Meatballs

My first attempt ever at making meatballs and it was a success! I mean molding meat into little balls and providing just the right spice is not the easiest thing to do - but I mastered it and on my first try too! Just kidding making meatballs is pretty dang easy - here is what I did.

 Ingredients

1 lb of ground beef

1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce

2 tsp of kosher salt

1/2 tsp of seasoned pepper

1/2 tsp of garlic powder

1/2 tsp of onion powder

1/4 cup parsley

olive oil for sauteing 

Directions

1. In a medium - large bowl combine beef, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, parsley and worcestershire sauce. Mix ingredients enough to combine them but don't over mix them. 

2. Using a meatball roller or your hands roll the mixture into balls.  Make sure to roll them enough to keep the mixture together not fall apart.

3. In a skillet heat the oil at a medium temperature. Carefully add the meatballs and let them brown on each side. Remove from the skillet and place on paper towels to collect excess oil.

If using in spaghetti let add the meatballs into the sauce and let them heat with the sauce for about 20 minutes. Then serve. 

When making spaghetti and meatballs I favor angel hair pasta but it's up to you which noodle to use. 

Making meatballs takes patience and if you don't want to stand in front of the stove you can place them in the oven to cook. 

Norsworthy Delight (Peachberry cookies)

Ruston is known for it's blueberries and peaches. I went blueberry picking with my mom last weekend and with an overabundance of blueberries I thought - now what? Every morning I would put the tiny blueberries in my life cereal for breakfast but I wanted more from my tasty berries. My friend Clint Norsworthy loved when I made fruit pizza and so I thought of a modified version that included just blueberries and peaches. So, in honor of Clint I named this treat after him. And it was a hit. 

 Ingredients 

1 (18 ounce ) package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 (8 ounce) package of softened cream cheese

1 (8 ounce) container of frozen whipped topping , thawed ( i used a light version of whip cream)

2 containers of blueberries

3 peaches (depending on size - mine were kind of small)

   cookie cutters (whatever shape you want - I used a circle)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use the cookie cutter and cut your dough in the desired shapes and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Allow to cool.

2. In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whip cream. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange fruit on each cookie ( in any what you want ). 

3. Chill for two hours, then serve. 

It's a simple way to make a light summer treat and delicious too! 

Aye Shawty, let me holla at ya.

So here I am on my eleven hour drive from  South Carolina to Louisiana flipping through radio station after radio station in a quest to find songs that I can belt out the lyrics and keep me awake. The scan button only led me to slow sappy love songs and unfamiliar tunes. In defeat I decided to stick with rap. Why rap? because it's better than country. Besides it let me bounce to the beat. Growing up in New Orleans may have seasoned me to tolerate this music genre but what I was unprepared for was my lack of knowledge of new ebonic slang. In high school I was always up to date on words like "trippin", "sneak ya", and "frontin" and even had to translate for some people. Yes, this little white girl knew her som' ghetto. The term "shawty" was in no short supply when it came to the rap songs I listened to. "Shawty" had apple bottom jeans in one song, "shawty" is holla - ed at in another, and gets bought drinks in another. I thought who was this infamous "shawty" and how did they end up in a bunch of rap songs?  So when I got home it was time to brush up on my missed years of ebonics. Gone are the days of "my boo" and the dawn of a new era in which girls are referred to as "shawty" is now here. According to the urban dictionary "Shawty" or in plain uncultured terms "shorty" is a term that originated in Atlanta. It is used to refer to a girlfriend, attractive girl, or a fine ass woman. A term of endearment - need I say more? So, with my quest complete and my intelligence slightly heightened from my new found knowledge I felt more adequately prepared to remain a part of the urban world. Next time you see a pretty girl - why don't you holla at det shawty. 

Back Home

I am now back in good old Louisiana after spending 10 months in Columbia, SC. Mosquitoes, humidity and my goofy family all welcomed me back to this state making me feel like I never left. Speaking of family there are a few things you should know about mine.

 1. We watch movies on TV that we have on video but instead of putting in the video we watch the one on TV with commercials.

 2. As tradition goes, any time one of us kids leaves for vacation, camp or whatever mom and dad change something in the house such as rearranging the furniture, switch up bedrooms or in the case of today I came home to the bathroom walls painted in a Tiffany blue. That's right Tiffany as in the jewelry company. When the door is left open it gives off a nice green Ora in the hallway. 

3. We are loud, goofy and interrupt each other when we tell stories.

4. We buy gifts for the whole family to play together such as dance dance revolution, a karaoke machine, and now we have a Wii - let the fun begin or let the arguing begin about how someone's mii doesn't really look them. 

Welcome Home