October 2023- Autumn Spells

Octobers theme - Autumn Spells 

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Nancy Miller shared her collection of witches for the centerpieces.

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Wicked cute!

Shirley Erickson gave us a demonstration on how to make  French Baguettes using a recipe from The Food Nanny. 

I was glad to see that I was not the only person who had never made homemade bread. 

Follow detailed directions in recipe!  Not all steps are mentioned below.  

Combine warm water, yeast, sugar in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap...

Blend flour, sugar, yeast mix and water...

Baguette pans can be found on Amazon for under $20.  May also be found at local stores. 

Mix dough...

turn onto floured surface and knead briefly

Cut dough in half and shape into 2 loaves...

Score each loaf down the center and cover with dish towel...

...and bake!  

 

Carol Baldwin led us in a game where we broke into 4 groups.  

Team Celestial Becomings

Team Dixie Chicks

Team Beach Babes

Team Bewitched aka The Leftovers

Some beautiful witches

More fun costumes

A variety of soups were served along with homemade bread, cookies, and dessert.

Several of the soup recipes are listed below. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Whole roasted chicken
1 med onion
2 cloves garlic
Tbs olive oil
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2  15oz cans diced tomatoes
1  15oz can Pinto beans drained 
1 15oz can Black Beans Drained/rinsed
1 cup of corn
2  32 oz cartons of Chicken broth

Cut/tear meat of chicken.off the bones(Omit skin)
Sauté onion , garlic , celery carrots in oil

Then Add :
Chicken
Chicken broth
Tomato’s
Beans
Corn

Bring to boil add a dash of sugar
Salt and paper to taste
To Serve:
Top with sliced Avacados
Sliced tortillas chips (Packaged near croutons)
Shredded cheese

Creamy Chicken Soup 

First – Cook 4 chicken breasts in a covered dish at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let chicken cool and shred.  (add onion powder if you want). 

Second – Take noodles out of freezer. Set aside 

Third – Take carrots, celery and saute in butter until slightly tender. 

Fourth – Add 1 box of chicken broth. Let simmer. 

Fifth – In a separate bowl put 1 can of soup then fill can with half and half. Pour into soup and wisk. Repeat with second can. When mixed, pour into a strainer to get chicken bits from soup out. Discard what’s in the strainer. 

Sixth – Let soup base cool, then add your strained creamy soup mixture slowly to the broth base. Stir continually on low. 

Seventh – While soup is warming, get a pot of water going for the noodles. Break up the noodles and add to boiling water. Stir and break up. When they become tender, drain, then add the drained noodles to your creamy soup base. Cook a little more on low. Then add half cup of frozen peas. Enjoy! 

 

Ingredients 

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts 

• 1 package 11 oz Grandma egg noodles (wide, in the frozen section) 

• 2 boxes chicken broth 

• 1 cup diced carrots 

• 1 cup diced celery 

• 3 tablespoons of butter 

• 2 cans of Campbells cream of chicken soup (Healthy Request) 

• Half cup of frozen peas 

Wishing all witches a happy Halloween! 

by

Connie Beecroft