Merry Christmas Eve!!

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

It is the best time of the year! Everybody in my family has slowed down a little bit and we are all enjoying some well deserved family time. The Southern Lady Cooks AKA Mom arrived yesterday and we spent the afternoon at the Peddlers Mall going through some awesome junk.

PeddlersMallCollage

Anne and I found a steer skull, which I was so pumped!! Who wasn’t pumped??? Well my Mom of course! She thought it was hideous and didn’t even want to stand around while I purchased it. I don’t think she wanted anyone to know she was related to anyone that would want a steer skull hanging on their wall…haha! That makes me love it even more. One man’s junk is another mans treasure. Turns out Mom thinks steer skulls are major JUNK and I LOVE LOVE them!

Today we had country ham and biscuits and jam cake for breakfast. Seriously, is there a better breakfast? I text my friend Britt and told her that I as going to founder on country ham. Her response? “Put on your stretch pants” Gosh, I love that girl! 🙂

Sausageballs

We have spent most of the day watching movies and eating. I love days like this. We went through some of my Grandmothers old cookbooks and made sausage balls. I love reading cookbooks and seeing my Grandmothers recipes printed in them.  It is such a wonderful time to just sit and laugh, make fun of each other, EAT and enjoy being together. I love spending time with my sista and momma! Tomorrow morning we will wake up, have coffee, feed our beautiful animals, enjoy the peace of being on our farm and love every minute of it. We will acknowledge how truly blessed we all are and cherish every memory that we are making together.

Merry Christmas!!

The Southern Twins

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Holiday Traditions!

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

It is the Holiday Season!! I traveled most of the first two weeks of December so I am so excited to be back home and getting in to my old routine. I actually have some time off work and I am thoroughly enjoying it. My favorite part of the Holidays are the traditions that we do every year. I talked about this for Thanksgiving and the same goes for Christmas. I do love this time of year. Every Christmas Anne and I do a cookie/candy exchange with our neighbors. When we moved to the farm, our neighbors came over on Christmas Eve bringing goodies and explained that they all exchange cookies each year. I thought this was such a neat tradition. I really do enjoy this because through out the  year we are all so busy we rarely have time to visit, so it is so nice to deliver some goodies to our friends on our street and catch up with each of them.  My other favorite tradition is my Mother coming to the Farm each year for a couple of days. I talk to Mom every day but we honestly don’t see each other all that much. She comes over a couple of days before Christmas and we always do a little shopping, a lot of cooking and a ton of reminiscing. I love it! It is my favorite part of the holiday. I mean honestly, isn’t the best part just being with your friends and family and sharing quality time together.  On Christmas Eve, Anne always makes her sausage balls and Mom makes country ham and her buttermilk biscuits while I bake for the neighbors.

countryhamandbiscuits1

We munch all day. On Christmas morning we all bundle up and go down to the barn and feed the horses their Christmas morning breakfast and then come in and sip coffee and eat left over sausage balls.

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I love this so much. It is just the simple little traditions that arise after years of being together that can solidify a feeling of family and home. I love this time of year and I hope each and every one of you get to enjoy some time with your loved ones. Merry Christmas!!

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Roasted Broccoli with Smoked Sausage and Marinara

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

Hey Everybody! Leigh and I are out traveling for work so it has been rather hectic. Last week Leigh was in Nashville and this week we are both in Vegas. Life is a bit hectic at the moment but we wanted to tell you about a super easy recipe that we really enjoy.

Roasted Broccoli with Smoke Sausage and Marinara

RoastedBroccoliSausageFInalPic

Leigh and I are real big in trying to eat our vegetables. Sometimes this can be hard so we are always trying to figure out new ways to add them to our diet.

You will find we cook a lot of one dish meals, since our lives are busy. We don’t use a lot of ingredients, it our finished products are tasty!

For this dish you will need:

1 medium size of bagged broccoli or you can buy fresh, whichever suits you.
Smoked turkey sausage or chicken sausage
Green pepper
Onion
Organic Marinara Sauce
Olive Oil
Minced Garlic

RoastedBroccoliCollage

Preheat oven to 425. I then cut up my broccoli in to smaller pieces but you certainly don’t have to. Place your broccoli in to a large bowl and toss with your olive oil and garlic. I like garlic so I use quite a bit but you can use as much as you want. Then put your broccoli on a greased baking pan and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes. I like my broccoli almost crunchy, so I roast mine closer to 30 min. While your broccoli is roasting, cut up your smoked sausage, green pepper and onion and place in a pan over medium heat on the stove.  Once your meat is cooked almost through, then put in your marinara and let it simmer. Once your broccoli is done, place in a bowl and pour your marinara and sausage over your broccoli and enjoy! Sometimes I also put a dollop of greek yogurt on top and that is great as well. Make this dish your own!

 

Anne 

 

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Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

Leigh and I don’t eat a lot of wheat, so we like to try to find things that will appeal to us! Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust is a great addition when we want to have a pizza. We don’t eat it a lot, but it is always a great substitute for a real pizza crust that we can enjoy.

Pizza Toppings, just add the cheese and it is ready to cook!

Pizza Toppings, just add the cheese and it is ready to cook!

We follow the directions from the Bob’s Red Mill package. Once the dough has sat for 20 minutes in 2 balls (part of the directions) we only use one ball for our pizza and put the other in the fridge. It will last a few days in the fridge and this way we have 2 meals. It would be perfect for a larger family since you could make 2 large pizzas. The directions say to wet hands while spreading dough, be sure and do this because it can be rather sticky.  We make our pizza on a regular greased baking sheet and spread the dough as THIN as we can. You can certainly make it thicker if you like thick crust, but we prefer thin.

Following the directions from Red Mill, we let the crust cook for 7-8 minutes on 425, then remove from oven and add your toppings. Then put back in oven for 15-18 minutes until finished. I like to put a little Italian Seasoning on my dough and we use organic marinara sauce instead of pizza sauce, we just prefer the taste.

Easy, easy!

Easy, easy!

As you can see from the pictures we prefer low fat cheddar cheese on our pizza! Enjoy!

You will need:

·       Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust,  find this at Kroger in the health food section

·         2 eggs

·         Olive oil

·         Pizza sauce or marinara

·         Toppings of your choice

Enjoy!

Anne

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Getting back to Healthy Eating: Spaghetti Squash Recipe

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

Hey Everybody! As I mentioned in a previous entry, Anne and I strive to live healthy lifestyles. We work out daily and eat clean 90% of the time. Of course you have to have balance in your life and to me that means to not be too hard on yourself or too strict about things. Life is to be enjoyed! So basically, if you want the donut…eat the donut, just don’t eat 12 donuts. 🙂 As we get back in to our normal routine after the holiday weekend, Anne and I have went back to clean eating. We recently made Spaghetti Squash with chicken and tomato sauce.

SpaghettiSquash

It is a really easy dish to make and you will be surprised how much Spaghetti Squash taste like Spaghetti! Basically, this is what you need:

  • One Spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and the seeds scooped out
  • Jar of organic tomato sauce (you will only need to use about half the jar)
  • Diced green pepper
  • Diced white onion
  • Package of Boneless/Skinless Chicken Tenderloins

Put both halves of the Spaghetti Squash cut side down in to a glass casserole dish. Place in the oven on 375 for 40-45 minutes. While this is cooking, dice your chicken and place in a skillet on medium heat. Once the chicken is cooked, throw in your diced green pepper and onion and  pour your tomato sauce over it and let it simmer. When your squash is ready, take it out of the oven, turn each piece cut side up and take fork and shred the sides of the squash. It will come apart very easily, the sides should be soft and easy to pull apart with a fork. Once you have shredded all your squash and placed on a plate, pour your chicken and tomato sauce over it, top with shredded Parmesan and enjoy!

SpaghettiSquashPlate

 

This recipe can also be made with grass fed ground beef. You can google “spaghetti squash” to find all kinds of ways to eat it . We love it!

Don’t forget The Southern Lady Cooks for some amazing recipes!

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Thanksgiving Weekend

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

The Thanksgiving weekend is coming to an end. Tomorrow morning the road will be packed with most of us going back to work after having four days off. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday weekend. I am sure some of you had to work and some may not have gotten to see their family, but no matter what the circumstances, I hope you found something to be genuinely thankful for. My weekend was wonderful. I got to spend every moment doing something that I wanted to do so you can’t really complain when that happens. On Thursday, I got to go to my Mom’s for Thanksgiving. My mother is The Southern Lady Cooks so to say that I was excited, is an understatement. I normally eat very clean and healthy but on certain holidays I throw all caution to the wind and eat everything in sight. Thanksgiving is certainly one of those holidays. When Anne and I got to Mom’s she already had the table set and it was practically lunch time.

The Southern Lady Cooks Table at Thanksgiving

The Southern Lady Cooks Table at Thanksgiving

I brought baked beans made with maple sausage which was a great hit and Anne made broccoli casserole, using our mother’s recipe of course. My Mom made her famous yeast rolls made with grits. I am telling you all, I have dreams about these rolls. My Sister -in- Law, Sarah walked in the kitchen and said “Oh my, are those the rolls that you make with grits?? I am so excited!”

Yeast Rolls with Grits

Yeast Rolls with Grits getting ready to go in the oven! A Family Favorite!!

My family lives a very hectic life. My brother and sister n law are busy with full-time jobs and my two adorable nephews and Anne and I are busy with work and horses. We all live very different lives, so unfortunately we don’t get to see each other as much as we would like, so the holidays are so very special that we can all come together and share a beautiful meal and catch up. It was a great day and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Friday was another great day! Anne and I went to the Peddlers Mall and met my brother and Sister-in-law and my cute little nephews to shop and have lunch. I taught my nephew how to play Candy Crush on the iPhone . Of course he loved the game and I am so glad he does because I am stuck on level 68. I told him he needed to be up to that level by Christmas so he could show me how to beat it. 🙂 Saturday was gorgeous here in the Bluegrass so Anne and I spent it exercising the horses and working out at the gym.

Leigh and one of her barrel horses, Girlfriend

Leigh and one of her barrel horses, Girlfriend

Now it is Sunday and it is time to get back in to the mindset of work. I will work the next 19 days straight and then have over a week off for Christmas. These next two weeks are going to be very hectic with trips to Nashville and Vegas but I am ready! Bring it on!! As we wrap this weekend up, I am so thankful to have a family that loves each other immensely and appreciates the time we do get to share, no matter how brief sometimes it may be. Life is good my friends, life is good. 🙂

Leigh

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http://www.thesouthernladycooks.com

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Jellied Cranberry Sauce and The Great Depression

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

CranberrysauceMy sweet Southern Grandmother was extremely traditional when it came to her Thanksgiving meal. She was a very adventurous cook but not when it came to the Holidays. The holiday meal was as old school as they came. Every year we had pretty much the same dishes as the year before and the year before that. It was something that you could always count on. Every year she made her own cranberry sauce. You know, with the real cranberries, boiled with tons and tons of sugar. They were great but I don’t know what it is, I always loved the Jellied Cranberry Sauce. I want it to fall out of the can in one piece, yes, out of the CAN. ha! I remember being at my grandmother’s house, elbow deep in her pantry going thru 500 cans of food. I can hear the conversation now: “Grandmother, do you not have any jellied cranberry sauce in here?” her answer would come with her deep southern drawl “Child! Haaave you compleeetly laawst your mind? No, there is no “Jeeeelied” cranberry sauce in this house.”

My grandmother lived throught the Great Depression. So you know what that means, in today’s terms that means borderline hoarder.  Every time I went to throw away a bread tie “Oh my, we must keep that, don’t throoooow it awaaaay, that is a perfectly goooood bread tie, why would you throw it away?!” Of course, of course you never know when you may need 500 bread ties or 300 ziplock bags. Can’t ever be to careful, right? Let me tell you what she thought she may never need, even through the Great Depression……..Jellied Cranberry Sauce, not a single can in that big ole house. EVER!!!

So this Thanksgiving, to all those Jellied Cranberry Sauce lovers…may your pantry be full of it. 🙂

Leigh

Posted in Southern Childhood | 4 Comments

Southern Holiday Traditions

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

“Traditions make memories, they are symbolic and they help keep a little bit of time frozen for us to remember each year.”

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Bell outside our home, just like my Grandmother had for 60 years at her home.

It is that time a year…you know the time…where you eat and hang out with your family. What do they call it?? Oh yes! THE HOLIDAYS!!! The holidays are always a very VERY busy time at our place. I have a work Convention every year the first week of December and the second week Anne and I spend in Vegas working for another website that we have. This is the time of the year that we give the horses a break and concentrate on other things…such as work and work and a little bit more work. If it sounds exhausting, it is… but it is also a lot of fun. I love the Holidays because they bring traditions. Southern families really hold traditions close to their heart.  It was tradition for my grandmother to make a big country ham for Christmas. A ham that we cured on the farm. It was tradition to have beaten biscuits and tomato aspic salad at Thanksgiving. By the way, my mother,  The Southern Lady Cooks… hates tomato aspic. I often think of making it and bringing it to her house for Thanksgiving to torture her. 🙂 It was tradition for my mother to number our Christmas presents each year so Anne and I could open the same one at the same time.  I can hear her now “Ok, now get #5.” One year I opened one out of sequence and it was a western belt I had wanted. Anne freaked thinking she didn’t get one. haha! Good times…good times! Of course as we have gotten older, we no longer number presents and my sweet grandmother has since passed away and we don’t have tomato aspic. However, We have made new traditions.  We  all meet at The Southern Lady Cooks for Thanksgiving and it is tradition for my sister n law to bring the pies and Anne and I make side dishes. On Christmas my Mom comes early to the farm and we have coffee early in the mornings and talk for hours. We make sausage balls on Christmas Eve and we play cards. We laugh a lot. I mean a LOT. We fuss at the dogs to get out of THE KITCHEN and we fuss at each other to get out of THE KITCHEN when one of us is cooking.  Traditions make memories, they are symbolic and they help keep a little bit of time frozen for us to remember each year. I hope you all enjoy your holiday traditions!!

Leigh

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Southern Grace

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

A picture of our backyard this summer. As winter approaches, it makes me miss the green grass (that I feel like I spend my entire summer mowing) and the full trees. Enjoy!

SouthernBackyard

 

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Easy Egg Muffin Cups

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

Growing up on a wonderful farm in central Kentucky, we were blessed to be surrounded by amazing southern women. Food was always abundant since we had our own garden full of wonderful vegetables. Leigh and I would come home from school and head right up the hill to the garden for a “snack”. It was never a thought in our mind to wash what we ate,  we would walk the rows of green peppers, cucumbers, and green onions. Our parents would fuss at us, because we would pull a green onion out of the ground, eat the top of it, and throw the onion away!

Life gets busy these days and Leigh and I try to eat on the healthy side. Here is a quick and easy breakfast we enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Egg Muffin Cups

Egg Muffin Cups

Egg Muffins Cups
These are so simple, you can add whatever you want to these and enjoy them each morning.

1 dozen eggs
Cooked ham (add cooked meat of your choice)
Green peppers (add the vegetables you like)
Pepper

*extra toppings, cheese, tomatoes, broccoli, onion, sausage, etc.

Beat eggs together in large bowl, add all other ingredients, after greasing your muffin pan fill each muffin cup 1/3 full. Cook on 325 for 20-25 minutes.

This is a great quick and simple recipe that you can make your own.

For a hearty breakfast check out The Southern Lady Cooks Hash Brown and Sausage Casserole

Enjoy!

Anne

Posted in Recipe, Southern Childhood | 3 Comments