The Thankful Slacker

Reasons this season I am thankful beyond words and have been a bad blogger, in no particular order:

Our little turkey.

Temps under 70 and cute jackets.



Family.



Being able to go to Ben's brother's house for the Thanksgiving festivities, and while the other boys and girls went to the Alabama/Auburn slaughter game, I got to hang out with these girls, and let's just say that at the end of our evening we weren't crying. (Sorry guys).

Chubbalove faces in toboggans.

For my rustic, outdoorsy, sexy beast of a husband. And that he proved he can feed his family if we were stranded out in the wild.

(WARNING - SCROLL DOWN FAST TO SKIP DEAD ANIMAL. I just feel like that's fair)

And yes, I put a blocker on the deer's face because it bothered me, and I could. Deal.

And no, there will not be any antlers in my living room. The End.

Christmas decorating. (Isn't my house. But let's just pretend that it is!)

(http://www.uniquechristmasideas.org/)

And lastly, Holiday Baking

(http://www.kraftrecipes.com/)

More on that and a few recipes later!

For now I'm off to slip on some Uggs and sweatpants, and make some homemade hot chocolate. Rumors are it may snow in Nashville. Bring it!

xoxo dae

Holiday Butter

..words that are just meant for each other.  Like turkey and dressing, pecan and pie, or Thanksgiving and elastic waistbands.

Grab these:

1 stick soften unsalted butter

1/4 t. crushed red pepper

1/2 t. zest of a tangerine (or an orange, but I highly recommend the miniature version), 

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 T of fresh rosemary leaves, minced

Combine it all in a small bowl, stir.

Serve it softened with your dinner rolls. 

(Or you can roll it into a log in some waxed paper, chill, and serve it in sliced little medallions, fancy-style, but I'm a spreadable herb butter type of gal.)

Holiday heaven.

May the thankfulness and feasting begin!

xoxo dae

Daddy's Girl

Those two just melt me.

They look like cute baby cabbages!

Who doesn't like brussel sprouts?

I mean, except for everyone in my family other than me.


How to fool your family and get them to eat anything you want, Volume I

This stuff knocked my socks off. It was unbelievably good, and the rest of the family thought so too. I was honestly sad when it was all gone.

Brussel sprouts - 1; Picky eaters - 0.  Amen.
(Oh, and Ben was also anti-butternut squash before this as well. So I guess I can consider this a double play. Awesome.)


Autumn Mac and Cheese


(adapted from HowSweetEats on Tasty Kitchen blog)

•½ whole Small Butternut Squash, Peeled And Chopped Into Cubes

•1 whole Large Apple, Peeled And Chopped
•2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Divided
•¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
•½ whole Sweet Onion, Chopped
•2 cups Brussels Sprouts, Chopped ( I used frozen)
•1 pound pasta ( I used regular macaroni, but recipe calls for whole wheat)
•1 Tablespoon Butter
•1 Tablespoon Flour
•2 cups Milk
•8 ounces, weight Cheese, Grated (I Used Sharp Cheddar)
•½ cups Parmesan Cheese, Plus More For Topping
•¼ cups Panko Bread Crumbs

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lay chopped squash and apples on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Roast for 25 minutes, flipping once.

While the squash is roasting, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onions and Brussels sprouts with a pinch of salt and pan roast for 6-8 minutes, turning frequently. Heat a large pot of water to a boil, and begin to cook your pasta.
Set aside squash/apples and sprouts/onion mixture. If pasta is cooked, set it aside as well. Reduce oven heat to 350F.
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter on medium heat and whisk in the flour to create a roux. Add the milk while continuing to whisk, and begin adding the cheeses as well. I find that adding cheese in batches about 3 minutes apart works best. Continue to whisk together so the cheese melts and doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Spray a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray. Toss all ingredients together, and pour into baking disk. Top with panko and another sprinkling of parmesan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Wing! Wide!

This little spook of mine had a one heck of a weekend.

The Grandparents came for a visit, and came bearing gifts. Big gifts.  Gifts requiring assembly. Gifts that keep on giving.

Gifts that have inspired daily shrieks of "Wiiiiiiingg!! Momma, wiiing!! Wiiiide!!"

I walked outside with the camera on Saturday to start documenting the gift assembly, and that Papaw was the only one actually working. The other three were hitting golf balls as is their usual habit, but as soon as they saw me, the Three Stooges dispersed into different directions so that they would not be caught on camera. 

Sorry peeps. Truth. Love ya'.

Truth as evidenced by shots like this.

Yes, Chris, you look like you are really working. It's stunningly clear! Be careful! Don't hurt your back! 

PS- love the boots and hat. Killer combo.

When it came down to it, there was one true worker that emerged. 

She was as excited and enthralled at helping build whatever was lying all over the ground as she could be. She hammered, screwed, and carried things as fast as her little legs could carry her.

She and Papaw were the dream team.  

And she only turned around and accidentally hit him with a plank of wood once. 

Several hours and several hundred nuts and bolts later, we had a new and exciting view in our back yard. 

And when I say this girl was as excited as she could be, I mean she came out of our back door and saw her new swingset and had arms flailing, screaming as she ran towards it.

You know those moments when you see your baby so happy, you just cry a little? It was one of those moments.



Ben and Dave helping Kaelyn on the first official slide down.

Which then started the "Mo'! Wiiide!! Wet's gooooo!!!" excitement. Her excitement was contagious.

Thank you Grandmama and Papaw!

We also went and had some big fun at the Hoedown at church. The place was packed with games, rides, and candy.

And candy.

Did I mention the candy??

The mini-cheerleader and I scooped up some ducks, 

shoveled rice to find toys and candy, (because, let's be honest, that child really needed another bag full of candy...) 

and had to be bribed with Tootsie Rolls to come out of the bouncy house.

We were having such a good time.

And then. Then we found another ride.

This sweet face is because she was completely mesmerized ....

This time around I guess she found the perfect pony. Loved loved loved it. 

The scarecrow on stilts, not so much. 

I laughed so hard when I saw her "back AWAY" face when she looked at him. Oh, the big, big world through the eyes of a child.

It was a beautiful Fall weekend, and after all the excitement of wings and wides, well...

We all took a nice wong nap.

The End.

xo dae