Wellness Enrichment Night

Karla Chambers arranged for a "wellness expert" to come and talk with us about healthy eating, exercising, etc. She was a wonderful speaker and had a lot of great tips, one of which was to try as hard as possible to up our intake of fish, nuts and fruit. She said that the majority of people do not get enough of these three things.

Visiting afterward...

Some of us stayed after for the freezer meal group:

We made chicken enchiladas, chicken pillows and poppy seed chicken.

It was a wonderful evening! The recipes from the healthy choices taster's table as well as the freezer meal recipes are included in the following posts. Enjoy!

(F.Y.I. Along the upper right hand side of this site are two sections: labels and blog archive. You can click on the labels to pull up all recipes under certain categories and in the archive each recipe name is listed which you can click on to pull up each recipe, rather than having to search through the site to find one you are looking for.) 

Cherry Berry Trifle

Karla Chambers

(adapted from Susan Stokes' recipe)

1 - 14 ounce Angel Food Cake, broken into 1 inch pieces

1 - 8 ounce Lite Cool Whip

1 - 1/3 ounce instant fat free vanilla pudding, prepared following package directions

1 - 20 ounce Cherry Pie Filling, lite

plus

1 - 20 ounce Berry Pie Filling (or berry jam with fresh or frozen berried added or whole cranberry sauce, etc.)

Almonds, sliced.

Layer in a 3 quart clear glass (trifle) serving bowl.

*** use only 1/2 of the portions in each layer

Layer #1 Angel Food Cake (using only 1/2 the ingredient portions)

Layer #2 Cool Whip and Vanilla Pudding, stirred together

Layer #3 Cherry Pie Filling and Berry Filling, stirred together

Layers #4, #5, #6: repeat layers #1, #2, #3

Top with almonds.

Refrigerate overnight.

Yum! Yum!

Banana Bread

Dian Jepsen

Cream together:

3 cups bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

2 egg whites

1/4 cup margarine

Add:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Makes one loaf.

Sunshine Carrot-Raisin Salad

Colleen Swan

Stir together:

1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 Tablespoon sugar

3 Tablespoons lite Miracle Whip

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 dashes cinnamon, ground

2 dashes nutmeg, ground

Add:

1/2 cup raisins

1- 8 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained

3 cups shredded carrots

2 Tablespoons coconut (optional)

1 Tablespoon peanut butter (optional)

Chill.

1.7 fat grams, 110 calories per serving

Texas Caviar

Deana Davis

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can black-eyed peas, drained

1 can or 3-4 fresh tomatoes, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced

3 green onions, sliced

1/4 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1/4 cup Italian Dressing

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix together and chill.

Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Tai Chicken Stir Fry

Karen Miller

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

4 cups broccoli, shredded

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 onion, diced

Sauce:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy

6 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/3 cup orange juice

2 Tablespoons cooking oil

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

1 Tablespoon red pepper, crushed

Stir fry chicken and set aside. Stir fry vegetables and set aside.

Combine with sauce.

Serve over rice.

Chicken Enchiladas

Mozzarella cheese

3-4 chicken breasts (boiled and cut into chunks)

1/2 green pepper (tiny pieces, saute first)

Sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese or cream cheese

1/2 cup water

8-10 tortillas

Put some sauce in bottom of pan. Layer on tortillas: chicken, cheese, peppers/onions and sauce. Roll up and put in pan. Pour remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbles.

6-8 servings

Freezes well.

Chicken Pillows

Janet Weaver

Mix together...

1 Chicken or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and cut up

8 oz. cream cheese

3 cans crescent rolls or 1 batch homemade dough

Drop chicken mix on crescent roll.

1/2 cube margarine melted

1 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes or bread crumbs

Cook at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.

Cover with cream of chicken soup.

Serve by itself or over rice.

Yield: 24 chicken pillows

Freezes well.

Caramel Pretzels

Karla Chambers

Mini pretzels

Rolo Caramels

Pecans or Walnuts

Space pretzels on cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with a Rolo caramel. Place in 350 degree oven for about 2 minutes- until caramel is soft. Remove from oven. Immediately press half of a pecan or walnut on top. Cool and enjoy!

Rice Chex Treats

Bonnie Winward

Microwave in glass bowl for 5 minutes:

1-1/2 cubes Butter

1 cup Karo

1 cup Sugar

1 dash Salt

Stir and microwave 2 more minutes. Then stir in:

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

Pour over a mixture of:

1 small box Rice Chex

1-1/2 cups sliced almonds

2 cups coconut

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ashley Mason

1 box Spice Cake mix

1 15 ounce can pumpkin

1 egg

chocolate chips (optional)

walnuts (optional)

Mix cake mix, egg, and pumpkin. Add chips and nuts if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned (approximately 10 minutes).

Raspberry Layered Dessert

Shar Fletcher

Layer 1-

Combine and spread in 9 x 13 pan. Bake 5 minutes at 400 degrees, then cool:

2 cups pretzels, crushed

6 tablespoons margarine, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

Layer 2-

Mix together. Fold into Cool Whip:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup sugar

8 ounces Cool Whip

1 can pineapple, crushed and drained

Layer 3-

Dissolve Jello and set partially. Stir in frozen berries.

1 large box raspberry Jello

2 cups water, boiling

1 package raspberries, frozen, no juice

Know Gelatin, optional (if going to set out for a while)

Peppermint Bark

Karla Chambers

Combine and spread on greased cookie sheet:

almond bark, melted

lots of mini candy canes, crushed

Before it sets up in the cooky sheet, top with additional crushed candy canes.

Cookie Peanut Butter Cups

Michelle Deaton

1 ready-made package of sugar cookie dough

1 bag Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Press cookie dough into greased mini muffin tins and bake. Then place one Reese's Cup into each baked cookie shell. Cool. Enjoy!

Truffles

Melanie Chambers Warnes

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2-1/2 boxes (20 squares) Bakers chocolate, melted

Whip cream cheese; stir in 8 squares melted chocolate.

Refrigerate until filling is firm enough to roll into balls (2 hours).

Roll into balls and dip completely in (remaining 12 squares) melted chocolate. Refrigerate.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Colleen Swan

Combine and pour into greased casserole dish:

Chicken, boiled and chunked

8 ounces sour cream

1-2 cans small Cream of Chicken Soup

Combine and sprinkle over casserole:

1 sleeve Townhouse crackers, crushed

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1/4 to 3/4 stick of butter, melted

Bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes or until warmed.

Serve over rice, noodles or potatoes

Freezes well before baked and without the topping

Santa's Cinnamon Salad

Ida Larsen

Boil until dissolved:

1/4 cup Red Hot Candies

1 cup water

Add:

1- 3 ounce package Cherry Gelatin

1 cup cold water

4 drops red food coloring

Chill until partially set and stir in:

1 cup Apples, diced

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 cup nuts, chopped

Pour into one quart mold or dish. Chill.

Artichoke Dip

Mary Hurst

Mix together and heat until hot in a 350 degree oven:

1- 7 ounce can Artichoke hearts, chopped

1- 4 ounce can Green Chilies, diced

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

Serve with chips or crackers.

Egg Nog

Janet Weaver

Whip until fluffy: 

8 eggs

Then whip in: 

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 quarts Milk

Stir in:

1 - 8 ounce package Cool Whip

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Nutmeg, sprinkled on top