Hootie & the Mondays

This morning I woke up with Hootie's "Let Her Cry" in my head.

I have no idea why, because I really haven't heard this song in way too long. But for some reason, I've been HOOKED on this song all day.

Oh Hootie. You and your ridiculously soothing voice.

So what did I do?

Went straight to work at finding the Hootie & the Blowfish station on Pandora.

MY OH MY the NOSTALGIA.

Just a few of the songs that I've heard over the course of today:

Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
One Week - Barenaked Ladies (I just felt really awkward typing that. My apologies)
Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something


I'm thinking it's pretty much the best rainy Monday playlist yet.


---

So LAST WEEK.

Last week was a little rough. But that's okay because on Friday, THIS GIRL came to town!!!!

My friend Stephanie from college was passing through The City with her honey, Russ, and made a pit stop to have a double date with Hubs and myself.


We had a ball. Hubs and Russ go WAY back and have been friends since high school, so it's really funny that he and Stephanie, whom I've been close to since college, have found one another.

We're all from around the same area (Stephanie is from a small town about 15 minutes from my hometown), so it was SO NICE to have a little bit of "home" with us to kick the weekend off right.

We even revisited our crazy college roots and stayed out until the grand old hour of 9 p.m. because we are PARTY. ANIMALS.

Saturday morning, we intended to run our City's St. Paddy's Day 5K. However, when we woke up and it was raining, we opted out considering Hubs and I had both been sick the entire week.

So we did the only sensible thing to do in times like these and hit the road for SHIPLEY'S.

Only the greatest donuts around. NBD.

We also stopped for fancy coffee and all that jazz from our favorite shop and took a rainy drive through the woods.

We basically did a lot of nothing this weekend, but were oddly okay with that because sometimes, especially after being sick for a week, you just need to curl up and rest while eating donuts and listening to the rain.

On a totally unrelated note, I think I'm finally close to mastering the art of Charlene's biscuits*.

Happy Monday, folks :) Spring has finally arrived!

*My mom's biscuits are of legendary status. I just thought you should know this.

Because It's Snowing in Kentucky

Well folks, we woke up this morning to cloudy, rainy skies with a very mild chance of snow but a very large chance of sleet, which set in around 8:30 a.m.

By the time I hopped out of the shower this morning, I had a missed call and a voice message from my grandmother, which kind of scared me because A) she never calls that early and B) she's NEVER left a voice message on my phone.

Thankfully, everything was fine. But the conversation that took place was pretty hilarious.


"Lisa-BELL!" she said when she picked up the phone (it's what she's called me since I was a baby). "You better NOT go into work today!"

"What do you mean?" I knew this was about to get good.

"You better stay OFF those roads, baby. This weather is CRAZY!"

I looked out the window. Slight sprinkles of rain.

"Umm...?"

"Those roads are dangerous! It's SNOWING in KENTUCKY!"


I love my grandmother. So, so much.


"It's so bad, people are stranded. STRANDED! The Law is having to come get 'em out!"


Down here, "The Law" = cops, ambulances, fire truck, all emergency response teams.


"Well, over here it's not too bad..." I'm trying to hide my giggles. Seriously.

"No no! I've been watching the NEWS ALL MORNING and it's BAD! Don't go to work and get stranded in the snow!"

"I love you, MawMaw. You be careful today."

"I love you too, honey. Just stay off those roads!"


My grandmother loves everybody. Even that mean old raccoon they found in the woods once that looked homeless, so they put him in a cage and took him home until he hissed and shook the cage with all of his body weight. I love that she cares so much about all of us that she stayed glued to the TV all morning, watching the weather to make sure her babies were safe.

My grandmother is amazing in so many ways. Especially since Jackson, Mississippi is still "so far North" to her; even though my hometown is only three hours South of here.


And most days, it seems so far away to me too.


Y'all be safe out there today! And if you're in Kentucky, my heart goes out to you as you wait for The Law to come get you out.

A Rainy Day Playlist

Well folks, the Royal Baby of Country Music has been born.

This kid has NO IDEA how attractive he will be down the road. He'll definitely have the world's best head of hair, if you're asking me!

Now all we have to do is wait until Will & Kate's baby makes its grand entrance, and we'll be good to go!


In other words, this gross weather may be coming to a halt for today - it looks like the sun is at least trying to come out this afternoon, despite a very rainy start to the day.

But regardless! Here are a few chill-worthy songs that seem pretty perfect for a rainy day. Enjoy, friends!

I Like to Be With Me When I'm With You - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

Hung the Moon - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

Dancing Shoes - Green River Ordinance

Baby Tomorrow - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors*

Downtown Train - Everything But The Girl

Something in the Water - Carrie Underwood

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Tiny Dancer - Elton John

Love Me Tender - Nora Jones, Adam Levy

*I'm kind of on a kick. Oops.

From Slushtown, USA

Greetings from Slushtown, party people!

We've had a loooooooot of rain and freezing temps today, so naturally the weather is quite...yucky. Half of our city shut down early tonight due to icy roads, so we've been taking it easy and enjoying an evening on the couch with red beans and rice.

Rainy day relaxing is a wonderful thing indeed :)

We kicked off this past weekend with homemade pizza. I've always been afraid to made any kind of bread from scratch, especially since it typically involves yeast (which, by the way, the thought of which has always scared me) - but since Hubs had to work late and I had some time to kill, I set to work in the kitchen with HowSweetEats's recipe in hand.

I'm so glad I did. The recipe was super practical - we had everything on hand already! And the finished product was CRAZY GOOD. Like --- I'm pretty sure we MIIIIIIGHT be making our own crust from here on out.



PLEASE tell me that YOU WILL TRY THIS TOO.

You WILL be impressed.


** HAPPY DANCE **


Saturday was filled with work fun! Our organization's annual charity food competition was happening, and awhile back my boss asked me to step in for graphic design purposes. It took A LOT of learning and a team of about 25 people, but we were all mighty proud of the way our booth and theme turned out.

Plus, who doesn't love a Ninja Turtle-themed food truck that's shoving mini-pizzas in your face?

It was an indoor event, and there were about 15 other teams competing.

...which meant there were OVER 15 dishes to sample.

OVER FIFTEEN.

One of which was RIBS. And another had SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE.

It was FOR SURE a delicious event.

My belly was MUY happy that night :)

Although it was my first-ever attempt at set design, I actually had a lot of fun learning about it all and was relieved that the team seemed pleased with the results.

I plan to take a nice little break, though, before EVER doing that again, HA!


Sunday basically consisted of church, BBQ, church again, and Cracker Barrel breakfast for dinner with some new friends. It's amazing what a difference it makes that we're starting to make friends here.

Massive amounts of coffee and laughter were had that night.

We were really a delight to the staff, I'm sure.

We came home and I finished reading BooMama's newest book - which, by the way is even better than her first. Highly recommend this one, peeps...

...and tonight I cracked open this beauty, which I've heard RAVES about. I'm pretty pumped about this one.

A rainy night at its best.

I'll be the first to admit that this is NOT my most exciting post, so KUDOS if you are still reading this (!!!!!) -- there's just something about blogging on a rainy night that's just sooooo....nice :)

Have a happy one, friends :)

You Be Johnny & I'll Be June

I can't stop listening to Miranda Lambert's new album, "Platinum." I've basically had the whole thing on "Repeat" since Thursday.

It's just...so...good.

It's keeping me upbeat throughout this crazy weather and lack of sunshine.

You what else is good though?

A pasta dish that doesn't make you feel like you weigh 6,000 pounds WHILE it's busy being pretty delicious.

I made this weeks and weeks AND WEEKS ago, but just didn't get around to posting it. I found it in my phone today and thought HEY WHY NOT because wintery, rainy days just call for pasta sometimes AMIRIGHT?

I've only recently discovered egg noodles. WHY I've never cooked them, I'm not sure, but it probably has something to do with the fact that "egg" and "noodles" just don't sound appetizing AT ALL to me.

BUT --- one (very cold) night I just bit the bullet and tried them anyway because they are CHEAP and I didn't feel like eating frozen vegetables.

YES they are enriched and YES they are probably not the best for you --- but I figure a little enrichment can't be too terrible every now and then, right? Everything in moderation, I'd like to believe.

Have you ever had beef stroganoff? It's never really appealed to me, but I think I had it once in college and it wasn't too bad. This version is made with turkey though, as well as a few other seasonings, and it is SO MUCH BETTER. Just be sure to season it because you do NOT want this dish to be bland. And those mushrooms? They add SO MUCH. Please add mushrooms and you won't regret it :)

The SAUCE is the treat in this dish. It's easy and fast to throw together and really the need for those aforementioned enriched noodles is just a minimum. And THAT means we can feel a LEETLE better about eating said noodles and just enjoy the dish all around.

This all came together in about 30 minutes or less. Which COMPLETELY made up for the hour-long wait in traffic trip to the grocery store it took to make it happen.

Definitely something to consider for a rainy, chilly Monday. Happy Day, friends!

Turkey Stroganoff

((serves 2))

What you'll need:

1/2 lb of lean, ground turkey (I use 93/7)

1 small can of cream of mushroom soup

6-8 small mushrooms, rinsed and chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

dash of basil and oregano (or Italian seasoning)

salt and pepper, to taste

Tony's (or other cajun seasoning), to taste

1-1.5 cups of cooked egg noodles

What you'll do:

Saute' mushrooms in olive oil with garlic, onion, and Italian seasoning. Once mushrooms are fully cooked, remove and add turkey. Turn heat to medium, season with salt and pepper, and cook until completely done, about 10-15 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and stir in sour cream and cream of mushroom soup. If sauce is too thick, add a little water or chicken broth until it reaches your preferred consistency (I like mine slightly soupy). Season with Tony's or other seasoning to taste, then serve hot over warm egg noodles.

Hot 'n' Spicy Outlaw Chili

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiit's NEW RECIPE TIME!

The evening (and early-morning) temps are dropping - making it the perfect weather for this Hot & Spicy Outlaw Chili. Hubs and I tried this over the weekend and we both agreed it was a success :)

Despite my smokey photography skillzzzzzz.

But first! A backstory.

About a month or so ago, my office had a day of friendly food competition. People divided up into teams, chose a food and theme, then had half of a workday to decorate an area of the office and prep their food (the aroma was incredible). Then, everyone in the office had the chance to walk around and sample each food and vote for our favorites.


It was a delicious day, indeed.

So delicious that I had to collect a few recipes here and there, as well. This chili being one of them.

Side note: When asked about the "Outlaw" part of the name, the sweet ladies on the team simply responded: "Because it's so hot, it should be illegal!"

Please also note that they were dressed in lady cowboy hats and vests as they said this, as well.

They were just too cute.

I usually use lean ground turkey meat when I make chili (see my recipe here!), but this time I opted for lean ground beef since the original was sooooo good when I tried it at work.

There is no doubt in my mind that this was the ultimate supper to warm us up on a cold weekend night. ESPECIALLY since we topped our chili with cheese, sour cream, and FRITOS!

PLEASE tell me this brings back everyone else's memories of Frito Chili Pie as a child! This dish DEFINITELY took me back to the days of junior high where we'd walk after school to the tiny little diner across the street to get $2 Frito Chili Pies after school.

And there we'd devour them with pink lemonade until our moms could come pick us up.

...around the corner.

Because that's what all the cool kids did. AND STILL DO!***

Now go make somebody (and your tummy) happy and MAKE THIS!

Loooooooove.

Hot 'n' Spicy Outlaw Chili
courtesy of the sweet ladies' team at work :)
Feeds 4-6 hungry folks

What you'll need:

2 lbs. ground beef (I used 80% lean)                                                   

1 tbsp garlic powder                                 

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can diced Ro-tel Tomatoes

1 or 2 cans Bush’s Chili Hot Beans

1 can of red kidney beans

3 heaping T. chili powder                                           

2 heaping T. ground cumin

½ - 1 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you’re brave)     

1 tsp oregano

1 can of low-sodium beef stock

1/2 cup of water (or more, depending on your preference of consistency)

1 large onion, diced

Salt and black pepper to taste

What you'll do:

Saute onions in a small amount of oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven until they are clear and tender.  Then add ground beef, and cook until browned.  Add garlic powder and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.  Drain well and dab excess grease with a paper towel.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for ~ 2 hours. Check occasionally, and if the consistency is too clumpy, add more water 1/4 cup at a time - until you reach your preferred consistency.*

*I prefer my chili a little soupy, but not watery. So add water (or not) until your heart's desire. It's up to you!

***That tiny little diner is STILL there! Still in business and infested with tons of junior high kids every day. Memoriessssssss.....

The First Thing I Cooked as a Mrs.

Oh boy, peoples. Winter has arrived.

Over the span of approximately two weeks we experienced some lovely Fall weather, only to grab our jackets and scarves to brave the sudden onset of winter!

It's like they say -- If you don't like the weather in Mississippi, it's okay - it'll change in a few days anyway.

But you know what? I like it. I don't mind it one bit.

It's given me reason to bust out my warm comfy clothes (hellooooo stretchy pants and hoodies!), my favorite soup and comfort food recipes, and Bing Crosby's version of "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas."

I broke my own rule this year!!! I normally avoid Christmas music until Thanksgiving but this year --- nah! I'm taking a walk on the WILD SIDE and listening two weeks BEFORE!


Oooh....


But with the weather changing and whatnot, I thought this would be as good a time as any to tell you the story of the first thing I cooked for my husband after returning from our honeymoon:

Homemade Chicken Soup with Veggies

Not exactly what we planned, seeing as how we returned to 80-degree heat and boxes upon boxes of belongings to move into our place, but it worked.

You see, after a lovely honeymoon of things like this:

this...

and THIS...

...We both woke up in the wee hours of the morning feeling some kind of sick. The Plane Crud, as I have oh-so-lovingly deemed it.

"Juuuuicce!!!!"  The Mister said, unable to breathe through his nose and coughing up a storm. "I just need some juice!"

So off we went, at roughly 5:30 a.m., to the nearby grocery store to buy juice, popsicles, and medicine.

...only to find out it didn't open until 6 a.m.

But could we wait that long? Nope. When you're sick, you just need juice. PRONTO.

So we hit the road again, a few miles down the road to the WalMarts, which, mind you, is slightly creepy at that hour of the morning.

That's when it hit me. Somewhere in the depths of my messy box of recipe cards, I remembered there was a recipe for homemade chicken soup guaranteed to make any sick person feel better - the chef himself said so!

So about 45 minutes later, we loaded our car with WAY MORE bags than we planned (crazy WalMart curse!), and a few bottles of juice that we cracked open on the way home.

Sure, it would have been faster and cheaper to go with a can, but the over-achiever in me was NOT about to let the first thing I cooked for my new husband be a can of soup. That's for amateurs, right?

It's probably for people like us that day that were sick and just really needed soup -- and maybe I should have, but I'm not ashamed! Because truth be told, we both felt better by that evening.

And the soup was delicious. No joke.

So now that you know my little story, and now that you're feeling the first chills of the winter season, I present to you The Recipe...this homemade chicken soup sure to cure any cold you may have.

Or at least make it easier to deal with, anyway.

Even if you're not sick, it's definitely good for your tummy on cold nights. Don't be afraid to add more veggies than what the recipe calls for -- I usually eyeball it anyway. The more veggies, the better!

Just give yourself a good hour to prep/cook it, though. It's totally worth it.

...and don't forget the juice =)

Homemade Chicken Soup with Veggies

Serves 2-4 sick folks

Total time: About 1 hour
View original recipe here

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on size) - cooked and cut into chunks

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, plus one extra cup

3 red potatoes

1 cup milk (skim is best, but whole will work fine)

1/2 tbsp of EVOO

1-2 tbsp of garlic powder, depending on taste

2 whole carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

chopped onion or onion powder, to taste (I used about 1.5 tbsp)

1 tbsp basil

2 tbsp oregano

dash of cayenne pepper, to taste

dash of Tony's, to taste

Slice potatoes and place in a small sauce pan with chicken broth. Cook until potatoes are soft enough to mash, then remove potatoes. Stir and slightly mash potatoes in a bowl with milk (I left mine slightly chunky) and set aside.

In a separate, larger pot, place oil, garlic, onion, veggies, basil and oregano and cook until onions are translucent. If using onion powder, cook until celery and carrots are slightly soft. Add leftover chicken broth (from potatoes), stirring until thoroughly mixed. Let this mixture come to a boil, then add your milk and potato mixture. This will make the soup much thicker; if you prefer a more brothy soup, add the extra cup of broth. Let soup cook for 5-10 minutes, or until everything is evenly mixed and combined.

Add a dash of cayenne pepper and a little Tony's (helps with a stuffy nose!) and serve hot. Serve alone or over brown rice.

Roasted Tomato Basil Bisque + Ben's Famous Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I'm pretty sure tomato soup popped up in my dreams on Friday night.

I say this because on Saturday morning, I woke up and NO JOKE the VERY FIRST THOUGHT in my mind was "I NEED TOMATO SOUP!"

It really was. I tell no lie!

The weather was a little rainy, and slightly dreary...perfect weather for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Does it get any more comforting than that?

I have a very simple recipe for tomato soup that use frequently, but this weekend deserved a little something different.

Wha-bam:

I prepped the recipe as usual, but soup looked a little tooooo soupy when I was done. Thankfully I had about 1/4 cup of whipping cream (cheaper store brand YEAH!!!!) leftover from a previous recipe and poured that goodness right in.

Apparently I wanted bisque, not soup. But oh, was it ever so delicious. I love it when experiments turn out so wonderfully. I can't wait to make this again.

Last-minute change to recipe = brilliance.

The trick is to combine roasted Roma tomatoes with no-salt-added diced tomatoes (from a can -- GASP!) with seasoning. I usually use plain diced tomatoes, but this time used the kind with green chilies. It was actually an accident that I didn't realize until afterward, but no regrets here! It added a little extra KICK to the flavor, and mixed so well with the red pepper flakes I threw in early on.

Can I take a moment to declare my love for store brands? There's no shame in these, peeps. Same taste, better price, happier wallet. 'Nuff said. There are very few items, though, that I'm completely loyal to a particular brand. But more on that in another post.

Back to Saturday.

As all of the bisque-y goodness was happening, The Fiance' stopped by and offered to help with lunch (aaaawwww :) ).

People, apparently I am marrying the Master of All Grilled Cheese Makers. Seriously. I'm not exaggerating.

Okay maybe I am a little. But still, these were seriously the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've ever tasted. I think we all know who will be making the grilled cheeses from now on ;)

I have no idea what the boy did, but he did it GOOD. Maybe one day he'll teach me and I can share the recipe on here :)

As for the soup, here are some lovely photos of the process and the recipe below.

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Basil Bisque
Serves 4

6 Roma tomatoes

2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil, divided

Sprinkle of salt

Sprinkle of pepper

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Dash of garlic powder (about half a teaspoon)

1 tsp chopped onion (or a few sprinkles of onion powder)

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes with green chilis

2 cups chicken or veggie broth

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tsp of basil

Slice the Roma tomatoes and arrange on a baking sheet (preferably covered with foil that has been sprayed with a light layer of cooking spray). Drizzle tomatoes with 1 tsp EVOO. Depending on the size of your tomatoes, you may need a tad more oil, but they should not be greasy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes, then broil until they are just beginning to darken on top. For my oven, this took about 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp of EVOO in a saucepan on medium-high heat and let garlic, onion and red pepper saute' for just under a minute (it might get dark, but don't let it burn). Pour in diced tomatoes, broth, and cayenne and let simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the basil.

Lower the heat to medium-low when mixture begins to boil, then add your Roma tomatoes. Stir well so everything is nicely combined.

Using an immersion hand blender, blend the soup until it reaches the desired consistency. I left mine slightly chunky. If you don't have a hand blender, pour soup (a little at a time - it will be hot!) into a normal blender, then pulse until desired consistency. Return to saucepan.

With heat still on medium-low, add in the whipping cream a little at a time, stirring constantly. When bisque reaches the desired thickness (and a little red color), your dish is ready to enjoy.

Serve alongside warm grilled cheese sandwiches.

Rainy Day Red Beans

Ohhhh the weather outside is frightful....

At least it was this morning. I woke up to lightening and the lady on the radio announcing a tornado watch in my area. I spent the next hour with my head under the covers drifting in and out of sleep hoping that it would just disappear....Bad weather and I don't mix :)

Thankfully the storms have subsided and now it's just cold and rainy. Perfect weather for Christmas music and a nice, hot bowl of red beans and rice.

This is a fantastic recipe; a nice blend of my mom's red beans that I've eaten my entire life with a few additions that might sound weird but add a great flavor. I've lightened it up, adding veggies and using turkey sausage and brown rice to give it a healthier spin. Trust me, you'll feel great eating this.

You can make this either on the stove or in a crock pot, whichever suits your schedule -- either way it's just as delicious!

Speaking of schedule, I was in a mad rush when I made these yesterday morning before church (the longer they sit, the more flavorful they are!), so I am lame and only took two pictures. Forgive me? :)

I had the leftovers for lunch today and they were seriously just as good a day later! Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I always have.

NOTE: I rarely measure anything when I'm cooking (baking is a different story), so this dish is great because you can really add everything "to taste." Enjoy!

Rainy Day Red Beans with Brown Rice

1 package of Camellia Red Kidney Beans (I usually use half and can get about 4 servings out of it)

2 stalks of celery

~1/2 of a green bell pepper

chopped onion, to taste

turkey sausage

Tony's seasoning

oregano

salt/pepper

hot sauce

any other seasonings you deem appropriate

brown rice

First, bring a pot of water to a boil and empty your beans into it. The amount of water depends on the amount of beans you use...Since I use about half a package, I'll fill the pot just over halfway full.

While your beans are cooking, chop your chop-ables! 

Add in your chopped veggies and your seasonings and give it a nice stir.

{sodahead.com :) }

Keep your beans cooking on high for about 15-ish minutes. After that, turn it down to medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes. Keep a close eye on it, as the water can cook out quickly.

As your beans cook down, add more water if needed. Trust me when I say you DO NOT want all of the water to cook out - the smell/taste of what is left is awful! 

You'll want to keep a good amount of water in the pot (definitely enough to keep the beans covered) so it can get all nice and gravy-like.

Turn the heat down to low and keep a lid on it. There's no real time limit here, you'll be able to tell when the beans are completely cooked {aka, there will be no wrinkles or pink color left and they have a nice brown color}.

This is GREAT time to start cooking your rice!

Once the beans are done cooking, if the juice/gravy isn't quite as thick as you'd like, add a bit of cornstarch until it reaches the consistency you want. A bit = about 1/4 teaspoon at a time! Too much cornstarch results in big white clumps in your beans!

At this point, I usually add in a little more pepper, Tony's and hot sauce and give it a good stir before serving. This will taste EXCELLENT served over brown rice and with a side of warm toasted french bread or homemade biscuits.

If you want to REALLY get crazy -- sprinkle in a pinch of sugar right on top once you've served it. It adds just a touch of sweetness that blends so well with everything else.

For the crockpot: Put all of your ingredients (except the rice) in at once and cover with about 6 to 7.5 cups of water, again depending on the amount of beans and the size of your crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. I actually PREFER to cook these in the crockpot - the aroma that fills my apartment by the time I come home from work is WONDERFUL.

Go ahead, try it. I dare ya!