First Beach Trip of the Year

 This Mother's Day we headed to the beach

 It was a mild day, no high winds.  I guess you could say it's the calm from all the storms that have been erupting

 Here are a few scenes from the Texas Gulf Coast

A quick snap before these little guys buried into the sand

A Portuguese Man of War...eeek,

and a Jellyfish!

 Teeny tiny wanted to wear Mom's hat.

Receding waves reveal hundreds of these in all colors.  They feel funny under your feet

Mother/Daughter toes.    She's already passed me by two shoe sizes at 13.  She's got the long , slender foot (toes in pink), I've got the short, wide foot ; )

What's a Texas beach without cowboy hats and flags?  Can you almost hear the country music?

And don't forget the surfers. : )  That's life in South Texas.  We're a mixed bag.

Chicken, Spinach, and Noodle Casserole

This is another of the recipes I found thumbing through a mag at the Doc's office.  This was easy, filling, and inexpensive to make, great for a week night supper.  We loved it so much that we ate it up before I could snap a pic which explains the magazine's photo : )



photo courtesy

• Ingredients
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk (I used fat free since that's what I had on hand)
• 1 cup sour cream
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste (I also used about 2 tsps. garlic & onion powder, and approximately 2 tsps. Cajun seasoning)
• 12 ounces egg noodles
• 4 slices sandwich bread (I used enough plain bread crumbs to cover the dish and doctored 'em up with a Cajun seasoning, crushed parsley, and grated Parmesan)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken
• 5 ounces baby spinach, chopped (I used a bag of frozen, chopped spinach since, again, that's what I had on hand)
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 
  

Directions 

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes (do not let the mixture darken). Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions; drain and return them to the pot. Pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
3. Add the milk mixture, chicken, spinach, and thyme to the noodles and toss to combine. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch or some other 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and drizzle with the melted butter.
4. Bake until the bread crumbs are golden and the filling is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy Dawn Perry,  March 2012, of Real Simple Magazine

** Many people commented that this recipe was bland so I really loaded in the seasonings.  I tasted it before it went in the baking dish, adjusted seasonings a tad more and thought it was great.

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Happy Mother's Day

For Stephen...

Crazy Weather

Well, 10 tornados were reported to have touched down in my neck of the woods last night.  We had a huge limb from a neighbors tree in our backyard, the roof torn off of the chicken run, and a portion of the posts on our privacy fence snapped (we just had repairs on said fence Tuesday!).  Our power just came back on.  It has been out since 10:20 p.m. last night and it is now 6:21 p.m.  Let's just say, I don't think we'd survive a bigger outage...makes me realize that I need a new stock of flashlights, batteries, candles, and matches.  Well, I'm glad it took a small outage to wake us up so that we're better prepared for hurricane season.  It's easy to get lax about these things, but not wise.

 It's hotter than seven shades of hell today, but much cleaning up is going on around the neighborhood.

Taking a drive around town I spotted McDonald's golden arches crumpled, the roof of our daughter's daycare gone, Dollar General & Exxon signs laying across the street from the stores, trees split down to the roots, and most businesses have remained closed.

Well, that's our Friday!  I think a tall drink is in order, maybe a nice cool and refreshing Mojito.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Cheesy Chicken Pasta

What's good about going to the Doctor's office and your appointment being stalled by an hour?  Finding recipes for the week!  (See, silver lining.)

I found a Kraft recipe for Cheesy Chicken Rotini and thought, "I can do that."

This was an easy meal to put together and I made it even easier.  Here's how: Rotisserie chicken.  Yep, that simple.

Ingredients
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into inch pieces (I grabbed a Rotisserie chicken and pulled meat off of half of it.)
2 cups water (I didn't measure the water, but cooked pasta according to directions.)
3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked (I used Radiatorre pasta because I love the way the little radiators hold the sauce)
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot blend
1 can (10 oz.) Ro-tel tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I used the mild variety.)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Velveeta cut into cubes
1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
1/4 can milk

Directions
Cook chicken in a large skillet with a little olive oil.  You may want to season your meat with salt and pepper, although the recipe didn't call for it.  Since I used a rotisserie chicken, I skipped this step.  I heated oil in a pan and added the veg mix.

While the veggies were heating up, I added salted water in a large pot  and cooked the pasta, al dente, according to package directions.

Once the veggies were thawed and beginning to heat through, I added the pulled chicken, Ro-tel, and diced Velveeta.

When the pasta was cooked, I drained it and added it into the skillet.  After tasting, I decided the dish needed something so I added a can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup.  To thin it out, I added a quarter can of milk.  After the last addition, I gave it a good stir to fully incorporate the cheese.

I thought this was a really simple meal to put together and everyone gave it a thumbs up.  So there you go, dinner in a hurry. ; )

Sharing at Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday.

Simple Honey Cakes

I haven't had much time for baking these days, what with the semester wrapping up, state examinations, Bebe's 2nd birthday party coming to a head, and just your general all out weariness.  Yet, despite all the commotion, I've had a craving for all things honey related.

My latest fascination was sparked by a most recent read, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, not a new novel, but a wonderfully crafted one.

I've been combing the web for "honey cakes," the results of which have not been promising.  Don't get me wrong.  Many of the recipes sound divine, but I had something specific in mind, something pure, easy, simple.

What I found was fussy, chocolaty, spicy, fruity even so I gave it a rest.  Then, when I found the house all to myself, I tried again.  This time I searched "The Secret Life of Bees inspired recipes," and bingo!  I found just what I was looking for, mostly.

I didn't have all of the ingredients, but as is my nature, I made do.  The recipe was a snap to put together and the baking time was less than an hour.  Voila, honey cakes!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup local honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a mixing bowl, beat together oil, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and one egg.  I used my stand mixer so while that was going I sifted my dry ingredients into a medium size mixing bowl.  I alternately combined the dry ingredients and yogurt until it was all fully incorporated.  Don't over mix these ingredients.  

Spray paper lined cupcake tins with baker's spray (flour + oil combo) and spoon mixture in each cup.  I got one dozen cupcakes.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, heat butter, honey, and brown sugar together until sugar is completely dissolved.  This only took a few minutes, maybe five at most.  When cupcakes come out of the oven, poke holes across the tops and spoon honey butter mixture over tops of cupcakes.  The mixture should completely absorb.  

You may top with frosting, but I didn't.  The cupcakes are so sweet, and you really get the honey flavor.  No coffee, chocolate, or spice flavors mucking up the perfect taste of honey.

I hope you enjoy.  They're great when warm and would be great with tea or coffee.

Recipe found at http://butterybooks.com/bookclubpartyideas/the-secret-life-of-bees-sue-monk-kidd/.  I tweaked the recipe slightly, for my tastes, but look at all the other book inspired foods they paired with the honey cakes.  Yum!

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