Apologies... Again.

Well, I had the best of intentions - let me assure you.

I fully intended to do, or at least lay out, several projects with Monster Boy (and a few even with Little Miss Sunshine) this past week.

However, we lost a beloved member of our family - our cat of 14 years, Samantha - on Monday. And, well, without going into gory details, let's just say that I found her dead, and it has proven to be a bit traumatic to me. So my week pretty much went downhill from there, and I have not had much success getting things back on track :(.

However, in an attempt to make amends, I bring you my "Mom Emergency Casserole". I *think* I made this up myself years and years ago - I'm sure it's nothing really original, but it's a staple in our household on those nights where you are running behind, or you have tons to do and can't really mess with cooking dinner, or you don't feel like cooking, or, hey, you just want to throw something in the oven and then sit on the couch and read a book for half an hour or something.

Mom Emergency Casserole

Ingredients:
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (or Cream of Mushroom - either works!)
1 package flavored rice (We like to do either chicken or mushroom flavor on this as well - I typically alternate the soup and the rice - i.e. chicken soup and mushroom rice or vice versa)
1 package of chicken (we prefer boneless, skinless breasts or tenderloins - tenderloins will obviously cook up faster)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 450
2. In casserole dish, mix cream of chicken soup with can of water as instructed on label
3. Pour in contents of rice mix and stir together
4. Place your chicken in mixture, covering chicken fully
5. Cover dish and place in oven

Cook until chicken and rice are thoroughly cooked - the rice should be soft. With the tenderloins, it takes about 30 minutes. Chicken breast takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 50 minutes, depending on thickness. Always check both your chicken and your rice to be certain it is fully cooked.

Serve up and enjoy!