Thanksgiving is getting closer and all I can think about it that amazing meal! Every year we typically have the same dishes. Lots of love goes into this meal.

Thanksgiving Meal

Turkey

My mom’s sweet potato casserole

Grandma’s macaroni

Oyster dressing

Orange salad

Some type of green veggie, usually broccoli

Some type of bread (in the picture it is my sister’s Garlic Cheese Biscuits, like Red Lobster’s)

Dessert – pumpkin pie, Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake, Hello Dollies, and pecan pie (for my dad)

We love Thanksgiving! Hehe. We usually have the same things to eat for Christmas because we love everything so much! This year we may try some new recipes though.

This will be the first holiday season without my grandparents. It’s not going to be easy on any of us. Thankfully this Thanksgiving my parents are taking us to see the Rockettes! It’s part of our Christmas presents! It will be something to look forward to and hopefully keep us cheerful, despite the sadness.

Do you have any favorite family recipes or Thanksgiving traditions?

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In honor of St Patrick’s Day, Thursday I made Shepherd’s Pie. I haven’t made it in a while, so I did a Google search for recipes. Of course, there were tons that came up, but I went with one I found on All Recipes. The recipe itself looked ok, but I knew I could make it better! Here’s what I used:

1 lb ground beef
3 cloves of garlic (that’s right! I said 3)
1/2 cup of chopped onions
7 oz can of mushrooms (fresh would be much better!)
15-20 baby carrots, chopped
1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed out
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp ketchup
3/4 cup beef broth
4 servings of instant mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp italian bread crumbs

I started out with the ground beef in one skillet (since it was still kinda frozen). Then in another skillet, I put some olive oil in to heat. I added the 3 cloves of freshly minced garlic and the onions to the skillet. Talk about smelling yummy!

Next I added the mushrooms to the onions and garlic. While the meat finished I started chopping up the baby carrots. I boiled them for about 10 minutes. When the meat was finished, I added the onions, garlic and mushrooms to the meat. I let that cook for a couple of minutes. I then added the flour, ketchup and beef broth to the meat and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

When the meat was done and the carrots were done, I finished making my instant mashed potatoes. (follow directions on box) I added the cheddar cheese to the potatoes. Yum. Next I sprayed my casserole dish (my 2.75 qt Martha Stewart enamel cast iron casserole dish that I got for Christmas!!) with olive oil and started making my layers. First the meat mixture, then the baby carrots and peas, then the mashed potatoes. I added some more cheddar cheese on top and then the bread crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Let me tell you, this was the most flavorful, delicious Shepherd’s Pie I have ever had! I was so impressed with myself! My sister, who hasn’t always been big on Shepherd’s Pie and is a picky eater, LOVED it! She kept looking at me and nodding her head “yes”. It was great!

I hope you try this recipe and let me know! Hopefully the next time I make it, I can use my husband’s made from scratch mashed potatoes. (His are the BEST!) That would make it even better!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper! Complete with pretty ribbon

2. Tree–Real or Artificial? Artificial, its so much easier!

3. When do you put Christmas tree up? Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving but this year it was like 2 weeks after.

4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years

5. Like egg nog? Bleck!

6. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes! On top of our entertainment center. The tradition that my parents, my sister and I have though, is to put the nativity scene under the tree because Baby Jesus is our gift.

7. Favorite gift received as a child? My dollhouse. My parents made it. It was never finished. But my dad put some of the wallpaper from mine and my sister’s rooms into the rooms of the dollhouse. It was awesome.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My aunt Brenda. She has EVERYTHING!! The best gift I gave her was the Tickle Me Elmo TMX. (You know, the one that rolls around on the floor and laughs hysterically!) She wanted it the year that they were selling out within MINUTES. Walmart.com had 4000 per day for one week. They went on sale at 10am every day. The first day they were on there, I pulled it up online at 9:50am. It said “Not Available”. I kept refreshing the page until it said “Add to Cart” I rushed through the purchasing process. By 10:01am they were SOLD OUT! 4000!!! But I got one!!! The reaction on my aunt’s face was PRICELESS!!! Now I just need to figure something out for THIS year! Oy.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My fiance. He tells me exactly what he wants! Hehehe. Over and over and over.

10. Worst Christmas gift? A few not-so-stylish sweaters come to mind

11. Mail or email a Christmas Card? Snail mail all the way!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? The Santa Clause 1, 2 & 3.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? It depends. Sometimes I’m done by September. Sometimes I finish the week of Christmas. This year, I’m done the week before. Thank goodness for Amazon.com!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes.

15. Favorite food to eat on Christmas? Grandma’s Macaroni & Cheese. Although, I make it now.

16. Clear or colored tree lights? Both. The white lights just make the colored lights POP!

17. Favorite Christmas Song? Carol of the Bells

18. Travel during Christmas or Stay home? Go to Grandma & Grandpa’s house! Its just not Christmas without them.

19. Can you name Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph of course!

20. Angel or Star on Tree top? Star. The one we have now is not the greatest. I’m getting new stuff next year!

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? trying not to bust out of your pants

What about you?

Much Love,

I’ve had several people ask me about how they turned out yesterday. Let me tell you, it was soooo yummy!! I usually don’t like chicken and dumplings. Most of the times I’ve had it, it’s just kind of been blah. But this recipe is so good. So good that I’m making it again today! Haha. It’s not the healthiest meal in the world, but it’s cheap and extremely easy! Here’s some pics:

Now, I took these pics after we had both gotten some out. So you can see that it over flowed. HAHA! The recipe calls for you to put the chicken, butter, cream of chicken soup, and onion in and cover it with water. I forgot to put the water in. But I am GLAD I didn’t. My CrockPot is kinda small, so even before I put the biscuit dough in, it was full. It over flowed when the dough was put in. (Not too bad though) Also, since the dough couldn’t get down into the soup, it took longer than 30 minutes for it to cook. But once it was done, it was yummy! I’m only making half the recipe today. I need a bigger CrockPot!

(For those of you who know me, I registered for a new CrockPot for my wedding! HINT! LOL!)

Much Love,

Usually Matthew and I will head down to Nashville on Saturday or Sunday to spend the weekend with my family and go to our church. Then we either go out to eat or my mom fixes lunch. But sometimes, like today, we are trying to save gas and money. So we are staying in town, going to a friend’s church, and I’m making lunch.

I wanted to make something easy. That made me think “CrockPot!” My mom always used to make our sunday lunch in the CrockPot and by the time we got home from church, lunch was pretty much ready to go! She usually makes roast with her’s, but I didn’t have a roast. I looked in my cabinet. What do I have? I have tons of canned food. I noticed 2 cans of cream of chicken soup. I’ve never made anything with that. So I went to my favorite recipe website and looked around. I looked at chicken recipes, slow cooker recipes, etc. Then I searched for cream of chicken soup. After looking through all the creamed chicken recipes and the sour cream chicken recipes (which some of those looked REALLY yummy!!) I finally found THE recipe.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings.

Now, what is the best part of this recipe? Matthew’s FAVORITE meal is chicken and dumplings. I didn’t have everything I needed. It doesn’t call for much, just 5 ingredients and a slow cooker. I had 3 ingredients. The great thing about Matthew working his second job at Outback is that he always calls when he leaves work and asks me if he needs to stop and get anything. So I texted him my list of a few things I needed to fix lunch.

I got up early (for me anyways!). Got my CrockPot out. This is the first time I’ve used it since I moved here! I put my chicken in, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 onion diced, and my 2 cans of cream of chicken soup. CrockPot set on High. When we get home from church I will check it, put the torn up pieces of biscuit dough in (that’s the dumplings part. I’m using Grands biscuits), and then 30 mins later we will eat!

Matthew was so excited when he realized that I was making Chicken and Dumplings. I told him almost a year ago that I would make it for him. I’m finally getting around to that! I hope he likes it. I will post again about the results!

Much Love,

I have been trying new recipes and practicing my cooking skills. I’ve never really done much cooking since my mom and sister always did. But now that I’m getting married, I want to be able to cook for my husband.

So tonight I made 2 dishes that I found in the Taste of Home: Cooking for 2 magazine. They were so good that I just HAD to share them!!

Mozzarella Tomato Salad
2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon minched fresh basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, combine the cheese, tomatoes and onion. In another small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drizzle over salad; toss to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes. Stir just before serving.

Prep/Total time: 25 mins Yield: 2 servings

Nutrition Facts: 1/2 cup equals 157 calories, 13g fat (5g saturated fat), 22mg cholesterol, 192 mg sodium, 4g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 5g protein.

Gouda Turkey Club
1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese
4-1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
4 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed and toasted
2 teaspoons butter, softened
1/4 pound shaved deli hickory smoked turkey
4 slices tomato
1/2 medium ripe avocado, peeled and mashed
2 romaine leaves

In a small bowl, combine the cheese, mayonnaise, onion, garlic powder and pepper. Spread two slices of toast with butter, top with cheese mixture, turkey, tomato, avocado, and romaine. Top with remaining toast. Cut each sandwich in half.

Prep/Total time: 15 mins Yield: 2 servings

Nutrition Facts: 1 sandwich (prepared with reduced fat butter and reduced fat mayonnaise) equals 445 calories, 25g fat (9g saturated fat), 63mg cholesterol, 1,075mg sodium, 33g carbohydrates, 7g fiber, 27g protein.

*Note: I didn’t use fresh basil for the salad, but it turned out great with dried basil too! On the sandwich, I used olive oil mayo. I couldn’t find smoked Gouda, so I just used Gouda cheese. And I didn’t put butter on the bread. But MAN was it all good!

Much Love,