Linda Marler – My Favorite Recipes

Heidi and Mike Koenig were busy decorating for Christmas, and Mike remarked, “This house looked a lot different when I lived here alone—white walls, not much decoration.” Mike lived in the house for 15 years before he and Heidi were married, and they will soon celebrate their 16th anniversary.

The walls are varied tones of a soothing neutral color, decorations abound, and there is a large, well-equipped kitchen with plenty of room for people to cook together.

Mike is the quiet reserved guy married to Heidi, who is friendly and outgoing. He calms her down, and she draws him out of his shell. He can grill hamburgers and steaks and cook breakfast, but she’s the great cook, he said. Mike cleans up the kitchen and does dishes every evening by himself. Getting up in the morning to a dirty kitchen is something he hates, and it’s peaceful cleaning the kitchen. With a crowd coming for Thanksgiving, Heidi did the cooking, and Mike shampooed the carpets.

They met at church, introduced by a friend. The opposites did attract, and they think they make it work well.

They enjoy their house, which they share with son Christopher, a freshman in high school, and Lucy, a German shorthair hunting dog.

Heidi’s older children, Amanda and Derek, are out of the house and on their own, but return for holidays and visits. Mike and Heidi are planning their next remodeling project, which will enlarge the dining room, add a main floor great room and enlarge the master bedroom and bathroom. The kids have always taken over the basement family room, and the adults could use more room on the main floor.

For the better part of the last 10 years, Heidi has worked for the Colfax School District as a paraprofessional, or teacher’s aide, working in the high school resource room and other classroom assignments. She loves the kids, and they love her, which was evident if you saw her with the students at the Tom’s Turkey Drive at Rosauers.

Heidi has resigned her position at school to study to become a registered nurse. She worked as the coordinator in a cardiac cath lab in California, so she’s familiar with the medical field. Already taking prerequisite classes, she will start after Christmas break at Lewis-Clark State College, and then will begin the registered nursing program at Walla Walla Community College in Clarkston. She feels a real passion for nursing, so she is very excited to get started.

Heidi grew up in the Bakersfield, Calif., area, while Mike grew up in Colfax. An adoptee, Heidi got acquainted with her birth parents years ago, and the Koenigs now visit them in Vancouver, B. C. When they visited a few years ago, Mike and Heidi went out in Richmond for a nice Asian seafood dinner. They thought the dip that was brought with their shrimp and appetizers tasted strange, but it took a while to realize that the dipping sauce was actually soapy water in the finger bowls. That may have fooled them, but they did catch on to being billed double for their dinner.

Mike’s favorite part is driving and seeing the countryside. As long as he’s driving, he’s happy.

Heidi is a self-taught cook, as her mom wasn’t very skilled. Heidi’s two favorite activities are cooking and playing her piano. She’s taking lessons again and enjoys practicing.

Heidi uses approximate recipes, so do some looking and tasting as you prepare them.

Recipes:

Hungry Man Casserole

1 1/2 to 2 pounds ground beef, browned and drained

1/2 cup diced onion, sautéed (optional)

2 cans baked beans

brown sugar, to taste

barbecue sauce, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the ingredients listed above together and place in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

1 can “Grands” biscuits

1 c. or more grated cheddar or your favorite cheese

Top the beans and beef mixture with biscuits, halved or quartered and dotted over the surface. Spread grated cheese on top. Bake until biscuits are done.

Turkey Enchiladas

flour tortillas—burrito size

shredded turkey meat

La Victoria or Las Palmas enchilada sauce, 1 mild and 1 spicy

mozzarella and cheddar cheese mix

whole Ortega green chilies, torn into strips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or use Pam on a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour a little enchilada sauce in to the pan to cover the bottom. Coat a tortilla in the enchilada sauce mixture, lay in the pan, put in shredded turkey, a little shredded cheese, one strip of Ortega green chile, and roll up. After assembling enchiladas, pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top, then cover with shredded cheese.

Bake in 350 degree oven covered with foil. When enchiladas are bubbling hot, remove foil and bake 5-10 minutes longer.

Pasta-Chicken-Fruit Salad

This makes a big salad, great for a potluck or large family dinner. Increase chicken to use as a main dish salad.

2 to 3 cooked, cut-up chicken breasts

1 large bag of tri-color pasta, boiled, al dente

2 cans mandarin oranges

1-2 cans pineapple tidbits, juice reserved

3 diced avocados, if eating soon

sliced red onion half-rings (optional)

Assemble salad ingredients.

Poppy Seed Dressing

1 cup salad oil

1/4 cup vinegar—cider, rice, salad

1/4 cup fruity vinegar—raspberry, passion fruit, etc.

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped red onion

reserved pineapple juice, if desired.

1/4 cup poppy seeds

Blend all ingredients EXCEPT poppy seeds in blender until well blended. Stir in poppy seeds.

Pour some of the poppy seed dressing over salad ingredients and mix gently.