Month: June 2018

Mandarin Sunburst Salad

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Father’s Day was celebrated a day early for us this year so that we could get together with our oldest daughter and her family.  They were reserving Sunday for her husband to enjoy an easy day at home after church. 

We picked up some amazing deep-fried barbecued chicken from Maw Maw’s Kitchen–a local southern diner. That was my husband’s idea because he really didn’t want to man the grill on his day.

I needed to add a couple of sides, so this ramen-inspired salad was just the ticket.  I also added Frosted Salad.  Great pairings! 

We had a delicious meal and then topped it off with Apple Pie and ice cream.  Good thing I had yoga the following Monday morning to start off a new week of working out at the Y.  Oh goodness. 

Mandarin Sunburst Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 2 pkg. ramen noodles, chicken flavor
  2. 1 pkg. (14-oz.) Cole Slaw
  3. 1 can (15-oz.) Mandarin oranges, drained
  4. 1 pkg. (5 or 6 oz.) dried sweetened cranberries
  5. 4 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  6. 12-16 snow peas, cut diagonally into thirds
  7. 1/2 cup toasted, sliced almonds, divided (Opt. if you have nut allergies)
  8. 1/2 cup canola oil
  9. 1/3 cup sugar
  10. 1/4 cup white vinegar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Open noodles packages. Reserve one seasoning packet for dressing and save other for future use, if desired.
  3. Break up ramen noodles into small pieces.
  4. Arrange noodles on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack covered with waxed paper.
  5. In a large bowl, combine Cole slaw, oranges, cranberries, onions, snow peas, 1/4 cup almonds and cooled noodles.
  6. Whisk oil, sugar, vinegar and reserved seasoning in a small bowl until well blended. Pour over slaw mixture and toss to coat evenly and combine all other ingredients. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup almonds over salad.
Notes
  1. This can be prepared 1-2 hours ahead of time and refrigerated to soften noodles. But you do want a little crunch!
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Apple Pie and A Family Connection

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Father’s Day weekend means I am in the kitchen making apple pie from scratch.  Sometimes, if anyone else wants some pie, I end up making two–one for “Dad” and one for the rest of us.

I already had several bowls out for various other dishes that I was preparing for a Saturday Father’s Day dinner, so I reached for this vintage red and white Pyrex bowl that used to be my Grandma Davis’.  I also have the small yellow and white one, but I have no idea whatever happened to the two in between.

I prepped the apples and placed them in this bowl to await the pie crusts being ready–they were chillin’–and realized that I was standing in my kitchen, using Grandma’s pie recipe and using her mixing bowl.  No doubt she had used this very one to make many a pie.

That was such a sweet moment for me.  Grandma passed away many years ago after battling Alzheimer’s–Mom passed only 2 years ago from the same horrible disease.  

Mom actually shared the recipe in our family cookbook as “Mother’s Apple Pie” (she called her mom “Mother”). So this really was a double serendipitous moment.

Connections like these are important.  They bind us to our families–earthly and beyond the veil–in ways we don’t even realize.  

Looking forward to more moments like these.

Have a great Sunday.

Frosted Salad

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This Frosted Salad is delicious!  To tell the truth, I would just eat the topping and leave the rest, but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone else.

I cannot for the life of me remember where I got this recipe–maybe a magazine–and it has been DECADES since I made it.  A browsing session through our family cookbook brought back the memories of that topping and I was like “oh yes, this will be made for our Father’s Day dinner.”

 

Frosted Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 2 pkg. strawberry Jello
  2. 2 cups lemon-lime soft drink
  3. 1/2 pt. whipping cream
  4. 2 cups boiling water
  5. 1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained, reserve juice
  6. 2 large bananas, diced
  7. 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
  8. 1/2 cup sugar
  9. 2 T. flour
  10. 2 t. butter
  11. 1 egg, well-beaten
Instructions
  1. Drain pineapple and save juice for the topping.
  2. Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Stir in lemon-lime drink. Chill until partially set.
  3. Add pineapple and bananas and stir well. Chill until set.
  4. In a small saucepan, combine reserved pineapple juice, sugar, flour, butter and egg and cook until thickened.
  5. Remove from heat and allow to cool (you can put this in fridge).
  6. When cooled, add 1/2 cup WHIPPED cream and spread on salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
  1. Don't forget to whip the whipping cream before adding to topping mixture.
Adapted from unknown
Adapted from unknown
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Taco Beef Soup

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Yes.  Another Taco Soup recipe, but this one is a family favorite.  I used to make it all the time and I have missed it.  

Just yesterday I realized that this would be perfect for dinner since our cute sister missionaries were joining us!  So excited to look it up in our Brew Family Cookbook–this is my go-to for meal planning.  

And guess what?  This is one of the recipes that Julie submitted for the cookbook!  I don’t think she will mind, do you?

Taco Beef Soup
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lb. ground beef
  2. 1/2 cup chopped onion
  3. 3 cups water
  4. 2 (14-oz.) cans diced tomatoes, un-drained
  5. 1 (16-oz.) can kidney beans, un-drained
  6. 1 (16-oz.) can tomato sauce
  7. 1 envelope taco seasoning mix or 1/4 cup from bulk mix
Instructions
  1. In large pot, cook ground beef and onions until browned. Drain off fat.
  2. Add remaining ingredients.
  3. Simmer soup, covered, for 15 minutes.
  4. Top with grated cheese, corn chips, or sour cream.
Adapted from Brew Family Cookbook, Vol. II, Strange Brew
Adapted from Brew Family Cookbook, Vol. II, Strange Brew
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/