Gypsy Stew

Also called Olla Gitana, this dish from Spain is usually meatless. I really like this version though, and like all good recipes it will make your house smell wonderful…hmm cumin, paprika, rosemary... (Plus, I love anything I can make with my dutch oven!)

Gypsy Stew - Prep about 3 hours if using precooked beans. If using dry beans…add 3 more hours.

If using dried beans: cover and soak for at least three hours and then drain well:

• 1 1/4 cup dry white kidney beans (such as navy beans)

In a large saucepan heat

• 3 TBSP olive oil

than add and cook until soft

• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 chopped white or yellow onion

Next, add the presoaked beans and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Then in a dutch oven, or large flame proof casserole dish, over the stove heat:

• 1/3 cup or less olive oil

Add and cook until tender

• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 chopped white or yellow onion

Preheat the oven to 315 F.
Add and stir through the following

• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 seeded and diced red bell pepper
• 1 lb. 10 oz pork tenderloin diced

Cook until the pork is pale brown all over. Then add:

     •   One 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
     •   1 cup chicken stock

Bring to a boil, then cover and place in the over for 1 hour.
Then add:

• the bean mixture
• 2 medium diced firm potato, sweet potato (squash works too.)

Return to the oven for 30 minutes or until potato is tender.
Just before serving stir in:

• chopped swiss chard

Season to taste before serving. 
We like to eat it with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. It's great with tortilla chips too.

Adapted from Cooking Spanish by John Newton

Make your own Batman Mask

Our youth group made these masks to add to care packages for the Ronald MacDonald House. The mask is quite simple and you will find yourself making more than one just to give away. Might as well!

Below is the pattern. Click on the image below to enlarge to fit on a 8.5 x 11 in sheet and print.

Cheap Cat Ears

Whip these up in about 30 minutes. This cat ear headband was designed so our youth group could make several of them to add to care packages we are delivering to families at the Ronald McDonald House. They are VERY easy and VERY cheap, and little girls will LOVE them.

Big girls might like them too :)

Click on the Directions below and print them off.
Click on the pattern below and print it off (at full size it should be 8.5 x 11)

Note: you do not need all the ears from the pattern. Just one big ear and one small one. I've put more on a page just in case you decide to have a cat making party and want more patterns per sheet.

Supplies:
Headbands—these were under $1.00 for three at Walmart)
One sheet of black and colored felt—each under $1.00
Hot Glue
Scissors

Superheroes in Excellence

One of my Mia Maids suggested a Superhero theme for YW in Excellence this year. (She was beyond excited.) I threw together a quick outline of ideas and here's how it turned out.

We had the girls help make starburst signs for the room.

We asked each of the girls to liken her assigned value to a superhero. For example: Batman showed faith in the people of Gotham when he continued to believe they would make the right choice. As young women we show faith by ________________.

We then glued their written parts to the back of their Superhero's symbol. This way there would be a fun visual for the audience to look at.

The girls were happy to tie our value colored tablecloths around their necks as capes. Aren't they awesome for playing along?

We didn't go all out this year, but I think the decorations were perfectly acceptable!

We tried to make our treats fit the theme too. I found candy and related it to a hero in some way. Although this was fun, I don't necessarily recommend it. The candy was a bit too expensive. I would go the colorful popcorn or rice crispy route only—which we did have in conjunction with the candy.)

Below is the outline of ideas for decorating, invitations, the program etc. You will see we didn't use them all, which is totally fine. I wrote it out so there would be options to choose from. Feel free to click on the outline below (which will bring it up larger) and print it off to begin creating your own event.

Lemon Orange Wedding Cake

This cake was made for a young women's youth group activity, where we had wedding dresses for the girls to try on! So of course we had to have "wedding cake" as a refreshment.

It is a sour cream pound cake with homemade lemon/orange curd as the filling. I like using pound cake for tiered cakes...the bread holds up so well and the flavor and texture is SO good and dense. The floral decorating uses a brush embroidery technique. The cake took 5.5 hours to frost and decorate.

For more cake ideas CLICK HERE.

Magic Pixie Dust

Last year, I gave my nieces a Fairy Portal. So Tinkerbell has been a frequent visitor to their house. I decided to ask Tinkerbell if she could collect some pixie dust so that I could give it as a gift for Christmas. The dust arrived in a cute little pouch with a tiny note from Tinkerbell describing how the magic works. 

"Sprinkle a little bit on your food and when you eat it, the magic will start working. Each color will do something different. One will help you to be brave, another smart, another happy, and lastly one to help you be a good listener. But use it wisely—it takes a long, long, long time to collect this much pixie dust because as you know the fairies receive only a cup at a time."

If you'd like to make your own, purchase sugar sprinkles and decorate the container with just about anything. Flowers, fabric, lace etc. Put it in a pouch or box that you decorate (or buy), don't forget the note from Tinkerbell and you've got a fun little, handmade gift.

If you're interested in a one-of-a-kind fairy portal, head on over to Etsy and visit Kim Detmers at Clayworks. She is so very sweet, does excellent work and her portals come well packaged with instructions.

Provençal White Bean Soup

This soup although simple is very flavorful. Adding the herbs turns this soup into a wonderful french style affair. Serve with sour dough bread. Omit the sausage if you want this to be a phase 1 meal (South Beach Diet)

Makes about 4, one cup servings

1. In a large saucepan heat over high heat:
     • 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

2. Add:
     • 1 small onion chopped
     • 1 celery stalk chopped
     • 2 two garlic cloves, peeled and minced
     • 1/2 tsp dried basil (or fresh, minced and doubled at least)
     • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or fresh, minced and doubled at least)
     • 1/4 tsp dried thyme (or fresh, minced and tripled at least)
     • 1/4 tsp salt (omit if adding ground sausage)

3. Reduce heat to medium/low and cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are softened.

4. (Optional)While vegetables are cooking, use frying pan to cook:
     • 1 package of either breakfast ground pork sausage or italian ground pork sausage.

5. When veggies are ready add to the saucepan:
     • 2 cans (15oz) of rinsed and drained cannelloni or great northern beans.
     • 1 1/2 cups lower sodium chicken or beef broth.

6. Transfer about 1/3 of the bean mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour back into the sauce pan.

7. Add sausage to the soup. Stir and allow the mixture to heat until simmering. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, and with a dollop of sour cream.