Thursday, August 29, 2013

Comfort food...Crawfish Pasta Casserole!


This is a family favorite that I discovered within my Southern Living recipe book! Whenever I long to eat crawfish, I look this up and it becomes "what's for dinner"!   I promise you that if you try it you will love it!

7 ounces medium egg noodles, uncooked
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half-n-half
1 (16 ounce) loaf pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed
1 pound frozen, peeled, cooked crawfish tails, thawed and drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup round buttery cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, and set aside.

2.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add bell pepper and next 4 ingredients; cook 10 minutes or until tender. Gradually add flour, stirring until well blended, and cook 1 minute.  Gradually add half-and-half, stirring until smooth.  Add cheese cubes, crawfish, and parsley; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring constantly.  Stir together pasta and crawfish mixture in a lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish.

3.    Combine Parmesan cheese, cracker crumbs, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in a small bowl.
 Sprinkle over casserole.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until casserole is thoroughly heated.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Quick Shot of My Do!



Out grocery shopping and stopped to take a few quick shots of my current style.  I wanted a break from wearing my hair in fat twists, so I opted for medium twists (small for me) this time around.  It took me four hours to wash/condition and twist!


For the past few months I wore my strands in fat twists and I couldn't quite get into creating the smaller twists, because during the entire time I was styling, I kept thinking about the amount of time it was taking me to finish.  I would say to myself, "why are you creating small twist again?!" Fat twists take anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes to finish. My hands were cramping and my arms were getting tired.  Before styling my strands in fat twists (four months) it would only take me 1 1/2 - 2 hours to w/c and create the smaller twists.  Could this style for me be a thing of the past?  I hope not!


Monday, August 5, 2013

Quick Shot of my do!


I mentioned in an earlier post that my staple style for the summer was fat twists.  Here is a quick shot of my twists removed and worn out.  Wash day for my hair is long overdue, but I didn't have time to wash and re-style for the event I was attending, so I "made it work" for my twist-out!

What I see is not bad, but I know that it could have looked better. My ends are a bit limp and dry (this Texas heat!!).  Sometimes you have to make do with your do.  Wash day is this Friday, so in the mean time, I'll try to create styles to get me through until I wash.
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