Black and White Delight

This recipe is something Gma Walkley always made for family picnics, though my sisters don't seem to remember it.  She always had it frozen so we could eat it in our hands, but I kind of prefer it refrigerated and eat it with a spoon.

1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup melted butter
Mix in 9x13 pan, bake 350* for 15 min, mixing every 5 min. Remove all from pan, then use 2/3 of mix and firmly pack down into pan to make crust.

8 oz of soften cream cheese
2/3 large tub of cool whip
Mix together and spread over the crust

1 package of instant vanilla pudding
1 package of instant chocolate pudding
3 cups of milk
Mix together then add remaining 1/3 of cool whip

Pour over cream cheese, cover with rest of nut crumble and refrigerate. Can freeze it.

Curry Chicken Divan

I'm a little surprised that it's taken us this long to write up this recipe... It's pretty much the go-to casserole in our family.  This is the original recipe from mom:

2, 10 oz packages frozen broccoli
4 whole chicken breasts

Sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk (any milk will work)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Topping
1 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. Barely cook and drain broccoli. Spread broccoli in pan and lay
chicken pieces on top.
2. Mix sauce ingredients and spread on top of chicken.
3. Melt butter and mix in dry bread crumbs. (Whole wheat crumbs will work just as well
without butter.) Sprinkle on top
4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.


Susie and I have altered it a bit.  We've been using fresh broccoli cut up into smaller pieces, and boiling it for about 5 minutes.  We also use shredded chicken, instead of whole chicken breasts.  I think we just like it to be a little more casserole-like.
Just serve it on top of rice, and it's amazing!

Abdullah's Curried Chicken - Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

This recipe is from my husband's mom.  When she was a teenager, she spent two years living with her family in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.  This dish came from there, and it is mighty tasty!

Saute 1/4 c butter, 1 large onion quartered, then quartered again, 6 stalks of celery sliced in 1/2" pieces til tender.  Stir in 2 tsp (or so) curry powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup flour.  Remove from heat.  Gradually stir in 2 cans chicken broth.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil for 1 minute until thickened.  Stir in 2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I like to use shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken).  Heat through.  Serve over rice (about 3 cups).


Toppings:


Chopped or sliced hard boiled eggs
Peanuts*
Raisins*
Bananas*
Mandarin oranges*
Grated cheese*
Chutney
Tomatoes*
Coconut

Some of these toppings may seem a little strange, but I guarantee you if you try them, you will love them.  The starred ones are the ones I use most often (mostly because they're ingredients I have on hand), but try any combination of them!

Chicken Salad w/ Blue Cheese and Grapes

This is an amazing summer dish!  Seriously, the most time consuming part is cooking the chicken (and I shredded it).

Ingredients
2 small heads Boston or Bibb lettuce, torn into pieces
4 stalks celery, sliced on the diagonal
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 cups (about 1/2 pound) green grapes, halved
3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1 3 1/2- to 4-pound rotisserie chicken, meat thickly sliced

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, celery, onion, grapes, and blue cheese.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Divide the salad and chicken among plates. Serve with the vinaigrette.

I definitely didn't go hardcore, I just put lettuce in bowls and spooned everything on top.  Super simple, a nice light summer dish!

Fruit Cobbler

Easy, delicious, and great with ice cream.  Can't go wrong!

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 cups of sliced fresh peaches or nectarines, or whole blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination of fruits (or a 12-ounce package of frozen berries)
1 tablespoon sugar


Directions
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Put butter in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven.
Whisk flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour batter into pan, then scatter fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tb. of sugar.
Bake until batter browns and fruit bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Gma's chocolate chip cookies

The official name of these cookies are "Oatmeal Crisps", but we grew up with these as our standard chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup butter (although I think gma used shortening)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
½ cup flaked coconut

Directions:
1. Roast rolled oats in a 9"x13" pan for 20 minutes stirring every 5-10
minutes. Cool.
2. Cream shortening and sugar together. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a
time; beat after each addition.
3. Stir together flour, salt and soda. Stir into egg, sugar mixture.
4. Blend in chopped walnuts, coconut, chocolate chips, and oats.
5. Drop by spoonsful unto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10
to 15 minutes; cool on wire rack.

Note: Dough may be stored, tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Cookies freeze well. Peanut butter or raisins may be added - flatten
with fork and bake until set.

It's pretty funny making these now, because everyone seemed to forget that the cookies had coconut in them.  It doesn't add much, just a touch of nuttiness that regular chocolate chip cookes are sorely lacking.  I don't think we ever used walnuts either, but they might be a nice addition.

Peanut Butter Bars

These are CRAZY addictive.  We had some shredded wheat leftover from making "nests" for Easter, so I decided to make the recipe on the box.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter
3 cups shredded wheat, coarsely crushed
3/4 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

MIX sugar, honey and peanut butter in large microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until bubbly at edge; stir until well blended. STIR in cereal and raisins. Press firmly into 8-inch square pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cool. CUT into bars. Store in airtight container. Makes 16 servings, 1 bar each.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS

Use Your Stove:
Mix sugar, honey and peanut butter in large saucepan; cook on medium heat until smooth and bubbly, stirring occasionally. Continue as directed.


Amazing.  The kids love them as much as the adults do.