Southern Living Tortellini and Tomato Salad

Filed Under: Recipes

Jun242011

I made this recipe from the July issue of Southern Living on Thursday night. It was such a hit. It was light and summery, but still had tons of flavor! This is the picture that Southern Living has on their website and I’ve included the recipe here.

Ingredients
  • 2 (9-oz.) packages refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup fresh corn kernels
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
  • Salt and pepper
Preparation
  • 1. Prepare tortellini according to package directions.
  • 2. Meanwhile, process olive oil and next 5 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Toss olive oil mixture with hot cooked tortellini, tomatoes, and next 3 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I snapped a picture of the page out of this month’s Southern Living and took a picture of my finished dish!

a big boy room reveal

Filed Under: Home Tour

May202011

It’s been a while since we began this project, but Hudson’s big boy room is finally finished. We kind of worked in stages on this room as it started as a play room and then when we found out we were expecting Hayes, we decided to make it Hudson’s big boy room.

I’ve already blogged about the transition to the big boy bed, but now that his room is officially complete, I can share all of the photos with you.

I went through my mom to order the custom draperies with blackout lining. They’re light and have just the right amount of blue chambray detailing to make them boyish without looking too heavy. This is the view from inside the bedroom door.

One wall includes the dresser and the cafe shelves with all of Hudson’s memorabilia on display. The cafe shelves are from Ballard Designs and we originally purchased them to use in our former study. The study became the play room and the play room became Hudson’s room. These cafe shelves are one of our favorite home purchases. The black dresser is from Rooms to Go Kids. It was a great price– especially since we know Hudson probably won’t use this furniture for too many years.

His birth announcement and a bulletin board are also hanging on the wall. Some of our favorite Melissa and Doug toys, Jellycats stuffed animals, and special gifts are sitting on the shelves. And Hudson and “Melmo” are sitting on the floor.

The view from the window looking at the bed. Isn’t the bed rail the best accessory? We don’t think we’re quite ready to drop the rail, although the bedding would be much cuter without it! The daybed and trundle are also from Rooms to Go Kids.

The bedding includes five different fabrics and it was custom made with the help of my mom. I was so happy when I found these fabrics and my mom was able to find an adorable car and truck fabric that was young-boyish without looking heavy and super masculine.

The fabulous Kim Wheeler of Small Words did Hudson’s canvas to match the bedding.

Here are a couple of views of the cubbies that we had built. We had these built and designed back when the room was going to be a play room. I’m loving them even more now. We have so much vertical storage for all of Hudson’s DVDs, toys, and books. He can see what he wants to play with and just grabs it.

He has also gotten really good about putting things back where they belong!

A closet up of the fabrics that we used for Hudson’s bedding. I think it’s all so much fun and the colors are so happy for a little boy’s room.

I think this guy is pretty comfortable in his new room! So is Melmo.

just some stuff!

Filed Under: Home Tour

Nov42010

The red cup is back at Starbucks and I wait all year for the Eggnog Latte. Yum yum. I had my first Eggnog Latte yesterday right before I picked Hudson up from school. It was perfection and as good as I remembered.

I realized I haven’t updated y’all on the U-Haul road trip with my mom! We had a great time together and made pretty good time. We got to stop in my hometown to have lunch with my aunt, cousin, and my cousin’s baby. It’s never long enough there and I always want to see more people when we go there. But this time we had to get back on the road immediately to hurry on down I-20. We spent the night with some great family friends in Birmingham on the first night and took our time leaving Birmingham the next morning. We were back in Columbia by 6:00 p.m. on Friday– and I left Columbia at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday.

The sectional looks great and gives us so much more seating. I’m still so excited about it when I walk into the room. We haven’t decided what throw pillows we want just yet, so we’re using some that I had in another room for now.

I’ve put up some before and after photos for you!

The side of our living room where we added the sectional. Before on top, after on bottom.

We moved our other sofa that we love so much to the other side of the room and moved all the chairs to TC’s office.

Another view of the side of the room with the new sectional– and the cute little chair in the corner. Fiona has now taken over that chair as her bed since she’s not allowed on the new sectional.

We’re getting ready for a fun play date with friends this afternoon! Hudson and I are both excited!

Two Giveaway Winners and Two Recipes

Filed Under: Recipes

Oct82010

I’m so sorry it has taken me two weeks to post the winner of the Blessed Be The Name giveaway! Congratulations to Rachel from The Haney Life!

The two winners of the 33 Miles autographed CDs are (#40) Misty and (#26) Caroline! Congratulations!

All giveaway winners should email me at eeakin11 {at} gmail {dot} com before Wednesday.

I mentioned on Twitter earlier this week that I was making my favorite Chicken Tetrazzini recipe for our household and was also making it for a friend who recently had surgery. I got a few requests for the recipe, so I thought I’d post it and another family favorite. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures for either recipe, but you can use your imagine that both will look absolutely delicious when you’re finished!

Bow Tie Fiesta

Ingredients:

8 ounces bow tie pasta

1 pound ground beef

½ onion, chopped

½ green bell pepper, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

Salt to taste

1 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

½ cup sliced black olives

¼ cup sliced jalapenos (optional)

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Cook the pasta using package directions and cooking for 7 minutes; drain. Brown the beef in a skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain. Add the onion and green pepper and mix well. Cook until the onion is tender, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt.  Combine the pasta, ground beef mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, jalapenos, and tomato in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 9×11-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Yield: 8 servings

Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package spaghetti, cooked and drained

3 cups of cubed chicken

1 (6 ½ ounce) can mushrooms, drained

1 to 1 ½ cups crumbled cooked bacon

8 ounces Velveeta cheese, chopped

White Sauce:

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

¼ cup all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (or 4 cubes)

Dash of pepper

3 ½ cups plus ½ cup milk

2 ounces sliced almonds for garnish

Directions:

In a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish layer the spaghetti, chicken, mushrooms, bacon, and cheese. Preheat the oven to 350. For the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium-size pan over low heat; stir in the flour, bouillon, and pepper. Add ½ cup milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the remaining 3 ½ cups milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Pour the white sauce over the chicken mixture. Bake for 45 minutes. Garnish with the sliced almonds. Yield: 8 to 10 servings

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