Aug 2014 -Sisterhood - The Joys of Family History Work

My name is Kristi C and I am a member of the Pheasant Meadow ward.  I am currently teaching the 16 year old Sunday School class and am a mother of six.  I was visiting with Sister Wintle recently and she asked that I share an experience I had with genealogy this past month.

I feel like this all started with Elder Holland's talk in October 2008; The ministry of angels.  At the end of his talk he said something that caught my attention, he said "Pray for angels to attend us."  I had never thought about actually asking them to attend to me, or assist me.  The last few years I have thought of this often, even thinking that I shouldn't call on them because they are probably too busy and I didn't want to disturb them.

Recently I downloaded the book; Angels: Agents of Light, Love and Power by Donald W. Perry, a BYU professor.  As I was reading this book in the quiet of our family room one evening, I felt the presence of someone to my left.  I turned and looked, but didn't have eyes to see.  I said, "I know you're here, but I can't see you."  The word genealogy came into my mind.  I was thinking, "All I know how to do is indexing."  After struggling with this for a few minutes I decided to go get the laptop.  Just as I decided to do so, my son's friend left, and I remembered that Tate, my 18 year old son, had been working on a line.  I asked him to pull up his Family Search account.  We saw that he had a family of seven reserved, but had not been printed.  I said, "Tate, I think this family wants their temple work done."  Tate pushed print on the computer and the room almost felt giddy, this family was so excited to finally move forward.  I asked Tate if he could feel it, he said "The room feels very light."

The next evening, which was a Friday I searched the parents names and found two more sons.  Our family would be leaving for vacation for a week in the next few days and our schedule was full until then and after.  I felt very strongly that I had to complete their work as soon as possible.

So,Saturday morning, my oldest four children and I went to the Brigham City temple, and were able to complete the baptisms for this family.  Tate took Korin and Kiera home, and I stayed with Zack to perform the initiatory.  What a blessing to be able to do the work for a mother and four of her daughters.

That evening we were able to attend the Bountiful temple with seven other family members, so a family of nine could receive the blessings of the endowment and being sealed together as a family.

This experience has begun to turned my heart to my fathers.  I want to find out about my family and tie us all together.  The reason I said that I thought this all started with Elder Holland's talk, is because I feel like it opened my mind to be more aware of the spirit world around me.   And because I was reading about angels my mind was more alert to their world and able to feel when they were in need of my attention.

I am grateful that the spirit world is here among us and at special moments they make themselves known to us.  I am also grateful for the love our Father in Heaven has for each of us, and for the experiences he gives us to grow and feel His love.

May 2014 - Sisterhood- A Pathway Experience From One of Our Own

May:  Sisterhood Post:

Hi, I'm Kari.  I'm a wife, a mother, a daughter and a full-time student.
I drifted through high-school without much direction, scholastically that is, and deep down all I really wanted was to be a wife and a mother. However, in the back of my mind I kept hearing the words from my patriarchal blessing, which admonished me to get an education; the Lord desires it of me. So over the years, I have been in and out of different colleges with many breaks in between and never finished. Close to two years ago, I received what I like to call my ‘final push’ to finish my education. As I was looking at different programs from different universities, something about BYUI kept coming back to me. I did some investigating and found out about a program called Pathways. The more I learned about this program and how much other students have grown from it, I couldn't help but feel that this program was for me. The Pathways Program is God inspired. Everyone I met in this program had similar stories, so it was easy to relate to one another. Where else in the world can you receive an education and have your instructor tell you he/she prays for you or includes gospel principles along with secular learning? I love this.

President Eyring taught that education can help us in so many aspects of our lives. It can help us learn from other people’s mistakes instead of making those mistakes ourselves. It can assist in making us in feeling happier by learning skills and attributes that will help us get along better with our family members and friends. It can teach us about different cultures and customs; make us less ignorant of other people’s traditions. A key point that stuck out to me while going through this program was the importance of gaining an education during our life here on Earth. This is our time to gain knowledge and to prepare ourselves to return back to our Heavenly Father, after all, our relationships and knowledge is all we take back with us. Joseph Smith and many other prophets have taught this principal; the more we can learn here on this earth, the greater advantage we will have in the next life. I truly appreciate the spiritual truths that are incorporated in these principals taught to us at BYUI.

There are many excuses one might say why they can’t gain a higher education, these were some of mine; “my grades aren't good enough, the cost, the time it takes, I’m too old or I’m not smart enough”. I feel like I've had numerous hurdles in my life that kept me from finishing my degree. Looking back and being at this point in my life, I realize now it’s all just excuses. It is the adversary working against me. 

I am now a degree seeking online student (Marriage and Family Studies) and I'm sure that I will have more educational challenges in the near future. Nonetheless, because of this academic start with the Pathways Program, I was taught the importance of including the Holy Ghost in my learning process. Though I have taken many college classes over the years, I have never had any like this! It is exciting and humbling to know how much Heavenly Father wants to be a part of our learning. I can do nothing but look forward to the future. 

(The Pathways Program lasts for 3 semesters, you meet once a week with a group in your area, the online classes are assigned and tuition is dropped to $65 p/credit – after finishing the program, you can reapply to matriculate into your online degree with the same tuition rate,https://pathway.lds.org/ go to this link for more detailed info. and testimonials)
I'm Kari and I'm a member of the Kanesville, Utah Stake.

Kari C - Pheasant Meadow 

Feb 2014- Preparedness tip - Salt

Preparedness Tip from Brother Dan B of the Pheasant Meadow ward

“Salt is the staff of Life and important to survival. Our Testimonies are equally important to our Daily Survival. Each must be used daily so we can grow and receive daily nourishment. A 50 lb. bag of Real Salt (fine) may be purchased at IFA for $8.00. What is the cost of gaining or growing YOUR Testimony.

A small bag of real salt is $8.99 or you can buy a bag of real salt at IFA for $8.00 for 50 lbs. it is the same salt just bagged for animals.”

If you are curious, as I was about “real” salt let me share a little bit of what I learned.

Refined  / Unrefined Salt

Refined salt is brined in a solution which can include sulfuric acid or chlorine and heated.  This can remove many minerals.  Anti-caking and conditioning agents are also added to increase shelf life.  Iodide may be added. 

Ingredients

Morton Iodized table salt - salt, calcium silicate, dextrose, potassium iodide.

Morton Coarse Kosher Salt - Salt, Yellow Prussiate of Soda (Anti-caking agent)

Real Salt - An Elemental Analysis of Real Salt (a brand of unrefined salt mined in Utah)

Elemental Analysis of Real Salt

General Info about Salt

For more information about salt in general you might want to look at the Wikipedia site which includes A LOT of references.  

wikipedia entry for Salt - with references

Types of unrefined salt  source -Know your salts

Celtic / Gray Salt (France)

Comes from a Modern Ocean, harvest from various ponds of the shores of France.  This is a “wet” salt that is a bit more coarse

Himalayan / Pink Salt (Pakistan)

Comes from an Ancient Sea, mined from many different mines near Khewra, Pakistan.  This is a dry salt.

Redmond Real Salt

Comes from an Ancient Sea, mined from one source in Redmond, Utah.    This is a dry salt, it comes in different granulations; fine (table salt),  kosher (slightly larger crystal), coarse grind (looks like rock salt, usually used in a grinder) and powder salt (consistency of flour)

Youtube video about different grain sizes of salt

Preparedness Tips - Lessons learned

This letter has been circulating around LDS social media since Hurricane Sandy, it seems to have been written by a Frank Ostmann.  It was shared by Gail W. from the Pheasant Meadow ward.  

It really has some great information about REALLY being prepared.

Thanks Gail

Are you prepared for an Emergency? Please read! It really makes you think.
Things that I learned from Hurricane Sandy from someone who lived through it, Nov 2012

1. The excitement and "coolness" wears off around day three.

2. You are never really prepared to go weeks without power, heat, water etc. Never! ... ...

3. Yes, it can happen to you.

4. Just because your generator runs like a top, does not mean it's producing electricity.

5. If you do not have water stored up, you are in trouble.

a. A couple of cases of bottled water is NOT water storage

6. Should have as much fuel as water
a. Propane
b. Gas
c. Kerosene
d. Firewood
e. Firestarter, (kindling, paper, etc)

7. Even the smallest little thing that you get from the store should be stocked up.. (spark plug for the generator,BBQ lighter, etc).

8. If you are not working, chances are nobody else is either.

9. I was surprised how quickly normal social behavior goes out the window. I am not talking about someone cutting in line at the grocery store.
a. 3 people were killed at gas stations within 50 miles of my home.
b. I did not say 3 fights broke out, 3 people were killed.

10. Cash is king (all the money in your savings means nothing).

11. Stored water can taste nasty.

12. You eat a lot more food when you are cold.

13. You need more food than you think if your kids are out of school for 2 weeks

14. Kids do not like washing their face in cold water.

15. Your 1972 Honda civic gets to the grocery store as well as your 2012 Escalade, but the Honda allows
money left over for heat, food, water, a generator, fire wood, a backup water pump, you get the idea..

16. The electrical grid is way more fragile than I thought.

17. Think of the things that are your comfort, your escape: a cup of hot chocolate, a glass of milk and a ding
dong before bed, chips, candies, protein bars, various nuts, etc. Stock up on those too. You will need that
comfort after day three.

18. You quickly become the guy in the neighborhood who knows how to wire a generator to the electrical panel,directly wire the furnace to a small generator, or get the well pump up and running on inverter power or you're the guy whose Master's degree in Accounting suddenly means nothing.

19. A woman who can cook a fine meal by candle light over the BBQ or open fire is worth her weight in gold.  And women, whose weight is in gold, often don't add up to much, and usually die off first. Sorry skinny women.

20. It takes a lot of firewood to keep a fire going all day and into the evening for heat.

21. All the food storage in the world means nothing if your kids won't eat it.

22. You might be prepared to take care of your children
and their needs, but what about when the neighborhood children start to show up at your door?

23. Some people shut down in an emergency. There is nothing that you can do about that.

24. Your town, no matter how small, is entirely dependent on outside sources for everything. If supply trucks
stop rolling in due to road damage, you will have gas shortages and run out of everything else you are now
unconsciously using without storing any extra. And you could be without these items for a very long time.

25. In an emergency, men stock up on food. Women stock up on toilet paper. Both of you take equal
responsibility in preparing your home, safety, transportation and property. Work together.

26. Take inventory - you'll be surprised how many things run on electricity!

27. You can never have enough matches.

28. Although neighbors can be a great resource, they can also be a huge drain on your emergency storage.
You need to plan how you are going to handle that. It's really easy to be "Bob, the guy who shares" on Day 3,not so easy on Day 11. Just reality.

29. Give a man a fish, he eats for that day, teach a man to fish and he will never be hungry again... Now I get it.

30. All of the expensive clothes in the closet mean nothing if they don't keep you warm.

31. Same goes for shoes.

32. You cannot believe the utility companies. They are run by politicians!! Or so it seems.

33. Anything that you now depend on someone else for, will no longer be available. Period.

34. Quote "A man with a chainsaw who knows how to use it" is a thing of beauty. Hahaha!

35. Most folks don't have any emergency storage. They run to Wal-Mart and get water and batteries and then fill their tubs with water. That's it. A lucky few will get a case of ramen and a box of pop tarts. That will be your neighbor's supply.

36. Fathers, all the money you have ever made means nothing if you can't keep your kids warm.

37. Mothers, everything you have ever done for your kids is forgotten if your kids are hungry.

38. You really do not want to be the 'Unprepared Parents'. The kids turn on you pretty quick.

39. Small solar-charged gadgets will keep you in touch. Most work pretty well it seems.

40. Some things don't take much power to operate.
a. Computers
b. Phones
c. Radios
d. TV
e. lights

41. Some things take a ton of power to operate.
a. Fridge
b. Toaster
c. Freezer
d. Hot plate
e. Microwave
f. Electric stove and oven

42. When it gets dark at 4:30pm the nights are really long without power.

43. Getting out of the house is very important. Even if it's cold. Make your home the semi-warm place to come home to..not the cold prison that you are stuck in.

44. Someone in your family must play or learn to play guitar (or some other musical instrument - even a
harmonica can be a life saver.) Collect and then use song books, hymnals, scriptures. Instead of the old TV/
Movies time, gather your family, wrapped in quilts and blankets. Talk, pray, plan, praise and encourage each
other, discuss, snuggle,reassure, love, pray still more, and above all else, openly share your assessments of
what's going on. Kids need to understand what's going on.

45. Things that disappeared never to be seen again for a very long time...
a. Fuel, of all kinds
b. Matches, lighters of any kind etc.
c. Toilet paper, baby diapers, feminine needs
d. Paper plates, plastic forks and knives
e. Batteries: Inventory everything that runs on batteries. It'll blow your mind! Buy batteries now!
f. Milk (Learn to store/drink dry powd. milk. Mix 3 cups with 1 cn. whole evaporated milk - soon it tastes like the 2% store milk from before.)
g. Charcoal
h. Spark plugs (generators)
i. 2 stroke motor oil, (chainsaws)
j. Anything that could be used to wire a generator to the house.
k. Extension cords
l. Medicines (Tylenol, Advil, cold medicines prescriptions,etc.)
m. Dressings, ointments, first aid supplies. There will be many injuries, some serious, & no way to run to the
doctor or count on an ambulance, etc.

46. There was a strange peace to knowing all I had to do each day was keep my family safe, warm, and fed,
but my peace was someone else's panic. There were also many things that were not learned from Hurricane
Sandy, but reinforced. Those things were the importance of my family and their love and support, especially
my lovely wife; that my Heavenly Father is really in charge, period; and finally that I am very thankful for the
upbringing and experiences which have taught me and brought me to where I am today... Wherever that is!

God Bless you, God bless America! Let's not wait until it is
too late !!!

Empanadas

Today September 18th is  Chile's Independence Day (Fiestas Patrias) and because she is such a wonderful person Pamela K from the Pheasant Meadow ward has "volunteered" to share how she makes a traditional Chilean dish.  Empanadas.  (Pamela, I won't close the comments on this so your free to re-but the volunteer part if you want).

Chilean empanadas can have a wide range of fillings, but three basic types are the most popular: One is baked and filled with pino, a traditional filling consisting of beef, onions, raisins, black olives, and a hard boiled egg. The second is usually filled with seafood and fried. The third type contains cheese and may be baked or fried, although the latter form is more common.
Many variations on each of these basic types are found (e.g.: pino without raisins and olives, all kinds of seafood such as mussels, crab, prawns, or locos (similar to abalone), and mixed shrimp/cheese, etc.). They are considerably larger than the Argentine type, usually with one empanada being enough for a meal.

Pamela made the first kind with the pino filling and you can tell she know what's she's doing because the recipe has a lot of, a bit of this and a bit of that.

Here you go though with pictures to help.

The pino should ideally be made before hand so that it can be cool.  (This will probably make around 2 dozen empanadas)


Pino
4 medium sized diced white onions
3 lbs. ground beef
3 tsp salt
1 Tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground chili
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup water and one beef bouillon cube

• 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in a little water
• 5 - 6 hard boiled eggs, pealed and sliced
• 1 can black olives

Cook the onions in a little oil until soft (not crisp), add spices and then ground beef, until cooked. It should be the consistency of a thick sauce not dry and crumbly.

Cool



Pastry
9 cups flour
1 cup shortening
2 - 3 cups of milk
2 egg yolks
2 tsp salt

First mix the egg yolks, salt and milk, melt the shortening and add all the liquid ingredients to the flour.  Mix until combined but don't knead.  Dough should be elastic and not sticky.
Divide and roll to about 1/2 a centimeter thickness.  It works best when you roll out  small (handful) sized piece of dough at a time. Cut into rectangles or circles. Circles the size of small dinner plates (or about 7 inches across) or 6" x 8" rectangles make a kid-friendly sized empanada.

fill the empanada with pino, egg, olive and raisins

Scoop a few tablespoons of meat mixture onto circle.  Then top with a slice of hard boiled egg, 3-4 soaked raisins and a black olive.  Fold the circle almost in half and moisten the exposed edge.  Crimp the lower edge up.  Brush with a beaten egg yolk and a squirt of milk,  then prick the dough four or five times with a pin.

brush the tops with egg yolk mixture to achieve a golden brown color

prick the pastry to release steam

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (about 30 minutes).

"let's eat now please"

printable recipe

Because there was extra "pino" left over she went ahead and made another dish called Pastel de Choclo. It's like a casserole with pino at the bottom, all the same knickknacks spread over it and a paste of slightly sweetened corn on top.

Pastel de Choclo 

 

3 lbs of corn kernels (frozen and thawed or fresh)
process them to make a creamy paste, cook in a pot with 3 tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup of sugar until it boils. stir constantly for another 3-5 minutes.
then you put the same filling you use for empanadas (about 1and 1/2 lbs of ground beef) on a 9x13'' pan

sprinkle it with the same goodies: sliced hard-boiled eggs, olives and raisins
spread the corn, dot with some butter and sprinkle some sugar for a nice golden- brown
bake at 400 for 20 minutes and then broil for 3 minutes 

pino with toppings

spread the sweetened corn over the top

delicioso!

 printable recipe

Carrot, Pineapple & Wheat Berry Salad

2 ½ cups finely shredded carrots
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained
2 cups cooked wheat berries (boil till soft but not split then use when cooled)
½ cup mayonnaise or vegenaise
1 tsp honey
1 cup miniature marshmallows (optional)
Combine all ingredients. Chill 1 hour minimum.

printable recipe
from: Stake Taster Table before General RS Meeting

The Two S's Spirituality and Sanitation

Emergency Preparation Class being brought to us by the Pheasant Meadow Ward

Glenna DeHerrara will present a class on

The Two S's Spirituality and Sanitation

at the West Building

Friday May 20, 2011

7pm

A nursery will be provided

Please share this information with your friends and neighbors.

Baked Creamy Chicken and Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 (8-oz) tub of sour cream
• 8 medium potatoes, pealed, cut into quarters
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp all season salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons olive oil.

Directions:
Combine egg and  milk in a bowl, mix well.  Mix bread crumbs, flour, season salt, onion powder, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Heat a skillet on low (200), add oil.  Cut chicken in pieces, dip chicken in egg mixture then bread crumb then put into skillet to brown.  Peel and cut potatoes, set aside.  Mix chicken soup and sour cream, set aside.  Add potatoes to chicken with 2 (soup)cans of water, cook until almost soft.  Add soup and sour cream.  Cook.  Use remaining bread crumb mixture to thicken soup (to taste).  Cook until potatoes are soft.

printable recipe

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
• 2 cups sour cream
• 10 oz. can of Enchilada sauce (red or green)
• salt to taste
• 1 - 2 cups of shredded cheese
• shredded lettuce (optional)
• 5 tortillas

Directions:

In a bowl mix sour cream, 1 cup shredded cheese and cooked/cubed or shredded chicken.  In a mixing bowl; put the enchilada sauce, dip the tortillas in the sauce until fully covered.  With the tortilla in one hand, put a spoonful or two of the chicken mixture, roll the tortilla (lengthwise) and put it into a 9 x 13 baking dish.  After the dish is full with tortillas, pour  remaining sauce over them and sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese.  Bake 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Place lettuce on plate and put the enchilada on top (if desired).

printable recipe

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (28-oz) can tomatoes, slightly, blended (3 - 4 cups)
• 1 (15-oz) can kidney beans, undrained
• 2-3 Tablespoons of taco seasoning (to taste)

Directions:
Brown ground beef and onions.  Drain well.  Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer 15 minutes.  Cool and place in quart or gallon Ziploc bags depending on desired number of servings.

printable recipe

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

The Pheasant Meadow recently made freezer meals to have available for their compassionate service needs.  In typing them up for the blog I came across a very similar recipe on the Internet (too lazy to type it all up myself:)).  The only substitutions from the recipe on the Internet were the omission of the optional  vodka and changing the Fontina cheese to Mozzarella cheese.

 Martha Stewart Living

 

This recipe makes two pans of pasta. Serve one tonight, and keep the other in the freezer for up to three months. To freeze, prepare the dish through step 4; let cool completely before covering tightly with plastic wrap and placing in the freezer. If you freeze this dish, do not thaw before baking. Remove plastic wrap, and cover with foil. Cook until heated through, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours. Remove foil, and continue with step 5.

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 4 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1 can(s) (28-ounce) whole tomatoes with juice, lightly crushed with hands
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) dried oregano
• 1/2 cup(s) heavy cream
• 1 pound(s) rigatoni
• 10 ounce(s) baby spinach
• 12 ounce(s) smoked chicken sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 6 ounce(s) mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces cut into 1/2-inch cubes and 2 ounces coarsely grated
• 1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese

---

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic. Remove from heat.  Return to heat; cook until almost evaporated, 1 minute.
2. Stir in tomatoes and oregano; cook until tomatoes are falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes. Add cream; cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. Add spinach, and cook just until wilted. Drain, and return contents to pot.
4. Add tomato sauce, sausage, and cubed mozzarella to pot; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide evenly between two shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dishes.
5. Top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20 to 30 minutes.