My Favorite Recipes: February 20, 2020

Amanda Mobley and her family are new residents to Oakesdale. The family moved from Oregon in December in part because of her husband's job and in part to be closer to extended family. The family visited the area last spring and summer and loved it.

Her husband Tanner is a journeyman millwright, and moved to the area for work in October. The family later followed him.

Amanda is currently an at-home mom. She worked in a deli and did some catering in Lakesview, Ore., before they moved to Oakesdale, but has decided to take some time before starting a new career here.

Amanda was raised in Oregon. Growing up, her dad was a logger and his job took him all over Oregon, and so, much like an 'army brat,' Amanda moved around frequently as a kid and was in a new school almost every year throughout the state. After high school, Amanda attended a tech school, but the school closed down before she could graduate.

Amanda and Tanner will be married 20 years this coming May and have three kids; Austin, the eldest, is currently attending Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay; Riley is in middle school, and Addison is in elementary school. The plans are for Austin to move to the area after he's finished his year at SWOCC and then to attend a school nearby.

Amanda has worked several jobs over the years. She has worked front desk at a resort lodge, as a waitress, as a photographer's assistant and as a banker for six years until Addison was born. About the same time they had to move to a new location for her husband, but afterwards Amanda was able to stop working full time and to take a more flexible schedule at a deli.

"I loved being able to be there for my kids every chance that I had," said Amanda explaining about why she didn't go back to working full time. "I never had to worry about missing too much time because I was always home when they were getting out of school."

The family loves to travel and goes camping in their free time. In recent years the family has visited Hawaii and Disneyland.

"We drove down there, so it was like a mini adventure, just getting there," Amanda explained about their trip to Disneyland.

Amanda loves remodeling. When she looks at houses and rooms that are a little run down, she sees projects, something that can be beautiful, compared to her husband who sees work and dollar signs. The family successfully flipped their last house that they did some heavy remodeling on. They went all the way down to the dirt when they remodeled the bathroom.

Amanda enjoys cooking, particularly baking, which she learned from her grandma.

"My grandma was the best cook ever," she declared.

Recipes:

Hawaiian Chicken Salad

"It was one of my favorites at a restaurant I used to work at and it's just too good not to share! Also simple, yet delicious," Amanda said

1 to 2 lbs of chicken

breast

1 can of crushed

pineapple

Green onion

Mayonnaise

Garlic pepper

Sprinkle chicken breast with garlic pepper and bake at 350 until done.

After cooled (I usually bake mine the night before I'm going to use it) dice it up and mix with mayo, crushed pineapple and diced green onion. Serve on a croissant.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

"It's easy and one of my family's favorites," Amanda said.

2 cans cream of chick-

en soup

1.5 lbs of chicken

breast

1 ½ tsp of garlic pow-

der

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup of lemon juice

½ cup of water

1 bag of wide egg noo-

dles

1 cup cheddar cheese

Combine cream of chicken soup, garlic powder, chicken breast, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and water in a crock pot and cook on low for about 5 hours or until chicken is shreddable.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions and drain.

Mix noodles into chicken mixture and pour into a 9" x 13" pan. Top with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly.