Friday Italiano

I got a text from the hubby during work on Friday requesting that I make my spaghetti for dinner. Of course I was beyond flattered because he hardly ever makes special requests like that because of his lack of appetite these days. It's been a while since I prepared it, so I decided to change it up just a little and add in sauteed mushrooms. It was my first time cooking fresh mushrooms, so I was quite pleased with myself for trying something new. Oh, and the hubby enjoyed it, so all was good. :)

Eat All Your Veggies!

So in my attempt to get the hubby to eat more veggies, I decided to cook squash AND a veggie casserole for last week's Sunday dinner. So we ended up having cabbage, squash, veggie casserole, and fried pork chops. I'm so glad they both were a big hit. I'll have to keep this combo coming so he keeps getting his needed veggie nutrition!

So for those of you who aren't big veggie fans, but love a creamy, cheesy casserole, you may want to give this veggie casserole a try. It's quite yummy!

Simple Vegetable Casserole



Ingredients

1 bag of mixed veggies (I use brocoli, cauliflower, carrots, and peas)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 bag of shredded cheese
5 to 10 ritz crackers (for topping)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stem veggies in pan just until slightly tender.
3. Drain veggies.
4. Combine hot veggies and cream of mushroom soup in a casserole dish until well blended.
5. Top with shredded cheese until fully covered.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
7. Remove and top with Ritz crackers (either whole or crumbled).

Our First Cookout!

I've been meaning to post this for weeks now, but jus hadn't quite gotten around to it, but, there's no time like the present so here it is....better late than never right! =)

Here are pics of how our 4th of July meal turned out. This is from our Friday meal when we had grilled burgers, hotdogs, kielbasa, pasta salad, green salad, and pound cake. For this being our first cookout, I think we did a pretty good job!

Domestic Hiatus...

Wow, I guess the 4th of July had a bigger impact on me than I thought...I've been plan old exhausted ever since! So as my blog reflects, I haven't cooked anything since then. But all good things must come to an end and next week after we return from our little mini vacay, I've got to get back in touch with my domestic divaness! Until then, happy cooking everyone! =)

4th of July Menu

The hubby and I are having a small gathering of family and friends up for the 4th of July. In keeping with the traditional BBQ theme, here is the menu we've prepared...

Thursday
Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
Coleslaw

Friday
Grilled Hamburgers, Hotdogs, and Kielbasa
Pasta Salad
Coleslaw
Homemade Pound Cake

Saturday
BBQ Ribs
Potatoe Salad
Baked Beans
Collard Greens

Chicken Divan

This past week, I finally put my menu planning skills to work and planned a pretty well-thought out menu for the week (see below). So by building upon the meal from the day before, I decided to use Sunday's Mushroom Chicken to make my Chicken Divan. This was my first stab at making Chicken Divan and I must say that Ken and I are now in love! We both enjoyed this casserole sooooo much! It's very easy to make and is extremely tasty! You should give it a try...here's how:

Chicken Divan

Recipe Courtesy of Paula Dean

Ingredients

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen broccoli, chopped

6 cups shredded chicken, cooked

2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon curry powder

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Remove the outer wrappers from the boxes of broccoli. Open 1 end of each box. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes, until thawed. Drain the broccoli and put into a casserole dish.

3. Add the shredded chicken.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, Cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper, to taste, and wine.

5. Whisk together to make a sauce.

6. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and chicken.

7. Mix well with a spatula.
8. Place the mixture into an 11 by 7-inch casserole dish or 2 (9-inch) square disposable aluminum foil pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray.

9. Pat down evenly and smooth with a spatula.

10. Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over the top.
11. Bake for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Food for the Soul

There's nothing like a good Soul Food meal on a Sunday afternoon. So in honor of that tradition, I try to cook a Southern, "down home" type meal most Sunday's. This past Sunday (June 22nd), I decided to make Collard Greens, Mac and Cheese, Mushroom Chicken, and Cornbread. Here's how it turned out!

Collards, Mac and Cheese, Mushroom Chicken