What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

If there was ever a Sunday I was thankful dinner was ready when I got home, it was last Sunday. I had an obligation that kept me at church for quite a while after the service. By the time we got home, we needed to eat and head back out the door for a conference in the mid-afternoon. I had made a recipe for Chicken and Noodle Casserole that a friend had shared with me some time ago. I made the whole thing up on Saturday night, then put it into the oven using the time-bake feature on my oven. This was very good; kind of a comfort food type dish. I added a garden salad and toasted bread and it was a great Sunday meal!

Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole

Being prepared on Sunday is easy when you do a little planning ahead. This dish was even easier to make because I had cooked several chicken breasts earlier and then frozen them for dishes such as this. So all I had to do was cook the noodles and assemble the casserole.

Chopping things up for salads for the week can also be a time-saver. If all you have to do is grab the bags of chopped vegetables and add them to your lettuce (I seldom ever buy the packages of salad mixes; they’re too expensive), add croutons and cheese and you’re salad is done!

Here’s another dish I made for a weeknight using some of the chicken I cooked and froze. These were Chicken Taco Salads. I make my own Tortilla shells by baking them in the microwave. They are so good with this salad, and you really don’t miss the “fried” taste! I tipped the tortilla bowl over on its side for ease of eating and looks…

Put a large flour tortilla into a microwave safe bowl (cereal size). Microwave for 1 minute. Remove and let cool. That’s it!

For the salad part I add lettuce, cool, cooked corn, tomatoes, diced mango, red onion and the chicken strips I cook in the oven with salt and pepper.

The dressing is 1 part Ranch dressing to 1/2 part salsa. It’s a favorite meal of ours.

Here’s a new dessert recipe – Upside down Pear Cake. Yum! This came from my Taste of Home Magazine. With fresh pears, molasses and walnuts, this is super good. I served it with frozen yogurt and it was a hit!

I guess this is a bit of an unintended teaser. I just found that this recipe is a Taste of Home Member Exclusive – which means it’s not accessible on the Internet unless you are a member. I am a member, but ethically I don’t think I can share their recipe. However, if you get the February/March edition of the magazine you’ll find it there, plus LOTS of other yummy recipes. I’m making a Chicken Fajita Chowder from that issue this week, as well as a Lazy Day Stew and Tomato Focaccia Bread. It will be well worth the cost of the magazine (only $4) if you don’t have it already!

Along with the blessing of having a meal ready when you get home, cooking meals at home is so much cheaper than eating out. Just do a little planning and preparing ahead of time. It’s a blessing to have good home-cooked meals on Sunday – and on the weeknights too!

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen?

With love,