Day: August 3, 2024

Easy Chicken Tetrazzini

The recipe said Easy Chicken Tetrazzini but somebody lied. I took them at their word and cooked up a double batch. Of course, I didn’t stick to their recipe , so here’s mine. It is delicious, a great comfort food. Hubby is eating it right now and looks pretty happy.

Pretty Good Chicken Tetrazzini (Double Batch)

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs(use 6 breasts if you prefer)

2 family size cans cream of chicken soup

8 oz butter

16 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 -2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream if desired

large onion sliced in rings

2 Tbs chopped fresh garlic

2 Tbs fresh parseley

1/4 cup diced celery

1 cup diced mushrooms

1 tsp tajin (spice)

Salt and pepper to taste. I always taste before adding salt with canned soup. It is salty.

16 oz spaghetti

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese mixed with 1/2 buttered cracker crumbs to garnish

Cook 16 oz spaghetti per package directions while you are making sauce.

Saute onions and garlic in butter till clear in Dutch oven sized pan. There will be lots of sauce. Add mushrooms and chicken cut in large chunks. Stir in parsley, celery, pepper, and tajin. Mix in 2 cans of soup, 16 oz cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese. Add 1 cup sour cream if desired.

Divide in half if desired. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and buttered cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. I froze the 2nd casserole before baking. Allow to thaw before cooking.

Can also be cooked in crockpot on high for 3 hours.

Writing Brings Me Joy

Describe one habit that brings you joy.

Writing brings me joy daily. Soon after I wake up, I settle in my comfy chair with my little dog in my lap and open WordPress. I hastily check my stats, then open my comments. I am always delighted if I find my dear friends there waiting for me. I happily converse with them. On the best days, I get an idea for a post. Should I find a comment from a new friend, I pour over it, then hurry over to their site to read some posts. I have made many friends on WordPress and value them deeply. Thanks, friends.

Aunt Ader’s Place Part 9

A visit to Aunt Julie’s house was wild times.  There were no rules, except one.  She needed her afternoon nap, so we had to lie down from one to three till she was done.  I thought two hours of enforced bed time would kill me, but we spent the time wisely, playing semi-quietly, tussling with puppies, kittens, turtles, frogs, or  lizards,  giggling, and building forts.  Eventually we’d get around to jumping on the bed and she’d be forced to quiet us with an expletive, a reward in itself since I never got to hear cursing or filthy talk at home.

Aunt Julie’s kids were feral children, with no fashion concerns, styling about in their underwear, or step-ins, as Aunt Julie called them. I embraced this style and would have been a faithful follower, had Mother not shown up and stuck her big nose in my business.

“Don’t you EVER pull that stunt again. (EVER was spoken through clenched teeth for emphasis.). You KNOW better”

i always hated knowing better.  “But Aunt Julie….”  She cut me off.

“You heard me.  Get in the house and get some clothes on right now.”  The breeze on my flat chest was just a memory now.  Sadly, I went for clothes.  Mother was such a downer.

Miss Tillie Tittilates the Heathen

imageMiss Tillie, my Sunday School Teacher held my attention like no other before or since, giving the class candy, bubble gum, and tiny little paper umbrellas if we learned our Bible verses. Mother thought she ought not to bribe us to do our lessons. I thought Mother ought to mind her own business. Miss Tillie had already taught Sunday School for thirty years by the time I had her in 1956. She still wore lacy dresses left over from her daughter’s high school days when she didn’t opt for gabardine suits with oversize shoulder pads from the forties. She showed up once a month with robin’s egg blue hair that faded over the next three weeks to a pale lavender. We always complimented her when it was at its brightest and she’d shyly say, “Can you believe I don’t even have to color it?” I couldn’t. She still wore seamed stockings long after the other ladies wore seamless. I always looked forward to seeing a special one with a mended run she wore every third Sunday. I got to know Miss Tillie before I was old enough to know she was a little wacko, so I admired all her differences.

Miss Tillie was so sweet I wouldn’t have wanted to misbehave. The naughty words in the Bible caused her a big problem. She couldn’t bring herself to say the bad words like lie, sin, Hell, and ass, so she made modest substitutions such as fibbing, doing wrong, the bad place, and donkeys. The lesson of Samson versus the Philistines was a challenge for her. Starting out fine, she described Samson’s great strength and glorious hair, reminding us of his obedience to God. Things were going well until the battle reached its zenith. With her modesty, she couldn’t possibly say, “Samson slew ten-thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass,” so after a great deal of obvious preparation and practice, she concluded the lesson with a flourish, “and so Samson picked up the assbone of a donkey and slew ten-thousand Philistines.” That lesson is still burned in my brain.