And the winner is.....

Using random.org, the number drawn was number 6 - and that means that Ashley Hardcastle is the winner of these cute kitchen towels!!!

Congrats, Ashley! And thanks again to Sarah at Lauren Grace Boutique for offering these cute towels for the lucky girl! Don't forget to check out her blog or facebook page to see all her cute items! Lots of great gift ideas and with Christmas not too far off, you might want to start shopping now! :) Click here to take a look!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

I'm excited to announce my 2nd giveaway on my recipe blog! My friend, Sarah, has graciously offered 2 of her adorable kitchen towels for me to give away. She has a home business, Lauren Grace Boutique, and makes all sorts of great things. Everything from embroidered or appliqued onesies, shirts & tank tops, key fobs, cute cadet hats with flowers in any color scheme imaginable, hair bows, applique pillow cases or towels, burp cloths and I could go on and on!

Click HERE to see all the stuff she makes - and while you're there, become a follower of her blog, because that will get you entered TWICE in this giveaway! Once for following my blog and a second time for following hers!

These kitchen towels are so cute - one is in great colors for fall - brown, white, green and pink paisley print and the other is perfect for the holidays - it's super colorful with cute little owls and the words "Peace, Joy, Hoot, Hoot" - Just adorable!

Here's a close up of the two fabrics

You know you want to win those! :)

So, here's what you gotta do to get entered! Leave me a comment and let me know that you follow my blog AND go to her blog, follow hers and let me know that as well! If you follow both, your name goes in twice! If you just follow mine, you only get one entry. But, why not get your name in twice?!?! That's it! Easy! Just follow, comment and you are entered!

I'll be drawing the winner's name on Sunday, September 11th! HURRY! Don't miss out!

Thanks again, Sarah! I know whoever wins will love them!
(P.S. - If for any reason you can't leave a comment, please email me and I'll get you entered. My email is cmcash4476[at]gmail[dot]com)

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe came from the Taste of Home website and I've made them several times - they are so good and really easy. They are very simple and I love how you can make a little or a lot very easily. If you only need a small amount (like for your kids breakfast before school) just use one can of crescent rolls, and if you need a lot (like I did for our SS class today) then you can use 3 or 4 cans. Give them a try - and try to eat only one! :)

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

1 Tube Crescent Rolls
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon

Icing Glaze

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Regular Sugar
1 Tbsp. Milk

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Unroll tube of crescent rolls and press seams together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture all over crescent rolls.

Roll up, jelly roll style, starting at the long end.

Once rolled all the way up, cut into 8 equal pieces and place cut side down into a greased round cake pan. (If making a large amount, use a greased 9x13).

Cajun Chicken Pasta

My friend, Sarah (who you can find right HERE) posted this recipe last week and I just knew I had to make it! This morning I made up my menu for the week and put this down for tonight's meal. It was wonderful! Maddie even told me that it was better than Olive Garden, which made me feel pretty good. I left out the sun-dried tomatoes only because I looked all over the store and couldn't find them. A couple tips - I brought my sauce up to a very low boil, then turned it to a simmer and then added my noodles. The sauce will thicken once you add your noodles. DON'T rinse the linguine after they are cooked. The starches from the pasta will thicken your sauce. Another tip is to save your pasta water so that if it the noodles start to absorb too much of your sauce, you can add a ladle of pasta water and it will make it nice and creamy again. Enjoy! Thanks, Sarah, for posting the recipe - it's a winner! Oh and be on the lookout next month - Sarah has graciously offered to do a giveaway of some adorable fall/winter themed kitchen towels! I've already seen a preview of what she's making and they are adorable! So stay tuned!!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small strips)
8 ounces linguini (cooked all dente)
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 green onion (thinly sliced)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into small strips, place in a bowl and toss in Cajun seasoning.

Melt butter in skillet and add chicken. Cook until no longer pink and juices run clear. Approx. 7-8 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, green onions, tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

Toss with cooked noodles and stir to combine.

Sprinkle in parmesan cheese and serve! (I used this kind - not the kind in the green can.)

It was so quick, easy and thumbs up all around!

Paula Deen's Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

There really doesn't need to be any introduction to this recipe. The only thing you need to read is "Paula Deen" and then just go make it. Just remember - it's Paula. It's not fat free, not even remotely close. The gravy this recipe makes is good enough to pour over your entire plate of food. I won't say if I did that or not.

So, this week, in honor of a bunch of my teacher-friends gearing up to go back to work, I'm posting a great crock-pot recipe that hopefully will make your first week back to the grind a little easier. I'm sure the smell of this cooking away when you walk in the door from a crazy week back to school will wipe all your stress away! :)

Enjoy!

Paula Deen's Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup butter
1 pkg. Good Season's Italian Dressing packet
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. container cream cheese with chives and onion
1 cup chicken broth or White Cooking Wine

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in Italian dressing packet. Pour in soups, chicken broth and cream cheese and stir over medium heat until cream cheese is melted. Remove from heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

**Great served along side mashed potatoes or rice.

Rich & Charlie's Salad

If you are from St. Louis, there's a pretty good chance you have eaten at Rich and Charlie's. If you aren't from STL, Rich and Charlie's is a great little Italian restaurant that has possibly one of the best Italian salads I've ever had. And somehow, somewhere along the way, my mom acquired their salad recipe. I'm not kidding, it's identical. Tastes SO great with pasta or pizza or just all alone.

If you ever get asked to take a salad to your next get together or are just sick of the same old salad with Ranch that we all eat weekly, give this a try. And DON'T let the pimentos and artichokes scare you - you can pick out the artichokes like I do if you don't really care for them. The pimentos don't have a weird taste, but add some pretty color to it. If you are a fellow St. Louisan (is that a word?), you can thank me (or my mom) at any time. :)

Rich and Charlie's Italian Salad

1 Head Iceberg Lettuce, washed and chopped
1/3 Head Romaine Lettuce, washed and chopped
1 Cup Red Onion, Chopped
1 Can Plain Artichoke Hearts, cut up
1 Jar Pimentos, Chopped

Dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix together well and chill until ready to serve. Toss salad and dressing together just before serving.

Cheeseburger Cups

Do you ever have those nights where you need something that's super easy and that you know the kids are going to eat without any complaints? If so, this is a great one to try. They are so yummy, super simple and most of these ingredients I keep on hand, so they come together really fast. You could make up some corn and a fruit salad and have a good meal that is sure to please everyone. Those are the kind of dinners that I like!

Cheeseburger Cups

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP mustard
1-1/2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 tube (12 oz.) biscuits
10 small cubes Velveeta cheese

Brown burger and drain. Turn off heat and stir in ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Press each biscuit onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin tin. Spoon beef mixture into each biscuit cups and insert a cheese cube. Bake at 400* for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.