Anna

Mandarin Sunburst Salad

by // // No Comments

 

 

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
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
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

by // // No Comments

 

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

by // // No Comments

 

 

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
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
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

by // // No Comments

 

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
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
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/

Mower Musings #1

by // // No Comments

 

 

You will notice I am not sharing a recipe today–well, maybe not one for food, but maybe for how to enjoy a task you wouldn’t think is all that.

One of my favorite, sort of, things to do is to get on our zero-turn lawn mower and tackle the approximately 1 1/2 acres that is our “lawn.”  You might say that is crazy, but it is actually very cathartic, or Zen or whatever you want to call it.  

I enjoy the  routine of it and it doesn’t require a lot of thought to accomplish the task, other than making sure you don’t make any divots or skids if the ground is a little wet.

As I am riding around, making straight rows up and down or doing diagonal cuts because I alternate the pattern each week during the season (sometimes twice a week if the grass is on a growth spurt)–my mind is presenting a multitude of thoughts and ideas that I hope I will remember when I get back to the house, so that I can write down the ones I want to pursue.  

Sometimes it’s a little tricky trying to stay on one thought. Between the roar of the engine and the sound of the mowing deck, it can get pretty loud and distracting.  And don’t even let me get a tune in my head from earlier because the constant “beat” of the mower just plays that song in a loop in my head and that’s all she wrote.  I am singing it all throughout the cutting.  

Sometimes I have big headphones on that can drown out the clatter, and mine have a radio inside but it only picks up one station and the volume isn’t loud enough–can’t hear the base and that is so annoying.  So I might just not even turn that thing on.  Recently, I wore my workout pouch (I can wear this around my waist and it holds very thin stuff), put my phone in it and used my Bluetooth earbuds to listen to music.  Still couldn’t hear the base, but it was a little better!

Anyway, I share all of this with you to let you know that you can find joy and purpose in the most mundane tasks.

And talk about instant gratification!  When I am done mowing, the results are spectacular and I know that no one is going to mess it up in the next 5 minutes.  You know what I’m talking about. How long do you get to enjoy your clean any-room-in-the-house?

I hope I can write to you about some of the musings I have come up with on my zero-turn mower.  I am working on one about “divots” as life lessons that might be kind of interesting.

Well, we have had what seems like weeks of rain here lately.  I got part of the mowing in yesterday but was afraid I would run out of gas.  I have a new supply this morning, so I am headed outside now to mow to my heart’s content.  Wonder what will come to mind today?

Just a Mom?

by // // No Comments

 

It’s Mother’s Day.  What thoughts have been going through your mind as you have anticipated this day this week? What feelings have come to your Mother heart?  I hope they are good feelings and thoughts.  

I hope you know what a contribution you are making in the lives of your children, your family, your community.  But…

We don’t always feel that way.  Sometimes we struggle to feel like we are even noticed, much less making a difference.  

And this day can sometimes put a lot of pressure on us if we don’t feel we measure up to the ideal, because we are all supposed to be perfect in everything, right?  

And if you don’t have children yet, does that mean Mother’s Day doesn’t apply to you?  Is it just a reminder of what you don’t have?

Let’s turn this day around.  Let’s turn our thoughts and feeling around. 

This video.  Watch it now, then watch it tomorrow, watch it whenever you feel like you are not enough.  Because you are.

 

 

 

Photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash

Video courtesy of LDS.org.

Southern Cole Slaw

by // // No Comments

 

If you haven’t tried Southern Cole Slaw, you are missing out on the perfect pairing for hot dogs, barbeque (beef or pork), steak or whatever!. This recipe is from my Mom and I have used it for years–now I am sharing it with you.

I am also going to share a shortcut that I just picked up today at our local grocery store.  It will save you a LOT of time and probably some finger skin (gross, right?)–if you use a box grater, then you know what I’m talkin’ about.  You can also grate your cabbage in a food processor.  Here is the link to Chef Buddys Southern Slaw.  This is the already diced cabbage, green bell pepper, and onion.  

You will notice that my recipe does not have bell pepper or onion.  These were ingredients in the packaged slaw mix.  Personally, I prefer not to have those two ingredients but you might like it. My recipe includes carrots so I used Thrive Freeze-Dried Carrots to save time and my fingers.

Southern Cole Slaw
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1 head of cabbage, grated*
  2. 2 medium carrots or about 1/3 cup of Thrive Freeze-Dried Carrots
  3. 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  4. 1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar
  5. 4 t. sugar
  6. 1 t. salt
  7. 3/4 t. celery seed
Instructions
  1. Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Add to the cabbage and carrots and toss until well-blended.
  3. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors combine.
Notes
  1. * Here is where you substitute the Chef Buddys Southern Slaw pre-diced package.
Adapted from Patricia D. Brew
Adapted from Patricia D. Brew
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Mexican Street Corn

by // // 4 Comments

Throwback Thursday!  This was originally published on July 19, 2012 but I am bringin’ it back, baby!  This is one of my favorite street corn recipes–well, it’s the only one I have, actually, but it is really good. Getcha some!

Do you get Runner’s World magazine?  We get it.  We don’t run.  Well one of us did at one time.  That was not me, but you know…Anyway, I don’t usually look past the cover, but one day I was bored and started looking through the magazine and actually found about 3 recipes that I wanted to try.  This is one of them.  It was so good that I am going to start checking out all of the issues.  I made this corn at the beach last week, and had it with fish tacos with watermelon salsa that my sister made–que rico!
 
 
 
 
 
Ingredients:
4 ears fresh corn, shucked
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat with olive oil)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
  grated zest and juice of 1 lime
 Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 ounce queso fresco
 
1.  Heat a grill to medium-high heat and put the rack 4 inches from the fire, or preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Grill or roast the corn, turning occasionally, until some kernels char and others are lightly brown, 15-20 minutes.  
 
2.  In a bowl combine mayonnaise, oil, chili, lime zest, juice, salt and pepper.  
 
3.  Pulse remaining ingredients in a food processor until crumbly and spread on a plate.  When the corn is done, remove ears from the heat and smear evenly with the mayonnaise mixture.  Roll them in the crumb mixture and serve.  Serves four.
 
 
 
 
Source:  Mark Bittman, Runner’s World Magazine
 
 
 
 

Nuggets

by // // No Comments

 

This past weekend I attended Time Out For Women–a two-day conference sponsored by Deseret Book Company.  It was wonderful!  Beautiful, uplifting, powerful inspiration and music.  The following are some of the “nuggets” I picked up.  I hope you can be strengthened from these:

 

  • Every answer is in the scriptures.

  • If you saw the size of the blessing coming, you would understand the magnitude of the battle you’re fighting. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

  • Be centered in Christ

  • Look to the WORD, instead of the WORLD.

  • Your trial will turn you to the scriptures and to Christ.

  • What God doesn’t PROTECT you from, He will PERFECT you through.

  • Choose PROGRESS over PERFECTION.

  • The Lord will meet you where you are, but He doesn’t intend to leave you there.

 

 

Pancakes with Apple Brown Sugar Topping

by // // No Comments

 

Who doesn’t like pancakes?  And what if you add apples, brown sugar, and butter?  Exactly.  I needed a quick breakfast because I had just finished a phone meeting with my new Power of Moms content editor–training her on how I publish the articles for the site–and I was hungry.  Checked the fridge and saw two leftover pancakes and some cut up apples I had left over from a pie I had made. Hmmm, I thought, those could be good together.  So I grabbed those, along with some butter and brown sugar.

Pancakes with Apple Brown Sugar Topping
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. Pancakes (use a recipe of your choice)
  2. Cut up Fuji and Granny Smith apples
  3. Brown Sugar
  4. Butter
Instructions
  1. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add brown sugar and apples and stir to combine.
  3. If using leftover pancakes for a single serving, add the pancakes and heat them up along with the topping.
Notes
  1. There are many plain pancake recipes out there. This should work well with any of them. Check out some of our recipes here on the blog.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/