Country Casserole

Country Casserole

One of my favorite sites is Southern Plate. She has such delicious recipes and I love to read about her family during the depression days.  This is one of her recipes.  Please go here to find more.

Country Casserole

2 cups small shell pasta, cooked and drained

3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, cooked and drained

2 cups shredded cheddar, divided

One can French fried onions, divided

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (can use canned chicken)

1 can cream of chicken soup

¼ cup milk

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine everything in a large bowl, reserving half of the cheese and half of the onions for topping later. Spoon into 9×13 casserole dish. Bake for twenty five minutes. Top with remaining onions and cheese, bake until cheese is melted, about five minutes more.

Freezing options: Instead of freezing this in your casserole dish, simply spoon it into a gallon ziploc bag. Lay the bag flat so that it will thaw out quicker and place it in your freezer. On the day you want it, take it out the night before and refrigerate or place in fridge that morning.

If you forget to do all of this, no sweat! Just microwave the bag until it thaws just a bit, pour into your casserole, and bake!

To bake a casserole that is still frozen, simply place in the oven while the oven preheats. This allows the casserole to thaw quickly and then bake to perfection!

VALENTINES DAY TREATS

Aw,  Valentine Day will be here soon.  Are your ready?  Have you chosen a card or gift for your favorite person?   How about some homemade cookies or a heart shaped cake or craft  something special.

Well, I am making  heart shaped cookies for my grandchildren to enjoy .  My husband also has a sweet tooth so I am making him a Texas Sheet Cake . 

Texas Sheet Cake       

By Diana  Rattray, About.com Guide

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• .
• Chocolate Frosting:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preparation:

Cake Grease a 15X10X1-inch or jelly roll pan or a 13X9X2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup butter, 1/3 cup cocoa, and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. With an electric hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat chocolate mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a 350° oven about 25 minutes for the 15X10-inch pan or 35 minutes for the 13X9-inch pan, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Pour warm chocolate frosting over the warm cake, spreading evenly. Place cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly before cutting. Makes 24 servings. Frosting: In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and 3 tablespoons buttermilk. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth. If desired, stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans.

THIS CAKE IS SOOO GOOD!!!!!!!  YOU SHOULD TRY IT.

Now for my cookie recipe for my grandchildren:

Valentine's Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• Approximately 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Icing, recipe follows
• Silver balls
• Gold balls

Icing:

• 2 tablespoons egg whites*
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Red food coloring

Directions

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and combine. Sift together 1 cup of the flour with the baking powder and mix it into the batter. Add some or all of the additional flour depending on how much the dough can handle. Form into a disk, cover in plastic and chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. Roll out on a lightly floured surface about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out hearts with various sized cookie cutters and place on a greased sheet pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes until very light golden brown. Let cool on the pan.
Icing: Whisk together the egg whites and powdered sugar to form a slightly loose icing. It should flow a little bit but not too much. Transfer a small amount to a separate bowl and add a tiny amount of red food coloring to make pink icing. Pipe a rim of pink icing around the edge of the cookie and then fill in the center with white icing, or just pipe decorative designs on the surface. Embellish with silver or gold balls. Let dry and package up in cello bags tied with a ribbon.
Recipe from Food Network.

My Grandchildren and 1 Great grandson

        Halloween 2009                      

                         Christmas 2009

Sorry I have not posted in quite a while.  I have been busy keeping my grandson  who is 8 months old .  He is my son's youngest child.  He has two daughters age 16 and 13. I have been keeping Briar since he was born in May, 2009 and he is such a good baby. He has never been sick or had any of the baby problems.  He has his first tooth and is almost walking.  I love all of my granchildren as if they are my own.

I have another granddaughter  Nikki who is 20,  another grandson, Michael and his son, my greatgrandson Kingston.  They are all very precious to me and I love them so much.