Great Activity & Appetizers

What a great activity!!  We had a great turnout and thank you to everyone you participated and came!  The food was great as always and the projects looked awesome.  First up: Appetizers...

Warm Bean Dip - Katie Peterson

1 - 8oz. package cream cheese softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cans (16oz. each) refried beans
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix in refried beans until combined. Stir in taco seasoning.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish.  Sprinkle the top with both cheeses. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

Ham Roll-ups - Daphne Lords

2 - 8oz. cream cheese
1 - 16oz. sour cream
Cream these 2 ingredients together until smooth.

Add:
1 small can of chopped green chilies (I use the mild)
1 can olives, chopped
12oz. ham
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese
Mix together and then spread on flour tortillas (about 4). Roll and refrigerate overnight for the flavor to absorb.

June Appetizers...

Last night was our second recipe exchange activity and it was another success!  I know summer can be a busy time but we still had a good turn out with great food and lots of fun conversation.  We were also treated with the spotlights of Heather Rigby and Shannon Kinghorn.  So here goes another round of recipes!  I know I've already used this blog as a resource to find some of the recipes we've been able to sample.  This time around, we're including the name of the person the recipe came from, that way if you have any questions you can direct them to the right person.  Can't wait to try some of these out myself!!

Let's start with appetizers...

Grilled or Sauteed Shrimp
 - Donna Maughan

Thaw:
12 oz. pkg frozen shrimp - deveined, peeled, cooked

Saute for a few minutes or microwave
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 small onion, minced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

Mix shrimp with ingredients above and salt and pepper to taste. Marinate an hour if possible. Either saute 3 or 4 minutes per side or grill on aluminum foil folding up edges to catch juices.

Bean Salad/Dip
 - Wynette Butikofer

1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 Anaheim pepper
1 white onion

Chop the above vegetables and put in a bowl.
Add 4 cans of black eyed peas (drained).
Add about 3 Tbs. of garlic (I use the kind that comes in bottle).
Add about 1 Tbs. of basil (I use the kind that comes in a bottle).
Stir until well blended.
Add Wish-Bone Italian Dressing until saturated.
I serve mine with "scoops" tortilla chips.

Bacon Wraps
 - Leah Stallings

1 lb. bacon cut into thirds
2 cans whole water chestnuts

Combine all of the following ingredients for the sauce-
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper

Wrap bacon around chestnuts and secure with a toothpick. Dip in sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. on foil lined cookie sheet.

A Great Birthday!

Wednesday was the Relief Society Birthday Dinner.  It was a great night!  We're so glad for everyone who joined us for the fun.  We enjoyed delicious Hawaiian Haystacks with rolls and of course yummy birthday cake and ice cream.  It was fun to see everyone and catch up and then we got to enjoy a wonderful program that was put together by Sis. Butikofer.  We got to hear from different readers who spoke for some of the Relief Society presidents in the past.  It was great to learn so much of the history of this great organization and to be reminded how lucky we are to be apart of it.  It's amazing all of the wonderful things that Relief Society has done and is continuing to do.

For those of you who are interested, here is the recipe for the Hawaiian Haystacks gravy:

-2 packets Chicken Gravy Mix
-2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
-2 cans Chicken Broth
-1 cup water

Combine gravy packets and water.  Add cream of chicken soup and chicken broth and heat over medium high heat until hot.  Add salt and pepper to taste and cooked/shredded chicken to serve. If it needs thickening add a mixture of water and cornstarch or flour, add by slowing pouring and mixing with a whisk.

I'd like to thank everyone who helped and participated in making it a great night!  Thanks to those who participated in the program, Sis. Butikofer for putting that together and making the yummy cakes, the Relief Society Board for the dinner and putting it all together, and Sis. Flamm and Katie Peterson for all of their hard work.  Thanks ladies!

Don't forget the next Relief Society Activity is the Recipe Exchange Night on April 11th at 7pm.  Look forward to seeing you there!

First Recipe Exchange!

Tonight was our first Recipe Exchange Night!  It was a great activity with lots of fun sisters and very yummy food.  I think everyone had a great time sampling a variety of dishes while having a chance to chit chat and meet some new sisters.  I'll be working hard to get the recipes on here soon.  I'll put them up in categories like appetizers, main dishes, etc.  Thanks again everyone for coming out to the activity and for those of you that didn't make it, we hope you can make it the next time.  Enjoy all of the recipes!