THE DAY IN THE LIFE + A RECIPE

 8:30 A.M. Today is the Kansas City's Super Bowl Parade for the Chiefs! What an exciting day! It has been a crazy year when we thought the Chiefs were "for sure going to the Super Bowl" to "we will never go playing like this" to " we are going and we are going to win". .

Today is also one of those days when I will be meeting myself coming and going. I honestly would have enjoyed going to the parade. The last time it was cold, but today it will be around 40, but I'm not going. It just won't fit in my busy schedule anyway. I will probably end up stopping and starting several times today but I do want to get this post out today.

I had planned to write this post last night but ended up talking to my sil Sondra who lives in Texas about her family trees on Ancestry. I've been working with my family trees longer than she has and so my understanding is a little greater than hers. By the time we ended, it was past my bedtime. She thanked me for helping her and mentioned the time. I told her I had meant to write a post for my blog, but me said I could just write it today. She doesn't have a blog so doesn't understand my dedication to it and my readers.

In between my happenings today I do plan to share the recipe I was going to write up last night with you...a slow cooker pork tenderloin. Our younger son Patrick would stop reading right now if he were reading this. He is a "grill man" or whatever you would call it. He won't listen when we try to tell him how good pork chops are cooked in the air fryer. He does cook/smoke awesome BBQ and other meats, but just not open to cooking meats any other way. 

It helps to reorganize your chest freezer ever so often if you have one. That's how we found the 2 lb pork tenderloin I cooked in the slow cooker. We knew we had one, but it was in the bottom of the freezer and you know what they say ... "out of sight, out of mind". Wayne took it out and we put it in the refrigerator to thaw. Then I went about looking for a new way to cook it so I would have a new recipe to share.

Looking at the clock, I realize I need to stop, eat some cereal, and then get ready to go get my nails done. I think I will chose a red dipping powder in honor of the Chiefs. I will be back after Gina gets finished. I will have about an hour before I eat some lunch and get ready to go play canasta with my friends. I should be able to watch some of the pre-parade activities while Gina does her thing on my nails. Until later... 9:15 A.M.

11:57 A. M. I'm back from getting my nails done. Love the color! (My hands remind me of my mother's slender hands when I look at this picture.)

Had an apple and got dressed to go to canasta, folded clothes and put a load of clothes in the dryer that I had washed before going to get my nails done all in about 45 minutes. The parade is starting so I'm trying to watch some of that even though I am recording it. Coverage doesn't end until 3:00 so I will have to watch the last of it tonight after I get home from church. I have to grab a little something else to eat for a light lunch before I leave to pick up Friend Fran. I realize I can't watch the tv constantly and type at the same time. I do fairly well but I do need to look down occasionally to think a bit about what I want to say. So I'm going to sign off until I get home from canasta later this afternoon. I will see then how much I can get written. 12:04 P.M.

8:50 P.M. Well, I got home from canasta about 4:15 P.M. but didn't have time to get back to this before having to leave for handbell practice because I needed to get to eat something for dinner. I went to a class at church straight from handbells and have finally gotten home. I'm tired but I'm determined to get this post finished and schedule it to be posted in the morning at 6 A.M. CST.

I did get to see the first of the parade before I left for canasta and then when Fran and I got to Friend Vicky's, she and Friend Ellen were watching the parade. We continued to watch it for probably 30 minutes but decided to go play cards since everyone was recording the event. I think I saw the most important part so will probably not watch it from the recording. Wayne has already changed his profile picture on Facebook to a baseball theme.

So I guess I will get back to the recipe for the slow cooker pork tenderloin. I made this two or three weeks ago and we enjoyed it for most of the week. The meat was so tender and warmed up nicely in the microwave. I enjoyed pork sliders for at least three days. You would never have known the tenderloin had been in the freezer for almost two years. 

I allowed it to thaw in the refrigerator and it fit in my larger slow cooker perfectly. It weighed two pounds which is what all of the recipes I found online gave instructions for. There were many different recipes to choose from. I noticed they all generally agreed to cook the 2 lb roast for 2 to 3 hours or 145 degrees F. I just tried to find a recipe that I might have looked at but wasn't able to find anything as simple as mine and since I don't remember if I found anything exactly the way I ended up cooking mine, I will not worry about it since I do remember how I cooked mine and go from there. 

I cooked mine longer than I could have because it registered higher than 145 degrees when I checked it at almost three hours. I would suggest checking the temperature at two hours and not feel like you need to cook it for the full three hours.

SLOW COOKER TENDER PORK TENDERLOIN

1     pork tenderloin - 2 lbs.

12   oz of root beer (I used one with zero sugar)

BBQ sauce

Spray the inside of a slow cooker large enough to hold the tenderloin.

Place the tenderloin in the cooker fat side down.

Pour 12 oz of a root beer over the top of the roast.

Cover the cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or until the temperature of the center registers 145 degrees F.

Since it cooked faster than I thought it would, I turned the temperature down to KEEP WARM for 30 to 40 minutes.

Then I removed the tenderloin and placed it in a sprayed casserole dish that was big enough to hold the roast. (I discarded the liquid in the cooker.)

I covered it with my favorite BBQ sauce, covered the dish, and

placed it in a preheated 350 degree F oven long enough to heat the sauce (15 to 20 minutes).

I removed it from the oven and cut it in thick slices to serve.

It was so delicious.

I added additional BBQ sauce when I heated up some slices in the microwave to eat as sliders.

It is now 9:45 P.M. and I'm tired enough to go to bed but I want to play a quick sudoku game on my phone first. That will help relax me. It has been a busy day.

GRANDMA'S CHICKEN CASSEROLE

 I've always been into easy and quick recipes. Maybe that is because I was teaching school and that is a job that doesn't stop when you walk out of the classroom. Also as a mother of two athletic boys who were always playing a sport, I didn't have time for elaborate dishes that took a lot of ingredients and time to make.

Now that I am retired I have the time, most of the time, but I still like quick and easy. I'm fortunate that Wayne will eat the same meal until we eat it all - as long as he likes it. That is especially helpful on the days that I have a full agenda.

This recipe called Grandma's Chicken Casserole is not one of my grandma's - just the name of it from Betty Crocker. It fits all of my requirements for quick and easy plus I could make less by cutting the recipe in half. It still lasted us several days, but that was okay because I really enjoyed it. If you have a larger family or having friends over, just double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13 - inch glass baking dish.

The can of soup is the only fixed ingredient. The rest of the ingredients can be adjusted to fit your baking dish.

PRINT the recipe.

GRANDMA'S CHICKEN CASSEROLE

1-1/2   cups chopped cooked chicken

1         can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1         cup shredded cheese ( 4 oz)

1-1/2   cup crispy bread crumbs

3         tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place prepared chicken evenly in bottom of ungreased glass baking dish. My dish is about 7 x 11 - inches. (I had cooked two chicken breasts and used enough chicken to cover the bottom.)

Spoon and spread the soup evenly over the chicken.

Sprinkle with cheese. 

Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the cheese.

Drizzle the melted butter over top.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread crumbs are golden brown and thoroughly heated.

Serve warm.

EASY PASTA/BEEF CASSEROLE

 It all started one day when I thought I would make us spaghetti. I had gotten a package of ground beef out of the freezer not sure what I would make but knowing I would come up with something by the time I would be ready to cook it. I thought I would come up with something fabulous but I didn't. 

I came up with something fantastic. And with normal ingredients that I had in the pantry. In fact if you don't count the two extra seasonings I added, I only used three ingredients. I'm almost embarrassed to write it up. BUT it's just a good example of throwing a few ingredients together and coming up with a delicious meal. A meal that lasted us probably 3 or 4 meals.

EASY PASTA/BEEF CASSEROLE

1               lb. ground beef

1-1/2 to 2  cups uncooked pasta (I used a chickpea rotini)

1                24 - ounce bottle of pasta sauce (I used a fresh tomato & basil & onion no-sugar-added pasta sauce)

1                teaspoon basil

1/2             teaspoon minced garlic        

2                cups your favorite shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a casserole dish with a non-sticking cooking spray. (I used a 9-1/2 - inch square casserole dish.)

Cook pasta according to package direction.

Cook ground beef until done. Drain if necessary. Add the pasta sauce to the cooked ground beef.

(I added about a teaspoon basil and some minced garlic.)

I added the pasta to the skillet but

my skillet wasn't really big enough so

I transferred the ingredients to the casserole dish. If you can combine the three ingredients in your skillet, do and then till the casserole dish with about half of the mixture and then add 1 cup of the cheese and stir to combine. Then add the rest of the pasta mixture to the casserole and top with the rest of the cheese. 

Since I couldn't do this I poured everything into the casserole dish and

then added half of the cheese and stirred it well.

Then I sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top.

I heated the casserole in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes.

Serve warm

For leftovers...

Spoon serving into microwavable dish, sprinkle with a little water, and cover. Heat on pasta setting for about 1-1/2 minutes. Then uncover and sprinkle some more shredded cheese on top, cover and return to microwave for about 30 more seconds or until cheese is melted. Taste just like it just came fresh out of the oven.

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

 I'm attempting to try recipes that I recently added to my binder in addition to ones I find in cookbooks I buy at estate sales. I also haven't made a casserole in a few weeks so when I got to thinking what I could cook for us to eat this week, I thought this recipe for Turkey Tetrazzini would be good except I would make Chicken Tetrazzini instead since I didn't have any turkey. Sounds like a good plan, wouldn't you say?

Since there is just the two of us and the recipe makes enough to serve at least six, I took some to Friend Fran to enjoy. She was getting bored with her meals and asked for some recommendations. I sent her some but then decided if I took her some of the casserole we wouldn't have to eat it for so many meals this week. She said it just hit the spot.

PRINT recipe

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

1/2     pound (8 ounces) uncooked spaghetti

1/4     cup finely chopped onion

1        garlic clove, minced

1        tablespoon butter

3        tablespoons cornstarch 

1        can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth (I made my own using two chicken bouillon cubes with 14 ounces hot water)

1        can (12 ounces) fat-free evaporated milk

3        cups cubed cooked chicken breast

1        can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1/2     teaspoon seasoned salt

Dash pepper

2        tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4     teaspoon paprika

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 - inch deep casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in the butter until tender.

Combine the cornstarch and broth until smooth.

Stir into the onion mixture.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or

until thickened. Reduce heat to low.

Add the milk;

cook and stir for 2 - 3 minutes.

Stir in the spaghetti, chicken, mushrooms, seasoned salt and pepper.

 

Transfer to the baking dish and

cover with lid.

Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover;

sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika.

Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

Serve warm