I am still ALIVE, and will begin blogging again SOON!

I am here! I am alive! So much has happened since May 2013. I am just going to say a QUICK HELLO and share a few pictures and then I promise I will be back soon!

My twins came home from their first year of college, they went on an amazing Study Abroad trip to Italy, and now they are already back in school in Missouri for year number two. Bitter Sweet! My little guy just started High School, I don't know how that happened. And we enjoyed a few family vacations this summer, quick but fun.

Creative Memories and the scrapbooking program I have used for years and years is NO MORE. I have moved over to a new company, which was actually the original makers of the Creative Memories program, Panstoria Historian 4 photo management and editing software check it out.



This is how I make all my scrapbooking pages on my blog, so I've gotta do a little switching over and before I even had begun this process, my computer CRASHED three nights ago, yep CRASHED! Thank the Lord for Carbonite, in the process of re-storing everything now. So, that too will help me get back up and running.

And then, YEP it just keeps getting better and better! Just as I was going to begin "blogging" again, my house flooded. Yep, the entire thing from an upstairs supply hose. Needless to say, the below pictures are from my home and I have no home right now, let alone any kitchen to cook in. AH, looking at the bright side, I will be getting a brand new kitchen (again!)! Yeah, I've already remodeled once or twice before, so here we go again. Not only is it a new kitchen, two new bathrooms, the stairs, the hallways, the bonus room, the scrapbook room and the Master Bedroom Closet and part of the room too! FUN TIMES!

Yep, that's ME! My cute painted toes and all reading my Food & Family Magazine waiting for the many many contractors to arrive on a daily bases. And YEAH that was my kitchen you are looking at. So, now that you are all caught up on my life, I WILL BE BACK as soon as I can cooking and blogging in my brand new kitchen (and home!)

Raspberry Dream Muffins

Here is a delicious muffin recipe to make with those hand picked raspberries this season (or fresh ones from the store, or frozen work well too). It's almost raspberry picking time (just a few months away), so I am getting excited about having my freezer filled with fresh hand picked raspberries again. I can't wait to get back in the kitchen and create some magical new things, but today I am sharing a muffin recipe, from one of my favorite bloggers. This is by far one of the best raspberry muffins recipes I've made so far.


Raspberry Dream Muffins
original recipe found at Your Homebased Mom

6 oz raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp for topping
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 tbsp brown sugar

In a bowl combine raspberries (washed) and 1/4 cup sugar and let sit while you assemble the rest of the muffins. In a mixing bowl cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Beat in eggs and almond extract and vanilla.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture, alternating with milk and cream. Stir in white chocolate chips. Gently fold in raspberries.

Line muffin tins with liners and fill 3/4 full.

Combine brown sugar and remaining white sugar. Sprinkle over the top of batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Best served warm.

G'ma Spaghetti {Pasta for the Dorm Room}

We are celebrating my twins birthday by making their favorite pasta for a dorm room full of college girls (and boys). This was so much fun, I flew out to see my daughters in September for their 19th birthday (yes, I've been holding onto this post for a while now) and I even got to watch them perform at the Cardinals Baseball Game and while I was there they had a list of favorite foods they were missing from home, one of them was G'ma's Simple Spaghetti.

And since I was asked to create a pasta recipe for the National Pasta Association (NPA) working on a campaign called Pasta Fits, I knew this was the perfect opportunity and the perfect recipe. It's light, it's simple and it's delicious. We love pasta at our house, it's pretty much a staple every week and with all the healthy and light ways you can fit it into your diet very easily. It's also great on your budget, and as a Dave Ramsey fan, pasta totally works.


I was sent a VERY COOL pasta pack that included Dreamfields® Spaghetti, Mueller’s® Whole Grain Spaghetti, Heartland® Gluten Free Wheat Free Penne, Ronzoni Healthy Harvest® Spaghetti, Ronzoni Garden Delight® Rotini, and an Ultragrain Pasta® Spaghetti Spoon, and you can find some super cool recipes you can try from the National Pasta Association (NPA).

G'ma's Simple Spaghetti Sauce

from my MOM (G'ma)

4 cans of Tomato Sauce

1 can Tomato Paste
1/4 can of water

1-2 lbs of Hamburger Meat

1-2 tbsp Italian Seasoning

1-2 tsp Garlic Powder (or Onion Salt, Onion Powder and/or Garlic Salt)

Cook hamburger meat on stove-top with a little bit of the seasoning until done. Add in the 4 cans of tomato sauce and 1 can of tomato paste with add'l amounts of seasoning (she just throws some in, never measures and it is never the same) simmer/cook until steamin' hot! Cook up your spaghetti noodles and serve. We always serve with Poor Man's Garlic Bread.

National Pasta Association is providing the products for this post

at no cost to me for review, the opinions in this post are entirely mine.

{Candy} Graduation Hats

WOW, what a difference a year makes. I can't believe my little girls just finished their first year of college. These were such a cute treat for my girls High School Graduation party last year. I just never got around to posting them, so for all you moms out there with graduates this year, ENJOY!

The cookies in the photo are delicious too, see recipe here.

The party was fantastic and the dessert bar, oh MY! It was a big hit and I would recommend anyone doing this for anytime of big party.

Of course we served up some of our favorite cupcakes of all-time
Pineapple Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

I saw many versions of this and still went out to create my own yet another completly different version that was quick and easy.

Graduation Candy Hats
created by me; inspired by Taste of Home

24 miniature peanut butter cups (freeze overnight)
24 Dove (freeze overnight)
24 mini-chocolate M&M candy pieces (chocie of color)
1 pkg sour straw candy
Melting Chocolate (to use for the glue)

Remove candy from the freezer and upwrap all candy and place upside down on waxed paper. Melt chocolate metling candy in microwave to use for the glue to put hats together. Cut the candy rope/straw sour candy into thin strips for the tassel. With a tooth pick dip into the melted chocolate and then place the tassel onto the top of the hat and the M&M on top of each candy.

Cucumbers in Greek Yogurt

I go back and forth from healthy to Better than Anything Brownies or Cake. I just need to find that happy middle ground, one where I can enjoy the delicious {bad things} and also enjoy the healthy things, and maybe the healthy things a little more often. Today I am sharing a quick and easy healthy snack, Cucumbers in Greek Yogurt. We love cucumbers around here and what better way then to pair them with a healthy greek yogurt to make them even more scrumptious.

Cucumber in Greek Yogurt
created by me: Tina Hudgens

2 cucumbers (peeled and diced)
1 small container plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp sugar (or less to taste)
1 tsp fresh pepper

Peel and dice the cucumber into small pieces. Mix together yogurt, sugar and pepper. Mix all together and enjoy for a delicious and healthy afternoon snack.