Category: Food

Categories
Food

Tortellini Florentine Soup

Another great thing about going home to my parents’ house is getting yummy recipe from my mom & her friends. We made this for lunch yesterday for 3 of us then I ate a little for dinner last night & there’s still enough left over for my dinner tonight. {Our bowls are angled, the soup & table are level!}Tortellini Florentine Soup
Ingredients
1 9oz package tortellini (we used portabella mushroom & cheese)
2 14oz cans chicken broth
10 oz jar Classico sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips (we love these so we used the entire 8 oz jar)
3 c fresh baby spinach
1 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1 lb spicy Italian sausage (we omitted)

Directions
Cook pasta, drain & set aside.
Cook sausage, drain & set aside.
Combine broth, alfredo sauce & tomatoes. Heat to boiling.
Then add cooked tortellini, sausage (if using) & spinach. Stir to wilt spinach.
Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Makes 6 servings. Enjoy!I reheated it tonight on the stove for 5 minutes. I added a little more broth since I figured some would cook off.
By the way, Mom’s friend doubled it & used 3 lb sausage (2 spicy & 1 mild).

Categories
Everything Else Food

NCSU v BC

After Saturday’s OT loss to ECU, my heart is a little less pumped about NCSU’s football season, but I still want to share with y’all photos from last Saturday’s game. My parents came in town for the game and my aunt Sue also went with us. The game was at noon which is my least favorite game time: less time for tailgating and right in the heat of the day. Since it was an early start, I made an apple cake, Tastefully Simple beer bread, Fiesta Dip (which I spruced with with a drained can of Rotel), broccoli, cucumber, Scoops, Bojangles chicken strips & biscuits, and fruit salad. Nine am is a little early for a cold beer, so we brought Bloody Marys & I made a Firefly Lemonade with the Tastefully Simple lemonade mix {we saved the beer for halftime}.
We also brought the new gingham table cloth my Nana made for our tailgating card table and the corn hole boards & bags Pawpaw & Nana made for us. The cornhole was a hit! Mom & Sue were cornhole newbies but they did great~ beating Jason & I in a close game. Family friends Brad C & his son Casey stopped by and pretended they were cornhole newbies. They easily beat the sisters. We switched up the teams and Brad & I were doing ok, but then the NCSU band stopped right in front of our tailgate so we forgot about the game & cheered them on instead.

As usual, I didn’t bring my camera into the game, but since I had my parents’ I took a few photos of the team coming out onto the field. Go Pack!

Categories
Food

Apple Bread

So during my work trip {aka fall mountain fun}, two of the agents I work bought me & a couple of my coworkers 1/2 pecks of apples from here. I chose Granny Smiths, Golden Delicious & Mutsu apples. A 1/2 peck is a lot of apples. I didn’t count but, I’ve pretty much had an apple a day since we got back last Wednesday as well as used 3 for the apple cake I made last Friday which left 3 (two Granny & one Mutsu). I figured the 3 left would be perfect for a apple recipe this weekend.

I asked my favorite sources {twitter & facebook} for recipe suggestions. I might try applesauce or apple butter next time, but Mrs Lushers apple bread recipe sounded too awesome to pass up. Mrs Lushers’ recipes always look amazing but usually intimidate me. I rose for the challenge this time except I left out a few of her ingredients that I didn’t have on hand. Below is the recipe I made. It’s a mix of her apple pecan flax bread which is adapted from this Good Things Catered’s recipe as well as allrecipes apple bread recipe.

Apple Bread
Ingredients
3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg {not sure what a pinch was so I just sprinkled a little bit in}
1 c light brown sugar
1/4 c applesauce {plus a little more}
1/4 c butter {I used a little less}, melted & cooled
1 egg, beaten plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
close to 2 c apples, peeled, cored, & diced {I used one medium Granny Smith & 1 small Mutsu}
little white sugar to sprinkle {I didn’t have raw sugar or turbinado}Directions
1- Preheat oven to 325. Spray a loaf pan with pam.
2- In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg. Whisk until mixed & set aside.
3- At this point I microwaved butter until melted & set aside. I then remembered I hadn’t peeled/cored/chopped apples so I did that at this point.
4- In stand mixer, beat together applesauce, butter, & sugar until combined. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Turn mixer down to low. Add dry mixture a little at a time, mixing just until combined.
5- Fold in apples {also pecans & flax if you have them} by hand with rubber spoonula.
6- Pour in prepared loaf pan & spread evenly. Sprinkle top with turbinado & bake for 80-90 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Categories
Food Travel

Jenny’s Shower

My friend Jenny is having triplets!! ::pause to let that sink in:: Now squeal with excitement & go check out her blog, jennandtonica.

This past Saturday four of her great friends (Beth Anne, Laura, Sarah (aka @gassmama) & Jen (aka speedglenn)) threw her a shower in Charlotte. Alethea & I left Raleigh around 9 am. We arrived in Charlotte around 11:30a. My parents happened to be in Charlotte last weekend so Alethea & I stopped by my grandmother’s nursing home to say hi. I also used that time to put on make-up. 🙂

We met up with Sara, Katherine & her husband Shon, and Alena her husband Cody & their precious little one Sophia at Brixx. The company & artichoke pizza A & I split was awesome. The heat & my resulting sweatiness, not so much! A & I (mostly me) overheated my car while attempting to dry sweat/cool off on the way to the shower. LOL. Sadly I don’t think we took any photos here.

I’m waiting on some photos of people from the shower, but for now I’ve borrowed a few from BA of Jenny & the fabulous food! Jenny looked amazing! It was so wonderful to meet & hang out with her friends. She was showered with fabulous gifts too including crib, stroller, & lots of cloth diapers (remember she’ll be going through around 40/day!).

The hostesses made such yummy food for us. My favorites: Jen’s caramel aka sex bars. Here’s where she orginially got her receipe, but she eliminates the espresso.
I don’t have a photo of these, but Jen’s Pumpkin Gooey Bars were amazing! It’s a Paula Dean recipe, so you’ll have to ignore the fattiness or just eat a little bit. They would be perfect to take to a fall potluck (especially if you have skinny coworkers/friends! ha!).


Jenny & friends have been calling the triplets PB&J. In honor of that, BA made felt PB&J’s for all the guests which is jsut too cute. They were attached to a box filled with her Oreo Truffles. I saved the truffles until dessert Sunday. Jason & I both LOVED them. They will be made soon.

Alethea & I were having so much fun hanging out with all the women after the shower we kind of forgot to leave! It was almost midnight when we realized it! So as the others were off to bed, we got a second wind thanks to diet coke & one of those pumpkin bars and headed back to Raleigh. I got in bed at 3:30a ~ most definitely the latest in years! I slept til 12 and chilled all day Sunday. Saturday was such a great day! Thanks for including me Jenny!

Categories
Everything Else Food

Go Pack!

Yesterday was the start of the college football season for us at NC State. It was a great day. The weather was perfect. The tailgating great with yummy food, drinks & fabulous friends. To make the day complete, NCSU won 48-7!!

We broke out the cornhole boards Pawpaw made this summer. This might be the LEAST flattering photo of us, but sadly, it’s the best.

Speaking of food, I made the Betty Crocker Simply Pasta Salad in Casear. I love that pasta salad ~ it’s easy & doesn’t require mayo.

I said I’d bring a dip for veggies & scoops. I wanted to use the Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic sample I received at the party last weekend. I searched for a Garlic Ranch dip and found this one on Spark Recipes. Based on the comments at the bottom of the recipe, I changed it a little.

Healthy Garlic Ranch Dip
Ingredients
1 packet ranch dip mix
8 oz light sour cream
8 oz plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 tsp Garlic Garlic (equals about a 1/2 tsp of dried minced garlic) It wasn’t very garlicy. I might use more next time.
Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Chill about half an hour before serving with scoops & veggies.

Kelly’s former coworker, Meghan, was up from Atlanta for the game. Beth was able to tell Meghan in person that she’s pregnant! This photo was taken right after! PS~ Kelly & I aren’t THAT tall. Meghan (4’11”) & Beth (5’1″) are just that petite!
Kelly took a few action photos during the game. Not sure which touchdown this was~yes I happily lost count!

We went out at halftime to visit with Jessica & her boyfriend. One of the boys took this photo with Kelly’s camera. I’m blaming beer & camera phone for the blurriness!
Hope everyone else’s teams did well this weekend too!