Category Archives: Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Mexican Corn Soup

This soup has a good blend of flavors with a nice spice level to warm you up.

Ingredients:

  • 1 –12-16 ounce package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
  • 2 – Cups chicken broth
  • 2 – Tbsp. butter or margarine
  • 1 – 4-1/2 ounce can diced green chili peppers
  • 1 – clove garlic, minced
  • 1 – Tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or l tsp. dried oregano, crushed
  • 1/4 – tsp. salt
  • 1/4 – tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 – cup milk
  • 2 – cups chopped, cooked chicken
  • 1 – cup chopped fresh tomatoes (You can substitute canned chopped tomatoes)
  • 1 – cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese or Mexican blend cheese
  • cilantro as garnish, optional
  • tortilla strips, optional

Method:

  1. In a blender container combine half of the corn and the chicken broth. Cover; blend until nearly smooth.
  2. In a large saucepan, combine corn puree, remaining corn, butter, chili peppers, garlic, dried oregano (if using dried instead of fresh), salt, and black pepper.
  3. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in milk, chicken, tomatoes, and fresh oregano (if using instead of dried), heat through.
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Stir in cheese until melted.
  7. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and tortilla strips, if desired.
  8. If you like heat add chopped jalapeno along with the diced green chili peppers.
  9. Serves 4-6.

Tips: For the tomato portion of this recipe I used a 14-1/2 ounce can of chopped tomatoes with jalapenos that really gave the soup a nice ramp of spice.

Lasagna Soup – Slow Cooker

This soup starts in the slow cooker. If you’d like, you can serve it up in oven proof bowls adding cheese on top and putting it under the broiler until the cheese melts. If you don’t want to do that you can add cheese on top without putting it under the broiler. I saw this idea on The Kitchen on Food Network.

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 1 can 28 ounces diced tomatoes
  • 1 can 8 ounces tomato sauce
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons parsley flakes (or 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8-12 ounces pasta of your choice
  • grated Mozzarella Cheese
  • sliced Provolone cheese

Method:

  1. Heat oil in frying pan.
  2. Add ground beef and cook thoroughly, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  3. Drain the ground beef and set aside on a plate with paper towel to soak up excess oil.
  4. Add onion to the crock pot.
  5. Add the meat on top of the onion.
  6. Add the remaining ingredients except for the pasta and cheeses and stir together.
  7. Cook on high for 6 hours.
  8. Add the pasta and cook for 30 more minutes.
  9. Remove bay leaf and serve in bowls adding grated Mozzarella cheese on top.
  10. Or, fill broiler-proof bowls with soup adding grated Mozzarella cheese on top and one or two slices of Provolone cheese on top of the Mozzarella.
  11. Place under broiler on a baking sheet watching carefully until the cheese melts and starts to brown.
  12. Serve with salad and bread, if desired.

This recipe can serve 8 people generously.

Pistachio-Coconut Cookies

These cookies are easy to make and would be fun for St. Patrick’s Day as they turn out light green in color. It’s a recipe that uses packaged cake mix and pudding mix.

Ingredients:
1 package white cake mix
1 package (4 serving) Jell-O instant pudding-pistachio flavor
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons water
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pistachios or nut of your choice
1/2 cup angel flake coconut (sweetened)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in bowl.
Blend well.
Drop onto greased baking sheets or parchment lined sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
Store in tightly sealed container.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Because of the size I chose for the dropper I only yielded 31 cookies from this recipe. It also took longer to bake them at the larger size and because I put two trays in the oven to begin with. My cookies were soft (the way I like them) with a nice blend of flavors. If you prefer a crispy cookie cook them a little longer.

Sharing this recipe today since this Friday is St. Patrick’s Day. There is no hodgepodge this week so I’m posting this recipe instead. I will be making them today for an event tomorrow.

Looking Back Seventy Two Years…

Some thoughts and collages looking back on my Seventy Second Birthday.

Lived in proximity to the Pacific Ocean for 72 years anywhere from a couple miles away to now over 400 miles away. I’m a West Coast Girl.

A city girl for 67 years.

A born again believer in Jesus Christ for 60 years.

Sadie Sadie married lady for 48 years.

A most thankful mom for 44 years.

A grateful grandmother for 6 years.

A country gal for 4-1/2 years.

Thanking the LORD for His steadfast love to me and my family. The best eternal gift I have received is my redemption with so many added blessings through the years some in the form of trials. Many sweet earthly gifts, too. Pressing on and looking to my future hope.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever, Amen.” Jude 1:24

We had a lot of rain on Monday and today we might get some sunshine breaking through. That will be nice for our day in Spokane for shopping and eating at a new spot to us.

Crockpot Potato Soup

This easy Crock Pot Potato Soup is inspired by a Paula Deen recipe that was shared on bj’s Sweet Nothings blog. I changed it up with some fresh ingredients and we really enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

  • 10 golden or new potatoes, diced, 4-5 cups
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 cans chicken broth or 29 oz. of homemade broth or stock
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 10-1/2 oz.
  • 2 stalks of celery chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 block softened cream cheese, 8 ounces, cut into 8 pieces
  • cooked bacon for topping
  • shredded cheese for topping

Method:

  1. Spray crock pot with cooking spray.
  2. Add diced potatoes, onion, broth, soup, celery and pepper and mix well.
  3. Set crock pot on low and cook for 5-6 hours.
  4. After 5-1/2  hours add the softened cream cheese stirring to blend.
  5. Heat for another 1/2 hour.
  6. Serve topped with cooked chopped bacon and shredded cheese if desired.

Serves 6-8

Creamy Cubano Soup

This is a simple to make creamy soup version of the popular Cubano Sandwich that is typically made with roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, dill pickle, and mustard. The homemade crunchy croutons for the top of the soup stand-in for the bread in the sandwich. This is a soup with a Latin flair.

Ingredients:
1 sub roll or other rolls you have on hand cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Tablespoon oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon mustard
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
1-1/2 cups half and half
1/4 lb. Swiss cheese, shredded
1/4 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded
1-1/2 cups fully cooked diced ham
Salt and Pepper for seasoning, to taste
2 dill pickles, minced

Heat a pan (cast iron if you have one) over medium-high heat. In a mixing bowl, combine bread cubes with the oil, toss to coat. Spread in single layer in the pan and toast, turning often, until the croutons are crisp and blackened in spots, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the mustard and flour, and whisk well to combine. Add the stock and half and half, bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and add the cheeses, whisking until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in the ham and continue cooking until the ham is warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I found that no extra seasoning was needed since the cheese and ham are salty to begin with. Ladle into serving bowls, top with a spoonful of minced pickles and a handful of the reserved croutons. Serve immediately. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves 4 generously.

Note: My photo of the bowl of soup is not topped with the diced pickles because I forgot them. Photo fail but the soup was delicious.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a easy Crock Pot soup my high school girlfriend Nancy shared with me that is filling and will warm you up.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup chunky salsa (mild, medium or hot)
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 can (approx 15 ounces) black beans rinsed and drained
  • 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can (approx 15 ounces) diced tomatoes with jalapenos or green chilies ( choose according to the spice level/heat you prefer)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 or 2 6inch corn tortillas cut into strips
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

  1. Stir the salsa, chicken, corn and beans in a 4 quart slow cooker/crock pot.
  2. Stir the soup, tomatoes, water, cumin together in a separate bowl. Pour over the crock mixture.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.
  4. Stir in tortilla strips, cheese and cilantro.
  5. Cover and cook an additional 15 minutes.
  6. Enjoy with warm tortillas or corn bread!

Chicken Tetrazzini Soup

I saw this soup in a grocery store magazine and the ingredients sounded good so I made a smaller portion for my husband and me. I had Bucatini on hand and used that instead of spaghetti. Regular spaghetti or angel hair pasta would be easier to manage in this great flavored soup. Don’t forget the lemon zest, it really adds a nice finish to the soup.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 4 cups of chicken broth
  • 4 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
  • 1 cup chopped fully cooked chicken
  • 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 1/4 cup half and half
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. In large soup pot melt the butter over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and mushrooms seasoning with a little salt and pepper, cooking and stirring occasionally until soft, 8-10 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
  4. Add chicken broth and spaghetti, increasing the heat to medium high and bring to a boil.
  5. Reduce the heat to a gentle boil and cook until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
  6. Add the chicken, peas and half and half, and cook until heated through.
  7. Just before serving, stir in the lemon zest, Parmesan, and parsley.
  8. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
  9. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves: 4-5

Baked Chicken Ranch Roll-Ups

I’m working on finishing up our travel to Great Britain posts so in the meantime I’m adding this recipe for a different way to enjoy some chicken and refrigerated crescent dough sheets. Hope you can find them in your local market.

I saw these chicken rolls using Pillsbury Crescent Refrigerator Dough Sheets and had to give them a try. I didn’t realize that the Crescent dough was sold in sheets that aren’t perforated. It makes this recipe a lot simpler as I purchased the basic crescent rolls and had to pinch all the perforations! Buy the sheets if you want to make this tasty dish.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups shredded baked chicken
  • 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
  • 3/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
  • 1 can (8 oz.) Pillsbury Refrigerator Crescent Dough Sheets
  • 2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Prepare a 9 inch round pan with cooking spray.
  3. Mix together the chicken, ranch dressing and cheese in a small bowl.
  4. Unroll the dough sheet onto a large cutting board.
  5. Spread the chicken mixture evenly on top of the dough leaving one inch at one end of the long side uncovered.
  6. Roll the dough with the filling carefully toward the uncovered edge.
  7. Pinch the seam when you have it rolled.
  8. With a sharp knife cut 8 equal parts.
  9. Place the 8 rolls carefully into the prepared pan.
  10. Bake for 18-22 minutes until the the dough is golden brown.
  11. Cool in pan for a few minutes.
  12. Top with the green onions and serve with side of your choice.
  13. Serves 4 people.

Keep an eye on them so they don’t brown as toasty as mine did. Smile.

Three Years Later…

…we were able to cross the line into Canada for our annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas Dinner/Party.

We drove the couple of hours from Bothell to Abbotsford crossing at the Sumas Border Crossing and arrived at Anneliese and H’s home. They had graciously reached out offering us their guest room for the night and a ride to the party in Chilliwack.

On the way to the party at Judy and Elmer’s we made a surprise stop but that’s not my story to tell.

Here we are, 7 of the 10, Mennonite Girls Can Cook. Our two Manitoba Girls and Kathy could not make it to the party.

It was so good to see these ‘Girls’ face to face after 3 years.

Lovella and Anneliese brought the appetizers.

Judy’s punch was festive.

Speaking of Judy, the hostess with the mostess, she single handedly cooked us the main meal portion for the evening. Her hubby Elmer is always available to lend a hand, help serve and wash up the dishes!

 

She set a beautiful table and created the live runner.

She sewed the napkins and made the place cards.

Marg brought the salad and she had help plating it from Bev.

Bev baked the buns.

Judy’s Saucy Cranberry Chicken was the main event on our dinner plate, delicious. Get her recipe here.

She also made the sides, carrots and peas, mashed potatoes, broccoli salad and a cranberry gravy.

Our sweet ‘captain’, Lovella!

The wonderful dessert finale to our meal was this trifle that Julie made. Refreshingly delicious! I did not get a photo of the Black Forest Trifle that Judy made. When I lived in Western Washington I would contribute to the menu but because of the extra traveling this year they let me slide.

After our meal the guys headed upstairs to play Crokinole and chat while us girls exchanged gifts and did some catching up downstairs. We finally wrapped up the evening shortly after 11:00 PM!!

Here’s the gift I brought home from our exchange.

We count ourselves blessed and fortunate to be able to meet up again for this wonderful yearly event.

You can now look away for the saga part of the story of Dear and me getting from Colville to Abbotsford. For those of you who are more curious here goes…

Originally we had flights out of Spokane to and from the Seattle area for our Saturday to Tuesday trip. We booked a hotel room at the Spokane airport for Friday night since we had an early flight on Saturday to Seattle (7am). It takes us 2 hours plus to get to the airport from our home in Colville. Our flight back home on Tuesday was scheduled for 7:30am getting us back to Spokane at 8:30am.

On Friday we had a leisurely morning and packed for our trip. We left our home at noonish with a stop at the post office to pick up a package that was too big for our mailbox. My haircut appointment at 1:00 got cancelled at the last minute so we decided to just carry on down the road to Spokane to have a meal before we checked into our hotel. We tried The Elk in The Browne’s Addition neighborhood of Spokane. The food and service was good and we enjoyed our time there. The drive to the airport from the restaurant was short and we checked into the hotel.

We woke up very early on Saturday morning and discovered both of us had never thought about bringing our passports even though we knew the purpose of our trip was to travel into Canada. OYE and BOTHER. We as a couple are not firing on all our cylinders. Every flight on Saturday was overbooked with one flight before ours cancelled which put even more pressure on the remaining flights. We made the decision to cancel our tickets for our 7am flight and drive back home (2 hours) and get our passports and make the 5+ hour drive to Bothell instead of flying. Driving the roads back to our home we gained confidence that the roads were in good shape and the drive would be okay. We made it home, grabbed our passports, had breakfast and packed a few more things in the car for our trip.

Back on the road at 8:30am we had an uneventful drive through the eastern and central part of Washington and over the Cascade mountain range into Western Washington. We made a stop at Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville for some wine to take with us to Canada and then filled the gas tank at the Woodinville Costco on the way to our kids’ home in Bothell. We were at our kids’ home at 3pm. (BTW: since Greg’s stroke I’m the sole driver)

Saturday night we had a nice meal out with our Western Washington kids to celebrate Laura’s birthday. On Sunday we worshipped at Josh and Laura’s church, grabbed some lunch items at Central Market, ate our meals and got ready for our drive to Canada. Our route to Abbotsford would take us about 2 hours. We stopped at a carwash in Bellingham to get all the dirty snow off our car before heading into Canada. The Border crossing and banter with the Agent was pleasant and once across the border we found our way to Anneliese and H’s home.

We drove with Anneliese and H. to the party in Chilliwack (a 20 minute drive) and the winds were blowing across the valley and it was frigid. We were welcomed into Judy and Elmer’s warm and festive home and enjoy our long anticipated party. After the party we slept fast. Monday morning we were served a delicious breakfast and we set off back to the USA. We were at the Border bright and early and had another pleasant encounter and crossing.

Our kids were busy with work and other events during the day on Monday so we contacted some dear friends to meet us for lunch at our old stomping grounds. We had a leisurely couple hours with them over delicious Mexican food and then made it back to our kids’ home. Laura made dinner and we packed up to leave on Tuesday morning. On the road again at 8:30 Tuesday morning (our anniversary). It took us an hour to get to traffic free I-90 and off we climbed over Snoqualmie Pass again. The roads were clear with no restrictions. (Thank you, Lord). Once over the pass we stopped in Cle Elum for a break which included breakfast. Back on I-90 we made it to Spokane by 1:30pm. We stopped at Costco to pick up a few items and were back on the road lickity split. Got another snack in Deer Park and started the final leg home arriving at 5pm. Whew! Greg figured out that we were driving for a total of 22 hours all told. That 22 hours didn’t count the stoppage times.

We are still covered in snow here with no melting in the forecast. In fact we have more snow in the forecast for Thursday and Saturday.

Greg is continuing with his Occupational Therapy. We’ll be traveling to Spokane again on Monday for his follow-up with the surgeon.

And that’s the rest of the story.