Memorial Park Relief Society

Quickk Choclate Balls

2010-04-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

--thanks to Kim Patterson
3/4 cup white sugar
½ cup butter room temp
2 T milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 c quick cooking oatmeal
¼ cup unsweetened coca powder
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut

Beat together the sugar and butter until creamy. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the oatmeal and sift cocoa over the mixture. Blend well.

Form the dough into 1 inch balls.

Pour pecans and coconut onto separate plates. Roll half the balls in the coconut and the other half in the pecans.

Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Makes about 2 ½ dozen balls.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

2010-02-21T15:43:00.000-08:00

Hi! It's Chelsea Seal!

These are the cookies that have been served at many Stake sister gatherings like the R.S. Broadcast dinner last fall. I asked Sis. Rabe for it and she said it would be fine to post and share. Credit given to the South Ogden Stake Relief Society. Sis. Rabe also wanted to assure that 'even though these proportions are wacky they make a great cookie' (not an exact quote). ☺ Chocolate Crackle Cookies - click HERE for a printable version
8 ½ Tbsp. butter
3 ¼ cups sugar
6 eggs
1 ½ cups cocoa
3 ¼ cups flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
2 ½ Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. vanilla
1 ½ cups chocolate chips
Form into walnut-sized balls and roll in powdered sugar. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Makes 63 cookies.

Oreo Balls

2009-12-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 package of Oreos, crushed
23 oz bag of milk chocolate chips melted with 4 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or chocolate candy coating

Crush the Oreos (including the white filling) into fine crumbs with a food processor. Once they are all crushed then mix them with the cream cheese (do this in a mixer, not by hand). When it is well combined then you can start rolling the mixture into balls. Lay them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper (and don't let the balls touch each other). Once you have all the balls made, put them in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes.While they are hardening, melt the milk chocolate in a bowl.Set out another big piece of wax paper to set the balls on once they are coated.If dipping in melted chocolate chips then place dipped balls in the fridge to set up. If using candy coating they should harden at room temp in a few minutes.

2009-12-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

Hi RS,

Let's connect on Goodreads so we can share book recommendations.

http://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?n=RS&e=memorialparkreliefsociety@gmail.com&i=LTM2MDYwMzA4MzE6MzUx&utm_medium=email&utm_source=invite

- Chelsea

Blog Update

2009-12-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

We will continue to keep up this blog- but it will be for recipes! If you have fun recipes you want to share us- please email me and I will add them to the blog. Thanks.

memorialparkreliefsociety@gmail.com

ATTENTION faithful bloggers

2009-11-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

As of November 23rd, 2009 this blog will cease to exisit. Some concerns have come up and for the saftey of all of us- it will be safter to end this blog.

I will still send out email reminders- and there is a Ward Website at https://secure.lds.org/units/login/0,8029,779-1,00.html

You'll just need your membership # off your recommend or ask a member of the bishopric for that information.

Thanks Sisters

2009-11-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

Relief Society Christmas Social

"Keeping Christ in Christmas"

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the cultural hall

Light finger foods will be served and a children's class provided.

We will be collecting new gifts for children, teens, and adults for Bishop's Night at D.I.

All sisters 12 and older invited.

Freezer Crescent Rolls Recipe from Chelsea

2009-10-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

These are the rolls I made for Super Saturday and two sisters requested the recipe. Sorry I wasn't there but thanks so much to the sisters who sent home some yummy chili and soup!

Freezer Crescent Rolls

2 cups warm water

2/3 cup dry instant milk

1/2 cup softened butter

1 Tbsp. dry yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup dry instant potatoes

1 ½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

5 to 6 cups flour

Mix all ingredients, except flour, in order given. When mostly mixed (some butter and yeast will still be visible) add flour 1 cup at a time. At 5 cups the dough should be starting to pull away from bowl. Add another ½ to 1 cup flour if needed and then take half the dough and knead a little more on lightly floured surface. Roll into a medium pizza size (not too thin and not too thick) and spread soft butter all over. Cut with a pizza cutter into 12 triangles just like you would a pizza. Roll from large end to tip into a crescent and place on greased baking sheet. Either immediately raise for 1-2 hours or you can freeze them on a greased cookie sheet and place frozen rolls in freezer bags for later use. Remove 3-4 hours before baking to unthaw and raise double in size. I like to speed up the process by placing next to or above a heat source or in the sunlight. Bake at 350° F for 16-20 minutes until very lightly browned. Immediately brush with butter and serve warm!
Makes 24 rolls.
You can e-mail me with any questions: cjeheart@yahoo.com

I don't have a bowl mixer and have always mixed by hand. Now that I've made them countless times I think they're easy and worth the muscle-power! They take me about 45 minutes by hand. This recipe was given to me by my MIL who received it from a friend who got it from someone else.....

Need Ideas for Dinner

2009-10-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here are 3 recipes that I have made recently that my family likes (just thought I'd share)

Tex-Mex Meatloaf

Serves 6. If you follow Weight Watchers, then this is a Completely Filling Foods Recipe or 4 points per serving.

1 1/2 lbs hamb. (5 % fat or less)
1/2 c. FF salsa (divided)
1 egg white
1 tsp. chili pwd.
1 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. ground cumin (which I normally don't like-but I can't taste it in this recipe, so it's okay)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 C. shredded FF Cheddar Cheese (I only use the FF on my portion, because it is more expensive, everyone else gets regular cheese)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine hamb. 1/4 C. salsa, egg white and seasonings. Mix. Transfer half of the mixture to baking pan or muffin tins. Top with cheese (if using loaf pan-leave 1/2 inch border around edges without cheese). Spoon remaining hamb mixture over top. Spread top with remaining salsa. Bake muffin tins 30-35 min or loaf 65-70 min. Meat thermometer should read 160. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Cut loaf into 6 slices. My book says that you can also use pico de gallo instead of salsa, just make sure it is FF. I added this to my regular recipes (not just my Weight Watchers Recipes). Taken from Weight Watchers Pure Comfort Book. This is an unusual meatloaf recipe because you don't add oatmeal or any other fillers (but maybe you could-I don't know).

Balsalmic Vinegar Pork Chops
4 pork chops
S and P
2 T. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2/3 C. Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp sugar

Season chops wtih S and P. Heat oil in pan over Med-high heat for 1 min. Cook chops for 5 minutes, turning half-way through. Remove chops, place on a clean plate. Turn down heat to Med. Cook Vinegar and sugar in same pan. Cook until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes). Return chops and any juices from chops into vinegar mixture. Cook 4 minutes, turning to coat with sauce. It smells really strong, but tastes very mild.

Jason’s Pork Chops (Jason found this one on the internet and made it for dinner the other night)
½ C. soy sauce
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. Honey
2 tsp. Garlic powder
4 pork chops

Make marinade. Marinade for 2-4 hours in the fridge. Preheat grill to high. Pam the grate on the grill. Grill for 5-8 minutes per side. (Jason only marinaded them for about 20 minutes). They were very moist and delicious. The website said you can do chicken also. Some readers thought it was too salty, but we didn’t think so. Some readers added fresh garlic.

Biscuits

2008-12-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe in an old ward cookbook of my Mom's. I thought they were great.

3 C. flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 C. margarine, room temp.
1 egg, beaten
1 C. milk

Combine dry ingr. Cut margarine in. Separately beat together egg and milk. Add egg and milk. Mix well. You may need to add more flour until dough is not sticky. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into biscuits. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Bake on highest rack. Makes 24. For my family of 4/5 I would probably half this recipe.

Breakfast Casserole

2008-12-20T12:10:00.001-08:00

This is the recipe from the Ward Christmas Brunch.

1 lb of Italian Pork Sausage (Cooked, drained, crumbled) OR 1 lb. ham or bacon
4 1/2 C. cubed day old bread
2 C. shredded sharp cheese
10 eggs, slightly beaten
4 C. milk
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
Pepper, to taste
1/2 C. mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1/2 C. tomatoes, peeled and chopped (optional)

Butter a 9 X 13 pan. Put bread in pan. Sprinkle with cheese. In separate bowl combine eggs, milk and spices. Pour egg/milk mixture over bread/cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients on top. At this stage you can cover and chill overnight, if you want to prepare ahead. If not, let sit for 10 min before putting in the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

Chocolate Wheaties

2008-12-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

This one was also from Dix at girls night out. I liked the cheater cookies better, but this was so fast I thought it would be good for a family night treat.

1 bag choco chips
1 box wheaties cold cereal

Melt choco in saucepan on low. Take off heat. Pour about 4 C. wheaties in and mix. Add more wheaties until it is easy to spoon up. Spoon onto cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Place in fridge or freezer until cooled and hardened. We thought you could probably use other kinds of cereal also.

Cheater Cookies

2008-12-15T10:35:00.000-08:00

This recipe is one that Dix made for Girls Night Out. It was my favorite thing that night.

2 eggs
1 cake mix (any flavor-yellow, white, chocolate)
1/2 C. oil
2 C. (12 oz. pkg.) choco chips (any flavor)

Mix all together. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then move to wire racks to cool completely.

Mina's Christmas Carmels

2008-12-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

from the kitchen of David M Toone's Mother

2 cups dark karo syrup

3 cups sugar

1/4 oz parefin wax

using a clean dry large heavy aluminum pan and a flat ended wooden spoon: slowly heat= bring to boil. Stirring constantly. Then add: 1 qt heavy whipping cream- added 1/4 cup at a time to boiling mixture. Still stirring. add 1 cube butter. Cook to 240' a frim ball stage. Take off heat, add 2 Tb Vanilla stirring well. Add nuts now, if desired. Spray with PAM, a 9x12 pan with 1/2 sides. Pour candy in- let cool! When completely cooled & Firm; gently lift from one corner and slowly loosen and ease whole slab of caramel out of pan and onto clean cutting surface. Cut into desired sizes, putting each piece into a cellophane wrap.

Toffee by Megan Nelson

2008-12-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Melt together and bring to a boil on medium high. Boil for approx 7 minutes stirring constantly. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet. After 2 minutes, spread chocolate chips on the top. Smooth with a spoon. Really good.

Soft Yummy Carmels

2008-12-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

From Sis Stansfield

This was one of the things my Grandma always made for Christmas. I think this recipe is the same as Sis Toone's (they tasted the same to me). Sis Toone called hers "Butterscotch Fudge". My Grandma got it from a book called "Let's Make Candy" by Pauline Atkinson.

2 C. White Sugar
1 1/4 C. white Karo
2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 C. milk (I used skim, so I think any kind will work)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla

Before starting grease a 9 X 13 pan with pam. Also adjust your thermometer reading (see below).
Mix the cream and milk together in a mixing bowl.
Put about 1/3 of cream mixture into a heavy saucepan. (I didn't have a heavy saucepan and it still turned out). Add the sugar, karo, salt, vanilla to the saucepan. Use a whisk to stir it all together, then leave it alone (you don't need to stir at this point). Cook on medium low for 1/2 of an hour.
Add 1/2 of the remaining cream mixture very slowly (you don't want it to stop boiling). Turn up the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, stirring constantly (from here on out you need to stir constantly).
Add the remainder of the cream mixture very slowly (once again, you don't want it to stop boiling). Cook on medium high, stirring constantly, until it reaches 230-234 degrees Farenheit (soft ball stage). Remember to adjust your thermometer reading for altitude and variations in thermometers.
Pour into the greased pan and put in your fridge to cool (takes about an hour). The cooking time takes about an hour and the cooling time takes about another hour. You can cut into squares and wrap in pieces of wax paper if desired. You can also add chopped nuts (just add at the very end of cooking right before pouring into the pan).

How to adjust your thermometer reading: Immerse thermometer in boiling water (normally 212 degrees F). If the reading for example is 204 degrees, then you need to subtract 8 degrees from the recipe temperature. Or if your reading was 216 degrees then you would add 4 degrees.

Green Beans and carmalized onions

2008-12-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

4 strips bacon
2 large onions- cut lenthwise into 1/2 inch thick wedges
2 lbs green beans (fresh, trimmed)
3 T cider vinegar
4 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towls. Drain. Reserve 2 T drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. In the drippings cook onions over medium- low heat until tender and golden brown, about 50 minutes.
Meanwhile place the beans in a large saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Stir the vinegar and brown sugar into the onions; add beans. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 1 minute. Add bacon. Toss gently. Season with salt and pepper.

Herbed Turkey Breasts

2008-12-04T07:12:00.000-08:00

Last night, Nicki Bingham made the best turkey ever! Here is the recipe for all of us!

2 cans chicken broth
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh sage
1/2 cup minced fresh thyme
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Dijon Mustard
2 T minced fresh marjoram
3 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 boneless turkey breasts (2 lbs each)

In a blender, process the first 15 ingredients in batches until blended. Pour 3 1/2 cups marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the turkey. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.
Drain and disard marinade from turkey. Place turkey in a 5 qt slow cooker; add reserved marinade. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours or until juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Very moist, very good!

Freezer Cooking Websites

2008-11-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

At our meeting to discuss the upcoming Cooking Classes- we talked about some freezer websites that can get us off on the right foot. Here are some that I really like:

http://www.christysclipart.com/wwwroot/oamc2.html

This is the first one I ever found and used. It's great. Lot's of ideas and great beginner tips.

http://www.freezehappy.com/

Lot's of fun ideas.

http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking-guide
http://www.menus4moms.com/bulk/thriftyhomeschooler.php
http://www.once-a-month-cookingworld.com/
http://frugal.families.com/blog/category/1127

Hope this helps!!

Downeast Main Pumpkin Bread

2008-10-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is the best pumpkin anything I have ever had! Well, aside from pie, and seriously, who can top pumpkin pie? I gave mini loafs out to the sisters I visit teach, and have had a couple of requests for the recipe, so I thought I would share it with everyone.
by Amy Grondahl

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c applesauce

2/3 c water

1 c brown sugar

1 c white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 C craisins
Directions:1. Preheat ovet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x13 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, water, sugar and vanilla untill well blended. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredints into the pumpkin nixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Go by the toothpick test more than the timmer.
This bread improves with age, so plan to make it a day ahead if possible.

Kielbasa Soup

2008-10-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

By Karen Toone
4-5 Potatoes Cut into cubes and slices
6 Carrots, peel and cut into slices
Cook 15 minutes in water
2-3 sticks of Celery chopped
1 medium Onion chopped
1 Kielbasa Sausage, sliced or chunked
Salt and Pepper to taste

Add the rest to yoru crockpot and let simmer 1-2 hours. Thicken with flour mixed with water if desired. Add 2 cans of Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup. At the last, add frozen peas to add color. Bring to a soft boil, let the flavor spread and serve on a cold day. Serve with fresh rolls, or Home Made Bread!

Nicki's Caramel

2008-10-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

1 cube butter (real or margarine)
1 cup brown sugar
1 can sweeten condense milk
1 cup karo syrup
Put all ingredients in pan over medium heat and bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly. (The longer you boil it the firmer the caramel - for example if you want it for apples, soft and sticky, boil for about a minute, but if you want it for popcorn, not so sticky, then boil for about 2 minutes.) Just before you pull it off the heat add a cap full of vanilla.

Creamy Potato Soup

2008-10-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

by- Spring Jones
3 C chicken broth
5 C chopped potatoes
1 C chopped celery
1 C chopped carrots
1/2 C chopped onion

Sauce:
made like gravy
3/4 C butter
3/4 C flour
1 quart of milk Velveeta or cheddar cheese

Boil the veggies in chicken broth until soft. Meanwhile, melt butter in skillet. Add flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour in milk and stir until thickened. Add 4 to 8 ounces of Velveeta or cheese according to taste. Pour sauce over cooked veggies, stir, and simmer for five minutes.

Easy Italian Stew

2008-10-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

from M Stansfield
2 T. Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 lb. Italian Sausage
2 cans chicken broth
1 package frozen stir-fry (onions and peppers) (I couldn’t find one with just onions and peppers, so mine also had green beans, carrots, broccoli, etc)
1 can white beans, drained
1 can Italian Style diced tomatoes
1 cup elbow macaroni
1 cup mozzarella cheese Heat dressing in large skillet. Add sausage and cook 8 minutes or until done, breaking sausage. Add everything else except the cheese. Cook 8 minutes until macaroni is done. Top with cheese and serve.

Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley said....

2008-08-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

"We are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how we need each other. Those of us who are old need you who are young. And, hopefully, you who are young need some of us who are old. It is a sociological fact that women need women. We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance. We need to renew our faith every day. We need to lock arms and help build the kingdom so that it will roll forth and fill the whole earth."

Homemade Flour Tortilla's

2008-08-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour (I always use 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat)

1/2 cup of flour set aside for rolling out tortillas

1/4 tspn of baking powder

1/2 tspn salt

just under 1/3 cup (olive) oil (that's what works for me)

warm water
Mix together dry ingredients well. Add oil and dribble in warm water little by little while stirring until dough forms into a ball. Knead dough. (Hint: if dough is sticky, add a drop or two of oil) Take a large egg sized amount of dough and roll out into a tortilla using the 1/2 cup of flour that was set aside to flour rolling surface.Heat on an ungreased griddle (I love using my griddle for this since I can heat 2 at a time on it) or pan for a minute or so on each side. Tortillas will bubble lightly. (You know you've heated it too long if the tortilla gets dried out and cracks.) Use while still warm or let cool off before storing in the refrigerator/freezer. Cooled tortillas are more pliable after heating in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Makes 4 10" round tortillas. Doubling recipe hasn't seemed to work as well for me. Dough gets too dry and hard to roll out. Good luck, and enjoy.

From Mechelle Hood

Taco Chicken

2008-08-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

In crockpot add:

about 2-3 cups of pinto beans,

rinsed3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced (if you use garlic salt instead, add it later with the green chilies)

fill crockpot with water till there's 1 1/2 - 2 inches of water above beans

and a can of chicken broth or a couple boullion cubes
Let slow cook on high for 3 hours (add extra water if it runs out)
In a medium sized bowl add:

2 7oz cans of chopped green chilies

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 Tbsp of white vinegar

1 small chopped onion (or some canned chopped dehydrated onion)

a can of chopped tomatoes

Pour into crockpot

Also add 2-3 breasts of frozen boneless chicken breasts
Let cook for another couple hours. Shred chicken, stir and serve.
6-7 servings if served with chips and salsa10-14 servings if filled in tortillas for burritos

From Mechelle Hood