On My Hearth: Country Casserole

 

We still have quite a few leftovers stuffing our refrigerator so tonight's dinner is yet another way to use 'em up! This yummy "Country Casserole" recipe is courtesy of Christy Jordan's Southern Plate.  Of course I'll be substituting leftover turkey for the chicken.

Country Casserole

photo courtesy of Southern Plate

Ingredients

• 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 or rotisserie )
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. 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 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for twenty five minutes. Top with remaining onions and cheese, bake until cheese is melted, about five minutes more. 

Pressure to be Productive

November 27, 2011 Enabling Productivity Leo Daily Horoscope You may feel tense and anxious about your obligations today. You might be working under tight deadlines or trying to complete a project with time to spare. While your environment might be causing some pressure, you might also consider whether your own thoughts are working against you. If you set your expectations too high, you might feel the need to push too hard or place unreasonable demands upon yourself. You can easily improve your productivity today by creating a mind-set that encourages clarity and efficiency. Rather than pressuring yourself to move faster, you can instead choose to let go of tense thoughts and affirm that there is plenty of time to accomplish all of your tasks. Then take a few minutes to clear your mind and sharpen your focus so you can work undistracted. By taking time to clear our minds of tension and scattered thoughts, we give ourselves the ability to work productively. Though it may seem counterproductive to take time away from our work to foster a calm mind-set and balanced approach, doing this contributes to a stronger level of concentration, which helps us get more work done in less time. Not only does our productivity improve but we enjoy the process more fully and end up feeling proud about our accomplishments. If you release your anxious thoughts and instead create a mind-set of clarity and calm today, you should see an improvement in your attitude as well as your work flow.  Today's Daily Om really struck a chord with me. Like many of you, no doubt, I'm feeling the pressure of the holiday season, trying to get too much done in too little time.  Though I am "fortunate" to be unemployed (how's that for putting a positive spin on it?) and therefore have more leisure hours at my disposal, this just means I push myself to clean more, decorate more, bake more, create more, do more!  I've begun more crafty holiday projects than ever before, for personal gifts as well as to sell at craft fairs.  Add that to the fact that I am living as a gypsy now, back & forth to three separate homes, my stuff strewn about from one end of the state to to other, and you have a real pressure cooker situation.  So I'm going to follow my horoscope's advice and take some time today to breathe, clear my mind, and focus on what really needs to be done.  Perhaps a few minutes in front of the Christmas tree (once it's decorated, that is) with some hot chocolate would help?  This one, from one of my favorite books/movies from all time, will do nicely.

Vianne's Spiced Hot Chocolate (Serves 2)  Chile may have lost favour as an ingredient in chocolate dishes in Europe, but for me this sweet, spiced version of hot chocolate is the best morning drink: rich, dark, and invigorating enough to keep me going until lunchtime. 1 2/3 cups milk 1/2 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise 1/2 cinnamon stick 1 hot red chile, halved and seeded 3 1/2 ounces bittersweet (70 percent) chocolate Brown sugar to taste (optional) Whipped cream, chocolate curls, cognac, or Amaretto, to serve Place the milk in a saucepan, add the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and chile, and gently bring it to a shivering simmer for 1 minute. Grate the chocolate and whisk it in until it melts. If you must, then add brown sugar, but do try without it. Take off the heat and allow it to infuse for 10 minutes, then remove the vanilla, cinnamon, and chile. Return to the heat and bring gently back to a simmer. Serve in mugs topped with whipped cream, chocolate curls, or a dash of cognac or Amaretto. Enjoy! Rapunzel

On My Hearth: Sweet Potato Pie

Are you all sick of leftovers yet? Not me, I love 'em! Of course, after a day or two you might want to reinvent them into something new such as the Turkey Chili I made yesterday.  This morning I was eyeing the candied yams in my refrigerator wondering..hmm...what the heck can I do with those? At that moment the pumpkin pie which had been precariously perched on the shelf slid forward and hit the floor...crash! Ugh! Sweeping up shards of Pyrex and pumpkin is not the way I wanted to start my day.  The worst part? I had promised Strider a piece of pie when he visits today.  Yikes! Not one to go back on my word yet not wanting to make yet another pumpkin pie, I did a bit of research and, remembering my Mom's own fabulous sweet potato pie from my youth, decided to make this recipe.  I will be improvising, using up the aforementioned candied yams which may affect the calories & PointsPlus values slightly, but the difference should be nominal.


Sweet Potato Pie
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1/8th • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 229.3 • Fat: 7.6g • Protein: 3.3 g • Carb: 44.4 g • Fiber: 1.3 g  
 

Recipe & Photo courtesy of Gina's Skinny Taste

• 2 (1-1/2 lbs) sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp light butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp ground pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 50 to 55 minutes, or until soft. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin. Blend potatoes in a blender and pulse for about one minute to remove all fibers.

Place sweet potatoes in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well. Using an electric mixer, mix in sugar, milk, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with cool whip and enjoy!


Enjoy!

Rapunzel~

The Day After

Good morning! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, mine certainly was. There were eight of us for dinner, our immediate family including significant others. We cooked for most of the morning, got all of the slow cooker recipes into their respective crockpots and then we had a couple of hours to relax. Our kitchen was quite the flurry of activity!

In the end, of course, all of the effort was oh-so-worth it!

Today, instead of joining the masses at the mall, I'm having a leisurely lunch with a dear old friend and then attending our family's annual Anti Black Friday Craftstravaganza.  Kali has been hosting this for years and it's become something we all look forward to.  Basically, everyone brings a holiday craft project to work on, and we provide supplies & inspiration, snacks & beverages! Today I'll be sharing the ingredients for gifts-in-a-jar such as the Confetti Bean Soup.  I've already made up several batches..

 

Have a wonderful day!

Rapunzel~