Easy online donation supports Southern Arizona goal to donate 24,000 boxes by March 24

Tucson, AZ (March 5, 2012) – Southern Arizona’s Girl Scouts want to give our soldiers, sailors and airmen a little taste of home by donating Girl Scout Cookies. The cookies are sent to U.S. military overseas via Operation Gratitude, a project of the USO – United Service Organizations.

“We started the cookie donation campaign last year and it was very successful,” said Debbie Rich, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona. “For our cookie customers, it was a great way to support our troops – both Girl Scout and US military. The soldiers’ letters of thanks to our Girl Scouts was a great reward and inspired us to send more cookies overseas this year.”

Last year, through generous donations from the community, the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona were able to donate 11,000 boxes of cookies to members of the U.S. military. This year, the Girl Scout’s goal to donate 24,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to US overseas troops. The donation is 100 percent tax deductible.

To donate a box of cookies, stop by one of the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona Resource Centers at:

• Tucson Resource Center, 4300 E Broadway Blvd , Office: 520.327.2288
• Yuma Resource Center, 1950 W. 3rd St., Office: 928.210.3629
• Sierra Vista Resource Center, 2367 E. Fry Blvd, Office: 520.319.3191
• Nogales Resource Center, 1831 N. Mastic Way, Office: 520.980.6117

The 100^th Anniversary Gala will be held Saturday, March 24, and cases of cookies will be there for guests to purchase cookies for the troops throughout the evening. Cookie customers can also donate cookies online at http://www.girlscoutssoaz.org/cookies/i-want-to-donate-cookies-to-soldiers/, or in person with any Girl Scout selling Girl Scout Cookies through Saturday, March 24, 2012. To find out where troops will have cookie booths, go online or contact your local resource center.

The Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona is one of 100 local councils in the United States and is comprised of Girl Scouts from Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz and Yuma counties. The Southern Arizona Council joins 3.2 million Girl Scouts – 2.3 million girl members and 880,000 adult members working primarily as volunteers — in celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the movement’s founding. In Girl Scouts, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. Through a myriad of enriching experiences, such as extraordinary field trips, sports skill-building clinics, community service projects, cultural exchanges, and environmental stewardships, girls grow courageous and strong. Girl Scouting helps girls develop their full individual potential; relate to others with increasing understanding, skill, and respect; develop values to guide their actions and provide the foundation for sound decision-making; and contribute to the improvement of society through their abilities, leadership skills, and cooperation with others. For more information about Girl Scouts, contact the Council at 520-327-2288, visit GirlScoutsSoAZ.org or like them on Facebook.

For more information, contact:

Maria DeCabooter, Advocacy Specialist
mdecabooter@GirlScoutsSoAz.org
PH: 520.319.3175

Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona were the guests of the Practical Chef, Craig Nassar, on the March 5th episode of KVOA’s Let’s Make a Meal. If you’re looking for a creative use of Girl Scout cookies, check out the chicken tenders recipe below featuring the much loved Samoas!

Watch the Girl Scouts on Let’s Make a Meal

Girl Scout Samoas Chicken Tenders and Noodle Salad recipe

Recipe by Anna Berman Snacking in the Kitchen – This recipe has been selected as a Top Five finalist for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington Cookie Recipe Contest.

Ingredients
For the Chicken
8 Samoas
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon ground Szechuan pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground Cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
1/3 cup spicy brown mustard
1 pound chicken tenderloins

For the Dressing
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 Serrano chile, seeded and minced
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Salad
8 ounces rice stick noodles
1 cup red bell pepper, julienned
1 cup jicama, julienned
1 orange, cut into segments
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons mint, roughly chopped
2 Samoas, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons toasted almonds, roughly chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; set a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet.
2. Place Samoas and almonds in a food processor (separately), until coarsely ground. Combine Samoas, almonds, bread crumbs, pepper and salt in a bowl. This is the coating for the chicken tenders.
3. Brush chicken tenders with spicy brown mustard. Press the tenders into the Samoas coating and place on top of a cooling rack.
4. Bake the chicken tenders for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.
5. While the chicken tenders are baking, cook the rice noodles according to the package directions.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Once cooked, rinsed, and drained, add the noodles to the dressing and toss to combine.
7. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the noodles.
8. Serve the Samoas chicken tenders on top of the salad.

For more from Craig check him out on the web and Facebook:
www.thepracticalchef.com

https://www.facebook.com/craignassar

Our Board of Directors has selected our finalists for the Cookie Mobile Contest and they are posted on our Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona Facebook page.

The picture with the most “likes” will be our winner! Feel free to share with your family and friends and comment on the photos to support our Girl Scouts!

Top 10 Finalists

2012 Cookie Mobile Contest Submissions