Huntington Chicken -- creamy, savory & just plain yummy

Check out my story about the main dish that brings Abilene High School's retired teachers back to school every fall during American Education Week — Huntington Chicken Memories @ MyAbileneKansas webpage.
The story  also includes this  recipe form Helen Hettenbach, the kitchen manager at Kennedy Grade School from the mid 1970s to mid 1990s. She shared her home-style version of Huntington Chicken with me years ago.

Huntington Chicken    Yield: 8x12-inch pan
8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine or butter
8 tablespoons (½ cup) all-purpose flour  
4 cups chicken broth (homemade, canned or use bouillon cubes or granules to make broth)
1 to 1½ teaspoons salt
½ to 1 teaspoon pepper
4 cups cooked & diced chicken
2 cups (before cooking) shell macaroni — cook in salted water according to package
directions
About ½ lb. cheese, shredded  (about 2 cups+) — use American, Cheddar or preferred choice
4 cups bread crumbs
2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1.  Over low heat in a saucepan, melt margarine or butter.
2.  Stir in flour until smooth, and cook 3 to 5 minutes to develop flavor.   
3.  Gradually add chicken broth and whisk to thicken as mixture continues to cook over low heat.
4.  Add salt and pepper and continue cooking to improve flavor. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
5.   In a large bowl, combine and mix: prepared chicken & macaroni, cheese and thickened broth. 
6.  Place mixture in a greased 8x12-inch baking pan or dish.
7.   In a skillet, brown bread crumbs in melted margarine or butter; then spread on top of chicken mixture. 
8.  Bake in a preheated 325° oven for about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.     


Fresh Cranberry Salad -- easy to make

This is a relish that Aunt Olive made on the morning of the Thanksgiving feast. According to her daughter-in-law, it is still on the menu each and every year. My mom reminded me that they used a meat grinder (the old metal kind that screwed onto a cabinet) to chop the vegetables back before food processors were invented. 
Also, be sure to check out my story about this recipe on MyAbileneKansas webpage -- Campaign for Cranberries.

Aunt Olive’s Fresh  Cranberry Relish   
1  (12 oz.) pkg. fresh cranberries (frozen can also be used)
4 apples, cored but leave the peels on
2 oranges, peeled with seeds removed
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
Nuts, chopped — optional

1.  In a food processor, coarsely grind cranberries, apples and oranges together using the pulsing action. 
After peeling oranges and coring apples, I coarsely chopped them (above) and then pulsed them in the food processor (below).
Partially pulsed ingredients.
2.  Blend in the sugar.   3.  Stir in chopped nuts if desired.

Recipe without photos . . .
Aunt Olive’s Fresh  Cranberry Relish   
1  (12 oz.) pkg. fresh cranberries (frozen can also be used)
4 apples, cored but leave the peels on
2 oranges, peeled with seeds removed
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
Nuts, chopped — optional
  1. In a food processor, coarsely grind cranberries, apples and oranges together using the pulsing action.  
  2. Blend in the sugar. 
  3. Stir in chopped nuts if desired.

Abilene Kansas App News Center: Feature: A Campaign for Cranberries

Abilene Kansas App News Center: Feature: A Campaign for Cranberries: Campaign for Cranberries — a trio of family recipes by Meta Newell West Terms such as “all-American” are often associated...

Click on the link above for my article on cranberries and recipes for . . . (or click on hot link to find them on this blog)

Aunt Olive’s ALL-AMERICAN Fresh Cranberry Salad 


Marla’s ALL-AMERICAN Cranberry Sauce


Judy’s ALL-AMERICAN CranberryDate Bars 
   

Pumpkin Spice Donut Mini Muffins/Cakes

     
     Wendy Moulton made these delicious muffins for the last Ladies Literary League meeting at the Abilene Public Library. I took just one but soon returned for more. These sweet and spicy muffins are simply irresistible; they can also double as little dessert cakes.
     The recipe came from A Step in the Journey blog. The blogger says it makes 40 mini muffins but my yield was less but then I used a 2 tablespoon capacity silicon muffin pan. I also needed about 1 tablespoon more melted butter for dipping the muffins/cakes. Both adjustments are included in the recipe that follows.

Pumpkin Spice Donut Muffins/Cakes   Yields 28 mini muffins (made with a 2 tablespoon capacity scoop)

Donut Holes Batter:              
1¾ cups of all-purpose flour
I recommend a fill and push adjustable
measuring cup for solids such as pumpkin.
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice (to make your own, see the instructions that follow)
6 oz. (equivalent to ¾ cup) of pumpkin puree (plain without added spices & sugar) or pumpkin puree
½ cup vegetable (canola) oil
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla     
½ cup milk

Donut Coating:
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
About 5 tablespoons of butter

Preheat the oven at 350°. Thoroughly grease mini muffin tins.
For the Batter:
  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice.
  2. In a separate bowl mix the pumpkin, vegetable oil, brown sugar, egg, milk, and vanilla.
  3. Combine all ingredients and mix together to create donut hole batter.
  4. Spoon or scoop the batter evenly into prepared muffin tins/pans. I used a 2 tablespoon capacity spoon.
  5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a donut hole comes out clean.
  6. Allow muffins to cool for about 2 minutes.
    The silicon mini muffin pan allows for easy release of each and every muffin.  
For the Coating:
  1. In one bowl melt the butter. In a separate bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar.
  2. Dip the donut hole muffins in the butter and then roll around each entire muffin in  cinnamon-sugar mixture. 

 
Although they'd be yummy for breakfast, I served them as a dessert offering, stacked on a pedestal plate with a candle in the center.
Light the candle for a birthday celebration . . . Happy Birthday Mary!
To make a heaping 1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice: combine a scant ½ tsp. ground cinnamon with ¼ tsp. ground ginger + scant ¼ tsp. ground allspice + ⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg
For more homemade mixes go to the Mixes tab on this blog.


Recipe without photos . . .
Pumpkin Spice Donut Muffins/Cakes   Yields 28 mini muffins (made with a 2 tablespoon capacity scoop)

Donut Holes Batter:               
1¾ cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice (to make your own, see the instructions that follow)
6 oz. (equivalent to ¾ cup) of pumpkin puree (plain without added spices & sugar) or pumpkin puree
½ cup vegetable (canola) oil
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla      
½ cup milk

Donut Coating:
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
About 5 tablespoons of butter

Preheat the oven at 350°. Thoroughly grease mini muffin tins.
For the Batter: 
  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice.
  2. In a separate bowl mix the pumpkin, vegetable oil, brown sugar, egg, milk, and vanilla.
  3. Combine all ingredients and mix together to create donut hole batter.
  4. Spoon or scoop the batter evenly into prepared muffin tins/pans. I used a 2 tablespoon capacity spoon.
  5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a donut hole comes out clean.
  6. Allow muffins to cool for about 2 minutes.
For the Coating: 
  1. In one bowl melt the butter. In a separate bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar.
  2. Dip the donut hole muffins in the butter and then roll around each entire muffin in  cinnamon-sugar mixture.