Friday Friend Recipe #342 and 343-my mom's chicken casserole and Mexican Lasagna

 

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook? I once had about 50 of my closest friends and family (from all over the county) on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends. At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 21 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday. (plus so much more....)

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who thinks he knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself? Said, "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him!  Maybe I will.

Which brings me to recipes 342 and 343

My mom's

Chicken Casserole

and

Mexican Lasagna 

My mom had a well 'cheesed' rotation of recipes.

You know--that rotation of mainstay recipes you have routinely?  Well, I do believe that my mom's all contained cheese. 

One can't really go wrong with cheese tho.

These recipes are both really good. 

As I'm drawing nearer to the end of this cookbook, I am finding it hard to come up with more stories, so today instead of featuring my mom--I thought I'd make fun of my dad.

My dad:

He was a marine.

He was a policeman.

He was in charge of security for Hanford patrol (nuclear stuff--part of the Manhattan project in the 40's, etc.   Of course, he wasn't there in the 40's but rather the late 80's)

He had his own Private Detective agency as his last career move.

He ran the Bloomsday 12k one year.

He traveled the world, was a huge football fan, swimmer, Shriner, church goer, loved his family.

But one time---the one time in his life he is clueless of what he is doing--we had to document it for prosperity. 

Why would we do this? What could we possibly do with this documentation?

Well---here it is!  For the world to see.

It was in the summer of 2007, Phoenix, Arizona and we were getting things set up for my son's wedding reception. We were all busy with odd jobs--we, as in the whole family--many hands make light work and all that. But it left my dad with not so much to do. 

So, he leaned against the wall--or thought he did-- to visit and oversee the job.

Unbeknownst to my dad, (but not to anyone else) he had leaned against a water fountain (or drinking fountain, or even bubbler if you're from Wisconsin) and turn it on.  His butt was hitting the press button each time he leaned back against it.

And because we are a kind and loving family, never to humiliate or make a joke out of someone's misfortune, we (his kids and grandkids) would all walk by and ask him a question in a low voice, so he'd have to lean forward to answer.  Then he'd lean back, and the water would come back on.

My mom was taking pictures the whole time and the rest of us would ask him a question and then laugh and laugh.

He had no idea what was going on.

I'm not sure he ever knew.

But now--you do!

Below is a picture of me and my dad in better times.

As in, me not teasing him.

But you know---if you do the crime, you pay the fine. Or do the time. (??)

It's fitting I think, as his whole career was based on a life of crime. 

Just in the good way 😄

So, friends, My friends!  These are recipes 342 and 343

out of 361 (I'm 99% sure I have all the math down pat now) (it would have helped if I had gone in a linier progression instead of jumping all over the place)

2023 will be the year!!

Will it really tho?

(I'm slow going) (soooo  slow)

Friday friend recipe number 292 and 293--My Mom's Holiday Wreath and Salmon Pate Ball

 

My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #292 and #293

My mom's Holiday Wreath and Salmon Pate`

and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....

...and the rest is cookbook history!

Just remember, the countdown is not all about pretty food and food design---it's about the people and the stories.

And (the most important thing) proving my husband wrong--and that I can and WILL make every recipe in this cookbook

Let me just say, before we go any further, this does not look like a wreath!

I posted cooking photos on Facebook, a few weeks ago and so many people commented on this beautiful POT PIE. It really is just a fancy pot pie---and delicious I should say.  It's a great filling! Use it--and if you feel so inclined make this "crust" and send me a photo of how a 'wreath' should look.

Here are my mother's directions (take note that she is laughing at me in heaven because I can't follow directions and have no patience to work at it a little bit--I  got frustrated and threw it all on top and tried to do a 'knot'.)

Here we see it looking like a starfish, or a star-sun.

And here I am just frustrated and instead of trying my best to make a wreath, I just twisted the top knot!

(this is why I am not a crafter---I have zero patience for being creative)

But it looked pretty--that is, until you learned that it wasn't supposed to look like this AT ALL--and it tasted great.

And then I made my mom's Salmon Pate Cheeseball.

If you like salmon, smoked flavor and cream cheese--

then you can't go wrong with this cheeseball.

And this my friends is my mother's 48 appearance in the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown!

You may see all of her recipes here--just click.

I've talked about my mom and dad's love story a million times,

lived in the same small town

grew up on the same block

played hide and seek with neighborhood kids when they were 10

he tried to kiss her in the chicken coop....

Wait, wait--WHAT?

How do I know for sure?

Don't take my word for it (although I've heard it my whole life)

take theirs....

February 20, 1999 (my mother answers family questions so I can have them in print.  Because I'm a nerd like that.)

My first Boy-Girl kiss was with your father.  We were young--in grade school--and played outside with the neighbor kids all of the time. There was no TV. We were playing hide and seek, and your dad always helped me hide so the other kids wouldn't find me. Well, anyway, he hid me in a chicken coop next door, and he hid with me.  It was pitch dark in there and he leaned over to kiss me and missed and kissed the wall!

Pretty romantic, right?

And my dad:

I'm sure your mother and I will have the same answer for this one and I know you've heard of it. 

We were playing hide and seek as neighborhood kids will do and she hid in the neighbor's woodshed/chicken coop.  She, of course, being the loose woman* she has always been, wanted me to find her.  I did!  And went for the big lebowski, missed and kissed the woodshed wall. They were very rough cedar boards and I think it took me a week at least to pick all the splinters out of my lips.

*My dad always thought he was funny.  My mother was not a loose woman.  They were 10.

Also, I read their letters (after they died) from college and the Marine Corp.  I know all their secrets!

And why am I taking pictures of her in jail?  Because....

...well, I'll let my mother explain:

My first date was with Larry McFetridge.  He was a year older than me, and I thought he was neat.  Now I don't know what I ever saw in him. Anyway, we went to a school dance.  Your dad asked me to dance, and we ditched Larry.

I still feel bad about that! 

I did date him a few more times though.

I was a freshman, and he was a sophomore and he drove and had a car!

Mom!!

 You should be in jail---to ditch a guy like that.

But I guess he didn't hate you forever, as you went out with him a few more times.  Plus, you knew him your whole life.  He got over you and you were friends. Or friendly at least--when you ran into each other.

He had a car--sheesh! 

You used him for his car--jailable offense!

You ditched him at a school dance--jailable offense!

It's a good thing that this isn't hereditary!

Or.... is it?

Hmmmm----to be continued.........

As a little epilogue --and excerpt from my family questions file, dated April 28, 2000, when I asked them about dinner time--

first, my mother:

We ate dinner at 6pm.  It was at the same time every night. Your father would leave me just before we ate and then every night he would call during the dinner.  It used to make my dad sooooooo mad!!! 

But that was love.

My dad, who apparently had time to make a phone call as his family ate later:

We ate dinner usually around 7pm, sometimes later if I had someplace to go.

And these my friends are

recipes #292 and #293

Only 74 left to go!

I can do it!

WOO HOO!  I am below 100 recipes now.  Yay!  Yahoo! Whoopie!

Altho.... do you remember when I counted wrong before?  I think I did it again.

I keep counting what I have left by recipe AND by person and it does not add up to 74- it's more like 64. 

Which would make me very happy, but for now.... I'll stick to the 74 until it gets closer to the end, and I'll recount what I have left.