Sometimes things have to get worse...

before they can get better...

Here is an example.

I cleaned both my winter and summer clothes, as well as rotated out my winter and summer clothes.  I made a mess doing this.  It took me several days to complete the project.

Today, I have restored our bedroom to its normal state.  (But please do not think that it always looks like the below picture).

Doesn't spring cleaning feel good?

Last Minute Leftover Casserole

Thrilling recipe title, I know.  I thought about coming up with something slightly more catchy but nothing really great struck me.  Besides, that is the actual stated title in my cook book - so I'm stickin' to it.  Okay, now that I am finished defending the title I will actually share the recipe.  Oh, one more thing - we thoroughly enjoyed this dish!    

1 small can asparagus

Leftover meat (ham, chicken, or turkey)

1 can cream of chicken soup

3 slices American cheese

Buttered cracker crumbs

Worcestershire, salt and pepper to taste

Place meat slices in casserole dish.  Add asparagus , cheese slices, and soup seasoned with Worcestershire, salt, and pepper.  Cover with crumbs and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.  Serves 6 to 8.

Here are my modifications/suggestions (because I didn't follow the instructions exactly).

1. I did not have "leftover" meat on hand, but had to go to the grocery store and meant to pick up a rotisserie chicken.  I forgot to pick one up, and ended using boneless, skinless, chicken strips instead.  However, a rotisserie chicken would me super tasty in this dish.  

2. I used a 13x9 pan and bought a large can of asparagus.  I'm assuming the orginal recipe can be made with a much smaller pan.

3.  Instead of laying slices of cheese on top of the chicken and asparagus, I grated sharp chedder and sprinkled a nice layer over the top.

4. I poured the can of soup into a separate bowl, put a dash of worcestershire, salt, pepper, and stirred it up.  Then poured it over the cheese.  (I think that was what the real recipe meant for one to do anyway).

5. I melted butter in a sauce pan and crumbled Ritz crackers into it, making them nice and toasty. 

6.  Once the crackers were sprinkled on top, I popped it into the oven for 16 mintues.  It smelled soo good and was bubbling nicely. 

This dish is what I consider a quintessential southern pot-luck dish.  It certainly falls under the category of comfort food!

*Recipe is from The Cook's Book.  It is cook book that was published by Calvary Episcopal Church in Cleveland, MS.  I received it as a wedding present, and it is one of my favorite books to use.

Enjoy!

 

Stephen's 21st Birthday Weekend

This weekend we enjoyed a special occasion.

Stephen is now officially 21 - he has been waiting to be this old since he was 9 years old.

We had fun with the cake decorations.  The Leininger household has always enjoyed decorating a birthday cake.  Therefore you are about to see more cake pictures then you may care to see.   (I'm sorry, it's just in my blood to take a picture of every angle). 

The theme was wildlife and we used fondant and icing to create the look. 

See the "deer" tracks and "turkey" tracks?

I cut the fondant and Stephen iced on the details.

Stephen's handy work.

 I took a break from decorating and went outside with Aaron for some fresh air.  We hung little Valentine ballons in one of the trees out back, and he targeted them with his air soft gun.  This is the Delta, and you have to understand that this is a very normal activity for many young boys/men.   

Then I came back inside and got back to the cake...I'm sticking to the order that the pictures are on the camera. 

As far a the birthday dinner menu was concerned, Stephen seasoned the filets and grilled them for us.  We made him do a fair amount of work on his birthday, but we thanked him for it. 

Also, we snacked on these all day.   We had to balance out the all of the cake we were preparing to eat.

After the cake and the rest of the food prep was complete, we spent some time outside throwing the frisbee.  The weather was beautiful!

Once we were back inside, we ate dinner, and Aaron arranged the candles on the cake.  It looked like a "starry night."

Looking at this cake, it is unmistakably a man's cake. However, once cut into, it is revealed that the cake itself is actually pink.  That's the thing about loving strawberry cake and being a male, the cake will always be pink.  You can only hide it for so long.  It was one good strawberry cake. 

Stephen, we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with you and are thankful for your 21 years of life!

It's Friday!

Today we are headed to the Delta.

Where we will see several of these over the weekend.

Also, we will be celebrating (my younger brother) Stephen's 21st birthday, which is tomorrow.  Happy early birthday Steve - we love you! 

Our weekend in Jackson

This past weekend we drove up to Jackson, MS to celebrate (Casey's) Papa's 65th birthday.  It was a great gathering time for the family.  Two of Papa's siblings (he is one of six) flew in and completely surprised him.  We didn't arrive in time the see the shocked look, but we heard it was a priceless one.  As per usual, Nanny went above and beyond on the party food.  We had BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, corn dip, spinach dip, meatballs, pimento cheese with celery sticks, rotel, and a cheese ball.  Oh yeah, and birthday cake.  Needless to say, we were FULL when it was all said and done.  I do not have any pictures of the actual celebration because I chose to enjoy the moment and I didn't feel like going inside to dig through my purse to find my camera.  However, on Sunday afternoon I took some pictures of the Bradford Pears blooming on Nanny and Papa's street.  I know numerous people are allergic to them, but in my opinion, they are beautiful!          

Too bad the power lines are in the pictures.

Isn't that a pretty way to line a driveway?

I also took pictures of Casey with Missy.  Casey and Missy are the exact same age.  He was four when he started riding her four-year-old self.

There's Lil' Bit over to the left.

Missy still holds a special place in his heart though.

We also loaded up some free weights for us to workout with.  They've been in Papa's barn and not in our schedule.  Hopefully, that will change...

Papa has some pretty neat stuff in his barn.

That's all for today.  I hope to be back sooner than later!

Ode to Roomie

We were college freshmen, living in Bolton Hall, two doors down from each other.  Her name is Amy, but I call her Roomie and she calls me Roomie.  We lived together from Sophomore year to Senior year, hence calling each other "Roomie."

This is the Bolton Hall 4th floor hallway - we spent many quality hours in it.

We've had many adventures together - like going to the Petal Playground late at night.  We were such freshmen.

This was taken right before we did what is pictured in the shot below....

That was Casey's truck at the time and we made sure that it had 1100 post-it notes on it before we went to bed that night.  We were such Sophomores.  (I wasn't dating Casey yet - not even close.  But flirting with him - yes.)

This was taken at Casey's first gig.  Roomie faithfully attended every single one of them with me.

We were headed to the movies and happened to dress almost the exact same that day.  That was not the only day it ocurred in our tenure as roommates.

This was taken in the subway in Washington D.C.

RUF crawfish boil at the end of Sophomore year.

Summer time - her birthday weekend (as well as her twin sister's of course!)

End of the summer, in the Delta.

Amy "piniked" this picture.  We were at Chili's for our dear friend Nathan's birthday.

Amy was our biggest supporter as we trained for our half-marathon Junior year.  She cheered us on until we crossed the finish line!

We went to New York City through our scholarship program.  Our mode of transportation was the train.  It took 36 hours to get from Hattiesburg, MS to New York.  Despite that fact, it was an amazing trip!

Out to eat at TGIF for Nathan's birthday Senior year.

There we are with Case and the birthday boy himself.  Casey and Nathan were roomies too.  (Not that they called themselves "roomies" - just needed to make that clear.)

At Nurse Amy's pinning ceremony.  I'm so proud of you!  She used me as a "practice patient" many times, so I'm glad she made it ha!

Amy's marrying that boy on the far left.  His name is Justin and he who we prayed for - for a very long time.

Which means, come June 4th, 2011 she'll be the one wearing white.

That means that we need to be praying for Amy and Justin as they prepare to start their life journey together. 

I love you Roomie!