Recipe: Easy Chicken Fricassee

CHICKEN FRICASSEE – (aka Smothered Chicken) 

1 large chicken, cut up
Salt and Pepper to taste
all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
1 cup cooking oil
1 Tablespoon chopped green onion
2 large onions, chopped
1 ½ quarts water
Cooked Rice 

Dredge chicken in flour and brown in hot oil.  Remove chicken and brown onions in oil.  

Return chicken to pot and add water and seasonings.  Cover and cook until chicken is tender, stirring to be sure it does not stick.  The gravy should be thick.  Ten minutes before serving, add parsley and green onions.  Serve over hot cooked rice.  Serves 4 to 6.

Y’all Enjoy! 

Luke’s Leminade Stand

This darling young entrepanure is Luke.   Luke is my nephew (Rusty and Julie’s Son).   Luke is their youngest of three boys.   Luke is the quiet, funny type and not in an ‘on-purpose’ way.   He just does these things that make me crack up.

Case in point. Yesterday, my SIL – Julie - posted a little pictorial about Luke’s Leminade (that’s how he spelled it) Stand. Rusty, Julie, and the fam live in Reno, Nevada and Facebook allows us to share stories and photographs of what goes on our everyday lives. And, that’s a good thing. Otherwise – I’d miss out on little gems like this one. So here we go:

Our little salesman, Luke

One day, Luke decided he would sell 'Leminade' and opened a stand at the end of the driveway. "Leminade - .56 cents per glass"

He was ready for the crowd. Poised. Ready to serve.

'Hey Luke! What'cha doing?", his mother asked. "I'm working", he replied.

 Time passed and his mother peeked out the window to see if her little man was still ‘workin’ it’.  And, he was ‘workin’ it’.  The lemonade – that is. 

A word to the wise. Don't buy the lemonade.

 Ahhh, Lukie!  I love ya boy.  Thanks for the giggles. 

     Your Aunt Starwoodgal

Recipe: Potatoes and Ham Casserole

With the holidays quickly approaching, I’m gathering my arsenal of recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I’m also gathering recipes for the left over ham and turkey.  Seems I’m always left a lot of one or the other depending on how many relatives show up or if they really wanted ham or really wanted turkey that day. 

A co-worker gave me this recipe yesterday.  She made it over the weekend and said it was really yummy.   It sounds really good and very inexpensive to make.  Especially if you already have some left over ham in the refrigerator.  Plus ham and potatoes go together like peas and carrots, peanut butter and jelly, Desi and Lucy, Bill and Hillary – no wait – forget that last one.

Potatoes and Ham Casserole

32 oz shredded hashbrowns, thawed or 2 lbs baking potatoes (chopped quite small)
2 or 3 very thick slices of ham cut into bit-sized cubes
1/2 bag to 1 whole bag frozen peas (depends on how much you like peas)
3/4 cup butter, melted, divided
1 to 2 tsp salt (and some pepper too)
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup 
1/2  small onion, grated or chopped
12 oz cheddar cheese, grated 
2 cups corn flakes, crushed (alternative – crushed club or Ritz crackers)
8 oz sour cream

Mix all ingredients, EXCEPT corn flakes and 1/3 cup of the butter, in a very large bowl. Combine well, turn into a 9×13 inch pan.   Sprinkle corn flakes over mixture, drizzle with remaining butter. Cook 1 to 2 hours at 350 degrees.

MMMMmmmmmmmm, MMMmmmm,  sounds good!