Almost 24 years ago, I was new to my neighborhood. I was looking for new friends. I wanted to make our family meals more exciting, so I began a club. Recipe club. The first members were Cae Hurst, Chris Barkdull, Barbara Palmer, Lesley Leger (my new bff) and me. We met each month, rotating the host home. We shared our recipes and enjoyed a luncheon together made from those recipes. The tradition continued for many years. The faces around the table changed and I am grateful for my friendships with those people. Lesley will better remember how many years we continued. (Put it in the comments, Les) More of the friends that shared: Melinda Welch, Janet Webster, Jann Nelson Simpson, Darlene Baza. I even know of another group that started because of our group. Today's recipe is from that club. Melinda Welch brought Cheddar Chicken Casserole. My family loves it. Although, I have to make one end nutless for Hayden. (that crazy boy!) We are enjoying it tonight.
Here is the recipe with my adjustments:
1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts (I just cook the whole package, who notices how much it weighs? I have found that skin on- bone in is best)
Water to cover
3 green onions chopped
3 stalks celery including tops chopped
Simmer this until tender. Strain and reserve broth. Chunk up the chicken
3 c. cooked angel hair pasta (break in 3 inch pieces)
Grated cheddar cheese
Cashews
(Note that I didn't give amounts...use what suits your tastes)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Crushed Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Grease a 9X13 pan. Layer pasta,cheese, chicken, nuts. Combine soup with 2/3 c. broth. (I use more broth to make the sauce a little thinner and 'saucier'). Pour over the previous ingredients. Cover with crushed crackers. Bake uncovered 350* for 30 minutes.
To any of my friends from past years that may find this..please leave a comment and maybe a fun memory!
4 comments:
Every once in a while I don't have angel hair pasta. You can substitute it for any pasta really. I think it tastes good with bowtie. This is one of Kenny's favorite dishes....well it seems he likes most of your cooking.
I think it was November 1998 that we held our "last" recipe club. I was supposed to host it in December but it was a crazy month for me (Jeff left on his mission), we didn't do it in January either and that was that :-(
I have some fond memories of our recipe club days. Remember the year (pretty sure it was 1998) we were at Melinda's house and we had all just had horrible Mother's Days from @#%*, we all went around the table and told our "stories". During our recipe club years we shared a lot of laughter, some tears, treasured friendships, some great recipes, a lot of great memories. I was thinking about recipe club just a few days ago....we really need to have a reunion.
Found you...thanks to Lesley. I remember being invited to join this fun group, after it had been going for awhile. I didn't quite get it. Thanks for being patient with me and continuing to include me. Love the memories!
As if this recipe wasn't fattening enough, sometimes I add sour cream and milk to the chicken soup....and I always make it with bow tie noodles.
I remember recipe club day... the house would smell delicious, and we had to eat a PBJ while the ladies sat around laughing and talking, and we kids would always get shushed and shooed out of the room.
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