My Favorite Recipes: Meet Michelle Crook, Colfax

Born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Michelle lived all over the northwest before settling in Colfax 13 years ago after graduating from Post Falls High School in 2005.

"I moved almost every year of my life," she said. She met husband Robert Crook of Priest River, Idaho, through mutual friends Tracy and Leonard Mathia.

"It was love at first sight," she said with a shy smile. "I knocked on a door to get my brother and sister to a friend's house and Robert answered the door."

They've been together for 15 years and have been married for 13 years. When the Mathias moved to the Colfax area Robert followed and Michelle came as well when they married in May of 2006.

Initially, Michelle worked as the referral and insurance coordinator for Three Forks Orthopedics for eight years before moving to Buri's Medical Equipment, both in Colfax, as the administrative assistant.

Buri's was recently purchased by Bellevue Healthcare. She now works at their office in Moscow.

"We're very busy," she said. "We don't get as many walk-ins, but we're very busy. It's a good thing." She helps patients set up their new continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and oxygen tanks.

Robert works for Vista Outdoors in Lewiston as a set-up technician.

Michelle and Robert are also raising two children, Emmett, 9, and Taren, almost 7-months.

Emmett will be going into fourth grade at Jennings Elementary School in Colfax. He loves sports, especially baseball.

"Batting and pitching are my favorite," he said. "I like everything about baseball."

Baby Taren weighs more than 20 pounds. He recently started eating solid foods with the family.

His first food was banana – "It was pure delight!" Michelle said, laughing. "He kept grabbing the spoon, he couldn't get enough."

The Crook family enjoys kayaking and hiking.

"We used to go to the laser tag arena in Pullman a lot before it burned down," she said. "Family date night once a month is a must!"

The family also enjoys traveling. Their favorite destination is anywhere with a beach.

"That is the most therapeutic and relaxing thing to me, the sound of the ocean," Michelle said.

On her own, Michelle enjoys crafting vintage-style signs and reading.

"I'm currently reading The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman," she said.

Michelle first got into cooking as a child when her grandmother, Betsy Mart, also of Colfax, taught her to bake.

"She taught me to make cinnamon rolls. I can't eat them anymore, but she is the queen of bread baking.

She said the first meal she tried to prepare on her own was a total flop.

"I was about 12, and I was cooking for my brother and sister – I was taking care of them. I tried to make soup – it consisted of canned pumpkin, ketchup, brown sugar, and chicken broth. It was really, really – I put a bag of croutons in it. It was very bad! My first successful recipe was sticky chicken alfredo," she said.

Michelle said after having Emmett, she started having "weird reactions" to food.

"I went and had an allergy panel done," she said. Chocolate, dairy products, corn and gluten were officially off the menu.

"Everything requires more cooking and prep time," she said on cooking with allergies. "I can't just do everything out of a box. It requires fresh meals. It's fine, though – it's healthy! I use my Instant Pot a lot."

She became interested in fitness and nutrition through the process of finding her food allergies and started researching. "Now I help other people with it as well," she said.

Michelle said her favorite meal to eat is Sangria's Lomo Saltado.

"I always order that and get the sweet potato crème brûlée for dessert!"

Recipes:

Sticky Chicken Alfredo

4 chicken breasts,

cubed

2 (10 oz) packages of

spinach fettuccine

pasta

1 cup butter

5 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cup of heavy cream

1 (24) oz container

Parmesan cheese

Cook chicken breast over medium high heat with a little EVOO until golden brown. While that is going bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a large skillet melt the butter and add the chopped garlic. Cook on low for about 5 minutes, stirring often, making sure not to burn the garlic. Then add the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and gently stir it over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the chicken to the fettuccine in the large pot and pour the delicious cream sauce over the chicken and noodles. Let sit for 15 minutes to thicken. Enjoy!

Orange Juice Cake

1 (3.5 ounce) package

instant vanilla

pudding mix

1 (18.25 ounce)

package French vanilla

cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a large bundt pan. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs together. Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into bundt pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in cake comes out clean. Combine the butter, sugar, and orange juice in a saucepan. Boil this mixture for about 2 minutes. While still warm, poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork. Pour orange juice mixture over cake. When the cake is saturated place it on a plate, and dust top with confectioners' sugar once the cake is cool.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

For the salad:

2 cups uncooked

quinoa

2 cups black or

kalamata olives, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small jar marinated

artichoke hearts,

chopped

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/2 cup cilantro,

chopped

1 cup feta cheese

crumbles

For the dressing:

6 tbsp olive oil

6 tbsp red wine vinegar

Start by boiling the quinoa in slightly salted water according to the package instructions (15-20 minutes).

Once cooked, drain and let it cool. Prepare the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. In a medium bowl, combine quinoa and the rest of the salad ingredients and pour the dressing on top. Mix everything gently and enjoy!