Hey there ladies! Howdy from Atlanta! Here is this week’s Common Meal. The main dish is Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Spaghetti. If you haven’t made this already, it really is a wonderful recipe and not to mention, it is very convenient for a group gathering. Convenient and good wins brownie points. I am listing two desserts to choose between: Barefoot Contessa’s Apple Crostata and Kimberly Meyer’s Banana Pudding. Kimberly Meyer is a super-employee at Living Proof and when I first tried her banana pudding, I passed out in ecstasy. Both desserts are wonderful, but obviously with the banana pudding, you won’t have to roll out a pie crust. And lastly, because I love you ladies with my whole heart, I want to add something for those meeting around brunch or lunch-time (in place of the Chicken Spaghetti). I am adding my favorite Mini Cucumber Sandwich recipe. I must admit that I am a sucker for Cucumber Sandwiches. I don’t particularly enjoy bridal showers but one thing I always look forward to is the Cucumber Sandwiches. As soon as the hostesses start making us play games like pin-the-tail-on the-Groom, I run to the Cucumber Sandwich Table. And if there aren’t Cucumber Sandwiches, I find my way to the exit door. A fun fact for you: when I got married a few months ago, I requested to have zero bridal showers thrown for me. No, I am not anti-social, I simply have played one too many bridal shower games. Enough banter…on to the recipes!!!
Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti
2 cups cooked Chicken
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup finely diced Green Pepper
1/2 cup finely diced Onion
1-4 oz jar diced Pimientos, drained
3 cups dry Spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cups reserved Chicken Broth (from pot)
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (for the top of the casserole)
Directions:
Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick enough meat off the bones to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar. Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil)
Melissa’s Notes:
What sets this recipe above the average chicken spaghetti recipe is that 1) the spaghetti is cooked in the chicken broth not water 2) the chicken broth is not from a can but is reserved from the actual pot the chicken was boiled in. In my opinion, this recipe lacks without these two elements. The chicken spaghetti feeds approximately 6 people.
Apple Crostata (Barefoot Contessa Parties!)
For the pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
1 1/2 pounds McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples (3 large)
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
Directions:
For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.
For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.
Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Melissa’s Notes: This is what some call a “free-form” tart or galette, which means simply that it isn’t baked with the support of a pie-dish or tart-pan. You just fold the 1 1/2 inch border up and crinkle it in about two inch intervals, to partially cover the fruit and then bake it straight on a baking-sheet. Try looking at pictures of similar recipes online if you have never made anything like this before. I think that this dough is pretty forgiving, though. I have made it numerous times and even when I think the dough has failed, it ends up tasting flawless.
Kimberly Meyer’s Banana Pudding
(seriously, it has the ability to change your life)
5 Bananas, sliced
1 14 oz Can Eagle Brand (Sweetened Condensed Milk)
1 Large Cool Whip
1 Large Instant Vanilla Pudding
3 Cups Whole Milk
1 Box of Vanilla Wafers
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Trifle Bowl or a REALLY deep dish (much prettier in a trifle bowl)
Directions:
-Put entire box of Vanilla Wafers on the bottom of a deep dish.
-Take can of Eagle Brand, 1 tsp. of Vanilla Extract & ½ of the large carton of Cool Whip and blend it all together.
-In a second bowl, mix instant vanilla pudding & 3 cups of Milk.
-Fold the two mixes together by hand (the pudding mix & Eagle Brand mix)
-Pour HALF of this mixture on the layer of wafers
-Put all of the sliced bananas on top of the layer of pudding mixture
-Put the other half of the pudding mixture on top of the sliced bananas
-Finish with the other half of the Cool Whip on top.
– Chill and Serve!
Melissa’s Notes:
I have found that this recipe makes a bit too much pudding mixture, so when I get to the step after layering the sliced bananas, I do not use the entire other half of the pudding mixture. Since I don’t like for it to be too sweet, I use a little over ¼ of it. Just make sure you taste it, and modify it according to your desires.
Mini Cucumber Sandwiches
Recipe from “Southern Entertaining for a New Generation” by Rebecca Lang
Ingredients:
1 8-oz package Cream Cheese, Softened
¼ cup of Sour Cream
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon fresh chopped Dill
¼ cup finely diced sweet Onion
20 thinly sliced white sandwich bread slices
1 Large English Cucumber (seedless cucumbers) or 2 Cucumbers, thinly sliced
20 thinly sliced wheat sandwich bread slices
Directions:
-In a medium mixing bowl stir the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add the salt, dill, and diced onion.
-Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the white bread slices. Top the cream cheese mixture with one slice of cucumber, then top with the wheat bread slices.
-Slice the sandwiches in half diagonally or cut with your favorite cookie or biscuit cutter.
-Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 3 hours before serving.
-Makes 20 Servings.
Melissa’s Notes:
I buy Pepperidge Farm “Very Thin Sliced” bread in the bread section of the grocery store. This brand has both white and wheat varieties and they fit perfectly together for this recipe (buy one loaf of wheat and one loaf of white) Sometimes I add one really thin slice of turkey if I am serving them around lunch-time. Using a really sharp cookie-cutter or a biscuit cutter makes them look the prettiest!
Until next time….Bon Appetit!
These look fantastic, Melissa!
Thanks for the crostada recipe, too. I had a Siesta email me for it and I said, “Hmmm, I don’t know. I will ask.” So you just made Stephanie’s (who doesn’t have a blog, yet, but is getting one soon!) day.
Have a marvelous day and enjoy this newlywed time. It is a time I would never trade. May it grow!
ok…but we’re watching Wising Up–#9 tonight at my house for Bible Study, so I’m getting a jump-start on Tuesday and trying one of those desserts out on my girls. We do enjoy a good dessert by which to listen to your mom teach:-)
Ummm…what is Eagle Brand? I have the feeling there is supposed to be something listed after it…Eagle Brand milk or cheese or crackers or cream or SOMEthing… I’ve just never heard of that as a food or ingredient, but I am hopeless in the kitchen so I suppose it’s possible it’s a food item!
YUMMY! I think I might be trying these soon!
thanks for the recipes i want to use the cucmber one tonight God bless love siesta in Christ Victoria Redsville NC
You don’t have to go to all that for a cucumber sandwich – if you’re already hungry or whatever. They are excellent with Philadelphia cheesecake-flavored cream cheese, which I could not find yesterday, but honey and nut-flavored is not bad either. Add good (e.g. not store) tomatoes too!
Okay, I understand the no bridal shower thing (I have been in 39 weddings and directed 11) but we did do prayer showers. They are awesome. Women leave you with their favorite tips for blessing their husbands and pray over you and your marriage. Just some food, fellowship, and prayer! Awesome alternative to any single siestas who are over the ‘party games’.
Melissa,
Thanks for the time you take in putting these recipes together for our bible study groups. We have enjoyed all of them.
Patti
This sounds so-o-o good! Way to go, girls!
My hubby is hoping that there is going to be lots of spaghetti left after the meeting. I was planning on making chicken spaghetti if the common meal seemed too hard…..must be on the same wave length as you! Will make another dessert as we’ve already had “Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding” from Paula Deen’s recipe.
sharon
I’ve just joined the blog-world, and have been greatly encouraged by the LP blog. Beth’s Breaking Free study was the turning point for me during my college years. Through it, God took me from a weekly pew-sitter to a real relationship with my Savior. Praise Jesus!
Thanks for the recipes. I’m happily cutting and pasting!
The Journey Continues ~
Cooking away in CaliforniiiAAA!
With “Heaven Bound” blessings,
Kim Safina
http://www.kimsafinathejourneycontinues.blogspot.com
The Journey Continues ~
Kate ~ Eagle Brand is a canned milk product that you can find in the sugars, canned milk area of your grocery store.
With “Heaven bound” blessings,
Kim Safina
http://www.kimsafinathejourneycontinues.blogspot.com
with you on the cucumber sandwiches!! They’re my all time favorite. When planning my wedding RECEPTION, I told them I literally did not care what food was there for people to eat so long as there would be cucumber sandwiches. And they made extra so I could take some with us when we left that night.
Now THAT’S a honeymoon my friends… waking up to eat a cucumber sandwich anytime you like with the man you love!
(side note if you like Starbucks – some of them sell food as you know, and on a RARE occassion you can find a cucumber sandwich with carrot sticks and some other veg on wheat bread with cream cheese — if you see this, BUY THEM ALL. they are sooooo good!)
see you in the produce department 🙂
Lavonda
Atlanta, Ga
Yummy! I love banana pudding!
We made almost the exact same recipe with my students this summer. Being that they are only 3-5 years old and have autism, they did not really go for the pudding (as I expected!). But boy did my staff and I love it!!!
This sounds good!! The recipe for the banana pudding is the way I make mine. I think I will make the banana pudding and we just had baked spaghetti so I will make something else. I love cucumber sandwiches and as hot as it is here in Tennessee this would be great for dinner.
Thank you Melissa.
Love,
Patty
Beth, Amanda, Melissa, and fellow Siestas: Could you please pray for me. I am going in to have my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow morning. I am a complete baby when it comes to dental work and am so scared! I know that fear is not of the Lord and want to be free of it! So please join me in prayer for freedom from fear.
Thanks!
Love ya~ Bethany
Gosh Melissa I just love this! WOOHOO. I too am an avid COOK (with my high sprano voice singing) YEA. I already made your first recipe you posted a while back: Rosemary Lemon Garlic Chicken.
A girfriend and I cooked that recipe 3 weeks ago. She wanted to learn to prepare better meals for her husband besides just doing pizza! It was great! So, great that after we both made this recipe. I had it in my head and cooked it again w/o the recipe. I haved cooked it twice since.
It’s just so homey and healing for me to cook. And now my friend and I are going to try out a new recipes every other week and you’ve inspired in me a good wholesome, healing thing…to cook! Nothing wrong with that! Right!
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
thanks,
Allison
I can’t wait to try the banana pudding. I don’t like vanilla wafers but I have found these Prepridge Farm shortbread cookies that work so great with banana pudding. I can’t remember what they are called but the front looks like chessmen pictures. Of course, I think any shortbread would be great!
Thanks ‘Lissa ! I’ve always wanted the Cucumber samwich recipe and now I have it. : ) Just forwarded it to my sister in TN , too.
But I’m sure all the siestas know not to use WHITE bread ! EWWIES !! No need for white bread. Its tasteless and has no nutritional value. Yuck. EW. ugh Bleah. ( Can you tell I have a ” thing ” about white bread ? WALK AWAY FROM WHITE BREAD SIESTAS !!!!!!!!!! )Lord have mercy , why do they still make it ?!? Whoever you are , just STOP making it, k ? And stop with the saltless Saltines too for cryin out loud. Enough already.
Thank you. ; )
What’s a trifle bowl? And cucumber, Miracle Whip and sliced boiled eggs are my favorite quick lunch food. (I try to avoid cream cheese unless it’s in a cheesecake, or on a bagel, or in a jalapeno popper….) I enjoy trying out these recipes. Thanks so much for sharing.
Okay, I was just reading the comments and found kate’s: “Ummm…what is Eagle Brand?”
I found my chin knocking me in the knees and my heart just aching for that sweet girl! I never would have imagined one soul in America living without Eagle Brand! I’m in shock! I just wonder if we ought to all post our favorite recipes that call for Eagle Brand as a way of introducing her to sheer delight! Seriously.
Several years ago, I taught school with a group of ladies who would all down their Slim Fast cans at lunch and then spoon Eagle Brand straight from the can they kept in the teacher’s lounge refrigerator! Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend that, but we should really go out of our way to introduce our siesta kate to THE liquid sugar of the kitchen. I mean … really!
Melissa, from one “Liss” to another – I am loving that you are using Barefoot Contessa recipes!!! I met her in October 2006 and made the biggest fool of myself drooling all over her. Most people wouldn’t consider meeting a chef a celebrity experience…hopefully you’re with me on this one when I say that I wholeheartedly disagree! Thanks for bringing us into food and fellowship with one another with such good humor. 🙂
Beth, Amanda, and Melissa,
I have been reading the LPM blog for quite some time, but haven’t had the courage or know-how as to how to leave a comment or began a blog. So, today is my first attempt at trying to express how much I enjoy coming to this site and receiving spiritual encouragement, laughter and knowledge!
I also enjoy reading the siestas comments and feel like it gives me a touch of home, since I am a missionary in Thailand.
Thanks to all,
Sheila
I look at the cooking shows a lot the “food network ” my favoret is Paula then the rest I like a lot to.God bless you all siesta Victoria Redsville NC
Really?! THREE CUPS of shredded sharp cheddar cheese? What are you trying to do, kill me? Those enchiladas almost did me in! I have a thing for cheese – I can’t resist it! Thanks for doing this – we’re having a ball with the Bible study and the food/fellowship!
Can I just say that this post always makes me so hungry! Thanks for all the work you put into this each week.
~Kristin
I just finished reading every single blog since the beginning. I so glad that I can join the siesta-hood. And I’m so excited to see a Pioneer Woman recipe on the site. Her recipes are so good! And she’s hilarious. I started reading the blog too late to do the study but I’ll be using the recipes. You are all such a blessing to so many people. I pray that God continues to use you for many years to come.
Yum!! Can’t wait for that warm, apply, hint of orange sensation! Barefoot Contessa is one of my favorite “cookers.” Her “Croissant Bread Pudding” is fab-u-lous!!
Can’t wait to try them all, Melissa. I’m already making casseroles and freezing them for the fall when school begins and life gets extra crazy–the Chicken Spagetti will be a hit at my house now and then 😉 Thanks, J
Okay, sweetened condensed milk by Eagle Brand does sound familiar now…it’s a short, fat can, with a red eagle on it, correct? I’ve never used it though, ever… I didn’t know it was ‘liquid sugar’, LOL!
May I make a suggestion? Would it be possible to compile all the Bible study posts into one spot that we could link to or something? My group wasn’t able to get their books and are two weeks behind, and hunting thru all the posts to find the Bible study posts is a bit frustrating. If they could be in one spot that would be great!! It would be nice to look back on them, too, or to direct others to them who may be interested. One link to them all, updated every other week, would be so convenient! Well, convenient for US, anyway, perhaps not so much for YOU GUYS, the ones who would have to figure out how to do that and update each week. :o)
Melissa, I have to smile and enjoy your new love of cooking! I just want to know who is designing our workout schedule after trying all of these delicious recipes! 😉
Gena-MI
Dear Siesta’s
I am new to the blog…I signed up for the Summer Bible Study…I wanted to let you know I will be in El Salvador for a mission trip…Please pray for our team while I am gone We will be doing food and medicine distribution and ministering to single moms who live in a park…I will be leaving tomorrow (July 14)
Thank You,
Stacie Gerathy
i have a WONDERFUL banana pudding recipe! i’m sure the one you posted is really good, but if you want to try something a lil’ different…let me know! i just made it for my mom’s b-day friday night and everyone LOVED IT!
dana
Melissa,
I make the Banana Pudding just like you posted but add 1 8oz cream cheese to it. It’s really good.
Yum! I’ve just picked up the spaghetti ingredients tonight at Walmart…looking forward to “breaking bread” together!
YUMMMMMM…….
Warm in Alaska (not really, we’re having the chilliest summer – is that a word?)
Looks wonderful. I don’t like heating my house in the summertime, so I think I’ll go with the recipes that don’t require me to turn on the oven. Thank you for those options. Last time I ordered pizza for that reason. Anyway, I’m going to have to save these recipes for next week. This week is VBS and our church does evening VBS and both my girls are involved and I have to get my kids there. I avoid the church like the plague when all those kids running around. I love kids but that many is just too much for me. It’s organized chaos and even when chaos is organized I can’t handle it. Wouldn’t you know my husband and I have an appointment with the pastor tomorrow night during VBS. I wonder if we’re going to have to yell to hear each other even in his office with the door closed. Anyway, we’ll be doing it next Tuesday and of course the week after that Damara and I are both gone on vacation, so we’re doing that one the week after too. Just so ya’ll know why you don’t hear from our group for a week after the bible study post on Tuesday. Not that you can really keep track of what? 3000 groups? you probably won’t even notice us being gone for a week.
I can’t wait to try the banana pudding. Sounds delicious! As far as the chicken spaghetti goes, I’ve made this before and used a roasted chicken (Sam’s or Costco has the best and juiciest), with the pasta cooked in “Kitchen Basics” chicken stock — not broth. It’s a little faster than cooking your own chicken, and the roasted chicken is delicious! Cooked in its own juices!
How is Beth holding up to all of the cooking threads? I know it’s hard for her to take that so many of us love to cook, but we would all like to have the “Moore girls” at our table any day!
Enjoy these newlywed days. They are to be cherished!
Blessings,
Gina
Hey Siestas! I’m checking in from Kenya, and I must say, MY MOUTH IS WATERING!! Food here is a bit more limited, so all I can do is imagine how sweet that banana pudding must taste!! I’m saving up the recipes for our return to the states though. Looking forward to tomorrow! Blessings!
-Shauna Okongo
Hey Melissa:)
These recipes look wonderful…I will have to contact my girls and see which ones they want to do tom. night:)…Then, off to the grocery store:)…We may actually want to do the sandwiches for dinner. Thanks Mrs. Melissa:)
You have a blessed day:)((HUGS))
katiegfromtennessee
Hi there! QUESTION – approximately how many people does the Chicken Spaghetti Feed???
thx!!
Oh I love Pioneer Woman’s chicken spaghetti. I made it this winter when she posted it and it was WAYYY yummy. It is filling though. We froze half and got to eat it a few weeks later— my kind of cooking— pull it out and bake it!!
I also have a VERY STRONG dislike for bridal shower games…. I got married in my 30’s, so by then I had been to a few too many showers. I mean how degrading does it feel to be a bride wrapped in toilet paper, kind of takes the romantic princess feeling right out of being the bride. Every bridal or baby shower I have ever planned (or at least since the mid 90’s) has included food, gifts, prayer and socializing, usually followed by dessert. That, to me, is FUN!!
I agree with Sharon. Y’all have got to try Paula Deen’s “Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding” too. It’s so good with those Pepperidge Farm Chessmen Cookies instead of Vanilla Wafers.
Whew, with these delicious dishes and rich Bible Study, I guess it will be Bible Study Tuesday night and Weight Watchers on Wednesday Nights for me. Had to go online and join “Flylady” to help me get my house organized, been convicted to start thinking “green”and being a good steward with my Blessings, uprooting idols, what else?!! All
this and going through menopause! ” Have Mercy” Siesta’s!” LOL
Sue Sue
Praise God, LPM has expanded their ministry to recipes!!!!!
This is a BLESSING for me. I’ve been married 27 years, have two teenagers, two tweenagers and one very patient husband. I’m still cooking the same 10-12 recipes I started out with when we were newly weds. I’m so happy to try these new recipes yall have been putting on here. I’ve got them all in my well worn recipe book. Melissa, its so nice to get into your head and see how you think about things.
This is not a shallow thing. God knows we need encouragement in ALL areas of our lives. A new fabulous recipe is SUCH a BLESSING!!!!
Thank you with allmy heart.
Heidi in Fayetteville, GA
Come for coffee some time. I’ll make you my famous white chocolate fruite tarts.
It is Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. You can find it with all the baking products in the grocery store.
Enjoy!
So I know this blog is about recipes and not prayer requests…but I need help! My mother had surgery for a brain tumor on Thursday and her recovery has not gone well. I am 27 years old and my mother is ALL THAT to me…I’m having such a hard time watching her struggle with speach and her thoughts. I miss my mom already. Please pray for a miracle and for God to heal her completely. We are at MD Anderson in Houston (the best), but Dr.’s are still stumped. We aren’t from TX so another added difficulty is being out of town. My dad and sister (age 29) are here as well.
And P.S. I’ve been a reader to this blog since the beginning, but rarely post comments. I’ve been a (stubborn) student with Beth in His word since I was 18.
Praise Him for bringing us this far!
I am so excited to try the Chicken Spaghetti. Since I’m flying solo on this study, my husband is the blessed recipient of your recipes. And the cucumber sandwiches sound awesome!
Speaking of the syudy…it is great…I’m so glad that I am doing this!
And to our Siesta Mama…though budget wouldn’t allow me to attend Living Proof Live in Minneapolis this coming weekend…I will be praying for you and all the attendees…God is going to bless your socks off!! Praise His name!!
Judie in MN
This is the link to the banana pudding I make…
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/not-yo-mamas-banana-pudding-recipe/index.html
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for the recipes and I plan to try all three of these. I have an old fashioned recipe for banana pudding where you make your own custard and pile meringue on top and bake it and serve it warm. YUM!
Did anyone else grow up with your grandmother making this kind of pudding? I also love cucumber sandwiches and make mine simply with cream cheese and sugar and chopped cucumber as a spread. These get raves. One more comment about your previous post on going green. I read a quote that said, “Save the earth, its the only planet with chocolate.” I thought that was just too cute not to share.