Get a free Longhorn's appetizer!!!

If you LOVE Longhorn's restaurant like my family, you will definitely want to check this out! All you have to do is sign up for their Western Hospitality Club. They will email you a coupon for a free appetizer! Hurry and sign up!
https://news.longhornsteakhouse.com/lh_signup.jsp

Yummy Ham, Cheddar and Potato Soup

If you like potato soup you will love this recipe. It is easy to make and delicious. I found the base recipe in a cookbook and made changes to my own liking. If you don't like ham or corn , just leave them out. The soup will still taste great!
Enjoy :-)

Ham, Cheddar and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups diced red potatoes

4 cups water

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (according to how much you like celery...we love it)

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules (not the cubes!!!)

1/2 can either yellow sweet corn or white shoe peg corn (either would be delicious)

3/4 cup diced, cooked ham

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

10 tablespoons butter

10 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 1/2 cups milk......you can add more if you need to.

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

Put the water into a stockpot. Add the diced potatoes, chicken bouillon granuals, celery, onion, ham, and corn to the water. After cooking for about 10 minutes start cooking the next part.

Now we are going to make a bechemel sauce (white sauce). This will thicken and flavor the soup. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add all of the flour. Cook the flour until it smells "nutty" (about 1 minute). Then add the milk slowly, while whisking briskly!!! If you add all the milk and it is really too thick then add more milk until it looks like thick gravy. Add the salt and pepper to the bechemel sauce. Add the bechemel sauce to the stockpot. Cook a few minutes and then add the shredded cheese. Stir until the cheese is all the way melted and serve!

Homemade Shrimp Linguini Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 16oz package of linguine pasta

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 "pats" of butter

1/2 cup minced onion

6-8 tablespoons chopped garlic (according to how much garlic you like)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 lb to 1 1/2lbs medium size fresh shrimp (or substitute 2 cups chunked chicken for a cheaper option)

1/3 cup white wine

2 cups half & half

handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for top of dish

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Boil water and add salt to flavor the pasta. Add in the pasta and a little oil (to keep it from sticking together). Cook pasta until al'dente about (8 minutes).

In a skillet, add the olive oil, pats of butter, onion, shrimp and garlic (last). Saute on the onion on medium heat and then add the shrimp and garlic. Add the white wine and finish cooking the shrimp until it is pink in color. Be careful not to burn the garlic! Add the half & half to the shrimp mixture. Stir constantly until the sauce starts to thicken. Add in the parmesan cheese and salt & pepper to taste. Cook the sauce until the cheese is melted. The sauce will thicken upon standing.

Drain the pasta and put it in a semi-deep serving dish. Pour the shrimp and alfredo sauce over the pasta and toss together. Add the extra 1/4 cup parm cheese on top and then add the chopped parsley.

You are done! You just made your very own, DELICIOUS, shrimp linguine alfredo. So, save your money going out to expensive restaurants, stay home and cook this restuarant quality pasta dish. Serve with come crunchy bread and a side salad!

P is for Pigtails

P is for Pigtails is a business that my sister-in-law and I started together. We are selling custom children's accessories. We make all of these items ourselves. We really enjoy doing this together! We are always looking for ways to expand our new business more. Currently we have our stuff at Alli Roberts Salon and Gracie's Closet. Most all of our inventory can be seen online on our FaceBook fan page. The link is available on the left hand side of this blog. We also have an Etsy.com site where you can see a few things and request a custom order. We can make just about anything you want! I'll post pics of our stuff soon. Become a follower of The Domestic Magnolia, so you can see our new stuff all the time!

My life inspiration

My late great-grandmother, Sara Margaret Cunard Jones, was/is my life inspiration. Don't get me wrong, I am my own person, but I definitely pattern my life after her. She was a strong, loving, God-fearing woman. She loved her family with all of her heart. I loved her so very much and I doubt she ever knew what an impact she would have on her family, especially me. I was 17 when she died and I still think about her EVERY day. My daughter, Sara "Ava" is named after her. I am doing a bible study on what is it to be a "Virtuous woman" in God's eyes. The study focuses on the woman mentioned in Proverbs 31. I truly believe that my great-grandmother (Granny) was the closest woman I have ever been around, to that "Virtuous woman." I guess I am a little biased though! My point in saying all of this in my first blog post is to tell anyone who reads this that she has made such an impact on my life. I try everyday to make her proud. I try everyday to be more like the person, wife, mother, grandmother, cook, baker, seamstress, that she was. Someone told me the other day that my Granny would be so proud of me and I think that is the greatest compliment that I have ever gotten. I hope that I do make her proud and I hope that one day, after I am gone, my family will look back on my life and be proud o f me too. I hope they can say that I have lived a "Virtuous" life, just as the Proverbs 31 woman and my Granny did.