The Crockpot Challenge:  One would assume that “The Crockpot Challenge” would have other people involved.  In my case, ‘The Crockpot Challenge” is nothing more than the “challenge” of having the final creation look like the picture in a recipe.  Is it just me, or do other people have issues with their final creations looking nothing like a recipe’s picture.
 
Last weekend, I decided I would do a crockpot blitz for my parents.  My mom and dad love soups, so I decided to cook a turkey soup and then a creamy chicken soup.  The other creation seemed simple, turkey tenderloins in a cranberry sauce and orange juice mixture with an onion soup mix.  Having studied the recipes AND the pictures, all three seemed doable and something I couldn’t mess up at all.  But then again, as someone reminded me last week, if things DIDN’T go wrong for me, it wouldn’t be normal.
 
This cooking blitz allowed me to try out a Christmas gift I got this year.  It was a Mueller Onion Chopper Pro.  That little gadget is phenomenal.  It will come in handy with my last-minute cooking blitzes and will save me from many a bloody cut.  Is it just me, or do other people get cuts all the time when they prep or cook a meal?
 
Another issue with my cooking, besides my final creations looking nothing like a recipe’s picture, is that many of my food creations turn out bland.  My family will often say my bland creations are my own fault because I like to go with the low-salt and no-fat ingredients.  This time, however, I followed all three recipes down to the finest detail.
 
The turkey tenderloin creation seemed like the easiest.  The picture alone made me hungry.  I dutifully added the simple ingredients and let it cook the required six hours.  At about the four-hour mark, I returned to the house to check on things.  Much to my dismay, my turkey tenderloins looked like they were swimming in an ocean of a thickened, murky mess.  There was WAY more juice in the crockpot than was in the picture.  Then, on top of it, I couldn’t find any of the whole cranberries in the sauce; they completely disappeared.  In the end, the turkey tasted like ordinary over-cooked turkey with a drop of orange juice.  It was disappointing.  This creation didn’t bring anything to the win column.  It was time to move on to the soups.
 
My Mueller Onion Chopper Pro took the labor out of dicing all the carrots, celery, and onions.  To be honest, as I was getting all those ingredients chopped up with my latest toy, I forgot about the failed turkey dish.  The perfectly diced carrots, celery, and onions made me feel like a pro (as I was typing this, I couldn’t help but think of being like the British sitcom character Mr. Bean).  I got both soups assembled and “nestled” in their respective crockpots.  Both looked great, and I figured I would return in about 4 hours to check on my creations.  After all, what could go wrong with soup … unless, of course, you’re Mr. Bean or Clark Griswold.
 
When I returned to the house some four hours later, the pleasant smell of simmering soups filled the air. I couldn’t wait to see … and taste … how things were progressing.  The creamy chicken soup looked normal.  When I glanced over at the crockpot with the turkey soup, I was horrified.  The turkey soup turned into a turkey bake … there was very little liquid to be found; all the rice soaked it up.  UGH!  So, I dumped in another carton of chicken broth and gave it a stir.  A few minutes later, my sister Jackie showed up at the door.  I asked Jackie to stop by and check on my progress because I was concerned my creations were bland.  She tried a spoonful of the turkey soup … and then went silent.  The silence felt like an eternity.  She finally spoke up while nodding her head, “YUP … it’s pretty bland.  But since YOU made it, mom will like it and not say a single thing!”  I just smiled and thought to myself, “Ah, the joys of being the oldest … and the priest.”  At least there would be SOME victory in the midst of my current crockpot challenge.  At this point, I’d take whatever win I could … even if I had to pull the oldest child card.
 
Festival of Liturgical Ministries this Tuesday:  The February 18th Festival of Ministries is just a few short days away.  The evening is intended for all those currently involved in any liturgical ministry as well as for those who may wish to get involved in any of our liturgical ministries.  What is a liturgical ministry? The shortlist would include those involved with Children’s Liturgy of the Word; Funeral Servers; Funeral greeters; Sacristans; Altar Server Parents (we’ll have something separate for Altar Servers later); choir members, cantors, and musicians from any of our music ministries; Ushers; Lectors; Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion; Sunday Greeters; RCIA Team Leaders; and those involved in preparing the prayers of the faithful.
 
The purpose of the evening is twofold: 1) to share the benchmarks we have identified as essential to us as we move forward to enhance our Sunday experience and 2) to do some formation/training about these individual ministries.
 
What we do around the Altar of the Lord is meant to nourish us and deepen our relationship with the Lord so that we can be credible witnesses in our pursuit of making disciples of others.  In his catechesis on the importance of Sunday Mass, Pope Francis said at a General Audience in 2017: “The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2177). We Christians go to Sunday Mass to encounter the Risen Lord, or better still to allow ourselves to be encountered by him, to hear his Word, to nourish ourselves at his table, and thus to become the Church, that is, his mystical living Body in the world…. The Sunday encounter with the Lord gives us the strength to experience the present with confidence and courage, and to go forth with hope.”  Given that the Sunday encounter with the Lord is to be all of this for everyone, we need to make it the best experience we can.
 
The Festival of Ministries will start with a brief talk at 6:30 p.m.  A light meal will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m.  We will then have two breakout sessions targeted for individual ministries.  These sessions will be repeated that night so that if you are a musician and a lector, you could attend a musician and then the lector session.  If you are only an usher, you would attend the first session for ushers, and then you could call it a night.  The entire evening will be over by 9:00 p.m.  You are asked to sign up for the evening by going to sjascs.org/festival-of-ministries or by calling the Parish Center.
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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