No ifs ands or butts..it's getting colder!

I am so NOT quite acclimated to cold weather here! Being born a Southern girl, and spending so much time in Florida anything below 30 degrees feels like the North Pole! My Southern butt is freezing and I mean that in the literal sense..my butt is perhaps 50 degrees colder than the rest of my body! Normal people would have cold noses, or maybe cold feet, but I really think my butt will soon be in danger of frostbite! Think- the old frostbitten pork roast underneath everything in your freezer you just haven't found time to cook, add 30 pounds to that and that, ladies and gentlemen is = to my bootie! I don't mind so much, but the thing that really bothers me is not being able to wear flip flops all year! I always could in Florida and I could sort of get away with it in Alabama, but here...around January all the sidewalks are frozen over and I would break my neck. You need cleats to walk to the mailbox! All that being said I am sort of looking forward to the snow this year..there is something so magical about being able to put your beer in the snow to keep it cold! Sometimes when I walk out of the local pub..the snow is so pretty reflecting the street lights, it looks like glitter as far as the eye can see. Have good winter everyone..and keeps your butts warm!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is now 1:00 in the morning on Thanksgiving Day and I just pulled some golden, delicious cornbread out of the oven. There is nothing like good southern cornbread..none of this yellow sweet cornbread, but golden, crisp on the outside cornbread. I plan to crumble it all up up for some good ol' southern dressing-not stuffing tomorrow! Living in the north I am often asked what the difference is between stuffing and dressing. I have only had two kinds of stuffing, one was stove top the other was homemade stuffing and I didn't care for either, dressing on the other hand is something I look forward to all year. Apparently I hold it sacred enough because I won't allow myself to make it unless it is Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. I'll give my dressing recipe here but I am very bad at recipes, and I don't measure anything..I'm sort of an eyeball kind of cook, so be warned!

Southern Cornbread Dressing

-crumbled southern cornbread-follow recipe on the back of cornmeal
-roll of Jimmy Dean sage sausage
-couple of stalks of celery chopped
-1 egg
-1 onion chopped
-1can cream of chicken soup
-cooked chicken picked off of bone (I use 3-4 chicken thighs) but 2-3 breasts would be fine
-1-2 cans of chicken broth
-poultry seasoning
-salt and pepper

Crumble sausage and cook in skillet, drain fat(you can leave a little). Add to crumbled cornbread mixture, add celery, onion, chicken and raw egg. Add cream of chicken soup, and half a can of chicken broth mix well. Mixture should be sort of soupy, but not so much that it won't form into dressing when you cook it. If you feel you need more add it. You probably won't need more than one can, but some people make dry cornbread. Add poultry seasoning to taste, I think about 2 teaspoons. Salt and pepper to taste, use the salt sparingly as the ingersients are already sort of salty. Cook at 350 for 30-45 mins.

This is my mother's recipe and she is the best cook I know. I hope you will try this recipe and enjoy it like I have over the years!

Hee Haw

I have always remembered that show with fond memories! Those were the days of good country music and Roy Clark ketchup commercials. I wanted to be one of those girls with poofy pigtails, short shorts and off shoulder shirts. As i watched this show, it stirred up so many memories, one being of the cartoon animals on the show. If i remember correctly, it was a pig, donkey and a chicken. When someone would tell a funny joke the animals would laugh, and when someone told a joke not so funny, the animals would stampede over the person or hit them upside the head, or kick them or somehow commence to kicking their butt. I remember being so confused by this when i was small. I would think, well i guess sometimes those animals are nice and sometimes they are mean! I would think hey..how come that donkey just kicked Grandpa Jones? It was really great to see that show again. It turned out i was in luck because the two special musical guests were Tammy Wynette and George Jones, so that was a heck of a show. I was also in luck as it turned out because String Bean was on that episode. I friend of mine's father would always entertain us by playing the banjo and singing String Bean songs when we would come over for supper and I loved visiting with him. Mr. Mike really opened my eyes to his music, as i didn't know much about String Bean, because he was murdered before I was born. As i watched Hee Haw the other night and saw String Bean so full of life and laughter, it made me feel really sick to my stomach that someone saw fit to take his life. I had to try really hard and shake that feeling and just enjoy the show. I think he would want it that way-to be remembered with laughter, not sorrow...I know i would.

Have you ever filled out a job application and found a section that said hobbies and completely drew a blank? Some people include a personal page in their resume with hobbies and such. This is so a potential employer can kind of get a sneak peek into your personality. I have always thought I could never list my real hobbies. How funny would it look if i put "smoky dive bars, shooting pool, country music and talking on the phone to my best friend"? I was thinking the the other day, that if my hobbies aren't good enough to go on a resume, maybe I am not a very well-rounded person. This weighed heavily on my mind all day. How can anyone get to know me if my interests are so shallow? I had to think of things that make me happy. All of a sudden it hit me like a wave..I love to cook! I love watching cooking shows, reading cookbooks and trying and tasting new recipes. I love knitting...etc. The next thing i know i had a pretty impressive mental list. Why had i always blocked that out before? It kind of makes me wonder how many times i have unconsciously sold myself short? Since this is my first blog, sort of a get to know you post, I thought i would list my true list of hobbies here. Of course, some of these would never make it to my resume, but this is the real me.

1. Cooking
I love cooking shows, especially Paula Deen. I read cookbooks like novels, and i love trying and tasting new recipes.

2. Knitting
I knit backwards, and I can only knit washcloths and scarves so far, but it is really relaxing.

3. Reading
I can get lost in a good book for hours. I like autobiographies the best. Strong people, especially women truly inspire me.

4. Interior design
I watch shows about and mentally design rooms in my head all the time. I am not sure I have a real eye for it, but i wish I did.

5. Thrift store shopping
Ohh how i could get lost in a thrift store, digging through treasures. I almost never buy anything, but I always enjoy the trip.

6. Antique stores
I would decorate an entire house with antiques if I could. I try to imagine the people that owned these beautiful things, and how old they actually are.

7. All things southern
This includes funny sayings, folklore, food, superstitions, and they way everyone southern has a warm charming way of making you feel comfortable and at home.

8. Comedy clubs
I have only been a few times, but had a blast every time.

9. Traveling
Road trips are the best!

10. Sec football and beer
War Eagle!