Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup, Mixed Apple Salad, Peanutty Noodles, Peanut Butter Pie & Spicy Mulligatawny

I have been deliberating all week,

trying to decide which recipe to contribute.

Now I can't seem to narrow it down!

Of course none of my pictures are relevant to any of the recipes,

but they are all of the kids with their food —

Preston's picture-perfect pancakes

and the normal pandemonium of dinner at our table.

Always fun, there's never a dull moment!

I know it's getting a little warm outside,

but on those rainy days I still love a bowl of soup.

My all-time favorites are always salads and pasta.

Here are my latest favorites, and just for fun,

I'll even throw in Tyler's favorite southern tradition for dessert:

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

4 c.chicken broth

2 c. water

2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded

1 (4.5 ounce) package quick-cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground black pepper

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. butter

2 c. heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.

2. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.

3. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.

Original Recipe Yield: 8 servings

Mixed Apple Salad

Dressing:

1/4 c. fresh (or not fresh -- I'm not terribly picky) lemon juice

2 T. honey

1 tsp. olive oil

Dash of salt, pepper

Salad:

2 c. chopped Granny Smith apple

2 c. chopped Fuji, Honeycrisp or Braeburn apple

1/4 c. Crumbled bleu cheese, feta or Boursin cheese

2 bacon slices, cooked or crumbled, or 1/4 c. toasted pecans

4 c. mixed salad greens

Peanutty Noodles

Set aside:

2 carrots, julienned

Saute 30 seconds:

1 t. oil

2 t. ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

Add:

1 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. soy sauce

3 t. rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 t. chili garlic sauce

1/4 t. salt

Simmer 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat.

Saute 5 minutes:

2 t. oil

2 c. red bell pepper strips

1 lb. snow peas, trimmed

Cook 1 lb. linguini according to directions on package.

Add carrots, peanut butter mixture, and bell pepper mixture to linguini, toss well.

Sprinkle with:

Cilantro

Peanut Butter Pie

Crust

Mix together:

1 pkg. graham crackers, crushed


6 T. butter


1/3. c. sugar


Bake 8 min. @ 350.
Sprinkle hot crust with 1 c. chocolate chips
 


Filling

Beat until stiff:

1 c. heavy whipping cream


Slowly add:

2 T. powdered sugar
 


In separate bowl, beat:

8 oz. cream cheese


3/4 c. crunchy peanut butter


Add:

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

whipped cream mixture


Spoon into crust, refrigerate over night.

Spicy Mulligatawny

Saute:

1/2 lb chicken, cut into bite size pieces*

Set chicken aside.

Saute 5 minutes in 2 tsp. oil:

1 c. chopped, peeled apple

3/4 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. chopped carrot

1/2 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped bell pepper

Stir in:

2 T. flour

1 T. curry powder

1 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

1/4 t. salt

Cook 1 minute.

Stir in:

2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth

1/3 c. mango chutney*

1/4 c. tomato paste

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 8 minutes. Add chicken. Cook 2 minutes until heated through.

*changes I made: I used a can of cooked chicken and 1/2 c. mango juice instead of the chutney —but then I had to put in a little less water with my chicken broth bullions so that it wouldn't be too liquid. I also tossed the entire thing in the crock pot to simmer after mixing in the tomato paste.

by Stephanie, wife of Barbara's son Brandon

Chicken Quesadillas, Red Beans & Rice, Balsamic Dressing & Salad

I love Mom this much!

I want Mom's cooking, not a stupid icicle.

I remember wanting to serve Mom or Dad breakfast in bed on special occasions. I have since realized that this is not very enjoyable or practical for the following reasons...

1) It is hard to sit up in bed when there is a window behind you and you have no headboard.

2) The food has a tendency to spill when it is on a cookie sheet (This is because you didn't want to spend money on a "bed tray".)

3) It is boring to eat alone. (Everyone else has left to fix their own breakfast.)

4) If someone does stay to chat, they sit on the bed and disrupt the food on the cookie sheet all over again.

5) There is usually something that I need so I have to call loudly to get someone's attention.

6) It is hard to get out of bed when I am done because I have a cookie sheet and other paraphernalia on my lap.

7) etc.

Chicken Quesadillas

1 c. shredded cooked chicken

1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 c. Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing

1/4 c. diced green chilies, rinsed and drained

4 (9-inch) flour tortillas, warmed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chicken, cheese, ranch & chilies in a bowl. Divide the chicken mixture evenly between each tortilla; fold in half to seal. Place quesadillas on a baking sheet & bake for 15 min. or until cheese is melted. Optional: Cook quesadillas in a skillet

Yummy Red Beans and Rice

30 oz. can small red beans (or 2-15 oz. cans)

1/2 t. white pepper

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. paprika

1/4 t. salt

3 T. butter

Pour beans with liquid into a large saucepan. Add pepper, paprika, butter, garlic powder and salt. Heat on medium. When beans begin to boil, use a fork to mash some of them against the side of the pan. Stir constantly until they get to a smooth creamy texture with some whole beans. Cook your favorite rice and serve with the red beans on the side or on top of the rice.

Cheryl's Favorite Balsamic Dressing & Salad

2 pkgs. Good Seasons Italian Dressing® Mix (dry)

1/4 c. olive or canola oil

3 T. water

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

Garlic powder, onion powder, dry basil and salt and pepper (to taste)

* a combination of mixed greens, baby spinach & romaine

* Feta cheese

* Craisins

* Toasted nuts (pecans, almonds or walnuts)

* Crispy won ton strips (optional)

by Cheryl, Barbara's daughter

Apricot Chicken

Bennetts at Canyonland 2010

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the Bennett family favorites is also one of the easiest recipes on earth. Maybe that's why it's one of our favorites... ;-} . It is for Apricot Chicken and some of you may already have this recipe.

Apricot Chicken

1 pkg. chicken thighs with bone in (i.e. from Costco, 8 - 10 thighs) with skin and fat removed

Mix:

1 jar (10 - 12 oz) apricot jam

1 jar (8 oz) Russian dressing

1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Place chicken in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Cover with the above sauce. Bake for 1-1/2 hours at 325 degrees (loosely covered with foil for the 1st hour). Turn thighs over and continue baking uncovered for 1/2 hour.

Serve over rice:

3 c. oriental rice

4 c. water

by Kirsten, Barbara's daughter

Beef Nacho Casserole

Beef Nacho Casserole

2 lb, ground beef (pre-cooked)

2 c. salsa

2 c. corn (about one can)

½ c. mayonnaise

1 T. chili powder

8 oz. Colby jack cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with corn chips and salad (like a taco salad).

by Allison, wife of Barbara's son Doug

Navajo Tacos

Erik sharing with Ian

One of our traditions—when we are at BYU—is to go to the Cougareat (old name, I know) for Navajo Tacos. A long while back, we got the recipe we've used for years (see below). Recently, BYU Magazine had an article on tastes from BYU. If you click on Cosmo, on the sidebar, you can find the "real" recipe for Navajo Tacos, Mint Brownies, and other campus favorites. I really don't like to make these Navajo Tacos as much as my guys really like to have them (because of the hot oil/frying smell, and 'healthiness'). Scott will even volunteer to do the frying. I think a better choice is to use pita or flatbread in place of the fry bread. I know I would hear much murmuring if that happened at our house.

cousins Joel, Sarah and Kyle

Navajo Tacos

1 (1 lb.) can refried beans (we usually rehydrate some of our church cannery dried refrieds)

1 c. colby or cheddar cheese, grated

2 c. lettuce, shredded

2 med. tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, chopped

Salsa

Sour cream

Indian Fry Bread (recipe below)

Heat refrieds and prepare other ingredients. Set aside while you prepare Fry Bread. For each Navajo Taco, top with warmed beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Garnish with salsa and sour cream.

Indian Fry Bread

1 c. flour

Oil for frying

1-1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 c. hot water

1/2 t. salt

Heat 1/2” oil in skillet over med-high heat. In med. bowl, combine ingredients. Blend well. This will be sticky. Turn out on lightly floured board. Turn once to coat with flour. Knead dough until smooth, about 10 turns. Roll out to about 1/8-1/4” thick. Cut into squares or rectangles. (Or you can roll balls out into circles.) Stretch each square or circle slightly. Fry to light golden brown on one side. Turn and fry on other side. These will still be fairly soft after frying. Makes 6-8 breads.

Easter

We are definitely not as inventive as the Asays in the way of Easter traditions! I did not like the idea of baskets filled with tons of toys, as the retailers try to commercialize on the order of Christmas. Sometimes we'd do a church-related gift, but usually it was just a Bread Bunny (click here for recipe), colored hard-boiled eggs and colored, speckled malted chocolate eggs. Thankfully Scott was in charge of the malted chocolate eggs this year...so they'd last until Easter morning! Sunday morning we usually get up and have bread and eggs before church. I can't even remember how many years it's been since we've hidden eggs. I'm guessing it will happen again by this post; I'm sure Ian will enjoy finding them. Happy Easter to all!

Experimental Dinners

Finally, I thought I'd end with telling you about the sufferage my guys have had to endure over the years. And it continues to this day. I'm always wanting to try new recipes. They would prefer "standard fare." I like new tastes, and want to try to have healthier options than years prior. Kyle would be happy with straight meat most days. Nothing green or weird or healthy. Scott is usually a good sport about things, though when he says "it was OK", that usually means "I'd rather not suffer through that again." Recently I tried a vegetarian enchilada recipe with black beans and yams and zucchini...yum! Kyle came out of his room and said "I smell something green." After tasting them, he said that he just needed something to chew on...like meat. Doesn't he think you can chew on vegetables? Last week I made BBQ Chicken Pizza, with a whole wheat crust. Kyle thought it was weird, Scott endured, and I loved it. I'm trying Lime Coconut Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting for my book group in March. Bon Appetit!

p.s. After writing this, we had a simple dinner of red beans and rice with avocado, tomatoes, sour cream and Tabasco for toppings. Kyle ate it. And liked it. Scott too. Except for the green!

by Dee, wife of Barbara's son Scott

Asay Easter Dinner

The first of two Easter 1993 pictures

—with the 3 kids on a little tykes crocodile rocker—

the same time my story took place.

In a couple weeks it will be Easter—our family’s favorite holiday next to Christmas and April Fool’s! We seem to have very few photos because we’ve videotaped most of them…for hours. One of our favorite family videos is of Easter morning 1993 in Juneau, Alaska. The kids wait for the camera to start rolling so they can hunt for the eggs, candy, and little wooden, painted chicks and bunnies that the Easter Bunny has hidden all over the living room—very exciting! Ellice is 1, Derek is 3, and Joel is 6 years old. Joel is obviously the one with the past Easter experience, stuffing his basket as fast as possible before Derek can get there (he’s still trying to figure it out) and at the same time, stay out of the parents’ fairness radar. Derek is actually charmed by the little wooden animals while Joel is bagging the loot, in a kind, big brotherly sort of way. Ellice mostly sits, looking around at the unusual activity in the room. The truly funny part is when Derek, twice within about 3 minutes, dumps his whole basket of candy while tripping over his own feet trying very excitedly to get somewhere in the room and is totally unfazed—a couple of “3 Stooges” moments! Joel notices his opportunity to snag a lot of loot at one time, but isn’t sneaky enough. It’s highly entertaining!

One is of Derek and Ellice wearing bunny faces (about 4 years later).

In later years, Dad (Grant) has made it his mission to hide the kids’ Easter baskets in unusual and difficult-to-find places with the rule that you must find your basket before you can hunt for the goodies. A few of you may have heard stories of the agony in one camp (the kids) and glee in the other (the parents). Some of the best hiding spots have been up in the chimney, under a sink behind the pipes, hanging behind drapes above their heads, suspended back behind tall bookshelves, in the washing machine, in an empty toilet tank, and behind air vents. The intensity has grown with the kids! Thankfully, the goodness of our Heavenly Father and the selfless gift of His Son super cedes this minor craziness!

One is of Grant hiding a basket 10 years later in 2003 in Michigan!

So, our traditional Easter meal usually includes fresh rolls, green salad, green beans or corn, mashed potatoes, Amish Ham, and Mom’s (Grandma’s) famous Strawberry Pie (see below) found in the Barbara D. Eliason cookbook. Enjoy! And please feel free to call if you need to clarify something. I might note that this is the only gravy that Joel will eat—spicy, sweet—and we’ve doubled or tripled the ham recipe as needed. I’m including a green bean and salad recipe just for fun, though we change our recipes for those items regularly! Happy Easter 2010!

Easter 1993

Amish Ham

2 slices center cut cured ham, cut about 1” thick

(I can’t find it cut this thick at the store, so I usually buy a ham butt or shank and cut it off from around the bone myself, also cutting off any fat and outside rind. Meat departments used to cut it for me, bone and all, but not anymore.)

1 t. powdered mustard

3-4 T. packed brown sugar

1 t. allspice

¼ t. ground pepper

Milk to cover (about 2 c. or more)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Layer the ham in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with sugar and seasonings. Pour enough milk over to barely cover the meat. Cover and cook for one hour, adding more milk if needed. Ham will be tender. Thicken the milk gravy with flour, and serve hot over mashed potatoes. (It may be handy to use a dutch oven type of pot that will transfer from the oven (baking the ham) to the stove top (to thicken the gravy). Or you can just transfer the milk to another pan for the microwave or stovetop.) Serves 4-6.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

½ pound fresh strawberries, washed and sliced (or more if you like)

8 to 16 oz. fresh, washed baby spinach (or cut regular spinach)

½ small red onion sliced thin

1 c. crumbled, cooked bacon pieces, optional

Dressing:

2 T. sugar

¼ t. Worcestershire sauce

¼ t. paprika

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

¼ c. Balsamic vinegar

1 T. toasted sesame seeds

Mix salad ingredients. Whisk dressing together and toss with salad. (May not use all of the dressing according to personal preference.) Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Blue Cheese Green Beans (My favorite!)

¼ t. Dijon-style mustard

1 t. cider vinegar

2 t. finely chopped shallot (or sweet onion)

1 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided

¼ c. slightly chopped pecans

¾ lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and halved

1 ½ oz. blue cheese

In large bowl whisk together mustard, vinegar, shallot, and 1 ½ t. oil for the dressing. Set aside. In a small skillet, heat 1 ½ t. oil over moderately high heat. Add pecans and salt to taste; cook, stirring frequently, about 1 minute. Transfer to paper towel. In large saucepan of boiling salted water, boil beans until just tender, about 3 minutes; drain and transfer to ice water. Stir until just cool. Drain well and add to dressing. Crumble blue cheese over beans and toss with half the pecans. Top with remaining pecans and serve. (This keeps the pecans from being all on the bottom of the bowl when you serve it!)

Strawberry Pie (from Barbara Eliason cookbook, pg. 56)

1 baked pie shell

Fresh strawberries

1 c. mashed strawberries

1 c. cool water

3 T. cornstarch (mixed with above water)

3/4 c. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Cook together until thickens. Let cool. Slice fresh strawberries into a baked pie shell until pretty full. Pour above mixture over the strawberries. Chill. Top with whipped cream.

contributed by Karen, Barbara's daughter

Mom's turn! Monkey Bread & Shrimp Stroganoff

Who would have guessed when we got married and started our family we would be blessed with 8 beautiful and wonderful children, each holding a special place in our home and hearts. We have had many varied and wonderful experiences together—the children never complaining about our frequent moves. But they adjusted and enjoyed each area and experience – some best forgotten such as burnt chili, Swedish meatballs laced with ginger cookies, and blue stroganoff.

We were always on the move and couldn’t even stay in one place when we were in the same area such as 4 different homes in Kentucky and 3 in Bandelier. I guess I spent most of my time cleaning homes, packing up our belongings, and having and caring for our GREAT children!!!

Some of the experiences the children won’t remember were when we went from Yellowstone Nat'l Park at 8,000 feet elevation to Death Valley Nat'l Mon., which was below sea level. We remember things there that have stuck in our minds—such as bread in Yellowstone that was always too light no matter how much yeast Mom decreased it and then having cookies in Death Valley that were like hard rocks and not very sweet. As we entered Death Valley, we wondered if our decision was very wise as we looked at the dry mountains and strange valley. Then, when we looked at the trailer we were supposed to live in, we almost turned around and left. However, we cleaned and cleaned the trailer and as time went by we grew to love the desert and were very surprised when Spring came and the mountains were covered with beautiful flowers.

Do you remember going up to the No. Cascades Nat'l Park,

finding and playing in watermelon snow?

No matter where we lived (some of which were places we had little knowledge about) Dad helped us learn about the world around us and to appreciate all of God’s handiwork. We learned that we could love and appreciate any place that we had the privilege of living in, and be happy. Sometimes the children were their own best friends. We were also blessed to have Church activity wherever we lived or in whatever remote area we were in, which made our experiences even more enjoyable.

Our Crowning Experiences, however, were having ALL the family together in the Temple at Brenda and Jared's marriages and sealings, where the spirit was very strong and where we can return often to receive help and feel that same spirit. We love and appreciate ALL our children, their spouses and our grandchildren. The Most Important things in our lives are our Wonderful Family, our Testimonies of Jesus Christ and the Church – with the goal of Eternal Lives Together, where there are no empty chairs.

Monkey Bread (A new bread to me but easy and good—fattening)

2 c. lukewarm water

1 T. salt

½ c. sugar

2 T. yeast

Mix together and let set for 8 min.

2 eggs, beaten

4 T. cool melted shortening or oil

7 c. sifted flour

2 T. dough enhancer (opt.)

Add eggs and 3 c. flour to water mixture and mix well. Add oil and remaining flour; knead well. Let rise till doubled. Punch down; chill.

Melt 1 cube of butter in each of 2 Bundt pans. Roll out dough to ½ inch thick. Cut in squares;place around butter in Bundt pans, forming a continuous wheel in bottom of pan. Let rise 2-3 hours. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. (some ovens work better at 375 degrees for 30 min).

Note: to fit busy schedules, can leave dough in fridge overnight, then put in Bundt pans and put back in fridge. Take out 1-2 hours before baking. (This uses a lot of butter-you may want to decrease that in the pan and pour a little over the top and/or use less all together.)

For cinnamon rolls: cut dough into circles with biscuit cutter, pour melted butter out of pans,dip each roll in butter, then in mixture of 1 c. sugar and 4 tsp. cinnamon, then form wheel. You can also drizzle the rolls with powdered sugar icing while they are still warm.

Shrimp Stroganoff

2-3 lbs. uncooked med. shrimp and/or other seafood

½ c. butter, divided (or less)

½ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

½ c. each - chopped onion, celery, red pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, mashed

2-3 T. flour

1 c. chicken or beef broth

¾ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. chopped fresh dill, opt

½ to 1-½ tsp. salt

1 c. sour cream

Cooked rice or noodles

Saute the shrimp in 6 T. of butter for 5 min. Remove shrimp and set aside. To pan, add remaining butter, mushrooms, onion, celery, red pepper and garlic; cook for 5 min. Add the flour to the broth, Worcestershire sauce, dill and salt, then add to pan, mixing well. Simmer for 2 min. Stir in the sour cream, mix well, then add the shrimp. Heat but do not boil. Serve with rice or noodles. Serves 6 (PLEASE – NO blue coloring!)

by Barbara!