Oriental Chicken Salad YUM!

This is way easy and kind of a no-brainer but we make it at home once a week all summer.

1 Briannas Ginger Mandarin Salad Dressing

1 can La Choy Chow Mein Noodles

1 bag slivered almonds

cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

red cabbage (we don't usually throw this in there but you can to look pretty)

romaine or iceberg lettuce enough to feed all

sliced up carrot (again, to look pretty and add another veggie)

6 or 7 chicken tenders (we buy the Tyson bredded tenders and use them so it's EASY) but you could totally grill some chicken breast too.

Make the salad, throw the chicken on top and try not to use the WHOLE bottle of Ginger Mandarin dressing I dare you.  It's so good, it's hard not to use a ton.  Also, if you were feeding kiddies, you could wrap this up in a tortilla and call it a chinese chicken wrap!

~Jody

Cookie Fruit Salad

1 C buttermilk (I used powdered buttermilk and added water as directed on pkg)
small instant Vanilla pudding
Mix together.
Fold in:
8 oz Cool Whip
cut up fruit: any kind, any amount i.e. sliced bananas, drained pineapple, grapes, sliced strawberries, drained mandarin oranges, etc.
Add 1/1/2 C chopped Fudge Striped Cookies right before serving.

At Jody's I made a double batch and used bananas, grapes, mandarin oranges and strawberries. I also used the whole package of cookies.

Grandma Linda

Tuna With Cheese Swirls

Tuna Mixture:
1/3 C green pepper, chopped
3 T minced onion
3 T oil
1 tsp salt
6 T flour
1 can chicken with rice soup
1 1/2 C milk
6 ounce can tuna
1 T lemon juice

Cook pepper and onion in oil until golden brown. Blend in salt and flour. Add soup and milk. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Mix in tuna and lemon juice. Pour into greased baking dish approximately 9 x 9 inches.

Cheese Swirls:
1 1/3 C sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 C shortening
1 egg
1/3 C evaporated milk
1/1/4 C grated cheese

Sift together dry ingredients. Cut the flour mixture into the shortening. Stir in egg and milk. Knead on floured board. Roll into a 12 inch squre. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll like a jelly roll, into a log shape. Cut into eight slices. Place slices on top of tuna mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned.

Grandma Linda

(This came from the Standard Examiner's article "Mmm, mom food" on May 11, 2008. Originally it was from the 1966 cookbook, "Favorite Mormon Recipes: Meats."

White Bread

I always thought making white bread would be super hard, but its not :) I found this recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. My husband made it and it was so good, he helped me make it again!!!

5 ¾ to 6 ¼ C all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 ¼ C milk or buttermilk
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, margarine, or shortening
1 ½ teaspoon salt

1. Combine 2 ½ C flour & yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter & salt just until warm (120 F – 130 F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium for 30 sec. scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 min. total) Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to great surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45-60 min.)
3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile lightly grease two 8x4x2 inch loaf pans.
4. Shape dough halves into loaves by patting or rolling. To shape by patting, gently pat and pinch, tucking edges underneath. To shape by rolling, on a lightly floured surface roll each dough half into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Roll up each rectangle, staring form a short size. Seal seams with your fingertips.
5. Place shaped dough halves in pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until dearly double in size (30-40 min.).
6. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 40 min. or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pans. Cool on wire racks.

Hillary B.

Hearty Twice Baked Potatoes

This is from Taste of Home Quick Cooking and was a 4th place winner. We really loved them. We used it as a main dish but are a great side, too.
8 large baking potatoes
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage (I used some pre-cooked patties and broke them up and browned them.)
1/4 C margarine, softened
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 C diced fulley cooked ham
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 C (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 C Italian salad dressing
Salt and pepper to taste

Scrub and pierce potatoes. Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes or microwave, uncovered, on high for 12-14 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile in a skillet cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink, drain.
When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4 in shell. In a large mixing bowl, mash the pulp with butter. Stir in the sausage, cheese, ham, bacon, sour cream salad dressing salt and pepper.
spoon into potato shells. Place on two ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. ( We were in a hurry so I popped them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes until the cheese was melted and they were hot.) Yield 16 servings.

Easy to cut down. Example for 3 potatoes, I used one sausage patty, 4 strips of bacon, 1/3 C chopped ham, about 1/2 C cheese, a scoop of sour cream and about 2 T Italian dressing. I mixed these all together in a bowl and then added it all to the mashed potatoes and then filled the shells. Yummy.

Grandma Linda

Chow Mein Chicken (or Pork)

This is easy and quite tasty. Works with either chicken or pork. You could probably substitute beef broth and hamburger or left over roast beef or use cut up and browned steak.

2 celery ribs, chopped ( I used 4-6)
1 medium onion, chopped (I did slices and cut them in quarters)
1/4 C butter
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 C chicken broth (I used closer to a cup since I used more celery)
1 Tbs soy sauce (I used 2-3 T)
3 C cubed cooked chicken (I didn't measure & used what I had left over)
1/2 C sliced fresh mushrooms (not me, no way!!)
1 3 0z can chow mein noodles
1/3 C salted cashew halves

In large sauce pan or frying pan, saute celery and onion in butter until tender. Stir in soup, broth and soy sauce. Add the meat (and mushrooms should you choose to). Heat through. Let it simmer down if it is too juicy.

Transfer to a greased 2 qt + baking dish. sprinkle with chow mein noodles and cashews. Bake uncovered at 350 for 15-20 min or until heated through. Serves 4. (What I made served 8)

I also cooked up a big pot of white rice and we served it over the rice. Good extender.

Grandma Linda (Taste of Home, The Best of Country Cooking)

Snickerdoodles

1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2-3 c. flour

Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs. Mix in cream of tartar, baking soda, vanilla, and salt, then mix in flour. Start with 2 1/2 c., but I usually add about 1/4 c. more to get the dough a little stiffer. However, it should still be somewhat soft; don't get carried away. Form a teaspoonful into ball and roll in sugar and cinnamon. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Do not flatten cookies. They will spread out as they bake. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Note: I must give credit where credit is due. I found this recipe on http://wickeworld.blogspot.com/ I came across her blog from a friend and have gotten the biggest kick out of her posts. So I have no clue who she is, but she’s really COOL and should you need a day brightener, check out her posts J
~Jody