Apple Cranberry French Toast

This recipe can be found on Page 45 in the Pi Phi cookbook “Ring Ching…Dinner is Served.” This is a favorite recipe of Alumnae Regional Programming Specialist Marnie Lee. She serves this for breakfast every time she has guests over.

Apple Cranberry French Toast
12 Servings

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
3 teaspoons cinnamon (divided use)
3 tart apples, thinly sliced
1 cup dried cranberries
1 loaf French or Italian bread, sliced 1-inch thick
6 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine brown sugar, melted butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Toss in apples and cranberries. Arrange bread slices on top of mixture. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; pour over bread. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Bake covered 40 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 7 – 8 minutes

Ring, Ching, Ching

One of the highlights of Pi Phi Conventions for me is when we sing Ring Ching Ching. As a collegian my chapter did not sing this song so it is a treat to learn this song and sing it with hundreds of my sisters at mealtime.

Ring, Ching, Ching

When I was a student at college,
I belonged to the Pi Beta Phi
I wore the gold arrow so shining,
The symbol of sisterhood ties

Chorus
Ring ching ching – ring ching ching
Pi Beta Phi, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Beta Phi,
Ring ching ching – ring ching ching
Pi Beta Phi – I belong to the Pi Beta Phi,
Ring Ching!

No longer a student at college,
I still love the name of Pi Phi.
I still wear the arrow so shining,
It brings back fond mem’ries to me.

Chorus

Former Alumnae Regional Director Update

Our former Alumnae Regional Director Ruth McIntyre is now a Board Member for the National American Judicature Society. This prestigious board has approached her to join a few times in that past but she declined because of the time commitment and her first commitment was to Pi Phi. Now that she has more free time, she accepted their offer and is very excited about this opportunity. Below is a description from Ruth about her new assignment. Congratulations Ruth. We are very proud of you.

The National American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, national, nonpartisan organization of judges, lawyers and public members who seek to improve the justice system. AJS has the mission to secure and promote an independent and qualified judiciary and fair system of justice through judicial independence, judicial conduct and ethics, judicial selection, the Criminal justice system and the Jury. Board members are selected and invited to serve from states across the U.S. and Territories.

Pi Phi Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

This recipe was served at the Region Five Leadership Team retreat in Portland. The recipe can be found on Page 236 in the Pi Phi cookbook "Ring Ching...Dinner is Served."

Ingredients
6 medium peaches halved, pitted and thinly sliced
1 cup blueberries
4 tablespoons sugar (divided use)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup flour
1/3 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons light butter, softened
1 container (6 ounce) nonfat vanilla yogurt

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange peach slices in a bottom of 8-inch square baking pan. Place blueberries on top of peaches. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar and the cinnamon over the fruit and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, 2 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add butter and mix with fork until crumbly. Add yogurt and mix until dough comes together. Spoon 6 large spoonfuls of dough on top of fruit in baking pan. Sprinkle remaining sugar over dough. Bake for 45-50 minutes until fruit is tender and oat topping is golden brown. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving. Top with vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream, if desired.

A favorite Pi Phi Express item

I love the pout protector available at Pi Phi Express. It is a watermelon flavored SPF 15 lip moisturizer for angel soft lips. Take my word, it does make your lips nice and soft. What is a favorite item of yours at Pi Phi Express?

AngelXO,
Ashlee C.

Guest Blogger - Mari Lou Diamond

I am pleased to introduce Mari Lou Diamond, Oregon Alpha, as our first Guest Blogger. Mari Lou is an active member of the Lake Oswego-Dunthorpe Alumnae Club and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Fraternity House Corporation (FHC). I asked for her to share about her involvement with the FHC since this is a new corporation for our Fraternity. Thank you Mari Lou!


Hello fellow Region Five sisters. I am serving as a Board of Director for the Fraternity House Corporation (FHC) for Pi Beta Phi. The FHC is responsible for property management, property ownership, and providing local Chapter Housing Corporations (CHC) with support services as requested. Providing new or updated facilities for newly established Chapters is one of the possible services the FHC can provide. This is a working board and each member brings an area of expertise to the board. My professional area of expertise is in commercial interior architecture and design. I also bring to the board knowledge and experience from my many years of serving as a International Fraternity Officer and as a Chapter House Corporation member as well. I am currently working on the design and construction of the new chapter house for Mississippi Gamma, Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi. We have a tight frame as the house needs to be complete and move-in ready by July 2010. I must say it is a lot of work, but is is gratifying to know that I am not only creating the best possible living environment for our members, but I am also creating a home where lasting memories will be made for many women for many years.

Past Grand President Emily Tarr and Mari Lou Diamond

Loyal Ties by Evelyn Peters Kyle

Often in our busy lives,

We somehow fail to realize.
What different ways we might have gone,

If Pi Phi hadn't come along.

Our pledgeship taught us many things,

That work together always brings.

We learned our past and how we grow,

And what good scholarship could do.

As actives it opened up the door,

That showed that life held so much more.

That friends do last throughout the years,

And help when cloudy skies appear.

And then on graduation day,

We felt that time had slipped away.

A "Pi Phi girl" had just become.

A "has been" and a new alum.

But once again a door was wide,

And friends to welcome just inside.

And service of another kind,

To satisfy both heart and mind.

From pledge to Golden Arrow year,

These loyal ties are always here.

So think what your life might have been,

If Pi Phi hadn't said "Come In!"

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe can be found on Epicurious.com and was served as the appetizer at the Region Five Leadership Team Retreat for dinner on Saturday night. They were yummy!

Ingredients
3 Italian sausages, casings removed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1-8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg yolk

Olive Oil
24 large mushrooms, stemmed
1/3 cup dry white wine

Preparation
saute sausage and oregano in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until sausage is cooked through and brown, breaking into small pieces with back of fork, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage mixture into large bowl and cool. Mix 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder, then cream cheese. Season filling with salt and pepper; mix in egg yolk.
Brush 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish with olive oil to coat. Brush cavity of each mushroom cap with white wine; fill with scant 1 tablespoon filling and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Arrange mushrooms, filling side up, in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Baked uncovered until mushrooms are tender and filling is brown on top, about 25 minutes.

International Literacy Day

September 8, 2009 is International Literacy Day. Despite many and varied efforts, literacy remains an elusive target: worldwide, some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills which means that one in five adults is still not literate; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.

Pi Phi's can take pride in the work they do to promote literacy. Pi Beta Phi has a long history of literacy efforts, beginning nearly 100 years ago, in 1912 with the founding of our settlement school in Gatlinburg Tennessee. Our philanthropic work continues through our partnership with First Book, which seeks to put a brand new book in the hands of every child. Other fraternity literacy initiatives include Arrow in the Arctic which fund libraries in Canada's north, CAR (Champions are Readers) a classroom reading enrichment program for third graders.

Local Alumnae Clubs and Pockets also have many literacy efforts within their own communities. Examples with Region Five include book drives for schools, hospitals, and women's shelters, as well as school mentoring and a book walk.

Thank you Pi Phi's for all the work you do to promote literacy! We are making a difference!

New Pi Phi Cookbook

At the June 2009 Convention in Grapevine, Texas, a new Pi Beta Phi cookbook was revealed. It is called "Angel Sweets and Arrow Treats. " It is a delightful dessert cookbook full of favorite recipes from our Pi Phi Sisters. This book is now available for purchase online at Pi Phi Express. If you already own this book please let us know what recipe is your favorite. "Angel Sweets and Arrow Treats" could give you delicious ideas for your next Cookie Shine! Did you know a Cookie Shine will count as your club's Fraternity Heritage meeting requirement for the year?

The cookbook revealing centerpiece at Convention.

Welcome!

This afternoon I returned from an Alumnae Region Five Leadership Team retreat in Portland, Oregon with our Regional Director Maja Berge and Regional Programming Specialist Marnie Lee. It was a great weekend and the three of us are very excited for the upcoming year working with the 43 Alumnae Organizations in our region.
While we were making a delicious dinner on Saturday night (with Maja's husband Cordell as our guest), we came up with our region theme for the year, Recipe for Success. We are here to provide the necessary ingredients and guidance for you to have a successful year.
During our retreat we were talking about effective communication tools and that is when we decided to start this blog. The blog will include information for you to be a successful organization, fun updates on Region Five Members, group success stories, must try recipes, and fun Pi Phi facts. We want this to be a beneficial tool for you so please provide feedback on what you would like to see, provide information for us to post, and you can even volunteer to be a guest blogger!
Thank you for all you do for Pi Phi and please never hesitate to contact Maja, Marnie or me with any questions and/or suggestions you may have.

AngelXO,
Ashlee C.
ARMS5