Homemade Halloween Wreath! Really Easy!

I really like Halloween. 

Not all the scary stuff...I actually can't watch scary movies at all. It's too scary and affects me too much.

But I love dressing up, making Jack 'o lanterns (the Hubs is especially good at that), and all those cute little trick or treaters! Two years ago we had a big sister dressed as a bunny and a little brother dressed as a carrot- it was adorable!!!

We get lots of trick or treaters, so I'm pretty serious about making sure we have enough candy. This year we have over 10 lbs of it! 

So, now to the wreath...

I saw this wreath idea on Pinterest. There were no instructions written out- just a picture. But I used my imagination and here is what I did!

Of course you need the help of cute black cats!
As you can see Remy was helping. You can see Minnie in the bottom left corner wondering,
"What is all this shiny stuff, mom?

I found what I needed at Hobby Lobby and Party City.

Needed tools:

1 foam wreath (your desired size)

enough black boas to cover your wreath

bag of floral pins

black ribbon

hot glue & hot glue gun

decorations (lime/bright green, purple, orange Christmas balls, glittery pumpkins,whatever you choose)

I wrapped my black and silver boa around my foam wreath.
As I wrapped it around I used floral pins to hold it in place.

You might have to unwrap and re-wrap until you get the desired fullness.
Minnie found an orange ribbon to play with in the background.

Apparently, Remy loved the bright green Christmas balls.
These cats were so helpful!

Hot glue the balls and glittery pumpkins to the floral pins and insert them into the wreath to create your desired arrangement.

The Hubs threaded the floral pins into the ball tops and through the foam bottoms of the pumpkins. You can do whatever works best for you. If the Hubs wasn't helping, I would have used the hot glue.

Attach the ribbon with floral pins and hang with the ribbon.

Isn't it cute?!

It looks great with a few pumpkins and a mum on the porch.

We look like we are ready for all of those tiny trick or treaters!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

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The Best Fall Menu!!!! Pumpkin Soup With Mini Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatloaves!!!

There are a lot of meals that I like, but when it comes to Fall...it just doesn't get better than this!

We will start with the Pumpkin Soup.

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, minced

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp butter

1 can pumpkin

1 1/2 cups beef broth

3 cups milk

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp pepper

So, you want to know how easy it is to make this soup?

Pretty much you cook the onions and garlic in the butter (onions until soft, garlic for about 30 seconds- until fragrant)....then dump the rest of the ingredients into the pot and cook over medium heat (stirring until blended, then stirring occasionally) for 45 minutes or until the soup is thick and coats a spoon.

Yep, that's it!

 Now the key to really bringing out the flavor in this soup lies in 3 things:

1- Really let it cook for the 45 minutes. All those flavors get incorporated that way.

2- Add a dollop of sour cream...

3- ...and sprinkle with nutmeg.

It's the Bees Knees!

Now on to the Mini Apple Cheddar Turkey Meatloaves...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

1/4 cup panko

1 medium onion, shredded (I used a small...I like mine with a little less onion)

1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, shredded

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

(I used a grater to shred my onion and apple.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Gently combine the turkey and the next 6 ingredients and 1/2 cup cheese. (Don't over mix.)

Spoon turkey mixture into 12 lightly greased muffin cups.
Bake for 16 minutes.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 5 minutes until cheese has melted. Meatloaves should read 165 degrees on a meat thermometer.

And that is all there is to it!

The flavors and aromas of this meal speak Fall to me. It is hearty and warm- really, just about perfect!

Give it a try. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Tune in later this week to see how I made my Halloween wreath!

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Fun With A Couple Dozen Eggs...Big Green Eggs!

The Eggulance

This past Saturday was Eggtober Fest at Stone Mountain Park!

Egg-heads from all over the country came together for the cook off of the year. Everything from Candied Salmon with Gouda Grits to Jerk Andouille Sliders to Sausage Puffs to Bananas Foster was roasted, baked and broiled in about 75 Big Green Eggs from 9:30am to 3pm. 

Big Green Craig and The Meat Church had 4 Eggs going at once!
The tag line on the Meat Church's sign: And on the 7th Day the Lord said, let the meat rest at 250. 

So we were invited to this festival by this guy.
Not sure if you all remember the 3 lb bacon wrapped meatloaf cooking on a Himalayan Salt Brick that I posted on Facebook- but this is the genius behind that daring piece of cooking! Donald Barbour made Sausage Puffs for breakfast at the Fest...about 200 sausage puffs!

They were delicious!

 All of the cooks provided the food for their recipes. Festival goers got to vote on their favorites. Winner's prizes are small...its really for the bragging rights!

Donald's team bravely cooked Haggis!

Traditional Haggis- not the touristy stuff you now
find in Scotland.

This Haggis Recipe consisted of: lamb heart, lamb kidney, ground lamb, country style bacon, onion, garlic, oats, chipotle pepper salt, cayenne, cumin and a summer casing for stuffing in all ground contents. And yes- I ate it!

Throughout the day, as the team brought new food out, a bagpiper played to alert those around to food change.
They changed from sausage balls to crab cakes to steak fajitas to haggis and finally, cookies. 

One clever team was dressed in Cat in the Hat hats. Their team was...Green Eggs & Ham!

Hollowed out potato with peppers, sausage, cheese
and onion.

Le Cordon Bleu was on hand using the Big Green Egg.
Delicious BBQ!

The day was complete when the Hubs and I saw...Eggzilla! This XXL Egg even has its own cedar nest.

So why is this the Ultimate Cooking Experience (which just happens to be their slogan)?

This little gem bakes better than an oven, cooks more evenly than your grill, and smokes lower and slower than any traditional smoker.

Is it worth the $$$? 

I would say so. But I think that the Big Green Egg is more than just a cooking tool in your tool belt. It is kind of a culture. When your an Egghead- it becomes an art, an adventure...you name your Egg...for some- they show up in the family pictures. It's a hobby, a love! 

We really enjoyed our first Eggtober Fest! 

For more info on how to get your own Egg...http://www.biggreenegg.com/

Tune in later this week for the perfect fall meal (pumpkin soup and apple cheddar mini meatloafs), and see how I made my own Halloween wreath!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

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Food, Food, and More Food...Plus- A Locale that Mason Loved!

A beautiful plate of Paella "A La Valenciana" at the Columbia Restaurant!

One of our favorite restaurants is the Columbia Restaurant! Usually we snack on Tapas here, but we decided on the Paella- rice with chicken, and shellfish in a flavorful broth. 

Its a traditional Spanish dish!

Sangria de Cava- we make this one at home!

The 1905 salad! Yes- get this!
House-made dressing, ham, tomatoes, olives lettuce mix- yum!

Fresh made Cuban Bread!

It really is a Gem! We hope to go to the original site in
Ybor City someday. The original restaurant was a frequent of Marilyn Monroeand Joe DiMaggio. It also takes up one whole city block!

We finished dinner with churros- complete with
guava and caramel dipping sauces.

Oh- and a Chocolate Tres Leches cake!

Another neat location...The Conch House!

Dinner Views!

Dinner Location...

We ate in one of these beautiful tiki huts overlooking the water!

Margarita and a glass of Smoking Loon Cab.

Sorry about the color on these pictures...as the sun went down it was harder to capture clear shots.
Perfectly prepared banana pepper calamari.

Shrimp and Grits!

Butter Rum Sea Scallops with Gouda Cheese Grits.

Now for some Adventures in Dining and Cocktail Making!!!!

Welcome to the Ice Plant!
It shares the building with the St. Augustine Distillery. 

Everyday, they produce a 300 lb ice block. Then they hand chisel the perfect ice for their perfect hand-made cocktails!

On the left- the Gin's Cup with cucumber garnish. On the right- an Isle of Skye Scotch.

Fresh baked pretzel rolls. On the left: beer cheese fondue; on the right: a deliciously tangy dijonnaise.

St. George Sour- Bourbon based drink with a little sweet and a little heat with a splash of vanilla-pepper .

Red Bandanna- Tequila, Watermelon and Datil Pepper!

Delicious burger with seasoned fries.

Brioche and mushroom bread-pudding with grilled asparagus and a fried egg- YUM!

So, St. Augustine was a blast! The food was amazing!

We enjoy the history, and the restaurant scene is really getting inventive!

Now it's time to head home.

But first....

The Hubs decided to stop by Fort Pulaski on Tybee Island on our way home.

For several years, Mason traveled to Tybee with a group of her beloved girl friends. Each year they would stop at The Crab Shack. 

As it turns out, The Crab Shack is about 3 miles down the road from the Fort.

Outside seating at The Crab Shack.

Our view for lunch.

The Big Kahuna!

Look at this Seafood Platter!!!!!
Clockwise from the top: Sausage, corn, potatoes, mussels, Snow Crab legs, craw-fish, another cluster of Snow Crab legs, Rock Crab legs, and shrimp. (Drawn butter in the center.) 

Well friends, what a week!

We enjoyed our time at the Halloween Party at Disney, and we loved the week in St. Augustine; but what a great surprise to end our trip with a place Mason loved and visited every year.

Coming up next week...

Some fun with a Big Green Egg and a Delicious Fall Menu with Pumpkin Soup!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

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