The countdown stays on for Christmas! Food is a big part of Christmas but actually as I age it grows less and less important. Maybe I'm just strange or maybe I'm just older and wiser and tired of the kitchen.
Every now and then, though, I enjoy a bit of entertaining. This season I was blessed to serve a few of the widows in my neighborhood a lunch. The oldest sweet one here had the age of 99.5 years old. Amazing and such an honor for me! If I live to be 99.5 years old, I want to be just like her! I could not believe after they left I didn't take any pictures. Can you believe me? NO pictures.
The time was enjoyable to me and to them. I enjoyed reading them the Christmas story from Luke and listening to their conversations. We ate a lunch of Chicken Noodle Casserole, Green Beans, Yeast Rolls, and Chocolate Cake.
The Husband calls my Chicken Noodle Casserole a "ministry" as I take it to folks who are sick or need cheering. I have a selfish reason for that particular dish as it is easy to prepare, freezable, and delicious most times. I have adapted the recipe from one I found so I will share my adapted way of doing it in case you blog readers want to try for your family. Or neighbors. Or just you. :) I got the original recipe from a cookbook of recipes from pastors so it must be a Christian recipe. :)
Just a bit of trivia about green beans that my mother-in-law taught me years ago. When you use fresh ones, do in pressure cooker. I usually use canned ones from the grocery store. One can season with salt pork or ham. I throw in a vegetable bouillon cube also. The other tip from my MIL is to let them burn just a tad...not real burn but a bit of sticking before turning them off. Something I did learn last summer is that you can freeze fresh broken green beans in a vacuum seal bag and when you use them and cook them in the pressure cooker, they taste exactly like you just picked them from the garden. (No charge for that lesson learned.) :)
My yeast rolls are certainly not from scratch but I have found that the Kroger kind in their freezer section are the absolute best risers and tasters. Here, it takes them several hours to rise. You just put them frozen on your cookie sheet, spray some waxed or plastic wrap with Pam, lay on top of rolls, and walk away. Cook when ready.
CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I never use bell pepper as we don't like it...you should use if you like it.)
1 small pimiento, diced (I use the jar pimento...doesn't taste much but adds a bit of red color to an un- red dish)
1/2 chicken, boiled and boned (I use about 3 chicken breasts for my recipe.)
2 (10 3/4 oz cans cream of mushroom soup--can use all cream of chicken or a mixture or all mushroom. I actually sometimes use a third just to make it not dry.)
1 cup reserved broth (again, I use a bit more to make not dry. I usually use the premade broth in the casserole.)
Parsley flakes to taste (also add color)
1 (12 oz package spaghetti--I like to use the wide or extra wide noodles. The bag is 16 oz but I guess at what portion is 12 oz. If you have too many noodles, add a bit more broth when mixing. An extra I do also is to boil these noodles in my remaining chicken broth that the chicken cooked in.)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Saute onion and pepper in small amount of butter. Add pimiento, chicken, soup, broth and parsley flakes.
Boil noodles (boil in the used chicken broth), drain, and add to chicken mixture. Add 1 cup (or more if you want) grated cheese to chicken and noodle mixture.
Pour into greased casserole dish and cover top with remaining cup of grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Serves 6.
It's really hard to mess up this recipe. I often double it and freeze one recipe in several servings to freeze. For freezing, can or cannot top with cheese for freezer. Fine to wait until cooking. Wrap in plastic wrap and foil and use within a couple of months. These make great single servings in those little mini foil disposable loaf pans. The Husband likes his to be spicy hot so he adds crushed red pepper flakes....so many options!
This double recipe fed my guests and then my family with those leftovers. Two other casseroles fed two of my family households and two others went to my freezer for future use. Yum!
Every now and then, though, I enjoy a bit of entertaining. This season I was blessed to serve a few of the widows in my neighborhood a lunch. The oldest sweet one here had the age of 99.5 years old. Amazing and such an honor for me! If I live to be 99.5 years old, I want to be just like her! I could not believe after they left I didn't take any pictures. Can you believe me? NO pictures.
The time was enjoyable to me and to them. I enjoyed reading them the Christmas story from Luke and listening to their conversations. We ate a lunch of Chicken Noodle Casserole, Green Beans, Yeast Rolls, and Chocolate Cake.
The Husband calls my Chicken Noodle Casserole a "ministry" as I take it to folks who are sick or need cheering. I have a selfish reason for that particular dish as it is easy to prepare, freezable, and delicious most times. I have adapted the recipe from one I found so I will share my adapted way of doing it in case you blog readers want to try for your family. Or neighbors. Or just you. :) I got the original recipe from a cookbook of recipes from pastors so it must be a Christian recipe. :)
Just a bit of trivia about green beans that my mother-in-law taught me years ago. When you use fresh ones, do in pressure cooker. I usually use canned ones from the grocery store. One can season with salt pork or ham. I throw in a vegetable bouillon cube also. The other tip from my MIL is to let them burn just a tad...not real burn but a bit of sticking before turning them off. Something I did learn last summer is that you can freeze fresh broken green beans in a vacuum seal bag and when you use them and cook them in the pressure cooker, they taste exactly like you just picked them from the garden. (No charge for that lesson learned.) :)
My yeast rolls are certainly not from scratch but I have found that the Kroger kind in their freezer section are the absolute best risers and tasters. Here, it takes them several hours to rise. You just put them frozen on your cookie sheet, spray some waxed or plastic wrap with Pam, lay on top of rolls, and walk away. Cook when ready.
CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I never use bell pepper as we don't like it...you should use if you like it.)
1 small pimiento, diced (I use the jar pimento...doesn't taste much but adds a bit of red color to an un- red dish)
1/2 chicken, boiled and boned (I use about 3 chicken breasts for my recipe.)
2 (10 3/4 oz cans cream of mushroom soup--can use all cream of chicken or a mixture or all mushroom. I actually sometimes use a third just to make it not dry.)
1 cup reserved broth (again, I use a bit more to make not dry. I usually use the premade broth in the casserole.)
Parsley flakes to taste (also add color)
1 (12 oz package spaghetti--I like to use the wide or extra wide noodles. The bag is 16 oz but I guess at what portion is 12 oz. If you have too many noodles, add a bit more broth when mixing. An extra I do also is to boil these noodles in my remaining chicken broth that the chicken cooked in.)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Saute onion and pepper in small amount of butter. Add pimiento, chicken, soup, broth and parsley flakes.
Boil noodles (boil in the used chicken broth), drain, and add to chicken mixture. Add 1 cup (or more if you want) grated cheese to chicken and noodle mixture.
Pour into greased casserole dish and cover top with remaining cup of grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Serves 6.
It's really hard to mess up this recipe. I often double it and freeze one recipe in several servings to freeze. For freezing, can or cannot top with cheese for freezer. Fine to wait until cooking. Wrap in plastic wrap and foil and use within a couple of months. These make great single servings in those little mini foil disposable loaf pans. The Husband likes his to be spicy hot so he adds crushed red pepper flakes....so many options!
This double recipe fed my guests and then my family with those leftovers. Two other casseroles fed two of my family households and two others went to my freezer for future use. Yum!
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