Weekend Happenings

I love this time of the year, but it seems like we are always on the go.  For the past few weekends, it has been go, go, go and this weekend was not any different.

 

Mom and I headed to Dawsonville on Saturday to the Moonshine Festival.  The ad talks about how there is something for everyone and they were not lying.  Besides the fact that it was packed with people, there literally was something for everyone.  There was such a variety of booths and booths we hadn't seen anywhere else.  This was definitely one of the best festivals we have went to this year.  It was free to get in, but we paid $5 to park and the weather could not have been more perfect.

Still haven't figured out who the guy on the left is.  He was signing autographs so he must be somebody, right?!?! 
 

Sunday, Tabatha and I headed to Sean's birthday party.  He just turned 3 and is so stinkin' cute!  Every present he opened, he kept saying "oh my goodness" and had us all laughing.  It was very low key with family and a few friends (Tabatha and I).

 

Coming up I have a baby shower to attend for an elementary school friend, mom's birthday, Cody and I are having professional pictures done, and the list goes on and on.  Is it bad that I want to use a vacation day just to stay at home and clean my house?!?!  Just 2 more months until the new year and maybe things can slow down!

  

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

I'm on my 50th post y'all!!!

 

So this past weekend, I decided to tackle the ole' chicken and dumplings.  Cody's nanny's are the bomb! I never ate them until I had hers and have always been scared to make them or even order them out.  Crazy, I know!

 

So I tried the recipe out of my new Jamie Deen cookbook.  The recipe looked super simple and it was, even the homemade dumplings!

 

The recipe called for a whole chicken, but Ingles had their split fryers on sale so that's what I used.  I had probably just a little over 4 lbs and into my big, red pot it went.

 

I also added carrots, celery, onions, thyme, black pepper and salt.  The recipe tells you how much of each to use, but I figure this is what is going to make your broth taste like anything so I added more than the recipe called for.  I filled the pot with water to make sure the chicken was good and covered.  I let this cook for a good hour and a half.

 

Once the chicken was cooked, I took it out of the broth and let it cool.

 

 

In the meantime, I drained the broth and vegetables so all that was left was the broth.

 

 

I had to go run some errands while the chicken was cooling so I made the dumplings when I returned.  The recipe says to make the dumplings while the chicken is cooking.  It's 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 3/4 cup cold water mixed together until the dough comes together.  Knead it into a ball and then roll it out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Y'all I am bad at measurements & I didn't grab a ruler to see how thick it was, I just rolled with it! Let the dough rest for 30 minutes after it's rolled out and then cut into 1 inch squares.

 

 

While the dough was resting, I shredded my chicken.

 

 

Once the 30 minutes was up and I cut my squares, you drop the squares into the simmering broth.  Once the dumplings are cooked, they float to the top.  I added my chicken and let simmer for 20 minutes longer until the soup thickened. 

 

 

Y'all they were good and Cody liked it, but he could tell I was not satisfied.  They are not nanny's and he said I have set my standards too high and that is the honest to God truth.  I will get her recipe and ask her for advice on how she makes them and I will test again.   They can only get better!

 

Well I am trying another new recipe tonight so we shall see how this one goes!

 



First Annual Pig Palooza

This past weekend was a blast and of course, went by way too fast!  Cody's sister, Tabatha, and brother-in-law, Mason, hosted a party at their house Saturday night.  Mason smoked a whole pig and man was that good!! 

 I made this sign for the people who use Instagram and then we could see all the pictures from that night!  Super easy to make - picture frame, scrapbook paper & vinyl and the best part, I had all the supplies on hand.

 



 The weather could not have been any more perfect, the food was great, and enjoyed listening to some music. 

 

Hope, Tabatha & Emmalyn.

These boys were supposed to be shuttling people up and down the driveway, but they were being just boys!

 



Cousins

 



 

Mason's Mom aka Granny

Our fabulous chef on the right!

Cody's sister-in-law, Stacy

 

 Cody's brother, Brenton & Matthew playing guitar and singing the night away!

 



 

Sisters - Lacey's facial expression keeps cracking me up! 

 

 

Can't wait until next year for the 2nd annual Pig Palooza!

Peanut Boil

Yeah, you are probably thinking exactly what I was thinking or at least I hope so.  What in the hell is a peanut boil?  I have heard of a low country boil, but never a peanut boil.

 

Tabatha, Cody's older sister, called me Saturday afternoon and invited me to this peanut boil with her, Landon (Tabatha's son) and Landon's friend.  Heck why not?!?!  It was at her co-worker's granny's house.  The weather could not have been more perfect and the location was great!  Out in the country in Dawsonville and her yard was perfect for this gathering!

 

Food, lots of food, drinks, dessert, gospel music and of course boiled peanuts!!

 

Katrina told us that when it first started, only 30 people attended and in 2012, nearly 500 people attended.  This year, I would say there was roughly 200 people that showed up. 

 

The boiled peanuts were perfect!!  Not too salty - just right!!

 

I think there were 6 or 7 of these going with boiled peanuts!

Perfect stage for the gospel groups to sing!

Tables were filling up with food!

 



I couldn't get Landon to look at me.  Just like his uncle Cody!

 

We really enjoyed ourselves and cannot wait to go again next year!!

 



Labor Day Weekend Getaway

This year for Labor Day, dad and I decided to take a trip down to Florida to see Grandma and Grandpa.  They moved from Georgia to The Villages, FL at the end of last year and we haven't been able to make a trip yet to see their new house so the long weekend gave us the perfect opportunity.

While we were there, we decided to venture out one day to Homosassa Springs to see some manatees.  This was the first time seeing manatees in person and it was so neat!  Dad and I were at this state park for over 2 hours and definitely got to see more wildlife than we expected.

We took a 20 minute boat ride out to the Springs and got to see a baby alligator on the way.

Once we made it to the Springs, we saw lots of other wildlife and fish.

 

Here are some pictures of their house.

They have a really nice outside space.  They also have a pomegranate tree!

Love how everything is so open!

We had a great trip down there for Labor Day weekend!