SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

I heard someone review this movie who said, "It was so dark it wasn't really enjoyable but I couldn't look away."  These are my sentiments exactly.  The queen was almost too evil to believe.  There was very little in the movie that made me feel good.  The dwarfs lived in the fairy forest and the movie spent a 10 minute or so segment there and my fear eased up a little then, otherwise I was gripping my seat with dread of  who might die a violent death next.  The scenery was spectacularly dark and frightening.  There were too many desperate fights and battle scenes...too many violent outbursts of the queen and her creepy brother and a fierce monster.  Some of the special affects were amazing.   The story line loosely followed the original story.  The apple and the kiss finally showed up but the romance was nil.  The ending is left dangling, not for a sequel, really, just a situation where you can decide how you want it to end.  This is absolutely not for children.  There is no sex but the violence was R rated even though it is a PG-13.  My husband LOVED it!  I would give it 2 Stars or less.  I don't have much of a taste for this kind of movie, but I understand why adventure junkies like my husband can get enjoyment.

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM BAKE

This is the one with chicken and no mushrooms

I have made this 3 time with a recipe from Stacy's Snacks  which originated from Martha Stewart.  I made it twice with chicken and spinach and once with Swiss Chard and chicken because my neighbor brought some fresh over.  It was good.  I eliminated 1/4 C. of cream and didn't miss it.  I added the thyme and loved it with the mushrooms.   Then I decided to make this as a vegetable side dish with more spinach and mushrooms instead of the chicken.  My husband, who is my most important picky critic said, "I don't usually like stuff like this, but this is good."  (Don't tell him that it has onions.  I always have to grate onions small so he can't see them.)   My dinner guest asked for the recipe.  4 of us polished off one recipe.  I will make this again.  It serves 4-6

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM BAKE

Mix 2 C. bread torn into bite size pieces.  (I love Costco’s big ciabatta rolls and used one of them. Toss with a 1 T. oil and a little garlic powder.  These are so lovely and crunchy on the finished product.

Sauce

Add 2 T. oil or butter to a saucepan and stir fry the following until starting to brown:  2 cloves of coarse grated garlic, ¼ of a grated sweet onion and 8 oz. sliced mushrooms.  Add 1/3 C. white wine, 1 scant tsp. thyme leaves and simmer low for a minute or so.  Add ½ C. whipping cream and ½ tsp. salt.  Mix 1 C. milk with 3 T. flour until smooth.  Add to the mixture and bring to a boil, stirring for 1 minute.   Pack a 4 cup measuring cup to overflowing with fresh chopped or baby spinach (or chopped Swiss Chard.)  Put the spinach and ½ C. Parmesan Cheese into a bowl and pour the sauce over and toss with your hands until well mixed.  Pour into a 9 inch square size casserole dish and top with the bread cubes.  Bake 350 for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle on a little more Parmesan Cheese the last 5 minutes if desired. 

I have made this with 1 ½-2 C. rotisserie chicken if you choose to have it as a meat main dish.  Mushrooms or no, thyme or no, they were all delicious. 

Here is the measuring cup packed with spinach

SECRET GARDEN ENTRANCE

More than 10 years ago I found this gate in an antique store in South Carolina while visiting Maren.  I had it shipped home thinking I would use it in a new house we planned to build in St. George.  Two years later I found 2 - 9 ft. lengths of old scalloped iron fencing at a local antique sale. I was very excited and envisioned exactly this placement with the stone pillars.  Plans changed and we ended up in Fruit Heights but I knew when we picked out our lot that this was the place for my fence and gate.   Today it was finally finished and I am thrilled with the results.  It is rusty and may get paint at some point, but I don't mind the rusty look and the fence is charmingly crooked.  It is the perfect entrance to my secret garden and waterfall.   

LEMON CHEESE TART

 

I have made this several times and like it a lot.  It is quick dessert (if you don't do the preserved lemons) with great lemon flavor.   I made it once with key limes and thought it was a little bitter with that much key lime peel (besides it takes forever to get any juice out of key limes).  I might make it again with regular limes and I plan to try it with oranges and a chocolate glaze.  Stay tuned.  I preserved some orange slices for some cupcakes I made recently and decided that it would work with the lemons also.  The lemons were pretty and delicious but my husband picked them off so the picky won't like them.  8 servings.  Store in the refrigerator but  better if served room temperature.

Lemon Cheese Tart
Cake Layer

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 T melted butter

2 eggs

2 T lemon juice 

2 T lemon zest 

For the cream cheese filling --

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 generous tsp. lemon zest

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease or spray a 9" springform pan with vegetable spray.

Stir the Lemon cake ingredients all together until smooth but not overmixed and spread into the bottom of the springform pan.

Beat the cream cheese ingredients together until fluffy.  Dollop gently on top of the cake to about ½ inch from the edge and spread as much as possible.    Bake for 25 minutes on 325 and turn off the oven for another 5 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

Add 1 T vegetable oil to ½ C. white chocolate chips.  Microwave on half power for 1 ½ minutes or more until melted.  You might have to stir for a minute to get them all to melt.  Glaze the top of the cake.

Preserved Lemon – (Fun but not necessary)  Stir together in a Dutch oven size pan ¾ C sugar and 3/4 C. water. Bring to a boil.   Slice 2 lemons in 1/3 inch slices and lay in a single layer in the pan.  Simmer for 20 minutes turning the slices a couple of times.  Remove carefully and drain in a colander and chill.  Save the boiling sauce for lemonade or freeze it for the next time you want to make this.  Also works with oranges.  .  Sprinkle with a little sugar before putting them on top of your cake.  

MY GOD IS CHEERFUL

President Heber C. Kimball said,  "I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being.  Why?  Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit.  That is one reason why I know; and another is--the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, 'I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance' (D&C 59:15) That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person..."  (Journal of Discourses 4:222)

TAMALE PIE

This is my mother's recipe. We all loved it growing up. Most of my kids liked it too. My mother never put cheese on it but we like the cheese and then serving it with the taco condiments makes it even better. It is an easy quick meal to fix. 

TAMALE PIE

Brown: 1 lb. Ground meat - Turkey, Chicken or Beef 
(This is also a good vegetarian dish.  Add some chopped roasted red peppers or fresh chiles for some interest.  Add 3-4 T. oil if you have a very lean meat or no meat for browning your onions and garlic.)

with 1 small onion and 1-3 cloves of grated garlic (I like more)
Add: 2 T. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 T. oregano leaves
1 can undrained corn
1 lg. Can tomatoes  (28 oz.) 

If you use canned crushed tomatoes don't add tomato juice.  
Simmer covered for 20 min. – remove from heat
Add: 2 C. corn meal
1 can of black olives cut in half or small can of sliced olives

2 C. tomato juice (or 1 can tomato sauce and
1 1/4 c. water or just 2 C. of water.  The water works fine.

Bake in a greased 9x13 casserole dish 350 for 45 min.
Add 2-3 C. grated cheese the last 10 minutes if desired.  Serve with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

We can't eat an entire casserole so I usually split it up into 3 parts and freeze 2 in a zip lock bag to bake later.  It is good to have something in the freezer that tastes good.  

We like plain guacamole.  This is my quick recipe:  Mash 1 avocado, add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of chile powder (depending on the size of the avocado) and 1/4 tsp. garlic powder.  Stir together and paint the top with 2-3 T. real mayo.   Stir in the mayo when you are ready to eat.  I won 2nd place in a ward guacamole contest recently.  Even kids like this. 

I also like to make a little condiment salad with chopped tomatoes, cilantro and a little sour cream mixed together.  (See first photo.) 

WHEN THE HOLY GHOST RESTS UPON YOU - Eliza R. Snow

"When you are filled with the Spirit of God, and the Holy Ghost rests upon you . . . do you have any trials? I do not think you do. For that satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that spirit my soul is satisfied; and I can say in good earnest, that the trifling things of the day do not seem to stand in my way at all. But just let me lose my hold on that spirit and power of the Gospel, and partake of the spirit of the world, in the slightest degree, and trouble comes; there is something wrong ... And is it not our privilege to so live that we can have this constantly flowing into our souls?" (Eliza R. Snow, September 1873)

This is true, beautiful and hopeful.  I want to know this every day. 

BROCCOLI BACON AND FRUIT SALAD

This Broccoli Salad has become a favorite picnic salad.  Recently I wanted a little different dinner salad with some fruit and decided to make this without the pasta.  I usually always have broccoli some apples and oranges in the refrigerator and some precooked Costo bacon in the freezer and now I am trying to keep a can of cashews in the pantry so I can make this whenever I want to (along with some dried cranberries, which I usually have).  Grapes are good too but not something I always have.

I make a double batch of dressing and it keeps for a long time so I can mix this up quickly.  1 C. of Mayo, 1/3 C. vinegar and 1/3 C. of sugar and 1/4 tsp salt.

This makes 4 servings and the leftovers keep for a couple of days -  1 apple cubed, 1 orange cut peeled and cubed (and or some grapes), 1 C. of thinned pieces of broccoli  and 3-4 T. dried cranberries.  Toss with 2-4 T. dressing (to taste) and top with a sprinkling of cashews and 2 piece of cooked bacon, sliced thin.  This is nice served in individual serving dishes.  This has to be very healthy and a nice way to get your broccoli.

WOMEN'S CONFERENCE 2012

Women’s Conference 2012

We stood in a dark room shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart--  15,000 women each with a light in her outstretched hand, waving as we sang:

As sisters in Zion, we’ll all work together

The blessings of God on our labors we’ll seek.

We’ll build up his kingdom with earnest endeavor

We’ll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.

The spirit was overwhelming to the point of tears.  I wanted to stay there and sing that song again and see the thousands of lights waving in the dark and feel the power of conviction in those beautiful women.   It was 10:00 PM and we had been together since 9 O’clock that morning, being taught the “The errand of angels…”  There was every size, age and color of us, but we all came for the same reason—to learn how to be a better woman of Christ.  We stood in line eating a quick sandwich or a mint brownie, because we didn’t want to miss a word.  We laughed and cried through stories of joy, pain and hope.   Some of us are the weary weak, but we were learning to understand that the spirit will guide us and then we will become stronger.  We were there with our private pains and disappointments, seeking strength and answers to endure and serve in spite of our fears and weaknesses.  We left with conviction that, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Life is not easy and when we see some of the trials that others are going through it makes ours seem small.  That night we met a Relief Society President from Christchurch New Zealand who came to tell us about the service that was done by the local members of Relief Society last year when they endured the devastating earthquakes that went on daily for weeks.  There was a video of the female mayor of Christchurch talking about the “Church of the Latter Day Saints.”  This woman was amazed at the army of Relief Society women who went through the town helping where they could see a need day after day.  I want to be that kind of woman, arm in arm on the front lines of service with other women who understand their power to love and help.

There is strength in numbers.  Sometimes it is good to be with so many because you can feel the multiplication of each spirit in the air and as you breath it in it changes you and you realize that you are not alone in your sorrows, beliefs, desires and convictions to be more Christlike.  I came home wanting to be a better disciple. 

BAKED PARMESAN CHICKEN

There is nothing better than a quick dish that tastes delicious and looks festive...like you can serve it to company and feel good.  Pinterest had a couple of versions of this recently.  I have made it several times and made some good improvements.  My picky husband thinks it is "very good" and that means a lot.  My dinner guests last week wanted the recipe so here it is.

4 large chicken breasts cut  into 3 pieces each or 12-14 chicken tenders.  Pound to an even 3/4 inch thickness.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Mix together: 

1 C. real mayonaise

2/3 C. coarse grated Parmesan 

1/2-1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. dry basil leaves or 2 T. chopped fresh

1/2 tsp. celery salt

Generously cover each chicken breast with the mayo mixture spreading to the edge.  Break up a thick slice of hearty bread in a food processor and chop into crumbs.  Toss with 1 T. melted butter.

Sprinkle a little on top of each breast.  Preheat ( important) the oven to 500 degrees and bake for 10 minutes.  If it is browning well you could leave it 5 minutes more at this temp...if not turn on the broiler for 5 minutes more but not too close to the element.  The meat is thin enough that it bakes very quickly at this high temperature and is the secret to a moist piece of chicken. 

Notes:  One of the recipes that I took this from had you bake it at 375 for 45 minutes.  It was nice and brown but dry as a bone.  We didn't like it near as well as the hot quick cook.  Also the first time I made it I crushed up some dry croutons for the top but they were just too gritty to be delicious.  The soft bread crumbs work better but you could use no bread crumbs as it still browns nicely. 

This is very nice because you can prepare everything and wait until your guests arrive before you place it in the oven.

Creamed Asparagus on mashed potatoes is one of my favorite side dishes and lovely with this.  (This photo is of the cremated version.  It looks good but too dry.)