Book and Recipe Club Meeting

We had our Relief Society Book and Recipe club meeting last night. I always really enjoy them, but last night it seemed especially fabulous.

The book was The Seven Miracles that Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope by Ted and Chris Stewart (they are brothers). Since I recommended the book, I was so pleased that everyone seemed to like it...and a few seemed surprised that they did. It was like they were going to have to force themselves to start the book...and then they really loved it. It really is an eye-opener. We weren't aware of most of what the book talked about (did you know a Japanese submarine captain attacked an oil refinery in Southern California? or that Abraham Lincoln was not beloved by all but vilified in the press?). And it was easy to read.

The 7 miracles were: Christopher Columbus discovering America (instead of the Chinese), the miracle that the settlement at Jamestown survived, the summertime fog that allowed George Washington's troops to escape a desperate situation, the writing of the US Constitution, Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, the miracle at Midway in World War II, and Ronald Regan surviving the assassination attempt so he could go on and help bring down the Berlin wall. Fascinating book. I give it 2 thumbs up and a full 5 stars.

Now, the recipes were heavenly. The theme was the 4th of July and we wound up with a perfect variety of foods (which was a miracle since we didn't make any assignments but wound up with a drink, 2 different kinds of salads, a bean side-dish, chicken, and a dessert).

Kim brought 2 drinks with the surprise ingredient being jell-o.

LIME PARTY PUNCH     (makes 8 cups or 16 servings)
1 pkg (4-serving size) lime flavored jell-o
1 pkg (4 serving size) lemon flavored jell-o
2 cups boiling water
1 bottle (1 liter) club soda, lemon-lime soda, or lemon soda, chilled
1 orange, lemon, or lime, thinly sliced (optional)

Dissolve gelatins in boiling water, cool. Keep at room temp until ready to serve. Stir in soda and fruit slices just before serving.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE COOLER (makes about 3 1/2 cups or 4 servings)

1 pkg (4 serving size) orange flavored jell-o
1 cup boiling water
2 1/2 cups cranberry juice, chilled
orange slices (optional)

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add cranberry juice. Pour over ice cubes in a tall glass and garnish with orange slices, if desired.

Terra brought a leaf salad that had cheese, raspberries, and blueberries in it with a poppy seed dressing.

POPPY SEED SALAD DRESSING
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons accent
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 cup oil

Blend and dress salad right before serving.

Joyce brought 2 versions of the same salad...and I realized later that it was basically the same recipe as one my mother gave me a few years ago with one tasty addition (toasted pecans)the really boosted the flavor.

SUMMER SWEET GRAPE SALAD serves 8-10 (regular version)
2 lbs grapes (1/2 green and 1/2 red looks great)
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) carton sour cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons (or more) toasted pecans

Mix first 5 ingredients. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecan pieces. Refrigerate overnight. Toss and serve very cold.


The second version of this salad that Joyce brought was a low-fat version...and what was utterly amazing is that we all seemed to prefer the low fat version! The regular version tasted great, but the low-fat was even better.

SUMMER SWEET GRAPE SALAD LOW-FAT VERSION
2 lbs grapes (1/2 green and 1/2 red looks great)
1 (8 oz) pkg non-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) carton non-fat sour cream OR low-fat vanilla yogurt (omit the vanilla if you use this)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (omit if using low-fat vanilla yogurt)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons (or more) toasted pecans


Mix first 5 ingredients. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecan pieces. If you like it more sweet you can add some Splenda. Refrigerate overnight. Toss and serve very cold.


I made a recipe that we have at the annual family 4th of July party every year. It's one of my favorite things there.

SWEET AND SOUR BEAN TRIO
½-1 lb bacon cut into pieces (the recipe says not to precook it, but I cut out a lot of the fat and do heat it to render it and get some more of the fat out…from 12 oz of bacon I wound up putting 6 oz in my dish)
1 onion, chopped

½ c brown sugar
2 teaspoons prepared mustard      (you can add more of these 3 ingredients if the flavor seems “flat”)
½ c vinegar

2-1lb can of lima beans, drained
1-1 lb can or bigger of kidney beans, well drained
4-1 lb cans of baked beans

(1 t liquid smoke) (this is not in the original recipe, but Deena suggested it)

Put in crock pot for at least 4 hours, 6-8 is better, or it can be put in the oven.

Deena brought the meat dish.

SPICY HONEY CHICKEN
8 chicken thighs (her chicken was deboned...and maybe she used breast meat and  not thighs)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Rub chicken with oil. Toss in spice rub.

Grill chicken until almost done.

Glaze:
3/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar

Warm honey, so it isn't so thick. Mix in vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2-4 tablespoons glaze for later. Glaze almost done chicken. Will be messy, but oh so good. use reserve glaze to dip.

Amber finished off our meal with a tasty dessert.

BROWNIE BITES
1 box chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup butter (softened, but not melted)
2 eggs
powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º and grease mini-muffin tin.

Cut butter into cake mix with a pastry blender. When it is starting to look moist, add the eggs. Continue to cut with pastry blender until it's completely moistened. It will be a thick and sticky dough.

Drop mix into the muffin tin; it does not expand, so use approximately a teaspoon per each tin. This recipe can also be used as cookies. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional).

Next month the book is "How to Stuff a Wild Zucchini" by Heather Horrocks...and the recipe theme is anything with zucchini, of course. Can't wait!