Chicken Casserole

Here is a delicious casserole that Dennis loves for me to make, but it's too much for only the two of us.  So, when we get company sometimes I'll make it.  It's really simple ~ just a little time consuming but not too bad!  Here's the easy directions:

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Fill a dutch oven pan at least half to three fourth full of water.  Add 4 or 5 chicken bouillon cubes or packets of bouillon powder.  I used sodium~free.

I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Put the chicken breasts in the pan and boil

Take chicken out of water to cool enough to work with



Spray a large size casserole dish with Pam

Cut up chicken into small bite size pieces

Don't throw out the broth that you boiled the chicken in.  Set it aside.

Mix cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups together well

 Gently stir in the pieces of chicken; coat well

Place this mixture in the casserole dish

 Put one stick of butter in the chicken broth and bring to a boil 

Add stove top dressing

Put the stove top dressing on top of the chicken mixture

CHICKEN CASSEROLE

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 packs of Stove Top Dressing

4 or 5 chicken bouillon cubes

Boil chicken breast in a large Dutch Oven pan for approximately 20 minutes; add chicken bouillon cubes while boiling.  Remove chicken from water to cool enough to handle.  Set chicken broth aside for now as you will use this.  Cut up chicken into bite size pieces.  Spray large casserole dish with Pam.  In large bowl mix cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups.  Spread this mixture in bottom of casserole dish.  Set aside.  Make the Stove Top Dressing according to directions on the box.  Gently put the Stove Top Dressing on top of the chicken mixture.  The dressing may be very wet, but that's okay.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 ~ 35 minutes.  The last 5 minutes bake uncovered.

Note:  You may also add some chopped celery and onion to the dressing for added taste.

Enjoy!!

More Pictures of the Angry Sea

Here are some more pictures of the Sea that was so stirred up earlier this week from Hurricane Rina.

This dock was tore up from the rough waves

So amazing!!

It hasn't been that long from another storm that the dock had to be replaced

When we went out on Wednesday afternoon to dinner and to get groceries unfortunately I forgot to take some pictures at Seven Mile Beach.  They closed the main road several times due to the Sea breaking and crashing so hard on the beach that the huge waves were coming up on the road.  I had been down that way earlier in the day and the road was closed then and I was so disappointed as I wanted to catch a glimpse of the Sea.  But when we were down there later the road was opened again.  They have to bring in front end loaders and bull dozers to clean the enormous amounts of sand off the road.  We were driving through Sea water and a couple inches of sand on the road.  Dennis said it reminded him of driving in snow up north in the States :o)  I had my camera but forgot to get a picture.  I was so disappointed later!  Oh, well!  Now there's big piles of sand on both sides of the road there at Seven Mile Beach.  I haven't had a chance to go to the beach since the Sea has calmed down, but I'm almost positive that it has been washed away from those waves that were beating and battering the coastline.  It takes a really long time for the beaches to get built back up.  I'm anxious to go and see it!

The Effects From Storm Rina

I've had these pictures downloaded on my blog, but again, to busy to write about them and post.  I don't know if you follow the weather other than yours locally or not, but this week there has been a hurricane out at Sea and less than 100 miles from us.  I can look out my living room windows and see the Sea.  Usually it is calm and smooth as glass almost with little ripples, but there are times once and a while when it's a little rough with some white caps.  Well, this week it was more than white caps.  So, on Tuesday I mentioned to Dennis that I wanted to go take some pictures of the "Angry" Sea as the natives here call it when it's so rough.  So, I grabbed my camera and off we went.  For those of you who have visited us, we went up toward the Turtle Farm behind a little restaurant called Treats and took the first three pictures from their parking lot.

I was standing there with the camera to my eye taking pictures when all of a sudden something to my left caught my attention and startled me.  When I looked there sat this cat.  Here it jumped up on the wall and when I first looked was right beside me :o)

This is that little area where you can park and the Sea is right there.  (Vi, Jim, Cheryl & Mike, this is where we saw the guy walk out to his back yard and swim in that little area right behind his house).  I couldn't believe how the water was beating in there.

The rest of the pictures are right down the road from us at the stop sign at West Bay Beach.  With the water being so rough and the waves beating against the dock it was breaking it up again!  They use this area quite a bit as different businesses take divers out farther to the Sea and there's usually fishing boats here, too. 

Look at that huge wave and how far across it is.  So neat!!

Viewing straight down at the boat launch

Charlotte, this is the beach where you fell in the Sea and ruined your camera up past the trees!

Yes, if you click on the picture you'll see some crazy people out there in the water.  Some had boogie boards riding the waves while overs just rode out the waves.  Crazy, crazy, crazy!!

I will be posting some more pictures later of the "angry" Sea.

Not Again!

Small earth quake recorded south of Cayman

This is too scary!! Soon after we moved here there was an earthquake here in Cayman. Let me tell you that 91 miles isn't real far away when we're talking about an earthquake!!!

MEMORIES ~THE "RED" BOOK

This old "RED" scrapbook is filled with sooooooooooo many memories of years gone by!  I remember my Mother having had this book around for so long.  She has this chucked full of so many pictures.  The pages are black and have become so very, very brittle that they have broke and tore.  Back several years ago when we were still living in Ohio and Mom lived with us, we had made a trip to PA for some reason.  I took this "RED" book with us and I was on a mission :o)  Mom's mind was still really good for her age, but there were several pictures whom she couldn't identify and I wanted to know who was who.  We were at my sister Vi's house when I pulled out the "RED" book.  This was after when my sister Thelma was diagnosed with cancer.  I was sure that Thelma could answer most of my questions!  So, as Mom, Thelma and I sat on the sofa the questions began to flow.  Thelma had a wealth of answers for me.  We got a pen and wrote lightly on the back of most of the photo's who Thelma was able to identify for me.  Around this same time, I had taken Mom to a huge craft store in Akron, Ohio where I bought a large scrapbook (I should have bought two), lots of paper and stickers.  Over the years, there were quite a few major changes in our lives: losing both my parents, my sister Thelma, my nephew Matt and then moving from Ohio to Cayman.  I've thought so many times about pulling out the "RED" book and start scrapping, but it seems I'm always so busy here.  Well, yesterday was the day.  I wanted to get started on this major project and so I went on a mission to find the "RED" book.  I wasn't sure if it was in a drawer with other scrap-booking items or packed away in a box.  Tah~dah!  It was in one of the first drawers I checked!!  When I found it I felt like a child in a candy store.  It was so delightful!!  I took the book to the dining room table where I could open it.  It was just awesome!!  I'd take the book and show Dennis a picture and tell him the story behind it.  Some of the pictures are over 80 years old!!  The back cover of the book has now fallen out of the once tight binding!  It's really in sad shape, but considering the age of the book and how many times over the years that it's been looked at I guess it's still in pretty good shape :o)  Here is glance of just a few of the many pages in the dear old treasured "RED" book:

 

 

 

The top left pic is one of our family.  I was the baby Thelma is holding.

Harold

Charlotte

Vi holding Michael with Teresa and Michelle

(Sorry that this is turned sideways.  Blogger is acting up again!)

My Dad's parents and my Uncle Henry

All these pictures are Thelma except the bottom left corner and that's Jim with bushel's of cucumber's from the garden that summer.

The top row of pictures are Daddy holding either Vi or Jim.  I'd have to check that.

Now I just have to figure out where to start on this project.  I hate tearing apart his great piece of memory work, but hope to restore and keep everything together as it is literally falling apart!  That way, we'll be able to once again be able to share it as a family and I think Mom would be proud.

Cayman urged to keep watch on new weather system

Cayman urged to keep watch on new weather system (Click on this)


This isn't good!! I had read in the newspaper on Friday that they were predicting this to break up, but apparently that wasn't right! Hopefully it won't be anything major. The whole month of October we've had soooooooooo much rain here. I know it's the rainy season, BUT!! Almost everyday it's rained and during the night it usually pours and pours and pours. Most of the time the water soaks right into the sandy soil, but the last several days it's like a lake out back in the big yard area where our school kids play. I'm thankful for the rain as the rest of the year it's usually so dry. I just think we need a break for a day or two :o) Yesterday, there was a really big funeral at our Church and by the time they went to the cemetery the sky was black again. Today, we have another big funeral and am hoping the rain holds off. We'll see!!

Some Fall Decorations Around Our Home

Since we don't have Fall type weather here in the Cayman Islands I have to just look at my decorations :o)  I guess I could turn the air conditioning down to about 60 degrees to cool down!!

Chicken Noodle Casserole

I tried a new recipe for dinner and I'd like to share it.

CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE

1/2 bag medium wide noodles                    

1 chicken breast, precooked                     

1 can cream of chicken soup 

1 can cream of mushroom soup

salt & pepper to taste

8 oz. sour cream                   

3/4 cup milk

2 chicken low sodium bouillon cubes           

cornflakes

2 tsp. butter

Cook chicken in water with bouillon cubes for 20 minutes; let cool.  Cut up chicken into chunks/pieces.  Following directions on back of package cook noodles; drain.  Meanwhile, combine both cans of soup, sour cream, seasonings and milk in large bowl; mix this mixture with chicken and noodles.  Before pouring into large casserole dish melt some butter in the bottom of the casserole.  Put the mixture in dish and cover with crushed cornflakes.

Enjoy!!

We Miss You So Much

One year ago today, my dear Mother~in~law left this world and went to Heaven.  It's just so hard to believe it's a year already!!  She had such a sense of humor and loved to laugh as you can see in the picture below :o)  She also made you laugh at things she said or did.  She loved her family so much.

 She loved her grandchildren and great~grandchildren, too!!  They could do NO wrong in her book.

 We miss that smile!  No one can replace her.  When we go to West Virginia to visit, it just seems like she should be walking in the room to talk to you.  She never got over the terrible accident she was in several years ago and she really suffered from those horrible injuries, but she kept trying to go on in spite of all of that!

Dennis and I were just talking about her and he was saying how much he misses her good old fashioned homemade biscuits.  Before the accident when we went to visit she would cook up a storm.  We miss her so much!!  You can't ever get over losing your Mother (or Mother~in~law).  She'll always be in our hearts.  Oh, for those precious memories we have of her!!  We love you, Alice!!

October Is Elderly Month

 October is Elderly Month here in Cayman Islands and it was celebrated in our Morning Worship Service yesterday morning.  Lorna, who is our Sunday School Superintendent plans most of the special services here at our Church.  She always does such a great job planning it and gives it her very, very best!!  Yesterday was no different and we were not disappointed with the service.  She always involves so many people and has such a variety.  The opening of the service began by Rachel (above) reading a poem titled "At the Foot of the Cross".

~Then Sister Maureen led us in three choruses ~

 ~Sister Lera, who is up in years, recited a very, very long poem~

~Mimi & Goldstein singing a "Senior's" rendition of Jesus Loves Me.  It was really cute!~

  ~The Pastor :o)  The service went so long that he didn't even get to speak~

 

Some of the children doing a recitation ~ "He Sits Alone"

 The little boy in the red shirt stole the show when he went over to help the little girl.  It was hilarious!!

 

~She's cute as a button!  For those that know Laten, this is one of his grand~daughter's~

 ~Male trumpet trio~

 ~The Church Choir sang "Please Search the Book Again"  It's a beautiful song and they did a great job!!~

Brother Laten playing his harmonica and guitar

~The lady on the left is the Premier's mother.  I had the privilege to sit on the front seat beside her as the lady who brought her had to leave at the very beginning of the service to go to the Emergency Room.   The two ladies are sister's and had their own little conversation going on up there for a little while.  It was so funny!  These folks were getting ready to be recognized as some of our shut~in's who were able to get out to the service yesterday morning.~

 ~Still talking :o)~

~Look at the expression on the lady's face on the right~

  ~They stole the show~

 ~Still in conversation :o)~

~Passing out fruit baskets~

 ~Sister Ersie getting a big bouquet of flowers~

 ~Proud as a peacock of her beautiful flowers~

 ~Sister Faith with holding her flowers~

 ~ I wanted a picture with Dennis with the "shut-in's~

 ~All the people over 70 years old received a pretty bookmark which Faith was looking at~

 ~One of the elderly people from our congregation are chosen to receive the "Elderly Person of the Year Award" and this year it went to dear Sister Caroline.  She is one sweet, sweet lady.  She was in shock, I think when Dennis said her name.  (She's the lady in the middle sitting down!)  She's also known as one of the "Hat Ladies"~

 ~They make this a big thing here.  She was going up to the platform.~

 ~Any family members present join their loved one on the platform for the presentation.  It's really nice!~

 

 ~She was presented with a fruit basket~

 ~Dennis presenting her with a plaque~

 ~Her family gave her the pretty basket of flowers~

 ~This is the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Cline Glidden.  The Premier couldn't be here thus Mr. Glidden spoke for him~

 ~This lady, Mrs. Dawn Rankine, is the Adult Special Needs Program Supervisor here on the Island~

 ~The service ended with Dennis giving just a few short words after the Stroup family sang a special song~

~It was an awesome day!  What a thoughtful way to honor the elderly of the Congregation!~