Two easy main dish meals

I don't make resolutions for New Year's but I am trying to finish off long neglected projects this year, and also to do better about planning meals. I've been in a meal slump for ages. I've been married 38 years. That is a lot of dinners. What is the latest health concern, not ours but according to the media? Are we eating eggs but not butter or no dairy at all? Is wheat making me fat or is it diet Coke?

I'm not diminishing anyone's concerns with these matters but I was using the media's concern of the week as an excuse not to fix a meal that we liked. Realistically, I think we all know that moderation is the key, right?

The first recipe is from Publix. We don't have Publix stores in Michigan but I am familiar with them from visits to Florida.

Confetti Chicken

The link to Publix is here.  My paraphrased directions follow:

• 2 T  unsalted butter
• 8 oz  spaghetti, broken into 2" pieces
• 10 oz  cooked, diced chicken (about 2.5 cups)
• 4 oz  jar of pimentos, drained
• 8 oz  trinity mix (I used a few stalks of celery and onions)
• 10.5 oz  can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 tsp  kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp  pepper
• 14.5 oz  can low sodium chicken broth
• 1.25 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup  panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425* Bring water to boil for pasta. Cut butter in small places and place in bowl to soften.

• Boil the broken pasts for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until partially tender. Drain.
• Combine chicken, pimentos, trinity mix, soup, salt, pepper and broth. Cover and microwave on high 2-3 minutes until hot and veggies begin to soften. (I did this in a skillet on stove top)
• Add drained pasta to chicken mixture. Transfer to 2 qt baking dish. Stir cheese and bread crumbs into softened butter. Mix with fingers until mix is crumbly. Spread evenly over casserole. Make 15-20 minutes or until bubbly around edges.

My husband isn't a huge fan of chicken casseroles but he really liked this, especially the topping. He asked that I try it with cream of chicken soup next time.

 

Next is a slow cooker recipe from America's Test Kitchen. The link is here with my paraphrased directions below.

Bachelor Beef Stew

• 2 c  frozen chopped onions (or 2 onions, minced)
• 3 T  tomato paste
• 2 T  vegetable oil
• 1.5 tsp  garlic powder (or 6 garlic cloves, minced)
• 2 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1 c  low sodium chicken broth
• 1 c  beef broth
• 8 oz  baby carrots
• 1/4 c  soy sauce
• 2 T  Minute tapioca
• 2  bay leaves
• 3 lbs  beef steak tips
• salt and pepper
• 1 lb  frozen roasted potatoes, steak fries or French fries.
• 1 c  frozen peas

Cooking time is 9-11 hours on low or 5-7 on high.

1. Microwave onion, tomato sauce, 1 T of oil (the other will be used later), garlic powder and thyme in bowl, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Place in slow cooker.
2. Stir both broths, carrots, soy sauce, tapioca and bay leaves into slow cooker. Season beef with salt and pepper and add. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9-11  hours on low or 5-7 hours on high.
3. Remove beef, allow to cool slightly on cutting board, then shred with two forks. Skim fat from stew with large spoon and remove bay leaves.
4. Microwave potatoes with remaining T oil, stirring occasionally until thawed and warm, 5-7 minutes. Stir warm potatoes, shredded beef and peas into stew and heat through. Adjust seasonings and add more hot broth as necessary.

This was a huge hit in my house. The idea behind Bachelor Stew is that the recipe is easy and all items are likely to be in the freezer or pantry. I cut the meat before adding it rather than shredding it and left out the peas per hubby's preference. The Test Kitchen often uses frozen onions and now I do too. Less waste and no tears!

My crafting this month has been scrapbook/photo albums that don't merit showing here but I am very happy to have them done. Each son now has his life from birth through high school graduation chronicled and in THEIR homes (see that? I'm decluttering here!) and I have a Disney album from our two trips to the House of Mouse in '85 and '95.  See what I mean about long neglected projects? Another bonus is that doing these albums means most of our photos are now sorted and organized. Despite the bitter cold and starting the year with a head cold, January has turned out to be a productive, happy month.

Teal Ombre Cake

I'm not superstitious but I could become that way as I think there is cloud of jinx hovering over me lately.  Things that I have made or done the same way for years, decades even, are suddenly not producing the expected results.

My great-niece's favorite color is currently teal. I had seen many ombre cakes on Pinterest and decided to make a four layer cake for the family birthday celebration. One Pinterest source used white layer cake mix and baked five thin 8" layers but didn't mention how long she baked them. I decided to go with four shades of teal and use two boxes of white cake mix. My plan was to trim off as much of each layer as I felt was necessary to create flat layers and not have a giant cake that might have layers slide in transporting the cake to the party.

When it comes to cake mixes, I am a fan of Duncan Hines but when I shopped, the store didn't have Duncan Hines white, I bought Betty Crocker mixes instead. Here are the tinted batters in the pans. Easy peasy so far....

I have had concerns lately that my oven may not be working properly. Chocolate chips cookies, a recipe I've been using since I was 15, are suddenly not coming out routinely with the same quality. Is it me? The oven? Changes in the make up of ingredients ?

I used an oven thermometer and made certain that 350* was truly 350* when I put the pans in. I should have photographed the layers on the cooling racks but I was too dismayed to think of that. I have never had such flat layers in all my years of baking. I had been expecting to trim almost half of each layer, but there really wasn't much to trim, just the slight crowning that is typical. Here are the trimmed parts on a plate, showing the baked colors.

The cake tasted ok, but before I trimmed and tasted, I decided that I needed a backup cake. I would make a Snickers cake, chopped Snickers being a garnish on the frosted cake.

I know for a fact that I have made a cake by that name before, but I couldn't find the original source. I printed one that I assumed was the same and began to add ingredients to the bowl. The following mistake was completely my fault. I am accustomed to recipes putting the ingredients in a list followed by paragraphs of mixing and baking directions. This recipe had everything in paragraph form. I goofed and added 1 cup of oil instead of 1/2 cup. Since you can't take oil out of the mix, I dumped that, went to the store for another chocolate cake mix and pudding mix. Worried about success and time running out, I bought canned frosting too.

A few minutes before the minimum baking time on the chocolate cake, I looked in the oven window and said Holy Expletive! Bill said uh-oh and came to see what was wrong now. The cake layers were huge! I'm surprised they hadn't spilled over the sides of the pans. They took longer to bake than expected, but eventually the toothpick test showed them to be done and they went to the cooling rack for ten minutes.

I began making buttercream icing for the first cake, another recipe I've been using forever. The process wasn't going smoothly but it would be good between the layers and with the remainder of this batch thinned, it would be good for a crumb coat. The timer signaled it was time to take the chocolate cakes out of their pans. Holy Expletive again...the layers now had craters instead of mountains!

This photo doesn't do justice to the depth of the craters

Ready to cry and announcing that I was D.O.N.E. making cakes for family parties, I asked Bill to go the bakery for me. He bought this cake while I soldiered on with icing the ombre cake.

By now I was mentally using language I rarely utter out loud and decided that the look I was going to attempt on the first cake was out of the question. I opened up the cans of frosting and began tinting in four bowls. Canned frosting doesn't pipe well so I just painted bands of color on with a small spatula and blended the lines of color to achieve this:

Not what I had in mind, but not atrocious. How's that for a rousing endorsement?

I wish I could show you the birthday candles that I bought and used but Picasa is another thing not working as expected. I used to be able to capture a still shot from a video but Picasa isn't showing the videos from my camera. The candles were each a different color and they flame they produced matched the color of the wax. Really cool, especially on the bakery's colorful cake!

Here is the cut view of the ombre cake which the birthday girl loved.

All's well that ends well for the birthday event, but I am still left wondering why the layers baked so flat, what went wrong with the chocolate cake (I'll look for another version of the recipe and compare ingredients and instructions) and why Picasa is giving me fits.

If you've experienced any of these problems and have suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Come on over for coffee and we'll see what a sunken Snicker-less cake tastes like. If it is awful, we can eat the unopened bag of candy.

Gourmet apples and pears

My daughter-in-law and I went to a class last night called "Gourmet apples and pears". We learned why caramel wraps are not only easier but work better than unwrapping individual caramels, why to use products called candy melts, and what to do if melting chocolate or peanut butter chips instead of the melts. Some of this I knew, but I wasn't aware of the caramel wraps.

I can't recall the name of one of the all the sources for gourmet apples, but one that I know from QVC features large apples that come with a bow on the stick and are attractively packaged, but at $22.95 per apple (price from the company's website) before shipping ($10.95 to my area, not express delivery), the apples should feed a family and the stick should gold!

 

No offense to this company. I know there are employees to pay, overhead, insurance and so on. The business isn't to blame because someone would pay $33.90 for ONE apple.

 

Apples are expensive this year because the crop was hit hard by odd weather here in Michigan. Even with a variety of toppings and the non-food supplies needed for this class already on hand, and not counting the cost of the class itself, the apples and pears came to around $5 each. 

I've never been good at figuring out what to charge to make a profit versus what I am willing to pay for something. This is why I don't make and sell anything.

 

Enough on that, here are Kim's and my results. She completely covered her fruit in chocolate, I left the upper parts bare, exposing the caramel. That look is a choice, but it was also laziness on my part. There were only 2 microwaves for the whole class to use, and they weren't in the room we used. If I make them again, I will take more time and care at home.

 

 

Here are views of some of the other student's results. Wow!

 

Now that hubby, grandson and I have shared one apple, I will say that even the medium size apple that I bought became too much for one person to eat. I like all the ingredients involved, but it really is too much and the caramel is sticky-chewy. Hubby commented it would not be good for anyone with dental problems.

 

As pretty as these are for presentation, if I were to make fruit with chocolate and caramel for my family as a dessert, I would slice the apples, pat them dry (chocolate won't adhere to water or fruit juice which is why caramel is used before chocolate), arrange them on a serving plate or individual dessert dishes, and then drizzle melted chocolate and caramel sauce (ice cream topping in a jar) over the slices. Bite per bite, the flavors would all be there and it would be easier to eat.

 

 

Cooking tips from Martha and Maxine

Sometimes Martha is a little too intense for me while Maxine is just a tad too relaxed. Sometimes.

	To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
	Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix. Keeps in the pantry for up to a year.
	When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.
	Go to the bakery! Hell, they'll even decorate it for you!
	Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
	Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away!
	Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
	Celery? Never heard of it!
	Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
	Leftover wine???????HELLO!!!!!!

Now for a serious cooking tip.... If you ever had the Chicken Tortilla Soup at Max and Erma's restaurant and enjoyed it, here is a great knock off recipe from Robbie's Recipes. I had tried two versions from other sources before this, both relying on canned soup combinations as the basis for their recipes. We did not enjoy them at all. Not even a little bit. Don't let the Velveeta in this throw you if you aren't a processed cheese type of cook. There are only three things I can think of that I make with Velveeta, and two of them are soups.

We like this as a main dish with a salad or half of a simple sandwich if we're really hungry. We don't get 8 servings out of it this way.

Chicken Tortilla Soup like Max and Erma’s®

Recipe Created By: Robbie
Serves: 8
Prep. Time: 0:20 or more

1/4 cup butter OR margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
8 oz. Velveeta process cheese food - cubed
10 oz. can Ro*Tel® tomatoes and chilies
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper – to taste
flour tortillas – as needed, about 4 - 6
shredded Colby Jack cheese OR Mexican blend cheese – as needed

-In a pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.
-Slowly whisk in small amounts of chicken broth at a time, then whisk in milk.
-Reduce heat to low and stir in Velveeta cubes; stir until melted.
-Stir in Ro*Tel, chicken, and spices.
-Once soup is heated through, it is ready to serve at this point. However, if you wish to make tortilla strips, it can sit over low heat while they are made. Stir the soup occasionally.
-For tortilla strips, cut tortillas into strips and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable or peanut oil until golden, then drain on cooling racks.
-Spoon a ladleful of soup into a bowl, add a handful of shredded cheese, then spoon another ladleful of soup over cheese. Sprinkle tortilla strips over top. Repeat for remaining servings.

Notes: If you want to save a lot of time, use crumbled tortilla chips instead of tortilla strips. As a substitute for Ro*Tel, you can use 1 1/2 cups of salsa. Spiciness can be easily adjusted by using spicy Ro*Tel or salsa and/or adding cayenne pepper to the soup.

July 1st: Happy Canada Day! and Rabbit! Rabbit!

Happy Canada Day to my northern friends and neighbors!


It has been a wonderfully busy weekend in Knitty-ville. I think we had around 50 people here Friday night to watch my city's fireworks from our driveway. Being that we were outside and some friends are also friends of neighbors and therefore wandered in and out, I have no idea what number of people were actually here.

Yesterday I frosted a cake for my great-niece's birthday party and also a dozen cupcakes. Her request for a cake that tasted like cookie dough. I wrote about that here. I made a yellow cake and frosted it with the frosting portion of this recipe.  I used a candy mold to form letters to spell out Happy Birthday Allison to decorate the top of the cake along with a few mini chocolate chips.



The chocolate cupcakes were frosted with a recipe that the Pioneer Woman claims is the best she's ever tasted. The frosting isn't overly sweet and is much like what Kroger uses in their bakeries. That recipe is here. My husband was very pleased with that frosting. Next I will have to experiment with adding cocoa to it, and will see if it holds up to simple decorating tips, such as shell and rosette borders.

Before the luau themed birthday party, we had a neighbor's wedding to attend. Since I haven't asked permission to share their photos, I've lopped the heads of the bride and her daughters. Trust me, they were all gorgeous. I'm including this picture because I wanted to talk about the bride's dress.

Taken by cell phone without a flash as they were moving doesn't do the fabric justice, but it was stunning and perfect for this woman's second wedding. Here is another view taken at her backyard reception. It was hot yesterday, 95 degrees or more, so the groom had ditched his tux before dancing.

My neighbor doesn't like to shop. One of her sisters found this dress for her at Penney's online. It looks much better on my neighbor than in this photo at Penney's. She looked beautiful, and at a bargain price!

I've had such a nice chatting with people I don't see every day, and one little guy that I am blessed to see often. It wouldn't be a photo heavy post from me if I didn't include one shot of the grandson. Here he is concentrating, hence the position of his tongue.

Here he is laughing at the fact that his little cousin, who couldn't see over the top of the pool from where he stood on the grass, managed to shoot water from the hose directly into daddy's face.

Ahhhhh....summer!

Rabbit! Rabbit! for good luck this month to everyone! I hope you're enjoying family and friends as much as I am.

Margarita Cake

Most of us avoid discussing religion and politics unless we really know the people who might partake in these discussions. It isn't that dissenting opinions can't be aired, but we've probably all witnessed exchanges that have turned ugly.

Have you noticed that how and what a person cooks can become a red hot topic? I've heard and read nasty comments about most of the cooks who appear on the various food shows on TV. Don't people have an off button on their remotes? I'm not talking about someone who simply states that they don't like or cannot eat the amount of butter that Paula Deen uses, I'm talking about people who seem to snarl when they speak or write her name. I use Paula as an example but there is some complaint about every one who cooks on TV.

I sometimes cook and bake from scratch and sometimes use short cuts that I find in the store, in magazines or online. This weekend I used an online recipe from Betty Crocker to make a Margarita Cake (Click the link for the recipe). Using a white cake mix and bottled margarita mix, it was very easy to prepare. I didn't have limes so no peel was added (which would have been nice I believe) or used as a garnish. I did not frost the cake with Cool Whip, I added it per serving, eliminating the need to refrigerate the cake.

Photo from Betty Crocker website

The flavor was light and not overly sweet. The pretzel crust was both a nice texture and an interesting taste contrast. Everyone here enjoyed it and I will make it again.

Whether you figure out how to make this without using any boxed or bottled product, or whether you make this according to good old Betty's directions, call me when it is ready to eat. We can enjoy a piece and argue discuss which method of brewing coffee is the only way to prepare coffee. That will be our warm up before we discuss Oprah. If cutting down others is becoming a national pastime, we surely don't want to miss out, do we?

For the record, I do.

Nothing like a deadline to motivate a person

My oldest son has been talking about having a garage sale since spring. I said I would help watch Colton during this and enter a few things. I don't plan to ever host a garage sale here again. I would sooner donate items or have a bonfire. I'm not against garage sales, I just don't want to host one.

Anyway, knowing that one would eventually be held, I set things aside in the spare room. A vase I never use. Comforters for twin beds from the cottage. Glasses we never use. You know, that kind of stuff. Yesterday I did an inventory of what was in there and was surprised how much I had set aside.
Later in the day I began in my craft room. I knew there were a few things in that closet and on shelving that I would try to sell. One thing led to another and soon I had everything out of the closet and was cleaning and reorganizing. This is good though, and I've come up with more items for the sale, but man, I am beat! I have so much going on from now until next weekend, this reorganizing has to wrap up tomorrow, and even then I don't have a full day because we're going to a barbecue.

I am taking mini cupcakes as a dessert contribution. I had grandiose ideas early in the week of offering a variety of cake flavors and different color icings, but when we got to crunch time today, I made chocolate cupcakes and tinted the frosting a very light yellow. I used a 1M size tip which made this project go quickly.

Somehow the intended sale items will get tagged and taken to my son's house before the sale, but it is going to be a crazy week. Let this be a warning to those of you who think retirement will be boring. Ha!

Mini cupcakes

I've had a pan for mini cupcakes for ages, but had never made them. I used it for mini muffins right after it was given to me. Despite being non-stick, the muffins stuck. I didn't have little liners back then. After cleaning the pan, I stuck it up in the seldom-used-items cabinet.

Cupcake mania seems to have hit America a year or more ago and isn't showing any sign of easing up yet. Cupcake cookbooks, TV programs and specialty bakeries are everywhere.

I've always liked cupcakes and decided it was time to get that pan out and buy the appropriate size liners. Duncan Hines lemon cake mix was used along with my own butter cream frosting. I was surprised at how many one cake mix made: 6 dozen! I ran out of butter cream frosting and didn't have more butter softened so I cheated and used canned chocolate frosting to finish decorating them. I knew Bill wouldn't mind a few chocolate ones. He would have preferred the entire cupcake be chocolate. All of them!

I used star tips on five colors of icing plus the chocolate. Since making these I used a Michaels coupon and bought a really large star tip. I think one big star will cover these little cuties.

The size is great. Two bites (three if you're polite, one if you're a ravenous piggy) and a yield of 6 dozen means you can share them with many people. I took two dozen to my knitting group, gave some to both sons, took some to the cottage to share with neighbors there and we still have 8 here, a week later. That wouldn't have happened with full sized cupcakes. They'd be long gone. It isn't that we like these less, it is about portion control.

If you're wondering what they are sitting on in the above picture, it is a Wilton cake and cupcake carrier. This was one of my best purchases via a 50% off coupon at Joann's a year ago.

I bought it to use when transporting a decorated 9x13 cake. The cupcake insert is a separate tray that holds 12 regular sized cupcakes or 24 minis. I think it is around $20 full price.

They only take 8-10 minutes to bake. Let me know when you're headed this way and I'll stick some in the oven while starting the coffee, or would you like a cold glass of milk with your snack?

Sugared Bacon-Wrapped Smokies

An easy appetizer that was a huge hit!

Sugared Bacon-Wrapped Smokies

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Sunday Dinners, a special interest publication.
 
1            16 oz package of small, cooked smoked sausage links
15          slices bacon, each cut crosswise in thirds
3/4 cup   packed brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Line a 15x10x1 inch baking pan with foil. Lightly coat foil with cooking spray.

2. Wrap each sausage link with a bacon piece, overlapping bacon. Secure with a toothpick.

3. Place brown sugar in plastic bag. Add bacon wrapped sausages, a few at a time, shaking gently to coat. Place sausages in prepared pan. Bake about 30 minutes or until bacon is brown.

If desired, cover and chill for up to 24 hours before baking.






I took these to my niece's for the family celebration of her son's sixth birthday. I could have easily made three times the amount and still come home with an empty plate. It was suggested that Thanksgiving dinner this year consist of bacon wrapped water chestnuts, bacon wrapped shrimp and these. Perhaps one package of turkey sausage as an homage to the traditional holiday meal? 

Easy Beef Barley Slow Cooker Soup

I didn't think I would be so busy in retirement. That isn't a complaint though, as most of the busy-ness is a choice. Today was destined to be a day full of errands even with a clear weather forecast for the rest of the week. The huge winter storm that is predicted to deliver 10-15 inches of snow by Wednesday made completing errands today imperative.

I had purchased beef last week, cubed it and divided it into two freezer bags for soup or casseroles. When I realized yesterday how hectic today was going to be, I took one bag out of the freezer for today's dinner. I made soup in the slow cooker and it not only made the house smell wonderful when I got home late this afternoon, it warmed us up on a very cold day.

Many people are fancier cooks than I am. Many are purists who would never use short cuts such as canned items or seasoning packets. I applaud their creativity, their diligence, their whatever-drives-them-to-be-who-they-are BUT...I also applaud myself for getting something together for dinner on a day when time or interest in cooking is in short supply. 

I didn't think to take a photo of tonight's dinner, but most beef barley soups would look similar so I am using this photo found online.

The surprising (to me) flavoring in this recipe comes from a packet of meatloaf seasoning. I use low sodium beef broth to cut down the sodium that is undoubtedly in the seasoning packet. Click here to see the printable recipe.

If this is the type of recipe that you would consider making, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Anyone need a sugar fix?

On the 15th of December I doubted shopping would be completed in time for Christmas, much less anything else being done. Somehow the shopping and wrapping came together in record time, leaving me time to bake a little. And a little more. And then some more on top of that.

I made sugar cookies. I made Snickerdoodles. I made peanut butter cookies. I made cranberry biscotti. I made chocolate-peanut butter bars. I made candy cane cookies. I made a devil's food pound cake. I made a pumpkin roll. And then I made Toll House cookies, three times.

What was I thinking????

I'll skip commenting about the items most are familiar with and talk about the new recipes (new to me and my relatives anyway) that were such hits. The best part is that they were all easy to make.

Here is the devil's food pound cake recipe. It uses a boxed cake mix and instant pudding mix. I used Duncan Hines glaze on it. Not bad, but I think I prefer making my own. It was convenient though.

The pumpkin roll recipe is from my good friend and fellow blogger Kelli. If you've never made a rolled cake because they intimidated you, try this. It is easy and delicious.

The chewy chocolate-peanut butter bars are a Pillsbury recipe.  Sinful. Lip smacking. Not at all low fat. Yum!

Pillsbury was also the recipe source for the cranberry biscotti. The recipe was on the box of cranberry quick bread. The back of the box directions called for melting additional white chocolate chips and drizzling them over the completed and cooled biscotti. Another yum, for sure. I'm wondering if other quick bread mixes couldn't become biscotti too?

Why did I make Toll House cookies three times? It began with an internet discussion on butter. Has butter changed recently? Several of my friends have had unsatisfactory baking results and have wondered if the butter is at fault. Land o' Lakes brand was mentioned several times but not exclusively. My Toll House cookies haven't been right by me for the last year or so. I had stopped using margarine and was using butter. Hmmmm, maybe something is going on. Kelli mentioned having good luck with butter flavored Crisco in place of the butter called for in the Toll House recipe.

The batch made with butter flavored Crisco was definitely better than the batches I've made this past year, but it wasn't quite what I remember as being like my mom's. Thinking back to what mom used, she used half Crisco and half margarine, Blue Bonnet to be exact. I made a second batch with one stick of Blue Bonnet and 1/2 cup of butter flavored Crisco. Almost perfect! The third batch was made this way also but had chopped pecans added.

The next time I make them I will use regular Crisco and Blue Bonnet and see if the result is what I am remembering. If not, I will try again with 3/4 Crisco and 1/4 Blue Bonnet. This might not happen any time soon since we have so many cookies here right now.

Two other goodies that I didn't mention were intended for my nieces' kids, again super simple ideas that I've seen repeatedly online. One is made from Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough decorated for the holidays, baked with a layer of canned frosting between two cookies to create a sandwich; the other is marshmallows on a lollipop stick. The face is done with edible markers, the hat is an mini-Oreo and a Rolo candy with frosting holding them onto the snowman's head.

The 5-8 year olds loved them. I can't wait for Colton to be old enough to enjoy some of these creations!

You'll have to excuse me now as I have someone coming over to help me get rid of eat the cookies and cakes that I didn't pawn off give to my relatives yesterday. He's big, blue and has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I know.

Feel free to stop by for a cookie or two or maybe six. Even Cookie Monster can't eat all of these in one afternoon!

Chicken and Crescent Roll Casserole

I won't often give recipes here, but this one is too good and too easy not to share. I got it from my sister-in-law, but in looking online, I see that it is everywhere from Cooks.com to Taste of Home's website. I won't claim that it is a healthy recipe if you are concerned with fat carbs or sodium. One site gave this nutrition info:

1 serving (1 cup) equals 426 calories, 31 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 68 mg cholesterol, 627 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 18 g protein.
If I had known Bill was going to like it and eat so much of it, I would have taken a picture first. I don't think that the half pan that is left wouldn't photograph well. You'll just have to use your imagination. I should add that Bill doesn't like (or thinks he doesn't like) mayo, sour cream or water chestnuts in casseroles. He did recognize the water chestnuts but thought they were a good texture. Listen to him! I think he's been watching the Food Network!

Chicken and Crescent Rolls Casserole

3 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1 can chicken or mushroom soup
8 oz. sliced water chestnuts
2/3 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. each onion and celery
1 (8 oz.) can crescent rolls
2/3 c. shredded Swiss cheese
4 tbsp. melted butter

Combine first 6 ingredients. Saute in pan until soft and bubbly. Pour in ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle cheese over that. Separate rolls. Place on top. Melt butter and pour over top. Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees or golden brown

Despite the fact that  I had chicken ready to cook yesterday, the day got away from me and I bought a cooked rotisserie chicken at Kroger to use in this recipe. I pulled the meat apart rather than cubing it. The celery I thought was in the refrigerator had disappeared so that was omitted. Hey, it's a casserole...I'm sure you can add a little, subtract a little to suit yourself.

This would be a great recipe to serve at a home party or to take to a pot luck. It is supposed to serve 8-10 people, but if you have a hungry husband who skipped lunch and really likes this dish, it won't serve that many.