Adventures in Fundraising - Gourmet Meals for a Year

As some of my readers may know, I am the chairperson for the Mission Campaign for our youth choir, Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and my husband is the director.  We are raising money to travel to Rome on December 26 and sing for the New Year's Day Mass of Peace with Pope Francis!  It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for 46 singers, ages 8 through 18, and it's even more special because we will be sharing the experience with 5,000 young singers from every continent!  I get the shivers every time I think of the trip for my 2 kids.

We had some pretty intense fundraising activity last Spring and are gearing up for our last push before we make our final trip payments in mid-October.  We did a number of "basket raffles," and made about $3,000.  As one of our "basket raffles," we raffled off 12 months of homemade gourmet meals, one per month.  Our winner was a nice couple in our parish choir.  I've made several of these meals and although it is a bit of work, it's fun for me.  I wouldn't call my self a gourmet cook by any stretch (don't tell them that!), but I can follow a recipe and enjoy trying new ones.

This month's menu includes:

Cucumber Ginger Sesame Salad
Honey Mustard Chicken
Rice
Garlic Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Peach Raspberry Sangria

I've linked two recipes to the items above (none are original to me!).  The other items I found inspiration, but in the end changed them in favor of my own recipe.  One of those was the Cucumber Ginger Sesame Salad:

It's very easy - cucumber, carrots, edamame and toasted sesame seeds.  I used a store bought Asian Sesame dressing.  The best part of this recipe was cutting the cucumber.  Using a potato peeler, I worked around the top of the cucumber to make twists that are so pretty! Before mixing them with the other ingredients, I laid them out to dry a little.  I hate when cucumber salads are watery because of the cucumbers.

  

These meals are delivered on the third Sunday of every month.  I try to make extra of everything so I can feed my own family as well.  This month I started about 24 hours before delivery with the pound cake and sangria.  I will admit I'm cheating a bit, using a store bought mix. This one is from Krusteaz and if the smell while baking is any indication, this is going to be seriously yummy!

 






I have always wanted to make sangria, especially a white peach version.  For the fruit, I used 2 yellow peaches and 1 white nectarine with raspberries.  Then I added 1/2 c. of peach schnapps, 1/2 c. of brandy, 2 12 oz cans of 7-Up and 2 bottles of Moscato wine. That will make about 10 good servings of sangria. A good sangria requires at least 8 hours to mix and I'm gave mine 24. And oh, it was worth the wait!

I was also pleased with the Honey Mustard Chicken (see link to recipe above).  I served it over white rice.

Hey, if you appreciate this fundraising suggestion, the recipes or just my blog, we would love your support.  Our YouCaring fund is HERE and even the smallest donations are appreciated!

Cindy

Broccoli - Bacon Salad

Letting go of summer in Phoenix produces mixed feelings.  In Arizona, the coming of fall means that the best temperate weather of the fall and winter.  On the other hand, summer is summer.  In an attempt to hold on a little longer, I offer this recipe.  It is a great cold salad that you can make hours in advance. It's crunchy, sweet and sour.

Broccoli Bacon Salad

Ingredients:

5 slices bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound broccoli florets (approximately), cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Coarse salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 cup diced sweet bell pepper (red, orange, yellow, or a combination)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

directions:

1. Cook bacon in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

2. Blanch the broccoli: Bring a large pot of water to boil. In another large bowl, prepare an ice bath with equal parts water and ice cubes. Add broccoli florets to boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Remove broccoli with a slotted spoon and place in the ice bath immediately to cool. Drain the broccoli again and dry the florets by spinning in a salad spinner or by laying them out on several paper towels.

3. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl. Add broccoli, bell pepper, raisins, pine nuts, and shallot to the bowl with the dressing, and toss to combine. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed, then sprinkle with the cooked bacon. Chill until ready to serve.

That's it!  With the blanched broccoli, the brightly colored peppers and the bacon.  It's a great easy salad that is sweet and substantial  Enjoy!

cindy

Watermelon Blues

As the summer ends, there are things that go away. One of those things is watermelon. There are also people who are going away - high school graduates off to college and a dear friend who is off to the seminary. A week ago we had a party to celebrate our new seminarian and I made this recipe.

Fit Friday - Crossing the Gorge

It's been a very busy week and I'm sad to say there has been no exercising going on here.  I started round two of the HcG diet on Monday.  The protocol requires that the first two days of the diet you take the HcG shot but you have to GORGE yourself.  That's right, eat as much as you can for two days.  Sounds like a dream, but is a bit gross and exhausting.  So here's lunch on Tuesday:

Boy, that was good, but I hope to never consume that much food in one sitting ever again!  As a contrast, starting Wednesday through the next three weeks I will be eating 500 calories a day.  On Wednesday for lunch, I ate raw spinach with a little bit of balsamic dressing, 100 grams of skinless chicken and an apple.  I wanted a picture, but probably consumed it so fast I couldn't.  I've lost 5 pounds in 2 days.  The results are great, but this is a down and dirty diet not for the faint-hearted.

I plan on doing some limited exercise during the next 3 weeks and finish the 500 calorie thing on my birthday in three weeks.

Wish me luck!

cindy

Recipe - Chinese Chicken Salad

This is a great summer salad that is a complete meal with chicken.  It's also easy to make in advance, especially the night before or in the morning.  The entire salad can be mixed in advance, but make sure NOT to add the dressing until you are ready to eat.

Chinese Chicken Salad

               1 Napa cabbage          

1 bunch green onions

1-2 packages of ramen noodles (soup)

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

1 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3/4 cup canola oil

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Boil chicken breasts until cooked through and set aside to cool.  Combine sugar, vinegar, canola oil and soy sauce in small saucepan over medium heat.  Heat to boil and allow liquid to boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and allow liquid to cool thoroughly.  Brown ramen noodles in olive oil in frying pan.  (Discard ramen noodle flavor packet.)  Add sesame seeds and almonds and brown.  Let the mixture cool.  Chop cabbage and onions and combine with noodle mixture.  Cut the chicken into chunks and add to salad.  Mix or shake liquid dressing and mix with salad immediately before serving.

Enjoy!

cindy