Stacy hit the nail on the head : " With new babies and other little ones, we are lucky to get Spaghetti'o's for supper LOL. Add to that we have one,two or three little ones added to DH and I in our queen sized bed every night so understand about the sleep deprevation. " Drake is teething like crazy and was vax'd Thursday and won't go to anyone else and won't play in his exersaucer or on the floor, he has to have momma. That's why I needed a recipe for a whole chicken in the crockpot, I didn't have the time to take it apart, and didn't want to use the oven. Thanks for the recipes, ya'll. Changeling, it's ok. It wasn't entirely you, and I forgive you anyway. I just don't cook the way I used to. It's exactly like Stacy said, some nights I'm lucky to get a can of anything opened for supper. I simply don't have the time or sanity to prepare an elaborate meal. And the forum has changed since I first started posting here, not saying that's bad, just saying that I haven't been able to keep up with the changes because of the direction I've gone with my life. Lyra had it right, too - I come here to visit old friends more than to post about what sides might go with apricot-chili pork loin. I don't have the opportunity to drop in often because of my two little ones. If I'm AWOL, it's because of them. : P

Wow, what a story. I can tell you right now that there is no way I would have gone through what you went through. I woulda simplified the menu completely once I discovered the bad chicken. Realizing that eveyrone would be expecting one thing and getting something else, I'd probalby just issue a rain check for the ditched menu. I think that friends would understand! But then again, I'm not known for being the nicest person around LOL. You are WAY nicer than me, that's obvious!! I congratulate you on going through with as much as you humanly could. Next time, rather than depend on your masculine ability (or inability?) to hear what the wife said the first time have her write it down and tack it on the fridge with a magnet. It's not that I don't have faith in your good intentions, it's just that I know how men are, I'm married to one. And it's not that they don't try, sometimes they do! But sometimes they just can't help it. That was not male bashing, by the way. Just that it's best to be realistic and figure out workarounds instead of hoping for miracles. And I mean that in the nicest possible way, as I know my own shortcomings and have learned to NOT plan for me to overcome them, but instead plan for how to work around them! LOL

I've had this recipe since my early college days (1980's) and most everyone likes it except confirmed non-squash eaters. I got the recipe card from the health food store in East Lansing MI. Cheesy Tofu Squares Makes 8 servings of about 230 calories and 500 mg. sodium each. Grease 8 or 9 inch baking dish, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Ingredients 8 oz. white cheese (mozzarella, swiss or cheddar) (You can use a little less than this and get away with it, like maybe 6 oz., if you are really touchy about cholesterol and fat. It's better of course with all the cheese.) 8 oz. tofu 1 TBLSP tamari or lite soy sauce, or regular soy sauce 2 TBLSP oil 1 med. onion, chopped 2 carrots, grated 1 med. zucchini or yellow summer squash, sliced thin (here's where I'm thinking you could use partially cooked spaghetti squash, but I've never tried it. Use about a cup to 2 cups I would say) 3 large tomatoes (can use a small can of canned tomatoes, with the juice drained.) 2 TBLSP hot Mexican salsa (or use med. or mild if that is your taste. I use med. and a dash of tabasco) 3/4 tsp. oregano 1/2 tsp. dried basil or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh basil 1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using regular soy sauce) 1/4 tsp. black pepper 4 eggs (I'd probably use three eggs and two egg whites to cut the calories a smidge) Directions Grate the cheese and set aside. Drain the tofu (see that tofu link above for how to do that), and dice the tofu into small cubes. Place in a small bowl and mix with tamari (or soy sauce). Set that aside too. Heat oil in a large saute pan and add onions and carrots. Saute 5 min. or until tender crisp. Add squash and tofu and saute until squash is tender (if you're using a harder squash, you will have to add it first to the pan and saute it a little longer than a zucchini or summer squash. Meanwhile, peel tomatoes and chop fine. (When I use garden fresh tomatoes I never peel them, and most of the rest of the time I use canned ones which are already peeled.) Add tomatoes to squash mixture along with salsa, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer rapidly until liquid is evaporated (this is important!), about 15 min. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature, (or at least cool enough it won't cook the eggs and melt the cheese when you add them). Beat eggs and stir in 1/4 cup grated cheeese. Stir egg mixture into cooled tofu-squash mixture. Pour half of this mixture into a well greased 8 inch square baking dish (I use a little larger baking dish when I make this, like maybe 9 inches or 7x11). Top with half remaining grated cheese. Layer with remaining tofu-egg mixture and top with cheese. Sprinkle top with paprika if desired. Bake 25 minutes or until eggs are set. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minute before cutting into squares. It doesn't say what temp. to bake it at, I would do 350 degrees. This is very yummy, especially if you like those kinds of vegetables, which I do. I'll bet you could sub chopped broccoli or cabbage for the squash too.

I would have cooked it right away. Just putting it in the fridge won't stop bacteria. Not even possible for me to guess over the Internet. I go by smell if I wonder. I used to have a cat that was a perfect judge... I'd offer a suspect fridge sample and if she wouldn't eat I didn't. I wouldn't trust a dog... except if she rolled in it I'd not eat it. If you do cook it wash the heck out of it!. Make certain to get under the wings and legs. If the skin is loose pull it off and wash under it. Call me chicken paranoid but I always wash them before cooking. When storing them in the fridge I put them in plastic bags with a good shot of burbon poured over them. One of the reasons I hate freezing meat is it has to be unfrozen. Most of the time I try to defrost in the fridge so that I recycle the energy used to freeze it... fridge does not work as hard when it has a frozen chunk keeping things cool. : ) lyra