Mmmmmmm...Fudge!!

I love fudge. Plain and simple, it's just good stuff. My mom has always loved fudge but until recently my notsomuch. My mom makes really good fudge too. She makes peanut butter fudge and orange creamcicle fudge. Man, the stuff is good.
While we were in Pigeon Forge, TN. we did quite a bit of shopping. We needed a break one of the days and decided to just sit down at this little bakery and get some fudge to share and a cup of coffee. The fudge was OMG!!!! FAB-U-LOUS!!!! We got three different little slivers to try and share. It was so incredibly hard to just order slivers and not big 'ole hunks of the stuff.

This first one was called a Bear Paw and it was layers of chocolate and peanut butter!!! Seriously sooooo good.

The second one was called a Tiger Paw and it was layers of white chocolate and peanut butter!! Amazing!!! And I'm not even a big white chocolate person, but man oh day this stuff was incredible!!!

Then because I love pecans we got a pecan and caramel and white chocolate one. I cannot remember if it had a cutesie name or not, but it was GOOD!!!!!

Who out there loves fudge? What's your favorite???

The Divine Intervention and Pecans Too (Ha!)

While we were Gatlenburg, TN. we got a little hungry but didn't want to eat lunch yet. So, we stopped by this little candy shop. The candies and sweets inside looked divine. The smell gotcha too as soon as you walked in the door.

I saw these cute little packs of pecans balls and the inside was marshmallow. And there were two to a pack, which was perfect for my mom and I. I'm not sure I have ever seen these before and I know I had never tried them. Are they a southern thing?

My mom saw some candy called Divinity that she loves. She decided that's what she was buying. And it came in a pack of two too, which again was perfect for the two of us. :) I'm not really sure what Divinity is or what exactly it is made of. It is REALLY REALLY sweet though. It was just super sugary. It was good, but not my favorite. I did like it though. Have you ever heard of Divinity? Do you like it?

Country Fried (Is there really any other way???)

I was told by my blog friend Nicolle that while in the south on vacation I had to have some country fried steak with white gravy and green beans cooked in bacon fat.

Well, I did have some fab-u-lous country fried steak with white gravy!!! OMG!!! This was incredible!!! It really is so good in case you've never had it. I remember growing up my mom and my sister loved country fried steak, but for some reason I never did. I loved fried chicken, but not steak. Well, I don't know what the heck was wrong with me because this stuff is AWESOME!!!! The outside is crispy like fried chicken, but then the inside is juicy like a steak. Seriously, doesn't that just make your mouth water reading this???

Well, I didn't see green beans cooked in bacon grease in any restaurant we went to and so I didn't get to try those. However, I did get dumplins with my country fried steak. These were delicious!!! They were thick and creamy. I love dumplins. I've had these before and didn't know they were southern. But I can see with the rich and creaminess that they would be. :) I swear all things in the south are rich and creamy. Mmmmmmm.

Can you say BBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!! No really, OMG!!!! We went to Corky's BBQ in Memphis and has the BEST BBQ EVER!!! Yes, everything must be in caps when I am talking about this place because it is that good!!! I had heard about Corky's many times on QVC, but never tried it. Food Network also did a show with the best BBQ places and Corky's was on the list. It is so good!

I got the "regular" portion of ribs. Yep, this is the regular size!! I got them wet, which means barbecue sauce on them. You could also get them dry, which is Memphis style, but I like it saucy! You also got a side of cole slaw, which was fab-u-lous and some barbecue baked beans, which were also fab-u-lous!!!

Then of course since I am in the south I thought it would be sacrilegious to not get sweet tea. The sweet tea was amazing. How are y'all not diabetic though with all the sugar??? :) If I lived in the south I would be drinking that ALL DAY LONG!!!!

My mom got the pulled pork and then she put some sauce on it. The pulled pork was sooooo good too! Fantastically delicious!!!

These ribs were the best and there are Corky's chains all over TN. and so if you are ever here then you've got to try them. Or if not, then watch QVC when they do food and buy some. It is so worth it.

I Need Some Help with Places to Eat in the South

Okay, so you need to help me out. My mom and I are going on a road trip tomorrow. We are so excited!!! We are leaving at 6:00am for Tennessee!!!!! We are going to

Graceland (Memphis),

Dollywood,


Nashville

and possibly Gatlenburg. Now, I know quite a few of you are from the south and so I really need some suggestions on places we have to stop by and eat. Or maybe you can suggest some southern food we need to try no matter where we are in the south.

Here is our driving agenda and so suggestions along the way would be great.
I-81 Pennsylvania
I-81 Maryland
I-81 West Virginia
I-81 Virginia
(Believe it or not, we are so far south in Pennsylvania that we can go through four states in about 45 minutes to an hour!!! We are only 10 minutes from the Mason Dixon line and so we are almost southerners. :)
I-40 Tennessee

I think on the way back we are going to try and hit Kentucky because we have never been there either.

Okay y'all (gettin' that down now) give us some places to chow down. :) I can't wait to hear what you suggest! Credit will be given along the way too!!!

Lucky I Don't Have to Sew These Buttons!

Seriously, I don't know how to sew on a button. :) My mom has shown me a bazillion times, but I just can't get the hang of it. I always ask her to sew it on for me. Thank goodness for moms right?

Anywho, my mom and I took my niece, Danica, to Cracker Barrel for breakfast this morning. You know how much I love me some Cracker Barrel. I'm not even joking, I could eat there every morning! Ha! So, when we walked in and were waiting to be seated Danica sees all the candy and she says to me, "If if eat all my food can I have a very special treat?", of course I have to say yes because she asked so nicely. Well, she orders a pancake and the pancake is huge. She ate half of it and I thought that was good enough. I don't want her to learn bad habits like I did when I was little (you have to eat everything on your plate because there are starving children in the world).

We get done eating and head on out to the store and she first picks up this big box of candy. I tell her that is way too much candy and her momma will kill me if I buy her that. Then she picks up some wax bottles. You know the ones with the juice in them. I try to explain to her that those really are not for eating. I don't think she would like them. Finally, she chooses the candy buttons. She says to me, "I don't know what these are or what they taste like but I want them". Ha! So we bought them.

When I was little I loved these. I don't remember them being this big or this many on a single sheet though. I mean really there are a lot and the package comes with three sheets of candy buttons!!!!! Plus, I remember when I was little I would peel off the candy and always get some paper residue stuck on the candy and just eat the paper and all! There was no paper sticking with these. They came in cherry, orange, lemon and raspberry! I don't remember lemon or raspberry flavors either. OMG!! They are so good. However, it is not vintage or old time candy if it is all together different from what it was. :)

Do you remember these and did you like them?

Oh Yeah It Is Better'N Peanut Butter

This peanut butter is amazing!!! I was hesitant to buy it because I've tried natural peanut butter before and didn't like it. I have been trying to eat healthier lately and so regular peanut butter is just too many calories.

So, there I was at Trader Joe's looking at the various kinds of organic, healthy peanut butter. Seriously, I was standing there forever. I read everything. My mom and sister were getting irritated because I couldn't make a decision. Finally, I decided on the Better'N Peanut Butter brand.

After trying it I am HOOKED!!! OMG!!! So0000, fab-u-lous!!! It tastes just like regular peanut butter. I'm not joking. It really does! And it has 85% less calories and 1/2 of the fat of regular peanut butter! It is so sweet and sugary, which you wouldn't at all expect from natrual peanut butter. It is soooooooo yuuuuuummy!

Like I said I bought mine at Trader Joe's, but when I googled the brand I found a different label for the peanut butter. I'm not sure why but it is the same kind. If you look in the natural foods section of your grocery store you can find it.

Trust me, try it, you'll like it!

So Tasty and So Simple Potato Salad

Hey y'all (I feel a southern drawl comin' on this mornin') I made the most amazing potato salad on the 4th of July for a picnic. It is was so simple and homemade!!! Those two don't always go hand-in-hand, but this time it was so true!

I first mixed up some of the new Tastefully Simple Simple Salad Dressing Mix. This is a new product out of their Spring/Summer catalog and it is fab-u-lous!! It can also be used for pasta salad. Seriously, you've got to try it. It comes in a box with 3 separate packets to make.

Okay, so I made the dressing first. And then I boiled 2 lbs. of red potatoes. I really love red potatoes (sometimes also called new potatoes) because they are small and cute. They are not as overwhelming as whole big potatoes. Even if you are making a big potato dish using the littler ones seems easier for some reason.

Then I added 3 chopped hard boiled eggs
.
Then, lastly I added celery.

Mix it all up.

I also garnished it with some radishes. I just love radishes. They are so colorful and bright and the perfect look for summer. Right?

And that's it! Seriously, it's that EASY!!!! And it is still homemade and the flavor is INCREDIBLE!!!! Everyone really liked it and couldn't believe how easy it was to make. You can purchase some of the dressing here or order anything else that is so yummy from the catalog!!!

Tira ma who?

Tiramasu, that's who. Ha! I told you I crack myself up. :)

We went to a 4th of July picnic at my aunt and uncle's house and I made a Tiramasu Trifle. I love making trifles. Seriously, I am the Queen of Trifles!

I found this recipe for a Tiramasu Trifle and my sister Missy really wanted me to make it and so I did. I think I like making Trifles because they are really simple. Bing bang boom they are done.

First you take 24 Nilla wafers and lay them on the bottom and up the side of a trifle dish (love trifle dishes too because I just think they are so pretty). Pour 1/4 cup of brewed coffe over the Nilla Wafers.


Next take 2 squares of Semi-Sweet Chocolate and shave it. I started out using a microplane but didn't like that it didn't turn out curly and pretty and so I switched to a hand-held grater and that made it more curly.

Next I used my KitchenAid mixer to mix together 1 8oz. Cream Cheese, 2 packages of Vanilla Pudding and 3 cups of Milk. Mix it together until it is well mixed and thickened.

Next, stir in 2 cups of Cool Whip.

Then, you take half of the Cream Cheese mixture and spread that over the Nilla Wafers, then sprinkle half of the shaved Chocolate over that.

Repeat the layers one more time. That is, Nilla Wafers, brewed coffee, Cream Cheese mixture, shaved Chocolate.

Add the remaining Cool Whip to the center and then add 1 cup of Raspberries.

Let it chill for 2 hours. Yummmmmm. OMG! It is sooooo good!!!! Fab-u-lous!!! Everyone loved it! If you like Tiramasu then you will love this. And look how pretty it is!! You too can be the Queen of Trifles. I will share my crown with ya! :)

Summer Grillin'

Nothing says summer to me like grilling. I love grilled vegetables. And I especially love them when they are fresh out of the garden. We have a huge garden at my mom's house. This year we have planted: 3 summer squash plants, 6 tomato plants, 4 broccoli plants, 2 zucchini plants, 4 green bell pepper plants, 4 cucumber plants, red beets, parsley, and lettuce. And the rhubarb and horseradish grows naturally every year too. Whew! It's a lot right? :) When I was growing up we had three separate gardens, 1 in our yard, 1 in our neighbor's yard, and one at my grandparents house. My dad loved having a vegetable garden. He would end up giving away a lot of the vegetables away, but he just liked to watch them grow. My mom canned and froze a lot of vegetables when we were growing up too. I can remember sitting on the back porch and snapping beans and shelling peas. It seemed endless back then, probably because it was part of our chores before we were allowed to go out and play.

The other night we got our first summer squash and so I decided to grill it up. I just tossed it with some olive oil and salt and pepper.

I then added some baby carrots and some cherry tomatoes.

I put them in one of those really cool grilling woks. Way cool!!!

There will many more pictures of the yummy veggies coming this summer.

Let me know if you have a vegetable garden and what veggies are your favorite and what you like to do with them.