Week in Review

This week I headed back to school after being off for Spring Break. What a change a week can make! I was so used to staying up later and waking up later, that it was a challenge each morning to get out of bed! I made it though and enjoyed sleeping in this morning.

I got to have dinner with two of my best friends, Taryn and Molly, on Wednesday night. It was such a fun dinner and we got to catch up on so much! Baby Hutch even joined us and was a perfect gentleman the whole time! It's so crazy to think how much has happened in the last year with the 3 of us.

I've been using my Silhouette Cameo that Ryan got me for my birthday a TON! I love that thing! My first "project" on it was using the vinyl sticky stuff to decorate a travel coffee mug for my teacher friend, Paula. She's leaving me at the end of this school year to open up a formal dress shop with her sister. It's hard to see in the picture, but the mug says the name of their shop, Belle of the bal'.

Doesn't this look yummy? I found a recipe on Pinterest last week that was for homemade granola bars. I've been looking for something similar to this for a long time! Well, I had just about everything to make them, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Boy am I glad I did! We LOVED it! I doubled the recipe so it would last a while, but I ended up having to make more this morning! Also, my first batch never "hardened" so I just scooped it up and put it in an airtight container. We put it in yogurt in the mornings and even snacked on it at random times, too. It was delish!

Granola Bars
1/4 cup  butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups oats
1 cup Rice Krispies Cereal
2-3 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, heat up the butter, honey, and brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved. While it is heating, mix the oats and rice krispies together in a medium mixing bowl. Remove sugar mixture from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over the oats and krispies and mix well.

Using an edged baking sheet, lightly sprayed with Pam, empty the mixture onto the baking sheet spreading out evenly as you go. You probably won't fill up the entire baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and let it sit for at least an hour. So easy and so yummy!

Last, but certainly not least, I received my April Birchbox in the mail this week! Hooray! This is always such a fun little surprise to receive each month! I loved my Birchbox this month! It was loaded with fun stuff! Here's what was in this month's box:

• Marula The Leakey Collection- Omega Rich Pure Marula Oil. - fights premature signs of aging. Full size, $78.
• tarte- Lip Surgence lip tint- "Joy" Full size, $24.
• Wonderstruck Taylor Swift- I wasn't sure I would like this, but oh my! It smells sooo good! I just may invest in the full size bottle. Full size, $49.50-59.50
• Yu-Be- Moisturizing Skin Cream- supposedly this heals cracked hands, chapped lips, and all other forms of dryness. Full size, $16.
• MicrodermaMitt- Body Mitt- exfoliates dead skin cells and pore-clogging debris. Full size, $28.50.

Thanks, Birchbox! I'm gonna have fun testing out these products!

We had a great week and we're definitely looking forward to relaxing this weekend!

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!