Summertime and Family Reunions

Wow, Its August 1st already.  Where did summer go?  I can't believe how long its been since I posted.  So much has happened this summer and we still have a few weeks to go before school starts.  Lets start at the beginning….In June we had our family reunion at our home in Tennessee.  It was so much fun!  27 of us total and it was 3 days filled with fun, food, laughter and making lots of memories along with remembering a lot of old ones.  

Amazing Food and Snacks

I used jars as serving bowls and the effect was beautiful!

Small and large jars

Mini individual cherry pies in small jars…Yummmmm

Brownie Batter Dip…So good  See below for recipe.

Lots of Water fun

all of us cousins

The next generation

The Bittners

Me , my sister and cousin Karen

One of my favorite people in the world…my cousin Rena from Texas

My Aunt Nenie…she was the only one of the older generation that was able to attend.

Beautiful Tennessee sunset

Family Photo

On the boat

Gorgeous!!

Jet skiing fun!

My nephew surrounded by beauty!

We swam, rode jet skis, went on boat rides and fished.  It was a pretty amazing reunion!  It was so much fun.  there are so many recipes I want to share with you but for today Im going to share the brownie batter dip.  so good and so indulgent .

Brownie Batter Dip

1 brick of Cream cheese softened.

1/2 stick Butter

2 Packets unsweetened chocolate. (I use the melted chocolate)

2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar

2-3 Teaspoons heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Fruit, vanilla wafers, graham crackers, cookies for dipping.

Mix all ingredients well with hand mixer.  Add powdered sugar until desired consistency.  Let set out an hour or so before serving to get room temperature.  It should be soft and disable.  When its in the fridge it gets hard and you want it more batter like.

Enjoy!!

Mothers Day

What a great Mothers Day!! Hillary came home, we went to my very favorite restaurant ever…Maestros in Chicago, and I got my new iphone 5C!!  woo Hoo!!  Im super excited about that.  We really had a great day.  Hillary came home Saturday night and stayed til Monday morning.  We all got up and went to church together.  Hillary got up especially early to go get me a Starbucks first thing…Love!  the Weather was great and it was just a wonderful day!  then to top it off, Jackie came by for dinner on Monday on her way back to school.  So I got see 3 out of the 4 kids!  

How in the world did these two grow up so fast?  I can't believe how fast time flew by.  the saying "in the blink of an eye" has never hit home so hard as it does when I look at old pictures!

These two have grown up to be the best kids ever!

Here is my life in a one picture!

After dinner, these times are my favorite times….just being together and goofing around!  I am one lucky girl!!

He is my world!

The next race is this weekend, we are Atlanta bound!  We are making a stop in TN on our way to check out the progress of the kitchen.  Im super excited to see how it is coming along.  I never knew it was SO MUCH to organize a remodel!!  Wow.  Every little thing.  but it will be so worth it.  the few pics I have seen already I absolutely Love!! 

Here is what the floor looks like.  I love it so much!!  We put the same down in the motor home and it looks really sharp!

I went with white cabinets, because I have always wanted them.  Plus I really think they look "Lake House ish".

Here is another shot of it.  The doors should be on when we get there this week.  We have the counter coming in a few and a pendant light hanging above that window.  All this needs to be done by June 21 for our big family reunion!!

Day one of Wedding Dress Shopping

What a great weekend!  I hope yours was just as good as mine!  I went wedding dress shopping on Saturday.  Wow!  I can't believe the dresses that are out there!  So pretty, so Beautiful!  It is going to be so hard to decide…  I cried a little when I put one on, But I want to go at least to a few more stores and try a lot more dresses to make sure I find the right one.  The best news of all of the day was that the dresses they had in stock as the demo ones to try on, were fitting me!  OMG!  I couldn't believe it.  There were a few that didn't and they had to improvise, but the 10's and 12's fit, which we all know in reality those are probably 6 or 8's!  I don't know why formal gowns have to run so small!!  I was happy though.  

My sister and I went dress shopping.  Hillary couldn't go so we are going with her later.

This one was the Ariel, from the Disney Fairytale Line.  I didn't really like it a lot, but I loved how it looked on…Doesn't really make sense does it?

This one was pretty too.  I just wasn't feeling it.  Not enough "bling" and sparkle for me.

This is the same one as above only a side view.  it is going to be so hard to pick!  This is only our first day of shopping for one and our first store!

Of course we had to end our day with a Margarita and some chips.  It never tasted so good!  Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Sunday I made stuffed red peppers, only I made some tuna salad with Walden Farms Mayo and wow were they delis!!  I used the red peppers because I like the sweetness of them.  It was super filling and it gave me both my veggies and my protein.  Plus it really filled me up!

Tuna Stuffed Red Peppers

1 package of White Albacore Tuna

1 stalk Celery Chopped

1/2 Onion chopped

1 Garlic Pickle chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Teaspoon Spicy Mustard

Walden Farms Amazing Mayo 1-2 spoonfuls

1 Red pepper halved and cored

Shredded Cheese (optional)

Mix all ingredients together.  cut Red pepper in half and core.  Put Tuna salad in pepper dividing it into each half.  Sprinkle with a SMALL amount of Shredded cheese (optional).  Place in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through and pepper is tender.  Remove from oven and 

Enjoy!!

So good!

And so it Begins.....

On the road again for another race season!  We left Monday to head to Florida for the NHRA race in Gainesville .  

Race season has begun!  We are in nice but rainy Florida   Rain is coming down but iris 84 degrees so from what I hear is going on back in Indiana, I am not complaining!  Emails will be scarce this week, as they were last since we won't be traveling home til Monday.  We drove almost all night Monday and stopped just outside Atlanta to rest then up and at em again by 8. Ugh. So tired.  But just because we are traveling doesn't earn I am not going to stick to my diet.  iDVD really good and made sure I brought lot softwood things to eat, even for snacking on the road because after all, you want to snack while driving right?  Celery sticks, protein bars, lots of yogurt and I did bring some string cheese to snack on even though they are not on the diet.  I figure its better than a bag of chips.  I also brought some turkey bites and protein powder.  We stopped at subway for salads and we have lots of water and ice drinks. 

Louisville Kentucky 

Passing time in the rig.

My view for several, several, several, and several more hours.....

Those Ice Water drinks are so good and they are totally free.  hey come in lots of favors and cost wise they are only about  .88 each.  The coconut pineapple is my favorite.  I hope everyone has a great week and that the snow does NOT last!!  

Enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Roasted Broccoli

I don't know about everyone else but I am sick and tired of this weather!  I know this is the traditional "NWI Winter" but come on, this is getting crazy.  Its March 4 and I am ready for some warmer weather and spring flowers.  So in honor of that thought I made a delicious light and flavorful broccoli the other day and it just tasted like summer.  I loved it and I think it will be my new "go to" broccoli side dish.  It has lemon and garlic (2 things I love) and some basil.  sounds good doesn't it?  I promise once you try this, you will be hooked on a new favorite.

Ugh  Ab check in….Mine HURT!!!!  35 second plank…Holy cow!  I am dreading the 50 crunches and leg lifts for tomorrow!!!  I barely got thru the 30 today.  But WE CAN DO THIS!!!  Just keep thinking about that bathing suit this summer!

Lemon Garlic Roasted Broccoli 

8 Cups Broccoli 

2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

3-4 Cloves of Garlic Sliced Very thin

Lay on cookie sheet and mix with hands til its all incorporated.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

1 lemon

3-4 leaves of Fresh Basil

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

While its baking, zest the lemon and set aside.  Roll the basil leaves and slice it making little curls.  When broccoli is done, add the zest, basil, olive oil and the juice of the lemon and mix together well.  Top with a little parmesan cheese (optional) and serve.   Sooo Goo!!

Enjoy!!

Roasted Asparagus with Greek Sauce

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!  I did.  I got to spend some god quality time with Kendall, see some family members in IL, and have a relaxing Sunday at home while it snowed…AGAIN.  Saturday my sister and I went to Kankakee IL to visit with my Uncle and a few of my cousins and other family members.  We had a great day of reminiscing about old days when my mom was still alive and my grandma and we would take this trip as kids at least once a month.  My Uncle George is a fantastic singer and plays guitar and my sister and I love to hear him play.  this weekend he was playing at a diner in town along with some other band members and we got to go check them out before the snow came.  Or should I say ice.  We had an entire night planned with staying late and going for pizza and drinks later but when we came out from the diner, it was sleeting and doing some odd rain/freezing rain thing….and it was 21 degrees!  How can that even happen??  So we decided it would be i our best interest to skip the pizza and just head for home.  

We ate dinner at Blues Cafe.  A childhood favorite of both me and my sister.  We would go there every Saturday night with our parents and my grandma….they have the BEST home made chicken and noodles…and only served on Saturday nights.

 My sister so excited for the infamous Chicken and Noodles at Blues Cafe

My Uncle George playing and singing at Crazy Joes Diner.  It was so fun watching him play and listen to him sing.

I did promise you some recipes this week and today's is so good!  Last night I made asparagus with a "hollandaise" Sauce.  Now we all know that the real sauce is made up of lots of bad things like mostly butter, but this sauce I made yesterday was light and flavorful.  Really good.  I made it out of Greek Yogurt so it also had some extra protein in there.

Don't forget your Ab exercises!  I am feeling mine!!  LOL

Roasted Asparagus with Greek Sauce

1 Bunch Asparagus Trimmed and rinsed

1 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to Taste

Sauce

1 Small Container of Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Butter (I used my Greek yogurt butter)

2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese

Lay Asparagus on cookie tray and drizzle oil on top.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minute.  So its tender but still crisp.  In a small sauce pan combine the yogurt and butter until melted.  Add the cheese and cook on low until cheese has melted and incorporated with the yogurt.  Simmer til ready to use.  Put roasted asparagus on serving plate and pour sauce over the top.  Sprinkle with additional Pepper.  So good!!

Enjoy!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Good Morning!!

Today is the off day for the exercise regimen.  Yay!!  The plank yesterday for 15 seconds I thought was going to kill me!!!

We had an amazing pot of spaghetti the other night.  It turned out really well and I made meatballs that were legal for it and they were yummy!!  I thought I would share my recipe with you for that.

Make golf ball size balls and place them in 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil to Brown

Brown on both sides

When browned, drop into sauce

So good and good for you!!!

Spagetti and Meatballs

1lb Ground Round

1lb turkey Sausage ( I used sweet italian)

1/4 cup Flax seed meal

1 Tablespoon Garlic

1 egg white

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasonings

1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Salt and Pepper

 Mix all ingredients with hands and roll into balls.  Cook in pan with 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil til brown.  Drop into sauce and continue cooking on simmer for another 2 hours.  (The longer it cooks the better it is.  This can also be done the night before then dropped into a crock pot the following day to cook throughout the day in the sauce)

Sauce

1 Can Crushed Tomatoes

1 Can Tomato Sauce

1 Can Tomato Paste

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

1 Chopped Red Pepper

1-2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic

1 Teaspoon Each of Oregano, and Basil

Salt and Pepper

1/2-1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

While the balls are browning, cook pepper and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil til tender.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.   Add meatballs.  Turn to simmer and cook for another 2-3 hours (or put in crock pot)  Serve over cooked cauliflower as your "spaghetti" Yumm!!!!

Enjoy!!