Chicken Swiss Casserole recipe

For as long as I've been making some of these things, I'm always surprised to find what recipes haven't made it here! I've been making this since before Trevor was born. It's easy to pull together, delicious, and we even used to serve it often for company. It's nice, warm comfort food.

CHICKEN SWISS CASSEROLE

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts
sliced swiss cheese
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2/3 c. white wine
sliced mushrooms (to taste)
1 box Stove Top Stuffing Mix
1/4 c. melted butter

Cut each breast into 6 or so pieces. Lay swiss cheese on each piece. Evenly scatter with sliced mushrooms. Mix soup and white wine, pour over all, smoothing with back of spoon to make sure all cheese and chicken is covered in sauce. Sprinkle with entire package of Stove Top. Drizzle melter butter over all.

Bake at 350 for 45-60 mins. If top starts getting too brown, cover with foil for remainder of cooking time. Serve with noodles or rice.

College Tour!

Trevor and I went up to Richmond to check out VCU today, and Holly came along. I was concerned there would be holiday traffic, so I was surprised to see that traffic was no different than usual.

The view from Afton Mountain overlook

 Excellent tour, great campus in the middle of the city, which was very appealing. I had gone there thinking we should just check it out and knock it off our list, but we left with it being one of Trevor's top two choices. I love when things like that happen! (The unforgettable Magic Moment was walking through the bookstore at the beginning of the tour.:)

Two things to note: Trevor saving me when I got suddenly dizzy walking and later rescuing my hubcap.

Lunch was at ZZaam!, a Korean place similar to Chipotle. Yummy food and of course the best company anywhere!


Super fun being in the car with my kids again. Some of our best times, truly, to just chat in general, listen to them joke, and crack up, or even laugh until I cry. This was a wonderful day, one of the best!

Zuppa Toscana Soup

This is a modified version of the Olive Garden soup. I've made the other version before, and this one is better--lots better!

Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 minced garlic cloves

1/2 t. red pepper flakes (I'd cut back on this next time)
2 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 cups of chicken broth
2 t. cornstarch with enough water to make paste (I had to use one more teaspoon)
1 c. half and half (I used a can of evap. milk)
2 c. chopped kale

Crumble sausage into soup pot and cook until done over med heat. Add onion, salt, pepper, and cook until onions are translucent and soft. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, potatoes, chicken broth. Cook until potatoes are done, about 15 mins. Add cornstarch mix and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring, and let soup thicken, about 10 mins. Stir in kale. Reduce heat to low and stir in half and half or evaporated milk. Leave on low heat 5-10 minutes and serve.

October, where did you go?

We celebrated Holly's birthday she requested a dessert that I somehow managed to pull off!

Oreo Trifle by Judy

Wing this:  Oreos-Can be crushed as a layer, or placed around outside of the bowl so they look pretty in the bowl as a layer. Mini -Oreos. They make a very cool top of the trifle as the final layer. Vanilla pudding--I usually use cook top and not instant. Then fold in a smaller container of cool whip. Chocolate Pudding--Whip this one with one package of cream cheese. Cool Whip--Besides the one you are folding into the pudding you will want a second layer or top of just plain cool whip. Brownies- Make the cake version with the added eggs instead of the fudgy version. Make sure when you use the cookie or the brownies as a layer, they are surrounded by pudding so they get all moist and puddingy. Cut Brownies into 1 inch squares. Jar of Hot Fudge. Marshmallow Fluff Caramel topping drizzled over top.

 And it worked!

Continued working on puzzles, you know, that one time when everything fits perfectly into its right place!

Holly and Trevor and I spent an afternoon downtown while the weather was still decent.

The fall brings lots of pretty clouds, stunning shadows, and pink skies at sunset.

We made our annual trek to the Washington International Horse Show! Holly led me all over the Metro, which I loved. We went to Union Station to eat, nice choice of food, and of course we love the stunning architecture!

Metro stations are pretty unique too!

Outside the arena. My camera has a smudge on the inside somewhere. I'm so sad about it. Until it is somehow resolved (replace lens or phone?), I'll have to adjust and take pictures upside down, which sometimes hides the spot.

We arrived in plenty of time, lol!

I'm terribly disappointed that I could only get super blurry photos. My camera is great, but I think there is an action setting that I simply could not find. :'(   When we left the arena at 11:00 p.m., it was a balmy 61 degrees outside! We took the Metro back to Vienna/Fairfax. The horse show always coincides with Halloween weekend, and it's always entertaining to see the costumed people on the trains. We stayed overnight at a hotel and went into Arlington and NW DC to check out neighborhoods. ALWAYS a great weekend together!!

Halloween. Holly and Trevor cut out jack o' lanterns. Warms my heart!

Meeting up with Montana family

I met up last night with my mom's cousin Mary Lou Hiller Freese and Fred. Mary Lou's mother Kay Thomas Hiller and my grandfather Owen Thomas were siblings. Mary Lou and her sisters and brother grew up on a ranch in Montana, and we ended up being Facebook friends because of our shared interest in our genealogy.

They've been in the WV/VA/NC area for a few days, a trip they take annually. I picked them up at their hotel, and and they took me to dinner across the street at a Chinese restaurant that the kids and I went to as part of our annual Christmas Shopping Day Out. It was a perfect choice--Friday night with many of the local favorite restaurants crowded with pre- and post-football game family dinners. We were seated in a corner, the restaurant was not busy--and we chatted and ate and chatted some more . . . for TWO and a HALF HOURS!  The food was great, and the company even greater.

When I pulled my phone out for a few pictures, I saw that both Trevor and Robert had texted, checking up and making sure I was okay!

We talked mostly about family, family connections, shared relatives, and our history--a really special night. Fred was a doll, listening to us mostly talk about dead people he did not know, enjoying it all nonetheless. (We did discover that his aunt lives less than a mile from our house though!) It was especially sweet when I dropped them off, and Fred told me that Mary Lou had been looking so forward to this for quite a while, that he was so glad we'd been able to do this.

Summer Staple - McGowan's Favorite Baked Beans

Somewhat surprised to see this has never been posted here! I've been eating this at Robert's parents' house for more than 25 years. It was originally in the Sunset Barbeque Cookbook, the ORIGINAL one from the 1960s. I know that, because my parents had the same cookbook. When I make this recipe, I have to track it down in an old homemade cookbook that I created around the time Trevor was born, working part time, often with nothing better to do. So the recipe is moving here for posterity's sake, which makes me happy. I'm writing the recipe here as we make it, with comments re the original recipe following.

MCGOWAN'S FAVORITE BAKED BEANS

2 - 16 oz. cans pork and beans in tomato sauce
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
1 t. dry mustard

Mix all well. Bake uncovered at 325 for 2-1/2 hours. Serves 6-8.

The original Sunset recipe calls for 3/4 c. brown sugar and 6 slices of bacon, chopped. No need to say why we've tweaked it!

I read a book!

I don't know if this is the most pathetic post, because I haven't read a book in about three years, or if this is a great post because I finally read something again.

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Amercan hero U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle is credited with more lethal enemy kills than any soldier in U.S. history, with that number ranging from 160 to 225. Kyle's autobiography recounts his sniper training days, his romance with his wife, his love for God, country, and family (in that order), and his incredible details of fighting four tours in Iraq.

Following his Navy retirement, Kyle was active on the behalf of troubled veterans. In 2012, he was shot and killed by one suffering from PTSD on a shooting range.

If I'm going to read one book in three years, I'm glad this was it.

Day in DC

Holly was invited back to a second interview. As Robert took her up for the first one on Tuesday, I took her Friday.

Gorgeous day to be out in DC. We parked at Vienna and took the Metro to Farrugut Square. I sat in the park while she did her thing.

It was wonderful with her knowing this route. I didn't have to do any thinking at all, just followed her in and around the train stations.

And in a silly, kind of "us" move, we brought salami sandwiches at the last minute, kind of a perfect car comfort food, stopping only for McDonald's coffee the whole time we were out.

We'll see what the trip brings. But it was fun to be making that drive after not doing it for 3-1/2 months!

Solar eclipse!

Bought our solar glasses online several weeks ago from a NASA-approved vendor. I planned to take the afternoon off of work.

It was also Trevor's first day back at Virginia Western. He invited Jason over over at the last minute, as we had an extra pair of glasses.

Planned ahead with banana bread pina coladas (sans alcohol!).

We were not disappointed!

 As the sun began to move behind the moon

 Complete with flamingo straws that Mollie gave me for my birthday!

 The eclipse is eclipsed!

 Whew! Just in time!

 Star gazer

Photo cred to Trevor!

Tubing on the James River

The James River. I love the idea that we live so close to it. After 10 years, it still gives me a thrill when I drive up I-81 and cross it. I think of the history, of Jamestown, of John Smith, and all of that. It's thrilling to be so close to that history ("so close" being relative, as we're at the other end of the state, but still!).

Last summer, Holly, Trevor, and I went tubing here, and we've been looking forward to doing it again this year.

Gorgeous day

Outside temp at 91, water temp in the mid 80s

Last time, Trevor happily floated ahead of us. He had planned to do the same this time and then abruptly changed his mind.

So the three of us tethered together, and when we did a second run, we stayed together again. It was SO wonderful to just float down the river, no outside distractions, just happily chatting about stuff.

After watching Holly and I flail the first time at getting on our tubes, Trevor took charge on the second run. He held our stuff while we boarded, and when we were ready, he pushed us off. Took us about ten minutes less, haha.

The river seemed a bit slower this year than last--not a complaint at all, just an observation. Gosh, it was a great time. When we were done, we walked a block away to the swinging bridge, apparently a big attraction in Buchanan*. It holds a max of three people at a time, and we walked across. Nothing spectacular, but a nice way to see the James from a different perspective.

*Buchanan. One of those Virginia oddities, with the unexpected pronunciation of "Buh-cannon." No, it's not a southern drawl, that's just how it's said, and you can Google it. Haha.

Acceptance!

So this is pretty much it

Holly graduates in two weeks. All through school, it's been my privilege to proofread her academic papers, mostly reading for clarity and pointing out the errant comma. She never needed me to, but it was her way of sharing her work with me and letting me know what she was working on.

Tonight she wrote her last paper for school. Tonight I proofread that last paper.

Like I told her, no one ever says, "Wow, this is the first paper I'll write for college!" But that final one--oh, that's a biggie. And I'm a little teary over it tonight.

I'm so excited for her and for her graduation.

Picture!