Hanging with My Girl...

I love this little girl more than I could ever imagine, I never knew how much my heart would fill with her being in my life. Spending evenings with her seriously is one of my favorite things. The hubs needs to go check cattle or heat check sows or whatever other things he does at least once or twice per week so this leaves plenty of room for momma and Charlot time! 

And with this beautiful weather we have been having we have been relishing in being outside as much as possible. The evening I took these pictures she had helped me clean and vacuum my truck so that deserved some much needed ice cream. That she so graciously shared with me! 

I look at these and just swell with pride. On this particular evening I asked her if she was my buddy and she politely told me, “No I’m pap’s buddy but you’re my best friend and best momma!” I couldn’t have asked for a better response. I hope I am her best friend for a little while longer, I know the day will come. But I will try with all my might to be her best momma forever and always. 

On a side note no I am not a South Carolina fan, I have nothing against them, I am a tried and true MIZZOU fan. But my dad travels each year with a group of friends to an away MIZZOU SEC game. And each year since Charlot was born he has brought her a shirt back from these trips! I love these shirts and so does she that would be why she is sporting it on this particular day! I can’t wait until he goes to all the SEC schools and she has one from each! I see a t-shirt quilt in the future! 

If you haven’t gotten out there to enjoy this weather do so it is BEAUTIFUL! 

Wedding Weekend Recap

Photo Courtesy of Emily Sophia photography...she's AMAZING

My Big Bro GOT MARRIED…this past weekend!!! Hooray!!! It was an awesome weekend full of love, laughter and happily ever after, hehehe I couldn’t resist. But seriously I have not laughed quite so much in a long time. We had so much family in for this joyous event it was amazing; there were babies and kiddos running everywhere! Ok back to the event not the babies, I just have to say I am a sucker for baby cheeks; I needed that out of my system.

 I am so glad to finally officially welcome Lauren into our family, and to gain a sister. I know that she makes my brother a very happy man, they just go together like peas and carrots, not that Lauren would ever eat peas or carrots, ha! She’s not much of a veggie lover. Again I need to be back on track.

Rehearsal Dinner, I love these drink dispensers

Let's Eat!

So Pretty!

Possibly the best picture of the cutest fab five around! 

Their wedding was held in Columbia, in this beautiful church downtown close to MIZZOU’s campus. My parents hosted a sweet rehearsal dinner with a spring theme, so pretty. Then the wedding was lovely with a black and gold GO TIGERS theme. They even had Tiger Stripe ice cream, YUMMY! The party was a ton of fun Charlot danced the night away with anyone who would dance with her. 

My Momma and her siblings...pretty good looking bunch.

Come on Pap let's dance!

Ok Daddy now it's your turn 

Proud Great Grandparents right there!

Photography courtesy of Charlot using my phone! 

I can’t tell you how happy I am for them and I know this post is full of randomness, but I want to share this day with all of you, so these are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

I am going to leave with this for Zach and Lauren. I am not sure I have looked up to anyone other than our parents quite like I look up to my brother, he is an amazing man who I love dearly, so it feels a little strange giving him advice but here goes. If I had one piece of advice about marriage it is this, find something to laugh about with your spouse each and every day, because even on the days you struggle laughter will always help get you through. And since both of you know my spouse quite well you know I have to laugh a lot! Love you both and wish you only the best! 

I run for her...

In just a few short weeks I am going to be running the second annual Slater’s Biggest Loser 5k. Last year I ran this 5k and it was the first one I had ever ran, I did it for me. It was amazing I was so proud and I didn’t finish last! Hooray! It was seriously one of the best feelings of my life, I had started a journey to change so much about my life not just losing weight but becoming a healthier person overall. And this 5k was kind of like the signing the contract on the dotted line it wasn’t the end of the journey but sealed the deal that I had seriously changed.

Now I am running this again, not for me though I am running for her. This years 5k is hopefully going to benefit one family in our local community greatly. This family has been through so much over the past year and a half. Their precious little girl was born with many congenital heart defects. Too many for me to remember or even try to explain.  I do know that this little CHD warrior has endured several procedures and hospital stays which is not only trying on her little body but for her mommy and daddy as well. Not only emotionally but financially, her mom has had to quit her job to stay home and care for this precious little girl. Now you may ask if you are running for her then why the picture of my little girl?

Well this is exactly why I am running, because I have never had to endure the pain and choices these parents have to make on a daily basis. I was blessed from God with a perfectly healthy child. Never have I had to sit in a waiting room while doctors operate on her heart , never has she had to spend a night in the hospital, never has she had to endure the pain that this little pumpkin has. And for that I am so so thankful. I cannot imagine going through what they have and the road they have ahead of them. I’m running because my precious one is healthy and another child isn’t and that isn’t fair but I can help and so can you. 

She is so sweet, how could we not help her!

If you are local and would like to register please fill out the form and send it in! All Proceeds will go directly to this family. If you are not local and would like to help please feel free to contact me I will point you in the right direction. 

Thank you advance for all who run, donate, help and pray. And Thank you God for my child’s health and please help bless this little one with a life of health in the near future! 

One Skillet Wednesday...Chicken Broccoli and Wild Rice Skillet...

One skillet Wednesday is BACK!!! Hooray! I know all of you were sitting on the edges of your seats waiting in anticipation. HA! Well if you are sitting at work trying to figure out what in the world you are going to serve for supper look no further! This healthy hearty dish is on the table in right around 30 minutes! What more could you ask for?!?!

I love chicken and rice casserole, just the plain old good one, you know chicken, minute rice, cream of chicken soup, yum! But occasionally I want to zest it up a bit and this does just that, plus you have a serving of veggies built right in, you have to feel good about that! This also is relatively low in fat and calories so very waistline friendly!  Give this a try and let me know what you think! I sure hope one skillet Wednesday is helpful for your family, because these dishes make life at my home much easier!

Chicken Broccoli and Wild Rice Skillet

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (roasted and diced)

1 bag Frozen Broccoli Florets

1 box Uncle Bens Wild Rice

1 can reduced Fat Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup Cheddar Cheese Shredded

Salt and Pepper to taste

Broth for thinning

Cook chicken breast as desired, roast, sauté, boil…whatever suits your fancy! Then take those breasts and dice, set chicken aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. In a large deep skillet, prepare rice according to package directions, during the last 10 minutes of cooking add in the broccoli. When all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, usually 20 minutes, stir in chicken, mushroom soup, and cheddar cheese. Season to taste. Turn heat on low and allow mixture to simmer for 10 minutes or so. Thin with broth if needed. ENJOY! 

Photography with Pigs...

Last week our family paired with another producer to host our very first online auction for our show pigs. I mean everything is sold online why not pigs?!?!?! Well just as if you sell just about anything online you need a good description, a quality website, and most importantly you need good pictures. Easy enough right? Hum no, photographing 40-60lb pigs isn’t exactly the easiest thing I have ever done. It basically consisted of lots of quality time with the hubs, the floor of a trailer, honey, and being chewed on by pigs! 

Yes you heard that right the floor of our trailer; that is where I laid for nearly two days straight trying to get the perfect shot. As you can see by some of these outtakes I took very few perfect shots. The hubs had a glove laced with honey to entice them to stand still. It was a load of fun. 

Now I do love to take pictures but I don’t feel I am real great at it. This photography practice did not provide a great confidence boost for me. As you can see the hubs was a real trooper in the situation. I will say that the perfect shots I did get made it all worthwhile. 

I wrote this post today really because I wanted to share some of these cute pictures of some extra cute pigs! I hope you enjoyed the experience! I will say for our first timeout with an online auction we were pretty happy with the end. I know that next year I will be more prepared for the photography end. 

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs...

As we all just celebrated Easter, I am certain that many of you have an abundance of eggs in your home.  Well here is a new spin on your typical deviled egg. These babies are delicious, a little sweet, a little tangy, and a lot of bacon cheesy goodness.

Now I will give credit where credit is due I got the idea for this recipe from my sweet sister-in-law to be. We were hanging out in my front yard last week one day watching Charlot play and she asked what I was bringing to Easter dinner. I said well all I could get mom to let me bring is deviled eggs. She says oh yum! Then she tells me that her Aunt Jane (HI JANE!!!)  makes deviled eggs with bacon and cheese in them. She says I know it sounds weird but it is delicious.

I thought why they heck not on Saturday as I was making the regular deviled eggs I’ll just turn some of them into bacon goodness. Oh how thankful I am that she introduced these to my life. Two things about the recipe one I always cook an extra egg because I can never seem to get all my eggs out of their shell perfectly. Two butter is in my egg recipe because butter makes everything better! Don’t question just do it! HA! Most of all just ENJOY!

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs (Makes 1 dozen)

7 eggs

½ cup Mayonnaise

1 TBSP Butter Softened

1 TBSP Honey Mustard

1 TBSP Sugar

2 TSP Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

½ Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

4 slices of bacon (cooked and diced)

Boil you eggs in a pot of water for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for 15 minutes. Drain the eggs, run under cold water and peel as quickly as you can handle. Once eggs have fully cooled slice in half length-wise. Remove yolks and place in a small bowl. Place yolk halves on a platter for serving. Using a fork break up the yolks until left with very small pieces. Mix in mayonnaise, butter, honey mustart, sugar and vinegar. Taste then season with salt and pepper.  Fold in your cheese and bacon, reserve a little bacon for garnish if desired. Place egg filling into a zip top bag and snip the corner and pipe filling into whites. Top with remaining bacon. Chill until serving.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Oh cookies are possibly one of my favorite desserts, I can justify eating multiples of them where two pieces of cake seems excessive, two cookies not so much! That’s the way I look at it at least. Well I found this recipe a LONG time ago and I think it was originally Giada De Laurentiis’s recipe, I’m not too sure though??? Who ever created this recipe was one smart cookie, HA! These cookies are light and fluffy, courtesy of the ricotta, and just enough of a punch of lemon without being too much!

I made these cookies last night to bring to work for some of my lemon lovin co-workers. And they went over quite well, ok really well. I just keep thinking how they would be the perfect cookie for an Easter dessert, or a bridal/baby shower. They provide the perfect amount of sweetness without being heavy. Now if you are not a fan of ricotta cheese do not worry you will not know that it is in here. Give these a try for your Easter weekend celebrations, and if lemon isn’t your thing switch up the citrus, I keep thinking orange would be delish! Let me know what you think!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies (makes 60 cookies)

2 ½ cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 stick Butter Softened

2 Cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1 (15 oz) Container Ricotta Cheese

Zest and Juice of one Lemon

Fresh Lemon Glaze

1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar

Juice and zest of one lemon

Pre-heat oven to 375. In a medium bowl whisk together, flour, baking powder, and salt, sit aside. With an electric mixer combine sugar, and butter until light and fluffy this typically takes 2-3 minutes. Add eggs in one and at time. Once combine well, add in ricotta, lemon juice and zest. Gradually add in flour mixture, mix until well incorporated. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop 2 teaspoon full spoons of the dough on to sheet. Bake for 12 minutes until bottoms are browned.

While cookies are baking combine ingredients for glaze.

Allow cookies to cool on a wire rack for at least twenty minutes. Once cooled spoon glaze over the cookies. Allow harden before packing. 

Mommy Daughter Getaway...Plus a give-away announcement!

A few weeks ago I took a much needed day off of work to have a little getaway with my little bit. Charlot had been asking me for a while to take a day off, again mom of the year here! I finally found a Monday that worked for me to be MIA from work and took advantage. I struggled to figure out what we would go and do, not! One of the first things that came to my mind was heading to the east side of the state to see my SIL and then take a trip to the St. Louis Zoo. It was a perfect little getaway for her and I! Rachel was so gracious to let us stay with her on Sunday afternoon and then spend the night before we headed to the zoo first thing Monday morning. Perfect!

Charlot loved this little “surprise trip” she loved getting to see Rachel and her boyfriend Christopher and his family. Then even though the early March morning was a little cool she was ecstatic to see the Zoo!!! If you have never been to the St. Louis Zoo I highly encourage it!  It is very family friendly, with an amazing penguin exhibit, and bonus it is FREE!!! 

Lastly as a mom this day was one of the best ways that I could have used a vacation day. I look so forward to making this a little tradition with her and I! Moms out there take a day and spend it with just your kiddo, you will never regret it, PROMISE!

So this little blog of mine is getting close to another milestone!!! I never imagined people would care what I had to say or would actually enjoy my recipes, I hoped but couldn't imagine. Now to celebrate the upcoming milestone and to possibly encourage a few more readers I am doing an awesome giveaway!!! A few weeks ago I showed you guys my beautiful personalized pan ...we'll I'm giving one away!!! Basically when The Married with Pigs Facebook page reaches 200 likes I will draw a winner of the pan!!! So like and share away!