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Borrego Springs, CA

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Just melting away here

When I got back from running to town on Friday, the temps had risen into the 90’s.  I thought perhaps we were done with those hot humid days up here for this year, but the heat wave is supposed to continue until at least Thursday.  It’s not cooling down enough for my tastes at night either.

So, I’ve pretty much spent the weekend indoors with the AC on.  Yesterday morning, Steve was scheduled to pull out of here and begin his journey to the Pacific Northwest.  As he was hooking up his toad, I mentioned that the wind seemed kind of strong.  He headed out anyway.  Personally, I would have sat still for another day.  The winds ended up being gale force, and some of my outside furniture and a rug took flight during one of the tremendous gusts.  I never even considered putting out my big awning to shade the rig.  It would have ended up in Canada, I think.  I even pulled in my small awnings over two of the windows on the driver’s side of the rig.  The wind was that strong all day.

Then, this morning, about 5:00, a real thunder buster rolled through out of the northwest.  Made me sit up and take notice in bed.  Thankfully it didn’t last too long, but the winds as that little front moved through really got things rocking.  It was really more noise and wind than productive rain, but of course I had accidentally left the driver’s side window open on the car.  Sad smile  The seat was quite wet and covered with pine needles that had flown in.

Since it was going to be too hot for me to do any sightseeing this weekend, I decided to do some cooking instead.  I have some favorite recipes, but they make enough for a family.  With my travels beginning in about a month, I thought I’d get some dinners frozen for driving days on the road.

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I seldom if ever put recipes on this blog, but this casserole is so tasty and easy, I thought some of you ladies might like to try it.

EVERYBODY’S GOT ROOM FOR SECONDS CASSEROLE

1 10 oz. can of chunk white chicken, drained

4 cups frozen broccoli cuts (I use one bunch of fresh broccoli tops)

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup mayonnaise (don’t be using Miracle Whip, now. Winking smile)

1  teaspoon of lemon juice (I didn’t have any, so put in a squirt of wine instead)

1 teaspoon of curry powder

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I love cheese, so I probably use a cup)

Bread crumbs

Layer broccoli in a 7”X11” baking dish.  Top with chicken.  (Since I also love mushrooms, I also add a layer of drained whole button mushrooms)  In a separate bowl, combine soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and curry powder.  Spread the soup mixture evenly over the layers.  Finish by sprinkling the cheese on top and adding a light coating of bread crumbs.  Cover and bake at 350* for one hour.  If desired, place under broiler until lightly browned.

Now, I only have a convection oven in the rig so I baked it for 55 minutes.  I probably should have only baked it for 45-50 minutes, but I like the crusty part on the edges.  I also serve it over brown rice, spaghetti noodles, or even toast.  I think it’s hard not to go back for seconds, but I controlled myself…

The plan today was to make some pork stir fry chow Mein, but I just wasn’t in the mood.  So instead I just boiled up some fresh shrimp, put them on ice, and enjoyed them in this heat with some fresh sliced tomatoes.

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About the only other thing I did this weekend is to get started reading this book.  I’m finding it quite enjoyable.  It helps if you’re interested in birds, but you don’t have to be an expert by any means to read it.  I’ve decided to quit reading it for now so I can take it along next weekend to read while I’m waiting for my Mayo Clinic appointments.  Women’s Day and Sports Illustrated don’t do anything for me in waiting rooms.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

26 comments:

  1. That does look good, and it will be great as pre-cooked meals.

    They never have any good magazines in clinics any more. My clinic doesn't even have any. I always hope they will have a Texas Highways or National Geographic magazine. So I keep some old Reader's Digest in the van to read.
    Happy Tails, and Trails, Penny.

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  2. Those winds blew in here this morning!! Hubby even went down to check on the pontoon!! I'm sure we'll have some noisy storms with all this heat. Stay cool!!!

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  3. hard to beat boiled shrimp especially in this heat...

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  4. We have had some flash flooding in Moab...sure hope this rain passing thru helps with some o fate fires.

    Your recipe looks and sounds yummy...bet we won't have any leftovers! We haven't had shrimp in awhile...thanks for the suggestion!

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  5. Oh that heat sounds terrible! I know it's August but still. I thought upper Minnesota would be cool all summer long. Guess not. You sure are getting the weather there with the heat and then the storms and wind. I'm with you on not driving in such weather. I hope your friend was OK. The pacific northwest is a long way away.

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  6. I think we're (finally) having cooler temps here in NM than you are. That casserole sounds pretty good, but I'd probably omit the wine from the recipe drink it while the casserole was baking ;-)

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  7. I love storms. Maybe because we don't get many.

    Your casserole looks FABULOUS.

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  8. Boiled shrimp and fresh tomatoes! Doesn't get much better than that. Actually cooler here in the deep South than where you are for the next week or so. Today was quite pleasant with a nice Northerly breeze. Thanks for the identification on the young hawk.

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  9. We're hot here too. Above normal temps. But our nights cool down really nice. As soon as that sun gets down behind the mountains the temperature gets really comfortable and almost chilly during the night. I know what you mean about the wind and t-storms. I am really tired of them. The girls don't like them and neither do I. Hope Steve is okay. Since I don't like mayo or cheese I won't be making your casserole. I didn't mention it to Jim because he would like everything in there. lol

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  10. hot here! back in triple digits... haaa put in the Hellmans.. sounds really good. Not for now though... too hot to even think about turning on an oven.. but this winter will be cold cold cold .. so says the Farmer's Almanac I read earlier.. ok, well bring it on...

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  11. Now I am in trouble. I am ready to go to bed and just read your blog and saw the photo of that delicious-looking casserole. How am I gonna get to sleep when I am hungry? Guess I will just have to have a cookie or two. It's all your fault:).

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  12. heat has come back to Mo too mid to upper 90's eith high humidity. I always have a book in my car and
    take with me to any appointments...I'm not into the junk like People etc.

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  13. It sounds like you have a retirement life of travel, how interesting. We are retired and staying in place but the open road beckons too.

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  14. It sure looks good! I felt a little cool breeze today.. It's on its way....slowly...

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  15. Thanks for the recipe! Hope your weather cools off soon.

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  16. The weather has been interesting this summer. You are boiling in northern MN and we are sleeping with our windows open in NC! Unheard of around here. Hope your temps cool down for you soon.

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  17. I'm loving Oregon's weather - after the heat of the San Joaquin Valley in CA. I was beginning to think there's no weather under 100 degrees F! Now, it's been raining a nice pitter pat kind of rain here in Ashland all day. I went to a dinner party at friends' house and Joyce thought she'd have to move the dinner inside; but the lovely warm, not hot, late afternoon and evening held until right after dessert; then it started to rain again. Perfect timing! But, I agree, the weather is changing all over the Globe. All I can say is I'm enjoying Oregon.

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  18. Hmmm... I might just have to try that! :)

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  19. It was really hot over here in the UP yesterday, too. Hope it gets better today, since we're back to work.

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  20. Wine makes everything better. Hope the winds die down a little and the heat subsides.

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  21. We never drive when the winds are that bad. Seems very dangerous.

    Thanks so much for the recipe. Sounds like a great meal after a long day of hiking.

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  22. I'm definitely going to try your casserole when I get back to Sacramento. It would be good for me to have something already prepared and in the freezer for those days when I don't feel like cooking. I had to laugh though - does cream sherry equate to lemon juice? I hope Steve made it through the storms ok.

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  23. Casserole sounds good! Every time I go to a doctor's office and the magazines are months or even years out of day I mention it to the doctor on the lines of, "has your business been down--your office magazines are so out of date." Next time I go there are usually current magazines. :))

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  24. I have made that casserole for years and love it, but I use 3 cans of asparagus in mine...now I am slobbering.

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  25. Yes! I happen to have all of the ingredients (except I'll use left over chicken from earlier this week) so guess what we'll be having tonight? Thanks for sharing.

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