Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

I cooked up a storm the last several weeks.  Trina and Tanner aren't fond of cooking, so they buy frozen meals prepared by a place called Naomi's Kitchen.  Anyway, we decided I would cook their food for a month.  24 different frozen meals!  I used several new recipes and I like this one.

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

1/2 pkg. linguine (8oz.)

1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets

2 T. butter

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cubed

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook linguine according to package directions.  Add broccoli for last 4 minute of cooking time and drain

Heat butter in skillet.  Add chicken and cook until browned, stirring often.  Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper and linguine mixture and heat through.  Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.  Serves 4.

A plate of that and some garlic bread.  YUM!

Check out the other great recipes at And Baby Makes Five.

Happy Birthday, Tanner!

Happy Birthday, Tanner!
4/29/10

Tanner is our newest SIL.  I was thrilled when Trina told us she was dating a teacher.  It's so good to have another educator in the family.  We are going up to baby-sit with Grayson so they can go out to celebrate.  I hope you have a great day, Tanner!

I haven't completed much in the way of quilts, sewing, or crafts lately.  I did make two taggie blankets, but I didn't get a picture before they were gone.   I am working on two bags which I hope to complete this weekend.

We had an overnight visitor Friday night.  Here he is enjoying his bath.

We don't get to see CJ very often, so we had the opportunity to have him overnight.  Trilby and boys came down for pizza and he played with his cousins.

Saturday we visited Trina, Tanner, and Grayson.  Grayson wasn't much for playing with CJ, but Max and Marley sure liked him.  After a stop at Great Aunt Kathy and Great Uncle Dale's we took CJ home. We had a great time with him.

Spring Blossoms

We have a small apple orchard at our house.  It seems like we get a really good crop about every other year.  Of course that depends on when we get our last killing frost.  A frost was predicted for last weekend and Bud heard that if we turned fans on to blow around the trees it would save them from the frost.  So that is what he did on Saturday night.  I'm not sure if it really got that cold or not, but the trees are gorgeous!

The orchard was here when we bought the place so we aren't really sure of the kinds of trees we have.

This one is a Delicious apple tree.  Great for crunchy juicy apples just right for eating fresh.

The closest tree in the picture is the oldest and the best for applesauce and apple butter.  It makes great pies too. We really should have it grafted as the guy at the nursery isn't sure what type it is either. The next two are good for pies also.  The last one normally just has a few apple.  We're not sure what it's problem is, but since we get more than enough from the rest we're not concerned about it.

If only you could smell the blossoms!

Don't you just love the beauty of spring??

Oh Baby!!

Let me introduce you to my new Baby Lock sewing machine!

It has loads of stitches.  I've been playing with them, but I' pretty sure there are a lot there I'll never use.

It has an LCD display screen.  I'm REALLY not mechanical, so I hope I can figure out what all of those buttons are for!

And here it is in it's entirety.  My Baby Lock Quilter's Choice sewing machine.

It does have an extendable table and MANY feet.  I'm having a great time learning to use it.

Spring Things

 Spring is in full bloom here, and we're loving it!  The gorgeous red tulips on the south side of our house were beautiful, although I took this picture in the morning so they didn't look as good as they could have.

The phlox is a pretty purple.  The only problem with phlox is that the blossoms don't last long enough!

The hostas seem to be growing by inches each and every day.

We bought a Magnolia tree to plant in place of the redbud that died.  I love redbuds, but we spent a lot of money on one and it only lasted two years.  :(  We were looking at bedding plants last night and I REALLY wanted to get my plants for the planters.  BUT it is still April which means we may get frost and I'd have to worry about them.  So, I gave in and waited.  I hope they have good ones when I go back.  We'll be putting mulch out tomorrow.  And how is your spring?

Awesome Asparagus!!

Well, you may have noticed I haven't joined Colleen's Recipe Swap lately.  That's because I haven't been cooking much.  Or at least much that's worthy of sharing!  Check out the other recipes here.

I'm really not an asparagus lover, but my husband is.  So, I try to fix it for him.  We used to eat it cooked with some cheese on it until I came across this recipe, and now it's the only way we eat it!

*You'll notice this recipe is full of EXACT measurements!(not)  I'm sure you can figure it out.

You'll need asparagus, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.

Yes, some of it looks a little scrawny, but it's sure nice to have it in my garden!  Preheat the oven to 350. Then, wash the asparagus and cut off the ends if they are hard.  Lay out on a baking sheet and drizzle a Tblsp of olive oil on top.  Then sprinkle on Italian seasoning.  Toss to coat.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and toss again.  

Eat and Enjoy!

A Trip to Texas

We left for Texas last Wednesday right after school.  Oldest daughter, Trilby, and 3rd grandson, Nate, went with us.  We spent the night in Witchita, KS and then got up bright and early the next morning to finish the trip.  Nate kept occupied watching movies, reading books, and entertaining us.

We stayed with Mom, but spent time with my brother and family, my aunt, and some cousins.  We went for my niece's wedding.  When we are there we always like to eat at the Mexican restaurant.  You just can't find Mexican food like this very easy!

The sopapillas are what I love!  Warm with some honey, mmmmm.......

Friday morning the ladies helped Gay (mother of the bride) decorate the reception hall.  When we were finished we bellied up to the bar!

And that was yummy too!

Saturday was the wedding.  I helped by doing a reading in church.  Bud was the official baby-sitter during the ceremony.

My brother hired a limo to shuttle everyone back and forth from the Country Club to their homes.  Some of us had never had a limo ride before including Nate.  He was a little unsure about it, but the rest of us enjoyed it!

We left the reception at a decent hour to get to bed.  Sunday found us in the car headed for Iowa by 6:30 a.m.  We drove straight through.  It was a short but enjoyable trip.  

Memory Quilt

Mom turned 70 March 29th.  Even though she has approached 7 with hesitation, I thought it called for a special gift.  So, I made her a memory quilt to hang on her wall.

I included photos of her as a young girl with her family and a saying about memories.

I included a family photo from when we were quite young and one of us with our kids and just one great grandchild.  Of course I included the great grandchildren--even the newest!

I put Mom's most recent photo on it and one of the last ones of Dad.  I also include the four generation photo that includes me!

Of course I put their wedding photo on it.

I couldn't forget my grandparents, and of course the three sisters on one of their yearly trips home.

I embellished it a little with some trim and flowers.  That isn't really my taste, but I know Mom enjoys it. I will give it to her when we go to Texas.  I certainly hope she like it!!

A Quilt for a Great Niece

We are headed to Texas soon for my niece's wedding.  It will be the first time we've had a chance to see my nephew's new daughter--Kadelynn Ann.  I made a coin quilt as our gift to her.  I used the pattern from Moda Bake Shop.  You can find it here.

I used fabric from my stash for the coins and white polka dots on white for the rest.

I straight line quilted in the colored sections and did flowers in the white. (With my photography skills I couldn't get the quilting and the dots to show at the same time!)

I like the look of the quilting on the back.

I'm anxious to see her.  I don't get much cuddle time with little girls!LOL

Finally a Finish!

After running out of fabric, the local Joann's being out, and then ordering it from another store, I finally  finished this quilt.  It is made out of soft flannels.

The seams are sewn on the top then cut to fray and look like chenille. Each rectangle is machine stitched with an X or a flower.

The pattern calls for it to be smaller and to finish the edges by stitching  around the edge and fraying them.  I added more rectangles and prefer to finish it with binding.  I think it just looks nicer that way.

It is for my DIL's birthday which has come and gone. 

Happy Belated Birthday, Kerry!

Gratitude:  I am grateful for eyeglasses.  I started wearing glasses as a fourth grader.  I had told my parents I couldn't see well, but my friend had just gotten glasses and they thought I just wanted some.  Finally, they were convinced to take me to the optometrist.  I remember the day I got my glasses.  I walked down the street and saw things so vividly I was amazed.  My eyes kept getting worse until finally at 13 I got contacts.(the old fashioned hard ones)  My eyes quit getting bad so quickly and I loved them!  I thought I would wear them until I was too old to get them into my eyes.  But, as age and allergies hit me I had to quit wearing them.  My astigmatism is too bad to wear soft, so I wear glasses once again.  A pain, but really a blessing.  I can't imagine my life without glasses.  I couldn't sew, drive, teach, etc.  I could read REALLY large print books, and maybe embroider if I held it close to my face.  So, thank you God for Salvino D'Armate who invented eyeglasses in Italy around 1284.