A new paper article about little ole me!

So I have this awesome friend Jaime who is a reporter for a news paper called the Manchester Times. Last week she got in touch with me about wanting to write an article about me in the paper. At first I was like wHaT?? She said that she loved my recipes and my cooking skillz, so she wanted to write about that. I got so excited! She also said that she wants to put my recipes in there weekly too! So I said well lets do this! So she interviewed me and I sent a picture over and she copied some recipes from my blog. Today is the day that the article posted. If you don't get the Manchester Times then you can read the article online. I would also like to mention that she has an article on the front page this week and she has a column she started too! So check them all out! So the link to the paper online is:  http://www.manchestertimes.com/news/index.asp    Then click on the lifestyles section then click on stories. My story is the first one on the section. Enjoy reading! I know I did! Let me know what you think!

Cumin Grilled Pork Chops

This weekend when we went camping we went on a hay ride. Our tour guide's name was Pork Chop. So in honor of Pork Chop I wanted to post this tasty little recipe. These chops are so juicy and good that they taste like steak. So this one goes out to you Pork Chop!

6	center cut, boneless pork chops
1/2 c	vegetable oil
1/4 c	soy sauce
1/4 c	worcestershire sauce
1 tsp	minced garlic
1 tsp	cumin
2 Tbsp	brown sugar
	salt and pepper to taste

Place the pork chops in a casserole dish laying flat.

Next mix together the remaining ingredients in a bowl.

Puncture the pork chops with a fork all over.

Pour the marinade on top of the chops.
Refrigerate the chops for 4-6 hours, flipping them over once while marinating them.
Remove from the fridge the last hour before grilling.

Grill on med-low for about 5 min on each side or until cooked trough. *I always spoon on the marinade too while they are cooking* (discard marinade when your finished cooking)

camping in the smokies

So we went camping for the first time this weekend with kids and some close friends of ours.. Well needless to say we won't be doing that again till the kids are teenagers. I myself really enjoy camping but Josh on the other hand is not a fan. I had bought us a really nice tent too. It was called a 3 room lodge. Basically it had a large middle room with a room on each side, separated with a thin layer of nylon material.LOL. But hey it was nice and spacious. We stayed at the camp ground in Cades Cove in the Smokie Mountain National Park. It was really nice and it had bathrooms, but no showers. So we were all really stinky and sticky for 2 days. We were supposed to stay Friday night and Saturday night but by the end of Saturday the kids, Josh, and I had finally had it. We did have fun on Saturday though. We went to a little area with a rocky beach so the kids and adults could play in the water. Then that evening we went on a hayride around Cades Cove. Our tour guide's name was Pork Chop. Yep that's right you heard me. I was trying to take a picture of his name tag but he had something better, he had a tattoo to prove it! So I of course took a picture of that. When we got back from the hay ride we decided to pack everything up and head home. We didn't get in till around 12:30am that night. I was sooooo tired I just wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep but I decided too take a shower to get the sweat and stink off first. Well that was our little family adventure. It will definitely be awhile before we attempt camping with the kids again. Enjoy the pics!

Creamy Watermelon Pie

I made this today for the first time and got alot of request for the recipe. It is so great and refreshing! I could seriously eat this by myself in one sitting! Enjoy!

1 pkg (3oz.) watermelon jello
1/4 c boiling water
1 pkg (12 oz.) cool whip
2 c cubed seeded watermelon
1 graham cracker pie crust

In large bowl, dissolve jello in boiling water.

Whisk in cool whip to the dissolved jello. Fold in watermelon. Spoon into crust.

Refrigerate 4 hrs or until set.( I like to refrigerate it over night.) Watermelon jello can be hard to find. But I have found it at Walmart on many occasions.

Beer Battered Coconut Shrimp

These shrimp are mighty tasty and easy to make. You have to make the dipping sauce too! I must say, since I don't drink I felt a little awkward buying the beer. I guess I must look old too because the guy didn't even card me :( I used uncooked, deveined, and peeled frozen shrimp and I thawed it. Fresh shrimp is good too but it's hard to come by in Tennessee. Enjoy!

4 eggs
1 c beer
3 tsp creole seasoning
1 1/4 c flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
48 lg shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails
1 bag coconut, shredded
2 c oil
SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE
2 c orange marmalade
1/4 c dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp horseradish

Combine eggs, beer, 1 teaspoon creole seasoning, flour and baking powder.

Blend well.

Dip the shrimp in beer batter and roll in coconut.

Fry in oil heated to 350 in deep fryer, wok or deep saucepan.

The oil should be at least 1-1/2" deep.

Drop shrimp in a few at a time and fry until golden brown.

Remove and drain on paper towel.

SAUCE - Blend together dipping sauce ingredients.

I'm Old

So Yesterday was my {drum roll please.........} 30th birthday! Yet Jada was telling everyone I was turning 2. Hey I'll take that! LOL. Since Josh had to work he let me go with 3 of my girlfriends to celebrate at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, NC last Saturday. We had soooooo much fun. We stayed overnight at a hotel {that I found a smoking good deal on} and went shopping the next day. We then ate at PF Changs for dinner {super yummy}. Anne Marie, Allison and Amber {I like to call them triple A} payed for my dinner. That was a nice surprise/birthday present. I would also like to mention that I played one of those games at Carowinds where the guy has to guess your age and he guessed mine was 20!!! YAY! So I won a prize! So anyway yesterday on my actual birthday Josh made me an orange cake with homemade whipped cream with coconut flakes in it. So yummy it taste like a dreamcicle! The kids and I also went to one of Ammon's little friends birthday party. I had more fun than the kids! My friend Brandy threw the party and the theme was "white trash bash!" You had to come dressed up in your best white trash attire. I won the competition too! So I will now post some of my favorite pics from the past two weekends! Enjoy!

Landon's diagnoses

Landon in his cage





So last Thursday Landon and I headed up to Knoxville for his 24 hour EEG and CT scan. We checked in and waited a couple of hours in our room till they were ready to attach all the wires to his head. Oh what fun that was... After that we went back to his cage I mean crib and just chilled. I had brought his excersaucer with us so that he wouldn't be couped up in his crib all day or me holding him. I wasn't about to let him crawl around on the hospital floor. It was hard because I had to keep a camera on him at all times. The camera only swiveled so he could only go about 180 degrees from his crib. He also had his wires and little fanny pack we had to take were ever he went. He didn't sleep very well that night, but it was to be expected since he had a tail of wires coming from his head.
So the next day the doctor briefly looked over the EEG and said it is still not infantile spasms but it is a benign form of the infantile spasms called infant myoclonic epilepsy. He should grow out of them by the time he is 3, if not sooner. So that was a relief! But he does still have a high chance of developing epilepsy as a teen. Well after the doctor told me, she said that a CT scan was not necessary but I insisted since we were already there and since I have a sister who had a brain tumor, so I wanted it done just to be on the safe side. Once again we were blessed and it came out normal. Doctor K wants to put him on anti seizure medicine but I'm not to sure if I want him on it since it is something he will grow out of anyways. We have another appointment towards the end of the month so I guess I will discuss that with her then.