Patty Ross knows exactly what she would do, make dinner and take it to her friend and her friend's family. Patty did that when her pal Jeanette was fighting cancer.

The day before she died, Patty says Jeanette told her, "The food was hope and you have to carry that on. You have to do that with anybody you see, whether they live or whether they died, and don't give up and don't forget."

Patty didn't know when she would find herself in a similar situation, but she also knew she had to open the door to new friendship. Like so many people she lived in a neighborhood where people come and go from work and rarely see one another. One day she decided it was time to meet the woman who lived across the street, so she went over to her home and asked her if she'd like to join her on a walk.

Amy Larson says her timing was impeccable, "I was at this point where my kids had just left for college. I was a new empty-nester. When she knocked on the door I thought, 'Wow this is a sign. I need to go out. I need to get out of the house.'"

Within minutes these women became fast friends. On that walk, Amy told Patty about the neighbor who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and was going through chemotherapy.

Patty knew right then what she had to do. She doubled the meals she made for her family, and had her son deliver the meals to the neighbor's family, even though they had never met.

Mitzi Perron says her family was thrilled.

"The kids were so excited, because I was not cooking whatsoever, and they would hear the door bell ring and they knew they'd have some dinner that night," said Perron. "My husband's a great cook, but he works and it was just so wonderful to have these meals."

The next part of this story is fairly obvious. Mitzi called Patty to thank her for the meals and they became good friends too.

"I realized through this whole experience I had trouble accepting people giving to me and Patty didn't stop at that," said Mitzi. "She has continued to bring food even since I've healed and our families have gotten to know each other and it's just been fabulous."

In the time since, Patty has put together a cookbook, with Amy's help, who helped with the set design and photographs.

"The cookbook that we ended up creating we dedicated to the old adage that food is love and the spirit of giving," she said.

The cookbook is called "The Rocky Mountain Sweet Shoppe Cookbook." It is available through www.rockymountaincookbooks.com.  

The ladies shared one of their favorite recipes with us.

Carson City Snack Mix

2 (3.3 oz.) Bags Natural Flavor Microwave Popcorn
4 cups Corn Cereal Puffs
1 (10 oz.) Bag Corn Chips
2 cups Dry Roasted or Cocktail Peanuts
2 cups Thin Pretzel Sticks
1 ½ pounds Vanilla Flavored Almond Bark Coating
5 x 9 inch treat bags with ties (optional)

Microwave the popcorn bags 2 minutes 40 seconds each. Pour hot popcorn into large wax paper lined roasting pan. Let cool, and pick out seeds to discard.

Combine the popcorn, cereal puffs, corn chips, peanuts and pretzels. Mix well. Break almond bark into pieces and place in a medium sized microwave safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH 90 seconds. Stir well. Microwave another 60 seconds. Stir again. Continue to microwave in 15 second intervals until smooth. Let cool 3 minutes.

Drizzle melted coating over the popcorn mixture and stir to coat all pieces. Let cool and set (about 1 hour). Break mixture into pieces and transfer to an airtight container or treat bags with ties. Store at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Do not refrigerate or freeze.