Party Chicken Bake

This really is called "Mom's Gooey Chicken" and has been for 40 years.  I found this recipe in a newspaper in the late 60's and have been making it since, but not so much as in the first 10-15 years because now we pay a little more attention to what we eat, not just how good it tastes!  My kids make it and my grandchildren know and love it.  It is a real "Family Recipe".   

Because of the Cream of Mushroom Soup and the Cream Cheese in it, I don't make it so much any more but it is still something we all love, a comfort food, and I made it tonight for dinner with fluffy basmati rice and some fresh asparagus.  So, if you are hungering for some good old fashioned comfort food - give this one a try.  I used bone-in chicken breast just because we prefer our chicken with bones when possible as it is more flavorful but boneless works really well also.  (and I took the skin off before cooking)

1 Envelope Dry Italian Salad Dressing Mix
2 T. oil
4 Chicken Breast Halves (or boneless, skinless)
1 Can mushroom soup
1 4-oz pkg whipped cream cheese
1/3 C. Dry white wine

1. Combine 1/2 of the salad dressing and oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and brown slowly on both sides until golden.
2. Place chicken in a 13 x 7 in. baking dish.
3. Combine the soup, remaining salad dressing mix and cream cheese in a small bowl and blend well.
4. Stir in the wine and then spoon over the chicken.  
5. (You may refrigerate at this point if wanted but add 30 minutes to cooking time when taken from refrigerator)
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serve over rice.  Makes 4 servings.

Waldorf Salad with Cheese

I know this doesn't look like your traditional Waldorf Salad but that is just because of the cheese on top.  The cheese goes so well with the apples.  This is the salad we had a couple of weeks ago when the family was over for brunch.  It is just such a great winter salad when the fruits of summer have gone.  Give it a try! Everyone always loves it!

2 C. apples, chopped
1/4 C. celery, chopped
1/4 C. walnuts, chopped
1/4 C. raisins
1/4 C. seedless green grapes, halved
1/4 C. mayonaise
1/4 C. heavy cream
1 T. honey
1 tsp lemon juice

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl.  Mix the mayonnaise, cream, honey and lemon juice well to blend.  Pour it over the fruit mixture and stir gently.  Top with the cheese.

New Look

I decided to take the picture out so please don't go crazy looking for it!  haha!

Tell me what you think of the new look - leave a comment!

New Look

I love playing with my blog.  So, it must have been time for a new look because I fooled around and this is what I got.  I will change it if I decide I just don't like it.  New picture was taken at Palmetto Isles Park in Mount Pleasant, SC last winter or early spring.

The Red Bucket

Did anyone notice that the pictures I posted yesterday had been posted before? That is what happens when you get "older". You forget! Well, they were in a little different context so I will let it slide! You can check it out HERE - and have a good laugh at me!

So, why the red bucket?  Just because.  I had my camera at work yesterday to take pictures of all the VP's so I could frame them for our lobby.  I was just sitting at my desk and this bucket of pens called out to me so I took it's picture.  Pretty darn exciting, wouldn't you say!  Hope you're having a good day!

12th Annual Vallarta Yacht Club Great Chili Cook-Off - Dec 3

In 2000 Kirby and I were living in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.  He had a business there and I was "retired".  Our friend, Jim Ketler was a "Make it Happen" type of guy and I went to him and asked if we couldn't have a Chili Cook-Off.  Well, the two of us got together with Dick Markie, Harbor Master of the Paradise Village Marina, and they both sort of just took off and made it happen.  I was involved with it but they were the machine!  It was a major success with money raised for the children who lived at the local dump. That was 11 years ago and the Chili Cook-Off is still going strong.  Here is the link to the news story announcing this years event.  CLICK HERE.

Here is our team.  Suzie, Kirby, Dale, Kathleen and Luigi!  We spent the night before making more chili than I have ever seen before.  We put a whole bottle of Tequila in our pot and did a bit of sampling of everything that evening.  The next morning we were up and ready to "wow" everyone with our special Ta Kill Ya Chili!  We had a blast with the whole thing and were so pleased with the success.  We had a bean count and the winner got a bottle of tequilla which you can see on the table on the far left.  We actually won 3rd place and you can see that I still have our "trophy" in the picture at the top!  It sits proudly on my bookcase!

Just for Fun

Jake slept like this for quite some time.  I kept thinking it must be hurting but I think he rather liked having something to rest his head on.

Sunday Brunch at Our House

Cute, cute couple wouldn't you say?!  That is my grandson, Casey and his sweetie, Callie.  They were both home from Clemson this weekend so I invited everyone for Sunday Brunch.  You know how I love Sunday Brunch.  I served some sausage McMuffin and potatoes for the men and some salads for the women.  The Spinach Salad is a favorite concoction of mine and the recipe follows.  It is actually good for you.  I made a Waldorf Salad too and will try to get that entered this week.  We all had a really good time with some great discussion topics besides Clemson football!

Spinach Salad

This is not a recipe that I went and found or have in a book.  It is one that I put together so it is hard to get exact on it as I am mostly a "dump and hope" type of cook but here goes.  It really is good! (this picture was taken before the dressing was added and the salad tossed.

6-8 oz spinach leaves, cleaned and dry.  Remove the stems if they are large.
1/4 red onion, sliced thin in strips
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained.  About 11 oz
1-2 T. Raw sunflower seeds
1 T dried cranberries
1/3 C. crumbled feta cheese

Toss with the following dressing:
1/3 C canola oil or another lite oil, not olive
1 T. raspberry vinegar
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sugar or sweetner

Cooking

I love cooking.  I wish I didn't have to work so that I could cook.  Since I love it so much and do it whenever I can, I decided to include my recipes here rather than on another blog.  So, get ready to gain weight with me!  Below is the first one.

Spinach and Bacon Frittata

Kirby and I love to go to Sunday Brunch but we have tightened our purse strings and bunch is not in the budget right now. I have decided that on most Sundays I will fix us something special. I went looking for a Spinach Frittata and found many, many variations. I took 2 or 3 different recipes and tweaked them just a little and came up with the following. 

• 1 lb spinach leaves, cleaned and chopped
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1/3 C. red bell pepper, chopped
• 8 large eggs
• 2 T. milk
• 1/3 C. Parmesan cheese, grated
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 oz goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cook spinach in 1/4 cup of water in a covered saucepan until just wilted, a couple of minutes.  Drain well and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and Parmesan cheese.  Add the chopped red bell pepper and the chopped bacon.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
4. Saute onions in olive oil in an OVEN PROOF, stick-free skillet, until translucent, about 4-5 minutes on medium heat.  Add garlic and cook a minute further.  Add the cooked spinach and mix in with onions and garlic.
5. Spread out spinach mixture evenly on bottom of skillet.  Pour egg mixture carefully over spinach mixture.  Use a spatula to lift up the spinach mixture along the sides of the pan to let egg mixture flow underneath it.
6. Sprinkle bits of the goat cheese over the top of the frittata mixture.  When the mixture is about half set, put the whole pan in the oven.  Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the frittata is puffy and golden. 
7. Remove from oven with oven mitts and allow to cool for several minutes.  Enjoy!

Stingrays Hockey

Can you believe that neither Kirby nor I had ever been to any kind of a hockey game before last night?  And at our ages!  Shame on us!  It was a blast.  I had arranged discount tickets for my company to see the Charleston Stingrays so we were surrounded by people from work and it really made it fun!

There was a lot of excitement and noise, people dressed in team shirts and lots and lots of beer all around us.  We even got to see a good fight between two of the players.  I think it must be expected because everyone including the refs just stood there and watched them.

I found it extremely difficult to follow the little puck around the ice especially taking pictures at the same time!  But all in all it was great!  We might even do it again!  At least if it off the bucket list now!

San Diego Trip - Part 4

What do you think of this little executive?  He looks pretty confident sitting in his daddy's chair doesn't he?  On Sunday we visited Ryan's new office.  His company just keeps growing and Christie and I hadn't seen the new place.  It had been a while since the boys were there too so they enjoyed seeing daddy's office.

I loved the large new conference room with glass on 2 sides.  Very light and spacious!  The whole facility was amazing.  I would love working there!

And I got the boys to pose for me.  That is Kevin on the left and Justin on the right.

This was their favorite part of the whole visit.  The break room is full of snacks for the employees but the boys thought it was just for them!

And - I attempted a family picture before we left.  I think it is impossible to get both boys looking at me and smiling all at the same time!

The final event of the day was a visit to the Pumpkin Patch.

And they have more than just pumpkins at this place.  Kevin loved the spinning cups so much!

On this picture you really need to click it to enlarge it.  All the men are there.  Kevin in the blue shirt getting ready to go, Justin on his tummy just starting his decent and Ryan watching them both.  It was hard to tear them away from this one!

And the final train ride.  Ah, to be a child again!

San Diego Trip - Part 3

 And now, back to my trip to San Diego to visit my son and his family.  On Saturday after the soccer game we headed to the local fall festival.  It is just for the community where they live so it was small - but very well done.  The boys loved the "Hay Ride".  They didn't realize there was no hay for miles around.  All they cared about were the cool horses and the wagon.

 There was free food all over the place including free beer and wine but only in sample sizes - but you could just keep coming back for samples!  There were German sausages, big hot pretzels, churls, kettle corn, and tastings of the chile and pies for the cook-offs.  The Pie Eating Contest was a riot!  Talk about pie in the face!!  No hands allowed.  I enjoyed watching that!

After all that activity we were ready for a nice glass of wine in the courtyard.  Ryan put a fire in the outdoor fireplace and the kids brought out the building blocks.  But these are no ordinary building blocks - these are the same blocks that my children played with when they were little.

Just look at these old pictures!  Same old building blocks!  Even Brendan and Casey (the older grandsons who are now in college) played with them when they were young.  Notice the little car on the top of the building and then go back and find it in the basket.  Same car.

And - this picture - well, I just loved it!  Justin is one happy little boy!

Please Cuddle With Me!

Jake has his two girlfriends visiting for the weekend.  Lacy, on the left, only wants to cuddle - all the time! Jake, on the right, is pretty tired of her affections!

Here is Lacy cuddling with her sister, Socks, who is used to it and actually will let Lacy lay right on top of her if Lacy wants to.  She tried it with Jake just after the last picture and Jake was outta there! You DON'T lay on him!!

San Diego Trip Part 2

Saturday was Ryan's __?__ birthday. Happy Birthday, Ryan!

I got two family pictures while I was out there - I will post the other one later.  Ryan, Lisa, Kevin and little Justin.  Love them all so much - just wish we lived closer to each other. 2,500 miles is a very long way.

When there are children involved, and it doesn't matter whose birthday it is, it is very difficult to wait to open presents. So Ryan opened his gifts early in the day with a lot of help from the boys.  You can see what he got from me.  52 episodes of "Speed Racer"!

After WE opened Ryan's gifts, Lisa and the boys set about making the birthday cake - German chocolate!  Yum!

And then it was time for Kevin's soccer game

If you have never watched five year old's play soccer, you are really missing out!  The mostly just follow each other around the field.  I love it!

Christie gave Ryan the red "You are special today" plate and he enjoyed using it with the barbeque and all the trimmings that he had for his birthday dinner.  And of course, since it was San Diego, we all ate outdoors!

San Diego Trip Part 1

I am back from my great trip to San Diego to visit my son, Ryan and his family - wife, Lisa and boys Kevin and Justin. Kevin is five and a half and has recently started kindergarten. Justin is two and a half and is in his first pre-school. I am a very lucky mom and was able to talk my daughter, Christie, into traveling with me so that I could have some time with my 2 children at the same time. You know I prefer photos to anything else so here is the beginning of my photo journal of our long weekend together.

Ryan was able to somehow pull himself away from work and meet us at the airport.  So, of course I snapped his picture and then turned around and got Christie!  And thus began a weekend of over 400 pictures!  (and no, I am not going to share them all!)

This is Justin who didn't really remember me but warmed up quite rapidly.  Like his brother, he got my blue eyes!  Yea!

And this is Kevin.  He was at school when we arrived so we all went to pick him up together.  This picture is his reaction when he realized that I was standing right near him and taking his pictures!  This is what a 5 year old does!

And then it was back to his lesson.

This is a series of pictures and I just love it.  Both boys were fresh from the bath all clean and sweet.  We were out by the pool with no parents around and I was trying to get a picture of them.  I never did succeed in getting something "perfect" but I think this series is perfect.  Of course you probably won't enjoy it as much as I do as they are MY grandson's but I think it is pretty cute.  After this series I did get them to sing "Happy Birthday" to their daddy whose birthday was the next day.  I got that on video and it is rather classic!

Too Cute!!