guitar pickin'...

Because it's Wednesday. The middle of the week. Hump day.
Because I realize my grammar and punctuation make no sense...
but that's ok, because I don't make sense most of the time.

Because the new year is still, well, NEW.

Because my man has been sick at home for the past two days...
and you know he's not feeling well if he ignores his guitar.

Because I got some extremely lovely compliments from several
random people about JB already this week.

I would just like to say...
I love my guitar pickin' man.



That's it. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Ralonda



Oh, and maybe because I just realized Valentine's Day is a month away!

hee hee hee


Hey, what can I say... HE always gives me the best Valentine's Day gifts!
Although, last years might be a little hard to beat.

creamy baked potato soup

Are you freezing my friend? M, m, mee too!

Here's a soup that's sure to warm your heart and soul...
and your taste buds... and your tootsies... and your hiney. Trust me.
It's also super-duper easy to make. Trust me.
We're friends here, right? I wouldn't lie to me friends!
Oh, and it *might* be a tad bit fattening... but who's worried about THAT?!

*Creamy Baked Potato Soup*

8 cups diced yellow potato's
1 stick of butter
2 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 cup heavy cream, half & half, or milk...
whatever you have on hand.
8 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. garlic powder... or less if you're not a fan of garlic.
Salt & pepper to taste

*For Garnish... optional*
Cooked bacon
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chives
Sour Cream
French bread

~Just throw everything in a pot (except the garnishes...
but you already knew that), bring to a boil, then simmer
on med-low heat for about 20 minutes! Voila!

See, how easy was that!


Now enjoy!

Ralonda

happy new year...

Happy 2010 from my family to yours!

I usually don't make New Year Resolutions...
but since 2009 wasn't so nice to me,
I thought I'd try a different approach this year.

New years resolutions...
~blog more!
~be kinder to my old body,
ie; exercise, eat more fruits & veggies, drink more water, get more fresh air!
~try lots more recipes... w/ veggies!
~take more pictures and learn more about photography!
~do more things for ME!

My homeboy's and girl... the ones that still live at home anyway.
Theron is sixteen, Jude is thirteen months,
Haley is thirteen, and Jackson is fourteen.

Yes, that's three teens and a toddler under one roof!
Now you get why I NEED to do more things for ME! ;)

just sayin'
Ralonda

cake balls...

Hello blogger friends and blog readers (if I have any left)!
I truly have not dropped off the planet.

As much as I love blogging, I just simply don't have
enough hours in my day to do it as much as I would like.

Yes, it disappoints me... but I have something else
much more precious that occupies my every waking hour!

He'll be a year old in a few weeks... I can't believe it!

Oh, wait! This blog post is titled "cake balls"...
I'm sorry. See what I mean? My every waking hour!

Now lets see... I made these little round cake things last weekend
for my daughter and her friends Halloween party. I posted a few
pics of them on my facebook page and got a huge demand for the recipe.
I tried to explain in a "comment" box, but it's kinda hard without pictures.
Which is what brings me here today... So, here goes!

*Cake Balls*

You're gonna need-

*A box of your favorite cake mix... I like red velvet!
*A can of your favorite frosting (not the whipped kind)... I like cream cheese!
*Almond Bark... there's a pic of it below.

OK... lets make some cake balls!

Open and prepare your cake according to the box directions.


Bake it according to what type of pan you use.
No special tricks here!

Let it cool to room temp.
I use a fork and poke a bunch of holes
in it to help it cool faster.


After it's cooled, take your fork and start
breaking/crumbling the cake until the whole
cakes looks like this.

Take your frosting. Open it.
Take a little taste... just to make sure it's good!

After you preform the "quality taste test",
drop by spoonfuls onto the crumbled cake.

Mix it altogether.

This can take a little bit of gentle hand mixing...

You want it to look like this!

OK... here's trick # 1!

After you get the frosting worked into the cake,
pop it in the freezer on top of the Totino's Pizzas.

Then feed your baby his lunch, give your baby a bath
(because he's now covered in food and has mashed it in his ears),
run the vacuum and take a quick shower yourself!

After about an hour you'll remember you were doing something.

Oh yeah... CAKE BALLS!

Don't panic... it's OK!

Take the cake mixture out of the freezer.

See, it's ok.

Lay down some wax paper.

Trick # 2... Melon Baller!

Scoop...

Transfer to your hands...

And roll into little balls... ahh perfect!

The cake is better to work with when it's cold.

When your hands start looking like this,
the cake is getting too warm and soft.

Time to pop it back in the freezer for about 10 to 15 min.

Ahhh... much better. This is after about 6 or 7 balls.

Keep doing this until you're done.

One box of cake mix will make about 60 to 65 cake balls.

I didn't get a picture of the finished rolled balls.
Something about having to clean up... well, you don't want to know.

After you get all the cake rolled into balls, pop them back in the freezer.
Then, change your baby's, scoop out the cat box, wash your hands, take
a couple of heartburn meds, and dry your hair!

Now, open up the Almond Bark.

Break apart about half of it into a microwave safe bowl.

Melt, stir, melt, stir...

Toss about 3 to 4 cake balls into the melted Almond Bark.

Coat them completely...

You'll have to work at a fast pace before the chocolate sets.
I used two spoons and transferred the cake ball back and forth.

After it's coated, set it on the wax paper.

This might be a good time to sprinkle on
some sprinkles or some kind of decoration.
That is, if you want.

They set up quickly.

YUM... Cake Balls!

Enjoy!
xo
Rolo

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