Have You Entered Yet

There's still time to enter my giveaway of this Gooseberry Patch cookbook.

Thanks to the Real Farmwives of America and Gooseberry Patch for coordinating this fun project.

Go to this post to enter! You have until 9 p.m. EST TONIGHT!

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check out www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.

Christmas Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway

Since the end of May I've been fixing recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Christmas Kitchen cookbook.

This was done in anticipation of a giveaway of this cookbook right here on my blog as part of the In the Kitchen project between the Real Farmwives of America and Gooseberry Patch. And, yes, it's a brand-new copy - NOT the one I cooked from, promise!


In case you missed one, here is a round-up of my 10 recipes:


Recipe 1: Quick Cheese Bread
Recipe 2: Grandma's Butter Cookies
Recipe 3: Cheesy Potato Puffs
Recipe 4: Baked Ziti Supreme
Recipe 5: Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
Recipe 6: Cream Cheese Candy
Recipes 7 and 8: Tina's Creamy Bacon Crescents and Scrambled Eggs in Toast Cups
Recipe 9: Hot Cinnamon Twisters
Recipe 10: Chicken, Spinach and Bows Casserole


Big Thanks to Gooseberry Patch!

So with no further ado, let's get down to business.

There are LOTS of ways to enter to win. You don't have to use them all, just do the ones you want. Just make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Follow Gal in the Middle through Google Friend Connect (GFC) (right sidebar).

2. Subscribe to us via email (right sidebar).

5. Subscribe to our feed (right sidebar).

6. Check out The Real Farmwives of America and Friends and follow through GFC. 

7. "Like" The Real Farmwives of America and Friends on Facebook.

8. Follow @realfarmwives on Twitter.

9. "Like" Gooseberry Patch on Facebook.

10. Comment on Gooseberry Patch's Blog or Facebook Page and tell them Megan from Gal in the Middle sent you.

11. Follow @gooseberrypatch on Twitter.

12. Tweet about this contest and include @realfarmwives and @gooseberrypatch in your tweet.

13.  Join the Gooseberry Patch Circle of Friends email club.  

14.  Share this giveaway on your Facebook page and tag The Real Farmwives of America and Friends, and Gooseberry Patch in your post.

15. EXTRA SPECIAL ENTRY: I just started my own Facebook Fan Page - Gal in the Middle - so go over and like it and let me know in a comment and get an extra entry!  

Contest ends 9 PM EDT on July 31st and the winner will be selected at random. The winner must live in the continental U.S.  


Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check out www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.

Yummy Casserole from GP

I decided to tackle a main dish for my 10th and final recipe out of Gooseberry Patch's Christmas Kitchen cookbook as part of my Real Farmwives and Friends of America In the Kitchen experience!

I went for the Chicken, Spinach and Bows Casserole courtesy of Karen Fulton of Huntington, Ind. I thought it was appropriate to fix a Hoosier contribution!

It was very easy to make and yummy to eat. I halved the recipe because I didn't need to serve 10-15 people! I also used frozen, pre-cooked diced chicken instead of fresh. 


Here's the recipe:


Chicken, Spinach and Bows Casserole
16-oz. pkg. bowtie pasta, cooked (I used 8 oz. of what I had on hand.)
26-oz. can cream of chicken soup  (I used a regular sized can - 10 oz or so.)
16-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed (I used a 10 oz. box.)
4 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I used about 2 cups frozen, pre-cooked diced chicken.)
8-oz. pkg shredded Colby-Jack cheese
1 T. butter, sliced
salt and pepper to taste


Combine cooked pasta and soup, stir until coated. Add spinach and set aside. In a lightly greased 3-quart glass casserole dish, layer half each of chicken, pasta mixture and cheese. Layer with remaining chicken and pasta mixture; dot with butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted. Serves 10 to 15.


Stay tuned for a chance to win this great cookbook!


Hooking up to:

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit theirstore. If you would like to see other great recipes, check outwww.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.

Hot Cinnamon Twisters

As I shared with you on Sunday, I tackled my In the Kitchen Gooseberry Patch Recipes 7, 8 and 9 in one meal over the weekend. You can check out numbers 7 and 8 here.

We finished our "Sunday Brunch for Supper" meal with these super easy Hot Cinnamon Twisters - Recipe 9.

The only thing that may have made these better was some icing!

Well, I just have one more dish to make before I give away a copy of this great Gooseberry Patch cookbook! Stay tuned.

Also linking to Two Maids a Baking!

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check out www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.

Baked Ziti Supreme

Sticking with my 5 ingredient recipe theme for my "in the kitchen" project with Gooseberry Patch and the Real Farmwives (and Friends) of America, I fixed the Baked Ziti Supreme from the GP cookbook Christmas Kitchen as my fourth dish!

It was very easy and quite yummy. Actually, I think it got better when I re-heated it for supper the next day!

I'm going to let you in on a couple of tricks I did to make the prep even easier.

First, I used a tip from Leah over at Beyer Beware and browned my ground beef in the microwave using my Pampered Chef micro-cooker. This has forever changed the way I cook up my ground beef! However, I need to invest in the large PC micro-cooker...the small one worked fine but I NEED the bigger one.

Second, it was 90-plus degrees out the day I decided to make the baked ziti and I did NOT want to put a pot of water to boil on the stovetop to cook the pasta. So, I threw uncooked pasta into the dish and added an extra can of tomato sauce.

Third, my sister called and wanted to go to the pool AFTER I popped the ziti in the oven. So, I turned the oven down to 200 degrees and let it cook as we sat by the pool and watched my nephew practice for his Boy Scout Camp swim test. It turned out just fine!

Here's the actual recipe. I think it would be a great dish for family night. Add a salad and some bread and you have a meal.

Baked Ziti Supreme
1 lb. ground beef
28-oz. jar spaghetti sauce
8-oz. pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
8-oz. pkg. ziti pasta, cooked
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: add ripe olives or mushrooms


Brown ground in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; drain. Stir in sauce, one cup mozzarella cheese and cooked pasta. Spoon into a lightly greased shallow 3-quart casserole dish; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until hot and bubble. Serves 6.

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check outwww.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.


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