"The Fondest Memories are Made When Gathered Around the Table"

{Our dining room post addition}

It's the decal on the wall of my dining room. I remember scouring Michael's Craft store for almost an hour, hemming and hawing over which phrase would best capture the sentiment I was trying to share. When I came across it finally, I was very happy with the look and how it was going to work with the ambiance of my dining room.

And it's true. There's something about food that does bring people together. Is it the act of eating together? The love that went into making the meal or particular dish? The laughs that are shared when eating together and congregating in a single space? The memories associated with a dish or the smell of a certain meal being prepared? Whatever it is, it inspires family and friends alike to share food and recipes to be passed on and along through the ages.

Recipes {and even more specifically the actual recipe cards that house the path to constructing such a dish} are really mini story books. They tell a story, regardless of whether we intend for the card to do so or not. I refer to my {and my hubby's} favorite Christmas cutout cookie recipe. It has been passed down through the years from one of the women in my church congregation. But it's a family favorite. And for as long as we've been together, I've made these cookies for several holiday {or not} occasions. As our family has grown, my daughters have become part of the recipe, in that I have added them into the process - adding ingredients, using the Kitchen Aid mixer, cutting out the cookies, and of course, frosting, decorating, and most importantly, eating them. Upon closer inspection of the card, and what you might not see as part of the story, is how loved this recipe card is. It's been floured, spilled on, folded, shared, photocopied, and who knows what else. The edges are watermarked and stained with food coloring. But it quietly divulges those less obvious elements to my family's story.

{Barb Smith's Christmas Cutouts}

And so, when I was asked to share some "family" recipes for a family bridal shower, I wasn't sure which way to go. Dessert? Well, my husband's late grandmother has the market stronghold on sugar cookies, though it's a known fact that now that she's gone, the cookies will never be quite the same as when she made them, regardless of who tries or how often the recipe is practiced. But I digress.

So what did I do? I rifled through my recipe box {which is in terrible and dire need of reorganization} and sought out those "go to" recipes that I always keep handy. And actually, I make them regularly enough to have no need of the physical card any longer. But again, I digress.

So here goes.

One is a main course casserole, and the other is a vegetarian friendly pasta salad side dish. Both are equally yummy, especially when made either in the winter or summer months respectively.

{Creamy Chicken Casserole}

My stepmother shared this recipe with me over a decade ago, and it has been a staple in all things shower - bridal and baby - and so I thought it fitting to put into the Bridal Shower Cookbook. It's so easy and so comforting that it's sure to be a favorite of yours too if you love chicken!

Ingredients:

• one package of chicken tenderloins or three to four chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into one-inch pieces
• one box of pork stuffing (unprepared)
• one can of cream of mushroom soup (note: if you choose the fat free soup, your casserole will be very watery. Moral of the story: use the good stuff)
• one package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• one 12 oz container of sour cream (you can use reduced fat here if you'd like)
• butter

Instructions:
{I have to tell you that I just eyeball everything at this point. Remember, this isn't a baked good, so there's much more flexibility in the actual prep}.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Boil water to parboil the chicken.
Cook the chicken through.
When chicken is cooked, remove meat from water and set aside to cool. Save cooking liquid.

{Buttered and Stuffing-ed Baking Dish}

Butter your baking dish.
Open the dry stuffing mix and spread about 1/3 of the dry stuffing onto the bottom of the baking dish.
Using the cooking liquid from the chicken, saturate the stuffing, but do not let any liquid stand in the dish.

{Cooking with Munkis}

Once the chicken has cooled, combine the chicken, the sour cream, the shredded cheddar cheese, and the cream of mushroom soup in a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine all ingredients evenly.

Spread chicken and soup mixture over the saturated stuffing in the baking dish.

Using the remaining stuffing, cover the chicken and soup mixture, again saturating the stuffing with some of the cooking liquid.

Bake, uncovered, for an hour. Serve hot.

{Creamy Chicken Casserole}

{Summer Orzo Salad}

This is a Mediterranean side dish I stole from Rachael Ray by way of my good friend Nicole, who is very in touch with her native Greek roots. And, well, it's awesome. I have to adapt it depending on the audience, but it's a hit however and wherever . . . 

Ingredients:

{Ingredients - Summer Orzo Salad}

• one pint cherry or plum tomatoes, halved
• four ozs baby spinach, chopped roughly
• zest of one lemon
• one box orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

{optional}

• feta cheese to crumble
• kalamata olives

Instructions:

Prepare and cook the orzo according to the package directions (and remember to salt the water - super important). Drain when finished.

{Can't go wrong with FRESH}

While the pasta is cooking, chop the baby spinach, halve the tomatoes, and zest the lemon. Add those ingredients into your presentation bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.

{Drop drained hot pasta on top}

As soon as the pasta is drained, and while still hot, add the pasta to the bowl with the tomatoes, baby spinach, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. The heat will wilt the baby spinach and perfume your kitchen with the aroma of lemon and tomato - totally delish - I promise!

Once all ingredients have been combined, drizzle (again, according to taste, but enough to keep salad moist) with olive oil. Salt and pepper again to your personal taste.

Serve hot or cold - it's delicious either way. And for a more Mediterranean flair, add in sliced kalamata olives and Feta cheese.

{Kid friendly version - no olives/cheese}

So . . . For Garen and Meredith, these are especially for you. For everyone else, I hope that if you try these, you let me know what you think of them, or how you might throw your own spin on them.

Voila, and mangia! {So much for English as a FIRST language . . . }