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Jul 26, 2007

Best Fall Festival Ever

I have a new responsibility at church... to plan the activities. We will be having a "Fall Festival." I need your help... what was the best fall festival you've attended, and why? You can also share fall party duds, so I know what activities to avoid.
Thanks!
-Nicolle

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should check with Kindy - she has the same calling that you do and I know that their ward does a big Halloween thing - so does Kim and Scott's - Chili Cook off, etc

Kari

jax from the harmon squad said...

Our ward once had a fall festival kind of thing and it was great- if you were a kid. All the games and stuff were for the primary only, so they had fun and the adults had fun talking, but as a youth I was kind of bored. So if it is possible, try to have games for all ages- if that helps at all.

andrea said...

I wish I could remember my best fall festival ever. I'm terrible at that. One of the things I thought of that would be fun for older primary/early youth is one of those scavenger hunts where they have to find someone with blue eyes, someone wearing overalls, etc. What about some sort of Amazing Race type game like you guys planned for your reunion? Or a Fear Factor themed game? Good luck. You're going to be great at this calling!

Leah and Mike said...

Something that goes over really well with the youth was a ring toss, I got IBC rootbeers, or you could use 2 liters of pop, use diving rings, and when they ring a soda, they get to keep it. I was amazed at how popular is was our last fall festival for the youth. I also have a great "Faith Factor" game Bonnie did for a combined activity, she said she found it online, I'll ask her where, when she backs into town. Talk to you later

Shannon said...

This has nothing to do with the fall thing, so sorry. No ideas from me. I'm just giving you that recipe you wanted for Chili's eggrolls:

1 chicken breast fillet
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced green onion
1/3 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 tablespoons diced, canned jalapeno peppers
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash cayenne pepper
3/4 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
5 (7-inch) flour tortillas

Avocado-Ranch Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup smashed, fresh avocado (about half of an avocado)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Dash dried dill weed
Dash garlic powder
Dash pepper

Garnish
2 tablespoons chopped tomato
1 tablespoon chopped onion

Preheat barbecue grill to high heat.

Rub the chicken breast with some vegetable oil then grill it on the barbecue for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until done. Lightly salt and pepper each side of the chicken while it cooks (I have also cooked the chicken in the oven and in a frying pan and it's fine that way too. Just don't boil it. That's gross.) Set chicken aside until it cools down enough to handle.

Preheat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the red pepper and onion to the pan and saute for a couple minutes until tender.

Dice the cooked chicken into small cubes and add it to the pan. Add the corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper to the pan. Cook for another 4 minutes. Stir well so that the spinach separates and is incorporated into the mixture (If you don't have all the ingredients the ones you really need are obviously the chicken, cumin, black beans and spinach. Everything else makes it taste better, but without these it doesn't taste right at all).

Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted (I usually double the cheese, but that's because I really, really like cheese).

Wrap the tortillas in a moist cloth and microwave on high temperature for 1 1/2 minutes or until hot (I skipped this step once because I was short on time and all the tortillas cracked - obviously. Lesson learned. Make sure they are really soft and warm so you can roll them well).

Spoon approximately one-fifth of the mixture into the center of a tortilla. Fold in the ends and then roll the tortilla over the mixture. Roll the tortilla very tight, then pierce with a wooden pick to hold together. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have five eggrolls. Arrange the eggrolls on a plate, cover the plate with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best (this is another step I skipped because I was short on time. You can skip this and they still come out fine, it's just harder for the filling to stay in so you need to make sure it's super secured with the toothpick. If you have the time it's definitely easier to freeze them first).

While the eggrolls freeze, prepare the Avocado-Ranch Dipping Sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl.

Preheat 4-6 cups of oil to 375 degrees F.

Deep fry the eggrolls in the hot oil for 12-15 minutes and remove to paper towels or a rack to drain for about 2 minutes.

Slice each eggroll diagonally lengthwise and arrange on a plate around a small bowl of the dipping sauce. Garnish the dipping sauce with the chopped tomato and onion.

I make these all the time and they always come out delicious. If you like free recipes as much as I do, you should check out razzledazzlerecipes.com/eatingout
It's my all time favorite website for recipes. The "eating out" section is all recipes from different restaurants. You can search for the restaurant alphabetically and then see if they have the recipe you want. I've gotten some really good cheesecake recipes from the "Cheesecake Factory" section. The whole site is full of really excellent copycat recipes. If you try one you really like feel free to pass it along. Hope you enjoy!

Shannon "I love to post wordy comments" Banks