So truth be told I haven’t been very diligent in the menu-planning department lately, and more often than not I feel like I’m winging it at suppertime. It doesn’t help that I am perfectly content to eat Cheez-Its or a scoop of peanut butter or a bowl of cereal and then consider supper checked off my list, but I do understand that there are two other people in this house who appreciate hot food.

Well, really there’s just one other person in this house who appreciates hot food. Because if left to his own devices, the five year-old would pretty much eat Oreos with a side of Cheetos three times a day and then snack on Skittles.

Which is why the preparation of actual meals with actual vegetables is fairly important around these parts.

Anyway, yesterday I actually sat down and planned what I was going to cook this week (remember when I used to do that? here on the blog? oh-so-faithfully? yeah. good times.), and I remembered a casserole that I love but haven’t cooked recently because I sort of burned out on casseroles about six months ago.

Can you tell that I haven’t really been that into cooking lately?

You may have picked up on that.

But this particular casserole is oh-so-delicious - and it’s a good way to work some asparagus into a meal since, strangely enough, kids tend to like green vegetables better when they’re covered with a yummy cheesy sauce. You can use canned or fresh asparagus - just make sure to boil it ahead of time if you use the fresh stuff.

And this recipe will feed at least ten people - so you should have plenty of leftovers.

Unless there are ten people in your family.

And if that is the case, then hats off to whomever is doing the cooking because, well, YOU ROCK.

By the way, the leftovers are really good as filling for quesadillas or as stuffing for hot baked potatoes. Personally, I like to reheat the casserole in a big ole skillet and let the cheesy part get sort of crispy around the edges only I can’t talk about that anymore or I’m going to go into the kitchen and pan fry some shredded cheese, just as the good Lord intended.

Regardless, I love it when leftovers are versatile and make you feel like you’re getting an entirely different meal. Because then you get credit for cooking something new and different without having to cook anything new and different. It’s a thing of beauty, my friends.

Enjoy, y’all!

(Thanks, Sunni, for the heads-up about this delicious new Cheez-It combo.)

(Thanks, Publix, for putting Cheez-Its on sale this week.)

(You’re welcome, hips, for all the new calories I’ll be sending your way in the next 24-48 hours.)

(Assuming this particular box of Cheez-Its makes it that long.)

(And that is a very lofty assumption.)

A few weeks ago I conducted an informal survey on an issue of critical international importance: do the internets prefer Cheez-Its or Cheese Nips?

And the Cheez-Its, they won handily.

As a result of The Post About The Cheese-Flavored Crackers, I received a couple of recipes via email. And I thought I would share them. Because heaven knows we all need to find more ways to incorporate cheese-flavored crackers into our diets.

Hallelujah.

Squash Casserole
(recipe courtesy of Moriah)

2 cups cooked summer squash
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
salt to taste
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped onion (I sauteed the onion before adding it to the casserole)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 small can evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed)
2 cups Cheez-Its, crushed
extra grated cheese for top

Mash squash, add all other ingredients and mix well. Spread into buttered casserole dish, then sprinkle top with extra cheese. Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cheez-Its Chicken
recipe courtesy of Kami

2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons onion flakes (or onion powder)
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 cup Cheez-Its crumbs
2 Tbs. sesame seeds (if you’ve got ‘em)
8 oz. chicken tenders or cut up chicken breast strips

Preheat oven to 425. Combine 2/3 cup mayonnaise, onion flakes, and dry mustard in a shallow bowl and mix well. Combine the cracker crumbs and sesame seeds in a shallow bowl and mix well. Dip chicken in mayonnaise mixture, then coat with cracker crumb mixture. Arrange on baking sheet covered in Reynolds Wrap and sprayed with Pam or something similar. Bake the chicken until juices run clear, about 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy, everybody!

And thanks, Moriah and Kami!

Hey. You know that part of the recipe? Where they tell you to make sure you have a 12-cup Bundt pan?

Well they are not kidding.

You don’t even want to know how long it took me to clean up this mess.

Or how many times the lyrics to “MacArthur Park” ran through my head.

Earlier today I was walking through Walmart while talking on the phone with Big Mama, and she was in the middle of a Deeply Moving Story when I stopped in my tracks and said, “HOLD ON!”

“What? WHAT?!?!” she asked, no doubt worried that I’d run over someone’s foot with my shopping cart or strolled past the diet Coke without remembering to put a 24-pack in my cart because, believe you me, both of those things would have been terribly traumatic indeed.

Especially forgetting the diet Coke.

The mere thought of it sends a cold chill down my spine.

“THE CREAM CHEESE!” I replied. “THE CREAM CHEESE IS NINETY-EIGHT CENTS AGAIN!”

All Big Mama could do was laugh. Because really, what else can you do when confronted with the reality of my crazy?

But still. I cannot help it that rows upon rows of less-than-one-dollar brand-name cream cheese fills me with all measure of joy.

It also fills me with all measure of empty calories, but that is another story entirely.

So in celebration of the fact that the Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese, IT IS A BARGAIN RIGHT NOW, I thought I’d post a couple of cream cheese-centric recipes.

Consider it my Christmas gift to you.

And to your cardiologist, as well.

Both of these recipes come from my sister-in-law Janie, a girl who loves a good, cream cheese-laden appetizer as much as I do and doesn’t make me feel the least little bit guilty when she makes these two dishes and I stand over them like some sort of guard dog.

RAAAAAAAAR-UFF!

White Rotel Dip

3 packages of pork sausage (mild or spicy is fine - but use at least 1 maple-flavored)
4 packages of cream cheese
2 cans of Rotel tomatoes

Brown sausage and drain. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients and heat until cheese is melted, being careful to stir often.

Serve with tortilla chips.

And if you’re worried about eating cream cheese AND sausage in the same dish, don’t worry because the tomatoes are TOTALLY healthy, and therefore you’ll be just fine.

Captain Rodney Cheese Bake, aka THE BEST THING YOU WILL EVER EAT IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE EVER

1/2 cup mayonaise
8 oz. cream cheese-softened
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 green onions chopped
6 Ritz crackers crumbled
8 slices cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 cup Boucan Glaze (Oh my merciful heavens at the sheer volume of deliciousness in this stuff. It should be illegal. But I am so glad that it isn’t.)

Mix first 4 ingredients, then spread in a square casserole dish. Sprinkle crackers on top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Then sprinkle bacon on top and drizzle sauce over all. Serve with your favorite crackers, pita chips, etc.

Then praise the Lord. Praise His holy name. He is faithful and worthy of all your cream cheese-induced praise.

Hallelujah.