Artichoke Chicken Alfredo

When I tasted this not long ago, I couldn’t wait to find the recipe.  Until my friend could email it to me, I looked in all my old cookbooks to see if by chance it might be there.  There are several versions of it, but this one is the best.  This chicken is so tender & creamy that you might find yourself dreaming of it...

Christie of the Table Runner (a delightful food blog/resource you must visit...) reminded me in a recent post of one of my favorite cookbooks.  When I saw it, I was motivated to pull mine off the shelf - which I hadn’t looked at in quite a while.  

The Junior League of Salt Lake City’s Heritage Cookbook is a goldmine, and I used it constantly when I was first married.  Mine is the 1975 edition - and (as you can see) it is splattered, torn, and definitely ‘kitchen-loved’.  My mother noticed it on my counter the other day and said she has the same one, but has hardly opened it.  (Most of her recipes are stored in her amazing memory - hence, little need for cookbooks!)  

According to some of my family - this dish could be filed under “strange” - but if you are an artichoke lover, it’s a must-try.  

I didn’t even think I liked artichokes (I guess I was afraid I would develop a taste for them, which finally happened)

I’ve decided that I like the creamy, dreamy alfredo sauce so much that I prefer to double it (so the chicken stays nice and creamy)  I’ve included the adjusted amounts in the recipe link below.  

I’ve also found it’s convenient to make a day ahead and refrigerate.  It saves me time on the day I serve it, and it only takes another ten minutes to bake it right from the refrigerator.

For this delicious recipe I've adapted from the SLC Junior League Heritage Cookbook, go to:

www.changeabletable.com

"Je-ssert"

Most states have their state flower, bird, tree, etc...  Utah has an official state Jello - and it’s GREEN.  We take our Jello seriously, and every family seems to have their own signature Jello salad.  This is one (of many) that serves a multitude, and if dessert isn’t on the menu - this would certainly suffice.

Your typical Mormon family gathers often for important events such as baby blessings, mission farewells/homecomings, baptisms, and several other ‘excuses’ to get together to share meals.  And it’s tradition that most of these meals include at least one large Jello salad.  

Every family has their favorite, and just when I think I’ve seen it all - I find another.  My son-in-law’s family claims this one - and they call it “Kristen’s Jello”.  I love their family, but I do not personally know Kristen - so I hope they don’t mind the name change.  This can easily double as both a Jello salad, AND a dessert.

When my children were young, I always served dessert as a motivation.  My children were required to be home by 5:30 every night - whether dinner was ready or not.  Their homework was supposed to be done by a certain time every day, and practicing and the jobs we gave them were expected to be finished within a reasonable period of time.  I used to be quite the taskmaster, and they only took me seriously when I pulled the “dessert card” or the “TV card”.  It was a sad day when they could not have dessert after dinner, or (worse yet!) not be able to watch “Little House On the Prairie”...  Those were the days, (and I miss them).

Now, don’t be impressed with the fact that I served dessert EVERY night.  It didn’t matter what it was, if it was called ‘dessert’ - they wanted it.  I sometimes served something as simple as popcorn, sliced apples, graham crackers with leftover frosting, a licorice rope, etc... in order to reward those who kept the rules for the day.  Jello, however, was always a favorite. 

For this Jello recipe that can work as both a salad and dessert - go to:

www.changeabletable.com

Green Jello Cream Cheese Salad - it's a Utah thing...

If you’ve heard that every family from Utah has a favorite Green Jello Salad recipe - it seems to be true.  Ours is affectionately called “Green Slime” - and one day I’ll share it with you.  I found this to be a family tradition of one of my favorite food bloggers.  One can never have too many green jello recipes - so I gave it a try.  

Once I’ve followed a food blog for a while, I like to get to know the person behind the recipes.  It’s fun to see their families, interests, background - and the like.  

I’ve noticed that most of these great cooks - almost without exception - have a favorite green jello recipe.  During the 2002 Winter Olympics in SLC the media went way overboard in making an issue out of Utah’s love affair with green jello.  Well that trend seems to be spreading beyond Utah.  Green jello is just... comforting?

Bill Cosby apparently has reunited with Jell-O  to freshen up it’s image of the gelatin and pudding brand once again.  These new ads will show people disrupting everyday activities (such as WORK) with cups of Jell-O.  

Nothing makes kids happier than Jello - especially if it’s green.  When I saw this recipe in the “About” section on barbarabakes.com - I had to try it.  It is delicious, albeit unpretentious - and a great addition to my Jello file.  Thanks Barbara...

For the recipe, go to:

www.changeabletable.com