Santa

At our ward party, I forgot to take my camera and capture a very important event in the lives or our children, sitting on Santa's lap. Fortunately, the ward provided a photographer. Here are the kids with Santa.

I felt really bad for Santa though because we have a huge primary and he had to sit in his warm outfit for about 45 minutes while the kids took their turn letting him know what they wanted for Christmas. Our kids were some of the last, so by the time they got to him, he was ready to be out of there.

Oh, on a side note, we had another Iron Chef competition about a week ago (see post for Oct 22, "Who Would Have Thought"). Our secret ingredient was cranberries. I made a Macadamia Berry dessert. Surprisingly, I got second place again. Now please don't think this is bragging, because I just stole the recipe from my Taste of Home magazine (thanks Grandma Norman). This recipe won grand prize in the magazine's dessert competition, so I cheated. For those who might want to try it here is the recipe. It really is yummy, ask Jason.

Macadamia Berry Dessert

TIME: Prep: 30 min. + freezing
Ingredients:
1 cup crushed vanilla wafers (about 32 wafers)
1/2 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 package (10 ounces) frozen sweetened raspberries, thawed,

or substiture one can whole-berry cranberries
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions: Combine the wafer crumbs, nuts and butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. In a mixing bowl, beat the milk, orange juice and lemon juice on low speed until well blended. Add raspberries or cranberries; beat on low until blended. Fold in whipped topping. Pour over crust. Cover and freeze for 3 hours or until firm. May be frozen for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with raspberries and whipped topping if desired. Yield: 12 servings.

Jason was worried because who ever wins first place, has to host the next competition. He purposely didn't rank my dish at all because he didn't want us to win. But he told me he would have given it first place if not for that reason. Isn't he sweet. Anyway, hope you enjoy!