Keeping things simple with a smidge of Southern charm
Every Sunday afternoon, my family heads across the street from our church after worship service and gathers around the dinner table at our Mema’s house. Mema cooks an incredible meal for us every week, and it’s always something so scrumptious that you daydream all week about what you’ll get to have next!
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Here lately I’ve been doing a not-so-hot job of incorporating greens into my diet. I love veggies for the most part, but sometimes I struggle with finding creative ways to cook them. I’m not much of a raw vegetable eater at all. I often have to sort-of trick myself into eating them by hiding them in the meals that I cook. The southern culture that I’m accustomed to (and love dearly, hence the name of this blog) is notorious for frying vegetables. I’m not knocking fried veggies..heck, I LOVE them (‘sup, fried okra,) but I also realize that frying them pretty much cancels out all of the goodness in them. Hard pill to swallow, I know, but it’s true. 😉
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While I was walking down the produce aisle the other day at my local super market, I noticed that they had packaged many all of the jalapeno peppers together in containers of about 12-15 to reduce them for quick sale. My original plan was to only pick up a few fresh jalapenos for a recipe I was working on, but I was certainly not upset about getting a heap of peppers for $1! My husband and I eat jalapenos ALL the time, so I knew they’d all be put to good use. 😉
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Three cheers for the Big Game that is quickly approaching! Since watching the final playoff game the other day, there’s been so much excitement in the air in my neck of the woods! It’s been a long time since our team has made it this far, so we’re definitely going to be celebrating BIG!
So to jump right into the game time festivities, I started coming up with big plans for our big game menu. I wanted something with big flavor that would score big points with my family’s taste buds. With all of the big things going on, I actually started thinking small! Yup, our #1 pick for our game time snack spread is my mini Jalapeno Meatloaf & Mashed Potato Poppers, but don’t let their tiny appearance fool you. They’re loaded with the big time flavor that will be the real MVP of the evening!
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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AllStarSnackBar #CollectiveBias
Alright you guys, it’s time to put on your favorite jersey and grab your foam finger, ‘cuz it’s time to get yourself in the zone and get ready for The Big Game! It’s no secret that I’m a huge football fan. As much as I love to watch the game on TV, my heart truly lies over on the snack bar where all of the game day food is (just being honest!)
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Some people love the winter season, and some may prefer the warmer summer months or the crisp cool Fall breeze. As much as I love all of the changing seasons we have in this life, there’s only one season of the year that gets me really excited. If there’s one thing that I know to be true, it’s this:
There’s nothing in this world quite like football season! 😉
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Some people love the holidays for the the presents and gift-giving. Others like it for the lights, carols, ribbons, bows, reindeer games and jolly plump men in Santa suits. And sure, all of those things are some pretty fabulous elements of this special season, but there’s something that really warms my soul more than anything else during this time of year. For me, it’s the people. I love to visit folks. I love to be surrounded by family, friends, love and laughter. I love to entertain. I love to serve. I find my joy in being with others, and everybody knows that when there’s a group of people gathered, there’s a spread of delicious food nearby waiting to be surrounded by others, too.
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It’s about to get real serious up in here, y’all. I mean, really serious. When game day rolls around in this house, you better strap on your helmet and bring your appetite with you, ‘cuz once our team hits the field on Saturday, you better believe our snackin’ game is in a league of it’s own. We don’t mess around with the game day grub, either. This time we’re bringing the heat and packing in some serious crunch with my Smokin’ Spicy Onion Rings with Sweet Heat Dipping Sauce – and it’s going to take your taste buds all the way to the end zone, guaranteed! Plus, I’m throwing a secret ingredient into the mix that’ll definitely make this game day snack hard to beat!
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Whether you’re tailgating with friends or homegating on your couch, there’s one thing that is an absolute must to make your game day experience a winning one: Good Food
We’re a couple of weeks into football season, and each week I’ve been thinking of new ways to “spice” up our game day spread. I could stick to my Southern roots and make a few more traditional things such as BBQ with all the fixin’s, but that’s just not saucy enough for me this time around.
This time I’m taking it way down south (as in south of the border) with a few twists on some of my favorite Mexican-inspired dishes, and we’re counting down the minutes until kickoff so we can dig in to my Kickoff Mexican Caviar and Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos!
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I remember very vividly the times I’d visit my Memaw during the summer months of my childhood. I can still picture all of the snacks and mason jars she had stacked up in her pantry, and how she’d always leave her tomatoes sitting in the window sill for the sun to shine on. She’d always fix me snacks while we watched The Price is Right together, and then I’d go outside to play while she caught up on her “stories” – aka soap operas.
The summer months were the very best, though, because that meant one thing in particular: Fresh canned pickles and jams. And my Memaw could make some of the very best – no doubt about it!
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