Thursday, December 22, 2022

Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown, Recipe #322, Violet's lasagna

 


My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #322


My wonderful friend of 50 years, Theda's crockpot lasagna

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






I have to tell you that I was hesitant to make this one---I always worry about the noodles not cooking.  But they did and it was fast 
(to put together), easy and good.  
I later made it for my son's family one afternoon while watching the grandkids.
They loved it too--or were just happy not to have to worry about dinner when they got home from work.

I made this lasagna earlier this fall while we were up at our cabin. (I always make a FF cookbook countdown when we are at our cabin in the fall) 
I decided to ask Theda who Violet was.  I mean, I know practically her whole family, but couldn't recollect Violet.
(please disregard the top of my screen shot--I was getting a notification and didn't notice it.  NOR did I edit before uploading here.  Oh well.. start with Who is Violet..)




Freddy Fender cookbook! hahahaha!
I really need to stop voice texting.
Truly tho, this is super easy and super good.





Theda.  My oldest friend. (I love to say that) if you want to know why I love to say that, go back and reread my "Theda" posts.
Because I'm tired of telling you every time I post one of her recipes.
Geez. I tell you every single time. 
Go read.  Go ahead. 
😉
This is her 17th post, but I think 20th recipe in the countdown. 
Sometimes I double up.

Anyway, Theda, my oldest friend (did you go back and read?), sometimes I run out of stories.
(and sometimes you might think the stories are too long, or too personal, but it's my book, my countdown and my memories.  So there!  Who really reads this anyway?)
I was going to talk about what a great cook she is--or the time we went to a culinary class together, or the time we skipped school and also called in to work that 'her uncle lost his false teeth' (story for another time) so we couldn't come to work either,  or the time she missed my parents 50th wedding anniversary party because she was stuck up on a mountain top when the tram broke down (up at the cabin/lake--where I made this lasagna) (she of course,  made friends with all the other strandees and traded addresses, for post cards, I'm sure)  She is the post card queen after all.
BUT I thought I would share her Christmas card with you instead.
Theda and her husband John, recently went on a gazillion day cruise from Seattle, down the west coast of the US and Mexico thru the Panama Canal and then spent time on some Caribbean Islands and time in Florida before jetting out with the hurricane on their heels.
(really, it was on their heels, flights cancelled trying to get out of Orlando, no cars to rent.. They finally made it tho--in  a round about way)



Her Christmas card is great!  Such good photos of she and John at every port.  
Remember above when I said she was the postcard queen?
It's true--- here are snippet samples of our texts while she was on her gazillion day vacation:
(all this makes my heart smile so much!)









me back to her--in blue

She had a spread sheet--no kidding.
She really is the Queen!  The Queen of postcards.
And I love it.
Love them.
Love her.

But besides postcards, besties can also keep in touch thru other ways.....
...would you believe bathrooms?

Her vacation seen thru the potty--





The next day















I'm going to add one more cute little bathroom photo of Theda.
It's Theda--at the cabin.
In the bathroom. 
We were in high school. 
 But see how this comes around?
Theda. recipe.  I cook it at the cabin. Theda, bathroom photos. Theda in bathroom photo at cabin.
I'm so good at this!
😜
(it was summer 1976--began her fascination of bathroom photos, I guess. LOL 
Yes, I deliberately placed a white paper in the bottom right of the photo--she might have had a towel on, she might not have.  We were 17--and 3 teenagers off for a vacation-- the first time ever--alone.  Of course, my grandparents were 12 miles away, in town, but we were at the lake!  FREEDOM!
  Hot curlers in our hair--putting on make-up, getting ready to go meet some boys!
and I had to get this developed at a one-hour photo place.
No digital back then! so of course, she had a towel wrapped around her, right?
Except our friend Sherry worked at Washington Photo One Hour photo service, so she did the developing. That's Sherry right up there---Sherry would never have developed anything other than
 G-rated.
Right?



Anyway, this is recipe #322









Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #321 Easy Crock Pot Chicken

 


 I am under 55 recipes* now--I must get this done!  At least to prove something to myself if not the Handyman...
 because...

...about 22 years ago, 50 of my closest friends and family, who had been on an
  e-mail forum with me, sent in recipes in different categories and we compiled a cookbook.
I decided to count those down!
Why?
because one night I was looking thru the cookbook and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman/Mayor, who thinks he knows me better than I know myself, said "you'll never EVER do that."
Well, maybe I will!  Maybe I'll show him!

Which brings us to Diana's  'Easy Crockpot Chicken'


**********************************
I just need to hurry up and 'get 'er done'
Then I'll show him!

And as always, it's not about the quality of the photos, it's about the family, friends and fun we have all had together!




This is a great chicken to throw in the crockpot and come home and have dinner all ready.
And you get a yummy sauce to put over rice or on mashed potatoes.  A mushroomy sauce.
I'm pretty sure I used skinless thighs, which take a strange photo, BUT they are moist and delicious. 





Diana--her one and only recipe in this cookbook countdown.
Hello--goodbye!
Diana moved away to Colorado about ten years ago.  Our communication has been sadly, not so great.
But when Diana lived here in Winnemucca, we had such a good time together. 
We traveled.  For work.  
Okay, we traveled in rural Nevada. For work.

One fun place was the Bunny Ranch in Parhump, Nevada.
So, yeah--prostitution is legal is some counties in the state of Nevada.
I'm not here to argue yay or nay in support thereof, BUT once when Diana and I went to a tourism conference (Rural Round-up) we got to tour the Bunny Ranch.
It's a brothel. 
It was nice.  And clean.  And had some really interesting rooms.

Our conversation went like this:
Me: Oh wow!
Diana: Holy Crap!
Me: This is nice!
Diana: What's that pole doing in the middle of the room? Where's the bed?

It went on from there.
I will leave the rest of the conversation to your imagination. 

I write Diana letters sometimes-- she is not a good snail mailer. (sigh) Maybe she'll read this and feel guilty. 😂
It's worth a try, right?

I don't have any photos of us together! That's a crime.
But here are photos I do have of Diana.
She and her husband Jeff, helping with the para-mutual betting at the mule races.


Diana and her husband Jeff--motorcycle riders!
At the Grand Canyon.


And just Diana, at her house--getting ready to make some Easy Crockpot Chicken perhaps?



Here is the hard part...
Because I have miscounted numerous times, I feel untrustworthy to say how many recipes I have to post.
I think it's 35.  Or 46. (I think I have 46 more to post, but 35 more to make)
(It would have been easy if I had gone in cookbook order, but no, I jumped all over the place and everytime I have to make a new one I have to flip thru all the pages--every single 'unnumbered' page, to find one that doesn't have a check  mark!
sigh.
Anyway, this is recipe #321

Obviously, I didn't get this countdown accomplished in 2022, but I have high hopes for 2023.

That's my story!



Friday Friend recipe #352

  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 close...