Back In The Kitchen!!

May 3, 2009

Hsppy Ssturday (3 of 8)-700

After the last couple weeks of constant running from place to place....we finally had a low key weekend where I could spend some time back in the kitchen!!

It was rainy, cold, and dreary both Saturday and Sunday, so it was the perfect weekend to spend behind my stove!! I invited my friend Ivy up for the afternoon so that our girls could play and we could spend some time cooking and trying to edit the rest of our pictures from the photography workshop weekend!

Well.....we had a great time, but most of our time was spent chasing the girls around the house. They had lots of fun together and didn't sit still for two minutes....they went from one activity to the next....at one point Sarah opened my closet in the laundry room and brought out two mops......they decided to mop my floors instead of playing with toys!! Ivy got some cute photos.....Unfortunately I missed the moment....I was up to my elbows in Ricotta cheese!!

happy Saturday (20 of 20)copy
I bet you are wondering what we made.....maybe this picture gave you a hint. These are not your ordinary stuffed shells....I decided to try a new recipe this weekend and it did not disappoint.....Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells using my family's marinara recipe.....we also made a salad with a homemade white wine vinaigrette and my version of croutons to top the salad......I will give you that recipe next week. With summer approaching, there will be lots of salads in our future:)


Happy Saturday (3 of 22)-700
Both the girls started to hit the wall around 4pm....so much so that Sarah came up to me and asked to go to bed. Shortly after that Ivy and Kira had to head home, so we sent them with a goody bag of all the items we made.......we hope you liked your meal...thanks for coming up to play with us!!


Nick has been with his Dad all weekend and we thought we would see him this afternoon at his soccer game, but with this weather, his game was cancelled.....So Sarah and I had a little girl bonding time and put on our aprons and went back into the kitchen.....

happy Saturday (10 of 20)copy
Today it was time to bring out the old Kitchen Aid and try our hands at baking....not my favorite thing to do, but Sarah has a sweet tooth and so does Daddy so we whipped up a Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Icing.

happy Saturday (6 of 20)copy
We wanted to make it a girly cake, so we used food coloring along with our cake decorating kit to pretty it up:)

happy Saturday (2 of 20)copy_edited-1
Do you want to guess which part of the process Sarah enjoyed most? She doesn't like baking as much as she likes licking the spoon!! Her face was not the only thing filled with chocolate....you should have seen her shirt....

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.....we are off to dig into that cake!!

Have a great week!!

57 comments:

ZONE F DG TEAM said...

Did you bake that cake in the little kids kitchens lit by a lightbulb???

It looks fantastic!!!

Tisha said...

Lisa,

I'll take one of EVERYTHING! It looks delish! You are one talented gal. :)

Blessings,
Tisha

Number 6 and no more counting! said...

Pictures are fantastic Lisa. And, I copied and saved all the recipes!

thanks my friend.

lea
xo

The Byrd's Nest said...

Yummy! And I am mostly talking about the cake! I haven't had a dessert in over two weeks....could you mail that to me? LOL

What a great time you guys had!

Wanda said...

Mm..mmm delisioso! (Your photos are so clear their edible.)

I love to cook (and bake) and...umm..eat too :-) Your shells look wonderful.

Bon appetit!

Doug and Terrye said...

Oh goodness gracious...I was having a great weekend until I saw all that food that I wasn't eating ;) I'm so glad you shared the link to the recipes...I love anything artichoke :)

Terrye in FL

Patricia said...

OK...I'll have some of...EVERYTHING!!! lol! It all looks so delicious!! And I just love that photo of Sarah! THere's nothing like bonding in the kitchen!! LOVE IT!

"Hello... It's Me Again..." said...

That cake looks beautiful and the meal fabulous!!! Sarah looks cute with or without chocolate! ha ha....

Anonymous said...

Oh how I want a piece of that cake~ so now not only to you have to come and teach me how to take a perfect photo~ you have to make me that cake!!! Oh and let me not forget the stuff shell, yummy!!!

Thank you for the compliment, you are such a blessing to me!!!

Have a wonderful week

Fliss and Mike Adventures said...

Oh my... delicious... I am on my way over... or you can come to my place and cook... sorry I don't have much of a kitchen :)
I not long got back from my vacation and so playing catch up...

elliotts said...

Everything looks great!! We too had a low-key weekend...wet and rainy, it was the BEST!

Have a great week!

Diane

Rachel said...

YUM! Everything looks delicious.

I'm the opposite of you - I love to bake, but cooking isn't my favorite. That is probably encouraged by my kids' preference for plain food.

Missy said...

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall watching you and Ivy cook, chase the girls, take and edit pics :) My kinda girls.

The food looks excellent!!! The cake is so pretty and girly and Sarah is as cute as a button with those chocolate covered lips!

Talk to ya this week!

Jodee said...

It looks like you had a great time in the kitchen. Everything looks delicious! I am with Sarah -- my favorite part of baking is licking the spoon!

Hope you have a great week!

Launa said...

Oh Lisa! I would LOVE to have one of your fabulous meals some day! The cake is adorable too! :D Oh...and the photos are very delicious!!

Marla said...

Yummmmmmmmm. I'll be putting the ingredients for those shells on my next grocery list. Tell Sarah my favorite part is licking the spoon, too. :)

Y'all have a great week!

Jennifer said...

Sounds like a great weekend. I love your recipe posts. Your food photos are amazing. You need to make a cookbook with your recipes and photos for your children.

Jen

carolinagirl said...

Your photos are delectable! Killing me with those cake photos...we've been doing the Atkins diet since last Monday and I am dying for chocolate!!!

M3 said...

Licking the spoon is always the best part!!! Mmmmmm.

That first photo could be in a magazine -- wow!

Our Complete Family said...

Alright Ms Lisa~ Not only should you start a photography business because you ROCK at it, you should also start a cake baking and meal making business! You are a regular Marth girl!!!
Great shot of Sarah with the chocolatey face...adorable!
Love & hugs, Les

Gail said...

All I can say is ....yummy! I'll take a little bit of everything please. ;)
Will be trying the stuffed shells reciped soon.

Have a wonderful week and thank you for the sweet comments on my blog.

Michelle R Photography said...

All I can say is, WOW!! You really are a pro behind the camera AND in the kitchen. These shots are so crisp and beautiful, the food almost jumps off the screen. And that cake!?! WOW!! Glad you were able to get back in the kitchen, Lisa.

Have a great week!

Keisha said...

Oh... yum... it ALL looks Great!!!
And.. OMGoodness.. I just made the Hershey's "chocolaty chocolate cake' last week.. I was going to do a post about it.. because it was SOOO good, & I found it on the back of my cocoa box! Your's looks yummy with the "girly icing" LOL! I love it!!
Gotta go check out your marinara sauce now!! ;)
Hugs!

Jeni said...

YUM! I just want to pick up one of those red tomatoes in the first picture. That dinner sounds delish. I can't wait to see how you make your croutons. I want to check out that cake recipe. What a fun weekend you had.

Jboo said...

Oh yum!!! What beautiful yummy food! Sounds like a great weekend!

Have a fun week!

Janet

jenbusymom said...

What a fun day! My girls like to help mopping too, isn't it great that they're so eager to help clean!

Nice looking cake, and adorable cutie pic!

Briana's Mom said...

Looks like someone enjoyed the batter! LOL!

All I can say is "Yum".

The photo shoot got postponed. :( Rainy all weekend here too.

Lisa said...

Everything looks DELICIOUS! Love the last picture of Sarah witht the chocolate all over her face. : )

Alicia W. said...

You are AMAZING in your kitchen! WOW! I'm craving Italian now, thanks! :o) Totally just blew my diet, lol.

Sandra said...

Everything looks and sounds delish!!!!

Sue said...

Is there anything you're not good at? ; )

You should be a food photographer! Looks really yummy.

Sue : )

wife.mom.nurse said...

And you didn't invite me for dinner...

YUM!

")

Kam said...

My mouth is watering! I'm totally gonna print these recipes out when I get home! And the pictures are beautiful! How is it going? I'm so excited for you and this new venture of yours! You're going to be so great at it!

Happy Monday~

Kayce said...

I'm starving now!!! Looks so good...I'm off to copy the recipes. Thanks Lisa! Hope you're having a great day.

Sharon said...

Now I am STARVING and it is only 2:45pm!?!?! That day sounds like so much fun. I wish I could come over and cook with you : ). Linhsey would love Sarah. Hmmm...

Kristin said...

Oh my goodness. Your photography is as beautiful as your food! Your daughter as always adorable!

a Tonggu Momma said...

So why wasn't I invited? Because I may not be that great in the kitchen, but I am very talented at eating.

Casey said...

Everything looks SOOOO good!! Oh my!! I have to come visit! :) The cake is beautiful too... you are so talented...

I can't cook but I'm tempted to try you stuffed shells and family recipe... yum!!

fleur de lis cottage said...

You are one multi-talented lady. That meal looks and sounds amazing..I just want to move in with ya :)

Courtney said...

Looks like you had a great weekend! Everything looks yummy!

Ivy Shaffer said...

Hey Lisa,
It was a great day! We both had a great time and want to thank you for the awesome dinner! I had it tonight too for lunch and dinner:))

So when do my Italian culinary lessons officially begin? Since I'm beginning to have less and less time to play with PS maybe I'll give cooking a shot LOL. Maybe I should also have the fire dept. on standby.

Well it was a great day spent with you and Sarah. I will post those pics of the girls "cleaning". Too funny and you can put them on your post!

Thanks for everything. You're one great cook and an one special friend.

Mwaaaaaaaaaaaah

Ivy and Kira

Dita said...

Lisa...do you EVER sleep? Between the photograpy, the baking, the bonding, the homemade stuffed shells, the working, the cleaning, the visits with friends, the photography workshops....you know I could go on...

Oh, you put this mama to shame, or, perhaps you inspire me...depends on the day!

Soooo looking forward to seeing you in the FLESH tomorrow!

Marla said...

Boy I wish I lived closer! Is there anything you cant do? You so rock! We have got to head up East, soon!

Jennifer said...

You are such an awesome Mom! Love the pictures...the cake is so girly (it would be blue or red here). Glad you finally got some down time! We have had lots of rain here too....Have a great week!

Jen

Deb said...

YUM Lisa! Everything looks delicious and the photos are amazing too!

Aspiemom said...

You take great food pictures - they look very enticing!

That shot with the salad...what is that in the white dish? That looks especially yummy.

Bailey said...

Your food looks totally delish! I agree... I will take one of everything.

De Lucchi Family Treasures said...

I Love that last photo the best!!
The others are amazing too!
I envy your photographic skills.
Lots of love
Jules
xxx

paige said...

well i can think of no better place to be than up to my elbows in ricotta cheese & buttercream frosting!
love your foodie entries
hugs to you my blog friend
xo

kerri said...

Yum!!
You have made me hungry, LOL.
The cake was just beautiful, I love the little tast tester, too cute. ;)

Shawnstribe said...

great photos!!!!
so yummy, i love Sarahs precious look, soooo adorable
xxx
s

abeachcottage said...

oooh sounds wonderful and looks wonderful!

great inspiration

sarah

Buzzings of a Queen Bee! said...

That cake is heavenly looking! I wish I could crash your house for dinner...the entire meal looks fabulous! :)
Carrie

Kim said...

YUMMY...
Have a great week..
Hugs..

Leslie said...

Yummy...Yummy...Yummy.
Why can't you live closer to me!!!

Unknown said...

She is so adorable with her icing covered face : ). Just as adorable as can be!

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