a year of happy

meet me at the blog cafe!

One of the great things about blogging is becoming part of a wonderful virtual community of friends. Sometimes it feels like we're sitting around a table at our local cafe talking and laughing and having a great time getting to know each other better.

But in reality, we're sitting at home, in front of our computer screens and leaving comments on each other's blogs.

We're in countries all over the world, from Norway to Australia, and all across the U.S. But we're still talking and laughing and getting to know each other better, just as well as if we really were sitting around that table together.

Last week, we had a virtual get-together over Molten Chocolate Cake. It was so much fun, we decided to make it a regular event--and we hope you will join us!



We're calling it "The Blog Cafe," and here's how it works:

Every Monday, we're going to gather at somebody's blog for some food, fun, and great conversation. Each week, we will have a different blogger act as our host for our virtual get-together.

When you are the host, you will choose what we're "eating" and where we're "meeting", and you'll get us started on a topic of conversation.

We hope you'll share some photos of where you're taking us and what we're having--give us a taste of the local fare and maybe give us a peek of the world in your neck of the woods!

Then the rest of us--anyone and everyone is welcome--will pop in for a visit sometime throughout the day and leave a comment. We'll share our thoughts and insights on the topic you've chosen, and we'll all get to know each other better!


A few questions:

• How will I know where we're gathering each week? Jenny and Tracy and I are the coordinators--visit our blogs each Monday morning, and we'll give you the blog address of where we're meeting up. We'll post at 12:01 our times, so hopefully wherever you are in the world, you can join us sometime during your Monday!
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• How do I have a turn as the host? Send an email to theblogcafe @ yahoo . com. We'll get you on the list and give you a hosting date!
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• Who is invited? EVERYONE! We hope you'll feel welcome to join us anytime. You don't have to sign up to play along. Just join us when you can. If you miss a week or if you're new, you are always welcome. The fun is all about getting to know new friends!
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• Do I have to meet at a certain time? No! We are not having a set meeting time. Just pop in anytime during your Monday, read the post and the previous comments, and make a comment of your own. If you'd like, check back later and follow the conversation throughout the day.
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The Rules
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We just have one rule--and we'll rely on our weekly hosts to make sure it's followed:

We want to keep our conversations positive and uplifting. if you're looking for sarcastic, snide, or snarky conversation, you won't find it here.

And that goes for criticism of other commenters. Those kind of comments will be deleted. So just keep it nice! Also, many of us write family blogs, so please--let's keep it  children-safe!

We're looking forward to seeing you on Monday--we're starting here at "A Year of Happy" on April 19.

I'll go first, then the next Monday we'll be at Jenny-Jenny Who Can I Turn To, and for week three we'll be at Pink Purl. Who knows...maybe the next week could be you!

Can't wait to see you for treats and talk on Mondays! And be sure to tell your friends--everyone is welcome at "The Blog Cafe"!

Grab a button for your blog!

When you install this button on your blog,
please link it to our Blog Cafe page
so your followers will be able to join us!

http://www.ayearofhappy.com/the-blog-cafe.html

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chocolate solves everything

I have this wonderful friend.

You know the kind of friend...
it might be a week,
or a month,
since you've really talked.

But the minute you get together,
you pick up as if in
mid-conversation,
right where you left off before.

Every now and then,
as soon as
her little ones are in bed,
this wonderful friend and I
head to Chili's
to solve all the worlds problems--
and even some of our own--
over this. . .






You could call it
Chocolate Therapy.

And it always works!

_________________________

How about you?

Does chocolate work for you too?
Or is it a big bowl
of chips and salsa?
Do tell...
what is your
favorite food therapy?

funeral potatoes

Whenever there is a funeral
for someone who lived
in our LDS ward*,
the Relief Society
serves a dinner
after the funeral
for their extended family.

As soon as the funeral is planned,
the Relief Society** President
calls the Compassionate Service Leader,
who then calls lots of
ladies in the ward,
and gives them assignments
of different dishes to bring.

Between all of us,
we can put on
a pretty darn good dinner.

More often than not,
one of the dishes
we're asked to bring
is Funeral Potatoes.




The dish was probably
originally known as
Potatoes Au Gratin
or something like that,
but in this neck of the woods,
everybody knows it as
Funeral Potatoes.

There could be lots of reasons
we always go to
this old stand-by...
it's easy to prepare,
it keeps warm well
(so you can make it early
and still attend the funeral),
and it's really yummy.

But I think the best reason
is because
Funeral Potatoes is comfort food.

And that's what this whole thing
is really all about.
Sometimes it's hard
to know how to offer comfort.
We're not sure what to say.
We're not sure how to help.

But good homemade food
is a way we can
give of ourselves,
from our hearts,
so the folks that are grieving
know they're loved.

And nothing says that better
than Funeral Potatoes.

______________________

The amazing thing
about Funeral Potatoes
is that no matter how many
ladies make them,
not one dish turns out
just like another.

Every one is good,
but each cook has
her own little twist.

Here's mine....

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Funeral Potatoes

2 - 24 oz. bags shredded hash brown potatoes
2 cans cream of chicken soup (Campbell's is best)
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup butter
2 cups plus shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
chopped green onions, optional
seasoned bread crumbs

Thaw the potatoes slightly in the microwave. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the soup and sour cream, and heat on medium-low until melted. Stir until smooth, then add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Add chopped green onions. Stir the sauce into the potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Top with seasoned bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve at funerals-- or whenever you need comfort food!

___________________________

*Wards -- members of the LDS Church throughout the world are organized into local congregations called wards or branches. These congregations are organized geographically, and members attend a ward or branch near their home, meeting together each Sunday to worship and learn.

**Relief Society -- all women 18 years of age and older, as well as women younger than 18 who are married or are single mothers, are welcomed into the sisterhood of Relief Society. There are approximately 6 million sisters in Relief Society. It's purpose is to help women and their families come unto Christ.

beehive breakfast

This morning,
I had my
Beehives
over for a
Beehive Breakfast.





We ate yummy food,
celebrated a birthday,
and cheered in
the New Year
with a little sparkling cider!





They loved making
music with their goblets....

and eating homemade chocolates
by candlelight!

Are you wondering
what a Beehive is?

In the LDS Church,
there is an organization
just for young women
ages 12-18.

The purpose of the
Young Women's program
is to help every girl
come unto Christ.

The Beehives are the girls
ages 12 and 13.
I am serving as one of their leaders.
It is so much fun!

They are at a great age--
so eager to please, and
just entering the stage
when they realize
they aren't little girls anymore.

They are adorable.

sweets from the sweet

monica riedel's fabulous baked chicken cutlets

For this week's
Blog Cookery,
I didn't go to a blog...

I went to the
professional chef herself,
Monica Riedel!

Monica lives in my neighborhood,
and is a great friend.
And when I told her
I'm working on
"making dinner", (see here and here)
she was more than happy to help!

One of the things
I love about Monica
is her passion for good food.
And when she says GOOD,
she means tasty AND healthy.

She is working to get our community
excited about eating foods
that are locally grown 
and fresh--straight from the farm.

Last summer,
Monica spent the day
learning how to make cheese
at the Rockhill Creamery
in Richmond, Utah.



Locally made cheese
is just one of the home-grown
ingredients she uses in her 
Farm to Fabulous dinners--
we were lucky enough
to enjoy one of those dinners.
It was amazing!

We had fresh corn on the cob
served with lemon herb butter,
a wonderful green salad made
with locally grown veggies,
steak so tender
you didn't have to use a knife,
and an amazing dessert--
panna cotta topped with
apricot compote.
Delicious!

Monica has introduced me
to food in ways
I have never
experienced before.

She takes simple fresh ingredients,
and turns them into
something extraordinary. 

This week Monica shared
some easy and delicious
recipes with me.

So last night for dinner we had
Baked Chicken Cutlet
with Rice Pilaf
and Spinach Salad.

I was a little intimidated
when Monica told me
I had to butterfly the chicken. 
But using the new knife
that F gave me,
it was easy!

Thanks Monica - dinner was terrific!

Monica Riedel's Baked Chicken Cutlets

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 oz. butter
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Butterfly the chicken -- using a sharp knife, cut breasts open like a book, not all the way through. Combine butter, Dijon and Worcestershire sauce in a sauce pan and melt together over medium-low heat. Place in shallow dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine crumbs and cheese in another shallow dish. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat in crumb mixture. Lay out on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

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You can read more about
Monica Riedel in the Daily Herald.


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eating from the ground up's roasted vegetables

Growing up,
I was a very picky
vegetable eater.

I remember
sitting at the dinner table
with my brother
long after dinner was over
trying to choke down
canned asparagus.

I liked potatoes,
and corn,
and fresh peas.
And carrots too.

But canned vegetables
just didn't do it for me.
I think it was all
about the texture--
and mushy olive green veggies
were just wrong.

Then I lived in
Taiwan
for a year and a half.
I remember looking for a
familiar vegetable and
recognizing cooked cabbage
(not something I previously
would have eaten).
Soon it became
my favorite...probably
because I knew what it was!

That year and a half
started me on a new road
of eating.

Now I love vegetables--
and this recipe from
Eating From the Ground Up
is my new favorite way
to cook them!

This week we had
Alana's Roasted Vegetables.
And these photos don't begin
to tell you
how yummy they are. 

Alana recommends trying
several different vegetables
at once...she suggests
beets
potatoes
brussels sprouts
carrots
celeriac
and kohlrabi.

I confess that I've never
tried kohlrabi and celeriac.

And just when I was
going to ask what they are,
Alana had a great post
telling all about celeriac.

We tried the recipe
with potatoes,
squash,
and garlic. 

It turned out to be a
great combination!

I cut the veggies
in chunks,
coated them in olive oil,
and sprinkled them with
salt and pepper. Then
I roasted them at 400
for 30 minutes.

Easy! And so good!

J and R liked the crispiness
on the outside
and the smooth creaminess
on the inside.
And the roasted garlic
gave it a nice punch.

This recipe is a keeper--
and next time I'm going to
branch out and
try a new combination,
for sure with brussel sprouts. 

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the pioneer woman's onion blue-cheese sauce

Today is the first day of
Blog Cookery...
where once a week
I'll be cooking from
the recipe boxes of
the world's Food Bloggers.

Fair warning--
I'm not a photographer
and I'm not a chef.

You won't see step-by-step
photos that make your
mouth water.

And if they were reading, 
I would probably make these chefs
cringe when I change their recipes to fit
the ingredients I have on hand. 

But it will still
be fun---
And my family will
be very happy
that we're not having
frozen lasagna!

First up:
The Pioneer Woman's Onion Blue-Cheese Sauce (see recipe here).

The Pioneer Woman serves
this sauce with a
grilled ribeye steak.

Being a bit
short on steak,
we served it with
a slow-cooked roast.
It was delicious! 

And super-easy to make.

Just chop up the onions, 

grill them in
plenty of
butter,
add heavy cream,
simmer a bit,
and finally
add crumbled blue cheese.

We served it family style--

and most everybody smothered their roast with this rich, creamy sauce.

I held my breath
as everyone took their
first bites,
hoping for a good response...

And guess what.
Even the blue-cheese-haters
gave this dinner a
big thumbs up!

It was so good, D was wishing
he didn't have to
catch a plane
so he could just sit
and savor.

And speaking of D, when I first came up 
with this Blog Cookery idea,
he was a bit
skeptical.
But after this first
attempt,
I think he'll be
pretty happy
to be my
guinea pig!

Tune in 
next time to see
what I'll be trying next...

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blog cookery

I have a confession.

I am a lurker
on Food Blogs.
Yup - I read them all the time.

Why is that so shocking?

Because this is what what we had
for dinner last night.

Frozen Costco Manicotti.
Leftovers.

And that's my other confession...
we've been eating
way too much
freezer food
lately.

I used to cook. Really.

Now you could say  
I'm in a bit of a
cooking slump...and it's
high time I pull myself out.

So I'm going to put all this
Food Blog reading
into action!

I'm turning to
Eating from the Ground Up
and
Pioneer Woman Cooks
and
Smitten Kitchen
and all those other Food Blogs
out there
for help.

That's right.

Once a week I'm going to try
a new recipe
from the Blogs
and write about it here.

I might try
Marlboro Man Sandwiches
and
Light Brioche Burger Buns
and
Roasted Vegetables
and who knows what else.

And when I do
YOU are going to hear about it.

I promise to tell
the whole
story. What's good,
what's not,
even if I blow it....
you'll know it all!

Check back here Monday
for the first edition of
Blog Cookery!

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