"Beverly Hills! What a Thrill!"

This title has absolutely nothing to do with what this blog is about but yet it does. This is the song from Troop Beverly Hills. I love this movie and have vivid memories of watching it with my friend Ashley when we were in 4th grade. Little did we know then how our friendship would grow and last. Ashley and I didn't go to the same school but we were in APAC (Academic and Performing Arts Complex -- our little nerdy magnet program). We both left our home school early each day and were bussed to the APAC campus for more advanced classes... we took two classes (Math, Science or English) at a grade level ahead. Nerds. I think Ashley was also in APAC Art as well. I had no performing arts and still don't! So Ashley and I met there at APAC and she invited me to her house to play one afternoon. We watched Troop Beverly Hills and I guess you could say the rest was history.

Both our elementary schools fed into the same Middle School and High School (though Ash had a brief stint at a different High School and quickly found her way back home!) so the friendship kept going. When college rolled around we both ended up picking Millsaps and decided to request to be on the same floor/wing of our dorm so that we could meet new people but still have someone we knew close by. The admissions/housing office complied and we were assigned two doors down from each other. By midterm, both of us were looking to switch roommates and ultimately we moved in together. I'll just say we had a blast that year... lots of late nights, lots of double stuff Oreo's and milk... We should have roomed together from day 1!

Ashley decided to change schools after the first year and off to Charleston she went. I stayed in Jackson.  Today she's in Colorado and I'm in Texas. Through it all, we are still great friends. She's one of the few people that still calls me "SAD" and I love it!

All of this backstory finally brings me to the project I just finished. Ashley has a shop on Etsy where she sells fun designer ("Beverly Hills" = Designer/High Fashion right???) fabrics. After my first burp cloth, I decided I wanted to make some more and thought I could make some bibs too (after reading this blog on Prudent Baby). I ordered some fabric from Ashley and got to work.

I made the bib first following Prudent Baby's instructions (minus pocket). I don't think I used the best bib as a guide and ended up with a too small neck. I made some adjustments and was able to salvage and learned a few lessons for the next one.

For the burp cloth I just sewed a rectangle of fabric on the center of the cloth diaper and added some grosgrain ribbon on the ends to hide the fact that my rectangle was about 1/4 inch too small!

Neither are quite sellable or giftable but with a little more practice I might be there. I wonder if I could get a "Wilderness Girl Patch" for my sewing! ;)  I have lots of fun fabrics to work with.

Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole

HOLD THE PHONE!  SARAH COOKED SOMETHING NEW!!!!  It’s been a LONG time since I’ve really cooked anything and longer since I’ve tried a new recipe.  I guess that’s what having a baby does.  Really, we have just been blessed to have wonderful friends and family bring us food in the first weeks after Cason arrived so I haven’t HAD to cook much.

Ryan’s Mom brought it to us right after Cason was born and we both really liked it.  I was in the mood to try it again so I did a quick search on Pillsbury.com since I knew it had Pillsbury Crescent rolls on it and found the recipe.  This recipe is the epitome of “easy” which is all I can handle these days.  I didn’t get very good pictures (the one on Pillsbury’s site is WAY better) but I don’t like to post without a picture.

Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole
by Pillsbury

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Heat oven to 375°F. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream; mix well.

Pour hot beef mixture into ungreased 9 1/2 or 10-inch glass deep-dish pie pan or 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture over beef mixture.

Unroll dough over cheese mixture. (If using pie pan, separate dough into 8 triangles; arrange points toward center over cheese mixture, crimping outside edges if necessary.) In small bowl, mix Parmesan cheese and butter. Spread evenly over dough.

Bake at 375°F. for 18 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Camera phone picture = horrible quality. But I wanted to get a shot of the pretty, rounded top before it fell when I took it out of the oven!

To prepare ahead, go through the steps up to adding the crescent rolls on top.  Add the crescent rolls, butter and parmesan cheese right before baking to ensure that the crescent roll top “puffs” appropriately!