Melissa's Mission Call

Hello! I heard that Melissa may or may not get her mission call in the mail on Wednesday! I think it would be fun if we all guessed where she is going and why, if there is a reason.


Kimmy-South Carolina {for no specific reason}
Can I have 2 votes? Of course I can, you know I am her mother. I can see Melissa living in a hut in the middle of know where with children all around teaching them that they are children of God. I also can see Melissa greeting thousands of people who come to were she is serving testifying of the restored gospel and of Joseph Smith.

1) South Africa, because she has always had a love for the South African people.

2) Nauvoo, because she loves church history and loves the people that lived during that early period of the church.

-California
Ashley-Nauvoo, Illinois mission. Or Thailand-that is where I would want to go.
Suzy-So I have always thought that Melissa would get called to Africa. I think that she has always wished that she was African. Because of that I will guess South Africa.
Jenny-I guess somewhere in the midwest. I think it would be cool if she went where Grandma served.
Annette-Can I have 2 votes? Of course I can, you know I am her mother. I can see Melissa living in a hut in the middle of know where with children all around teaching them that they are children of God. I also can see Melissa greeting thousands of people who come to were she is serving testifying of the restored gospel and of Joseph Smith.

1) South Africa, because she has always had a love for the South African people.

2) Nauvoo, because she loves church history and loves the people that lived during that early period of the church.
Jill-Hmmm. I'm guessing the Dominican Republic just for the heck of it.
Seth guesses Ohio
Joel guesses Alabama
Nate guesses a Lake
Marsha-I think that Melissa has the physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to be called on a mission to Guatemala, as well as the strong family who would support her call. But I also think she could use her strengths in any mission . . . maybe the Boise Idaho/Spanish-speaking mission . . . the Athens, Greece/Chinese-speaking mission . . . the Australia/Aborigine mission . . . the Emery, Utah mission . . . and so on. Melissa has so much going for her, she could make it anywhere!
Maurianne-England
David-Argentina

Smothered Chicken

This recipe comes from Shandra Madsen (the deals to meals lady in my ward who can recreate any restaraunt recipe!) This recipe comes from Outback steak house and it is fabulous! It is one of my FAVORITE DINNERS!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts {I use frozen chicken strips and put them across my big griddle}
Garlic powder and seasoned salt to taste {I sprinkle on Montreal Chicken Spice}
1 T. Vegetable oil
Button mushrooms, cut in halves
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese blen
1/4 c. chopped green onions
1/2 c. real bacon bits {I use real bacon crumbles in a bag to make it easier}
1/2 c. tomatoes
1 bottle BBQ sauce

Flatten chicken to 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with seasonings. In skillet brown chicken in oil for 4 minutes. Cook in separate pan bacon until done and bacon is crisp. Add mushrooms to bacon mixture for the last 5 minutes to soften mushrooms. Top cooked chicken with 1 T. BBQ sauce, mushrooms, bacon, green onions and cheese. Cover and cook until chicken is done and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and honey mustard.

Honey Mustard Sauce
1 c. Mayo
1 c. Dijon mustard
1/4-1/2 cup honey
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp. ginger powder
Mix. Add extra honey or lime for desired taste

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
5 lb. russet potatoes (or red potatoes)
1/2-1 whole 16 oz. tub sour cream {depending on how much moisture you need in your potatoes}
1 cube butter {I personally don't use this}
8 oz. whipping cream or milk
fresh or dried parsley
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Boil water and add potatoe chuncks. Boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain majority of water from potatoes. Mash potatoes with either an eletric mixer or potato masher. Add whipping cream or milk, butter, sour cream, garlic, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

{You put the potatoes on the bottom, then the chicken, then a dab of the honey mustard and it is SO yummy!}
{This could be a high calorie dish, so I use fat free ingredients whenever I can, do not add butter or cream, and no oil-just spray-then it turns it into a healthier dish!}

Addresses

I am still looking for the following email addresses:
Aunt Maureen
Shalene
Becky
Tereasa
Aunt Nettie
Suzy
Melissa
Kimmy
Kara
Jami
If you have any of these email addresses, please email me so I can let them know about the family blog and make them blog authors as well!
Thanks!
Andrea

Banana Muffins

This is a muffin recipe I got from an old coworker. I often make it into banana bread, and it's very good.

Banana Muffins
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 lb. unsalted butter, melted
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 c. whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla
4 mashed bananas (3 if they're big)
1 c. coconut

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and melted butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and bananas, and then add them to the flour mixture. Add the coconut. Don't overmix.

Spoon into muffin tins, each cup 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

For bread, pour equal amounts of batter in two normal-sized bread pans. The cooking time is closer to 45 minutes, but I don't know exactly how long it is--just use the toothpick test, and you'll know when it's done.

Deals to Meals

This morning I was on Good Things Utah! That is right, I was in the studio audience supporting my friend who is the most amazing cook I have ever met! She has this website where you can find food storage deals at the top 5 grocery stores in Utah and then turn those ingredients on sale into meals! The meals are all so yummy and I copy off the recipes every week and put them into a binder. {It also gives you the ingredient list!}

Anyway, just wanted to tell ya about my meal finder that I use all of the time!

{Side Note: I still don't have any of the Dunn Girls Emails, Any of the Mark Andersons and Brent Anderson's email addresses, so if you have them, please send them my way so I can tell them about the blog! You can post anything you want-recipes, news, anything!!}

Cheddar Bay Biscuits (like at Red Lobster)

I saw a Red Lobster commercial today and my mouth started watering at those Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Yum. I decided we needed to have them with our spaghetti and salad for dinner tonight. The recipe is super simple and I don't know if anyone else really cares, but I thought I'd jump right in and share:

3 cups Bisquick® baking mix (or other similar mix)
1 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I like sharp)
1/4 cup butter (margarine works too), melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Parsley flakes for garnish (optional)

Mix baking mix, milk and grated cheese with a fork until moistened--will be lumpy. Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until nicely browned. Generously brush tops with melted butter that has been mixed with the garlic powder (I use all the butter). Serve while hot. Good stuff. Serves about 8.

So there ya go.

Welcome to the Anderson Family Hootenanny!

So, it all began today as I was talking to Aunt Nettie. She was saying how cool it would be if we had a family blog dedicated to sharing recipes! Well, I heard that and thought, yep-that is an excellent idea! So, without further delay...

Introducing the new Anderson Family Blog {Hootenanny-for those of you who like to party!}

Everyone will be an author, so post a recipe, or anything you want to whenever you want so everyone can enjoy! There are many Anderson Favorite Recipes that can be included, as well as new recipes!

Happy Blogging everyone!
Love, Andrea