Making My Mama Proud

My mama is the best cook that I know. Really, it's true. Although she makes some amazing dishes, I was never able to learn to cook from her. I never really understood it before, but she doesn't measure or go by recipes.

I left the teachin' up to Paula. Paula Deen, that is. She taught me a whole lot about Southern cooking and about loving what you put on the table for your family. So when I was in college, I read every single one of Paula's cookbooks, subscribed to her quarterly magazine, and even went with my sweet mama to Savannah after graduation. After several years of "experimenting" with food, I'm comfortable in saying that I'm a pretty good cook myself. And would you believe that I don't even measure anymore?! Ha! It's true! It's all about tasting as you go and for me, smelling as you go.

With all that being said, every now and then I make a dish that I know would make my mama proud. Call me old fashioned, but it's one of those special things that makes me proud of who I've become. This week I made two of those dishes and I'm still grinning.



Crock-Pot Rotisserie Chicken:

1 whole chicken (around 4lbs.)
butter, melted
minced garlic
Cayenne pepper
paprika
Montreal chicken seasoning
salt and pepper
water

Remove insides from chicken and rinse well. Place the chicken in the crockpot. Using melted butter (or spray butter if you are like me), coat the chicken lightly. In a separate bowl, mix all spices together making a paste by adding water one teaspoon at a time. Coat the chicken inside and out with the paste. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Chicken Salad (with leftover rotisserie chicken) 

Approx. 3lbs. of chicken, deboned and chopped up
1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise (I'm not a mayo fan, but I'm a Southern girl that knows mayo just goes in some dishes)
1/4 cup sweet relish
1/2 purple onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 orange bell pepper
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can water chestnuts (rinsed, drained, and chopped)
dash of salt

Because you are using cold leftover chicken, debone the chicken and toss it for a few minutes in a skillet to warm it up. After it is warmed, dice the chicken into small pieces and put into a large bowl. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. I like to refridgerate mine for a couple hours before serving.

This chicken salad is really good served on crescent rolls or on wheat thins. It makes a yummy salad too!

So there you have it. Two dishes that will make your mama proud! Enjoy!

Sewing Projects

I've been a busy little sewing bee over Spring Break. Here are some of the things I've been working on.... All of these pictures are from camera phones, so please excuse the blurriness.

 

Lindy's crawfish boil dress

                                                          Karlee's Easter basket dress

                                                      She didn't want to take this one off!

Easter basket outfit.

Mom found those adorable shoes at Marshall's.

Easter 2012

Happy Easter from the Porters!

He is risen!

High Five for Friday!

I'm linking up with this blog for her High Five for Friday link party! I love this idea of reflecting on your week and picking out the top five highlights. Makes me think of that quote "Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day." Love it! Anyway, here's my top 5:

1. Crawfish Boil 2012- It was probably the best one yet. I can't even remember how long we've been celebrating our family's March birthdays with a crawfish boil, but it's been a long time. This year did not disappoint. To sum it up in a few words:  crawfish. band. Abita Strawberry. family. friends. stage 5 clingers. (yes, you read that part right) gorgeous weather.

 Clawson grands and great-grands(We missed you, Ben!)

 Uncle Tim and I celebrating our March birthdays.

Great weather for a crawfish boil! 

2. Ryan and I celebrated our first anniversary on Monday! Woo Hoo! Can't believe it's already been a year! We've had a lot of fun this year and I know that each year will get better and better. We cooked dinner and ate our wedding cake topper. Surprisingly, it was good! :)

3. I celebrated 27! Am I really 27? Surely not...

4. Ryan surprised me with a Silhouette Cameo for my birthday! Eeeeeeeek!! I am sooo excited and can't wait to get started crafting with it!

5. I'm officially out for Spring Break! This school year has flown by! I'm not so ready to let my sweet sixth graders move up into the dreaded junior high years, where they will no doubt become "too cool" to say hi to me. So sad!

It's been a great week and should be a pretty fantastic weekend too! Happy Friday! 

March Birchbox

It's here! My March Birchbox was delivered this week and it just might be my favorite one so far! It totally makes up for the one in February.

There were lots of goodies in this month's box and I can't wait to try them all out! Here's what was inside:

• Color Club Nail Lacquer in Age of Aquarius.
• Harvey Prince Yogini perfume
• Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser
• Lulu Organics Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder
• stila Smoky Eye Card
• Tea Forte' skin-smart Teas

Sign up for Birchbox here if you already haven't. You won't be sorry! :)

When it rains, try the falafel.

This week has been so much more laid back than the last several. What a welcomed relief! Both of our Lent diets have been going really well and we're learning to supplement healthier options every day.

Thursday night, we were planning on going out on a date, but some bad weather halted our plans. Instead, Ryan brought home some Greek food from our favorite little Greek restaurant in Bossier. He gets to eat there a lot during the week with my brother, but I can't even remember the last time I ate there. I was so excited because after watching "Man vs. Food," I have been really craving a falafel. I've never had one, but they sounded delicious!

So that's what I had. A falafel sandwich and hummus. It was so yummy! I can't really describe the flavors, but it definitely tasted similar to something I've had before. Not sure what, but something. Ryan had some lamb and a huge Greek salad. It was good, too. I wasn't a huge fan, but it wasn't bad.



  Friday night, after work, I decided to make some taco salads using things that I had on hand. They actually turned out really good and really simple to make! I'm posting the recipe under the picture. You can certainly add different ingredients or change anything up according to your preference, but this is just what I had on hand.

Easy Taco Salad
1 lb. ground beef
Salt and Pepper
Cumin
Garlic Powder/Minced Garlic
1/4 of a large white or yellow onion
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1 can black beans
grated cheese
lettuce (shredded)
Hidden Valley Southwest Chipotle dressing (or dressing of your choice)
1 corn tortilla (cut into strips, sprayed with Pam, and toasted)

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef using seasonings of your choice. I used garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cumin. After it has browned, remove from heat and drain. Set beef aside. In the same skillet, add in bell peppers and onions. Sprinkle with cumin and add a dash of minced garlic. Let the peppers and onions caramalize. Add in the beef again and mix well. While your meat and peppers simmer, heat the black beans in a small pan. Put everything in a bowl on top of the lettuce and sprinkle cheese, tortilla strips, and a small amount of dressing. Enjoy!

We are enjoying a super lazy Saturday today! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Things You're Probably Better Off Not Knowing...

Since it has been several days since my last blog, I'm giving you several posts in one! You're welcome.

1. Lent is here and is in full swing at the Porter house! Do you know how incredibly difficult not eating sweets is? Let me just explain...
I have the absolute best students/former students and Ryan and I always try to support whatever they are doing outside of school. This includes softball/baseball games, basketball games, buying raffle tickets, supporting fundraisers, etc. And a few months back, Ryan was stopped by one of my former first graders and was asked to buy Girl Scout cookies. Since he didn't have the heart to say no, he told her to go visit me the next day at school and I would surely buy some. Well guess who was at my classroom door at 8:00 the next morning? The sweet, precious Girl Scout with her order form in hand. So I caved in and bought some. So fast forward about a month...it's the second week of Lent and I get a visit from that precious Girl Scout's mom WITH GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. Geez. Rule #1 of Lent: think things through before giving up something so yummy.

2. My craft table is finished! My craft table is finished! Hooray! I spent President's Day out at Mom and Dad's painting the final coat on the table and it took a few weeks to get Ryan to slow down enough to help me get it loaded and delivered to our house. My craft room is a bit small, so it's pretty huge in there, but I'm certainly not complaining! I love it! My dad is the sweetest daddy in the whole world and I am so thankful that he is so talented and can make me cool things like this!

3. Mom and I traveled up to Little Rock two weeks ago to see my precious cousin, Wyatt, swim in the Arkansas State Swim Meet. He raced in the 500 freestyle and did a fantastic job! He's only a freshman, so what an awesome accomplishment! So proud of you, Wyatt! We had so much fun spending time with Landy, Cathy, and Wyatt! Lots of laughs! I can't wait for the Bahamas this summer!

4. I had the chance to give a new sewing pattern a shot. I ordered some super cute fabric online and ended up making this adorble tunic shirt for Lindy. The picture really doesn't do it justice. I'll have to try to get a shot of her wearing it one day. It's kinda long and is sleeveless, which makes it a perfect little outfit for summer!

5. The weather here has been GORGEOUS the last several weeks which made me start my summer countdown sooner. A girl can dream, right? I've been trying to get outside a lot more and enjoy the beautiful weather with sweet Bella. Come on, Spring Break!

Happy Wednesday, y'all!