my blessed life

Today is the final course for the Bloggy Progressive Dinner that we've been enjoying all week. And it's that one we all love....DESSERT!! Amy at The Finer Things in Life is our hostess, so head over and see what other yummy foods are being served up. Here are some of our family's favorite desserts for the holiday season: Apple Cake Red Velvet Cake Chocolate Souffle Sugar Cookies I'm looking forward to making some of these soon! Happy dessert course to you!

I've been getting lots of great recipe ideas this week for some great holiday dishes. I hope you have been enjoying the Bloggy Progressive Dinner, too! Today the course is *Main Entrees* and Kate at Cooking During Stolen Moments is hosting. I am sharing a great pasta dish with you. I actually just created it...or rather re- created it. In the town where we moved from this past summer there is a great little Italian restaurant called Ricatoni's . Everything there is delicious! One of my favorite things there is the Tagliarini Piace Pellerossa . (Just please don't ask me how to pronounce the name. lol) It's a very simple dish: pasta such as spaghetti or fettuccine tossed with a light sauce made of tomatoes, basil and garlic cooked in olive oil. It's almost bruschetta-like in the flavor. So this week I was looking at the last bowl of Roma tomatoes from our garden (yes, can you believe it produced that long?!) and thought now is the time to try making ...

It's time for the third course of our Bloggy Progressive Dinner. It's been pretty delish so far! I'm getting lots of great ideas. Today Toni at The Happy Housewife is hosting *Salads & Sides*. Today I'm sharing a couple of recipes that are our family faves. We just enjoyed these last weekend for Thanksgiving. I hope you will enjoy them, too. Copper Pennies aka. Marinated Carrots (from my Grandma) 2 lbs. carrots, peeled & sliced 1 medium onion, chopped finely 1 green bell pepper, chopped finely 1/2 cup canola oil 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup white or cider vinegar 1 Tbls. prepared mustard 1 Tbls.Worcestershire sauce 1 can tomato soup Salt & Pepper, to taste ***** Cook the carrots in salted water until just tender~not mushy. Drain the carrots, let them cool. Then add all of the other ingredients to the carrots, mixing well. Place carrots with marinade in a glass dish overnight in the refrigerator before serving. Serve with a slotted spoon. Corn Casserole 3 cans whole...

Wow. I am so late in doing this post. Every one has been enjoying appetizers all day and I am just now joining the party. Instead of partying, I have been on a field trip all day with my kiddos. It was a fun way to kick-off the month of December! But now let's move onto the food... Today Jen at Beauty and Bedlam is hosting Appetizers for the Bloggy Progressive Dinner . I thought about sharing Bread Pot Fondue with Spicy Saltines , or maybe Marinated Cheese , but I've decided on Rumaki. I love Rumaki~and it's so versatile, you can make it so many ways! Here are two of my favorite ways to make it: Almond~Date Rumaki (from my friend Ashley) 1 can water chestnuts Soy sauce 12 slices bacon 1 (8 oz.) pkg. pitted dates ***** Drain the can of water chestnuts and pour them into a slightly larger bowl. Soak them well with soy sauce and let them marinate for a little while. After they are well-marinated, drain them. Take the pitted dates and stuff them each with a water chestnut, ...

This week I am participating in the Second Annual Bloggy Progressive Dinner . Last year's party was so much fun, I couldn't resist. Today JessieLeigh at Parenting the Tiniest of Miracles is hosting holiday drinks . The two she has shared--cranberry sparkler and homemade latte--look delicious! Head over and check out all of the other yummy drinks that others have shared, too. Now for my contribution today. One of my good friends always makes this at the holidays and it is SO delicious! I'm planning to make it this season. Banana Jubulant Punch (from my friend Ashley) 1/2 cup sugar 2 sm. pkgs. lemon jello 2 cups hot water 1 lg. can (46 oz.) orange juice 1 lg. can (46 oz.) pineapple juice 1 sm. bottle real lemon juice 6 cups cold water 4 mashed bananas 1 qt. ginger ale (well chilled) ***** Mix all ingredients together except bananas and ginger ale. Freeze for about 2 hours before serving, then set out to thaw. Mix bananas into ginger ale, then stir into the frozen mixtur...

This past weekend my wonderful friend Donna came for a visit. We met 19 years ago at college in Springfield, MO. She now lives in Virginia and we hadn't seen each other in about 7 years. We had a great time together~she's a kindred spirit! This was the first time that she'd met my kiddos and they hit it off extremely well. Donna took home quite the collection of specially drawn and colored pictures (my children's current love language) ! We had fun doing some of the *touristy* things around town and just hanging out. Mostly we talked~it's what we do best:) This was also Donna's first visit to The South during the summer...she thought she was going to melt in our wicked heat! Bless her heart! And look what she brought with her: Books, books and more books...and a bag of delicious coffee!! She actually brought for the kiddos' library the set of the Pollyanna books and the Five Little Peppers series (all vintage, I might add!). Plus there were qui...

Easter Menu Red, white & blue salad *** Grilled salmon *** Grilled mixed vegetables with garlic cilantro butter *** Deviled eggs *** Rolls *** Sweet tea *** Carrot cake

Incredible Cavatini for a Crowd (Among Friends: Keeping Good Company) 1 lb. ground beef 1 lb. medium or mild ground pork sausage 1 onion, chopped 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 (3 1/2 oz.) pkg. pepperoni slices, chopped 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic 1 (28 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce 1 (16 oz.) jar mild salsa 1 (16 oz.) pkg. shell macaroni, cooked & drained 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 4 cups (16 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese ~~~~~ Cook the ground beef, sausage and onion together until meat is done. Add sliced mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are limp. Drain well; set aside Combine the pepperoni, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa and cooked pasta with meat. Spoon half of the mixture into 2 lightly greased (11 x 7 x 1 1/2") baking dishes; sprinkle with half the Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with remaining pasta mixture. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, then top with remaining cheeses and bake 5 minutes longer. ~This recipe will serve 12-15 people o...

Well, it's already January 2nd!! Did you have a good New Year? I hope so--we sure did! Ours was nice and relaxed. On New Year's Eve we stayed home with the kiddos. I prepared a sort-of-antipasto meal for us and then we went into the backyard and shot off a few Roman candles. The kiddos loved that! Afterwards we tucked them in bed (before 9), then Vince and I relaxed a little with some sparkling grape juice and a little tv. Not that exciting, I know, but it worked for us this year:) Maybe next year we'll go on a hot date--it's been a few New Year's Eves ago since we had a chance to do that. I'm not big on New Year's eve parties, but I do like a nice date with my hubby at a *fancy* restaurant. What about you? I noticed everyone has been choosing "cozy night at home" on my little sidebar poll. On New Year's Day we invited some friends over to just hang out, eat, watch some football and play some Cranium. That was a lot of fun! Like good Southerner...

Welcome! It's an open house! BooMama is hosting a lovely Christmas Tour of Homes today, so please join me in the festivities. Come right on in, won't you? Let's start at the front door... Here's the entryway hall tree~I love how the Christmas tree is reflecting in the mirror. And here is the tree . My vintage Santa keeping watch by the tree~he's looking good for being around 40+ years old! A little tray table in the living room~I love this little carolers music box. Here's a detail shot of the garland over the windows. My large nativity set is here. The dining table is also in this room. I love the way the chandelier turned out. This is a close up of the centerpiece wreath and runner. My sister made this runner for me last Christmas~I love the toile !! Here is a little *MERRY CHRISTMAS* banner that The Princess helped me make. Now let's move into the family room. My little elf (a gift when I was 3 years old) is keeping watch. The stockings are hung by the c...