Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk

Dear Readers,

I know I use crazy little alias names for my kids, and these video totally negate that purpose, but whatever. Bigdog is learning to say words and it is so cute. Sometimes he can be pretty good at imitating a word I am saying. Some words stick around for a along time (Momma, Dad, hi, no-no, pat-pat) and others he learns and quits using after a while. Here is a sample of our little linguist. In the video I thought he was saying 'knock-knock' but I have decided he was telling me 'no'. A lot of his words sound the same, but trust me, he IS saying them. Can you blame him that enunciation is hard at 14 months?

(P.S. Do you know the difference between enunciation, and annunciation? After writing this post, I do!)

It is now official. Bigdog is 14 months and he walks. He took his first steps at the beginning of February. By Valentines day he was covering short distances across the room. Now he has decided that there is something about walking that is worth it. This week he started walking ALL the time instead of crawling. Even if he falls, he doesn't crawl but stands back up. Here is some footage:

Stuffed Full: Cook-Blog-Share Final Week

*Here are the links to the other blogs with recipes this week. The blog/post title isn't always the name of the recipe so be sure to read the whole post and there should be a recipe somewhere in there. Also be sure to click on 'older posts' at the end of this post for more recipes or check out the February archive. Updated Mar 3 2010.

Chicken Enchiladas from Marie
Pepper Steak from Elise

This is the last week of my Cook-Blog-Share project. I am so excited that it went so well. I got a ton of new food ideas and it was fun to collaborate with fellow blogging friends. During the four weeks there were thirty-three recipes shared! My goal is to try every one of them and so far I have tested out fourteen. There is not a bad one yet! Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who participated.

This week I am sharing a stir-fry that is easy to make and I always have the ingredients in my cupboard. So without further ado...



Honey-Glazed Chicken Stir-Fry

You need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
1 bag frozen stir-fry veggies, dethawed

Glaze:
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1.5 teaspoons cornstarch

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Set aside. Mix glaze in bowl. Set aside. Pour some oil into a pan. Add veggies and cook until they are tender and warmed through. Remove from pan. Add chicken. Cook until it is no longer pink. Add glaze. Cook and stir until it is thick and bubbly. Add veggies back into the pan. Cook everything until veggies are warmed through. Serve over rice.

*I like to double the glaze recipe because I like my stir-fry extra saucy. You can also use lemon juice instead of orange juice if you want a little different flavor. If you use fresh veggies, just fry them in the begginning a little longer until they are tender but still crisp.

Mexican Chicken

(From Erin)

Spray the crock-pot with Pam first.

4 Frozen Chicken Breasts
20 oz. Pace Picante Sauce
1 dash Cumin
1 cup Frozen Corn
15 oz. Black Beans, drained and rinsed.
2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 cup uncooked brown rice.

Combine all and stir. Cook 4 hours on High in crockpot. Stir it occasionally through out the time so it doesn’t burn. Shred chicken with a fork and cook an additional 30 minutes until sauce has worked it’s way into the shredded chicken. Serve over tortillas.

Hawaiian Haystacks

(From Cherie)

Bone in chicken with skin
1 cube margarine
¾ C flour
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 C milk
3-4 C chicken broth

Cook whole chicken or cut up chicken in boiling water. When cooked, let chicken cool then remove meat from bones in small pieces. Set aside chicken and broth to use in the sauce. Make a white sauce by melting butter. Add flour to soak up the butter. Then stir in milk. Add broth a little bit at a time and cream of chicken soup. Be careful not to let sauce get to thin. (I use a wisk for all of this part so the sauce doesn’t get lumps of buttery flour.) Salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked chicken. Serve over cooked rice and top with desired toppings like cheese, tomato, olives, Chinese noodles, etc…

Note: to save time, canned chicken and canned chicken broth can be used instead of boiling your own. It doesn’t taste as good but is a lot faster. Also the amount of sauce can easily be altered to make more by adding another can of chicken soup and more broth. Or to make less, I usually cut the recipe in half by halving the base ingredients of the white sauce (butter, flour, milk). Then I add enough soup and broth to make the right consistency.

Cook-Blog-Share: Week 3 of 4

*Here are the links to the other blogs with recipes this week. The blog/post title isn't always the name of the recipe so be sure to read the whole post and there should be a recipe somewhere in there. Also be sure to click on 'older posts' at the end of this post for more recipes or check out the February archive. Updated Mar 3 2010.

Tortellini Soup From Elise
Bran Muffins from Marie
Baked Fish With Tomatoes from Melanie

Thanks to everyone who has contributed recipes so far. I am trying them out one by one and have found some real winners! This week there are a few less contributors, so if you are reading this and want to send on a recipe, please do! Email me or leave it in a comment. elainesmithson@live.com

This is actually a new recipe for me that I tried for the first time this week. If you love mushrooms, and I luv mushrooms, then you will like this dish. If you don't like them, then not so much. It is basically chicken and linguine with a mushroom sauce. I thought it was yummy. I got it from Pioneer Woman's website. You should check it out sometime. I did make a few modifications to her recipe, though. So here it is.


Chicken Scallopine

1/2 pound Linguine
4 whole Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts
Salt And Pepper
Flour
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons Butter
12 ounces Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
1 cup Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
½ cups Heavy Cream (can Use Half-and-Half)
1 teaspoon (heaping) Capers
Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Flatten chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Salt and pepper both sides (first), then dip/cover in flour (second). Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken breasts until golden brown. If breast are thin, this is about 2-3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to burn butter (juices in pan will start turning black). Remove to a plate and set aside.

Throw mushrooms into the pan and stir. Immediately pour in chicken broth and lemon juice. Stir to deglaze the pan, and then cook vigorously for 1 minute, until sauce reduces.

*At this point I thought the sauce was a little thin, so: Take about 1/2 teaspoon butter in a bowl and mash as much flour into it as you can with a fork to make a thick butter/flour clay. Maybe about 2 tablespoons of flour. Then, stir this in with the mushrooms till the butter and flour dissolve. Turn up heat to medium high and cook until sauce thickens. Again, be careful not to burn. This is a cool trick I learned to add flour to thicken without the flour getting clumpy

Pour in cream and stir, then add capers and parsley and stir. Turn off heat. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve mushroom sauce over chicken and pasta.

**Little side note. After making this, I thought, "Next time I will cook the sauce first and the chicken second so the chicken stays warmer and juicier, and the sauce can sit and absorb flavor while I cook the chicken. Then I realized, the chicken juices and butter and oil make the mushroom sauce tastier, so never mind. That is all.

Greek Salad/ Sesame Lamb Gyros

(From Holly)

Greek Salad

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 large clove

garlic, quartered

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup olive oil

6 cups mixed mesclun greens, soaked in salt water to remove grit, dried in a salad spinner and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup kalamata olives, pitted

2 English cucumbers, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch disks

1 cup cubed feta cheese

Sesame Lamb Gyros

4 each pita bread, slightly toasted or grilled

2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (or 2 tablespoons peanut butter mixed with 1 teaspoon sesame oil)

2 cups plain yogurt

1 lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 cup cucumber, peeled, 1/16-inch dice

3 to 5 slices leftover cooked lamb per pita, slightly warmed on a grill or Sauteed in olive oil

2 large tomatoes, 1/4-inch slices and seasoned with salt and pepper

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Greek Salad

For the dressing:Add the vinegar to a blender, replace the lid, turn it on, and through the feed tube add, 1 at a time, the garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Leaving the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow thin stream. Set aside until needed.Toss the greens, olives and cucumbers together with enough dressing to coat. Fold in the feta cheese. Serve additional dressing on the side.

Gyros

In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame paste, yogurt, lemon juice and garlic until smooth. Fold in the cucumbers and season. Spread the 'tzatziki' on the pita and lay warm lamb and tomato slices on top. Spread more 'tzatziki' on the tomatoes and garnish with sesame seeds.

Plating: Slice in half and serve.

Chicken Nuggets

(From Cherie)

1/2 C flour (rounded)
2 tsp seasoned salt
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp ground mustard
¼ tsp pepper
2-3 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix dry ingredients in a ziplock bag or large bowl. Cut chicken, place in bowl or bag and coat with flour mixture. Fry in oil until chicken is cooked—about 10 minutes.

Italian Chicken

(From The Kitchen of Erin Cummings)


4 frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
½ stick of butter
1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix
8 oz. room temp. cream cheese
Angel Hair Pasta


Put chicken breasts in crock-pot. Melt butter and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with entire packet of Italian dressing mix. Cover and cook 4 hours on HIGH. When done, shred chicken with a fork. Blend soup and cream cheese and pour over shredded chicken. Cook and additional 30 minutes and serve over angel hair pasta or whatever other pasta you like.

Out Of the Mouth Of Babes

(A picture of me and my girl at the baby shower. Wow, I look like a ghost from this long winter inside...)

Here are some of the adorable things She-She has said lately. At age three she sure comes up with some good ones.

(When I was brushing her hair)
"Mom, stop! You are hurting me. Stop brushing my fur!"

*******************

One night She-She couldn't fall asleep so we let her come in with us while we brushed our teeth and got ready for bed. We were all laying in bed while Sean and I read scriptures. And had this little conversation.

"You're my sweetheart," says Sean to She-She.
"No your MY sweetheart," she replies.
"Your MY sweetheart, She-She," I jump in.
"No, she's MY sweetheart!" Sean counters.

It goes on like this, so I change it up...

"Hey She-She, Daddy is MY husband."

She argues, "No, he is MY husband!" We laugh and tell her what a cute girl she is. The argument is over. She-She lays back, stares at the ceiling, and says in a quiet voice to Sean, "You are my life...you are my heart." Sean and I glance at each other, both stunned at her poetic confession of love for her daddy, then shower her with tender hugs and kisses.

*****************************

One of my friends is having a baby and is due in three weeks. We have playdates every so often but She-She was oblivious to the whole pregnancy until we went to the store to buy a gift for the baby shower.

"What is that for?" She-She asks.

"Holly is going to have a baby girl soon. This is a dress for her new baby."

"She has a baby at her house?"

"Well, not yet, but soon. Right now the baby is in her tummy." I can see She-She trying to fit this information into her head.

I explain further, "See, Heavenly Father gives little babies to mommies. First babies stay in a mom's tummy, and then later, the baby comes out and the mommy gets to hold it." Oh shoot, I'm not sure if I am doing this right. I wait for She-She's response

"Oh...I don't have a baby in my tummy." Whew! I think I did okay. She-She concludes, "Holly feeds the baby in her tummy!" and then is distracted with toys. The end, except...

She-She was OBSESSED with this idea of Holly getting a baby. Almost everyday she would ask if Holly had the baby and if we could see it. I kept explaining that the baby wasn't here yet, but soon. So She-She finally reasons at lunch one day, "Oh, okay. The baby will be here soon. They will go get it from the store." I think she forgot the whole baby-in-tummy thing...UNTIL the day of the baby shower.

We go to the shower and AGAIN have the whole conversation that Holly is going to have a baby girl but it is not here yet. We walk in, see Holly, and I tell her about She-She's facination with her pregnancy. She-She hears me and the whole baby-in-tummy thing that we talked about earlier in the week. After a while I think she figured out that Holly's tummy WAS in fact bigger. There really must be a baby in there!

She-She turns to me, "Did they tie the baby up?" Oh dear, this is a confusing idea.

"No, honey, the baby is warm and comfy in the tummy."

"Oh...does it bite her?"

"No. The baby is so happy in her tummy. The baby likes to sleep a lot."

No response, just a thoughtful face.

So I can only wonder what my poor child thinks now. Since the baby shower, she hasn't brought the subject up again. Even if she is confused, I can't help but smile at her cute perception of such a new concept.

Cook-Blog-Share: Week #2

*Here are the links to the other blogs with recipes this week. The blog/post title isn't always the name of the recipe so be sure to read the whole post and there should be a recipe somewhere in there. Also be sure to click on 'older posts' at the end of this post for more recipes or check out the February archive. Updated Feb 22 2010.


Salsa Chicken from Elise
Cranberry Cheesecake from Melanie
Shoyu Chicken from Marie

Original Post

I am posting two recipes this week. I usually make these recipes together since they both use a roast and our family can't eat a whole roast in one night. They are, again, really simple (but yummy). What can I say? I'm all about quick and painless. Sean likes both of these recipes with beef, but I feel it is a shame to use a delicous beef roast on a sandwich. I kinda like using pork because it is sweeter.

First Night- BBQ Roast Beef Sandwich

Ingredients:

Pork or Beef Roast

Hamburger Buns

BQ Sauce

Preparation:

Put roast in crock pot over night (this is important so that the roast will be super tender and easy to shred). All you need to add is 1-2 cups of water. But by all means, season it with what you'd like. Our family likes it plain and beefy..or porky. Shred roast. Butter buns. Put buns on cookie sheet in oven. Broil on low until bread is toasted. Put meat on bun, add BBQ sauce, eat up.

Second Night- Pulled Pork (beef) Burritos

Think similar to Chipotle restaurant.

Simply put the meat on a tortilla with all of these other tasty toppings...

black beans (I just use canned)

tomatos

lettuce

cheese

onions

salsa

quacamole

sour cream

Chinese Chicken Salad- The only homemade salad worth eating...

(From Holly)

Dressing:
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons oil
1 chicken flavor seasoning packet from ramen noodle mix

Salad:
6 cups finely shredded Fresh cabbage
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 Fresh green onion, thinly sliced
1 (3-oz.) pkg. chicken-flavor ramen noodle soup mix
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
2 teaspoons sesame seed, toasted

Preparation Directions
1. In small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients; mix well.2. In large bowl, combine cabbage, chicken and onion; toss to mix. Crumble ramen noodles; (the seasoning packet is for your dressing). Add noodles, almonds and sesame seed to cabbage mixture. Add dressing; toss to coat.

Let Them Eat Cake

(From Kaitlin)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 package of Devil's Food Chocolate Cake
1 Whipped cream
A package of ground up Heath Bar.

Bake the Devil's Food cake according to the directions on the package. After baking and before the cake cools, use a wooden spoon or knife handle to poke holes all over the cake. Poor the condensed milk and caramel in all of the holes, make sure it soaks into the cake. Cover and cool. Top the cake off with whipped cream and crushed Heath bar! Serve cool and ENJOY!!!!

Lasagna/ Lasagna Casserole

(From Cherie)

To make the sauce:
Brown ½-1 lb ground beef—season with garlic salt, pepper, onion, etc…
Add 1 can Hunts tomato sauce with basil, garlic, and oregano
And 1 can tomato soup plus about 1/3 of the soup can full of water
Mix together, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes

For lasagna casserole:
Cook a little more than ¾ of a 1 lb bag of egg noodles. Drain. Add 1 ½ C. cottage cheese and a little salt to the noodles and mix together. In a 2 quart casserole dish, layer half of the noodles, half of the sauce, then a layer of cheese. (I use cheddar and mozzarella) Repeat layers one more time. Cover and bake about 30 minutes at 350.

For lasagna:
Boil lasagna noodles until cooked. Place a layer of lasagna noodles in a 9x13 pan. Spoon some cottage cheese over all the noodles. Add half of the sauce. Then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers one more time. (I usually double layer the noodles in one of my sets of layers). Bake same as casserole.

Chinese Chicken Salad

(From Erin)

1 head lettuce, cut up
3 green onions, chopped
3 sticks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, sliced into strips
1 small pkg. slivered almonds
4 chicken breast (boiled and diced)
1 can chow mein noodles or 1 package of Top Ramen Noodles

Dressing
4 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil


Mix up salad and then mix up dressing. Pour dressing on and toss.

When I am in a hurry I just used a bag of salad that has some cabbage and carrots. Just normal
bag of salad. Then I just used a rotisereri chicken from Sam's club. So fast and fantastic!

Post 100

Can you believe it? This is post number 1-0-0 for me. I guess my little recipe project made the last few posts add up quickly, but I am still impressed with myself.

I remember when I very first stumbled onto the idea of blogging a little more than two years ago. I had just started my own blog, when I read on a friend's blog that she was at 100 posts. I was astonished! I was sure I would never get to that point. Could I stick with it? Would I find anything interesting to write about? Would anyone read this humble little part of me floating out in cyberland somewhere?

But I made it. I have a few readers. I have found things to write about-mostly simple pieces of our family life. But I still have a kind of a proud feeling that I actually MADE something. And someone cares. Even if it is just my mom checking for pictures of the grandkids.

The picture above was taken yesterday. Lets not talk about the game-we may or may not have watched the game on Sunday. Don't judge :). I will just say that it is fun to cheer (and cry) as a family. Its fun to have something unite us. Even if it is a football team.

Little reminder- If you are a cook-blog-share-er post or email me tomorrow (Tuesday) Thanks!

Evening Entertainment

Its 8:00 (or so). The kids are in bed. Sean and I drop onto the couch and sigh a breath of exhaustion after a long day. Then we turn to each other and in unison say, "Watcha wanna do?" The question stumps me every time, I tell ya. It really is a hard one.

This is the golden time where we are together, just us. The time where we want to grow in our togetherness and build our relationship in deep and profound ways. Yet, we are tired, and tempted to just turn in early to get and extra hour of sleep. Levels of energy are running low and activities that require minimal effort are the most appealing (i.e. TV).

I have been thinking about it and wondering. What do other people do when they get a moment together. I'm sure everyone has creative and clever relationship-building pastimes that somehow I have just forgotten about. Please remind me.

Here is what we usually end up doing when Sean is home at night-

1. Sean studies (I bet you thought the studying thing was finished when he finished school. Ohhh no. Big no) and I do something to entertain myself. This usually means cleaning, catching up on household business, reading a book, or blogging.

2. We watch the TV. Or a movie. Or an old rerun on TVland online. And eat something unhealthy like ice cream

3. We stare into each others eyes and take turns telling one another our favorite qualities about the other person. No really, I'm serious about this one...

4. Once a year we play a board game.

5. If we are feeling really rowdy, we hook up the Wii and enjoy some quality time together racing on mario cart.

6. And thats all I can think of right now

So do tell. What is the favorite thing you and hubby do at night after the kids go to bed? Keep it clean people. :) hehehehe.

Week #1- Eat Your Heart Out

*Here are the links to the other blogs with recipes this week. The blog/post title isn't always the name of the recipe so be sure to read the whole post and there should be a recipe somewhere in there. Also be sure to click on 'older posts' at the end of this post for more recipes or check out the February archive. Updated Feb 22 2010.

Mexican Lasagna from Amy
Green Curry from Elise
Baked Coconut Shrimp from Melanie
Taco Soup from Marie


Original Post

Get ready to say YUM! There are some really tasty-looking recipes this week. I can't wait to try them out. I am posting a super simple pasta recipe. I love it because it tastes good but is SO fast to make. To bulk it up a little, you can add some chicken to the recipe. Also, be sure to scroll down and check out the other posts below with recipes from friends. On the sidebar follow the links to the other bloggers posting recipes. Plus, dearest Kaitlin sent me some delicious cookie recipes just for the heck of it. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Enjoy!

Creamy Herbed Pasta

10 ounces dried rigatoni, or penne pasta

1/4 cup snipped basil, or 4 tsp dried basil, crushed

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs olive oil

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup snipped parsley

1. Cook and drain pasta

2. For sauce, cook basil and garlic in hot oil for 30 seconds. Reduce heat. Add cream cheese, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese. Heat and stir until nearly smooth. Stir in milk and parsley. Cook until slightly thickened.

3. Mix sauce and pasta

Two Extra Recipes- Cookies!

(From Kaitlin)

Oreo Truffles

18 oz. package of OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies*
8 oz. package of Cream Cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
16 oz. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate or Milk Chocolate Chips,
melted

Directions:
1. Crush the cookies into fine crumbs in a food processor or zip top bag
2. Add softened cream; mix until well blended.
3. Roll cookie mixture into balls, about 1-inch in diameter for full size truffles or 1/2 inch diameter for mini truffles.
4. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
5. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir until smooth
6. Roll the balls in chocolate to coat completely; use two toothpicks or forks to remove the balls from chocolate, allowing the extra chocolate to drip off.
7. Place on wax paper-lined baking sheet.
8. Refrigerate another 30 minutes until the chocolate forms a hard shell.
9. Store leftover truffles (if any) in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

* You can substitute the OREO Cookies with a cookie dough of your choice! ENJOY!!!!

Graham Cracker Cookies

1 box graham crackers
2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup pecans of almonds

Directions:
1. Put graham crackers on baking sheet to cover pan and cut them along grooves with a knife. Set aside.
2. Combine butter and brown sugar in pan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
3. Spread mixture over graham crackers.
4. Sprinkle nuts over the top.
5. Back at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Penne Rustica

(From Erin)

1 pound penne pasta
Cooked chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup jarred artichoke hearts, quartered
Cooked zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 roasted Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
½ cup small mozzarella balls
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook penne according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in chicken and remaining ingredients.

Pan Burritos

(From Cherie)

Browned hamburger

Refried beans
Cheese

Sour cream
1 can Hormel chili without beans
1 can tomato sauce
Flour tortillas

Slightly fry flour tortillas. Place meat, beans, cheese and sour cream inside. Roll into burritos and place in a greased 9x13 pan. (I spread a little tomato sauce on the bottom before putting in the burritos.) Mix the can of chili and the can of tomato sauce together. Spread over the burritos. Cover with grated cheese. Bake about 20-30 minutes at 350.

Tomato Basil Pizza- A vegetarian dish so good, you won't know its vegetarian

(From Holly)



YOU WILL NEED:
6 tomatoes
some basil [fresh: chop and cook in oil shortly] or [from your spice rack]
garlic [fresh: chop a few cloves and cook in oil for a bit] or [use garlic salt]
2 cans of plain crescent rolls
12 slices of provolone cheese
shredded parmesan cheese (not grated!)




HOW TO:
1. set oven to 350
2. take crescent rolls from cans and spread out on a pan making it into a crust
3. make sure you blend all the seams and take up the entire pan
4. place in oven for 10 min or until golden brown then remove from oven
5. place provolone cheese slices on the dough
6. slice up your 6 tomatoes into thin slices and place slices over cheese
7. sprinkle your basil over your tomatoes
8. sprinkle your garlic over your basil
9. cover with grated parmesan cheese
10.place in oven for 15 min or until you think the pizza looks fabulous and ready to enjoy

Mexican Ravioli

(From Camille)

Ingredients:
Frozen or fresh ravioli
Enchilada sauce
Black beans
Corn
Olives
Cheese

Cook ravioli according to package directions. Mix in a bowl with black beans, corn and chopped olives (however much you want of each). Spread a little enchilada sauce into a baking dish, add ravioli mixture and top with more sauce and cheese. Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes.

Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli Soup

(From Erin)

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, julienned
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15 ounce can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 12 ounce can V-8 juice
1 T. vinegar1 ½ t. salt
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
½ t. pepper
½ t. thyme
½ pound (1/2 package) ditali pasta (or any other small pasta you have laying around)


Instructions: brown ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour. About 50 minutes into the simmering, cook the pasta in 2 quarts of boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente. Add pasta to the large pot of soup. Sometimes if there doesn't look like there is enough liquid in the soup at this point, I add some of the pasta water to the soup, if not, then drain and just add the pasta. Simmer for 5-10 minutes more. Serves about 8 adults. Freezes great. I serve it with garlic bread and Parmesan cheese for the top. Mmmm.

START TOMORROW! Cook-Blog-Share

February is the big month! Just a reminder, if you are going to be sharing recipes, please post one on your blog tomorrow (Tuesday), or email me your recipe so I can post it on my blog. Then check back here on Wednesday to see some new recipes. Thanks! (elainesmithson@live.com)