Every summer around the Fourth of July, my mom's side of the family hosts a family reunion that spans the whole weekend plus a few days. It is held at my Uncle Steve's cabin/ranch in the adorable town of Wallsburg, Utah. Our family has come to love this place and the whole town all the way from it's one city store (affectionately nicknamed "Jose's") to the friendly folks who give us the "Wallsburg wave" hello when we pass by whether they know us or not. And then there is Steve's property... My family's little piece of paradise. Thank you Jan and Steve for your generosity in sharing!
This year the Hansen Family was in charge and they chose the theme "Wray's the Bar"-- A fun play on words off of Elder L. Tom Perry's
"Raising the Bar" talk given a few years back regarding Missionary work in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Hansen Family did a fantastic job incorporating missionary work into our family's activities, discussions, thoughts and actions. Each family was able to share missionary experiences with each other and learn from the experiences and impressions of each other.
One special thing we did was called "companionship study." For those who are not LDS or do not know, Mormon missionaries serve all around the world in companionships Not only are there strength in numbers, but it is powerful for two young men to witness of the truth of the gospel that they know to be true and to invite the Spirit into their teaching and actions as they work together. In these companionships, the pair studies the scriptures and gospel principles individually and together. The time spent studying together brings unity and allows for further understanding as each shares their ideas and impressions. In order to bring this into our reunion experience, at the opening ceremonies each person was assigned a companion whom they would study the given gospel material for at least fifteen minutes together. To our happiness, Joe and I were assigned to each other! Wahoo!!! :) We loved studying the general conference talks, scripture excerpts, and guiding questions that were provided to us by my Uncle Richard. He had put a lot of thought into which things we would study and the result was a great learning and uplifting experience for everyone.
A neat Spirit was also brought to the reunion as each family came prepared with an "I Am A Mormon" video similar to those found on
mormon.org/people. Each video had such personality and showed off the quirk, humor, and faith of each family. It was neat to realize that I come from a family who are all faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints.
One of our other favorite activities included an Iron Chef America competition where we were split into two teams had one hour to create a three-course meal using the secret ingredient of cream cheese. In order to make it fair, each team was given a basket of food in which a minimum of ten ingredients had to be used and no more than ten ingredients from outside that basket could be taken from the cabin kitchens. Everyone had to put on their thinking caps and get creative with this one, but it turned out to be SO much fun!!!!! Everyone from the youngest to the oldest had a blast making food that not only tasted delicious, but was presentable, creative, and overall "winning" foods. I was on the "Wray Warriors" team (aka Team Stacie) and here was our menu:
Appetizer: Vegetable Bacon Ranch Mini Pizzas
We created a thick cream cheese and ranch sauce that was swirled on top of a baked biscuit dough and then piled it high with a vegetable mixture of freshly diced red peppers, carrots, celery, olives, and tomatoes. Then to finish it off, we topped it with fresh bacon crumbles and slid a little sauce on the side with more bacon and sliced carrots.
Main Dish: Stuffed Broccoli Cheese Chicken with Parmesan Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Almond Seasoned Steamed Vegetables
To begin with, we created a cheese and broccoli sauce and used it to fill the center of flattened chicken breasts. The chicken was then rolled up, tossed in Italian seasonings and breadcrumbs, and baked to deliciousness. Then, due to our lack of real potatoes, we used potato pearls to create our base for the mashed potatoes. But obviously nobody likes the taste of those on their own, so we spiced it up until they no longer tasted like cannery potatoes. Using parmesan cheese, a shredded cheese mix, minced garlic, and a variety of spices, these potatoes were transformed into mounds of white perfection which, once plated, held the chicken and sauce drizzled on top. (Honestly, I was shocked that they were cannery potatoes when I tasted them.) And then mostly for color and presentation, red peppers, broccoli, carrots, and other vegetables were cooked and tossed with almonds.
Dessert:
This variation of my family's favorite cheesecake bars was made in muffin tins and placed upside-down on the plate. It had a gooey cheesecake center, but held together well. We topped it with a combination of strawberries and raspberries and drizzled it with a homemade brown sugar and chocolate ganache.
We all had so much fun working together to create it, but I think we can all agree that the best part was sampling each others food and the surprises in flavors that people came up with. It was so much fun!
