Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket

Friday, October 25, 2013

Warm Cheesy Bacon Dip {recipe}


So what is a girl to do when she has two 5 lb bags of shredded cheese and a industrial size bag of real bacon bits left over from a certain wedding?  Well, after she passes out gallon zip locks filled with chedder goodness to her daughters, then she makes warm cheesy bacon dip of course.  Duh.

I posted this pic the other night on instagram when we had Porterville night and many of you wanted the recipe.
 I aim to please so here it is in all its glory.






I got the recipe straight off the back of the big bag of Hormel bacon topping. You can find it here if you want to know all the nutritional stuff or need to convert servings and things like that.

2 cups of sour cream
1 cup of bacon bits (the real kind)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese or 3 or 4...I'm trying to use mine up so I mighta dumped extra ;)
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese  (softened)
1/2 cup chopped green onions


  1.  Heat oven to 400.
  2.  In bowl, stir together all ingredients. Spoon into 1-quart baking dish; cover.  (I'm just seeing the cover part...oops. I didn't do that)
  3. Bake dip 25 to 30 minutes or until hot. Serve with assorted fresh vegetables and/or chips, if desired.   We served ours with Scoops which holds the cheese in there real nice.  




There you go.  Super easy and everyone loved it. 
 And the bonus....it's even good cold. Tastes like a bacon cheddar cheese ball.  So if you have any leftovers, you can eat them on crackers straight out the fridge. I liked it better cold personally...it wasn't as rich tasting as it was when it was hot and melty.  

And as a bonus, here's a 
"Helpful Hint from Honey"...
How to jazz up leftovers.

We don't waste food around here. Just can't do it.
So when we had leftover smoked pork loin from the wedding, we immediately froze it the next day.
(the faster you freeze leftovers, the better it is later.)
Often times grilled or smoked meat isn't as tasty from the freezer as it is straight off the grill or pit, so we usually do a little sumpin sumpin extra with it.

 Smoked pork and caramelized onion sliders.

(I forgot to take a pic after they came out the oven.  By then, the kids were here and we dove into eating.  But they were a hit)

We bought soft rolls and sliced them to make buns
Nick whipped up some sauce which was like gold...Caesar dressing, garlic, mustard, oyster sauce, and a little of his homemade rub
We heated the meat in a frying pan with a touch of bacon grease for extra flavor and got the meat nice and warm and juicy. 

Microwaving leftover meat from the freezer can dry it out and make it lose its original flavor but if you DO microwave, wrap it in a damp paper towel...it helps keep it moist. ~helpful hint from Nick 
He believes in those damp paper towels.  Just ask our girls. 


Then he topped it with the caramelized onions.



We threw on some more of that cheese we talked about earlier...(this night only put a small dent in my cheese wealth...I'm thinking a lasagna will be happening real soon.) 

He added sliced pickles and topped each bun with a little melted butter.

Then baked them in the oven til they were toasty brown and the cheese was melted.

It was all a hit and didn't spend a fortune to cook up a big delicious meal....I just shopped my fridge and freezer.  It can be a lifesaver at times.  Both with time and money.


I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend.  Nick and I are anticipating a grand one in our neck of the woods...we have some new friends coming over Sunday to break bread with us around our table after church.   What will you be up to this weekend?  I'd love to know.
                                                                                 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Hope Spoken {link up}

5 things for HopeSpoken:
- post your picture so that we can recognize you.
- introduce yourself!
- something that you are little timid or nervous about for the weekend
- something that you are hoping to take away from HopeSpoken
- share something fun/random about yourself

1. My mug..


2. Intros..
Hi Y'all.  I'm Stephanie.  I'm gonna be one of the small group leaders at Hope Spoken and I can't wait to meet all of you!  I just celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary with my man.  We were high school sweethearts and I'm still crazy in love with him...even more so. Definitely more so.   We have three grown daughters who are all married to great guys who we love and adore and are so thankful for.  I have three grand kids who call me Honey and a grand dog named Henry. (Grand kids rock by the way...all the hype is true. Every bit of it.)   I'm a pastor's wife which is another fave of mine and we are having a ball serving the Lord in this new season we have just embarked on. The empty nest is not at all the dreaded place of loneliness I had imagined it would be when my girls were small. Through God's grace, it is fun and exciting and full of possibilities.  I love this chapter of our story He is writing.  I cannot wait to hear YOURS!

3.What's making me nervous about the weekend
Of course, the unknown always makes me nervous. And the possibility of me saying something really stupid or embarrassing is always on top of the list. But I am definitely more excited than nervous about the entire event.  I know how much prayer has gone up for this weekend and I have a holy expectation of God showing out big time. I'm just so blessed I get to be a part of it.

4. What I want to take away
  So many of you I have grown to love through social media (craziness) and I am tickled to finally hug your neck and hear your voice in person.  Eeep!...So the new friendships is one thing I'm anticipating!   I'm beyond excited about serving along side some of my besties and getting to experience this with them.  But I mostly want the Lord to speak to my heart and give me a deeper passion for His people. The exciting thing is how He will do it... will it be through our small group sessions as we dig into the word together?  Will it be through one of the speakers as they share their stories of faith?  Will it be in a one on one conversation that I have with one of you?  I don't know. Probably all of the above...but I'm going with an expectation that He wants to do something new in my heart and I want to let Him.

5. Fun Fact
I've never flown on an airplane. I'm dying to..just haven't had a chance yet. (I'm thinking 2014 is the year)  I could eat popcorn everyday of my life.  I'm a southern girl who doesn't like sweet tea. My  mom and daughters are my best friends...that's not just sweet talk...they really are.  I've recently changed  my lifestyle when it comes to my health and I started running..well jogging really.  Consequently, I've lost 35 lbs and feel better now than I did in my 20s.  Shazamm.



Can't wait to meet y'all!!
ps. the conference  has sold out but they are trying diligently to make some more 
tickets available. So make sure you snag one when they do if you missed out the first time. 

Friday, October 18, 2013

Mr. & Mrs. McMullen

I've been dying to share with y'all some of the details and pics from the wedding and had planned on this week sitting down and blogging about it. However, I've gotten on a fall cleaning kick and have been purging my entire house and it's kinda taken over my time.  After having wedding projects spread all over my house for the past two years, I am craving order....spaces....no clutter...no burlap...no glitter. 
Well hold up. Scratch that... I don't really mind the glitter. (but don't tell Nick)

Anyway, each day gets away from me before I can work on this post and I have SOO many amazing pics to choose from because our incredible friends/photographers are so insanely talented.  I plan on breaking it down and sharing details of this and that but for now I totally, completely, 100% copied April's blog post of the wedding.  You can read what she wrote about the day here.
It will give you a small glimpse into this very special day and maybe, hopefully, whet  your appetite to come back for more.   I have so many God things to share about this wedding that still amazes me each time I think about how He provided and blessed. 

Meridian, MS Wedding Photography


Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Birdcage veil vintage bride
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Gold Bridesmaids dresses
Meridian, MS Wedding Photographer
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Bride with sisters at wedding
Meridian, MS Wedding Photographer
Gold and Pink Wedding
Hot pink bouquet
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Nick Holden and daughters wedding
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photographer
Bride and Groom with vintage car in Meridian, MS
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Vintage Glam Wedding Cake
Gold wedding decor
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography
Meridian, MS Wedding Photography




Thursday, October 10, 2013

My Second Fix {stitch fix}

Well I have so much to share these days. Our cruise was incredible and I'm already working on those pics.  And while we were cruising, our amazing friend and photographer finished up all the wedding pics...can't wait to share those.

But first I'm gonna share my second Stitch Fix. When we got back I had a beautiful package waiting on me.  Seriously, it's like Christmas when they arrive. I ripped into that package like a boss...the thrill of seeing what my stylist chose for me is so thrilling.  You can read about my first fix here.


I loved everything in my box this time and it was really hard to choose what I was gonna keep.
I had requested some kind of bottom piece and she sent me a pair of jeans.  The good thing is I loved them...they were so cute.  The bad thing is they were waaay too big.  Which is also a good thing, so that was nice. 

Next up was this green dolman top.

I had lots in my closet to pair it with...

Boyfriend jeans, pointy toe heels and this cute jacket I thrifted that I thought was black in the store...turns out it is navy blue. 
 I'm ok with that.



Paired it with a pencil skirt that I thrifted...I would probably wear tights with this. Not comfortable going bare legged in this skirt (I have varicose veins the size of ropes on the back of my legs)  but I love the look of it on other people.
Last I paired it with a pair of black skinnies.  I don't think I'd really wear it with the belt but it's fun trying new stuff.  It looks great with boots too but I was too lazy to come back out and take another picture.  (sorry about that)


The next piece was this teal top.

I loved the color but wasn't crazy how it clung to my middle section.
I tried to cover it with a sweater but I think all those stops at the 24/7 ice cream bar on the cruise is showing!  lol

Next piece was an open cardigan sweater.


It was super lightweight which is great for us southern girls.
Tried it on with black skinnies and wedge loafers, which was my pitiful attempt at the little wedge bootie look.  But since I don't own a pair I pulled these out from the back of the closet...they're almost as old as I am.  So not kidding.  And I have no idea what that face is all about.   Probably was thinking about that 24/7 ice cream bar again. 


And the last piece was this necklace..
I adore it's simplicity. I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing it quite a bit.

I'll leave you with this pic of what I  have waiting for me...
See that bed? See all the stuff piled up on it? Yeah...I've been home for four days and still gotta unpack.
And I've been itching to paint this mirror.  Sounds like a great Fall project.

Over all, I absolutely loved this fix!  
If you'd like to try it out for yourself, please click here.

It's super convenient. They ship your box full of happy to you. You try them on. Each piece comes with a card for styling suggestions.  You keep what you want and ship what you don't want back to them in a postage paid packaging envelope that they send you in your fix.  Just give it to your mailman or drop it off at the post office.  Easy Peasy!

Plus...when friends try it out through your referral link, you get a credit to your account!  Bam!
I appreciate you sweet ladies who already gave it a whirl.  I hope you have as much fun with it as I am.
And to the rest of you....I know you want to give it a try.  It's so fun trying new things you might not have ever looked twice at in the store but then you  put them on and you're like..."wow! these stylists have it going on!  They know their stuff!"  Or at least that's what I say.  :)  

Just click here and check it out.

Oh yeah....so many of you asked about the prices last month...cuz y'all know I'm a bargain shopper as many of you are too.  You can tell them how much you are willing to spend on your pieces.  I went extremely low on all my stuff and they are still finding and sending me nice pieces in a reasonable price range.  Hope that helps. 


                                                                                                


pleated poppy
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...