Five Things Friday

Wow. It's been a while.

Were to start?

How about a quick update Five Things Friday style? Then, I'll be back next week with fun pictures and more stories.

1. First off, let me apologize for the time lapse. In the past month or so that I've been away, we've celebrated 8 family birthdays! And, we welcomed a new little one to the family through the birth of my sister's third child, Howard Van Becksfort. He's a snuggle bug.

2. Secondly, my time away has been emotional. {No, I'm not pregnant.} I have been in the refiners fire, so to speak. But I am thrilled to be there because I am seeing God's promise that my inner man is being renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). And through this God continues to bring women into my life that are willing to walk along side me and pour their knowledge, wisdom and their very lives into mine. I continually feel the fullness of God's love through my family and these women. And I am full of thanks. I'll share more in future posts.

{via pinterest}



3. Time with the girls has been extra fun lately. There is no better way to describe it than sweet. {Although we had a rough week a few weeks ago when both girls got into a fire ant hill, both girls had pink eye and Maggie was teething...that was a sad week.} AC is eagerly awaiting her birthday and thinks she might like a Sleeping Beauty themed party. {There was a day she changed her mind to Dora, but she's back to Sleeping Beauty now.} Here are some pictures of my real-life sleeping beauties...

4. I got a new car while I've been away. Actually, I had a wreck and therefore had to get a new car. The moral of that whole story {which I will spare you the details} is: Never cross over traffic to turn into a shopping center. Even if two rows of traffic are waving you through. Not a good idea. In fact, don't even wave people through. This story does have a silver lining {silver car} for me, though. And I've already put a sticker on it.

5. Finally, it's starting to feel like FALL! The morning air has been crisp. Football season has started. I have been getting out fall decorations and sorting through the girls fall clothes this week. I had my first {and second} pumpkin spice latte of the season. And, we even had a yummy cabbage soup for dinner last night. Bring on boot season!

{via pinterest}

Like Granny and Mamaw Used to Make

Granny and Mamaw.

Patsy Ann and Doris Catherine.

These women have had a big impact on our lives and are in many of our childhood {and adult}memories.

And now, we are fortunate enough to have them around making memories with our girls.

{Granny's 77th birthday - my grandmother}

{Scrabble with Mamaw - Chris's grandmother}

We recently made some of their recipes and I just felt like passing one of them along. Both women are great cooks...and probably a major reason Chris and I love food.

My grandfather was a hunter and Granny tried several pheasant recipes before finding "the one." She got this recipe from a friend in Sioux City, Iowa.

I used it for chukar instead of pheasant, since that's what we had in the freezer.

Granny's Pheasant

Brown a 2 1/2 lb pheasant in 6 t of butter {I used a whole stick.} and then set aside.

Add 1 diced carrot {I used 2 carrots} and 1 diced onion to the butter.

Add 1/4 t thyme {I added 1 T thyme}, ground pepper, 2 small bay leaves, and 1 t kosher salt.

Cook until onions are tender.

Add 1 T flour, 1 can beef consomme, 1 cup sherry or white wine {I used cooking sherry}.

Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Serve with gravy spooned over pheasant.

If you like to cook game birds, make this!

It smells and tastes amazing...

{My helpers ate carrots like little rabbits.}

Oh, and I got to use my big orange pot. Which I love.

Another night we made Mamaw's ice cream.

The girls got Chris an ice cream maker for father's day and AC has been begging to make ice cream since then.

Well, it was worth the wait. This is the best ice cream recipe ever.

And the girls really enjoyed making it with their daddy. :)

Mother's Day Out

Hi friends!

It's a beautiful day in Memphis!

It's also a Mother's Day Out day {AC loves to go to "school"}...which usually means that I am cleaning house, doing laundry, painting, or things of that nature.

But today Maggadi and I ventured downtown...for a literal Mother's day out. :)

First, we went to see the Peabody Ducks.
{This is quite a big deal...I didn't expect such a crowd on a Thursday at 11:00!}

Baby Mags loves ducks. They are the only animal she can identify by sound. {Sweet girl.}

Next, we strolled by some of my old haunts. {Sometimes I really miss downtown Memphis.}

I used to eat at this place at least twice a week when I was pregnant. Both times.

Then we stopped by Oden to see some people that I love and miss. And, we got to go to lunch with my sweet friends Anna and Carolyn.

Today happened to be the Food Truck Fare on Court Square, celebrating one year of the updated food truck ordinance in Memphis. YUM!

Fuel, Revival, Mark's Grill, Kona Ice, Healthy Delicious, YoLo, Rockin' Dough and others where there, but we chose to go with Revival...and it was everything I heard it would be!

I got the steak tacos {with caramelized onions, goat cheese, fresh jalapeno-green tomato relish, and homemade roasted garlic aioli sauce}. In one word, amazing!

And the company was even better. :)

Gibson's

We went way off the diet last week and ventured to Gibson's Donuts with Lolly and Laura. {Nothing wrong with a little splurge every now-and-then, right?!}

It was a first for the little Cannon girls and AC loved getting to select her own donut.

On the drive there she had said that we were all going to get pink donuts, but they didn't have any. So, she went with purple sprinkles instead.

I can't think of a yummier way to start the day!

This may need to be a weekly {or at least monthly} summer tradition.

Insane in the Membrane

The hubs and I have been doing Weight Watchers going on two months now.

I lost 8 pounds.

Then Easter rolled around and my will power flew out the window.

And I gained back two.

Oh well.

I was sort of "stuck" anyway.

I have five more pounds to lose until I reach my goal weight, but I know dieting alone will not get me there.

So, we decided to GET INSANE!

Yep. We started Insanity last night and the fit test really kicked my booty! {Maybe it's because we didn't get started until late because I had to finish watching the all new episode of Giuliana & Bill. That and the fact that I'm terribly out of shape.}

But, I feel great this morning. Working out just feels good!

Oh, by-the-way, I highly recommend Weight Watchers. We love to eat and still feel like we get to eat good food.

{image from Eating Well}

Here's a link to a recipe for Cheese and Spinach stuffed Portobellos that we loved...and it's only 2 points! {I used low fat cottage cheese instead of ricotta...just because I had it and had forgtten to buy ricotta, but it was good!}

Serve it with a salad or angel hair pasta and tomato sauce.

Yum!

Five {Food} Things Friday

I like to eat.

And I like cooking more and more.

I can only imagine that this is not going to end well for my hips.

Anyway, here are my top five favorite recipes as of late.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

1. BubbleCrumb.com's Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplins.
I'm always looking for a good crock pot recipe and this is one of the best I've tried. Very easy. VERY good! {As a side note, I used Herbs De Provence in place of Parsley...and I next time I plan to add extra broth at the end...which she says is optional.}

2. Pioneer Woman's Homemade Ranch Dressing.

I love, love, love this dressing. I eat it by the spoon full. For real. And then I lick the bowl when it's all gone. {Sorry, I just had some for lunch today and I'm not quite over it yet.}

3. Pioneer Woman's {God love her} Olive Cheese Bread.

So yummy. Not exactly good for you. But, gooooood! I made this as a dip {served with pretzel chips} for a BCS Championship party...and saved some for our family to use as a spread on french bread to go with spaghetti...and still had some left over to snack on {as a dip} all week. And it freezes well, too!

4. Southern Living's Chicken-and-Wild Rice Casserole.

I haven't actually made this one yet, but my sister-in-law made it over Christmas and it was a big hit. It's on our menu for next week...and I'm thinking it'll get bumped up in the lineup. It's one of those complete-meal-in-one-dish sort of things and it's tasty to boot!

5. Cooking in Cast Iron's Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Onions.

I couldn't find this one online, but it is SO GOOD that I am willing to type out the whole thing for you. Please, I beg you. Try this recipe. Don't like brussels sprouts? Well, you just haven't tried these brussels sprouts. Seriously. Try them.

5 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 T mustard seeds

8 slices smoked bacon, chopped

1 1/2 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed

Sea salt and cracked pepper

2 c chicken broth

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 T honey

In a braiser or dutch oven, warm 3 T of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, mustard seeds, and bacon and saute until the bacon is crisp, 2-3- minutes.

Add the brussels sprouts and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour int the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cove, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 T of  olive oil. Add the onions and saute until dark golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the honey. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized, 5-8 minutes.

Uncover the brussels sprouts and cook until the liquid is reduced by one-fourth, about 5 minutes.

Top the brussels sprouts with the caramelized onions and serve right away.

Then call and thank me for making you try brussels sprouts. :)



Five Things Friday

It's gone.

I've lost my blogging mojo.

I have a list a page long of things to blog about, but I just can't seem to find the time lately.

Life has been busy.

As if working full-time, taking care of a little one, a husband and the "regular" things that need to be done around the house don't keep me busy enough, I also have a list of things I'd like to get done before Maggie's arrival. And with about two months {or less} to go, I really have to use my time effectively.

As a result, some things are shuffled to the bottom of the to-do list. Like my blog. And laundry. {I seriously had to wash a load of boxers yesterday for my poor husband. I need a laundry intervention!}

Here are five quick snippets of what we've been up to lately:

1. Illness. I was sick. Then Anne Catherine was sick {an ear infection, which caused a fever, which caused a febrile seizure - the scariest night of my life - and the first ride in an ambulance for me and AC}. Then Chris was sick. I'm sick of sickness! If we could keep the weather from toggling between 19 and 60 degrees this issue might resolve itself. :)
2. Papaw {Chris's grandfather} passed away. Chris and I happened to be there as his sweet spirit left his body. Chris's mother was singing Blessed Assurance {See the lyrics below - LOVE them!}to Papaw as Jesus came to receive him. She said he used to sing that song each Sunday morning as he got ready for church. Chris spoke at the funeral and did a wonderful job. If he says it's ok, I'd like to post his speech. He spoke about what a giving person Papaw was, and that the greatest gifts he gave his family where their Christian heritage and the "blessed assurance" that he is spending eternity in heaven. What wonderful gifts to give your family?!  
3. I finished a little painting project for a friend's nursery. She recently had her second baby boy and, like us, is keeping the nursery basically the same and updating it with new artwork. I'm considering doing painting projects on the side, so I hope she likes it!

4. We've also been painting Anne Catherine's "big girl room" and getting it set up so she can move into it in March. Painting is now complete and the bed is in place. I can't wait to finish it up and post pictures. She already loves it and spent most of the day yesterday {our snow day} playing in her new room!


5. I've been on a bit of a cooking streak lately! In fact, a couple of weeks ago, Chris said it was collectively the "best week" of meals I've cooked the entire time we've been married. The truth is, I've found a new joy in serving my family through planning and preparing meals {something I used to hate...and was really bad at}. And, my husbands compliment {and all of my super-cute new cooking stuff} has made me love serving them in this way even more! I'll be sharing a few recipes I've found through friends, the Internet, and other various places, so stay tuned! My most recent obsession {recipe wise} has been my friend Jenny's homemade mac and cheese. I was craving it one day and asked her for the recipe...and not only did she send me the recipe, but she also left me all of the ingredients at my back doorstep! I've made it twice since then. And I want some right now. :) Here's her recipe:

Jenny's Mac and Cheese

1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups 1% milk
1 cup (4 oz) shredded extra sharp cheddar
6 oz light processed cheese (Velveeta), cubed
6 cups dry elbow macaroni (3 cups cooked)
1/4 tsp salt

-Preheat oven to 375
-Heat large saucepan on medium heat and add flour
-Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk, cook until thick (about 8 min) - stir a lot
-Stir in 2/3 cup cheddar cheese (I added a cup) and then Velveeta. Cook about 3 min until melted
-Remove from heat; stir in cooked macaroni and salt
-Spoon into 2 qt pammed casserole dish; top with 2/3 cup cheddar cheese (I used more - as much as necessary to cover the entire top).
-Bake at 375 for 25 minutes

260 cal / 7.5 fat grams per serving! (unless you add more cheese, like me!) :)

Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels, descending, bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Almost Forgot!

On November 30, as we said goodbye to all things pumpkin, HH cooked up a delish dish for dinner using a stuffed pumpkin recipe he found in one of our newest cookbooks, Around My French Table.

All you do is hollow out a 3 lb. pumpkin and fill it with yummy goodness {bread, cheese, bacon, onions, spices, cream} and bake it for about 2 hours.

In the end, it looks like this:

You can slice it or spoon it out. And it is so rich and filling that you don't need anything else. I love one-dish meals!

I can definitely see this turning into a new end-of-November tradition at our house.

Now, on with Christmas decorating!!!

Really?!

It's December already?!

I don't know about you, but November really flew by for me.

Here's a quick update on what we were up to last month:

-We had a fun weekend with our sweet friends the Easts and the Wadlingtons. The East's little girl, Harper, and DD got to hang out for the first time. We all went to a tailgate party {DD's first tailgate} and then the guys went to the UT/Memphis game while the girls went to dinner at Molly's La Casita. It was so much fun! We wish they would all move back to Memphis some day.

DD and Harper's pajama party {not sure why it loaded sideways}.

-The next weekend I got to visit with Laura, another friend that moved out of town. We had breakfast at J-Frat's {it was super yummy, btw. J-Frat is an excellent cook!}. Laura is expecting baby #2 also! It's always fun to catch up with friends.

-Last month we also had a lot of family visits. First, we saw my Dad and the girls. We had a Benihana birthday celebration for the November birthdays {Hannah and B}. Dad and DD became fast friends over a hibachi dinner. My girl loves some shrimp!

Umm...good.

 The birthday girls.

-Next, we saw my Mom and Granny. We tried hard for a cousin's Christmas photo at my sister's house, but trying to get two 1 year-olds and a 4 month-old to pose for a picture is nearly impossible. Here's a peek at some of the better shots.

We also had a yummy Cracker Barrel dinner with Mom and Granny. DD, a true girl and lover of shopping, had a ball in the country store!

-And last, but not least, we traveled to Maryville for Thanksgiving with Chris's family. His sister Kara and her family live there and are so kind to open up their home to us every year for Thanksgiving. I don't have these pictures loaded to my computer yet, and it was an action packed weekend, so I'm going to save the Thanksgiving weekend details for another post.

-We hosted our annual Fall Feast last month, too. Every year HH and I {but mostly HH} cook a big fall themed meal and invite some friends over to share it with. It's always a little bit different each year and it's always one of my favorite meals of the year. This year was no exception. HH roasted two whole chickens {that would make you slap your mama} and made his famous butternut squash soup {a must-have repeat every year}. We also had some haricot verts and fingerling potatoes, bread {thanks to the Fresh Market} and Pioneer Woman's Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake {my very first cheesecake - and it is a must try - if I do say so myself!}. Our guests for this year's feast were our dear friends the Fratesis and Curlins and their sweet children. {The little ones dined on hot dogs and cheese puffs.}

I love using china!

 Last minute centerpiece {borrowed from our front steps}.

 Cheese, glorious cheese! 

Part of the kiddie table. {Wish I had gotten a picture of all 5 kiddos.}

 The life of the party.

-In other November news, our dog Jack ran away. Again. Only this time we think it might be for good. The last time he ran away {on DD's birthday} he came right back, but his tags were gone. So this time he is on the loose with no identification. He's run away a million times and somehow ends up back with us every time, so I haven't given up hope that he'll be back with us soon. But, it's sad around the house without him. DD asks for Jack every morning. :(

I'll be back soon with an important update worthy of its own post and tomorrow I'll talk about our fun Thanksgiving weekend!