Sesame Noodles

* picture courtesy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks

So let me start out by saying that the original recipe was adapted from The Pioneer Woman; one of my favorite bloggers, if you haven't checked out her blog you should it's pretty entertaining and she is pretty amazing!

I have made these noodles on a couple of occasions and they are so great and EASY, like it takes 10 minutes to throw it all together kind of easy. I have served these warm, at room temperature and eaten them straight out of the fridge...they are great. With summer coming up I am always looking for good, fast things to throw together for a crowd and this is definitely among my favorites to share!

1 package whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles

¼ cups Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sugar
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
½ teaspoons Chili Garlic Sauce

4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Hot Water
4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed; I always add a little bit more soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat, sprinkle with green onions and "vuala" they are done!

Family Picnic

So all that Melinda wanted for her birthday was an old fashioned picnic and as her family we were not about to let this wish go unfulfilled! As a southerner no picnic would be complete without a little fried chicken, so Jer and I tried our hand for the first time at making up this staple southern food. I thought I would share a few pictures from our backyard picnic as well as our menu for any of you interested. It really was simple and such a fun afternoon; the park, the wine, the food and the company made it all complete!

Menu:

Baguette with Artichoke Dip

Fresh Watermelon

Sesame Noodle Salad

Sundried Tomato and Basil Pasta Salad

Potato Salad

Oven Fried Chicken

A 60th Birthday fit for a Queen!

Today is Melinda's 60th Birthday and so all of us kids put together a little birthday BBQ last night for her. Robert flew into town on Thursday to surprise her and so we figured we would continue the "surprise" theme throughout the weekend and have a few friends join us to celebrate with her. This morning Jeremy and I whisked her off to a spa for 1/2 the day to get pampered and when she returned we had a little picnic setup for her in the backyard. It's been such a fun weekend having all of the family around and celebrating 60 years of life!

Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

Melinda just bought this cookbook and brought it into town for me to look at. If you like cookbooks like I do, go get it!! It is a beautifully illustrated book with super simple recipes, most of them fast and a TON of pictures which I love to see when I'm flipping through a book looking for some cooking inspiration!