Rock N Roll is here to stay!
Posted: February 29, 2012 Filed under: Events Leave a comment »Saturday night brought out local Rock & Roll collectors to our 14th annual Rock & Roll auction. for the past three years we’ve enjoyed the event at Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino. Attendees had a chance to own pieces of Rock & Roll history by bidding on items including autographed guitars and album covers from Paul McCartney, The Eagles, Angus Young of AC/DC, Tom Petty, Metellica, B.B. King, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Van Halen and more!
Carter from 95.7 The Fox and Hammer from 104.1 New Rock emceed the event and put on a great show. Each year those two go above and beyond anything we could expect. From the minute the auction ends each year, they are already planning next year’s event!
Thanks to the amazing team from Wilks Broadcasting we raised over $10,000 for our families. We couldnt celebrate a ROCK N ROLL themed event without giving you pictures so of course we included them below. Which one’s your favorite?
What Does Your Heart Beat For?
Posted: February 20, 2012 Filed under: Families, RMHC Magic, Stories That Give Hope Leave a comment »
During February there are many things to celebrate: love, African American heritage, national bird feeding month, chocolate lover’s month, president’s birthdays, Chinese new year, the beginning of Lent and Purim; but did you also know that February is American Heart month?
The Greeks believed the heart was the seat of the spirit, Chinese culture believes that the heart is the center of happiness and for the ancient Egyptians; the heart was where emotions and intellect rose from. Usually here we associate the large muscle that keeps us alive, with love. Everyone can agree, though, that the heart does more than just beat to keep us alive.
Many of our families past, present, and current have children with heart conditions, and most are infants or toddlers. One family staying at our home right now has a 14 month old baby girl who has had open heart surgery 3 times. I had the opportunity to sit down with her mother at the Family Reunion a few weekends ago. Every time she shared her story she reached for her heart. She told me about her daughter’s strength, and how, as a mother, she aches for her speedy recovery. Sometimes her daughter cries out for her, she explained; and at that moment, both their hearts ache. But, faith and prayer is the way this mother pushes through it – as she said this, she began to pat her chest, right over her heart, to a steady beat. It was as if she was telling her heart to keep on, because she will never lose hope. Even as the tears streamed from her eyes she patted her heart like the beat of a marching drum, marching on for her daughter.
The heart that she was patting didn’t just provide blood for the rest of her body; her heart beat with faith – for her daughter’s recovery, with endurance – from a community of previous Ronald McDonald residents, love – that never ceases to grow, and hope – that keeps her going each day. As we speed through February we hope you remember that:
Our hearts beat for so much more than we ever know; what does your heart beat for?
We hope you’ll leave us a comment.
RMHC Intern,
Kathryn
Pancakes Are The Answer
Posted: February 16, 2012 Filed under: Guest Chefs, Recipes, Volunteers Leave a comment »Pancakes are always the first thing we ask our Moms to make when visiting home. The comfort of Saturday morning cartoons, family and food all come flooding back when the smell of pancakes rises in the air. This morning we had the KSEE Sunrise team cooking pancakes for our families. They got the surprise of waking up to that amazing smell! We couldn’t have pancakes without sharing recipes and pictures with you. Hope you try them out!
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon sugar or honey, or to taste
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Silk Pure Almond Original or Vanilla
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
Directions
1.Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together Pure Almond, oil and egg. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir just to moisten – a few lumps are fine. Cook pancakes on a griddle over medium heat.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 221 | Total Fat: 9.1g | Cholesterol: 53mg
RMHC Tip: For a fun way to get the kids involved: set up a toppings buffet, have maple syrup, fruit, honey, whipped cream, powdered sugar, jam, chocolate chips, nuts or your favorite candy bar chopped up. Everyone can participate in making their pancake their very own!
Institute of Technology High Five!
Posted: February 3, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: @RMHCCenValley Leave a comment »
Friday night at the Ronald McDonald House of the Central Valley is the place to be. The Institute of Technology from Clovis CA whipped up an Italian masterpiece, serving comfort food that left us ready to relax and recline. The tech savvy group served up scrumptious pasta with: Marinara, Pesto and Alfredo sauce, complete with garlic bread and an apple crisp for dessert! – how did they know the quickest way to our hearts?
From our family to yours, here’s a quick shout out to the amazing members of our community, we love you guys!! High fives go all around to: team leader Amanda Nash, Michael Ramos, Tim Kearn, Megan Arno, Falina Marihart, Luke Marihart, Elizabeth Matson, Christine Holt, Edia Camara and Jessica Holt. This team contributed to making our house a little warmer and a whole lot more delicious!
Now that we’ve dished about their dishes, want to make your family happy too? Here are some quick and easy recipe ideas to mimic the meal magic created here at the Ronald McDonald House Central Valley.
APPLE CRISP
- 10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
- Place the sliced apples in a 9×13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
- Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes
Alfredo Sauce
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.
Marinara Sauce
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup finely diced onion
- 1/2 cup white wine
Directions
- In a food processor place Italian tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped parsley, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
- In a large skillet over medium heat saute the finely chopped onion in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the blended tomato sauce and white wine.
- Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Let us know what you thought about these recipes! We’d love to see your photos, hear your comments and get to know you! Catch us on Twitter @RMHCCenValley, Facebook, e mail info@ronald-mcdonaldhouse.com, or you can call 559.261.3662
See ya soon!
Meet The Staff, Volume 2
Posted: February 2, 2012 Filed under: Staff Leave a comment »By now, you’ve probably met Janie, our incredibly talented, and rythmically inclined Volunteer Coordinator. If not, we suggest you watch her video (after putting on your dancing shoes). We’ve kept good on our promise and we’re ready to release our next Meet The Staff Video. This month you get the pleasure of learning about David. Our Project Coordinator who also loves hats. You’ll find out why when you watch his video. If you have questions about Dave’s programs you can get in touch with him here: David@ronald-mcdonaldhouse.com
We couldn’t just set you up with a great video and send you on your way. We had to give you a few of Dave’s best snap shots too! Stay tuned for the next volume of Meet the Staff on March 1st.
