hydrangeas and hash brown casserole...

Calm is rarely a word used to describe Alabama weather. However, today was calm. It was the perfect day to clip hydrangeas, bring them inside, and soak up being southern. (There is nothing more southern than putting out hydrangeas from the back yard.) So, clip I did. In keeping with the theme, Hash brown casserole was the logical choice for dinner. Here is the super easy recipe I found in one of my Grandmother's old books. Enjoy! 

ingredients:

2 lbs frozen (southern style) hash browns

1/2 cup butter

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 onion, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

recipe:

1) Heat oven to 350

2) Melt butter 

3) Add melted butter, chopped onion, soup, salt, pepper to a large bowl. Mix well. 

4) Add cheese and mix well

5) Add hash browns and mix well

6) Pour into casserole dish and cook for 35 minutes or until bubbly

Here are some additional photos to help!

cinco de mayo and fiesta bird cupcakes

Most americans could not tell you the significance of May 5th. To be honest, before I googled it a few minutes ago, neither could I. I can tell you that margaritas are good. So are cupcakes and I cannot in good conscience leave cupcakes out of a party. So, we added cupcakes to the fiesta, and fiesta to the cupcakes.

I would love to give you a long involved recipe, but to be honest, I made these from a box! It is crazy how far a good icing tip and food coloring will take you. I used a few of my cute accessories (birds with party hats are so cinco de mayo) and we had us some fiesta cupcakes!

cupcakes, a picnic, and the very best belated valentines...

It is called many things... February 14th. V-day. The hallmark holiday. Let's be honest about what it really is, shall we? It is a day to remember everyone we love. It is a great reason to bring homemade cupcakes to co-workers. It means playing with my Cricut machine and mailing cards. Most importantly, it is a great excuse to eat terrible for you 100% sugar hearts. They are a guilty pleasure (and yes, i bought myself a box). Living 4 1/2 hours from your significant other means postponing certain holidays. Valentine's for me came on February 18th this year. We planned a picnic on the beach with a bike ride to follow. I brought a basket, cooked lunch, and we left to start our romantic day. It rained. It was cold. We had to run for cover and cancel the bike ride. It was not at all what we had planned. And it was the best (and most memorable) belated valentine's day ever. The following recipes were the ones I used for our picnic feast. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

BLT Pasta Salad

recipe:

1 Box (12 oz) Pasta (any kind will work)
1/2 cup mayonaise
2 tbs lemon juice (fresh or concentrate)
3 strips bacon (we used turkey but any kind will do)
cherry tomatoes
romaine lettuce
salt, pepper, parmesan cheese (to taste)

1) Cook pasta according to box directions
2) Combine mayo, lemon juice
3) Pour mayo mixture into cooked pasta and stir
4) Add bacon, tomato, lettuce
5) Add salt, pepper, parmesan cheese to taste

Semi-homemade Chocolate Cheesecake

Recipe:

Fudge ice cream topping

Sliced almonds

Graham Crackers

No-bake cheesecake mix

1) Cook no-bake cheesecake according to package
2) Heat fudge topping in microwave
3) Layer all ingredients in the following order: graham crackers, cheesecake, fudge, almonds.
4) Repeat layers

More picnic pictures!

pot roast, monkey bread, and food for everything...

Growing up, I was always aware of the importance of food... All major holidays were accompanied by a meal. We brought food to neighbors when they moved in up the street. It was always interesting to me that we brought family members dinner if they had a baby, lost a loved one, or were in some way ill. No matter the circumstance, potatoes were bought, casseroles were fixed, and there was always the slight aroma of bread. In short, food cures everything. Well, at least most things. My most recent attempt at this had me leaving for work hoping that when I returned, my crock pot along with pot roast had not decided to mutiny and burn the house down. This was my first attempt at crock pot pot roast. As it turns out, the hardest part was actually giving my dish up without eating it myself. A weaker woman would have called in sick. The recipe was fun and easy and I hope you enjoy!

ingredients:

-3-4 lb chuck roast or pot roast
-6 medium potatoes
-1 small onion
-1 bag of baby carrots (this saves time and effort)
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 bag dry onion soup mix (some people use 1 can of condensed mushroom soup)

recipe

1) place roast in bottom of crock pot
2) place carrots, onion (cut in half), and potatoes (cut in half) around the roast
3) sprinkle onion soup mix, salt (1 tsp), and pepper (1 tsp) on top of all
4) fill water to above roast and potatoes
5) cook on low for 6-8 hours

I also delivered monkey bread! This is not the easiest thing to make so I bought a kit at Publix! It turned out great!

More Pictures:

jamaican jerk chicken and roasted vegetables

while our mexican food tour was impressive in its own right, the best meal of our vacation came from Jamaica. We asked several of the locals where they liked to eat, fought a crowd, and found ourselves at the bar of a restaurant in Falmouth. The bartender boasted the best jerk chicken around and suggested we accompany it with a Red Stripe. While we did not try the other restaurants, it would have been difficult to top the meal that came out. The chicken was served with a sauce and a side of rice. After leaving the bar, we went into a local shop to find the jerk chicken rub. I had to try this home! (I am by no means a grill master; therefore, I must attribute the actual cooking to my boyfriend). Enjoy!

ingredients:

5 tbs jerk rub per 1 lbs meat (this can be adjusted based on how hot you like your chicken)
1-2 lbs chicken (wings, strips, and drumsticks work really well)

for roasted vegetables:

2 small squash
2 zucchini
1 red onion
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

recipe:

1) rub the jerk chicken sauce into the chicken
2) place in freezer bag and let sit in the refrigerator at least 5 hours
3) grill for approximately 15 minutes (or cook in a 300 degree oven)

for vegetables:

1) pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
2) cut all vegetables into bite-sized pieces
3) coat with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste (approximately 1/2 teaspoon each)
4) place in roasting pan and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally

the big easy and a national championship

21-0 is a solid victory. Before the game, an ESPN columnist claimed, “even Trent Richardson’s dreadlocks looked angry.” At approximately 11:00 last night, Richardson’s dreadlocks got revenge. Between the lopsided victory and the more than occasional “Roll Tide” echoing down Bourbon Street, it is crazy that someone would leave New Orleans thinking about anything other than the game. But it is The Big Easy. And I like food. Oysters, grits, beignets, more beignets, coffee, crepes… The increased size of my waist can attest to how much longer I could go with this list. The above picture came from Brennan's. And the answer is yes. I finished the whole thing. By myself. Shockingly, this is not their most famous dessert. They are world renowned for their artful preparation of the New Orleans favorite, Bananas Foster. While the desserts were amazingly simple, the entrees were complex. New Orleans is a melting pot of Creole, Cajun, and Southern cooking, among others. The following recipe is actually very simple and I wish I could claim it as my own. This actually comes from a store window along Royal Street. I cannot wait to try it! 

ingredients

5-6 pounds lean brisket

garlic powder to taste

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup water

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1 cup ketchup

recipe

1) pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

2) season brisket with garlic powder

3) mix brown sugar, water, onion soup mix, and ketchup

4) pour over brisket in large roasting pan

5) cook covered for 4 1/2 to 5 hours or until meat is tender

Here are more pictures from our trip!

spices, tequila, and the mexican food tour

I fancy myself a foodie when it comes to trying different things. I love going to new restaurants and I am obsessed with dissecting a menu. This sentiment was tested as I walked through the open-air market of Cozumel, Mexico. The American in me was used to meat on ice, recognizable spices, and a general sense of cleanliness around food. This culinary tour was about to rock my world. From suckling pig tacos to something that our guide promised was the equivalent to a hot dog at ballgames, we were out of our element. At the end of the day; however, we were struggling to decide which hole-in-the-wall was our favorite. I cannot decide whether my favorite was chosen because of the taste or because each visitor had the honor of actually walking into the kitchen, opening a cooler, and picking out their own fish. The grouper was then gutted, lathered with salt and pepper, and submerged in a giant vat of oil. The above picture does not do the dish justice. Below is a similar recipe that I hope to try in the near future. Enjoy!

ingredients:

Whole Fish (They used grouper, snapper)
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Oil

recipe:

1) Gut the fish
2) Cut slices in the meat of the fish on either side (Do not reach the bone)
3) Rub with salt and pepper
4) Submerge in oil (They used what looked like a giant turkey fryer)
5) Cook until fish is brown and crispy (Approximately 5-10 minutes)

more pictures from our tour:

off the list

when I was a senior in college, I wrote out a bucket list so that I would have something to look forward to after graduation. College was ending and I wanted to have a firm grasp on the things in the future that would make my time here extraordinary. In 2011, I brought life to some of those goals. I rode a horse on a beach. I kept a plant alive for over a year. I had a beer in Ireland. Shockingly, these are not the things that made 2011 extraordinary. I met some amazing people. I helped cook alligator. I ate the alligator. I met my cousin’s first baby. I started a blog. We dropped my sister off at college. I cried the whole way home after we dropped my sister off at college. I made homemade Halloween and Christmas cards. I became more than a co-worker. I struggled with my faith and it came back stronger than ever. I learned the true meaning of family and unconditional support. I learned the meaning of true friendship. I was touched by the kindness of a complete stranger. I fell in love with someone that would become my best friend. I learned that what makes all of our lives extraordinary does not come from a list.