Sparkling Like A Diamond

Things That Make Me Smile

2012-01-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

Do you have things that just make you smile every time you pass by them? These are a few of the items in my home that make me smile.

The lamp had been hiding out in my attic but I never forgot about its beauty. I dusted it off and found this totally contrary burlap shade for it. Every time I turn it on, I smile.

I love changing the wreaths on my front door as the seasons change. This Valentine's Wreath makes my house look happy.

Oh, the fern. I love this type of fern but can never seem to keep it alive. The color and texture are so pretty to me. It has found a home on my kitchen counter so we spend a lot of time together. If you have any tips for me keeping this beauty alive, please send them on.

The monogrammed chair. This chair is in my family room and without fail, it makes me smile every time I pass by or better yet can actually sit in it.

What makes you smile?

Tabletops and Flowers

2012-01-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays you did not see many posts from me. That is because I was very busy. First, we are continuing with our room re-do's and much of the work was done right before the holidays. It seemed some type of worker was in my house everyday. Second, the holidays just always seem to be overwhelming for me. In the middle of all of the chaos, I was able to do these flower arrangements and tabletops. Most of them are mine and a few are of some I did for a friend.

All of the flowers came from the grocery store as time was in short supply and going to the wholesaler was out of the question. I used lots of things from my yard such as the berries, herbs and greenery.

For the tabletops several of them are in my home and a few in my friend's home. We used things that we already owned but just put them together differently. It is amazing what you can come up with in your own home.

I hope these pictures inspire you to create your own beautiful tabletops and floral arrangements. I would love to know which ones are your favorites! Give me a shout in the comment section. Happy entertaining!

How Do You Like The New Look?

2012-01-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

The Sparkling Like A Diamond blog is under a bit of construction at this time. Our IT department has been working long hours trying to accommodate my changes.
Stay tuned for some fun stuff if IT does not take me out!

Raspberry Thumbprints

2011-12-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

Every year at Christmas time I make Raspberry thumbprints. They look so festive and are so delicious. I like to use raspberry preserves that contain seeds. Add these to your Christmas menu!

Raspberry Thumbprints

3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup orange juice
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup red raspberry preserves

mix all ingredients except preserves in a large bowl with a mixer on medium. beat well, occasionally scraping the bowl. cover and refrigerate about an hour.

preheat oven to 350 degrees
shape rounded teaspoons of dough into balls. place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. press thumb into centers of cookies, making deep indentations. bake 10 minutes.

remove from oven and fill the indentations with the preserves. bake 5 additional minutes. immediately remove and cool cookies on racks.

Smoked Salmon Canapes

2011-12-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

Last week at my Christmas party we had some very delicious food. One of my favorites was this one below. Give this one a try. The lady who made them said they were very easy and would be pretty using green tortillas if you could find them. You will love it!

Smoked Salmon Canapés

8 oz. cream cheese softened
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon grated onion
Several grinds of Black Pepper
4(7-inch) flour tortillas
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon capers (nonpareil size)
½ pound smoked salmon, thinly sliced
Garnish with fresh dill

Combine cream cheese with lemon juice, onion, and pepper. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over tortillas. Sprinkle evenly with capers. Add a layer of smoked salmon to each. Roll each tortilla jellyroll fashion. Slice each roll into 6 pinwheels and serve immediately, or chill and slice into pinwheels at serving time. Top each with a sprig of dill.

Christmas Party

2011-12-13T06:48:00.001-08:00

As promised here I am to share photos from the Christmas Party we had last week. Mr. Sparkling and I had such an enjoyable time because everyone brought a dish. I can't tell you how wonderful this was for me. I am usually cooking for days ahead and then running around like a chicken with my head cut off the day of the party. I was actually relaxed the day of the party and loved making my house look pretty. Stay tuned for the recipes.

Thanksgiving Turkey

2011-12-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

I have been swamped with house projects and a party. I promise I am going to post my before and after photos of the projects I previously told you about. I will say that the actual work on redoing a room(s) takes a lot more time that what you have in your mind. Exhausted!!

While I know our thoughts have turned to Christmas I wanted to share this photo with you. My whole family was able to enjoy Thanksgiving at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear Alabama. The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to have a break from cooking. First, let me tell you about the picture. The Grand really brings on the holidays in a fun fashion. On Thanksgiving night you could request a "Thanksgiving Turkey" to come tuck your little ones in. While we thought this was so cute our youngest cutie pie is thirteen and we knew he would cringe at the thought of a turkey tucking him in. Can't you see the rolling eyes now?

After a great night of fishing and eating we all returned to our room. Mr. Sparkling and I were happy as larks reading our chosen rags while Son 2 was busy with one of his games. I drifted into sort of a drunken stupor in my bliss. All of the sudden this turkey jumps into our room and scares me so bad I screamed so loud that I think everyone could hear me from the lobby two buildings over. Son 2 was shocked and devilish Mr. Sparkling was laughing.

Turns out that Mr. Sparkling saw a turkey card on our door which was thought to indicate that our room was to be visited by the turkey. Without Son 2 and I knowing he tracked down the turkey and told him we had a big kid that needed tucking in. I think Son 2 actually thought it was hilarious and we all got a big laugh.

I have lots of Christmas recipes that I am going to share with you. These are some really good ones and I recommend all of them. Mr. Sparkling and I hosted my cookbook club Christmas party last night. Each member was asked to bring their favorite holiday dish along with the recipe. I will post these tomorrow.

Food and Friends

2011-11-16T19:42:00.000-08:00

I have tried two recipes in the last week that you must try. The first is for an Italian sandwich that is very tasty. The second is for a wild rice and mushroom pilaf. I thought the later would be great for Thanksgiving. As for the sandwich, I was able to enjoy it with my cookbook club. Everyone there thought it was a keeper so I made it for my prayer group.You see these friends in the photo above. The photo of the sandwich does not look as delicious as it really is. I know you will enjoy these recipes.

ITALIAN STUFFED SANDWICH

2 loaves thin, French bread
12 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
12 thin slices prosciutto
1/2 cup prepared Pesto

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the bread in half lengthwise and remove some of the soft bread inside to make a shallow well in each piece. Press the mozzarella sliced onto the bottom half of the bread. Arrange the prosciutto over the mozzarella to cover. Spread the top half of the bread with pesto. Press the halves together. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and warm in the oven for approximately 15 minutes. Let stand for 2-3 minutes. Cut into individual servings or slice into small pieces to serve as an appetizer. Serve warm.

WILD RICE AND MUSHROOM PILAF

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups wild rice blend
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or chopped green onions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook stirring often until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Proceed to cook rice according to the package directions, replacing the water with the equivalent amount of chicken broth.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, cook, stirring occasionally, until browned about 6-8 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping up the brown bits, until evaporated, about 1-2 minutes.

Fluff the rice and fold in the mushrooms and chives.

50th Wedding Anniversary

2011-11-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, my parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Back in the summer my sister and I started a plan for this special occasion. At that time our parents told us they did not want a party. Fast forward to about a month ago. They decided to have a few people over and the few people grew to a few more. So they ended up having a party anyway.

Sister Sparkling worked on a presentation that showed photos from our parents wedding. She set it up so that the images were on one large wall. It seemed that everyone there enjoyed going back down memory lane.

We ordered an Italian Cream Cake from Miss Muffin that was all white as you can see from the photo. For the food, we are used to preparing our own food but my parents hired a caterer which was a great treat. Sparkling worked on the flowers. My mother said she wanted them in every room so I tried to grant her wish. Sister Sparkling worked on the fabulous candle arrangement that "sparkled" all night long.

Father Bruce came to renew my parents vows as you see from the photos. I think my husband and sons and sister were the only ones at the party that were not actually at the wedding so the vows were nice to hear.

Plenty of Projects

2011-10-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I began our upstairs conversion. Son 2 is getting a new and improved room. When we moved into our home almost 14 years ago, Son 2 was only a few months old. We decided it would be best for he and his brother to be in the two bedrooms connected by a bath. Son 2's room was actually the smallest one upstairs. Last year we purchased new furniture for him and it was really too large for his room. Fast forward to yesterday, we moved his furniture into his new room and WOW!! There is so much more space everything looks so much better. I will be showing photos soon.

Now for the second room redo. Last year I also was given furniture that had been my grandmothers. I always admired her furniture and how it landed at my home I am not sure but it sure is beautiful As you can see from the photos I had it outside to give it a good cleaning. Now that it is in Son 2's old room, I am really getting inspired to design something wonderful.

Here is what I am planning for each of these rooms. For Son 2, he loves the beach and fishing so he is getting a beachy, watery inspired room The fabric sample you see is a taupe linen with white coral. Draperies are currently being made and tomorrow I am looking for curtain rods that will work in the room. You can also see a wonderful print I found for him a while back on One Kings Lane. For my readers not familiar with this site, it is a shopping site with different items featured each day. It is so much fun to see what they are offering and you get great deals too. I saw some unbelievable triple gourd lamps with an aqua base and burlap shades at a store on Thursday. They would be perfect but they were a little pricey. I am trying to think of how I can swing purchasing them because I can't get them out of my mind. I am planning on painting a desk for his dormer area and trying to work out a chalk/dry erase/bulletin board idea for one of the walls in that area. The last thing I am thinking is getting shelving for all of his trophies and special items. I think I may use a whole wall for this and make it really spectacular. When he and I were working through all of these ideas, he told me not to go too crazy because all he really needs is his XBOX.

As for the room with my grandmother's furniture, it really is a blank canvas right now. The only thing I know is that I am going to make it "girlie" and something I really like. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them. The rooms will be painted a creamy, neutral color next week. Oh, how fresh they are going to look. While all of this work is being done on my two new rooms, Son 1's room is hosting lots of "stuff" from Son 2's room and our guest room is filled with things from what used to be an office. I will keep you posted on my progress. Lots to do.

Red Lobster Biscuits, Bulletin Boards and Soccer

2011-10-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

This past week I found a recipe for Red Lobster Biscuits on Pinterest. For my readers unfamiliar with Pinterest, it is a "pin" board where people post all kinds of super great ideas from decorating to food to fashion. Check it out sometime. At any rate, I don't think I have eaten at Red Lobster in about 4 years but I do remember how delicious their biscuits were. So I tried the recipe from Pinterest and found they were fabulous and recommend you try them. This is such an easy recipe you can bake these to go along with weeknight meals.

Red Lobster Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine biscuit mix, milk and cheddar cheese until well blended. Drop by tablespoons onto a baking sheet and bake 8 - 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in garlic powder and parsley. Brush onto rolls once out of the oven.

One of my fellow bloggers wrote a post about her refrigerator and all of the stuff she puts on it. She said she liked having her kids artwork, invitations to parties and other stuff on it. Her children are at an age where school work and papers fly into your house faster than dust. Many of her readers agreed. Other readers with stainless refrigerators commented that they missed being able to place such items on their refrigerator. Did you know that stainless refrigerators are not magnetic? This all got Sparkling to thinking. What do I do with all of my stuff? It turns out that I just traded spaces. Once we purchased our stainless refrigerator, I found a Pottery Barn bulletin board/calendar/mail sorter that is right by my back door. That is where I keep photos, invitations, business cards, notes and anything I just really like. I love passing by this treasure trove of fun stuff. I have found numerous people just standing in front of it and taking it all in. I guess it is a window into our life. What do you do with all of your "stuff"?

This past weekend was absolutely beautiful in my neck of the woods. Son 2 had a soccer tournament the WHOLE weekend so that is really all I have to report. The good news is that his team won the tournament so it made things really fun. Check him out in the green goalie jersey.

Fall Decorations

2011-10-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

AHHH, finally we have Fall in my neck of the woods. We had our first cold snap last night and it felt really great. All I can think about is making a big pot of something so I intend on trying something new from my recipe collection. More on that later.

I thought I would take a few photos of the fall decorations around my house. I just love this time of year. It is so much fun without any pressure.

In the first photo you see my dining room table with three white pumpkins surrounded by fall berries. This was not my own inspiration but one I saw on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The second photo is of a wicker pumpkin that I found several years ago and just love. The third is of my beautiful glass vases filled with Bittersweet vines. The fourth one is of a pumpkin I found at a really cute shop close to my house. (sorry I chopped the photo off). And the last is a story all in itself. This little glass jar never leaves my counter. It is always filled with a little treat and I follow the seasons with what I put in it. I love, love, love the candy corn and apparently so does the rest of my family because I keep having to refill it.

Tomorrow I plan on going through my recipes to find a new soup to make. Stay tuned for what I find.

Fall , Football and a Lurking Project

2011-10-14T07:28:00.001-07:00

This weekend we are headed to watch Son 1 and his football team. I have prepared tailgating food and the weather is supposed to be slightly crisp. Ahh, does that not say fall to you?

Here is my menu

Pork Tenderloin with rolls
Monterrey Jack Salsa with chips
Potato and Toasted Corn Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Cheese Ball (in the shape of a football....so cheesy!)
Peanut Butter Brownies

Here is the Cheese Ball Recipe

8 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups chopped toasted pecans, divided
1 cup chopped green olives
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 slice white cheese cut into strips to use as the laces on the football

Combine all ingredients except for 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans in a food processor and pulse until blended. You may have to do this in batches. I found I needed to add just a little more mayonnaise as my mixture was a little dry. Form into the shape of a football, top with the remaining pecans and add the white cheese laces. Serve with crackers. This makes a huge amount. If you have a smaller crowd, I say half the recipe. Sorry for my sorry presentation. I already have it packed up for our trip.

Besides getting ready to go out of town for the game I have been decorating for fall. A friend asked me to make a "happy" wreath for her front door and you see the finished product in the photo. I will show more photos next week.

And last before I leave you for the weekend. The photo you see of the messy room is my "lurking project". For reasons too long to list this room became a storage area for way too long. Since it is the largest room upstairs Son 2 has requested we move him into it. So, next week I will begin to decide how we will decorate his new room. I am really excited and I want to make it something he will remember forever.

Until next week!

Fun at the Fair

2011-10-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today I took seven of Son 2's friends to the Fair where we met even more friends. I was a little worried about me being the only adult with seven teenage boys. I was the only adult for about an hour and then reinforcements came to the rescue. These boys were an absolute joy and totally hilarious. It is really fun to listen to their conversations. I must give a nod to my adult friends. We were so busy trying to keep up with the boys that I did not get their photo.

In the first group photo of the boys they were not happy that I was taking their photo. After convincing them that the second photo would be the last if they smiled, I got the happy faces you see. The rest of the photos are some of the other friends that joined us later.

I took a photo of the Chocolate Covered (DIPT) Corn Dog and the Deep Fried Kool-Aid sign because I figured if I said they had this at the Fair I might be thought a fool. I let the boys decide what they wanted to eat for lunch and I must say I was very proud of their choice. Pizza and lemonade. One boy got a funnel cake and it really looked good. I just could not eat any of the food. Fried dill pickles did call my name but all I could think is how awful I would feel after I ate them. I was ravenous when we finally got back home.

I am not sure what I will be preparing for dinner tomorrow night but I think it will be along the healthy side. Just seeing all of that fried food really got to me.

Cranberry Cheesecake

2011-10-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of attending my cookbook club luncheon. Our menu was a fall themed one that consisted of a Pork Loin, vegetables, desserts and appetizers. It seemed that the most popular item was for a mushroom quiche. I will post this recipe tomorrow, but I do not have a photo of it.

I made a cranberry cheesecake and everyone really seemed to like it too. Here is the recipe. By the way, it is worth making this cheesecake just so you can smell the unbelievable aroma of an orange being zested. This would be a great and different offering for your Thanksgiving meal.

Cranberry Cheesecake
From Peace Meals, A Book of Recipes for Cooking and Connecting

10 oz frozen cranberries
¼ cup orange juice
1 1/3 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
32 oz. cream cheese, room temp, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs, room temp
1 pint sour cream, room temp
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

• Make sure you have a rack on the bottom of your oven and preheat it to 275 degrees
• Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with non-stick spray

• Mix cranberries, orange juice and ¼ cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally until the cranberries burst and the liquid is reduced. Remove mixture from heat and stir in 1/3 cup of sugar until fully dissolved.
• Strain the mixture, discard the solids and let cool completely

• In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese with remaining 1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth using an electric mixture on low.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended.
• Stir in sour cream and orange zest.

• You are going to be pouring cheesecake mixture in 3 different times.
• Pour ½ of the mixture into pan. Distribute 6 – 8 teaspoons of the cranberry mixture on top.
• With the remaining ½ of the mixture you will again pour just ½ of it (not all of it), distribute cranberry mixture on top.
• Then you will pour the last half and distribute cranberry mixture on top.
• Run a knife through the batter in a swirling motion.

• Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour.
• Turn heat off and leave in oven for 1 more hour.
• Transfer cake to a rack and let cool to room temp.
• Release the sides of the pan.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Creamed Spinach

2011-10-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the creamed spinach recipe. I love that you can taste the nutmeg and lemon juice slightly as they really brighten this dish up. Enjoy!

CREAMED SPINACH

2 - 10 oz packages of frozen, chopped spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Thaw spinach and drain well, getting excess water out. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute the onion and garlic until the onions are clear. Sprinkle flour and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened. Stir in half and half, Cheddar cheese, salt, nutmeg, lemon juice and spinach, mixing well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.

Mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over spinach. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fall Table Setting and Dinner with Friends

2011-10-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we had friends over for dinner. Since our weather has turned a little fall like, spaghetti and meatballs sounded great. The whole menu included tomato and olive Bruschetta, Greek salad, creamed spinach, spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and chocolate chip chess pie.

Mr. Sparkling wanted to dine in our dining room. Imagine that! We could actually use the dining room instead of it just looking pretty. Great idea! At any rate since painting the room a very pale blue I had not purchased table linens to go with the new pallet. So off to Pier One to find something that would make the evening festive.

I found a great runner with a dark teal back ground and accents of red and orange. It looked so fun and fall like. I already had some great looking rattan chargers and the tortoise shell glassware. I found the most beautiful colored roses and arranged them in three low vases so conversation would not be interrupted by some type of stem protruding.

I will share the recipe for the creamed spinach tomorrow.

My Fall Wreath

2011-10-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

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This past weekend was fun-filled. First Son 1 came home and my whole family enjoyed dinner at the Mermaid Restaurant. The next night Son 2 had a Middle School dance to attend. I did not get too many details from him but he seemed to have a great time. You can see him with his very good buddies in the photo. By the way it was a tie dye theme but he did not want to wear tie die. Don't fight the small stuff. I continued searching for items for our new bathroom and made the wreath you see above. Mr. Sparkling was in his element with a bazillion football games on TV. We had friends over for dinner and I will post photos of the table tomorrow.

Now for the wreath. I really was not sure what I wanted to do, but knew if I just went to the craft store the ideas would flow. READER ADVISORY!! READ CAREFULLY!! Do not go to the craft store on a Saturday. It was so busy I could not get down the aisles and the checkout line might as well have been some place in Europe.

At any rate, I put my blinders on and started looking at the offerings. When I saw this wonderful green, berry wreath I knew it was the one. I had already purchased the orange damask fabric on sale last week and thought it would look really nice with the berry wreath and, of course, the right flowers. I began pulling flowers trying to get the right color combination. When I realized that two ladies were standing behind me and staring I turned around. I thought I was in their way but it turns out they liked what I was putting together. That's all I needed was a little affirmation that what I was selecting was just not awful. So off to the checkout I went.

Once home I got all my supplies ready; wire cutters (DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PROJECT WITHOUT THEM), scissors, floral wire and hot glue. I can't tell you how many times I burned my fingers. I spread everything out first how I thought it would look good together and then began cutting and gluing and that's it.

Nothing says welcome better than a colorful, cheerful wreath at your front door.

Good Bye Summer and a New Product

2011-09-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Where O Where is Fall? In my neck of the woods today is the first day that I feel a cooler breeze in the air. Finally! My summer plants look tired and sad which is a true indication that Fall must really be here.

This weekend I am planning a few projects. One is to replace my summer wreath that you see on my front door with a fun fall wreath. It will be interesting to see what I come up with. My indoor plants are looking a little sad too so I will be trying to find some fall inspired plants to freshen things up.

Speaking of "freshening" things up, I tried the new Downy Unstopables and all I can say is WOW! This product really delivers. You know how Sparkling is always trying to find a way to make the Sparkling clothes smell great. Today, Son 2, smelled like a fresh flower the whole way to school. He would be totally embarrassed if he knew I said this. I had washed his uniform shirt with the Unstopables in the wash. You just shake a few in your washing machine and the magic happens. If you are looking for great smelling laundry then these are a must.

Fun Times at the Rendezvous in Memphis

2011-09-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the Sparkling family had a great time in Memphis. The first photo is of my family plus Sister Sparkling. The second photo includes G-Mom and G-Dad Sparkling as well as a special guest. Sis Sparkling's significant other was in town from France and he requested we dine at the Rendezvous. For my readers that are not familiar with the Rendezvous, they are famous for their dry cooked pork ribs. I thought I remembered that he did not eat pork but I am the type to just roll with the punches. Turns out that the Rendezvous cooks a mean lamb rib and Mr. French really enjoys it. I guess the lesson here is to really read the menu and you might find some unexpected culinary treats.

Thai Beef Noodles with Peanut Sauce

2011-09-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have a bazillion recipes to try. One that has been on my mind is this one that I adapted from a Taste of Home magazine. This has a truly delicious taste and I hope the Sparkling boys will like it. I plan on serving it with a green salad. Let me know what you think. It is a colorful and very flavorful dish. Give it a try.

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sherry
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound of uncooked spaghetti
1 pound beef top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup julienned red bell pepper
1 cup green peas
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

In a small saucepan bring the milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry, garlic and red pepper flakes to a boil. Take off heat and stir.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

In a skillet, stir fry the beef until cooked. Remove meat. Stir fry the vegetables.

Add sauce, vegetables and beef to spaghetti. Toss, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

The Bee Gee's Live in My Master Bathroom

2011-09-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

This past week I attempted to clean our master bedroom carpet. I am not sure how old it is, but it is beyond being cleaned, revived, repaired or anything that would help it look better. Mr Sparkling came home and saw my attempt to clean the carpet. He told me it was just disgusting and to pick some new carpet out. Well, if it were only that easy. Our master bath, directly off of our carpeted area, is in severe need of some TLC. My home was built in the 80's and I know you can hear the Bee Gee's humming along in my master bath.

I mentioned to Mr. Sparkling that it did not make sense to replace the carpet before redoing the master bath. So, long story short, we are now looking into renovating our bathroom.

Take a look at the photos and share any great ideas you have for improvements. We can just start over so be creative.

Cipollini Onions

2011-09-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today I ventured to a different grocery store and found something new to me. Cipollini onions called my name and into my cart they went. Once I arrived home I investigated these little charms and found that these are sweet and wonderful. The directions on the package said to make the skins come off easier you should boil them for 3 minutes. I did this and found the skins popped right off. THE FLAVOR IS FANTASTIC!! So mild and sweet you can eat them by themselves. I put them in with a roast, but they would be fantastic in a number of dishes.

Give these a try. You won't be sorry.

Friday, Flowers, Food and Fun

2011-09-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

How do you like my 4 F's? I just could not resist. After yesterday's rant I decided I better post something of value to my world wide audience. I finished my funeral floral class today. Wow, I designed a very large arrangement. This design was actually for a casket. Sounds pretty morbid right? When you think about it, the flowers are one of the happiest things at a funeral. I choose purple tones and mixed in a few white roses. Tomorrow I will be creating my very own hand flower. Apparently this type of flower was very popular in the 30's and 40's and has recently been revived for wedding bouquets. I really look forward to working on the wedding segment. I made chicken noodle soup yesterday and decided to make fresh pasta. I love the taste of fresh pasta and had a lot of fun making it. I will say you really need to put your back into kneeding and rolling out the dough. As thin as I tried to roll it, I just could not compete with my pasta machine. I will use it next time as my noodles were a little thick. While I am going to give you a recipe for the pasta dough, I think it is one of those things that you just have to use your judgment on. It seems that I never put the same amount of liquid into my dough.

FRESH PASTA DOUGH

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
6 egg yolks
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 tablespoons water

Place your flour on your counter in a large work area. Make a well and place the egg yolks and olive oil inside it. Mix the dough with your hands. Add water a little at a time. I added more olive oil and water as my dough was still too dry. Just work it and you will know when it is right. Once combined, kneed the dough for about 10 minutes. Form a round disc with the dough and place it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Pull small pieces of the dough off and roll until as thin as possible. If you roll the dough in different directions this will help make it thinner. Cut the dough and let it dry before using.

DON'T POO POO PAULA

I watched a Paula Deen segment the other day and was totally entertained. She had two of the ladies that worked with her in her restaurant on the show. You could tell these ladies had been cooking all of their lives. One recipe was for Baked Spaghetti, one for Cheese Biscuits and the other for a Chocolate Trifle. I loved watching all of these ladies interact. You could tell they had been in the kitchen together before and had a great chemistry. I was interested in the cheese biscuits. It seems that patrons of the Lady and Sons Restaurant love these cheesy wonders. They are very easy and very delicious.

PAULA'S CHEESE BISCUITS

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
4 cups biscuit mix (I used Pioneer)
2 cups milk (I used 1 %)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.In a large bowl, add the cheese. Add the biscuit mix and gradually add the milk. Stir together until desired consistency is reached. Scoop the batter with an ice cream scoop (I used a number 16 food service scoop) and drop onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes (I baked mine for 17 minutes).This recipe makes 12 large biscuits. I think you have to know your crowd. My boys loved the large biscuits but if I were serving this to ladies or at a dinner party, I would cut the size of them in half. There was controversy between Paula and one of the ladies over whether to add salt and pepper to the mix as well as put butter on them once they come out of the oven. I did not put salt and pepper in mine, but think I would next time. All I can say about the butter is, "What biscuit isn't better with butter?" I know many of my readers don't really care for Paula. I like her and most of the recipes. I know what you are thinking. You must eat her recipes in moderation. While the taste is great, they are not wonderful for the old ticker or waistline. I just think she is a lot of fun.

In my neck of the woods our weather is going to be slightly cooler. I bet it is where you are too. Have some fun and make one of these recipes. Enjoy your weekend!

Facebook Fiend

2011-09-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

I am having a wonderful day. I am working on a beautiful floral arrangement for my class. I have made some delicious biscuits for dinner as well as some chicken noodle soup with homeade noodles. I have music on and truly am at peace. What a great day. And then the fiend steps in.As my readers know I am not a Facebook fan. For all of you Facebook lovers, I am happy for you. If it puts a smile on your face I say go for it. I had just finished kneeding my dough for my homemade noodles. For any of you that have done this, it is quite a work out. I decided to take a break from my floral and culinary duties. I popped open a cold one (diet coke) and sat down at my computer. I logged into Facebook to see what was happening in my immediate world and noticed something that had been bugging me. One of my so called "friends" had been disrespecting Republicans. The first few times I read his chatter, I convinced myself that I misunderstood his verbiage. Today, there was no mistake. It appears he dislikes Republicans stating some of our beliefs in a derogatory fashion. Truly distasteful! One of my best friends is a strong Democrat and while we see the world in a different fashion we respect each others opinions enough to at least listen to the other side. In the privacy of my own home I may say something that someone may think is off color and hurtful, but I respect other people enough that in public I keep these feelings to myself. I am not saying I don't say what I believe. I think when you have to point to your opposition in a negative way you need to take a long hard look at yourself and in this case your party. I would think this individual would have more common decency than to bash such a large group on Facebook. I still am not sure how I have the "friends" I have on Facebook. I don't know how to navigate it, comment or other such actions. Today I found a way to "unfriend" this person. This person is not allowed to insult me any longer. Somehow all of these actions I have taken seem like I am dealing with the class bully. I feel like I am back in high school. I am going back to my "happy"world now. Hasta la vista, baby!

Parsley-Lemon Potatoes

2011-09-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for new vegetable recipes and was so happy to find a new one for potatoes. Son 2 would rather just slather most of his food with ketchup but actually ate these potatoes just as I served them. Mr. Sparkling is not a big lemon fan but liked these potatoes nonetheless. I LOVED them. They tasted fresh and very flavorful. I think my world wide readers will love them too. Give them a try!

PARSLEY-LEMON POTATOES

24 small red new potatoes
1 teaspoon salt, divided
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parley
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover them with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Drain potatoes.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook butter until foam subsides and is light brown in color. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and red pepper. Return to heat and add potatoes, stirring to coat with butter sauce.

Very delicious! Enjoy

We Did Not Win But We Sure Had A Good Time

2011-09-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was the season opener for the Memphis Tigers and Mississippi State. Every Tiger fan had hoped and prayed for a much better game against the Bulldogs than last year. The Dogs ate our lunch and I am pretty sure our dinner too. To be a Tiger fan means you have to have perseverance and stamina. You can't run and hide. You have to stay "true blue" through it all. Mr. Sparkling and I have done this for almost 30 years. Some years are good and some are bad. That's sports.

In talking to Son 1 this week, he and his team are focused on the next game. They are working hard and improving and not thinking about last week. While winning sure would be more fun, some life lessons are being learned. As a Mom of one of the players, I continue to be impressed with the program win or lose. Head Coach Larry Porter seems to be positioning himself as a positive role model and teaching these young people to become men. At the end of the day that means more to me than any win.

Our tailgate was the funnest it has ever been. I am pretty sure we had more State fans than Tiger fans but it did not matter. We enjoyed a great time together with some awesome food and lots of fun.

I must give a shout to Central BBQ. I will admit that BBQ is not one of my favorite foods. I will eat it when offered to me or when going out with others. When planning the food for our tailgate and being very short on time with a Thursday game, I decided to have our food catered. I had never eaten Central BBQ but it was close to Tiger Lane and I had heard good things about it, so I placed the order. Wow, it was the BEST pulled pork BBQ I have ever eaten. It had a wonderful flavor and was extremely moist. The great taste did not stop there. The baked beans and Cole slaw were delicious too. The cherry on top was the banana pudding. I am pretty sure I have not ever had a better banana pudding.

Thanks go to all of our State friends, our family, and former coaches/trainers for hanging out with us and making sure to see Son 1. We felt so thankful for these friendships and all they have done for Son 1 along the way. How many times would you have a gathering of a coach that has followed Son 1 from 6th grade on, a trainer, spiritual leaders and family and friends? It was a once and a lifetime experience that my family will always be thankful for.

I Have The Answers

2011-09-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I posted questions I was pondering. Thanks go to La D, one of my most frequent readers for helping me to find the answers.

After much thought and a little time, I have come up with the answers to all of the questions.

I have not posted to my blog because school began and that has changed my schedule and free time.

I think my son has so much homework because each teacher thinks that 45 minutes of homework is not too much. I agree, but multiply that by 6 classes and that is how we are getting too much homework. I also think that since it is the beginning of the school year, the teachers have lots of energy and high expectations. I hope reality sinks in soon.

As for John Rosemond, I think he must have been talking to parents who actually do the homework for their children and not me and Mr. Sparkling. We have absolutely no desire to do our child's homework. Our interest is solely on the amount and the stress it is creating. Besides, I am pretty sure I could no longer help Son 2 with his homework. He is smarter than I am on most subjects.

As for my flowers, I am just tired of watering them. They have lived a long, good life and it is time for them to go away and make room for the Fall flowers.

Apparently my utter disgust with my car must have shown on my face at the dealership. The day after I wrote my post about my repairs costing $4,000, the representative from the dealership called me and told me they would be taking care of all of the charges except $400. That was music to my ears.

So without all of these questions to ponder, I am on to new and exciting projects.

Questions I am Pondering Today

2011-08-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Why have I not had time to post to this blog?

Why does my 8th grader have 3 - 4 hours of homework each night?

If John Rosemond had middle school or high school age children with this much homework would he still think parents should just stay out of it?

Why have I written two draft posts regarding the movie The Help but not actually posted them?

Why was I so groovy with planting flowers all over my yard at the beginning of the summer and now wish they would just all go away?

Why do I have a 3 1/2 year old car that needs $4,000 worth of work?

What should I cook for dinner?

Greece and an Upset Stomach

2011-08-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

I had been anxiously awaiting my new cookbook for weeks. Finally it arrived on Friday. As usual, I read it like a novel. It is called Vefa's Kitchen and has been the best selling cookbook in Greece for over 30 years.

While I was pouring over the pages, I began looking for recipes that would be tasty and healthy at the same time. The description given for this cookbook on its cover says "simple and healthy recipes, including many vegetarian". I found a recipe for chicken that I thought would be yummy and prepared it for our dinner last night. Mr. Sparkling loved it and had two helpings. Son 2 liked it but did not come back for more. That really means he did not like it very much. He is a bottomless pit and will eat me out of house and home if he really likes something.

About two hours after dinner, Mr. Sparkling started feeling a little sick to his stomach. Son 2 and I felt just fine. After being sick for about an hour, Mr. Sparkling asked me if there was any dairy in the chicken. Oh no, I had made my poor husband sick. He has a stomach that does not care for too much dairy or else. I just was not thinking when I prepared this dish.

Let's see, could it have been the 1 3/4 cup Gruyere cheese or the 1 cup Parmesan or the 2 1/4 cups thick Greek yougurt? Sparkling thinks yes to all of the above. This recipe was really good, but if your stomach does not tolerate dairy so well, perhaps you should try something else.

Chicken with Yogurt

5 Tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into thin strips
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
1 3/4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
salt and pepper
2 1/4 cups thick Greek yogurt
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the chicken and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 6-8 minutes, until lightly golden. Reduce the heat, add the scallions and cook stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes until softened.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Stir in both types of cheese and the mint and season with salt and pepper. Beat yogurt with the eggs in a bowl and stir into the chicken mixture. Transfer to an oven proof dish and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Serve Hot

Before adding salt and pepper, I would give this a taste. I really don't think it needed any extra salt.

Bag Lettuce vs Fresh Lettuce

2011-08-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

It seems that lettuce that is already clean and ready to go in a bag has become the standard particularly in restaurants. While this may be profitable it certainly does not taste very good. There are a few such as arugula and spring mix that I think are fine from the bag, but that is where I draw the line. I keep a head of iceberg on hand on most days. I wash it when I get home from the store and place it in a plastic bag until ready to use.

To me, there is nothing that can replace freshly selected and washed lettuce. This is what separates an OK salad from a terrific salad. I know it takes a little longer to wash your own lettuce, but well worth the effort.

When Mr. Sparkling and I first married I had ONE cookbook and very limited cooking skills. I used that cookbook for all it was worth and then some! One of the recipes that I loved to make was for a real, true Caesar salad. We have also become used to bottled dressing but I tell you fresh dressing is the same as having fresh lettuce. It makes and OK salad fantastic. Here is the recipe for the Caesar salad. Give it a try and just taste the difference.

Caesar Salad

2 medium heads romaine lettuce
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 2 ounce can anchovy fillets, drained
1 egg

Wash romaine under cold running water. I wash mine leaf by leaf because it can be very sandy and you want to make sure you get all of the sand out. There is nothing worse than biting into a bunch of sand. Drain your romaine; I use a salad spinner and dry any excess water with a paper towel.

Tear romaine into small bite size pieces. Add to a salad bowl.

Add olive oil and toss until romaine leaves are thoroughly coated.

Add Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, cracked pepper, anchovies and uncooked egg. Toss gently to mix well. While I used the raw egg back in the day, I stopped once we had children. I will leave that up to you.

Garnish salad with garlic croutons. I have a recipe for those as well. Again, fresh makes a difference.

GARLIC CROUTONS

You can use just about any bread for these croutons. If you use sandwich bread be sure to trim off the crusts.

Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes (about three slices) In a 10 inch skillet over medium heat, heat 1/2 cup olive oil and then add on small, whole garlic clove. Cook garlic until golden, about 2 minutes. Discard garlic. Add bread cubes and cook stirring frequently until the cubes are crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels.

Accupuncture

2011-08-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today out of desperation I had acupuncture performed on my plantar fasciitis foot. Plantar fasciitis is a persistent pain in your heel that is usually related to exercise. Mine has been plaguing me for over two years. It is like having a bad headache but in your heel with pain in every step. I have gone to doctors and tried every trick in the book with no luck at healing my foot. The last thing that was suggested to me was surgery. I really want to avoid surgery if at all possible.

A neighbor told me he had acupuncture for plantar fasciitis and after two treatments he was cured. Oh how good that sounded to me. Could it be possible that I could walk without pain? Could it be possible I could exercise without pain? Could it be possible for me to stand and cook without pain? I have very high hopes for this.

My experience today was a very positive one. The person who was performing the acupuncture sat down and discussed my foot problem in detail with me. He really listened. He then told me that he usually tells his patients that acupuncture does not hurt but for someone like me who has experienced "trauma" on my foot for so long it would most likely hurt. Well great. He explained "chi". I must admit that I am still not sure what this means. It has something to do with the energy in your body. Your energy is supposed to be balanced between mind, body and spirit. He told me I would probably fall asleep during the treatment.

He put needles all over my body. I thought I would be freaked out but it was fine except for the ones he put in my ears. I asked why the ears and he told me that is where they put them to relieve stress. When he put the needles in my foot it hurt more than any other place as he said it would. It took just a few minutes for him to get all the needles in and then he told me I just needed to relax for about 25 minutes. Anyone who knows me knows I don't know how to relax. I did not fall asleep. They had some music that was supposed to be soothing but to me it just sounded depressing. Sparkling only goes full throttle with music. It did have water and bird sounds that were nice but a cello and violin just don't move me to happiness.

After my 25 minutes he came back in my room, took out all the needles and told me to take it easy for the next couple of days to give my foot a chance to heel. Once I left, I realized that I was extremely relaxed...like I have never been...ever! As I drove home all I could think about is taking a nap. I walked in the door headed for the couch and was out for about 45 minutes.

I don't understand how acupuncture works, but I am certain it sure does something. I plan on returning until I can walk and play like a regular person.

How Pretty Is Your Pantry?

2011-07-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

A month ago I would not have dreamed of taking a photo of my pantry. It was a disaster. Every once in a while things get out of control and I have to really re-organize things. It is so refreshing to open this cabinet and see everything all at once. It has made cooking so much more fun.

I found these "pop top" containers at Walmart and are made by Better Homes and Gardens. They are the ones at the bottom of my pantry and come in all different sizes. The pop top allows them to be sealed extra tight so optimum freshness can be achieved.

On another note, the flower arrangement you see is a funeral design. I did my best to choose happy colors. I enjoyed working on this arrangement.

Red Fish

2011-07-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

Son 2 has developed a discriminating pallet at the ripe old age of 13. Turns out that he loves fish and I don't mean fried catfish. He likes the fish that are healthiest to eat. That is music to a mom's ears. About two years ago he went to the Mayflower Cafe with a friend and apparently had the best fish of his life. Ever since he has told me he loves fish and is happy when I prepare it. I have incorporated more fish into our nightly menus and last night was a redfish night. I used a recipe from the ever popular Come On In cookbook from the Junior League of Jackson. I have nearly cooked my way through this cookbook but have never prepared the redfish.

The recipe is very easy and other than the fish I had all of the ingredients in my house. The fish was delicious. It had a great flavor and a wonderful, flaky, light texture. Sparkling recommends you try this.

REDFISH SPECIAL

4 - redfish fillets
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Sprinkle both sides of each redfish fillet with lemon pepper and dust with flour. Saute fillets in 3 tablespoons butter for 5 minutes, turning once. Preheat a separate, oven proof pan and add lemon juice, 2 tablespoons butter and sauteed fish. Pour butter from saute pan over fish and add garlic salt and Worcestershire. Broil 3 minutes without turning. Serve immediately.

Summer's Bounty

2011-07-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to get a manicure and pedicure. A true treat especially for my poor aching feet. While relaxing in my pedicure chair I was perusing through a People magazine. While I have an addiction to magazines, I don't purchase People. I tell myself that it is just gossip but somehow I just can't wait to get my hands on one. I read about people that I have never heard of. I think that means I need to get out more. Or is it because I get out more that I don't have a clue who they are? I read about Catherine Middleton. So they changed Kate to Catherine but what about her official title now? Oh well, whatever we are supposed to call her she looks fabulous. I saw beautiful fashions from a red carpet somewhere. I read about George Clooney separating from his girlfriend. I had a great time.

What does all of this have to do with a Summer's Bounty? Well, it turns out in the very back of the People magazine I found a recipe for a delicious pasta dish. I wanted to tear it out so bad but feared the trouble I might get into. So I sat there and tried my best to memorize the whole thing. The recipe is for a zucchini pasta. It contains some delicious ingredients. I thought of this recipe all night and this morning at 7:30am I went to Freshway produce to purchase some zucchini. It was the freshest and largest of the season thus far. Excited with my purchase I returned home to prepare the feast.

Son 1 is home for the weekend and when he returned from his morning errands I made him a plate He said he really liked it but that it was a little dry. No problem, I fixed that with a few ingredients. Son 2 came home a little later and I prepared him a plate. He moved it around and around not having the heart to tell me he really did not like it. I LOVED it! I guess maybe you need to love zucchini as I do. It is a great, light summer pasta dish. I really think my readers will enjoy it...not sure about any children you might serve it to.

You can see most of the ingredients needed in the first photo. In the second, you see me taking full advantage of my wonderful three tiered oven as I am roasting the zucchini. By the way, if you have not roasted zucchini this way you should know it is delicious. In the third photo you see the finished product.

Use some of summer's best and make this zucchini pasta. You won't regret it.

ZUCCHINI PASTA

1 pound pasta cooked (I used fettucini)save about 3 cups of the pasta water to mix with final dish
6 thinly sliced zucchini, roasted on 450 for 15 minutes(drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper first)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Zest of 1/2 lemon (I think you could use more but that is just me)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

While zucchini is roasting, saute onions and garlic in the tablespoon of olive oil. Add to cooked pasta along with the Parmesan cheese, olives, and lemon zest. In a small saucepan, melt the two tablespoons of butter. Take off heat and add the bread crumbs and combine. Add to pasta. Once zucchini are roasted combine them with pasta. Stir all ingredients and serve. I added salt and a little more Parmesan to my taste.

On a side note, my spell check kept telling me that fettucini was spelled incorrectly so I Googled the correct spelling. Turns out fettucini is typically spelled 4 different ways but the way I have spelled it is supposed to be the correct way So there!!!

Sweet Tooth

2011-07-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I mentioned that I had prepared some desserts for our soccer party. I was having a huge struggle trying to avoid eating the leftovers. Along with the Rice Crispy treats, I put the No Bake Chocolate Cookies as well as the Butterscotch Brownies in the freezer so that I could avoid temptation. I hope Son 1 takes them back to his hungry college friends so I no longer have to dream about them. Here are the recipes.

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3 cups instant oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 tablespoons cocoa

Bring to a boil sugar, milk and butter. In a bowl combine oatmeal, vanilla and cocoa. Pour hot mixture in bowl and stir. Drop by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet. Cookies will harden as they cool.

Butterscotch Brownies

1 cup butter
1 - 11 0z package butterscotch morsels
2 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 pan. In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter and butterscotch morsels. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring after each until morsels are melted (about 1 1/2 minute)

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and eggs stirring well. Add vanilla and melted butter mixture, stirring to combine.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to batter, stirring until smooth. Stir in pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

For Frosting;

1/4 cup butter
1 cup butterscotch morsels
2 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine butter and butterscotch morsels in a large glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, stirring once to melt. Stir in milk. Add sugar and salt, stir until smooth. Spread over brownies.

Just posting this makes me hungry. I think I will begin to decide what we will be having for dinner.

A Crowd Pleasing Menu

2011-07-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we had a get together at our home for Son 2's new soccer team. It was a time for everyone to meet each other and for our coach and team manager to get us organized. Son 2 plays on a traveling soccer team and it takes a lot of organization for everything to run smoothly. We will be spending a whole lot of time with this group over the next year. We will travel all over the south and share many meals and good times with them.

Having 50 people over can be a little challenging and so I must admit to my loyal readers that I did not take pictures. I am not happy with myself but it was just to overwhelming to be hostess, meet people for the first time and think about taking pictures. I did have a little of the pasta leftover but as you see from the photo the spinach and basil did not make it with this little bit of pasta. Nevertheless, it is still very tasty.

For the boys, we served lots of pizza, fruit, chips and salsa, a whole lot of M & M cookies and homemade Rice Crispy treats. There was not one cookie standing at the end of the night. I noticed several adults making their way to the Rice Crispy treats. It made me laugh inside. I guess you really never grow up when it comes to certain things.

For the adults, here was the menu:

Pasta Salad
Garlic Chicken Bites with Tomato Raisin Sauce
Crazy About Corn Dip
Poppy Seed and Ham Sandwiches
Fresh Vegetables with Curry Dip
Fresh Fruit
No Bake Chocolate Cookies
Butterscotch Brownies

Two of my favorite items on the menu were the pasta salad and the chicken. While the chicken is gone, I still had some of the delicious sauce which you see in the photo. Here are the recipes

PASTA SALAD

1 pound cooked penne pasta
2 cups lightly packed spinach
1 cup chopped tomatoes (the original recipe called for grape tomatoes, but I had some delicious homegrown tomatoes on my windowsill begging to be used.)
1 8 oz. package fresh whole mild mozzarella, chopped
1/2 cup lightly packed torn fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic flavored rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Prepare pasta according to package directions. In a large bowl, combine pasta, spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Add oil, vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes; toss until mixture is well combined. Serve warm or cold.

GARLIC CHICKEN BITES WITH TOMATO RAISIN SAUCE

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
6 cloves garlic plus 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup raisins (I used golden raisins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cilantro, pepper, and 6 minced cloves of garlic in a small bowl. Rib mixture over chicken. Thread 1 or 2 pieces of chicken onto each skewer. (make sure you have soaked your skewers for at least 30 minutes so they won't burn) Place skewers on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through about 18 - 20 minutes.

Process remaining 2 minced garlic cloves, tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and raisins in a food processor until raisins are chopped.

Serve Garlic Chicken Bites warm with sauce on the side for dipping.

I actually marinated my chicken with a little olive oil the cilantro, pepper, garlic and I added a little salt and water. This made the chicken so moist. While I baked mine as the recipe indicated, it would be much better if you grilled it both from a taste and presentation perspective. Even coming from the oven, it was very good.

Garden Tour Summer 2011

2011-07-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

When the Sparkling boys were very young I worked in the yard so long Mr. Sparkling would have to make me go back in the house. At that time we had a brand new house with a brand new yard so the canvas was blank and I could plant as my heart desired. When we moved into our current home it came with a very well established yard that had been created by someone else. We changed things a little at a time and finally this year after living in our house for 13 years I feel like my yard is my own.

With Son 1 away at college and Son 2 coming into his teenage years, I have a little more time to do the things that I really enjoy. You guessed it, gardening is one of them. I have worked tirelessly cleaning out and planting new shrubs and flowers this year.

I planted dahlias for the first time ever and I have been so pleased with their performance. They are the orange flowers you see both in the ground and in the hanging baskets. I am also trying my hand at roses. The first type you see are called drift roses. They are the ones with the beautiful deep melon color. The second and much smaller ones are knockout roses and very common. I am hoping that with them being very common they will grown easily.

If anyone can tell me why my hydrangeas are green I would love to have the answer. They have bloomed pink each year until this one. I love the green color but planted them with pink in mind. I know that the soil PH balance has something to do with this but in the pink and blue categories not green.

The culinary area consists of mint, basil, sage, parsley, rosemary, oregano, chives and even one tomato plant. I have always wanted to grow tomatoes because as Ouiser Boudreaux said in Steel Magnolias "I grow tomatoes because it is what old southern women are supposed to do".

I am so proud of our tree tunnel. I planted six crepe myrtles many years ago when they were only about two feet tall. As you see they are now mature and around 15 feet tall.

If you are laughing at my "pretend" Adirondack chairs and small little fire pit, I get it. Really there is no substitution for a good old fashioned Adirondack chair and a large brick fire pit. I would be embarrassed if we had not had so much fun around the fire pit in our fake chairs. When the air is crisp, there is nothing more fun than to fire up that little pit and sit around with a few marshmallows and enjoy the warmth of the fire.

I have always wanted to plant creeping fig on my brick that surrounds our lower patio. Why it took me 13 years is beyond me. There are only a few other plants that scream southern like a creeping fig growing up old brick. As you can see, they are already starting to creep.

I hope you enjoyed your tour. If you have any garden tips for me, please pass them along. I would love to hear from you.

Birds, Ducks and Snakes

2011-06-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of weeks it seems we have been inundated with birds all over our yard. On a couple of occasions we have had two mallards playing in our sprinklers. Today was especially exciting. A friend came over to drop something off. She was standing right in front of our garage door and I noticed a 3 foot snake slithering behind her. I yelled snake and she ran as fast as lightening. Looking back it was really funny but at the time we were all pretty scared.

Now that the incident is over, I am wondering just where Sammy the Snake went. How will I care for all of the flowers and new bushes I have planted without being fearful of Sammy. I would love to think he was a harmless garden snake, but somehow he just seemed too large and scary.

I am not cooking tonight because Son 2 has his last baseball game of the season. I have already fed him a very large sandwich so that he won't starve during the game. I do have lots of recipes to try so be on the lookout for those to come your direction soon.

It's Just Grilling

2011-06-23T05:42:00.000-07:00

I did not grow up in a family that grilled very often. It usually occurred only once in the summer and there was much tension in the air.

I can vividly remember the round, cast iron grill that my grandfather would use to cook our once yearly steaks. It seemed that the preparation, cooking and clean up with this tradition created more drama than was necessary. This was not the relaxed atmosphere you see on television or in the movies. Perhaps if a beer would have been in hand the process would have gone a little smoother. I am not sure what all the fuss was about I just clearly remember standing way off in the background waiting for my grilled steak and the dust to settle from the tension.

Years ago I decided to conquer the grill. I purchased several books which made me think maybe my family had been right all along and that grilling really was a huge pain. Some of the books made grilling very complicated and more of a science than actually cooking. I finally found a small grilling book ("Grill Book, New Foods and Flavors for the Grill") that was perfect for me. It did not go into great detail about how to prepare your grill or the food. It was very straight forward and simple. I have now become pretty decent at grilling.

As you can see from the photos above, Son 2 is getting a lesson on grilling. We grilled some chicken and I will share with you just what we did.

Baja Chipoltle Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cleaned and pounded thin
1 bottle of Baja Chipoltle Marinade

One day prior to grilling, Son 2 and I prepared the chicken. We cleaned it and then pounded it so that one side would not be thicker than the other. We then placed the chicken in a plastic container, poured the marinade over it and put it in the refrigerator.

Now as for the grilling, my book warned that boned chicken can easily be overcooked. It calls for grilling on each side for 4-6 minutes over medium-hot coals. It further explains that if the chicken is skinned, the grill does not need to be covered. Even though my chicken was skinned I covered the grill.

So that is it. No drama. No screaming and yelling. Just 4-6 minutes per side and you will have a very delicious, juicy, tender piece of chicken. For those of you who may be thinking that 4-6 minutes is not nearly long enough, stop worrying. I have been cooking it this way for years and it is always cooked perfectly.

This was a great way to spend on our second day of summer. I look forward to grilling a lot more and hope you do too.

Back in the Swing

2011-06-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

We are just getting back into our regular activities after our vacation. We had a wonderful time and are already looking forward to the next one. Two things of particular interest from our travels are Son 2 meeting an ex-POW who has written a book about his experience and Mr. Sparkling receiving a "Quarter Century" award.

Son 2 is quite a history/military buff. We have passed the USS Alabama a million times and each time heard a cry to visit from Son 2. It seemed that time never would allow. This vacation Mr. Sparkling and I surprised Son 2 with a trip to the USS Alabama. He loved every single minute of the tour. We even had time to visit the aviation center and a submarine. I will say the sub was quite a challenge for me as I don't do well in tight spaces. At the end of the tour an ex-POW was conducting a book signing. He wrote about his experience from joining the service to being a POW for three years and his life once he returned home. He told us that a movie is currently being filmed based on his book, "Hell's Guest". Son 2 was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet him and read the book before we returned home.

Now as for Mr. Sparkling....we attended a conference and he was to receive an award for over 25 years of service in health care. I was very happy for him because I don't know of a harder working man. A few weeks before this conference I received a call from the presenter of the award. The purpose of the call was to get some "dirt" on Mr. Sparkling and poke a little fun at him. As you can see from the photo, he was forced to hoola hoop on stage based on a funny hoola hoop incident on a previous family vacation. He was asked to demonstrate over and over and the room was filled with laughter.

While on vacation I had the opportunity to pour through many magazines and found a bazillion recipes. I am not sure I will have time to try them all but a few that really have me interested are Gorgonzla Grilled Pear Crostini, Chimichurri Chicken, Olive and Fig Chicken, Honey Pecan and Goat Cheese Salad and Cherry Lassi with Cardamom and Pistachios.

I am moving along with my floral design classes. The arrangement you see in the photo is one that I did for my church this past weekend. I used the techniques I have learned but was able to do it on a larger scale and with the flowers of my choosing. I loved working on this and can't wait until the design elements come second nature to me instead of having to think so hard about everything.

Oh Happy Day!

2011-05-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

Son 2 and I have just wrapped up a two week long, very grueling study session. He will take his last two exams tomorrow and then it is summer!!

School is very different than when I was a young girl. The amount of work and pressure on these children is too much. He is learning things that I learned when I was in high school. I am so proud of how well he has done this past year.

Now you may be asking just what my role in all of this is. I am the "go get it" person. That is get what ever is needed for a project. I am the "quizzett". That is after he has reviewed everything I quiz him to double check that he knows the material. Lastly, I am the motivator. It is hard to go to school from 7:30 am to 3:20 pm and then have several hours of homework. I would just revolt. Son 2 has had a great attitude and stamina.

In wrapping up the school year, I hosted a reception for the 8th graders who will be moving on to high school next year. I did the flower arrangement you see above as the centerpiece for the food table. The scary part of this arrangement is that it is part of my class and it will be critiqued to insure I followed all the design elements and principles. Oh, so much to remember.

The other photo above is Son 2 and a friend. They had an end of the year swim party this past Saturday and it was so good to see them have a great time and break from all the studying.

This is my last post for a while as we are going to begin our summer fun. First, Son 2 will be playing in the State Championship for soccer. This should be a nail biter. Then we leave from the tournament to relax at the beach. Just the thought of it makes my blood pressure go down. Until we return.

E-mail Etiquette

2011-05-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

Do the rules of polite, well-mannered behavior cease to exist in the world of e-mails? I must say I believe they do and it certainly needs to change. Should e-mails be treated differently than any other type of communication? I hardly think so.

I am not an e-mail fanatic but when I send someone an e-mail I do put thought into it. I hope to receive some type of response or acknowledgement of the e-mail. In too many cases, I receive nothing in return. I also find that when sending information to large groups asking for a response only a few actually take action and press the send button. It is very frustrating when you have taken time to deliver information and it seems that the e-mail world is missing in the wild blue yonder.

All that being said, as bad as those examples are the very worst e-mail offense is when someone dismisses your e-mail but is happy to use your e-mail addresses for their own personal information. When my grandmother died about a year ago a friend e-mailed a group of people to share the information. I did not receive one single note of condolence but one person disregarded the message about my grandmother and forwarded an e-mail about buying some of the products she sells. Where is common decency? That was very, very hurtful to me.

You may be wondering what made me think of all of this. The very same thing happened this past week to a friend of mine who was asking for prayers for a friend who has cancer, a tough battle ahead and no family. I have prayed that this did not hurt her feelings in the way mine were hurt with my experience. It is no fun at all.

According to Peggy Post, "junk mail, commercial spam and forwards can be ignored but you should always respond to a real message, whether it's and invitation, a meeting notice, or a hello from a friend".

Starting Over

2011-05-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

This spring I took a long hard look at my yard and realized many things had become overgrown and simply no longer looked good. My front yard needed a few new bushes in areas where larger ones just had to go. I also was in desperate need of some color. I love color!! I am a "hot" color chick. I love the fiery reds, oranges, purples and bright greens.

In my backyard I am currently doing an overhaul. It had suffered from too many years of neglect and is getting a face lift. I am very challenged with what type of flowers I can plant in the backyard as it is shady most of the day. In keeping with my love of "hot" colors, I found this wonderful coleus (in the photo above) that loves the shade. I can't wait to see how it grows.

I will share a few more backyard photos once I get a little further along. As I shared the other day, I have been busy with mundane activities. Also, as you see in the second photo I am continuing on with my floral classes. Being the flower snob that I am, I was sure that I would not like the "mug" design I was assigned. It just seemed so commercial or something. I will say that now that it is on my kitchen counter it does seem to make me smile. Flowers are powerful little things.

As for cooking, I have not tried anything new. On Saturday I worked in the yard the ENTIRE day. I was so exhausted when I came in. I must have looked like a wretched mess because Son 1 immediately brought me three Advil and a Diet Coke. You gotta love a Son who knows his Mamma! Once I sat down I only got up to shower and make myself a tuna sandwich.

My $40 Cookbook

2011-05-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy with mundane activities lately that I have not posted. I don't think you want to hear about me cleaning out the garage, or basement or closets. You know that stuff just has to be done and takes time.

Of interest to my wonderful readers, I purchased a new cookbook. This little treasure was find at our neighborhood "farmers" market. I felt like this cookbook would have super good vegetable recipes. While at the farmers market, I purchased said cookbook and some tomatoes. My total came about 45.00. I was shocked. How could one innocent book and some delicious red tomatoes come to such a total? Well, it turns out that the cookbook was a whopping $40. I buy a lot of cookbook and I think this is the highest price I have ever paid except for maybe some of the huge ones.

With great expectations I tried two recipes from the cookbook last night. One was for chicken and the other for potatoes. I will say I was disappointed. Both recipes were OK but not great. So I will forge through this cookbook and look for some other interesting recipes. One that I do want to try and want to share with you is for a broccoli salad. By the way, the name of the cookbook is The Cooking Queen Opens Her Kitchen. The "Queen" catered for many years in Florida. I know there will be some other fun recipes to try.

I have also been taking a bazillion floral classes and learning so much. I am enjoying every minute. My camera bit the dust this past weekend so until I can find time to have it repaired, I won't be sharing any photos with you. Here's the recipe I want to try. I hope it is good.

Broccoli Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

6 cups fresh broccoli florets, uncooked
8 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon (my vegetarian friends can just omit this)
2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup sliced, toasted almonds

Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

1 cup mayo
1/2 cup red raspberry vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

Mix and toss over broccoli salad and chill.

Cinco De Mayo and Flowers

2011-05-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Do we really need a holiday to enjoy Mexican food? I think I could eat Mexican food everyday. Today I went to my cookbook club luncheon where we enjoyed our own Mexican fiesta! Our meal was absolutely delicious. We all agreed that it was our favorite menu of all times and that is saying a lot as we try tons of recipes. I am going to share the menu with you. Just let me know which dish you would like the recipe for and I will post it promptly. Trust me, you WILL want some of these recipes. I have never posted a whole menu from one of our luncheons, but this was a feast for the pallet.

APPETIZERS

Gulf Coast Ceviche (this was Divine with fresh seafood, herbs and avocados!)

Crazy About Corn Dip (this was a creamy dip with corn, pecans, onions and lime juice)

SALADS

Fresh Tomato Salad with Herbed Dressing (this was beautiful and made with heirloom tomatoes of all colors)

Cilantro Lime Summer Corn Salad (this salad was very pretty and had a great flavor)

MAIN COURSE

"The Charurrasco" Beef Tenderloin (oh my goodness is all I can say. This meat is so tender and it has a Chimichurri sauce that is to die for)

Black Bean and Mango Enchiladas (I will admit that I thought this combination would not be to my liking. Boy was I wrong. These are delicious and I will be trying them on my own)

SIDE DISH

Cilantro Rice (one of the best Mexican rices I have tasted)

DESSERTS

Any Day Chocolate Cake ("any day" is for sure...I would eat this here or there, I would eat this anywhere!) Trust me, one of the best chocolate cakes ever...you bake it in a spring form pan it that gives you any idea of the texture

Normandy Peach Tart (you know how Sparkling is not a fruit girl, but I will say this was delicious and pretty...anyone who loves peaches will LOVE this tart!)

In my photo at the beginning of my post, you will see one of my "learning" flower arrangements. As you can see, I am slowly progressing. These classes are so much fun and I feel like I am a sponge with the information I am being given. In this arrangement I was learning about asymmetrical design. Quite a challenge for this symmetrical gal. You may have noticed my posts getting a little slower. My classes are taking time but I promise I will post when I can.

No Broken Bones

2011-04-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago the Sparkling family went to see Son 1 play in his team's spring scrimmage game. There were lots of activities planned before the game. As you can see Son 2 is standing in front of a blue tiger positioned in front of the alumni tent. Inside the tent, BBQ was flowing and music was soaring.

Once the team arrived, the players began giving autographs. In the second photo, you can see the head coach and Son 1 greeting fans. You can then see him throwing to one of his teammates. What good would it be to have a brother on the team and not get a few perks? Son 1 began helping Son 2 obtain as many autographs as possible.

After all of the pregame fun, we finally got inside the stadium and the action began. It was so thrilling to see Son 1 on the field. He went out on the field to punt the ball. I will admit that I was taking so many pictures I did not see what happened. It turns out that Son 1 was about to kick the ball to heaven when his opponents tried to block his punt. Judging from the photos, you would think that his ball was blocked but somehow it soared across the field. As he was walking to the sidelines, it seemed he was favoring his kicking leg. You can even see a baseball size knot on his leg. It turned into a pretty ugly bruise pretty fast.

This past weekend Son 1 was able to join our family for Easter. We all had a great time together but he was still favoring his kicking leg. Upon returning to school, he showed the team Doc and was told his leg could be cracked. This is not the news a kicker needs to hear. He went for x-rays today and thankfully there is no crack just a lot of bruising and extra fluid.

I did mention Easter. We dined out for our lunch and I made an Easter dinner. I tried a new and simple recipe for asparagus. It was really good.

Ranch Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 package dry ranch dressing mix

Clean and trim the asparagus. Lay flat on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle the entire package of dressing mix on top of asparagus. Bake on 350 for 10 - 12 minutes.

Confessions of a Dietcokeaholic

2011-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Sparkling and I am a Dietcokeaholic. Isn't the first step to any addiction admitting that you have one? Ok, so there I said it...I am addicted to diet cokes. What does one do to rid this addiction? Where is my 12 step program? Are there any treatment centers? Surely there is a patch! There is absolutely nothing at all to help a person rid themselves of said addiction.

I am very well read on the horrible health issues that you might acquire from these delicious little cans. Stroke, memory loss, cancer, and increase in sugar cravings! Are you kidding me? These are the very thing I am trying desperatley to avoid. It is said that the artificial sweeteners in these diet drinks are the culprits, not the drinks themselves.

I have listened to skinny little dieticians giving tips on how to rid yourself of these little cans of treasure. Believe me, unless you have been truly addicted, these tips are not nearly strong enough to get the job done. Nothing in the world can beat the pop of the can followed by the refreshing mist like fizz and then the explosion in your mouth. It's like therapy in a can!

Isn't a person allowed one vice? I mean really I have no other vices such as this one. My motto for eating is "everything in moderation". I do not eat fried and fatty foods, I get plenty of veggies (not so much fruit), I rarely drink (although the wine industry found a way to make drinking wine healthy...go figure), and I exercise. Still, the factors against my drug of choice are stacking up and I can't find a way to shove them into a corner any more.

Over the past few years, I have managed to streamline my diet cokes to about 2 a day, 3 if the day is stressful. While I am addicted to diet coke, I do tend to drink tea most of the day. I love tea, but when I HAVE to HAVE a diet coke, nothing else will do. I do drink water although it seems to just slosh around in my stomach. I am trying to incorporate more.

So I am going to go about this addiction with only my will power in hand and pray for the best. Any words of encouragement from my readers would be helpful I am sure. Here's to day 1 of my life without diet coke...a sad day for Sparkling.

Cookin Up A Storm

2011-04-12T11:43:00.001-07:00

Move over, Julia Child. Step out of the way, Martha Stewart. Sparkling is in town and has lots to share. Last week I asked my loyal, wonderful, beautiful readers to choose from a list of recipes. They were to choose the one that they would most like for me to share. Out of all of the thousands maybe even millions of readers the results are in! Hazelnut Brown Butter Trout and Capellini with Tomatoes and Basil were the BIG winners.

With out further delay, here are the recipes.

HAZELNUT-BROWN BUTTER TROUT

1 10-12 oz. trout fillets
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Sprinkle the meaty side of the fish with the cumin, salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the trout skin side up and cook for 3 minutes.

Turn skin side down and cook 3 minutes.

Transfer to a serving platter and keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium. Add butter and hazelnuts to skillet, stirring often to about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and vinegar. Cook for 1 minute until slightly thickened. Pour over fish and serve.

The Sparkling family loved this fish. The sauce was very delicious and much to my dismay, Mr. Sparkling and Son 2 would not even taste the sauce. It is very tangy and crunchy and just perfect on the fish. I will say that even without the sauce, the fish had a wonderful flavor. So this one gets a thumbs up. I must admit that my time was very limited in cooking this fish and I just had to run with it. I did not have hazelnuts on hand so in my photos you see almonds...so predictable isn't it? The almonds were great, but the hazelnut flavor, I am sure, would have been a most welcome change.

CAPELLINI WITH TOMATOES AND BASIL

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 pints cherry tomatoes
10 large basil leaves, julienned
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound capellini or angel hair pasta
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside. Angel hair cooks pretty fast...about six minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes get soft.

Place the pasta in a serving bowl. Pour cooked tomato mixture on top of pasta. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Toss and serve.

I have not yet tried this on my family. This will be for dinner tonight. I tried it and love it. It really has a peppery kick combined with the tangy tomatoes and salty Parmesan cheese. I used whole wheat pasta if you are wondering where the brown color came from.

I hope my readers enjoy these recipes. Happy cooking.

A Fun Day on the Sparkling Blog

2011-04-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Several random thoughts for today. First, take a look at my beautiful azaleas. You must know the story of these glorious blooms. Way back when Mr. Sparkling and I first moved into our current home, there was a large flower bed with a strange assortment of random bushes. It really bothered me. So one day we pulled all the bushes out. oh how it looked so bare. I was then faced with the daunting task of finding something to replace them with.

I either was told or read somewhere that my neighborhood used to be a feast for spring time eyes. People would actually drive through just to look at the azaleas. I think I was told that I was not to remove any azaleas from my yard when we moved in. At the time we had plenty of bushes but not that many azaleas.

One day while shopping at Walmart, I decided to take a look at the Garden Center offerings. By this time, it was pretty hot and long past azalea blooming time. I spotted azalea bushes on sale for $1.00....yes you read that correctly, $1.00. I was so excited I purchased everything they had making sure I was getting the same kind and checking the tags to make sure they were the same color. I purchased all that Walmart had and then went on to another. I purchased 50 bushes in total and they have grown to be a very lovely addition to our yard as you can see.

Changing the subject completely. Do you remember the Kraft Garlic Cheese Rolls that you would find in the section of the grocery with Parmesan cheese and horseradish? Well, about a year or two ago my grocery store stopped carrying this little roll of pretend cheese. So many people have complained about not being able to find it. Apparently it was a mainstay in the 70's for many recipes. One of those recipes was one I had for Garlic Cheese Grits. How would I make the Garlic Cheese Grits without the Garlic Cheese Roll? For a while I made my own concoction. Then one day I was reading the paper and to my surprise, I found that Kraft stopped making the Garlic Cheese Roll. A substitution recipe was listed for all of us lost cooks. Here it is.

Homemade Garlic Cheese Roll

1 1/2 pounds sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound Velveeta
3 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon of salt
Garlic powder to taste

Soften cheeses and mix all together well. Shape into four rolls and wrap well in foil or plastic wrap.

One last thing for today. I was going through my recipes looking for a Lenten dish and found so many I just could not choose which one I wanted to prepare. So, I am going to let my readers decide. Give me a shout and tell me which one you want me to post the recipe for and it shall be yours. Here goes.

Capeillini with Tomatoes and Basil
Bowtie and Spicy Broccoli Rabe with Crunchy Crumbs
Broccoli and Pasta Casserole
Seafood Cakes with Mustard Crema
Hazelnut Brown Butter Trout (or salmon, halibut or catfish)
Tilapia Clubs

Let me hear from you!!

What's For Easter Dinner? and More Flowers

2011-04-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

I just love cooking on Easter. It is so much less stressful than Christmas and we have our fresh vegetable bounty coming in. Easter just would not be Easter at my home with out a ham. After that, I try to cook with fresh vegetables like green beans, squash and tomatoes.

At one of my cookbook club luncheons we enjoyed the most delicious Brussels sprouts recipe. I know many of you may be thinking "yuck" to these little green cabbage looking things. But trust me when I tell you this recipe got a thumbs up from EVERYONE in our club. Even those who said they detested Brussels sprouts. So I highly recommend you include this on your Easter menu.

SAUTEED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH TRUFFLE OIL

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, stems trimmed
2 teaspoons pressed garlic (about 2 large cloves)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus additional
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup vermouth (or water)
freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons white truffle oil
1/4 cup almond slivers, toasted

Fit a food processor with a slicing blade. With the motor running, drop the Brussels sprouts down the feed tube, using the hopper to push the sprouts through to ensure better slices. (Instead of a food processor, you can use a mandolin or a sharp knife) In a small bowl, mash the garlic and salt together. Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium until warm. Add the garlic paste and butter; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sliced sprouts to the skillet and toss gently until coated with the butter. Saute for about 1 minute until the sprouts are crisp and slightly browned. Toss and cook for about 1 more minute. Pour in the vermouth, stir and saute until the sprouts are crisp tender, but still bright green, about 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the truffle oil, add the almonds and toss. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

If you have a large crowd, you might want to double or triple this recipe because this is so very delicious!! Trust me.

As you can see, I did another floral arrangement. It is going to see how I progress to the really pretty, larger ones with the flowers I like. Even though you know my dislike for carnations and leather leaf, I still enjoyed putting this arrangement together. If I used some tropical flowers with some interesting greenery this very same arrangement would take on a whole new look. This type is perfect as a centerpiece on a table.

Dinner and a Dog

2011-03-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

No, the dog was not our dinner! Over the weekend I purchased some Ahi Tuna steaks from the frozen section at Sam's. The recipe on the bag called for cooking for 2-3 minutes on each side.... that leaves them pretty pink on the inside. While I love it this way I wondered if Son 2 and Mr. Sparkling would think it as delicious a treat as I do. The first photo is the final cooked product. In the second photo, I am defrosting the steaks in cold water. Look at the beautiful pink color. The salad I made was very basic, lettuce, tomatoes and a few olives. I mixed a iceberg with some butter leaf. That combination makes a pretty salad.

Mr. Sparkling ran a 5K last night so he did not get home until long past our dinner time. I served the tuna with potatoes and a salad. Waiting anxiously for Son 2 to determine if he liked the tuna or not, I was shocked when he asked for a second steak! He loved it and being the bottomless pit he is had to go back for seconds.

Take a look at those beautiful potatoes. They look like something you might see decorated on a cake. I found these potatoes at Fresh Market several years ago in the frozen section. My entire family loves them. All you do to prepare them is put them on a cookie sheet in the oven for about 20 minutes. These go well with any dinner and taste so good. I highly recommend them.

When Mr. Sparkling came home, I prepared his plate and placed it in front of him. I quickly left him and ran to get the clothes out of my beeping dryer. From the kitchen I heard him calling me. He wanted to show me that the tuna was very pink and that maybe I needed to cook it a little more. I told him that was how it was supposed to be and so he ate the whole steak and then asked for a second. These are about 4 ounce steaks so judge for yourself how many you may need for your family. Oh yea, after dealing with my clothes and I returned to Mr. Sparkling to ask about his run and his day. He was exhausted from both!

It is so nice when you can serve a meal that makes your whole family happy. I am pretty sure Son 1 will like all of it too and promised I would make it for him next time he comes home.

I am not sure why my family loves that I write this blog, but they do. Son 2 wanted to know if I had ever put a picture of our dog on my blog. Since I had not, he took it upon himself to take a photo and order me to put his picture on one of my posts. There is no time like the present. Droopy, our Basset Hound, is a little older as you might be able to tell from his graying face. He is a very sweet and obedient dog. He is beginning to slow down on our walks, but still enjoys them on most days.

We are headed out of town this weekend for a soccer tournament. I will post again next week. Enjoy every minute of our Spring weather and flowers!!

More Spring

2011-03-29T15:59:00.001-07:00

Last week I was thinking about my high school days and the lengths I would go through to obtain a tan. This week all I can think about is spring. First, pollen is EVERYWHERE. I keep cleaning off my front porch and outdoor furniture but the pollen keeps covering it. My azaleas are so pretty and just about ready for me to photograph for all of my loyal readers.

I have been very busy with my floral classes and as you can see from the photo above I have graduated to fresh flowers. I must share with you that I am a flower snob. When I order flowers from a florist I am pretty sure they are rolling their eyes on the other end of the phone. I really do not like carnations and worse are any variety of mums, daisies, poms are anything in that family. It serves me right that my first arrangement called for both carnations and poms. To top it off, I am picky about the greenery that goes into my arrangements. I despise leather leaf and as you can see, it is plum in the middle of my arrangement. These beginning arrangements are not going to win design awards, they really are for teaching. Even though I have been arranging flowers for about 18 years, I am learning a lot. I chose spring colors because that is all I am thinking about these days.

Does the second photo take you back to your childhood or what? Robin's Eggs were my absolute, positive, favorite Easter candy on the face of the earth. I must confess I still just love them although I don't eat as many as I used to. When I was pregnant with Son 2, I was nauseous every single minute of every single day. I could not eat and my doctor made me drink. Water even tasted bad. When Easter time came along I saw Robin's Eggs in the store. Somehow they looked so appealing and I purchased a bag. Do you know that Robin's Eggs became my best friend until the day I delivered Son 2. There is no nutritional value whatsoever, but that is what tasted good to me at the time. Water and Robin's Eggs....go figure!

My third picture is one of a meal I prepared for dinner on Sunday night. Meatloaf was the star and Son 2 and Mr. Sparkling seemed to love it. I served it along side buttermilk mashed potatoes and some delicious buttery corn. Give it a try if you have a crowd to serve.

Country Meatloaf

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped white onions
3 slices of bread torn into small pieces
2 pounds of ground chuck
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 egg
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Saute the onions for about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, place the bread sauteed onions, ground chuck, carrot egg and one half of the can of tomato sauce. With your hands, mix all ingredients together. In a 12 x 8 baking dish, shape the ground chuck mixture into and 8 x 4 loaf.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cider vinegar, prepared mustard and remaining tomato sauce. Mix and spoon over meat loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

A Boom Box, Some Special Suntan Lotion and Lemonade

2011-03-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends I have not written to you since our trip to the great white mountains. We had a wonderful time and there is something so magical about the mountains. It has been interesting going from snow to 80 something degrees. I have transitioned back into normal life and have begun to enjoy spring. I planted some flowers today and while I was outside enjoying every minute of the sunshine somehow my mind wondered back to my high school days.

There was nothing more fun than the first hint of spring. The thought of wearing shorts and flip flops was intoxicating. I have fond memories of my spring break vacations back then. First I must tell you that my family never actually took a trip during spring break. It seemed that some of my friends would take a fabulous trip to some sunny spot while the rest of us had to just hang around. That's when we became very creative. We were not going to be outdone by those vacationing friends. We were going to get a tan come hell or high water!

We invented our own beach. That's right high atop a screened-in porch with a velvet black roof we would climb. Black attracts the sun so this was the perfect setting. We had the most fabulous of potions to make our skin look tan. I am not sure what it was as my girlfriend's father would whip it up for us. I think something like baby oil, cocoa butter and iodine was part of the potion. We did not care what it was all we knew is it worked. So with the homespun lotion, a huge boom box and a pitcher of lemonade we would make our twice daily climb up to the black velvet beach.

We would stay atop our dream vacation spot from 10:00 until 2:00, the very hours we know now we are to avoid as they are the optimum sunshine hours. The only time we came down was to grab our lunch. We could not risk a moment of sunshine so back up the ladder we would climb with our lunch in hand. I remember how great those lunches tasted. They always consisted of some type of sandwich and while I can't remember exactly what they were, I know I loved tuna salad and egg and olive salad. So I am going to break from my reminiscing and return to the present and share my egg and olive salad recipe with you. Let's go back in time tomorrow shall we?

EGG AND OLIVE SALAD

Boil about six eggs. Peal and cut into small pieces. Chop about 1/2 cup of green olives. Mix in about 1/2 cup mayo. Use your judgment on this. Just use enough until it is moist. You know how I like good old fashioned white bread. This salad is great on any type of bread.

Spring Break Here We Come!!

2011-03-10T08:00:00.001-08:00

We will be leaving to go skiing on Friday. I don't know if I am happier about not having school and activities or actually getting away. At any rate, we look forward to a great week. I will be taking the week off from blogging but will return refreshed and ready to share great things with you.

A Different Kind of Tuna Salad

2011-03-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

With today being Ash Wednesday I am thinking about our Lenten season ahead. I have talked to both Son 1 and Son 2 about what they will be giving up for Lent. Son 1 is having GREAT difficulty with the thought of not eating meat. Currently he is trying to put weight on so a diet of fish and vegetables is a little scary to him. Son 2 says he is giving up chicken. This has to be his absolute favorite food in the whole wide world. I hope he can stick to it.

With all these thoughts of Lent, I can't help but think of what interesting things we will be trying during this season. One recipe that is a mainstay no matter the season is my mother's no mayonnaise tuna salad. This is a very fresh and delicious salad and if you like tuna, you will really enjoy this.

My Mom's Tuna Salad

1 can of tuna, drained (I only use the white albacore in water)
1/8 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar (I use white, but my Mom uses red wine...either will do)
1/4 teaspoon Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Seasoning Salt

Break the tuna with a fork so that it is in very small pieces and then spread it in a thin layer on a plate. Sprinkle the red onion, tomatoes and capers over the tuna. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar on top of all ingredients. Sprinkle with Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Seasoning Salt. Enjoy with crackers.

A Great New Salad

2011-03-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I attended my Cookbook Club luncheon. We had a fun Irish theme and tried to prepare Irish or green food. Well that was a little challenging as we use one cookbook. So I choose an arugula, tomato and corn salad because the arugula is green. Weak, right? It is the best I could come up with.

Turns out the salad was a huge hit. Everyone really loved it. I even prepared it for my church yesterday. Did I remember to take a photo of it for you? I had two chances and forgot both times. Just trust me when I tell you it is a very pretty salad.

The vinaigrette is delicious and would work well on just about any lettuce you could choose. I think all of my readers would really like this salad so I urge you to give it a try. As for the corn, I used fresh, frozen and it worked perfectly. If we were in our fresh corn bounty season I would definitely use it.

This recipe comes from "Peace Meals" A Book of Recipes for Cooking and Connecting from the Junior League of Houston. This is a wonderful cookbook and I know my readers would enjoy having a copy for themselves. My Cookbook Club has really enjoyed cooking our way through it. When we begin our new cookbook in the fall, I will share some of the best recipes with you.

We are headed to Birmingham for the weekend for another soccer tournament. This one has a bonus as Mr. Sparkling's roommate from college and his family live there. We will be staying with them and it will be so nice to catch up. We are all looking forward to seeing them.

Arugula, Corn and Tomato Salad

Vinaigrette

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/8 chopped fresh basil
1 medium vine-ripened tomato, seeded and diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced

Salad

2 ears or 2 cups of corn, cooked and cooled
5 ounces baby arugula
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese (I was pretty liberal with this)

I put my ingredients for the vinaigrette in my food processor so they could emulsify. Combine the corn, arugula, tomatoes, and pecans in a large serving bowl. Toss with vinaigrette and coat evenly. Top with the shaved Parmesan cheese. YUM!

A Great Sandwich

2011-02-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Mr. Sparkling, Son 2 and I went to Atlanta for a soccer tournament. The weather was beautiful. We had a break between games and found this wonderful bakery in Sandy Springs. Apparently this bakery has been in Atlanta for almost 80 years. Think of the economic times that store has seen.

We entered to a very long line reminiscent of the line from the Soup Nazi from the Seinfield TV series. The process was similar. You better know exactly what you want when your time is up. Beyond the delicious looking baked goods, they had a whole section of nothing but sandwich making. These sandwiches were simple in nature, ham and cheese, turkey, tuna and even egg and olive. You had your choice of bread and condiments.

I chose a delicious tuna sandwich on good, old fashioned white bread. Is there anything better? Why does a sandwich taste better when someone else makes it? Do my readers know what I mean? Why does a ham and cheese taste better at your friend's house than your own? What magic is involved in this mystery?

All I know is that we all enjoyed our homemade sandwiches and recommend you find Henri's if you find yourself in the wonderful city of Atlanta.

Double Whammy

2011-02-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

Last week I was hit with a case of the flu combined with strep. I really felt awful and have still not bounced back. My appetite came back, but the medicine has my stomach so messed up, I really can't eat much.

I have been dreaming of things that I will eat when I feel better. I look forward to sharing these with you.

Sam's Produce

2011-02-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

When I was I child I can remember climbing into my grandfather’s produce truck. My Grandfather owned his own produce company. He worked very hard, long hours but was very successful. There was nothing quite like the smell of the inside of his truck. Imagine every type of fruit and vegetable you can think of all in one contained area. The aroma was one of a kind and just thinking about it makes me almost be able to smell it now.

Whenever my grandmother or mother needed any type of produce, they would ask my sister or me to hop in Granddaddy’s truck and get whatever we needed. Every Christmas my Grandmother would make fruit baskets for the priests and nuns from our church and school. They looked so pretty.

We never had to buy produce from a store. I never thought of fruits and vegetables costing anything. That is until Mr. Sparkling and I married. I will never forget the first time I went grocery shopping. Of course I had grown up eating all types of vegetables and learned how to cook them. Mr. Sparkling and I lived far, far away from home so hopping into Granddaddy’s truck was not possible. I was shocked at the price of produce but continue to buy it to this day.

Today I read that tomatoes in particular are going to be very expensive because of hard freezes in Mexico and Florida. Other crops such as green beans, eggplant, cucumbers, squash and asparagus will also be experiencing a large rise in price. I look forward to our homegrown crops to show up soon. They are so much fresher and tastier.

Speaking of tomatoes, my family was visiting Mr. Sparkling and I. My mother was preparing a delicious salad and needed fresh tomatoes. It was determined that Granddaddy should go to the grocery store with me so that the best tomatoes could be chosen. When Granddaddy saw the price of the tomatoes he MADE me put them back. I insisted that mother needed tomatoes. My grandfather never got angry with me, but this time he sternly told me to put them back. There’s nothing like an old, Italian guy sternly talking to you so I put them back very quickly. He MADE me purchase canned tomatoes.

If the prices of produce get too expensive as Granddaddy taught me, you don’t HAVE to buy them. There may be an alternative lurking around the corner. The photo you see is my Grandmother and Grandfather in 1997.

After yesterday's absence of a recipe I feel I must redeem myself. Thanks to one of my favorite readers for the suggestion of a delicious take out salad last night. I am going to prepare Beef and Cheese Enchiladas with a green salad.

BEEF AND CHEESE ENCHILADAS

1 pound ground beef
1 can of chili (no beans)
1 can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
12-14 corn tortillas
1 pound cheddar cheese, freshly grated
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 cup olive oil

Brown and drain ground beef. Sautee onions and add them along with the chili powder to the ground beef.

Heat tortillas in a skillet with 1/4 cup olive oil for a few seconds on each side. Drain.

Heat chili and enchilada sauce together.

Spray a 13 X 9 baking dish with non stick cooking spray.

To assemble the enchiladas, place one tablespoon beef mixture, then on tablespoon of chili and enchilada sauce mixture, then one tablespoon cheese. Roll up tightly and place seam side down in pan. Continue until pan is full. Top with remaining ground beef and chili/enchilada sauce. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake on 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

I will post the photo of the enchiladas tomorrow after I have baked them.

OH The Pressure!

2011-02-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend besides celebrating Valentine's, Son 2 had several soccer games. It seemed that every game was a close one and therefore the "pressure" was pretty high. It is hard for Sparkling to sit still during these types of games. Son 2 seems to take it all in stride. He somehow appears to be a cool as a cucumber while I am a nervous wreck.

Moving on to what is happening with me today, I designed my first arrangement for my floral design classes. As you can see, it is a design for learning and not one to win any prizes. I have been doing flower arrangements for at least 18 years. I have never had any type of formal training. I do so many arrangements now that I want to know how best to create these floral designs. This arrangement you see is a very easy one to create. I will say though that trying to remember all of the terms and rules really seemed to put "pressure" on me. I am glad it is over with and soon I will receive a critique from the professionals. Even more pressure!

So now I must decide what we will have for dinner and I am at a loss. This rarely happens, but I think I used all of my brain cells learning my lesson and doing the flower arrangement. If any of my readers have a suggestion, I am all ears.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-12T08:35:00.000-08:00

On Friday night, Son 1 came home with his girlfriend who is just precious! This seemed the perfect time for our family to enjoy a special Valentine's meal. Son 2 seemed to be very happy that his brother was home. I was eager to share my recipes with you until I realized my whole meal consisted of recipes I have already passed on to my wonderful readers!! The menu consisted of baked salmon, German green beans, balsamic roasted potatoes, and linguine with brie and tomatoes. At the top left of my blog, there is a search box. If you type in any of these items, they will pop up for you.

I also made some cupcakes and I am going to confess that I cheated and used a box cake mix Time was running short, but these cute desserts seemed to be in order. My boys did not seem to mind at all that these cupcakes came from a box.

As you can see from the photo of the place setting, I found some wonderful eyelet napkins that made me think of Valentine's as well as those cute napkin rings. I will confess to having a fetish when it comes to napkin rings. They just seem like the cherry on top if you know what I mean.

When I went to bed on Friday night, I can't tell you what a great feeling it was to have my boys both tucked away in their beds. The best night's sleep I have had in a while. I am sure I smiled all night long. What a great Valentine's gift for me and they don't even know it! Happy Valentine's to all of you.

Tribute To My Most Popular Reader

2011-02-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

This post is to thank my most frequent blog viewer for her daily visiting. She is a wonderful, talented and beautiful lady who just happens to live around the corner from Sparkling herself. She also has a blog and I take a gander at it each day. I promise if you give it a look you will not be disappointed (la dilettante is the name of her blog) Her blog is beautifully written and always very interesting. I think it is such a great way to keep up with someone even though you don't actually see them very often.

I started writing this blog at the DEMAND of my sister. At the time I had no idea what she was talking about and had no interest in doing it at all. After one year of her persistence, I began writing this blog. It is hard to come up with a topic that you think will interest your readers each day. I thought I would write about what I talk to my friends about and vice versa. I thought I would share recipes since people are always asking me for them and other tidbits of information. Well, it turns out that I really don't have too many readers and so I have decided that this blog is really a history for my family. When you think about it, they will have all of my recipes and most of my thoughts. I guess one day we will look back at some of these topics and have great memories of all of them.

My most popular reader seems to check in each day. Even if my subject matter is not of particular interest to her, she still gives me a nice comment. This makes me feel so good. So cheers to you La D!! And cheers to the rest of you!! I know you are out there and that makes me feel good too!!

Soup and Snow

2011-02-10T07:09:00.001-08:00

Yesterday afternoon we had the most beautiful snow shower. It began around 3:00 and continued for a few hours. While we never get very much accumulation, the snow did cover our yards and roof tops making our landscape look very pretty. With the snow, it was pretty cold as well. Son 2 and I decided Chicken Noodle Soup would be perfect for our evening meal. Once Mr. Sparkling arrived home he was very pleased to see the big pot of soup on the stove ready to enjoy.

I make a short cut chicken noodle soup that I think is just as good as the long version. The funny thing about this soup is that I really don't have a written recipe or any measurements. I am going to share with you as closely as I can how I prepare this down home treat.

SPARKLING'S CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

3 boxes chicken stock
1 16 ounce pound package of wide dumpling noodles
1 roasted chicken (pulled off the bone in small bite size pieces (I get the kind that are already prepared in the grocery store)
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 tablespoon Cavender's seasoning
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon black pepper

First I fill by pot with the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. I then add my dumpling noodles and let them cook. Once they are tender I add the rest of the ingredients and let it cook for about an hour. If you would rather use garlic and onion powder that is fine. With the seasonings I add a little and taste it until it is just right. So you might want to start with less and add more only if you feel it needs it.

This is one of the most comforting meals and so delicious. You should give it a try. It is really easy and great if you are short on time.

We Are The Champions

2011-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Son 2 and his school soccer team had the wonderful opportunity to play in the State Championship Soccer game. If I would have shared with you our dismal season beginning, you would know what a great thing this actually was.

It was raining and freezing. As Son 1 would always say,"Soccer is not for wimps." So the game was played. The boys did not seem to mind at all. The fans had a little different experience. We were cold and damp but that did not matter because the boys were victorious!!

To make the winning of this game more dramatic for the Sparkling family, I must share a little more detail. Son 2 is only in the 7th grade. It was a very rare opportunity for him to be on the varsity team but one he enjoyed every minute of. I think I have mentioned that Son 1 is a football kicker and now Son 2 is a soccer goalie. As parents these are two of the most unnerving positions to have your children in. I think they both think this is rather funny knowing that I have one eye open and the other closed. So now Son 2 will have one State Championship Ring to Son 1's 2. Not bad for a little kid!!

In sharp contrast, the next evening Mr. Sparkling and I had an engagement cocktail party to attend. So we went from 3 pairs of socks each, bulky gloves, scarves, rain boots and coats to open toed shoes and sports coats. The party was lovely but I must say it was very crowded so I really did not get a good look at the food. It sure did smell good. I am trying to learn all I can about these types of parties and weddings. Son 1 is not ready for marriage yet, but once they get to a certain age, I feel that thinking and learning what's hot in this area are a must.

Thinking about weddings brought back memories of my own. One of my mother's friends hosted a shower for me in her home. I was blessed with many showers and each of them had a different twist. At any rate, this shower was a casual, swimming shower. My mother's friend had some of the most delicious food that I still remember it to this day. Two of the items I remember the most were some stuffed mushrooms and a floating watermelon. She hollowed out the melon in the shape of a basket and filled it with all types of juicy fruits and placed it in the pool on a float for us to grab on a whim while basking in the sun.

After the shower, I asked my mother's friend for the recipe for the stuffed mushrooms. She hand wrote it as everyone did back in the day and I still have it in my recipe collection. She has since passed away, but every time I prepare this recipe I fondly think of her. Here the recipe is.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

20 large mushrooms, stems removed
2 tablespoons of butter
3 green onions, chopped
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack Cheese (I sometimes use Asiago)
2 tablespoons salsa
1 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients except mushroom in a large bowl. Blend well. Fill each mushroom with the cheese mixture level to the top of the cap.

Bake on 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

A Valentine's Inspired Wreath

2011-02-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

I finally decided to create a new wreath for my front door. My house sits both high and a little way from the street. In order for a wreath to pop on my door, you have to choose some pretty vibrant flowers.

I choose different shades of pink and white that somehow seem to welcome Valentine's Day and also spring. In my neck of the woods, our ground hog saw its shadow today. If memory serves me correctly this has not happened in a while. Since our temps are in the 20's today I think I will be ready with open arms for Spring.

Since it is so cold all I can think of serving for dinner is soup. I plan on making Santa Fe Soup. I have a head of freshly washed ice berg and a few rolls that I plan to serve with it. This soup seems perfect for a very cold night.

Santa Fe Soup

1 pound of ground turkey
5 cups chicken stock
1 envelope of ranch dressing mix
1 envelope of taco seasoning
2 cans navy beans (or any combination of beans you like)
1 can whole tomatoes, drained and diced small

Brown turkey, drain and set aside. In a large stock pot combine all ingredients including the browned turkey. I like to cook my on low in the Crock Pot for several hours, but you can prepare this on the stove top. Give it at least an hour on low for the flavors to marry. Enjoy!!

TWO BLASTS FROM MY PAST

2011-01-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I heard the news that Troy Aikman and his wife had decided to divorce. This news made me so sad. When Son 1 was about 4 years old, he and I had the opportunity to meet Troy Aikman and get his autograph on one of the official Dallas Cowboys jerseys. It was a great day. He seemed like such a nice guy. When we met him, he was not married and considered one of the most eligible bachelors around. You never heard sorted stories about him. He was one of those guys that I wanted my boys to aspire to be. While I don't personally know him, it seems like news from a good friend. Reportedly he and his wife have split and are on good terms for the sake of their two girls. Please know that I still think he is a good guy. Divorce can happen to anyone. It was just sad news.

Now I am going to change the subject completely, but am still going back to my past. Last week I told you about eating the french fries from Does and how they reminded me of my grandmother's. I then was able to obtain the pan my grandmother used to cook these delicious little things in. At first I was giddy at the fact that I now have the pan in my possession. Soon it dawned on me that I had never fried one single thing in my life. You know how Sparkling likes to cook so it was hard to admit that I could not fry. Nonetheless, I called one of my good friends who is an awesome cook. I asked her if she knew how to fry. She too had never fried anything. As she said, "we came out of the womb believing that fried foods were unhealthy". Too true. We both decided it would be just fine if once or twice a year we fried something. She had a wonderful guide that she was kind enough to bring to my home. It was a great guide that took you step by step through the frying process.

As you can see from the photos above, I took the plunge and fried my grandmother's french fries. They were really good. So good that Son 2 said I should open a restaurant and serve the fries.

MY GRANDMOTHER'S FRENCH FRIES

Cut your potatoes into strips

Heat Crisco vegetable oil on medium. You can test it to see if it is hot enough. Throw a little cornmeal in the oil. If it sinks, the oil is not hot enough. If it sizzles and bubbles, you are ready to go. On a side note, the guide my friend gave me said that if you fry in Crisco, you food will be less greasy because it does not saturate the food. Oh the joy of science. I just wish I understood it.

Place your fries in the oil slowly. Don't overcrowd them. Let them fry for about 12 - 15 minutes. Remove from the oil, salt them and let them drain. Enjoy

Creative Writing

2011-01-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of this year, Son 2 began a Creative Writing course. This is his first time to experience "creative" writing. Up until this point his work has been focused on reports and factual information. It has been amazing to see just how creative he really is. Teenagers don't tend to tell their parents too much information so to see this side of his brain has been a joy.

While reviewing his work and checking for grammatical errors, I realized he should be checking my work. While I write this blog on most days, grammar is not what I am thinking about. I am writing thoughts for the day in a very quick fashion. Since graduating from college I have been charged with writing in every job I have had. I am a Business major. The last time I took a course where my grammar was graded was as a freshman in college. That was a long time ago.

In my positions, I wrote press releases, add copy, packaging copy, radio and TV copy, annual reports, marketing plans, newsletters, sell sheets and product informational sheets. I always had my go to person or people to check for grammatical errors. I loved to find the one person who really did not like me and ask them to proof my work. You know those are the people that are just itching to find you at fault. That was part of my plan. The more mistakes that were found, the better my writing turned out. There are two women I will never forget. It made them feel so good to find my mistakes. Both of them used brightly colored pens to correct my work. The more brightly colored marks that were on my papers, the happier I was.

This all brings me to my point. I write for content. I can re-read something I have written and it can have a million mistakes and I won't see them. I used to joke that my writing could have a curse word in it and I would not notice it. Funny that two of my most loyal blog readers are REAL writers. A very humbling experience for Sparkling indeed.

Please forgive my errors. There are no brightly colored pens going to work on my blog.

The White Chili was delicious last night. I served it with Mrs. B's tea biscuits and a salad. Heaven on earth!! If you have not tried Mrs. B's tea biscuits you must do it today. They are found in the frozen section of the grocery store. You bake them from frozen. The directions say to bake them for 15 minutes, but I find it takes about 25 minutes in my oven for them to become golden. If you place your biscuits where they are touching each other on your baking tray, they rise much better.

Ain't No Sunshine

2011-01-25T10:04:00.001-08:00

Today is another gloomy, wet, cold day. Up in the North where gloomy days are many, people can suffer depression from lack of sunshine. It is a true disorder. You don't really hear about it too much in the South although I know it exists. Last Friday was the last day I remember enjoying sunshine and I think I understand the disorder. I remember Oprah once saying that a rainy day requires nothing of you. Conversely, a sunny day beckons many projects and lots of running around. I find truth in this as well.

I can't mention Oprah without thinking about her newly found half sister. I have seen five news stories on it today alone. I have never watched Oprah on a regular basis. It seems that Oprah's earlier life was a hard one. This sister may be one of the brightest things to come out of her past and one of the greatest things for her future.

On these gloomy days I find myself cleaning my house a little more. Yesterday I focused on our living room. Last year around this time I told you we were redecorating several rooms in our home and I promised to show you photos. I guess it has taken me a year to take these photos. Sorry for the delay. Here are some photos of our new living room. We recovered all of the furniture, painted the walls, purchased the new lamps, the turquoise bowl, the beautiful sunburst mirror, the pillows and the bird light in the bookcase.

With it being gloomy and cold all I can think about for dinner is soup. I am going to make a White Chili. Here is the recipe.

WHITE CHILI

2 cans navy beans, drained
1 small roasted chicken with meat pulled off the bones
1 small onion, diced
1 can diced green chilies
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Shredded Colby/Jack cheese
Sour Cream
Chopped tomatoes

Saute onions in olive oil. Combine all ingredients except the cheese, sour cream and chopped tomatoes in a large stockpot. Simmer for about an hour or longer. Add cheese, sour cream and chopped tomatoes upon serving. Enjoy

A Very Delicious Meal

2011-01-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Son 2 had a soccer game in Greenville, Mississippi. He was so excited that his team took a chartered bus. I guess when it is not a school bus and you can watch movies it is a pretty good deal. Since he took the plush bus, Mr. Sparkling and I decided we would drive to Greenville and arrive in time to dine at Doe's before the game. We have heard about Doe's since moving to Mississippi. Doe's is famous for its hot tamales and steaks.

The location of this famous eatery is a little odd. It seemed that it was right in the middle of a neighborhood. Now that I think about it, it must have been an old home converted to a restaurant. When we stepped in the front door, we were in the kitchen. A little odd, but someone greeted us promptly and told us to go to the next door. Upon arrival to the next door, we again were greeted promptly. We were then asked to follow a sweet woman to our table. The tables were covered with the old plastic tablecloths from the 70's. The walls were covered with paneling. The floors were peel and stick linoleum. It was a very humble but fun place.

There were no menus. The waitress simply listed about 5 items you could choose from. Mr. Sparkling and I shared some of the hot tamales and I will say they were some of the best we have ever eaten. One surprise to me was that they were not encased in corn husks. We both ordered salads which only came with one type of dressing, a lemon and olive oil combination. We then both ordered filets to find out that they only come with fries. I will admit that I turned my nose up a little at the fry situation.

The salads were delivered first. It was very simple, iceberg lettuce, a few tomatoes and a sprinkling of red onions. It was one of the best salads I have eaten in a while. I think it was just the simplicity and the dressing. The steaks and fries came next. The steak was the best steak I have ever eaten. It literally melted in your mouth. It knocked the socks off of any chi chi poo poo restaurant steak I have ever had.

Let's talk about the fries for a moment. I tend to think of fries as child's food. Sparkling really does not eat fried foods. At first bite I was taken back to my grandmother's kitchen. The fries tasted just like the ones my grandmother would make with fried catfish.

While delivering Son 1's new/used car this weekend, we stayed at my parents house. I asked about the skillet that my grandmother used to use to fry these wonderful fries. I heard my mother rattling a bunch of pots and pans and she found the very one I hoped she would. My mother does cook most days, but it is not her favorite thing to do. She instantly gave me the skillet and I am in heaven. Now if I can only learn how to fry.

Ode to Lightening Bolt

2011-01-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

Back in 2001 it was time for Sparkling to purchase a new car. This is one of my most dreaded activities. I think mostly because they are so expensive and it seems like such a big decision. 2001 was the birth year of the Acura MDX SUV. I fell in love with it because it drove like a car and had the space I needed for my boys and all of their sports equipment. We even gave my MDX a name "Lightening Bolt i.e. LB" because it could go from 0 to 60 in no time. Sparkling does love to drive a car!

I loved that car every minute I drove her. When Son 1 turned 16, LB was 8 years old and we decided it would be the best decision to give her to him and let me get a new car. It was hard for me to let her go even though she was 8 years old. Son 1 loved LB as much as I did although he did not keep her as neat and clean. We took very good care of LB.

Fast forward to last weekend. Son 1 calls and tells me LB has broken down on the highway. I drove to get him while Mr. Sparkling called a tow truck. Last Monday we received the dreaded news that there was not much to be done with LB. To repair her would cost more than she was worth. A sad day indeed.

We are in the process of purchasing Son 1 a new/used car and will be bringing it to him this weekend.

So we must bid LB goodbye. She took us on every vacation, sat in more carpool lines than she should have, went to a billion sports tournaments, drove scads of children around and just generally took us wherever we needed to go. She was a good friend indeed. We will miss her. On a happy note, the technician at the car repair shop asked if he could have first dibs on purchasing her if we did not intend to keep her. How great is that? He has repaired LB from the beginning and knows she was a well cared for ole gal. He will be purchasing her from us today. LB lives on!

We have dinner plans tonight with friends and Son 2, social bug that he is, has a party to attend. We will be out of town tomorrow night delivering the new car to Son 1. I will not be cooking again until Sunday. A good friend gave me an unbelievable recipe for salmon. I never liked salmon until I tried it this way. You have to let it cure for 2 days in your refrigerator. I have served this to it seems a billion people and they all love it.

Baked Salmon

1 whole salmon loin filet

Rub salmon with olive oil. Then sprinkle heavily on both sides with herbs and seasonings such as oregano, basil, garlic, thyme, dill and Cavenders. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a pan or I use a cookie sheet covered with foil. Place in the refrigerator for 2 days.

To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make a tent with foil and place the salmon in the bottom of it. Don't cover it. Put a little butter on top and bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes. I like to squeeze a little lemon juice on mine. Enjoy!!!

Comments and an Apology

2011-01-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

You know how I love to receive comments on my blog. Yesterday I received some really good ones. It turns out that my review of the national news story on the 90 teenage pregnant girls in one Memphis high school was correct. Take a look at this article that appears in The Commercial Appeal, the Memphis newspaper. How about that? They even have a newspaper.

Thought you'd get a kick out of this..
The "expert" tweeted an apology to the docs "in and around Fraser, TN", what can you say?

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/jan/19/memphis-mayor-wharton-today-show-we-do-have-obgyns/?partner=popular

I have not had a minute to see any news or even read a paper today. Projects abound.

As far as what is for dinner, I am thinking about Crock pot Fajitas. You can find this recipe from one of my previous posts (2/10/09). These are very delicious. You should give them a try.

Controversy and Chicken

2011-01-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

The first news item I read today was regarding comments made from the newly elected Governor of Alabama. In his first speech in his new job he reportedly mentioned Jesus Christ and that if you had not accepted Jesus Christ into your heart then he was not your brother.

What a double whammy politics and religion all in one big scoop. Apparently there was concern that because he had such strong convictions on Jesus and being saved that objectivity toward those who were not Christians may not be in existence.

All of this really strikes a double cord with me. It seems that more of the country than not is actually of some type of Christian denomination (about 76%). I am not sure how it became the politically correct thing to not mention Jesus or pray in public venues. Christians have been forced to have leaders that do not share our values and beliefs. Are we to believe their objectivity exists?

The second news item I heard was that of teen pregnancy. It was reported that 90 girls were pregnant in one high school in Memphis, Tennessee. As usual, the national news decided that their experts would of course know more about this issue than the community actually involved. The news program I watched had two very intelligent women speaking on the issue. One of them reported part of the problem was there were no OBGYN's in the county where this school is located. Really, a county filled with about 700,000 people? Maybe I heard her wrong?

I think I will stick to my recipes and other fun projects. Sparkling does try to educate herself on the world around her. After shaking off the less than pleasing news stories of the day, I decided to get on with it. I selected two Balsamic Chicken recipes. One of them is poached and the other is grilled. I like the ingredients in the grilled recipe better, but as I look out my window it is a very damp and gloomy day. I think I will prepare them in the oven instead.

Balsamic Chicken

8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard.

Pound cleaned chicken breasts until flat. Place in plastic bag along with chicken broth and next 8 ingredients. Reserve 1/2 cup marinade. Place in the fridge for up to 24 hours or at least 4. Bake chicken on 375 for 30 minutes.

Where has "Customer Service" Gone?

2011-01-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends and Happy New Year!! I am in a great mood now that the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season are behind me. My great mood was knocked down a little this morning.

At around 9:00 am I went to the grocery store to purchase about 5 items I needed for my Italian Chicken (you can find the recipe on my January 19th post from last year. Go over to the right side of my blog and click on January 2010 and then find the 19th post). I found all of my items except one and made my way to the meat department. It looked as if the chicken section had been ravaged and there were no chicken breasts to be found. I went to the meat counter and asked if they had any chicken breasts. I was met with a very gruff "we are working on it". Did that mean I was to stand around until they got around to dealing with the chicken? From the speed of the employees that could be sometime next week. From the frustration on my face, the meat department employee then told me they were in one of the boxes on a pallet they had just brought out and then promptly disappeared. Was I to put on my weight belt, clock in and start unloading the meat?

It seems that he could have found me one package of chicken breasts if he had wanted to. If he had an inkling of concern for customer service he would have done so. Why would a grocery store not have chicken at 9:00 in the morning? Was there a run on chicken at 7:00 and I missed my opportunity?

I decided that it would be quicker to just go to another grocery store. I could have gone to the manager and asked for some chicken, but whenever you do that somehow you feel as if you are asking them to do some monumental task for you and that you are a crazy, pest of a customer. I mean really, what could I have been thinking? Chicken from a grocery store at 9:00 am, really!!

I am back to my good mood and my chicken from "another" store is nestled in my crock pot with a sauce making my house smell delicious!

Yippe!! I Shoved the Christmas Tree Out the Door Today

2010-12-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

So, this post is my first since the Christmas season began to suck the life out of me. I know I usually take a more positive approach to life, but I must say the holidays almost took me out.

I was prepared, I planned, I organized, I cooked, I decorated, I entertained, I attended parties, I dressed festive, I purchased gifts, I wrapped gifts, I delivered gifts, I made gifts, I set tables.....I did it ALL. I realize I am not in these collaborations of "doing" by myself...I know my readers were right there with me.

During all of this holiday bustle I said some evil words "I hate Christmas". Go ahead and gasp and think any nasty thoughts about me you would like to. This hatred has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Going to Mass was the absolute highlight of Christmas for me.

Every year I tell myself I am going to make things easier, to plan better, to work harder. Why oh why does this not work? Why is there so much to do? When I find the answers to any of these questions I will happily share them with you.

For now, I am happy that a new year is beginning. I will begin to post again and life will go back to normal. Happy New Year!!

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

2010-11-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

I bet you can recall the comedic Christmas song about Grandma getting run over by a reindeer. I am pretty sure I know how Grandma felt. This weekend, I was leisurely shopping at Lowe's Home Improvement store. My goal was to purchase some white lights. While in the store, I felt it my duty to look around at the other Christmas items they had displayed. I found a really nice reindeer. I thought of how nice he would look on my dining table amongst a fresh floral arrangement. He was on the top shelf so I went to get him down and then BAMMMMMMMM!!!!!! He fell out of the box and onto my nose. I felt as if a truck had just hit me. It hurt really bad. I actually bent over with the pain.

Thankfully an employee rounded the corner and I asked for help. By this time blood was dripping and it was not hard for her to see I was hurt. I asked her for some paper towels and a few minutes later I was surrounded by four Lowe's employees, one of course the manager.

I am sure I looked like a dreaded mess, blood and mascara dripping down my face. After a few minutes the pain started to subside and the blood stopped. The manager then began to ask me questions. He was very nice but at the same time trying to figure out if I was the type of person who would try to sue Lowe's. One of these employees told me she was sorry. I can't tell you how much that meant to me. It was not her fault, but she was sorry for the situation. It was nice to hear a kind word at the time. Today I have a big gash on my nose. I am going to be just fine. Isn't it sad that we have lost our common decency because our country has become so litigious?

I have not forgotten Thanksgiving. I just took a little detour. My mother in law gave me a hand written recipe for a Strawberry and Banana Salad years ago. If I did not prepare this salad on Thanksgiving my boys would die of disappointment. I call it a maw maw salad because it is made with jello and fruit. I will admit that it is very delicious. It would be very pretty for Christmas as well because of its beautiful red color.

STRAWBERRY AND BANANA SALAD

2 - 3 oz. packages Strawberry Jello
1 1/4 cups of boiling water
1 1/4 cups frozen strawberries
1 - 8 1/4 can crushed pineapple, drained well
3 - mashed bananas
1 - 8 oz. container sour cream

Dissolve Jello in hot water, cool in refrigerator, then add strawberries, pineapple and banana. Spoon half the mixture in a trifle bowl. Place in refrigerator and allow to congeal. When set, spread sour cream over the top. Add remaining Jello mixture and return to the refrigerator. Allow plenty of time to congeal before serving.

What would any holiday get together be without green beans? I have never eaten the famous green bean casserole made with cream of mushroom soup. It does intrigue me, but I have never prepared it for our holiday gatherings. I did find a fresher version of it and I will be trying this for Christmas. My mother will be preparing much of Thanksgiving dinner this year. I am sure she will have some delicious green beans. I don't think she ever prepared the famous green bean casserole either. It must be genetic.

GREEN BEANS WITH ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS

3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 cups fresh cremeni mushrooms or any fresh mushroom
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

In a large oven proof skillet, melt one tablespoon butter. Add onion. Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until onion is soft and slightly golden, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add panko bread crumbs;toss to coat.

Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until crumbs are crisp and golden brown, stirring often.

Meanwhile, in another large skillet, saute mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the soy sauce, green beans and remaining butter; toss. Cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or just until beans are crisp-tender.

Season beans with additional sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir in cream; heat through. Transfer bean mixture to a serving platter; top with onion mixture.

THESE FLOWERS SAY FALL

2010-11-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

The Sparkling Boys (Mr. Sparkling included) surprised me by sending me this beautiful arrangement of fall flowers. Besides having a love for cooking, I love to arrange flowers. It is so nice to receive them and they make my kitchen look so happy. You gotta love boys who know their mama.

On Wednesday, my Prayer Group had a luncheon as a celebration to the end of our fall session. Each person was to bring a dish. I was charged with bringing a fun drink. Since I had something very easy to prepare, I thought I would bring a Cranberry Cornmeal Bread to my friend hosting the luncheon.

You might want to make some of this, freeze it and use it as a hostess gift for all of the holiday parties you most likely will be attending. When I bring food as a hostess gift, I make sure it is wrapped with ribbon. The first thing I say to the hostess is that is is for him/her to enjoy later. You don't want them to think you intend on them serving it at the party.

Here are the recipes for the Bread and the Drink

CRANBERRY CORNMEAL BREAD

2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup Craisins
1 recipe Orange Glaze
2 teaspoons orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 loaf bans with nonstick cooking spray
Dust each pan with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add remaining 2 1/4 cups sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, beating to combine.

In another bowl, sift together remaining 2 cups flour, cornmeal, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until just combined.

Fold in Craisins. Spread batter in prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour. Cool. Drizzle Orange Glaze over each loaf and sprinkle with orange zest.

ORANGE GLAZE

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange zest

In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and orange juice.

When it came time for me to prepare the cocktail for our luncheon, several things went wrong. First I could not find a frozen daiquiri mix in my grocery store. I substituted frozen fruit punch. Second, I did not have a rose wine so I decided to use champagne. The end result was delicious and a pretty dark pink color.

Red Champagne Freezes

12 ounces frozen limeade concentrate, slightly thawed
12 ounces frozen red fruit punch, slightly thawed
1 bottle champagne
12 ounces club soda
ice
lime wedges

Combine the liquid ingredients in a blender except the champagne and club soda with about 3 - 4 cups of ice until slushy. Add champagne and club soda, pour and serve with a lime wedge.

SOME RECIPES ARE LIKE MAP QUEST

2010-11-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love Map Quest? After all, besides navigation systems, it is the quickest way to find out how to get to your destination. Have you ever noticed that the first 5 steps of Map Quest are those that get you out of your neighborhood? I am pretty sure I know how to get out of my own neighborhood!!

I find some recipes are like this. They assume that you do not know how to boil water. Most of the time I re-write each recipe I try to simplify the steps.

Today, I began to make a Gingerbread Tiramisu. I thought I would go ahead and bake the gingerbread portion and freeze it until ready to put the whole dessert together. I am also making a few changes to the original recipe. It called for cream cheese and I think Marscapone will be better. It also called for frozen nondairy whipped topping. I really think that fresh whipped cream is so delicious and easy to prepare. Here is the recipe.

GINGERBREAD TIRAMISU

1 (14.5) oz box gingerbread cake and cookie mix
16 - ounces Marscapone cheese
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups fresh whipped cream
1/2 cup strong coffee or coffee flavored liqueur
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Bake cake according to package directions except use a 15 x 10 jellyroll pan and bake for only 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool

Cut cake in half forming 2 (10 x 7 1/2 inch pieces)

Cut each half lengthwise into 1 inch strips. You should have about six strips.

In a large bowl, beat Marscapone cheese, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, and vanilla at medium low speed until smooth. Fold in Marscapone.

In the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, arrange half of gingerbread strips in a single layer. Brush coffee or liqueur evenly over gingerbread. Spread half of cheese mixture over top. Layer with remaining half of gingerbread strips and remaining cheese mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg and remaining tablespoon confectioners' sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Since I am freezing my cake until ready to assemble, I have only cut mine in half.

A COLD AND A LOT OF SOCCER GAMES

2010-11-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I came down with a horrible cold that left me unable to breathe, coughing, eyes watering and just plain miserable. Last week Son 2 had a soccer game every single night except one. As you can see from the photo above he is really into it and we are so proud of him. As I am sure you noticed, I was not able to blog. Today, I am going to get us back on track with our Thanksgiving menu.

As you will see from the photos, I was able to prepare the cornbread dressing and it is now resting in my freezer. As promised, I took notes when I was making the dressing so that I could share a real recipe with you. Here goes!

I baked a 12 inch pan of cornbread using the recipe I posted two weeks ago.

SPARKLING'S CORNBREAD DRESSING

1 - pan/skillet cornbread dressing
1 - 14 oz package dry Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing
2 - tablespoons olive oil
1 - large white onion, chopped
5 - stalks celery, chopped
1 - large green bell pepper, chopped
3 - tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
4 - cloves garlic, chopped
8 - cups chicken broth
1 - can cream of chicken soup
1/4 - cup butter
3 - eggs, beaten

Crumble cooked cornbread. Mix herb stuffing with cornbread. Saute onion, celery, bell pepper, parsley and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add to cornbread mixture. With your hands, mix all of these ingredients really well.

If you are going to freeze this, add 1/2 of the chicken broth and then cover as I mentioned on my post two weeks ago and place in freezer.

Once you are ready to bake, make sure cornbread mixture has thawed. Add the remaining 4 cups chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, butter and eggs. At this point, the dressing should appear soupy. Bake 45 minutes to an hour or until golden brown.

In the middle of being sick and attending soccer games, I attended my Cookbook Club luncheon which was delicious. While enjoying our lunch, one of the ladies told me about a strata that her children request every year at the holidays. The very next morning I had Prayer Group at my home and decided to give it a try. It is fabulous. Here is the recipe. As you see from the photo, it looks like it might be very sweet, but it has a savory undertone that balances it beautifully. The great thing about this recipe is that you prepare everything the night before you need it and then all you have to do is put it in the oven. My house smelled wonderful while it was baking.

The recipe is from Square Tables. This is a beautiful cookbook filled with one fabulous recipe after another. I suggest you get one for yourself.

BROWN SUGAR STRATA

1 - cup packed, dark brown sugar
1/2 - cup unsalted butter
2 - tablespoons light corn syrup
12 - slices white bread, crust trimmed
1 1/2 - cups whole milk
6 - large eggs
1 - teaspoon vanilla
1/2 - teaspoon salt

Place sugar, butter and syrup in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. Pour into a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Coat bottom evenly. Cool. Place 6 bread slices in a single layer on top of caramel. Cover with remaining 6 bread slices. Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla and salt in a bowl to blend. Pour over bread. Cover and chill overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake strata uncovered until bread is puffed and light golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before serving. Loosen edges with a rubber spatula and invert onto a serving plate.

A LITTLE OF THIS AND A LITTLE OF THAT

2010-11-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

I have been so excited to get back to our Thanksgiving menu. Today my plans were to share my Cornbread Dressing Recipe. To my surprise, I have no written recipe for this. Once I began thinking about my recipe, I realized that I had come up with my own over the years. I used to help my grandmother make hers. She put sausage in hers and it was very delicious. Once Mr. Sparkling and I married, I watched his Mom make her dressing. Hers was a good old fashioned southern dressing. I never obtained a recipe from either of them. First, my grandmother did not have one single, written recipe. All that information was in her head. Second, it dawned on me that I have many of my mother-in-laws recipes, but no luck with the cornbread dressing recipe. She kept them in her Joy of Cooking cookbook as you can see from the photo. If you look closely,this cookbook looks charred. It actually survived a fire that destroyed much of my husband's home when he was a young boy. I usually don't miss a chance to get a recipe and the fact that I did not talk to either of these wonderful cooks is shocking. I am so thankful for this cookbook and the recipes I was able to get from my grandmother.

Since I realized that I could not give you measurements I felt we should begin with just making the cornbread. Either today or tomorrow I will prepare the dressing as I usually do, making note of measurements and share the recipe when it is complete. I am going to put my recipe into words instead of thoughts. I remember when I married and was leaving home, I went to my grandmother's house and asked her to share ALL of her recipes with me. Apparently, dressing was not one of the recipes I received that day. I tried very hard to write them all down. Mind you there were no measurements shared. It was "well you just put a little of this and a little of that". I have tried throughout the years to repeat her recipes, but there is always something just a little off.

So for now, let's just bake our normal cornbread recipes or if you don't have one, try the one below. Once it has cooled you can place it in the freezer until we need it.

My cornbread recipe came from a wonderful lady that worked for my family after Son 1 was born. I can still remember the day she shared it with me and think of her every single time I make cornbread.

Ethel's Cornbread

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2 cups Aunt Jemima self rising cornmeal mix (white)
1 egg beaten
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons oil heated in cast iron skillet until hot

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into hot skillet and oil. Bake for about 20 minutes. See Ethel's note to me below.

"Gina, you should have the best old fashioned corn bread going. You can judge for yourself how brown or crispy you want the crust. See you, Ethel"

I Digress From The Regularly Scheduled Program

2010-10-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

Today I made a flower arrangement and a very delicious dip for a speech and debate tournament to be held at Son 2's school this weekend. As for the arrangement, you can do this yourself. Follow the following steps.

Cut the top of the pumpkin off.

Clean out all of the pulp and seeds

Wipe dry with a paper towel

Find a plastic disposable food container that will fit snug in your pumpkin

Soak a floral wet oasis for at least 15 minutes. Cut to fit your plastic container making sure you leave a little extra at the top. This allows you to cover the mechanics of the arrangement.

Place oasis in the container and beginning with your largest flowers, begin arranging.

You can do it!!

As for the dip, all I can say is it is very yummy! While it does not look that wonderful in the photo above, you will be topping it with the crushed Ritz crackers, the bacon and the green onions. All of these ingredients really help it to look very appetizing. You also saw my bacon cooking in my oven. Did you notice how perfectly flat and aligned it was? Barefoot Contessa gave the tip about baking your bacon instead of frying it. This has many advantages. First, your stove top does not have grease all over it. Second, the bacon cooks so perfectly and flat and pretty. Third, you can put it in the oven and do some other things instead of having to keep a close eye on it. All in all a great idea!! Kudos Ina!!

HOT RITZ DIP

1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Bagel Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except the bacon, green onions, Ritz crackers and bagel chips in a large bowl. Pour into a casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with Ritz crackers, cooked, crumbled bacon and chopped green onions. Serve with bagel chips.

I have not forgotten our Thanksgiving menu. I thought you might like to make a pumpkin arrangement for your festivities as well as this dip for an appetizer. Until next week!! Off to another football weekend.

To Freeze Or Not To Freeze

2010-10-27T15:02:00.001-07:00

This morning I had Prayer Group at my house. This is a wonderful group of ladies who are very much like Sparkling herself. Most of them love to cook and have been doing it for 20 years or more.

If I get ready 10 minutes early for something, I think that is a clear indication that I can start another project. Silly right? Even Crazy? Yes, indeed it is, but this is how I operate. My coffee pot was ready to perk, the glasses and coffee cups were laid out, the soft drinks were snuggled in with lots of ice and that is when it hit me. I was ready for my group and I had 45 minutes to spare. I decided to bake my squash dish I promised you. In addition, I whipped up a chocolate cake for the weekend that I will be topping with peanut butter frosting. You may remember this recipe from a previous post.

When the ladies arrived, both my baked squash and cake had just come out of the oven. Many questions arose as to the purpose of these dishes. When I shared that the squash was for Thanksgiving, I will admit I received some funny looks. Then the "to freeze or not to freeze? quandary arose. It seems there was a debate on whether you should bake your items before freezing or freeze them after you have mixed all the ingredients together. Some felt the food tasted fresher if you froze it and then baked it.

What does Sparkling have to say about all of this? First, I am not a big fan of freezing. I really do prefer to cook on the day we plan on enjoying the meal. Thanksgiving is a totally different beast. If you are not cooking the entire meal yourself, then I would choose baking fresh. However, if you are responsible for the whole meal, setting the table(s), and having your home in tip top shape, then the freezer is your very best friend.

On my Thanksgiving Day Menu, there are several of the recipes that are not candidates for freezing. When I post them, I will let you know if they should be frozen.

One other important note is how to freeze. Always spray your pan or dish with nonstick spray so that once you are ready to serve your dish, you can transfer the contents to a serving piece in an easy fashion. I like to cover my dish first with wax paper, then plastic wrap and finally aluminum foil. I really want my food to be protected from freezer burn and other odors.

The Squash Bake you see in the photo is an ideal candidate for freezing. It is very moist and will heat very nicely. I did not place the breadcrumbs on top as I feel that it will taste fresher if the crumbs are a little crunchy.

Turkey Time

2010-10-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when things start to get a little busy. Can you believe we are only about a month away from Thanksgiving? Let's use that time wisely and get some good things done.

Each year my family has traditionally gone to the beach for Thanksgiving. We have grown to love this tradition because it is our last time to really relax before the hustle and bustle of Christmas. I have been solely in charge of all the preparations and love doing this with no other obligations hanging over my head.

I am going to list a Menu Selection and we will work through each recipe. The more prepared you are, the more you will actually enjoy the day and your family and friends.

As you can see from the photo above, my recipe collection is quite large and in need of some serious organization. I still somehow find all the recipes I need just as it is. I have spent the past week going through and finding the recipes that I feel will be delicious for the Thanksgiving holidays. There are many more recipes than anyone would need, but I wanted there to be several choices to suit all needs and desires.

THANKSGIVING DAY MENU SELECTION

Oven Roasted Turkey
Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing
Gravy
Spinach-Apple Salad
Strawberry Banana Salad (straight from Maw Maw's kitchen)
Baked Corn
Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Baked Yellow Squash
Onion-Topped Green Beans
Thyme Potatoes Au Gratin
Bacon Vinaigrette Sweet Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Buttered Pecans

DESSERT SELECTIONS

Buttermilk Pumpkin Pie
Deep Dish Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Cake with Simple Chocolate Icing
Rum Cake

I will be making the Baked Yellow Squash Recipe tomorrow. Here is the recipe.

BAKED YELLOW SQUASH

12 medium yellow squash, sliced
3 tablespoons salt
2 sticks of butter
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
16 oz. sour cream
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the squash to a large pot, cover with water and add salt. Cook covered for about 15 minutes over medium low heat. While squash are cooking, sautee onions in olive oil until clear. Drain squash and return to pan. Add the onions and next four ingredients and gently blend with squash. Pour squash mixture into a large baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with bread crumbs and dot with additional butter. (If you are going to freeze this recipe, you can wait until you are rewarming to place the bread crumbs on top) Bake 30 minutes.

Since we are cooking this early for Thanksgiving, let this dish cool and then place in the refrigerator. I usually let it sit overnight. The next day, cover with wax paper, plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place in freezer until two days before you will need to reheat.

This recipe is very delicious and has lots of flavor. I hope you like it. Until tomorrow.

Trick or Treat

2010-10-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog Fans!! Drum roll please!! Today starts our "Planning for the Holidays". First things first. We should not forget the great pumpkin holiday. When the Sparkling boys were very young and just could not wait to go trick or treating, I would always make a big pot of chili to have ready whenever they settled down and realized they were hungry. This was so easy because I would prepare it early in the day and then it was ready when we were. Chili became a Halloween tradition in our home.

This Halloween we will be tailgating at Son 1's game. Today, I prepared a new chili recipe for this weekend. Rachael Ray demonstrated this recipe on one of her shows and said the recipe was so good that you better have a copy of the recipe ready because everyone would want to know how to make it. I have been searching for a new recipe and I hope I like this one. As you see from the photo, it is still on the stove. I plan on letting it simmer the rest of the day and then freezing it until Friday. As usual, I have changed the recipe a little to suit my needs.

We had great fun with friends and family this past weekend. I hope you enjoy some of the photos. KEEP CLEANING OUT YOUR FREEZERS. THANKSGIVING RECIPES ARE NEXT.

Mole Chili

2 quarts beef stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 slices lean smoky bacon cooked, drained and crumbled
4 pounds ground sirloin
2 large onions, chopped and sauteed in vegetable oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 15 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
4 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons coriander
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sautee onions and garlic in vegetable oil. Brown ground sirloin and drain. In a large soup pot, add beef stock, bacon, sauteed onions and garlic, tomato paste, fire roasted tomatoes and all the spices. Stir and let simmer. Until tomorrow!! Remember, tell your friends to tune in.

The Wallpaper Guy

2010-10-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Several months ago we were having some beautiful new wallpaper put up in our entry way. I am so happy with the wallpaper and it has made a great improvement in our entry way as you can see. I can't remember what I was cooking that day but the man hanging the wallpaper, literally with a business name "The Wallpaper Guy" said he could sure smell something cooking. As I recall, whatever it was really did not smell that good, but nonetheless, it had an aroma.

You could tell this man had been hanging wall paper for a while as his workmanship was perfect. Hanging wallpaper was so second nature to him that he decided to share one of his recipes with me while he did his work. At first I wondered if he was serious and as he continued with the recipe I realized he was. I tried the recipe and really liked it. I will share it with you now. I made the batch you see in the photo for my church and decided to add some fresh color by using whole green onions. Doesn't it look delicious?

Spaghetti Pasta Salad

12 oz. package Spaghetti noodles
1 - 4 Oz. can chopped olives
1 - 4 oz. jar pimentos sliced
6-8 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Cavender's Greek Seasoning

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add olives, pimentos and onions. Combine mayonnaise, olive oil and Cavender's with a whisk until well blended. Mix with pasta mixture. Enjoy!

DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR FREEZERS OUT. We are gonna work on the holidays together and it all starts with a close to empty freezer. Go ahead, you have the whole weekend to work on it. MAKE SURE TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO TUNE IN!! We are gonna have fun and make the holidays enjoyable and as stress free as possible. As you can see from the photos, I have some work to do! Until Monday!!

Feel Good Food

2010-10-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

First let me say that I am new to posting photos. I really have no idea what I am doing yet. At any rate, my title "Feel Good Food" really should not have been so close to Tom the Tiger. Sorry. I did not mean to imply he was our food or that we would be his. He is an absolutely beautiful animal and I just wanted you to see him since I had the opportunity to get a photo up close. Second, I have no idea why my pot roast posted twice. I may need my IT department to help me out a little. Onward to my blog.

We have recovered from our football weekend out of town, I think. We had a great time at the game, at our tent and at dinner with Son 1's friends and one of ours as you can see from the photos. Wait, I thought that guy was a Southern fan! What's with the U of M cap? Could it be that Son 2 MADE him put it on? We had the opportunity to enjoy our favorite ribs at the Rendezvous on Saturday night.

The tiger you see in the photo is "Tom 3". He is the mascot for the University of Memphis Tigers. For some reason, the referees said that Tom could not be on the field. It is not known why this decision was rendered as he has been on the field since I can remember. After halftime they granted him his traditional spot. Really, do they want to mess with a 400 pound tiger?

Yesterday, I was so happy to be home that I decided to make what I call "Feel Good Food". As you see in the photo(s), I cooked a pot roast in my crock pot. Have I ever mentioned how close of friends my crock pot and I are? Now I realize when you think "crock pot" you really are not thinking of a culinary delight, but the food it creates sure does make my family happy.

Gina's Pot Roast

1 pot roast
6 - new potatoes, cubed
20 - baby carrots
1 - onion, chopped
1 bottle Wishbone Italian dressing
Salt and Pepper
Bay leaves

Place roast and vegetables in a crock pot sprayed with non stick spray. Salt and Pepper the roast and then pour the dressing on top. Place two bay leaves on top. Cook on low all day or 6 - 8 hours. Once done, take meat and all vegetables out of crock pot. Place the remaining juices in a pan and thicken with flour to make a gravy. I usually use two tablespoons of flour and mix it with water and then pour it in with my juices and whisk until thick. Yummy!!

When I married Mr. Sparkling, I learned from him that you don't have pot roast without rice. Growing up we always had mashed potatoes. So I now prepare rice with our roast. My house smelled so good with this meat cooking all day.

Next week I am beginning my "Getting Ready For The Holidays" segment. It is my attempt to share food ideas and planning ideas to make the holidays a joy. So, go ahead and CLEAN out your freezers cuz some fun ideas are coming up!! Trust me, you won't want to miss it. Tell your friends to tune in.

I Am Pooped Out

2010-10-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly. Yesterday I took Son 2 and several friends to the Fair. Let me tell you that the Fair is really not my thing, but for Son 2 it is still the "end all be all". The boys had so much fun and watching them was a joy for me. We stayed for nearly five hours and all that walking (in the wrong shoes I might add!) made me very tired even today.

Since we are headed for the weekend, I thought I would share one of the recipes we enjoyed last week at my house. This is for a very colorful salsa that would go perfect with just about any menu you could serve. I hope you enjoy it.

We are on the road for another football weekend so you won't hear from me until next week. Enjoy every minute of this fabulous fall weather. Until next week!!

Mango and Black Eyed Pea Salsa

1 large poblano pepper
15 oz. canned black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 medium ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced (about 1 cup)
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalepeno, seeded, and minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
tortilla chips

Preheat oven to broil. Broil the poblano pepper on a foil-lined baking sheet 5 inches from the heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until the pepper is charred. Place the pepper in a resealable plastic bag, seal and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Peel the poblano pepper, slice open to remove and discard the seeds. Chop the pepper and add to the black-eyed pea mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.

An Easy Meal

2010-10-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we are all just too busy to deal with recipes on weeknights. I have several menus that won't win any culinary awards, but sure do make my family happy. Here is one of those menus for you right now.

Sparkling's "Short on Time" Menu

Baked BBQ Chicken
Shelled, frozen Edamame
Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Sticks

I remember a time when we would have turned our noses up at chicken thighs. It seemed that for a while unless it was a whole, skinless, boneless chicken breast, we just did not want it. Trusty little chicken thighs have been making a comeback in so many recipes. The thigh is a very moist part of the chicken and perfect for this BBQ recipe.

Sparkling's BBQ Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs with bones and skin (I get 8 for my family of four)
1 bottle honey BBQ sauce
Cavender's Greek Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
Paprika

Wash thighs and place in a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle with Cavender's, salt, pepper and paprika. Brush on BBQ sauce. I brush on a lot so the chicken is very tasty. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes.

As far as the Edamame, I just add a little salt and pepper. For the mashed potatoes, I use the box instant and add buttermilk and a package of dried ranch dressing mix. This gives the potatoes a lot of taste without adding butter.

The Sparkling boys love this chicken. It is great for a weeknight meal and makes them happy. Until tomorrow!!

Sunday Dinner and Monday Wash Day

2010-10-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

From the time I was a child until I was a young adult, I had the great opportunity to enjoy Sunday Dinner at my grandmother's home. My whole family looked forward to this feast with excitement. My grandmother would prepare some of the most delicious food with her roast beef and gravy, spinach and salad being the ones I remember the most. There was always more food that we could eat or even put on our plates. I know today many families still enjoy large family dinners on Sunday.

I read cookbooks like novels and on several occasions, I have read about "Monday Wash Day". What in the world does this have to do with food? The story goes that before we had automatic washing machines, families would save their wash for Monday. At the same time, many families enjoyed large Sunday Dinners. Because a feast would be prepared on Sunday and Monday was such a busy day with the "wash", Mondays would be a lighter and easier cooking day. It has been said this is how Red Beans and Rice were born. The ham bone from Sunday dinner was used in making the Red Beans and Rice.

I will say when it came to dinners, I was very spoiled. Both my mother and grandmother cooked everyday. My grandmother never lived more than a mile from my home so I always had a great meal. I don't really remember Monday's being wash day or any particular food being prepared.

Since I mentioned Monday Wash Day, I thought I would share a new product with you. While looking through my "In Style" magazine, I noticed an ad for Meyers Clean Day products. Certain, I would not be able to find them, I googled it and found that the products could actually be found at Walmart. You must go and get this for yourself. I purchased the Basil scent and it is so fresh and clean. They have everything from all purpose cleaners to laundry detergent to room spray. Trust me you will like it.

Whew!!! This is a long post for me. I have not forgotten a recipe. Since I spoke about ham bones, let me share one of our favorite soup recipes. Whenever you have a bone in ham, please save the bone as it will make your soup broth taste so delicious.

Sparkling's Navy Bean Soup

One ham bone
2 boxes chicken broth
2 cans navy beans
1 can whole tomatoes, cut very small
1/2 white onion, diced

Combine all ingredients except the navy beans in a crock pot and let them cook on low all day or at least several hours. About a hour before serving add the navy beans. We like this served with cornbread and salad. Enjoy!!

This past weekend Son 2 was in a soccer tournament out of town. In the past several tournaments, his team has come in second and while this is a great achievement, Son 2 really wanted to gain 1st place. His team accomplished that this weekend and Son 2 was very happy. Since today is Monday and I have lots of soccer clothes to wash I think I will prepare something easy for dinner!!

Another Weekend On The Road

2010-10-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Between Son 1 and his college football and Son 2 and his select soccer, we have been on the road for most of September and October. I will admit that these times have been really fun and I love watching the Sparkling Boys.

Last weekend we had our tailgating food catered and it was quite a treat. This weekend we will be in a hotel and totally at the mercy of whatever restaurant we go to. So no big cooking weekend for Sparkling.

Today, I want to share some of our photos from Son 1's game last weekend. In the photos you see the Sparkling tent, the Sparkling Men, Sparklings Sister with the ridiculous "Tiger Ears" on, Son 2 and his very best friend, friends and family from back in the day and of course Son 1.

Two weekends ago when I was actually home, I purchased some very beautiful New York Strip steaks from Sam's Club. I placed them in a store bought marinade and let them sit for the day oozing up the marinade in the refrigerator. I heated up my grill to medium and grilled them six minutes per side. They were melt in your mouth delicious. Since this weekend is going to be so very nice, fire up that grill and enjoy a big ole steak! For my vegetarian readers, get a few eggplants, slice them thin, drizzle a little olive oil and salt and pepper on each side and grill them until done. They are just as good as a steak and quite a treat this way. Have a great weekend and I will give you a shout out next week!! Until then.