BAR-B-QUE Beans

This is the recipe for the bar-b-que beans I brought to the ward Christmas party last Friday. Hope you enjoy!

BAR-B-QUE BEANS

By: Vicki Westerlund

2 med. cans of Bush Beans (I use one maple flavor and one honey flavor)

1 lb. browned and rinsed sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage)

1 cup bar-b-que sauce (I use Jack Daniels Honey Smoke flavor)

3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)

Cook most of the day, perferably in a crock pot on low.

Just before serving add as much cheese as desired (I use about 8 to 12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese cut into cubes) and stir until melted.

Chocolate Trifle and English Trifle

Here is the chocolate trifle that I brought to the ward party. I'm including the other trifle I use for the summer months.

Chocolate Trifle

By: Katrina Moody

1. Bake a package of brownies. Let cool.
2. In a bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff and forms peaks when lifting out beaters. (I don't add anything to the whip cream, though you can add vanilla or sugar.)
3. In a bowl, mix 1 large or 2 small packages of instant chocolate pudding.
4. Purchase bag of toffee bits.

In trifle or glass dish (so you can see the nice layers) layer brownies, pudding, toffee bits, and whip cream. Repeat layers. Add a few toffee bits on the last layer of whip cream for some prettiness.

English Trifle

By: Katrina Moody

Ingredients:
bananas
blueberries
strawberries
pound cake
vanilla pudding
whip cream

1. Peel and slice bananas.
2. Cut off tops and slice strawberries.
3. Rinse and drain blueberries.
4. Make 1 large or 2 small packages of vanilla pudding.
5. Cut pound cake into 1" cubes.
6. Beat whip cream until it is stiff and forms peaks when lifting up beaters.

In trifle dish or glass bowl, layer cake, bananas, pudding, blueberries, strawberries and whip cream. Repeat layers. Add a few pieces of fruit on last layer of whip cream for some prettiness.

Tile Coasters

I just wanted to share a quick craft that would be perfect for Christmas gifts. I made a million of them this year for my husbands co-workers. You can personalize them however you want. They look great stacked on top of each other and tied with a bow.

Anyway...these were so easy to make!!! Here is what you need:

1. Tumbled tiles, 4x4's (they come 9 to a box at Home Depot and cost $5)

2. Stamps

3. Stazon ink

4. Distressed ink (optional)

5. Sponge

6. Spray adhesive so the water from the cup won't ruin them

7. Cork for the bottom...the kind that is like a sticker on the bottom.

First wipe down each tile (there is a powder on all of them). Then stamp away with the stazon ink. I then used the distressed ink and sponge and inked the edges and the whole tile to make it looke a little distressed. Let the ink dry. Then preheat the oven to 335 degrees and bake them for about 4 minutes. After that, spray with the adhesive. When it is all dry, put some cork board on the bottom (it is sticky on one side, so just cut it to the right size and stick it on). Thats it! Very easy!

This is one of my favorite meals. It is so quick and easy. I like to eat it with corn tortillas and black beans and all the other yummy fajita fixings. Hope you enjoy!

Bajio Chicken

recipe from Real Mom Kitchen

posted by: Summer Thatcher

5 chicken breasts
1/2 cup salsa
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 cup brown sugar (more to taste, I added at least an extra 1/8 cup)
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
6 oz. Sprite (1/2 can)

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and cook 1 more hour. Thicken the juices with a little cornstarch mixed in water.
Serve with flour tortillas, lettuce, cheese, black beans and any other taco fixings.
If you want it spicier rather than sweeter add a hotter salsa and more green chilies.

Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cookies

Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cookies

adapted from Picky Palate

posted by: Summer Thatcher

1/2 cup margarine (I used butter)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
about 24 miniature peanut butter cups (mine made about 32 cookies)

36 mini marshmallows
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
2-3 TBS heavy cream
1/4 c. mini M&M's

Cream margarine and peanut butter. Add sugars and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and soda. Chill one hour, shape into 1 inch balls. Spray mini-muffin pans with Pam. Put balls into pans and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Remove and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into the middle of the cookies. Top each cookie with 3 mini marshmallows and return to oven for 2-3 more minutes or until marshmallows are puffed. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Place chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted smooth. Stir in 2-3 TBS heavy cream until silky and smooth. You can return back to microwave for 15 seconds to get a thinner consistency. Spoon chocolate over top of puffed marshmallows and sprinkle with mini M&M's.

Cafe Rio/ Costa Vida Sweet Pork

Cafe Rio/ Costa Vida Sweet Pork

By: Katrina Moody

In crockpot:

Cook 6 lbs of pork for at least 12 hours on low.

2 hours before serving:

Drain juices and trim off fat. Shred pork. Place back into the crockpot with:

2 c brown sugar
1 can cola
16 oz. taco sauce

Cook for 2 more hours.

Peanut Butter S'Mores Turnovers

These are so yummy! You definitely need the whole 1 TBS of peanut butter on them, so don't skip like I did;) These would also be really good with Nutella instead of the chocolate bar.

Peanut Butter S'Mores Turnovers

from: Recipe Girl

Submitted by: Summer Thatcher

1 box Puff Pastry (2 sheets), thawed
3 whole graham crackers, gently broken into fourths
9 small milk chocolate bars (I used Hershey’s .49 oz. bars)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
small bowl of water
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp. water (to make egg wash)
1/2 cup jarred Marshmallow Creme (or Fluff)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.

2. Lay Puff Pastry on cutting board. Working with one sheet of Puff Pastry at a time, cut on three folds, creating 3 rectangles (about 3″ x 10″ each). Cut each 3 x 10 rectangle in half. You’ll have 6 pieces to work with for each sheet of Puff Pastry.

3. Assemble turnovers: Lay graham cracker on 1/2 of each square, top with chocolate that has been cut down to match the length of the graham cracker. Scoop a scant 1 Tbsp. peanut butter on top of each chocolate bar.

4. Working with one turnover at a time, wet edges of Puff Pastry and fold (over) in half to meet opposite edges. Gently push edges together to stick; use fork to seal edges together and create ridged pattern. Repeat with each turnover until all are sealed up. Gently move sealed turnovers to baking sheet with a small spatula. (At this point, the turnovers may be refrigerated for up to an hour before baking- cover baking sheet with plastic wrap- when ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and continue with instructions).

5. Brush turnovers lightly with egg wash, then use a sharp knife to cut two small slits into the top of each turnover.

6. Bake 15 minutes, or until turnovers are puffed and golden. Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Scoop marshmallow creme into a zip baggie (don’t zip). Microwave for 8 seconds to soften. Zip bag and snip a small piece off of the corner of the bag. Drizzle marshmallow onto the top of each turnover. Serve immediately.

Servings: 12
Yield: 12 Turnovers

Cooking Tips
*Use any sort of chocolate that sounds good to you. Just cut it down or break it into pieces that fit on top of a 1/4 of a whole graham cracker. (Leftover mini Hershey’s bars from Halloween work great!)
*I tested this recipe with real marshmallows and they didn’t work as well as the marshmallow creme.
*This recipe can be easily cut in half- just thaw out one sheet of Puff Pastry.
*These are best served while warm & gooey, but they can certainly be eaten any time!

Halloween Goodies

Liz and Summer invited the ladies they visit teach (Katie Bowman, Katrina Moody and Katie Fox) over to make some fun Halloween treats. These are the fun things that we made:)

• These can be used for any holiday...add sprinkles instead of "eyeballs".
• Butterfinger Eyeballs
• by: Liz Rasmussen
• adapted from VeryBestBaking.com
• 
  
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not all-natural)
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 (2.1 oz.) NESTLÉ BUTTERFINGER Candy Bar, finely chopped
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup (1.38-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ GOOBERS Milk Chocolate-Covered Peanuts
• 1 small tube red decorator icing
• Wooden pick or skewer for dipping

Directions:

LINE 2 baking sheets with wax paper.

BEAT peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in powdered sugar until mixture holds together and is moistened. Stir in chopped Butterfinger. Shape into 1-inch "eyeballs." Place on prepared baking sheets. Freeze for 1 hour.

MELT morsels and shortening in large, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 1 minute 30 seconds; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Remove one baking sheet of frozen "eyeballs" from freezer (keep other sheet in freezer until ready to use).

DIP one "eyeball" into melted morsel mixture using a wooden pick or skewer. Shake off excess and return to baking sheet. Gently press 1 Goober on top of "eyeball" to make a "pupil." Repeat procedure with remaining "eyeballs" on baking sheet. Refigerate until coating is set. Repeat with remaining sheet of "eyeballs" and coating. You may find it necessary to reheat morsel mixture before dipping second batch. Before serving, pipe decorator icing around eyeballs to create bloodshot markings. Store in covered container in refrigerator. Best served cold.

You can use this for any holiday, just switch things out...if you don't want candy corn, use M&M's , use red and green sprinkles, etc...

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

by: Summer Thatcher

14-16 whole Oreos, broken up

1 1/2 c. mini pretzels, broken into pieces

1 lb. white chocolate (chocolate wafers or almond bark)

1 c. candy corn

brown and orange colored sprinkles

Place waxed paper on large cookie sheet.Spread cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 cup of the candy corn into a 9x13 inch rectangle on the waxed paper.

Place chocolate in glass measuring cup and heat in microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth.

Drizzle melted chocolate immediately over cookie mixture, spreading with spatula (if needed) to coat evenly. Top with reserved candy corn and colored sprinkles. Work quickly before chocolate hardens.

Place into refrigerator until firm. Remove and gently break apart into small pieces for serving. Store in airtight container.

Yield: about 2 dozen pieces.

GhOsTLy StRAwbeRRieS

By: Liz Rasmussen

White chocolate (wafers or almond bark work best)

Strawberries

Chocolate chips

Melt chocolate according to package directions. Dip Strawberries in chocolate and add chocolate chips as the face. Put in refrigerator until set up. Enjoy!

Sweet Bread

Sweet Bread

by: Liz Rasmussen

1 TBS yeast (1 pkg)

1/4 c. warm water

2 TBS butter

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

pinch of salt

2-3 c. flour (gradually add 3rd cup)

Combine yeast and water. Stir in remaining ingredients, adding 2 cups flour, then slowly adding 3rd cup while kneading. Shape into ball. Spray bowl and coat both sides of dough with spray. Cover with a wet cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

Punch down. Divide dough into 2 balls. Roll each ball into a rectangle. Cut slits along 2 edges. Put filling in the middle and braid. Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Make powdered sugar glaze for topping.

Fruit and Cream Filling:

3 oz. cream cheese

1 TBS butter, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 c. pie filling

Mix first 4 ingredients together. Spread and put pie filling on top.

Great Pumpkin Dessert

Great Pumpkin Dessert

By: Patty Petty

This recipe is from a Park Glen ward cookbook.

1 (15 ox.) can solid pack pumpkin

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 C. sugar

4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

3/4 c. butter or margarine, melted

Cool Whip

In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and spice. Transfer to greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix and drizzle with butter. Top with nuts if desired. Bake at

350 for 1 hour or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve with ice cream or whipping cream. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Caramel Apple Dip

Caramel Apple Dip

By: Patty Petty

This recipe is one with a lot of sugar, but we pretend it isn't so bad because we eat it with apples.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 C. brown sugar

1/4 C. white sugar

1 Tbs. vanilla

Mix together all ingredients until soft and smooth. Serve with sliced apples.

Black Cat Dip

Black Cat Dip

by: Becky Martin

This is the best dip, great for Halloween - really good with Scoops chips so you can pick up all the ingredients in one bite!

2 cans black beans drained and lightly rinsed
1 can white corn drained
1 can RO TEL original drained
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix everything together and enjoy.

Countdown Blocks

Countdown Blocks

by: Summer Thatcher

This is a really quick and easy craft to do and your kiddos will probably keep you on your toes by making sure you remember to change the day!
Here is the supply list:

2, 4x4 blocks (actual measurement is 3.5 x 3.5, but that is how it is "said")

1, 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 piece of wood

6 different pieces of spooky paper

vinyl lettering: countdown, #'s 0-9, and an extra 1-2

modge podge

spongy brushes

black chalk or stamp pad

black paint

Paint all the wood black. Sand the edges a bit to give a nice distressed look. Cut the paper so it fits perfectly on each side. Ink the edges of the paper. Glue the paper onto the block. Modge Podge the paper. Add the vinyl lettering to the blocks. Hint: have 1-3 on one block and on the second block make sure you have the zero. It won't work if the 3 and zero are on the same block. If you want, you can skip the #9 and use #6 for both 6 and 9, just turn it upside down. Add the "countdown" words to the slab of wood. Voila...countdown blocks.

If it is too late for you to do Halloween countdown, you can also do Christmas or Valentines or Birthday!!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Sopapilla Cheesecake

by: Summer Thatcher

2 (8 oz.) crescent rolls

2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Unroll one can of crescent roll dough and fit onto bottom of 9 x 13" pan coated with Pam. Press seams to seal. Beat the cream cheese, 1 c. sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Spread over the dough in the pan. Unroll the second can of crescent dough and press the seams to seal. Place on top of the cream cheese mixture. Melt the butter in saucepan, stir in 1 c. sugar and cinnamon. Pour over dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 10-12 people

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

I got this recipe off of allrecipes and have used it many, many times. Its very quick and easy! Hope you enjoy it!

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

by: Summer Thatcher

3 1/2 c. peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 c. diced celery or carrots

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

3/4 c. diced cooked ham

3 1/4 c. water

2 TBS chicken bouillon granules or 3 cubes

1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

1/2 - 1 tsp. pepper, or to taste

5 TBS butter

5 TBS flour

2 c. milk

Combine the potatoes, celery or carrots, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Top with cheese and serve immediately.

Harvest Party Mix

This is a really fun Halloween treat that is really hard to stop eating. It's a fun one to take around to neighbors or families you visit teach or home teach:)

Harvest Party Mix

by: Summer Thatcher

11 oz. package twisted pretzels
10 1/2 oz. pkg mini peanut butter Ritz Crackers
1 c. dry roasted peanuts
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. white Karo Syrup
2 TBS vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
10 oz. pkg. plain M&M's (that's what the recipe calls for, but I think that Reeses Pieces would taste better...)
18 1/2 oz. pkg. candy corn

Combine pretzels, crackers and peanuts in a large bowl. Mix sugar, butter and Karo syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes then remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Mix will foam. Pour this over the pretzel mix, stirring until well coated. Place into a greased 15x10" baking pan. (I put foil on the bottom and sprayed it with Pam, that way it was easier to clean up!!) Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. break apart while warm; add M&M's (or Reese's Pieces) and candy corn. Cool before storing in air tight containers. Makes about 16 cups.