Sunday, April 7, 2013

SBK 2K13

SBK 2K13 was absolutely perfect.  I spent the first half of the week in Destin with Ashley and Erica and then the fam picked me up and we went to our house in Sandestin.  It was a week full of food, wine, and FUN!

(Pics are a mix from my iPhone and camera)


Our first day on the beach was GORGEOUS!


We had an amazing dinner at Caliza in Alys Beach!


We ventured to the beach one morning for about five minutes...it was CHILLY!






When you can't play on the beach, what do you do?  Euro-bungee!





This love muffin was all over the place!



Tuesday night, we had a wonderful dinner at George's in Alys Beach!




After dinner, we had an impromptu photo shoot!





We enjoyed seeing GrandBobby's new "club" and having lunch with him in between rounds of golf!


All dressed up for dinner!


We all ate WAY too much at Borago Wednesday night!


Lish wanted in on the vino! ha 


GrandBobby and Dee Dee surprised DB with her first trip to Build-A-Bear! 




And she named her....Dancer Crowe!


Thursday night, we had another amazing meal at Bistro Bijoux...our family's fave!


Lish wasn't too sure what to think about her pigtails...



Thank you to GrandBobby and Dee Dee for another wonderful week at the beach.  We're all looking forward to many more trips this summer!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

March Recipe Club

Anna Kate hosted March Recipe Club at her house.  She went with an Easter theme and everything was beautiful!

Sister's table!


Melanie's Hamburger Pie



Preheat the oven to 350.  Heat in a large skillet over medium-high heat:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Cook, breaking up the beef with a spoon, until it is browned and the onion softened, about 10 mins:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
Stir in:
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons chili powder
Cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Stir in:
One 14 1/2 oz can tomatoes with their juice
One 15 1/4 oz can corn, drained or one 10-oz package frozen corn, thawed
Bring to a simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon, and cook 3 minutes.  Stir in:
3/4 teaspoon salt
(1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic)
(1 teaspoon brown sugar)
Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch glass pie pan or 8 x 8 inch baking dish.  Set aside.  Trim the crusts from:
6 slices white sandwich bread
Spread one side of the slices with:
2 Tbsp butter, softened
Cut the bread slices into quarters.  Arrange the quarters buttered side up over the meat mixture, overlapping the pieces by about 1/2 inch and covering the mixture completely.  Gently press the bread down to anchor it to the filling.  Bake until the crust is browned, about 30 mins.





Dee Dee's Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Mushrooms



1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
20 fresh mushrooms, stems removed
1 lb sliced bacon, cut in half

Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, mix together the green onions and cream cheese.  Stuff mushroom caps with the cheese mixture.  Wrap each mushroom with a half-slice of bacon, and secure with a toothpick.  Place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 20 mins in the preheated oven, until the bacon is cooked through.


Virginia's Broccoli Salad



1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup golden raisins
6 slices bacon
1 head broccoli
1 head cauliflower

Chop broccoli and cauliflower into fine pieces.  Cook bacon and crumble.  Mix together mayo, sugar, vinegar and refrigerate.  Right before serving mix everything together.




Caron's Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Citrus and Walnuts



serves 4-6

1.5 pounds brussels sprouts (32)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, melted
2tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 c walnuts toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Boil the brussels sprouts in enough water to cover in a saucepan for 5 minutes.  Drain and cut in half.  Arrange the sprouts on the prepared baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Toss to coat.  Roast for 8 - 10 minutes or until light brown, stirring once.  Mix the butter, lemon juice, orange juice, sugar, orange zest and pepper in a large bowl.  Add the spouts to the butter mixture and toss gently to coat.  Stir in the walnuts and serve immediately.  





Anna Kate's Peach Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin




  • 2 (1 1/4-lb.) pork tenderloins
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 tablespoons butter
    1 large shallot, minced
    1/2 cup peach preserves
    1/3 cup bourbon
    2 tablespoons country-style Dijon mustard
    1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
    1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

  • Preparation:

  • 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Sprinkle tenderloins with salt and black pepper. Cook in hot oil in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
    2. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat; add shallot, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes until tender. Remove from heat, and stir in peach preserves and next 3 ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, 1 minute or until preserves are melted. Pour over tenderloins.
    3. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 150°. Transfer to a cutting board, reserving drippings in skillet. Cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
    4. Meanwhile, stir broth into reserved drippings, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until reduced by half. Serve with sliced tenderloins.



Ashley's Old Fashioned Apple Crisp



from Prime Meridian cookbook


8 large, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Granny Smith)
1 Tb. ground cinnamon
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 c. sugar
1 c. all purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a buttered 13x9 baking dish, place sliced apples. Combine cinnamon and brown sugar. 
Sprinkle apples with half of cinnamon mixture. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, egg, salt and baking powder. Spread over apples. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture over dough. Drizzle butter over top. Bake 40-45 minutes. 

*For a little extra crunch, substitute 1/2 c. regular cooking oatmeal for 1/2 c. flour. I didn't do this, but it would be worth a try.

*If you can remember the vanilla ice cream, this would be delicious served a la mode!





Whitney's Peanut Butter Pie




Filling:

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8-oz. container cool whip

In a large bowl, mix the first 3 ingredients. Fold in the cool whip, and mix well. Put in a graham cracker crust, and refrigerate.

Crust: (From Allrecipes.com)
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Directions
  1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and cinnamon until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate
  2. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Hoppy Sunday!

Hoppy Sunday, y'all!  As I've mentioned before, I inherited my mom's love of bunnies.  In the Decker house, Easter is pretty much the biggest and most celebrated holiday of the year.  I started putting out all my many decorations last weekend...there are bunnies everywhere!  They make me smile and every time I look at them it reminds me of Momma D.  Can't wait to head home in a few weeks to celebrate the wonderful weekend with my family!










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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Kinzi and Tanley's Mexican Fiesta

Last weekend, I had the honor of helping host a Mexican Fiesta for Kinzi and Tanley.  The soiree was held at Superior Grill on their heated patio.  We had a great turnout and it was lots of fun!  Cheers to the happy couple!









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29

It's official...I only have one year left in my 20s.  Surprisingly, turning the big 2-9 wasn't as painful as I thought it would be.  Thank you to all my awesome friends and family who celebrated with me...I'm one lucky gal!  I apologize for the lack of clarity in the photos...these are all from my phone!


I celebrated with Allison, Jessica, Bailey and Casey at Bottega Cafe!




They surprised me with Ashley Mac's cupcakes...my fave!


After dinner, it was off to Tin Roof for some late night dancing!


A birthday for me would not be complete without a cake from The Home Bakery in A'ville...my absolute FAVE!


My wonderful friends at work plus Sister surprised me at Wine Loft...I was speechless when I walked in and saw the group! 


Thanks again to everyone who celebrated with me...I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!  Being a member of the 29 club isn't too bad so far.  I think I've been too busy to really think about it!  Here's to 29...bring on the fun!   :)


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February Recipe Club

Caron hosted February's RC.  Our dishes were a mix of recipes from JOC and personal recipes.  In the midst of all the yumminess of the food, we forgot to vote on the Silver Spoon winner!


Dee Dee's Crawfish Fettuccine


Caron's Meatloaf


Anna Kate's Green Beans


Ashley's Tuscan White Bean Soup


Whitney's Spaghetti Squash


Melanie's Squash Casserole


I made Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake




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