It's Monday Y'all!

Got my dreams, got my life, got my love
Got my friends, got the sunshine above
Why am I making this hard on myself?
When there's so many beautiful reasons I have to be happy.

* I know I'm a little late, but I finally watched Black Swan! I've been wanting to see this for the longest time, especially since it's on my movie list, but I have to say that I'm a bit indifferent. Yes, it was a good movie and I liked it, but it was severely "messed up" on so many levels. I don't want to give anything away, so I wont say too much. I'm a romcom type of girl and this just wasn't up my alley. I do see why Natalie Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress...wow was she great! 

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* We've had our kittens, Torre and Abigail, for a little over a week now and I think they are finally starting to feel comfortable in our home. So comfortable in fact that one of them decided to jump into the toilet! Usually we have all bathroom doors closed, but apparently we forgot to shut one. All of a sudden we heard a big splash, and out walked a soaked kitty. :) I am hoping this does not happen often. 

* I found this picture the other day on We Heart It and just fell in love.

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Isn't it lovely?

* Thank you guys for the support I received on yesterday's post! It was my first health update and I am just so encouraged by all of you! :)

* Last week I was craving pasta salad, so I began to just throw a bunch of ingredients together. To my surprise it turned out great! This may already be a recipe somewhere, but here's the recipe to what I did.

1 - Box of Tri-Color Rotini Pasta

1 - Large cucumber, diced
4 - Roma tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup - Feta Cheese crumbles
1/2 cup - pepperonis, diced
3/4 cup - Fat Free Italian Dressing
Salt and Tony's to taste 

- Boil noodles until cooked. Rinse with cold water, set aside.
- Combine all ingredients into bowl with noodles.
- Chill for about an hour.

That's it!!! It was so easy and was so delicious! The only really unhealthy thing in this recipe is the noodles, but in moderation it's perfect. :)

Happy Monday darlings!

Sandra Dee's Sausage Bread

Today I made my Mom's recipe for Sausage Bread (aka Sandra Dee's Sausage Bread). My Mom is a fabulous cook and has been making this dish for years. :o)

Ingredients

1 - French Bread loaf (Take and Bake kind from Bi-Lo)

2lbs - Ground meat

2 links - Smoked Sausage, chopped

1 can - Rotel Tomatoes

1 can - Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 cups - Shredded Cheese

Chopped Jalapeno peppers

Tony Chachere's Seasoning

Aluminum Foil

Cook ground meat and sausage until brown. Season ground meat with Tony's while cooking.

Drain grease, and then add Rotel Tomatoes. Cook on low heat for approximately 20 minutes.

Add Cream of Mushroom Soup. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain any additional grease. Remove from heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the French Bread loaf in half, and cut each half like a Subway Sandwich. (Sorry I don't have a picture of this!) Spoon mixture into each half. Add as many/few jalapenos to each.

Add 1 cup shredded cheese to each half.

Wrap each half with aluminum foil. Cook on cookie sheet for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool before slicing.

You can serve this as an appetizer, or even have it as a meal! Enjoy!

the secret to a tender roast

Last weekend, Keith and I had our good friends Chad and Melissa over for dinner. At first I thought about cooking pork chops, but Keith and I always eat this (my hubby's favorite meal) and I was ready to try something new. I decided to cook a pot roast with potatoes, rice and gravy, and salad. I am use to cooking things like this, thanks to my lovely Louisiana roots, but this dinner was quite a challenge. Unless you cook a roast all day, the odds of it coming out tender are slim to none. However, my Aunt told me about this little secret to make a roast tender and very tasty.

Ingredients:
3 or 4 lb. Boneless Chuck Roast (Depending on the amount of people, you may need a bigger/smaller one)

1 - Tsp. Olive Oil

2 - Cans of Coke Zero

2 - Packets of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 - 8oz. Bag of frozen Chopped Onions

Tony Chachere's Seasoning

1 - Packet McCormick Pot Roast Seasoning

1 - 8qt. pot

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove roast from packaging. Rub McCormick Pot Roast Seasoning into your roast. Pictured below is what I used. The mix comes with a roast bag; do not use this bag.Add a teaspoon of olive oil to pot. Brown both sides of the roast on the stove top on medium heat. While cooking, season roast with Tony Chachere's. (Season to taste!)
Once roast is brown on both sides, add bag of chopped onions. Pour 2 cans of Coke Zero over roast. Add 2 packets of Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Stir contents together so that coke and soup are mixed. Make sure the roast is completely submerged in liquids.
Place lid on your pot and put into oven. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 6-7 hours.

If you would like to add potatoes (chopped), add them to the pot one hour before roast is finished cooking.

Keep an eye on the roast while it is cooking. It is normal for the liquids (gravy) to evaporate, but if you'd like more gravy, just add a little water while it is cooking. Make sure to have your rice cooking about 30 minutes before the roast is finished so that everything will be ready at the same time.

Ta daaaa! That is all! I know it sounds really gross...adding coke zero and onion soup mix together, but it really makes the roast tender and gives it a fabulous taste! I don't have any pictures from the dinner to show how the roast came out, but everyone liked it so I think it was a winner!

I may have gotten myself in a pickle though. The other day Keith told me, "You know bay, roast is my new favorite meal!" Lol, ah!