Cheesy chicken casserole

I did NOT grow up a fan of casseroles. So, naturally, when one of my neighbors brought me one after I had my second baby, I was more than a bit worried. After I pretended to be totally excited about it and she left, I told Shane he needed to go out and get us pizza. He made me try this, though, and it is hands down my all time FAVORITE meal EVER. I am IN. LOVE. with this. So, for those of you picky eaters/busy moms out there...this one is for you. This is easy and super fast! P.S. If something is bolded, it is my personal opinion/suggestion, so feel free to completely ignore it. :)

Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole

4 C egg noodles (uncooked) (the wide ones are usually the best)
2 small cans of cream of chicken soup
2 C sour cream
2 C milk
3-4 tbsp of bottle lemon juice (or to taste)
1/2 tsp garlic salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)
12 oz bag crunchy chow mein noodles (LaChoy)
13 oz can chicken breast (I have only been able to find 12.5 oz cans, which work just fine)
3-4 C grated cheddar cheese (I usually only use 2 cups and it is still uber cheesy and less fattening)

In a large pan, cook 4 cups of egg noodles as instructed on the package.

Drain, set aside.

Combine soup, sour cream, milk, lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper in a large pan.

Stir ingredients together over medium heat until smooth.

Add cooked egg noodles, 1 C crunchy noodles (or more as desired), and the can of chicken breast.

Stir until mixed together well and chicken breaks up a little. (or if you are a cheater/impatient like me, use a knife or fork or whatever to break the chicken up beforehand)

Spray a lasagna pan with cooking spray. Pour noodle mixture in the pan while trying to hold the camera in the other hand and not drop it in the sink,

cover with more crunchy noodles, then spread the cheese on top of this (DON'T SKIMP!).

Drizzle a little more lemon juice (or water, or milk-whichever you prefer) over the casserole, then cover and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour, until the cheese is completely melted and the casserole is heated through. (Important!: Usually I only have to cook it about 30 minutes--sometimes 45--until the cheese is melted, but it varies from oven to oven. Check it after 30 minutes and see what you think. Don't let the cheese burn, though. Yuck.)
All done!! Enjoy!


The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it whenever you have time during the day, then stick it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. It only takes about 15 minutes to prep everything, then you are good to go!

Easy Peasy Cinnamon Rolls

So, for my very first post on here, I decided to start you ladies out with a wonderful (INSANELY easy) homemade cinnamon rolls recipe. :) Hope you enjoy these as much as we do! *Some notes about this that are totally optional-purely what I prefer-with the frosting, don't double it (that's waaay too much), but just what the recipe calls for never seems like enough, so 1 1/2 it. Also, wait to frost the rolls until they have cooled almost all the way. Otherwise, you end up with more frosting melted on the pan than the rolls. And one last thing-when it says roll dough into a rectangle, an oval is good enough if you can't get those edges quite right. :) Let me know if you have any questions.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2 (.25 oz) pkgs active dry yeast

2 1/2 C warm water

1 (9 oz) pkg yellow cake mix

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 C all-purpose flour

The inside goodness:

1/2 C butter or margarine-melted

3/4 C white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Frosting:

3 C confectioner's sugar

1/2 C butter or margarine-softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 Tbsp milk

Directions: In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it stand until creamy (about 10 minutes). Then combine the yeast mixture with the cake mix, salt, and vanilla; stir well to combine. Stir in the flour; beat well. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place for one hour. Deflate dough and turn it out onto a well floured surface. Roll dough out into a rectangle and spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (combine in a bowl beforehand to make things real easy). Roll up dough and cut into 3/4 inch thick rolls. Place rolls in two lightly greased baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes. While rolls are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, stir together everything for the frosting. After the rolls have cooled a bit, spread with the frosting. Enjoy!!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...Make Sandi's Wonderful Hot Cider Drink!!!

1/2 Gallon Apple Juice
1 small can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 small can frozen lemonade concentrate {get it!?!}
1 quart water 
1 cup sugar
1 tsp allspice
3 sticks cinnamon
8 cloves

Mix and heat in crock pot

I've been blah, blek, blue lately and very much in a blogging shlump so I knew to get out of it I needed to blog something, anything...  

voila!  

It's been 15 days since Gramps passed away.  

Most all of his Grandkids and Great-Grand Children last saw him on Halloween, dutifully parading costumes in exchange for a king sized candy bar (oh, baby!)  And while it is still a fresh and vivid memory I am afraid it will fade so I have found something bright to connect with it and keep it alive.  Minutes after visiting Gramps we went to my Aunt Sandi's and she had the most delicious aroma in her home, and offered us her Hot Cider.  Warm and delicious I spent many weeks craving it so I decided to serve it at my ThanksGiving dinner.  I hope to make my own tradition from it somehow and have its home-filling scent help me keep Gramp's memory alive for my girls.  

Also, in full effort to unshlumpitize I took my OWN picture of the cider:

{even though I was overwhelmingly tempted to deceitfully post a google image search picture as my own!}

And it is scandalously possible that if I would have seen this picture

before taking my own, I would have tried it!!!!

It looks so much like my mugs it is scary!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe and Instructions:

Be sure to use ultra ripe bananas for this. Their skins should be mottled black and they should feel soft to the touch. Using what you would normally consider to be ripe bananas will diminish the bread’s rich flavor.
½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
½ cup (3 ¾ ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (~ 12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey (I used sugar – works fine)
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I found that 2 cups was closer to 10 ounces – guess my whole wheat is heavy)
½ cups (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

www.breadtopia.com

Chili Teaser

No recipe (it's a secret!)

but trust me, it is the best chili in the universe!

Cheesy Broccoli and Potato Soup

The breads, the soups, the naughty treats, are all coming out from hiding because Fall is here!!!
This soup is kind of like a mix between a chowder and a baked potato smothered with broccoli and cheese!

YOWSA, YUMMY!!!!

Another one of moms recipes, I take no credit...
...except for taking the picture 
{because y'all know what a great photographer I am}
and nudging her to add in the recipe 
{ya, ya! and I am pushy - get over it!}

{insert recipe here}

Conference Popcorn

Moms caramel recipe + air popped popcorn (1 cup unpoped) + a much too small bowl

= nostalgic conference viewing bliss