The Year Round Christmas Tree

My friend Carolyn & I were having a post holiday luncheon & catching up.  This was the first Christmas when everyone could make it home in quite some time.  Old memories were relived and new ones made.

As we ruefully admitted to the need to begin un-decorating the house for the season, she laughingly told me her mother kept the tree up all year.  It was always in the same corner, but the decorations changed with the season.  A banner for the birthday person graced the tree on their special day.  Valentines hung there in Feb.  Little flags were tucked in on the 4^th of July.

I realized this was before the days of craft stores where one could no doubt keep such a tree in glorious apparel year round.  It was a mother’s creativity that wrought such a nice memory for her children, using what she had, and looking for ways to work with her hands as Prov 31 encourages us to do.

One year my mother humorously hung a little elf from the mouth of a stuffed pheasant that was hung on the wall.  She and Daddy had taken a once only hunting trip together to South Dakota to bag some pheasants.  I think she shot her gun once, then Daddy got his limit and hers, too. 

The best thing from that hunting trip was the time spent together, the memories that stuffed wall decoration evoked, and a pheasant & rice recipe Mother got from someone in South Dakota.  They also learned hot tea, not cold sweet tea was the favored drink in the North.  They found they enjoyed the experience, the people, & the tea.

For years after, that little elf placed in the pheasant’s mouth signaled the beginning of our holiday season.  We still joke about it.  Isn’t it amazing how one little act can evoke such warm fuzzy memories?

Here is the recipe for Chicken & Rice.  You can substitute pheasant if you happen to have it on hand.  :-)

FLUFFY RICE AND CHICKEN
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 jar mushrooms, sliced with liquid (opt.)
1 soup can milk
1 (1.4-oz.) envelope onion soup mix
3/4 c. white rice, uncooked
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Heat oven to 350°. Mix chicken soup and milk. Reserve 1/2 cup of the mixture. Mix in the onion soup mix, rice, and mushrooms. 

Pour into ungreased baking dish. Place chicken breasts on top. Pour reserved soup mixture over chicken. 

Cover with foil and bake one hour. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer. Yield: 4 servings Add a little extra chicken broth at the end of cooking time if needed.

Confectionately  Yours,

Sue