whatever

my lunch...3 or 4 times a week.

every week.

it's simple.
i made it up.
i am sure others have thought of it....but when i say i made it up i mean that one day i was craving some spice
so i looked through our cupboard.
i had these ingredients and i threw them all together and ate it with chips.
yum.


 
rice...rotel...black beans....cheese...tabasco....chicken...chips.

i make one cup of rice in the microwave.
it takes five minutes.
my friend shana said "you make rice in the microwave?!"  and i asked surprisingly  "is there another way?"
neither of us had ever tried a different way from what we'd learned.
i learned how to make rice on my own...by reading the totally generic brand box microwave directions.
in our apartment...16 years ago.
i have never even looked to see if there was another set of directions on the box!
i am dorky like that. 


 
when it's ready then i pour everything in the rice bowl.
except i only use HALF the black beans.
i just put the other half of the can in the fridge for my second batch later in the week.

i use like...three? shakes of tabasco...maybe four.
 
and a hand full of cheese. 

sometimes i warm it up for another two minutes.
but sometimes i don't.

ONCE i had left over corn with cream cheese from the night before...i threw that in...oh yeah....it was delish.


 
i grab a bowl of chips and i eat till i am full  :)

and that is it.
it's good.

and easy.

and not THAT bad for you....i think....maybe the chips?

i am hungry.

i think i will go make some now.

also....i have wrapped it up in tortillas and eaten it that way.

and my friend would like to add LOTS of cilantro in hers...it is probably yummy...but i NEVER have cilantro...
so i can't prove it.

enjoy. 

make this.

it's so good.

it's the perfect appetizer for a party at christmas!

or new years.

or any party all year round!


i left the mayonnaise (miracle whip) out last time and used more sour cream....and it was still yummy.
there are no rules that i am going to enforce on your dip.

you have my promise.


 
drain the artichokes and then choke them up into small pieces.  
(HA!  that was a typo but i had to leave it because it made me laugh....don't choke...just chop...HA HA HA)

then toss that into a bowl with the parmesan cheese and thawed chopped spinach.

until i made this i did not know there was chopped spinach in the freezer section.
or anywhere actually.
i had never once in my life thought "where is spinach in this grocery store?"
until i was looking for it.
and sure enough....it is a real thing.

i think the only spinach i ever have had a thought about was popeye....and squeezing cans of it into his mouth?



mix up those three ingredients until they are combined.
then add in the rest from the list....sour cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese and garlic....mmmmm.



spread it into a 9x13 pan and bake it at 350 for 25-30 minutes.


i serve it with chips.
it would be good with crackers too.

it's YUMMY.  

and easy.

you will be happy you made it.

the recipe is in the side bar under AWESOME RECIPES.   

lynette's dinner

i have a loooong history with my friend Lynette.
i first met her when i was a freshman in high school.
she was the youth pastor's wife at the church youth group i had just started  atending.
i was stuck like glue to her.
i needed her during those hard teenage years from all the drama i created around me.
she was easy to talk to and i loved being around her....and her family too.

                  

then i got married on her birthday!
and made her wear that floral print dress with the lace doily ON HER BIRTHDAY!

years later when i was visiting her with a bunch of my little kids....she served us dinner at her house.
i think talby was a newborn!
we have been making Lynette's dinner ever since.
Sean even had it for his birthday dinner this year!

this is what you will need:

(this is not a meal for watching your weight...which means it's yummy)

mix all the ingredients except 1/2 c. milk, cornstarch and ham.



when it's all combined in a saucepan....add the ham.



after 15 - 20 minutes add the cornstarch to the milk until it's dissolved.  
add the milk to the sauce to thicken it.

serve it hot over spaghetti or egg noodles.



my kids love this.
me too.

happy birthday lynette!
thank you for being so special to me for 20 years.
(can you believe that?!?)

oh and it's still my anniversary too.
all these years later.
sixteen years.

to celebrate we are going to light 24 candles that sparkle like stars.

ha.

we have the weekend all alone.....no kids.
it's going to ROCK!

recipe is in the awesome recipes section on the right.   

craig's favorite meal (possibly)

my feast of goodness cookbook.
it's a cookbook from the church craig and i were married in....made in the 90's.
it's one of those that all the women of the church submit recipes for as a fundraiser.

it has been well loved.
it's a mess....dirty, crumpled, pages falling out.
i left it on a hot burner once and the cover is burned!

on page 56 is Judy Schroeder's Meatballs.
yum.
i have been making this meal for 15 years.

i don't know who judy schroeder is.
but i thank her for this wonderful meal.
   
you will need this ......and brown sugar.
 

now....you can't make this meal without getting your hands dirty.

everything goes in a bowl and you mash it up.
i have always used my hands.
if you want to take your time with a spoon....that is up to you.
i can't imagine it working though.
my hands have always been what i use.
i guess you could wear gloves.
i don't. 
 

it's slimy.

mix it up till it looks like this.


then you make them into meatballs.


i should have had 24 but i ended up with 25.
just make it fit.

(it is killing me not to mention anything about pete schweddy right now.....)

put in your oven at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes.
while it's cooking you make your bbq sauce.


super easy.
take the pan out of the oven and put on the sauce.
 

i just put one spoonful over each meatball.
of course....i have to leave a few without sauce....for the picky eaters.

then you put it back in the oven for 10 minutes until it's bubbly hot.


and that's it.
we ALWAYS have mashed potatoes with this dish.
and i feel weird that there is nothing green on this plate.

i also feel weird wearing heels and white pants while holding a plate of meatballs! 

is this weirder??
smiling AT the camera with a plate of meatballs?

 
the point of making this meal was to make craig smile.
he did.
he walked in the door and smiled and said "OHHHH! it smells goooood in here!"
exactly what i wanted to hear.

annie threw a major fit about having to eat a meatball
even after i had made it without sauce JUST for her.  

she. threw. her.  meatball.
  
do you think june cleaver had to deal with that?
     

the recipe is in the sidebar.

****update!! 
catsup is ketchup.
my grandmother always pronounced it catsup...so i didn't even think to mention what it was.
yes....catsup IS ketchup.  
:)   

******second update!
i had just come from church and that is why i am dressed up.
craig stayed for church business at the last service of church so i was able to prepare 
"sunday dinner" the way he grew up with...and loves.
i don't usually deck out in jewelry and white pants to make saucey meatballs.
but i wanted to still look cute when he got home.  
 

the BEST cheesecake EVER in the history of cheesecake.

i have this friend Pam.
she took me to africa with her....we text everyday...she makes so much good food it's unreal.
she made this cheesecake for a party at my house.
i can't even describe it.

words can't describe how i feel about this cheesecake.

she created it.
she worked with ingredients from scratch...for years...and CREATED it.
i mean seriously...who does that?

PAM does.  
and she agreed to let me blog it.
with pictures.
you are such lucky readers!

here goes...

you need these goodies.
4 packages of cream cheese.
i told you it was good.
 

put fudge stripe cookies in a big ziploc bag.
and smash them up.
 

add melted butter and sugar to the cookies in the bag.
 

and smoosh it all into a spring form pan.


microwave the cream cheese 1 - 2 minutes.
then blend it in your mixer.
 

with all the other ingredients too.



is that not the prettiest thing you have ever seen?!

you bake it for 45 - 50 minutes at 350.
take it out of your oven (try not to cry about the perfection you about to enjoy...)
leave it in the pan.
let it cool.
then put it in the refrigerator or freezer....you could even leave it overnight.

but that is crazy talk...who would wait a whole day to eat this?!
 

then pam taught me how to make homemade whipped cream.

it is so easy.  
you put whipping cream in a mixing bowl...and mix it.
that is it.
um.....DUH.  
why didn't i know that?!  

pam's recipe in the sidebar.

pam, the way you cook and bake is an art form.
you are awesome.
i love this cheesecake.
       
Please leave pam some love on her blog today.
she deserves it.

love you pam! 

margaritas

 i told you last month that my mom makes AMAZING margaritas.
i am here for a visit and asked her if i could blog it.
of course she said yes.
 
you need:

frozen limeade, tequila, triple sec and a beer. (any brands are fine for any of these i am sure)


pour the limeade into the blender...


use the empty limeade can as your measuring cup.
fill it 2/3 full of tequila
then 1/3 full of the triple sec

pour it in the blender too.



fill your blender with ice.
lots of ice.


then blend it.
it will be slushy yumminess.

after that is done THEN you add one bottle of beer.

DO NOT USE THE BLENDER after the beer is poured in.
you will have margaritas all over the place.

(i may have done that once in my kitchen but no one can prove it so i am not admitting to anything....)


oh......yeahhhhhh.

i won't tell you how many i had.

Or how many pitchers we made.... 


mom made a big dinner for everyone.
we call it "polynesian chicken"...you start with rice and then you continue down the line of food
adding what you like to your plate.
i choose rice, chicken, sauce (cream of chicken soup), cheese, pineapples, chow mein noodles & coconut.
but everyone always a different meal at the table.
it's good.
(the strawberries/bananas/yogurt/cottage cheese are side dishes...not part of the polynesian chicken)
 
we ate on the patio in the perfect summer weather.
a still summer night.
my sister and her girls came for the night too.
it was so nice to spend some time together.

we got the kids to bed and my mom, dad and my sister and i talked into the night.
a really nice evening.

ahhhhh......

 

you have to try my mom's margaritas.
they are just yummy.  
they do not taste like a margarita mix...it tastes like a restaurant margarita...a mexican restaurant!

 mmmmmmm....mmmm....mmmmm!

 
 ***AND***

you can make these on the rocks instead of frozen.
just make it in a pitcher and add 1/2 a can of water to it.
then serve it over ice.

it is really good that way too!