B needs your vote!

For those of you that don't know, B does pageants.  During her second pageant, she won the top prize for her age division, which included a crown and sash.     She's only done two pageants in her entire career...lol. For both, she wore the dress you see above. I won't even go on my tangent about the price of gowns and what people are willing to pay for said gowns. Chile. Not me.  I gave B a budget and she found this dress in the clearance section of DavidsBridal online.  We lucked up finding it in one of the stores in the city. We had it altered (shortened and some of the netting taken out) and it has served us  well.   For the state competition, however, B THINKS she wants a new dress.  She found these dresses and can't decide which she likes better. That's where you come in! Cast your vote in the comments please to help B decide on her next winning dress!    

1. This yellow is my favorite! It is also the most expensive not including alterations. It also comes in a hot pink that we like.           2. B likes this purple because of the "princess cut" but she doesn't think it is "blingy" enough


 3. Dark purple. B like this one but, again, not blingy enough and the waist part looks "wonky" according to her. This one is my least favorite

      4. This is my second favorite but B's least favorite. She said if we could get Ms. Suzie (the seamstress) to make it more sparkly the dress would have a chance      OK party people, what do y'all think? B can't wait to hear from you! Seriously. She's gonna get on my nerves asking "have the people spoken?" lololol        

Thursday Throwback: Circque

 
   

  Last year.  Every time Cirque comes through, B and I are in the building!  Hope me, my sister and oldest daughter get to see a show when we go to Vegas in August! I hear it is even better.

Baked Macaroni and Cheddar

  Confession: before I learned how to, sho nuff, cook and well before I took my high blood pressure seriously, I was a FAITHFUL processed cheese user.  There was something about that melty 'goodness' that made every cheeseable food taste better!

  Well, the more knowledgeable I became about my high blood pressure and about food in general, the more things I completely eliminated out of my diet.  Processed cheese food was part of the first wave of eliminations. 

However, I did not want to give up my occasional comfort foods like macaroni and cheese. So I had to learned how to make creamy goodness without the artificial stuff.  Can I tell you that in the beginning it was a struggle! I just couldn't wrap my had around a béchamel sauce for mac and cheese.  When I was learning the proper way to make the sauce it was terrible! I never cooked the flour mixture long enough, the cheese wouldn't properly incorporate and the end result was just gross!

Well I guess practice makes perfect because this is my go to recipe for mac and cheese. It is full of flavor,

easy to make and just full of plain old ooey, gooey goodness!

Baked Macaroni and Cheddar

What you need:

• 1 (8 ounce) package macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• Fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup cream
• 2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup buttered and lightly toasted breadcrumbs (I browned mine in browned butter!)

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside
• In a large boiler melt butter
• Add flour, pepper and salt using a whisk to stir until well blended
• Pour half and half and cream in gradually; stirring constantly
• Bring to a boil. Boil 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly
• Reduce heat to low and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly
• Add shredded cheddar, small handfuls at a time until cheese melts
• Off the heat add the macaroni to the saucepan and stir to coat with the cheese sauce, it will be thick
• Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish
• Sprinkle with breadcrumbs
• Bake 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown and cheese is hot and bubbly

The Naked Tree

Before

 

 

My continued efforts to renovate, spring clean, re-decorate and organize are not limited to the inside of our home.  First, I love this tree so much, it was big and leafy and full and beautiful!  However, it was hindering grass and plant growth, overhung the sidewalk and most importantly was a hazard to my house and my neighbor's house.  If there was ever a strong enough storm, branches from that tree would have taken most of me and my neighbor's house out!  So we, reluctantly, had to get her nipped and tucked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boo Thang may have poured out a little liquor for those fallen tree limbs! This country boy was
NOT pleased with having to trim this tree...neither was his daughter.

A couple of our neighbors came out to console E...kidding! LOLOL

We still haven't gotten used to the tree being slimmed and trimmed. However, we are glad it is less of a hazard now.  I applied weed and feed to the grass placing extra care to the patches that normally wouldn't grow.  I also began looking for ideas of what plants/shrubs I want to place under the tree now that things might actually grow there now!

   

The Friday Five: What My Weekend Looks Like

Am I the only one SUPER happy that it is the weekend? This week seem to drag right!? Well B will have me all in these mean streets this weekend and I am ready! Here are five things we will be getting into this weekend:  

    I'm going to try recreating this really tasty jam...in the slow cooker   While this jam is cooking, me, B and one of her friends will head to our church for Friday Night Dodgeball! B LOVES dodgeball...she will take you down! LOL   If you follow me on Instagram (@SoGirlCitySwirl) you've already seen this picture of my homemade Ramen!! I had a craving for ramen earlier this week. The craving was long and strong y'all.  I literally have not had ramen in decades!  I can't eat that process packet of "flavoring" any longer so I made homemade ramen! So super easy, super delicious such that I will be making it again this weekend.   I've had my Couch 25k  program for years. Even when I was hardcore working out and running semi-regularly, I never completed the entire program. Well I'm going to start back up and actually run through the entire program because I want to move on to Couch 2 10K.   Saturday, Miller Outdoor Theatre will have their opening season musical! Me, B and two of her friends will pack a dinner picnic and head on down to Miller for Thoroughly Modern Millie. I love visiting Miller. You get quality musicals, plays, concerts, all for free. We try to attend at least five shows during the season.   I hope you have a wonderful weekend!    

Thursday Throwback: Best Daughters Ever

   

     

Self-Rising Flour Biscuits

I love weekend breakfast but sometimes I want delicious but quick.  So when I saw this self-rising flour biscuit recipe I knew I had to try it. The Greedies enjoyed them so they will for sure become a part of the breakfast/brunch rotation.

Self-Rising Flour Biscuits

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/easy-self-rising-biscuits-recipe

What you need:

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pats
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
• Enough butter to grease the baking pan

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Place the flour in a bowl. Work in the butter just until crumbs are the size of large peas
• Add 2/3 cup of the buttermilk, and stir until the mixture holds together and leaves the sides of the bowl, adding more buttermilk if needed
• Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface, and fold it over on itself several times, using more flour as needed to prevent sticking
• Pat the dough into a rectangle about 1/2" to 3/4" thick.
• Cut biscuits with a sharp, round 2" cutter, dipping the cutter into flour between cuts to reduce sticking. Pat the scraps together, and cut additional biscuits
• Place the biscuits on a buttered round baking pan with the sides touching
• Bake the biscuits for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they're a light golden brown
• Remove them from the oven and serve hot.