Chicken Tetrazzini!

If you like mushroom and mushroom flavor, you will love this dish!

1 lb uncooked spaghetti
1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 and a 1/3 cups chicken broth ( you can just put one cup of chicken broth and 1/3 cup of sherry if you want)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp pepper
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided


Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, saute the mushrooms, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the soup, chicken, broth (and sherry if you use it), italian seasoning, pepper, and 1 cup cheese. Drain spaghetti and stir into mixture.

Transfer to 9X13 greased pan. (You can also use an 8inch baking pan and freeze the other half if you want to make later). Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until heated thoroughly. If you elect to freeze half of it, it can freeze up to 3 months.

Florida recap!

Mom and I on pontoon boat ride through Everglades National Park

Jeremy and I in the island bay

Getting ready to go for a dip!

Check out that gator in the swamp

We got up at 6am and drove to a state park on the island to watch the sunrise

We took an airboat ride through the Everglades

We all held an alligator. Here is my mom holding it.

HAHA!

Me with the gator

We had a great time in Florida. I am so glad we were able to go and take my mom on this trip. She had such a good time and it was great to see her so happy and not worrying about herself. I wish we were still there. I had forgotten how relaxing it is to lay on the beach, feel the wind in your hair, and the sun beating down on your skin. I am pretty sure it was warmer there than it has been here all summer.

F-L-O-R-I-D-A!!!!

Leaving tomorrow to go to Florida for the week! See ya when we return!!! :)

Pickle Rolls!

This is a family favorite for most members of my family. I actually do not eat them because I do not like pickles, but everyone who does love pickles seems to think they are wonderful!

What you need:

whole baby dill pickles
sliced beef (we usually use the carl budding beef)
cream cheese
toothpicks

Take the slices of beef and cut into halves. Spread cream cheese on the beef and place the pickles on top of it. Roll the beef around the pickle and insert a toothpick!

Chocolate Chip Cheeseball!

My sister brought this to a family event recently, and I HAD to have recipe after trying it. This is amazing!

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup crushed Heath (or pecans if you choose)

Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Now stir in chocolate chips and mix everything together. Sprinkle the Heath or pecans on the bottom of whatever you are going to serve the cheeseball on and then put the mixture on top of it. It is going to be really soft, but form it in a ball and cover it with the remainder of the topping. Refrigerate a minimum of 30 minutes before serving. You can use teddy grahams, graham crackers, or whatever else sounds appetizing to eat with it.

Camping at the Zoo!!

Last Saturday night we camped at the Henson Robinson Zoo with Blayne's Cub Scout troop. I was considering not going because I am not the easiest of campers, but the weather was going to be cool, so I decided I would give it a shot. It was a lot of fun. We got to see some "behind the scenes" stuff at the Zoo like the freezers they keep the food in for the animals. We got to see some of the reptiles that they don't have on display everyday and got a lesson on frogs. The lady who runs the Zoo (not sure what her title is, but her name is Jackie) knew everything about every animal. She was so informative. She has worked with various Zoo's throughout her career, including in Africa and Europe. She fixed us supper and breakfast and fed us under the pavillion they have there in the park. She told us that often times when she shows up in the morning people will have taken their household pets they don't want and tie them to the door outside of the Zoo or they throw them over the fence. She said she has had goats, snakes, turtles, etc out there in the morning.

On a less positive note, trying to sleep in that Zoo was quite a challenge. The wolves began howling and I am pretty sure they set off all the other animals there because they all began going crazy after that. I also woke up at one point with a terrible pain in my hip and realized that all of the air had seeped out of my air mattress and I was lying on the ground. Ouch! My hip was really hurting. And, hello, why was I freezing in mid-July? I wore flannel pants, a hooded sweatshirt and was wrapped up in a fleece blanket and I was freezing cold. Don't get me wrong though, I would have much rather been cold than hot all night! I sleep good Sunday night after all of that, but it was a good time and Blayne was so excited to be able to sleep in the Zoo.

Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore!

Having a picnic in South Dakota on the way
The Teton Mountains at night

The Teton Mountains at dusk

Old Faithful

The town square in Jackson, WY

The boys and I in front of Morning Glory Pool

A grizzly bear that jumped on the road and Blayne took off running the opposite direction as quick as he could run.

We had to hike to this waterfall down the side of the mountain. Going down was fine. Coming back up equaled Aunt Jessica throwing up about 75 feet from the top.

A huge buffalo that was next to our car

After so much driving, and leaving at 2:30 in the morning we made it to Mount Rushmore the first day

We had an amazing time on our vacation. I am not really a nature person, but I loved the trip. We ended up seeing 8 bears, 3 wolves, about 30 mountain goats, 3 moose, and hundreds of elk, deer, and buffalo. Brayden and Blayne did not want to come home at all. They really had a great time. I loved hearing them complain about having to leave. I think this was the first vacation I probably lost weight on. The weather was amazing there. The temp ranged between 42 and 91, with very little humidity. On one of the mountain ranges people were skiing because there was still enough snow there that was possible to do. I thought the variations in temperature would make me sick, but I felt great the whole time, except for the hike up the mountain that got me. I also got an occasional headache from the elevation. I had 485 pictures of the trip, but these were a few of the good ones that I wanted to share.