Farewell to February

A number of my blog friends have decided they were yearning for Spring, sick of winter and decided to post some of their photos in a tribute to winter (blah) and looking forward to Spring !

Hopefully my little Bailey will not have to go through this much more to do his daily ‘duties’..



Received this photo in an email..granted it didn’t get this bad but close enough!



HOWEVER… these are the things I’m looking forward to…


















Giving Louis his summer "do"...


He helps trim some of my grasses…


Crisp Apples…

Trips to Local Attractions..
Roseman Bridge in Madison County
Robert and Francesca’s



Boating on the Lakes , watching sunsets…



But until then…..we may have another month of the white ‘poop’
These two decided they have had enough and are heading to warm weather…
(I think they were headed to the beach)

Second Foodie Friday

Michael at Designs by Gollum is hosting an early St. Patrick’s Day Foodie Friday. Click on the blog name so you can check out all the entries from all the other bloggers participating in this fun event! Thanks Michael!! (** As you can see I jumped the gun for the St Patrick's Foodie Friday..goofed up the dates)

Remember on the actual St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, Kathleen from Cuisine Kathleen will be hosting another St. Patrick’s Day Party. Click on her blog to participate in this super Irish Day Celebration. Enter in your favorite recipes, pictures or your favorite St. Patrick’s Day memory!

The recipe I am sharing today is an easy brownie recipe that will keep you wanting another and another…



St. Patrick’s Irish Mist Brownies

Brownies ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs

Filling ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 T butter, softened
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
5 drops green food color
2 drops yellow food color

Drizzle ingredients:

1 (1 oz.) square unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

Heat oven to 350ºF. Melt 1/2 cup butter and 2 squares chocolate in 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth (4 to 6 minutes).
Stir in all remaining brownie ingredients until well mixed. Spread into greased 8 in. square baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until brownie just begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely.

Combine all filling ingredients except chocolate in small bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Spread over cooled bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Cool completely; cut into bars. Cover; store refrigerated.

MARDI GRAS...

Last Celebration before Lent...still haven't decided what I'm "going to give up" and probably won't decide until midnight!!

A sweet dear sexy Southern Lady, Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet, decided to host a Mardi Gras Celebration and invited everyone to join in. Click on her blog name and you can link to all who have participated and take a look at Southern favorites!

My favorite drink in New Orleans is not the Hurricane, which is usually the drink of choice during Mardi Gras, but the Ramos Gin Fizz! I wanted to make one for this celebration but my orange blossom water did not arrive in time..maybe I can post it in a few days! Refreshing and something totally different, for someone who is not much of a drinker, I really liked these!

In looking at recipes to make I wanted to keep it simple..so I decided on
Creole Chicken Skewers...


Very easy to assemble, makes a delicious appetizer! I only made a small batch, but the recipe below makes a large amount. Depending on the type of Creole seasoning you have and the amount you use will determine how 'spicy' they turn out... I served the tenders with a dill ranch dip to equal out the spice.


One bag frozen chicken tenders (approx. 48 tenders in a bag), thawed
6" wooden skewers, soaked in water overnight
powdered creole seasoning
(salt only if creole seasoning does not already contain salt)
Thaw the chicken tenders enough so you can thread the chicken securely onto the skewers, leaving the point just inside the tip of the chicken so the blunt end
of the skewer is the handle. Preheat oven to 350F. Line up the skewered chicken on a cooling rack inside a foil-covered baking sheet or broiler pan. Lightly dust each side of the chicken with creole seasoning. If your creole seasoning does not contain salt, also add salt to taste. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes each side, turning skewers over, or just until the chicken barely loses its sheen. These are underdone so when you heat them for the party they will not be overdone and dry. Freeze under baked chicken skewers individually then store in plastic bags in freezer until ready to serve. Lay out frozen chicken skewers on cooling racks over a foiled pan again and bake at 350F until done. Makes 48 skewers

My other contribution was something I had never made before, but it was one I have seen so many times.... so TA DA !!
PECAN PRALINES



Simple, simple recipe:
1 C Brown sugar
1/2 Cup white sugar
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup heavy cream
Cook in saucepan to a soft ball stage 234 to 240 degrees on a candy thermometer
Stir in 1 1/2 Cups of chopped pecans
Drop by spoon or pour in mounds onto a buttered cookie sheet

They may not have turned out as the prettiest shape, but the taste is just fantastic!

Suzy, Thank you so much for being the hostess of Mardi Gras in our blog world !!

Now, I can start planning a St Patty's Day Celebration that is being hosted by a Lively Irish Lass, Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen! Click on her link for details.