Saturday, December 29, 2012

Homemade Smoky Bacon Onion Neufchâtel Cheese

I have received several requests for the recipe for the flavored cheese that we gave people for Christmas. So I decided to post it here.
Just a couple of notes: I did not actually use a recipe to flavor the cheese. I just made it up as I went. I tried to remember and write down the ingredients here. So I hope I got it right. If you don't want to attempt actually making the cheese -- store-bought cream cheese will suffice. Although I must say, it probably will not taste nearly as good.


Neufchâtel Cheese


Ingredients:

2 gallons whole milk
½ cup cultured buttermilk
½ tablet Rennet dissolved in ¼ cup cold water

½ teaspoon calcium chloride dissolved in ¼ cup cold water [if using store-bought milk—helps to restore the calcium balance that is destroyed in  pasteurized milk which helps with curd formation]

 
Directions:

1. Sterilize a large stainless steel pot with lid by boiling a small amount of water for five minutes.

2 . Add 2 gallons of whole milk

3. Add dissolved ½ teaspoon calcium chloride-- stir well

4. Add ½ cup cultured buttermilk-- stir well

5. Warm while stirring to 65°F [we usually omit this step because it will be sitting at room temperature all night anyway]

6. Add dissolved ½ tablet Rennet -- stir well using top to bottom motion.

7. Cover and let sit undisturbed overnight at room temperature (65-70°F)

8. The next morning a soft curd should have formed. If not, let sit for another 12 hours. You should get a clean break. Slice into ½ inch cubes.

9. Line a colander with a flour sack towel. Pour the curds and whey into lined colander.

10. Gather the four corners of the cloth. Tie the corners together on a wooden spoon. Place the wooden spoon between #10 cans to suspend curds and allow whey to drip into a bowl. Let hang overnight.

11. Sprinkle approximately 1 Tablespoon of salt, according to taste,  on cheese. mix the salt in thoroughly. Store covered in refrigerator until use.

12. Cheese can be molded before refrigerating. Or, seasonings can be added to make cheese balls.

 
Tammy’s Smoky Bacon Onion Cheese


Ingredients:

Freshly made cheese from recipe above [store-bought cream cheese can be substituted]
1 teaspoon powdered smoke flavoring
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon dried chives
¼ cup dried onions
One package bacon cooked and crumbled


Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate. Enjoy!

*if making cheese for the first time, I suggest cutting this recipe in half.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Relief Society Lesson -- I Know It. I Live It. I Love It.


I Know It. I Live It. I Love It.

Ann M. Dibb

Second counselor – Young Women General Presidency

October 2012 General Conference

1. I’m a Mormon

Romans 1:16 --For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

2. I Know It.

The importance of gaining knowledge is an eternal principle.

All truth and knowledge is important, but amidst the constant distractions of our daily lives, we must especially pay attention to increasing our gospel knowledge so we can understand how to apply gospel principles to our lives.

3. I Live It.

We live the gospel and become “doers of the word” by exercising faith, being obedient, lovingly serving others, and following our Savior’s example.

4. I Love It.

This feeling comes as we feel the Holy Ghost witnessing to us that we are children of our Heavenly Father, He is mindful of us, and we are on the right path.

One of the most effective but sometimes difficult gospel principles to apply is humility and submission to the will of God.

 

Monday, December 3, 2012

Gun control, Media, Socialism


I haven’t watched the news since November 6. I’m still quite distraught over the election. Everything and everyone I voted for lost. Why? The simple answer is stupidity/ignorance and the moral degradation of society.

I read a news snippet on the Internet today that said that Bob Costas – during a football game yesterday – went on a 90 second rant about gun control. I did not see it. (If I watch TV on Sunday, it’s only BYUTV.) But,  I’m so sick and tired of the liberal media, under the socialist Obama regime, feeding lies to the American people. Why can’t they just broadcast a football game without putting their liberal/socialist spin on things and feeding it to the unsuspecting American public?

Honestly, do you really think it is the gun’s fault that a deranged professional football player committed murder then suicide? From what I’ve read about what Bob Costas said, not much was mentioned about the murder. Only sympathetic things were said about the murderer. Because, heaven knows, if he did not have that gun, he and his girlfriend would still be alive. At least that’s what Bob Costas told everyone. And the sad part is, people actually believe the lies.

Yes, it’s a sad story but put the blame where it lies. Blame the murderer, not the weapon. If somebody wants to murder someone they will find a way to do it. Regardless of the weapon or method they choose.

I have never believed in gun control, nor fully understood the logic behind it. Should we not allow people to purchase knives, or rope, or motor vehicles, or anything that might be used to murder someone? Should we put all of those items on a seven-day waiting period? Should we do background checks on anyone trying to purchase a kitchen knife or an extension cord?  It’s ridiculous.

Just because a gun can be used to kill someone doesn’t mean that it will be. Any more than a knife or rope or car will be used to kill someone just because they can. It is the person that murders, not the weapon.

Government cannot, or I should say should not, regulate every aspect of people’s lives. But it sure seems like that’s what they’re trying to do. Remember the mayor of New York City regulating the size of soda New Yorkers can buy? What happened to agency? Our Heavenly Father’s Plan is that we are able to exercise our agency and then reap the consequences whether good or bad. This is how we learn and grow. Coincidentally, all of us chose this plan before we came to earth.

Socialism is not the Lord’s plan. It is Satan’s plan. This is the promised land. We are supposed to be a free people. But unfortunately, we are steadily becoming a more socialistic country where the government gets bigger and bigger and people become more dependent upon the government. And as a consequence, we become less free.

Gun control is just one example. If you don’t believe me, listen to the words of a prophet.

The following quotes are taken from: Secret Combinations by Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. General Conference, October 1961.

There are those who recommend that the clash between communism and freedom be avoided through disarmament agreements. Abolishing our military strength and adopting an unenforceable contract as a substitute to protect us would go down in history as the greatest mistake free men could make in a time of peril.

President McKay declared:

“Force rules in the world today, consequently, our government must keep armies abroad, build navies and air squadrons, create atom bombs to protect itself from the threatened aggression of a nation which seems to listen to no other appeal than compulsion.” (Ibid., p. 304.)

This parallels the historic statement by George Washington when he vigorously warned:

“There is a rank due the United States among the nations that will be totally lost by the reputation of weakness. If we would avoid insult we must be able to repel it, if we would secure the peace it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.”

It is Obama’s socialistic agenda and therefore the liberal media’s agenda also, including Bob Costas, to disarm this nation. Those of you who have seen Obama’s America 2016 know this. Over the past four years Obama has decreased our nuclear capabilities. I can’t remember the exact numbers but it is a lot. At the same time, Iran is increasing their nuclear capabilities by making nuclear bombs as we speak. This is just one example of Obama’s socialistic/communistic agenda.

Continuing quotes from Pres. Ezra Taft Benson’s talk:

“What is the official position of the Church on communism? In 1936 the First Presidency made an official declaration on communism which has never been abrogated. I quote the concluding paragraph:

“We call upon all Church members completely to eschew communism. The safety of our divinely inspired constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that communism shall have no place in America”

“We must ever keep in mind that collectivized socialism is part of the communist strategy. Communism is fundamentally socialism. We will never win our fight against communism by making concessions to socialism. Communism and socialism, closely related, must be defeated on principle. …”

And my favorite quote from Pres. Benson’s 1961 talk:

“No true Latter-day Saint and no true American can be a socialist or a communist or support programs leading in that direction. These evil philosophies are incompatible with Mormonism, the true gospel of Jesus Christ.”

So, you Obama voters, don’t take my word for it. A prophet of God has stated that if you support socialism or communism or any programs leading in that direction-- i.e. Obama, or gun control, etc.-- then you are not a true American or a true Latter-Day Saint.

That’s my two cents.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

College Football Picks 2012 Week 14 Results

1.       Juliet -2 tiebreaker 52
2.  Tammy -2 tie breaker 63

3.       Rex -3 tie breaker 53
4.       Mom -3 tiebreaker 34
5.       Michael -4 tiebreaker 57
6.       Lisa -4 tiebreaker 27
7.       Dad -5 tiebreaker 37
8.       Chanelle -7 tiebreaker 43

       Actual tiebreaker 48