For the love of Pioneer Woman!

I am positive every food blogger knows about Pioneer Woman and venerates her as the top dog of the food blogging world. I've made several of her recipes in the past months or so, just been on a Pioneer Woman kick so I wanted to rave about some of the out-of-this-world goodness I have tried lately.

First up, her Baked Lemon Pasta. Run, don't walk, to your nearest store and pick up the ingredients for this! It was delicious and even better as leftovers, if you could imagine that! I actually cut this recipe down and made it as a side dish to tilapia for dinner one night. I would, however, happily make this as a main dish as filed on her site. Yum, yum, YUM!

Next up, I tried her Crash Hot Potatoes. Hello, easy potato insane goodness! Best part of this recipe? It's insanely versatile and would go with anything. I made this as a side to chicken but had extra so I saved them and used them as breakfast potatoes when I made "brinner"(aka breakfast-for-dinner) later that week.

Of course I caved and got Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I couldn't help myself. I also got a copy for my sister-in-law who is really trying to get more into cooking and baking. The pictures and the great stories make it great for someone just getting started.

So far I've tried two recipes from the cookbook: PW's Potato Skins & Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes. If you have the book I highly recommend both! My husband said the potato skins were better than from a restaurant! Not a bad compliment whatsoever.

A New Year's Eve app

We had just a couple of friends over for New Year's Eve. I made these little guys (sorry no picture) which were so fast and easy. I made these using the variation suggested on Kraft's website to use pepperoni in place of red peppers - delicious!

Savory Parmesan Bites
(from KraftFoods.com)

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
2 cans (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup chopped red peppers
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup Parmesan with mixer until well blended.
Separate crescent rolls into 8 rectangles; press perforations together to seal. Spread each with 3 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture. Top with peppers and parsley. Fold 1 long side of each dough rectangle over filling to center; fold again to enclose filling. Cut each into 4 squares. Place, seam-sides down, on baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
Bake 13 to 15 min. or until golden brown.
Variation
Substitute 1 jar (13-1/4 oz.) sliced mushrooms or 1 pkg. (3 oz.) pepperoni slices for the red peppers and parsley.

Pioneer Woman greatness

There's no doubt that the Pioneer Woman has terrific recipes. When the snowstorm hit on Friday afternoon in my area, I was just itching to do something since it felt like cabin fever was setting in instantly.


For some reason the little lightbulb in my head turned on (and sometimes it doesn't turn on all the time, thank goodness it did this time) and I remembered her recipe for Onion Strings that I've been wanting to try for forever. Home alone without my onion-hating hubby who was at work, I decided this would be a fantastic lunch treat for me (yes lunch), at least it involved veggies!


I must confess when Ruby Tuesday did away with the onion strings on their menu a few years back, I was devastated. Those things were a big reason Ruby Tuesday was one of my favorite chain restaurants! I know they briefly made a comeback but now I'm not sure if they are on the menu or not since we rarely go out to eat anymore. Either way, it's a comfort to know I can make these wonderful little gems in my own home!



I busted these beauties out easily and quickly (after the soaking process) and while mine do not look as gorgeous as hers, well, none of my food pictures or recipes look much like the website sometimes, but these were delicious and oh so easy. I should mention that this picture was from my first batch which I already had started to gobble up before even thinking to take a picture.

Anyway, I love that they can be a side dish (all to myself obviously) or even an appetizer. You can find Pioneer Woman's printable recipe here.

Quick, easy appetizer

Last night I hosted my 3rd annual Christmas Cookie Exchange but before we broke into the sweet stuff, I of course served up some savory snacking for my guests. A veggie tray, beer bread with a garlic dip (thank you Tastefully Simple!), bakery pizza, chips and salsa and then....

....Well, here's the story. I had bought cocktail wieners on sale at the supermarket over the weekend but was not in the mood to do the typical pigs in a blanket thing I would normally make. So I searched for a little cocktail weiner recipe that did not involve grape jelly, as most do, since I was out of that - oops! I found this little number on about.com - so easy and all things I already had in the house which was nice since going back out to the store was really not an option as the cookie exchange drew nearer. I am going to keep this recipe in my back pocket for sure!

Spicy Franks
(from About.com)

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound hot dogs, cut into bite-size pieces, or cocktail wieners, smoked sausage, etc.

Combine everything but hot dogs in the slow cooker; cover and cook on high 1 to 2 hours, until well heated. Add hot dogs, stir, and cook another 1 to 2 hours, until heated through. Turn to low to keep warm; serve from

It's not easy being green

A green tomato that is.

My tomato plants in the garden are producing a decent amount of tomatoes but...

They aren't turning red!! I asked around and a lot of people in this area are experiencing the same problem. I had one big guy that I didn't see right away that had turned red but had unfortunately turned into something inedible and even he wasn't even 100% red yet. So in order to save some of my "crop" (and yes, I use that term loosely) from rotting away, I picked some green tomatoes. Some of them have gone into a paper bag. I will let you know if that trick works....

In the meantime I thought maybe I could make something with a few of the green tomatoes. MyRecipes.com to the rescue again with this yummy recipe for Sweet and Sour Green Tomato Salsa. Another addicting recipe that involves something from the garden!

Sweet and Sour Green Tomato Salsa
(from myrecipes.com)



1 red bell pepper
2 1/2 cups chopped green tomato
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat broiler. Cut the bell pepper in half lengthwise, discarding seeds and membranes. Place the pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil for 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and finely chop. (I omitted this step and used roasted red peppers from a jar, I added what I figured to be a proper amount by eye).

Place the chopped green tomato, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth.

Place the tomato mixture in a small saucepan; cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Place in a small bowl; cool to room temperature. Add roasted pepper, onion, and garlic to tomato mixture; toss well.

Jalapenos from the garden...

So I am growing my first vegetable garden this summer and I've been blessed with a gaggle of jalapenos.

Yeah, I know, a gaggle refers to geese but today I want a gaggle to refer to my jalapenos...and what I say in my blog, goes!

What to do with this gaggle, I pondered. I looked around for some good recipes and one stood out among them all - Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies from none other than The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

First off, how much easier could these get? And anything that involved cream cheese is a winner in my book! I did take a picture of my little guys that I have yet to upload. In the meantime, please enjoy The Pioneer Woman's much better photography. They do these "thingies" much more justice than my picture will. When my next stash of these little guys are ready to pick I will be sure to make some more of these. They are plain old addicting!!! Spicy (too spicy for my husband....but that just means more for ME!), but addicting.

And since they are so simple (p.s. I had to forgo the toothpicks since I couldn't find any in the cabinet and the bacon pretty much stayed put anyway), they make a fabulous appetizer to just have at home one night before dinner (which is what we did) or even to bring to a party. These are an A+ in my book!

Easter Eats!

As I mentioned in my previous post, we hosted Easter brunch. This was our 2nd year so and I really enjoy hosting a brunch. It's a change in pace from the typical holiday-type dinner that we are all accustomed to, likewise Easter and brunch are a perfect fit.

Per usual when entertaining, in my haste to get everything out of the oven and served before it got cold, I neglected to take pictures of most of my meal. However, here is how the menu looked:
* Fruit & cheese kabobs
* Orange Cream Mimosas
* Broccoli, Chicken, and Mushroom Quiche
* Bacon, Onion, & Cheese Quiche
* Scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese in puff pastry pockets
* Corned Beef Hash
* Mashed Potato Hash Brown type casserole
* French Toast Souffle
* Blueberry Bread (confession: this came from a box mix!)

The Fruit & Cheese kabobs were a great little idea I had seen on KraftFoods.com. Strawberries, kiwi, and grapes on wooden skewers and alternated with cubes of Monterey Jack Cheese. I gave my husband the distinct honor of cutting and assembling these. I was quite impressed with the results - very nicely laid out - go Greg! I thought this was easier than making a huge fruit salad. These were easy and fun to eat! No good excuse to not have gotten a picture of these since they were done an hour before guests arrive, I just simply forgot!

Unfortunately I don't have a real recipe for the 2 quiches. I had decided on my fillings in advance and prepared them in their own containers so that on Easter morning I just had to beat the eggs, throw the fillings in, and pour everything in the pre-baked pie shells. I had a basic quiche recipe that I intended to use as a guide for the number of eggs to use, cooking time, etc. That plan went out the window. I added more eggs, half-and-half, etc. then the "guide" called for. To be honest I couldn't even tell you how many eggs I did in fact use, nevermind any other measurements. Trying to recreate my recipe here probably would only spell disaster. What I can tell you though is that they came out good!

The scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese pockets were a last minute inspiration. My friend Lindsay had mentioned something of the like to me a couple of weeks prior and it clicked with me this could be fun for Easter. Basically all I did was scramble eggs to the semi-runny state, and then laid out a little egg, a sprinkle of cheese, and some diced ham into a little puff pastry pocket. I got 3 pockets for each sheet of puff pastry (I used the fold lines as my divider). It worked out nicely and despite my fears the eggs weren't dried out at all.

There are 3 recipes I can provide you with though...

The first being is homemade Corned Beef Hash. I got this from one of my buddies, Pam, on my local Nest board for my Easter brunch last year. Since it was so popular last year, I didn't think twice about including it on this year's menu. I love how easy it is and how it's something I can prep and then not think about again! You'll never find something this good from a can!

The next recipe is for Paula Deen's Mashed Baked recipe. It's a cross between mashed potatoes and hash browns. I thought this might be a nice bridge between breakfast and lunch and hence fitting of brunch. It was delicious. I lightened it up a bit by using low fat cream cheese, low fat sour cream, and low fat cheese.

Lastly is a French Toast Souffle from myrecipes.com. I don't really know why they call it a souffle, because it's really not a souffle. I digress. It was good, but not great. I really enjoy Paula Deen's French Toast Casserole that I've used in the past (including last Easter) more. I'm sure that has something to do with this recipe being from Cooking Light and Paula's recipe...well...let's just say 2 sticks of butter can change everything!

Corned Beef Hash

3 Cups cooked corned beef
2 small chopped onion
3 potatoes, peeled and diced into small chunks
1/2 Teaspoons salt
1/2 Teaspoons black pepper
1 Cups beef broth

Run first three ingredients through food processor. Mix well with all the remaining ingredients. Press into well greased pot. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.

Mashed Baked
(from FoodNetwork.com)

4 cups frozen hash browns
1 (7.6-ounce) package butter and herb mashed potato mix
1 stick butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups boiling water
2 cups prepared French-fried onion rings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the hash browns. Cook for 5 minutes and drain.

In a large bowl, mix together the cooked hash browns, mashed potato mix, butter, cream cheese, jack cheese, sour cream, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Stir in the boiling water.

Place in a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Sprinkle the onion rings over the casserole and bake for about 5 to 8 minutes longer until onions are golden brown.

French Toast Souffle
(from myrecipes.com)

10 cup (1-inch) cubed sturdy white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm Hearty White, about 16 (1-ounce) slices)
Cooking spray
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat-cream cheese, softened
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup

Place bread cubes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Beat cream cheese at medium speed of mixer until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add milk, half-and-half, 1/2 cup maple syrup, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over top of bread; cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Remove bread mixture from refrigerator; let stand on counter for 30 minutes. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until set. Sprinkle the souffle with powdered sugar, and serve with maple syrup.

Wings 'n ribs....no pictures though

There was too much excitement/stress during the game Sunday night, and too much scarfing down of food for me to really think about picture taking. Heck, I'm lucky I even took one of the nachos (which was part of our "appetizer" course - the game had just started). And the only reason I have a dessert picture is because we have leftovers!

Either way, I'd decided you can't go wrong with typical "football food." For Sunday night's main course we had Sweet and Savory ribs which I've made before (but prior to my blogging days) and Quick Chinese Chicken Wings. The latter came from a recipe book from a local church called "Made in Heaven" where parishoners submitted recipes. My aunt and uncle gave me this along with some other great stuff for Christmas (see my post a few entries down about my apron). I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe that are incorporated below. These wings came out fantastic, so thank you, Betsy Moody...........wherever you are!

Sweet and Savory Ribs
(from Taste of Home)

1 large onion sliced and separated into rings
2 1/2 - 3 lbs boneless pork ribs (I used about 4lbs of bone-in ribs the other night)
1 bottle honey barbeque sauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place onions in 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Top with ribs. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the ribs. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat is tender (or in the case of using bone-in ribs - falling off the bone!)


Quick Chinese Chicken Wings

1/4 cup canola oil
2 tabelspoons molasses
1 teaspoon dry mustard
8 oz. light soy sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
25 whole chicken wings

Place wings in a glass baking dish. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over wings. Cover and marinate overnight in refrigerator (I marinated a full 24 hours).

Place wings on baking sheet covered with foil. Pour some of the excess marinade on top and place in preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 hour.

Nacho ordinary nachos

In trying to decide what to make for the big game, I was browsing through the Food Network's website as they of course had a whole section dedicated to the Superbowl. Among some of the recipes was this one for Chorizo Bean and Cheese Nachos by Emeril. I don't really like Emeril much to be honest, I thin he's a bit annoying, and thinks he's a lot cooler than he really is. I thought this recipe of his, however, sounded fun, different, and worth trying. I made a few modifications, per usual, and they appear as so below. I only remembered to take a picture after they were half eaten...oops...but at least the picture proves that they were good!

Chorizo, Bean, and Cheese Nachos

1 hot chorizo link removed from casing and crumbled
1 lb mild ground chorizo
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15oz can pinto beans
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Water
1 bag Tostitos hint of lime tortilla chips
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
1 small white onion, sliced into thin rings
Pickled sliced jalapenos – amount of which to your own taste

In a large skillet, cook the chorizo, garlic, and cumin, stirring, over medium-high heat until the sausage is browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Drain about half of the water from the can of beans. To the fat in the pan, add the pinto beans (with remaining water), chili powder, salt, and ½ to ¾ cup water.. Cook over medium heat until warmed through, smashing with the back of a heavy wooden spoon or potato masher until chunky/smooth. Add any additional water if needed to achieve desired consistency. Remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large, oval ovenproof platter or in a large baking dish, spread 1 layer of chips. Top with a layer of 1/2 of the beans, then 1/2 of the sausage, cheeses, onion rings, and chopped jalapenos. Repeat with another layer of chips, beans, sausage, cheese, onions and jalapenos. Bake until the cheeses are melted and the mixture is hot, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven.




p.s. For Sunday night's main attraction I made ribs and chicken wings, they'll show up in the next entry, whenever I get a chance to make it!

Deviled Eggs

The other night my friend Sam & her main man Joe hosted a small get together at their home. After asking her about 100 times what I could bring and her responding "Just you and Greg" I made an executive decision to make some deviled eggs, since my girl Sam loves egg salad, and this was a comprable appetizer. So here's my take on them. You may want to add more or less mayonnaise to the recipe, it all depends on how "mushy" you like your filling I suppose!

I did steal a Paula Deen idea on this one - make one extra egg to mash up with the rest of the yolks so all of your eggs are nice and full. Doesn't Paula just rock???

Deviled Eggs

13 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup mayo
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
2 1/2 tablespoons creamy italian dressing
Pinch of onion powder
Salt & Pepper to taste

Slice 12 eggs in half and remove yolks. Transfer yolks and 13th egg to mixing bowl. Mash egg and yolks well, being sure to disguise the egg white. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Fill each egg half.

A couple quick apps

Well our little get together went well last night. I can't believe Christmas is 2 days away! I got everything done ahead of time so it really helped keep my stress level low while we were getting ready for guests to arrive. Here are 2 other appetizers I served that actually have some sort of recipe, (besides the bacon appetizers I wrote about below). The first is a recipe my friend Cathy gave me awhile back and it's just so easy (and yummy). The second is a find from myrecipes.com. For the latter, I added brown sugar to the onions per the suggestions of those who tried it before me. It came out quite tasty. We served it with Pita Chips (thanks for bringing those, Amy!).


Quick Kielbasa Bites

1 Package(s) kielbasa
1/2 Cup(s) honey
1/2 Cup(s) brown sugar

Slice kielbasa into 1/2 inch thick slices. Toss slices with brown sugar to coat. Place onto cookie sheet lightly greased with cooking spray and drizzle with honey. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, broil 5 minutes or until you reach desired crispiness. Put a toothpick in each slice to serve.




Caramelized Onion Dip

Cooking spray
3 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons low-fat sour cream, divided
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) block-style 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (I actually added soy sauce since I had no W.S. in the house)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add brown sugar; cover and cook 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool.

Combine 1 tablespoon sour cream and cream cheese, stirring well. Add remaining sour cream, mayonnaise, and remaining ingredients, and stir well to combine. Stir in onion. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with pita chips.



Well, lots to do the next couple of days. We are hosting a small Christmas Eve celebration with family and in my family that means: Tourtiere, aka French Meat Pies. This year my mom is making one and I'm making one. It could end up being a Meat Pie show down! Don't expect to see the recipe here though. While I've written it down for friends who have inquired in the past, I don't know if what I've written down could ever truly do it justice. I never used a recipe myself. Everyone makes them their own way too. I learned by watching my mother, but I do some things differently from her. I think that is the great thing about it - everyone's is unique.

Anywho, I've rambled enough. Merry Christmas to all!!!

Thank you, Pioneer Woman!!!

So my husband and I are having a little Christmas get together on Saturday and I wanted to get a jump start on a couple of appetizers, since tomorrow itself is a loss for preparation time. I am celebrating Chrsitmas with my dad's side during the day, something I only found out about after I invited guests over for that same night, so I'm trying to get ready as much as I can ahead of time.

I love looking at other foodie blogs and one that I love is "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" (there's a link on this page to the right of this blog). Not only does she have great recipes, but she also has a great sense of humor. So, I was browsing through her blog a few days ago when I stumbled upon this gem of a recipe! I made them last night and they are well worth the wait. I am not the biggest bacon fan around and even I appreciated the one I taste tested. I'd post a picture of the final product but honestly her pictures are so much better and do this recipe so much more justice! I just wanted to share a great blog and a great recipe! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Cookie Exchange Luncheon

As I mentioned in a previous post, I held a cookie exchange with friends today. I'll post the cookie recipes next, first though, I figured I'd post some of the recipes from the lunch I made!!

First up, White Bean Hummus (no picture, sorry). I know a lot of people are not down with Hummus, but I am, so I made it anyway and served it with crackers. At least I thought it was good, and my friend Lisa did too :-)

White Bean Hummus
(from myrecipes.com)

1 can (15 oz.) small white beans, drained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (shhhhh...I used dried thyme!)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper

In a food processor, combine beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, fresh thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Whirl until smooth. Spoon into a bowl and set on a platter. Serve with crackers, pita chips, or fresh veggies :-)

Then I also made a lasagna. While I definitely just "wing it" when it comes to lasagna, I used homemade marinara in it. I got this out of my Cooking Light magazine a couple of months ago. It's great, healthy, and unthaws well from the freezer.

Basic Marinara

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 (28-ounce) cans no-salt-added crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fennel seeds); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

To store in the freezer: Ladle room-temperature or chilled sauce into plastic containers or zip-top plastic bags. Seal and freeze for up to four months. Consider freezing the sauce in one-cup increments (two servings' worth). That way, you can pull out exactly as much as you want for future meals.

To boost taste: Long stints in the freezer can dull the taste of tomatoes. To perk up thawed sauce, add one-half teaspoon finely grated lemon rind or one teaspoon balsamic vinegar while reheating.

Yield
About 12 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)


Lastly, as far as "food" goes (recipe worthy ones - ham & cheese sandwiches don't exactly qualify), I made this Paula Deen creation (with a couple of tweaks on my part).

You have to love Paula Deen....in this world of "fat free" and uber healthiness, Paula still embraces that artery-clogging kind of cooking you know you all love deep down. This was a big hit, I'll definitely be making it again!! (p.s. I did not put the celery in this - as so many do not like it - and I left out the almonds....because I don't like them...haha!)

Hot Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken breast meat, cubed
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
2/3 cup crushed potato chips
1 teaspoon dried thyme (my addition)
1 teaspoon celery salt (my addition)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, celery, almonds, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed potato chips on top.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.