Recipes

Recently with our past president, Ronald Reagan, dying after suffering for years with Alzheimer’s, memories surfaced concerning my mother who dealt with the same disease for ten years before she died. I started thinking about those last years with her and decided right away not to do that to myself. Instead, I began reliving the good times we had as mother and daughter. There were many. My mother was a nurse and a very devout Christian who gave of herself to many in her professional life as well as her personal. At Christmas we used to have a steady stream of visitors to our house and she often had an open house on Christmas Eve before we would go to midnight services at the church. My mother loved to cook and was very good at it with many recipes handed down...

My recipe for this newsletter is one of my favorite soups. We will be getting into cooler weather, which means soup time. My husband and I eat a lot of soups during the colder months. Make a batch on the weekend, and it lasts most of the week. This recipe makes a lot and freezes well. I often half it and put part of it in the freezer.   Chicken Cheese Soup Ingredients: 1 whole chicken and 1 package of chicken breasts—cooked with seasonings and diced up into smaller pieces (I usually use a large package of boneless chicken breasts rather than the whole chicken—easier to cut up—no deboning) 4 cups of chicken broth (I use the water after cooking the chicken) 1 ½ cups of chopped carrots (I love carrots but my husband doesn’t so I substitute broccoli for carrots...

This is my recipe for spring although I’ve had it at other times during the year. It’s delicious and easy to fix.   Angel Lush with Pineapple*   1 package (4-serving size) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling 1 can (20 oz.) Dole Crushed Pineapples in juice, undrained 1 cup thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping 1 package (10 oz.) prepared round angel food cake 10 small strawberries (I used other fruit, too)   Mix dry pudding mix and pineapple with juice in a medium bowl. Gently stir in whipped topping. Cut cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place bottom cake layer, cut side up, on serving plate. Spread 1 1/3 cups of the pudding mixture onto cake layer, cover with middle cake layer. Spread 1 cup of the pudding mixture onto middle cake...

Summer Pasta Salad (This salad gets better the second time around—great leftovers.)   ¾ cup of ranch dressing 8 oz. pasta (You can experiment to see which one you like the best.) 1 cup of broccoli florets 1 cup of artichoke hearts, quartered 1 zucchini, diced ½ red onion, thinly sliced ½ cup frozen peas, thawed 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese ¼ cup pitted and halved black olives (You can add a large can of tuna or chicken, and I usually double the recipe.)   Cook pasta according to package directions. Place broccoli in a strainer; drain cooked pasta in same strainer. Run cool water over all and drain well. Transfer pasta and broccoli to a serving bowl. Add ranch dressing and remaining ingredients and toss gently to coat. Serve...

For the holidays my recipe is Carrot Cheesecake Bars from http://www.kraftrecipes.com. These bars are delicious and easy for entertaining or taking to a party.   Carrot Cheesecake Bars Ingredients: ½ stick of butter, melted; 1½ cups Honey Maid Graham Cracker Crumbs; 1 cup sugar; 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon; 3-8 oz packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened; 1 teaspoon vanilla; ¾ cup sour cream; 3 eggs; ¾ cup finely shredded carrots (about 2); and 1½ cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping. Directions: Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix butter, crumbs, ¼ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Then press onto bottom of 13×9-inch pan. Bake ten minutes. Beat cream cheese, vanilla and the remaining sugar and cinnamon in large bowl with mixer until blended....

This recipe is really good as the weather gets colder. It is a different kind of chili that is nutritious for you.     White Chicken Chili 1 tsp lemon pepper 1 tsp cumin seed 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 1 clove garlic, chopped fine 1 cup chopped onion 2-8 oz cans white corn, drained 1-4oz can of chopped green chilies, undrained 1 tsp ground cumin 2-3 tablespoons of lime juice 2-14oz cans great northern beans, undrained Tortilla chips, crushed Monterey Jack cheese, shredded   In a large saucepan, combine 2 ½ cups water with the lemon pepper and cumin seed. Boil water then add the chicken breasts. Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into bite size pieces....