Birthday recipes that make any day special

In our family we love to celebrate birthdays, and today is my sister Linda's special day. I have planned to give her a new cookbook for her birthday. After all, do you ever have too many cookbooks?

Linda makes several really good recipes, and when I think of her I always think of her chicken wild rice casserole and her chocolate surprise cupcakes. I would like to include those recipes today in honor of her birthday (notice I did not tell you her age).

This recipe has a different name for our family. We all call it funeral casserole, because Linda always has one or two frozen in the freezer to have on hand to pull out in the event of a death, so that she can take food to a family. Often when we are together we bring up "funeral casserole," and we get the strangest looks.

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

4-pound chicken, cooked cooled and meat picked off

2 (6-ounce) boxes Uncle Ben's long-grain and wild rice mix

3 onions, chopped

2 sticks margarine

3 tablespoons flour

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 cup milk

2 small cans sliced mushrooms, drained

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 pound grated Longhorn cheese

Cook chicken until tender. Debone and cut into small pieces. Prepare rice according to package directions. SautZ onion in margarine; blend in flour. Add soup and milk; stir to combine well. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper. In a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray, alternate layers of chicken, rice mixture, cheese and sauce twice. Bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes. This makes a big batch, which is great for feeding a crowd. It can be divided into smaller pans and frozen. When ready to bake a frozen casserole, thaw at least 1 hour then bake approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When in a hurry, a purchased rotisserie chicken works well and fresh mushrooms are especially good sautZed with the onions.

Surprise-Filled Cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

6 ounces mini chocolate chips

Make cake mix according to package directions. In a small bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar; beat in egg. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full. Drop a rounded teaspoon of cream cheese mixture onto top of batter in cups. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 to 20 minutes.

These cupcakes do not need any icing, as the filling in the center makes them pretty sweet. For best results, use a chocolate cake mix without oil, or omit the oil and increase water a little, as the oil makes the cakes not stick to the papers and they peel away.

No-Bake Fruitcake

1/2 cup evaporated milk

16 marshmallows, finely cut

3 tablespoons orange juice

Mix these ingredients together; set aside.

4 dozen 2 1/2-inch graham crackers, rolled into fine crumbs

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 cup dates, cut fine

1 cup raisins, preferably 1/2 cup dark and 1/2 cup golden

3/4 cup walnut, broken

1/3 cup candied pineapple

1/3 cup candied cherries, cut fine

2 tablespoons candied orange peel, cup fine

Combine all of these ingredients together and add the milk mixture. Mix with a spoon, then with hands until crumbs are moistened. Press firmly into a sprayed 10-inch tube pan. Decorate with additional fruit and nuts. Cover tightly. Chill 2 days before slicing.

Recently someone stopped me and asked me for a recipe for taco soup. I cannot remember who it was, but here is your recipe. There are many different recipes to choose from, so I just pulled out one that I have used before.

Taco Soup

3 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 can kidney beans, undrained

1 can black beans, undrained

1 can pinto beans, undrained

1 can stewed or diced tomatoes

1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies

2 packages taco seasoning

2 packages ranch salad dressing mix (not dip mix)

2 cans shoepeg corn

Brown ground beef and onions together. Put undrained beans, tomatoes and all remaining ingredients into a large pot with the meat. Add 2 cups water. Simmer low for 2 hours. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, Fritos, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, black olives and other desired toppings.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Pie

1 (18-oz.) roll Pillsbury Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts

3 cups powdered sugar

1 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup water

1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted

16 pecan halves, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cookie dough from wrapper. With floured fingers, press dough in bottom of ungreased 10- or 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter and water; mix well. (If necessary, add additional water 1 teaspoon at a time until mixture is smooth.) Drop spoonfuls of mixture over baked cookie crust; press evenly to cover crust. Spread melted chocolate chips over peanut butter mixture. If desired, carefully swirl chocolate with fork. Garnish with pecan halves. Refrigerate 1 hour or until chocolate is set.

16 servings.

Asparagus-Dijon Chicken Fettuccine

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom pieces and stems, drained

1 package Chicken Helper Fettuccine Alfredo

2 1/2 cups hot water

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 package (9 ounces) frozen asparagus cuts, thawed and drained

Melt margarine in 10-inch skillet over high heat. Cook chicken, onion and mushrooms in margarine 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until outside of chicken turns white. Stir in sauce mix, hot water, milk and mustard. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Stir in uncooked pasta; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.

Stir in asparagus. Cover and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. Uncover; let stand about 5 minutes or until sauce is as thick as you'd like (sauce will thicken as it stands). Stir before serving. Substitution: use a 10-ounce package of frozen green peas, thawed, instead of the asparagus cuts. Serve with a salad of tossed greens, mandarin orange segments and vinaigrette dressing alongside this tasty entrZe.

I am all out of room and I hope you have a terrific week. Be sure to send in your favorite recipes, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701.