Afternoons With Casey Parker

Meal and a Movie: Family Night 9/8/10

Casey Parker — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:15:15 +0000

Taking advantage of no-boil noodles and already-prepared sauce, this lasagna comes together in minutes — and without sacrificing any of the deliciousness that makes it such a family favorite.

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

Directions

Heat the oven to 375. Stir together the ricotta, parmesan (reserve 2 tablespoons for the top), salt, and pepper.
Now begin your assembly by spooning a quarter of the sauce into the bottom of an oiled 8- by 8-inch pan. Lay two of the noodles over the sauce, then spread half of the ricotta mixture over them. Now sprinkle a third of the mozzarella over the ricotta, top with another quarter of the sauce, and repeat (noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, sauce), to make two identical layers. Ideally, one of your children is studying fractions in school, and will be eager to help you figure it all out. Now top with the final two noodles, the final quarter of sauce, the final third of mozzarella, and the reserved tablespoons of parmesan.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake another 10-15, until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Allow the lasagna to sit for five or so minutes before cutting and serving.

Favorite Movies:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Man som hatar kvinnor)

Watch Trailer

Rent Buy

Made for Each Other (2009)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

Watch Trailer

Rent Buy

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Watch Trailer

Featured artist 9/7/10: Rednex

Casey Parker — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:44:45 +0000

Rednex is a Swedish manufactured techno/folk/bluegrass band. The name “Rednex” was chosen as a deliberate misspelling of the word “rednecks“. They had an international novelty hit with the song “Cotton Eye Joe” in 1994. Although extremely popular in Germany, where the band holds the record of most total weeks (25) at No.1 on the German singles chart over the past 30 years—scoring such hits as “Old Pop in an Oak“, “The Spirit of the Hawk” and “Wish You Were Here“–”Cotton Eye Joe” remains Rednex’s sole hit in the United States.

They recorded their songs with studio musicians, and a group of redneck role players to represent the group on stage and in music videos was put together. Over the years, these performers have come and gone, and as of 2007 there have been 15 different role players.

The group launched something of a minor comeback when they entered the song “Mama Take Me Home” in Semifinal 4 of the Swedish Melodifestivalen on 11 March 2006 in Gothenburg. They qualified for the final via the Second Chance Round, finishing an overall sixth in the final. The song “Mama Take Me Home” was subsequently released as a single in a few select European countries.

Their comeback continued as they released the single “Fe Fi (The Old Man Died)” in November 2006, after having performed it at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

According to a Rednex press release , the band members Annika “Mary Joe” Ljungberg, Anders “Maverick” Lundström and Jens “Snake” Sylsjö were exchanged on January 1, 2009, bringing back former members Scarlet, Dagger, Ace Ratclaw and Joe Cagg. This is not unprecedented, Rednex have had multiple lineups over the years (for instance a previous exchange in 2001 brought in Scarlet and Dagger). However, Mary Joe, Maverick and Snake were still touring as “The Cotton Eye Joe Show presented by the Rednex Band Ltd”. This has caused the trademark owners Rednex AB to threaten them and concert organizers with legal action resulting in the cancellation of some shows

A new video was recorded on August 27 in Norrbyggeby in Sweden for the upcoming single “Devil’s On The Loose”.The song is the first single from the upcoming album “Saturday Night Beaver”. On 7 January 2010 the single was released in a partnership with The Pirate Bay for free and legal download worldwide.

Playlist:

Cotton Eye Joe

Old Pop in an Oak

Devils on loose

Wish you were Here

Wild and Free

Ridin alone

Meal and a Movie: Family Night 9/1/10

Casey Parker — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:12:54 +0000

Turkey Steaks with Spinach

Ingredients

2 turkey breast tenderloins (1 to 1-1/4 lb.)
1 tsp. dried sage, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
1 6-oz. pkg. fresh baby spinach
1 large pear, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions

1. Horizontally split tenderloins to make four 1/2-inch-thick steaks. Rub turkey with sage; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In extra-large skillet cook steaks in 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat 14 to 16 minutes or until no longer pink (170 degrees F), turning once. (Reduce heat to medium if turkey browns too quickly.) Remove from skillet. Add spinach to skillet. Cook and stir until just wilted.

2. Meanwhile, in small skillet cook pear slices in remaining 1 tablespoon butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until tender and lightly browned.

3. Serve steaks with spinach and pears. Top with blue cheese. Serves 4.

Top Rent Movies:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Man som hatar kvinnor)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Watch Trailer

Buy

9 (2009) Watch Trailer

Featured artist Sara Bareilles: 8/3/10

Casey Parker — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:30:14 +0000

Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single “Love Song“, which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart.

After graduating from college in 2002 Bareilles performed at local bars and clubs, building a following before performing in larger venues. In January 2004, Bareilles released her first studio album, Careful Confessions. She signed a contract with Epic Records on April 15, 2005. The remainder of the year and early 2006 were spent writing and reworking songs for her upcoming album.Her song, “Gravity,” appears briefly in the 2006 independent film Loving Annabelle. She toured as the opening act in 2006 for Marc Broussard’s “Carencro” tour. In 2007, Bareilles opened for several shows on both Maroon 5 and Paolo Nutini’s U.S. tours. She also opened for James Blunt on his U.S. Tour in association with VH1 You Oughta Know.

On October 28, 2008, Bareilles released “Between the Lines: Sara Bareilles Live at the Fillmore” on DVD and CD. The package is a recording of her first headlining tour at the famous Fillmore in San Francisco. She toured with Counting Crows and Maroon 5 between July 22 and August 26, 2008.

Bareilles began work on the follow-up to her major label debut in the summer of 2009, collaborating with the likes of Amir “Questlove” Thompson, members of Weezer, and Pharrel Williams. The first single from her sophomore album, “King Of Anything,” began receiving radio airplay in the USA during May 2010,^[15] and was released for sale in June.

In anticipation of the new album, Bareilles released a series of webisodes, featuring the making of select songs from “Kaleidoscope Heart,” including “King of Anything,” “Uncharted,” “Gonna Get Over You,” “Bluebird,” and a strings only version of “King of Anything.” The first webisode also contains Sara writing the chorus for “Hold My Heart”. The CD Kaleidoscope Heart is set to release on September 7, 2010.

Play List:

Love Song

Love on the Rocks

Come Around

Bottle it Up

Gravity

King of Anything

Time to re-invent their stradegies.

Casey Parker — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:59:03 +0000

The boys of the Sprint Cup Series had the weekend off and got a chance to review their next few moves to position themselves a concrete seat in the chase. The machines head to Atlanta Motor Speedway this week for Labor Day weekend, for the Emory Healthcare 500 Sunday night race. Last year the victories at this great track went to Kurt Busch in March and Kasey Kahn in September of ‘09. This past spring saw Kurt Busch win his second consecutive spring race at Atlanta, making his move on two green-white-checkered restarts. Busch is currently sitting in the 10th spot in the standings, however Kahn is back in the 16th place. Just a few drivers have the chance to run good enough this weekend to place themselves in the chase.

Race Standing

Billboard Top Country Singles: 8/26/10

Casey Parker — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:30:13 +0000

Billboard Top Country Singles

1. “”All About Tonight” by Blake Shelton **Played

2. “I’m In” by Kieth Urban

3. “Pretty Good at Drinkin Beer” by Billy Currington **Played

4.   “Love like Crazy” by Lee Brice **Played

5. “Our Kind of Love” by Lady Antebellum

6.   “Free” by Zac Brown Band

7. “Smile” by Uncle Kracker **Played
8.   “The Boys of Fall” by Kenny Chesney

9. “All Over Me” by Josh Turner **Played

10. “‘Roll with It” by Easton Corbin **Played

Which are your favorite songs or artists??? Give a thumbs or a thumbs down of your opinion of these top singles!! Share your thoughts with your comments right here!

Billboard Top Country Singles: 8/19/10

Casey Parker — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:55:49 +0000

Current Billboard Top Country Singles

1. “”All About Tonight” by Blake Shelton **Played

2. “I’m In” by Kieth Urban **Played

3. “Free” by Zac Brown Band

4.   “Pretty Good at Drinkin Beer” by Billy Currington

5. “Love like Crazy” by Lee Brice **Played

6.   “Our Kind of Love” by Lady Antebellum

7. “Lover, Lover” by Jerrod Niemann
8.   “Smile” by Uncle Kracker **Played

9. “The Boys of Fall” by Kenny Chesney **Played

10. “‘Undo It” by Carrie Underwood **Played

Which are your favorite songs or artists??? Give a thumbs or a thumbs down of your opinion of these top singles!! Share your thoughts with your comments right here!

Meal and a Movie: Family Night 8/18/10

Casey Parker — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:46:21 +0000

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Cassrole

This one-dish wonder features moist, tender chicken breasts covered with melted Cheddar cheese, sitting on a bed of creamy rice and vegetables – it just doesn’t get any better!

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request®)

1 1/3 cups water

3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat the oven to 375°F. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and vegetables in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
Top with the chicken. Cover the baking dish.
Bake for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with the cheese. Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes. Stir the rice before serving.

RECIPE TIPS

Serving Suggestion: Serve with a Caesar salad. For dessert serve frozen Italian-style water ice or gelati.
Alfredo: Substitute broccoli flowerets for the vegetables and substitute 1/4 cup grated Parmesan for the Cheddar cheese. Add 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese with the soup. Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Lower Fat: Use Campbell’s® 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup instead of regular soup and use low fat cheese instead of regular cheese.
Mexican: In place of the onion powder and black pepper use 1 teaspoon chili powder. Substitute Mexican cheese blend for the Cheddar.
Italian: In place of the onion powder and black pepper use 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed. Substitute 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan for the Cheddar.

The Joneses (2010)

Watch Trailer

Buy

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Man som hatar kvinnor)

Death at a Funeral (2010)

Watch Trailer

Rent Buy

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

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Rent Buy

Sex and the City Watch Trailer

Featured Artist 8/17/10: Trace Adkins

Casey Parker — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:34:35 +0000

Tracy Darrell “Trace” Adkins (born January 13, 1962) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1996 with the album Dreamin’ Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, Adkins has released seven more studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations. In addition, he has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard country music charts, including the Number One hits “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing“, “Ladies Love Country Boys“, and “You’re Gonna Miss This“, which peaked in 1997, 2007, and 2008, respectively. “I Left Something Turned on at Home” went to #1 on Canada’s country chart. All but one of his studio albums have received gold or platinum certification in the United States; his highest-selling to date is 2005’s Songs About Me, which has been certified 2× Multi-Platinum for shipping two million copies.

His musical interest came at an early age, when his father taught him to play the guitar. As an adult, Adkins moved on to playing in honky tonk bars around Nashville, Tennessee, in the early 1990s. An executive of Capitol Records spotted Adkins playing at a honky tonk, and soon signed him to the label. Adkins’s first single, “There’s a Girl in Texas”, was released in 1996, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed by the release of his debut album, Dreamin’ Out Loud, later that year. The album produced several hit singles, including his first Top 5 single, “Every Light in the House“, his first Number One in “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing“, and another Top 5 hit in “I Left Something Turned on at Home“.

After a bout with alcohol abuse, Adkins release an album called “Chrome” which reached the Top 5 on the country albums charts; its title track reached Top 10 in late 2002. In 2003, Adkins released two albums: a Greatest Hits collection and Comin’ on Strong.

In 2005, Adkins released his Songs About Me album. The album’s second single, “Arlington”, generated controversy over its content (a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery). It was followed by “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk“, became a highly successful crossover hit, bringing Adkins into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

2006 saw the release of Adkins’s seventh studio album, Dangerous Man. “Swing”, the album’s lead-off single, peaked at #20, while the follow-up “Ladies Love Country Boys” became Adkins’s first Number One single on the country charts since “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” in 1997. In August 2007, Adkins released a single entitled “I Got My Game On”.

In November 2009, Adkins embarked on the Shine All Night Tour, a co-headling venture with fellow country artist Martina McBride. Also in 2009, Adkins joined fellow country artist Blake Shelton in recording a duet titled “Hillbilly Bone,” which was released as the lead-off single from Shelton’s upcoming sixth album.

In January 2010, Adkins parted ways with his long-time record label, Capitol Nashville, and subsequently signed with Show Dog-Universal Music. Adkins’ first single with the label, “This Ain’t No Love Song,” was released on May 17, 2010 and serve as the lead-off single to his ninth studio album, Cowboy’s Back In Town.

Playlist:

Ladies Love Country Boys

Your Gonna Miss This

There’s a girl in Texas

Honky Tonk Badonkadonk

This Ain’t no Love song

Cowboys Back in Town

Gambling works for some, but not for others.

Casey Parker — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:27:12 +0000

When you have a comfortable points lead, you can afford to gamble.

That’s what Kevin Harvick did — successfully — in Sunday’s Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Staying out on old tires under the final caution of the race, Harvick tracked down Denny Hamlin on Lap 190 of 200 and pulled away to beat Hamlin to the finish line by 1.731 seconds. Harvick extended his series lead to 293 points over Jeff Gordon and became the first driver to clinch a spot in the Chase.

Mark Martin fell out of Chase position Sunday at Michigan International Speedway because he was too aggressive too soon.

Unfortunately, Martin’s excitement got the better of him and the front of his No. 5 Chevrolet paid for it.

“I ran into the back of the No. 82 [Scott Speed] car. He lifted for Juan [Montoya] and I didn’t know it was time to lift yet and I pounded him pretty hard and that really messed the car up,” said Martin, who dropped to 13th in points. “I put us behind, anyway, early in the race getting up against the outside wall. We got behind because of that, too. I will call it my mistake.

Clint Bowyer, who finished 13th at Michigan, and Martin have flip-flopped positions the past two weeks. Bowyer, who made the Chase in 2007 and ‘08 before missing the cut last year, has been in this position before.

Race Results

Race Standings

Race Schedule