Monday, May 31, 2010

Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Artichoke Pesto


Now don't let the title fool ya this is super easy to make and it is sooooo delightful! You have to try it. Your taste buds with thank you!

14 oz artichoke hearts, canned
3 cloves garlic, minced (i use the ones that are already minced)                                                                      3/4 c basil, fresh
1/3 c water, cold
1/2 c parmesan cheese
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, fresh
1/3 c olive oil, extra virgin
1 md lemon zest, grated
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper, freshly ground
2 pkg cheese ravioli (9 oz)

Place all ingredients except ravioli in food processor and process until pureed. (may be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before proceeding).

Cook ravioli according to package directions. Drain but do not rinse. Return to pan and toss with sauce.

Toss over low heat about 30-60 seconds or until heated through.

Serve with additional Basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Ceole Mac & Cheese



I have a little recipe site that I go to that I get recipes from and post my recipes at too. Well today I got an email saying that the owner of the site picked one of my recipes to feature as a blue ribbon winner. I was so excited! No I didn't win money but I guess I get really excited when someone picks one of my recipes as their favorite! The recipe will be featured the first week of June, so check it out! So I thought that I would share that recipe with you and the website too that I go to. First off the website is www.justapinch.com

PS. If you make any of my recipes that I post please leave me feed back! I love to read comments even if you didn't like them!

1/2 c elbow macaroni, cooked
2 c cottage cheese, lowfat
8 oz sour cream, lite
1 egg, beaten
3/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
3 c grated sharp cheddar (divided)
1 1/2 TBL tony chachere's creole seasoning (divided)



Cook Macaroni noodles according to package directions. Drain rinse and set aside.

Combine next six ingredients. Except divide 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and set aside. Combine the other 2 cups with the mixture. Also set aside about 1 tsp of the 1 1/2 TBL of creole seasoning to sprinkle on top.

Add macaroni to cheese mixture and stir well. Spoon into lightly greased 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining Cheese and creole seasoning.

If you don't like creole seasoning you can always add paprika instead. Just adjust the amount to taste.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes

Monday, May 24, 2010

The Cake Doctor

Ok so I have two wonderful cookbooks called the Cake doctor and the Cupcake doctor.The author makes the most delicious cakes and cupcakes by just adding simple ingredients to cake mixes. I LOVE them! I recently found out that the author has a blog and I thought that I would share it with you. http://www.cakemixdoctor.com/cakemixblog/index.php
If you like the book you can order it from amazon.com for alot cheaper.

PS. Tiffany Z. This is where I got the recipe for my Keylime cupcakes that I made that one time.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Landon goes to the Pediatric Neurologist....

So yesterday Landon had a doctor's appointment in Knoxville at the pediatric neurologist. She was such a great doctor. Dr. K said that it's not infantile spasms but that he does have a seizure disorder. While we were there Landon did have a couple of seizures so the doctor was able to see them in person. She wanted to put him on anti seizure medicine asap but we decided to wait and do a 24 hour EEG and CT scan with him next Thursday first to see what kind he is having. So next Thursday I will be up in Knoxville at the Children's Hospital spending the night up there with Landon. I'm still trying to figure out how it will go considering he will have all those wires hooked up to him all day. My poor little guy. I just hope that they can figure out what is going on with him through these test. I hate having him go through all this. But I am thankful that he is not worse off. I saw a lot of really disabled kids yesterday in the waiting room. It really hurt my heart that these little children have to suffer this way. It was also very humbling to me to know that I was surrounded by such special spirits that are not here to be tested but to test us.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

mama's easy peach cobbler


This is such an easy recipe! I guess I'm starting to see a pattern here with my cooking. I like easy things that are DELISH! So here is another favorite recipe that I KNOW you will LOVE!



Preheat oven to 350

1 stick of margarine or butter

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 TBL of baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

1 cup of milk

2 cans of peaches drained or 1 can of peach pie filling and 1 can of peaches drained

another 1/4 cup of sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

Melt butter in a 9x13 baking dish. Combine dry ingredients and mix with milk.
pour over melted butter. DO NOT MIX BUTTER WITH THE MILK MIXTURE!
Spoon in fruit on top of the batter. Sprinkle the extra 1/2 cup of sugar on top.

Bake uncovered for 45 to 1 hour. It usually only takes 45 minutes to cook in my oven.

Enjoy hot or it is also really good cooled. Goes great with ice cream or whip topping!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Landon's EEG






Landon recently had an EEG. He started having these things that looked like spasms. He would dip his head real quick and his arms would stiffen up. They would come in multiple spasms. I knew that is looked weird so the first day he did them I wrote it down on my calendar. I even video taped it on my cell phone so when we went to the doctor that he could actually see him doing them. I looked up infant spasms online and looked at videos of other kids doing the exact same thing. It really freaked me out. After doing some research I got even more freaked out. The info said that when a child has infantile spasms that each spasm can cause brain damage, anything that they have learned to do like sit up, roll over, etc... that they might start regressing and stop doing them all together. So after reading this I took him to his doctor right away. The doctor said it was hard to see from my cell phone the whole spasm so he decided to set up an EEG. He could tell that I did my research and that I was really concerned. I'm glad that I had two other children who never did this sort of thing to compare it to. I was not going to take the doctor telling me that it was normal until I had proof. So the doctor said that he needed a EEG ASAP. He wanted it done within 2 days. At first the people at the hospital said that they couldn't set anything up until July! He said that wasn't good enough and after a couple of other dates they finally set it up for that Friday. So we were up pretty early that morning because Landon could only eat 4 hours before the procedure. Since it started at 8am, I was up at 3:55am giving him a bottle and then trying to get him back to sleep. He had to also be awake 2 hours earlier than he usually wakes up. So after I got him back to sleep I had Josh go in and wake him up at 5:15am and we had to keep him awake till they started the procedure. Once we got there they had to scrub all these spots on his head so the glue stuff would stick better. I was scared that they were going to rub the little hair he had on his head off. After scrubbing they glued little colored wires all over his little head. They then wrapped his head in gauze so that the wires would stay on. As soon as they did that Landon fell asleep and slept through the whole thing. He was such a trooper! The guy couldn't believe how well he behaved during the whole thing. He said that some kids try to pull off all the wires. So the whole procedure lasted about an hour from start to finish. Landon's doctor had told me that I would know something that afternoon after the Neurologist looked at the scan but I didn't hear anything till Monday when I had called to find out the results. The doctor said that the scan looked normal! I was so excited! We still have an appointment for this Friday to see a pediatric neurologist to see what he thinks Landon maybe doing. But I'm glad that it is not infantile spasms. So when I find out what the other doctor thinks I will post the info then. Thank you all who said prayers for our little guy and family. I know that they truly did help.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Ranch Potatoes


These are so yummy and super easy to make. Everytime I make these someone ask for the recipe! They can't believe how simple they are.

Preheat Oven to 450
2 1/2 lbs of red potatoes quarted

1/4 cup of veggie oil

1 to 2 packs of Hidden Valley Ranch packs

Wash and quarter the potatoes to bite size pieces.
Put them in a gallon zip lock bag pour oil on top and shake.
Next pour the Ranch seasoning on top, close bag and shake.

When thoroughly covered pour the potatoes into a greased 9x13 dish.
Cook for 30-35min at 450 uncovered.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Day Has Come!


So Josh has finally graduated! Yay! After 7 long years it has finally happened! We were so excited to celebrate this day with Nana, Granny, Pop and GG. We also had a few friends over that night and Josh had a song that he had saved for us to dance to. At first I was like there is no way I'm dancing with you in front of all these people. But it turned out to be fun and really sweet. I'm so excited that Josh is done with school! Now we wait and see were the next chapter of our lives begin!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Happy Cinco De Mayo


Here is a super yummy Salad. Its called Grilled margarita chicken salad! I am posting the link for it so that you can also watch the video on how to make it. Just copy and paste the link in your browser. Enjoy!
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/grilled-margarita-chicken-salad/9f9a6aa2-75f3-4a2d-8060-bf3c91dc742c?WT.dcsvid=NTMxNzk3NTM1MAS2&rvrin=A5657C92-1E88-4766-AA27-DB8F7C087353&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_BC_05_04_2010

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Lake time fun!





Yesterday we went to Watauga lake with some friends. We had a lot of FUN! I got a little sun burned but the kids didn't, thank goodness. I forgot to bring my camera but my friend Belinda remembered hers so I posted some pics of my kids that she took. Thanks Beli!
We will be going to Myrtle Beach real soon so I can't wait to take pics of that fun trip too!