Holiday Dress

That  Dress Tho....

 

I found this awesome purple lace holiday dress at Dress Barn. It is sassy, fun, and flirty while still being modest. It is definitely a go to dress for every special occasion. Here are a few pictures from when I wore it the first pic was girls night out, the other two were from a Christmas Banquet. It can be worn when it is warm as well as if it is cold. I added a fun cheetah print jacket to it since it was cold.

 

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Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Pasta E Fagioli Soup

 

I am a big fan of Olive Garden and an even bigger fan of soup, salad, and breadsticks. I found a standard recipe for Pasta E Fagioli and then tweaked it and I think it is a pretty good copy- cat of Olive Garden's.

1 pound ground hamburger
1 pound Italian sausage
2 cups frozen vegetable blend
2 cans Hunt's garlic and herb pasta sauce
4 cups water
2 cans red kidney beans
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon basil
1 cup elbow macaroni (uncooked) (or other small pasta)
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

brown the meat in a skillet and drain
in a large soup pot combine all the other ingredients (except pasta) and bring to a boil
reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour
add pasta the last 10 minutes of cooking
cook until the pasta is tender

Super Super Yummy :)

Christmas Season

Since it is December and Christmas is almost among us I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on my favorite things about the season.


1. My absolute favorite thing about the season is that we get a chance to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ.
2. Spending time with family.
3. Christmas Baking- everything from fudge to cookies to chocolates
4. Christmas Sweaters- I prefer to call these tacky because they are not ugly but sometimes they are just a little bit tacky.
5. Christmas Parades- They are just a blast!
6. Gingerbread Houses- Now I don't know about you but I don't really like gingerbread but I love to build and decorate the houses. I love that you can buy so many different kinds these days. I would like to try and do a homemade one sometime but the boxes are just so convenient.

 

 

White Chili

White Chili

 

3 cans of white chicken
1 can chopped green chilies
1 cup salsa (I prefer medium)
2 cans of white beans drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans of white corn
1 cup of onions
Enough garlic salt to taste

1 cup monterrey jack cheese
1 cup sour cream

1. Simmer first 9 ingredients  for 1 hour
2. 10 minutes before serving the chili add the last two ingredients (cheese, sour cream)
3. Serve with chips or crackers (optional)

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

 



 Nothing says fall like a big ol bowl of soup. This is my favorite recipe for Taco Soup. I modified the version that my mom always made. :) Hope you enjoy!

 

1 ¼ lbs ground beef                                              1 chopped onion
1 ¼ package taco seasoning                                 1 package ranch dressing mix
salt to taste                                                            pepper to taste
1 can corn undrained                                            2 cans stewed tomatoes blended
1 can rotel tomatoes                                             1 can green chilies
1 can pinto beans, drained                                   1 can kidney beans, drained
1 ½ cup tomato juice

1. Brown the ground beef and onion
2. Add other ingredients
3. Bring to boil
4. Simmer 30 minutes
5. OPTIONAL: serve with cheese

Brown Beans and Ham

6 Quart Crockpot Brown Beans and Ham

 

3-4 pound ham (bone in, not sliced)
2 pounds of dry pinto beans
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon minced onion
salt and pepper to taste

1. in a large bowl place dry beans and fill bowl full of water. Allow the beans to soak for 3-4 hours.
2. drain the beans and rinse
3. spray the inside of the crockpot with pan spray
4. place ham in center and pour in beans around
5. fill the rest of the crockpot with water
6. add in the seasonings (Don't add too much salt or pepper until it is almost finished)
7. cook on low for 20-24 hours
8. taste and decide if it needs more salt or pepper
9. take out the ham and remove the bone, then cut or tear the ham in chunks.

A great side item for this dish is sweet corn bread!



*Serves 8

Chili

Mom's Chili Recipe
Serves 6

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 32 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
2 15 oz. can chili beans
1 package mild chili seasoning
1 package hot chili seasoning

1. in a skillet brown the ground beef and drain
2. in a large pot combine all other ingredients and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer 1 hour.

or if you use a crockpot

1. brown the beef in a skillet and drain
2. combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours

My favorite way to eat chili is with a little bit of shredded Colby-Jack cheese mixed in and instead of a spoon I use Fritos to dip in my bowl and eat. Super Yummy!

Tinkerbell

For Halloween this year, I decided to dress up as Tinkerbell. I do not normally dress up but I had the opportunity to go to three different events so I decided it was worth it to come up with an outfit. I found a shirt that I liked and then made a tutu tulle skirt. Then my dad helped me out and made my wings.

 

 

 

 

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Old Fashioned Apple Pie Recipe

 

 

 



7-8 large apples (peeled, cored, diced)                               1 cup sugar
2 ½ tablespoons flour                                                          1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg                                                           Dash of salt
2½ tablespoons butter                                                         2 premade pie crusts (boxed, refrigerated)



1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. Stir sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl. Pour over apples mixing to make sure all are coated.
3. Unroll and place one of the pie crusts into a pie pan.
4. Fill the pie crust with the apples. Arrange the apples into a small mound with the center being  slightly taller than the outsides.
5. Cut butter into small pieces and place evenly over the apple cubes.
6. Roll out the second pie crust and place on top of the apples and squeeze the top crust and the bottom crust together at the edge to seal the pie. Then make slits on the top of the pie to allow for steam to escape. (Like example on bottom- happy fall yall) You can also try a lattice pie (example below) or one where you use a cookie cutter and cut pieces out and arrange on the top of the pie (example above)
7. Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil so that it will not brown to fast (make sure to not cover the whole pie).
8. Bake for about 1 hour. Remove the foil 10 minutes prior to removing the pie from the oven.

  

Red Beans and Sausage with Rice

Red Beans and Sausage with Rice

 



2 pounds dry red beans                                                         4 pounds sausage
1 large onion chopped                                                          2 stalks of celery chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped                                                        1 tbls. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. cayenne                                                                      ¼ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. thyme                                                                         1 tbls. Chili powder
½ tsp .garlic powder                                                             Salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves                                                                          Louisiana hot sauce (optional)

24 hours before serving soak beans in hot tap water for 3-4 hours. Once beans
are soaked, rinse and put in crock pot (must be 6 quart) on low with enough
water covering beans well. Add all other ingredients except sausage, cover and
stir occasionally and check water level (must always be enough to cover beans) 
6-8 hours before serving cut up sausage in ½ to 1 inch chunks (your preference)
put in crock pot and cover wait till 24 hour mark and serve.

Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

 

• 6-8 medium potatoes (peeled and chunked in 3/4  inch squares)
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons minced onions
• 1  package (6 ounce) real bacon bits
• salt and pepper to taste
• milk (amount determined while you are cooking)

 

 

1. Cover potatoes with water and boil in  pan on the stove until tender.
2. Drain the water
3. Add enough milk to cover the potatoes
4. Use a potato masher and mash the pan several times but do not mash all of the potatoes (there still needs to be chunks)
5. Add all the other ingredients
6. Cook over low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes (stirring often),  until it becomes a thick soup.



Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread Recipe

 

• 2 packages yeast
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup warm milk
• 5 cups flour
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Then add eggs, sugar, salt and milk. Mix together and then slowly add the flour until it turns into a soft dough.
Then let it sit and rise until it has doubled. After it has doubled punch down the dough and roll it out. Then cut it into odd sized strips. Melt the butter. Then dip the pieces into butter and put into a bundt pan. Let it rise until doubled again and then bake in a 350* oven for 30 minutes.

***You can also use this recipe to make crescent rolls, you would roll them into crescents instead of dipping in butter and placing in the bundt pan***

Quadruple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today (10/1) is National Homemade Cookie Day. So in honor of this I made some cookies.

Quadruple Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup  baking Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

 

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in all the chips. Place on a baking sheet (I put parchment paper on mine)

Bake for 9-10 minutes depending on your oven

 

 

 

*Recipe adapted from Nestle

Resident Chef- BLT Dip

A huge shout out to the Resident Chef. This brand makes fabulous dips that are great for any occasion. I made the BLT dip for the Razorback football game this past Saturday. These dips are great to take anywhere and make excellent appetizers.  They are also super easy to make. The ingredients that you add are dependent on whether it is savory or sweet. For the BLT mix it was 1 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of mayonnaise. If you get a chance I would check out their website and order some dips. They are great!

Mini Pies

I saw a great idea on pinterest a few weeks ago and modified it and started making mini pies. These are great way to take someone a pie where you would not be able to have plates and forks. These mini pies are bite sized and are great to take tailgating (which is where I took mine!).  

So what you need is a mini muffin pan, premade pie crust dough (you can find these at the grocery store all rolled up), round cookie cutter, canned pie filling (fruits of your choice), powdered sugar, and milk.

To start you unroll the pie crust and use the round cookie cutter to cut out circles. After you cut them all out reroll out the dough and cut some more until you finish all the dough. Next you place the circles in the holes of a mini muffin pan. They make the cutest little pies. After they are all in there it is time to add the filling. Each little pie needs a spoon of filling. I used apple (it will need to be cut though), cherry, strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry. After all of the filling is in it is time to bake the mini pies. It takes 18-20 minutes in a 400* oven. When they are done baking and have cooled slightly mix together 1/2 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk. This makes a yummy glaze that you can sprinkle on top of the mini pies. After that its time to eat! :)

Horseback Riding

So I went horseback riding for the second time over Labor Day weekend. It was an unique experience. The ride itself was not too bad and was very pretty. I went in Ruidoso, New Mexico through a place called Inn of the Mountain Gods. For my outfit I went with skinny jeans from NEw York and Company, a Arkansas Razorback Tank Top (it was game day!) from Victoria's Secret, and my Cowboy Boots from Cavenders (kids!).  Here are a few pictures. My horse's name was Nugget.

I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling 22

Here is a little update about what I did for my 22nd birthday on August 4.
For my Birthday I went to a great camp in Glorieta, New Mexico with my church. It was a great time of fellowship with College students from across the United States. The two fun things I did for my birthday was I went on a Giant Swing and I watched some friends play football. It was a great way to spend my 22nd birthday! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FlashBack Friday

FlashBack Friday to some of my favorite Date Looks

                                                          

 
                                                              


Starting from Left to Right

1. Maxi Dress in Aztec Print- This is a great dress for anything because it is super comfy and is a great length because you can dress it up with heels or dress it down with flats.
2. Little Orange Dress- I wore this dress to a play and dinner. It can be as dressy as you would like for it to be.
3. Black Sundress with Blue Sweater- A classic look and you can add a pop color with a sweater and shoes.
4.  Flowy Two Tone Dress with Sweater- This dress is a great dress to go from work to play in. It has a high round neckline and is styled like a tank top.
5. One Shoulder Purple Party Dress- This dress is great for special occasions because of the one shoulder and flower accents.

The blue shoes I ordered from David's Bridal. They have come in handy and are super comfortable for them being high heels. I love the little bow accent.