2 Kate's Cheese Ball

Soo. . . it may not be this cold . . . BUT we have been LOVING this "cooler" weather! I have spent as much time as possible outside. . .and it has been BEAUTIFUL! My fall decorations are out, Gus Gus is having so much fun hunting with Daddy or Grandpa, college football is everywhere, and I have a date with a Pumpkin Spice Latte on Thursday!

I served this cheese ball last week for some friends and Parker got so excited when he saw that I had fixed this! It is one of his favorite "appetizers!" This is a perfect "non-dip" for a football party! Chips, queso and salsa seem to be a staple while watching football but this is a wonderful option that the guys (and girls) in my family LOVE!

{pioneerwoman.com}

1/2 lb Sharp Cheddar

1/2 lb Medium Cheddar, Mild Cheddar or American Cheese

1 c. pecans

1 c. mayonnaise (just use enough to hold the cheese ball together)

3-6 chopped green onions

1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne

Raspberry, raspberry jalapeno/chipolte jelly, or jalapeno jelly (I always use jalapeno jelly!)

Mix everything except the jelly together. Mold the way you want and refrigerate it (for at least 10 - 15 min) Before serving top it with jelly!

Kate Shaffer

3 Green Beans, Feta and John Henry's Pecans

Bobbie Whelan is basically Paula Deen, Martha Stewart, and Heloise all rolled up into one amazing woman! She has every cooking/housekeeping trick, tip, and answer known to man! She is also the type of person who can WHIP UP crafty things. . . like centerpieces, wreaths, etc that you see in magazines! I have begged her to write a book about EVERYTHING she knows (because it would be a NATIONAL best seller) and she always just laughs! Needless to say, if Bobbie says a recipe is good. . . that means it is OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Last night we had some sweet friends over (one of whom I have known ever since I was born. . . but that is another story) and I made this new recipe! :-) First off, Nate LOVED this recipe! (remember he is pretty skeptical about vegetables unless they are covered in butter and bacon!) Seriously, as we were going to bed, he still was telling me how good it was! :-) (ok. . . he is pretty precious!)
AND as I was snapping the peas I could not help but remember snapping peas with my Granny on her back porch! It brought back so many sweet memories and reminded me to slow down in life. Now you can buy everything already prepared for you at the grocery store. . . but sometimes, it is nice to just snap the peas yourself and have quality time with someone you love!

So enjoy this recipe with the people you care about and have fun snapping those peas! :-)

Green Beans, Feta and John Henry's Pecans
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried dill weed
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted (350 degrees for 10 min)
1/2 c diced red onion
1 c. crumbled feta cheese
Cook green beans in a large saucepan of boiling water, about 4 minutes. Drain, immerse in cold water, drain, and pat dry. In the bowl you will serve the salad, combine olive oil, dill, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk to blend. Place beans, pecans, red onions, and feta in serving bowl and toss.
4-6 Servings
Bobbie Whelan

0 Easy Enchilada Casserole

My sweet "sister in law" shared this recipe with me a while back! I made it a couple days ago and it is super easy and very good! It is perfect if you are entertaining a lot of guests or if you want lunch and dinner for the rest of the week! :-) Jennifer is a great cook (and comes from a family of amazing cooks) so anything she shares with me is incredible! AND this recipe is no exception!

Easy Enchilada Casserole

1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (19-ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 (11-ounce) can Mexican-style corn, drained
1 teaspoon fajita seasoning or chili powder (use a little less if serving to kids or if you don't want it that spicy!)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (10-ounce) package 6-inch corn tortillas
3 cups chopped cooked chicken* (I used ground beef. . . see below)
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
Saute onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until tender. Stir in next 6 ingredients. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Spoon one-third of sauce mixture in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Layer with one-third of tortillas, half of chicken, and 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers with one-third each of sauce mixture and tortillas, remaining chicken, and 1 cup cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, sauce mixture, and 1 cup cheese.
Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Prep: 15 min., Bake: 20 min.
*2 pounds lean ground beef, cooked, may be substituted.
Southern Living, JUNE 2002

0 Butter Horn Rolls

A couple years ago, my Gigi gave me The Houston Junior League Cookbook. This is the most special cookbook in my bookshelf because I went through both my mom and Gigi's Junior League cookbooks and wrote down all of their "notes!" So now my cookbook has 3 generations of comments or advice on different recipes! Pretty amazing!

I made these rolls when the Meadow's came over for dinner and they were a hit!!

Butter Horn Rolls
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
2 yeast cakes (I used 2 packets of Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Highly Active Yeast, one the back of the packets it will tell you how many packets equal a fresh yeast cake)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup melted shortening (I used the Crisco All Vegetable Shortening sticks)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour
Melted butter
Combine sugar, 2 tablespoons warm water and yeast; stir. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, until dissolved. (Mine didn't really ever dissolve so I just waited 10 minutes and then moved on!) Beat eggs in another, larger bowl; add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup lukewarm water, shortening, yeast mixture, salt and flour. Knead until dough is very elastic. Dough will be very soft and difficult to work with. (It will get all over your hands, but do not despair.) Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Flour a pastry cloth (I used wax paper) and rolling pin. Working with one part at a time, roll dough into a circle, 1/4" thick. Brush melted butter over the round of dough. Cut into 4 pie-shaped wedges, and cut each wedge into 3 smaller wedges. Roll up each wedge, starting with wide edge. Place on cookie sheet with pointed end on bottom. Let rise until double in size (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. these may be frozen after they are shapped (before rising). If frozen allow appoximately 3 hours to rise. Makes 3 dozen.

1 Black Bean Salsa

These are our sweet friends, Erin and Mac  . . .

who got married in Mexico last year. . .

Erin is one of those people who can MAKE UP recipes! She knows what spices to add, she doesn't use MEASURING CUPS, and everything she makes is amazing! I don't think I will ever get to that level!

Anyways, they came over last night for dinner and I made a yummy Black Bean Salsa. . . (I have no idea where I got this recipe from). This is the perfect dip for kids! It isn't spicy at ALL and would be a great addition for a Super Bowl party! 

Black Bean Salsa

one package frozen shoepeg corn

3/4 cup water

3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 c. fresh cilantro

2 cans black beans rinsed and drained

1/3 c fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp salt (I used more)

1/4 tsp pepper

2 avocados chopped

a couple dashes of Tabasco (I just chopped up a jalapeno with the seeds)

Thaw and slightly cook the corn in the 3/4 c water. Add all ingredients together in separate bowl and mix. Add corn. Add avocado last to keep from browning!

3 Baylor In Great Britain

I have loved reading about my new friend, Carolyn's, life in Austria on her blog, Life in Graz, Kambry, who is currently living in London on her blog, Our London Times  , and Robin who just moved to Edinburgh on The Ince's in Edinburgh. . .and it has made me miss all of my travels!!

One of my favorite memories from college was when I spent a summer in London with some of my best friends! It was incredible! We explored, went to musicals (saw Mamma Mia twice and Les Miserables), shopped (especially at Harrods), had High Tea (at Claridges), visited wonderful places and made memories that will last a lifetime!

We traveled for about a week before we started classes! We began our trip in France. . .

stopped in Monte Carlo and then moved on to England!

Stonehenge with my beautiful friend, Jenni!

We studied at Imperial College! (the perfect location right next to Prince Albert's Hall and across the street from Hyde Park!) Erin Bailey Simpson and I wanted to get the FULL experience of London so every morning we would meet in the courtyard (pictured below) and HAUL it to our favorite breakfast location numerous blocks away! After about a week, they knew our order by heart and we would enjoy our breakfast outside (same table everyday), I would share my butter with Bailey (everyday), and then we would race back to Imperial College to slide into our class just in time for it to start!

That first weekend in England, we went to the coast with a great group of friends! We surfed. . .

and slept on the beach!

Another weekend, we went to Ireland. . .

and then Bailey and I went to Lucerne, Switzerland! (Carolyn, if you haven't been here yet, it is a MUST!)

It was absolutely AMAZING! We stayed in the Palace Hotel and felt like princesses! We swam in Lake Lucerne, shopped and hiked! But one of our most memorable experiences was English riding in the Swiss Alps with a German instructor yelling at me (hey, I grew up in Texas and only knew how to western ride) "UP DOWN UP DOWN!" It was pretty hilarious!

We spent our weekdays going to museums and on day trips around London.

In Cambridge!

Then our last weekend, we all went to Edinburgh, Scotland and saw the Military Tattoo! The next day we decided to travel to the Loch Ness! So, we went to the nearest REI type store and loaded up on gear, grabbed the train, and headed north!

We slept under the stars and looked for Nessie the entire time!

God's creation is MAGNIFICENT!

I am so thankful for the blessing of being able to travel with some of my very best friends! The whole time we were there I truly believe we absolutely LIVED IT UP! We would tell each other we could sleep when we got home but that this would be the only trip like this we would ever go on! When else in your life can you spend a summer abroad with numerous amazing friends? Years later, I treasure these memories and know that I will keep them in a special place in my heart forever! AND I can honestly say this about the sweet friends I traveled with, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." Phil 1:3

3 In Trouble! :-)

Sooo. . . posting what I am making for dinner is getting me in trouble with my family! :-) My dad knows that whenever I make something and have leftovers he gets to have a little bit of it . . . there have been many times since moving in within a 5 minute walk of my parent's house that he has raced over for a "to go" plate of dinner, tin of cookies, etc! One of my particular favorites was one morning when I got an email titled "Double Chocolate Chip Cookies" and it stated. . . "Read your blog this morning! You had better let me sample some of those cookies before you take them to the softball game. I want to make sure that they are good enough to be served to your Sunday School Class. :-)" Pretty funny. . . right?! Well, one night this week, Parker emailed us and asked what our plans were that night. Clark said he was running errands and couldn't hang out. Parker ended up coming over that night and eating dinner with Nate and me! Well, a day or two after that when Clark was over, he told us he could NOT believe that we hadn't INVITED him to dinner! Haha! I told him that I thought he was busy and Parker just stopped by really quickly! Well, he let me know that he could CHANGE his plans if he was invited over for dinner! Cute! ;-) We have loved having both boys in town and LOVED spending time with them! Emily (Parker's wife to be) was in town last week and it was great to spend time with my brothers and BOTH of their significant others! We literally hang out with Clark and Rebecca at least once a week. . . it will be so much fun when Emily lives in town, too!