Appetizers

Coca Cola Peach Pepper Jelly Meatballs

August 2, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

These Coca Cola Peach Pepper Jelly Meatballs are the perfect appetizer to kick your game day off on a winning point!

Football season will soon be here, and my whole household has been jumping up and down with excitement anticipating the Saturdays that we get to watch the Alabama Crimson Tide take the field. It’s no secret that football is huge here in the south, and no matter if you’re watching the game from stadium seats or from your couch at home, no game day experience is complete without those fan favorite game day appetizers!

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The Ultimate Summer Charcuterie Board + Sweepstakes!

July 16, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This post was sponsored by Blue Diamond® as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Have you ever made a charcuterie board before? I’ve officially declared this summer as the summer of charcuterie lunches in our house. They’re incredibly easy to make, they don’t require you to heat up your oven, and there’s always a little something for everyone to nibble on. Charcuterie boards are simply a serving tray that is typically filled with meats, fruit, nuts, cheeses and crackers. I love them because they’re very low-key, but also beautifully inviting and filled with lots of yummy snacks that I can’t keep my hands off of!

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Sheet Pan Quinoa Nachos

July 15, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NoMessWithSuccess #CollectiveBias

Does your summer schedule seem to be filling up a tab bit faster than you’d care for it to? As I sit here overlooking my daily schedule and to-do list, I can’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed at all of the activities I’ve managed to get my family involved in. Truth be told, most of them are really fun and exciting things that we get to participate in, but I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out how in the world we’re going to fit in the cooking, eating, cleaning, sleeping, breathing, etc.!

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Spicy Marinated Tomatoes

June 24, 2019 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

Spicy Marinated Tomatoes are a perfect summer side dish to share with friends and family!

This past weekend I woke up before the rest of the household and made my way to our local (it’s 25 minutes away, but we’ll call it local) farmers market to stock up on some fresh produce for the week. Back when we had just one little Tucker tot running around, we had a garden in our back yard that was small and easy to manage. We grew tomatoes, squash, fresh herbs and things of the like. Now that we have two children, I’m more than happy to let someone else do the work and I’ll support their business by buying from them. I have a hard enough time managing two girls, never mind adding a garden into the mix!
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Summer Grilling: Fresh Veggie & Brat Kabobs

June 15, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Summer Grilling at Publix. The opinions and text are all mine.

Aside from being able to take trips down to the beach or finding a pool to splash in, sometimes I think there aren’t too many redeeming qualities to the heat and humidity we experience here in south Alabama. The hot, sticky air that hits you in the face when you open the door to step outside often feels like it sucks the wind right out of you, and it’s the perfect kind of weather for mosquitoes to come out and play. Just when I start to turn into a grump about the heat, I smell the aroma of the grill that my husband just fired up and I’m quickly reminded of one of the biggest reasons that I really do love the summertime!

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Strawberry Jalapeno Salsa

June 14, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This recipe for Strawberry Jalapeno Salsa is a light and refreshing dish that comes together in minutes!

Don’t you love it when a recipe comes together and it never once requires you to heat up your hot oven or stove? Now that we’re in the middle of June, that’s certainly something I can appreciate. During these dog days of summer my preference is to have light and refreshing options during the day for lunch, and firing up the grill outside for anything else that needs cooking. My kitchen is my work space, and I always prefer to keep it a sweat-free zone if I can!

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Our Ultimate Backyard BBQ Picnic

June 3, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AnytimeIsPickleTime #CollectiveBias

Last month my husband built an amazing back porch bed swing as a gift for me for Mother’s Day. It’s not very often that I know what to ask for for Mother’s Day, but this year I knew I wanted a special designated place for me to sit and watch my babies play in the backyard together and enjoy the warm summer air. Now that we have a place to sit, our porch swing has become the center of many family stay-cations as we venture “out back” to fire up the grill and have our weekly barbecues and picnics!

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Cajun Seared Scallops

May 22, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

If you had told me a year ago that I’d be sharing a recipe for Cajun Seared Scallops, I would’ve thought you had absolutely lost your mind. To tell you the truth, I’ve never been a seafood lover. Getting over the smell of fresh seafood has been a lifelong struggle for me. (Every time I catch a whiff I think someone just opened a can of cat food.) But with a little bit of gentle encouragement from my husband, I’ve turned things around just a tad.

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BBQ Egg Rolls with Alabama White Sauce

April 29, 2019 by Laura Tucker 1 Comment

This post is sponsored by Farm Rich. All opinions expressed within this post are 100% my own.

Did you know that May is National BBQ Month? It seems perfectly fitting, seeing as how the temperatures outside during the month of May are always perfect for getting (and eating!) outside and firing up those grills. My husband and I are big time barbecue fans. In fact, we love it so much that we served it at our wedding (which just so happened to be in May!). The smell of slow cooked BBQ has a way of instantly making me think of the sweet summertime, and my household will be celebrating National BBQ Month to the fullest with this fun little appetizer that’s loaded with flavorful BBQ goodness!

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Irish Twice Baked Potato Bites

March 1, 2019 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

With St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaching, I recently decided that this season would be a great time to dig up a few of my roots and learn a thing or two about Irish culture and cuisine. Though I’ve never personally had a genetics test done, my older sister went through the process a few years back and discovered that nearly 50% of our roots point straight to the beautiful country of Ireland. This was really no huge shock to us, as both my sister and I are rather fair complected. The fact that my Grandmother’s maiden name was McGillick was also a pretty good indicator that we might have a tad of Irish in us, too. While I know very little about my ancestors from this particular part of the world, I have picked up a few cultural tidbits over the years that make me look forward to wearing a little green to bring the luck of the Irish my way each St. Patrick’s Day!…