Giving Back

      In light of the Christmas season, we decided to have a day of giving back. Christ came to earth to give his life for us, the ultimate sacrifice. He taught us to most importantly love others. So I think it's very important to teach our children to show love for others. Even people we don't know. Sometimes it's easy to show love to people you are close too, but it is very difficult to show love to a stranger. Kevin and I decided this year to have to kids clean the house and earn money. They spent the money they earned at the grocery store on can foods to donate to the Pike Outreach Center. They worked really hard. They scrubbed walls, washed windows, scoured the bathtubs, cleaned rooms, vacuumed, dusted and the list goes on. They worked diligently for three hours straight. They earned $10 each.

Maggie scrubbed the kitchen table and all 8 chairs.

Carter cloroxed the shower.

Jada and Kennedy dusted (in dress-ups of course)

Each of the kids cleaned out their toys and found several bags of toys they no longer play with to be donated to the Christian Women's Center. Even Kennedy donated a bag of toys she had outgrown. We dropped the toys off after we bought our can goods.

Jada and a bag of toys she was donating.

Kennedy trying to help with the donate bag.

Each child got there money and a grocery basket.

Shopping for can foods!

Adding up the totals to make sure they spent it all.

Checking out.

Donating our bags of can goods.

Jada dropping her bag in.

They all worked so hard to earn their money, and never complained. I am so very proud of the sweet, beautiful, precious children God has given me and I pray that I will raise them the way He wants me too. To love others, and love Him. 

Southern Green Beans

This is a Paula Deen recipe for green beans. It's very good! It's also very bad for you! But once a year isn't too bad. We actually cooked these for Thanksgiving this year. My Nana always added new potatoes in with it and I decided to do the same thing. The girls actually snapped all the beans for me! Such sweet helpers.

Green Beans :

1/2   stick butter, sliced 

12   small red potatoes 

2-3 teaspoon Paula Deen’s House Seasoning

2 cup chicken broth plus more if needed  

1/4 lb salt pork, sliced 

3 lb fresh green beans 

pepper, to taste

Remove the ends from the beans. Snap the beans in two, place into a colander, wash, and set aside to drain.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, lightly brown the salt pork over medium heat, turning often, for approximately 10 minutes. Toss the green beans into the pot, stirring them with a wooden spoon to coat well with the pork fat. Add the stock and House Seasoning. Cook over medium-low heat, covered tightly, for approximately 30 minutes, or until the beans are half done.

At the end of 30 minutes, add the potatoes and onion to the beans; add 1/4 cup more broth if needed. Cook, covered tightly, until the potatoes are tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes, periodically checking the pot to make sure a small amount of liquid remains. When the potatoes are tender, tilt the lid slightly, off to the side of the pot, and continue to cook until the green beans are wilted, approximately 15 minutes. While cooking, add butter and season with pepper.

Snap the beans and wash

Fry the salt pork

Cook for 30 mins.

Add is new potatoes sliced in half

Nicole's Famous Homemade Oreos and The Ladies Christmas Party

Well, these oreos are not really famous. And I am fairly certain that my friend Nicole didn't invent the recipe... but she did share it with me. And my kids, as well as hers are HUGE fans! She made these for them this summer while we visited and I have made them twice since then! Every year at our church we have a Ladies Christmas ornament and cookie swap. So I thought this would be a great cookie to bring, since they get great reviews.
Before I share the recipe, I would like to share a little bit about our Ladies Christmas party. It has been going on for several years now. It started out very mild. Very peaceful and relaxed. But over the years, has gotten heated. And hilarious! Let me explain....
Every lady brings an ornament. It must be wrapped. The first year, we all brought cheap, whatever we could find, ornaments. We have since stepped up our game. But none the less, we all get a number. Whoever draws number 1 gets to pick an ornament first. She must unwrap it in front of everyone and show the ornament she received. Then it's number 2's turn. She may either unwrap a new ornament or take an ornament that's already been opened. And so on and so on. Over the years, we have developed a certain set of rules to make the game fair, and less brutal. But it's basically like white elephant. We always have so much fun! This year, I actually ended up with the ornament I really wanted!! I had to beg, plead, bargain and cry. But I got it! Ha ha ha!

My ornaments!

The reason I loved these so much is probably obvious. Three sweet little angel girls, just like my precious, sweet little baby girls! I actually did threaten to sharpee marker some little horns on one... but I will wait and see how she turns out ;)

And now, here is the Oreo recipe!

Homemade Oreos:

1 box Devil Food cake

1/2 cup melted Crisco

1 egg

vanilla icing

Stir cake mix, melted crisco and egg together. Batter will be dry and crumbly. Roll into 1 inch balls.  Place on greased cookie sheet and cook for 7-10 mins at 350 degrees. 

When the cookies are done, drop the pan on the counter to flatten them out, or use a spatula to push them flat. When cookies have cooled completely, take 2 cookies and sandwich them together with a teaspoon of icing. Enjoy! makes about 15 Oreos.

The ingredients. Sooo simple!

Mix it all up.

Roll into balls.

Cook for 7-10 mins.

Flatten out when done.

You can color your icing if you like. I used Christmas colors.

Put icing in the middle of two cookies.

Enjoy!

A day in the life of Kennedy

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of spending much time with my youngest child, let me just inform you what you're missing. Kennedy is my fourth child. She is the youngest. She will most definitively be my last child. Simply put, I can not risk having another one like her! I have said is many times over the last few months, that if she were my first child, she would be my ONLY child. 
Kennedy is a very head-strong, determined little girl. Apparently, according to my mother, she is a lot like ME. I beg to differ! She is very bright and gets bored very quickly. She likes things a certain way, and gets very upset if things are not going her way.  I am so thankful for cell phone cameras, because they allow me to capture her crazy antics quickly no matter where we are. I will share a few photos of my little Kennedy with you.

Pen and chocolate.

She decided to run away from home I guess.

Attempting to feed the fish, unsupervised.

Coloring on her socks, the carpet, my desk and the chair with a sharpee.

And, let me just tell you, this was just this week! She has been causing trouble since before she was born. My friend and I refer to her as trouble baby. I was so sick while pregnant with her, I wasn't sure if she would even make it! But she was just fine, and is still managing to cause trouble on a daily basis! When she first learned to crawl, she managed to crawl into the pantry and help herself to the syrup. How she got the lid off I still to this day don't know!

Enjoying licking the syrup.

And I find her in drawers, cabinets and on tables on a daily basis. I can't keep her off them!

Hanging out in the kitchen drawer.

On the kitchen table.

Dancing and eating breakfast on the coffee table.

Looking for a pot..

Looking for a pan...

And of course, she is always trying to kill herself! Or give me a heart attack. Since she has been on this earth (all of 17 months), she has locked herself in the car 3 different times- 2 of which involved the cops, and locked my keys in the car 3 more times. She 

Crawling into a pipe??

The things I could tell.. the stories... all the crazy days, I could tell them for days! She's still so little! I have no idea what the future with my little monster holds, but I sure can't wait to find out! And, between all the crazieness...

Climbing the ladder...

Driving the car...

Coloring on the counter..

Cleaning out the fridge...

And table dancing...

My sweet little girl is ESPECIALLY precious when she is sleeping ;)

Glazed Pork Chops

I'm always looking for ways to spice up meat. This is a super quick and super easy glaze for pork chops! It's kind of a teriyaki type glaze, and really helped make the chops tender, moist and delicious!

Oven Baked Glazed Pork Chops:

Ease: ****  Taste: ****

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ketchup

6 pork chops, trimmed

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Spoon half the mix on top of the chops and bake for 30 mins at 350 degrees. Pull the chops out, flip them over and spoon the glaze on top of the other side. Put them back in the oven for an additional 30 mins. 

Potato Soup

I love potato soup! My mom used to make it for me growing up when I was sick. I love her version. It's my favorite! She simply uses water, potatoes, salt and butter. But, I thought I would try a little different version! It turned out really good. I had to turn my crockpot up to high to get the potatoes done though (it may have just been my slow cooker.) And, I still prefer my Momma's potato soup :)

Potato Soup:

3 lbs. small red potatoes

3 cans of chicken broth

2 cups shredded cheese

1 cup heavy cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 package cream cheese )melted)

Salt

Pepper

Fresh bacon bits

Cut potatoes into small pieces. Combine all ingredients in the crock pot, except the cream cheese. Cook on low 6-8 hours in crockpot until potatoes are done and the soup is creamy. During the last hour, add in the melted cream cheese. Top with a little bit of shredded cheese and bacon bits!

Cut potatoes.

Rinse with water.

Combine all ingredients but cream cheese and cook on low for 6-8 hours in the crock pot.

Top with cheese and bacon. Enjoy!

Party Food

I have several go-to finger foods that are always a hit. I make them several times a year for special occasions. Christmas, parties, or football games to name a few. These are by far my favorite snack foods! They are definitely not healthy, but as little as we eat them, I'm too worried. Hope you enjoy our families favorite snacks as much as we do!

Little Smokey's in the Blanket:
1 package of little smokey's weenies
2 cans of crescent rolls

Roll out crescent rolls and cut each triangle into 5 strips. Rolls smokey's up into crescent roll strips and bake at 375 for 10-15 mins until brown! Serve with honey mustard, or ketchup!

Buffalo Chicken Dip:
2 (12.5 oz) cans of white chunk chicken breast, drained
1/2 cup Franks hot sauce
1 cup ranch dressing
1 package cream cheese

Melt cream cheese first in microwave. Mix in all ingredients, stir well. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins, or until bubbly. Serve as a dip, with tortilla chips or crackers.

Sausage Balls:
2 cups Bisquick
1 lb. raw sausage
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 tbls. milk


Thoroughly mix sausage, bisquick and cheese. Add 1 tbls. milk at a time if needed to make mix stick better. When thoroughly mixed, roll out small balls and place on well greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 mins or until brown.