January is a great month. Right after the holiday's and all the bustle and hustle, it's great to take time off and relax and get back into normal. This year in Arizona we have had mild weather so it has been great to enjoy the outside. I did do a fire pit but it was not really needed. It is sometimes a challenge to come up with creative things to cook that are easy and fit into the budget. I love the challenge and look forward each month to what I can create with what I have on hand. Each month brings a wonderful fun evening filled with great food that makes us all happy and full. This month as I was looking in the pantry and the freezer I found beans and tons of tortillas. Beans in the pantry and small tortillas in freezer. I happened to stop by Smart and Finale and they had cheese sauce on sale. So nachos it was. And what a great time we had. Enjoy the pictures below as I tell the story of another great Third Sunday Dinner.
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| Roaster full of refried black beans. They ate the entire roaster full. Black beans don't cost a lot and go along way. |
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| Chips central. I fried chips for two hours straight. The nice part was I could do other things while each batch cooked. |
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| There were five pans full of chips. |
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| Getting ready for the salsa. |
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| If you have the right equipment the job is a lot easier. This is my favorite Paula Dean chicken fryer pan. It's deep and perfect for frying chips or anything as far as that goes. |
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| The boys making salsa. My dear friend Nathan Botts come over and gave them a lesson on chopping and making salsa. The only instructions were to make one hot sauce and one salsa. A neighbor sent over a large bag of fresh tomatoes out of her garden. Yes we get fresh tomatoes in January in Arizona. |
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| The salsa group. Wow I love them. |
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| The salsa group also created a salad with hominy, quinoa, and black beans. Was great. |
This was so much fun. At Jewel's Bakery and Cafe where I work they bake cakes. When decorating a cake they often cut the top off to make it even. They save them for me and I take them home and place them in the freezer. All different kinds, from chocolate, red velvet, to vanilla, each one is great.
By Third Sunday Dinner I have a freezer full. I take them out early in the morning to defrost and collect other ingredients.
So the children made Trifles. Three to be exact. It was great. They had a great time and they turned out great.
On this one she is placing chocolate cake and fruit cocktail.
Next she spread out vanilla pudding. Some had lemon pudding, etc.
What a production it was, they had so much fun creating. When I told them what I wanted and told them it was up to them they had a surprised look on their faces. I have great confidence in them and let them go.
Amazing. Three wonderful desserts that were devoured and enjoyed by all. They were pretty creative.
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| The back yard ready to go. |
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| The food looks great. Salad, salsa, and canned pickled jalepenos. |
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| The chips and the cheese sauce. Three gallons to start and added more later. |
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| Refried beans. Yum yum |
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| The dessert table. |
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| Fusion Grain Fans. I was so glad they came. Darling new friends forever. |
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| Getting ready to dig in. |
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| I love happy faces. |
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| My dear dear friend Kent Flake. I meet Kent one year ago and his friend ship has blessed my life in so many ways. |
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| New friends. |
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Friends making friends.
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I love Third Sunday Dinner's, I was talking to the youth recently about what they do. The youth from church come faithfully each month early and leave late. I was telling them that there is no way we can measure the good that comes from the amazing things they do. Often times that is how life is, we never see the result of what we do, but this I do know, it is the small, often times simple things that we do that produce the largest, longest lasting results. I have no idea what really happens, but I feel peace and happiness in abundance at least once a month.
Have a great Month. Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy
