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I'm proud to be an American
where at least I know I'm free,
and I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me!
God Bless The USA - Lee Greenwood
I am so very thankful to the men and women who have served and that are currently serving our country. I am especially proud of my husband Tom who is serving with The United States Air Force. We love you Tom and are very proud of you...Thank you for helping keep our country safe!
Vicki
I know you can't believe that I am posting twice in one day...but I just tried a new recipe and just had to share! This one is a keeper!! It comes from my good friend and Pampered Chef consultant Jennifer Cloud. She sent this recipe, via her mom, to me at the office because she thought I would like it. I think I should just hire her as my personal chef...everything she tells me is good...IS GOOD!! So copy down the recipe and run to your nearest store and buy the ingredients to make this!! The sauce is a cream cheese/tomato combo. I am going to show you a picture first of my new Rachel Ray Pasta Pot. It is OVAL!!! Which means your pasta fits perfectly!!! I love it. I cooked my bacon in it, reserved some of the drippings, then made the rest of the dish in the same pot....one pot dish!!!
Pretty cool!!! Okay here is the recipe. Like I said it is a Pampered Chef recipe, so I am going to copy it from the Season's Best exactly as it appears. I liked the tools they had me use.
Ingredients
12 slices of Bacon, divided
4 cups of chicken broth
2 cans ( 14.5 oz ea) Italian Style diced tomatoes - do not drain
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
12 oz uncooked linguine pasta
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup loosely packed FRESH parsley, divided...don't skimp and use the dried!!
4 oz cream cheese
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
Halved grape tomatoes, I used a handful.
1. Slice bacon crosswise into 1/4 in strips using a Santoku Knife. Place into skillet: cook over med-high heat 8-9 min. or until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet: drain on paper towels. Drain skillet, leaving 1 TBSP drippings in skillet.
2. Meanwhile, place broth and diced tomatoes in Large Micro-Cooker...I forgot I had one of these!!! It worked great...I'll have to use it more often:-) Microwave, covered, on high 6-8 min. or until hot: carefully remove from microwave. On clean cutting board, finely chop onion using food chopper. I like using my Kitchen Aid small food processor. Return skillet to heat; add garlic pressed with Garlic Press and pepper flakes. Cook 10-20 seconds or until fragrant. Add onion; cook 2-3 min. or until onion is tender. Carefully add broth mixture, pasta, half of the bacon and salt. Simmer, covered, 9-10 min, until pasta is cooked but still firm, stirring occasionally.
3. Finely chop parsley using Chef's knife; reserve 1 TBSP for garnish. Cut cream cheese into cubes. Grate Parmesan cheese using Rotary Grater. Cut grape tomatoes in half. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in remaining parsley, cream cheese and grape tomatoes. Let stand , covered, 5 min or until pasta is tender and sauce is thickened. Serve with remaining bacon, Parmesan cheese and reserved parsley.
Okay, as I was typing this I thought of a funny story. When Tom and I were first married, I thought I would make him Fettuchini Alfredo. I made the sauce from scratch...at a certain point the recipe asked for me to add the pasta so I did...uncooked!!! It just said to add the pasta to the sauce...it didn't say to cook it first!!! Well, as you can imagine the pasta soaked up all of the sauce...I ended up with a big thick pile of pasta. I am a very literal person...I like to follow directions...they must be good directions!!! I had to laugh when I was making this recipe and it told me to add the pasta to the sauce uncooked...I was just happy they were specific on that point!!!
Well, I hope you will give this one a try. It was easy to make and tastes great! The kids even liked it!! Thanks again Jennifer for the great recipe!!! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a great day!
Vicki
I should probably call this Nora's Oriental Slaw, since she is the one that introduced me to it. It is so easy to make and is yummy! My kids even like it. I made it when we were in Florida visiting my inlaws...it went great with my father-in-laws ribs...yum!!!
Oriental Slaw
Dressing
4 1/2 TBSP vinegar
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 cup oil
salt and pepper to taste
Flavor packet from Chicken Flavor Top Ramen Noodles
Salad
1 PKG cole slaw mix
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup green onions
3 TBSP sunflower seeds
1 PKG of dry Top Ramen Noodles crushed
This salad needs to be put together at the last minute. Toss salad first, then add the dressing. Serve immediately. This is so easy to put together and is great with anything you do on the grill. Speaking of the grill....here is what we enjoyed on our Florida trip. We love Papa's ribs!!!
Actually, we LOVE Papa's ribs by the POOL!!!!!!! Have a great weekend. And yes I did eat more than one rib!! Stop by tomorrow to see what we did this weekend!
Vicki
I know its been forever since I lasted posted to my blog...I wanted to share with you a few pictures of our trip to the Jupiter Lighthouse when we were in Florida. The weather was perfect that day!!! My inlaws do not live far from this lighthouse.
This lighthouse sits high upon a hill and is located inside of a Coast Guard Base....we had to be escorted by a guide.
Those of you that know me, know that the last time we climbed a lighthouse I had an issue with heights. I now know what my problem is...I am fine until I see my children walking near the edge. When I see them walking near the edge, thats when I start getting nervous! Here is the view from the top...before I started having a panic attack:-)
Madison had a great time climbing!!
This was the sign I read after I came down;-)
I love this picture....I took it on our way back to the car.
After visiting the lighthouse we went out to lunch...what a great time we had! Well, thanks for stopping by. I hope you will stop by tomorrow...I promise to post...we have had alot of fun this Memorial Day weekend! I have pictures to share!
Vicki
