Deep South Eats: Angel Chicken Pasta

Well after a recipe that completely bombed last night (in my opinion although my little nut ate EVERY single bite) I decided I need to feature a house standard recipe. This stuff is fool-proof. I have yet to hear of anyone bombing this recipe. I have been making it since I was 18 and it is delicious! I think it is a great recipe to serve for company because it makes a good quantity, is filling, and has a good presentation. Serve it with salad and some crusty french bread, and you will have an excellent meal. I know that many of my readers already know and cook this recipe, but for those of you who don't I feel the need to enlighten you.

Ingredients:

• 6 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves (I traditionally buy the tenderloins as it helps with portion control and makes leftovers easier)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (.7 oz) package of dry Italian-style salad dressing mix (think Good Seasons)
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1 (10.75 oz) can of Golden Mushroom soup
• 4 oz cream cheese with chives (half a tub)
• 1 pound of angel hair pasta

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
• Stir in dressing mix until well combined.
• Blend in wine and soup.
• Mix in cream cheese and stir until smooth.
• Heat through but do not boil.
• Arrange chicken in a single layer in a 9x13 casserole dish and pour sauce over.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Twenty minutes before chicken will be done heat a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook pasta to al dente, about 5 minutes.
• Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.

I also think this would be good to chop up some sun dried tomatoes and mix in with the sauce.

Original recipe from All Recipes.

with Belles and Beauxs

The Deep South Manual: February Edition

I have a light love affair with Southern Living (SL). Someday I dream they will come and makeover my home for one of their great before and after pieces. In the meantime, I will drool over their pages and lavish you with my favorites in form of Sweets, Treats, and Eats.

Sweets: The eye candy that SL gives us for the inside and outside of our home.

I love the kitchen, eating area, and living room redo from pages 57-60. They took a kitchen and breakfast nook that was dark and dank and brightened it with great neutrals. I could hardly believe this was the same kitchen except for comparing the window in the nook. I am enamored with the  L-shaped banquette with storage under the seats. Opening up the wall between the kitchen and living space make it appear some airy and roomy.

I am not huge on gardening but have very high aspirations. Maybe one day I will commit to doing more than the mowing and edging and up the curb appeal of our beds with some of the container roses featured on page 14. I dream of having the ability to grab some fresh flower cuts from the garden rather than fresh cuts from the grocery.

                                                         

Does anyone want to come over and help me plant some of the eye-popping Camellias seen on pages 67-68. I have been eyeing my yard for a great spot with partial shade that drains well. What can I say the writers say once they are established they are quite drought tolerant -- just my type

The ReDesigning Women featured on pages 92-97 make me want to jump up and throw this computer aside and go work on the four pieces of furniture calling my name in may garage. "Redo me...Redo me...Redo me.." Can't you hear them?

Treats: Places to travel, shops to see, and all other odds and ends to treat ourselves.

Who knew that Molly Sims had a jewelry line? On pages 45 and 49, her mother and her show their fashion choices to accompany pieces from her Grayce jewelry line. Her pieces are classic and timeless while still having a little pizazz. While they may not me in my day-to-day price range I will certainly be keeping my eye out for similar pieces.

   

The Valentine Gift Ideas on pages 20-21 are precious. The trio of red and white bow ties from Lumina Clothing are awesome (hint dear husband may see one of these coming his way). The Hugs and Kisses note cards from Pocket Creative would be awesome for slipping notes into the dear husbands briefcase for encouragement and laughs during a busy work day. While a little expensive you could easily DIY by buying some blank note cards at a craft store and either stamping, stickering or hand lettering across the top. That garnet ring from jeweler Nina Nguyen is a stunner in subtlety and style.


I could eat one of each of the chocolates featured on pages 19 but Weight Watchers would probably dismiss me from their program, and my likelihood of me getting a success story in their magazine would be nil (not far from where I am now).

Eats: Pages and pages of delicious recipes.

Either I have a propensity for nuts right now, and no I am not talking about crazy people, or it must be very trendy. There were a great deal of nutty recipes that looked delicious. Check out these recipes on SL recipe website: My Recipes:

• Praline-Pecan French Toast
• Bourbon Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin
• Grits and Grillades
• Valentines Treats: Peanut Butter Truffles, Homemade Chocolate-Dipped Caramels, Cappuccino-Walnut Toffee and Sweetheart Sugar Cookies
• Chicken Cutlets with Pecan Sauce
• Sweet-and-Hot Pork Stir-fry
• New Orleans Beignets
• And so many more

Pick one of these recipes you would like me to try out and feature and leave it in the comments. I left a few of the links blank so that you can go look them up and see the wonderful resource of MyRecipes.com


If you are not already a SL subscriber but are looking for a fabulous monthly magazine I highly recommend it. Note that I get no compensation by recommending this read, but the satisfaction of others seeing the pride of the South.

with Belles and Beauxs

Deep South Eats: Mix and Match Breakfast Casserole

Who doesn't like something that can falls in the mix n' match category? This casserole is super easy and quick. I love to throw it together for breakfast when company is over, Saturday morning brunch and even breakfast for dinner kind of nights. I made it this past weekend at the beach (hence the awkward fish plates), and forgot until last minute to get a picture.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of crescent rolls
• 1 package of sausage links cooked and chopped (may be substituted with bacon, ham, Canadian bacon, ground sausage, etc)
• 2 cups of grated cheese (I like to mix it up with cheddar, swiss, colby jack etc based on what kind of meat I include)
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup of milk
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cover the bottom of a 13x9 inch casserole dish with rolls length wise and press to seal the edges. 
• Place cooked breakfast meat of choice on top of rolls. 
• Cover with cheese. 
• Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper together and pour over all. If you don't feel like the egg mixture is evenly distributed you can very gently angle your casserole dish in different directions to evenly distribute.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 
• Yield: 8 to 10 servings. 
• This cannot be prepared ahead, but the prep time is around 15 minutes.

The mix n' match comes in when you mix and match the meat and cheese (just a note for the confused). I prefer ham and swiss or sausage and cheddar, but have fun with the combinations!

with Belles and Beauxs

The Sweet Life: Growing In God

Don't forget that today is the kick-off video for the Bloom Book Club. If you haven't purchased a book yet they are just over $9 on Amazon! Mine arrived two days ago and I have already been digging into it's richness. Here is the link to the kick-off video where we can all get to know the author, Ann Voskamp: http://www.incourage.me/2011/01/a-chat-with-ann-voskamp.html

I look forward to sharing in some great discussion with you all (all 2 or 3 of you that might actually read the book) over the next few months as we grow with God.

with Belles and Beauxs

P.S. I am posting this on my phone so sorry if it is a little crazy.

The Sweet Life: My Slice of Heaven

This week, I am holing up at the beach house with a close friend enjoying a mini-vacation and letting go of the details of real life. It is wonderful to have uninterrupted and limitless play time with my little nut and enjoy the laughter of a well-matched friendship.

I feel that my readers need a little taste of what makes Saint Simons my slice of heaven. In no particular order...

The ever-changing tidal beach. I have never seen a beach quite as different at low and high tide, but you feel as if you have stepped on a different beach each time you go out. It is perfect for setting up "camp" for the day on the scorching hot summer days, and kids love having so much area to run free.

The live oaks draped in Spanish moss. Nuff said.

 Looking down our street every morning. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee, sitting out on the porch and feeling the breeze through the trees (or when it is super hot and muggy you can work up a nice sweat while sitting still before 830 in the morning).

Great fresh, hole-in-the-wall Mexican food. Whether you eat in or carry out, Bubba Garcia's does not disappoint. Seating is limited and you might end up sitting out on a stool under a tree to eat (Missy) but it is totally worth it.

Best salad dressings. I could go and just eat Crabdaddy's salad and bread.

Meo's Suite is the cutest store in the village. They carry very affordable, trendy dresses in every color and style. I would compare it to a Francesca's collection on a local level.

Southern Soul Barbecue is a house standard round here. They burned down in 2010 and kept on serving from a trailer. Now rebuilt they are better than ever and the old gas station on the round about has never looked better!

The cutest children's clothing on the face of the earth. Bailey Boys was actually started here and now has a huge store and outlet center. If I had a limitless clothing budget for the nut she would be dressed every day in their finery.

I guess I could go on and on because there are so many things I love about this little slice of the South. Hopefully one day you too will bring your family to this deep south island and make wonderful memories.

The Sweet Life: Bloom Book Club

I would like to encourage all my readers that have an interest in enriching their lives to check out the blog:

http://www.incourage.me/category/bloom

I have followed one of the facilitator's (Angie) blog for awhile now and own her book I Will Carry You. While I have not experienced the loss that Angie has, this book helped my understanding of God grow exponentially. At the end of this month the Bloom Book Club is starting Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. I invite you all to join me in this faith walk and follow the weekly videos on the Bloom blog. Disclaimer: I know nothing about this book except for what I have read of the description and it looks very powerful and thought provoking.

Leave me a comment if you plan to read with me. If for some reason you cannot afford a book at this time and would really like to join in please send me an email TODAY (I want to go ahead and order mine) at rreiboldt@gmail.com and I would love to provide a book for one reader. For those of you who would also love to provide a book for someone else you can order it on Dayspring's website and get free shipping when you order two books.

with Belles and Beauxs

What's a Living Room to Do?

My living room is definitely a work in progress...a very slow work in progress. This time around I want to decorate things the way I like and not just settle on things to fill the space. In the last year we have purchased two beautiful leather sofas. They were a good compromise between me and the dear husband and have proven their durability with young children. I have purchased some odds and ends and slowly developed a view of what I want the room to look like. I should also preface that I have no flair for the frou frou when it comes to decorating, but like traditional with a flair for modernish.

We live in a very open floor plan. This lends to difficulty in painting the walls due to the fact that you have to decide where to stop painting and where to keep going. I want to keep things very light and airy feeling to counteract the dark, heavy couches. Without further ado, here is the living room from four angles as is starting off 2011 (and no I didn't clean up I really wanted to show it as is most days):

Here are some of my currently in-use inspirations for the living rooms future. The rug on the left was a generous Christmas present and is the Humboldt rug from Ballards. The color tone depends on the time of day and natural light we receive. It is a wool jute blend and despite the shedding it is incredibly soft and heavenly on the feet. The center picture is an adorable coffee table tray that holds remotes magazines and a delicious "Winter" scented votive. Now that I typed that out can we all say fire hazard - magazines and a candle. Might as well beautifully arrange some kindling in the tray and toss in a match. Thankfully the candle is unlit 99% of the time and the smell still permeates the room. The picture on the left is this awesome milk jug I found at my favorite antique store. It was super cheap and I love the brushed aluminum color and the brightness it brings to the room.

After searching high and low these are some of the fabrics that I dream of using one day. Obviously I am not going to go pattern happy and use all the selections but one day will narrow it down and choose two or three to pair with some nice solids and neutrals. Accompanied with some thin, gauzey drapes for the windows (can you tell I want lots of light in the room) it will feel a bit beachy while keeping with my Southern style.

One day I am going to roll up my crafty sleeves and paint this beauty to go on the blank wall over one the couches. I want to choose words that will be mission statements of my family to motivate us daily!

In my garage o'furniture, I have a square coffee table that has great texture that is going to get a nice refinishing with one of these metallic paints from the Ralph Lauren paint line (they have the most fantastic metallic paint). This will help tie in the aluminum milk jug and add a flair of non-traditional while reflecting some great light.

 Last but not least, one day I dream of splurging on this wall paper to line the current bookshelves and the hutch I own one day on the other side of the fireplace.

Hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into my quirky little brain.. Let me know, do you love it, hate it? Do you have an idea for something that would look better. Drop me a line and lets get this living room sweetened up!

with Belles and Beauxs

And the Winner Is..

After numbering your comments from first to last and entering them in at Random.org, our lucky winner of a one-year Motivated Moms subscription is

I like to run on the Pop channel on On Demand and the kids and I dance around the house while we clean together. Anything upbeat!! I do like to clean to Lady Gaga or we have been cleaning to Taylor Swift's Christmas CD.

By Natalie on Deep South Home: What is on your playlist? on 12/14/10

Natalie, please contact me at rreiboldt@gmail.com and let me know if you prefer the iPhone/iPad/iTouch app or the PDF file that you can print on your own (don't you love being able to check things off as you go).

Tap Tap Tap....Is this thing on?

I do apologize for the unexpected and unannounced blogger silence. I know you all have been waiting on the edge of your seats (sarcasm). Christmas got the best of me and as soon as I was gearing up some great posts for you guys we rounded out 2010 with a lovely stomach virus.

So back in the saddle again! Today, I am going to round up the giveaway with an opportunity to enter all day long the drawing tonight at 10:00pm EST. Your last entry option is: What is your New Year's Resolution? If you have none just say "I wanna win".

I am never much of a new year's resolution kind of girl - why set yourself up for failure. Due to some things that have gone on this fall, I have allowed myself to pack on some serious poundage (that and cooking delicious meals for you guys). I have made some very small but obtainable goals for this year. I broke down the weight loss in 5 pound increments with rewards of growing excitement the more I lose. I also am training to run a 5k (yeah not much for some but a lot for this girl) on February 26 in Saint Simon's. If I do good there I will see about a half marathon but remember attainable is my goal this year. My third personal goal is to not over committ myself this year and be quick to remember priorities rather than people please!

One thing I love to do each year is pick three home resolutions. I don't pick something like "I want to keep my house more clean". Yeah, we would all like to do that. I pick three projects to complete.
1. Finish decorating the living room (I will share all my decision choices with you guys)
2. Hang shelving and super organize master closet (If you have been allowed into the domain that is my closet you understand this is a BIG job)
3. Buckle down and call the guy for our plantation shutters - money is there just overwhelmed at the expense!!

So tell me what do you resolve? Home, personal, work I want to hear it!!

Giveaway is for a 1 year subscription of Motivated Moms (not necessarily for moms) to help you make time to keep your house neat and clean without being overwhelmed. Up at 10:00 pm EST