My Favorite Fall Recipe...

Fall is my favorite time of the year because of all the yummy food. Chili, caramel apples, soup, the list goes on. I am drooling now. 

My favorite recipe. The go to. The one that I crave when I am sick or when it is freezing. 

My mama's potato soup. 
 Fair warning- It is addicting and is in no way figure friendly. It is super easy to make though and that makes me super happy.  This makes a huge pot of it for lots of people. You can cut it down if you just want to serve one or two but I never do. I will literally eat this stuff for breakfast lunch and dinner for 3 days. I am obsessed. 

Here it is: 
You need... 
1 box Velveeta, 5lbs potatoes, 1 bag of the broccoli/cauliflower/carrots mixed, 1 large tub of sour cream and salt an pepper. 
Then... 
You boil the potatoes until they are just about done. DO NOT DRAIN THEM. You need the broth. Add the box of Velveeta  and the veggies and the sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Heaven in a bowl folks! 

That is it. That is all you do and then you get Heaven in a bowl. You are welcome. And no I do not have a picture because I devour it every time I make it. Next time I will remember. 

         

Oh How Pinterest... Foodie style

I have not linked up for "Oh, How Pinteresting" in awhile.

Lately, I have been looking for healthy recipes to replace some of favorite foods. I have not been disappointed!

Cornbread stuffing... I love stuffing and cannot wait to try this at the next family dinner.

Source: Skinny Miss via Skinny Miss on Pinterest

Sweet tea. This southern girl has missed sweet tea. Like I have had dreams about sweet tea. 

Source:Skinny Miss via Skinny Ms. on Pinterest

And then there is pizza. My favorite food ever. 

Source: Closet Cooking Via Rachel on Pinterest

A little inspiration...

Source: Happy Healthy Inspire via Skinny Ms on Pinterest

Healthy Taco Salad

Lately my go to lunch has been a healthy version of a  taco salad. It's a super easy work lunch and it tastes amazing.

Ingredients:

Ground chicken 

Bell peppers 

The following are to taste... I like mine spicy so I put a lot of Red pepper flakes and chili podwer. 

Cumin

Garlic

Red pepper flakes

Parsley

Oregano

Black pepper

Chili powder

Brown the ground chicken with the spices and then throw in the bell peppers and sautee them. 

Then when I get to work I throw it all on a bed of lettuce with a corn tortilla cut into strips. Top it with a low fat cheese. (I use Weight Watcher jalepeno cheese sticks)

The whole lunch is 335 calories. Amazing!! It is so good and so filling. 

Let me know if you try it! 

Oh How Pinteresting

I love this link up. You get to see all the randomness that caught my A.D.D eye. There is no rhyme or reason to this one. That seems to be my thing this week.

Source: Tumblr via Angela B on Pinterest

Source: Gypsy Farm Girl via Keeley R

Source: Project Decor via Tracey C. on Pinterest

Source: Tumblr via Donna H

Source: The comfort of cooking via James N

             

The easiest mac and cheese

I know you guys cannot wait for me to spill the Thanksgiving fun that occurred at the Hermann/Castleberry households. I am going to keep it very brief, because Saturday AM I thought I had manly muscles and lifted a box that weighed a ton. That resulting in my back muscles pulling. This post is fueled by wine and maybe a 303 pill. This should go swimmingly.

Me and sissy Anna!

So Thursday we woke up and made amazing mac and cheese for my family's dinner. It was seriously the easiest and we made it in the crockpot. I forgot to take pictures but here is the recipe.
16 ounces elbow pasta
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs beaten
1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cheddar soup
1 cup 2% milk
1/8 teaspoon paprika (I left this out)
*Cook the macaroni and drain it. Put it in the crockpot and pour butter on top. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and pour them in the crockpot. Stir it all in and let cook for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. YUM.

We went to my gradmother's house and had lunch there. It was pretty low key. No drama, just people in every corner mapping out Black-Friday strategies. I passed on that fun. We then rushed home and through on rolls for his family dinner. My A.D.D kicked in and video games and youTube cause us to burn the only rolls I had prepared. Oops. I swear I can never smoothly prepare for any of his family get togethers. We ended up going to the store and getting the last brown-n-serve rolls they had. Sorry I suck Hermann family, sorry I suck.

We then went to mom's where our little show horse decided to come down with a case of lamnitis, which could potentially put him out of work forever. It can even kill him. We caught it early and took turns cold hosing his sore legs.

Sissy Sara came home to take care of him because he is her baby and it looks like she may be staying. Thank God. My mom was worrying herself to death. Let's hope she stays home where she belongs. By the end of the night she seemed more like herself. We watched movies and looked at cows ( yes, cows) for the farm up here. Two cattle farms will be interesting. I am excited though. Ranching is what hubs loves to do and dad really seems to want to add another herd. 

All in and all it was a peaceful Thanksgiving. Now to to kick it into gear for Christmas!

Fall food is not figure friendly.

Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pies, pecan pies, turkey, dressing... 

Its all so yummy, but my hips don't lie. My hubs love the stick-to-your-ribs, fall food and he is a man so he can eat it and not have to worry about squeezing into skinny jeans. 

Ya'll take a minute to picture this manly man in skinny jeans.... 

The thought makes me laugh until I cry. 

Tonight I made the easiest stuff that felt heavy and fallish, but didn't have 10 billion calories. 

Grab your crockpot. 

Through in a pound of stew meat. 

2 cans of low fat cream of mushroom soup

1 pack of onion soup mix. 

That is it. Serve it over rice or egg noodles  It is ugly but delicious. That is why you are not getting a picture. I don't want to scare you from trying it. 

But really. Try it. 

Social Sunday- Food talk!

1. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Potatoes. I love them fried, baked, twice baked, au gratin. YUM

2. What’s your guilty pleasure/comfort food?

I am so southern, give me chicken and mashed potatoes any day for comfort food. When I am sick I crave it. We are trying to cut down on meat products and it sucks. 

3. What’s the weirdest/craziest thing you’ve ever eaten?

I don't really eat anything weird. I eat authentic southern cuisine. Sometimes that can be weird and questionable.   

4. What foods do you avoid at all costs?

Yogurt. I can't do the texture. I really wish I could. Oh and catfish. Gross. 

5. What meal reminds you of your childhood?

Cornbread and pinto beans. 

6. Share one of your favorite recipes and the story behind it.                                                    My mama's potato soup. mmm... WARNING- It's addicting and sticks to your thighs. 

1 box Velveeta, 5lbs potatoes, 1 bag of the broccoli/cauliflower/carrots mixed, 1 large tub of sour cream and salt an pepper. 

You boil the potatoes until they are just about done. DO NOT DRAIN THEM. You need the broth. Add the box of Velveeta  and the veggies and the sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Heaven in a bowl folks!

Big 'Ol Lemons

Life gave me lemons today. Big sour lemons. Lemons that made me angry and when I am angry I cry. I ordered the lemons 3 weeks ago without even realizing. I saw it happening but couldn't do anything to stop it. We loaned our car to a relative, who in return trashed it and got it impounded. I should have followed that gut feeling. We now have to hope we can sell it for salvage to cover some of our losses. It seems that house of ours must wait again. 

Oh well, if you read my "B" blog , you know I find beauty or the positive in everything. I made a list to keep me from crying even more. 
1) Less car insurance once we sell it.
2) We tried to do a good deed.
3) We can car shop or put money into my project truck so that we have 2 cars, and I love picking out cars. 
4) We needed a truck anyways.
5) We learned who we can really trust through it all.  

In the mean time I will drink an adult beverage and share my lemonade recipe. 

You need a 2 quart pitcher

1 cup of fresh squeezed lemonade

2 cups of sugar (yes 2)and the juice of one clementine. Okay, here is the most important part, throw the clementine in the pitcher and stir and DO NOT remove it. Then serve in a chilled mason jar because there  is no other way to drink lemonade.  If you guys try it and like it let me  know.

Love 

-M

Lake Burton- Where I would love to be sipping my lemonade right now

Fall!!!

We are now officially in the fall season. I love fall, so to celebrate I went shopping for cozy fall clothes. I love fall clothes. Hoodies, jeans, sweatshirts and sweaters, all comfort clothes. So i bought this great gray/black cowl neck sweater and some new dark jeans. I am so excited to wear them. They also had some glittery flats that looked like converse shoes. CUTE! I cannot wait to go back.

After shopping, I went to spend the rest of the day with Chris. We made buffalo chicken dip, which is awesome for football games and only takes 20 minutes to make! Here is the recipe from Ginger! :

2 10oz cans of chicken drained (I like to use two whole chicken breast if I have time.)

2 8oz packs of cream cheese

1 cup of ranch

1 cup of hot sauce (I use Texas Petes)

1.5 cups of cheddar cheese shredded

Mix it all up and put it in a casserole dish. Throw it in the oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve it with Fritos scoops, tortilla chips or my favorite- Pita bread. It is addicting and while it sounds so bad for you it makes 20 servings. It is super filling and each serving is only 283 calories, so eat up!

Ps- went to Petco where a dog stole my heart. I cant have another but if anyone is looking for a great dog, let me know.