chicken parmigiana...

These pictures don't even do this dish justice.

Lighting is a problem for me in the kitchen
after the sun has gone down.

That, and well, maybe... a couple glasses of wine.

Nahh, it couldn't be the WINE! Never.

Any who, this is super easy to make and just like Alfonso's!

"Who's Alfonso", you ask? Oh, only just the best little
Italian restaurant in my part of the world.
No, really... maybe it's not "just like" Alfonso's...
but it's close!

Before I give you the recipe, can I just say,
I really hate how this picture came out...
I'm still learning about photography.
Cut me some slack.

*Chicken Parmigiana*

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare your chicken by trimming and
pounding it to about 1/4 -inch thickness.
Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
Coat chicken with breadcrumb mixture then dip in egg
and dredge in breadcrumb mixture again.
Melt butter and olive oil together in large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and brown on each side.
Pour about 1/4 of the spaghetti sauce in a lightly greased baking pan.
Arrange chicken in pan after it's browned.
Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over chicken.
Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Cover and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes
or until thoroughly heated.
Serve over angel hair pasta
with a green salad and your favorite garlic rolls.

Enjoy!

light fluffy pancakes...

Yum!
That's about all I can say about these
made-from-a-box-mix babies.

Oh yeah... Plus, they're super easy to
whip up on a Saturday morning!

Here's the secret ingredients I added to make
them light, fluffy (because my ordinary pancakes
always seem to be flat and cardboard like... it's true!)
and oh so mm-mmm.

I like to top mine with butter, syrup
and a dollop of strawberry preserves or fresh fruit.

*Fluffy Pancakes*
2 cups Aunt Jamima Buttermilk Pancake Mix
1 cup water
1/4 sour cream
2 Tbsp. vanilla

~Stir ingredients together until blended... don't over mix.
~Makes about 6 to 8 nice size pancakes.

Now, go forth and whip up a batch of these babies tomorrow morning.
Enjoy Life!

the prettiest thing...

Isn't this the prettiest thing you've ever seen?

I'm in love.

She sits on top of my stove because I don't have the heart
to hide her away in a dark cold cabinet.
I polish her everyday, carefully inspecting her for scratches or chips.

She is my new best friend.
I think we're going to have a long lovely life together.


I also think I need to get out more...

just playin' around...

I know, I know... things look a little different.

I've been wanting to change my blog for sometime now.

Nothing is permanent so far... I'm just trying a few things out.

So, please bear with me until I get back into the swing of things.

Thanks so much!

xo
Ralonda

crock pot lasagna...

Don't you just love the easy button?

For me, the easy button is the dial on my crock pot.

And I had to use it a few nights ago.

I know crock pot dishes generally aren't very pretty...
and this is no exception. I'm sorry, but I just had to share.

*Crock Pot Lasagna*

1 lb. ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1 pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

~Brown meat in large skillet; drain.
~Stir in spaghetti sauce and water.
~Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. parmesan,
egg and parsley.
~Spoon 1 cup meat sauce into your crock pot; top with layers
of half each of the noodles, broken to fit, and cheese mixture.
Cover with 2 cups meat sauce, noodles and cheese mixture,
ending with remaining meat sauce.
~Cover with lid and and cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until
liquid is absorbed.
~Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand covered, 10 minutes,
or until melted...

Enjoy!

xo
Ralonda

lots of lemonade and the big four-O...

I turn 40 today.

And it seems like I've been "makin' lemonade" my whole life...

With this summer as no exception.

Except for one thing...

I finally got smart and started adding a little vodka!

*Vodka Lemonade*

5 whole lemons
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Vodka
Club Soda

~Peel large sections of lemon peel from the lemons
until you have about 8 large sections.
~In a sauce pot, bring the sugar, water and lemon peels
to a boil until the sugar is dissolved.
~Remove from heat and cool to room temp.
~When cool, strain and discard the lemon peel.
~Cut each of the lemons in half (the same ones that we peeled)
and squeeze the juice (minus the seeds) into the lemon syrup.

*To make the cocktail...*
~Put ice in your favorite glass.
~Add an ounce of vodka... or a bit more!
~Fill with the lemonade syrup.
~Add a splash of Club Soda.
~Garnish w/ a lemon wedge.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to me...
It's been a hell of a summer!
xo
Ralonda

please stand by...

Please Stand By...

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball... or two, or three, or four.

Sometimes life gives you lemons... a whole truckload of 'em.

Please stand by while I practice up on my batting skills

and round up about 100 pounds of sugar!

After all, hitting a home run and making the perfect pitcher
of lemonade takes some time and skill.

Be back soon!

xo
Ralonda

haley's strawberry cream cake...

This one turned 13 this past Saturday...
Why is she dressed up like an "Uber" cat you ask?
I'll share more on that later!

First, I want to share

this with you!

She (my "Uber" cat) requested a strawberry cake
for her birthday... and for a split second time stood still.
I began to have flashbacks of this time last year when she
requested the same thing. It was a typical hot and humid
Dallas day in May. I was not quite three months pregnant and
smack dab in the middle of morning sickness... yuck!
I had flashbacks of me pulling it together long enough to make phone
calls and run all over town trying to find my baby girl the strawberry cake
she wanted for her 12th birthday. Finally, with no luck, I settled
on some sort of fancy chocolate thing from Central Market.
She said it was ok.

That is... until this year when asked, "What kind of cake do you want"?
And with no hesitation the reply was, "Strawberry"!
And that's when I started having flashbacks of this time last year...
Wait!? Didn't I already say that? Oh yeah... sorry!

So, after finding several strawberry cake recipes on
the internet that sounded good, I decided to do a little combining
and add a few of my own ideas. Basically, I was throwing
caution to the wind and hoping for the best...
but first, I needed some coffee and an open Saturday morning.
Lucky for her, I had both!

Yes, this is sifted flour...
and just so you know, if I sift for you... I love you!

I'm just sayin'... it is what it is!

Here's what you'll need for the cake...

*Haley's Strawberry Cream Cake*

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted Cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons strawberry extract
1 cup strawberry preserves


Here's what you'll need for the in-between filling...

1 pound of strawberries, stemmed
1/2 cup sugar


Here's what you'll need for the frosting...

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
16 ounces powered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 teaspoons strawberry extract

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
~ Butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
(Sorry, no picture of this step.)
(Oh, and let me apologize before we get started...
this is an unusually long post but I wanted to
give it to you step by step for this cake.)

~ In a mixing bowl, cream butter and gradually add sugar
creaming until light and fluffy.

~ Add eggs one a a time, beating well after each addition.

~ In another bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking powder and salt.
(Sorry, no picture for this step either.)

~ Add flour mixture alternately with milk, yogurt and flavorings
to creamed mixture, beating after each addition until smooth...

Here's an example for you...

Add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar. Blend well.
Add milk. Blend well.
Add four. Blend.
Add yogurt. Blend.
Add more flour. Blend.
Add vanilla with a little milk. Blend well.
Add a little more flour. Blend.

Add strawberry extract. Blend.
Add more milk or yogurt. Blend. I'm sure you get the picture...

Add the preserves with the remaining milk or yogurt or flour,
whatever is left and... you know!

~ Pour batter into cake pans.
~ Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until center is set.

~ Cool 10 minutes. Remove to cooling rack.


While the cakes are baking go ahead and prep the strawberry filling...

~ Stem and wash one pound of strawberries.

~ Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar and mix well.
~ Let set for about 30 minutes.

~ Mash strawberries with fork and sprinkle with other 1/4 cup sugar.
~ Let set for another 20 minutes or more.


Make the frosting...

~ Combine cream cheese and butter in a
medium mixing bowl until creamy.

~ Slowly add powdered sugar, vanilla and strawberry
extract until very light and fluffy.

~ Spread the strawberry and sugar filling mixture
over the tops of each of the cakes.
~ Put in freezer for about 5 minutes to let set...
just to make the frosting go smoother.

~ Frost the top of the first layer.

~ Stack the second layer on and continue frosting until finished.

Enjoy!

I mean, you're gonna really enjoy this one!
It's SO worth the time and effort... I promise!
xo
Ralonda

refried beans...

Refried beans my way... Now!

For as long as I've been serving refried beans,
I would always just grab the can, open it up,
plop 'em in a bowl, microwave and serve.

Well, NO LONGER! No-sirree... not anymore.
For I've got a new way (and maybe this is how you're
supposed to make 'em... maybe I'm just slow???).

First, I melt several tablespoons of butter...

(Ahhhh, butter. Wonderful, creamy, buttery butter.
This is the reason you won't catch me bearing my thighs
for the world to see this summer!)

I make sure my heat is on low!

Second, I grab my can of refried beans... any ol' brand will do!
Believe me, I've tried most all of them... they're all about the same.
But! If you have a preference, then, by all means, use your favorite!

Third, just dump the beans into the melted butter...

and finally, mix well until creamy.
Oh. My.

Oh yeah... and don't forget to add salt and pepper to your liken!

Serve with your favorite Mexican dish!

And don't blame me if your thighs hate you the next day! :)

Have a happy Friday!
xo
Ralonda

straight from the heart...

Gifts that come from the heart are best.

Especially when they come from our children.

ESPECIALLY from one that spent a muggy
afternoon at "Crud Wars"... more on THAT later!

One that, by nature, isn't a "night owl".

But you happen to catch her up late, rubbing her face,
and working diligently as you head for dreamland yourself.

She tells you, "I'm trying to finish my project".

And she was...

A "project" for mom.

That will mean more than she will ever know.

"Dear Mommy,
I hope you have the BEST Mother's Day you've had yet!
You are the prettiest, nicest, most loving and caring mother
I could ask you to be!! I always have a good cooked dinner
and nice clothes & clean room. And even though I'm bratty
and whiney sometimes, I just want to let you know how much
I Love and apreciate you!
-Love Haley."

Man-oh-man, do I love that girl!

Hope all my magnificent MOM friends and family had a Happy Day!

xo
Ralonda