Sides We Love!

So i have been posting a lot of recipes but no sides so i though i would do a quick post!

Here are 2 of our favorites!

These are one of mine and my family favorite sides and they pair really well with fish or pork! Seriously these are amazing!

BAKED ASPARAGUS FRIES!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Panko* 
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed 
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 large eggs, beaten

  

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray. 
• In a large bowl, combine Panko and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside. 
• Working in batches, dredge asparagus in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in Panko mixture, pressing to coat. 
• Place asparagus in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. 
• Serve immediately.

NOTES

*Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store.

My husband loves potatoes and seriously wants them with every meal so we look for different ways to cook them and this recipe was amazing!

Parmesan- Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Heres what to do: 

Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Toss potatoes and oil in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Place potatoes, cut side up, on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet; reserve bowl.

 Roast until golden brown and cooked through, 30–35 minutes. Transfer to bowl; toss with Parmesan. Return potatoes to rack and roast until Parmesan is brown and crisp, 10–12 minutes.

Toss potatoes in same bowl with parsley, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Top with lemon zest just before serving.

Like always if you have any tips or just like the recipes leave a comment! 

Honey Glazed Salmon with Brown Butter Lime Sauce

So I wasn't sure about this recipe at first but it is now one of my favorites and I'm not a big fish eater! My 5 year old son even loves it!

Here is where my husband found the recipe!

Honey Glazed Salmon with Brown Butter Lime Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 4 (6oz) salmon fillets, deboned 
• 4T flour
• 2T honey
• olive oil for the pan
• lime zest for serving
For the Sauce:
• 6T butter
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 4T lime juice
• 1/2t salt
• 1/2t freshly ground black pepper

Heres what to do:

Swirl olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Pat the fillets dry with a paper towel, then dust lightly with flour. Using your hands, pat the flour evenly over the top of the fillet (if fillet is skinless, do this on both sides). Drizzle a small amount of honey over the top of the floured area and spread to coat. 

Place salmon in hot pan and cook 3-5 minutes per side, or until a nice caramelized brown crust is achieved and the salmon is cooked to desired temperature.

While the salmon is cooking. go ahead and start on your sauce:

To Make Sauce:
In a small saucepan, brown the butter over medium heat, swirling frequently. The butter will melt, then foam and bubble, then begin to brown. As soon as it smells nutty and the color has changed, remove from heat (if you don't watch it closely here, it will burn)
Add garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

 Remove salmon to serving plate and drizzle with Brown Butter Lime Sauce and sprinkle with lime zest. 

Serve. 

Its an easy recipe and tastes like a pro cooked it! 

and like i have said before I am no pro! Lol

If you like this recipes let me know in the comments or if you have any tips comment and let me know i always love good cooking tips!

Homemade Veggie Stew & Taco Lettuce Wraps

So today y'all are getting a 2 for one because these recipes are so easy it would be ridiculous to write 2 different post lol

The first is one of my favorite recipes and has been my whole life. Its homemade veggie stew

Veggie stew!

Ingredients:

• A large bottle of V-8
• A whole stock of celery
• A bag of carrots
• 4 large baking potatoes
• 1 head of cabbage
• 1 White Onion
• 1lb Stew Meat (optional/substitutable) 
• water
• Cheese (optional)

And you can add any veggie you like. I sometimes add a squash and a zucchini.

Heres what to do:

Chop you celery, carrots, potatoes, and onion about bite size pieces (since I'm working now I chopped my celery and my carrots the night before and just put them back in the refrigerator.) and put it in a large pot. Add your V-8 and stir. If it looks to thick you can add water. I always fill up my V-8 bottle and keep the water on the counter just incase it gets to thick while cooking. Turn your stove on a Med heat and cover. 

While that is starting to cook start browning your meat. You can substitute the stew meat with hamburger or ground turkey if you don't like stew meat. I sometimes use hamburger meat just because its easier.

Add your meat to the veggies and keep it at a simmer. 

Cook for about 4 1/2 to 5 hours on a low to med heat, or until the potatoes are done. 

Add the cabbage and let that cook for about 20 to 30 mins. 

I always add cheese to my bowl of stew but its completely optional!

And thats it! How easy is that?!

The next recipe is super easy and quick so if your short on time this is the recipe to fix!

Taco Lettuce Wraps:

Ingredients: 

• Hamburger or Ground Turkey
• Taco seasoning
• Lettuce (big enough to put everything in)
• Cheese ( I like the Mexican blend)
• and grape or cherry tomatoes (optional)

Heres what to do:

Cook your meat until it is brown

Add your taco seasoning to the meat and follow the directions on the pack

While your meat is cooking if your using tomatoes go ahead and cut them in half so they are small enough to put on the lettuce.

When the meat is finished cooking lay your lettuce on a plate. Add your taco meat, cheese on top of that, then your tomatoes. wrap up and enjoy!

See that was even easier than the stew and just as delicious! 

Tomorrow is going to be a Honey glazed salmon and asparagus fries so be sure to check in for that!

And like always is you have any tips after making one of these let me know in the comments! i always love cooking tips!

Julia Child's Eggplant Pizza!

I have been cooking a lot and I came across this recipe on good old Pinterest and it took me to a blog post from 2012 that game me the recipe I'm posting below! 

Now i am seriously the worst person to have in the kitchen. If something is going to be spilled i am going to be the one to spill it , or burn it, or not do something right and it turn out terrible. Lol

So I have some tips to make it easier for you.. 

• When you slice the eggplant try to slice them thin but not to thin. The recipe says the slice them 3/4 of an inch. The ones i did cut thicker were more mushy in the middle than the smaller ones. I liked the smaller ones. They were firmer and more like a crust.
• When you have salted the eggplant and are ready to wipe off the water and some of the salt i would do it over the sink or trash can. I had salt all over my kitchen lol.
• Last one. instead of mixing my cheeses i put the mozzarella on first and then i used my zester and tested my parmesan onto of the mozzarella.

So here is the recipe:

Julia Child's Eggplant Pizzas (Tranches d'aubergine á  l'italienne)
(Makes 3-4 servings or 6-8 appetizer servings, recipe adapted from one found in From Julia Child's Kitchen.)

Ingredients: 
1 globe eggplant, about 8 ounces and 9-10 inches long
about 1 T salt, for drawing water out of eggplant
about 2 T olive oil, for brushing eggplant before roasting
about 2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, for sprinkling on eggplant before roasting
10 large basil leaves, cut in chiffonade strips (optional)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/3 cup finely grated low-fat mozzarella blend 
hot red pepper flakes for sprinkling finished pizza (optional)

Sauce Ingredients:
2-3 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped 
1 can (14.5 oz.) good quality petite diced tomatoes with liquid (or use 2 cups peeled and diced fresh tomatoes)
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning blend
1/4 tsp. dried oregano (use Greek or Turkish oregano)

Instructions:

Cut off both ends of the eggplant; then cut it into 3/4 inch thick slices (trying to make them the same thickness!)  Put the eggplant pieces on a double layer of paper towels and sprinkle both sides generously with salt.  Let the eggplant sit with the salt on it for about 30 minutes to draw out the liquid.  (After the eggplant sits for 15 minutes, turn on the oven to 375F/190C.)

While the eggplant sits, make the sauce.  Heat 2-3 tsp. olive oil (depending on your pan) and saute the finely chopped garlic just until it becomes fragrant.  (Don't let it brown.)  Add the petite diced tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning, and dried oregano and let the sauce cook at a low simmer until it's thickened, breaking up the tomatoes with a fork as it cooks.  (Add water as needed, a few tablespoons at a time as the sauce cooks, keeping it hot by simmering at very low heat until it's needed for the eggplant slices.)

After 30 minutes, wipe the eggplant dry with paper towels (this also removes most of the salt.)  Spray a roasting sheet with olive oil or non-stick spray, lay eggplant slices on, brush the tops of the eggplant with olive oil, and sprinkle with dried Italian seasoning.  Roast the eggplant about 25 minutes (but "not so long that the slices become mushy and lose their shape" as Julia says.)  

While the eggplant roasts, thinly slice the fresh basil leaves (if using) and combined freshly grated Parmesan and low-fat mozzarella blend.  After 25 minutes or when eggplant pieces are done, remove eggplant from the oven and turn oven setting to broil.  Spread a few tablespoons of sauce on the top of each eggplant slice, sprinkle with thin basil slices (if using) and top with a generous amount of cheese.  Put pizzas under the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.  Serve hot, with red pepper flakes to sprinkle on pizza if desired.

If you have any tips after you try it out comment and let me know. I always love tips making cooking easier!

Im Back!!

Holy cow i haven't been on here since October 2013!!! 2013! Thats crazy!

A lot has been going on lately!

Drake started kindergarten and he loves it..

I started working and i love it! 

But i miss blogging so like the title says IM BACK!

I plan on being on here a lot more.

I have been cooking and reading a lot lately so besides Drake I think that will be what I'm mostly writing about!

TBT

Not hump day thank goodness lol

So i was watching the Today show

and they did a throw back of old theme songs

from TV shows they liked

when they were younger.

I dont do a lot of TBT

and i loved that idea

so instead of theme songs

 im going to post

a few old TV shows

i liked when i was young!

So of course

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Boy Meets World

The Andy Griffith Show

Saved By the Bell

(not the opening theme but its what i could find)

Happy Days

The list could go on and on!!!

Of course i watched cartoons

also but these were my favorites.

And i love that some of the cartoons

i use to watch my son

watches today!!

Well that was a fun post lol!

I am glad tomorrow is friday

even though the husband

is still working and

this weekend will probably

be uneventful 

but I'm still

glad its the weekend lol.

Fail!!

So i failed

my blog challenge 

lol!

But I did

love doing it

and answering 

the questions

So i think

im going to 

start doing some more

link ups

and if 

there aren't any

i will just write

about something random.

Maybe random questions.

I will have to look some stuff up!

I have been busy though

I went out and bought

a sewing machine

and have been

teaching myself to

sew.

(this is what i bought)

I have made a little

bag and an apron!

There super cute!

The apron was super

east to make.

The lady at the

store called it a 

"cheater apron"

because all you have to do 

is cut out the

pieces and sew them on.

And the instructions

were super easy to follow!

( this is it :) )

Yesterday I bought a pattern 

to sew a large

bag/purse 

and the fabric i bought

for the outside

is blue with large yellow circles

and blue with small

yellow dots

and

for the inside

is going to be super colorful

and completely different

from the outside!

(this is what the picture looks like but it will be with the blue fabric i picked)

I think its going to be cute!

Im going to use it for my 

other sewing stuff.

Like for my cross stitching 

stuff.

If it comes out cute

i will post a pic!

Im excited to learn to

do all kinds of things

with it.

And i have been

pinning things

on Pinterest 

like crazy lol.

(oh man i love Pinterest lol)

I know i always

say i'm going to

do better 

writing on here

and i really do try

so with working on

sewing and 

doing link ups

i think i will

do better now.

I will write tomorrow

or maybe tonight

depending on how

much i get done 

on my bag!

Until then,

100th post!!! Days 22-24

Lol i know 100 posts isnt a big deal to some people

but its exciting to me lol..

Im doing 3 days again today!

Day 22: What do you do when you're home all alone?
Day 23: Do you have a hobby?
Day 24: Describe your most embarrassing moment

Day 22:

So what is it that i do when

im home all day

by myself?

Well I'm only home alone on

 Tuesdays and Thursdays

so when Drakes

at school

I do things around the house

that i cant get done

while Drakes home.

Cleaning

Laundry

Mopping

you know all the exciting things lol.

Day23:

Do i have a hobby?

lol 

I dont have a lot of time for a hobby

sometimes i sew needle point 

and as you know 

i play my games

but other than that..

No.

Day 24:

And lastly my least favorite 

Day 24: Describe your most embarrassing moment...

I have had 

A LOT

of embarrassing moments

but i think

this one stuck 

with me because i 

was just a freshmen

in high school when 

it happened.

Its not a very long story

I was in my computer class

and it was snowing 

outside

(im sure you can guess what happens)

well when i walked out of class

i slipped and busted my butt hard!

well luckily my

best friend was right behind me

and he picked me up

but it was still embarrassing

and it felt like 

EVERYONE

at school saw me.

(probably just in my head lol)

(me lol)

Well those are my latest 3 days

I know im suppose to do this

everyday but

sometimes

life gets in the way

and i go days

without even

opening my computer!

I cant believe its October

already!!

I spent all day today

while drake was at school

putting out my

fall/Halloween stuff!

So excited!!

lol

Well if nothing happens

tomorrow it was be day

25!

Day 25: Describe your location?

Does that mean my 

house or town? 

LMAO

I guess i will pick one and write about it!

Until then,

Playing Catchup Again (Days 18-21)

Well I'm playing catchup again!
I have been kind of down the past
few days
and haven't really wanted to write
so im doing
the days i missed today!

Day 18: Where are you happiest 
Day 19:List 5 blogs you read on a regular basis and why
Day 20: What do you collect?
and
Day 21: Whats your biggest fear?

This should be an extra long post lol.

Day 18: Where are you the happiest?

I guess I'm the happiest when I'm anywhere
but the town i live in lol!
Dont get me wrong i love
this little town
but sometimes i just like to get away!

Day 19:List 5 blogs you read on a regular basis and why.

I dont read a lot of blogs but i do read these 

every time they write!

Of course i read
Christy's @ Sweet Southern Love
She is one of my favorite blogs to read

Brittany @ Unexpected Surprise
Use to be one i read all
the time but she doesn't
write anymore but i am friends with
her on fb so i still know whats 
going on :)

Some new ones i read are:

Megan @barefoot and blue jean princess
and
Kristen @Kandid Kristen

I started reading theres because they 
do link ups and i love
to join link ups
and now i just love to 
read there blogs lol

And lastly i read

Rachel @one-way ticket to ONEderland
I randomly found this blog
and im glad i did lol.
She posts a lot of
music and workout ideas
and some random stuff.
I love it lol.

They are all great blogs
and i love to read them all!!

Day 20: What do you collect?

I dont really "collect" anything
but i do have A LOT
of crosses on my wall
as do most people
in the south
lmao!

(love this cross)

I also have A LOT 
of books.

So i guess you could say i collect
books and crosses.

Day 21: Whats your biggest fear?

My fear as is most peoples is
Death.
But that being said 
I love this 

Death is an obvious fear
of most peoples
but i cant think
about it
or i start to panic 
lol

I know im weird! 
Thats fine lol

So tomorrow is Sunday
Day 22
What do you do when you're home all alone?

An easy one!! lol

Until then,

Day 17: Why and when did you start blogging?

A long long time ago

in a galaxy far far away...

No im just kidding 

lol

I started this blog on

April 17, 2010!!!

That is a long time!!!

A lot of stuff has happened
since 2010!

I havent written everything
because i have only started
writing a lot
here lately!

I started blogging because my cousin

Christy 

had her blog and i loved hers

so i started writing a little.

I guess thats the whole reason lol.

Now i blog 

because i love it.

Simple as that

lol

Tomorrow is
Day 18: Where are you happiest?

And maybe that one will be
a little longer
that the last 2 have been!

Until then,

Sunday Stealing

Fall/Autumn

 First of all, is autumn your favorite season? Why or why not?
YES! I love the fall!!! I love the falling leaves, the holidays, the cool weather.
Just everything!!

Is it ‘autumn’ or ‘fall’, to you?

Fall.

What kind of weather does your area get during this season? 

Normally its still hot but i think this year we may have a good fall!

Were you born in an autumn month? 

Yes in November

Do you pay attention to any ‘fall fashions’?

Im not a fashion person lol

Which leaf color is your favorite?

i love them all lol 

Is it still fun to rake the leaves and jump in piles of them? 

Of course!!

When can you really tell that it’s autumn? 

Around here probably right before it snows lol

Do you enjoy carving pumpkins?

Yes but i think I'm going to try and paint them this year 

Do you eat the pumpkin seeds? If so, do you put any kind of flavoring on it?

No! lol

Are you planning to go to a pumpkin patch this year? 

I havent ever been to one. I wouldn't know where to go or
if we have them around here

Which was your favorite Halloween costume to wear?

A witch! I had the best costume 

Are you planning to go trick-or-treating? Why or why not?

Yes! I have to take Drake!! lol

Are there any county fairs or festivals held nearby during this time?

Haunted Houses!

What is your favorite dessert for this time of year? 

Pumpkin Pie!! YUMM!!

Is your Thanksgiving Day in October or November, if you even celebrate it?

November! 

If you do celebrate it, where do you usually have Thanksgiving dinner? 

At my grandmothers house

Do you remember any crafts you used to do that were autumn-themed?

hand turkeys lol 

Are any of your favorite bands doing a fall tour this year? 

Not that i know of :(

Which new TV show are you looking forward to this season? 

Not any new ones coming on but some ones i have been watching are coming back on with a new season. Mostly excited about new Greys Anatomy 

How does autumn typically make you feel? 

i love the fall! It makes me feel all warm and happy inside when it gets this time of year lol

What color do you always associate with autumn? 

well orange of course (

hints to font color) and reds and browns!

Is there a song that always reminds you of this season?

Not one that comes to mind 

Do you have any seasonal traditions? 

None other than the usual.. 
We do make 

bird feeders out of pine cones around this time of year

Do you spend a lot of time outside during this time of the year? 

Yes.. After having hot summers 
its so nice to sit out in the evening and enjoy the weather!

How can you tell that fall is over? 

Weather changes like crazy here so it can hot one day
then snowing the next lol

What is a typical autumn outfit that you wear?

Not any outfit but i do wear a lot of boots in the fall and winter

Describe a perfect autumn day: 

a cool day leaves falling just a small breeze. That would be great! 

Do you hate it when stores start promoting Christmas early?

LOL sometimes. I dont like when they have christmas in July
but here lately i have liked it more and more.
I think having my son has helped put me in the Christmas spirit lol 

What is your favorite thing about this season?
The cool weather!!