What is a girl to do?! Be a good blogger and go the event for bloggers she signed up to attend? or Be a good blogger and go to get some GREAT blog material?
Yes, I chose the former.
I recently signed up to be part of a blogger network called Arkansas Women Bloggers.
It turns out, shortly after I signed up, I read that the annual meet-up was going to be in Little Rock soon. I was super excited! The whole reason I signed up on the network was so I could get to know some other local bloggers.
I committed to go.
Come to find out, the meet up was going to be on the same day that Chip had to work. He wasn’t just working working. He was covering the Salsa Party his company was sponsoring with P. Allen Smith, one of our local celebrities. You may have seen him when he was on the Today Show.
So, Chip and the girls went to the Salsa party and I went to blogger party.
The blogger party was held at the Historic Arkansas Museum. The museum even gave us all a 20% discount card to use in the gift shop–which, sadly, I forgot about until later that night when I was emptying my pockets.
These are the folks who came to the event. You know that first one!
It was a good time, and I got to meet some really nice folks.
These ladies were our hostesses for the day. They are the ones who run Arkansas Women Bloggers. Left to right you have Fawn from Instead of the Dishes, Natalie Ghidotti from Ghidotti Communications (she was actually our guest speaker not one of the blog ladies), Stephanie from The Park Wife, and Julie from Eggs & Herbs.
I learned some great blogging tips. I hope to have time to test these out soon. Biggest tip, for blog life AND real life, be yourself! Don’t do things on your blog because you see some big-time blogger do them. Make your own footprint.
It was a fun time. I even scored some jam from The Park Wife. That will be in another post.
While I was at the meet up, the rest of the gang was at the Salsa Party. Fortunately, Chip was there to take pictures for the company.
Well, here it is. The long-awaited “Pirates of the Secret Island 4: Mutiny on the Secret Island”.
The Premier was quite an affair. I begged, borrowed, and stole from various sources for weeks! We pulled off the party–swag bag, food, decorations, the works–for less than $50!
I think that was a pretty good accomplishment. Parties are fun. Paying for parties? Not so much!
The dress for the evening was “fancy”. We pulled out an old dress my sister had in college for Megan. Katie wore one of Megan’s hand-me-downs. One of the benefits of being a Sweet Adeline is having fancy clothes and jewelry. So, I wore something from my stash. Chip was on his own as far as his fancy clothes went.
The family had all worked tirelessly to prepare for the party. Food. Decor. Yard. Clothes.
I knew I had not timed things perfectly when it got to be 5:30 and I had not even gotten in the shower! There was still food and hair to fix before the guests arrived at 6:30!
Fortunately, Mom and Dad came early to help. Thank goodness! I would have never made it.
Next to arrive was the Dowlearn family.
Charley had to set up the special Hollywood style spotlights he made for the occasion.
Maybe he will leave a comment telling how he made them. Here is a hint.
More admiring fans, groupies, “agents”, and actors showed up on the scene.
My folks really got into their roles. Mom interviewed everyone as they arrived. The kids didn’t really know what to think about that. (Somehow, one interview didn’t get photographed. Sorry, Mac.)
The “Paw-Pawrazzi” was played by my dad. Be sure to click his picture and check out his credentials.
Megan thought it was great fun to “avoid” the paparazzi every chance she got.
The red carpet was great! I really struggled with this aspect of the decorations. I really wanted a RED CARPET. You know, Hollywood style. I thought about getting a remnant and spray painting it. That was just going to be too expensive, and it just wouldn’t look right. I looked all over town. I was really working on a shoestring budget. I was determined, or as Moe, at Carpet Mills in North Little Rock, said–persistent! A big thanks goes out to Moe for donating several carpet samples. I knew I needed more though! Mom found a red carpet runner at Party City. Yes, I realize it was only $6.99, but remember, SHOESTRING budget! I refused to give up! After hitting at least 3 more carpet stores, someone suggested Classic Carpets in North Little Rock. Tracy had a red carpet! He typically rents it out for $50. He let me borrow it for FREE! Thank you, Tracy! The long roll of red carpet was exactly what I wanted! The carpet samples extended the red carpet on down the sidewalk perfectly. Thanks a million guys!
Adoring fans brought roses for the actresses and Sonic gift cards for the actors. How sweet!
The director, naturally, was behind the camera, again.
“The Faceless Bartender” showed up for the gala, I think.
We really did some rearranging inside. As the actors and actresses entered the front hall, there was a curtain hanging in the hallway. This curtain usually hangs in my parents bedroom in the fall and winter. For the party, it hung on a shower rod. I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad use a regular curtain rod when they hang it. We used our white Christmas lights to light the entrance and the “theater”.
I moved the couch from it’s regular position, so we could fit the dining room chairs in the den in rows. This also required that two chairs, two tables, a secretary, and a rug find a new home. (It didn’t all get put back after the party. I decided I liked some of the things in their new homes.) I used our TV trays between chairs. I thought folks might need a place to set their plates and cups. I borrowed some extras from Mom and Dad and the Dowlearns.
First, let me tell you about the table decorations and serving pieces. Then, I’ll fill you in on the food. Click the picture above for the details.
The gold table cloth is one that my Mother-in-Law bought at an after Christmas sale a couple of years ago. This was my first time to use it. It was perfect!
The gold chargers were an anniversary present one year. You can’t serve food off of them though, so I used clear glass plates that I think I got as a wedding gift almost 20 years ago.
The tower that the cupcakes are on is from my days as a Pampered Chef lady. It is from their Simple Additions collection. It’s been a while, so some of the pieces have changed. I sure have enjoyed my set though.
The punch bowl came from a garage sale about 10 years ago. I opted to use plastic cups rather than washing punch cups. The gold and silver paper plates were some Mom had leftover from some shindig. She couldn’t remember where she got them.
The adorable little spoons were borrowed from Chip’s Aunt Mary. Are they not the cutest?! The plate they are sitting on was a hand-me-down from either Chip’s mom or grandmother.
Red tray with popcorn bags was borrowed from Mom. Parmesan Stars were in a silver basket, another wedding gift. ( You can’t see the basket, but it’s there.)
Gold place mats were a wedding gift, too.
In addition to punch we had water with and without cucumber slices. It had to be on a separate table-actually an organ bench.
Please notice the film reels in this next picture. They were inspired by these. The price was a little different, however. Ours were made from cardboard I stole out of the neighbor’s trash. It was clean! Chip cut them out and spray painted them with paint that either Mom or I had. You might also notice the drape over the TV cabinet. My sister had a burgundy swag in the bathroom when she lived in this house. I didn’t want to use it, but I couldn’t part with all that taffeta. Glad I didn’t! The gold tassels came from an el cheep-o sale. The center of the drape is held up with a chip clip!
This is the PRESTIGIOUS Dowlearn Award that was given for the first 3 films! Don’t you love it under glass?
Once again, Chip is not in the group photo. Sad.
This is the “swag bag” the kids went home with. I’m really sad we didn’t get a picture of the treasure chest that held them. My friend, Cyndi, had a treasure box from work that came with Post-It Notes in it! I sprayed it gold and put the bags inside. Thanks, Cyndi.
The red velvet bags with gold tassels came from a close out sale a couple of years ago. I think I paid 5¢ each for them. Each kiddo got a copy of the movie. Actually, it had all 4 movies on the disc. Thanks to Ryan Kravitz for designing the label. They also got a CD with the still photos that were shot the day of filming. A $1 picture frame with the group photo, a star ornament/bookmark (that came from the same sale as the bags), and some hard candy rounded out the goodie bag.
I do hope they all had the time of their lives. It was all great fun!
RECIPES:
I feel I should mention that one of our guests has severe food allergies. I had to be very careful that none of the indigents were even from a factory that uses nuts. Harder than you might think. I have a new appreciation for people with nut allergies.
Ok, so some of the snacks didn’t really have a recipe per se.
1. Cheese and crackers–I admit, I took the easy way out. I bought the pre-cubed cheese. I already had a variety of crackers. This was an easy appetizer.
2. Popcorn–Again, not rocket science. Place package in microwave for 3 minutes. Listen for popping to stop.I just had to have popcorn with the movie.
3. Veggies and dip–Just carrots and celery arranged on a plate with ranch dressing in a bowl.
4. Pigs in a blanket–Pretty easy. Roll lil’ smokies up in crescent rolls. Cook until done. Barbecue sauce and mustard were available condiments.
5. Stuffed Mushrooms–These were really easy because someone else brought them! Whitney said she used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe but tweaked it a little. Whitney, please leave a comment and tell about your tweak.
6. Strawberry Tarts–I didn’t make these either. Whitney said all she did was let the berries sit in sugar for a while. The crust was made in a mini muffin pan. Put a scoop of the berries in a cooked and cooled pastry cup. Top with whipped cream.
7. Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and gold sprinkles–Megan made the cupcakes. I decorated them. We used a boxed cake mix and ready to spread frosting. The gold cupcake liners really added a lot. I found them at Hobby Lobby.
8. Parmesan Stars–These were really easy. Thaw frozen puff pastry. I used a tiny star cookie cutter to cut out stars. The girls helped me by smearing olive oil on the stars as I put them on the pan. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Bake according to package directions.
9. Bacon Wrapped Chicken–These turned out to be trickier than I thought they should have been. Mainly they were tricky because I was pressed for time. Cut chicken breasts into small pieces. Cut bacon strips into thirds. Wrap bacon around the chicken; secure with a toothpick. I melted some apple jelly and mixed it with a little soy sauce. I would have used orange, but I didn’t have any. Brush on meat. Bake at 425* for about 10 minutes, turn and cook for another 10ish minutes. We had to cook them just a little longer.
10. “Fancy Grapes”–Megan and Katie made these. Wash grapes and DRY COMPLETELY. While you are waiting for the grapes to dry, melt some vanilla almond bark. Poke a toothpick into the dry grapes then dip the melted chocolate. Immediately dip into graham cracker crumbs. The original recipe said to use peanuts. I had to improvise. Stand coated grapes on your serving plate while the chocolate is still warm. If you wait, they won’t stand up straight. These went like hot cakes! I think next time I will just use purple grapes.
11. Twice Baked New Potatoes–I was very excited to find the potatoes on sale. Buy one bag get one bag free! Boil the potatoes until fork tender, maybe just a little longer. I pulled them out of the pot a little too soon. Cut each potato in half. Slice a small piece off the bottom of each half of the potato so it will stand upright. Scoop out the potato flesh. Be careful to leave enough of a “wall” so your potato will keep its shape. Combine potato innards with a little sour cream and crumbled bacon. Spoon the potato mixture back into the potato shell.
12. Brownie Batter Dip–Aunt Mary sent me this recipe via Pinterest. She served it at a shower at her house and said it was a hit! The same can be said of it being served at the Premier as well! Katie mixed this up for me. Mix an 8 ounce package of cream cheese with 1/2 cup of butter. Both should be softened. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, a cup at a time, and 1 tablespoon of milk. Add 5 Tbsp flour, 5 Tbsp cocoa powder, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 Tbsp milk. Whisk together. You can add more milk if you need to. We added mini chocolate chips at the end too! Put a scoop on a cute little fancy spoon and top with a mini Nilla Wafer. We had a bowl with extra dip and a dish of extra cookies as well.
13. Punch–There are a thousand different punch recipes out there. This one came from my friend Kathy Zimmerman. Make a simple sugar by combining 3 cups of sugar with 3 cups of water. Boil for 3 minutes, until clear. Mix together one 12 oz. can of frozen lemonade and one 12 oz. can of frozen pineapple juice-mix both according to package directions. Add on 12 oz. can of frozen limeade-DO NOT DILUTE. Add to simple sugar. Put mixture in the freezer. When it starts to solidify, give it a stir every now and then so it gets slushy. When ready to serve, put it in your punch bowl and add a 2 liter bottle of ginger ale. Sooo yummy!
Well, that was our little party. It was a great time. I realize this was a really long post. Thanks for stayin’ with me. I guess I could have had about 15 different posts out of this one party. Oh, well. I wanted it to all be together. Plus, we were so crazy before the party started that no one got “blog quality” photos of the food.
Several years ago, oh, about 5 or 6, I was on my annual trek to Dallas for a Sweet Adelines competition. This left Chip and the girls at home to fend for themselves. That Saturday morning Chip, being the great dad that he is, asked the girls, “Y’all want to make a movie?” Since I wasn’t there, I have to imagine there were squeals of delight as they scrambled around for costumes and props. There was no script. The movie was written and directed as the day progressed.
Please enjoy “Pirates of the Secret Island”.
These videos will be updated with higher quality videos soon. They just take longer to add to the blog. Guess I was impatient.
Weren’t the girls so little and cute?! Didn’t you LOVE the swords?
They had a great time making that movie. It was so fun to hear them talk about it when I came home.
The next year, they decided to make another movie. This time they made it when I was available to be part of the action. I was given the job of costume mistress. We dug out piratey-looking clothes, smudged some make up on faces, and made new “high-tech” swords.
“Pirates of the Secret Island 2: Return to the Secret Island”
What a difference a costume/props mistress makes!
A third movie was inevitable. The first two were just too much fun!
“Pirates of the Secret Island 3: Escape from the Secret Island”
I think that one is my favorite.
As if three back yard movies weren’t enough, Chip decided to do a 4th movie. This time Dash and Will needed a crew. So, the director sent out a casting call to some of the girls’ friends. (No, he didn’t copy the Indiana Jones movies and add aliens to the 4th movie. Can I just have a moment here? How? Why? What were they thinking? Aliens?! Ok, I’m better now.)
So, the 4th movie was filmed at the end of March. Each kiddo, or parent, was responsible for his or her own costume. I may have done ok on costume upgrades for two but four more was over my head. They all looked GREAT!
I did dress the part–the part of costume mistress. If you look really hard you can see I have on a skull and crossbones shirt. Oh, the things you can find at Goodwill!
What fun!
Pirate water was the drink of the day.
Pirate snacks were provided for the “wrap party’. The idea for the snack cups came from here.
I’ll show you the 4th movie in the next post, along with pictures from the Premier! For now, enjoy this little clip:
(I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. She is there again this year, today in fact. I just couldn’t work it into my schedule this time.)
Leslie chose ME to be the recipient of the “Liebster Blog Award”! I was/am so honored! This is my very first award as a blogger. I’m grinnin’ from ear to ear!
So, a great big THANK YOU to Leslie!
What is this award? Liebster in German means “favorite”. My impression is that is it just a fun way for bloggers to draw attention to small blogs (under 200 followers) that they enjoy reading. There are some “strings” attached–the blogger who accepts this award must do the following:
1. Thank the person who have you the award.
2. Link back to their blog.
3. Copy and paste the Liebster award to your profile.
4. Pick 5 blogs that you feel deserve to be in the spotlight (they must have 200 followers or under).
5. Blog about it and leave a comment for your nominations to let them know that you have chosen their blog.
Now, to pass the award on to some other deserving blogs. I have given this a lot of thought and found it difficult. A lot of the blogs I read are much larger than 200 followers. Very few of my friends blog. I’m working on them though! I’m working on me, too. I have recently joined a group called Arkansas Women Bloggers. The group is having a meet up next weekend. I am looking forward to meeting some new folks there. Do you live in Arkansas? Are you a woman? Are you a blogger? Check out their website.
•Thideology is an insightful blog on all things theological. I really think a lot of the guy who writes this blog. ; )
•CC’s Cheap Chic is a fashion blog written by my dear friend, Carolyn. She and I always seemed to end up at Savers at the same time. I miss her terribly since she moved away. She has inspired me to write a couple of fashion posts of my own.
•Tales from Goshen is a “Mommy” blog. I have known Ashley since she was a little girl, and I was in her parents’ kid’s choir at church. It is amazing to see the fabulous mother and woman she has become. I don’t really know Ashley that well. I have, however, bumped in to her in town a few times recently. We both got to see the Pioneer Woman when she came to town.
•Little Rock Love is written by Ashli, a friend from college. She is a gal about town for sure. She is also a bit of a foodie.
•Susan’s Doodle Pad is where my friend Susan shows off her adorable stationary creations and more.
I realize the blog sized is supposed to be 200 or fewer. Not all of these blogs list the number of subscribers they have. Hopefully, I didn’t offend anyone. Yikes!
I hope you will show some love to these 5 blogs. Leave a comment on one of their posts. Tell ‘em I sent ya!
I love to go to the book store. It is good free entertainment. I tend to gravitate to the cooking and crafting books. A few years ago, the cupcake craze began. You may be familiar with the adorable cupcakes from Hello,Cupcake…Click Here.
Well, I was so intrigued, I bought the first book. I spent days, weeks even, perusing the creative edibles. Then, as I tend to do, found a special place for my new treasure on the cookbook shelf and only pulled it out to look at the pretty pictures.
After several years, (Yes, I know, it’s pitiful.) I finally decided to try one of the festive creations.
Ta Da! Butterfly Cupcakes!
I just loved the way they turned out!
They were easy, too, for the most part.
1. Make cupcakes. I made chocolate cupcakes. I used orange papers because they went with the butterflies and didn’t have Christmas trees on them!
2. Frost cupcakes. I used Ready to Spread Frosting. I did add a little yellow food coloring just to make the backdrop not so stark.
3. Make the butterflies. Okay, this is the “tricky” part. The Hello, Cupcake book comes with a butterfly template. You could easily draw your own. The wings are separated on the template. If you do your own, keep that in mind. I used melted chocolate chips for the outline of the wings and orange candy melts for the inside. This part is tricky because you must work fast! Have all your supplies ready to go before you start!
Place your template on a cookie sheet. Then put a piece of waxed paper on top of the template. I could see through the waxed paper just fine. Outline the wing with melted chocolate then QUICKLY fill with melted candy melts. Drag a toothpick through the chocolate into the orange to give it the appearance of a real butterfly. YOU MUST WORK FAST!!!
I was home alone, so there are no pictures of me in action with the toothpick. I was going crazy as it was! I didn’t dare risk getting chocolate on the camera. It seemed to be everywhere else though!
4. The book calls for white sprinkles on the tips of the wings. (Do this before they dry, duh.) I couldn’t find white sprinkles at the store, believe it or not. What I did have was a bottle of Christmas sprinkles–red, green, and white. This is the part where I scarred my children for life. I had them separate the white sprinkles from the red and green! I guess that makes me a mean mama. It did, however, provide me with a new means of torture for future references! They actually survived unscathed. The white sprinkles really added a lot to the wings. Say “yes”!
You will want to stick the completed wings in the refrigerator to harden. This is why you put it on the cookie sheet to begin with.
5. I opted out of the antennae. They kept melting when I handled them.
6. Use two M&Ms to prop up the wings.
7. Add the wings at an angle. They should not be touching in the middle.
8. Pipe some chocolate frosting down the middle for the body. My frosting was store-bought.
9. This would be the time to add antennae if you like.
10. Serve!
Critics’ Corner
Chip: Wing-ed Perfection!
Megan: The cupcakes were as delicious as they looked. All the time spent tediously separating sprinkles paid off!
Katie: The butterfly cupcakes were dee-lish! The sprinkle sorting was worth it!
Today is catch up day. We had Spring Break a couple of weeks ago. That put me behind in laundry, budget, grocery shopping, and blogging! Sorry, but blogging got pushed to the bottom of the list, along with mopping!
Spring Break started out with a trip to Dallas. My Sweet Adeline chorus, Top of the Rock, made the annual pilgrimage to regional competition. This year we had a Western theme.
Our group stayed in the Hyatt. What a treat we had! We shared the hotel with the folks who were there for the longhorn auction! These were not just your regular run-of-the-mill longhorns. These were, for lack of a better word, collector longhorns. Some of these creatures would end up selling for $80,000+.
We had to make time to visit the animals.
Oh, wait, those are the guys who were in charge of the auction. They were very nice to us “city girls”.
We came in 2nd place in the contest. Congratulations to Talk of Tulsa Show Chorus. Good luck in Hawaii!
After spending the weekend around cowboy lingo, I figured I’d come home and make some cowboy chow!
This is a recipe I have wanted to make for a long time! It came from a Woman’s Day magazine. (May 11, 1999!)
Chuck Wagon Tortillas
1 pound lean ground beef
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 jar (18 oz.) baked beans
1 can (14 1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (11 oz) vacuum-packed corn
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1/4 cup bottled barbecue sauce
4 burrito-size flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese (6 oz)
Cook beef and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. (You will need a skillet that is at least 2 inches deep and 10 inches across the bottom.)
Note: For some reason my post automatically posted. I was not finished with it yet. Sorry. Here is the rest of the post.
Stir in chili powder and cumin.
Cook 1 minute longer.
Stir in beans, tomatoes, corn and chilies and barbecue sauce.
Heat 2-3 minutes, then pour into a bowl.
Remove skillet from heat, wipe clean with a paper towel, then lightly coat with cooking spray.
Lay 1 tortilla in skillet.
Spread evenly with 1 1/2 cups beef mixture.
Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese.
Repeat layers 3 times, ending with 1/2 cup of cheese.
Cover and cook over low heat 15 minutes, or until cheese melts and stack is hot in center.
Cut into wedges to serve.
While we were at the table, I suggested that this recipe should have been called “Cowboy Stack”. Others had to give their ideas as well.
It was yummy!
Critics’ Corner
Chip: It’s like cowboy food — except better.
Megan: This dish is a testament that I do not only eat bland food. It was so spicy that it warrants the name “The Chuck Wagon Dragon”!
Katie: It’s a combination of two things that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE…it’s messy and delicious! Although, since it is so spicy, I would have renamed it “The Chili Pepper Chuck Wagon”.
Okay, that isn’t really the name of this soup. It is really called Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup.
Here is the friends and family explanation…
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Cathy called and asked it I wanted some fresh basil. Cathy is a professional farmer for Bonnie Plants. I hope to have a complete post about her farm one day. It is incredible. Of course, when she told me to come over, I wasn’t thinking “do a blog post”. I was thinking “get some fresh basil”. I didn’t even think to take my camera.
She had to trim back her basil plants and hated to just throw it away. Lucky me!
She sent me home with two Walmart sacks full of basil! The smell was incredible!
I had recently seen a recipe for this soup on Pinterest. Chip LOVES tomato basil soup, so I really pinned it for him.
Be sure you go to the link. She has listed a crock pot version and a stove top version.
Here is her crock pot recipe:
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice 1 cup finely diced celery 1 cup finely diced carrots 1 cup finely diced onions 1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano 1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil 4 cups chicken broth ½ bay leaf ½ cup flour 1 cup Parmesan cheese ½ cup butter 2 cups half and half, warmed (or skim milk if you’re trying to cut some calories) 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp black pepper
1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
3. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don’t be afraid to always season to taste at the end).
4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.
I guess I made either the “crock top” or “stove pot” version.
I failed to read the recipe again before I went to the store. I left Cathy’s farm with a car full of basil and assumed I had the rest of what I needed. By now, it was about 2:00, and I had not even started chopping. The recipe say 5-7 hours on low!
I finally read the recipe carefully. I had thought I might need tomatoes for the soup, so I picked some up at the store. Well, it called for CANNED tomatoes! I could have used the fresh. However, this past Christmas, my mother-in-law held up a Kroger store got some really good deals on canned goods at Kroger. She brought me boxes and boxes of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, beef broth, green beans, and more!
When I went to get the carrots out to start chopping there were no carrots to be found. Ugh! I was not about to make another trip to Walmart! So, I called my neighbor, Kim. Luckily, she had some baby carrots. I guess I could have made it without the carrots. Fortunately Kim saved the day!
Now are you seeing why I called this Friends and Family Soup?
I followed the directions, mostly. I dumped the ingredients in the crock pot and set it on HIGH for about 3 hours.
I made the roux in a large pot rather than a skillet. I added the ingredients like the recipe said.
I did not put it back in the crock pot. I just left it on the stove.
The soup had chunks of tomato in it. I didn’t think the kids would go for that. So, I pulled out my emersion blender, also a Christmas gift from the in-laws, and went to town.
It worked GREAT!
Just look at this soup!
Oh, my word! It was so yummy!!!
No one even complained that we were eating soup when it’s 80˚ outside. Everyone loved it!
You MUST try this one!
Critics’ Corner
Chip: It was like a bowl of liquid Italy. This is my new favorite Tomato Basil soup, even better than the soup at la Madeleine. (The link for la Madeleine didn’t really show up. Click on it anyway, it’s there.)
Megan: Soup, good!
sidenote–
Dear Mom,
Please stop making such good food. I’m running out of comments!
P.S.(just kidding!)
Katie: I love el soup-o! I approve this…deliciousness! (Puss In Boots voice!)
My grandmother had a love of cookbooks! She always liked to buy those little ones at the checkout stand. She had a gazillion!
She also had quite a collection of pamphlets from the county extension office. You can still get info from your local agency. However, with computers these days, getting little pamphlets is kinda “old school”.
I don’t know where she got this little cookbook. (As you can see, it is a Riceland Rice cookbook. There is no date or publication information on it. My guess is late 1950s-early 1960s.) Since my grandparents had rice on their farm, maybe they sold to Riceland and they sent her a cookbook. Maybe she got it at the Extension office. Who knows! Stuttgart, AR, the home of Riceland Foods, is not far from here.
One day I was thumbing through it and came across this recipe.
Riceland Rice Porcupines
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup cooked Riceland Rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Dash of chili powder
1 tablespoon fat
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 green pepper, sliced thin
2 1/2 cups tomato juice
Mix ground beef and uncooked Riceland Rice, the salt and pepper together. Add dash of chili powder and mix well. Form into small balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place in a covered baking dish
In a skillet, melt the 1 tablespoon of fat (or drippings). Saute in this the onion and green pepper. Pour the onion, green pepper, tomato juice over the porcupines-to-be and place in a 350˚F oven. Cook from 1 to 1 1/4 hours. They’re done when the visible rice is tender. Serve with additional tomato sauce if desired. This recipe makes 8 Riceland Rice porcupines.
I have made these before, but it has been a while.
Mine were a little smaller that 1 1/2 inches. I ended up with 17! They were not too small though.
I don’t put the whole 1/2 of a green pepper in my version. The Critics are not too in to peppers. I did buy some green peppers not too long ago. They were 3/$1, so I thought I’d chopped them up and freeze them for when I needed them. Life got in the way. When I was making my meatballs, I noticed I had some withered RED peppers! I salvaged what I could. Most of it was put in the freezer. I put just a tiny amount in the meatballs.
I sautéed my peppers and onions in bacon fat. Duh!
I was missing a key ingredient…tomato juice. Ugh! There was no time to go to the store. I had to improvise! I had some canned tomatoes in juice. I drained off the juice. It was a little more than 1 cup. I chopped up the tomatoes even finer and added them in there too. I also added a little tomato paste and water.
Since the meatballs weren’t the size called for in the recipe, I cut the cooking time to about an hour, I think.
Porcupines!
Critics’ Corner
Chip: Who knew porcupines tasted so good?
Megan: I prefer the other kind, but these are very tasty! (I imagine she is referring to the time I made them with actual tomato juice.)
Katie: Porcupine Meatballs are one of my favorite things to eat, and this batch was no exception. Delicious! I enjoyed them to the last bite!
Pork Chop Tuesday went to “Pork Chop Wednesday” at Advada’s!
I have heard people talk about Advada’s for several years now. A couple of weeks ago, some friends got to talking about breakfast at Advada’s, pork chops at Advada’s, chicken and dressing at Advada’s. After Chip and I wiped the drool off our chins, all that was left to talk about was how to get to Advada’s!
Woo Hoo! A LUNCH DATE! I told him I felt it was only appropriate for Pork Chop Tuesday to go when they were serving pork chops. Wednesday is pork chop buffet day at Advada’s.
Advada’s is located in Carlisle, Arkansas.
Carlisle is a farming community that is spittin’ distance from our little town.
Carlisle was a train stop “back in the day.” It has an Interstate Exit, but most of the town is just off of the old highway, HWY 70, between Little Rock and Memphis.
It’s a small town.
Here is one of the signs you see when you drive down Hwy. 70.
Turn by the big yellow sign.
The road comes to a dead-end. Turn left into the gravel parking lot. You have arrived!
Let me tell you this…we were giddy with anticipation!
The place was much newer looking than I expected. I’ll tell you about that in a minute.
Here is the menu for the day.
We went with the all-you-can-eat buffet. I loved the stack of mismatched dishes. It made me feel right at home.
Let me tell ya, Advada’s did not disappoint! I see now why everyone talks about going there.
This is Miss Advada with one of her granddaughters. Everyone there was family. They seem like a neat bunch of folks.
I asked Miss Advada how long they had been there. She told me about 7 years, then pulled out a baggie with photos in it. Until about 7 years ago, this was what the diner looked like. It was an old quail barn. The original restaurant was over on the highway. They were there for several years.
I was told by some of the regulars that there is a story about the quail farm dating back to the early 1900s. Maybe when you go you’ll be lucky enough to hear the same story.
I’ll give you the tip our friends gave us…Go early! If you get there at noon, they may be out of food!
Next time you’re traveling down I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis, stop to eat at Advada’s. You’ll be glad you did!
