I found this awesome tree the day before yesterday and it was almost dark, so went back yesterday and it was even bigger than I thought! Its hard to tell in this photo, guess I need to measure it and see how big it really is! I wonder how old it is? It appears to be dead, so don't know how much longer it will be there....
I'm still eating from the meals I put in the freezer. They are good and I haven't eaten out once since I started this and neither has my husband! He used to go almost every morning for breakfast and coffee and I guess that was the main thing that made me want to do this. I know its not healthy to eat those greasy biscuits every morning. I normally get up with him, but didn't feel like it this morning, but it was easy for him. I had the coffee ready and I just put some french toast from the freezer into the oven wrapped in aluminum foil and got back in bed. Easy enough for me!
The recipe I'm sharing today is one I got from my mother-in-law, but I know a lot of people make it. I made some minor changes and added some broccoli. Frozen peas would be good too, but I think next time I will add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and make it into a "pot pie" casserole!
Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
4-6 chicken breasts
11 oz. can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. Light sour cream
Butter flavored Pam
1/2 package frozen broccoli
Boil chicken until done. Drain chicken and reserve 1 c. broth, cool & tear into bite size pieces. Mix the broth & sour cream. Layer chicken on bottom of the casserole dish, cover with about 1/2 pkg. of frozen broccoli, then pour the broth mixutre over the top. Crush crackers, sprinkle on top and spray with butter flavored cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
Note: I made 2 of these for me & my husband and split them into 4 small casserole dishes. (I bought them at Wal-mart--they have lids on them, so you can cover with parchment paper then with aluminum foil before putting the lid back on.) Thaw in the refrigerator and cook as above after thawing. I have been getting them out the night before, but 2 days would be even better because they are still somewhat frozen after a day.
Plan to make several chicken dishes at once to save time---boil a bunch of chicken and use it for different recipes. I will be posting more of my favorites as I test them out in the freezer!
Another tip--right now I don't have enough of those small casserole dishes to store everything in them. So I line the pan with some pan lining paper (parchment on one side, aluminum foil on the other) with the parchment paper on the inside. After freezing, I wrap again with aluminum foil and store in freezer bags. When ready to thaw, I take it out of the bag and put it back in the casserole dish.
I love it when life brings someone past your door who understands the odd stuff we like. I love old trees. Those wonderful old lightening hit, graying, leaned over, heads touching the earth, passing on their secrets kind. I went on vacation with three friends years ago and when I asked if we could stop beside the road so I could take a picture they laughed at my subject. A HUGE tree like described above. I would have gone and sat on its lofty old bench of a body if there had not been a bull in the field. They stand so alone it seems. I cannot help but wonder who they gave shelter to, who sat beneath their shade, lovers? A tired traveler? A resting laborer? Oh, what they must have seen in their life time. I wrote a short story on and old tree. I might dig it up and share it on my site. Thanks for caring enough to post what most would just walk past.
ReplyDeleteIs that the hobbit tree? It's great!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan...very beautifully said! I would have stopped to photograph that old tree too! My sisters laugh at some of the things I stop to take pictures of too sometimes. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, Vanessa...that is it! Did you see the Hobbit in the photo on my facebook page???
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