From My Girlfriends Kitchen: December 2015

Sometimes knowing that other women, mothers, sisters, friends, and care takers just like us face the same battles of what to make for dinner. Be it our task/chore/burden/or hobby of what to make for our families to eat each day sometimes it just seem easier to bear when you have a good recipe recommended from a "GIRLFRIEND"; they provide us with the boost to get over the lack of motivation or stumbling blocks in our way and get dinner on the table!

The number of those who report that their “whole family usually eats dinner together” has declined 33 percent. This is most concerning because the time a family spends together “eating meals at home [is] the strongest predictor of children’s academic achievement and psychological adjustment.”

Family mealtimes have also been shown to be a strong bulwark against children’s smoking, drinking, or using drugs. There is inspired wisdom in this advice to parents: what your children really want for dinner is you.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks Good, Better, Best (Nov. 2007)

Two researchers at the University of Minnesota investigated the potential benefits of family mealtimes on children and found that families that dine together tend to have healthier, more well-adjusted children. Their studies indicate that the more often children and teens west with their parents—and the happier, more structured these mealtimes are—the more the children gain these benefits:

Better Nutrition

Better language and literacy

Fewer Eating Disorders

Fewer risky behaviors

The national center on addiction and substance abuse at Columbia University (sept 2005) found that compared with teens who dine frequently with their families (Five to seven dinners a week), teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week are:

Two and a half times likelier to smoke cigarettes

More than on e and a half times likelier to drink alcohol.

Almost three times likelier to try marijuana

“….Mealtime becomes a way for families to bond. To show children they have access to a caring adult.” (The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner p. 11)

So as Women, Sisters, Daughters, Wives, Mothers, Grandmothers we can not put a price on the work that we do. Dinner hours and menus can be daunting at times and others it feels like a breeze. As we gather together and share in our love for caring for our families and enjoying the connections we have with them as we sit around the dinner tables of our homes. I hope that each of us can step back occasionally on those hard mommy days and “Believe in what we are doing! Believing in who we are and that we can make a difference one meal at a time.

~ Jill

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Shrimp Dip

Shrimp Dip- Lauren Shumway

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

16 ounces sour cream

1 T mayo

Lots of garlic salt

Salt

Tabasco, about 6-8 drops

Worcestershire sauce, about 6-8 drops

Chives

Parsley

Juice of 1 lemon

Canned shrimp

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo together until smooth. Add everything else and hand mix together. Taste test! Serve with Ruffles chips.

Quick and Easy English Toffee

Quick and Easy English Toffee -Lauren Shumway

Grease a jelly roll cookie sheet before getting started

Bring to boiling:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
5 teaspoons water
Stir constantly until golden brown (this is the hardest, most nerve-racking part to get the color just right -compare it to a brown paper sack. (While stirring, I have to wear a hot pad since my hand get so hot while whisking).

Remove from heat and

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla
Pour onto jelly roll pan and spread to desired thickness (I use pretty much all of the pan)
Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Spread around to melt.
If you live somewhere cold, you're in luck! Set this outside or in the garage to cool off. You get to eat yours sooner! If it's not freezing - I have been desperate and once it was cool enough, threw the pan in the freezer. Then just break it into pieces and enjoy...and enjoy!

Sweet Corn Puffs

Sweet Corn Puffs -Jill Allen

8-oz. bag corn puffs (usually found by the potato chips) – you may not use the entire bag if you want more coating

½ c. butter

1 Tbsp. corn syrup

½ c. plus 2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. water

Boil butter, corn syrup, sugar, and water to soft ball stage. Pour over corn puffs and stir.

Spiced Cider

Spiced Cider (recipe from Teddie Tippetts) -Emily Simmons

1 gallon apple cider
1 quart cranberry juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 small oranges with whole cloves poked around the edges
6 oz frozen orange juice (not reconstituted)
6 long cinnamon sticks broken in half and tied in cheese cloth

Simmer together in a crock pot (I halved the recipe because I couldn't fit the whole recipe in my crock pot).

No Egg Eggnog

No egg Egg Nog (from Todd Simmons' aunt Marguerite) Emily Simmons

1 small pkg French vanilla instant pudding

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups milk

2/3 cup sugar

Combine above ingredients in blender and blend well. Place in large container and add

3 cups milk - stir
1 cup whipping cream, whipped.

Fold in and add a dash of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Cool before serving and keep refrigerated.

Knorr Spinach Dip

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 container (16 oz) sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 pkg Knorr Vegetable recipe mix

1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts drained and chopped 3 green onions chopped (optional)

Combine all ingredients and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with your favorite bread (I used Jill's peasant bread recipe http://jackandjillskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/01/stupid-easy-good-crusty-peasant-bread.html)

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies -Emily Simmons

3 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup softened butter

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients. Refrigerate over night or as long as you can to be able to work with the dough. Roll and on a floured surface and Bake 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Sugar Cookie Frosting (all-recipes)

4 cups powder sugar 1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup softened butter 5 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla
Food coloring of your choice

Cream together your powder sugar and butter, shortening until smooth. Gradually add the milk and vanilla and beat until creamy. Add a little more milk or powdered sugar to get the right consistency. Add food coloring if desired.