The book is in its final production phase. Clara sent the page proofs — the actual PAGES, laid out, with the recipes alongside the narrative, the photos placed, the chapter headings in their final font. It looks like a real book because it IS a real book and I keep forgetting that and then remembering and then screaming quietly into a pillow.
The publication date is confirmed: April 2022. Ten months away. The ARCs (advance reader copies) will go out in January to reviewers and media. Clara wants me to think about promotion: a book tour (modified — virtual events plus a few in-person signings), social media push, podcast appearances.
A book tour. ME. Rachel Abernathy, Subway alumna, college dropout, military wife, crockpot enthusiast, on a BOOK TOUR.
'It'll be small,' Clara says. 'We're a small press. But the military spouse community will show up. Your blog readers will show up.'
They'll show up. The Beths and the Marias and the Sandras and the Tameras. They'll show up with their binders and their recipe cards and their stories. I know they will.
Caleb is two and seven months and has started pretend-cooking meals in his toy kitchen and 'serving' them to us. He makes imaginary soup (mostly water from his cup poured into a toy pot) and imaginary cookies (blocks arranged on a toy plate) and brings them to Ryan and me and says, 'Dinner, Mama! Dinner, Daddy! Eat!' with the authority of a person who has watched his mother serve dinner at 1800 for his entire life and has decided that THIS is what people DO.
This is what people do. We cook. We serve. We say 'eat.' And the people we love sit down and eat.
That's the whole book. That's the whole life.
I approved the page proofs with minimal changes (one typo on page 147 — 'tsp' instead of 'tbsp' that could have been disastrous; thank God for proofreading). The book is locked. The pages are final. The words are set in type.
Made Mom's chicken and dumplings tonight. The recipe that appears more than any other in the book. The recipe that started the binder. The recipe that made me a cook.
Perfect dumplings. Every time now.
The book is locked. The dumplings are perfect. And Caleb serves imaginary soup at 1800.
Dinner, Mama. Dinner, Daddy. Eat.
We eat. We always eat.
The book is locked, the dumplings were perfect, and Caleb served imaginary soup at exactly the right hour — and I realized I wanted to share a chicken recipe that carries that same “this is what we do at dinner” energy, even for the nights when you’re not making Mom’s recipe from memory. This Buffalo Chicken Casserole is the one I reach for when I need something that feels celebratory and effortless at the same time — bold enough to feel like an occasion, easy enough that Caleb can “help” from his toy kitchen while I pull it together. It’s the kind of dish that makes people sit down fast, which, honestly, is the highest compliment a recipe can earn.
Buffalo Chicken Casserole
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 12 oz penne pasta, cooked and drained
- 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (plus more to taste)
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 3/4 cup celery, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup green onions, sliced
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Make the sauce. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and buffalo wing sauce. Stir frequently until the cream cheese is fully melted and the mixture is smooth, about 4–5 minutes. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Combine. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add the shredded chicken, cooked pasta, celery, and half the cheddar cheese. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Assemble. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese and the blue cheese crumbles evenly over the top.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 28–32 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden at the edges.
- Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Top with sliced green onions and an extra drizzle of buffalo sauce if desired. Serve hot.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 545 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 30g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 920mg
About the cook who shared this
Rachel Abernathy
Week 273 of Rachel’s 30-year story
· San Diego, California
Rachel is a twenty-eight-year-old Marine wife and mom of two who has moved five times in six years and learned to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with half her cookware still in boxes. She married young, survived postpartum depression, and feeds her family of four on a junior Marine's salary with a freezer full of pre-made meals and a crockpot that has never let her down. She writes for the military spouses who are cooking dinner alone in base housing and wondering if they're enough. You are.
