Last week, some of our kids were coming to dinner and had requested this dish a couple of weeks ago. It sounded really good when I looked at the recipe, so decided to try it. Im not really fond of pasta with cream sauces, as I prefer tomato based, but after having this, I have changed my mind and was so glad I tried it. Was so easy and had such few ingredients that it makes a great dish to serve company.

2 cups cubed roasted chicken breast ( I stopped in at Costco and picked one up)

16 oz box of penne pasta, cooked until done and drained

Sauce

3 tables butter

3 tables flour

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups half & half

1/2 teas dried oregano

1/2 tesas dreid basil

1 1/2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper ( I added about another 1/2 teas as I love the flavor of pepper with the cream)

Chop chicken breast until you have about 2 cups. Set aside. Reserve rest of chicken for another use.

Melt the butter and stir in the flour until a paste is formed. Stir in the minced garlic and cook in paste until garlic is tender. Gradually add the half & half in and stir continually until it is beginning to thicken. Add the spices and the cheese. Stir until well blended. Add the cooked (and drained) penne pasta into the sauce. When well mixed, sprinkle even more cheese over the top and place in a preheated 350 oven. Bake until cheese on top is melted and pasta is beginning to bubble. Serve with fresh garlic bread and salad.

One of our grandsons got in the car on Tuesday and before ever saying “hi nana, thanks for picking me up from school and do you know how much I love you and you are my fav person to hang out with?”, he threw his golf clubs in the back, got his phone out to text his girlfriend, looked over at me and said,”Nana, could you maybe make some red velvet thumbprints cookies and make the frosting cream cheese that goes in the thumbprint?, oh and could we run by Chick Fila and get some food and a coke, I’m about to die of thirst!” Well, back in my day (which was too many days back to count) I would have first at least looked over at my grandmother and said,”hello grandmother it is so good to see you and thank you so much for taking the time to come pick me up since my parents were busy!” And then, I would have given my requests! But because he actually talked to me (well until his mouth was full of Chick Fila and was busy texting his girlfriend) 7 1/2 min of the 30 min car ride home, I agreed to make him these cookies! So here it is, all you red velvet lovers: very easy and I have to admit, not only are they cute but you can down about 5 of them before you begin to count calories. After all, can something that is called bunny bites really be bad for you? I think not!

1 Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter melted and cooled

1 teas vanilla

1 large egg

Mix all 4 ingredients in a bowl and stir until well blended. Be sure the butter was cooled before adding to mixture. Mixture will be thick.

Wrap and place in fridge for about an hour or even overnight!

I used the candy size paper liners in the miniature muffin tin pan and dropped about a tablespoon of dough in each. This made about 40 cookies! Bake in preheated 350 oven for 10 min. Using a Thumbkin (I made my own using a stick and wooden ball) or your own thumb, make an indentation while still warm. Fill that indention with your fav cream cheese frosting. Recipe for frosting is below if you want to make these bunny bites really “bunnylicious”

Cream cheese Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1. (8 oz) softened cream cheese

1 box (3 1/2 cups) powdered sugar

Enough whipping cream or milk to get frosting so you can use it in cookie press or frosting tube! Beat until well blended and smooth!

I have no idea what happened but when I went to my blog to get this recipe this morning it wasn’t there. So am reposting it. Just made a video on Sassysouthern on YouTube making these awesome chocolate cookies that are divine. Here is the recipe that mysteriously disappeared! Recipe is also in Tis So Sweet. Amazon for $12 should you want a cookbook with all desserts and who doesn’t want that?

Easter and the celebration of knowing we serve a living Savior is almost here! Maybe this is a difficult season in your life and you are wondering what difference it makes that Jesus Christ is alive! This book is filled with testimonies from women. Maybe just like you or someone you know, who is going  thru a hard time but knew The One who would walk through every difficulty in their lives. Does He promise us a life of prosperity and no problems? No…but what He does promise us is that He will ALWAYS be there walking thru it with us!

Daniel 3:25

“Look King Nebuchadnezzar shouted! I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire. They aren’t even hurt by the flames! And the fourth man looks like a Divine being”

If you or someone you know is needing some encouragement right now, send them Tis So Sweet! It is available on Amazon for $12. These testimonies that you will read will tell how God met them at very hard times in their lives!

Yesterday I heard a preacher say that we can never know the peace of God until we have peace With God. Who is needing to hear that today?

You can thank me later! Tuesday morning began like any other day. I got up, opened up my Diet DrPepper and sat down to read my devotion of the day. Decided to then make breakfast for Randy and I before heading to the Dr to see about a problem I have been having with my hip. Since I knew I would have to get on the industrial scale the dr has installed that looks like and is almost large enough to weigh an 18 wheeler, I decided to eat light that morning . I didn’t want the Dr fussing at me for gaining weight these last 6 months! So we ate a light breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese. Toast (but without jelly, trying to stay “light”), sausage patties and juice. We skipped fried potatoes that morning. Didn’t want to take any chances of adding a pound or two. Feeling pretty cocky and Positive that I could still zip my jeans to dress nice for dr appointment. I drove to the appointment feeling pretty spiffy that Dr would look at me and say, “trudy I’m so proud of you, you did great these last 6 months and didn’t gain the Covid weight most people have gained!” When the Dr assistant came to walk me back, we chatted and she stopped me in front of the heavy metal floor scale that weighs folks! I told her it would take me a min to disrobe all the unnecessary cloths that I knew would add pounds! So I proceeded to take off my coat, my vest, my earrings, my bracelet and shoes! When I began to remove my mask she stopped me and said, ” oh Ms Trudy, you have to keep your mask on”. What??? But that is unnecessary baggage and might effect the scales! So very unhappily leaving the mask on, I glanced to the image the red light was projecting on the wall from the scale! Lo and Behold, just as I had warned the lady who was writing down the info she was seeing, the masks had indeed caused a 10 lb difference since last dr visit! So please ladies and gentlemen, be careful which mask you wear to weigh in. Some of them have hidden weights in them. They might look small and flimsy but beware!!! They are not what you want to be caught in when having to weigh in at dr office! Be sure and choose a mask that does not have these weights! No matter the light versions of meals you consume before going will not be enough to keep the scales down if you are wearing the wrong masks!!!! Please pass this on so others will be in the know! And to think that Randy and I went without the normal large order of French fries that we have along with our double double hamburger at In and Out the night before the appointment! If I had known about this we would not have sacrificed the fries! This is so sad that we were never warned about this! Am now on a search for a new masks that has no writing or pictures or any weights secretly sewed in them. And by the way, all of you who were mailed pretty little lime green masks that has Humana written in large white letters….that screens “I am A Senior Citizen”, throw that one out also!

Tis So Sweet is now available on Amazon $12 and is full of wonderful testimonies from woman who have so sweetly shared their hearts! Bake a cookie, scone, pie or cake, from the many recipes in the book! Sit and read stories of Gods faithfulness to women, who have gone thru a difficult season but chose to put their trust in the One who gives us hope and peace! Thanks to Barbi Wright Briscoe, Becky Frame, Christi Schwalk, Debbie Stuart,Dee Smith, Dianne Bryant, Haley Stuart Taylor, Holly Hawkins Shivers, Linda Perry, Simone Monroe, Sylvia Gilmour and Wyndi Geren for your willingness of opening up your heart to us! May God be glorified through these declarations!