A Girl Named Timi

Finally!

Week # 5 of Jesus Loves Casseroles

The first recipe I'm posting today is from my cousin Connie.

I know! She's pretty and takes nice pictures.

Couldn't possibly be related to me right?

Well.........She is!

Side Note**** She's single! Looking for a nice man that likes to travel, will let her shop no questions asked, and worships the ground she walks on.

All applications for her new boyfriends can be sent to

agirlnamedtimi@hotmail.com

Where I will screen them, and those that pass my rigorous screening process will be forwarded to her for review.

Gifts, humor, and flattery will get you far with me.

I know!

I wouldn't make a good spy or prisoner of war.
If I got caught, a Diet Coke, cookie, or something pretty would make me sing like a bird!

OK, sorry sorry

Back to the regular scheduled posting.

A little bit about Connie that you all need to know (even if you don't want to date her)

In 2004 Connie along with another Marine mom founded the Marine Corps Family Foundation with a mission to support deployed Marines and soldiers and their families. It started off small with the first project being Back Packs for Iraq. More than 6,000 lbs of back packs and school supplies where sent to the children of Iraq. Connie and her Marine Corp moms we desperate to do something to protect and support our Marine sons...and as the Marine slogan goes, "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy", they decided to befriend the children of Iraq, the next generation. Next came Operation Santa, the foundation's biggest national project with more than 75,000 filled handmade holiday stockings shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan thus far. Today there are Operation Santa Coordinators across the nation making the Christmas season a bit brighter for our Marines and soldiers. The foundation is always looking for more people to step up and coordinate a packing party in their community or neighborhood.

So contact them if your interested in seeing what you can do to help!

Connie's son is now home and living in sunny Arizona with his wife and sons, and a baby daughter on the way. He now supports his mom's efforts to support his brothers in arms. It's a "family" thing now.

SEMPER-FI!!!

Go visit The Marine Corps Family Foundation to see what you can do.

The Holidays are just around the corner and it's time to start thinking of our Soldiers, kids, and loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Connie's Zucchini Casserole

4 small zucchini, cut ¼” slices and saute in 4 Tbls. Butter/margarine with 1/3 cup chopped onion. Mix 1 cup sour cream, 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 ½ cup shredded carrots. Mix 1 box Stove Top Stuffing with ½ cup water, full amount of margarine (see box). Mix ½ stuffing mixture with zucchini mixture in greased casserole dish. Cover with remaining stuffing mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

I had lunch with my good friend Charlene of Freshly Doug Vegetables the other day and she brought me all these beauties

I needed to use some of them up, so I decided I would make Connie's Zucchini Casserole

So I started off with the some of those Walla Walla Sweet onions in a pan with some butter.

Then I got a little side tracked from Connie's recipe. I decided that it might need a little more butter.

Yeah me, Paula Deen, and Julia Childs are all on the same page about the butter thing.

Kind of off the subject but worth mentioning............

WSU Laura and I saw the movie Julie and Julia the other night and I loved it! If you a haven't seen it yet - do it. You won't regret it. It's going to make you want to come home and start cooking all Julia Childs recipes.

Ok, back to my trying to make Connie's recipe.....

So I sauteed

While sauteing the butter, onions, and zucchini, I decided to throw in some of that yellow squash too.

Then I threw it all together with the sour cream, Cream of Chicken Soup, and the stuffing mix. I didn't have just a plain or chicken flavored stuffing mix. I used Stove Top Stuffing Mix Turkey Flavored. Then I was thinking........uuuuuhmmmmm I wonder if this would be good with some Asiago Cheese in it?

What the hell!

I threw some of that in too.

I also put in some fresh ground pepper to taste.

Put it in a baking dish and sprinkled the rest of my cheese on top. Now I didn't save part of the stuffing mix for the top because I forgot. My stuffing mix got all mixed in. I also forgot to put the carrots in.

Here it is

It was FANTASTIC!!!

I suggest you try this.

This would also be good with some rice, chicken, or ground turkey in it if you wanted to make it a whole meal casserole.

I WILL be making this again.
The Hubs gave it his two thumbs up!!

Next up..........

Remember Kal and Angie from The Farm Chicks Show?

Kal over at Keeping it Bella sent me the next recipe.

We had a heat wave that passed through the Pacific Northwest a couple weeks ago and we were all dying. Now it's a little cooler, the school supplies are out at Target, the leaves are starting to turn and pretty soon it's going to be time for hot steamy soups and stews.

I can't wait to try this creation from Kal.

E-mail from Kal;

This is something I came up with; unfortunately I’m not one to measure much when I cook. So here goes, with the best I can do with measurements. Oh and I also cook BIG.

Lotsa leftovers

Chicken and Biscuits

4 Chicken breasts
6-8 small Yukon Gold potatoes
2 Carrots
1 bag of frozen pearl onions
2 Stocks of Celery
1/2 Bag Frozen Corn
1/2 bag petite peas
4 can of Cream of Chicken soup w/ 1 c. water added.

1 box of Bisquick Biscuit Mix
Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
Maybe some garlic; if you feel garlicky.

Roast or boil the chicken, let cool. Shred chicken. Cut up all veggies (except onions) into bite size pieces. Par boil potatoes and carrots until about ½ done. Mix the meat & all the veggies into a large bowl. Mix in soup mix. Add salt & pepper mix really well. Pour into a large casserole dish. Mix biscuits according to directions for the desired amount of biscuits for the top of your casserole. Cut biscuits desired size, place on top of meat & veggie mixture. Bake @ 350 preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

This freezes really well. Freeze in the casserole dish, or just throw the mixture into a gallon Zip Lock bag and throw into the freezer. Just don’t put the raw biscuits on until ready to bake.

This is kind of a toss & throw recipe. Meaning if you don’t like an ingredient..... Throw it out, if you like something else or more of......it throw some in!

Easy Peasy!

This next recipe came from another cousin at one of our family reunions. I can't remember who made it but it was darn good!

I know!

Another cousin recipe. I'm tellin ya we are a bunch of foodies.

MUSHROOM WILD RICE

4 cup Water
1 cup Wild Rice, uncooked
1 tsp Butter
1 ½ tsp Salt, divided
½ cup Brown Rice, uncooked
8 strips Bacon, diced
2 cups Fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 Onion, large, chopped
1 Green Pepper, medium, chopped
1 Sweet Red Pepper, medium, chopped
1 Celery Rib, thinly sliced
1 can (14 ½ oz.) Beef Broth
2 Tbls Cornstarch
¼ cup Water
½ cup Slivered Almonds

In a large saucepan bring water, wild rice, butter and ½ teaspoon salt to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer 40 minutes.
Stir in brown rice. Cover and cook 25 – 30 minutes longer or until rice is tender.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon.
In 2 tablespoons bacon drippings sauté: mushrooms, onions, peppers & celery until tender.
Stir in broth & remaining salt.
Bring to a boil.
Combine cornstarch and cold water. Mix until smooth. Add to mushroom mixture.
Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
Stir in almonds and bacon.
Drain rice.
Add mushroom mixture.
Transfer to 13x9 baking dish.
Cover. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.
Uncover. Bake 5-10 minutes or until heated through.

12 Servings

This is a new recipe I found. It was so fantastic that I had to share it!

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

You can just ignore the word “raspberry” up there and swap it up with any berry you please, like blackberries or blueberries, marionberries, boysenberries, or all of the above.

I HIGHLY suggest doubling this and putting it in a large oblong cake pan. Making a little pan of it won't do and seriously.......what are you going to do with half a stick of butter???

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 cup fresh raspberries or as many as you like.

You can mix berries also. I used boysenberries with raspberries. It was fabulous.

My friend Trudy used all blueberries and loved it.

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and Add egg and beat well.
At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.
(Baking time might need to be shortened.Seems like it baked crazy quick.)

Send me some recipes!

With all the fresh produce available right now, I bet some of you have some fantastic recipes.

SEND THEM NOW!!!!