STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Wash mushrooms with cold water, let dry on a paper towel. Separate the stems from the caps. Put the caps aside for later. Finely chop the stems and the green onions, mix together. Set aside 1/4 cup of this mixture for later.

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the ground pork until no longer pink. Remove from heat and add in the garlic, corn flakes, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, water chestnuts, beaten egg and chicken broth. Let cool to touch.

With wet hands, make small balls of the pork mixture and place inside the mushroom caps.

In a 9x13 glass baking dish mix-
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
dash of paprika
reserved mushroom/green onion mixture

Place stuffed mushrooms on top of this mixture in the glass dish. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes at 325°F.

Remove foil and baste mushrooms with the pan sauces. Bake 10 more minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 10 -12

DIAMOND LOVERS' HOT CRAB DIP

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, divided
5 canned artichoke bottoms, drained, patted dry, and trimmed to remove any hard, rough spots
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup crème fraîche or commercial sour cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 pound pasteurized crabs, flaked and picked over to remove any stray bits of cartilage
2 cups fresh bread crumbs, preferably made from homemade bread (brioche is best)
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Corn chips and crackers

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an attractive 2-quart au gratin dish, preferably a dark-colored one. Set aside.

Place the shallots in a miniature food processor and blend until juicy, less than a minute. Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter, add the shallots, and sauté just until the shallots begin to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Chop the artichoke bottoms into ½-inch dice. Set aside until you are ready to assemble the dip.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Add the mustard, crème fraîche, and cheese and beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the crab, shallots, and artichoke bottoms until well combined. Turn the crab mixture into the prepared au gratin dish.

In a medium-sized sauté pan, melt the remaining 5 tablespoons butter and stir in the bread crumbs. Cook and stir just until the butter is absorbed and the crumbs are beginning to turn golden. Remove from the heat, stir in the chopped parsley, and distribute this mixture over the top of the crab dip.

Place the dip in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and a small spoonful of dip scooped up from the center tastes very hot. Serve immediately with a choice of chips and crackers.

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD

Combine and mix lightly. Chill before serving.

Recipe submitted by Sue, Pima, AZ

HOT AND SOUR SOUP

1. Bring 2 cups of the chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the shiitake mushrooms and remove from the heat. Let stand for 1 hour.

2. Drain the shiitake mushrooms, straining the liquid through a fine mesh sieve lines with cheesecloth and set aside. Remove and discard the tough stems and thinly slice the mushroom caps. Refrigerate the reserved liquid until slightly chilled.

3. In a soup pot, combine the remaining 6 sups chicken broth, the vinegar, and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Add the shiitake mushrooms, scallions, carrots, snow peas, bamboo shoots, garlic, ginger, shrimp and pork. Return the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 8 minutes.

4. Combine the chilled liquid from the shiitake mushrooms with the chili oil, and cornstarch. Slowly add it to the soup, while stirring gently.

5. Add the enoki mushrooms, bean curd, and peas. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately with garnish of crispy fried noodles.

Makes 12 cups, enough to serve 8

Recipe submitted by Debbie, Salem Ward, St. Johns Stake

CHICKEN FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Heat oven to 350°F. Carefully slice the bread lengthwise so you have two long pieces . Toast the cut bread in the oven for about 15 minutes. Mix the basil, oregano and garlic salt in to the tomato sauce.

In a frying pan coated with olive oil, sauté the chicken, onions, green peppers and mushrooms until the mushrooms have reduced in size and the onions and peppers are no longer crisp, about 15 minutes.

When bread is toasted, spoon the sauce onto the bread. Next, add the chicken/vegetable mixture. Top with the cheese.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until pizza are warmed through and cheese is bubbly.

Serves 4

SPINACH ROLL LASAGNA

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. pepper
Cook 8 -10 lasagna noodles according to the package, drain.
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce. I use Ragu Super Chunky Mushroom.
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour half of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish.

Lay out one lasagna noodle on the counter and spread about 1/4 cup of the spinach/cheese mixture on top leaving 1 inch at the top without. Roll the noodle up and place seam side down in the baking pan. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

Pour the remaining sauce over the noodles and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Serves 8 -10

HARD ROCK CAFE ORANGE FREEZE

Place sherbet, juice and milk in a blender and blend until smooth, about 15 seconds. Pour into a tall, chilled glass. Place sprig of spearmint on top and serve immediately.

Recipe from 'Top Secret Restaurant Recipes,' by Todd Wilbur

BANANA CANTALOUPE SMOOTHIE

Blend everything together until smooth. Pour into a chilled glass.

Serves one.

EASY ECLAIR CAKE

1 box graham crackers
2 packages instant vanilla pudding
1-8 oz container cool whip
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 container ready made chocolate frosting

Mix the pudding and the milk together. Let set about 5 minutes and then fold in the cool whip. In an 9x13 pan, cover bottom with graham crackers. Break as needed to completely cover the bottom, but do not crush or crumble.

Spread on half of the pudding mixture. Cover the pudding layer with another layer of whole graham crackers, again, break as needed.

Spread the last layer of pudding on top.

Place the last layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding.

Open the container of chocolate frosting, be sure to remove the foil liner, microwave at 30 second intervals until it becomes slightly runny. Stir well and pour on top of the last layer of graham crackers. Spread the frosting out evenly to completely cover the top.

Cover and refrigerate over night or at least 8 hours. This is the secret to the dessert. The pudding must be given time to soak into the graham crackers to make them separate slightly to give them the eclair texture.

It is worth the wait.

This recipe can also be made with 2% milk and no fat cool whip. It is not as rich, but it is better for you.

911 CHOCOLATE EMERGENCY COOKIES

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into large pieces (recommended brands: Lindt Bittersweet, Godiva Dark)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened and divided
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-style cocoa (recommended brand: Hershey’s European-style)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vanilla Icing (recipe follows)

In the top of a double boiler, melt the chips, chopped chocolate, and 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of the butter. When melted, set aside to cool briefly.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter with the sugars. When the mixture is the consistency of wet sand, add the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture, beating only until combined. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing only until completely combined and no traces of flour appear.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 25 minutes, until the mixture can be easily spooned up with an ice-cream scoop.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two cookie sheets.

Using a 4-teaspoon ice-cream scoop, measure out a dozen cookies per sheet. Bake one sheet at a time for about 9 to 11 minutes, just until the cookies have puffed and flattened. Do not overbake; the cookies will firm up upon cooling. Allow the cookies to cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to the racks and allow to cool completely.

Frost with Vanilla Icing.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Vanilla Icing-

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, or more if needed.

Beat the butter until very creamy. Gradually add the cream, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar and beat well. If necessary, add more confectioners’ sugar to the icing. It should be fairly stiff, not soupy. Spread a thick layer of icing on each cookie.