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I am linking up with Lindsey for Wednesday loves!



So what are my loves on this beautiful day

I am loving the fact that it is MAY!!! Vacation time is right around the corner! I love vacation time, I love seeing new places & trying new food!


I am loving my new t-shirt, it is so cute & fun. I HEART CUPCAKES! It says what I think each & everyday!:)




I am loving the new grill husband is getting ready to put in the backyard. It is going to be set up and ready to start our summer time grilling!!



We cook everything on the grill during the summer, even our home made pizzas, yummy! Husband & Pap are going to pour a concrete slab to make the grilling station outside. I will have to post pictures of the project. It is going to be great.
I am also loving the fact that we bought a 1/8 of a cow today!!! So now I do not have to worry about the stakes & hamburgers I fix for husband & Nateycakes! I know they are from grass fed happy cows! Will it convert me to a meat eater you ask, no way! I will stay a veggie person, I just want the beef I cook to be the best quality for them :)

Last love of the day is my memory verse for the week...Proverbs 24:16
It helps me know that even when I fail, God is going to help me back up!

Have a wonderful night!
Much love,

Menu Mondays

It Is Here!! Our very first MENU MONDAYS!
So let's get to it....


What is on the MENU today:

Well since Cinco de Mayo this week I thought we should take that & make it our theme!

MENU
* Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas
* Mexicalli Salad
* Cheese dip & Salsa
* Dark Chocolate Brownies


THE RECIPES
~ Enchiladas
* step 1: season 3-4 CHICKEN breasts with salt, pepper, & chili powder. Grill till done (or bake or an indoor type grill) cut into bite size pieces. Set aside.

* step 2: in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, sauté a heaping tsp. of minced garlic, 1 can ROTEL, & 1- 10 oz. frozen SPINACH (thawed & drained) you can use fresh spinach about a bag. Season with 1 tsp. cumin & taco seasoning. Cook for about 5 minutes or till there is no liquid.

* step 3: to the spinach mixture add 1 block CREAM CHEESE, stir till melted. Then add in 1- 8 oz. carton of SOUR CREAM & 2 C. of SHREDDED CHEESE (I like taco style blend cheese) stir till melted.

* step 4: two options here...1st for just spinach enchiladas take the mixture & spoon it down your tortillas. Roll up & put in your casserole dish.
2nd now is the time to add the chicken, stir in, spoon down your tortillas, roll up, & put in casserole dish.

* step 5: pour RED ENCHILADA SAUCE over your dish & put in your 350 oven for 15 minutes. Take out & cover with SHREDDED CHEESE (about 2 C.) bake for 5 more minutes.

~ Mexicalli Salad
* 1/4 purple onion, diced * 1 tomato, diced
* 1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
* 1 bag of frozen whole yellow corn, rinsed
* 1 C. Shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 Avocado, diced
* sprinkle with dried cilantro
* 2 small bags (or 2 oz.) Spicy Nacho Doritos, crushed, add at last minute

Mix all together. Top with Spicy Ranch...(3/4 C. Milk, 1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix, 2 tbsp. salsa, 1 tsp. taco seasoning, 1/4 C. sour cream.)
Great thing about Mexicalli salad, it is great as is or served over a bed of lettuce. This is a GREAT make ahead salad!

~Store list
* tortillas *chicken breasts *spicy nacho Doritos
* 1 can black beans *1can rotel *1 can red enchilada sauce *salsa
* 1 block cream cheese *1- 16 oz Sour cream
* 4 C. Shredded taco style cheese *1 C. Shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 tomato *1 purple onion *1 avocado
* 1 bag frozen yellow corn *1- 10oz. frozen spinach
~Kitchen Staples
*cumin *taco seasoning *pepper *minced garlic
*ranch dressing mix *milk *Pam *cilantro *chili powder

This list does not include items for the cheese dip, salsa, or brownies. However, the items needed to make these 3 dishes are easy to keep in your kitchen at all times, even if you make all 3 from scratch!!!
So there you go friends, a menu for you hectic week that is enough for leftovers for lunch the next day! There is even a few store items on the list that you can use for other quick suppers during the week. Enjoy supper with you family this week, make it a priority, your family will thank you! Have a great day!



Much Love,

New

Wow there is a lot new at Nateycakes! First, notice the new page look, cute right. I think the girl looks like me a bit, well maybe she is a few pounds lighter ha ha ha! Husband has been doing some searching & such about blogs. Well he has found some great stuff, to make things work easier over here at Nateycakes. Once again Soooooo thankful he is tech savvy! Second, Monday's are going to be brand new here & it starts tomorrow!
Menu Mondays
So what are Menu Mondays going to be like you ask, let me tell you all about it!!! I am asked all the time, what do you cook for dinner, what are you having for supper tonight, do you have a recipe for this or that. So this is where Nateycakes comes in. Each Monday I will post a menu...complete with recipes & grocery lists. I am also having a link up so that you can share with your friends or post your own menus. We all have busy lives but I think that family dinner time should never be cut out. I hope that with Menu Mondays it can give you an idea for a home cooked meal so you can sit down & eat with your family at least once a week.
So I hope that each one of you will join me, starting tomorrow May 2nd, for our very first Menu Mondays!! Oh & bring others :)
Have a great evening!

Much Love,

Happy

Today has been such a happy day!! It does have a bit of a back story. Let's start there. 2 weeks ago husband had gone to eat lunch at Chee Burger Chee Burger (one of our favorite family places) as he told me about his lunch out, I looked at him & said " you were by the cupcake place?" he quickly changed the subject. You see I LOVE cupcakes, only good ones though, I am a cupcake snob! I will admit it & I will not get help for it! Ha ha Anyway, he said Leah I will bring you some cupcakes home this week for my over sight. Well week 1 went by, no cupcakes. So he said it again, this week I will bring you some cupcakes home. Week 2 ended yesterday, no cupcakes. However I woke up this morning & husband said I am leaving for the cupcake store in an hour ok. Yippie quickly got ready & off we went. This is where happy day starts, I purchased a dozen of the best cupcakes ever from Cupcakes on Kavanaugh. Then husband ordered me a box of the Mothers day special cupcakes, that he will pick up on Friday for me! They are so precious, I can't wait to show you what the look like!!!
Then we went & had a nice sandwich for lunch at the Boulevard Bread Co. I had the vegan sandwich which was excellent, husband had the rustico sandwich which he said was amazing.
We bought some beautiful buttermilk whole wheat bread & focaccia home with us. Husband even bought some of the balsamic chicken salad that was on his sandwich. It was a simple lunch but a great food experience!





Next we went to a precious kitchen store called Eggshell Kitchen Co. Have you ever gone there? If not put it on your list! The people were so nice & helpful! They had the neatest kitchen things...like supplies, dishes, gadgets, even spices & such. They have cooking class for adults & kids!! I want to go, the adults are on Monday nights. Check out their website for a complete list. www.eggshellskitchencompany.com
I bought these plates for my kitchen, I thought they were just to cute.



I also found a beautiful glass bowl for my stand mixer. I can't wait to use it. Husband said now you have 2 bowls so that should help you when you are cooking & baking. I love the fact that he supports me in my love of cooking!!!
To end our mid day outing we had a cupcake.





My favorite is the Black tie, husband had a Cherry lime aid. Even though it took 2 weeks to enjoy the cupcakes, it was SOOOOOO worth the wait. Not only were the cupcakes worth the wait but I got to have a great day with husband too :) have a wonderful weekend friends!


Much Love,

So sleepy

I am so sleepy. It seems when you wake up at 3:00 A.M. to watch the royal wedding and you then go to work, it can make for a long day. But you know what, I would do it again! It was grand and sweet and just wonderful. Princess Catherine's dress was amazing, she looked beautiful. And when Prince William whispered to her "you look lovely" awe, so precious. You know I wonder what she thought as she curtsey to the queen. Did she think OMG I just had the queen at my wedding or aaahhh that is the queen. Because I sure would have! Or do you think at some point today she looked at her new husband and said is this real did I really just marry you, the future king of England. Do you think her mum & dad are jumping up & down saying our baby girl will be queen one day? Who knows if they are as silly as me? But I know if it was me...I would wear that tiara as much as I could! Yes it was early this morning when my alarm went off, but I sure had fun watching history being made. And when they are crowned king & queen of England I will say...I remember watching them get married. I won't remember how sleepy I am right now & how the words all keep blurring together. I will just remember how happy they were, how beautiful it was, texting Morgan about how sweet they were, & it was EARLY. I am going to go rest my eyes now, lol that is code for sleep. Have a great night everyone.
Cheers:)


Much Love,

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I am linking up with Lindsey for Wednesday loves!










Thanks to my friend Morgan for teaching me how to do linking up & about Wednesday loves! I always look forward to seeing her blog on Wednesday for what she is loving!


I am loving husband for setting this link & picture up for me! I really don't know what I would do without his tech skills because I have none! I love him so!!!


I love that this sweet girl brought her mom to my house tonight for coffee & carrot cake. Sometimes you just need coffee talk with your friends & a sweet little girl to tell you about her day. Love them both!







I love the Razorbacks so I am loving that Payton Hillis has been selected as the cover for the Madden 12 cover! I know this is crazy that I am loving this but when we went to the cotton bowl, this young man was just awesome. He went out of his way to sign autographs & take pictures with his biggest fans.





I love this kid, Nateycakes! This is one of my favorite pictures of him from when we were at my favorite place in the world, Walt Disney World! So proud of him this week, he was picked as one of the 6th graders to help with "rookie camp" next week at his school. He will be giving tours of the school to the kids coming to BMS next year.





Last love of the night...the bible verse Psalms 42:8. This verse is so comforting to me, to know that God pours his love out on me! Makes me so happy!

Much love,

Royal

I am so excited about this Friday, does anyone know why??? The royal wedding, Prince William & Kate Middleton will marry! I know it is crazy that I am so excited about a wedding that is so far away from my little house, but there is something about the royal family that I have always loved! I remember as a little girl, mam waking me up in the middle of the night to watch the wedding of Prince Charles & Princess Diana. I was in awe! After that I would play Princess Diana. I would put my bedsheets on my head, walk around the house pretending like it was the train of my wedding dress. I wanted to be a real princess! I wanted to be in the royal family! I loved everything royal!!! I even have a VHS tape of their wedding!!!! crazy huh! I was so sad when princess Diana & Prince Charles were divorced, I felt like the fairy tale of my childhood had ended. But when Princess Diana died, I remember exactly where I was when I found out, I watched t.v. non stop. I did not know this lady, I had never met her, or even seen her other than on t.v. or in pictures but I was so upset. Once again I woke up in the middle of the night to watch my fairy tale but this time i cried. I can still see those 2 boys walking behind their mum's casket just heartbroken. But this Friday, there is a brand new fairy tale starting! Kate Middleton will walk into the church as Kate & walk out as Princess Katherine! Who has not dreamed of becoming a princess, & for her it really is happening!!!! She is living out every little girls dream! So yet again I will wake up in the middle of the night to take in all the wedding celebration, and start the new fairy tale. Okay okay I know I am little too old to play princess Catherine now but don't think I won't be thinking about putting on my plastic crown while I am watching all the festivities. :) Going to England is on my bucket list, I want to see the Tower of London, Anne Boleyn's grave, the crown jewels, watch the changing of the guards, have afternoon tea with a scone.... Ooohhh one day I will!!! Husband just wants to drive through the roundabouts saying Big Ben, Parliament...only husband!
Everyone stay safe tonight!!!!

Much Love,

Happy Easter

Today was a GREAT day for lots of reasons! To start the day we went to church, which was AMAZING! The music was good, the message was wonderful, but the best part was standing by husband & Nateycakes singing and worshiping our risen Savior! The Cornwell's & Perry's were there with us. I just really can't put into words how this hour today at church moved all of us, we all were blessed! After church we went to mam & pap's house.




When we got there this is what are place settings looked like. Nateycakes wanted to eat his chocolate bunny first. So silly! Because soon our plates were filled with yummy food




The food was Soooooo good but we had to save room for the best part of the meal, the part of the meal that I have been waiting for all week, the carrot cake




OMG it was Soooooo good!!!! Don't worry Stacie & Morgan I have your slice of goodness :) After lunch Husband & pap took a nap, Nateycakes played on the computer, mam & I washed dishes. I tried to convince mam I need this lid she has that fits a cake pan that I have, she said no. However she did send the lid home with me :) maybe it could stay at my house like her other cake pan did??? To end our day we planted some flowers and replanted a fern, and are about to have some leftovers...diet starts tomorrow!! Lol. Like I said a GREAT day!
I am thankful that I can celebrate Easter! I am so thankful that God sent His Son to save me, husband, Nateycakes, mam, pap, & our friends from sin. Our pastor said today that the price of our sin is death, & Jesus died in our place. WOW!! I am going to share the verse that our pastor said was his favorite, Matthew 28:6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Happy Easter
Much love,

Oh no...

I have started to blog a few times today, but was not sure what to talk about. Well now I have a topic, one that I might say is crazy!!!! So Nateycakes asked last night if he and some of his friends could meet up at the movies. Husband & I talked and said ok on a few conditions * who is going * what are you going to see * no leaving the movies * and all the other things you say to your preteen son! So tonight Nateycakes met up with 5 of his friends at the movies. We watched them go in, waited to make sure they STAYED in, then left to go have a cup of coffee. As we sat in Starbucks, I said to husband "this might be my favorite thing I have done today". Well it was the last bit of quite that we will get for the night, we went back to pick up Nateycakes. Well he & his friends had a scheme all planned. They walked up to our car, smiled, said hi, & then said "can we have a sleep over at y'alls house PLEEEASEEE." So all parents called, all parents said yes, & now...both cats are in hideout, husband & I are listening to a odd version of a group of boys singing NEVER SAY NEVER, & what small amount of snacks we had in this house have already been eaten.


I know I know we have gone crazy! But look at their sweet faces :) they really are a great group of kids. These are the things & times that I hope Nateycakes remembers about his childhood, the fun times with his friends, acting silly, just being a kid. Even though there will be very little sleep at this house tonight, Husband & i both know all to soon Friday nights will be quite around here. So we will enjoy the laughter of these boys, reassure the hiding cats it will be over soon, replace the snacks for next time, & take a nap tomorrow. Because as much as I want Nateycakes to remember fun times & I will remember them too! I love you Nateycakes!! Have a great night everyone!!!
Much love,

Sorry :(

First off let me just say I am sorry, I really want to blog each day, but with the weather & the baking I have been doing...I have not blogged :( I will be better I promise!!! You know God is so good, my last post I talked about using my gift from God, cooking, remember? Well I went to work the next day and do you know I had 3 orders for cakes! I was so happy, I hope that they enjoyed the cakes as much as I loved making them! I am so thankful that I was able to make someone's day better by using Gods gift!! :)
Do you have any ramekins? If you don't, these little cooking items need to go on your kitchen wish list!!!! I bought some a few months ago & I use them all the time. I take my normal recipes and fix them using the ramekins. Not only do they look cute but the it is so much fun to eat out of them!!!! I have had some but they were plain, not cute at all. Then I found these on sale at Dilllards, and when I say sell... They were normally $40.00 and I paid $7.00! Yippie Anyway here is a picture of our dinner the other night using the ramekins








This is Nateycakes favorite dinner, homemade tomato sauce with sautéd spinach in the sauce, whole wheat pasta, topped with cheese. The cheese gets crispy along the edges while it cooks, this is husbands favorite part! A breadstick and salad. So much cuter to eat out of these fun cooking dishes, right :) oh and one last bonus of using ramekins...portion control!!! And for dessert, no carrot cake yet :( (but it is getting close to time) I made mini chocolate bunt cakes. Soooooo yummy! Best part we all sat & ate dinner together. I love that! That is something that is important to me, eating as a family! Did I mention that we are only 3 days away from carrot cake?!?! Can you tell I am excited? I know my friend Stacie will be calling me soon to make plans to come pick her slice of goodness up :) lol. Hope you all have a great day!

Much love,

Carrot Cake

So last night I sat down with Mam to plan our Easter lunch menu. Yes I said menu & yes there will a total of 5 of us there for Easter lunch!! Yes I am one of those who plans dinner menus, not just for holidays either.  I make a menu for the week & then make my list for the store.  Most of the time I post the menu inside the pantry!!! Ahhh crazy I know but cooking & food are such a joy to me!!! You know when I look up versus from the Bible that talk about joy a lot of them use the same words we use with food & cooking!!!! Psalms 104:27 says they all depend on you to give them food as they need it. I LOVE to cook for my family!  I feel it is a way I can show I love them & use the gift God gave me! I think about the food I make for my family, that I want it to not only taste good & look good but be good for them.  You all know I am a vegetarian, and am pretty picky about what I eat! But a lot of times my pickyness of food is me thinking, is this food good for me, will it help my health or hurt it.  Even though I do not eat meat, I still fix it for my family. Husband & Nateycakes will not give up meat! Lol Soooooo are you wondering what is on the Easter menu, since you are hearing me talk about health & food? Is the family going to be eating healthy? Well of course they are...Easter lunch is...Ham, Trace Creek Potatoes, Roasted Balsamic Asparagus, Strawberry Spinach salad, home-made yeast rolls, & CARROT CAKE!!! I get to eat Carrot Cake twice a year, my birthday & Easter. I know this blog has been has been about health, food, cooking but when it comes to mam's carrot cake...All I can say is the carrot cake count down has begun! I am sorry but I will be talking about this cake ALL week!!! Is the cake the best thing for me, NO but it is mam using her gift of cooking the same way I use mine.  I do take food, cooking, & nutrition very serious but a homemade sweet treat, well that makes me smile :)
I hope Husband, Nateycakes and others enjoy when I use God's gift of cooking as much as I enjoy making the food for them.

         Much love, 

FRIENDS

HI...

So on our way to church this morning I saw a sign that said "bad friends break good habits" I have really been thinking & praying about friendship a lot here lately.  Maybe because Nateycakes is getting to that age where we don't know all his friends or it could be that the friends that husband & I have are AMAZING.  Proverbs 27:17 says...As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.  I have had a lot of friends over my life, some have moved away, some have grown apart, & some we just stopped being friends.  A while back I was sad because I felt like I did not have a REAL friend, I cried & I prayed. One day friend of mine (who I was not that close to at the time) said are you ready to talk.  It was like after that I saw friendship differently. I saw that  husband was really my BEST friend! I mean he had been around since I was 19, but it was the first time I saw him as my BFF.  He also changed becoming very patient with me, like asking me... if I wanted to go shopping, REALLY husband???!!! YES I DO!!!  I also started seeing that there were people in my life that could be the friends that were Gods blessings to me & my family.  Some had been there all along, I was just blind to the blessings!!!   Our circle of friends has become smaller over the years but HUGE in blessings!!!  We have friends that not only do I love them but I love their kids too, I love that they bring out good things in me & our family.   They really are apart of our family.  We laugh, we cry, we eat good food together, we shop, we act silly (case in point the picture below)... Sorry stacie we wanted this picture to be a surprise lol...

I have friends now, that God saw my need of a friend and put a friend right there where I needed them most.  I have friends that I feel like should be my sisters!  I guess what I have learned is that my friends have to be blessing from God & I need to thank Him & pray for them! I pray that I can be a blessing to my friends too!!!  I love yall, friends & thanks for being my blessing of a friend!!!!!

       Much Love,

Hi :)

Hi
Soooo I finally did it, I started a blog! I have some friends that have a blog and find myself looking forward to their posts each day. They encouraged me to start one but each time I would say, not sure I have time or what would I even write about. But I am going to try it, I love seeing my friends pictures and hearing about their kids....so I hope the find some of the the joy that I have found with theirs. And even though I live in the same town as my mom, I don't see her everyday sometimes we are are so busy I don't even talk to her everyday so I know she would love this blog, ha ha ha I think!!! So I will try not to be boring, I will try not to talk about food all the time, but if you know me you know it is a big part of my family :) and for those of you that know me also know I am NOT tech savvy but my sweet husband said he would help me, so I hope to post as much as possible. Maybe I will learn how to be a bit tech savvy lol!! Thanks for stopping by

Much love :)
Leah