4th

You may (or may not) be wondering how we spent the 4th?  Why, covered in red, white, and blue while frolicking amongst Lexington, dancing like crazy, gazing in delight at the majestic fireworks illuminating the sky, boozin' it up with friends galore, and grilling masterpieces designed for magazines, of course!  UMMMM....NOT.  No.  Mother Nature is a huge biiiiiotch and quite literally pissed on our party.  Like, totally.  You know this.  It's no secret that we've ALLLLLLL been incredibly displeased with the rain for the past week.  Ugh, ugh, ugh!  It's like I ranted in my Facebook post, "All rain and no pool makes Abby a dull girl."  True dat because this tanaholic chicka was freaking out about losing her tan prior to our beach vacay in this next week!  Yes, shamefully, I admit it, My name is Abby and I am a tan-a-holic. I DID get my sun on today, though!  And will be for the entire next week at the beach...hollllllllllerrrrrrrrr!  Also, if you're bored while I'm out and about, read my LAST POST for some inspiration...or my attempt at helping others.  Whatever, I deserve a clap for attempting to be theoretical :)  Bahahaha.  Seriously though, check it out...it IS a good (and somewhat funny...okay, a lot funny...at least I think so) read!  Boom.

Our beautiful babe!

Aaaaaanyway, we spent our day (despite the rain) loving time with each other.  We cuddled, we snuggled, and we played and played and played and played some more.  Hey, we have a toddler on our hands and he doesn't give a rat's patoot if it's raining or not, he's gonna get his play on...and that he did!  Daddy deserved a day off so we had a nice day of relaxing.  Jack had turned 15 months the day before and got some shots that knocked him on his booty so it was nice for him to get a day to recharge and refuel his batteries.

We didn't want the whole day to mean nothing, so we cooked an AMAZING dinner to say the least!  We had grilled scallops, Mahi-Mahi, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and this shrimp recipe I'll share below.  It was delicious...and I am so, sooooo proud to say that the J-man tried (AND LOVED) every single bit of it!  I'm so happy we have a boy who isn't afraid to try new things and then likes them!

EASY-PEASY SHRIMPY:

**Preheat oven to 350

**Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil

**Melt an entire stick of butter in oven on sheet

**Slice up fresh lemon

In the meantime:

• Melt a stick of butter with 3 gloves of minced garlic in microwave (about 30-45 seconds).  Once butter is melted, squeeze an entire fresh lemon into the mix

Back to baking sheet:

• layer slices of lemon on top of melted butter
• dip each fresh shrimp in garlic lemon butter mix and put on top of lemon slices and butter
• Repeat until all shrimp is gone
• Use Italian dressing seasoning packet and sprinkle atop shrimp on baking sheet
• Bake 15 min.
• Voila!  Serve!  DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELISCIOUS!!!!!!  And if my 15 month old likes it, you have no excuse either.  

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Biscuit Cups and Zesty Italian Bacon Foil Potatoes

...soooo, there I was the other night, staring into the seemingly black abyss that is our pantry, mentally combining ingredients, ransacking a plethora of combo nothingness (or so I briefly negated) and brainstorming ideas of things we could possibly have.  Quite literally, I am sick of the same ol', same ol'...so I had an idea to shake things up a little and get a bit crafty.  And well, it turned out petty danged amazing, if I do say so myself (yup, toot, toooooooot goes my horn).   It got the Brad Thomas stamp of approval so that's vindication in and of itself.

What did I put together?  BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Biscuit Cups and boy were they YUMMMMM-O!

What you need:
muffin tin
1 lb lean ground beef browned
1 can Pillsbury Southern Style Biscuits
6-8 slices bacon (I chopped it and put it with the ground beef while it browned)
3 cloves minced garlic
2 T Worchestershire sauce
2 T prepared mustard
2 T ketchup
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup BBQ sauce

To make:

Preheat oven to 350, according to biscuit instructions

Brown ground beef in skillet with chopped bacon and minced garlic over medium heat

Drain and return to skillet

add next 5 ingredients and bring to light boil

reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes

in the meantime, roll out each biscuit individually

spray muffin tins with Pam

use rolled dough and lightly line cup

use a Tablespoon to add meat mixture until almost full

fold up sides of biscuit dough and use fingers to form a seal

Repeat with all biscuits and meat mixture

Heat for 15-17 minutes

ENJOY!

We served them with these:

Zesty Italian Bacon Foil Packet Potatoes

You'll need:

3 sheets of heavy-duty foil
6-8 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
8 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon
1 packet Zesty Italian dressing mix
Seasoned Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
Sour cream for serving, if desired

To make:
1. Spray each sheet of foil with cooking spray. Top each piece with equal portions of potatoes, bacon, and ranch dressing mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each serving. Wrap securely.

2. Grill for 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve in foil, topped with sour cream if desired.

and how can I leave you without pics of my precious babe!?

Jackman and his Aunt Prissy :)

THESE are the pictures that make my day EVERYDAY!  I mean, just look at him, how could they not?!?

us enjoying the PERFECT weather :)

Easy Cheesy Burritos

It was one of those nights...I had gotten home from work and was none too keen on the idea of whipping up something majestic in the ole kitchen for dinner.  I was tired, I was over it...it had a been a long day...wen well, we didn't have much that seemed to go together; thus, my slate was clean and I had a blank canvas in which I could paint upon ingredients and combinations of my choosing.  That can be an excellent thing or that can be a nasty thing.  Lucky for us, it was a GREAT thing!  I found soft tortilla shells, can after can of chili ready tomatoes, taco seasoning, etc.  Thus, I decided to make a type of baked burrito...we'll call them Easy Cheesy Burritos, if you will.

What you need:

1 lb ground beef

1 can chopped green chiles

1 can Del Monte Chili Ready Tomatoes

I packet taco seasoning

6 soft taco tortillas

2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar

1 cup shredded pepper jack (I used sharp cheddar with horseradish [found at local Kroger - AMAZE.])

1 Tbsp cumin

2 Tbsp minced onion

1 beer

To make:

Preheat oven to 375.

Lightly spray 13 x 9" baking dish

Brown ground beef in skillet (as it is browning season with sprinkles of cumin and minced onion until all gone); drain and return meat to skillet.

Stir in taco seasoning packet and use beer instead of water (optional)

Allow mixture to simmer until all liquid is absorbed; stir in chopped green chiles, tomatoes, and cup of pepper jack until well mixed and cheese is melted in mixture.

Hold tortilla in palm of hand and spread meat mixture down center, then roll as tightly as possible and place seam up in baking dish.

Repeat process until all meat mixture is used and/ or you cannot fit anymore burritos into dish.

Cover with 2 cups of finely shredded sharp cheddar.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

Allow 3-5 to cool before serving with sour cream.

Yum, yum, yummmmmmmy!  AND, I might add, these were DELICIOUS and B and I both agree that they were even better and all that much yummier reheated the following day as leftovers!  

Enjoy!

Lean Mean Chicken Skewer Cuisine!

B and  discovered this SUPER EASY recipe for some grilled chicken deliciousness a while back and it has been our go to chicken/ meat marinade since.  Over time, we have added to it and cultivated it to be our own and more adept to our preferences and well, we love it so I thought I'd share.  Believe me, it's SO easy and it's SO yummy...each time, B and I are calling dibs on the last bite.  Real talk.

What you'll need:

**1-2lbs chicken breast tenderloins or 3-4 breasts cut into tenderloin size

**3 T soy sauce

**3 T teriyaki sauce

**3 T Worcestershire sauce (we like the extra tenderizing) 

**3 T olive oil

**1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice

**4-6 1/2 tsp minced garlic (1- 1/2 tsp. typically equals 1 clove and I say this so you can adjust according to your preference)

**3-4 dashes of Tabasco sauce (adjust according to preference)

**1/2 tsp salt or seasoned salt (we use seasoned)

**1/2 tsp black pepper

****I also add 1/2 Tbsp. dill and 1/2 Tbsp minced onion, but these are completely optional****

****I also let my measurements of the soy, teriyaki, and worcy sauce spill over a little as I'm measuring into the bowl...whoopsie :)  (it's a delicious whoopsie - like I've mentioned in over recipes, I don't really use measurements, I cook according to taste and preference :))****

**6-10 bamboo skewers (depending on how many tenders you'll be grilling - I usually do 2 tenderloins per skewer, if you need a point of reference)

What you need to do:

1) combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl (except chicken and bamboo skewers); mix well.

2) wash and prepare chicken tenderloins or cut them to tenderloin size if necessary

3) immerse chicken tenderloin pieces in marinade mix.  Use hands to ensure all pieces are coated thoroughly.

4) cover bowl and refrigerate a minimum of 1 hour (I like to prepare the marinade the night before and then drop the chicken in the morning and allow it to marinade all day - sometimes, we even marinade it over night!  But, if you do not have time for all that or if you forget, an hour in the 'fridge works just fine and is just as tasty!)

5) Once marinaded, remove chicken from fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 20 min. so it is not too super cold when it hits the grill (this can mess up your grill distribution and/ or cooking)

6) While chicken is sitting out or while it is still marinating, soak bamboo skewers in water for about 30 min. (this will prevent it splitting or splintering your chicken!)

7) remove bamboo skewers from water and shake excess water from stick.  Skewer two tenderloins per stick by threading them through to ensure they will not fall off.

8) use meat/ marinade brush to apply additional marinade.

9) Make sure some sort of high heat nonstick grill spray is sprayed on grill prior to placing chicken upon it.  Then, grill each skewer 4-6 minutes per side.  in last few minutes of grilling, brush on additional marinade to give a delicious extra glaze/ crust.  

10) serve and enjoy!

**we also use this marinade when just grilling regular chicken breasts or even as a marinade for other meats, recipes, and a dipping sauce.  It's delicious and we hope you enjoy it too!

 We ate ours tonight with my Italian parmesean potatoes which are so easy to make as well:

I boil Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes until tender.  Then, I toss with butter, minced garlic, parmesean cheese, sprinkles of dill, and an Italian dressing seasoning packet -->adding little bits of each at a time until all potatoes are evenly (and heavily) coated with all add-ins.  They sit for a minute, I add a squirt of fresh lemon juice, and then I literally devour them as they are so delicious with this little Italian seasoned/ parmesean crust..AMAZING!

And of course, what recipe is complete without a shout-out to my sensational sous chef?!?  One Mr. Jack R. Thomas!!!  Note: B is the grillmaster - props to him on perfection there!

Guess WHO was messing with her PictureShow app this afternoon?!?  Sorry, but I just love making different variations of precious pics of my sweet babe...

THEN, Jackman took himself a little nap and well, Sleeping Beauty would like you to know that YES, it most definitely WAS a magnificent nap and YES, he does indeed feel pretty and witty and briiiiiiight (you know that commercial with all the babies and their bedheads upon waking up?!?  Jack was totally ROCKIN' that vibe and we were DYING!).

Chicken Scampi Roll-ups (and a rambling or two)

Recipe round 2 for this little chicky this week and guess what I used?  Chicky!  Duh.  Prior pun intended.  This recipe was COMPLETELY made up by yours truly so you may think it's disgusting or you may love it...but can you do me a favor?  If you hate it, could you refrain from spreading the word to too many folk about what a hot mess I was in the creation department?!?  Thanks.

A coinciding side story to ramble for a minute...  You must know that I've reeeeeally enjoyed being home this Christmas break because 1) getting to spend all this time with my boy has been more than incredible (obviously) and 2) getting to pretend I am a stay-at-home mom and housewife and getting to actually reeeeally try new things in the kitchen has been wonderful for the life and times of the terrific Thomases (or at least we think we are).  I've had some super homemade deliciousness awaiting the hubs on the dinner table upon his arrival home from work every single night, all the while, the house is clean and things are picked up.  Believe me, I'm soaking alllllll of these days off in as it is my dream to eventually be able to be a SAHM, so I can maybe prove I can do this to one Mr. B. Thomas (not that he doubts that I can) and dominate it while I'm at it.  Then we can potentially go on and move this fantasy to reality status?!?  A girl can dream, I suppose...

Also (and to complete my random ramblings for the day), I simply HAVE TO show you this fabulousness from my mother-in-law and father-in-law and brag on them for a minute...

These were part of my Christmas present from them.  I've been wanting some FOREVER and most of you know that I like things to be different and not all matchy-matchy.  I definitely have ideas of styles of my own and like to be unique.  I think these plates are more fun all mismatched so that's just what I asked for and EXACTLY what I received!  My mother-in-law picked out the styles and designed them for me herself...and well, she ROCKED it!!!  I LOVE them and even moreso that SHE designed them, keeping with my request that they are indeed not all matchy-matchy.  Simply put, they're just too fabulous for words!  I cannot wait to customize more and add more mismatched funky, colorful patterns and styles to my collection!  See the plates for yourself and get some (or 10) customized for your kitchen HERE (LA plates!)

Okay, so now that I've gotten a bit way off track here, let's get back to this recipe business.  Chicken Scampi Roll-ups. We liked it.  Very much so, in fact ( and obviously, seeing as how I'm posting it and encouraging you to make it for yourself!), but I should warn you that you must have quite a fancy for garlic to enjoy it to its fullest (and intended) potential.  Let me also preface this by saying that I have completely avoided the grocery store over my time off, so I've had to get quite crafty and quite creative with the ingredients of my recipes because I am limited to what we have in our pantry.  This may not be full on "exactly" what a scampi entails, but hey...I went with what I had.
Thus, I put down some chicken and started brainstorming.  We had butter.  We had garlic.  We had lasagna noodles, but no manicotti, ravioli, or large shells.  We had flour, basil, and other items of the seasonings alike so a lightbulb was going off in my brain.  B and I both really love Shrimp Scampi, so I thought I'd make a chicken scampi...and since we did not have penne, bowtie pasta, or even macaroni noodles, I had to get downright resourceful with the complementing noodles to make a full-on dish out of it.  

**Also, it must be mentioned that I rarely use measurements when cooking, so all of these given in the ingredients list are approximations and you may adjust as you deem necessary while preparing.  Yes, I am one of those crazies who cooks according to taste...

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Chicken mixture/ roll-ups-

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 large) cooked (I poach - NOT boil) and shredded/ chopped (fine pieces)

 6 lasagna noodles broken in half and cooked al-dente

2 sticks (1 cup) butter (do not use margarine)

3 cloves minced garlic (if you use the "Spice World" organic brand from the jar like I do, it's 1 1/2 tsp)

2 T all purpose flour

3 T grated parmesean cheese

1 T white wine
1 T chives

2 tsp. rosemary

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. garlic salt

1 T minced onion

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 cup sour cream

*I also added several sprinklings of this Citrus Basil Rub from Pampered Chef kitchen (truth be told, I pretty much add this stuff to everything...it's deeeeeelish!  Added to some red or Yukon gold potatoes?  Holy moly, it's an awesome side, but that's a different recipe, different day)

Basting/ Baking Sauce (to coat roll-ups prior to baking)-

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter

2 cloves minced garlic (1 tsp from jar)

1 1/2 T all purpose flour

2 T grated Parmesean cheese

2 tsp. basil

1 tsp. garlic salt

**2 cups finely shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend and 1/3 cup grated Parmesean cheese to cover and top all (not added to baking sauce mixture)

What you do:

Chicken mixture/ roll-ups-

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) poach chicken breasts by bringing to a gentle boil on medium to medium high heat.  Once chicken is done, remove from water and finely chop/ shred according to size preference 

3) While chicken is poaching, prepare sauce for chicken mixture: add garlic and butter to medium pot and cook over medium low heat until butter is melted and mixture is flagrant.  Add white wine, then gradually add 1 T of flour at a time and continue stirring until mixture is smooth and thickened. 

4) Remove butter mixture from heat and stir in parmesean cheese and chives.

5) WAIT until chicken is DONE until you start the lasagna noodles.  Then, bring water to a rapid boil over high heat and add noodles, boiling until al-dente (about 8-9 min.)

6) While noodles are cooking, prepare chicken mixture - in large bowl, add chicken and stir in rosemary, basil, garlic salt, minced onion and ground black pepper.  I even added a few squeezes of lemon.  Next, add sour cream and mix until chicken mixture is even coated with spices and light coating of sour cream.  Finally, add garlic butter mixture to chicken and stir until chicken is coated evenly. 

7) Once lasagna noodles are cooked appropriately, remove from heat and drain. In a buttered an 8 x 8" dish (I used a 9 x 13" and it was too big), add rolls...  To make roll-up: take one lasagna noodle and add 1 to 2 T of chicken mixture along the flatness of the noodle and then roll from the bottom up, creating a smaller roll.  Place seam down on the buttered dish. Repeat this process until all noodles are used and chicken mixture is gone.  Make sure ends roll-ups are placed close together so if some come out during baking, it will help in reducing the amount out (at least that's my theory).

BASTING SAUCE:

8) Prepare basting sauce in EXACT same way as before for adding to chicken mixture.  Pour over rolls, careful to coat each one with an even distribution and so all the roll-ups are wet with the sauce.  

BAKING THEM:

9) Once roll-ups are coated in basting mixture, cover with two cups of mozzarella or Italian cheeses.

10) Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 7 minutes uncovered.

Voila!  It was super tasty deeeeeelish!  I hope you try it and enjoy it too...we sure did!  You can also adjust the number of roll-ups to your family's needs by having more chicken breasts and more lasagna noodles.  We most definitely had leftovers from our dinner sesh.

**I wish I had taken a picture so you could see...they really turned out quite pretty, but I'll leave you a few pics of my sweet little guy who has become quite the handy helper in the kitchen here lately (ha! more like, you're in there Mommy, so I'll crawl around and get. into. everything. possible.).



AND...it absolutely MUST be said: the colors of his UnderArmor are in NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM reflective of his fanship and liking of collegiate basketball squads.  We could not find any for his age/ size in blues when we bought this and thought if anything, it'd be reflective of my high school or just a red, white, and black shirt.  He WILL be cheering on the C-A-T-S CATS CATS CATS tomorrow, without question so please do not be mistaken and save the comments for someone somewhere else :)   GO CATS!

You know those Christmas tree cakes thingys?!?  We love them and well, so does he...obviously!

What you should make for dinner tonight!

or tomorrow...it's kinda late now...so your neighborhood friendly blogger here has your dinner plans ready for your fixin'!  And trust me, this shiznit is the legiznit.  Real talk.

Bacon Wrapped Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

What you'll need:

**1 lb ground beef

**12 slices bacon (7 cooked and crumbled; 5 [raw] for later in the recipe)

**1 (8-ounce) package finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

**2 large eggs, lightly beaten

**1/4 cup bread crumbs

**1/4 cup sour cream (you could use mayo, but we all know how I feel about THAT - seriously, I'm dry heaving just thinking about it)

**3 T Worcestershire sauce (2 T and then 1T)

**1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

**1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

**1 T minced onion

**1/2 cup ketchup (break into 1/4 cup servings for recipe purposes)

**3 T prepared mustard (2T and then 1T)

**1 can French fried onions

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In large bowl, combine the ground beef and next 11 ingredients, mixing well.

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce

Press meat mixture into a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan, or shape into loaf in an 8 by 8" dish.  Spread remaining ketchup mixture over the meatloaf.

Use remaining 5 strips of bacon to drape over loaf in dish.  Bake for 55 minutes.

Upon removal at 55 min., top with half of French fried onions and turn oven to broil on high to make bacon crispy.  Leave meatloaf in for approx. 3-4 min.

Take out, then top with remaining French's fried onions and put back in oven on 350 for 5-7 min.

Let meatloaf stand for 5-10 minutes prior to serving and um, it. is. delicious!



**SIDENOTE: I made an extra ketchup mixture for dipping/ coating when eating and it was amazing!


Yum, yum, yummmmmm!!!!

weekend GOOD eats

Since I am feeling hippo-sized these days (and quite uncomfortable I might add) B and I have been using free weekends to rest and hang out together, enjoying our last weeks as just us two.  Thus, we've been having some delicious dishes and while quite simple, I still feel they're worth sharing...

Last night (Saturday), we had fajitas...but they were not your normal fajitas, we used a different marinade (I HATE the powdered, packaged crap) and I added in some other flavors of my own...
Unique Fajitas-

What you need...

steak cut into strips (you can get at the grocery, or ask the butcher at the grocery to cut a steak into strips)

shredded sharp cheddar and shredded Mexican cheeses

container of half a fresh pineapple core

bleu cheese crumbles

1 onion, sliced into small strips

Lawry's Signature Steakhouse 30-minute marinade

bacon

fajita size tortillas

sour cream

To make:

put steak in a large bowl and cover completely with marinade.  Cover.  Allow to marinate at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator; then 20 more minutes outside of fridge.

Preheat oven according to package instructions for fajita tortillas.  

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in large skillet

toss in desired amount of onions.  Cook onions until becoming softer and opaque, (at this time, I add a dash of sugar and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar).

In another skillet, cook bacon over medium heat.  Once cooled, break into pieces.

Add in steak and cook 3-4 minutes until desired cook is achieved.

To prepare fajitas:

spread a thin layer of sour cream over one fajita shell

add some pieces of fresh pineapple

add 3-4 strips of steak/ onion mixture, including some sauce\

sprinkle with desired amount of shredded cheeses

sprinkle with bacon pieces

sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles

Roll up and eat...voila!

This recipe may sound random, but it is DELICIOUS!!!  I got the pineapple idea from a Mexican restaurant in Bowling Green that my old roomie, Katie, and I would frequent on our own and with her family when we were in college. We fell in love with the pineapple fajitas and ever since, I ALWAYS have pineapple added to my steak fajitas...it just adds an incredible tanginess!

This morning, we had leftover fajita tortillas and some sausage that was about to pass its expiration date so B and I decided to have BREAKFAST burritos!  Seeing the recipe from above, you KNOW I had to get creative!
Zesty Breakfast Burritos-

What you will need:

1 can chopped green chiles

6 eggs

bacon

1 roll of sausage meat

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced Swiss cheese

half of an onion cut into small strips

fajita shells

To make:

cook sausage over medium heat in large skillet (crumble as you cook); drain and set aside.

heat one tablespoon butter over medium heat; add onions and cook until opaque in color; add a dash of sugar and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar; set aside.

cook bacon over medium heat until desired cook is achieved; drain; set aside.

break 6 eggs into a bowl; gently whisk.

add to heated skillet and cook until firm, scrambling to be soft and fluffy.

once eggs fluffiness is achieved, add chopped green chiles and onions.

Mix together and heat 1 minute longer.

cover eggs with sliced Swiss Cheese and heat until melted.

To prepare burritos:

add bits of crumbled sausage to tortilla

cover with desired amount of egg mixture

sprinkle shredded cheddar over mixture

top with 2 strips of bacon.

Roll up and eat! 

ENJOY!!!

Yum, yum, yummmmmy!

Super Bowl Sunday treats and fun

Beth and Kody came over for a mini Super Bowl parrrtaaaay!  We spent last year's Super Bowl with them as well...so maybe it's becoming a tradition?!?

Beth and I met 2 years ago after my last extensive knee surgery.  She was my physical therapist and I was there so much, we hit it off and became fast and close friends.  I absolutely adore everything about her...she is truly amazing...my long lost sister that I find myself asking, where in the heck have YOU been all my life??  Her husband, Kody, is no exception to that either.  He is just as incredible and we absolutely love nothing more than being with them or having them over...always a great time!  B spent the day finding random little things that he knew would make Kody laugh...things that only a picture can kind of explain.  They're dorks...and you may see these things and think...ummmm, seriously?!?  So...I'll leave it to your imagination, but it may or may not have involved a life size Tony Stewart stand-up and a large plastic stand up cooler that B somehow obtained from a gas station a few years ago.

I do have to pause for a moment and toot my mother-in-law's horn.  She and Dan (B's dad - my F.I.L.) live in Indianapolis and are season ticket holders for the Colts games.  Since the Colts did not exactly have the best season this year, the next best thing was for her to get involved with all the festivities...and boy did she EVER! She got to be on the sound crew for the halftime show and other pre and post game festivities!  She knew who Madonna's guest performers were far before the rest of the world, and she had seen the performances days before we laid our eyes upon it too.  She practiced for days beforehand and had many scheduled responsibilities for making it the fantastic show it was!  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she had a blast!  We loved getting text messages through the night from her and enjoyed every minute of searching the screen to get a glimpse of her in action.  Being the foul-minded friend I can tend to be, I was trying to get her to play a little "grab ass" with the players who WERE that close that she could literally touch...well, or an ahhh hemmm..."accidental" fall with coincidental grab ass?!?  Bahahahahaha, but anyway, we really are so, so proud of her - she goes through life with such zest, charisma, and character and lives by the mantra of "enjoying every last minute to the fullest".  I just love her for who she is and who she inspires us all to be and the grandmother she already is to Spencer and Jillian and will be to Jack!!!  Here's to you, Melva...you da bomb dot com!!!

We non-entertainment business folk spent the day preparing.  Like I said, B was finding randomness to delight Kody, but I spent the day preparing some deliciousness...or so I think it is!   Did you know the ENTIRE city of Lexington was out of Lil' Smokies?!?  Or at least they were when we were at the several different stores multiple times...booooo...this preggo REALLY wanted a few piggies n' blankets!!  Maybe it was better I didn't since all that isn't too sensational for little homey.  Thus, I improvised and made my first batch of sausage pinwheels.  We also had: Bacon-Jalapeno dip; BBQ baked potatoes; chocolate chip dip; and mini Oreo Cheesecakes.  Kody and Beth brought over the old faithful: cheesy buffalo chicken ranch dip! Yummmmmmooooo!

People are always asking me for some of my recipes, so are some that I thought I'd share from our treats for you to make and try out on your own1  Hope you like 'em!

Bacon-Jalapeno Dip

YOU WILL NEED: 8 ounces cream cheese, 2 cups shredded cheddar (or 1 cup shredded cheddar and 1 cup shredded pepper-jack), 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup milk, 4 slices chopped bacon, 1 tablespoon bacon drippings, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 1 cup crushed Ritz cracker crumbs mixed with butter, and 2 thinly sliced jalapenos or 1/4 cup diced. 

TO MAKE: Preheat oven to 350.  Cook bacon over skillet and reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings.  Mix all ingredients together and spread into 8" x 8" baking dish. Top with crushed Ritz crackers mixed slightly with melted butter.  Bake at 350 for 30 min., until golden and bubbly.

BBQ Baked Potatoes:

This is the first thing B and I make a literal beeline for once we get into Commonwealth every UK game - they're the BEST!

YOU WILL NEED: large baking potatoes, butter, shredded cheese, shredded cheddar, chives, pre-made/ pre-packaged BBQ (we like Jack Daniel's or Curly's), and sour cream.

TO MAKE: bake potatoes until done.  Heat up BBQ over stovetop (I add some more BBQ sauce and apple cider vinegar). Fix potato according to liking, but we make them loaded: butter, cheese, sour cream, chives, etc.  Then, top with BBQ and additional sauce according to preference.  Voila!  YUM, YUM, YUMMMMY!!!

Chocolate Chip Dip:

YOU WILL NEED: 8 ounces cream cheese; 8 tablespoons butter; 3/4 cup powdered sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; and 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips.

TO MAKE: mix all ingredients together, except chocolate chips.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Chill for 1-2 hours and serve with graham cracker sticks.  Enjoy!

Mini-Oreo Cheesecakes:

YOU WILL NEED: 12 "Double-Stuf Oreo" Cookies; 2-8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 2 eggs.

TO MAKE: 

*Line twelve tin-foil baking cups in muffin tins.  Split each cookie, keeping filling intact on one cookie half.  *Place a cookie half with filling in each cup, filling side up.

*In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until smooth.  Add eggs.  Beat on low speed just until combined.  Spoon mixture into cups.  Crush remaining cookies; sprinkle on top of cream cheese mixture.

*Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until set (tops may indent slightly).  Cool.  Cover and chill for 1 to 24 hours.  To serve, remove bake cups.