Today is a very special day! It is my first adventure with the Traveling Tote group!
I have been following this group of fellow McKenzie-Childs loving bloggers on their adventures and was beyond thrilled when they asked me to join in the fun with my new tote, “Miss Coquille”!
“Miss Coquille,” {French for shell} got her name from the fact that most of the traveling she will be doing is “back and forthing” from the Alabama gulf coast {Orange Beach} to the “city” {Birmingham}
The ladies of the Traveling Tote group can make an adventure out of a simple walk through the park, and assured me I would be welcome even if I lacked travels to exotic foreign lands!
Today we are supposed to focus on the men behind the traveling totes, so let me introduce you to my husband, HH, which stands for Hungry Husband. I nicknamed him that because he is naturally thin and he’s always hungry. Recently retired, he had a long career as cosmetic dentist, and can fix anything! Being married to him is an adventure in itself, never a dull moment…
He loves the water, his boats and his boys
And sharing his love of trains
HH has learned over the years that it’s best to ask what I want rather than try to surprise me, and now in the age of on line ordering, I just send him the link…and when I found out the McK-Chds bag I wanted was on sale, it went straight to my Christmas wish list 🤞
Come Christmas morning and no big McKenzie Childs package under the tree, I was disappointed but since he had given me other wonderful gifts, I didn’t think much about it…
UNTIL the following weekend!
We were having a delayed gift exchange with my daughter and her family on New Year’s Day, and I spied a suspicious box
HH does most of his own shopping and wrapping, and keeps gifts under a little tree in his Man Cave….mainly because I rarely approve of his wrapping paper, and he tends to use stick on bows 😱
He doesn’t understand that packages must match the decor!
He doesn’t use gift tags, however, and just says he’ll remember who his packages are for…
He handed said suspicious box to DD, and she proceeded to open it. As she pulled out the tote, she looked confused and said “this looks like something Mom would like!”
Luckily for me it’s not quite her taste and she happily passed it over to me -not to mention that I screeched, “Wait that’s for me!” 😅
So I loaded “Miss Coquille” up with my laptop and other important items and settled her in for her first trip to the coast
We like to relax and just enjoy, after we arrive, so I always bring a cooler full of groceries so we don’t have to shop right away
Luckily we have a simple system for unloading the car
Life is casual at the beach, and when your house is built on stilts, a little help is much appreciated!
My sweet neighbor invented and installed this little “dumb waiter,” and it can lift up to 400 lbs!
We call it the “Magic Bucket,” it’s very handy for groceries, luggage, not to mention stocking up beer and wine 😊
We made it!
Come on in
Let’s unpack
and enjoy some Ready Spaghetti
A few days before we left I made spaghetti sauce and let it cook all night in the slow cooker
The next day it was quick work to assemble it into a casserole
If you toss your cooked pasta with beaten egg and then mix in sour cream, Greek yogurt or ricotta, it keeps your casserole moist and creamy, even when reheated
Ahh, nothing better than arriving to beautiful weather
AND an already prepared delicious dinner!
Ready Spaghetti
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 1 jar 24 oz Cabernet marinara sauce
- 1 jar 24 oz sweet basil marinara sauce
- 3/4 lb Italian sausage
- 3/4 lb ground chuck
- Italian seasoning
- garlic powder
Casserole
- 8 oz thin spaghetti
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 slices provolone
- 3 oz Parmesan
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- Brown meat, season with salt and pepper and drain well on paper towels.
- Spray or line slow cooker and add sauce. Add meat and season well with 3-4 healthy dashes of Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Simmer 8 hours on low.
- Store extra sauce in refrigerator up to 1 week or freeze.
Casserole
- Cook spaghetti al dente, drain and reserve some pasta water
- Add some pasta water to beaten egg to temper.
- Toss hot pasta with egg and stir well. Place in deep 8 x 8 greased casserole dish.
- Add sour cream and mix well to evenly coat pasta.
- Cover with ample amount of sauce. Mix sauce into noodles. Top with Provolone slices. Top cheese with more sauce in an even thick layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover and refrigerate until baking.
- Refrigerate any leftover sauce for another use.
- Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until hot throughout. Cut into squares to serve.
Thank you Debbie, Emily, Linda, Patti, Rita, and Sarah for your warm welcome!
Patti with Miss Kenzie, and Miss Taylor @ Pandora’s box
Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply
The travels continue March 1!
Thanks for visiting with us today!
This recipe is similar to my Spaghetti Cassoulet
You will have about 1/2 jar sauce leftover if you make casserole as directed. You can increase the amount of spaghetti to 12 oz, use a bit more cheese and sour cream and all of sauce to serve 8
Save extra meat sauce for a pizza, Zucchini Boats on a Orzo Sea, or Crazy Italian Ravioli
🍝 👜 🍝 👜 🍝 👜
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Celebrate and Decorate, Rustic and Refined,
Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Cooking and Crafting with J&J, The Scoop, A Stroll Thru Life