Desperately Seeking Gina

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Ms. Domestication

If my day was to be featured in a magazine, it surely would be entitled Ms. Domestication. It’s rainy and cooler here today; a good excuse to stay home and snuggle in. Cranking up the oven wasn’t so bad. Lisa says every time she stops by this ole blog-o’-mine, there’s “pictures of food.” Well, yeah..there are a lot of pics of food. Who would I be, now, without running for the camera as soon as freshly baked muffins come out of the oven, or reaching for it just as soon as the pasta is drained?

So, today, it’s laundry, baked penne, blueberry muffins, and later, a movie: Penelope.


The penne is a great recipe I adapted from my fave foodie message board Contessa’s Kitchen. It’s not an “Ina” recipe, I don’t think. This is a great dish to bring to potlucks….especially when I want to be sure there’s something substantial and meatless for me to eat.

1 pound dry penne pasta or ziti

4 cloves of garlic {this may be a bit much for a normal person…I like a lot of garlic}


2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce {No jar sauce for me..Thom makes excellent sauce: 28 ounce diced tomatoes, or whatever you have on hand, Italian herb seasonings, and garlic}


6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced


1 1/2 cups sour cream


6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded


3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:


Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the pasta, all the Provolone cheese and sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

My all-time fave muffin recipe is from none other than my all-time favorite Ms. Domestication herself, Martha Stewart. I do like to add the zest of one lemon to this recipe….love the flavor of lemon and blueberries.

For Thom, I like to add a sweet, crunchy streusel topping courtesy of Carole Walter.

…Happy 8.8.8

It was another gorgeous day here in Heber. I headed over to Searcy early this morning to visit The Scrapbook Attic; needed more paper for Cece’s baby shower invites. Then I came home and went out to lunch with Thom. Speaking of Thomas. Last night, when he came to bed, he woke me with:

t– knock, knock
g– who’s there?
t– a pile up
g– a pile up who?

{go ahead…say it out loud}

Yea…my boyfriend the comedian. He cracks me up.

So, other than creating more invites, I baked up this little loaf of goodness. I had some very brown-speckled bananas that were in major need of being used up. I took a basic banana bread recipe and kicked it up a bit with coconut and dried cranberries. Good, good stuff.

CranCoconut Banana Bread

Pre-heat oven to 350
spray a large loaf pan with cooking spray

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon { I actually just dumped a bunch in…we like the cinnamon!}
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
4 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries {I was eyeballing this amount}
1 cup coconut

* Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl combine applesauce, sugar, eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add cranberries and coconut. Pour into prepared pan.

*Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans.
*Bake for 50-60 minutes {mine baked for about 70 minutes..watch your loaf carefully}
*Loaf is done when knife inserted comes out with a few wet crumbs.

If so desired…

*Spend approximately 20 minutes taking photos.
* Spend another 20 minutes setting up light box studio and take another 10-15 shots.
* Take yet another 20 minutes previewing photos before deciding which proofs to add to your Food Porn picture file.
* Decide on proofs and open with a picture editing program. Call over your boyfriend, husband, or significant other for opinions on angles and lighting.

Yep. Some people have kids to photograph. I have baked goods. Ah, well. Banana bread is tastier 🙂

…Happiness in a Sandwich

It’s been so hot and humid here that turning on the stove to cook a meal has lost it’s appeal. So, cold dishes have been the order of the day. I was lurking on the Pioneer Woman’s blog the other day when she posted an awesome looking bagel. My mouth watered immediately and I went in search of our grocery list to jot down the components. I’m so glad I did. This was the best bagel sandwich I’ve ever had.

Start with mushing {that’s a technical cooking term for all you kitchen neophites} some chopped green onion into softened cream cheese. Spread on toasted “everything” bagels. Top with cucumber, shredded carrots, alfafa sprouts, provolone cheese, and whatever other fresh veggies you love. Top with other half of toasted bagel {spread more of the cream cheese/green onion mixture on this one too}. PW added avacado, tomato, muenster & cheddar cheeses to her bagel…but I’m not fond of those. My bagel sandwich was definitely a mouth full & tummy filling.


Thom added Roasted Garlic Mustard to his and it was quite tasty. I forgot to mention a couple of weeks ago, when I drove to meet Alison for lunch, that she gifted me with a basket full of gourmet foods from her gourmet market. So nice and thoughtful of her! So, in the basket, were a couple jars of mustard, which Thom and I love. The roasted garlic was one of ’em.

I should also mention that I am the one who hasn’t actually cooked much this week 😉 Thom has slaved over the hot stove making Chinese stir-fry and pita pizzas for dinner. He’s sweet like that.

…Quiet Saturday Morning

I’d forgotten what it’s like to work forty hours. Worked a bit over forty this last week and it’s catching up with me. I’ve been so spoiled this summer not having to work a lot of hours. It’s Saturday, though, thankfully, and I’m unwinding.

That’s what I’m up to today. Heading out to that W store in a bit to pick up the new Stephenie Meyer book, Breaking Dawn. It’s the last in the Twilight series. Can’t wait to read what my favorite vampire-to-be is up to.

Made egg salad for lunch. (that’s for my Mom)

Feeling completely jealous that Mom, Dad, and Terry are heading to Vegas tomorrow, without me.

Onto some good baby sweetness:

Last night, I worked on some more shower invites and these adorable little newborn onesies. Created the images on my computer, printed them on iron-on transfers, and with a little heat from my iron….VOILA! The baby blue painted letters are last weekend’s project. They need a bit of touching-up. Seems they weren’t as completely dry as I’d thought when I stacked them on top of each other. oops.

Here is the backside. I’m in love with this. I can’t stop looking at it and smiling.

Inspiration found here.