Bookmarkin’

THANKS so much for the great “getting-things-done” ideas!  Just when I thought my system was rockin’ and rollin’, I’m introduced to even cooler ways of organizing.  It’s always a treat when there’s a new comment to check on the blog…and I especially enjoyed reading your homemaking tips and tricks. 

Every so often, an extraordinary website or blog crosses my path that is worth a bookmark: a recipe to try, a room that’s inspiring, an encouraging word on wife/motherhood.  Yesterday, I revisited my collection and thought I’d share a few of my favorites.  And maybe you can benefit, too.

• This apple pie looks very tempting.  Scott loves an apple pie.  Maybe I’ll surprise him.
• These will be great for Sam this summer.
• For a playroom or {possibly} homeschool room, this wall map would be perfection.
• Scott and I reread this the other night and were reminded why we love JP.
• That leftover block of cream cheese in the fridge just got assigned to these, except made with chicken.
• I refer back to this tutorial when I change my blog header once a week.
• This website makes mine and Scott’s hearts beat a little faster…with a particular interest in this country.
• I’m new to this site but already in love.
• This post is helpful when indecisive about paint colors.

There you have it.  What a hodge podge!  Any particular bookmarks you’re diggin’ lately? 

Peas and Greens

Last New Year’s day, I had a one week old lil’ fellow, and the last thing on my barely functioning, half asleep brain was preparing a meal.  This year was different, and I took advantage of the opportunity.  I promised Scott we’d have a New Year lunch of good ol’ Southern cooked turnips, black-eyed peas, and biscuits.  He’s a veggie-lover through and through.

We had the frozen kind, so don’t go thinking I prepared the fresh stuff.  {I can hear my dad gasping as I type.}  You can hardly tell the difference. ;)  In case you’re thinking of celebrating “good cash flow” a few days late, here’s how I doctored my turnips:

-7 pieces of bacon, fried and crumbled

-Leftover bacon grease {ewww, I know, but it sure does give the greens a good flavor}

-1/2 Tablespoon onion powder

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Boil for 20-25 minutes on medium heat.  

Next on the menu was ambrosia.  I looked high and I looked low for a good ambrosia recipe.  Most of my “older” lady friends---including my grandmother---can make a killer bowl of ambrosia.  Just don’t ask how they make it.  “A little bit of this, a little bit of that” is usually the reply. 

Those are usually the best kinds of recipes, though, if you ask me. 

Simple Ambrosia:

-Six naval oranges (peeled, sectioned, and membranes removed)

-One 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple, with juice  

-1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Mix well and chill for 2-4 hours before serving.

 

Happy Monday!

We Had a Party

We celebrated Sam’s first birthday with a brunch this past Saturday morning.  It was the most fun.

Our little house was busting at the seams with celebratory cheer.  In fact, it was busting so much that Sam was a wee bit overwhelmed.

Sweet boy wasn’t sure how he felt about the 50 or so folks packed inside our 1,900 square foot house.  

But, really, we were so flattered at the turnout and enjoyed seeing our friends and family---especially those who were from out-of-town.

My best friend, Lindsay, got to come and bring her girls.  Emmalyn, who is 8 months of precious, wanted a piece of Sam.  I think I laughed so hard I cried.

As the morning went on, he warmed up to our guests, and before we knew it, the little social butterfly had emerged from his cocoon. 

 

We finished out the day with a supper at my parents’ house and some caroling afterwards, which I hope is a new Head/Dudley family tradition. 

P.S. I had a few recipe requests during the party for the breakfast casserole and grits I made.  I’m almost embarrassed to post it because it’s so easy!  The grits recipe is here.  And here is the casserole:

1 can crescent rolls

1 lb. ground sausage

5 eggs

3/4 cup milk

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook and drain sausage.  Spray a 9x13 dish with non-stick spray and line bottom of dish with crescent roll dough.  In separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk.  Sprinkle sausage and cheese on top of crescent rolls, and pour egg mixture evenly on top of that.  Bake for 30 minutes.

 

Hope you all have the merriest Christmas!

 

Fireside Coffee

I’ve got a recipe that’ll make ya sing “Fa la la la la” at the top of your lungs.  It’s a cup of pure bliss.

If hot chocolate and coffee were to get married and have a baby, Fireside Coffee is what they’d produce.  And maybe their two dogs would be called Cinnamon and Nutmeg. 

Here’s the line up:

• 1 cup instant coffee (not to be confused with real ground coffee)
• 2 cups Swiss Miss cocoa (you can find this in a larger container, but emptying packets works too)
• 2 cups Cremora (For all my Publix sisters out there, Cremora is a Walmart thing.  Sorry.)  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1.5 cups sugar (forgot to put him in the picture, sorry!)

Mix, and keep airtight.  Use 3-4 heaping tablespoons per coffee cup and fill with hot water.  Stir and enjoy!

For the past three years, we’ve given batches of this to our friends as a Christmas gift.  I think it’s becoming a tradition. 

  

Merry, Merry!

Italian Chicken

We eat Italian Chicken at our house once a week very often.  It’s a staple that my husband probably wishes would fizzle out.  Being the easy dish that it is, though, I can’t resist sharing the recipe with you. 

Are you ready?

Ingredients: chicken breasts and Italian dressing.

THAT’S IT!  Trust me: it’s so, so good.  And what makes it even better is that Publix usually has some kind of Italian salad dressing for buy one, get one.  Last week, it was Kraft, which happens to be my favorite.

Here’s what you do.  Put the chicken breasts in a crock-pot and pour about half a bottle of the dressing on top.  Let the chicken cook on low until it becomes tender (I’d say about 4-6 hours).    

(I used tenderloins in this picture because that’s what was on sale.  If you use tenders or thin-sliced breasts, you may need to reduce your cooking time.)

Serve with mashed potatoes or brown rice.  Both go well with the tanginess of the chicken.

Enjoy!

For a Cold Night

I’m not much into gourmet cooking.  Fancy recipes that require fancy ingredients intimidate me, and I tend to shy away from them.  So, needless to say, around this house, we eat our share of Rice-a-Roni, Hamburger Helper, and frozen lasagna.  No shame.

Last week, though, as I was flipping through Pioneer Woman’s cookbook, I came across a recipe for tomato soup that I knew Scott would love.  He’s a grilled-cheese-sandwich-and-tomato-soup enthusiast, and with the weather dropping down to the 40s last Tuesday night, I thought I’d surprise him with something different than Campbell’s. :)

Did I mention that I already had most of the ingredients in my pantry, too?  I’m a magnet to those kinds of recipes.  They’re not near as intimidating…and they’re cheap. 

So, let me share with you a new favorite at our house: Sherried Tomato Soup with Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

• 6 Tablespoons melted butter
• 1 whole medium onion, Diced
• 1 bottle/can (46 Oz.) tomato juice
• 2 cans (14 Oz. Cans) Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon (up to 3 Tablespoons) Chicken Base*
• 3 Tablespoons (up to 6 Tablespoons) sugar**
• 1 pinch salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1 cup Cooking Sherry
• 1-½ cup heavy cream
• chopped fresh parsley
• chopped fresh basil

Modifications:

*I used three chicken bouillon cubes (Knox brand)

**Six tablespoons of sugar in tomato soup scared me.  I used three, and it was just right---but if you like your soup sweet, go ahead.

Sauté diced onions in butter until translucent. Then add canned tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken base, sugar, pinch of salt, black pepper and stir. Bring to a near boil, then turn off heat. Add in sherry and cream and stir. Add in parsley and basil to taste.

To go along, I grilled up a couple of sandwiches using Velveeta sliced cheese and sourdough bread. 

My only regret is that we didn't have friends over to partake with us. Perfection. 

Puh’kin

My little puh’kin likes to eat.  And what I fixed for supper tonight struck a chord with him.  He liked it.  A lot.

Good thing he’s not trying to impress anyone.

Speaking of pumpkin, I purchased one this past weekend.  I kinda love the month of October. 

So, last night, I nonchalantly asked Scott if he’d carve it for me.  “We’re making a jack-o-lantern already?” he inquired. 

“Nope. I just need the seeds. Thankyouverymuch.”

Please tell me you’ve had roasted pumpkin seeds.  If not, it’s okay.  You’ve got time.  When and if you do decide to salvage your pumpkin’s seeds, you won’t regret it.  And if you need something to do with ‘em, pumpkin seed trail mix is the way to go. 

My pumpkin yielded about 2/3 cup of seeds.  First, I washed off all the gooey pumpkin strings.  Then, I toasted them on a cookie sheet with drizzled canola oil (or olive oil) and kosher salt for 20 minutes on 325 degrees (stirring halfway through).  Pat the seeds with a paper towel to soak up excess oil after they’ve toasted.

Then, mix with the seeds equal amounts of something sweet and something fruity.  I mixed mine with chocolate chips and Craisins, but I also think they’d be good mixed with butterscotch morsels and dried banana chips.

If I were really crafty, I’d hem little squares of fall fabric to decorate the tops of these mason jars.  Maybe next year?

Now, take your little treats to your neighbors, family, nursery workers, co-workers, etc. and wish them a happy October!     

Chicken Salad

What’s up with all the recipes lately?! 

Who knows. 

But I think I’ll share another, if you don't mind.  Being from the South, you probably have your very own concoction of chicken salad.  I’ve had all sorts: some with grapes, others with apples.  Some with rotisserie chicken, others with all white meat.  Some with pecans, others with almond slivers.  I think I’ve even had a version of chicken salad with minced garlic mingled in! 

The possibilities are endless.

I’m not claiming mine is the best, but I do think it’s pretty darn good. 

First, I like to boil three good-sized chicken breasts in chicken broth.  The chicken broth brings out the flavor of the chicken, I think.  I’m not a dark meat kind of girl, but feel free to use other parts of a chicken if it suits your fancy.

After the chicken is good and tender, put the breasts on a plate and let them cool.  You can determine the doneness of your chicken by administering the fork test: if a fork can easily cut into the breast, you’re ready to roll.  I was taking my salad to a friend and needed to speed up the process, so I stuck ‘em in the freezer for about 10 minutes.  After they’ve cooled, shred the breasts to whatever consistency you’d like.

The creamy part of my chicken salad is part mayonnaise, part sour cream.  I really like sour cream.  Any recipe that calls for sour cream is a good recipe, if you ask me.

Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1/2 sour cream.

Mix it very well with the shredded chicken.

I like my chicken salad to have a little crunch to it, so I add pecans.  The secret, though, is to toast your pecan pieces.  Spread about a cup of ‘em out on a cookie sheet, spray a little butter on top, and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Let them toast in the oven for about 15 minutes on 300 degrees. 

I also add a cup of Craisins and a cup of celery. 

   

Mix well, and add salt and pepper, if needed.  I’ve found that the pecans add enough saltiness for my taste buds.

How easy is that?  And the best part is that it keeps well in the fridge for days.  I wish I could say it’s a staple at our house, but it’s kinda pricy to make and only reserved for special occasions. 

Try it and see what you think.  I’ll bet your husband will even like it, too!

Busy, Busy

I think this post will be mainly pictures and a tad of explanation.  My words haven’t been few lately. 

Scott’s favorite summertime vegetable: bacon-wrapped green beans with a butter and brown sugar mixture brushed on top.  Totally healthy. :)

 

Bedside Table Before

Bedside Table After

We needed new bedside tables for our bedroom, but it’s not in our budget right now.  After trying to sell this one in at least three yard sales, we finally gave up, and it’s been on our back patio ever since (it’s old and pretty worn).  So, Saturday morning, I primed it and gave it two good coats of Benjamin Moore’s “Wrought Iron” (a charcoal, greyish color) and added three new antique brass handles from Lowe’s ($2.00 a piece, whoop!) and now it has a new home next to our bed for books and a lamp.  You can’t tell in the picture, but we also added a piece of glass up top for drinks and such.  I may or may not be really proud of my little project.  Can you tell?  :)

We had baked catfish and grits last night for supper.  I’m not a big fish person, but the grits…oh, the grits.  These aren’t just any grits.  They are grits that even grit-hatin’, Northerners will love.  I promise. 

Creamy Grits 

3 cups chicken stock (broth)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup Quick Cooking Grits (make sure the package says they’re “quick cooking grits” or else you’ll be sorry)

In a medium saucepan, bring stock, cream, and butter to a simmer over medium heat.  Gradually whisk in the grits.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until grits are creamy and tender for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season to taste with salt and pepper (I added neither---they’re already so flavorful.)

Happy Wednesday!

Lunch

Scott has been coming home for lunch ravenous these days.  I think I’ve concluded his new found hunger is due to all the running he’s been doing here lately to train for the Montgomery Half-Marathon.  He doesn’t love food the way I do, so that’s the only thing I can make of it.  Anyway, we usually pop a $1.00 Tostinos frozen pizza in the oven and call it a day, but I always worry he’s still hungry after he heads back to work.  SO, let me share a little lunch recipe with you that has been a hit at our house this week.  Y’all like recipes, right?  It’s nothing fancy, but it seems to do the trick.

   Bagel sandwich!  Now, the secret is adding a little of this to both sides of the bagel. 

Everything on this bagel sandwich is Publix brand---even the bagel itself.  You can ask the bakery for a few of their Everything Bagels, and, let me just tell you, they are everything divine.  After the cream cheese layer, we throw mesquite turkey, Romaine lettuce, red onions, and muenster cheese on it, too.  Yum-meeee. :)

*We’ll have our give-away this weekend!  Thanks for the shout outs! 

Happy almost Friday, y’all!

Sam’s Grub

We’re back!  Sorry for the little sabbatical.  To say we’ve had a fun (and busy!) few weeks would be an understatement.  In fact, when I started this post, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to write about first!  I’ll take a deep breath and begin by explaining what we I’ve been up to today…

Peelin’, dicin’, steamin’, and pureein’---and makin’ Sam some grub.  I got a little sip of the make-your-own-baby food koolaid this week, and I’m pretty sure I’m addicted.  It’s really fun.  It’s really cheap. And Sam loves it! 

Now, we’re not the organic, radical economist type or anything, so don’t go thinking the koolaid I drank was green.  We just really do feel making Sam’s baby food is going to save us money every week at the grocery store.  I recently spent around $30 on baby food that lasted us ten days.  You do the math.  That. Is. Insane.  But, then again, my little man likes to eat (hence the rolls in his upper thighs), so perhaps we are dealing with a different situation than most. :)  I will admit that I do like knowing that this baby food is preservative-free and only contains natural sugar, but our main enthusiasm for it is the $$$ we will hopefully save.

I mentioned in an earlier post that a sweet friend from our church let us borrow her baby food maker.  Another friend let me in on a great blog full of baby food recipes, which I tried out today and loved.  Eventually, I want to purchase invest in these---Baby Fresh food trays---for freezing and easy access.  Have any of you tried these little trays?  Love?  Hate? 

In other news, we celebrated my mom’s 50th birthday on Saturday.  It was a blast, and I’m looking forward to sharing pictures and details soon!                

Summertime Strawberry Delight

I'm a Pioneer Woman wannabe. She's just so...neat and homemakey. And she's an awesome writer, too, which makes her incredibly random blog posts (even the ones about homeschooling!) so interesting. Anyway, in honor of this cooking, cleaning, photographing, gardening, farming, homeschooling diva of a momma, I think I'll post a recipe...PW style! We'll call it Summertime Strawberry Delight.

First, you'll need an Angel Food cake. You can bake one yourself or buy one from Publix, kinda like I did. :)



See the missing slice? I can't imagine who did that.

Now, start pinching off cubes of cake and throw them into a trifle bowl. You don't have to make this dessert in a trifle bowl, but it sure does make it look fancier if you do.



After you've filled the bowl, you're ready for the next ingredients.



Frozen strawberries, strawberry glaze, and the big box of vanilla pudding. In case you're wondering (because I was), strawberry glaze is over in the produce section, kinda near the strawberries themselves. Try not to stick your finger in the glaze and put a big, saucy blob of it in your mouth, okay?

Make the vanilla pudding like the package says, and pour it on top of the cake cubes. Then, mix the thawed strawberries and glaze in a separate bowl and pour on top of the pudding. Finally, top off the dessert by adding the final layer: Cool Whip! Notice I didn't have the Cool Whip in the picture? I forgot to get it at the store. :( BUT, I just so happened to have heavy whipping cream in the fridge and vanilla extract in the pantry, so I made my own. It's just as good, I think.



Whaaa laaa! Summertime Strawberry Delight!

OH, and here's what happened while I was cooking...



Bless his little heart. He was so tired and just couldn't muster up enough energy to bounce any longer.

Happy Friday!