Taco Soup

 The first time we ever ate this was at Jeff and Janae Stevenson's house when we lived downtown Salt Lake.

1 T oil

1 4 oz. can diced chiles

1 medium onion, chopped

4-6 C chicken broth

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (I like it with diced stewed tomatoes)

10 oz. frozen corn (or a can of corn, drained)

2 15 oz. cans of beans, drained and rinsed (black, white, or kidney)

1-2 T Mexican/taco seasoning

Dash of chili powder, optional

Sour cream, optional

Chips

Cheese, grated

Saute the onions in the oil over medium heat until tender. Add everything else except for the last three ingredients, and heat until boiling. Simmer 30 minutes. Serve with the sour cream, chips, and cheese on top.

Macaroni and Cheese

 I think this is what Grandma Johnson used to make for the family and is what Mom always made for us.

1 3/4 C uncooked noodles

2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 t onion salt

1 1/2 C milk

Soda crackers

Butter (maybe 2 T cut into little pieces)

Cook the noodles, drain. Stir noodles together with the cheese, onion salt, and milk. Put in a casserole dish. Sprinkle crushed soda crackers on top. Dot with some butter. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Bacon Basil Avocado Pasta

 

8 oz (1/2 standard box) bow tie pasta

2 medium avocados, chopped

6 slices bacon cooked (425 in oven in tray with foil or parchment paper for 15? minutes, or fry in skillet)

2/3 C chopped fresh basil

2 T lemon juice

1 T olive oil (other oil will do)

3 cloves garlic (I like the kind that comes pre chopped in a jar from the store)

1/4 t pepper

1/8 t salt

1/2 C shredded parmesan

Cook pasta according to directions. In a large bowl combine the avocados, bacon, basil*, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt. Add the hot pasta and toss to combine. (Put in a serving dish if you want), then sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4. *Don't let it sit around too long or the basil will wilt and look gross.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (off the old Western Family chocolate chip bag)

 2 1/4 C flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 C butter

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

2 t vanilla

1 egg

1 bag milk chocolate chips (we like the Guittard giant milk chocolate)

Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt. In a larger bowl cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, mix well. Add chocolate chips, mix well. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. Makes approximately 3 doz.

Thai Haystacks

 This originally came from a Thai Spring Roll recipe from my friend, but the spring rolls just fell apart, so I decided to make them like haystacks. For the 2021 Eden Reunion, I made 6 cups of rice, 2 cups of quinoa and had tons. I cooked 6 lbs. of chicken, quadrupled the chicken recipe, and did 2.5x the sauce recipe as written (we could have used a little more sauce). Update 2025: instead of rice you can also serve with rice noodles (hot or cold!). I've also added some more topping options from a similar Forks Over Knives recipe (Spring Roll Bowl - we ate it like a cold salad).

From the bottom:

Rice or quinoa* OR hot or cold cooked rice noodles

Chicken -

    Cook 1.5 lbs chicken pieces in a mixture of 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 t ground ginger, 1/4 c soy sauce, 1/2 t Sriracha sauce, 1 T ketchup, 1/3 c coconut milk, and the juice of 1-2 limes.**

Toppings (as many as you want) -

    Julienned cucumber, colorful bell peppers, shredded carrots, sliced radishes, cooked edamame, halved snow peas, green onions, lime slices, jalapeno

    Mung bean sprouts (sometimes these are hard to find fresh)

    Chopped cilantro

Peanut Sauce (for the top), heat all ingredients together in a sauce pan***

    1/2 c brown sugar (I'm sure you could sub with honey)

    1/2 c soy sauce

    1/2 c peanut butter

    2 t minced garlic

    1 t ground ginger

    1/2 t curry paste (test for spiciness and adjust as necessary)

    1 C coconut milk

 *The recipe says use mango rice. I didn't have the original mango rice recipe, so I just poured any extra coconut milk on the rice, optional. Plain rice is great, too. I'm sure you could use mango rice if you know how to make it.

**The original recipe also includes 12-oz Coke and 2 T brown sugar with the other ingredients boiled together and cooled and then used as a 4-hour+ marinade on the chicken. I rarely think ahead to do a marinade, so I just cook the chicken in the ingredients listed above in a skillet and love the flavor. For the 2021 Eden reunion, I did think ahead and did the marinade, and the flavor was very strong. I baked the chicken for over an hour in the sauce in the oven, then kept half the sauce with the cooked chicken and the chicken soaked up all the sauce! Also, I think if you plan to pan cook this, you could omit the coconut milk in the chicken-marinade recipe and just cook the chicken in the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Sriracha sauce, ketchup, and lime juice.

***This is the recipe doubled. Cut it in half if you don't think you'll eat too much peanut sauce, but we always want more.

Healthier version of peanut sauce from "Jessica in the Kitchen"

Ingredients
1/3 cup natural peanut butter, if your peanut butter is thick, microwave is for about 15 seconds first
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, or 1/2 teaspoon freshly minced ginger
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup hot water
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

And another sauce recipe that was good from Forks Over Knives (Spring Roll Bowl recipe)

1/2 C peanut buter

1/4 C lime juice

1/4 C maple syrup

1/4 C snipped fresh cilantro

4 t fresh ginger 

4 cloves garlic

sea salt

black pepper

Heat all together in a saucepan.

Plop Plop Jello Salad

 Long-time family favorite (right? At least traditional.)

1- 3 oz. lime/green Jello

2 C/one container cottage cheese

1 can crushed pineapple

1- 8 oz. Cool Whip

Pecans

Mix all ingredients together (don't mix up the Jello, just pour in the powder)

Southwestern Egg Rolls

I got this recipe from Kaylene from when we did dinner trades. The sauce is so yummy!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 T green onion, sliced
1 can or 1 C frozen or canned corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced green chiles
1 t cumin
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
Flour tortillas

Avocado dipping sauce:
1 C ranch dressing
1 avocado, seeded and mashed
juice of one lime
salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

Combine everything but the tortillas. Slightly warm tortillas to make them easier to roll. Place a portion of the mixture into each tortilla and roll as tightly as possible. Spray a jelly roll pan or baking stone and place the chicken rolls an inch apart from each other. Brush the tops of each tortilla with a little butter and bake in oven at 400 until golden brown. Dip the rolls in the dipping sauce that has been pureed until smooth.