Spinach Casserole

Hi folks!  I'm very sleep deprived today. UGH.  I have a "slight" fear of flying you see... and by slight, I mean to say that if the trip can be made by car in under 20 hours it's worth doing.  I will fly (I can be reasonable about it) but I cry.  Ask anyone that's flown with me.  It all starts usually the week I'm flying somewhere I'll start having nightmares about flying.  I'll spare you the details, but it's not good.  It's almost like having a panic attack.  So weird.  When I'm awake I don't have those morbid thoughts.  I have had pilot friends give me statistics on flying and I do know that my fear is not logical.  I finally talked to a pilot one evening at my friend's Kim and Missy's house and she said something that made me stop and think.  She said if I was in control in the cockpit I wouldn't be scared.  She suggested I have control issues.
BAHA! Meeeeee?????  Control issues?

Anyhoo.... We'll just pretend she's not right about that.

We'll move on now.

Spinach Casserole.  I had this recipe about 17 years ago when an ex sister-in-law brought this to my parents house for Thanksgiving.  You'll be able to see from the ingredients that it's delicious.
You will need:

2 boxes of frozen spinach (or the equivalent in bags)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of cream cheese
one large can of french friend onion rings
and one tube of Ritz crackers (or any other butter cracker)
salt and pepper to taste

Begin by putting your spinach in a saucepan with some water (and a pinch of salt) and bring to a boil.
Drain your spinach in a colander, then squeeze as much of the water out as you can.

On the stove heat the cream cheese and soup and blend.  Then add the spinach to your cheese and soup mixture.  Then add the french fried onion rings.  Pour into a casserole dish that you've sprayed with cooking spray.  Take the tube of crackers and crush them and pour over casserole.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  I'm thinking that I've used milk sometimes if the mixture seemed too thick to thin it out.

NOW...  You know me and how I rarely follow recipes.  I think this year I'm going to jazz this up a little bit.  I think I will add some chopped water chestnuts (I like the crunch) and then instead of using the ritz crackers I'm going to use dried panko crumbs. It'll be a little bit more healthy that the crackers.

This is really yummy and is even good left over.  Last year Joe and I decided to use all of our left overs the next day and make a Shepherd's pie.  It was so wonderful!!!  We just made layers in a tall dish.  Stuffing, gravy, turkey, cranberry's, spinach, corn, and then topped it off with the mashed potatoes. And heated it for about 15-20 minutes just to warm it up.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  As for me I'll be eating Mexican food while I'm in Big D. and then when we get back I'll be starting my Thanksgiving meal just as you all are sick of all that food!

By the way... I bought my cranberries yesterday.  It's one of the most satisfying things to make.  I love the way the little berries pop when you're cooking them and then I love watching it get thick and jam-like.  :)

Have a great Tuesday!!  I've got to go pack my Cowboy's jersey!!