June 2011-Pasta Chicken Salad

We met this month at Maurene's. After a fun show and tell of our pizza box exchange blocks, we managed to swap boxes for one last time(or maybe second to the last) which proved to be a bit arduous, but quite lively. We actually made the swap work, everyone taking home a box that they hadn't done before. It's a small feat to make that happen.

To start off our show and tell, Lori showed us the cancer auction quilt top. She pieced it together for us and it looks beautiful. We can't wait to see it quilted.

After show and tell, Maurene had each of us bring a 10 inch and a 5 inch block of flannel. We sewed the smaller blocks onto the center of the large blocks leaving the small block with raw edges, then each block was cut across the middle vertically and also horizontally. Now the smaller cut blocks will be pieced back together with 3 other blocks of different colors to form a new colorful square. This will be a humanitarian charity quilt given away.

Maurene made a wonderful summer lunch of a pasta chicken salad, carrots, fresh watermelon, cherries picked straight from her tree and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Thank you Maurene!

Here's her recipe for the pasta salad:

3 CHICKEN BREASTS ,GRILLED

BOW TIE PASTA OR PENNE PASTA , I USED BOTH

1/4 LB. SUGAR SNAP PEA PODS [CUT IN STRIPS]

1 BUNCH GREEN ONIONS [CUT]

1 CAN MANDARIN ORANGES

1/2 CUP MAYO

1/2 CUP HONEY

1 TSP. MINCED GARLIC

1/2 TSP CELERY SEED

SALT AND PEPPER

BEST MADE THE DAY BEFORE SERVING. ADD MANDARIN JUST BEFORE SERVING. TOP WITH CHOW MAIN NOODLES OR CHOPPED ALMONDS.

Here's our show and tell:

Our cancer auction quilt top.

Lori's wedding quilt.

Rachel's quilt.

Rachel's charm pack quilt.

Jeanie's purse.

Susan's mosaics for her business by the same name. She has a booth in the upcoming art festival in Ketchum, Idaho in July.

Maurene's quilt.

Maurene's quilt.

Corrie's quilt.

Mary's baby blankets.

Cute edging on Mary's blankets.

Mary's quilt.

Mary's photo quilt.

Close up. She's going to hang it in her quilt room.

Mary was art mom for her son's class this year. This was the end-of-the-year gift the kids made for her.

Nancy's eco-friendly greenhouse quilt.

Robyn's quilt.

Robyn's quilt.

Nancy's scarves made from voile, a very soft light 100% cotton fabric.

Carolanna's baby quilt. Each center animal is appliqued.

Carolanna's quilt.

Diane's fabric cards. Her daughter made these and now we all want to make them.

Close up-sorry it got blurry because they are very cute in person.

Maurene's family antique quilt that she's repairing. Each of the severely damaged squares will be replaced with family photos. This quilt was made in the 1870's.

Lunch

Freshly picked cherries from Maurene's tree.

May 2011-Cilantro Ranch Dressing,Sweet Shredded Pork,Peach Salsa

We met at Carolanna's today and had a large group. Linda's daughter and Carolanna's sister also joined in with us. Our pizza boxes are getting full now. In fact, it's getting harder for everyone to find a box we haven't done yet. It seems like the blocks get cuter and cuter each month.We had a report from the past International Quilt Market that took place in Salt Lake City. Corrie of quilttaffy attended as well as Kathi who helped her sister's company, Apron Lady designs.

After show and tell, Carolanna demonstrated how to make fabric pinwheels out of charm squares. She had some really cute examples of different fabric choices. They're fast to make too, only took about 10 minutes.

After the meeting we had a great Mexican lunch prepared by Carolanna. Thank you so much Carolanna. Everything was wonderful! Here's a copy of her recipes:

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

• 1 package of Hidden Valley ® buttermilk ranch dressing. (prepare according to directions)
• 2 tomatillos (they look like green tomatoes, but they are NOT! You may substitute 3 Tbsp of prepared salsa verde)
• cilantro (1/4 bunch)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1/8 tsp Tabasco

Peel tomatillos and cut into fourths. Clean and rinse cilantro and remove large stems. Pour prepared ranch dressing in a blender, and add cilantro leaves, tomatillos, garlic, lime juice and Tobasco. Blend until cilantro is finely chopped. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until dressing has thickened

(I did not use any tomatillos in mine)

Sweet Shredded Pork

• 4 lb pork roast
• 1 Cup of salsa
• 1 Cup brown sugar
• 1 Cup Root Beer
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pork roast, brown sugar, salsa, rootbeer in crock pot for several hours until it starts shredding when you poke at it. Make sure you check it often and stir it
so it doesn't burn on the sides.


Peach Salsa (Canning recipe)

6 cups chopped tomatoes
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped green pepper
10 cups chopped peaches ripe or unripened (I used ripe)
1 TBS canning salt
3 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 1/4 cups cider vinegar
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I used a few chopped jalapenos)
2 tsp minced garlic

Add all in pot, stir often, bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5 min. Fill jars and process for 15 min.

And here's our show and tell:

Lori 's quilt.

Back of Lori's quilt.

Couldn't resist taking a shot of Carolanna's sister's sandals. :)

Nancy's quilt. Her husband did the quilting and did a phenomenal job.

Lenette made this little dress from a t-shirt. It's a Vanilla House pattern.

Lenette's quilt from Moda Bakeshop, Cabin in the Hills pattern.

Lenette's pincushion.

Cindy's quilt for her graduating senior.

These are dresses Jeri made from a Vanilla House pattern. Lucky little granddaughters who get to wear these this summer.

Back of the dress.

These are some online swap blocks Rachel made.

Rachel's quilt.

Maurene's quilt.

Carolanna's quilt.

Carolanna's quilt.

Another Carolanna quilt.

Handwork by Diane.

A handbag made by Diane's daughter.

Mary's hot pad.

Nancy F.'s birthday table topper quilt.

Monica's quilt.

Diane's pincushion project from last month.

Diane's luggage tags.