chicken spaghetti casserole

Want an easy and tasty meal for dinner? One that you can make ahead of time and/or freeze, if you want? Casseroles are great for just that and this one is pretty darn yummy (you might even be asked for a second helping!).

[ CHICKEN SPAGHETTI ]

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cooked chicken (I used 2-3 chicken breasts)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/8 cup finely diced green pepper

1/3 cup finely diced onion

1-4 oz jar diced pimentos, drained (I used maybe 1-2 oz, not big on pimentos here)

3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot you cooked chicken in

1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I used Tastefully Simple’s seasoned salt)

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste (I only peppered since we seasoned it earlier)

1 add’l cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Cook chicken in pot of water; when done, shred chicken. Cook spaghetti using the leftover chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook (it’ll be cooked again and you don’t want it to get too mushy). When the spaghetti is cooked (save that broth), combine with all of the ingredients, except the additional 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese. If the mixture seems too thick, add some of the leftover broth to the mix (I ended up adding around 1 to 1-1/2 cups of the broth).

Place mixture in casserole pan (9x13 and lightly sprayed w/Pam) and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until bubbly (if the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

This recipe is from pioneerwoman.com, but adapted for my family's tastes. :)

diggin' you diggin' me

The boy loves rocks.

He had been enjoying the neighbor's gravel pit so much that last weekend, on Mother's Day, we made Michael a gravel pit under part of his swingset.

Twelve bags of pea gravel and 2 bags of river rocks later....and we're done!

He could spend hours playing with his rocks. I foresee a lot of summer days in this pit. In addition to the sand and water...and probably lots of going back and forth between the three faves.

Michael was trying to pull Gary into the pit with him, but G is too tall. It was hard enough for G to sit under the slide...the boy likes us all to be close (loves to make us hug and kiss--funny!).

I'm sure he'll nominate us for parents of the year after this....at least until the next time he needs a 'time out', then all nominations will be null and void. But for right now, we're SUPERSTARS!!

cinco de mayo smothered enchiladas

Taking a look at all the past recipes I've posted on here, I noticed that we eat a lot of Mexican food. We're really big on flavors and seasonings here!

Need something quick, yet different? Why not try this very easy and filling meal? It's what we had tonight for Cinco de Mayo (just missing a little Sol).

[ SMOTHERED ENCHILADAS ]

2 lbs. ground beef
1 (1 ¼ oz) pkg mild taco seasoning
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles
2 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (16 oz) sour cream
8 (8”) flour tortillas
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

GARNISHES
salsa
sour crean
green onion
chopped cilantro (I don’t use this because I don’t like it)

Brown ground beef in large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and half of green chiles, set aside.

Stir together remaining green chiles, soup and sour cream. Pour half of mixture into a lightly grease 13 x 9 baking dish. Spoon beef mixture even down centers of tortillas; sprinkle some cheese and roll up. Place seam side down over soup mixture in dish; top with remaining soup mixture and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serves 8...or 4 really hungry adults!


This was a yummy recipe from our neighbor (thanks Denise!). :)

digital class - gift idea

I recently completed Jessica Sprague's quick online video introductory to digital scrapbooking last weekend and here is the result (a tribute to my mom for Mother's Day):




I made this in hardly no time at all! Jessica gave excellent step-by-step instructions in her video and it was only 15 minutes long (if that!). I could start and stop and pause whenever I wanted too. The best part is that she is offering this video class for FREE at your own convenience! Good stuff! Why not try it out?? You can print your results on 8x8 paper and frame it. Great Mother's Day/Father's Day gift idea!

something cool for the kiddo

This is so neat to read about. Thanks Ali for sharing about the Sensory Friendly Film Days (at the AMC Lennox for those that are local)!

AMC Entertainment (AMC) and ASA have teamed up to bring families affected by autism and other disabilities a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis with the "Sensory Friendly Films" program.

In order to provide a more accepting and comfortable setting for this unique audience, the movie auditoriums will have their lights brought up and the sound turned down, families will be able to bring in their own gluten-free, casein-free snacks, and no previews or advertisements will be shown before the movie. Additionally, audience members are welcome to get up and dance, walk, shout or sing - in other words, AMC’s “Silence is Golden®” policy will not be enforced unless the safety of the audience is questioned.

The next showing is Night at the Museum 2 on May 23rd at 10:00 a.m. EST. Lucky for Michael, he does not have a baseball game that day. We just might go check it out (if he doesn't sleep in)!

1 year ago

I can't believe it. It's been 1 year since I started blogging...I started this blog on a whim, just to try it out. I never imagined I'd still be at it for this long. I didn't think I had that much to blog about, granted most of it is only interesting to me. hahaha!


It all started with this post. Happy Blogiversary! :)



And since it's not really a post without a picture (or two)...



Grandparents don't mind if you jump into the lake with all your clothes on. The cool grandparents will even join you!

be back soon

We've been busy 'round here and I have lots to blog about, but not enough time in the day to get it done right now. Please bear with me! Updates are coming soon! I should probably change the blog header too...it's not winter here any more. :)

In the meantime, I thought I'd share what our life was like 3 weeks ago....sigh.