The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Tonight's recipe was also last night's recipe....the Hot Chicken Salad had to sit in the fridge overnight for the flavors to mingle or something. Can't be so the cook could rest up from the prep work...this is a pretty easy recipe. Last night, Jill had to go to a work function where she left the house about the time Emma eats dinner and came back about the time we start getting ready for bed. So Emma put away some of the leftover meatloaf from the last post, then sucked down a whole pouch of veggie fruit before we played on the floor for while. I could have sworn she was going to take her first step when I tempted her with my watch! Once she went to bed, I went to work...and Jill got home as I was cleaning up.

Ingredients: 1 rotisserie chicken (we got one from Walmart), deboned and skin removed
2 cups celery, finely chopped
2 Tblsp sweet onion, minced
4 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
1 - 14 1/2 oz can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tblsp lemon juice (I used RealLemon bottled juice)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
1/2 cup plain potato chips, crushed (I used Lays)
1 small bag slivered almonds (about 1/2 cup)

In large bowl, mix all but last three ingredients, then spread inta 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Cover and let stand in refrigerator overnight.
Have a glass of wine or a beer, and go to bed...you worked hard!

Tonight I came home and pulled the casserole out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter while I preheated the oven. Jill and Emma came home from shopping for a floor pillow/stuffed animal...boy was Emma happy with that thing....looks like a teddy bear that got run over by a steam roller! Then the little Peanut had some leftover Candied Sweet Potatoes while Mommy and I had a salad. After bath time, Daddy read a baby version of Daniel and the Lions' Den before tucking Emma into bed.

Now that you have done the heavy lifting (pulling the prepared dish out of the fridge), put the casserole into a preheated 400 degree oven and let it bake for 30 minutes.

Whew! That's tough! ;-)

Diving into this blog headfirst!

February 19, 2012:
Jill has a homemade cookbook given to her by her "Meme" about 10 years ago. Jill and I both love her Meme's cooking and use the cookbook from time to time. We got the idea from "Julie & Julia" to cook everything in the cookbook and document the process, take pictures of the dishes and then recreate the cookbook with the comments and pictures. The main difference is that this will not be a daily thing what with my National Guard requirements and having our Peanut, Emma, about to turn one.

 Emma's coming aroudn to check out the cookbooks

 Look Mom...I like this one...

Oh these are nice too!!



Today was the first day and we decided to do a whole meal of Meme's recipes. The cookbook has menus...but we created our own.
For the main dish: Tasty Meatloaf...with the unique ingredient of Horseradish!
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground venison (or use ground chuck for you non-hunters!)
2 cups panko (japanese bread crumbs)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, minced (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup whole milk
4 Tblsp extra hot horseradish (not horseradish sauce)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 Tblsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tblsp brown sugar
In large bowl, lightly mix the meat and eggs. Add all but the last 2 ingredients and mix. Shape loaf and place into non-stick loaf pan, preferably one with a self-draining insert. Flatten the top of the loaf, leaving slightly raised edges on all sides. Mix the ketchup and brown sugar and spread acroos top of the loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. (Can be prepared the day before cooking)

The vegetable is our second favorite of Meme's sides: Asparagus Casserole...actually a hybrid of Meme's recipe and a recipe from her sister's cookbook with some of my own influence thrown in.
2 lbs fresh asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed
1/2 cup crushed butter crackers (Ritz or Townhouse)
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
1 stick butter, melted
2 10oz cans cream of mushroom soup
1 egg, lightly scrambled
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup shredded Colby Jack, divided
Combine all ingredients except the asparagus, half the panko and half the cheese. Spread half of the mixture on the bottom of a glass 9 x 9 baking dish. Place asparagus on top of first layer. Spread remaining mixture over top of asparagus. Top with the remaining panko then the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Finally: Candied Sweet Potatoes...just because they sounded good!
4 or 5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled then cut up
1/2 cup water
1 stick butter, cut up
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark Karo syrup
6 Tblsp corn or vegetable oil
Place sweet potatoes in heavy saucepan with butter. Add sugar, syrup, oil and water then cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, stirring ocassionally. Lower heat to medium low and cook until potatoes are tender, ocassionally stirring gently.

Everything was great...but keep in mind that asparagus can come back on you and make your pee smell bad! The above asparagus recipe has some slight adjustments to what I actually did (I added more asparagus and layered the ingredients a little differently than what I really did). Too bad Emma had gone to bed by the time dinner was ready...left more for us. Are we stuffed.