School and Recipes

School is back in full swing and I think I am too. The beginning of the year is always a little slow different for me because we SLP's screen for about the first month and then begin our therapy in September. This week has been very steady for us.

Last week I took a hand applique class through Cotton Treasures. I suppose I can say I enjoyed it. I'm just not sure if hand appliqueing is for me--it is very tedious work. We were taught some basics and began a dahlia flower applique. It may be a little while before I finish that one. These are the next two projects I have picked out: a sewing machine cover and another Christmas tree skirt. Not sure exactly when I'll start those, but hopefully sometime soon.

Here's a breakfast recipe for you to try. Bailey's office has a brunch around Christmas and this is a recipe I got from someone he works with. I made it this past weekend for our Sunday School breakfast.

Breakfast Casserole
2 cans crescent rolls
1 pkg cream cheese
1 can Rotel (do not drain)
1 lb sausage
--Brown sausage and drain then add cream cheese and rotel. Stir on low heat until cream cheese is melted. --Layer bottom of 9x13 pan with one can crescent rolls then pour sausage mixture into pan. Top sausage mix with remaining can of crescent rolls.
--Bake at 350 until crescent rolls are golden brown.

And here's what we had for dinner last night. (I'm not sure where I found this recipe).

3 Cheese Baked Ziti
1-15 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1-16 oz pack ziti pasta, cooked and drained
1 jar (28 oz) pasta sauce
1 c. shredded mozzarella
--Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, and parmesan cheese; set aside.
--In another bowl, combine hot pasta and sauce.
--In 13x9 baking dish, spoon in 1/2 of pasta mix; evenly top with cheese mix, then remaining pasta. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
--Bake 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve, if desired, with additional heated sauce. (I like things saucy and I think it had plenty of sauce--even today when I had leftovers.)

Another Summer's End

Well, my summer has officially been over for several days now. And I think I'm mostly okay with that. I began the summer with a list of things to do and I have accomplished most of those things. One of the biggest being Bailey's t-shirt quilt. I started it the first week or two of my summer and then didn't finish it until the last week. (I say "finish"--I have finished my portion for now--the top and back. It is now at Chantay's waiting to be quilted on the long-arm). Here's a picture of the top:

I love the way it turned out and I can't wait for it to be completely finished!

We were able to spend a good bit of our last week or two with Bailey's family playing Tripoly. It was a game his parents played years ago and we have really enjoyed playing it. Bailey's brother, Bedford, left this past weekend to go back to school and his sister, Anna-Blair, will be leaving Sunday. 

I didn't cook a whole lot during the month of July but here are a few recipes I've made in the last week or two. The recipes for Mexican Chicken and Tangy Chicken came from Petit Jean Cuisine--a cookbook composed by the Petit Jean Family Community Education Club. Bailey's grandparents used to live on  Petit Jean mountain and his grandmother was a member of this club. In fact, she drew the illustrations used in the cookbook. I found the Scalloped Potatoes recipe here.

Mexican Chicken  (I have tried several different recipes similar to this and this has been my favorite. However, next time I think I'll add in some spaghetti and make it chicken spaghetti.)

1 fryer (I used several chicken breasts)                    

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 lb. grated Velveeta (I diced it pretty small)         

1 large onion, chopped (I left this out)

garlic salt                

1 can cream of mushroom         

1 can Rotel

1 small pkg. Doritos, crushed (save some for top of casserole)

Boil chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Saute chopped onion in a bit of margarine. Add onion, cheese and chips to chicken. Mix soups and rotel. Pour over chicken mixture. Put in greased casserole. Bake at 350 for 15-30 minutes. Sprinkle chips on top for last 5 minutes of baking. (I only put them on about as much as I thought we'd eat so they wouldn't be mushy in the leftovers).

Tangy Chicken

2 to 2 1/2 lb. broiler, cut up (I used several chicken breasts)  

1/2 cup Heinz 57 sauce

1/2 cup water

Brown chicken in oil and drain excess fat. Combine sauce and water. Pour over chicken, cover and simmer 40 minutes or until chicken is tender, basting occasionally. Remove cover. Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes. Skim excess fat from sauce and serve sauce over chicken.

Scalloped Potatoes

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes                    

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour                                   
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt                                         
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese        
1/2 cup grated cheese, to sprinkle on top
paprika
In a small sauce pan, melt butter and blend in flour. Let sit for a minute. Add all of cold milk, stirring with a whisk. Season with salt and cayenne. Cook sauce on low until smooth and boiling, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Reduce heat and stir in cheese.

Place a half of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish. Pour half of cheese sauce over potatoes. Repeat with second layer of potatoes and cheese sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Top with some paprika for color. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour at 350.

I'm really looking forward to a new school year and all it holds. Also, next week I'll be taking a 2-night Hand Applique class, which I'm pretty excited about. Football is also around the corner, which will bring tailgating with friends and also a few mini-roadtrips to away games.