Tyler this is for you and Marie. I love making this meal when I only have a little time to prepare dinner. I have made it with frozen chicken tenders before and it still turns out great. You cannot mess this recipe up and it is stinking good!

Southwestern Chicken and Rice

4 chicken breasts (or 9 tenders)
1 cup salsa
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 cups water
2 cups minute rice, uncooked
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
sour cream and black olives, optional

Bring Chicken, salsa, taco seasoning and water to a boil in large skillet; cover. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir in rice and beans, sprinkle with cheese. Cover, cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Top with sour cream if desired. Enjoy! Printable recipe

I loved my Thanksgiving table. Our little family stayed home this year and shared Thanksgiving with our neighbor. I wanted to make our table look like we were celebrating a special occasion. I didn't want to stick with the usual fall colors so I looked around my house to see what I could put on the table. Some white and silver gourds, silver pear candles, silver apple place card holders, and silver chargers and white plates worked but it lacked color. So....while I was minding my own business at Walmart I passed the fabric section. They had bolts of fabric for 5 bucks! BOLTS! I picked up this great green fabric and used it as a runner. Then I picked the last of the herbs in my garden and put them in little vases with silver ribbon. I thought the table turned out pretty nice. Onward to Christmas! Stay tuned for some great recipes.

I love birthdays. We try to make birthdays in our family really special. For each of my kids birthdays I let them pick out a cake they want me to (attempt) make. Each of my three kids have picked out some really fun cakes that fit their personalities. A few years ago I came across this website and thanked my lucky stars for Karen Tack. She is the genius that wrote Hello, Cupcake and What's New, Cupcake? Take a look at some of the cakes I've made. Keep in mind I'm a cake-making novice.

Morgan's purse cake


Nate's monkey cake

Morgan's pizza cake

Andrew's horsey cake

Nate's space ship cake

Nate's sail boat cake


Andrew's snake cake

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I'm a little excited mainly due to the fact that I get to legally cook with pumpkin. I love this pumpkin bar recipe. It isn't overly sweet but it has great mixture of spices. I found the little pumpkin on top in the cake decorating aisle of my grocery store. Or, sprinkle the top with cinnamon or cupcake sprinkles. It makes a ton so invite your friends over for a "calm before the holiday storm" party. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
1-2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups pumpkin
Mix together until fluffy, then add:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp nutmeg
Mix well
Pour in greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

When cool frost bars with butter cream frosting.
Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Mix together well and spread on bars when cooled. Printable recipe