In a Large crock pot mix cooked veggies, sour cream, cheese, and spices together-

Let it melt and marinade together for an hour-

Serve warm with chips or bread.

Yummy, Fatty, Goodness.


p.s. we also bought 2 big bags of baby carrots- I think my brother single-handedly consumed an entire bag by himself! Note to self: next time, one bag of carrots 2 bags of chips. (We'd only bought one bag of chips- they ran out fast.)

266 Fajita's

Last month a new calling was extended to me. I, along with my friend, J-Haw, became the new Break the Fast Co-Chairs. This is simply comical- I can count the number of times I've cooked dinner for someone else on one hand- For more than 100 people? I can count that on no hands. I love the way the Lord teaches us new things- He just throws us right in there. My goal for this blog is to create a collection of duplicatable recipes and ideas for future constituents credited with this culinary calling.

Our first official assignment was to cook for August 3rd's fast Sunday. We bought 30lbs of seasoned chicken tenders from Casa de Carne! That's a lot of meat- and I
won't tell you what happened to a plate full of it a week later...


Shopping List


30 lbs. chicken (pre-seasoned tenders)
2 Large Cans of refried beans
5lbs tomatoes
5 pack of romaine
Large bag of cheese
6 bags of 36 ct. Tortillas
3 lbs of guacomole
5 avacados
1 lemon
5 bags of assorted bell peppers (6 peppers in ea.)
4 large onions
5 cloves of garlic
2 Large bags of mission tortilla chips
8 lbs of salsa
salt and pepper to taste

We cut chicken, peppers, and onions into strips, chopped up the garlic- sautaed (so help me I can't spell that word) the garlic & onion, then peppers with a little olive oil... Heated the chicken in the over...and the microwave- yuck!

Added fresh tomato, onion, avocado, and lemon to pre-made guac.

Warmed to tortilla's- have I mentioned I hate microwaves?

Chopped the romaine, and bowled all the condiments mentioned above.

One things we forgot to put out was the 3 lbs. of sour cream-

We used it last Sunday though.

The outcome was mostly positive.