Bennett Family Reunion

Rick's Pics

The Woman of the Weekend! AKA Mom, Grandma, Great Grams, "B"

Jack and Baby

Where's my dinner?!

Gen and Andy

Kathie and Gen in the wilderness

The Bennetts on the hunt for the geocaching prize

Jack found the prize! Sticky altoids??

Kristi, Bryan, Gen, Christian, Ronan, Kathie, Brad, Jack and the Prize

Beautiful scene from our hike

More Pics from Brad

Rick, Kristi, Kathie, Jack, Brad, Bryan, and Grandma B

Do we look alike?

Ronan and his great-uncle Brad

Let me help you fix your hair

Grandson and grandfather

Awwww

Great Grams, Ronan, and a water bottle

Kristi and Bryan

Rick and Christian

Mama and Papa B

B, Jack, and Bryan on the deck

Christian on a work call

Rick and Jack enjoying the wine!

Genevieve

Bryan and Kristi

Ronan reclining after a big meal

Ronan, Christian, and Great Grams

Chef Rick and sous chef Kristi creating Tostadas O Kona

The Bennett Hiking Team... Bryan pushing Kristi pushing Jack pushing Christian carrying Ronan. Whew - it takes a lot of people to get a baby up a hill! Rick is directing the effort.

Christian finds time to work up in the mountains (never far from his Blackberry!)

Misty mountains of Idyllwild

Ronan wearing Brad's sweater... It fits perfectly.

Creating the Breakfast Strata

Christian taking aim

Kristi and Andy

RECIPE: Tostadas O Kona

Courtesy of Rick Bennett

From the world-famous kitchens of Kukuiopae…

What it is

This is a recipe for four or two very hungry hombres. The tostada is beans, meat, and mucho flavor heaped on a deep-fried tortilla, topped with lettuce or salad mix, cheese to please, olives, salsa, and sour cream. That is the easy part. The meat/bean mixture takes a bit of work, but, hey, start early!

The Stuff

Ground meat or fish, about a pound

Canned black beans

Canned refried beans

Red pepper

Olive oil or canola oil

Ground black pepper

Salsa

Garlic

Large red onion, chopped

Cilantro – a MUST

Tomatoes

Sharp white cheddar cheese

Olives

Sour cream or yogurt

Cilantro, in case you forgot

Corn tortillas

Beer or red wine for the chef

The Meat

The meat can be anything that will divide up finely, but not so fine that it loses its character and texture. Ground turkey, ground round, salmon or other easily divided fish will work. In Idyllwild, we used lean ground round and diced pork chops cooked to death to fall apart well. I often use turkey. There is a trick to turkey. When it’s ground it is very high in moisture, so I cook it FROZEN. Get your oil hot, add red pepper, red onion, garlic, and black pepper to the hot oil in the pan. Lay the frozen turkey on the oil and let the surface brown and firm up, then spatula it off, exposing the uncooked meat underneath. Repeat till all the ground meat is cooked. Now you have large firm chucks that will have identity in the mix!

The Other Stuff

Add canned black beans and canned non-fat refried beans (juice and all) to the meat mixture and stir. Add some salsa and the coarse part of the cilantro (finely chopped). Sauté this slowly… If in doubt, go slower! You don’t want to overcook the mix.

The Toppings

While the meat and beans mixture is slowly cooking, prepare the toppings: shred the sharp cheddar cheese, dice the tomatoes, chop the leafy part of the cilantro, chop the olives (if whole), and set aside. Keep cool and the toppings, too.

The Tortillas

Now it’s time to make the tortillas. Add 3/4 inch oil to large, high-sided pan or pot. Fry the tortillas in the oil till golden, then set aside on paper towel to drain the oil. Do not use Crisco or similar poisonous trans-fat crap. Olive oil or canola oil is best.

The Meal

Whist hot (tortillas, that is; if it is you that is hot, come back when cooler, but turn off the stove first. I have burned too many meals from being hot), ladle meat/bean mixture onto tortilla, then add the salad mix, cheese, salsa, cilantro, sour cream (yogurt works, too), and olives.

Buena Suerte. Experiment with it. It’s always, well, almost always, delicious.

Those who love it get to clean up the kitchen and get this recipe!

Aloha Amigos Y Amigas

RECIPE: Hot Fudge for a Family

Courtesy of Jack Bennett

From the Kitchen of Betty O'Donovan

(Betty's husband, Patrick, goes back to Great Grandpa Paul's childhood in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, when the Bennett boys were only in their single digits)

2 cans of Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk

5 squares of Unsweetened Chocolate for Baking

1 Tbsp of Vanilla extract

Melt together slowly in a saucepan.

Pour over ice cream and your imagination.

It's divine!!!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Crisp

Courtesy of "B" Bennett

Below is B's dessert recipe for Saturday night. It had pumpkin, nuts, and cool whip. What could be better? :-)

1 - 16 oz can pumpkin

1 box yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup chopped nuts

1 - 15 oz can evaporated milk

1-1/2 sticks melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix canned pumpkin, eggs, canned milk, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.

Pour mixture into greased 9”x13” pan.

Sprinkle dry cake mix over mixture in pan.

Sprinkle nuts and melted butter on top.

Bake in preheated oven approximately one hour.

Serve warm with a dollop of cool whip!

RECIPE: Breakfast Strata

Courtesy of "B" Bennett

Here is the recipe for B's delicious breakfast strata, which fed 9 hungry Bennetts on Saturday morning.

5 cups cubed day-old bread

1 lb. turkey sausage, browned and crumbled

1/4 tsp. pepper

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 large jar pimientos

1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

2 Tbsp rosemary

1-1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

10 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Spray baking dish with nonstick spray. Sprinkle bread cubes in pan. Spread sausage over top evenly. Sauté onions, add rosemary and pimientos. Add to sausage mixture. Cover with Monterey Jack cheese. Whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper, dry mustard, and nutmeg in bowl. Pour egg mixture over pan. Cover and refrigerate 8-10 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Preheat oven to 350. Bake 30- 40 minutes or until set.

Serves 10 people.