Lane Southern Orchards

I'm trying to get settled in my new home in Georgia.  I have been lost in a sea of boxes full of loot that needs to be organized and since I'm OCD, I insist on unpacking everything myself.  It all has to be put away just so so.  My other house in Mississippi has a HUGE master closet...but this one--I am having to be creative and weeding out so many clothes.

I took a break from it all and headed over to Fort Valley to check out the famous Lane Southern Orchards.  It's peach season and I was craving anything peachy!  Lane's is big tourist destination for those living in Georgia and travelers going up/down I-75.  They have everything peach and pecan that you can think of!

It was a slow day for porchin'...cause it's like 150 degrees in Georgia!

I headed to the Peachtree Cafe & Bakery and had some lunch...Fried Pecan Crusted Catfish!  I'm not off to a good start with my plan to eat Southern fried foods in moderation.  It was delicious.

Their peach tea is fabulous!  To be honest, I split it up cause it was super sweet...half unsweetened tea, half peach tea.  That was perfect.

I splurged even further and ordered the peach ice cream...the petite size.  Oh my goodness gracious...this was delicious too.  

I headed into the store, which was busy with locals and tourists shopping.  Of course, their fresh Georgia peaches looked good, so I got some of those.

They have ciders, spices, jellies, sauces, breads, and everything you can think of with peaches and pecans. 

But wait, they also sell cute loot!  Itsa Girl Thing tees!

I love these tees with all the cute Southern sayings!

Last night I brought out my latest addition to my "Prissy Apron Collection."
 

I baked the famous Peach Cobbler from Lane Orchards...well, I put the frozen cobbler in the oven and turned it on, so I baked it, right?  This cobbler was a hit with the family and definitely much better than I could have made myself.  Mama asked if I used her recipe.  "Uh, no ma'am, it's from Lane's!"  She gave me a look like "Why didn't you make it yourself?"  Then she told me that she loved it.

I love living these fabulous peach and pecan orchards...I can't wait to go back to Lane's and get a bunch of pecan stuff!

Thanks for dropping by y'all!

The Pimento Cheese With Soul

 

 

I grew up eating pimento cheese sandwiches...made by mama and daddy.  We carried these sandwiches to school, on road trips, and served the Southern delicacy on open-faced sandwiches at Mama's parties.  Along with loving the pimento cheese sandwiches at The Augusta National golf course, I also developed a liking to The Fresh Market's pimento cheese.  Well, now I'm obsessed with the Palmetto Cheese...regular, bacon, and jalapeno.  I have to admit that the Jalapeno is my favorite.

Palmetto Cheese is the pride of Sassy and Brian Henry.  They enjoyed batches of Sassy's original recipe at Braves tailgate gatherings in the 1990's.  In 2002, the Henrys moved to Pawleys Island, SC to take over the the historic Sea View Inn.  It is there that Palmetto Cheese became a favorite appetizer for low country shrimp boils served on the inn's oceanfront porch.

 

 

 

The first retail container of Palmetto Cheese was sold in 2006 at a local seafood store in Georgetown, SC.  Today, Palmetto Cheese has grown from a local favorite into the most sought after pimento cheese on the market today.

So yes, it pays to enter those contests on Facebook y'all!  I replied to Palmetto Cheese's post and said that the Jalapeno is my favorite and they sent me 3 containers of their Palmetto Cheese...It is so good!

A few weeks ago we entertained friends for Happy Hour and I served the Jalapeno Palmetto Cheese with crackers and chips.  Everybody loved it.

I'm always craving grits and the other day I prepared my grits with some of the regular Palmetto Cheese and grilled shrimp.  Delish y'all, trust me!

I added more of the Palmetto Cheese on top of the grits...yummy!

Palmetto Cheese Grits and Shrimp

2 cups grits

4 cups water

1 cup heavy cream

1 tblsp salt

1 cup Palmetto Cheese with Bacon4 large shrimp

Garlic

Olive Oil

Sautee the shrimp in a pan with a bit of olive oil and garlic and set aside when done.  

Boil the water and then remove the pot from heating element and add the grits and stir.  Then add the cream and salt, stirring until there are no lumps.   Cook the grits on low until done, about 10-15 minutes.  Add ¾ cup of the Palmetto Cheese and stir.  Place the grits into a bowl and add remaining Palmetto Cheese on top.  Garnish with shrimp

Tonight I decided to make some Palmetto Cheese Cornbread to go along with our chicken and dumplins, lima beans, and turnip greens.

Recipe for Palmetto Cheese Cornbread:

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

2 tblsp. vegetable oil

1 cup Palmetto Cheese with Jalapeno

Grease pan with the vegetable oil just until hot.  Place cornbread mix into large bowl.  Add egg and stir.  Add the milk and the excess oil from pan.  Add ¾ cup of the Palmetto Cheese and stir all ingredients very well.  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.  When cornbread has cooled a bit, add the remaining pimento cheese to the top.

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Valentine Treats

OOTN...last night.  I'm wore my red gingham Jessie Steele apron in the kitchen...baking red velvet cookies.

The *recipe is very easy...Normally I add a cream cheese frosting, but left it off this time because my packaging would mess up the frosting.  They are still delicious without the frosting!

I placed them inside the heart-motif cups I bought on sale last year after Valentine's Day.

*Recipe for the red velvet cookies:~1 pouch (1-lb. 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
~1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
~1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
~1/4 cup sour cream
~1 tblsp red food coloring
~1 egg

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Stir cookie mix, cocoa, butter, sour cream, food coloring, and egg until soft dough forms.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-9 minutes or until set.  Cool 2 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack and cool completely, about 15 minutes.  Makes 36

Cream cheese frosting may be added after the cookies are cool, if desired.

Southern Praline Pie

During the Christmas season, give the gift of food...everybody's gotta eat y'all!

Southern Praline Pie...oh how Southerners love this sweet pie.  Imagine the taste of fabulous praline candy found in the French Market of New Orleans.  That's the flavors found in the Southern Praline Pie!  The Praline Pie has a rich, dark, sugary, crunchy flavor and texture that is just delicious!

I love serving this pie to my guests...it is such a Southern favorite!

You can call it by the Mississippi-Louisiana name and pronounce it PRAW-LEAN or you can say PRAY-LEAN...either way, it tastes great!

You can order the Southern Praline Pie mix here.  One box of the mix is only $7.95 {makes 2 pies} and is great to have in your Entertaining Pantry.

The Southern Praline Pie mix is the Taste of Gourmet "Product of the Month" during December.  Taste of Gourmet has a "Product of the Month" each month...a fundraising product to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  Purchasing the Southern Praline Pie mix during the month of December will generate a $1.00 donation to St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.  The hospital is devoted to research and treatment toward eliminating chronic childhood diseases like leukemia and is the only childhood cancer research center designated by the National Cancer Institute.

The Taste of Gourmet Southern Praline Pie mix doesn't have nuts, but I added chopped pecans to the recipe...

Recipe for Southern Praline Pecan Pie:

1 box of Southern Praline Pie mix

2 eggs

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Follow the directions on the box of the Southern Praline Pie mix.  Add the eggs and butter as directed.  Stir in the milk and pecans and pour into the unbaked pie crust.  Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.  Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream or serve cold and it's just a good!  Oh-so Southern y'all!

This Southern Praline Pie mix makes an awesome gift!  Wrap it up on a dish and tie it up with a festive bow...presentation is everything!

Cranberry Chutney

Cranberry Chutney!

What is Chutney?  Chutney is a relish originating in India made with fruits and spices.  The Chutney preserved the fruit itself so that it could be eaten out of season and it also acted as a cooling condiment to tone down the hot and spicy flavor of Indian curries.

Taste of Gourmet's Cranberry Chutney is a sweet flavorful condiment filled with whole cranberries and spices to serve with roast turkey, chicken, or pork.  You can mix a little of the Chutney into chicken salad or spread it on sliced turkey/ham sandwiches.

A great party food treat:  Cover the top of a Brie cheese with the Cranberry Chutney, wrap it in pastry, and bake until brown.

It is wonderful mixed with cream cheese as a bagel spread.  Just add 2-3 tblsp Cranberry Chutney to 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature.  Spread on warm bagels and enjoy!

This Cranberry Chutney is my Taste of Gourmet "Product of the Month" during November.  TOG has a "Product of the Month" each month...a fundraising project to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Purchasing the Cranberry Chutney during the month of November will generate a $1 donation to St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.  The hospital is devoted to research and treatment toward eliminating chronic childhood diseases like leukemia and is the only childhood cancer research center designated by the National Cancer Institute. 

It's time to start thinking about hostess gifts for the holidays.  Food is a gift of love.  We all have to eat y'all!  Stock your entertaining pantry and gift closet while making a donation to St. Jude.  A 12 oz jar of the Cranberry Chutney is only $8.95.  This is delish y'all and will make a great hostess gift during the holidays.  Just take your hostess a jar of Chutney and some bagels that she can enjoy the next morning.  You can order the Chutney from me HERE.  

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit with me.

Soup Etiquette

Tonight I'm in the kitchen preparing a pot of Creamy Delta Shrimp Bisque.

  The soup mix is from my Taste of Gourmet products...The Creamy Delta Bisque.  After adding 5 cups of milk and 1 stick of butter {I know...it's a treat} to the base, I also added some fresh peeled shrimp.

The shrimp with the creamy bisque...decadent!  This the reason I eat veges and brown rice with some fish most nights of the week!

Taste of Gourmet Creamy Delta Bisque is packaged 2 mixes per box for $9.95/box.  You can order this soup or other great soup mixes from me HERE.  The bisque is great with catfish, crab, ham, or chicken.  The bisque can be thickened with cheese to make a hot seafood dip.

Social Graces 101 tip:  

There is of course proper etiquette to be followed when eating soup:

At an informal meal you may serve soup in a soup plate on top of an underplate and provide an oval soup spoon.  You will spoon the soup away from you and place the soup spoon on the underplate between sips or when finished.

Informal soup plate and oval soup spoon presentation

Resting and finished position--soup plate

At a formal dinner, soup must be served in a soup bowl with an underplate and a round/cream soup spoon provided.  Again place the soup spoon on the underplate between sips or when finished.

Formal soup bowl presentation with cream soup spoon.

Resting and finished position--soup bowl

Since we are having cream soup tonight, the soup will be eaten with a medium round/soup spoon.  Hold the spoon just like a pencil between your index and middle fingers with the thumb up.  Spoon the soup away from you toward the center of the bowl.  Don't fill the soup spoon completely full.  Place the soup spoon on the plate in the 10:20 "I am finished" position in between sips and when you have finished.  Never leave a soup spoon in a soup bowl.

Also, do not blow on your soup to cool it down and do not slurp your soup.

I hope y'all are enjoying the soup season!

Leopard Print Love

Ten years ago, I was crazy about leopard print.  Of course, I used it everywhere and eventually a few years later I got burned out with it.  Little by little all the leopard throws, pillows, and fashion accessories that I owned were either given to charities or sold in a garage sale.

And now...I'm back loving leopard print again!  Here are a few ways I have added it to my outfits, et cetera:

I mixed tortoise with a leopard print Tory Burch phone case to accessorize an outfit...the ballet flats, tee, and wrist cuff are J Crew Factory  and the wristlet is Tory Burch.

I wore poppy J Crew Factory denim pants and a camel cardi with my leopard print scarf {the scarf is from Belk's}.  The poppy ballet flats with bling are from Target.

Leopard print loafers are popular now and I chose to buy the Target loafers for about $20.  The camel denim pants and black gingham blouse are from Ralph Lauren.  The denim jacket is from The Gap {15+ years ago}.  The tortoise necklace is from The Snappy Turtle and the rhinestone necklace is from Target.  The Louis Vuitton purse is the "Eva Clutch."

Love these loafers and they will probably be my fall go-to shoes!  Tee - J Crew Factory.  Bling necklace - Brina Box.  Bling earrings - Belk's.  IPhone case - Kate Spade.  Nail polish "Holiday" - Chanel.  "Eva Clutch" - Louis Vuitton.

Of course, I have a leopard print apron...love hot pink and leopard print together!

I found this cute leopard print cardi in the girl's department at Target.  I liked this pattern more than the one they offer in the women's department and the xlarge was a good fit for me {on sale $15}.  Pink denim pants - Old Navy.  Sunglasses - Chanel.  Black belt - Celine.  Ballet flats - Chanel.

There are several very cute {and pricey} leopard print clutches around, but I chose this cute clutch from The Gap.  I think I paid about $30 for it and it's too cute!  Necklace - Brina Box.

Of course I have a leopard print cosmetic case...from Forever 21 {under $10}.  All makeup - Chanel.

I added a Brina Box bling necklace to this cute blouse from Forever 21.

Today I wore a skinny leopard print belt {from J Crew} with a white oxford cloth button down and jeans.  Again, I paired the print with pink...Tory Burch {fuchsia} ballet flats, a Lilly Pulitzer cardi, and a Tory Burch wrist cuff.

A couple of weeks ago, I used a leopard print take-out box to hold a thank-you gift.

Okay, so I'm gonna stop with the leopard binge...no more leopard print in my shopping bags!  

Halloween Decor

Now that our house is yellow with turquoise and hot pink accents on the front porch, I decided to go with the colors turquoise and orange for Halloween.  The wreaths and tree were spray painted to match the color of my cushions on the porch and I added orange mesh ribbon bows...take a peek.

This is my tree this year...minus the black and orange and all the spooky witches from previous years.  Parents always take photos of their children in front of my spooky Halloween tree every year.  I'm guessing they might not be so taken with this tree...but I am!

Today I served lunch on the porch and wore a turquoise polka dot apron {from my Prissy Apron Collection}, monogrammed in orange...with an orange gingham blouse, leggings, and orange Revas.

For the table setting, I used orange plates with turquoise linen napkins, orange pumpkin napkin rings, and turquoise monogrammed goblets.

Kinda coastal...

We are expecting 1,000+ trick-or-treaters again this year and are seriously considering putting Halloween candy on layaway at Walmart!

Thanks for stopping by to visit today.