I Hate Packing!

Due to circumstances out of our control, we are moving sooner than expected. This is a good move, but I do have to say, I hate packing. We have one week to pack and move out of this place in Rigby. Thank goodness we have a place to live until we find and close on a house. I've loved this apartment that we've been living in since May. But, I must keep reminding myself, this is OK, after we find our house, it'll be the last move for a really long time. Then I'll be able to have a home again. I guess I just feel like I'm in limbo at the moment and maybe just a little bit of stress and pressure.
I'm also reminded that this is not so bad. Yeah there are some unknown factors, but not as bad as my pioneer ancestors. Moving to a new land, settling a wild place and not knowing what lay over the horizon. Packing all their possessions into a wagon or a handcart. Starting from scratch, literally. They faced a lot of unknowns from every side it seemed. But somehow, a lot of them made it work.
In packing up my recipe books today, I found one of my favorites, called "Cooking in Wyoming." this recipe book has a collection of recipes used by the women who help settle the state of Wyoming. Included are recipes like Wild Buffalo Berry Catsup, Head Cheese, Suet Pudding, Home Cured Pork, Bear Steak,Deviled Deer Burgers and Mulligatawny Soup. There is one recipe that cracks me up every time that I'd like to share with you.

Wood Chuck Pot Pie

The animal should be 1/2 to 3/4 grown. Disjoint meant and soak an hour in cold water containing 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon soda. Salt and Pepper the pieces, roll them in flour and put into hot fat in which you have previously browned a small clove of garlic. When meat is browned on both sides put cover on heavy skillet or Dutch oven and simmer until tender. Add a little water as needed. Just before serving, season with Worcestershire sauce and chunks of butter.

This wild game recipe was submitted to a local Wyoming paper by Mrs. Sam Young.

:)

What to do?

We had a beautiful ham for Sunday dinner today. I glazed the ham with a spicy mustard and honey glaze and it turn out way scrumptious. But my tiny dilemma is what to do with the left overs besides ham sandwiches for the rest of the week? And then an idea came to me.... why not do a Chicken Cordon Bleu type casserole???? I found a base recipe on www.allrecipes.com and then I tweaked it.

4 cups Panko crumbs (or cornflakes)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh)
1/4 cup butter, melted
10 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast, chunked
salt and ground black pepper to taste
6 cups cubed Havarti cheese (You could use Swiss)
1 pound cooked ham, chunked
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Mix the Panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup melted butter in a large bowl, then spread about 2/3 of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer half the chicken breast chunks over the crumb base, and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Cover with half the Havarti cheese, then a layer of ham, followed by layers of mushrooms and green onions. Mix the cream of chicken soup and sour cream together in a bowl, and spread the mixture over the green onion layer. Place the rest of the chicken chunks onto the soup layer, followed by the rest of the Havarti cheese. Top the casserole with the remaining 1/3 of the crumb mixture. Drizzle with 2 more tablespoons of melted butter if desired. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes; remove the foil and bake until the casserole is bubbling, the cheese has melted, and the crumb topping is brown, an additional 15 minutes.

So this casserole looks really good and smells pretty good while combining everything. I'm putting it in the fridge overnight and we'll feast upon it tomorrow. I think we might have a new family dinner!

Grilling Time!

Something grilled sounds so good right now! I enjoy so many foods cooked on the grill, so I think I should share one of my favorite recipes with you!

GRILLED FRIES

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1-teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1-tablespoon olive oil
• 2 baking potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds)
• 2 yams (about 1-1/2 pounds)
• Cooking spray

Combine all ingredients except oil and potatoes in large zip bag. Toss to mix well. Cut each potato into 12 wedges and toss with olive oil. Place into bag with ingredients and toss well. Preheat grill to medium. Spray grill to prevent sticking and reduce heat to low. Place potatoes on grill and close lid. Turn every 5 minutes to avoid burning. Cook until tender about 30 minutes.

What I'm reading...

One of my all time passions is reading. It doesn't matter, non-fiction or fiction, romance or biography, I love a good book! I would spend hours in a bookstore if I could, but I never have that much time on hand.
I have many favorite authors, and when asked to share favorite books, I have to list authors. James Rollins is on of my top 10 favorite authors. His books keep a strong hold on the imagination and keep you wondering what's next!?! I picked up his book Altar of Eden the other day and started reading it yesterday. I became so immersed in the book, I forgot to blog about it. All I have to say, if you're looking for a good read, pick up any one of his books. Adventure, mystery, face-paced and so interesting! By far better than Dan Brown, who tends to devote several too many pages to the word "apple." His Sigma Force novels are some of my favorite our of all of his books, with my all time favorite being Map of Bones. It's not too often I gush about an author, but this guy deserves it! Thank you James Rollins for being more than just a veterinarian!
I'm going to go curl up by my fire and finish up this book. I'll let you know!

So much for last year!

So last year, I made several resolutions that I failed miserably at. . . . for the most part. Oh well, I'm not going to feel guilty about it. Instead of setting resolutions to change everything this year, I'm just going to strive for a few goals, nothing huge and out there, just something simple that I'd like to reach and implement into my daily life each day.

#1 - Become closer to God and strive to be a better person day by day.

#2 - Become a more balanced person, not super mom who thinks I have to do everything in order to make up for being a working mom.

#3 - Find time each day to pursue one of my hobbies, and share with you!

That's it. Nothing else major. So in light of those goals, here's one of my favorite recipes that I tweaked just a tad. I love collecting recipes! I think this all started with my Gram. She collected cook books and loved to read them. She really never tried the recipes out of them, with her family being a pretty staunch meat and potatoes kinda of family. But she still loved her cook books. I used to spend hours reading through them with her. I so miss spending time with my Gram, she passed away in June of 2002. When Gram's twin sister passed away in 2003, her daughter and my dear cousin Julie gave me Aunt Carreen's cook books. I didn't know she was a cook book collector too! I crack up over some of the recipes I find!

GREEN CHILE CHICKEN SOUP

• ½ Cup Butter
• ¾ Cup Flour
• 2 Cups Milk
• 3 Cups Chicken Broth
• 2 Cups Cubed Chicken Breast, Cooked
• ½ Cup Chopped Green Chilies
• Salt & Pepper
• 4-6 Cloves Crushed Garlic
• 1 Small Onion, Diced

Melt Butter in a Saute Pan over medium heat. Add Onion and Saute until onion is tender and translucent. Slowly add flour to create a paste. Add milk and chicken broth and whip together until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Note: If you want something with more of a kick, ad in some fresh diced jalapenos, or even serrano peppers. Serves 6