you just can't be too cheesy

i have to admit that dairy is probably my favorite food group.

 i honestly don't know if i could survive without cheese and ice cream. 

must be my french heritage coming out.

i will say that the 2 recipes that i am about to post are not recipes that we eat on an every-day basis, or even monthly,  although i wish that i could eat them more frequently without seeing their results. ;)

crazy good 

bacon mac n cheese

this mac n cheese recipe has evolved over the past couple years.

and i must say that we have definitely enjoyed the 'experimental' process that i have gone through to come up with the {likely not so} final product.

just looking at this picture makes me want some... it's SOOOO good!

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups skim milk

One 12 oz can evaporated skim milk (evaporated milk keeps the egg and milk from curdling)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted & cooled to room temp

3 large eggs

1 tsp salt

3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheese 

(I used 2 cups Italian blend and 1 cup cheddar)

1/2 pound macaroni [i prefer the corkscrew pasta], par cooked and drained 

(*cook the pasta for about five minutes until tender but not completely cooked)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. ground mustard

1 tsp. tabasco sauce or 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (optional)

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 green onions, sliced thinly

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

paprika

directions

{for slow cooker- i.e. crockpot}

1. Spray the inside of your slow-cooker with cooking spray or grease it with olive oil. Combine milk, evaporated milk, eggs, butter, and salt in slow-cooker and whisk until until smooth (or you can use an immersion blender to do the whisking for you).

2. Add the shredded cheeses (not the Parmesan) and pre-cooked pasta, sprinkle with black pepper, oregano, garlic powder, ground mustard, and tabasco or cayenne. stir well.

Add green onions and bacon . Stir gently with a spatula to coat evenly.

Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top and a little paprika then cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes

After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to LOW and cook for 2 hours, until custard is set in the center and the pasta is tender. The macaroni and cheese may sit in the cooker on the KEEP WARM setting for 30 minutes before serving.

it looks something like this.

in the slow cooker version, the edges browned a little more than my liking (although it did not burn).

so i decided to try it in the oven.

i baked it at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. 

i made it in the dutch oven and in a glass 9" x 13" pan and both turned out beautifully! 

  

serve as a main dish or as a side at your next cookout.

my family told me that it goes great with barbeque sandwiches 

{unfortunately... i am a disgrace to my southern upbringing

and i do not like barbeque.

 but my mom made bbq and i made mac n cheese and everyone seemed happy} 

YUM!!!

cheesy stuffed mushroom bread

i originally got this recipe from my aunt deb when i was in jr. high.

and with some minor changes, this is the most insane cheesy bread that you ever put in your mouth!

yes, it looks about as ridiculous as it actually is, but it is A-MA-ZING!!!!!

ingredients:

1 loaf italian bread

2 sticks margarine, melted

1/2 lb. baby swiss cheese {or cheese of your choice}, shredded

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced and sauteed (or a small can of mushrooms)

1/4 c. c chopped onion (about 1/2 of a small onion)

2-3 T. chopped fresh chives

2 T. poppy seeds

1 T dijon mustard

directions:

1. place bread on sheet of foil on a cookie sheet. slice bread horizontally.

2. mix cheese, mushrooms, onions, chives, poppy seeds, and mustard.

then pour the melted margarine over the cheese mixture.

mix the buttery, cheesy mess gently 

stuff the bread with the cheesy mushroom mixture.

seal inside the foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

slice into 12-15 pieces.

beware of food coma!!! 

no-grocery challenge

for whatever crazy reason

 last week when i 'desperately needed' to go to the grocery store, i decided that we are far too wasteful.

 i looked at what we had in the freezer and pantry and i told my husband that i wanted to try to make it 15 days without buying groceries.

i was actually surprised that he seemed okay with it.

so... several interesting, but surprisingly good dinners later, i thought that i would share one of the 'freezer leftover recipes' that i came up with. 

we may never have these leftovers in the freezer and pantry again, but i really loved this recipe and might make it again... with some minor adjustments.

peanutbutter pasta & potsticker meatballs

i do realize that this picture actually doesn't make it look appetizing, or even close to as delicious as it was

but it was rather incredible despite its randomness.

i was fortunate enough to have 1/2 a batch of pork wonton {potsticker} filling in the freezer 

[recipe below]

so, i just thawed it & rolled it into meatballs and browned them in a skillet with a little olive oil.

pretty sure that the meatballs were my husband's favorite part of this meal.

next i sauted in 1 T. olive oil:

3 cups chopped cabbage

1 medium onion, chopped

2 small carrots, julienned

cook the vegetables until softened then reduce heat to low.

while the veggies were cooking i started boiling my pasta [al dente]. 

my husband prefers any long, skinny pasta over the smaller shapes, but i only had about 1/2 serving of whole wheat linguini, so i used that and about 1/2 lb. of whole wheat rotini noodles.

i also added about 1 cup of frozen edamame beans to the pasta while it was cooking.

next make the sauce:

1/3 c. peanut butter 

(i used creamy, but crunchy would be good as well) 

2 t. lime juice

3 t. brown sugar

3 t. soy sauce

3 t. worchestershire sauce 

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

1 t. curry powder

1/4 t. ground cloves

3 cloves garlic, minced 

once above ingredients are heated through, gradually add 

1 1/2 c. half & half

*do not boil*

mix cooked pasta with sauce and veggies.

stir in 3 T. chopped cilantro.

hope you like it. :)

oh, and my husband's only complaint was one that i could have predicted, 

he didn't care for the rotini noodles. 

**potsticker filling {meatball recipe}**

1/2 c minced cabbage- pour boiling water over cabbage and let sit 1/2 hour

3/4 lb. ground pork

4 t. soy sauce

dash pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2 t. minced ginger

2 egg whites

2 T. chopped green onion

mix above filling ingredients and chill 1/2 hour before using

the latest around our house

i realized a few weeks ago that it's been months since i posted pictures of our 'kids.'

can you tell amos has grown? :)

they have been LOVING the warmer weather and all of the extra outdoor time that they have been getting. 

and i will admit, i probably enjoy our walks as much as they do. 

paisley has adjusted very well to having a 'little' brother... and she also doesn't seem to have noticed that he is no longer little. 

it has been ridiculous watching amos grow. we often have to remind ourselves that he is still a puppy.

he is 7 months old and 100 lbs of sweetness. he is so incredibly affectionate. 

i never thought that he would be so BIG this soon, but he really has no idea that he is big. 

he still tries to sit on my lap 

and he doesn't seem to notice that he towers over his sister.

paisley is so sweet and patient though. she has actually become a little more snuggly, probably because she has competition for attention... and is rather jealous after being the only child.

she definitely fits the 'needy' characteristic of the weimeraner breed. 

but she is clearly happy to have a playmate.

i will admit, that i never imagined that SO much of my time would be consumed by dogs, especially after growing up without ever having a dog. 

i did manage to find a little time to do other things this month though.

about a month ago a did a little work on the front porch.

i will admit that i have never had good luck keeping plants alive. pets and children are so much easier... or maybe not.

but every year i do manage to keep my hanging plants alive. 

this year i planted them really early. i ususally just plant sweet potato vine (both purple and bright green), but since spring (high 80's and 90's) started in february this year, i couldn't find those yet. so, i planted 2 kinds of ivy and impatiens...

but i was REALLY excited to find ranunculus(es)!!!

{my VERY favorite flower}

they didn't last very long, but they made me smile every time that i saw them

aren't they so fun? they were in the middle of my hanging baskets, 

but didn't make it till i remembered to get pictures

i was also really excited to get our porch lanterns. 

i love world market!

we spend at least part of every summer evening out on the front porch, so it is so fun to have our 'nightlights'

we LOVE our little downtown porch

i think that new house numbers might be an upcoming project. ;)

this cute little guy showed up to watch over our garden

i have wanted a gnome for years and my husband got me this little guy on our anniversary trip. 

isn't he cute?

this weekend my parents and i went to the local farmers market to get some produce and some tomato plants. i was so appreciative to have my dad's gardening expertise.

i actually ended up getting 4 times as many plants as i had planned to get.

i planted a whole salsa garden-

4 kinds of tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, tomatillos

& cucumbers and okra

[both of which were starts from my dad]

don't you love the gaping hole in the masonry? 

the joys of old homes... and renting. (sigh)

and an exciting little happening on our front porch this week was the appearance of a nest in one of the hanging lanterns from our rehearsal dinner.

my mother-in-law got these lanterns to decorate the tables at the rehearsal dinner

and this weekend i noticed that there was a little nest inside one of them 

here is the mama bird sitting on her nest. :)

she is rather anxious when we bring the dogs out on the porch, but we are enjoying getting to watch the whole process.

giveaway winner and wedding cake

first off, i would like to thank all of you for participating in my first giveaway!

i had a lot of fun doing it and i hope to have many more in the near future. 

thank you so much for entering and for sharing it with your friends.

&

the computer chosen winner is...

'melissa!'

please send me a note with your address and what color necklace you would like

 and i will send you a fun little package.

{several of you have asked if you were not the winner if i would be willing to sell you a necklace.

 i would happily sell these little pretties. they are $14 each. just contact me with your color choice and address and i will send it your way... 

i am hopeful to have them in my etsy shop in the very near future as well, but am not making any promises}

this month my husband and i celebrated our 1st anniversary. i must say that i never could have imagined a more perfect first year of marriage. we had so much fun and God taught us so many things about ourselves, each other, but most importantly about how much we need Him in our marriage.

 i have been so incredibly blessed!

 i also had NO idea that a year could pass so quickly.

 it seems like i was just planning the wedding.

i love traditions (old and new), so i really wanted to keep the tradition of saving the top layer of the wedding cake for our first anniversary.

our wedding cake was SO delicious!

it was a keylime-coconut cake.

and from the looks of things, i was not the only one that thought that it was AMAZING! 

i was so extremely lucky to know an incredible cake baker quite well

 {my very talented mother}.

she experimented for weeks to come up with a recipe that we all loved. 

not only did she make our wedding cake during the crazy wedding week,

but she told me that instead of saving our top layer of the cake and pretending to enjoy eating frost-bitten cake on our anniversary in the name of tradition, that she would just make us a fresh cake for our celebration. 

so this weekend we got to enjoy this cute little anniversary cake!

thank you so much mom. :)

and i think that it may have been even better after a year. ;)

if you would like the wedding cake recipe, <------ this is the link to my mom's blog.

and i was also excited to be able to use our cute little 

cake toppers

that i blogged about last year. 

i am so excited to make a set for our friends marianne and david for their wedding this summer!

i can't wait to share many more fun celebrations with you in the future!

my first give-away!!!

a giveaway!

so i have to admit, i have been rather ashamed at myself for my inconsistency with my blogging. 

i honestly intend to blog fairly frequently. i take pictures of things fully intending to post them... and life... procrastination... laziness...and exhaustion get in the way. but i really am going to try to blog at least once a week.

 so, in an effort to encourage myself to have a little more accountability with my blogging, i thought that i would do my first little giveaway. 

so, to each of my 11 followers, your odds should be pretty high! haha. ;)

i am giving away one of these cutie little pom-pom flower necklaces that i showed in yesterday's post:

{i will let the winner request the color of their choosing.}

the random computer drawing will take place at 12:00 PM on

monday, april 23, 2012 

{one week from today}

how to enter:

1. you can get one entry by becoming a new follower of my blog.

*if you are already a follower, just comment on this blog post to be entered.

2. you can get a second and third entry by sharing a link to my blog on facebook and/or twitter

(just let me know that you have shared it in the comment box below

 or else i might not know that you have shared it).

and hopefully this will help give me a little encouragement to be a little more consistent in my blogging.

"may the odds be ever in your favor" ;)

can't wait to hear from you.

~ norajoy ~

putting Pinterest to good use

I don't know if you have all discovered it or not, but not quite a year ago i joined the crazy addiction called

 .

for the first several months after discovering pinterest, i spent my evening hours "winding down" for bed, happily and rather obsessively "pinning" things on my pinterest boards. if you aren't familiar with pinterest, it is basically and online filing system. if you find a picture or article or idea that you like and think that you would like to remember in the future then you can "pin it" or file it away for later use. it is fun though because you can see what other people have "pinned" so you can "pin" their ideas as well. 

when i first heard about pinterest i didn't think that it would be something that i would really like that much. i mean, i have plenty of my own ideas, and i have google when i can't be quite creative enough... but once i finally decided to venture into this strange new craze called pinterest, i had a hard time finding my way back out of it. 

in fact, i spent SO much time "pinning" that i rarely found time to actually do any of the projects or make any of the recipes that i had pinned. after weeks and weeks of my online hoarding, i managed to get things into perspective and i started putting my pins to good use.

i followed this necklace tutorial:

pom-pom necklace tutorial

mine looked like this:

i made a bracelet out of an old t-shirt following this tutorial... {kind of}

braided t-shirt bracelet

this winter my husband and i had soup night on wednesday nights, so i was able to use many of the soup recipes that i had pinned. i blogged several of our favorites... though i have to admit that i inherited my mother's habit of changing every recipe before ever trying it the original way. we did find a couple new favorites on pinterest that didn't make the blog though.

italian wedding soup

buffalo chicken soup

 i found pinterest to be incredibly useful when i threw my very first Thirty-One

party 2 weeks ago.

If you haven't heard of thirty-one gifts, it is a company that has lots of really cute, very practical and affordable bags and organizing containers.
you can check them out here:
thirty-one catalog

i wanted to try some new appetizers and desserts for my party. i feel like i tend to fall back on the same familiar recipes for every event that comes along, so it was great to be able to just look through the recipes that i had "pinned" over the past few months and have lots of fun new options.

here are some of the fun recipes that i made for my party:

chicken wonton tacos

cheesy sausage wonton stars

antipasto kabobs

this recipe has been one of my favorites that my mom has made for years:

double decadent brownie torte

for christmas i received a williams-sonoma mini tart pan from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. i had been waiting for an opportunity to use it, so i was very excited to try it out for the party.

i used the williams-sonoma crust recipe:

mini tart crust recipe

i made my very first lemon curd for in the tarts and i was really disappointed that it didn't set up right... so i will admit, i cheated and bought lemon curd.

and i have to admit that i was most excited to try out this punch recipe:

raspberry-pina colada punch

this claimed to be the only punch recipe that you will ever need.

it was very good, but i think that i will collect a few more. ;)

the party was SO much fun! and everyone seemed to enjoy the new snacks as much as i enjoyed making them (and i am once again indebted to my sweet mother for showing up early to help assemble the appetizers before the guests arrived. she is my hero when it comes to entertaining).

and finally, i have to share my very favorite pinterest moment.

my husband and i went to the beach to celebrate our first anniversary 2 weekends ago.

one afternoon it was rather cloudy, so we decided to do a little shopping. we walked past an adorable dress boutique. i glanced in the window and i stopped immediately!

i saw this dress:

  i had it pinned on pinterest about 3 months ago. i had tried to buy it then and it was out of stock, so i actually had determined that i was going to try to make it. i had thought about it many times in the last few weeks, so i was probably a little too excited to find it in that little boutique. 

my sweet husband insisted that i get it, and i was more than willing to comply. :)

hope that if you haven't yet discovered this fun little world called pinterest that you will check it out soon. and feel free to start following me. 

pinterest