Italian Chicken Rotelle W/Broccoli & Cheese.

Good Tuesday everyone! I'm back with a food post. I love cooking, baking, and creating new recipes, but I do also love having breaks from the kitchen. Especially from those nasty dishes. I can pile stacks of dishes in no time....

I still haven't seen Hannah Montana yet due to different complications, but my little sister and older sister got to. They came out raving and raving. I am hoping I can see it this weekend. But Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and X-Men are coming out this Friday and I am being pulled in 3 directions. Not sure what I'll see!

I created this recipe when I saw my Mom had some Rotelle on the shelf. I love pasta....especially when it is cold. I added in some chicken for a more balanced meal. The broccoli and provolane cheese take it up a notch. I was out of the bottled Italian Dressing so made my own. A quick meal for those busy week nights. Chilled or eaten at room temperature, it is good.

Italian Chicken Dressing Rotelle

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz.) bag of Garden Rotelle

2 cups chicken, cubed, cooked, and cooled

1 cup broccoli, chopped in small pieces

1 1/2 cup provolane cheese, cut into cubes

DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta according to directions. Cool. Combine all ingredients together. Set aside. Make dressing and pour all over Rotelle. Refrigerate 4 hours or until chilled or eat room temperature.

Italian Dressing:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. onion powder

1 tbsp. white sugar

2 tbsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup white vinegar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients together in a jar or bowl. Stir very well.

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Andrew has always loved sports. He has loved being outside ever since I can remember. Baseball is what he does best. He's never been a big camera lover....he'd take pictures but would never ask to have a picture taken of himself. A lot of times he'll give a look, which means get that horrid thing out of my face. Or he'll do the craziest things for the camera. He can also break out in the cheeseiest grins. The last picture is one of his many cheesy grins.

Have a good Tuesday, hopefully you are having some beautiful sunny weather. We are having cloudy cool weather. See you next with a dessert!

Cake Mix Winner And I'm Boring You.

Good Monday morning everyone! I think weekends need to be much longer. Much longer. But on second thought maybe they wouldn't be as sweet. I love you Saturday and Sunday. Don't ever leave me. Thank you.

Thank you to all of you who made it in my Naturally Nora contest. I enjoyed reading your cake mix preferences! Chocolate edged everything else out by far. A big congrats to the winner picked by random.org:

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Anna who said: Cookie cookie looks and sounds heavenly!!!

Please contact me at priscilla91@iowatelecom.net so you can get your goodies.
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Some of you were asking where you can purchase Nora's cake mixes at. You can find them available here.

And, since I was too busy all weekend to be creative and create something up, I am going to bore you all with more pictures of my friend's senior session. Thank you for letting me bore you.

Have a good one and I will have a recipe post very soon! I am looking forward to a Cubs game tonight....beat them D'backs!

Win Free Cake Mixes And Frosting Mixes!

Good Friday everyone!

I was recently sent a box full of cake mixes from Nora at Naturally Nora for me to try. And let me tell you, they are delicious! But the amazing thing is they are full of all natural ingredients. There are NO artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and there are NO hydrogenated oils or trans fats. While I normally think of healthy and all natural foods as dull, these are not. They are very flavorful.

Here is the fun part. Nora has allowed me to give one of my readers one years worth of free cake mixes and frosting mixes. Which would be 12 free cake mixes and 12 free frosting mixes. One of you guys can get to sample what I am talking about!

To enter, Visit Naturally Nora and then leave me a comment on this post telling me which out of the cake mixes you like best. Surprising Stars is one of my favorites. Contest ends Sunday the 26th at 12 PM CST MIDNIGHT.

Brownies W/Caramels, Coconut, & Chocolate.

Good Wednesday Earth Day (note: not an environmentalist) everyone! Hope you are having a good week so far. I have been really enjoying sunny spring weather. I have waited a long time to be able to not wear a jacket!

There aren't words for these brownies. They are chewy, moist, stomach-pleasing, and eye-catching. I have been seeing other bakers making homemade Somaos all over the internet. I thought why not make a brownie Somaos? I am so glad I thought of making these. They are now my favorite brownies I have ever made and they make for amazing pictures. I also got thumbs up from my brother.

Brownie Somoas

Ingredients:

1 brownie mix

3 1/2 cups shredded coconut, toasted

(2) 14 oz. package of caramels, unwrapped

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. milk

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare brownie mix according to box directions. Cool. Place the caramels, salt, and milk in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 3-5 minutes. Stop occasionaly to stir. Cook until all caramels are melted and smooth. Add coconut and mix together. Spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate 4-5 hours or overnight. Cut into bars and drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate.

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I bet most of us have little sisters. Anna is 5 years younger than me. Anna loves to laugh at my jokes. I know if I make a joke she will usually laugh, while my siblings usually pass looks that say that was dumb. She says some pretty funny things. She is full of energy. Which is good, because in this family no one is quiet. While my brothers usually say nothing about my baking but keep eating it, Anna is the first to tell me what I made was good. And last year she let me cut her hair for the first time ever in her life. It was also my first time ever cutting hair. That took some courage. She usually does let me do things like to her. Amazing - right?

Enjoy your Wednesday, and I will have a non-dessert recipe next! Got a busy afternoon/evening ahead of me!

What I Shoot With & More Pics.

Some of you guys have been asking what kind of camera I use for shooting and other questions about my photography so I decided to do a post on it for you all and link it on my sidebar.

I am currently using a Canon Rebel xTi with a 50 mm lens. I purchased the body only here and then purchased the lens here. I bought the camera body and the lens separate because I found out from other photographers that buying the 50 mm lens (instead of the whole camera deal like this) gives you a much better lens. One drawback to this lens is you cannot zoom in or out. You have to be the zoom, which gives me more exercise. I love this lens.

I purchased this camera about 2 months ago, and can't imagine taking pictures without it. The pictures straight from the camera are beautiful and stunning. I take my picutres on usually, "Portrait" or "Close-Up". Portrait is my favorite setting/mode to shoot in, it takes 4 or 5 pictures in a row for you. Great setting/mode for action shots. While it is pricey, I personally think it is worth every penny. I saved up for a while for this camera and am so glad I did.

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"Straight Out Of The Camera Pictures"
Senior Photography Session With Katie Jones.

Hope this answered those of you who asked me photography questions and I will see you next with that deadly brownie recipe! Have a great Monday night!

Baseball Season Has Sprung.

Good Saturday night!
Baseball/Softball season is in full swing here. One of the many advantages of having 8 members in a family is you practically have a baseball team right there. After school, many of us will head out to the field and get some practice in. We are going to need lots with our church's softball league starting soon. My oldest brother can crank balls out of the field/diamond like nothing....which leaves me thinking I am so glad I am not the ball.

Have a great remaining weekend and I'll have a diet-damager brownie recipe post soon! And, this is up to you. Would you guys care to see some more of my friend's senior pictures?

Banana Bread Made W/A Chocolate Cake Mix

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Winners picked by random.org:

Natalie who said: i can't believe you're going to make me choose. seriously! they all sound amazing so i'm just going to wait and see if i win (fingers crossed) and then pick if i absolutely have to :)

AND

Abigail who said: Those two ingredient cupcakes look amazing.

Please email me ladies at priscilla91@iowatelecom.net so you can get your treats!

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Good Thursday everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful week with sunny weather. I cannot wait to see Hannah Montana this weekend, I wasn't able to make it last week with my friend for opening week to see it. We can't wait to see it Saturday. My favorite characters would have to be Lilly, Ricco, Jackson, and Hannah. Ricco is so amusing.

I needed to use some bananas up we had and came up with this recipe. I love the addition of a chocolate cake mix. The sour cream and bananas add much moisture to this cake and the chocolate chunks or chips knock this cake up a notch. This was devoured instantly but with 3 man eating brothers I honestly think devouring anything isn't hard.

Chocolate Cake Mix Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. vanilla

3 medium bananas, ripe and smashed

5 tbsp. sour cream

2 cups of a chocolate cake mix, straight out of the box

1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks or chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 in pan. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt together and add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla, bananas, sour cream, cake mix, and chunks/chips. Mix very well. Pour into greased baking pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until ready.

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I love my friends. But you all know that.

Katie and I are the last two to graduate from high school out of our friend's group. We both leave 12th grade next month. While it sounds exciting to no longer be in high school, it is also scary for me. I am stepping into a place I have never been before. My whole life I have always been in either elementary, junior high, or high school. But I know I have a great big God who will walk with me as I tread these new days. And I have to graduate sometime, I wouldn't want to be 40 and still in 12th grade.

(Easter 2009)



One of my favorite songs by Third Day. I find it simply amazing that the God who holds this world in the palm of His Hands and created this universe, loves me. And died that I might live.