Cheesy Chicken Florentine Casserole!

Another VERY EASY, but very tasty weekday dinner!!  My boys are going through finals in school right now, so it's a more focused time on their studies!  No time for major cooking! This afternoon, I threw boneless chicken breasts into a big pot of boiling water and poached them for 20 minutes, then took them out and shredded them. Put shredded chicken into a gallon ziplock, then into fridge to keep fresh and moist, til I mixed chicken up later with all other ingredients.  (You can do this early, or right before you make the whole dish.)  The boys were all in the mood for a warm, hearty comfort food for dinner, and they got it!  This ones a quick, tasty 'KEEPER'!  :)  Half recipe for a smaller family!  (we had leftovers, even though they loved it, but they love having leftovers in the fridge!)

Cheesy Chicken Florentine Casserole

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts- poached 20 minutes and shredded

2 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped small

20-24 oz. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayo

2 tsp yellow curry

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2- 3/4 cup cooking sherry

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Top with

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Very Yummy!!

After you poach chicken breasts in boiling water for 20 minutes, drain all water and shed chicken.  Saute onions in same pot with some olive oil.  When mostly cooked through, add thawed spinach to warm. 

While sauteing onions, shred poached chicken.

To sautéed onions and spinach add the mushroom soup, sour cream, mayo, wine and spices~ 

After you mix well, add in the shredded cheddar cheese, mix well again! :) 

Add in shredded chicken, and stir~

Place into a 13X9 glass baking dish sprayed with pam.  Top with slivered almonds and parmesan cheese!  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes!

Comfort, yummy goodness ready for the table!  Very wonderful served with a chilled salad!!  My boys came back for seconds, saying it was a, "Thumbs up!"  MUSIC to my mom ears!!  <3

Football HURDLE!! Had to put on my blog!!

My eldest's senior year, classic football pic!   He is so very blessed athletically, and in many other ways by the Lord, and I pray Cole does him PROUD in the future!!  I LOVE YOU, Mookie!!!  Cole Christian McKeel~ ROCK ON, in his name!!

Football FUN! 

FLYING HIGH!

SOoooo FUN to watch!! 

Different games~ but, touchdowns,  just the same!

Cole is done with High School Football, and I am so VERY sad!  I will miss the FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, with him having the HONOR to be the town's starting running back!   ALL the excitement before the games!!  How he wanted to do so very well for them all!  (especially the elementary kids who were so behind him!!  He adored them!)  HAD SO MUCH FUN watching him and getting to know so many of his friends and players, through all the football dinners~ was SO great getting to know them all!  Great group of young men, that I will remember, forever!!
  

LOVE YOU, MOOK!!  (I KNOW your hair is sticking out some, but I still love this pic! Ha!  MOM rules!!  SOoooo very proud of you!!) 

Perfect Rib Eye Roast!

Our new Tom Thumb grocery store had a major sale on great cuts of beef, so I snatched up a rib eye roast, along with a lot of other cuts!  We LOVE rib eye roasts!  So juicy, and flavorful!  I usually take pictures of my after product, but it looked so yummy, I actually forgot to take a picture.  We just wanted to EAT IT!!  I found a pic, on the internet that looked just like mine, but it's not!  Mine was cooked perfectly, too, just like the pic!

 Perfect Rib Eye Roast!

Picture of a yummy roast, that looked just like mine!!  Perfectly cooked! Ree Drummond pic!  She's great!

5 lb rib eye roast- bone in
olive oil- to coat
garlic powder- to coat
salt- to coat
pepper- to coat
powdered beef bouillon- to coat
sugar- lightly coat with
Thyme- all over
Chopped Rosemary- all over

Season roast well, on all sides, including bottom of roast.  Place on a  roasting pan, fat side up, bones down.  Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes, to maybe 1 hour 35 minutes,  for med-rare.  Temperature of roast should be 135!  Take out of oven, and loosely tent with foil for 10 minutes. (cooks more under tent, so 135 works well for medium rare!)   LOVE the flavor of the seasonings on this roast!  Hope you do too!  ENJOY!!

Rosemary, Garlic Roasted Potatoes with White Cheddar Cheese!

My boys love roasted potatoes, so I made my Rosemary-Garlic ones tonight and decided to add a delicious twist!  After they were out of the oven, I immediately shredded up some white cheddar cheese and added that right on top of the hot potatoes letting it melt into gooey yumminess!  They were the first things eaten off their plates!  I will make these again, and again!

Rosemary, Garlic Roasted Potatoes with White Cheddar Cheese!

YUMMY!

2 lbs yellow Klondike potatoes- cut into 4ths, or more for bigger ones

1/8- 1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 sprigs of rosemary- 1 1/2 of sprigs leaves removed from stem and chopped~ 1/2 of sprig kept whole (not chopped), but pulled off stem

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup, or more, shredded white cheddar

Place all, but cheese,  into big bowl and stir well to coat!

Place onto nice size cookie sheet, and spread out so they are not touching very much.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 50 minutes, stirring with spatula halfway through cooking.
  

When cooked to your desired 'crunchiness', take out and put onto platter.  Top with the shredded white cheddar and the 1/2 sprig of whole rosemary leaves for color and more fresh rosemary taste!  You're going to like these, my friends!! :)

Obama win is America's LOSS!!

God,  help us!!  Obama is NOT for true Freedom, yet alone American freedoms!  He is quite the opposite!  America is the land of the FREE, NOT the land of the socialists!!  We are go getters, doers!~ "For the Land of the FREE, and the Home of the Brave!!"   NOT, "For the Land of the socialized, and the home of the Somewhat Brave!"   I am in TEARS!!!!

Pork Carnitas!!

We wanted to get away from the traditional family meals today, and try something FUN!  I had a pork shoulder in the fridge, so decided to crock pot up some carnitas!  My boys LOVE Mexican food, so it was a no brainer!  The house smells wonderful, and they tasted so great!!  Love how EASY this was to make!  The pork gets so juicy and full of flavor!  Top with your favorite taco toppings, and your set! :)

Pork Carnitas!

4 lb. pork shoulder- covered with pepper, seasoning salt, and onion powder

2 Tbsp olive oil- for searing

4 oz can chopped green chilies

1 medium onion- minced

5 bay leaves

1 cup salsa- hot (spicy)

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano, or 1 tsp dried

3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2-3 tsp brown sugar

Flour tortillas- warmed and soft or fried crispy

toppings of your choice!

LOOKS GOOD, doesn't it?!!  We topped ours with refried black beans, sharp cheddar, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, fresh guacamole, sour cream, chopped cilantro, and crumbled queso fresco!  YUM!!

After you season the pork shoulder, sear it for a couple minutes on each side in a bit of olive oil!

To chicken broth add all other seasoning, and mix well~

Put pork shoulder, chilies, salsa, onions, bay leaves and some cilantro into crock pot, then pour the chicken stock with all the seasonings over it~ cover and put crock pot on high, and let it cook for 4 hours~

After 4 hours, take out meat, shred it, then put it back into liquid and stir.  (discard any bone, or fat) Add some salt, if needed~ You won't believe how moist, tender and juicy this is!!  All ya need now are some warm tortillas, and your good!!  ENJOY! :) 

Garlic Roasted Green Bean, Mushrooms, and Zucchini!!

 These roasted vegetables are so scrumptious as a side dish for any meal!  My boys devour them!  In the fall, I love to roast up all kinds of veggies~ so easy and rewarding!  You can't go wrong!


                                Garlic Roasted Green bean, mushrooms, and Zucchini!

 About 3 pounds of green beans, washed and trimmed 

1 large Zucchini- sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

16 oz whole baby bella mushrooms- cut in half

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp minced garlic

Fresh cracked salt and pepper

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Toss all together in large bowl, then put onto cookie sheet and spread them all out~

Roast in a 350 degree oven, til the desired doneness.  I like the veggies more 'carmalized' so cook them longer~ about 40-45 minutes.  If you like your veggies with more bite, then reduce cooking time! :)

These Roasted veggies went quite nicely with our steaks!  Would go nicely with any choice of meat!!  Enjoy! :)