Busy Week and Another Pioneer Woman Recipe

Last week was a busy week!  Besides Wednesday being the last day of school for everyone, we also had the girls rehearsals for their recital stuck in there amidst the usual chaos of the last week of school.  Friday and Saturday were the recital performances.  I look forward every year to the dance recital.  I know most people would look at it as some kind of ancient torture ritual, but our dance studio does such a good job of organizing it, it really is enjoyable...really.  Or maybe it is just because I live vicariously through my girls when I watch them dance, (I always wanted to be a ballerina).  Then puberty hit....ain't gonna happen folks.  It was extra special this year because our good friends little girl was also in the recital, 4 year olds dancing, sooo cute, I always love watching the littles. 

Anyway, my mom and my aunt and my cousins wife came to see the recital.  I had them over to the house after for some dinner.  In planning my menu I knew I needed something easy, because I wasn't going to be there to fix it.  So I fell back on my favorite kitchen appliance, my crock pot, and one of my favorite recipes, from one of my favorite people, The Pioneer Woman.  

The recipe, Spicy Pulled Pork, is so flexible.  I used it for sandwiches, you can add BBQ sauce, or not, and it is delish in tacos.  One note:  she cooks hers in an oven for a long time low and slow, I put mine in my crock pot and cook it all night the day before I am going to serve it, then shred it, put it back in the juices until I serve it.  You must make this, today, right now. The link is below, as well as a pic of my girls ready for their recital.  
Thanks for stopping by!

Marcy


http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/08/spicy-shredded-pork/

Sometimes chicken gets boring.....

I don't know about you, but at our house, we start grilling out from about late April to well into early fall.  That is a lot of grilling, and a lot of chicken!!  I am always on the hunt for new and delicious grilled chicken recipes.  Well I found this one last year on one of my favorite recipe blogs that I like to go to when I am in a cooking rut.  I am sure many of you have heard of "The Pioneer Woman", Ree Drummond, and if you haven't, her blog is great, and she has her own show on Food Network as well, oh and she has 2 cookbooks.

This recipe is so good, while it features grilled chicken, the chicken is really just a vehicle for the super yumminess of the pasta you serve with it.  Now, let me say before I share this recipe that this isn't the healthiest of dishes, grilled chicken, yes, the pasta.....eh.  But you aren't going to eat this everyday, and everything in moderation, I say.  And even though the pasta has wonderful things in it like butter, cream and parmesan, the addition of lemon and basil make it taste so fresh.  Please try it, you will be glad you did!  Here is a picture and the link to the recipe.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/grilled-chicken-with-lemon-basil-pasta/

Have a great day!

Marcy

Hi!  I am Marcy, and this is my first attempt at blogging.  I got hooked on reading other blogs  a little over a year ago,through Pinterest.  I  was looking up Spring decorating, came across a beautiful pin of an Easter Mantle, which then linked me to the blog http://www.adventuresindecorating1.blogspot.com/.  If you have never visited this blog, I highly encourage it, if you like decorating, you will love her, Becca's, blog, such awesome eye candy!!  Anyhoo, after perusing this blog, I saw her list of blogs she enjoyed, and started looking at those as well.  I was hooked, and realized very quickly that I could waste an entire afternoon looking and discovering new blogs!  (Could I say "blogs" one more time in this paragraph?)   

I have decided to start blogging to share some of my favorite things: cooking, decorating-especially DIY, entertaining and all things relating to the "home".  

I picked the title "Girl From a Small Town", because, well, I am.  I grew up in a small town in Illinois with a whopping population of 2200.  I wouldn't have changed it for anything.  Now I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband of 20 1/2 years, and 3 children, and one puppy.  My husband is a pastor, and in 2010 we started a new church plant that actually meets in a bar, more on that later:)  My parents still live in that small town, and we enjoy going there to visit when we can.  It is far more peaceful, and the kids have more freedom than I allow where we live now.  

A lot of the things I enjoy I learned growing up in that small town.  I hope you will be inspired by something you see or read,  Thanks for stopping by!

Marcy