Happy Wednesday

WOW!!! I’ve been so busy last week and then this week is slipping away. I did fix the Broccoli –n- Chicken Casserole for Tuesday night and we ate two meals from that dish. I promised to share this recipe with you and here is the recipe. Have fun with this and share with friends!!!

Broccoli –n- Chicken Casserole

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 16 oz. Sour Cream

3-4 cups of cooked Chicken (cubed or shredded)

2 cups Broccoli

1 sleeve of Ritz Crackers (crushed)

½ cup of butter (melted)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together and add chicken and broccoli. Add crackers and butter together to make the topping.  Put contents in a 9 x 13 dish then put your topping on top – put in a 350* oven. Let it bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.

Now how easy is that dish?? Just put a salad with that and serve to your family and you will become a huge hit!! I always say recipes are just guidelines. So you can add any vegetable you would like or leave them out. This is a great dish to take to a friend after surgery, baby or moving day. My sister and I for years have had a little birthday tradition. Each year we fix each other dinner and deliver to each other’s home. It’s easy and it doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Here are some pics from the beach trip we just took!!!! The girls and family had a great time!!!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend and Monday!!! I painted my purple kitchen to orange!!! I have to say tonight we are cheating because we worked so hard today. My husband (Ian) volunteered to run get wings and beer for dinner and Grandma has the girls for a little kid’s time!! I’m trying to make sweet rolls for the girls for breakfast tomorrow, but I’m using my mother’s starter for bread so I’ll have to inform your guys how they turned out. Tune in Tuesday’s supper is my famous Chicken and Broccoli Casserole!!!

It’s Sunday and I’m already thinking about the week ahead of me. It should be light, but sometimes things come in without notice. That’s why my dinner schedule I keep flexible. I always start the week with what is still in the freezer or what’s on sale. I have salmon in the freezer and chicken so we’ll be eating those this week and all I have to shop for is side items!!

Tonight we are going over to friends for dinner, but still need to cook for lunch. Today is spaghetti – dad and kids love it and it’s easy. Plus yesterday when shopping at Wal-Mart I picked up a day old loaf of French bread (need to use).  That is a great tip for French bread pizzas you don’t need fresh bread and you save up to $1.50 a loaf. I always start with good store bought sauce and spice it up with my own seasoning. I add garlic (1-2 bulbs), 1-3 Tbsp. of Italian seasoning, and a little nutmeg (1/8 tsp.) to the sauce! So I’ll slice the bread and toast it while waiting for the water to boil for spaghetti. You want to set your oven at 350* and toast each side for 8-10 minutes. While both of those items are working brown your beef or turkey. Your spaghetti water should be boiling by now so throw in the amount of spaghetti you need to feed your family. After draining add your spices and turn a couple of times in the pan. Then add your sauce to heat. After the bread comes out sometimes I will rub a bulb of garlic over the bread and then spread it with butter.  In 20 minutes you have a great dinner.

I’ll be sharing more of my tips and recipes as we go along this sometimes mundane and sometimes exciting journey we call “what’s for supper”?

Look what Reed did this summer.  After helping in the cafe over the winter she wanted to tackle something a little more difficult for her birthday this year. She actually baked the caterpillar and the leaf and all I did was ice the leaf. But she did everything else.  She chose vanilla cake with lemon butter cream icing. It was AMAZING!

Normally I would not be able to take the time to do this craft with Reed.  So when my lease came up this summer I made the difficult decision and chose my kids over my business.  For the first time in three years I was able to enjoy the summer with my children. We went swimming and we were able to go to Washington, DC for 4th of July weekend.  During this time I received numerous phone calls and emails from my loyal customers.  This was very encouraging during this difficult transition and I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your love and support.

After all the fun and relaxation I found that my passion for creating good food hasn’t left. It’s because of this that I have decided to still offer Chicken Salad ($11.95 a pound) Cake Balls and Peanut Butter Balls by the dozen ($15.00). So if you would like to put in an order please email me at dana@purplekitchen.com. Please give a 48 hours notice and put order in the subject line.

I know that in the past I have not kept up with my blog but now with some extra time on my hands I will be able to update for frequently so please check back often for decorating tips, quick and simple recipes for your family and future products and services that I might be offering.

Reed serving her caterpillar cake.