comfort food

I had a few requests for some easy crockpot meals and this is one of my favorites from my best buddy, Emily. This chicken and noodles dish is all about comforting yumminess.

EMILY'S CHICKEN ‘N NOODLES[ingredients]

4 chicken breasts (approx 1-2 lbs.)
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 stick butter or margarine
4 c. water
1 can cream of chicken soup
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 16 oz. bag of egg noodles (Mrs. Klesky’s is best, but generic is good too)
mashed potatoes (store bought mashed potatoes makes it even easier if you're pressed for time)

[directions]

Combine all ingredients except noodles in crockpot. Cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Take a fork and break apart chicken into smaller pieces (either take out and shred or fork into almost bite-size pieces). Add noodles and cook for 30 more minutes. (You might have to add a little more water.) We like to serve ours over the mashed potatoes. Or you could try over biscuits.

Hope you like it!

girls' night out

What a night I had Saturday! G's mom, my bestest friend Kathie, and I went to Zoofari. It is one of the Columbus Zoo's biggest fundraisers and is an adults only party featuring tons of yummy foods to sample from local restaurants, refreshing adult beverages and foamy pops, and lots of musicians and bands throughout the zoo grounds.

Here are some of our highlights:

Carole, me and Kathie waiting for the festivities to begin.

First stop....City BBQ goodness....our FAVORITE of the night! The shrimp wasn't bad either.

The tickets for admission came with 3 drink tickets, which we didn't want to go to waste.

We even saw a few animals while we were walking around, although not many were out.

After everyone is fed and feeling fine, the concerts begin. The Menus from Cincinnati rocked the Pavilion with their fun music and crazy antics. Yes, that is a skirt and strappy tank top he's wearing (later on, he changes into a woman's bathing suit with a tutu, then changes again into a pink teddy).

While The Menus were at the Pavilion, Phil Dirt and the Dozers were at the WatersEdge taking us on a trip in the time machine playing a lot of Beach Boys and Jan & Dean songs, even sneaking in some Doobie Brothers and Eagles (their Hotel California cover was awesome).

Drum solo...followed by a flute and guitar battle. Surprisingly, the flute gave the guitar a pretty good battle too. We even met Phil after the show....

This picture is a special one just for Kathie. :) Mmmmm-mmmm goodness!

It's been a long time since Kath and I have gone out and had such a blast....but we were both so tired the next day, that just goes to show we're getting old. Maybe we're just tired from having so much goodness going on in our lives. After all, we stayed at the par-tay until closing time!

Oh, and Kathie....you were still cute, even without your Vegas outfit!!

Carole, thanks for another wonderful time. We always have so much fun together!

wonderful weekend

For Father's Day, Gary played golf in the morning (nothing new there), BUT he had a fantabulous round of golf and shot a 73! woo-hoo!!! YEA!!

In the afternoon, we had a little cookout with G's parents and our nephew Dillon. Dillon brought his Corn Hole boards and an impromptu Corn Hole Tournament took place (all the while trying hard to ignore the fact that the boards were decorated with Michigan paraphernalia).

Gary and Dillon...

Gary's parents...

Taking a break between rounds...

Michael telling grandpa (the Corn Hole Champion) "I love you"...
I hope everyone else had a great Father's Day weekend too! Here's looking forward to this coming weekend as well. After having 3 weeks of 90 degree weather, it's nice to have a few surprising days in the high 70's....time to get things done outside before it's roasting again.

PS: K&J, be safe and have a GREAT trip! Can't wait to hear all about it!

happy Father's day

I must be the luckiest girl in the world to have a husband that has such a great relationship with his child. Michael adores Gary. And as my own mom has pointed out: I mean nothing to Michael when Daddy walks into the room. Michael gives Gary the most excited and happiest greetings. It's really such a heart-warming thing to witness.

Thank you for being such a cool and loving dad. :) Michael thanks you for all the love and adventures too.

Happy Father's Day to G's dad: the fisherman, golfer and bowler.

Happy Father's Day to my dad: the hiker, stock analyst and comedian.

We love you guys!

school's out

Yea for Michael! School's out for summer!

Michael is usually pretty sleepy in the mornings before school, but when I told him it was his last day of school (last Thursday), he popped his little head up right out of bed and had the biggest smile. Hmmm, do you think he understood what I said?!? I think he did!

Thursday was also the start of our heat wave of 90 degree temps. So I promised Michael we would have his pool and sand table ready when he came home.

And this is where you will find Michael almost every nice day throughout the summer....going back and forth between sand and water.

Yesterday morning, he was holding on to the back door signing "mommy daddy please go" out before he even had breakfast. "Please, please, please." :)

I can't help but think of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" song every June. Does anyone else get that song stuck in their head this time of year too? If not, you probably do now. Glad I could help.

comments

So I have been asked by quite a few people how to leave a comment...without signing up or joining a club or handing over your first born.

At the bottom of each post, there is a link that says "comments". Click on it. Easy, right?

Type a comment in the box under the words "leave your comment". Leave your name in the box after your comment, so I know who you are.

Next, type in the miscellaneous letters you see in the word verification box. This is used to help prevent spam.

Then, click the button that says "anonymous". So far, so good.

Now you can either click on "publish your comment" button and your message will post to the blog. Or you can "preview" your comment, review/make changes, etc. and then "publish your comment". That's it!

Easy-peasy, right?

Now I will prepare myself for the onslaught of comments that will soon be posted! Hahaha!!

And since a post isn't a post without a picture....

A very relaxed Arty.

who's hungry?

Now, I am not what you would call a great chef or even an okay chef (working at a Mexican restaurant for a few years way back when doesn't really count), but I do like to cook when I can find the time.

As anyone who knows me will agree, I do like to eat (who doesn't, right??). Like a good friend, I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes with you. These aren't necessarily my original recipes, but ones that I have received from family and friends that I might have tweaked here and there to make them my own. I can promise you this: I will have personally tried the recipes that I share and I will try to always provide a picture with the recipe.

So, let's start this off with my new favorite dish. This one came from blogging and scrapbook extraordinaire, Becky Higgins. If you like your pasta with some serious flavor, then this is for you. It is great to make for a large group or for a small group if you don't mind having leftovers.

GARLIC CHICKEN FARFALLE

[ingredients]

16 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt (I use the minced garlic in a jar)
1 Tbsp. pepper*
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumbled
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

*Seems like a lot of pepper, but it has a wonderful flavor when everything mixes together. If you're apprehensive, do less pepper. You can always add more.

[ directions ]

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart or use a couple of forks). Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumbled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy!

If you try this, let me know what you think. Or if you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share, post it as a comment or send me an email at gvmfuller at columbus dot rr dot com.