My Favorite Recipes

Erica Anderson and family moved to Colfax last summer for her to work with her step-father at Nielsen Insurance, with plans for her to take over the business when he retires. Erica grew up in Puyallup and graduated from Puyallup High School, after moving around some in Washington state as a child. Her mother and step-father, Kathy and Brent Nielsen, moved to Colfax about the time that she graduated from high school.

Erica married soon after high school, and she was able to have her kids with her at work in an adult group home. One of the residents had a mental age of about five, and daughter Alyssa and the resident competed for toys and for Erica’s attention. Erica learned to deal with sibling rivalry before daughter Amie arrived.

With two children, Erica and her husband realized that they needed more education in order to provide for their family as they would like. Both tried school, and she liked it better. Beginning college at 25 with two young children was a challenge, but she was much more focused and motivated than she was in high school. Erica didn’t think she was smart enough for college when she was in high school. Instead, she liked to play and hang out, lacking maturity and motivation.

Washington State University was a great experience for Erica. Starting college with plans to teach math, she found it just did not feel comfortable. Once she took an accounting class from Bernie McEldowney, she knew that she had found her niche. Tax classes were the most difficult, but in general she loved WSU and her professors.

When her youngest was 18 months old, Erica started graduate school at Brigham Young University. With three children and recently divorced, she was quite the busy woman. Erica credits her parents for being very supportive of her education. Brent sold his little sports car to put her through college, and when she was swamped at BYU, sent her mom to live with her and help. Her folks had a commuter marriage while she studied.

Erica, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting, took and passed her CPA exam. The exam, acknowledged as difficult, is also a real test of both the individual and the family. When she received notice of passing the exam, she took her children to their favorite deli. Her children insisted on more of a celebration, so they hiked to the “Y” above BYU and enjoyed the view.

“It was very rewarding to help people keep as much (of their income) as they can in their pockets and yet comply,” she said of accounting. “It is rewarding to help people have their businesses flourish.” In addition to her work at an accounting firm, she worked for a non-profit corporation supporting people with autism.

Since coming to Colfax, Erica has taken tests to certify for her insurance license. Nielsen Agency is an independent agency offering casualty, property, crop, farm, home and auto insurance from a number of companies. Accounting is very helpful in operating an insurance business, she noted.

Alyssa is the oldest of Erica’s children. She graduated from Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, and will go to Air Force boot camp in San Antonio, Texas, later this month. She will be training for security forces and would eventually like to be working as a law enforcement officer in a canine unit.

Amie is a junior at Colfax High School, taking dual-enrollment physics and pre-calculus, and generally working hard in her classes. A Distinguished Young Woman participant this March, she is busy preparing and rehearsing for the program this month. Amie works at Libey, Ensley and Nelson law offices after school.

Isaac is a fifth grader at Jennings elementary, an active, kind, caring boy. He has discovered sports and has been enjoying playing youth league football and basketball.

Erica leads the youth program for young women ages 12 to 18 at the Colfax Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has run a half marathon, the Halloween Half which is a costume race, for fitness instead of a fantastic time, and would like to run another one. She trained with her Shih Tzu- Yorkie cross, Scruffy, who ran the race with her. At eleven miles, Scruffy was pulling Erica along. Following her children’s interests takes a good deal of her free time, and she loves to read.

Erica seems to be settling into Colfax and enjoying her work.

Recipes:

My favorite

brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa

1 cup all-purpose flour (I use a gluten free flower to replace this and add

1 tsp of Xanthum Gum)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides ofpan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 24 to 36 brownies.

Ground Beef and Zucchini Stir Fry

1/2 pound ground beef

1 small onion, sliced or chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 small zucchini, sliced in half and cut on the diagonal (can be replaced by 10 ounces of green beans)

1 small yellow summer squash, sliced in half and cut on the diagonal

1/4 cup soy sauce (can be replaced with Tamari-a, gluten-free soy sauce)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup water

2 to 3 teaspoons cornstarch

4-6 cups hot, cooked rice (Asian varieties work best)

Cook ground beef, onions, and garlic on high heat in a large skillet or wok. Add vegetables and continue to cook on high heat 2 to 4 minutes. Add soy sauce and sugar and reduce heat to simmer. While simmering, mix cornstarch and water and add to pan. Stir and cook until thickened, and serve immediately over warm rice.

Chicken/Turkey Cabbage Soup

When I was seven years old, my family sponsored a Laotian family. The mother, Pang, made this soup often and it has become a family favorite.

3 pound whole chicken

4-5 carrots, sliced on diagonal

3 stalks celery, sliced on diagonal

1 head green cabbage, cored and chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch green onions, chopped

ground fresh chili paste, Sambal Oelek--favorite brand

4-6 cups hot, cooked rice (Asian varieties work best, short grain)

Cook whole chicken for about an hour in a pot with enough water to cover chicken. Remove chicken and allow to cool. In the broth, cook carrots for 5 minutes. Add celery and cook for another 8 minutes. Add the entire cabbage to the pot. The pot will be extremely full, but it will cook down. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the veggies are brilliant in color and tender.

Bone the chicken and shred or chop the meat and add after the veggies are cooked.

Salt and pepper to taste. Place a scoop of rice in a soup bowl and ladle the soup over it. Add green onion and chili paste as preferred.