• Chicken & Wild Rice Soup (see recipe below)
• Black Bread and Smoked Salmon
• Curly Endive Salad with Cooked Onion Dressing
• Yellow Cake with Berry Filling

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup is straight from the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota. Add a starter of Black Bread and Smoked Salmon to snack on while the soup cooks, plus Curly Endive Salad with Cooked Onion Dressing and Yellow Cake with Berry Filling to complete the Midwestern-themed menu. Bake the cake while the rest of your dinner cooks on the stove.

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup recipe

Look for black bread or pumpernickel in the deli: The tiny square bread is perfect for this. Butter bread; top with smoked salmon. Add a drop of lemon juice if desired.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and add chopped onion. Cook until onion is soft, and then pour over curly endive salad. Toss salad and add vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Prepare a yellow cake mix according to directions for two layers. Cool. Spread dessert topping on one layer, cover with fresh berries, and top with second layer. Top cake with more dessert topping and berries. You can use whipped cream and drained, thawed frozen berries if desired.