How to........

This post is going to be oh so informational for all those who aspire to be redneck and have a quick, easy meal for dinner!

That's right: I will reveal the secret of the "Redneck Sandbox" and the ravioli soup recipe-tweaked by me. Edge of your seats I tell ya!

But first, am I the smelly kid in the class? I mean seriously, I lost another follower. What is the deal? Am I pissing y'all off? Am I the only one who knows how many followers I have? Sad face here.

Must stop dwelling.

Moving on-yesterday (Sunday), we had a photo shoot. Our first in a while! I know the grands will be pleased. We decided that Emma needed a sandbox, but we didn't want to commit to one of those rather large crab/turtle shaped ones. Number one, they are about 65$ and number two, it would need to go in the shade. Which we are sorely lacking in the backyard. And front yard. In general.

So, until we can find and have the need for a BIG wooden old school sandbox, with an appropriate place to put it, we made a redneck sandbox.

The redneck sandbox cost 26$. We got a rectangular Rubbermaid tub from Walmart with wheels and a lid for 18$ and 2 bags of play sand for 8$.

We had a bunch of sand/beach toys from FeFe, so we threw those in too. Girlfriend had a blast!

Ummm, yummy?

Notice the lid-this is essential to protect the box from dog tee and water/condensation.

It is under our screened in porch, but right by the screen, so rain might blow in.

Partiers

We decided that some Anne Geddes action was necessary.

Emma does not get down with hats-this was a 30 second

distractor shot. Love the wool hat in the 95 degree heat.

And the remote outside. Cause Daddy may or may not have

been watching the Falcons game through the French doors.

And controlling the TV with the remote from outside.

Again, redneck.

I adore her hair and her facial expressions in these pictures! Sooo cute!

Next on the agenda is a recipe share! The ravioli soup from Parents magazine was divine, but I tweaked it and added my own twist. The original recipe can be found here.

Here is my recipe:

3 links of hot Italian turkey sausage (the recipe calls for you to make your own turkey meatballs-no dice-I have no time, plus I LOVE turkey sausage) Take the casings off and "cut" into bite size chunks.

1/2 bag frozen ravioli-I used 12 oz. (Take out to lightly thaw while you are prepping everything else)

4 C low sodium chicken broth

1 C diced carrots

1 C frozen cut green beans

1 C frozen seasoning mix-celery, onion, bell peppers

1 8 oz can of no salt added tomato sauce

1 14 oz can of Italian style diced tomatoes

1 T garlic, some salt, pepper

OK-brown the turkey sausage. Bring the broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, all veggies, garlic, kosher salt, and pepper to a boil. Simmer for five minutes. Add the sausage. Keep simmering. At this point, I went up to give Emma a bath and let it keep simmering (covered) for about 20 minutes.

After all that simmering, right before (5 minutes) you are ready to eat, add the slightly frozen ravioli. It will keep simmering and cook the ravioli. I made a piece of cheese toast to go with.

The recipes says it serves six. I have tons left over and I ate 1 1/2 bowls! Lunch for the week.

It was realllllllllllllllly good and it's healthy! No WW points for the veggies or broth. The only points are from the ravioli and the sausage. It's about 5 points-I'm estimating here, but one whole cup of pasta is 4 points.

Anyway, you should try it. No pics cause it was 7:40 when I got to eat, and mama was hungry!

Now, I have taught you two things tonight! Wow! Let me know what you think if you try it, and do share your thoughts on the sandbox.................can't wait to go check Google reader and see what you all are up to!