Staple it Together

And call it a Friday post! The car they loaned me to replace my four-cylinder Escape was the cat's meow! A 2010 Mustang! Leather seats, fully loaded. OMGosh. Are they trying to make a sale or something? And how did they know I've always loved Mustangs? No doubt I couldn't afford to insure a lug nut on this baby. It did look good though.
The grizzly boys thought it was pretty fine too. Even Ross, who is partial to Chevrolet and Dodge thought it was nice. When Cam got home from "watching" football practice (he can't practice 'cause he's still sick), he just had to drive it to his GF's house. How could I possibly tell that face no?
So I let him. He told me, mom, I've been driving for nine months and I haven't even had a wreck. Sounded all right to me. She only lives about six miles away.

I cooked supper last night. I didn't even screw it up. I took this with me to the grocery store.

Like Santa, I checked my list twice to make sure I didn't leave anything out. I actually got everything! I made a Baked Ziti. It turned out great!

Here's the recipe just in case you'd like to try it. It was pretty easy, actually. Duh, right. I bet you're thinking, if she can do it, anybody can. When I make it again, though, I'm going to add a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. It could've used more tomatoes I thought. To me, biting into the tomato was the best part.

BAKED ZITI

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced (I buy it in a jar, already minced. 1/2 teaspoon equals 1 clove.)

1 pound ground chuck ( or ground whatever you use)

1 (26-ounce) jar tomato-and-basil pasta sauce

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1 (16-ounce) box ziti

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

3 cups milk

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (8-ounce shredded mozzarella cheese)

Saute chopped onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium high heat five minutes or till tender. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add beef and cook till it's done. Drain and return to pan. Stir in pasta sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the pasta in large pan according to the box. Drain pasta and return to pan.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Increase heat to medium and cook, whisking constantly, 10 minutes,(I didn't whisk it constantly. I don't do anything constantly. Even for only 10 minutes.)

or until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in Parmesan cheese, pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour this over pasta. Stir till pasta is coated.

Put pasta mixture in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with beef mixture; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or till cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

It was yummy. Messed up a few dishes, which brings me to my next thought. Have y'all ever played the game "Would You Rather?" Well, would you rather use the dishwasher and have to load them and unload them?

Or wash them by hand in a nice, warm sudsy sink? Can you tell I'd rather wash them by hand?

My mom and dad's dishwasher works so well that you don't even have to rinse your dishes before you stick them in the dishwasher. I mean you can stick a plate with food stuck all over it and it'll come out crystal clean. Mine, you practically have to wash it before you put it in the dishwasher. I may as well wash it-wash it. Besides I like the instant satisfaction I get from washing dishes. Sick, I know.

And looky looky what my sister the Domestic Diva, Suz, made last night. The world famous Cake Balls. How absolutely divine do those look? She's promised me she's gonna make some for Sunday Supper. I'm not going to let her forget. No way. She said they're a little bit of work, but I'll just bet they're worth every minute of it. Here's the recipe.

CAKE BALLS

Any flavor cake mix your heart desires. (Suz used a butter cake mix.)

A container of whatever flavor frosting your heart desires. (Suz used cream cheese.)

Chocolate or vanilla almond bark. (Suz used both.)

Bake the cake according to the directions. While the cake is warm, crumble it up in a bowl. Add the container of frosting. Refrigerate the cake and frosting mixture for AT LEAST AN HOUR before making into balls.

Make the cake balls. (Suz bought a scooper so they'd all be the same size. She's real smart like that.)

Melt the almond bark and dip the balls into the bark. Tap the excess off the cake balls.

Try not to eat them all yourself. Save some for others. Jeez.

If you like vintage linens and things, you have absolutely got to go to her store . Some of the things just took my breath away. They're gorgeous. I'm ordering me a tablecloth. Soon.

BTW, the dealership can't find anything wrong with my car. I guess I was just dreaming that I was STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD WITH A CAR THAT WOULDN'T MOVE. Maybe I'll just keep that Mustang a little longer. . .

Happy Friday, y'all!