10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015
Local
Delectably delicious appetizers BTI
Add crab and
stir until thor-
oughly mixed.
Place 1
teaspoon crab
mixture in center
of each wonton
wrapper.
Brush edges
lightly with
water then fold
in half, like turn-
over, and press
Homemade Goodness
to seal.
Place on bak-
By Eileen Driver
ing sheet.
Bake 20 to
25 minutes, until crisp
Appetizers! How can
and golden, turning once
you cram so much good-
halfway thru baking.
ness into such a little bite?
*Note wonton skins can
I love finding out when-
usually be found in the
ever possible.
produce section or made
My favorite thing to do
from scratch at home
is to make a whole meal
I can’t resist having
of just appetizers and
seafood whenever possible
Christmas Eve is my fa-
and these appetizers make
vorite night to do it. I look
forward to this all year and it affordable and delicious.
Of course with any
look for new recipes to try
in anticipation of the event. meal you have to include
vegetables in some form
Then I make all the usuals
or another and my least fa-
like BBQ Little Smokies,
sweet and sour meatballs, a vorite vegetable is spinach,
which makes it ironic that
fruit tray and potato skins,
my favorite dip is Spinach
then I throw in something
& Artichoke Dip. Which I
extra special like seafood!
Creamy Crab Wontons probably would not have
tried had I known it had
1, 8 oz. package cream
spinach in it at the time
cheese, softened
I ate it. Which just goes
¼ cup plain bread
to show that you really
crumbs
should try everything at
½ teaspoon garlic
least once.
powder
This recipe is
2 cups imitation crab-
a wonderfully different
meat, chopped (about ¾
way to serve this great dip.
pound) or use real crab
Spinach & Artichoke
meat if you feel extrava-
Bites
gant
1, 8 oz. package cream
30 refrigerated wonton
cheese, softened
wrappers (½ pound)
¼ cup mayo
Preheat oven to 350 de-
½ cup fresh grated par-
grees. Coat a baking sheet
mesan cheese
with cooking spray.
2 cloves garlic, peeled
In a medium bowl, com-
and chopped
bine cream cheese, bread
1, 14 oz. jar artichoke
crumbs and garlic powder.
hearts, drained and
mix well with electric
chopped
mixer.
1 cup frozen spinach,
thawed and drained make
sure to squeeze out all the
excess water
2 tubes crescent rolls
shredded mozzarella for
sprinkling on top
Preheat oven to 375 de-
grees. Lightly spray mini
muffin tin with cooking
spray.
Combine first 6 ingredi-
ents in large bowl stirring
well. Set aside.
Place crescent roll
dough 4 rolls at a time
on large cutting board.
Pinch all the perforations
together to form one large
sheet of dough. Using
pizza cutter or knife cut
into 12 squares.
Press each square into a
mini muffin slot.
Using a teaspoon fill
each cup with spinach &
artichoke dip. Sprinkle
with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 12 minutes
then cool for a few minutes
and place on serving plat-
ter, enjoy.
Of course I don’t really
think that counts real high
on the “eat your veg-
etables” list but I know
the next one does and it
happens to be one of my
favorites, mushrooms.
Mushrooms are a much
overlooked vegetable in
my opinion. They are
loaded with vitamin D,
iron, potassium and dietary
fiber all much needed by
the body. But really I just
eat them cause they are so
versatile and yummy.
Like when you stuff
them full of other good
things and make them an
appetizer.
Stuffed Mushrooms
24 ounces white button
mushrooms
⅓ pound Italian sausage
½ medium onion, finely
diced
4 cloves garlic, finely
minced
⅓ cup dry white wine
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg yolk
¾ cup parmesan cheese
grated
salt & pepper
Wash mushrooms in
cold water separate stems
from caps and reserve
both.
Chop stems and
set aside.
Brown and crumble
sausage. Remove sausage
from pan. Set aside.
Add onion and garlic to
same pan sausage was
cooked in. Cook for 2
minutes over medium low
heat. Pour in wine to de-
glaze pan and allow liquid
to evaporate.
Add in chopped mush-
room stems and cook for
two minutes. Add salt and
pepper to taste.
Set aside to cool.
In a bowl combine
cream cheese, egg yolk,
and parmesan cheese.
Add cooled sausage and
cooled mushroom mix-
ture. Stir together , then
refrigerate for a short time
to firm up.
Spoon mixture into
mushroom caps making a
sizable mound over the top
of the mushroom.
Bake at 350 degrees
for 20 to 25 minutes or til
golden brown.
Let cool at 10 minutes
and serve.
Served with some hot
apple cider or hot cocoa,
these appetizers will fill
you up fast and more than
satisfy the hunger of even
the pickiest of eaters.
Oh yeah, don’t forget
that tray of assorted Christ-
mas fudges and dandies to
top it all off.
What could possibly be
better than that?
Man dies in log truck collision
On December 3, 2015
at about 12:30 p.m., OSP
Troopers and emergency
personnel responded to
the report of a two vehicle
crash involving a log truck
and a passenger vehicle on
Highway 395 near mile-
post 9 (south of Pendle-
ton).
Preliminary information
indicates a 2005 Chev-
rolet sedan was traveling
southbound on Highway
395 when it attempted
to make a left turn onto
Spring Creek Road. The
Chevrolet turned into the
path of northbound log
truck loaded with logs.
The log truck pushed the
Chevrolet for over 200 feet
after impact.
The driver of the Chev-
rolet, James S. Miller, age
91, of Pilot Rock, was
pronounced deceased on
scene. The driver of the
truck, George E. Tester,
age 26, of Pendleton was
not injured.
OSP was assisted by
Oregon Department of
Transportation, Pendleton
Fire Department, and Pilot
Fire Department. This is an
ongoing investigation and
more information will be
released when it is avail-
able.
Angel tree up at police dept.
The Baker City Police
Department (BCPD) is
once again hosting, in
partnership with the Salva-
tion Army, an ‘Angel Tree’
decorated with Angel Tree
gift tags located in the
lobby of the Department
(1768 Auburn Avenue).
Angel Tree gift tags are
special wished-for items
given during the holiday
season to children in need
within our community.
In addition, donations of
non-perishable canned/
boxed items for Christmas
food baskets, which are
then provided to families
in need throughout our
community, are also be-
ing accepted at the Police
Department.
If you would like to pick
up an Angel Tree gift tag
and purchase the wished-
for gift for a local child,
you can then return the un-
wrapped gift to the Police
Department or call to have
an officer pick up the item
from you.
If you would like to
donate any non-perishable
food item(s) for the Christ-
mas food baskets, please
drop them off at the Police
Department in the food
barrel or call to have an
officer pick up your food
items.
If you do wish to have
an officer pick up any of
these items, please call the
department reception desk
at (541) 524-2014. The
lobby is open Monday thru
Friday, from 10:00 a.m.
-5:00 p.m. The last day
to turn in a gift is Friday,
December 18, 2015.
gave his first name as Bill
claiming to be calling from
the “city courthouse.”
The caller stated that
there was a problem with
her account in an attempt
to obtain personal informa-
Peacock answered, “Yes. We prepare them so they can
graduate and go right to work, but they are also prepared
to go to university and continue learning in their field.”
Peacock went on to explain, “For example, in the
Construction Industry Pathway, the students may start out
thinking they just want to be carpenters, or hang sheet-
rock but, as they move through the program and learn the
other aspects of building, they may come to the realiza-
tion that they would like to manage entire construction
sites. They can then move on to college and pursue a
degree in Construction Management.”
BTI currently offers Career Pathway programs in a
variety of fields including FFA Ag, CNA (with CNA-2
planned to be added next year), Welding, Robotics, Engi-
neering, Aquaculture, and more.
Peacock explained the reason the Institute had devel-
oped the Welding Pathway as a separate entity from the
Ag pathway.
“We used to teach basic welding as part of the Ag
program,” he said, “but we realized that welding itself is a
career path. We decided to offer welding taught to indus-
try standards as one of the Pathways students could take.”
Barreto, himself an inventor and founder of a large
company that designs and builds equipment such as
tillers, trenchers, grinders and more, talked about weld-
ing, engineering and product development, and the need
within the industries for qualified skilled workers. “I
couldn’t leave my company in Cove and go to Salem for
weeks at a time in the Legislature without a strong and
competent workforce,” he explained.
The tour then proceeded to the 3D printers used by
the students to produce the designs they have developed
using CAD programs in their engineering classroom.
Peacock displayed a shelf of machine and tool parts
which were all designed and developed by the students.
“They spend hours in design and development,” Peacock
explained, “and then they can come in here and create the
parts they designed. It is fascinating to hear the conversa-
tions between these students as they work out the flaws
in their design. They understand the process and how a
thousandth of an inch may make the difference between
an object that functions correctly and one that doesn’t.
And they collaborate with each other to solve problems.”
In the Aquaponics/Aquaculture room, Barreto explored
the thriving plants and the hundreds of tilapia being
raised. “The sustainable agriculture methods used here
offer many options for communities and areas which may
have difficulties in growing enough food,” Peacock said.
The current crop being grown is basil, with lettuce
coming next. “Paizano’s Pizza buys all we can produce of
this basil,” Peacock told Barreto. “They said it’s the best
they have ever found “
The tilapia being raised is a healthy food source, as
well as producing fertilizer for the plants.
In the room are also the robotic experiments built by
students. “They come in fascinated by the robots, but
then become aware of the many possibilities of robotic
design,” Peacock said.
The tour continued with Peacock showing the construc-
tion area, the welding shop and the old machine shop.
Barreto displayed interest in every area, and was vo-
cal in his opinions that BTI was a strong resource much
needed by the area. He encouraged further networking
with other Institutes in the state and across state lines.
Bryan explained that, in his position as a School Board
member and newly appointed Legislative Liaison for
the Oregon School Board Association, he is invested in
developing regional partnerships.
The tour ended with further discussion about future
planning and some of the options available to the students
who graduate from BTI.
Barreto said he saw the Institute as a good example of
community development, and that BTI would be key in
persuading new industry to locate to the area.
Power outage
affects 511
Early the afternoon of December 7, at 12:38 p.m. mul-
tiple outages were reported in the rural areas of the Baker
City District due to a damaged wire.
511 members were affected in the North, Northeast
and Northwest areas of Baker to Haines, as well as, the
Anthony Lakes area.
OTEC crews were on-site and able to restore power
to most members at 2:09 p.m. and are currently work-
ing to restore power to the remaining 31 members in the
Anthony Lakes area.
Please report outages to our OTEC outage number:
1-866-430-4265
Submitted Photo.
Gift tags are still available on the BCPD angel tree.
New twist reported on phone scam
There is a new twist on
an old telephone scam be-
ing perpetrated locally.
A concerned citizen
contacted City Hall to re-
port that she had received
a call from a person who
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
tion.
Please be cautious of
people calling your house
or cell phone unsolicited
and asking for money or
personal information.
Legitimate government
agencies and public enti-
ties do not call requesting
personal information and/
or attempt to collect money
utilizing scare tactics over
the phone.
City Council
vacancy
The City of Baker City is looking to fill one open
position on the City Council. The City will accept ap-
plications through the office of City Recorder beginning
on December 2nd until January 7th at 12:00 p.m. The in-
dividual who is appointed by a majority vote of the City
Council will serve a partial term on the Council through
December of 2016. An applicant must be a registered
voter in the State of Oregon and have resided within the
City of Baker City for 12 months immediately preceding
the appointment.