a fall dinner

some of you may know that in the past year, i have become obsessed with cooking. i love it. more than a lot of things. nothing's better than making a good meal for your friends or sweetheart and watching them enjoy it. so i thought i should start documenting the meals i make. . .who knows how long this trip will last.
first, let's clarify- i certainly don't make most things from scratch, cause i'm just not that talented/motivated. im just here to offer up some of my favorite recipes, menu suggestions, drink ideas, etc. i really had no idea how to cook anything at all until something just clicked. i will suggest good recipe websites, my favorite cooks, and much more!

A YUMMY FALL DINNER!
the last thing i made for my friends was paula deen's mexican chicken. this was the pre-haunted house meal. it's really simple, hearty, and comforting. i made some slight changes to the recipe because a lot of reviews complained of it being bland. i like paula deen because all her food is fatty and delicious. let's be honest. if you can eat in moderation, nothing is that bad for you. and if you can't eat in moderation, who gives a shit? certainly not me. it's cold and i'm hungry. here ya go bitch!

MEXICAN CHICKEN- my modifications are in parenthesis

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cheddar cheese soup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10-ounce) can tomatoes but i recommend rotet tomatoes or a spicy salsa- i love newman's own brand
1 whole chicken, cooked, boned, and chopped or 4 cups leftover cooked chicken (i suggest 3 lbs of chicken breasts. rub them with chicken seasoning or make your own, of olive oil and whatever spice you like, to give it some extra flavor. toss some salt and pepper on them too. then either boil them or throw them in a pan till they are "just cooked" with no pink in the middle. shred it up with your fingers.)
1 (11 1/2-ounce) package flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Cheddar (hmm. i used WAY more than that for way delicious results. i mixed in 2 cups of shredded mexican cheese, sargento brand, into the filling. i topped the tortillas with 2 cups of sharp cheddar. yeah i love cheese.)
**my additions: 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro. cilantro can make a good dish fucking awesome.
1/2 a small onion, chopped. just toss all that shit in there.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by-9-inch pan with the cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the 3 kinds of soup, tomatoes or salsa, cilantro, onion, and cheese. Stir in the chicken.
Layer the tortillas and the chicken mixture in the pan, beginning and ending with tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese over the casserole and bake for 30 minutes.

This dish was a HUGE success with my friends and my very picky boyfriend.

for dessert, i made pumpkin pie. i just followed the basic recipe on the side of the libby's pumpkin pie puree can. to be all hardcore and true to the pumpkin, you could make your own puree. you take a pumpkin, hollow it out, cut it into pieces and bake it for about 20 minutes, till the filling is softened. puree it.

i also made real whipped cream, which my sister first introduced me to. 1/4 cup of sugar per 1 cup of heavy cream. you need a mixer for this. mix away until it becomes that sweet fluffy decadent whipped cream we all love. or should love.

for a side dish, we had garlicky mashed potatoes with gravy courtesy of sarah.

beverages: coke + iron city in aluminum bottles.