July's reading

I am excited to host July's book club! and can't wait to see all of you and have another great book chat. I am sorry I missed this last one, I enjoyed the reading and recommend this book as well. Thanks Tara for sharing! I am actually already about 20 pages away from finishing The Wednesday Letters! and as I had previously mentioned, I am reading it for the first time. Totally not what you expect to read, so I am sure we will have plenty to discuss next month. I will see you all and yes YOU better be there Melis Melis! Take care everyone...Happy reading

I'm a slacker!

I missed TWO book clubs in a row! I was really bummed out about it because they were both great books that I wanted to talk about. I started writing a post last month about the book, but never finished it (I'm sure none of you are surprised--I'm kind of the queen of unfinished projects). So I decided to ditch that post, and just get around to putting in my two cents about this month's book instead.

I remembered reading this book a long time ago, and I kept waiting for certain things to happen, but they never did. Then I remembered that I actually read "Pigs in Heaven", which is the sequel to "The Bean Trees", but never actually read "The Bean Trees". It was great to finally have a new understanding of the lives of Taylor and Turtle (and can I just say that I absolutely love Taylor's sass in this book?). I highly recommend reading "Pigs in Heaven" if you liked "The Bean Trees". In it, Turtle's adoption is contested, and Taylor fights again to keep Turtle with her.

I'm excited to see you all next month at Yvon's, and to meet all the new girls!

Welcome New Members!

We have a few new members in our group! Sarah Seline, Summer Andrus, and Alice Griffith. Welcome new comers and we hope you enjoy our book club! Just a reminder that next month's book is going to be The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. It should be a good one. Yvon is hosting it! Happy reading!

Ritz Chicken

No, I didn't name this chicken after myself. Although, it is awesome, and I am awesome, so maybe someone should have. :)

3 cups Rice (cooked)
2 cups Chicken (cooked and diced-I like shredding part of a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 pint Sour Cream
1/2 cup Butter (melted)
2 cups Ritz Crackers (ground)
1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds

Mix cream of chicken soup and sour cream in a bowl. Set aside. In a 9"x13" pan, spread the rice along the bottom. Spread chicken over rice. Pour sour cream mixture over chicken. Mix Ritz crackers, poppy seeds, and butter in separate bowl. Put mixture over the sour cream. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

I also like mixing salt, pepper, and parsley in with the soup mix to give it just a little more flavor.

For Sarah...

Chicken Pie

Mix together in a 2 quart baking dish:
Cooked chopped chicken (My mom uses a whole chicken, I use 2 chicken breasts)
1 cup chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken, celery, or potato soup (cream of potato is my favorite)
Salt and pepper, if desired

Topping:
1 cup self-rising flour (or all purpose flour with 1 ½ tsp baking powder and ½ tsp salt)
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup milk

Cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until wet—will be lumpy. Pour over chicken, broth, and soup. Bake at 375° for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can also add cheese or veggies to the chicken, but cook a little longer for frozen veggies. This recipe came from my mom.

I make this ALL the time because it is delicious, it is good for me...and, bonus, it is EASY. You just need to plan ahead a little bit because it bakes for 45 to 50 minutes. Sorry, I don't have a picture of it.

Recipes?

Hi all! I'm putting a shout out to see if anyone has any easy, quick recipes that they like for dinners? I am sick of making the same old things, or I should say Drew is, and we are in need of something new to eat. Thanks ya'll.

Sarah Jane

Chocolate Decadence???

I would like to know if there are any objections (allergies, preferences, etc.) to this.

Chocolate Decadence with Sweetened Cream

2 cups chocolate chips, divided

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Line 9 inch round pan with foil; lightly grease.

Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips in microwave (1 minute, stir; then, 15 seconds at a time; stir until smooth.) Cool to room temperature.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually beat in flour alternately with milk. Stir in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Spoon into prepared pan.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Lift cake from pan using edges of foil; remove foil and top with sweetened cream.

*Sweetened cream: Beat 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tbsp powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla in chilled bowl until soft peaks form.