Don't forget to report...

...your visiting teaching to your adviser. If you don't know who you are suppose to report to, then you can contact Ann-Marie Kunz at 787-4120, and she can tell you.

There is a list to the left of all the advisers.

If you are yet to get you visiting teaching done for January you still have a few days left. Try to contact your sisters and let them know you are thinking of them. If you are done, then make it a goal to get February done with-in the first couple weeks. Start making appointments today!!!

Have a GREAT day!!!

Must Try Recipes from the Cooking Group...

All these soups are delicious and fairly easy to make! A big THANKS goes out to Rachel Nelson for hosting our Cooking Group last week. You are much appreciated. Also, thanks to all who attended, and brought such great recipes to share with our sisters.

French Onion Soup
1/2 C butter
2 TBS olive oil
4 cups sliced onions
3 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. thyme
salt & pepper to taste
4 slices french bread (toasted)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded parmesan cheese

Melt butter with olive oil in an 8 quart stock pot on medium heat. Add onions and saute until tender and translucent. Add broth & thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes. Heat the oven broiler. Ladle soup into oven safe serving bowls and place one slice of bread on top of each (bread may be broken into pieces if you prefer.) Layer cheese on top of bread. Place bowls on cookie sheet and broil until cheese bubbles and browns slightly. The more cheese the better (in my opinion).

Restaurant Style Zuppa Toscana
1 (16oz) package hot sausage
2 potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 slices bacon
1&1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups kale - washed, dried, shredded
4 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup heavy cream

Pre-cook sausage until done and bacon until crispy. In large saucepan cook onions until almost clear, add garlic and cook an additional minute. Add chicken broth and potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer until ready to serve. The kale takes a little while to cook. You could make this in your crock pot and it would be an easy supper. This soup is also great the next day!


Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
4 C chicken broth
1 C carrots, diced
1/2 onion, chopped or 1TBS dried chopped onion
1/4 C wild & brown rice
!/2 to 1 C mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp basil
2-3 Chicken breasts, pre-cooked
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Cook rice in separate pot with 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil and let simmer for @ 40 minutes. Meanwhile, combine broth, carrots, onion, mushrooms & basil. Bring to a boil, cook until carrots are tender @ 10-15 minutes. Add cooked chicken & cream. Add cooked rice just before serving.

This would also be easy in the crock-pot, just wait to add cooked rice until 20 minutes before serving or it will turn to mush.

Just a reminder...

that you have 16 days to get your Visiting Teaching done. The message title for the month of January is Stand Strong and Immovable in Faith. It is a message of inspiration that every sister should hear. Our Heavenly Father felt a great need for unity in our sisterhood, that is why we are called to be Visiting Teachers. It was not intended to be an inconvenience, or a burden you feel once a month. You just never know how your examples could change someones life. Here is one example of 2 sisters making a difference not only in the sister they visited, but in her family.

Ethel and Edna
By Karie Lyne Jackson
When I was a young woman, newly married and pregnant with my first child, I did not attend church regularly. My parents had taught me the gospel, but I was struggling with my testimony. My husband and I felt unsure what direction we wanted our lives to go. I went to church when it was convenient for me, but I certainly did not want a calling or to have anything to do with Relief Society. In my mind Relief Society was for my grandmothers—not for me.
Then along came my first visiting teachers, Ethel Hiatt and Edna Nickels. They were in their 80s, and I wondered why they had been assigned to me. Our lives were so different, and I was sure that these sisters couldn’t possibly understand me. It wasn’t until later that I realized these women had brought blessings into my life.
Neither of these sisters had a vehicle or a telephone, so they walked each month, regardless of the weather, to visit me in my home. When they came, they brought a calm spirit of long lives of gospel service. Both had endured many trials. Both knew pain and suffering. But more important, they knew the art of cheerfulness and the gift of loving others.
When my child was born, they rejoiced in the newness of life. They didn’t bring meals and gifts, just a simple card telling me how happy they were for me. Their messages were never long, nor did they make me feel guilty or misunderstood. Sister Hiatt and Sister Nickels loved me and inspired me by their examples. Through their simple kindness, my heart was touched and I began to look forward to their visits.
As I matured, I realized that these sisters had weathered the storms of life and yet were still faithful in the gospel. My desire to follow their example grew, and before long, I found myself attending all of my Church meetings. My visiting teachers did not directly invite me to go, but I felt comfort knowing that they would be there to support me when I arrived.
Sister Hiatt and Sister Nickels have long since left this world, but their examples will remain with me always. They opened the door not only for me but also for my husband and our children. Were it not for them, we might have missed out on the blessings of eternity. I think of them often and wonder what my life would be like had they given up on me. I’ve learned that there truly is simpleness and sweetness in the tender mercies of the Lord.