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!