Sleeping Hellewells

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Izabelle

Many Memories Pink Birth Announcement

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Never boring

When I married Brent, he promised that our life would never be boring. Wow has he kept that promise! We are almost to the end of our two week vacation with Daniel and Ashely in China. (If you didn't know that they were living in Xiamin, China you need to read their blog at http://www.danielandashely-thisisus.blogspot.com/ . That's where all the pictures are.)

We've been in China, Thailand and are finishing up in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Having lived through friends going to the Vietnam War I never thought I'd be vacationing in Cambodia. It is amazing. Flooded from the 2 typhoons that went through earlier, but amazing. We will be visiting Ankor Wat tomorrow. Yesterday we were playing on the beach in Thailand and dodging rain storms.

Here's a toast to Brent for keeping life interesting and never boring!
Nedra

Pina Colada Salad

3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
2 large cans mandarin oranges, well drained
1 large can pineapple tidbits, well drained
1/2 red onion diced
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled and cubed
toasted coconut, optional
Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl or layer on a platter. Serve with Pina Colada Vinaigrette Dressing.

Pina Colada Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup Mr. & Mrs. T's Pina Colada Drink Mix
1/3 cup rice vinegar (or use apple cider vinegar for a stronger taste.)
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a blender combine all ingredients except the oil. Blend well until light and frothy. With the blender still on, slowly add oil in a steady stream. Keep blending until the dressing is emulsified and thickened.

Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients

• 1 & 1/2 packages (12 ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp nutmeg and/or cloves)
• ¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving. Great with sliced apples or gingersnaps.

Tye Dye

Hey everyone,

I just got the dye information from Jonathan. So you can get the dye that he used at the reunion at http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3796-AA.shtml?lnav=dyes.html
Hope you are having a great summer.

Hamburger Jerky

Ingredients:
1 lb. Extra Lean Hamburger
2 t. Brown sugar
1 T. Liquid smoke
½ t. Garlic Salt
¼ t. Cayene Pepper
½ t. Seasoning Salt
½ t. Accent
½ t. Maple flavoring
1T. Tender Quick (this is the curing process so don’t leave it out, you can find it in the store by the salt). It is made by Morton.
Directions:
1. Mix together by hand. Do not over mix (the jerky will be brittle and fall apart if you do) .
2. Dehydrate until done. Time will vary depending on dehydrator and how much you make. Just note that it continues to dry some after you take it out of the dehydrator. When I make it I usually do about 5 pounds of meat and it takes most of the day to dry or if I put it in at night it will be done it the morning. (about 8 hours)
3. Anything can be altered depending on your taste. I have add more brown sugar for more of a teriyaki flavor or if you like it hoter add more cayene pepper.

This recipe orginated with Marla. We have really enjoyed it. Thanks Marla!

Secret Sauce for Salmon

We went to the Garland Salmon Fry (although it was really grilled salmon) last weekend. They have the best sauce for the salmon. Here's the recipe. It makes a ton, but stores in the fridge.

Butter Sauce
1 pound butter
4 TBSP Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
8 TBSP Real Lemon Juice
2 chopped green onions
Pepper and Parsley Flakes to taste

Cook over Low Heat, DO NOT BOIL. Baste the salmon just before serving.
As Daniel said "Who knew fish could taste this good? Pass me more of the sauce."

Ashley Allen's Chicken Cacciatore

This is a recipe that Ashley and I really like. We like it over rice.

Sauce:

2 Cups of Water

1 16 oz Can of Tomato sauce

1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Worcestershire sauce

2 TB Ketchup

1 small chopped onion

1 TSP. Vinegar

2 TB Heinz 57

Chicken:

8-10 chicken tenders or chicken breasts cut into pieces

1 Cup of Flour

1 TSP salt

A little olive oil

Mix sauce together in a medium size mixing bowl.

Mix salt with flour and place in a large zip lock bag. Place chicken in bag and toss to coat.

Brown the chicken in a pan in olive oil.

Place the chicken in a 9x13 pan and pour the sauce on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour or 325 for 2.

Food Storage

Our Latest News

Recently Matt and I have been feeling like we needed to beef up our food storage, so when we ran into a girl selling Thrive food and shelf reliance shelf we were interested. I went to her party (it is a direct sales company). I was super impressed. The freeze dried foods were excellent in quality and after some comparison shopping I found almost always cheaper and sometimes a LOT cheaper then any other local source. We decided to purchase some and when it arrived we really liked it. So much so that we decided that I would become a consultant. Niels and Christi were my first order (thanks for your support!) I have thought about direct sales before but they always seemed to be a rip off for everyone. This is actually a product people would buy anyways at a great price and consultant/host benefits are good. I chose to do this because I don’t feel like anybody is getting ripped off.
We don’t want to pressure anyone but if you are curious about it, we are having a party. You can come sample the food and get more info on Thursday April 22 at 6:30 at our house. Let me know if you want to come and I will send you an e-vite. If you are interested in throwing your own party I would be happy to do that too. The host benefits are great.
If you have no idea what Thrive is, they make food storage. The thing we like is that there are a lot of different options that make using/rotating your food storage possible (mangoes, pineapples, green beans, corn, etc). They do a lot of fruits and vegetables. If you want to check out what is available you can see it at http://www.shelfreliance.com/foodstorage. If you are interested in anything, let me know and I can get you pricing (direct sales pricing is significantly cheaper than website pricing).

Not a Recipe....

I ran across this website the other day. You can download and print the activity/coloring books for the Living Scriptures movies. We take them to church and my kids really like them. You do have to fill out a free subscription, but they haven't sent me anything so far. Here is the link http://www.ldsfamilyfun.com/ldsff/account/login?from=account

Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup

Amy found this recipe I thought I would share it with you guys.

2 cups complete pancake mix
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup grated apple
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Cider Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup apple cider or juice
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter, cubed

In a small bowl, stir the pancake mix, water, apple and cinnamon until just moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle.

Meanwhile, for syrup, in a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir in cider until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook and sitr 2 minutes longer. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Serve with pancakes.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 lb. chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or 2 cans of chicken)
1/2 cup onion, chopped (green onion is really good)
1 clove garlic
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina
3 cups water
1 cup red enchilada sauce (try Old El Paso)
2 cups shredded cheese (cotjia or sharp cheddar cheese)
1 teaspoon salt

In large pot, cook onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent.
Take off the heat and allow to cool a second; pour in chicken broth. Return to the heat.
Whisk together masa harina and 2 cups water. Pour into pot stirring well. Add 1 cup of cheese and all other ingredients except chicken. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken (and the broth if using canned chicken). Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes.
Serve with crushed tortilla chips or Fritos, 1 cup of sheese, sour cream, cilantro and more green onions. Even better the second day.

yummy food blog

I ran across a food blog that I like. Clicking through the recipes was addictive; every recipe looked like something I would want to make. I think that have some sort of connection with channel 5 so perhaps some of you are familiar with them. The website is http://www.ourbestbites.com/ .

Grandma Hellewell's Mustard Pickles

8 qts small cucumbers, pearl onions* and califlower pieces (Grandma usually left the cucumbers out since we preferred the onions and the califlower.)
Imerse in salted water (1/2 cup salt to 1 quart of water) and soak overnight.
Drain vegetables and place in large pan.
Cover with vinegar.
Add 2 1/2 cups of sugar.
Put home mixed pickling spice in cheesecloth bag (tied shut) and add to the mixture. Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes.
Remove bag of pickling spices.
Mix together 1 cup flour, 6 TBSP dry mustard, 1 1/2 Tbsp Tumeric and enough cold water to make a paste. Add two cups of the hot vinegar to the paste and stir well. Add to the pickle mixture, cooking until thickened and seal hot.
*An easier way to peel the pearl onions is to place them in the sink and pour boiling water over them. Let is sit for a few minutes then drain and rub the outer layers off.

Mustard Pickles

Break 1 large head cauliflower in flowerets
Cut 1 quart small green tomatoes in wedges
3 green peppers in strips
1 1/2 pounds 2 inch cucumbers in halves lengthwise
Peel 3 cups pickling onions (this takes a while but well worth it)
Combine 1 cup granulated pickling salt and 4 cups water; let stand in cool place overnight.

Drain; cover with boiling water; let stand 10 minutes; drain. Combine 2 cups sugar
1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup dry mustard, 1 tablespoon turmeric 5 cups cider vinegar, and 5 cups water. Cook and stir till thick and bubbly. Add vegetables, cook till tender. Fill hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes (time when water returns to boil.) Makes 10 pints.

(This recipe come from the Better Homes & Garden Cookbook. My family only likes the cauliflower and the onions so I omit the peppers and cukes and add more onions and cauliflower.)

Best Buttermilk Rolls

Combine:
3 cups buttermilk
3 cups flour
1 TBSP yeast dissolved in ½ cup warm water (Not rapid rise yeast)

Beat well with mixer then add:
½ cup sugar
½ cup melted butter
3 eggs
1 tsp soda
2 tsp salt

Mix well, then add 5 cups flour and stir with wooden spoon. Turn out on counter top and knead by hand until mixed. Place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight.

Roll out and shape as desired. Cover and let rise in pans3 to 4 hours. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Lightly grease topand remove from pan.

Mint Brownies

Mint Brownies

Brownie:

1 c butter, melted
2/3 c cocoa powder
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ c flour

Mint Frosting:

½ c butter, softened
1 lb powdered sugar
1-3 Tbsp milk
½ mint extract
Green food coloring

Chocolate Topping:

1 ½ c semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ c butter

Brownie: Mix butter, cocoa, and sugar; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in flour. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool complete.

Mint Frosting: Mix butter and powdered sugar. Add only enough milk to make a smooth consistency. Add mint extract and enough food coloring for a light green color. Frosting will be thick. Spread over brownie layer. Refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate topping: Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave for 2-3 minutes. Stir well to combine. Pour over frosted brownies, covering frosting completely. Refrigerate until topping is set and hardened. Let brownies sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting. Cut into 24 small squares with sharp knife.

Note: When doubling, just double brownie recipe. Use large sheetcake pan. The mint frosting almost makes too much

From the Worldwide Ward Cookbook, Susan Moser

Hot Pepper Jelly

1 box Sure-Jell Pectin
1 c cider vinegar
5 cups sugar
4 cups prepared peppers
(I use 10 jalapenos, 3 to 4 habanero peppers
These are also called Scotch Bonnets – little
Orange ball-type peppers, the rest a mixture of
Green (2), red, yellow peppers)

See complete instructions in pectin box (cooked jam and jelly directions), but I’ve abbreviated them here:

Bring Peppers, vinegar, pectin, and ½ tsp butter or margarine to full rolling boil.

Stir in sugar quickly. Bring back to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off any foam.

Tips:
· Use gloves!!
· Do NOT use the food processor – it does something to the capsacin in the peppers. I use the food chopper from Pampered Chef.
· It may take up to a week to set up to a jelly consistency.
· Hotter – If you want it hotter, keep the seeds from the jalapenos and habaneros in the pepper mix. (sometimes if it is too hot, it won’t set up)
· I like it over cream cheese with crackers, my friend’s son likes it for toast, or they also use it as a basting sauce for chicken on the grill.
· I have used purple green peppers, but it kind of made the sauce a little muddy colored. But try anything once, right??

Mustard Pickles

Does anyone have the Hellewell recipe for Mustard Pickles?
Thanks
Heather