Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Dinner Party Recipes

We had some yummy food at our Dinner Party and wanted to share the recipes with everyone.

Chicken Salad (recipe courtesy of Kristy Councill)


2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup (or more) finely chopped celery
1 cup (or more) seedless grapes, halved
1 cup chopped walnuts or 1 cup pecans 
1 small minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Miracle Whip or other mayonnaise of choice.

Serve on croissants or in lettuce wraps.

Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad (recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Moon)


1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
1/4 cup sesame seeds 
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped green onion
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast meat
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 small bag spinach 

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside. 

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl. 

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well. 

Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken, parsley, spinach and green onions.

Panzanella Salad (recipe courtesy of Lauren Marsh)
1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon butter
1 small French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 bunch asparagus, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/3 red onion, finely diced
15 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 oz. goat cheese

For the vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bake bread cubes with salt and olive oil in a 375 degree oven until lightly brown and crisp, about 15-20 minutes, stirring often.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together. (This makes enough vinaigrette for two batches of this salad. I just refrigerate the leftover until I make the salad again.)

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, asparagus, red pepper, red onion, and basil. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Crumble goat cheese over everything and serve.

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We also had a couple of recipes that were brought in as tips. Thanks for sharing!

Italian Delight (recipe courtesy of Angela Probst)
1 lb bag egg noodles
3 cans tomato soup
1 can corn
1 lb hamburger
1 cup cheese

Boil noodles according to package directions. In a separate pan, brown hamburger and drain. Then add tomato soup and corn. Mix in noodles when done and add cheese. Stir on low heat until hot and well-blended.

Fresh Fruit Dip (recipe courtesy of Lillian Atkinson)
8 oz. package cream cheese
7oz. jar marshmallow creme

Combine softened cream cheese and marshmallow cream; mix until well blended. Serve with fresh fruit and cookies as dippers.
Variation: Add 1 T orange juice and 1 t grated orange rind to mixture. May also be served as a sauce over fresh fruit or shortcake. 


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Tips, Hints and Favorite Things

The master list of tips, hints and favorite things from our September 11th activity is here! Thank you to everyone who came with ideas to add. Hope you learned something new!


Cleaning
  • When rinsing dishes, the coldest water helps to rinse things off best, unless you have something really greasy, then hot water will do the trick.
  • Water and white vinegar cleans everything!
  • Use white vinegar instead of Jet-dry in your dish washer.
  • Use white vinegar to get rid of hard water stains in your bathroom.
  • Dissolve a dish washing detergent tab in hot water for extra clean windows and cabinets.
  • Magic Erasers really are magic!
  • To clean your microwave: Place a wet a paper towel in the microwave for 5-8 secs.  It loosens the stuff on the microwave and allows you to wipe it clean.
  • Use Lysol toilet bowl cleaner in your shower for a great clean. (Don't use on metal!)   
Home and Family
  • Ants don't like chalk.
  • Make dinner after lunch so you don't have to fight with fussy kids during the 4-6pm cranky hour.
  • Apple cider vinegar, soap and water kill fruit flies. 
  • Take pictures of children's artwork and put it in scrapbooks instead of keeping big, bulky art projects.
  •  During off-seasons, use frozen strawberries and raspberries from Costco for making jam.
 Other
  • For insomnia, listen to brain wave music to help you fall asleep more quickly. (Binaural Beats)
  • Eat almonds to prevent heartburn.
  • The "wet brush" (on Amazon) really works for brushing wet hair without pulling.
  • Sephora has colored bobby pins.
  • Bring eggs to room temperature by covering them with hot water in a bowl for 5-10 minutes.
  • Store 1-2 onions in the refrigerator and replace them as they are used. Cutting a cold onion helps you avoid tears as the odor doesn't burn your eyes!
  • Check out Pinterest.com for lots of great ideas.
  • Check out www.webstaurantstore.com/ for restaurant quality supplies with bulk pricing. They ship to residential addresses as well as commercial ones.
  • Use a toilet paper roll cut in half to keep your wrapping paper from unrolling or tearing.
  • Dry erase crayons and coloring pages in page protectors are a great quiet activity at church and are easy to clean.
  • 1canoe2 for lovely letterpress. (https://1canoe2.com/)
Caring for Roses
  • Always cut stems at a 45 degree angle under running water.
  • Choose flowers with tight, firm petals.
  • Leave the bottom petals on so your flower opens all the way when it blooms.
  • Don't let greenery touch the water. "Less is more."
  • Cut flowers at least 1/2 - 1 inch from bottom of the stem.
  • After cutting, let roses sit in room temperature water for a few hours, then put ice cubes in your vase to keep flowers extra fresh.
  • Use extra flower food (3 packets every time you change the water).
  • Costco roses are the best deal. (62 cents a stem.)

*The flowers from the picture above are tissue paper flowers that were used as decorations for our dinner.