curry chicken casserole

Last night, I made my mom's Curry Chicken Casserole, something I haven't done in a long time. I forgot how much I loved it!

broccoli florets (1-2 crowns)

2 cooked chicken breasts

1 15 oz. can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c. mayonaise

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. curry powder

fresh bread crumbs

melted butter

grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook chicken breasts just until done (I boil mine with a little salt - don't overdue it, or they'll be tough). Cool & cut into bite size pieces. Lightly steam broccoli & drain well. Stir together soup, mayo, lemon juice & curry powder to make a sauce. Spray an 8" baking dish with cooking spray. Layer chicken & broccoli & then top with sauce. Make buttered bread crumbs by pulsing torn up bread slices in food processor. Pour melted butter over bread crumbs & toss to coat. Sprinkle sauce with grated cheddar cheese & top with buttered bread crumbs. Bake at 350 until bread crumbs are toasty (about 30 minutes). Serves 4 (double the recipe to fit in a 9x13 pan)

(When I made mine, I baked the casserole & then added the cheese to the top & baked for another 5 minutes. Either way works.)

Valentine's Day Follow Through!

It's been said that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." And let me tell you, I've always had great intentions for every holiday, but very rarely follow through with any of my ideas. Valentine's Day is no exception!

Scott's & my Valentine's Days are usually horrible! I don't know what it is - laziness, procrastination, not wanting to give in to the commercialization . . . Whatever the reason, we usually end up with brutally failed dinners (my first attempt at making the "perfect" dinner & dessert for our first Valentine's), lack of gifts (I like presents, so I'm all for them - although I never get around to buying one for Scott either), & a heart-shaped pizza for dinner since all the restaurants are booked/too crowded (the pizza is usually fine, but I can't stand it right now with this pregnancy, so that wasn't an option for Lover's Day 2011).

Well, this year was going to be different! I actually planned ahead - ME! I haven't done that in so long! I bought heart-shaped pancake molds on sale at Crate & Barrel, made sure I had the ingredients for Wheat Germ Pancakes (my favorite breakfast!), & bought fresh berries & whipped my own cream (from the carton, not the cow) instead of opting for the spray kind (my mom trained me better, but I'd fallen off that wagon long ago). I also went to See's to splurge on some sweets for my sweets - red foiled chocolate hearts for William & sour (& I mean sour) hearts for Scott.

I'd never used pancake molds before & was amazed at how fun & easy it was. I went out & bought 2 more, so I have them for next year.

I was also excited to pull out my Valentine's Day glasses that I bought when we were first married. I don't think we'd used them in five or so years.

I told Scott a couple days before the BIG day that I didn't want flowers from the store, but would rather have flowers to plant or flowers from an actual florist (not that store-bought flowers aren't beautiful, but the others are just exceptional). Since I didn't give him much warning with my request, I didn't expect much. Well I was shocked when he actually had a present for me, wrapped in a bag & everything! It was a beautiful silver necklace with circle pendants hanging from it (one saying "L & S" with our anniversary engraved on the back, & the other saying "W" with Will's birthday). I'd been wanting a necklace like this for years & was unsure if I still really wanted one or not, but after seeing it, I got so excited - it was even prettier than the ones I'd been looking at! He did such an awesome job & totally surprised me!

Now I'm just hoping I can keep up the follow-through for the other upcoming holidays. I was amazed at how accomplished I felt - like a real domestic wife from the 50's or something (I even wore a cute vintage-looking apron while making breakfast to add to the illusion of "domestic perfection").

This was by far the best Valentine's Day I've had!

WHEAT GERM PANCAKES

1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. wheat germ

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 T. sugar

1 c. milk

2 eggs

2 T. oil

1. Mix dry ingredients.

2. Mix liquids & add to dry mixture (don't overmix!)

3. Let sit for about a minute & add more milk if it's on the thick side.

Banana Surprise Pancakes

I was flipping through some of my mom's cookbooks, & this recipe caught my eye. I can't wait to try it. It's from San Francisco Encore.

1 c. cottage cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 1/2 T. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
4 eggs at room temperature
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 medium bananas, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
flour

Blend the cottage cheese, sour cream, honey, vanilla, & salt in blender until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time.  Sift flour & baking powder together.  Slowly stir egg mixture into flour.  Don't overmix.
Lightly dust banana slices with flour. Spray griddle with Pam. Drop batter by tablespoons onto the griddle.  Top each with a banana slice.  Spoon more batter on top of each banana slice, to cover. Cook & flip. Cook until golden brown.
Serve with warmed maple syrup.

Blueberry Muffins

I never post recipes on my blog, but these muffins were so good & easy to make that I thought I'd pass the recipe along. They're especially good fresh out of the oven.

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line w/ muffin liners (makes 8 muffins).
2. Combine dry ingredients.
3. Place oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg & enough milk to fill the cup. Mix w/ flour mixture (don't over mix, or the muffins will be too dense).
4. Fold in blueberries.
5. Fill muffin cups to the top, & sprinkle w/ crumb topping mixture.

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
Mix w/ a fork, & sprinkle over muffins before baking

6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until done.