Refreshing Summer Salads

Butternut squash with Red Quinoa salad

Tomato and Mozzarella salad

Ruth and Zona enjoy a lunch break

Summertime salads are a delicious break from working on League projects. Tastes & Treasures cookbook has many wonderful salad recipes.

Zona Lorig served two salads at the meeting:

Roasted butternut squash, Red quinoa, Wheatberry, Red pepper, Green onion, Baby argula, Toasted almonds, Cranberries and Goat cheese tossed with a honey sesame vinaigrette.

Tomato, Mozarella cheese, Mixed lettuce, Green onion, Pine nuts, Black olives drizzled with Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Zona and Ruth McLeod are working on the program for the Historical League's September meeting. It will feature the Historymakers Gala and Recognition Program. We look forward to past Historymaker chairs sharing stories about their specific events.

Wild Rice from Kay Holcombe

The cookbook contest begins with our first entry from Historical League member Kay Holcombe. She prepared this recipe ahead of time for her dinner party. It was a big hit with everyone wanting seconds!

Have you made an interesting dish to enter into the Historical League's contest? Send recipe and photo to the comment page on this blog.

Tastes & Treasures cookbook has another Wild Rice Pilaf on page 57 from historic Hassayampa Inn in Prescott.

Kay's Wild Rice

Ingredients:
1 cup wild rice
1/4 pound butter or margarine
2 cans Campbell's French Onion soup (10 3/4 ounces)
1 Soup can of water
2 Small cans button mushrooms

Directions:
1. Cook wild rice in boiling water for 30 minutes.
2. Drain.
3. Sauté in butter.
4. Add soup, water, and mushrooms.
5. The mixture should look watery and sloppy.
6. Put into a 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole.
7. Bake two hours at 350°.
(Mushrooms should rise to the surface)

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Rock Springs Cafe reorders Cookbook

Thanks to Mary and John Garbaciak for delivering 30 copies of Tastes & Treasures cookbook to Rock Springs Cafe. Great place for dinner and pies and now you can read about historic venues in Arizona as well as prepare the recipes!

Crockpot Quinoa Chili

Even on a hot day, Chili is good. Tastes & Treasures has a recipe for Chicken and White Bean Chili on page 181. Yummm.


We found this Chili recipe using quinoa. Unique flavors combine to create a delicious dish.

Crockpot Quinoa Chili

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
3 cups water or bean cooking liquid
1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 cup unsalted tomato sauce OR: 1/4 cup unsalted tomato paste + 3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 celery stalk, diced
1 Tbsp (2 - 3 cloves) minced garlic
2 Tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp gr coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried basil leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaf
1/8 - 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp light molasses
1 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos, or soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
More Heat: Add more chile powder

Stovetop Directions:

Soak the quinoa 5 minutes
Rinse, then drain into a colander
If using canned beans, drain into a colander and rinse well
Peel & mince the garlic and jalapeño pepper
Dice the onion
Wash and trim the celery, slice lengthwise, then crosswise to dice
Seed and dice the red and green pepper
Heat the oil on medium-high in a dutch oven or large sauce pan
Fry the garlic, jalapeno, onion and celery until soft (about 5 minutes)
Add the peppers and fry 5 minutes
Add the spices and herbs, stir 2 minutes
Add the beans, water or bean liquid, molasses, tomato sauce, and quinoa
Bring to boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked
Stir in Braggs or soy sauce, and pepper. Adjust seasonings
Serve garnished with cilantro
Optional: Add a dollop of dairy or non-dairy sour cream to each bowl

Crockpot Directions:
Sauté jalapeno, garlic, celery, and peppers in oil for 5 minutes on med-high
Add spices and herbs, stir 2 minutes
Combine with water, tomato sauce, salt, quinoa and beans in a 6 qt crockpot
Cover and cook on low for 5 - 6 hours
Add Braggs or soy sauce, molasses, pepper
Serve garnished with chopped clilantro and sour cream (optional)
Cooking Tips:
You can use any combination of beans you like in quinoa chili, although we thought it was perfect with a mixture of kidney beans and black beans. One or the other would be good too.

We used canned tomato sauce, but tomato paste and-or fresh tomatoes would also work. We like the Amore brand that comes in a tube - we got tired of throwing out almost-full cans of tomato paste.
This chili recipe only takes about 1/2 hour to cook on the stove, or 5 - 6 hours in a crockpot or slow cooker. If you need to be away longer, a digital timer is handy & inexpensive. Then your chili can be ready to eat when you are.
Serve with fresh cilantro as garnish. Add a dollop of dairy or non-dairy sour cream if you like.

6 Servings
Nutrition Data, 194g Serving: 227 cal, 39g carb, 4g fat, 183mg sodium, 8g fiber, 11 g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Vit C, Folate. Estimated Glycemic Load 17

Sweet Apple BBQ Chicken

Crockpots are an easy one-step solution to dinner on a hot summer day.

Another wonderful summer dish is Chicken Salad Pie with the recipe on page 176 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Sweet Apple BBQ Chicken Crockpot

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3 cups chopped Fuji apples

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup BBQ sauce with 45 calories or less per 2-tbsp. serving

2 tsp. chopped garlic

1 tbsp. cornstarch



Directions:

Season chicken with 1/4 tsp. each salt and black pepper and place in a crock pot. Top with apples and onion.

 In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix garlic into BBQ sauce. Pour sauce mixture over contents of the crock pot, and lightly stir. 

Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours or on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.

 Turn crock pot to low (if needed).
In a small bowl, stir to dissolve cornstarch in 1 tbsp. cold water. Stir mixture into the contents of the crock pot, along with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt.

 Let sit, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir and enjoy! 


MAKES 6 SERVINGS

1/6th of recipe (about 3/4 cup): 211 calories, 1.5g fat, 600mg sodium, 21g carbs, 2g fiber, 13.5g sugars, 26.5g protein



Thanks to Hungry Girl for stats and recipe

Fourth of July Tart

 Celebrate the holiday with a fabulous Fourth of July tart. The pastry is filled with vanilla custard then topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. Decorate to your heart's content!

Thanks to historic Garland's Oak Creek Lodge for this delicious pastry crust. The recipe is also found on page 49 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook along with a history of Garland's Lodge. Great reading and great recipe.

Tart Pastry
Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:
Whisk the flour, salt and sugar lightly in a medium bowl to blend. Add the butter and shortening and toss lightly to coat.

Cut with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles a very coarse cornmeal.
Mix the water and vinegar together. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture over the flour mixture and toss to blend. Continue adding the vinegar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing to form a cohesive ball that will hold together when pressed. Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each portion into a disk.
Wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before using or store in the freezer. Makes 2 pastry disks.

4th of July Raspberry Pretzel Jello

Top this dish with fresh blueberries and you have a delicious dessert to celebrate our nation's birthday. Raspberry Pretzel Jello has a very similar crust to Margarita Pie from page 124 Tastes & Treasures cookbook, from Rancho de La Osa. You can read all about the wonderful history of Rancho de La Osa as well as their renowned recipes in Tastes & Treasures.

The following recipe has the same great idea with lots of Raspberries. Don't forget to add the Blueberries to make it look patriotic.
Thanks to Natashaskitchen.com for the recipe.


 Ingredients for Raspberry Pretzel Jello Recipe:
6 oz package Raspberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
2 cups pretzels
1/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 (8oz) package cream cheese – softened
1 (8oz) package Cool Whip – thawed
1 cup sugar
1 bag frozen raspberries – thawed in refrigerator

How to Make Raspberry Pretzel Jello:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
1. Combine 6 Oz packet of Jell-O with 2 cups of boiling water and set aside to cool to room temperature.

2. Crush 2 cups of pretzels in a ziploc bag, using a rolling pin.

3. Melt 1 stick of  butter than add 1/4 cup sugar in saucepan. Add pretzels and mix together.

4. Lightly press pretzel mix into a 13×9 -inch pyrex dish and bake for 10 minutes at 350°F, then cool to room temperature.

5. While pretzel mix is cooling down, beat 8 oz of cream cheese and 1 cup sugar on medium/low speed until well-combined.

6. Next, stir in Cool Whip using a spatula and mix until well combined.

7. Spread mixture over cooled pretzels and go all the way to the edges of the dish to create a seal. You don’t want the jello to leak into the pretzels. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

8. Place  raspberries evenly on top of the cream filling..

9.  Pour Jell-O over raspberries and refrigerate until jello is set.