WHAT'S FOR SUNDAY DINNER part 2

The flavors of this meal take me waaaayyyyy back.  It is one of those meals that remind me of my childhood.  I thought I would revisit this oldie for Sunday dinner.   I have not had it in years.  Just the smell of it cooking and I was instantly 12 again!   We will start with the salad.

Love this salad!  To be honest, it really is more like dessert.  The dressing has a little sugar in it and the almonds are sugared as well.  Not a salad to eat everyday but, definitely a crowd pleaser!

My mom served this salad all the time when I was growing up.  I love the oranges!  She got this recipe from a neighbor years ago and added a little more sugar to the original dressing recipe.(my Dad likes things a little sweet!)    She said she has tried many salads that are similar but, this one is her favorite. 

MANDARIN TOSSED SALAD
2 cup sliced almonds, 4 T. butter, 6 T. sugar.  Saute' almonds in butter and sugar over medium heat until sugar is melted and almonds are coated and slightly browned. Spread on aluminum foil to cool.

1/2 head iceberg lettuce
1/2 head romaine lettuce
4 stalks celery, diced smallish
3 green onions, sliced thinly
2 (11oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
2 cups cran-raisins

DRESSING
1/2 cup oil, 2 T. Sugar, 3 T. vinegar, 2 T. chopped parsley, 1/2 t. salt, 1/8 t. pepper.  I put this in a jar with a lid, shake it and let it set to dissolve the sugar.  Before serving shake the bottle again, and dress salad just before serving. 

CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE
2 cups rice, uncooked, 4 cans cream of mushroom soup (or combination of creamed soups), 2 cups milk, 8 chicken breasts or 16 chicken tenders,  1-2 packages dry onion soup mix.

Mix rice, soup and milk together and place in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan.  Place chicken piece on top.  Sprinkle with dry soup mix.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Make sure you give your self plenty of baking time.  I made this in the morning and put it in the oven cold...so dumb!  It took an additional 30 min. before the rice was soft.  The family loved it!

I cooked carrots for color, my kids love cooked carrots.  I don't even have to tell them to eat their veggies!  Last but, not least....HOMIE O's.  We lovingly refer to homemade Oreo's as Homie O's. We love them.  I in no way claim to be the genius who made the first homemade Oreo, bless the baker who did!  I have played with several different kinds of frosting.  I could not find one I liked.  So I came up with a little mixture I really like. 

HOME O'S
1 Devil's food cake mix, 1/2 C. soft, not melted butter (you can use Shortening if you want), 2 eggs.
Mix the ingredients together.  Roll dough into small ball and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 mins.  Cool and frost.  The bad thing about these cookies is that they have to be sandwiched so you only really get 1/2 the amount of cookies you make!   :(  However, they are good so worth the effort!

FROSTING
1 can Cream Cheese Frosting, 1 jar marshmallow cream, 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring, 1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar.  Cream wet ingredients and add powdered sugar to get desired consistency.