Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Tuesday at the Table!!

Hello all you blogging buddies! It is time for another weekly installment of TatT! (UN)fortunately I have fixed nothing extremely fabulous to share so a family favorite in my household this week it shall be!!

I remember one of my favorite cafeteria lunches as a kid was Baked Spaghetti! Looking back now I realize how incredibly gross it truly was, but as a kid almost all of the cafeteria food was Fabulous (not) !! So I realize in my (not so) old age that there is a fabulous way to pull it off and it truly be fabulous (hence why it is a favorite and just a regular sight on our kitchen table LOL! Using whole wheat pasta and a Chunky vegetable sauce I am able to get my family to eat some extra vegetables that they normally turn there nose up at LOL

Baked Spaghetti

1lb Ground beef
1lb Ground sweet Italian sausage (some times I use links and just cut them into 1in pieces cause when they are cooked they look like little meat balls!)
1 jar Ragu Chunky Spaghetti sauce (my fave is the Super Vegetable Primavera)
1 can traditional spaghetti sauce (I only add this if I am using ground beef and ground sausage, because otherwise the sauce to meat ratio is way off)
1lb spaghetti noodles (I use whole wheat noodles from Barilla)
Approx 1lb of Mozzarella cheese,grated (depending on how cheesy I am in the mood for I add more LOL)
1/2 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, grated (I use the stuff that comes in a jar from Kraft!)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef and sausage (If you are using the links then brown them separately cause the cook times are different and you don't want to over or under cook them) drain and add sauces, mix together so it is all combined. While your meat is browning start a pot of water for spaghetti noodles (I add about 2Tbs of EVOO to the water just to help prevent the noodles from sticking) Cook you noodles to your preferred level of doneness (I prefer them Aldente) Drain cooked noodles. Combine noodles and sauce and fold in cheese, reserving approx 1- 1.5c (this is for the top) Poor mixture into a casserole dish (I don't know what size I use a medium clear glass Pyrex that is approx. 2-3in deep and a little over/under a foot, my bad for not knowing LOL)
Top with remaining Mozzarella and the Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
Bake until dish is heated through and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown! (No approx time because we like ours browner than others may!) Let the dish cool for approx. 10 min so that the cheese has time to set. You can Dr. this recipe any way you like it because some like it saucy and others don't make it your own LOL I did!!!

Serve with a side salad and some garlic bread!

Tooting my own horn here!!
My bug Girl is almost done with potty training! She has slept through the night for almost a week (the first few nights I would wake her up when I went to bed to take her potty) without any accidents!! I am so proud of her!! I hope one day she looks back on my blog and knows just how proud I am of her for this because I know potty training is hard not just on me but it is rough for her to figure out those funky urges and realize oh that is me I have to potty! #2 is coming along with a little more difficulty then #1 but hey what can you do ( make sure you have lots of panties and patience!!!!)
Addisyn is doing so well she is sleeping and eating and pooping! She is starting to teeth and that is not fabulous but hopefully Target will open soon cause they have some FABULOUS teething drops!! I know some of you are like OMG no Target! I know I used to not be a huge fan of Target but now I see the IMPORTANT stuff that I need and where do I need to get it from LOL of course Target!! So any of you buddies out there that have Target and would like to get my baby some drops please help a girl out cause our Walmart's here do not carry them!! Target opens in March so hopefully March will come quickly and I will be doing a happy dance in the parking lot waiting on those beautiful red framed doors to open LOL!! Well off to bed now seeing as it is 2:30 my time and many of you are up and starting your day!

Enjoy your own TatT!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Since the Computer is working I present you with Fabulous Friday!

Well sorry all the Computer was not working last weekend for me to post! Sometimes technology Sucks LOL!!

So anyway our weekend is looking pretty lax! Right now I am doing laundry and being kinda Lazy! I really should probably doing something other than making a blog but I don't feel like it!
Tonight we are watching a friends daughter while they go to there ship Holiday party! And we are probably going to take the girls to Pearl Harbor's Winterfest celebration! They will have Santa and a boat ride around the harbor to see all of the lights on the ships! Sounds like fun doesn't it!
Tomorrow is Saturday! I get to sleep in til Ernie has to go to school! But I think tomorrow is his last math class of the semester (he still has a politics class on Monday)After his class I don't know what we will do probably make dinner and play some Wii as a family maybe a walk around the neighborhood! Sunday I am kinda hoping it is nice cause I would love to go do something! I dunno what but I just wanna get out of the house for a change!!!! What we do may be very dependent on what the weather is doing because we here in Hawaii have entered into the winter months and that means bring on the rain!! Everywhere else gets snow and we get rain yay! I like the rain as long as it is warm outside and I can listen to it beat on my bedroom window! (which means I get to stay in bed!) But that rarely happens so I don't care for it too much LOL especially if I have to drive in it! An honest me though very much prefers rain over snow! A cold weather person I am not!!

So is everyone ready for the holidays? Whatever religous pfrernce you may have please remember the reasons for the season! Enjoy spending some quality time with your families and friends, and try to remember those who are with out this year! Many of our nations foodbanks are getting quite low and can not help those who truly need it! So please even if you can only give one item it counts and if everyone gave just one on a regular basis the amounts would keep growing! So please use this link to find your Local Food bank and give back to your community! With today's economy you never know if it could be you one day who needs help, so please Pay it forward!
Have a great weekend see you for some TatT!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Tuesday at the Table!

Before I get into my TatT, I just wanted to tell you that I have some pretty fabulous friends! My dear friend Stacie has loaned us her computer mouse (she isn't currently using her computer) and her old Camera! Which just happens to be a slightly older version of the one my darling child broke! She is a fabulous friend I would link her but she blogs on Myspace and is private! My other friend Brandon is computer savvy and is going to try and pull all of my pictures that went into a very good hiding spot when my hubby decided my computer needed to go back to factory settings! So keep your fingers crossed that he is successful!! I thank god that I am an avid Myspace user and have been religiously uploading almost all of Cami and Addisyn's pictures!

Ok so my second addition of TatT is...

Bisquick Ultimate Chicken Fingers
4 servings

3 Boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb), cut into crosswise 1/2in strips
2/3 cup Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt or garlic salt
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 egg slightly beaten
3 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Heat Oven to 450 degrees
Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with a nonstick cooking spray.
In 1 gal resealable bag combine bisquick mix, cheese, salt, and paprika.

Dip chicken strips into egg and drop into bag of dry mixture. seal bag and shake vigorously to coat. Place Chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat to use up remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

Bake 12-14 min, turning halfway through with a pancake turner, until no longer pink in the center.

These were ridiculously simple and all together (cook time included) took about 30min to make! I hope next week to have more yummy kid friendly recipes for my TatT!
Enjoy!!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Update on the Computerery soon! situation

My computer is not the issue... it is the mouse. My husband borrowed the neighbor's mouse and tried it of course after he ran a system recovery! Bless him for trying but sometimes I really wish he would leave it to the professionals. I will be back online ASAP I miss it LOL!!!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Stupid Computer!!!

Well my computer is screwed...
Again!!
Ernie tried to fix it...
But god love him he isn't as computer savvy as he likes to think he is...
So now I will be off line for a while!
Yes it sucks but I will survive!
One of my neighbors is a self proclaimed geek and is going to take a look at it for us!
Will update more later...
If you need me call or text me!
I will also be checking my email via my Cell phone periodically!
Sorry buddies I was just starting to get into this whole blogging thing and now the Computer craps out! UGGGHHH!!!!
I will try to keep everyone updated!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Tuesdays at the Table

Well this is the first "Official" installment of Tuesdays at the Table for me and I am really excited to post it! But first off let me explain why I have no pictures!! My Darling Darling 2yr old has now broken 2 digital camera's!! I totally thought each time that they were in a safe place and yeah they weren't!! The first camera (a Kodak c something, nothing extremely special, but got the job done) apparently needed a bath! It took a nice little swim in the toilet courtesy of none other than my darling Camille! I was mad and of course the first person I called because I was DEVASTATED, was my mom! Who of course proceeds to start laughing HYSTERICALLY!! I was near tears because we couldn't afford to replace it at that point! And this crazy mad woman I call my mother is laughing! Really mom thanks, She then proceeds to tell me that congratulations you begin to pay for your raising! Apparently as a small child I enjoyed throwing my mothers POTATOES in the toilet! Again I say really mom! I was 2 and potatoes looked like poo to me, I guess! Thankfully this time my camera did not take a bath but will turn on and when you turn it off the lens part that spins into and out of the camera will not do anything and I get a total error screen whenever I attempt to take a picture of anything with it! UGH Now it is probably wrong of me to accuse my seemingly innocent daughter without the solid proof that she indeed did it but I am 99.9% sure she had something to do with it!! And Well I know that Santa can't afford to get me a new one maybe the Tax Fairy will find it in her heart to allow me a new one! I think I may just get the Fisher Price kid tough one cause now that thing is even waterproof!!
Wu sah...

Ok...so...about this TatT.
I am truly all about quick and easy recipes! I don't like to bake. Typically the only time I bake is the beginning of the last trimester of my pregnancies! And I will bake for like a week (or 2) straight, But I don't eat any of it LOL! I am not a big measuring person and baking has to be pretty exact or it could seriously alter the recipe and not always in a good way! I know sometimes substitutions are made in baking for random ingredients but still there is an exact science to it and for those of you who know me personally I am not a brilliant person and seriously suck at science and math LOL!!

A friend of mine (thank you marshmallow!!) Totally hounded his mom for these two recipes for like a month and has asked me to make them for him! I dunno when I will make them for him but I promised at some point in the reaming time he is stationed here that I would make them for him!! (He may get them as a going away gift before he goes on Deployment next year LOL! But I promise buddies I will make them and post a picture (see top of post)

chocolate pumpkin muffins

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 c milk
1/2 c solid pack canned pumpkin
1/4 c butter, melted
1 egg
one 6-ounce package (1 cup) Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/4 c finelyl chopped nuts

Pheheat oven to 400. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, make well in center.
In small bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, butter and egg, add to well in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips, stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. spoon mixture into greased muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon nuts over each muffin. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.


Now this Recipe I have made several times during holiday seasons past! They are a favorite among many of my family and friends!

Chinese Chews

1 bag chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 bag chow mein noodles

Melt chips over double boiler. Add noodles until covered. Drop teaspoonful on wax paper.


Tonight we are having a Taco Lasagna! It is Fabulous!

1lb. Ground beef (chicken or turkey sub well!)
1 Taco seasoning packet
1 can Refried Beans
Jar of Taco sauce
2cups grated cheese (What ever your preference is I just use cheddar)
4 or 5 Soft Taco shells (I actually use burrito shells)
Taco Toppings (These are totally whatever you want)

Pre heat oven to 350 Degrees.
Prepare ground beef according to Taco seasoning packet. When meat is ready begin to layer,Taco shell, Refried beans, Meat mixture, Taco Sauce, Cheese...Repeat. Once you have placed the top layer be sure to put remaining ingredients ending with Cheese! I usually reserve some of the cheese to add extra to the top!! Place in Oven until cheese is bubbly and dish is warmed through about 20min!

Well Everyone Enjoy your family time at the table!!!