Old Ned Centerpieces

Nina Fillipi described the beautiful centerpieces,

"Oh My Gosh..look at what we have here.......An impressive Christmas Centerpiece with a replica of Old Ned, The Historical League's endearing logo. During the summer, Chairs of the CHP searched the Internet and had him shipped here to Arizona. Old Ned will take his place of "honor" in tribute to our 30th Annual Children's Holiday Party on Saturday, December 15, 2012.
           I am delighted to say, I will be one of the fortunate members to bring that old guy home with me. (Really??...another old guy in the house, hmm.....!)"

Co-chair of The Children's Holiday Party, Nina told us the centerpieces will be available for purchase during the event.

More information and tickets at www.HistoricalLeague.org

Hershey Kiss Mice

Easy and fun for families to make together.

1.Open up Oreo cookie

2.Chocolate dipped cherry with stem for the body

3.Hershey's kiss for the head

4.Decorated frosting for  eyes and wreath.

5. Slivered almonds for ears.

Thanks to RecipesFilledWithLove

Spiced Butternut Squash Kabobs

Spiced Butternut Squash on a Stick

Sure, butternut is a winter squash, but that doesn't mean you can't slap it on the grill when it's warm out.

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 cups 1-inch butternut squash cubes (about 20 oz. or half a large squash)
1 large onion
2 1/2 cups firm cherry tomatoes (about a 1-pint container's worth or 25 tomatoes)

Directions:
If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 20 minutes to prevent burning. (You'll need 10 skewers.)

Combine seasonings in a small bowl or sealable bag and mix well. Set aside.

Place squash in a large microwave-safe bowl with 2 tbsp. water. Cover and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, or until squash is slightly tender. Once cool enough to handle, uncover, drain any excess water, and set aside.

Cut onion into pieces roughly the size of the squash cubes. Evenly distribute veggies among the 10 skewers in this order: squash, onion, squash, tomato. (Don't worry if it isn't perfect!)

Lightly spray the loaded skewers with nonstick spray, and evenly sprinkle with half of the seasonings. Flip skewers and repeat on other side.

Bring a grill (or grill pan) sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add skewers, cover, and cook until squash is tender and veggies are slightly blackened, 8 - 10 minutes per side. If using a grill pan, work in batches, removing pan from heat between batches to re-spray. (And don't worry if the lid used for covering isn't a perfect fit!) Serve and enjoy!

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

PER SERVING (1/5th of recipe, 2 skewers): 78 calories, <0.5g fat, 125mg sodium, 19g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 5.5g sugars, 2g protein

Teacher thrilled with Centennial book

We met Pamela Gavina at the AzLA conference at South Mt Public Library. She told us about the excitement in her 6th grade class at Magnet Traditional School over receiving Arizona Recollections and Reflections book. It was supposed to go to the school library but she had it in her classroom for a few days. It became a focus of many students enjoying the photos and stories of Arizona Historymakers. When she told them it needs to go to the library, they asked, "How can we read it every day if it is not in the classroom?"

Our sponsors for this program have been very generous and we would like to be able to donate a copy of this book to every classroom. But our campaign is to donate it to every School and Public library in the state. We are making progress but still many more libraries to go . . .

Children's Holiday Party Dec 15

Many volunteers work towards this hugely successful event and we are celebrating 30th Annual Children's Holiday Party, Saturday, December 15 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

Festive workers plan every detail to make this a fun-filled day for children and adults.

Come join us from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, December 15 sponsored by the Historical League.

Judy Blackwell and Nina Fillipi work on the details.

Chairs Nancy Evans, Bonnie Newhoff, Mary Parker and Nina Fillipi make this a fun-filled day.

Tickets and information www.HistoricalLeague.org/chp.htm

Meeting Joan Clark, Arizona's new Official Librarian

Handing out our complimentary Centennial books to librarians during the AzLA convention was uplifting. The librarians are so appreciative; with so many budget cuts their resources are dwindling. We are so grateful for all the sponsors that are making this campaign possible.

Zona Lorig and I were happy to meet Arizona's new Official Librarian, Joan Clark, and give her a copy of the book, Arizona Recollections and Reflections An Arizona Historymakers Centennial Commemoration.

Eggplant Parmegian

Helpful hints from an Italian Chef, Maureen Biles.

The trick to Eggplant Parmesan is to drain the eggplant slices of excess moisture first, before cooking.

Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients Eggplant:
2 eggplants
3-4 eggs whisked
Progresso italian bread crumbs
Romano Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Olive Oil

Directions Eggplant:
Peel and slice eggplants thin 1/4 inch thick or less
Dip each slice in eggs and then cover w/ bread crumbs.
Some people fry these slices in olive oil till they are golden brown. I coat a baking sheet with olive oil and bake my slices. When they are golden brown on one side , I flip them and let the other side brown.

Ingredients Tomato Sauce:
Hunts or Contadina tomato sauce. 4 cans and about 3/4 can of water.
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Seasoning
Fresh Basil
Cooked Sausage or Lean Ground Beef

Directions Tomato Sauce:
Saute onions and garlic in sauce pan w/ olive oil. When this cooks add can tomato sauce, italian seasoning, garlic seasoning, and fresh basil. I like to cook sausage or lean ground beef and add it to my sauce for flavor.

After the slices are all cooked, I layer (like lasagne) eggplant, tomato sauce, grated Romano cheese and, if you like cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese can also be put on each layer.

Let this simmer all day or at least 4-6 hours.  Enjoy!