She's Ready for her Close-up Mr. Demille

     I've pretty much decided that my child is going to be an actress, or a singer, or a dancer, or something that requires everyone to look at her.  She definitely knows how to command the attention of an entire room, for better or worse.  The other day, when my mom and little brother came to visit, we had to go into the Pass and ID place to get my mom's pass for the weekend to drive on base.  We were there for about an hour, waiting in line because everyone decided to go at the same time.  We passed the time pleasantly enough, talking, catching up, and of course, paying extra-special attention to Monkey's endless antics.  There was a good crowd, so it's no surprise that Monkey was in the middle of the room, where they could all see her.  She was dancing and jumping around until that got old.  That's when she started to sing.  Lately she's been making up her own love ballads, which are greatly influenced by all those Disney movies mommy lets her watch.  In the middle of everything, she belts out, "My heart is so full, and I love my Juju, and my Bubba is in my heart, and I will be so sad, because Mommy will be DEAD!!!"

   Yeah, she said that.  My mom (Juju) busted out laughing, and my little brother (Bubba) was torn between laughter and embarrassment.  I, meanwhile, was trying to recover the situation because all the old ladies who had been grinning and encouraging my little girl now looked at me with shock and indignation.  I just gave a weak smile and a shrug and said, "Gotta love those Disney movies".  That relaxed them a little, and I was able to convince my little brother to walk my little performing artist around the garden outside until we were finished.

    I'll be signing my little singer/songwriter up for dance in a few weeks.  Hopefully that will give her the limelight she seems to be craving, while also teaching her new skills and providing a new atmosphere to make friends.  I'm excited, and she is too.  She keeps asking me when we're going to dance class.  I may have created a monster.

    As for me, I've been up to my normal stuff of keeping busy.  I'm excited that July will be over in a few more days, that's one month down :-)

  I'm going to be sharing two recipes with y'all today, as soon as I figure out which ones I want to pick. How about a good ole Coffee Cake to start off with?

I love Coffee Cake for breakfast :-)

Hmmm....I can almost smell it.

 Coffee Cake Recipe

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 8 ounces (1 cup) sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and sour cream; add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to creamed mixture; beat well. Generously grease a 10-inch tube pan. Make topping by combining chopped nuts, sugar, and cinnamon. In bottom of the well-greased tube pan put about one-third of topping mixture; alternate layers of batter and topping, ending with batter. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

"C" is for Coffee Cake

  And now, how about a dinner recipe?  I'm thinking this Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream will be the perfect recipe to share.  I didn't realize that I had this pinned about 5 different times on my "Recipes to Try" board, but I did, so I figured it was high time I tried it, and I'm so glad I did!

Tuscan Pasta Recipe

• 1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli (I used Buitoni)*
• 1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce (I used Classico)
• 2 tablespoons white wine 
• 2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped**
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Garnish: fresh basil strips

1. 1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. 2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.
3. *1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.
4. **1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.

It didn't last long.

Well I need to go check on my rising star to make sure she's not getting into anything.  Yesterday I caught her wearing my pink high heels from last Homecoming with a purple scarf and a pink tutu while putting on my make up.  I wish I would've had my camera ready.