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Show DAILY HERALD D2 Tuesday. June 3, 2008 . Celebrations Nielsen, Corona Steven Benjamin Nielsen and Ashley Lynn Corona have chosen-June 7, 2008 to be sealed for time and eternity in the Manti, Utah Temple. Steven is the son of Gene and Grace Nielsen of Mapletoa He graduated from Springville High School and is attending UVU, MATC He is working for Reliable Electric. Ashley is the daughter of Ste- ven and Janette Peay of Spanish Fork. She graduated from Spanish Fork High School and Provo College. She is working for American Fork Hospital in the Pediatric Department. Steve, Ashley and Jaxon have chosen to make their first home in Spanish Fork. They will be celebrating at a reception that evening from b p.m. at the Mt. Nebo Church House, 1490 E. 130 N., Spanish :f K w Photos by MIKE HUTMACHERWictirta Eagle Amy Wood, of Wichita, Kan, was a finalist in the national Betty Crocker cooking contest "Bake Life Sweeter" with her recipe for bar cookies. Fork. Bar cookies I Dear low to choose a chanty Jim Miller Savvy Senior resources are for researching charities? My husband and I recently received a nice inheritance from my mother Savvy Senior and are interested in making a financial contribution but want to be sure the money is well spent. What can you gladly provide you with their financial information. To help you research Christian charities, see Ministry Watch tell us? (www.ministrywatch.com) or Choosy Givers Dear Choosy, li can be a challenge deciding which charity to give to. But today, thanks to the Internet, finding and researching charities that interest you has never been easier. Hereis what you should know. To find the right charitable organization that is financially efficient and supports a cause you find important requires a little homework. A good starting point is the charity's own Web site, which should include details about programs and how gifts are spent, as well as financial information such as an annual report. Here are some other tips to help you look a little closer. the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (www, ecfa.org), which provides information on more than 2,000 Christian charity groups. Compare fairly Many people like to compare charity efficiency ratIf you ings do this, be sure to compare charities that have similar missions. For example a soup kitchen might spend 95 cents of every dollar on its programs because there's little to no administrative costs. Yet iti's rare to find a museum that spends more than 75 cents on the dollar because museums need guards, insurance and big buildings. head-to-hea- . Check legitimacy Ask questions There are a lot of charity scams out there! So, if you're interested in, but not familiar with a particular charity, or if you've been contacted by phone or letter asking for money for a cause, your first step is to see if they're legitimate. The Internal Revenue Service maintains a list of all organizations registered as charities. Also check with your state's attorney general or charities bureau, which is responsible for policing charities within the state and can provide a wealth of information about them. Goto www. nasconet.org to find your state's charity regulator. Contact the charity directly and ask lots of questions to be sure you're clear on what they do and how they do it. Some questions to start with should include: How will your gift be spent? How many people did they help last year? In what way? Well-ru- n organizations will welcome your questions. If they don't, go elsewhere. Tax-deducti- Before giving a donation to any organization, make sure it is a 501(c) (3) charity . That means the group has filed paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service, registering it as a U.S. nonprofit and enCheck efficiency abling you to get a To make sure your money for your donation at tax is spent wisely you need to re- time. search the charity's finances. I Savvy Tips: When it comes You can look this up at www. to giving money, avoid donating over the phone. Nine out charitynavigator.org or by looking over the IRS form 990 of 10 times, the phone solicitor that the charity files (available is a telemarketer at www.guidestar.org or on who is working on behalf of the charity's site). Generally, the nonprofit for a percentage an efficient charity should of the take, which can range g from 50 cents to 90 cents on keep administrative and the dollar. Send your donation expenses to less than 25 percent of its budget. Most directly to the charity, and be good charities are well below sure to get a receipt of your that number. If a charity you donation for tax purposes. want to support spends more Also, be sure the charity than 25 cents on the dollar for respects your privacy and administration and does not share your personal you need to find out why. contact information with any Another good resource is the other organizations. er Business Bureau Wise Send your senior questions Giving Alliance which offers free analysis of national chari- to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box ties on its Web site at www. 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit www.savvysenior.org'. give.org. Note that many religious Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and organizations are exempt from filing with the IRS, but author of The Savvy Senior book. reputable organizations will it This is another of Amy Wood's bar creations. Continued from Dl or brownie mix in the recipe. But Wood does enjoy "playt "! i ' ing around" with recipes until she comes up with something that's her own. "I might eat a piece of chocolate and then have a CornNut and say, 'Wow, chocolate and CornNut, that's interesting.' I try to think outside the box." In the Betty Crocker contest, she came up with the bar cookie equivalent of a Snickers candy bar, including a nougat layer that she incorporated Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars, a finalist recipe from last year's from another recipe. Betty Crocker "Bake Life Sweeter" contest. Wood tries out her recipes on her husband, Robert, co- Caramel Layer in last year's Betty Crocker workers at the Sedgwick 1 1 bag (14 oz.) caramels, "Bake Life Sweeter" contest. County Health Department and her parents' friends in the unwrapped Wichita Area P.T. Cruisers 1 2 tablespoons water Apple Streusel Club. I V-- cups unsalted Cheesecake Bars Wood works for the health peanuts department's emergency i Cooking spray management team, but plans 1 1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) to specialize in fighting childTopping: oatmeal cookie mix hood obesity after finishing her 1 bag (11.5 oz.) milk I cup firm butter or margarine master's degree. An exercise chocolate chips 1 2 sees the trim Wood pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream enthusiast, cheese, softened Heat oven to 350 degrees. nothing contradictory in her h career goal and sweet tooth, Spray bottom of pan I cup sugar "I think everything can be with cooking spray. Make 1 2 tablespoons eaten in moderation," she said. cookie dough as directed on flour "You need to get in a physical pouch, adding water, vegetable teaspoon vanilla H 011 and egg. activity and watch what you eat around" regular meais. Press dough into pan. Bake Hegg 12 to 15 minutes or until 1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling "Don't eat a pizza and then edges have this," she said of her bar are light golden brown. Cool teaspoon ground cinnamon cookie. "Yesterday, I ate a salto touch. I XA cup chopped walnuts ad for dinner because I knew I In large bowl, beat 112 had this." Heat oven to 350 degrees. tablespoons water, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, peanut butter Spray bottom and sides of This is the recipe that has and salt with electric mixer on 13x9-pa- n with cooking spray. won Amy Wood a finalist medium speed until creamy. Place cookie mix in large award in the nationwide Betty Slowly add powdered sugar. bowL With pastry blender or Crocker "Bake Life Sweeter" When nougat is the consisfork, cut in butter until mixcontest. ture is crumbly and coarse. tency of dough, press evenly over cookie crust. Set pan in Reserve 1 12 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs refrigerator. Peanut Butter Melt caramels in a small in bottom of pan. Bake 10 Cookie Candy Bars sauce pan with 2 tablespoons minutes. water over low heat. Once Meantime, in a large bowl, I Cooking spray beat cream cheese, sugar, melted, stir in peanuts. Pour the mixture evenly over the flour, vanilla and egg with Cookie Dough Crust: electric mixer on medium nougat layer. Cool in the reI I pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz) Betty frigerator, about 15 minutes. speed until smooth. Crocker peanut butter cookie When the caramel mixture Spread cream cheese mixmix is firm, melt milk chocolate ture evenly over partially 1 1 tablespoon water baked crust. In medium bowl, chips in an uncovered small bowl on medimix pie filling and cinnamon. microwavable 1 3 tablespoons oil vegetable um-high (70 percent) for 1 Spoon evenly over cream , minute. Stir. Microwave for 20 cheese mixture. Hegg Sprinkle I Nougat Layer: additional seconds as needed, reserved crumbs over top. I VA tablespoons water then stir. Continue until melted Sprinkle with walnuts. and smooth. Once melted, pour Bake 35 to 40 minutes longer I V3 cup light com syrup or until light golden browa ' evenly over caramel layer. 1 3 tablespoons butter Cool completely until chocolate Cool about 30 minutes. RefrigI V-- teaspoons vanilla extract is set (bars can be refrigerated erate to chill, about 2 hours. 3 tablespoons peanut butter to speed up the cooling pro-- , For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigI Dash salt cess). Cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature. erator. 1 3V6 cups powdered sugar Makes 24 bars This dessert was a finalist tC 13x9-inc- ' Chocolate-Pean- ut Butter Caramel Bars I Cooking spray Brownie Layer I I pkg. Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix lA I cup water cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 'Lh Peanut Butter Layer 3 cups powdered sugar 1 1 cup creamy peanut butter 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened 1 I Va cup water I cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped Caramel-Chocolat- e Layer 1 bag (14 oz.) caramels, unwrapped 1 3 tablespoons water 1 bag (11.5 oz.) milk chocolate chips Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom only of 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray. Stir brownie mix, water, oil and eggs in medium bowl until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 0 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out 28-3- clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter and water; mix well (if necessary, add additional water 1 teaspoon at a time until mixture is smooth). Drop spoonfuls of peanut butter mixture over cooled brownie layer; spread evenly. Sprinkle with peanuts; refrigerate while making caramel layer. Heat caramels and water in saucepan over medium heat; stir frequently until caramels are melted. Pour caramel mixture over chopped peanuts; spread evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until caramel is set. Melt milk chocolate chips in an uncovered microwavable bowl on medium-hig- h (70 percent) for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for 20 additional seconds as needed, then stir. Continue until melted and smooth. Once melted, pour evenly over caramel layer and gently spread. Refrigerate 1 hour or until chocolate is set before cutting. Makes 24 bars. fund-raisin- fund-raisin- g, LOOKING FOR COUGAR ? STATS Pizza Hut takes pizza outdoors This week I reached out for a new Meat Grill Pizza with a backyard-barbecu- e flavor from the world's No. 1 pizza twirler, Pizza Hut, with 10,000 restaurants in all 50 states and around the globe. There's only one issue with this pizza. Do you want a pizza that tastes like the toppings were grilled over charcoal in your backyard? Who thinks up this stuff? Was Pizza Hut getting a lot of complaint mail about its regular pizzas ... that it sells a trillion of every night? Me, I prefer a pizza that tastes like a regular pizza baked in a regular oven an indoor pizza. Preferably in front of the television. Here's the blueprint for an Ultimate Meat Grill Pizza: your choice of Pizza Hut crust topped with tomato sauce, cheese and grilled, smoky steak, chicken and ham. Total calories: 250 (per slice of a memoz-zarel- la dium pizza with grams: 9. Dietary fiber: dough). Fat 1 gram. Carbs: 25 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $10.99 for a medium, pizza; $ 12.99 for a large, pie. The Ultimate Grill Pizza comes in three varieties: Ultimate Veggie Grill, with a blend of grilled peppers, onions and mushrooms; Ultimate Meat Grill, with steak, chicken and ham; and Ultimate Combo GrilL with all of the aforementioned addons. The Combo is your big boy. Think hand-tosse- 14-in- cougarbluo d Ken Hoffman while small kids wrinkled their noses. This sounds like one of those deals where the brainiacs in Pizza Hut's reDrive-thr- u search and development were under pressure to devise something new and I actually feel teenagers. sorry for The possibilities don't end there, eithe R&D crew. Let's face it, they've exther. All of the Ultimate Grill pizzas are hausted every possible place they could available on hide more cheese on a pizza. Unless pan or Thin 'n they Crispy crust. The pick is Thin 'n' Crispy, go on safari, they've tried every kind of because this crust accentuates the toptraditional meat on a pizza. Now they're pings, and the other, thicker crusts tend experimenting with different cooking to hog the stage. Thin 'n' Crispy holds processes. Barbecued meat on a pizza, meat and cheese, yet hmmm? up to the piled-odoesn't crowd the smoky flavor and aroOK, it does taste different, and I'm all ma that Pizza Hut is pushing with these for different. But pizza seems to have Grill pizzas. done pretty well all these years vith the Ultimate Meat Grill is the other play. method of oven baking. If The steak, chicken and ham pieces absorb "Seinfeld's" Poppy refused to allow cuthe backyard allure better than the vegcumbers on a pizza, I shudder to imagine etables. The Ultimate Meat Grill will put what his policy would be on barbecued meats. your senses in a lawn chair right next to the backyard grill, hopefully downwind. The Ultimate Grill pizzas are a The only thing missing will be the mosoffer, and Pizza Hut never announces when the final buzzer will sound. quitoes and your crazy old uncle running around without his shirt. I prefer the mos- You can figure that when it goes bye-byquitoes. it's because the phones stopped ringing. The grilled veggies and meats arrive Bottom line: The Ultimate Grill pizzas at each Pizza Hut restaurant. are a gimmick, and the gimmick tastes They are flipped onto the pizza before hit- pretty darn good, but these pizzas wont oven. The grilled ever see the permanent menu. They're ting the conveyor-bel- t flavor and aroma are awakened in the designed to create some buzz. They're oven. This pizza does smell different when a good change-of-pac- e pizza. But in the you get it home and open the box. I found long run, the best pizza is the pizza that that adults appreciated the imagination, changes least. Gourmet pizza-shatterin- hand-tosse- n limited-time-on- e, pre-grill- ly |