Oatmeal Raisin and Macaroon Cookies PLUS Lagniappe from My Daughter, Lauren

This is my oldest homegirl, Lauren.  She can't stand the term, "homegirl".  It is what it is.  She will be a senior in high school next year.  So, the mommy ride and being in any kind of control is almost over.   Poor Kaitlin...to say I am proud of her is so lame, because I am so much more than proud of her.  What do you say to a child who is worried because her "Trig" grade DROPPED to a 99?  She always does the right thing...she's a better person than I am.  As I type this, tears stream down my face.  If she even read this blog, I would be in so much trouble for typing all of this but what I am about to share with you...well let's just say I would have to sleep with one eye open as long as she has a key to our house.  I found this poem, she wrote for her Honors English III class and sheesh, she amazes me with everything she does.

I Am From

I am from Irish and French descent.

From a city that surely celebrates Lent;

a place where strangers are friends.

I am from the city where the rules are meant to bend.

I am from a tiny house and sharing a room.

From swimming all night and starring at the moon;

from an award winning lawn and garden

from talking back followed by, "I beg your pardon?".

I am from always do your best, nothing half-ass

and groggily waking up for Mass.

From always having a huge Thanksgiving.

I am from two parents who bust their butt to make a living.

I am from living two minutes away from my cousins,

from arguments with my sister by the dozens;

but realizing I love her more than my words describe.

I am from wishing I could once again be five.

I am from homemade food with a kick;

adding a little of that and a little of this.

From dinner is always a family affair

and praying before my meal with people who care.

I am from a town that was turned upside down

knick-knacks and prized possessions were drowned.

From a city where "victim" is an insult

and if you don't make the best of your situation, it's your own fault.

I am from the Big Easy

the city that tugs at my heart,

the city that always has a reason to celebrate.

I am from the best city in the world,

I am from New Orleans.

Wow..thank you for humoring me.

These cookies were the first thing EVER, I ever made, cooked, or baked.  I was maybe around 9?

It's an old recipe from my River Roads book and sometimes, you just have to go back.

Who's with me?

1 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, unbeaten

1-2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups rolled oats (quick cooking oats work just fine)

1/2 cup raisins

Mix thoroughly the shortening, sugars, vanilla and eggs.  Sift together the flour, soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and add to mixture.  Fold in rolled oats and raisins.  Drop  by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet (siplat and parchment paper work, save the extra work and calories).  Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Remove from oven, cool 3 minute son baking sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool for 10 more minutes.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

These cookies can be your best friend or be there to share with a best friend.  They can also just be there for you after you've finished a good cry.

What Happens When I'm not Home

Last Saturday night I played Bunco with a group of ladies in my neighborhood. A.J. was in charge of dinner. I suggested he order a pizza and make it easy on himself.

But let me back up a little here. We had a somewhat tense day. The girls are allergic to chores and addicted to texting...I have cleaning OCD on Saturdays and their dad can't stand the incessant texting or hearing me fussing...a recipe for...total meltdown. We avoided the total meltdown, but I was still a tad bit edgy when I left.

As I was strolling out of the door, I could hear them tell A.J. what time they wanted to eat and all of the things they would not eat. Oh yeah, I knew I was really going to enjoy my evening with those last few sentences rolling around in my head for the next few hours.

When I arrived back home with a few extra bucks in my pocket, I tied for second place, all was quiet in our home. Maybe a little bit too quiet.

The family room was still neat and the kitchen was immaculate. Kaitlin was in the kitchen serving herself a bowl of ice cream. Oh my goodness, they didn't eat and it's 10:00 PM!

They ate, and Kaitlin photographed it because she thought it was "blog worthy". "You see, Mom, we can eat more than tacos when you're not here. Look, I took a picture with your camera. Do you want to see it? You need to put this on your blog. Don't I take good pictures?"

Fried chicken tenders from Food City (our local grocer), Bob Evans mashed potatoes, canned green beans and Kaitlin made the gravy all by herself and she said it totally rocked!

I guess my work here is done.

Zesty Bacon Grilled Shrimp

The title is the grabber to get you in here and reading today. The Cafe' is bustling with activity. Not only is my husband, A.J., going to grill some mouth watering shrimp for you, we have gratuitous soccer photos of the homegirlz and awards! Let's get busy!

What are you making for Labor Day? Do you need ideas? Do you want to jazz everyone? Do I ask way too many questions?

My husband, A.J., has your answer. Yes, I relinquished the grill back to A.J. and he did not disappoint with this tasty treat. Yes, sometimes even I can chill out...but just a little.

Peel, de-vein and butterfly the shrimp. I think he is working with about one pound of 31/40 shrimp here.

Clean and de-seed two jalapenos. Slice the jalapenos into very thin slices. Place the jalapeno strip into the shrimp as shown. If you read my post about our herbs and veggies then you know about the red jalapeno. Yes, the little rascal met his fate. If you're new to this blog, pretend the jalapeno is green...it's a long story.

Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder.

Place the shrimp on a grill pan and place on a medium-high heat to slightly sear. You have to quick because the shrimp cook fast.

Pre-cook cut strips of bacon (cut the bacon into 2 inch long strips) to about halfway done. You want most of the fat cooked from the bacon and the bacon to still be pliable. Wrap the a bacon strip around the shrimp and fasten with a toothpick. NOTE: We precooked the bacon indoors in an effort to keep the grease drippings from causing the grill to flare up and possibly burn everything else we had cooking on the grill.

Finish cooking over moderate heat and watch how fast these little suckers disappear!

We're heavy into the beginning of high school girls soccer. The homegirlz have been working very hard.

Starting line-up at one of the tournament games this past weekend. My baby, Kaitlin, is #6, fourth from the left in blue, hands on her hips and my oldest, Lauren, showing plenty of attitude is #16. Yes, hands on h on her hips looking to her right. ~Sigh~ DNA I guess...from A.J.'s side.

She's, little, she's fast, she comes out of nowhere and no one can get the ball back from her once she gets possession!

My baby, getting ready to go on the attack. she's tougher than she looks.

To be honest, I have no idea what's going on. I'm in the bleachers, I yell, I take pictures and say a thousand prayers that my babies don't get hurt. That's about all you're going to get.

Now for awards! Whoo-hoo!

Carol from The Writer's Porch gave me this fantastic BINGO BEAUTIFUL BLOG AWARD! thank you so much Carol! This is how it works:

The B-I-N-G-O Beautiful Blog Award was started by Bookin With Bingo Blog.

BEAUTIFUL......Mary from One Perfect Bite and Elra from Elra's Baking

INFORMATIVE...Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies and Gigi from Afterthoughts

NEIGHBORLY......Betsy from Joyful Reflections and Chris from Nibble Me This

GORGEOUS......Pam from Sidewalk Shoes and Chef E from Food~Wine~Fun

OUTSTANDING....Mrs. G from the Women's Colony and Greg from Greg's General Store

Pass It On!!

Herb and Cheese Foccacia

I am still having Blooger issues. I still cannot view or comment on Reeni's blog, Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice and Mary's blog, One Perfect Bite. Hopefully Blogger will have these issues resolved very soon.

My youngest homegirl graduated from 8th grade last night. She's on the right with her older sister. I told her when she was three to stop growing. She didn't listen.

Now she's about one inch taller than me and she's passed up her older sister. I'm thinking that I'll keep her home so she can reach things for me. Congratulations Kaitlin. You are a beautiful and talented young lady and I know you will go far in life.

The best way to drown the sorrows of your children getting taller than you and starting to spread their wings...warm, cheesy bread! Not just any warm and cheesy bread but warm cheesy foccacia infused with lots of herbs.

My first foccacia recipe came from Marjie at Modern Day Ozzie and Harriet and I made it over and over because it's just that good. I've morphed it a little bit and have come up with this.

Add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a large bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the dough hook attachment, mix together on low to combine, 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 packet of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of thyme and 1 teaspoon of dried basil.

Add in 1-1/4 cup of warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F) and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Continue to mix together and knead or knead by hand until dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer dough reserved bowl with olive oil. Roll dough in bowl to coat with olive oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down and place in a greased baking pan. Gently stretch and pat dough into 1/2 inch thick rectangle.

Brush the top of the dough with extra virgin olive oil. Pour 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary into the palm of your hand and slightly break up the rosemary and sprinkle over the top of the dough. Now sprinkler the dough with 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese and 1-1/2 cups of shredded mozzerella cheese.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 30 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

No matter how much of this foccacia you make, it will never be enough. It will be gone in about 1.876 seconds. It's delish!

P.S. Spell check isn't working either...so please forgive me.

What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

I apologize for being absent...isn't it senior skip out day or something?

I have being having problems accessing my blog and accessing a lot of your blogs for comments. From what I understand, it's a Blogger problem and it's supposed to be fixed but it isn't on my end.

Anywhoo, my 8th grade Bebe's (French for BaBay) prom is tonight. We've been busy getting updo's,manicures and pedicures.

Besides, it's Memorial Day weekend and my baby brother has rented a chalet in the Smokies and we're partying away my unemployment woes!

Ok, a 13 year old shouldn't look this sassy! Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend.

I want to thank every military service person including my brothers, Happy Memorial Day. You are in my prayers and I am forever grateful for your service; thank you for my freedom.

Soccer and Au Gratin Potatoes

Aren't the colors beautiful in the Smokies? We took a ride to Gatlinburg with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Sunday and we were in awe. I wish I was a better photographer and was more up to speed with Photoshop.

I'm in Chattanooga and thank goodness for high speed access in hotels; it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

Well, girls lost tonight 4-0. They played very well and gave it their all. I know they will be back next year and hopefully both of my homegirlz will be on the same team. So we're heading home tomorrow morning. When our team was being introduced on the field, my daughter wasn't wearing her #16 jersey. What in the world? She was wearing #27. After all the checking and re-checking, she forgot her "away" jersey. So here she is in action and I just wanted to go on the field and slap that girl behind and tell her to quit crowding my baby. My husband convinced me that wasn't such a good idea.

I appreciate that you have continued to visit even though I haven't cooked anything. Last night before we left for Chattanooga, I made Au Gratin Potatoes from my River Roads Cookbook. Kaitlin, my youngest said these rock.

Au Gratin Potatoes -

Peel 4 potatoes and slice thin rounds. Place rounds into a bowl and season them generously with salt and black pepper. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine with a whisk, 3 cups of milk and 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour milk mixture over potatoes. Set aside for a few minutes while you get everything else ready.

Butter casserole dish, preheat oven to 40 degrees. Grate 3 cups of sharp cheddar cheese or grab a bad of shredded sharp cheddar cheese from the fridge.

Use a slotted spoon and drain a few potatoes at a time and layer the potatoes on the bottom of the buttered casserole dish. Dot the potatoes with butter and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the potatoes. Sprinkle a layer of cheese over the potatoes and start over again until you have 3 layers. Pour the "seasoned" milk over the potatoes and bake for 45 minutes.

Cover aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes (to finish cooking the potatoes.)

Just a little heads up here. I didn't know things would bubble over. I would suggest covering a cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray (for easy clean-up) and placing the casserole dish on the cookie sheet. It will keep the bottom of you oven clean.

Off to State!!

The past several days have been amazingly wonderful. My husband's brother and sister-in-law came to town Friday and are visiting the area for their anniversary. We spent the last couple of days with with them and it has been fabulous.

To top it off, our freshman's soccer team beat Pigeon Forge Saturday morning 3-1 and they are leaving town tomorrow to head to the state playoffs. I am tearing up as I am typing this, I can't believe my baby is this grown up. We will be in Chattanooga with Lauren this week (added bonus, our in-laws will be there too) and probably won't be cooking or posting much this week. Keep your fingers crossed that they make it through.

In the meantime go through the archives, there's plenty there that you may not have seen yet. I served Ribeye with Penne Pasta Friday for the in-laws!

Sweet Sixteen

Whoo-Hoo #16!!! (Click on the picture to enlarge).

This is the time of year when the Smoky Mountain Cafe kind of slows down a bit. I'm not burnt out or anything, quite the opposite...it's soccer season. Both of the homegirlz play and this season will be a bit more challenging. My oldest is in high school and my baby is in middle school so they are playing on different teams for the very first time. Every game is no closer than 30 minutes from our house. I work about 30 minutes from our house and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I will be making mad dashes from my office to my house and off to games in different directions. To places I never been to (for high school) and I am famous for getting lost in Knoxville.

I have to be honest, I dread this time of year. I'm just not a ball park Mom. I would rather go home and veg out, cook and veg out some more. I'm fine once I get to the ball park and I have to admit that I am especially proud of my Freshman. The high schools in the surrounding area had a Jamboree this past Saturday. Our team had two games and my girl started the in both games and played the entire time.

My baby is a "seasoned" Middle School player and a starter. So don't envy me in trying to figure out how I'll divide up watching their games.

Just wanted to let you know that if my posts start dwindling down a bit, evil soccer is the reason until mid-November.