Food festival

I live a full life. Lately, though, I know it seems like I've just got a full belly. This is not a food blog, but it's certainly moonlighting under that disguise.

The Story of My Life will return to the story of my life relatively soon. Just let me wrap up the week of scheduled meals first, OK? 

Always planning ahead to the next meal, I made two casseroles Thursday evening. With Taylor out of town for the weekend, I've been enjoying the leftovers.  

I found this recipe on the Southern Living website while searching for casseroles. I didn't even have to click on the link to know it would be a little on the rich (or as Paula Deen says, "reeech") side, so I decided to challenge myself to cut the fat while keeping the flavor. Notes in line with the recipe. If I do say so myself, it's pretty delish. 

Chicken Casserole D'Iberville 

• Ingredients
  
  
• 2 (3-pound) whole chickens  (*I used 2 cans of chicken in water, drained and shredded)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 2 celery stalks 
• 1 onion, quartered 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 2 (6-ounce) packages long-grain and wild rice mix (*I bought the rice mix in bulk, so I just eye-balled 12 ounces and used chicken broth from TJ's to cook it)
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine 
• 2 (8-ounce) packages sliced mushrooms 
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (*TJ's carries cream of mushroom soup seasonally, but it's not in just yet...I like to buy organic cream of mushroom soup, and I think I purchased the Pacific brand at Whole Foods for this recipe)
• 1 sleeve round buttery crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups) (*I used whole wheat crackers)
• 1 (6-ounce) can French-fried onions, crushed (*Not going to lie...I had a can of the TJ's French-fried onions tucked away from last Christmas...so delish!)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

1. Bring first 9 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven. Let chicken cool. Pour broth through a fine wire mesh strainer into an 8-cup liquid measuring cup; discard solids.
2. Cook rice according to package directions, substituting 4 1/4 cups reserved chicken broth for water and omitting butter. (Add water to broth to equal 4 1/4 cups, if necessary.)
3. Skin, bone, and coarsely chop or shred chicken.
4. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add mushrooms and green onions, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, chicken, sour cream, and soup. Spoon mixture into 8 (2-cup) casserole dishes, 8 (5 1/2- x 3 1/2- x 2-inch) mini-loaf pans, 3 (8-inch or 9-inch) square baking dishes, or 1 (4-quart or 15- x 10-inch) casserole dish.
5. Stir together crushed crackers and fried onions. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, paprika, and garlic powder. Sprinkle casserole evenly with cracker mixture.
6. Bake, covered, at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 more minutes or until bubbly.

Friday morning, I had a bit of a baking extravaganza, whipping up some blondies and these pumpkin cookies with maple penuche frosting. Oh good Lord. These are outrageous. My friend Monika shared the recipe with me. She hunted it down after wanting to recreate these pumpkin cookies from a bakery in Eugene. She gave me one of those cookies after my last marathon, so I knew they were a WOW kind of cookie. Here's a link to the recipe. I followed it to a T. I did, however, get sugar free true maple syrup (if that's such a thing?) from Whole Foods.

Oh, and on Friday night, Allison came over, and I made breakfast for dinner. Mimosas, pumpkin waffles, hashbrowns, and the egg casserole below. (Like how I started with the mimosas?!) I guess you could say I'm on a casserole kick. Jenny made this breakfast casserole for the brunch she planned in Austin last weekend. It's SO stinkin' simple. Just press one tube of crescent rolls (yes, I bought this at TJ's, too!) into a casserole dish. Sprinkle whatever kind of meat tickles your fancy across the dough. Jenny used diced ham. I did a combo of diced turkey and turkey bacon. Next, sprinkle about a 1.5-ish cups of cheese (whatever's handy...I had a pinch of the Mexican blend left and lots of mozzarella, so I used both). [Then, thanks to a Southwestern tip from Jenny, I sprinkled a can of diced green chiles on top of the meat and cheese.] Finally, whisk together 5 eggs and about 1/2 cup milk, and pour over the entire casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until set. Mmm. I still have leftovers! It's just as good reheated the next morning! 

I'll write more about non-food-related happenings in the days to come. The condo is really coming together. Finally. It's such a work-in-progress...this whole merging lives business. But! I really recommend downsizing. It feels good to get rid of "stuff" you just don't need!