Stephanie Cotta Photography

I can’t tell you how excited I was when The Pampered Chef rep, Sara Radginski contacted me about putting together a fundraiser for….. the one, the only…. Team Roxie!!! (Side note: I LOVE how many of you are buying Team Roxie shirts – I was at the mall today and spotted a teenager sporting one and LOVED it, felt an instant bond, and thought how awesome it will be to spot these popping up all over St. Louis… or all of the country!)  Details to follow but here’s the big news – for ONE WEEK only, 30% of all Pampered Chef purchases (when made through Team Roxie) will go directly to Team Roxie!!

I’m going to be real honest with you and, if you promise not to judge, let you in on a little secret.

I’m not the world’s best cook.

I do have the best intentions on cooking home-cooked meals five or six nights a week (just like my momma always did) but lately (read: since little one #2 entered this world) somehow five o’clock rolls around and I’ve yet to even think about what’s for dinner.  Leave it to Sara to hook me up with some Pampered Chef gear and give me some quick, easy (yes, easy!) recipes to try.

Meet my new friend, the Deep Covered Baker.

The first recipe Sara recommended was the Chicken Tortilla Casserole.  And she even sent me my very own grocery list (she must have known who she was dealing with!) which came in handy when I arrived at the grocery store and could just pull up the email on my phone:

The prep time for this was literally about four minutes.  Yes, four.   Popped Jacob on the table with some markers, Audrey in her bumbo, and fancied myself Betty Crocker for… um… four minutes.   But hey, it’s a start.

After slicing the peppers and the chicken, I just placed them in the baker.

Added a few tablespoons of the Southwestern Seasoning Mix…

And then… cover and pop in the microwave (yes, really the microwave… I was hesitant about this as well!) for 15 minutes.  Easy!

When it was done, I used the handy Salad Choppers to actually shred the chicken up.

Toss in your black beans, salsa, some crushed up tortilla chips, shredded cheese, pop back in the microwave for two minutes and ta daaaaa… Dinner!  And I’m not lying when I tell you it was delicious.  A winner with Philip as well!  (And he thought I slaved away all afternoon!)

After storing the leftovers, I rinsed out the Baker (no soap!) and was ready for dessert.  This time I did call upon my friend Betty Crocker for her Super Moist Devil’s Food cake.   Ready for some amazing Lava Cake?!

Just prepare the Devil’s Food cake as instructed on the box.  Always helps to have a little one do the stirring…

Then place in the baker and dump about 10 scoops of chocolate frosting on top.

Then… this time uncovered.. microwave for 11 minutes.

Cake!!

Made even tastier with a scoop of vanilla bean!

As if I really need an excuse to tell you what I’m loving right now, the fact that it is Valentine’s day today makes it all the more perfect.

So you want to know what I love?

I love seeing little peanuts that I photographed at just six days new grow up…

and more importantly, I love seeing this little one fight back and be one healthy baby after an emergency open heart surgery at just two weeks.

I love seeing this rock star momma (seen here toting two of her four gorgeous little ones).

But you know what I really love (other than those crazy good burgers)?

(and Audrey Rose meeting new friends)

(and Greta’s stinkin’ cute pigtails)

I love how good people are.  Like, seriously. There’s a lot of really good people out there willing to take a moment out of their day and come support and cheer on one very special girl going through something that no child should ever have to go through.

So what else did I love about the day?

I love the fact that my older brother carried Audrey around so I could take pictures.

I love the fact that Roxie was smiling the whole time.

and the fact that she really, really enjoyed her burger.

I love this.  There is no question that this period in this family’s life is rough.  Horrible.  But it doesn’t take but two seconds around them to see that if there’s ever a right way to handle this kind of situation, they are doing it.

And the amount of love surrounding this family and these little ones is incredible.

And I love the fact that so many of you have emailed me asking what you can do to help.  And while I know so many of you lead such crazy, hectic lives, I want to again let you know how easy it is to help out… you can click here and donate to Team Roxie.  Seriously, even $5 can make a difference.  Or you can send a gift card or a check or handmade card to Roxie created by your own little ones directly to the family {959 Times Cir, Saint Louis, Miss 63146}.

Greta ate the whole shell instead of just the peanut 🙂

To see the news clip from the fundraiser, visit here.

Roxie headed back to the hospital for round 5 of her chemo treatments today.  Visit http://teamroxie.weebly.com/ to keep up to date with how she is doing.

“Kicking cancer isn’t easy, especially for a 3 year old.  But cancer hasn’t met Roxie.”

Here’s to a sweet Valentine’s Day to you…

xoxox,
Stephanie