Yellow Happiness

When Doug and I were in The Big City a few weeks ago for the state dental convention I pretty much spent all my time in our hotel room working on some of my on-line class assignments. I did go to the gym every day so that the maid could "do" the room (although I did consider putting the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and making the bed myself. But I do that every day and this was My Break. So I let her.)

One afternoon I did venture out for a couple of hours. I didn't really need anything. It was just to get out and see what was out there.

I found an area with a lot of stores that looked like they'd be fun to go to, one of them being TJMax(x? Two x's?) and next to it was a store called Good Home, or something. I rarely go to TJMax(x?), so I went there first, and discovered the Good Home (?) store was connected inside and they have lots of fun things for your home. Lots.

I didn't know, until I saw it, that I needed this dish:

It spoke to me. It said, "Take me to your kitchen and we'll make all sorts of happy food together!"

How could I not buy such a Happy Yellow Dish?

My challenge, of course, is that while I love beautiful and fun dishes, I don't exactly like having to do a lot of cooking.

(But I keep trying.)

This Happy Yellow Dish sat on my counter for a week or two and I decided I really had to actually use it. So one busy night I made this:

It is a fast and easy go-to recipe that involves chicken, Ritz crackers and a stick of butter.

Yep. A Stick of Butter. And Ritz crackers.

And thinking about that crunchy Ritz cracker goodness makes me want to go eat one right now.

The thing I love about this cookbook is the author's audacity to use a stick of butter in every recipe. That kind of cracks me up.

Ritzy Chicken Casserole

1 (4 lb.) chicken

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 cups egg noodles

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup flour

12 lb. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 small box butter crackers (like Ritz crackers)

1 stick butter, melted

*Cover chicken with water in large saucepan; add garlic and preferred seasonings. Stew until tender; drain and cube. Cook noodles in salt water and drain. Thicken **broth with flour. Mix all together; add cheese and pour into greased 9x13 pan. Crush ***crackers and mix with melted butter; sprinkle on top. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

*I buy chicken breasts when they are on sale and boil them and put 2-3 at a time in freezer bags and have them in my freezer ready for when I need them. A quick defrost zap in The Wave and I'm ready to go.

**I always think it would be nice to have my own home-made and seasoned chicken broth, but I just used the canned stuff.

***Who has a "small box" of crackers? I just use one of the four packaged tubes that comes in the box of Ritz.

This was supposed to be about my Happy Dish, but you got the recipe, too. It is a bland enough recipe that kids like it. Doug, of course, has to spice it up before he eats it. I'm okay with that.

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On The Road To Spring:

Temperature last night at 6:00 PM: 40*

WOW!!