Church Easter Meal

On By Amy YeeIn CookingLeave a comment

I really should be keeping track of head count but for now I’ll just jot down what I did for Easter meal at church so I’ll have a record for next year. Note that this is for a Chinese church so it was really not the usual amount of ham per person. We were a bit short on ham but I think everyone had some. And we did run out of corn and yam towards the end so it wouldn’t hurt to increase the amounts. I thought we’d have too much bread and salad but they were pretty much gone too.

Menu: ham, candied yam, corn, salad, garlic bread, of course a Chinese church has got to have rice but we just make a pot using the “small” rice cooker.


Ham:
  • 2 Spiral sliced hams from Costco (Picked the largest ones they had which were about 10 lbs each)
  • 1/2 c Brown sugar
  • 2 cans pineapple chunks
  • 2 oven bags
Put a ham in oven bag and sprinkle ham with contents for the glaze and about a handful of brown sugar then add a can of pineapple chunks, juice and all. Tie the bag and put in a pan and cook at 325 degrees for about 3 hours.

Candied Yam (should make 3 cans next year):
  • 2 #10 cans of yam, mostly drained (got these from Shamrock)
  • 1 c brown sugar
  • 2 bags of marshmallow
  • 1 hotel pan liner
Line roaster oven. Put drained yam in the pan. Sprinkle on brown sugar. Cook at 200 degrees for 3 hours. I took the liner with the yam in it out of the roaster oven pan and set it in a hotel pan. chop up/mash the yam a bit. Sprinkle the marshmallows on top of the yam and bake in 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until the tops of the marshmallows are golden brown.

Corn (should make 3 cans next year):
  • 2 #10 cans of corn drained (got these from Shamrock)
  • 1 hotel pan liner
Line roaster oven (just make clean up easier). Dump drained corn into the pan. Cook at 200 degrees for 3 hours.

Garlic Bread (5 pre-sliced loaves from Walmart)
  • 5 loaves of pre-sliced loaves from Walmart
  • 2 sticks of butter melted
  • 1/2 t garlic powder
  • 1/2 t salt
Add garlic powder and salt to melted butter. Brush onto bread slices.

Salad (Based on Copycat Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad) May not need as much next year with additional yam and corn Wash, dry, and mix together:
  • 1-1/2 bags of romaine lettuce from Costco, cut into bite size
  • 1 head of Nappa Cabbage chopped
  • 1 small red cabbage chopped
  • 2 cups of shredded carrots
For dressing, whisk together:
  • 2 C Mayonnaise
  • 1-1/2 C honey
  • 3/4 c rice wine vinegar
  • 2-1/2 T dijon mustard
  • 1 t sesame oil
Mix dressing into the salad just before serving along with
  • 1 bag of La Choy chow mein noodles (brand is not important, just don’t mistake it with other types of chow mein noodles)

Order of operation:

  • Make all the purchases by Saturday
    • Shamrock (whenever) 2 cans of Yam, 2 cans of Corn, hotel pan liners (if needed)
    • Costco: 2 hams, 2 bags of romaine lettuce
    • Walmart (Saturday): 5 loaves pre-sliced bread, 1 nappa cabbage, small red cabbage, 1 bag shredded carrots, 1 bag chow mein noodles, 2 bags of marshmallows, 2 cans of pineapples chunks, 1 box oven bags (probably around aluminum foil)
    • If needed Mayonnaise, honey, rice wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sesame oil, butter (2 sticks), garlic powder, salt, brown sugar
  • Make salad Saturday (just to be sure I have time)
  • Make salad dressing Saturday (just to be sure I have time)
  • Arrive at church at 8:30
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees
  • Prep the ham and put it in the oven
  • Get yam and corn started
  • Start rice after worship
  • After people more or less clear out of the kitchen/fellowship area when Sunday School starts then make the garlic bread.
  • Salad can be chopped at this time too, but I wanted to avoid potential conflicts in kitchen space use.
  • 11:30, take out ham and let them rest and turn oven up to 400 degrees
  • Take out the yam and sprinkle on marshmallows
  • Bake marshmallows until the tops are golden brown
  • Cut hams
  • Finish salad

See that wasn’t so bad for cooking for a crowd.

Popscicle stick sign

On By Amy YeeIn CraftsLeave a comment

Here’s a cute idea for a standing or hanging sign. I think it can work for kids activity either pre assembled without the stand or something they can do as a stand alone project.

Materials used:

  • 14 popsicle sticks
  • Glue

If making wire hanger:

  • 7″ piece of 20 guage wire, had some floralwires sitting around so just used it as a test
  • 1/8″ metal hole punch or anything else to make holes (drilling works better, but my drill is currently elsewhere)
  • Round nose pliers

If making a stand

  • Clothespin

Okay, and I’ve got the top of a box of chocolate as my template to make my life easier. It was the perfect size to line up both sides so they are even.

Line up 11 popsicle sticks (12 if not using wire, so the back pieces will not show). BTW, if you are planning on making a number of these, go ahead and draw a line where the row of popsicle sticks end on your template, so you don’t need to count them.

If using wire, punch holes on the tips of two popsicle sticks.

Glue the two popscicle sticks along the sides. Making sure that the holes are accessible.

Make sre that everythings glued. Use a heavy object to press down if necessary. Let dry.

I used the round nose pliers to help me attach the wire, but you can just twist it on, or at some point I’ll try using jump rings and chains…

This is the point to make your designs. I’m planning on using decoupage medium to affix an image printed in mirror image (with the back of the paper facing up). Let dry and then gently wash/rub the paper off leaving behind the image. But just let your creative juices run.

Make a clothespin stand by pulling it apart and let one side rest on the other.

I glued it so it won’t accidentally close on me.

Glue the clothespin on and enjoy.

You can adjust the tilt of your sign by how far up you place th he clothespin.

NOTE: Popscicle sticks are cheap so at times they are warped, cracked, chipped, discolored, etc. Take a minute to sort through them and use only the nice ones.

Harbor Freight Tools

On By Amy YeeIn General MusingsLeave a comment

There are a few places where I should not go. Harbor Freight Tools is one of them. It’s like letting a kid loose in a candy store.

Being sort of an Jack of all trades and dabbling in many projects, sometimes it’s hard for me to justfy buying a top of the line tool. So I can have a bit more control at Home Depot and Lowe’s, but oh the collection of tools at such affordable prices, of course the problem now is where will I store everything.

I was good today. Only bought a miter saw and blade and a weed whacker, though was very temped with the sliding version, stood in front of it and drilled with coupon in hand, but reality set in, where will I keep it and will I pull it out to do just one or two quick cuts or just resort to circular saw or jug saw like I’ve been doing.

I suppose that’s something I’d like my kids to learn. Don’t just go with what you want at the moment. Think through things. There is a cost to everything. We need to balance everything in life.

Lentil stew

On By Amy YeeIn main dishLeave a comment
  • 3/4 c lentils
  • 1/2 c brown rice
  • 4 stalks celery chopped
  • 4 carrots chopped
  • 1 sweet potato cubed
  • 1 box broth
  • Salt pepper to taste
  • 1 c grated cheddar cheese

Put everything but cheese in crockpot.

Cook on high for 4 hours.

Add cheese and serve.

Bagel

On By Amy YeeIn breadLeave a comment
  • 4 c bread flour
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1-1/2 t salt
  • 1 T vegetable oil
  • 2 t instant yeast
  • 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 c warm water

Knead everything together until smooth.

Divide into 8 parts snuff list rest for 10 to 20 minutes.

Form bagels and let rest for 20 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Preheat the oven to 425°F

Put the bagels in the water and boil for 1 minute each side.

Drain.

Bake on lightly greased pan for 10 minutes each side.

Mini popsicle stick bucket

On By Amy YeeIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

We’re doing the lesson for woman at the well. This will work for Mary and Martha as well.

Materials:

  • 14 mini popscicle sticks or you can cut regular sized popsicle sticks to the desired height of the bucket.
  • 1 piece of paper (1-1/2″x6-1/2″) exact measurement isn’t important. I use cardstock for better support.
  • 3oz dixie cup
  • Glue
  • A strip of duck tape 6-1/2″ ish. Long enough to go around the bucket
  • Optional: A strip of parchment paper about the size of the duck tape to help with cutting
  • Optional: markers and other things to decorate bucket

Glue popcicle sticks to the paper strip starting flush with one edge of the paper and the paper centered. Make sure they are next to each other and the bottoms line up.

If you want to draw on the bucket, now is the time. It’s a lot easier to draw on a flat surface.

Here’s one that I drew on. Its It’s a true masterpiece right?

Glue the overhanging part of the paper to make a tube.

Cut off the top half of the dixie cup. Slide the cup half way down from the top of the bucket. From the bottom of the bucket put a line of glue along the middle insideof the bucket. Push the cup down and and affix in place. Ignore the glue along the cup in the picture, that attempt didn’t hold.

Affix the duck tape to the parchment paper–great trick for easy cutting of duck tape but really optional. Cut two long thin strips to wrap around the bucket, another strip for the handle (mine was about 5″x3/4″) and two small pieces to tape the handle to the bucket.

Ignore my bad cutting job. I’ve come to rely too heavily on my guillotine paper cutters. They do work with duck tape on parchment paper with no sticky mess. But for thin strips you might need a bit of speed to make it work well.

Remove the parchment paper backings. Tape the thin strips around the bucket.

Fold/roll up the strip for the handle.

Finaly tape the handle to the bucket. I found it easier to put the tape on the handle first. Of course glue dots or hot glue gun would also work, but I already have the duck tape sitting around.

Can decorate more with stickers or whatever else…

BTW, do you l like my original phone stand for taking pictures? French’s Potato Sticks.