Egg Salad

We got this recipe from a Disney cookbook.  It's the egg salad recipe from River Belle Terrace, Frontierland Disneyland Park.

12 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
1 cup mayonnaise (you could probably cut this down a little if you don't like your egg salad as saucy)
1 T prepared mustard
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp pepper
1 T lemon juice, fresh

Rinse peeled eggs and pat dry with paper towels.  In a glass or stainless steel bowl, chop eggs to medium-fine consistency.  Fold in mayonnaise and seasonings, mixing well.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

My favorite memory of eating these sandwiches is after church with our neighbors in Logan.  We ate them on the yummiest white bread that we got from the Macey's bakery.  It was called Grandpa Lynn's bread.  We came home from church one Sunday and made a huge stack of egg salad sandwiches and then invited Rex and Vicki Davis and Eric and Kim Pond over to eat.  We had the best neighbors and some of the best times while we lived in Logan!

Perfect Brown Rice

We found these instructions for cooking brown rice here and now it turns out great every time.  

(adapted from Saveur)

brown rice (whichever type you prefer)
water – use at least four cups of water for every one cup of rice
salt – to taste

Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds, swirling the rice around with your hand.  Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.  When water boils, add the rice, stir it once.  Turn heat to medium and boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After 30 minutes, pour the rice into a strainer over the sink.  Let the rice drain for 10 seconds, then return it to the pot, off the heat.  Immediately cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set it aside to allow the rice to steam for 10 minutes (if your pot lid isn’t extremely tight, place a piece of aluminum foil over pot then place the lid on top of foil for a tighter seal). After ten minutes, uncover rice, fluff with a fork, and season with salt to taste.

notes: *the original Saveur recipe instructs you to use 12 cups of water for one cup of rice. This seemed wasteful to me and after trying a few times, I decided that four cups of water for each cup of rice works perfectly fine. You can cook as much rice as you want, just try to stick to that general ratio.

Spinach and Chicken Pasta Salad

From the kitchen of:  yourhomebasedmom.com

16 oz. bow tie pasta, cooked al dente

Dressing:1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup Yoshida’s gourmet sauce

2/3 cup white wine vinegar

6 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Salad consists of:

20 oz. bag of spinach

1 6 oz. bag Craisins

3 cans mandarin oranges, drained

2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained

1/2 cup parsley chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

6 oz. peanuts

2 cups chicken, cut into pieces.

Blend dressing in blender.  Mix dressing and pasta and marinade for 2 hours (in a Ziploc bag).  Combine rest and add pasta and dressing and toss.

Chicken Enchilada Chili

I got this recipe from Paz Stutzman.  We served in the Primary presidency together.

2 cans stewed Mexican tomatoes (I usually just use petite diced tomatoes)
2 cans chili beans
1 can "Old El Paso" enchilada sauce (I usually do 2 smaller cans or one large can)
1 chopped onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1-2 garlic cloves
1 1-2Lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste

garnish with:  cilantro, sour cream and shredded cheese

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked and shreds. Shred chicken then return to crock pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with garnishes.  Can also add lemon juice, avocados and fresh onion when serving.

Banana-Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 T butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
2 T unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients.  In separate bowl beat butter and brown sugar until crumbly.  Beat in bananas, egg, applesauce and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients just until moist.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Bake at 350, 15-20 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes.