Southern Cooking.

I ♥ Southern cooking.   I love fried chicken, country fried steak, collard greens, succotash, black eyed peas, okra, boiled peanuts, grits... I just can't help it.  It's my favorite type of food to eat, mostly because  its what I grew up eating.

I remember when we moved out west my hubby and I were in Las Vegas and we asked for sweet tea, the waitress looked at us like we had four eyes.  Seriously!  She had no idea what we were talking about "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." 

I am getting to my point.  Southern cooking is having a spike in "trendiness" from NYC to Chicago to LA people are on the "grit"wagon and its moving fast. This month Bon Appetit's whole issue is dedicated to southern cooking.  The recipes in here are TO DIE FOR!  Check out this pan skillet-fried chicken...Yummy....Get this months Bon Appetit.  Its worth every penny.

Happy Southern Cooking :)

Pancake Weekends.

My kids and I LOVE pancakes.  We make pancakes or waffles at least  once on the weekends together.  I always sneak in a something healthy just because I can...and it makes me feel like a better Mom.
Here's an easy way....ADD Banana into either your pancakes or your waffles.

Make your batter as instructed, add 1/2 of a banana, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and blend into batter with hand mixer.

I prefer Pamela's Gluten Free Baking and Pancake Mix.  We are NOT a gluten free family but I gotta tell ya...I have tried lots and lots of pancake mix and this one rocks.  Even my hubby (who grew up on Bisquick) loves it.

Not into banana?  Add blueberries, apple sauce or  strawberries instead.

Easy, breezy, Sunday Morning...The kiddos love to help and eat too.

Party Ideas: PotteryBarn and PotteryBarn Kids Rocks!

I love PotteryBarn.  They have the best styled magazine shoots and their website rocks.  Did you know that PotteryBarn and PotteryBarn Kids now offer tons of great party tips.  They have free printables, downloadable invitations, gorgeous table design photos, craft ideas, game ideas and more.

PBK has even hired Kim Stoegbauer from The TomKat Studio to style their kids parties. Here are a couple of my favorite styled parties of hers.


Looking for a Themed Party for the grown-ups?  Check out these parties PB has styled.

• Big Game Party, Bridal Shower, Spring Celebration, Comfort Food Party, Movie Night, Pizza Party, Tequila Tasting Party, Farmhouse Brunch, Mediterranean Tapas, Mojitos & Tacos, Summer Barbecue

They give you all the details.  What food to serve, how to decorate, what bar tools you will need, recipes and more! They even have music set lists you can download from iTunes.  

They have thought of everything!   Happy Partying!