My New Favorite Marinara Sauce

Who does not like a yummy plate of spaghetti and garlic bread?


Once again from the food network gurus, I found an amazing Marinara sauce that was easy and tasty.
I served it to the family last night and it got rave reviews. I have enough of the marinara sauce left over to use for our Italian Meatloaf later this week.

Here it is:

Marinara Sauce
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show:
Everyday Italian
Episode:
Perfect Pairings

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes 1 dried bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste.
(The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

I used four carrots and four celery stalks. Four garlic cloves and two big cans of crushed tomatoes. I have a small army to feed. :)

Be Blessed.

Whats For Dinner?

I spent time on this vacation watching a lot of HGTV and Food Network. I came home ready to cook and decorate. LOL.


Here is what we had for dinner tonight.

Clay Pot Honey-Lemon Chicken
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004
Show:
The Essence of Emeril
Episode:
Crazy for Chicken

1 (3 1/2-pound) fryer chicken
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (reserve lemon shell)
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon melted butter, plus 4 tablespoons, softened at room temperature
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Prepare a clay roaster by soaking in cold water for 15 minutes.
Wash the chicken well inside and out under cool running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken all over with 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and season evenly on all sides with the salt and pepper. Place the reserved lemon shell inside the chicken cavity. Place the chicken inside the prepared clay roaster and brush with the melted butter. Cover the roaster and transfer to a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and cook for 45 minutes.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of lemon juice, honey, and soy sauce in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until heated through. In a small bowl, make a paste from the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and the flour. Whisk the butter-flour mixture into the melted honey-lemon-butter mixture. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove the clay cooker from the oven and pour the honey-butter mixture all over the chicken, making sure to evenly cover the breast and any exposed areas. Cover the roaster and return the chicken to the oven for 45 minutes, or until it is cooked through and very tender. Transfer the chicken to a platter or carving board, cut into pieces and serve immediately. Transfer the sauce to a gravy boat for serving, or spoon some of the sauce over each piece of chicken.

I do not have a clay roaster so I used my roaster oven. In hindsight the dumb thing never works quiet right and I should have used my roasting pan in the oven. The chicken burned a little but it was delish! I cooked up two.

We had garlic mashed potatoes and carrots for side dishes.

For the garlic mashed potatoes I simply peeled and cut some potatoes. I boiled them. When they were ready to mash I minced some garlic and added sour cream, butter and milk. Yummo!

The carrots were sauteed in butter and a little olive oil.

There is enough chicken left over to use in some chicken pot pie later on this week.

Be Blessed!

Courtship An Alternative Part Four

Engagement!
This one is short, sweet and to the point.

The young couple has been a'courting. They have decided they are right for one another. Now what?
According to Mr. Andrews, the first thing the young man should do is check in with his dad. After his dad has given the go ahead it's time to approach the young woman's father. The fathers should have been evaluating the relationship and should have a definate opinion on how things are going. Mr. Andrews says that the young man should have been communicating with the young woman's father the entire time. He should have been asking for evaluations and have an idea where he stands.

Here is the opportunity for the young man to ask for his beloved's hand in marriage. The father gives his blessing and then he must approach his beloved. If she should say yes, then the engagement is on. But, what if after all his hard work she says, no? Mr. Andrews says, that you have the blessing of the father and can continue to try to win her heart. Here is one of my favorite quotes, "God has made men out of boys who would not take no for an answer." :) This does not mean he should be obnoxious, but there is nothing wrong for persuing and fighting for the girl of his heart. It could make a huge impression on her. Remember we girls are responders.
The engagement period should allow only enough time to prepare for the wedding. The two should be prepared for marriage by now with schooling and other hinderances out of the way. If this is not so they should not have entered into a courtship. Mr. Andrews says, and I agree that, "Extended engagements only lead to physical pressures, because both now know that they are committed to each other."
Marriage is a beautiful thing. I love being married. I truly wish I had saved my heart and love for this man of mine. I was so busy giving it away growing up that it is still damaged and recovering. The practice of modern dating in my eyes is useless and dangerous. How often did relationships end and others begin within a few weeks. Is that really good practice for marriage? When the going gets tough you switch partners? Phew, how many times would some of us be divorced right now? I am so greatful for the example of Mr. Andrews and others like him. People who are willing to venture off the mainstream path and try something different. People who are willing to admit what they did wrong and share what they did right. As someone who is part of "mainstream christianity" I have no idea what Im doing with these kids of mine. I don't want to parent like those around me. I turn to the wisdom of others who have gone on before and made it work. I also find answers in God's word. How greatful and I am for that resource. LOL.

I hope you enjoyed this series. If you have any input or advice it would be strongly appreciated. Just don't tell me that I have to let my kids date or they will rebel. I reject that teaching and do not agree with it. :)

Be Blessed!

Courtship The Alternative Part 4

Yeah Right...

Or what to buy for a 6 year old girl!

As a follow up to this post you should know I took a full wet basket of clothing on our trip with us. I dried them at the hotel that night. Amen.

It was not until the next morning I discovered my 6 year old had oh about 1 outfit in the suitcase. So as we do on every vacation we took a trip to the store for more clothes. Its a tradition now really.

Here I would like to share some of the clothes I got to choose from.

This lovely outfit is a size 4-6x or a woman's size 18-22. Now come on. My 6 year old does not need an outfit that can be bought in the women's department. While I don't have a problem with the babydoll and leggings look for little girls so much, I do think it looks a little grown up.
A top I am sure I have seen some of the ladies at church wear. Once again not so much a problem with the style as the fact that you can buy it in size 4-22.
This top seems to draw a lot of attention to the upper area of my 6 year olds body. Another top you can buy from size 4-22

Yes, dear she does look like a hoochie mama, but all the little girls are wearing them.....

Size 4-6x.
Could these be a little shorter? Size 4-6x.

Ahem... size 4-6x. Please don't bend over.
Don't you love these? I thought they were ok until I picked them up. They would have been skin tight on my baby. No thanks.

They don't have a picture of what I ended up buying her. A cute little jean skirt with butterfly leggings. The skirt was too short but the leggings helped. A pair of green capris that were not tight at all. I also got her a blue polka dot shirt, an orange polka dot shirt, a blue shirt, and an orange shirt. Not a lot to choose from. :)

We had a good time and I have lots of fun stories to tell.

I will be back.

Be Blessed!

Just my thought...

I think everyone should put off doing laundry until the day they are supposed to leave to go on a trip. That way when the dryer refuses to dry in less than two hours you can have something to panic about...

Just my thoughts.

Be blessed!!

Ok I give up...

I am going to just have to resign myself to the fact that that man of mine is a little too busy to fuss over my computer. Don't worry. I understand. I mean this weekend alone he put together my square foot garden, helped me with a birthday party for Adrian, AND went shopping with me for Karly's presents at TWO craft stores.
Sweet guy that he is told me to download onto his computer anything I need for the blog, so... Im moving in.
I will finish up the courtship post this week.
I will talk about Adrian's birthday party and Karly's birthday.
I have a few more things to write about as well.
In May I am going to pick up the change one Monday posts again.
My wonderful friend Michelle bought over a camara for me the other day. I have to get a memory stick for it, but I hope to be back to posting pictures soon. My kids are so darn cute I know you want to see them all the time. LOL
Im taking off for some time Friday through Wednesday. More about that later as well.

Ok ladies, I will put at least one post up this evening.

Be Blessed!