______________________________________________________________________________________________

PROGRAMMING NOTE from the Author and Archivist


So obviously I just stopped blogging on this platform. I'll get back to it eventually. Or not. I'm taking a break from all social media. It seemed necessary for my mental health.

The last few years have been busy and … challenging:

- 2015 Happened.
- 2016 Let's call it The Lost Year. (Obviously words failed me.)
- 2017 about broke me. Literally. Mentally.
- 2018 was ridiculous, proving 2017 was just a warm up. (Good thing I was already broken so it couldn't hurt as much.#2018TrashCanFire I thought things were going okay, but maybe not?)

- 2019 was such a blur. I know there were highlights, but then stuff happened and carried into the next year...

- And then in March#2020 really took a turn. Who can even categorize 2020? Do we dare?


I kinda want a do-over of some of the last few years. But life doesn’t work that way.


So for now, I'm hunkering down. Regrouping. Trying to stay safe and sort some stuff out.


Stay safe everyone. Stay well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Auntie Nettie's Kitchen

I had a very Flax Hill Garden-esque weekend. Along with sleeping in, leisurely reading of the newspapers, and watching of more Jane Austen, it was a wonderful time. I mostly stayed in my kitchen and whipped up all kinds of things. I cranked up the CD player, and listened to an eclectic range of music, from the Twilight soundtrack, to the Elgar Cello Concerto played by Jacqueline Du Pre, to KT Tunstall, and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. (Have you ever really listened to the second movement or his Edgemont Overture? Glorious!)

With the warm weather this weekend, I had the window open wide to let in the smells of spring and was able to taunt my neighbors with the aromas.

There’s something very cathartic about cooking, especially when you do it from scratch. I don’t use a food processor or a mixer, so everything is chopped, shredded, beaten, and mixed by hand. I have about 2 square feet of counter space, the world’s smallest sink, and a very narrow range top, but some how it all works. Who needs a gourmet kitchen?

I made loaves of Apple Bread, a batch of Fudge, a pan of Mint Chocolate Brownies, a pot of hearty Chicken stew, and a whole Broccoli Chicken Lasagna. If Jane can share recipes and photos, so can I.

Apple Bread aka the Zucchini bread recipe
from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook
covered generously with
demerara sugar crystals

Grandma's Brownies from
the original 1996 edition of
Help! My Apartment has a Kitchen cookbook,
(modified to include a center layer of Andes Mints)

Broccoli Chicken Lasagna

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
1 3/4 cups milk
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 package (16 oz.) frozen broccoli cuts, thawed
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1 1/3 cup julienned fully cooked ham, divided
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
2 cups cubed cooked chicken


In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion in butter until tender.
Stir in the four, salt, pepper and nutmeg until blended.
Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Stir in Parmesan cheese and broccoli, heat through.
Spread ½ cup broccoli mixture in a greased 13 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking dish.
Layer with three noodles, a third of the remaining broccoli mixture, 1 cup ham and 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese.
Top with three noodles, a third of the broccoli mixture, all of the chicken and ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese. Top with remaining noodles, broccoli mixture and ham.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Yields 12 servings

NOTE: I excluded the mushrooms and substituted a variety of other things. I used cooked turkey for the ham. I used cooked egg noodles in lieu of the lasagna noodles. (About 5 handfuls of dry egg noodles). I also used jalapeno Jack cheese and added crumbed bacon and chives to the broccoli mixture. I also used a LOT more pepper and Parmesan cheese. Since the egg noodles are bulkier than lasagna noodles, you'll have to press down on the layers to get it all to fit in the casserole dish.

Really good reheated for the next few days.


Enjoy! I know I am!

1 comment:

Christina said...

Oh, you are so mean to have such yummy looking food in front of my eyes right before lunch.
Did you know that they made these
and I would love to have your chicken soup recipe as well:) Thanks for sharing, but I really wish that you were able to really share them.