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Arnold Adventures

Of course we've shared pictures of our baby girl Pumpkin!! She has been super loungy and snugly this winter. She has been enjoying the milder temperatures we've been having as of late! However, she is not nearly as excited about becoming a big sister as we are about having a child. 

Mike has been enjoying using his Big Green Egg! He is keeping the pregnant woman fed which is a super plus. He has now prepared beer can chicken, ribs, pulled pork(Boston butt), burgers and pizza. The burger above is an infamous Jucy Lucy and it was amazing!

The weather this year has been blah to say the least. We've had two snow events and one ice event. Us Arnold's are warm weather lovers so we had to just grin and bear it. Spring is in the air though judging by the beautiful purple blooms in our flower beds!

Although we've kept a low profile these last few months due to the winter cold and the baby we have not missed a meal! We have had some fabulous meals out and at home. We've dined at Sushi Masa, Tupelo Honey Cafe and Adams Bistro(more than once). The last picture included was the first pizza Mike ever made on the Egg. It was a barbecue chicken pizza and it was divine!
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Here in Mississippi, with us being so close to Louisiana, Mardi Gras is a huge thing! Granted I have never been, and I am not sure if I will ever go, but Mike has been and said it was unlike anything he had ever witnessed. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday the very next day! So basically if I understand the tradition correctly then Fat Tuesday is a day to get it all out of your system before the very holy time of Lent. Now since I have never been to Mardi Gras I cannot elaborate on it at all but what I can elaborate on is FOOD. Since moving to Mississippi I have really developed a love for Cajun food and the goodness that it is. I seriously cannot get enough! I am still working up to shucking a crawfish(I doubt I ever will) but I love the taste of them! Here are my favorite Cajun dishes to have regularly. 


Jambalaya
This pot was actually made by a guy on my Relay for Life team for the fundraiser we had last week! I asked for the recipe but it is a family recipe so I respected the secrecy! It was delicious.

Gumbo
This is a shrimp and andouille gumbo that I made and although I was told that 'real' gumbo does not have corn, it was really good. The corn came from the frozen gumbo vegetables that I used to make the recipe a lot easier and quicker. As for me, I will probably still use the frozen veggie mix. Ain't nobody got time to prep a complicated recipe on a weeknight! 

Crawfish
I am putting this one in here for Mike. He loves boiled crawfish and cannot wait until the season begins every year! The crawfish are boiled very similarly to the low country boils we have in SC. They are usually served with corn on the cob and red potatoes. Like I said I will not shuck them but I will eat them! They taste like mini shrimp to me.

Crawfish Nachos
Although these are not Cajun they contain crawfish and they are literally one of the tastiest foods on the planet. If I had to be executed I would request Crawfish Nachos from Huck's Place in Columbus, Mississippi to have on my dying day! They are THAT good! They make their own potato chips and damn it doesn't get any better! If I ever move from this area this will be one of the things I'll miss most!

My friend Meghan and her mom Carla, who are from Opelousas, Louisiana, were kind enough to give me some of their favorite Cajun recipes and so far my favorite of those is Crawfish Elegant. It was amazingly creamy and delicious and I cannot wait to try more of the recipes they gave me! 

Laissez les bons temps rouler
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Unless you were hiding under a rock you probably tuned into the Super Bowl last night! We of course did even though we are the opposite of NFL fans. This is the south and there is only one type of football and that's SEC! Anyway, we have hosted SB parties before and were invited to a couple but we decided to stay at home and have our own little party. I whipped up some fresh salsa , French onion dip and cocktail weenies. Mike made chicken wings which were phenomenal and since I wanted something sweet I decided to try something a little different. I have been seeing different recipes for Cake Batter Cookies all over the web and I settled on working around this recipe. I did tweak it a bit and I think that made all of the difference! These were amazingly delicious and tasted like a cookie, cake and a brownie all in one. They would make the most fabulous whoopie pies! You can customize these anyway you want by adding nuts, candy or chocolate chips. I decided to make them plain since this was my first time. These are an easy and inexpensive homemade dessert anyone will love! 


Cake Batter Cookies

Ingredients

  • One box of cake mix; any flavor(I used double fudge)
  • One egg
  • 1/2 Cup softened butter
  • 3 Tablespoons water
Directions
  1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
  2. Beat together all ingredients with an electric mixer in a large bowl(this mixture will be super sticky)
  3. Use a melon baller to drop 2 inch balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 
  4. Bake 8-9 minutes and remove from oven. Let cookies cool on pan for 2 minutes and then move to rack. 
  5. Enjoy!
These really are an amazing texture that reminds me of an ice-cream sandwich wafer! 
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Sorry about my absence yesterday...it was one of those days that shall not be mentioned again!

Anyway, on to the good stuff. I am a HUGE fan of breakfast, and not only for the morning but for lunch and dinner as well. Here is a little recipe I came up with to make an easy week night dinner that Mike and I both loved. I even had leftovers for breakfast the next day! You can mix this recipe up with different veggies or make it a vegetarian option. There is no way to mess it up. I used what I had on hand but I know the husband would have loved it with some peppers in it as well! If you're making this for dinner I highly recommend serving it with a Mimosa on the side because after a crazy day at the office it is nice to come home to a little champagne! Enjoy!

Turkey Sausage Egg Scramble

Ingredients
  • One cup Jimmy Dean Hearty Turkey Sausage Crumbles
  • Six eggs; beaten(I added a little milk to make them delish)
  • Two cups diced potatoes
  • 3/4 cup chopped onions
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • Veggies of your choice
  • Pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Add oil to pan and heat over medium heat
  2. Add Potatoes and Onions to oiled pan and cook until potatoes are brown and onions are translucent
  3. Add sausage to skillet to warm up(it is pre-cooked)
  4. Add beaten eggs to skillet and begin to move the spatula along the bottom of the pan just like scrambling eggs.
  5. When the eggs are set add pepper and serve
  6. You can top with cheese or anything you'd like
  7. Serve with fresh fruit and a Mimosa

Sausage, Onions and potatoes in skillet prior to adding eggs


Eggs added to cooked potatoes, sausage and onions
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I am a huge fan of the crock-pot aka slow cooker. There is nothing better than coming home from a long day of work to a hot meal that is already ready!! Here is an easy recipe that I derived from my pot roast recipe. This recipe makes such an easy weeknight meal for the whole family! As you can see in the pic below, the chicken just falls apart and there is enough liquid to serve as the gravy! Mike really enjoyed this one and we had leftovers for lunch the next day! Enjoy!



Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken

Ingredients:
  • Three chicken breasts
  • Two packets Lipton Onion Soup Mix
  • One large onion;  coarsely chopped
  • One bag of small carrots
  • One bag of frozen cut green beans
  • One cup of water
Assemble in the Slow cooker:
  1. Put chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot
  2. Cover with Onion Soup mix packets
  3. Put in onion, carrots and green beans
  4. Add water
  5. Set it at Low for 8-10 hours or High for 4-6 hours. And forget it!
Serve:
  • Pull some of the chicken in the crock pot with two forks and let it soak up some of the juice
  • Serve in a bowl over rice with extra au jus!
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Yesterday was game day here in Starkville! With it being a Thursday a.k.a. a business day, the university let us have the afternoon off! How nice huh? It was actually because they needed our very coveted parking spaces. But hey, a free half day off, who would complain? Since Mike did not get a free half day we decided that being able to make it to the game on time would be pretty impossible so we decided to stay home and have our own little tailgate! I personally like this option because it allowed me to wear pj's!

Anyway, there are a TON of Frito Pie recipes on the web but all I did was make my regular chili recipe(below) and then added to it some Frito's in the bottom of a bowl and topped it with fun toppings. I used a rotisserie chicken(from the grocery store) and chopped up the meat to use in the recipe. This will save you a ton of time as you do not have to precook anything before you assemble it in the crock-pot! We love chicken chili even though I know some people will think this is blasphemy but it's much healthier than using red meat and it's still delish. I hope you enjoy this simple recipe with the bonus being that you come home from a long day to a home smelling of warm chili on a cool fall day! Enjoy!



Jen's Easy Crock-pot Chili


Ingredients


  • 1 lb meat of choice(beef, chicken, turkey; I have made this recipe with all three) or I used 2 cups of chopped chicken from a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken
  • 1 large onion; chopped
  • 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes: drain one can and leave the other with the juice
  • 1 can light red kidney beans; drained and rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil(if you need to brown your meat first)
  • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper


Cooking Directions:


  1. If you are using raw meat you need to add the oil to a pan and brown it with half of the onion until done and drain.
  2. Add ALL ingredients to a 4-6qt. slow cooker and mix thoroughly. 
  3. Set the slow cooker to the LOW setting and forget about it for 8-10 hours.

Frito Pie

Ingredients
  • Original Frito's corn chips
  • Chili(recipe above)
  • Shredded Cheddar cheese
  • Sour Cream(optional)
  • Lettuce(optional)
  • Tomato(optional)
  • Jalapeños(optional)
  • Green onions(optional)
Directions:
  1. In a chili bowl, put a layer of Frito's corn chips in the bottom. 
  2. Add chili to the top
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2
  4. Top with Sour Cream and/or optional toppings listed
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About me

I am a constantly caffeinated, thirty-something, mother of two, living in the upstate of South Carolina. I love to explore the world as well as the area right outside of my front door.

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