The Best Gifts

"How much better the world would be if we all gave gifts of understanding and compassion, of service and friendship, of kindness and gentleness." ~Thomas S. Monson


     I was privileged to attend the Tooele County Quilt Guild Christmas luncheon.  Along with an amazing meal we also were honored with a visit from Kris from My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe in Logan, Utah and her twin sister, Kim from Kimberbell patterns.  They shared their story and showed us some of their amazing quilts. They are such sweet ladies and an extra bonus is they are Utah State Alumni!
 I have included pictures of guild member's quilts who were challenged to make a quilt using a stack of charm squares from a certain line of fabric.  I think they turned out so cute and so different from each other.

    
     This is the veggie tray I made for the ladies luncheon for all the ladies in our community that are over the age of 70.  I love those ladies!

     I needed to use up some very ripe bananas and came across this recipe.  It turned out so delicious!

Hawaiian Pineapple Banana Bread

3 eggs                                                                       3 cups flour

1 cup canola oil                                                      2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla                                                            1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups mashed ripe banana                                  1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained                       1 tsp. salt

(reserve 4 tsp. juice for glaze)       ½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped (optional)

½ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two 8x4” loaf pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine eggs, oil, vanilla, bananas, and pineapple.  Mix well. 

In a separate large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Stir together dry ingredients and add chopped nuts. 

Mix dry ingredients with wet mixture and stir just until all ingredients are moistened.  Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake 55-70 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 15 minutes and then remove from pans and let cool on wire racks. 

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and reserved pineapple juice.  Drizzle over cooled loaves of bread.

 

    
     Have you ever made chocolate bark for Christmas?  This is my first time.  There are so many great combinations to use.  The top picture shows a red/green combination with white chocolate, craisins and pistachios.  The second picture shows a milk chocolate combination using chopped cashews and toffee chips.  So easy and so yummy!

 

     This is the book our family has been reading together for the month of December.  It is helping us focus more on Jesus Christ this Christmas season.  The version I bought came with a wooden nativity set.

     Each year I usually make some Christmas ornaments for our tree.  This year I just didn't have the energy to even come up with an idea.  Bless my daughter's heart!  She showed up one day with slices of a tree branch cut from a tree in her yard and some paint.  She helped me paint these cute snowflake ornaments for the tree.  So simple yet so beautiful.

The Smell of Christmas

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." ~Charles Dickens 

     I was able to finish up a new Christmas quilt with weeks to spare before Christmas.  It's a real Christmas miracle!  This quilt pattern is by Coach House Designs and is called Christmas in the Country.

     The nicest thing about this Christmas tradition is the smell.  I love the smell of gingerbread that permeates through the house.  I had fun with the kids and grandkids when we made these gingerbread houses last week.



Here are a couple of excellent recipes to make on Christmas Eve to make that family dinner together extra special and the nice part is they're easy!

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

                    6 potatoes, sliced or cubed                               3 T. flour

                    1 onion, chopped                                              1 tsp. salt

                    salt and pepper to taste                                     2 cups milk

                    3 T. butter                                    1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

            Preheat oven to 400°.  Butter a casserole dish.  Layer the potatoes and onions and salt and pepper in the casserole dish.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Mix in the flour and salt and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute.  Stir in the milk.  Cook until mixture has thickened.  Stir in the cheese and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds.  Pour cheese mixture over the potatoes.  Mix together and cover dish with foil.  Bake 1 ½ hours.  Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.

 

Breaded Pork Chops

                    6-9 boneless pork chops

                    salt and pepper

                    garlic powder

                    2 Tbsp. olive oil

                    1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

                    ½ cup parmesan cheese

                    1 Tbsp. dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In flat dish mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and parsley.

Heat oil in large frying pan.  Salt and pepper each pork chop.  Sprinkle each pork chop with garlic powder.  Dip each pork chop in bread crumb mixture, pressing bread crumbs to coat chops liberally.  Brown pork chops about 5 minutes on each side in frying pan.  Place pork chops in a large baking dish and bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees..

Spritz Cookies

3 ½ cups flour                                      1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder                            1 egg

1 ½ cups butter                                    1 tsp. vanilla    

                                                                        ½ tsp. almond extract

Stir together flour and baking powder.  Beat butter for 30 seconds; add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add egg, vanilla and almond extract.  Beat well.  Gradually add dry ingredients to beaten mixture, beating until well-combined.  Divide dough in half and mix in red food coloring in one half and green food coloring in the other half.  Add enough food coloring to get the desired color.  Push dough through a cookie press onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  If desired sprinkle with colored sugar or small sprinkles.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes.

 

 

 

 

     This was a good book about a woman named Eliza Spooner whose husband went off to fight in the Civil War.  She makes a quilt to send to him for Christmas. It's also the story about the women in her quilting group and how their lives are affected by war.

Give a Little Thanks!

"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." ~H.U. Westermayer

     The Tooele Quilt Guild displayed some of it's member's quilts at the Nuttal's Bernina shop in South Jordan.  Customers were allowed to come and view the quilts and vote on their favorite.  Here are a few that I liked.

     The Thanksgiving Holiday is well on it's way.  Here is a recipe that will help use up that leftover turkey (use turkey in place of chicken).  Your family will love it!

Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole

1 package chicken stuffing mix

2-3 cups cooked chicken

2 cups steamed broccoli florets

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 (10 ¾ oz.)can cheddar or cream of chicken soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare stuffing mix according to package directions, using 1 ¼ cups water.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, broccoli and soup.  Transfer to a greased 11x7” baking dish.  Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and top with prepared stuffing.  Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 10-15 additional minutes.  Makes 6 servings.

    
        This cookie recipe works well for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It's quick and easy.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup butter                                                    2 ½ cups flour

2/3 cup sugar                                                  ½ cup jam

1 egg

½ tsp. almond extract

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together in medium bowl until smooth.  Mix in egg and almond extract.  Mix in flour until dough is formed.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Make a small dent in the center of each ball using your thumb or a small round measuring spoon.  Fill each hole with your favorite jam ( about ½ tsp.).  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until very lightly browned.  Let cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet.  Makes about 3 dozen. 

(You can also roll each ball in finely chopped nuts for a crunchy variation.  Or you can make a glaze to drizzle over the cookies  after baking by mixing together ½ cup powdered sugar, ¾ tsp. almond extract and 1 tsp. milk.

 

     I enjoyed reading this book by Mitch Albom.  We should all have a little more faith no matter what religion we are.  We should also have a lot more tolerance and understanding of all religions.

November Notes

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting."~Elizabeth Bibesco

     This is the barn block of the month quilt that I have worked on this past year through the Quilt, Etc. quilt shop in Sandy, Utah.  We got to work on a regular block each month and as a bonus we got to work on a barn block.  Then at the end of 12 months we got to put the blocks together and design our own quilt.  I am happy with how my quilt turned out.

 

     This is a fast, easy dish that can be made in 25 minutes.  This recipe is adapted from a recipe from budgetbytes.com.

Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta

1 Tbsp. olive oil                                               ½ tsp. salt

1 small onion, diced                                        1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced                                   2 oz. cream cheese

1 (15 oz. ) can diced or crushed tomatoes     ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ tsp. dried oregano                                       ½ lb. penne pasta or pasta of choice

½ tsp. dried basil                                            2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach

Pepper to taste

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to pack directions until tender.  Drain in colander.

Meanwhile cook onion and garlic in large skillet in olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.  Stir in the tomato sauce.  Cut the cream cheese in small pieces and whisk into the tomato mixture until cheese is melted.  Whisk in parmesan cheese gradually until melted.  Add the fresh spinach and gently stir into the sauce until it has wilted, 3-5 minutes.  Add the pasta and stir until well-coated with the creamy tomato sauce.  Serve warm.  Makes 4 servings.

 

Breadsticks

1 1/8 cup water                                               1 Tbsp. yeast

3 cups flour                                                     3 Tbsp. melted butter

1 Tbsp. sugar                                                  seasoning salt

2 Tbsp. powdered milk                                    garlic powder

1 tsp. salt                                                        parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. butter                                                  grated cheese

Add first seven ingredients in a bread machine.  Select dough setting.  When dough is ready roll out on an 11x15” baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray.  Using a pizza cutter, cut dough in 1 inch strips.  Brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle with seasoning salt and garlic powder.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and grated cheese.  Let rise about 30 minutes.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

 

 

     I loved reading this book by Gloria Whelan.  Homeless Bird is about a girl in India who is married and widowed at a young age.  Because she learns to read and becomes proficient at the skill of embroidering she is able to overcome many hardships and find happiness in her life.