And A New Chapter In Life Begins....

I have been trying to write something down on this subject for over a month now, right after I heard the news that my baby may be moving, not only out of the house for the very first time (as if that wasn't a hard enough pill for this momma to swallow) but over an hour away....  I cried a lot of tears when I was alone, but they were tears for me; my fears of being alone, the "what ifs" and knowing that I will miss her terribly, my heart was breaking every single day leading up to the Big Move (which was a week ago)....momma's selfish tears.

I have loved every single second of having my girl home! Home (wherever home was) where we taught her right from wrong, how to respect herself and others, instilled values and morals, taught her manners and how to have faith and be thankful.  Home, where we could snuggle up and watch our favorite shows, cook, eat, play, sing, dance, laugh and cry together.  And home, where we have shown her that love is true and unfailing.  If nothing else, I know without a doubt that she knows LOVE and will take that with her wherever life's journey takes her.

Love is not something that we could teach.  Love is that beautiful feeling/emotion that we have tried to fill our home with.  It hasn't always been easy, like everyone in this big beautiful Earth of ours, we have had ups and downs, arguments, hurt feelings.....through our love we have over come all of the obstacles thrown in our paths and have grown. She grew up seeing that even when mommy and daddy are angry, we ALWAYS love her and each other.  It's true, the one thing I know for sure, my girl knows that she is LOVED.

I was young when I became pregnant. Hubby and I were pretty clueless.  If I'm being honest, I was completely terrified!  I had never lived away from my home, and here I was moving to another COUNTRY with my husband and baby.  I knew how I DIDN'T want to be so I made up my mind that I was going to be the very best mom that I could be to that sweet little girl.  My #1 priority was my child and thank God above for her daddy who has stuck by me, supported me, worked with me and loved me through it all.  We took on this parenthood thing together, made mistakes, after all, we were young, we had a lot of "growing up" to do ourselves. 

Eventually we learned what worked for us and what didn't;  worked together to be the very best parents to this sweet little girl that we were blessed with.  I don't know how we did it, really, but we managed to raise a beautiful (inside and out), polite, strong, smart, loving girl who has blossomed into an amazing young woman who possess all of the above qualities and so many more. I am, we are, so very proud of her and love her more than mere words can say.

Now that she is out on her own in the great big world, she will learn and grow.  She will love and also come to know loss.  She will hurt.  She will have fun and find out who she wants to be.  She will work hard, she will make mistakes.  She will laugh and cry.  She will enjoy the next chapter in her life, knowing that no matter what happens, she is LOVED.

Already she is enjoying her new home, friends, job.....  Our little girl is all grown up and I know that she will be ok. She's got this!

But do I??????

Mayo-less potato salad recipe "sort of"

Oh, I so wish I had a picture of this dish!  I made it last night and it looked so pretty with the bright red skins of the potatoes, thinly sliced red onion and fresh parsley to garnish!  

Got this recipe from my cousin after my mom raved about having it at a picnic recently.  We are potato lovers in this house!  I make potato salad often, always with mayonnaise. We love it, but, I suppose you could say, the same ole recipe gets old after a while.  Sometimes I mix things up a bit with different seasonings, sometime make it with pickles, sometimes with sweet relish and sometimes I throw in some chopped up hard boiled eggs....but the base is always mayo.

I made this new (to me) recipe yesterday and it is gone already (red potatoes are boiling right now for another batch)!  I do think, unless you are going to make this for a large gathering, this potato salad is best made in smaller batches.  If it is made too far a head of time, the olive oil is going to soak right into the potato pieces.  Also, if stored in the fridge for a long time, the oil hardens.  I left mine on the kitchen counter after I made it yesterday and served it with dinner several hours later and it was delicious (I did drizzle with more olive oil and gave it a good toss).  After dinner, I did store the little bit that was left in the fridge and when I retrieved it for my lunch a few minutes ago, it was a solid "blob."  I dished out was was left and popped it in the microwave for a few seconds and it was fine...

I don't have measurements, just ingredients....you can adjust to your liking. It really is super easy!

Bite sized red potato pieces cooked until fork tender, drained and cooled. Set aside. 

In bowl that you will serve potato salad in, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh minced garlic (I used Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic seasoning, which you can purchase here if you like www.tastefullysimple.com/web/aszymanski).dried or fresh parsley (I used a little of both) and thinly sliced red onion.  Add salt and pepper if you'd like.

Add cooled potatoes and carefully toss until coated.  Cover and let set for a few hours.  

Serve and enjoy!

Totally Terrific Banana Bread!

Happy Friday, ya'll!  While browsing my dear friend's blog this morning, I ran across the recipe that I'm about to share with you all, with her permission, of course!  She does not claim it as her very own, but one found in a cookbook many years ago....

 I thought the recipe looked "interesting" so I decided to whip a batch up. Let me tell you, it is really about the yummiest banana bread I've had, ever!

I'll bet you could add an extra banana for more flavor, some chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or chopped pecans and it would still be terrific!

The texture is light and fluffy and moist. Very soft and almost airy. You'll want to give it a try ASAP!  Definitely remember to "test" a slice while it's still warm out of the oven (with butter....), you know, to be sure it is ok to serve to the rest of your crew. ;)

Would love to know if you try this or any of the recipes I've posted!  YOUR feedback means south to me!

*Best Ever Banana Bread*

In a small glass bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups sour cream and 2 tsp baking soda. Let sit for 5 minutes 

In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup softened butter with 1 1/2 cups sugar until well combined. 

Add 3 eggs, one by one, until well combined.

Add 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 1/2 cups flour. Continue mixing until well combined. 

Add 3 (or 4) mashed bananas. Mix well. 

Fold in sour cream mixture. 

Pour equal amounts of the batter into two greased loaf pans. 

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a rack to cool. 

Enjoy!

A quick Hello and a yummy recipe!

Yes yes. I know, I've been neglecting my poor blog.  I have several "rough drafts" written to post one day.  Dealing with my health, emotions and big life changes....I guess I'm just not ready to share some of those things.  I will, one day soon....just not today.

Today, I will wish you all a Happy June! My my, time sure does fly by quickly, doesn't it?  Just can't believe it's June.  June 2015......wow! 

Today I will wish you all a good day.  A happy day filled with love and smiles.

And today, I will share one of my all time favorite summer time dessert recipes with you! 😀. Strawberry Pretzel Salad...I guess it doesn't have to be a summertime only recipe, but my memories are of summertime gatherings and events, when my Meme would make this.  I made it for the first time in YEARS over Memorial Day, it sure didn't last long at all!  We all love it!  Hope you will too!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

First layer:

2 cups finely crushed pretzels

3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

3 TBS sugar

Mix and press into bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 7 - 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

Second layer:

1-8 oz block of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

9 oz Cool Whip, thawed

Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Stir in Cook Whip.  Spread over pretzel crust.  I refrigerate this for at least 20 minutes before completing next layer.

Third layer:

2 cups boiling water

1 pint frozen strawberries

1 large pk strawberry jello

Stir water and jello until jello dissolves.  Stir in strawberries.  Refrigerate until slightly thickened then pour over cream cheese layers.  Refrigerate until completely set.  Slice.  Serve.  ENJOY!

**store in fridge