30 minute meal

Christmas Church Potato Casserole Recipe

So J chose to be born at the wrong time. Dec. 19. Who does that? Someone who wants to get twice the presents at one time, that's who. At his Dec. 18 birthday celebration this year I ate these amazing potatoes. And I've eaten them as left overs several times since. They're simply amazing. Jarrod's mother, Ruth, was kind enough to share the recipe with me. Happy graduation, Bonnie!

In other news, Bonnie, my friend since junior high, graduated from college this weekend. I went to her graduation party at the Irwin house on Saturday. Congrats, Bonnie! I love you. She is going to be a fantastic teacher.

Christmas Church Potato Casserole

1 (2 lb.) bag of Southern style hash brown potatoes

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. melted butter

1/2 c. chopped onions

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 small can of cream of chicken soup

1 pt. sour cream

2 c. grated cheddar cheese

2 c. corn flakes

1/4 c. melted butter

Directions

Mix all ingredients except corn flakes and butter. Spread in oiled 9 x 13 pan. Mix corn flakes and butter and sprinkle on top. Cook in preheated oven at 350 for 90 minutes.

Easy Paleo Bone Broth Chicken and Rice Soup

I had a moment recently (let's call it an extended moment) when I panicked because I thought I'd lost my crock pot. Now, I'm not a worshiper of the slow cooker and I don't use it very often. But when I went to get it off the top shelf of my kitchen where it usually lives and it wasn't there...I was so baffled how I could lose such a big appliance. I mean, it's big, and red, and heavy. I was so pleased when I found it while packing up Jarrod's apartment last week. How did it get to his apartment? I don't know. But thank goodness it was clean (clearly I didn't put it away) and in good shape.

So I brought old crocky (cute?) home and set about making my first batch of bone broth.

Crock Pot Chicken Bone Broth

Ingredients

1-2 cooked chicken carcasses stripped of as much meat as you can remove (I used a rotisserie chicken carcass)

Enough distilled water to cover your chicken and veggies in the crock pot

1 Medium onion, peeled and cut in quarters

3 Carrots

3-4 Celery stalks

Italian seasoning and salt to taste

Procedure

Chop vegetables and put into crock pot with chicken and spices. Poor water over until covering the chicken. Turn crock pot on high for the first two hours, then reduce temperature to low. Let broth cook on low for 18-24 hours. Allow broth to cool and strain.

**Bone broth can be kept in the fridge for 7-10 days or frozen for later use.

** When refrigerated your bone broth should gel. When you heat it up to cook with it will go back to liquid.

Easy Paleo Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken and Rice Bone Broth Soup

Ingredients

1 TBSP Bacon fat (or oil of your choosing)

1 Small Yellow Onion Chopped

3 Ribs of Celery Chopped

3 Carrots Chopped

2 TSP of Garlic

6 C Bone Broth (or regular broth in a pinch)

1/2 TSP Smoked Paprika

1.5 C Uncooked Rice

2 C Chopped Cooked Chicken (use a rotisserie chicken...make more bone broth)

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Saute onion, celery, carrots and garlic in bacon fat. Add bone broth and paprika. Add in uncooked rice and allow soup to simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add chicken around the 30 minute mark. Check to see that your rice is cooked. Serve.

**If using bone broth the soup may gel in your fridge. Heating it up will cause it to liquefy again.