King Ranch Chicken:

King Ranch Chicken
1 whole chicken 1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, chopped 1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup green pepper, chopped 1 can Rotel tomatoes (original or mild)
(I used two cans chopped green chiles) 1 package corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese (any kind) 1 cup sour cream
Boil chicken, let cool and then cut off bone into pieces.
Mix chicken, 1 cup of the shredded cheese and all other ingredients, except tortillas.
Butter 9x13 baking dish. Dip tortillas in chicken broth and place in dish.
Spread some of the mixture evenly over top along with some shredded cheese.
Repeat layers and top with cheese and pour half a cup of the chicken broth over all.
Bake at 350 for thirty minutes.

I made this dish to take to April's Sunday.
My cousin's wife, Donna made this one year and brought it to Mom and Dad's for Molasses Making. I had invited a dear friend I worked with at Visitation School, Ruth Rother. Ruth is a character and there is always fun to be had around her.
We were all sitting around tables eating and all of a sudden she stands up, grabs the baking dish with the chicken casserole in it and started banging a spoon on it and going around asking people (as she bangs the spoon over and over) if they had made the dish. I think most people were afraid to admit it even if they had made it. They were all asking quietly, "who is that"? It was a memorable day and Donna was finally found and asked for the recipe. We have all joked about it for years.
Ruth moved back to her hometown in northern Missouri and I have lost contact with her. I may have to try and look her up as we had some fun times.

Believe me, after eating this dish, take it to a dinner and you will have people banging the dish with a spoon and asking for the recipe!!

April & Mike's:

Sunday evening, we went to St. Elizabeth for a family supper. Mom and Dad had not seen April's house and were anxious to see where their "little granddaughter" had moved.
Todd was there and we were able to have our family dinner, minus Chad. He was working on his truck.
Dad was so proud to take April a flower Mom had grown from a bulb in a bowl filled only with rocks.
Mom took a loaf of homemade applesauce bread. It was very good.
We had a great evening visiting.
April & Dad when we first got there:
Dad giving April a flower growing in rocks:
Dwayne, Dad and Mom:
Todd, Mike, April, Dwayne, Dad & Mom:
Mike and Dad; they love telling their farm stories:
Dwayne and Todd:
Mom and April in front of Albert's hutch:

Martha Ellen Williams:

February 28, 1892
I stopped by Mom's last night after work. She was telling me that today (28th) was her Mom's birthday. I did not know that and wrote it down on a piece of paper to file away.
My grandma died relatively young, I believe either 47 or 48 years old right before Christmas, leaving four children still at home. I may have the ages wrong, Aunt Tobie was around 13, Mom was 10, Uncle Jr. was 3 and the baby, Aunt Ella Mae was 18 months old. The other five kids were already grown and married with families of their own.
Growing up, we were together with Uncle Jr. and Aunt Ella Mae's families most weekends. It was like we were our own family, the younger ones and then the older ones. We knew the other aunts and uncles and visited periodically through the year but they seemed more like distant relatives. Aunt Tobie had moved to Kansas and then California. My Uncle Glen had also moved to California.
Mom name her first daughter, Judith Ellen after her Mom. Aunt Ella Mae (known as Babe to her older brothers and sisters) also named her first daughter, Martha Mae after her Mom.
Grandma's death seemed to have a different effect on each of them. Mom helped care for Uncle Jr. and Aunt Ella Mae and they (and their children) seemed to look at Mom as more of a grandma than aunt. Growing up, I have often heard my Mom say, be a kid as long as you can because you're a grownup for the rest of your life. Smart woman, my Momma!!
My dad has memories of my grandma when he visited their family when he was a boy. He said she was smart witted and was often times very funny. I think my Mom must have gotten her sense of humor from Grandma.
My main memory of the older aunts and uncles were going to the Watt's cemetery where my grandparents were buried. Their "decoration day" was always the fifth Sunday of whichever month it happened to fall on each summer, as that was the tradition years ago when the circuit preacher would be there. We followed the "decorating of the graves" by having a family reunion, usually at Flat where Aunt Mary and Uncle Ike Mathis lived as it was relatively close to the cemetery.
Last summer I wrote about taking Mom and Dad to the cemetery and reminiscing. I took pictures that day and have never got around to posting them. They say there is a reason for everything and what better way to tribute Grandma than posting the pictures today.

Sunset:

View from our front porch:


The winter weather has been gloomy, but on the bright side, we have had some beautiful sunsets.

Family Time:

I didn't have time to post about our Valentine's Dinner last week when I posted the pictures.
I had been wanting to establish a family dinner with our three kids. Sometime it's a hit and miss with their schedules.
Our dinner on the 13th was so much what I had been hoping for. We have always gone to either my family or Dwayne's family throughout the years for Sunday dinner. The custom in the Elrod family is to play cards all afternoon. We didn't play cards but we did have a great time of visiting.
Even thought we don't have grand kids yet, we did have little ones there. April and Mike had kept Blake and Nathan the night before and brought them over. Chad brought Desmon with him and they spent the day playing while Nathan kept the grownups entertained. We visited with Kenny and Shelley when they came to pick the boys up. Desmon stayed the rest of the evening as Chad was riding horses.
Dustin, Chad and Xander came to pick Desmon up. When they got ready to leave, Xander didn't want to go. He told his Dad he could pick him up later. Xander hasn't been around us a whole lot so we were surprised he wanted to stay.

I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful day with my family.

Valentine Dinner:

Sweethearts:

I can't think of another couple who are so devoted to each other than my Mom and Dad.
They will be married for 64 years on June 1st. Yes, they argue (a lot, lol) but their love for each other is always evident. They are miserable if they are apart for even one night. It is so sweet to see them holding hands and being together.
Happy Valentine's Day, Mom and Dad!!

I am FINALLY almost caught up on my work, hopefully tomorrow I can squeeze in some blogging time.