Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Recipe + 3 Ideas to Feed the Hungry

Happy Friday friends!  I love this time of year and I LOVE that I have the extra opportunity to focus on serving others.  But this year has brought many challenges and the opportunity to really think about how we can meaningfully serve others this year.  My children are getting older, my oldest is 11, and I want my children to have real and meaningful opportunities to serve in their life where they can see the importance and feel the blessings that come with this type of service.  But even though they are getting older, at 7 and 11, there is so much my children can not do.  They are not old enough to volunteer at local soup kitchens or food pantries.  They are not old enough to help at our church's local storehouse.  And so we have spent many weeks and even months, talking about how we can provide our children with opportunities that will really be helpful to them and to the person they are serving.  And then when the challenge came to my family to share a way that we could help feed the hungry, my angst over not knowing how to really help, grew.  So I sat, I pondered, I prayed, I talked to friends and family, and after a while, I finally was able to come up with 3 ideas to feed the hungry that are real, and meaningful and will impact the lives of others and your own life.  And...I am also sharing my delicious Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Recipe...which you won't want to miss, because it is AMAZINGLY YUMMY!

This year I am thrilled to collaborate with Boncom and The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints to be able to help share more about their Light the World campaign and what we are doing to help to feed the hungry.  Have you heard of #LightTheWorld yet?  Oh man, it is amazing!  Throughout the month of December, we are being challenged to serve others, reach out, and make a difference in the life of another.  Day 21 of the Light the World initiative is to Feed the Hungry.

In Matthew 25:35 it reads, "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in."

As I was contemplating how we, as a family, can meaningfully serve others, and I was then challenged to feed the hungry, I began thinking of things we could do to help.  Earlier in the year, my daughter's class held a food drive for a local food pantry.  Our little school of about 400 children, was able to rally and donate over 20,000 items to this local food pantry!  What a difference 20,000 items can make!

Just last week we volunteered to help a local food pantry sort, separate and box clothing, food and toys for those in need.  It was a wonderful experience and my children enjoyed it.

And we all have opportunities like that to donate food, or help pack a box.  But what could WE do to make a difference.  What could me, and my family do, to truly make a difference in someone's life and to feed the hungry.

So today, I am sharing 3 Ideas to Feed the Hungry with you.  3 ways that you can get your children and your family involved to serve and love those around us.  3 ways that we could help provide our children with opportunities to learn the value of service.  3 ways to feed the hungry that YOU and YOUR FAMILY can duplicate!  You don't need someone else to organize this, you can do these yourself.

3 Ideas to Feed the Hungry

Feed the Hungry in Spirit

The holidays are a wonderful time of year for most of us.  But for those without family close by, it can be lonely and sad.  I often think of those sweet brothers and sisters in nursing homes, many with family, but many without.  Who often spend their holiday season without the constant love of loved ones.  So, we got to work!

We decided to make my delicious Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Recipe and deliver it to a local nursing home so that we could help feed those who man not be physically hungry, but who might be hungry in spirit, lacking the much needed joy and love that fills one's soul.  You can make my recipe, or make your own favorite recipe to take!  Either way, pin this recipe for later because it is DELICIOUS and you won't be able to stop eating it!

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Salted Butter
• 5 cups Granulated Sugar
• 12 oz. Evaporated Milk
• Dash of Salt
• 18 oz Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 16 oz bag Mini Marshmallows
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 15 drops Young Living Vitality Peppermint Essential Oil
• 15-20 Mini Peppermint Candy Canes

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy pan combine butter, sugar, evaporated milk and salt.
2. Bring it to a boil and boil for 10 minutes, stirring well especially on the bottom.
3. Pour the butter mixture over your chocolate chips, marshmallows and vanilla.
4. Mix well.
5. Once combined, add 15 drops of Peppermint essential oil and stir.
6. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan.
7. Crush candy canes and sprinkle on top of fudge.  Press them lightly into the top of the fudge if it has started to cool a bit.
8. Chill before cutting

So yummy!

I love this fudge recipe without the peppermint, but the peppermint takes it to an entirely new, delicious level that is just out of this world!

Feed the Hungry Locally

There are many people who struggle to keep their family's belly's full.  If you ask your local church or your local school, they most likely know who could benefit from a meal during this holiday season.  So this year, we decided to take our family to the store and let our children help us pick out items to go into a meal basket to give to someone.  We decided to create a basket that would help a family to have a nice holiday meal.  We picked up a ham, scalloped potatoes, stuffing, green beans, sparkling cider and a frozen pie.  I added some paper goods and a poinsettia to the basket as well and we are ready to deliver this!  Our children really enjoyed picking out the items for this Holiday Meal Basket and putting it together and we hope that it will bless a family.

Feed the Hungry Globally

We love serving locally.  That is why we delivered fudge to a nursing home and created a holiday meal basket for someone locally.  But we are blessed to live in a time where we have the ability to bless people globally too!  The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints has an amazing Humanitarian Fund that anyone can donate to: https://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/humanitarian-services which helps to provide clean water and food to many people across the world.  100% of every dollar donated goes to helping someone in need.  Our family will be making a contribution to this fun this year.

I also recently became aware of another way to help feed the hungry in a way that is not only incredibly helpful, but also kind of fun.  This year, our family is helping to buy a goat!  Yes, a goat.  Lifting Hands International collects things to donate to humanitarian refugee camps abroad and help refugees locally in the United States.  You can send money or purchase things that they need from their needs list on Amazon.  But my absolute favorite thing that you can do, is to buy a goat!  A milk goat can mean survival for refugee families who have lost everything.  These milk goats provide milk, butter, cheese and maybe just as importantly, self-sufficiency to families who receive them.  So, yes.  We are buying a goat, and I would LOVE for you to join me!!  In honor of the Light the World day focusing on Feeding the Hungry, on December 21st, I am going to be making a donation to Lifting Hands International towards the purchase of a goat(s).  And I would LOVE for YOU to join me!  If you want to donate with me, you can do it directly here: https://www.liftinghandsinternational.org/gather-for-goats OR you can reach out to me and I will add your donation into mine on the 21st: [email protected]

My children became so excited about trying to buy a goat for someone that they came up with a possible way to raise even more funds to help buy a goat or two!  Yes.  My children came up with the idea and are going to do the hard leg work of asking for help.  I am amazed by them.  We are currently working closely with some friends in the community to see if we can make a large scale donation happen. I don't have final confirmation yet, so I can't share the details, but don't worry, I will share as soon as things are finalized!

If buying a goat isn't your thing, there are so many other ways to donate to help people on a global scale!  Doing ANYTHING helps!

Ok, so I have shared our three ways that we are helping to feed the hungry this holiday season, I would LOVE to hear what your family plans to do or already has done, in order to help serve those around you, locally or globally this holiday season!

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