Grisham enjoys family fellowship

Kendall Grisham’s favorite part of cooking is getting to spend precious time with her family and taking a break from her busy, fast-paced schedule of working and watching her daughters play softball. 

“While I’m cooking, it’s our family time to catch up on life,” Grisham said. “We live in a fast-paced world going from ball field to ball field, so it means a lot to me when we get time to gather in the kitchen. It’s family time to catch up on what’s going on in everyone’s life.” 

Grisham was born and raised in the Pearl River community near the Pearl River Resort and works for Chahta Services, Inc. Outside of working and cooking, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Jason, and cheering on her daughters, Tenly and Grace, on while they play softball. 

She described herself as a “quick eats” type of cook since almost all of her free time is spent going from ball field to ball field, watching her daughters as they play softball. 

“I make a lot of easy, home-cooked meals since a lot of my time revolves around my daughters and when they play ball,” Grisham said. “They’ve been playing since they were both around five years old, and that’s been my life with them.” 

Grisham said she learned to cook through her mother and aunts by watching them in the kitchen, and remembers making biscuits as her first official dish. 

“Growing up in Tribal homes, the biscuit is a delicacy in our meals,” she said. “That’s one of the traditions that’s passed down. You learn to make biscuits. My aunt taught me how to make those, and my mother taught me how to make comfort food like chicken and dressing and chicken and rice.”

She said while her daughters aren’t big on cooking, they have a baking hobby and frequently make desserts such as cookies and cakes to take a break from playing softball. 

“I’ll of course pass down my cooking experience to them when they’re ready,” Grisham said. “These days I enjoy making things like chicken quesadillas, a chicken ring, and I still make chicken and dressing, since my father loved that when he was alive. Chicken is a safe meat and you can’t go wrong with it.” 

CHICKEN RING 

2-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 

1 can Rotel, drained (optional)

1 cup mayonnaise 

1 (8 oz.) bag shredded fiesta blend cheese 

1 packet taco seasoning 

2 cans crescent rolls 

Boil chicken breast until fully cooked and allow to cool. Shred the chicken into small pieces. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, Rotel, mayo, cheese and taco seasoning in a bowl. 

Use a round pizza pan and lay crescent rolls around the edges of the pan. Spoon chicken mixture into the crescent rolls and fold the rolls over the mixture. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes and serve warm. 

MAMA’S CHICKEN AND RICE 

2-4 chicken breasts, cooked 

1/2 can cream of chicken soup 

1/2 can cream of celery soup 

2 boiled eggs (optional) 

1 3/4 bags of rice 

Cook chicken thoroughly and remove from the pot to cool. Using the chicken stock, place rice into the water and cook as directed on the package. Once rice is cooked, place shredded chicken, cream of chicken and celery soup, and eggs into the pot. Add salt and pepper as desired and mix well. 

Cook on the stovetop for an additional 10 minutes and serve. 

CROCKPOT CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

2 cans cream of mushroom soup 

1 can Rotel 

1 (4 oz.) package of cream cheese, cubed 

1 (16 oz.) package Velveeta cheese, cubed

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp onion powder 

2-4 skinless chicken breasts 

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

1 (16 oz.) package spaghetti 

Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add the undiluted soup, undrained tomatoes, cream cheese, Velveeta, garlic powder, and onion powder and mix well. 

Add the chicken breasts and cover with a lid. Cook on low for about four hours or until the chicken is fully cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the slow cooker and allow it to cool. Stir the sauce remaining in the slow cooker well. 

Shred cooked chicken and place back into the crockpot and cover. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain well and add the pasta to the slow cooker. Mix well.

Boil and thoroughly cook pasta, drain well and add the pasta to the slow cooker. Mix well. 

Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top and replace the lid. Allow the cheese to melt then serve.