Fix-It and Forget-It Pink Cookbook (5 page)

Cooking Time: 4-6 hours • Ideal Slow-Cooker Size: 4-qt.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup

½ soup can of water

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

½ cup chopped onions

1 tsp. paprika

¾ tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1. Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
   
2. Place chicken in slow cooker.
   
3. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over chicken.
   
4. Cover. Cook on Low 4-6 hours, or until chicken is tender but not dry and the vegetables are as tender as you like them.
   
5. Serve over cooked noodles or rice.
   

“I especially like this recipe served to me by my very dear friend.”

SURVIVOR OF 26 YEARS, AND AVON WALKER

In 1986, I felt a lump in my breast when showering one day. Something told me it was cancer. I had lost my mom at 42 from ovarian cancer. Mine turned out to be Stage 2 breast cancer, having moved into my lymph nodes. The world was different in the ‘80s. Then, cancer meant the death sentence. I was embarrassed; I didn't even tell the people I worked with. I'd do my radiation first thing in the morning and then go straight to work.

I shared a house with three other women. They were quite supportive. One of the best things they did for me was to help me find a therapist.

I was 32 years old and I was so angry. The therapist helped me with my anger by asking me to get a kid's punching bag. I also made a pile of bricks behind my house. Each brick represented a week of chemo. At the end of each week, I'd go out with a sledgehammer and beat the daylights out of a brick.

When I was diagnosed, lumpectomies were relatively new in the U.S. You had to go with what you knew. I opted for the lumpectomy, and that's when they found that my lymph nodes had cancer. There was just so little information. They handed you a brochure. And you didn't know survivors then.

I trained for the Walks with a team for the first few years. I walked with the team. They were so supportive; some are still in my life as very dear friends. It can be difficult to do a Walk alone, but with a team, you can learn: from blister care, to how to hydrate, the importance of electrolytes, safety things, and listening to your body to make sure you're okay.

At lunch during a Walk one day, I sat beside someone who said to me, “I'm looking for someone like me—someone who's been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and has survived.” That was me. And then I met someone who's a 33-year survivor, and that helped me. Both times we hugged and cried with each other. I always think of these people when I walk.

Years ago I met a couple and she had breast cancer. They always walked together. Then the wife passed, but the husband continued doing the Walks. He always carried her sneakers.

An Avon Walk is uplifting and empowering. It is not a race. There are no first or last prizes. It's all about talking and meeting people and hearing about their experiences. An Avon Walk is one of the best ways to give back.

“I carry a list of names with me on each Walk. I ask my donors if they have anyone they'd like me to walk in honor of. This year I had 300 names with me.”

Judy Cherry: Survivor and 9-City Avon Walker

Makes 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes • Baking Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes

1 cup long-grain white rice

9 cups milk

1-2 cups sugar, according to your taste preference

2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
   
2. Wash rice until water runs clear.
   
3. Put rice in greased 3-quart baking dish.
   
4. Pour in all the milk. Stir well. Place in oven.
   
5. Stir the milk and rice every 30 minutes until rice is soft, about 2 hours total.
   
6. Stir in 1 cup sugar. Taste. Add more sugar if you wish.
   
7. Bake for another 30 minutes.
   
8. Stir in vanilla.
   
9. Bake for 10 more minutes.
   
10. Allow to cool to room temperature, or chill, before serving.
    

Notes:

• In order to avoid a glutinous mess, please follow these directions exactly! No skimping!
  
• Some people like to add raisins, but we feel that is sacrilege and never add raisins or cinnamon! This is a true farmhouse rice pudding.
  

“This is my all-time favorite dish. And this is our whole family's favorite rice pudding recipe. I had to stand over my mom to get it!”

Makes 4-6 servings • Prep time: 20 minutes • Cooking Time: 2 hours

3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

32-oz. (4 cups) chicken stock

20-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

large can chopped clams, undrained

3 Tbsp. poultry seasoning

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1. Put all ingredients except clams into large stockpot. Bring to a boil.
   
2. Reduce heat. Cover and cook for 90 minutes.
   
3. Add clams. Simmer for another 5 minutes until clams are heated through.
   

Notes:

• This is great to serve over pancakes—a favorite of our family!
  
• The chowder is even better on the second day.
  

“This is my grandma's recipe. I had to interview her to get the recipe since she doesn't have it written down. She does everything ‘by eye,' so I had to go home and measure to make sure I had everything right! Interviewing her for this was a real treat.”

SURVIVOR, AND 9-CITY AVON WALKER

A breast cancer diagnosis takes your breath away. I had found a lump and had done research, and I thought I was somewhat prepared if the diagnosis came, although no one really expects to hear it. But all of that research went out the window when I heard the words.

My husband and I went home and I said, “I'm going to have a mastectomy”—30 minutes after getting the diagnosis. And he said, “It's your life and it's your breast.” My husband showed extraordinary ability to support me. He allowed me—and this is huge—to make decisions freely with no judgment.

I needed to be really clear with friends and family that I did not want them to start treating me differently. I wanted to keep things normal, with as few awkward moments as possible.

Judy Cherry with Patrick Dempsey.

My friends were good about asking if there was anything I couldn't eat or couldn't do. Once, after they started to bring me things, I had a really bad week. Because my friend had brought me meals,
I called and asked her if she could fix supper one night. She had opened the door, and so it was easier for me to ask because she had already given me unsolicited help. I believed that she really did want to do all she could for me.