At the Lady and Sons

I'm sitting here in Savannah so of course I'm eating at Lady and Sons. I have to say, I'm completely unimpressed. According to my travel companion, the green beans and fried chicken are greasy "salt licks". And the mashed potatos have no flavor.

Although, I had the tilapia which was AMAZING! It had a great peach sauce on it, adding just the right amount of sweetness. As for the sides, I know we're in the south and all, but there are literally puddles of grease deep enough to dive in to on my plate. Yuck!

My verdict, unless you can stomach all the grease and salt, buy your momento in the gift shop and skip the restaurant....and the 5 hour wait to be seated.

Baby Shower Treats

 Recently, I was asked to bring some fruit to a baby shower. But you all know me....can you really see me bring a plain fruit salad? No way! Instead I put together fruit kabobs.

 

To make these, I used plums, oranges, grapes, blueberries, mangoes, cantaloupe, strawberries, and pears. I got a bit fancy with some of the cantaloupe and mangoes and cut out the fruit in star shapes and letters to spell "B-A-B-Y".  Really cute....really time consuming!

The best part of this...we took the leftovers and threw them on the grill! I learned that I LOVE grilled grapes!

Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

Super Easy Quick Chocolate Treat

 Strawberries have been on sale everywhere lately, so we've had a fridge full of strawberries for the last few weeks. Quite honestly, you can only have so many strawberry shortcakes, banana split brownies, strawberry-mango crisps, strawberry mango muffins, and triple chocolate strawberry cakes. Time for something different!

To make these awesome little treats, here's what you'll need:
Strawberries: washed and hulled
Chocolate chips (mini chips works best)
Whipped Cream

After washing and hulling the berries, cut just a little off the bottom so they'll stand up in a baking dish. Fill the berries with a few chocolate chips. Bake at 375 until soft, but not mushy--about 10 minutes. Top with whipped cream and serve!

Yep, it's THAT easy! I garnished these with some fresh berries as well for a little different texture.

Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

Made From Scratch Tuesday 5/24

 A few weeks ago, we tried these Bertolli frozen meals. They were pretty good. We really like the manacotti stuffed with ricotta, spinach and chicken. But, they are a little more expensive than I prefer for a dinner for two. I decided I could probably make these myself for cheaper, and they would probably taste better. So here's my first attempt:

Spinach and Chicken Stuffed Manacotti
What you'll need:
Chicken breasts-cooked and diced
Fresh Spinach, chopped
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Manacotti-cooked and drained
Alfredo Sauce

After cooking and draining the pasta, stuff them with the mixture of cheeses, chicken and spinach. I couldn't find my pastry bag, so I used a gallon size ziploc bag and cut the corner off!

Pour a little alfredo sauce in the bottom of a glass pan and place stuffed pasta in a baking dish. Top with alfredo sauce and bake for 25 minutes at 350.

I also added some fresh Parmesan cheese to the top to get the browned cheese effect.

 

Here's what I learned:

1. My version is cheaper and tastier!

2. My version is a LOT more work! 

Still trying to decide if it was worth it, but the husband says it's definitely worth it!

Now, it's time to link up some of those great dishes you make from scratch!
Here are the rules:
1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
2. My only content rule is it has to be made from scratch.
3. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar.

Garden in Bloom

The first tomatoes of the year are going strong! We did a smaller garden than usual, but I like to think of it as our "salsa" garden: tomatoes, cilantro, onions, garlic and assorted peppers!

Will Blog for Buttah

Dear Blog,

I apologize for neglecting you. If it weren't for bloggerdroid, I'd probably never get half my posts up. But Bloggerdroid isn't perfect; sometimes you end up with a gravity-defying glass of wine. Sometimes only the real blogger will do. 

Most of my online time has been spent couponing and preparing for shipping trips. Now, I'm not going to be an "Extreme Couponer", but I did score some free pasta at Kroger last week! I'm sure you're all well aware of my upcoming trip to Savannah. What you may not know is the less than shoestring budget I have. The original purpose of this last minute trip was to relax on the beach. And when we planned this (last Wednesday), we were planning on going in late June. But, it wasn't meant to be that way and now we're forced to go in less than 2 weeks! Keeping all that in mind, can you really go to Savannah without eating at The Lady and Sons? Ummm NO! Hence, my three hour coupon session to afford said meal and lack of time to blog.

That got me thinking...what else can we do to experience more of Savannah? I'm not sure how your mind works, but in our minds, if you going to the beach, that means seafood! Now we have to add Uncle Bubba's to the list.

Ok, now we have our restaurant selection going. next up...drinks! Savannah is said to be one of the most haunted cities in America so it seems appropriate to have a haunted brewery. Ok, haunted brewery tour-add that to the agenda! Ooooh! And the Distinctly Disturbing Tours!

In the land of plunder and paradise, of course we have to add The Pirate's House to the list! Here's some info I found on them "Since 1753, The Pirate's House has been welcoming visitors to Savannah...The Pirate's House first opened as an inn for seafarers, and fast became a rendezvous for blood-thirsty pirates and sailors from the Seven Seas. Here seamen drank their grog and discoursed, sailor fashion, on their exotic high seas adventures from Singapore to Bombay and from London to Port Said."

Beyond the food and drink, there are so many historical things we want to see and do. This girls getaway is getting expensive! We haven't even made it to the beach yet!

Yeah…we’re going to do all the touristy things—just with some creative financing beforehand!

Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

Made From Scratch Tuesday 5/17

I'll apologize up front; I don't have a picture of the finished product. Honestly, it was eaten before I could grab the camera!

One of the husband's favorite dishes is spaghetti and meatballs. I don't make it very often, but when I do, it's always a hit. In fact, he likes it so much, I make a big pan of it so he can eat the leftovers all week long. Fair warning...I rarely measure when I cook so I'm not even going to attempt to tell you all how much I used of each ingredient.

What you'll need:
Cooked pasta (in this large batch, I use a pound of spaghetti).
Cooked Meatballs (recipe below)

• Ground Beef (for the best meatballs, mix in some ground turkey and Italian sausage too; about 2 lbs total!)
• Eggs (I use 1 egg/lb of meat)
• Bread crumbs
• Sage
• Parsley
• Basil
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Salt and Pepper
• Garlic (1-2 cloves/pound of meat)
• Onions (yellow-1/2 large onion/lb of meat)
• Combine all and form balls. Brown in skillet, then cook fully in a covered baking dish at 375. I like to cook mine on a rack, but that's not necessary.

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Spaghetti Sauce

In a large baking dish, put down a layer of cooked spaghetti, just enough to cover the bottom. Add meatballs and cheeses. (below is the only picture I managed to snap)

Top with remaining pasta, sauce and more cheese! Bake at 375 until bubbly and cheese starts to brown. Serve with this amazing garlic bread! Yes, that's another Paul Deen recipe. Can you tell I'm super excited for my upcoming trip to Savannah? Stay tuned the next week and a half for more Paula-inspired meals!

So now it's time to link up all your fantastic dishes. (Yes, I'm aware I posted this a day early, but it happens sometimes)

Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

I just planned my girls weekend getaway to Savannah, GA. I'm so excited! For the foodie in me, I can't wait to go to Paula Deen's restaurant. To get in the Paula spirit, I made a Paula-inspired dish tonight.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cups
(adapted from the recipe here)
 Instead of using the box mix, I used the Nestle Brownie recipe since they're cake-like anyway.
For the filling, mix 1 1/2 c peanut butter and 1/4 c powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix brownies as recipe calls for.
Grease muffin tins and pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of each cup. Then scoop a spoonful of the peanut butter/powdered sugar mixture in the center.

Pour more batter over the top and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool just enough to be able to touch and remove from pan. Cool on wire baking rack.

Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

Strawberry Mango Muffins

Strawberries and mangoes are two of my favorite fruits. And I love them even more together!

Start with your favorite yellow or white cake recipe. Omit about a cup of liquid-water or milk-whichever your recipe calls for. Mix as usual, then fold in one mango (peeled and diced) and a pint of strawberries (cut). Bake as usual.

These little treats are perfect without any icing, but if you just can't go without, try making buttercream with the rind of a lime grated in!

Now, it's time to link up some of those great dishes you make from scratch!
Here are the rules:
1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
2. My only content rule is it has to be made from scratch.
3. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar.

Pork kabobs with peppers and onions

Can you really go wrong with meat on a stick? There's something almost primal about it. Tonight, we enjoyed kabobs with peppers and onions, pork and of course some garlic cloves! I really need to buy another kabob rack so we can do fruit at the same time.

Cinco De Mayo

What does your dinner plate look like tonight? We have nachos and fiesta rice!

How to get your husband to make brownies

As much as I love my husband, he can sometimes be a bit forgetful. And sometimes....rarely....I may take advantage of that :)

At any random point in time, just follow the conversation cues below:
Me: You can go ahead
Husband: I can go ahead and do what?
Me: Earlier, you said you were going to make brownies
Husband: I did?
Me: Yes, you said that earlier while we were (insert recent activity here)
Husband: Oh, ok.

And just like that, the husband goes off into the kitchen to make brownies!

Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

Made From Scratch Tuesday 5/3

Ever make one of those meals that just ends up perfect? It doesn't happen very often, but last night was one of those!

We started off with steaks on the grill; the husband took care of those. On top of the steaks were sauteed mushrooms and onions in a light gravy....YUM! For the veggies, we went with steamed carrots-a favorite in our house. Then some pasta with browned butter and herbs.

What are some of your perfect meals?


Now, it's time to link up some of those great dishes you make from scratch!
Here are the rules:
1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
2. My only content rule is it has to be made from scratch.
3. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar.