Foodie Friday: Rosemary Rolls

September is a big month for us... my dad's birthday is the 17th, my mom's is the 24th, and mine is the 30th.  So, last night we had my parents over for a big birthday dinner!  I made three new dishes for this occasion... and I will share each of them on upcoming Foodie Fridays!

All the recipes are courtesy of The Pioneer Woman... she is wonderful!  If you want detailed instructions... and step by step pictures, jump on over to her blog... she does beautiful work!

Pioneer Woman Buttered Rosemary Rolls

-1 iron skillet
-1 pastry brush
-1 package frozen dinner rolls (make sure they are yeast rolls... you need them to rise)
-Butter
-Rosemary, coarsely chopped
-Coarse Sea Salt

Spray the iron skillet with cooking spray.  Place the rolls in the skillet (allow plenty of room for them to rise). Cover with a light towel and let them rise for several hours.

Melt about a half stick of butter.

Brush butter all over the top of the rolls.

Sprinkle coarsely chopped rosemary on top of the rolls.

Brush butter all over the top of the rolls and rosemary.

Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Bake according to the package directions (mine were 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes)

After you take them out of the oven... brush with a little butter one more time...

These rolls are so yummy!  The sea salt is what does the trick... I have started trying to put it on other things too... wonderful!

Wedding Wednesday: School Shower

My first shower was hosted by one of my mom's dear friends Dr. F.A. McLeod.  She and my mom taught together when I was in school, though they work at different schools now they stay in touch and go walking most every Saturday morning.

We called this my "school" shower... all the people attending had a tie to the schools.  I was blessed to have former coworkers, past teachers, and some dear friends of our family attend the shower.  Several of the ladies are friends of my mom who blessed me so much by attending even though they really only know me through my mom.  We had a great time talking about old times... like when I was in elementary school!

The shower was a brunch... and the food was WONDERFUL!  We had quiche, fruit, salad...

And the some very tasty Petit Fours!  These melted in your mouth... they were fantastic!

Brittany and Miss Dawn even made it up for the shower!  This was such a special treat!  They drove all the way from South Georgia that morning!  It was such a blessing to get to see them for a few hours.  I am so honored that they drove all that way just to be at my shower.

The shower had an "Around the Clock" theme... so each invitee was designated a time... and their gift had to correspond to their hour of the day.  We got so many fun things...

It was interesting to see what people thought of for their time slot...

My mom's gift... of course it's monogrammed... with my new last name!!

This is Patrick's favorite... we can't wait to grill!!

I feel so fortunate to have so many wonderful "teachers" in my life... they have continued to teach me long after I left their classroom... I am truly blessed!

Dreams Come True

Today we have officially been married for one month!  I decided it would be the perfect day to start my Disney posts!  I will probably do a post for each day we spent at Disney, so, if it is too much info feel free to skip them.  I am doing it mostly for our memories... because I know all too soon we will start forgetting all the special little things about our trip.

This one is really long... because I want to remember every detail of that night... so grab a snack... and dream with me...

We arrived at Disney's Boardwalk Resort just about 4:00pm... the exact time for check-in.  Our room was on the very very end of the resort... so it was not quite ready for us when we arrived.  We spent a few minutes looking around the lobby and taking it all in... there were so many things explore!

I knew we would be driving most of the day, so I decided I wasn't going to wear make-up... looking at the pictures... that might not have been the best idea.

We couldn't resist this one though, I was so excited... (look at the card very closely)

That's right, my very FIRST thing with my new name!

I was a little paranoid after reading all the wedding magazines, I made sure we told the Disney people that my ID would not match the card.  The cast member laughed and said that it happens all the time... no problem at all!

Patrick told me to make sure I brought a nice dress to wear the first night.  He said he had something very special planned for our dinner... that is the UNDERSTATEMENT of the year!  He planned the most special and breathtaking evening... it is a night I will remember and cherish the rest of my life!

He finally told me where we were eating while we were driving to Orlando.  (He had kept our resort and all our dinner reservations a secret!)  He made reservations for us at the California Grill on the 15th floor of Disney's Contemporary Resort.  We looked over the menu he had printed and talked about how fun it would be to try fancy new dishes that are completely out of our normal culinary realm.

After getting lost briefly on the way from our resort to the Contemporary, we checked in at the restaurant booth on the second floor.  We then took the special elevator to the 15th floor... they only use this elevator for restaurant guests.  I thought something might be up because when we got to the top, Patrick made a point to go to the desk and "check-in" again, he said he just wanted to make sure they had our name.  They took us right into the dining room, which I thought was a little strange, because we were originally told we would have to wait in the restaurant lounge for our table. 

*A quick note... the Contemporary Resort is very close to the Magic Kingdom... the California Grill is on the top floor of the resort and the outside wall is all windows (think the Westin in Atlanta).  Most all tables can see outside... but only a select few are right against the windows.*

The hostess began to walk us to our table.  I was so overwhelmed by the entire restaurant that it took me a minute to figure out that she was taking us to the tables right next to the windows.  Not only were we right next to the windows... my seat had a perfect view of Cinderella's Castle... talk about a fairytale!!!  As we were seated, I noticed that our table looked a little different than the other tables in the restaurant.  I opened the menu... it said "Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Hearn".  Patrick says my face when I read this was priceless.  I must admit that I felt like the most special girl in the World that night... I found my Prince Charming for sure! 

We had some sparkling cider to celebrate... and we got to keep our glasses as a souvenir reminder of our amazing night!  It was truly a celebration!

I mentioned earlier that we were excited about trying new foods... and we certainly did that!  For our appetizer we each chose:

Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Pesto, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Basil.

For our dinner we both chose the signature dish from the restaurant:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Button Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, and Sage.

I told you we were adventurous... I was a little nervous about all the goat cheese... but I can honestly say, I am pretty sure this is the most wonderful food I have ever tasted!  The meat was tender, the polenta was creamy, the mushrooms perfect!

So that's it, right?  How could this night get any more special?  Well, the other big draw to the California Grill is that you can see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the restaurant.  Our waiter suggested that we go outside and watch them from the observation deck... we could see them from our table, however, he said they would be better outside.  He was right... it was so special... once in a lifetime!

This is while we were waiting for them to start... one of my favorite pictures of us... ever!

When we got back inside... this was waiting for us... WOW!!  So beautiful... and so delicious...

This was the PERFECT start to our week... I think I floated all the way back to the resort... after all, we were at Disney... where DREAMS COME TRUE!

The Braves... and an update

This week Patrick and I went to our first Braves game together... we might be banned from now on though, because the Braves played horribly!

Our first stop was at the Atlanta landmark... the Varsity!!  So bad for you... yet it tastes so good!

We got our tickets on "2 for 1 Tuesday"... so we got to go to the game for about $20... not too shabby!

The last few minor league games we have been to Patrick has really wanted some ice cream in a little helmet... guess what...  This time we got it!  So fun!

We also moved down to the lower level a little closer to the game (the stadium was pretty empty overall).

Even though the Braves lost 0-6... we had a great time... and made some wonderful memories!

Now for the update...

I have been thinking a lot about a way to blog all the wedding festivities that I haven't written about yet... let's be real... that is pretty much all the wedding festivities!  I want to make sure I write about each one, for my own scrapbook/memories.  So I am thinking I will make it a weekly feature... Wedding Wednesday... until I finish all I want to write about.  That way I will get to relive those once in a lifetime moments once a week.  That being said, I will blog about our honeymoon very soon... We had such a great time at Disney, I can't wait to share those memories!!

Foodie Friday: Chocolate Pound Cake

Alright... first things first... the Thank You notes are done!  Yay!!  They are in the mail... I am so excited!!  Now hopefully I will have more time to cook and blog!!  There are so many things I have to write about... so buckle up... this is going to be a fun ride!!

Now for my recipe this week... I chose to make a dessert so I could use my new favorite "tool" (thanks mom and dad!).  Patrick is a little jealous because I got this "tool"... he is now trying to figure out what kind of project we need to do around the apartment so he can get a new tool too.

I am in love!!  It makes things so easy!   My arm no longer gets tired from holding the little beaters as the hand mixer toils trying to make it through thick batters!  I can't wait to try so many new recipes!!!  

This recipe came from my family cookbook... it is one of my Mackie's favorites... and it is one of Patrick's new favorites.  He said it was the best dessert I have made for him thus far... but he may be a little biased.

Chocolate Pound Cake

-1 cup butter (2 sticks)

-1/2 cup Crisco

-3 cups sugar

-5 eggs

-1T. Vanilla

-3 cups flour

-1/2t. salt

-1/2t. baking powder

-1 cup milk

-4T. Cocoa

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

-Cream butter and Crisco, add sugar.  Mix until creamy.

-Add the eggs, one at a time.  Mixing in between.  Add vanilla.

-Sift the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder.

(Make sure you sift the ingredients... Thanks for the bowl Ms. Kliefoth!)

-Now it gets a little tricky... so read carefully... Alternate adding part of the dry mixture and part of the milk to the mixed ingredients... make sure you start and end with the dry ingredients.

-Add the 4T. of cocoa, make sure to blend it well.

-Pour the mixture into a well greased tube pan (I had no idea it was called a tube pan... I always just called it a pound cake pan).  Make sure it is well greased so the cake does not stick.  I recommend Pam for baking... or any other spray made specifically for baking... this helps because they add flour.

-Bake for 60-80 minutes (I usually bake mine for about 65 minutes then start checking them).

-Cool on a cooling rack... enjoy!

I am excited to get back to Foodie Friday... hope you enjoy this delicious cake!

Foodie Friday: Tailgate Dip

I know I said I would post more soon.. but my days have been filled with cleaning out and cleaning up our new apartment... and instead of writing for my blog I have been writing thank you notes... soon though, I hope I will get a chance to get back to blogging.

Until then... I am going to repost a couple of my favorite dips... perfect for football season!  Go Dawgs!!

1-2-3 Dip

Ingredients:

-1lb sausage

-2 cans of Rotel

-3 blocks of Cream Cheese

-Brown the sausage

-Then place the sausage along with Rotel (I didn't drain it) and cream cheese into a crock pot.

-If you are going to need it quickly cook on High... but I let it cook on low for several hours-- it will take a little bit for the cream cheese to melt

-Stir the dip every 10-15 minutes so it does not burn or get hotspots.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:

-1 block of Cream Cheese (8oz), softened

-1/2 cup Bleu Cheese OR Ranch dressing

-1/2 cup Bleu Cheese OR Mozzarella Cheese

-1/2 cup Hot Sauce (I used Texas Pete)

-1 large can Chicken Breast, in water, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir the cream cheese, until smooth, in a pie plate or 8x8 pan. Stir in dressing, cheese, hot sauce, and chicken (drained).

Bake for 20 minutes or until the dip is hot and bubbly. Stir before serving... to avoid hot spots.

Serve with chips, crackers, or veggies.

Not so Foodie Friday...

It's been quite a while since I last posted... and I have been quite busy...

There are so many things I need to post... I think I could post everyday for about a month and not run out of material.  I am working on several posts... including some new Foodie Friday recipes... for now though... I have just a few pictures to explain what I have been up to lately...

Bridesmaids Luncheon and Girls Weekend...

Our Wedding Rehearsal...

Our Wedding day...

I leave you with a story from this evening.  Now that I am a "Hearn"  I have inherited what some people call "Hearn luck".  I learned quite a few things about this particular kind of luck on our honeymoon... we had another perfect example tonight.

Before we were married, Patrick was living in our apartment and I was living with my parents.  On the drive between the two places you pass a Krispy Kreme... we would always check as we drove by to see if the red light was on... it kind of became a joke.  Well tonight, on the way home from picking up some things from my parents, the red light was ON!  We didn't see it until it was too late, so we missed the turn.  We decided to turn around... but we got stuck at a long light, then we had to U-turn, and we got caught at another red light.  By the time we got back to Krispy Kreme... you guessed it... the light was OFF.  As if that is not bad enough... the Krispy Kreme was closed!!!  We like to call that "Hearn luck".

Happy First Football weekend!!!