Weekend Recap

Josh and I had a really great weekend......except for one small part (see Saturday morning).

Friday night we met my brother-in-law Patrick and his girlfriend Jennifer (who also happens to be my dear friend) for dinner at Half-Time. We pigged out on "bad for you" food! We had chicken nachos, fried jalapenos, cajun chicken tenders, chicken fried steak sandwiches and a pitcher of beer......talk about loaded with calories!! But it was totally worth it! Every now and then you just need to eat some good "fried stuff" and drink some cold beers! : )

Saturday morning Josh had to go to Newcastle to get pepper sprayed. As part of his certification to carry the pepper spray, he had to get sprayed with it himself. They use your own spray on you - and of course, he got the strongest, most potent kind they have! I went to the grocery store and did my bi-weekly grocery shopping while he was getting sprayed. He called me when he was done and asked if I would get him some baby shampoo....that is what they recommended to wash with when you're finished. When I got home to him (about 45 min-1 hr later), his eyes were still red and he said his skin was still burning. I felt so bad for him : ( He took a shower and used his baby shampoo, laid down and rested, and after about an hour he felt fine. He said it was the worst pain he's ever felt.....and he's a pretty tough guy!

After all of this, we went to OKC and met my grandparents for dinner. Then they took us to some furniture stores to look around - they wanted to get us some bar stools as a house warming gift. After looking at several stores, we finally found some bar stools that we thought would suit us......they are beautiful! Paw Paw & Nana left and we decided to stay and look around Rooms Today some more. I bet you we sat in every chair they had in the showroom! We actually stayed until the store closed....it was so much fun picking out furniture that we liked and disliked and imagining it in our house! When we got home, we put our barstools together right away (which turned into quite a project).

Sunday, Josh had to work. I got up and did my Sunday cleaning and got everything spic and span for company that night. We had my parents and Paw Paw & Nana over for dinner. I made baked spaghetti, salad, & texas toast and mom brought over a wonderful truffle for dessert. This was the first time to have company over for dinner in the new house, and it turned out great! In fact, I want to share the recipe I made that night.

Baked Spaghetti from Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons Too

2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp The Lady's House Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 small bay leaves
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
8 oz angelhair pasta
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated monteray jack cheese

To make the sauce, in a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar, and bay leaves. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Crumble the grond beef in saucepan. Cook until no pink remains, then drain off the fat. Add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for another 20 minutes. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Cover the bottom of a 13x9 pan with sauce. Add a layer of pasta, then half of the cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Top with the remaining cheese, return to the oven and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into squares before serving.


This recipe is great because it combines a little bit of two great pasta dishes, spaghetti & lasagna! If you don't have the time to make the sauce from scratch, you can always use your favorite jar/canned spaghetti sauce. Also, I think next time I make it, I will use mozerella cheese instead of the cheddar and monterey jack.

As you see, the recipe calls for "The Lady's House Seasoning". This is a seasoning that Paula Deen is known for and sells. It is easy to make this up yourself and is a great seasoning staple to keep in the pantry! I use it all the time.......instead of seasoning with salt and pepper, I grab my "Paula Deen's Seasoning"!

House Seasoning

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Stir the ingredients together. Keep the seasoning in a shaker near the stove for convenience. It's as easy as that!!

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Thank you mom, dad, Paw Paw, and Nana for joining us for dinner! Thanks mom for the dessert, and thanks to Paw Paw & Glenda for the gorgeous bar stools!