March Goals

I started a list of goals for the year (a little late, but hey, at least I got a list together.) My goal for March was to decorate my kitchen walls. We've lived here for a long time, and it looks like we just moved in, because we barely have anything on the walls. Here is a picture of what the nook looked like before. And here's a now picture. Please act like you don't notice how terrible the lighting is in these pictures, ok? I bought the little flower plaques and the picture frames from a thrift store and spray painted them. (And, in the process, decided that I really like spray paint.) The pictures in the frames are of the daffodils in my yard, which are now dead because the weather here is crazy and they froze.

I made a new mirror for the dining room.

I used enough hot glue on this thing to secure a small village.

I really like the way it turned out!

Hopefully my goals for the rest of the year will be as successfully completed as my March goal was!!

Mom's Birthday

A few years ago, my mother and I kinda stopped giving each other birthday gifts. Neither of us ever know what gift to tell the other person to buy, so we just started buying each other a bouquet of flowers and having dinner together on our birthdays.
This year, I bought her a bouquet of red tulips. My girl was with me when I picked them out, and when she saw me put the flowers in our cart, she pointed to a pink bouquet and said "more." So we got Mom the pink ones too.

For dinner, I made Mom her favorite, my stuffed shells. It's like manicotti, only I find it too difficult to stuff those stupid shells without tearing them. I think the shells are just cuter anyway.

Want the recipe? It's-
1 jar pasta sauce
3/4 box jumbo shells, cooked
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T garlic powder (more or less to suit your taste)

Preheat your oven to 350 while you're mixing the ricotta, egg, Parmesan, seasonings, and nearly all of the mozzarella (I leave out about a handful to sprinkle on top right before it's done).
Pour about 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 13X9 pan, just enough to cover the bottom.

Fill your shells.

Side note here- I absolutely lovelovelove my cookie scoop. I use it for just about everything but cookies. I've found that it's the perfect size for these shells. Filling the shells is super quick, and less messy than using a spoon.

Pour the rest of your sauce over the shells, cover with foil, and bake until bubbly (about 45 minutes). Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Then eat way more shells than you had intended to just because this is a meal that is not often made at your house because your husband is the one person in the whole world that doesn't like ricotta cheese. ://cough cough//:

Anyhoo, I also baked her one of her favorite cakes. I have no idea what it's called- I just call it the Summer Cake because it reminds me of warm, sunny days.

It's full of yummy things, like mandarins, lemon, pineapple, and Cool Whip. Very summery, no?

I hope you had a great birthday, Mom.