Variation on Chicken Broccoli Casserole

While on our mission, we had some friends over for dinner one night and I decided to make Chicken Broccoli Casserole. You can find the recipe for that here.  I wanted to get it done in the morning so I could just put it in the oven and not have a lot of clean up to do right before dinner.  But when I looked in the freezer, I realized I didn't have enough chicken and I was out of Cream of Chicken soup.  I did have some Tyson breaded Chicken Tenders, so I decided to cook up some of those and cut them up and add them to the recipe.  I also used Cream of Mushroom soup instead of the chicken.  It was delicious!

Janet's Chicken Broccoli Casserole                                      serves 8

16 frozen chicken tenderloins
9 frozen Tyson breaded chicken tenders, picante style or regular
5-6 c. fresh or frozen broccoli, cut in bite size pieces (you can adjust this amount)
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 c. milk
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tsp. lime juice
1 c. cheese

Bring a pot of water to boiling and put the frozen chicken tenderloins in the pot.  Cook on low for about 20 minutes or until done.  At the same time, pan fry the breaded chicken tenders in 1 tsp. of coconut oil until done.  Remove chicken from the pot, reserving the water, and the pan and let both cool.  Place broccoli in pot of hot water and let it sit while preparing the chicken.  Either shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in large mixing bowl.  Drain the broccoli and add to the chicken.  Set aside to cool.

Combine the soup, milk, mayonnaise and the lime juice in a separate bowl.

When the broccoli has cooled, add the cheese to the chicken and broccoli and mix well.  Empty the chicken and broccoli mixture into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish (top picture).  Cover with the soup mixture (bottom picture).  Bake uncovered at 350* for 30 minutes.

You can serve this with rice, mashed potatoes or pasta.  Add salad and bread and enjoy!

everything hopskotch!

I just started following a friend of mine on Pinterest, and what was the first thing I saw?  This adorable picture of hopscotch stones in a backyard.  You can view it and learn how to make your own by visiting my Pinterest page here.  What a cute idea!  I'm already trying to think of a place to put it in my backyard.  Hmmmmmmmm.....

Isn't it darling?

I've been trying to change the way I eat in the past few months.  Not only do I need to lose a few unwanted pounds (and who doesn't?) but I also want to feel healthy and eat foods that will help me to do just that.  It's been really hard!  But I keep working at it and hopefully one day I'll feel like I have more control over what I eat and why.
One of the things I've found recently to help me are Bob Harper's Skinny Rules.  You can see them here on my Pinterest board.  I love the rule about drinking water before each meal.  You would think it would be easy to do, but I do forget from time to time.  But I find that when I remember, it makes it much easier to not overeat at mealtime.
Whatever you choose to do to eat healthier, I encourage you to stick with it and make those changes!  You'll be glad you did!

A Family Favorite

As my children started getting married and left home, I started getting phone calls.  "Mom, how do you make this or that?"  I realized that the recipes that they had grown up with were important to them and they wanted to continue some of our family traditions.  The following recipe is one of those traditions that they just can't seem to live without!



Chicken Broccoli Casserole                                      serves 8

24 frozen chicken tenderloins (3 per person)
5-6 c. fresh or frozen broccoli, cut in bite size pieces (you can adjust this amount)
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 c. milk
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 c. shredded cheese

Bring a pot of water to boiling and put the frozen chicken tenderloins in the pot.  Cook on low for about 20 minutes or until done.  Remove chicken from the pot and let cool.  Bring water back to boiling, then turn off the heat and place broccoli in pot of water and cover.  Let it sit (no heat) while preparing the chicken.  Either shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in bottom of a greased 9" x 13" baking dish.  Drain the broccoli and place on top of the chicken.  Set aside.

Combine the soup, milk, mayonnaise, cheese and the lemon juice in a bowl.  Cover the chicken with the soup mixture.  Bake uncovered at 350* for 30 minutes.  Serve with potatoes, rice or pasta.

One of my favorites

This picture I have entitled "The Road Less Traveled" and is one of my favorites.  My son, Larry Reeves, is a professional photographer and I love a lot of his captures. This one really caught my eye.

If you are interested in purchasing prints from Larry, or seeing more of his work, you can visit his website by going to reeves visuals

The Great and Terrible

I've been reading this book for several months now.  It is by Chris Stewart and is actually a series of six books by an LDS author.  I have really enjoyed it.  Because I downloaded it onto my iPad, I'm not really sure which book I'm in, but I think I'm near the end of the series.



I like the part I'm in now because it gives me a good idea of what life would be like during a crisis.  Did I say too much?
You'll have to read it, too, to find out what I mean by that...

Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico

We had the opportunity to visit Huatulco, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico this last October.  It was beautiful!  If you're thinking of taking a trip to Mexico and want a beautiful resort to stay in and quaint shopping experiences, Huatulco is the destination you want.  When we were there it was almost uninhabited, so if you like crowds, don't go in October.  There weren't a lot of places to shop really close to the resort, but there were enough for our needs.  Enjoy the pictures!

the entrance to the airport... very interesting!

our hotel, the Dreams Huatulco Resort and Spa

You'll know you're in the right place if you see this huge dragon out in front of the hotel

the view from our room was the best.  Imagine waking up to this every morning!

the view from the end of the hall

sunrise

This is the shopping area within walking distance of the hotel.  

There is also a golf course very close to the hotel if you like golfing. 

We went for a small day cruise on a catamaran and the cliffs were stunning.

We went into another area of Huatulco after our cruise and there was plenty of shopping and bargain hunting to do.  One of our favorite places was this shop where they spun and dyed their own yarn to make beautiful rugs, hammocks and more.  This woman is making a rug on the loom.

One of our favorite flowers, Plumeria, right outside the hotel

I hope you enjoyed the tour!

from Lindsay...

as summer starts to make an appearance, my go to skin care product is the skin perfect primer from dermalogica and it should be yours, too.  it doesn't take away my constant pregnancy breakouts, but it helps cover them up a bit.  i wasn't ever really sure what this product even did and then I got a tube from work to try.  this stuff is amazing!  other than it feeling so soft and silky on your skin, it preps for make up application, tints, balances skin tone, takes care of fine lines and contains SPF <-- you know how I love multiple purpose products.. it's the only way to go!  

go buy some and thank me later.

I believe in being happy.  I think being happy is a choice we make and whatever our circumstances are, we can choose to be happy.  One of my favorite scriptures says "And they lived after the manner of happiness."  This was referring to a people that was constantly persecuted and tormented by another group of people, yet they chose to be happy even though their circumstances were less than perfect.  So, put a smile on your face and think about all the good things in your life.  Be happy!

Okay, I haven't actually tried this yet, but it looks yummy, so I will be trying it soon and I'll get back to you with an opinion.  If any of you out there tries it, let me know what you think!  I'm thinking that you could also use fresh veggies, potatoes and your own bread or roll dough.

Chicken Pot Pie on the Fly

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Amy Hanten

Average Rating

Ingredients:
2 cans (10.75 ounces) cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 to 3 cups cooked shredded or diced chicken
2 to 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, green beans and carrots), slightly thawed
2 cups southern style cubed frozen hash browns, slightly thawed
1 can (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent roll dough (I love the seamless dough)

Directions:
In a bowl whisk together soup, milk, sour cream, stock, black pepper, parsley and thyme. Stir in chicken, veggies and potatoes. Spoon into a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Open and unroll the crescent roll dough. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into half inch pieces. Lay strips of the dough over the chicken mixture to form a lattice look. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 to 50 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

you can see the original blog post right here.

Storms!

My son, Larry, is a Storm Chaser.  I never thought I would ever say that, but he is.  He loves the Monsoon season in Arizona because he gets to get out and chase down storms and take pictures like these... We all get to benefit from his passion.  Enjoy!

You can see more of his work on his website, located at reeves visuals

My latest Book

Actually I'm reading several books right now.  When you have an iPad and you can download so many books at the press of a button, reading becomes addictive!  The best thing is that I can stop reading, close the book and it remembers for me right where I left off!  Amazing...

So what am I reading?  I don't even remember how I found it, but I think I saw it on my iPad when I was buying something else and thought it looked really interesting, mostly because of the cover.  It is called, "Fly Away", written by Kristin Hannah.   So far I really like it.



February 2, 2015
So I just recently finished this book.  It was really good!  There were some parts that were really hard to read and I almost quit, but I'm glad I kept going because it pulled through in the end and I really did enjoy it.  A little different from what I usually read, so I'm glad I ventured out and read it.

I love Sugar Scrubs!

Several years ago, my husband and I attended the graduation of one of our sons in Florida.  He had finished his training as an EOD technician with the Navy and we went to visit for a few days with some of our other children.  While we were there, we visited a darling shopping area near the water and I found my first jar of hand and foot scrub.  I love it!  But because I had never seen or heard of such a thing before, I was very stingy with it.  I would only use it occasionally because I didn't want it to ever run out.  But I found this the other day and I'm so happy!  I can now scrub to my heart's content!  You'll find the instructions here.  Even though this is for giving as a gift, who says you can't give yourself a gift every now and then?  Have fun scrubbing!

A great 30 days

Well, okay, it was actually a little more than thirty days, 

but what's another couple of days??

 I believe in family.  My family is probably the most important thing in my life, right alongside my belief in God and Jesus Christ and His gospel.  Even though we were serving a mission for our Church in Mexico, I was able to come home for a visit in November last year for a very important event, our son's wedding.  I love my family and was grateful for the opportunity to be with most of them for a few days.

We started off with the birth of our 17th grandbaby, Bennett Robert Reeves, 
on November 25, 2013.  He was born to our oldest son, Richard and his wife Nickie.  
Bennett was their fourth child. 

We are so happy to welcome him into the family...

this was taken a little later... January 5th, 2014, on his blessing day

A few days after Bennett was born, we celebrated Thanksgiving at Kimber and Ryan's home.  It was so much fun to have so many of the family there.  

Two days later our son Bradley was married!

Bradley Reeves and Emy Guildner were married in the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple on 

November 30, 2013.

They had a lovely ring ceremony and reception in the backyard of our family friends, 
Steve and Fran Lowder 

Robert couldn't be there because he had to stay in Mexico, but we planned ahead!  
We made a cardboard cut out of him, which was pretty lifelike, and brought 
him along to the reception.  

I also got to spend some quality time with this young man, Tye Hicken, for a week.  This was the first time I actually met him in person!  It was so fun to finally see him up close and personal.  We shared a bedroom while I was there and I got to wake up to his sweet face every morning!

We couldn't be happier for Brad and Emy... Congratulations!

Just a couple of days later on December 2, 2013, Adam and Kelli welcomed Sawyer Adam Bishop into their family.  Sawyer is number 8 in their family!  It was great to meet him a few months later when we returned from Mexico

This is another handsome face that I got to see for the first time.  Wesley is Lindsay and Darren's first baby and is seven months old.  

It was so fun to meet him and get to know him.

He is just too cute for words!

While in Gilbert, I was able to see the new Gilbert Temple that was almost finished being built.  There was an Open House in February and it was dedicated in March.  I think it's pretty beautiful and Temples like this make it possible for our family to be sealed as an Eternal family.  Pretty special...

 Another thing I had to do was to drive by our house for a look around.  It is still looking pretty good!

Included in our thirty days was me coming back to Mexico and enjoying a very small Christmas with Robert.  Then five days later, our son Taylor and his wife Nicole brought this beautiful little baby girl into the world.  Emma Grace was born December 30, 2013 on our 37th wedding anniversary!  What a great anniversary present!  We were so excited to have little Emma born into our family and have enjoyed getting to know her.

So today, for breakfast, we had our usual scrambled eggs, but with a little different twist.  Every once in awhile I like to put salsa or pico de gallo on my scrambled eggs, but the other day I had made an avocado and mango salsa for some fish that we had for dinner and I thought, "Why not?"  So I put some mango in with my usual pico de gallo and put it on top of my eggs... it was delish!

Here it's shown on fish, but you get the idea...

I'll even share the recipe with you!

Avocado Mango Salsa

1 c. diced fresh tomatoes
1/4 c. diced onion
1/4 c. diced cilantro
1/2 c. diced bell pepper
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 small mango, cubed
1 small ripe avocado
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
juice of one fresh lime

* Mix it all together and let it sit for a day to blend the flavors.  I have recently discovered a handy little tool called the Nicer Dicer plus.  It makes really quick work of all that dicing!  As you can see, this is really great on fish or chicken, too.  This makes a very healthy meal because of all the veggies.  Enjoy!

I have recently discovered Pinterest... you may be seeing a lot of stuff here from Pinterest!  Like this really cute way to mend tears in your kids clothing.  It's a great way to use up all those small leftovers from your sewing projects, too!

I think it's pretty easy, even a novice seamstress could do this one!  Just be sure to keep the back side of the jeans free from your needle!  Putting a piece of heavy plastic behind the fabric would make this real easy.  Good luck and enjoy your mending!

I love Animals

I love animals of all kinds, just about anything, except scorpions and black widow spiders.  These pictures are of some of the animals in a place called "Africam Safari" in Puebla, Mexico.  You can drive your car through the park and see all these amazing animals up close.  Enjoy the pictures! 

This guy looks scary and he probably is, but here he is just trying to catch a cracker that we were throwing to him...

this cute little wallaby was letting us pet him

I love how beautiful Macaws are... so majestic!

If you are interested in more bird pictures, you can go here

Africam Safari is located in the state of Puebla.  If you ever come to Mexico, Puebla has a lot to offer.  Be sure to put Africam Safari on your list of places to see!

Hair Conditioner

I've been using a new conditioner on my hair for the past few weeks and I really love it!  I found it on Pinterest and you can see the original post here but basically it's made up of water, vinegar, essential oils and tea.  I really love the way it smells and feels after I use it.  I don't rinse it out, I choose to put it on my hair and leave it in.  You might ask what I have done with all the store bought hair conditioner I have?  I have started using it to shave with and as a body lotion in the shower.  It makes my skin super soft!  I'll let you know if I start to have any bad results with this, but for now, I'm lovin' it!

*boil 2 cups of water.  steep your tea of choice for at least 30 minutes, but a whole day is better.  

you can also add a handful of fresh or dried rosemary if you like.

*strain out herbs if needed.

*add 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

*add 1 cup of filtered water

*add 5-10 drops of essential oil of your choice.  Lavender is a good choice.

Put all of this into a spray or squirt bottle and apply to hair after shampooing.  I leave mine in without rinsing, but you can rinse if you like.

I believe...

"I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I know who I am.
I know God's plan.
I'll follow Him in faith.
I believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I'll honor His name.
I'll do what is right;
I'll follow His light.
His truth I will proclaim."

As I thought about what to write to express my feelings about what I believe, this children's hymn came to my mind.  I am grateful to belong to this Church.  It is more than a Church, it is a way of life for me. I'm grateful for the Humanitarian work we do around the world.  I am grateful for the principles I have learned that shape and define who I am.

If you are a member and want to find more information on the Church website, you can visit lds.org

If you are not a member of our Church, but you have questions about what we believe, you can visit mormon.org

If you are interested in family history, visit familysearch.org and if you would like to be part of an indexing project, that is going on worldwide, you can visit here

I invite you to learn more about my way of life and the things that are dear to my heart!

Cookie-Brownie-Reeses Cup Dessert

I found a recipe for some yummy looking brownies the other day on Facebook and decided to give them a try.  While we were on our mission, I would make them for the missionaries and they really loved them.  I liked them because they were a quick and easy dessert.

So, I started out with baking cups.  The original recipe didn't use them, but I don't like a mess, so I used them...

Next, the recipe called for refrigerator cookie dough, 

but I made my own and just put a spoonful of dough in each cup.

Next comes the yummy part.  Place a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup upside down 

on top of the cookie dough and press slightly to flatten out the dough.

Next place a spoonful of prepared Brownie mix on top of the Peanut Butter Cup.  I used Ghiradelli's box mix, found at Costco.  I have come to love this brand and the missionaries love it, too!

After baking at 350* for 18 minutes, they came out looking like this.  I think I would leave 

them inside the oven for just one more minute next time.  The inside was 

soft and gooey and super delicious!  Next time I will try baking them in a jelly roll pan...

ENJOY!

Optional for large batches...

At times I would make 160 brownies at a time for our missionaries, so I used a jelly roll pan, instead of the cupcake pan, which would yield 20 brownies.  I also added Kit Kat bars to the mix.  I had several missionaries tell me that it was the best brownie they had ever had.  I think I found a winner!

Again, I used my own cookie dough (enough for 36 cookies), the Ghiradelli Brownie mix (two bags), 10 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and 5 small Kit Kat bars. 

Start by greasing your pan.  Spread a little more than half the prepared brownie mix in the pan.  

Use about 1/3 of your cookie dough and drop by spoonfuls on top of the brownie mix.  You can mix it into the brownie mix just a little if you want.  

Next unwrap all the Reese's cups and while they are still in the black wrapper, cut them in half.  

Next unwrap all the Kit Kat bars and cut them in quarters.  You should have 40 half inch pieces of Kit Kats.  

Imagine where you will be cutting to yield 20 brownies and place the Reese's cups on top of the brownie and cookie dough, in each imagined square.  Next place two pieces of Kit Kat in each square. Spoon the rest of the brownie dough on top of the candies and try to cover up each candy just a touch.

The dough will look very lumpy, but that's okay.  And if the candy pokes through a bit, that's okay, too.  

Next, bake in a 325* oven for 50 minutes (that's according to the brownie recipe for two bags).

Cut the brownies when you take them out of the oven with a plastic knife.  Let cool for two hours and enjoy!