BBQ Southwestern Chicken, Stuffed Bell Peppers, Cream of Celery Soup, Maple Almond Macaroons, Brenda's Yummy Ranch Dressing

Emery, Carter and Mawna K!

BBQ Southwestern Chicken

1 c. ketchup
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. vinegar, apple or white
1 T. instant minced onion (dried)
2 t. McCormick Culinary Barbecue Spice (18oz for $11.77 Amazon/Walmart)
(This is a 1988, discontinued spice, reintroduced one year ago!)

Simmer for 10 minutes on stove top then pour over 2 1/2 lbs bone in chicken parts and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Bake less time for boneless, skinless thighs or for cut up boneless skinless breast meat. Serve over rice. 4-6 servings.


Stuffed Bell Peppers (or Casserole)
1 cup rice (white or brown) cooked according to directions and set aside

Sauce:
1 onion diced
1 T. oil
2 c. Bertoli Rustic Cut Marinara (or other including Costco's)
1 c. beef broth
1 T. balsamic vinegar (or more)
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Peppers:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 (10oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley (1 1/2 TBS dried)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/8 t. ground cayenne pepper
4-6 large red, yellow, orange bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeded


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook onion and oil over medium heat until they soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in marinara sauce, broth, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir 1 minute. Pour sauce (reserving 1 cup for top of peppers) into a 9x13" baking dish and set aside. Brown beef, then add tomatoes, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir in cooked rice and mix well. Stuff bell pepper halves with beef mixture and place in baking dish. Top each half with 1 TBS of reserved sauce. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20-25 minutes until the peppers are tender. Let rest 5 minutes and serve. I don't use Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but you may add 1 cup to the meat mixture and/or sprinkle some on top of the peppers before baking.

***For easier eating (children) or quicker cooking, you may dice the peppers and mix them with the sauce and meat mixture before cooking! Yum!

Mother's Day 2020

BEST Cream of Celery Soup

1/4 c. butter
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 c.)
2 c, very finely chopped good quality flavorful celery 

(about 5 large ribs, organic recommended for optimal flavor).
1 large clove garlic ,minced
1/3 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 c. good quality chicken broth
1 1/2 c. whole milk (or use 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup cream for even tastier results)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
1/8 t. freshly ground pepper

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat and cook the onions, celery and garlic until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the flour and cook for another minute. Add the chicken broth and milk/cream and stir until the mixture is smooth. Increase the heat and bring it to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
If used as a base for other recipes, this soup will keep in the fridge for at least 3-4 days. Makes 4 servings.

One batch of this soup is roughly the quantity of 2 cans prepared canned condensed cream of celery soup. Enjoy as a stand-alone soup or use in any recipe calling for prepared canned condensed cream of celery soup. Basic, but delicious!

Maple, Almond Macaroons
3 c. dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 1/2 c. fine almond flour
1 c. maple syrup
1/3 c. coconut butter or slightly less oil
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 t. salt

Combine all in a bowl. Use a small scoop, large spoon, or hands to spoon rounds of dough onto hydrator screens and dry for 12-24 hours at 115 degrees until the outside is crisp. You may also dry them in the oven on the lowest temp for a few hours. ***You can make coconut butter by blending unsweet coconut really well. Lemon zest and a little lemon juice can also be added to make lemon/coconut macaroons... May also dip in chocolate after drying :)


Brenda's Yummy Ranch Dressing
1 c. mayo
1/2 c. sour cream
1 t. parsley
1 t. dried chives
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Mix then add milk, 2 T. at a time, stirring after each addition until of desired consistency.

by Karen & Brenda, Barbara's daughters

Mediterranean Chicken

Here’s a great recipe that I absolutely LOVE!
Even David will eat and enjoy!!

Mediterranean Chicken

2 lbs. bone-in chicken pieces - sprinkle with oregano, salt, pepper, basil

Marinate chicken for 8 hrs or overnight in the following:

Freshly chopped garlic - 4 cloves (or more)

1/2 c. red vinegar

1/2 c. olive oil

1-2 bay leaves

1/2 bottle of capers

Pitted prunes

1 jar spanish olives

When ready to bake, sprinkle chicken with 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1 c. apple juice. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 2 hours. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

by Brenda, Barbara's daughter

Chicken Marengo

photo from here

Brenda sent me (Cheryl) this recipe, and Parker made it for our family.
It is tasty.

You can click on the recipe for a larger view.

by Brenda and Cheryl, two of  Barbara's four daughters

Grilled Pizza, Garlic Fries

Brenda grilling pizza on her deck in Wisconsin.

Grilled Pizza

Brush dough with olive oil. Grill until done, oil then flip and top with roasted peppers, sautéed onions, bushrooms, olives, pepperoni, cheese and pizza sauce.

Garlic Fries

Cut potatoes into fries. Cook under broiler until brown. Flip, and brown other side. Remove from oven. In large skillet, melt butter and add minced garlic. Toss and head with fries, Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

click on any of these images to view a larger image

by Brenda, Barbara's daughter

Karen's Chocolate Cake

We were on FaceTime one Sunday, when Cheryl described the delicious chocolate cake recipe she made for a ward dinner. She said it was Karen's recipe and "you won't want it" because it is SO good! I called Karen; she didn't have it. She called Brenda; Brenda called me and dictated it. So, here's the Cheryl/Karen/Brenda Chocolate Cake recipe. Since I don't have a picture of them making or eating chocolate cake, I'm recycling one from their breadmaking class post.

Karen's Chocolate Cake

2 sticks butter
1 c. water
4 T. cocoa
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

Bring butter, water and cocoa to boil. Add sugar and flour. Mix well. Wait 5 minutes. Add egg, buttermilk, soda and vanilla. Bake  at 350 for 35-40 min. in greased and floured 9x13" pan.

Frosting
1 stick butter
4 T. cocoa
1/3 c. buttermilk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Bring butter, cocoa and buttermilk to boil. Remove from stove. Add sugar, vanilla and bean until smooth. Frost while cake is warm. Takes better next day.

by Karen, Cheryl & Brenda, three of Barbara's four daughters

Roasted Tomatoes, African Coriander Bread

Brenda, Karen and Cheryl at breadmaking class in Wisconsin

May 2010

Roasted Tomatoes

(to toss in pasta, top chicken or bruschetta, or serve alongside chicken or beef)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice and core tomatoes. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper and sliced garlic. Bake 30-60 minutes, until juices have evaporated. Store in a plastic zip-top bag in refrigerator or freezer. You can also slow roast tomatoes in a 250 degree oven 3 to 4 hours.

African Coriander Bread
(hands down, my favorite bread from our class)

2 pkgs. dry yeast
1-1/2 c. lukewarm milk
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
1 T. ground coriander
2+ T. grated orange peel
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1 egg
1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
4 to 4-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Stir in remaining ingredients except flour. Stir in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth. Place in greased bowl, cover, let rise until double, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough; divide into halves. Shape each into a loaf. Cover and let rise.

Heat oven to 375. Cut slash in top of each loaf. Bake until loaves are folden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

**Note: when baking the bread we always did the final rise on a parchment-covered, upside down cookie sheet. That way the parchment could easily be slid from the cookie sheet onto a preheated baking stone. Immediately after sliding in the bread, 5-6 ice cubes were tossed in a cast iron skillet kept in the bottom of the oven.)

by Brenda, Barbara's daughter

Carrot Soup, Roast and Hummus

My whole life I've lived with the story of how Brandon & I spilled flour all over the floor. Can sticky powdered milk be considered payback??

My first memories of gardening are from mom, but they weren't necessarily happy and fun-filled. I just remember a lot of weeds. Nevertheless, mom taught me thrift and self-sufficiency which guided me to start gardening on my own. Now, each September, David and I have more carrots than we know what to do with. This carrot soup is one of our favorite ways to use those garden carrots. I dedicate this soup to my thrifty, gardening mom.

Creamy Carrot Soup

1 c. chopped onion

2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth

1/4 c. butter, cubed

1 t. ginger

4 1/2 c. carrots, cubed

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1 large potato, peeled and cubed

Salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy pan, sauté onion in butter until tender. Add carrots, potato, broth and ginger. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Cool for 15 minutes.

Transfer to a blender or food processor in small batches; cover and process until smooth. Return all to the pan; stir in the cream, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until heated through.

When mom comes to visit, she always makes me at least a couple batches of bread. And guess who gets the job of grinding the wheat??

Although this recipe is not in mom's cookbook, it came from mom. If you haven't been lucky enough to get this "Rump Roast" recipe from her, here it is. I've re-named this recipe "No-fail Rump Roast", because it comes out perfect EVERY time. No exceptions. Just follow the recipe as written, and don't try to sneak around it like... well... mom.

No-fail Rump Roast

Brown roast on all sides using a little butter and leave fat side up. Cover roast in big pot to within 2" of top with: 3 T. beef base, 2 T. chicken base and water. Sprinkle with pepper. Cover, place on top of stove, bring to boil, then turn down and simmer 4-5 hours. Juice is good for gravy or au jus sauce.

No, it's not homemade. But at least it's whole wheat.

And we don't have dad around to teach us polite manners,

like eating at the table and not the floor.

I had my first taste of hummus when we lived in Saudi Arabia. I can't remember how well I liked it back then, but now I can't get enough of it. I eat it with carrots, broccoli, etc., pita, or as a sandwich spread. (I got that last idea from Cheryl.) This is my favorite hummus recipe I've yet to find. You will love it as much as the expensively packaged stuff at the store.

Real Hummus

2 cloves garlic (I use fresh minced)

1 (19 oz) can garbanzo beans, liquid reserved

4 T. lemon juice (I use reconstituted)

3 T. tahini

1/2 t. salt

cumin to taste

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Reserve the liquid from the garbanzo beans, then boil the beans in a pot of water for 20 minutes until softened. Cool slightly. Slip off skins. (This can be time-consuming but it makes all the difference. Do not skip this step!!) In a blender (or food processor), chop the garlic. Pour in garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, salt, cumin and about 1/4 cup reserved liquid. Blend until creamy and well mixed. (You can vary the amount of liquid depending on preference. If refrigerated, the mixture will thicken slightly.) Transfer to a medium sized serving bowl and drizzle olive oil on top.

Dad... this one's for you. You'd never approve, but... oh well.

Like mother like son. You trained me (and now Max) well!

by Brenda, Barbara's daughter

~~~~~~~~

p.s. by Dee

When Brenda was here in Oregon in March, Scott transferred her camera pictures to disks for her. Because of that we have a selection of her photos. I thought this Black party was too cute not to add to the end of Brenda's post.

Aimee, and three friends, having a "Tea Party" with Levi as the waiter. What a great mom you are, Brenda!