Homestyle Traditions with Ragu

It's true what they say.  Family and friends gather in the kitchen. Whether it be after school when everyone finally arrives home or a during a party, the kitchen is the place to be.  One of my favorite parts of being a wife and a mom is making delicious, nourishing meals for my family.

I am a woman who loves sentimental, tradition, and reminiscing.  One of my favorite things to eat from my childhood are my grandmother's meatballs.  I've loved them for as long as I can remember. My grandmother made them, my mom made them, and then I have continued as well.  I've tried to find one of "those" recipes that my family loves too other than my grandmother's meatballs--which they already love.  Finding Ragu's new Homestyle sauces absolutely fits right into those traditions for me. It's simply a taste of home.

I think I found it!  Crockpot Ravioli

What I love about Crockpot Ravioli is it's easy to make and makes a ton, so it's perfect for family gatherings and parties, and it's always a big hit!  Life is super busy these days where we have band, cheer, cross country, work schedules, so making something that's easy for me to make and my family loves is definitely a win win! Ragu's Homestyle Sauces makes it simple and remind me of that tradition and goodness that homecooked meals bring.

You can find lots of other recipes to try with Ragu's Homestyle Sauces here:  What to make!

For mine, even though I'm  "wing-it-as-I-go" when I cook, I've put together something for y'all to follow to try mine.

Ingredients:
1 to 2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
minced garlic (this is entirely dependent on your taste-- I often just use garlic salt)
1 to 2 jars of Ragu Homestyle Sauce
1 can italian style diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper to taste
10 oz of fresh spinach
16oz of bowtie pasta (more if you're making lots!)
1/2 cup parmesean cheese
1 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic. Drain and pour into crockpot.

Add Ragu Homestyle sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings. Cook for 4 hours on high (6 on low).

Add spinach, cooked pasta, and cheeses the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crockpot on high.

Mix it all up really well, then add some mozzarella on top to melt.  Serve with salad and bread!

Voila!

Sweet Strawberries

Last summer, we started a new tradition that has become one of my favorite activities...strawberry picking. There is nothing like the taste of fresh strawberries!

The weather wasn't ideal for the day, {nor is it ever anymore it seems} but Stef, Tracy, Amber and I decided we were going anyway! So, a drizzly day with lots of mud, and off we headed to the strawberry field at a local orchard.  Soergel's is a place we've all been for a variety of different activities and events, but not for strawberry picking until this year.  I know I talk about this often, but we are blessed with a wonderful group of friends and so fortunate that our children all get along and are friends, as well.

Andrew was in Tennessee, Violet and Liam were in carriers, Dylan and Audrey were doing other things that day, and Amy and her girls were out of town on vacation, so 7 more kids are missing from this group!

We rode out to the field in a little trailer, stepped off into the mud and the kids were ready to go!

The Lilys found their perfect place to get started and stayed together almost the entire time.

Violet didn't want to be set down, so there were a lot of tears from her when I did put her down to try to take some pictures. 

Lily came over to sing "You are my sunshine" to make Violet feel better.

This was another first for Violet and Liam that they got to share together!

The babies were pretty interested in the straw. :)

You never know what you're going to get with these two girls.  I think they ate their weight in strawberries while we were picking them and then found themselves underneath an apple tree to take care of their business.

After we were done at the farm, we all headed to eat lunch together.  Strawberry picking is hard work. 

What a bunch of lucky kids to grow up creating incredible memories! 

Can't wait until next year! 

Did Somebody Say Party? Easter Party!

Late Saturday afternoon after our egg hunt, we headed over to our friend's house for our annual Easter party with friends.  After perpetual winter, it was a perfect Spring day to hang out with friends, get some outside time and celebrate another holiday season together.

We all filled eggs and brought them to hide and the dads hid them.  We have to separate the bigger kids and the little kids because our bigger kids will mow over the little ones. ;)

The little girls were first for the egg hunt.  The Lilys actually were egg-cited despite this picture.  Charlie and Victoria were much more cooperative for the picture.

 Aaaaaaand they were off!  Running is something these girls love to do!

 Lexie {the other Lily's big sis} is great with the little ones and the Lilys wanted her help after a little bit.

Amy and I tried to get a picture of Lily and Victoria together and they were far from interested.  Lily wanted to wear her basket like a purse and Victoria was excited about her marshmallows.  

This picture literally makes me laugh everytime I look at it! 

 Next it was time for new eggs to be hidden and the bigger kids to have their turn. You can see they're pretty intense.

{Stef's pic}

 Never too old for an egg hunt. :)

Violet just watched this year. 

The other two babies, Liam and Amelia were adorable in a sweet little photo shoot that Violet wanted no part of.

{Stef's pics}

We had an easy supper and hung out the rest of evening with our best friends.   The kids colored eggs, played outside, played video games, played a board game for a really long time. There were no casualties. With 14 kids, that a feat.

My girls crashed pretty early {relatively} but were content sleeping on the couch while the bigger kids continued to play and the adults chatted. 

Sweet Liam wanted no part in going to sleep.  He hung in there with the adults for the duration.
{He and Violet have the same bunny jammies, but she simply wasn't cooperative that day for a picture together.}

We really love these times with our friends that are family and look forward to it every year! We need to be better about taking pictures of the grown ups, I've decided. :)