Easter Adventures

For the first time in like 7 years I was actually home for Easter. Yeah! That's because I live so close now! Since some of the family had Good Friday off, Lynn, Dan, Will and I went to the zoo. Will loves visiting all the animals, especially the monkeys. We also rode the zoo train, which, in Will's words, was "real fun."

Saturday we did our Easter festivities of the big meal, family time and dying and hunting Easter eggs. This was Will's first time to dye eggs, and he really enjoyed it! In fact, he liked dying eggs so much that he dyed his hands as well.

After the egg dying, Will went on his second Easter egg hunt. (He was walking last year, and did "hunt," though I think Uncle Joey found most of the eggs for Will.) This year it was much more fun and involved. And he was so cute! We would say: "Will, do you see any eggs?" And he would reply: "Hmmmmm....(with his pointer finger on his chin). There's one!" He's a card!

Sunday morning I woke up early so I could drive back to my home church for the service. However, I woke up to a voicemail on my muted phone that my alarm went off in the middle of the night, and they were dispatching the police to my house. It was the glass breakage alarm. YEAH! I called the police department, and the report said it was a false alarm. I still gathered all my stuff in a hurry to get home as fast as possible.

Two and a half hours later I discovered two huge chunks of asphalt in my back yard, and a chipped/scratched bay window. My theory is that some punk kids from the movie theater were trying to be mean and throw rocks at windows. My neighbor had a chunk in her yard as well.

Anyway, I ended up missing church because I had to wait on the police to come back and fill out another report. Not the best Easter Sunday ever, but at least I got to enjoy lunch and dinner with my friends from church. All was not lost, and I was very, very, very thankful that my house was not broken in to.

For pictures of the fun times with the family, visit my photo page. Enjoy a few videos of my adorable nephew below.

Here comes Peter Cottontail....

For Easter this weekend I wanted to make a special cake for the family. The idea was to do a lemon bunny cake, and it turned out way better than I planned, thanks to my mom's directions on how to carve and decorate.

It's a very simple process, and a lot of fun to do with kids!

Ingredients:
1 box of cake mix and ingredients according to box.
1 can of frosting
jelly beans
coconut (about 1-2 cups)
food coloring
sprinkles

Step One: The basic cake
Bake cake mix of choice according to box in two 8-inch round pans.
After finished baking, let cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then dump cakes on large tray to completely cool.

Step Two: The carving
With a bread knife, carve two oval-type shapes off of each side of one cake round. This will form two ears and a bowtie. Arrange ears and bowtie around the other cake round.

Step Three: Decorating
Cover cake completely with thin layer of icing. When finished, add a thicker layer on top of the ears and face.
Use food coloring to dye remaining icing to make the bowtie another color. Can use sprinkles or jelly beans to decorate bowtie.
Sprinkle coconut over ears and face to give the appearance of fur. If it doesn't stick, press down slightly into the icing.
Take one tiny, tiny drop of red food coloring and drop it in a ziplock bag of coconut. This will dye the coconut pink for the center of the ears. If it is too red, add more coconut and disperse. Lay pink coconut in the middle of each ear.
Use jelly beans to make eyes, a mouth, and whiskers on the face. Licorice can also be used in lieu of jelly beans for whiskers.

Step Four: Eat
Amaze all of your friends and family with your adorable bunny cake and enjoy eating!

Welcome to the Wide World of Blogs!

Cold weather out of the ordinary is far worse than months and months of cold weather, I think. When you go outside and expect temperatures in the upper 60's and lower 70's, but find it to be in the mid to lower-40's, it really catches you off guard. That's something you expect in January or February in the South, but not in April.

The weather is not what this new blog is going to be about. The new blog will be about my new adventures in a somewhat-new town with a new job and a new house and a new church...maybe I should have put new in the title. This blog is about starting over....but in a place that is cram full of memories and pictures of another time and another me.

A little over three months ago I picked up my life and headed back east to my college town. I landed the job of a lifetime doing PR & marketing for the university and alma mater that has always and forever held my devotion. It was a good move for me, and the Lord has blessed me beyond comprehension since I told that bold step outward. I know the road is long and unknown ahead, but I am very excited about where I am and where I might be going.

I do have to give a shout out for the title of this blog. I totally ripped it from the title of a song by Sarah Johns. Check her out on MySpace or iTunes. I love that song!!!

Welcome to my new blog! Since my life is far less complicated than it was in the big city, I have more time and long to get back to writing again. (As you can see, above, Josephine is totally supportive of this new venture!) Here you will read my random and insignificant musings about life in a small town. Hope you enjoy!!!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Eph. 3:20-21

I thought I would get better...

I thought I would get better about blogging, but I really haven't. And if I weren't so "awake" right now, I probably wouldn't be sitting at the computer. (Normally I sack out early on Sundays.)

I am very excited that I did not "lose" my digital copy of the cookbook I put together. I thought I had with the move, but the I found the files tucked away in a random email. Yeah! All is not lost!

Here's a great, easy to make Italian dish that is also easy to freeze!

Triple Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

Ingredients:
1 (8-0z.) package Manicotti uncooked
½ cup chopped onion
2 coves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 (26-oz.) jar meatless pasta sauce
1 (15 or 16 oz.) Ricotta cheese
3 cups (12 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg

Directions:
Cook manicotti as package directs; drain. Preheat over to 350. in a large skillet, over medium heat, cook and stir onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in pasta sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered 15 minutes.

Combine ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg; mix well. Stuff manicotti. Spread half the sauce on the bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Arrange manicotti over sauce. Spoon remaining sauce over manicotti; cover.

Bake 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Uncover; top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer. Makes 4-6 servings.

Side Suggestions: Salad, bread, green beans

Wine pairing: Chianti or pinot noir

Not your mom's mac and cheese

Chicken-n-veggie mac-n-cheese

I took a different spin on the ordinary classic mac and cheese to make it a complete meal. I also added some "exotic" flavors to really spice it up. Again, I used what was left in the house.

Ingredients:
1/3 to 1/2 box of whole wheat penne pasta (I substituted that for macaroni since it's what I already had.)
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
1/3 to 1/2 jar Ragu cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Shredded cheese of choice
Ground cumin (Would be great with Tony's cajun seasoning as well.)
Salt
EVOO

Directions: In large pot, boil water and mixed vegetables. Cook about 3 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice chicken and cook in large skillet with EVOO. Add ground cumin to taste. Add a pinch of salt. Cook chicken until no longer pink in center. Add pasta to boiling vegetables. Cook for about 8 minutes (or according to directions on package). Drain pasta and vegetables, and add to chicken in skillet. Pour in Ragu and Parmesan cheeses. Transfer to glass baking dish. Cover with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Set oven to broil, and continue cooking for about 3-5 minutes. (Watch closely so shredded cheese doesn't burn. You want it crispy.)

Side suggestions: Salad and bread of choice.

What's-left-in-the-fridge-calzone?

The other night I came home for work and decided that instead of stopping by the grocery, I would use what was left in my fridge to make a meal. Surprisingly, it was one of THE BEST meals I had made in a long time! I had several fresh veggies that needed to be used up, and this is what resulted:

Ingredients:
1 can pizza dough
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2-3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 chopped yellow onion
1 small package of Canadian bacon, chopped
1 chopped bell pepper
jalapenos to taste
1+ cup of shredded cheese
EVOO

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat olive oil in skillet, and add onions and bell pepper when hot. Cook onions and bell pepper for about 3-4 minutes and add mushrooms. Cook about 2 minutes and add tomatoes and Canadian bacon. Add jalapenos at the end. Remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. Divide pizza crust in half and roll into two thin circles. Lump cooled mixture into center of circle and add about 1/2 cup (or more) on top. Fold circle in half and pinch sides. Bake on one side for 7 minutes. Flip and bake on other side for about 7 more minutes. Can serve with warmed pasta sauce, but it is fine on its own!

Sheri, Sheri, quite contrary....

How does your garden grow???


Well, now mine grows with rosemary, oregano, mint, parsley, cilantro and spinach!

Today's do-it-yourself, around-the-house project was to plant a herb garden in my backyard so I can harvest fresh herbs when I cook. So, I went to the county co-op (yes...I live in a small town), and bought some beautiful little plants. Then I went to Lowes to buy some plant boxes, soil and various yard tools.

Planting the garden wasn't terribly difficult, and I hope the spinach does okay in a box. Some of my friends in Fort Worth have spinach in their back yard, and talked about how wonderful it was to make fresh spinach and strawberry salads in the summer. But...apparently spinach, when planted in the ground, likes to take over and rule everything.

We'll see how my little experiment goes. I think the herbs in the pots will do just fine. And hopefully the spinach will as well because I LOVE spinach salad!

Here are some up close and personal pics of each different group.

L-R - Cilantro, cilantro, Greek oregano, mint and Italian flat leaf parsley

Spinach in a box!

My favorite herb of all.....ROSEMARY!!!