Roasted Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

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This is a definite go to soup, especially if you have leftovers. It’s actually even better the next day. I’ve made this for friends when they are sick and, magically, they have recovered!

Ingredients:

1 6 oz. box long-grain and wild rice mix (such as Uncle Ben’s)
1 T. olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped red onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 8 oz. package mushrooms, halved
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 t. dried tarragon
1/4 t. dried thyme
2 cups water
2 tablespoons sherry
32 oz. chicken broth
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
3 cups shredded roasted skinless chicken

Directions:

1. Prepare wild rice mix according to package directions; set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 4 ingredients (onion through mushrooms); saute for 6 minutes or until onion is tender. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.

3. Stir flour, tarragon, and thyme into onion mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 2 cups water, sherry, chicken broth, and evaporated milk; bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until slightly thick.

4. Stir in cooked rice and chicken, cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Source: Cooking Light

Butter Brickle Bars

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Yet another I don’t make very often because I can’t leave them alone. My mom made some of these for my wedding reception and though not a true “freezer item” it froze pretty well. Maybe that’s what I should do to “ration them out” for myself.

Butter Brickle Bars
1 box graham crackers
1 stick butter
1 stick margarine
1/2 c. sugar
Slivered or sliced almonds (I usually use slivered-almonds are not pictured above)
milk chocolate chips (can also use milk chocolate melting wafers)

1-Break graham crackers on lines to get 58 rectangles.
2-Lay rectangles on a greased pan.
3-Bring butter, margarine, and sugar to an easy boil.
4-Boil for 3 minutes.
5-Spoon the mixture over the rectangles.
6-Sprinkle sliced almonds on top
7-Bake at 350 for 10+ minutes.
8-Separate bars.
9-Put bars on aluminum foil.
10-Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over top of bars.

Source: Lollita Riley

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins

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Christmas is creeping ever nearer, and I am sure you are planning the menu. But what about all the leftovers? Here’s a great recipe for all that cranberry sauce you will have left over. I have to give big credit to www.twopeasandtheirpod.com for this recipe. If you want to see the original post check out their site. When all the family went home after Thanksgiving all that was left in my fridge was homemade cranberry sauce. I had no idea what to do with it! It was a delicious sauce, but without turkey to pile it on, it wasn’t going anywhere. Then I found this recipe and it was amazing! Save this one for a post-Christmas breakfast!

Yield: 6 large muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. sugar
1 T. orange zest
1/4 C. canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 C. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 C. fresh cranberry sauce (about 2 tablespoons per muffin)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Rub in sugar and orange zest together; whisk into dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk canola oil, egg, milk, and vanilla together.
4. Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir. The batter will be thick.
5. Place half the batter a the bottom of six muffin cups. Spoon about 2 T. of fresh cranberry sauce on top of the muffin batter. Top muffins evenly with remaining muffin batter.


6. Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a rack.

And the winner is……

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Congratulations, truckerlover, on winning the Pampered Chef giveaway! 

Please email us at mormonmavens@gmail.com before Monday, December 19th, with your shipping address.  If we don’t hear from you by then, another winner will be chosen.

Merry Christmas!

Instant Christmas Wassail

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Just in time for Christmas! If you’ve never had wassail before, I’ve been told it’s similar in taste to Russian tea. I’ve never had Russian tea, but I know I like wassail!
Ingredients:
1 C Tang
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C lemonade mix
2 t cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
1. Mix well.
Source: My mom

When serving I like to pour the water in first and then add the wassail mix and stir; I think it incorporates better that way as opposed to putting the mix in your mug and then adding the water.
Yields more than the quart pictured above (not more than a cup more–I didn’t measure it).

Creamy Tomato Soup

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As a child I was not a fan of tomato soup. Well, thank goodness I got over that… because this soup is just too yummy. I was “introduced” to it at a church function last year, I enjoyed one (or two) bowls, and had the recipe in hand within 24 hours.

This recipe is so easy. It’s one of my go-to “I forgot about dinner” recipes. You just dump, simmer, and you’re done. (You may never go back to condensed soup after this)

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 [28oz] + 1 [14.5oz]can of PETITE diced tomatoes (I usually get the Italian seasoned ones)
46 oz. can  tomato juice
14 leaves fresh basil, diced
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter salt and pepper to taste

1. Place tomatoes, juice, and basil in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, with an immersion blender. (I don’t puree it because I like my soup a little chunky.)
3. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.

 *This recipe makes a lot of soup. I also think it would be a great dieter’s recipe since the only fat in the whole recipe is from the cream and butter. I honestly think you could probably omit the butter and it would still taste fantastic. The soup also keeps well in the fridge and reheats nicely.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

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Mr. Blue Eyes (yes, my husband cooks!–Thankfully!) and I made these earlier this month for my birthday. They. were. DELISH! You must try them! The frosting was a little complicated for us, being our first time using a meringue-type, but it was worth it! I don’t generally care for frosting. I’m the weirdo at all the parties who scrapes the frosting off the cake to eat it plain. But I’m telling you I REALLY liked this frosting. Very light. Truly worth every minute!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:
18 Paper Cupcake Liners (plus a few extra…we needed them)
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose Flour
1/2 Cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder (we used Hersey’s Cocoa Powder)
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp, cut into small pieces
1 1/3 Cups Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Milk, at room temp
*3/4 – 1 Cup Fresh Raspberries (or frozen, thawed and well drained)–OPTIONAL

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in all wells of Cupcake Tins (we used one 12 cup tin, and one 6 cup tin.)

2. In a small bowl, sift together Flour, Cocoa Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt. Set aside.

3. In a Large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy–about 2 minutes. (We used our Kitchen Aide for this.) Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time until they are each mixed in well.

4. Alternating about 4 times, mix in the flour mixture and the milk. Beat briefly between each add-in to make sure it’s well incorporated and the batter is smooth.

5. If you’re using Raspberries, this is where you fold them into the batter. We only did 3/4 Cup, but next time I think we’ll do a full 1 cup.

6. Divide batter evenly among the cupcake wells. Bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs.

7. Cool on racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely.

Italian Meringue Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:
Scant 2/3 Cup, plus 3 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 Cup water
4 Large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 Cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp, cut into small pieces
*3/4 Cup Raspberries (OPTIONAL)

1. Place 2/3 Cup Sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Stir to wet the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Dip pastry brush in cold water and wash down the sugar crystals from the sides of the pot once or twice. Turn down the heat to simmer gently.

2. Place the egg whites in a clean, grease-free mixing bowl and whip until frothy on low speed using balloon whip attachment to your standing mixer. Add cream of tartar and turn speed to medium-high. When soft peaks form add remaining 3 Tablespoons sugar gradually. (This is the meringue part of the butter-cream, and the frosting may be used at this point for low-fat, marshmallow-like frosting; it must be used immediately.)

3. Bring the sugar-water mixture to a rapid boil and cook until it reaches 248 – 250 degrees F. (We don’t have a thermometer *GASP!* and so the following directions were vital.) As syrup cooks, look for visual clues to assess temperature. It starts out thin with many small bubbles over the surface. The water will begin to evaporate and the mixture will become thicker. The bubbles get larger and sticky and pop more slowly. At this point the syrup looks thickened, but it has not begun to color. If you drop a bit of the syrup into a glass of cold water it will form into a ball. This is the firm-ball stage, and the syrup is ready.

4. Pour a thin, steady stream over meringue, without pouring any on the rotating whip or the sides of the bowl. (Be quick! We didn’t do it fast enough and had to make the syrup a 2nd time.) Whip meringue on high speed until cool. When the bowl is no longer warm, stop the machine and touch the surface of the meringue with your finger to check that it is cooled. With mixer on medium speed, add the butter, a couple Tablespoons at a time. Keep beating until the buttercream is completely smooth. It is now ready to use. Any flavorings or variations can be added at this time.

5. This is where you beat the raspberries into the frosting. Just keep the beater going and add the berries. The buttercream will turn pink and you will see bits of fruit (YUM!) suspended here and there. (Beautiful!)

6. Frost cupcakes smoothly using an icing spatula or a spoon. Top with garnish, candles, or whatever you prefer!

*You don’t have to use Raspberries. Use the cupcake and frosting recipes as is, or with your own variation. That’s what I love about these recipes! Make them your own.

Yield: The recipe says 18 cupcakes, but we got 18 big cupcakes + 10 small ones, and we weren’t skimpy when filling either!

Notes:
     ~Like I said before, the frosting was a little more difficult than we expected and we had a few hiccoughs in the procedure. Mr. Blue Eyes was in charge of the syrup, while I did the meringue. Having four hands worked well for us first-timers.

Source: A Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes: By Dede Wilson

~Kara

Sweet Potato Bake

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Ingredients:

Filling:
3 cups sweet potatoes, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup heavy cream

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans, chopped

1. In a large pot or bowl, beat together all of the filling ingredients except for cream.
2. Add cream and mix well.
3. Pour into a greased casserole dish.
4. In a seperate bowl, mix together topping ingredients.
5. Sprinkle topping over top of casserole.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Source: Paula Deen, of course!

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

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This is one of my favorite fall flavors!  Pumpkin with all of the spices.  It’s pretty much pumpkin pie that you can spread on toast or pancakes and stir into your oatmeal.  This is for a large batch that will fill about 15 freezer jam jars (which is the recommended jarring method). Check out THIS link for more info.  
Ingredients:  
2- 29oz cans pumpkin puree
4 c apple juice or cider
3 c white sugar
4tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cloves
1tsp ground nutmeg
4tsp cinnamon
  1. Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan.  Stir well. 
  2. Bring the mixture to a boil. Keep stirring.  Constantly.  Or it will bubble and spit pumpkin at you!
  3. Lower heat and simmer (while stirring) for about 30 min or until it reaches the desired consistency. 
  4. Cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to freezer jam jars.  Then cool another 10-20 minutes before you put the lids on.  
  5. Refrigerate or freeze.  Tie a cute ribbon or something crafty to it and give it as a gift!  
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

One-Ingredient Cinnamon Roll Waffles (and our FIRST GIVEAWAY!!)

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Okay, I know this is a really easy recipe since you don’t have to actually make anything.  But when I saw it on Pinterest I just had to try it.  You see, I love to have supplies on hand for emergency meals.  You know, when you don’t have time to cook but don’t want to get junky fast food or when someone comes over for a meal unexpectedly…..it’s nice to have a few quick-fix meals on hand.  THIS is an amazing quick-fixer.  In fact, I think this would be a fantastic Christmas morning breakfast.  I love cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, but who has time to make those amidst all the other goings-on?

 

Couldn’t be easier!

Ingredient:
refrigerated, uncooked Cinnamon Rolls

1. Place one roll on each square or section of your waffle iron.  Close the lid and cook until the done (when they don’t wiggle when you press on them).
2.  Drizzle with the icing that came with them (or make your own).

DONE!!  Seriously…is that not amazing?  They taste really good too.  I bought two packages (8 rolls in each can) and that wasn’t enough for my family.  Next time I’d do 3-4 packages.  They cook up so quickly that they would be great for a family get-together.  They’re not very big, so they look like baby waffles.  Great for a brunch!  Oh, and by the way, you can also use any other refrigerated sweet roll or biscuit.  I think I need to try Orange Roll Waffles next…….<drool>

One serving is 2-4 rolls, depending

Oh my.

Source:  A Hen’s Nest

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

And now, what you have been waiting for:  The giveaway!  

To celebrate Christmas, the Mormon Mavens are hosting a great giveaway from Pampered Chef consultant Heather Lima.  Heather has graciously agreed to offer some great Pampered Chef products that are sure to help you with your holiday baking!

Get on with it, you say? Okay, okay…..here’s what Heather is giving away to ONE lucky Mormon Mavens reader:

 

  • one set of Bamboo Prep towels–soft, plush, and absorbent towels; 22″ x 14″; machine washable and made from renewabale/sustainable bamboo; sells for $17.50
  • a set of Easy Read Measuring Cups–so great for measuring liquids (no more bending over and looking sideways);  standard and metric measures that you can read from above, flared rims prevent drips; set of 3 cups–1-cup, 2-cup, and 4-cup;  microwave- and dishwasher-safe; sells for $23
 
I don’t know about you, but I am drooling over those measuring cups!
 
Interested?  Yeah.  We thought you would be.  
 
Here are the details:
  • You can have up to 5 entries.
  • Continental U.S. residents only (sorry!).
  • YOU MUST LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY.  Leaving one comment with all your stuff in it counts as one entry!!
  • Giveaway will run from Monday, December 12 through Friday, December 16.
  • Winner will be announced on Saturday, December 17. (If we can get your address before Monday, we can get these goodies shipped to you by Christmas Eve!)
  • You MUST include your email address in each entry you submit so that we have a way of contacting you if you win!
  • Entries that don’t meet the above requirements will not be considered.
  • Winner will be chosen using random.org.
 
Here’s how you can enter:
 
MANDATORY ENTRY:  Send an email to Heather at heather_lima@yahoo.com and request a subscription to her Pampered Chef newsletter, then come back here and leave a comment telling us that you did so.  (make sure and tell her your first name so she knows how to greet you in your newsletter)
 
OPTIONAL ENTRIES:  
  • Be a follower of the Mormon Mavens in the Kitchen (and leave a separate comment telling us that you are).
  • “Like” Heather’s Pampered Chef page on Facebook (and then come back here and leave a separate comment here telling us that you did).
  • Leave a comment on Heather’s Pampered Chef page on Facebook telling her what Pampered Chef product you wish was under the Christmas tree for you (and then come back here and leave a separate comment here telling us that you did)!
  • Leave your contact info for Heather on her “Contact Me” page (and then come back here leave a separate comment here telling us that you did).
Good luck, everyone!  And MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
 

 

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