Small Group Ladies Night

Tonight I had the opportunity to host our small group ladies night.  What an amazing time we had.  We had such a wonderful time of fellowship and food (come on now we are Baptist here!!!)  I am so blessed to be apart of group of ladies that simply enjoy each other's company.  We can share our struggles, funny moments, and exciting news with each other, even though for some of us we have only known each other a few short months.  We truly are one big happy family.

My "gluten-free" creations.  No worries I'll share the recipes.

Gluten-Free Mini Cheesecakes (click here)

Southern Caviar Recipe (click here)

Enjoying all of the yummy food!!!

 I love these ladies right here.  "All the Single Ladies" you always keep me laughing and remembering my days as a "single lady".  Ya'll are the best!!!  Enjoy your time and God's timing is perfect.  Take it from someone who has been in your shoes (not that long ago)  :)

We had a house full and it made my heart so happy to finally be able to host something at our tiny humble abode.  I had so much fun preparing for this event ladies.  Let's do it again sometime soon














I LOVE THESE LADIES!!!







Thanks to all the lovely ladies who came tonight, you blessed my heart by allowing me to host you.  I have so much fun serving you through this small act of hospitality.  Thanks to the husbands for keeping children so your wives could come spend time with other ladies.  And I am so thankful to my sweet husband who helped to clean the house, wash dishes, taste test, support me, and become homeless for 2 hours so it could just be us GIRLS!!!!

Gluten-Free Mini Cheesecakes (click here)

Southern Caviar Recipe (click here)

Wintery Weather

So this is the second Friday in a row, we have had some serious winter weather.  Last Friday I had a two hour delay because of the snow and this week I got out of school four hours early because of the snow/ice. (Side note: We served lunch to the entire school PK-5 grade in exactly 1 hour, now that is teamwork.)  I must say I have enjoyed my extra time this week.  Enjoy some snow pictures from the past two weeks. 

Southeastern, last Friday Aaron took this picture after his Greek class.

This was last week's temperature.  It has been extremely cold the past few days.  It was actually snowing today during carpool.  So glad that I had my L.L. Bean coat, gloves, and earmuffs.

The snow started to fall in Wake Forest around 11:00 on Friday, January 25, 2013.

By the time I left school at 12:20, the snow had stopped and the ice was starting to fall.  Little pellets pelted my windshield as I drove home.  I was so glad to finally be home.  It took me 45 minutes to make my 30 minute drive.

The ice on the roads around 5:30.  Aaron just went to the parking lot outside our apartment and said it was like stepping on a sheet of glass.  It is now 9:40.

But no worries, we are warm and toasty inside, enjoying our first fire of the winter season.  

New Link on the Blog

I am excited to announce a new link on our blog... Menu Plans and Recipes.  Just click on the Menu Plans and Recipes tab at the top of the page.  I hope you will find something to try in your quest for dinner.

Happy Eating!!!!

Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Another tradition in the Turner home is to have "brinner" - breakfast for dinner - on Sunday evenings.  Aaron has quite a number of things he can make (waffles, pancakes, french toast, just to name a few) and I love having him help out in the kitchen.  Now knowing that Aaron loves pizza and breakfast I decided to create a "breakfast pizza".  I did my research and looked at MANY recipes on Pinterest one evening.  I wanted to figure out what people used as a crust, sauce, and what they actually put on them.  Here is my recipe for Breakfast Pizza.

Breakfast Pizza

- 1 recipe of biscuit dough (included at the bottom)
- 1 lb of sausage (browned)
- 6 - 8 eggs (scrambled to a soft set - still a little runny - they will cook fully in the oven)
- shredded cheese for the top (any kind will work, I used extra sharp cheddar cheese)
- 1 recipe of gravy

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
- Make you biscuit dough (recipe below) and roll it on a cookie sheet or pizza pan.  I used my pasta/pizza roller to roll out the dough.  I found that I could not roll out the dough and then transfer it to the pan. 
- Brown the sausage and make the gravy (recipe below).  Spread the gravy on the biscuit dough and put the sausage on top of the gravy.
- Scramble the eggs to a soft set and spread on top of the sausage.  Don't worry, it is more like clumps of eggs than a spread.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Place in the 450 degree oven for 11 -12 minutes.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing.
- ENJOY!!!!  Aaron enjoyed a bit of homemade grape jelly on his.

* You could use ham or bacon.  The possiblities are endless with this recipe.  Use fresh veggies or make a fruit pizza (although I probably wouldn't put gravy on it).  It makes quite a bit so you will have leftovers, which is perfect for breakfast later in the week.

*Biscuit Recipe (Mama's Recipe - best biscuits in town)

- 2 cups self rising flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 1/3 cup buttermilk (I usually just add buttermilk until the dough is moist and sticky)

Combine shortening into flour mixture until mixture resembles course cornmeal.  Gradually add buttermilk to make a soft dough.  (May need slightly more or less)  Place dough on a floured dough cloth and knead about 20-25 turns (very gently). 

Gravy Recipe (you can buy a packet of gravy mix if you desire)
 - after you brown the sausage, remove the sausage leaving a bit of fat/drippings in the pan.  Place the pan back on the stove at a low/medium heat and  add flour to the fat to make a roux (looks like a paste).  Add milk to the roux and whisk until you have a sauce consistency.  Beware it will thicken very quickly.  You will need enough to cover the biscuit dough.

Movie Date and Homemade Pad Thai

After only three days of work/school, Aaron and I both welcomed the weekend.  After some super tasty smoothies and a cup of coffee (for Aaron) we got ready and headed out for a movie date.  Now I am not much for going and sitting in a dark theater for hours watching a movie, especially when I can sit at home and do the same thing, BUT one movie caught my eye LES MISERABLES .  I grew up listening to the soundtrack and remember my mama reading the book and then condensing the story so we could understand it.  So off to the movies we went and with the awesome giftcards we got for Christmas it cost us nothing, we even got popcorn and a Coke.

Dressed and ready to go to the movies!!!  So excited!!!

The movie was AMAZING!!!  The movie was exactly as I had imagined as a child.  The music was fantastic and even though the movie was 3 hours long it didn't seem like it because the story was so captivating.  Aaron knew nothing about the storyline (per his request) but was informed that there would be A LOT of singing.  He throughly enjoyed it and made the comment "They just don't make movies like that anymore".  After the movies we stopped at DSW to do a little shoe shopping and then got a donut treat before heading home.  For dinner I whipped up some homemade Pad Thai.  We spent many Sunday afternoons at The Teak House with friends enjoys heaping plates of Pad Thai.  A quick search on Pinterest and a easy recipe for Pad Thai was found.

Delicious

The rest of the weekend has been equally as relaxing.  Aaron and I both enjoyed being back at church this morning.  All things Christmas have been put away and properly stored until next year.  We took ourselves on a little shopping spree at Kohls (using our gift card and Christmas money) and got some serious bargains.  After a chilly jog and bike ride for Aaron we enjoyed a tasty dinner a.k.a "brinner" - eggs, fried ham, and homemade biscuits.  

Chili is ready for tomorrow night's big game and I'm off to bed, so I can be ready for a fun and exciting day at work.  

Until next time...

Ringing in the New Year

Yesterday was New Year's and our last day of vacation.  Let me just say that we throughly enjoyed ourselves.  Slept late, enjoyed some leftover waffles, jam to some Les Mis on my new IPod, watched some football, and prepared a New Year's Day Feast.  Sadly I have no pictures of the actual food but we all enjoyed it.  We actually had guests too, which is always a treat.  Lee, Laura Ashley, and Holland Grace Harper joined us for dinner.  So wonderful to see such great friends, laugh and chat about our trip home for Christmas and UM memories, and watch HG get into everything.  Our house is so not child proof; ex: Christmas tree with glass ornaments, glass table tops, candy dishes, and candle displays with small rocks (perfect for putting in your mouth).  She was a sweetheart and always a pleasure to be around.  We are so thankful for these sweet friends and so glad they came over for the evening.  

If you look closely, you can see Gracie in the chair watching Aaron slice the ham. 

The table is all set.  These plates were full of rice, black eyed peas, cornbread, apple crumble, and ham.  

Today Aaron and I started back to work and school.  My day went very smoothly, no syrup for breakfast, always a plus, and the classroom I worked with today was just as calm as always.  Aaron began his J-term at Southeastern.  He is taking a "crash course" in Greek.  Needless to say there have been some pretty amusing sounds and songs coming from the study tonight as he learns the Greek alphabet (hoping to catch him singing the song and post it).


Tonight as I was scanning through Facebook I came across a blog, Cami Franklin's blog to be exact.
-Background - Russell and Cami Franklin were my youth minister and wife/puppet director when I was a youth.  They have since moved to Florida but I keep up with them through their blog.  Cami is an AMAZING calligrapher and is very involved in the Apparent Project. (click the link to find out more).  Anyway her post for tonight was about becoming a member of the board of the Apparent Project, which lead me to this beautiful ornament my sister, Rachel, gave me for Christmas.  Rachel recently went to Haiti on a medical mission trip and while there was able to visit the Apparent Project House.  She brought back some beautiful ornaments and metal crosses.   If you have a chance check out the link to the Apparent Project .  The jewelry is beautiful!!!

Still enjoying my Christmas Tree with my Apparent Project ornament.  

If you are looking for a fundraiser for your youth group or a way to get involved in missions The Apparent Project is a fantastic way.  I can get you in touch with Cami and she would be more than happy to share so much more than I can.

Until next time....