Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I like to move it, move it.....

So Josh and I are tired of this being separated mambo jumbo (7 1/2 months) and have decided that the kids and I are going to go a head an move down to Montgomery while the house is still selling up here. We are leaving the house staged and only taking the things that we need. We found a place that is inexpensive to rent. To pay the rent I will be finding a job in the evenings to work at till the house sells or until we decide to just rent it out.  I hope it sells though. We have had plenty of traffic but the feed back that I keep getting is that they love the house but don't like the drive way or the yard. It is very annoying because I can't change those things. It also sucks because we can't buy a house till our house sells and since Jada starts school this fall it makes it hard on her to possibly change schools in the middle of the school year if we find a house on a different side of town.  So this Saturday I will be abiding Johnson City ado. It will be sad leaving the good friends that I have made but happy to be together as a family again with my sweet hubby. I can't wait to see what new adventures lie ahead for our family. I just hope I can make some good friends in my new place.
Ciao!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Spinach, Artichoke Lasagna

The great flavor of this dish makes you forget that there is no meat in it. I love it and so do my kids. I can get them to eat their veggies this way. I love the addition of the herb feta on top too!
Enjoy!


INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp of olive oil
9 Oven ready noodles
1 Onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can vegetable or chicken broth
1 (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 (2.5oz) can sliced black olives
1  (24oz) jar tomato basil sauce (i like the Classico brand)
3 Cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 pkg (4oz)  herb and garlic feta cheese, crumbled


*TIP: Im a big cheater and I always find it easier to use the pre chopped garlic that comes in a jar at the store. If I use that I then use 4 teaspoons. Saves me time for sure!



DIRECTIONS:

1) "Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. (if you like your lasagna thicker then you can use a dish that is a little bit smaller)
2)  Place 1 Tablespoon of Olive oil in a pan and heat on medium-high. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp. Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Stir in black olives,artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce and simmer for 5 minutes more.
3)  Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 oven ready noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.
4)  Bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.










Saturday, May 7, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

This one goes out to all my hard working babies mommies out there! PEACE! Watch me!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Drum Roll Please...... and the winner is ME!

So I am a member of an awesome recipe club called www.justapinch.com. Well they have recipe contest quarterly. Around Christmas time I was first runner up for my buttermilk pie. I got a blue ribbon but I didn't win. So the latest one was a breakfast challenge contest and I got a call 2 weeks ago saying that I WON! I was so excited! What exactly did I win you ask? Well I won 2 round trip tickets to Nashville, they pick me up in a Limo, they pay for 2 nights hotel accommodations, they take me to dinner, I get Grand Ole Opry tickets, I get to cook in front of a live studio audience and I get a $1000 shopping spree to the Viking kitchen store! 1000 bucks people! That is BIG time! LOL I am very excited for this! I will be going June 3rd for the weekend!  I have received 9 blue ribbons from the recipes that I have submitted.  The blue ribbons are given out to recipes that have been taste tested by the kitchen crew. If they think your recipe is great you get a blue ribbon. The recipe club has over 100,000 members. So to get that many blue ribbon means I must be doing something right! I also have the privilege to be part of the honorary kitchen crew. I now get to taste test members recipes and decide if they deserve a blue ribbon. Now I have made some friends on there but the Real kitchen crew gives me a member's name and ask me to pick a few recipes to test from that member. That way I'm not just handing out blue ribbons to my friends. Anyway it is a great recipe club and I encourage others to join. You don't even have to post recipes to be a member. It is fun to find new recipes and to make new friends. Also it is FREE! So what are you waiting for?
Here is the article about me from Janet ( the head chef) at Just pinch.                                                            CLICK ME TO READ THE ARTICLE!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I'm Baaaaack!

Sorry I left. Blogger had made it difficult for me to post recipes they way I used to do it. I would copy and paste them from my posting on www.justapinch.com. Then something changed and I kept trying to put recipes on here and it wasn't letting me do it and I got so frustrated that I just gave up. Well I decided that I would just copy and paste my recipes from here to www.justapinch.com instead. So now I am back. I had several people ask what had happened so there ya go. So I will be posting recipes again and anything else semi exciting going on with the Stacey clan.  So hold your horses... I got some great recipes to post!