A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

(please excuse having to scroll pictures before the text. second attempt at uploading, so Im leaving it. Not the biggest fan of this blogger layout..)
Last weekend, Andrew and I had the pleasure of taking the little lady to the pumpkin patch to see what we could find.  It was a gorgeous day, and although in the 80s, we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  How could you not though with this face in tow?

Naomi is at such a fun stage right now.  She finds every little thing amusing, and so do we as we watch her learn and explore.  The petting zoo with all the different farm animals was a favorite as she peered and petted animals she's never seen in person before, and afterwards, she took to the massive pumpkins like they were her own.  Even tried to pick one up that I'm sure was as heavy as a horse. Impressively gigantic as you can see!

I certainly do enjoy my share of fall festivals and all that comes along with it, and it is such a delight to have a "reason" to go now.  Let's face it. Fall festivals aren't all that much entertaining unless you have a little one whose face lights up at the first sign of a tractor pull or candy apple. Ok, I must admit, we were pretty darn impressed with the corn maze too.  Always a child at heart.

Fall is the Perfect Time for Comfort Food!

ok, so as much as I would like to post each and every recipe we'll be devouring this fall, there's only so much time in the day to get even the most mundane chores crossed off the list, so we will see how this pans out.

Best dinner of the year award :)

Last week (heh, it's taken me a week to get this up here!), we had the most old-fashioned of comfort foods, and it was better than ever.  Seriously. I'm not just saying that, it really was the best I've ever had - just don't tell my Geemama I said so! It really tickles me to know I'm getting better in the kitchen because I've got a strong line of women ahead of me who are the best cooks I've ever known, hands down.  My sincerity of that statement has gotten me into a little bit of trouble with the likes of the Deen boys...I was once asked at the Lady and Sons how my lunch was by none other than Bobby Deen, and I answered him as honestly as I know how, "It's good, but I've had better."  Let's just say his response to that needs a censor that this page just won't allow, and I was able to keep my job! ;)  But, it's true. Nobody can cook as good as my mama, well except for her mama, and I believe any true Southerner would say the same!


So, without further ado, I give you my version of mama's Chicken and Dumplins'. I'll have another bowl, please. There's definitely enough seconds for everyone in this recipe.


Chicken and Dumplins':
1 whole chicken - boil in large pot with water to cover. Reserve 3-4 cups of stock.
1 C each of peas and carrots - a frozen bag works just as good!
1 can cream of celery soup - I use fat free
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 package of Mary Hill's Dumplins, found in freezer section. Hey, I've made dumplins from scratch once, and I will try my best to never do it again.  Geema would even agree, "Do what makes it easy," and these are WAAAAY more time consuming to make than biscuits. Mary Hills are all natural, wheat-based dumplins...homemade, just not in this home!
1 1/2 C 1% milk.

I just love her. Thanks, Mary Hill, for making my life a little easier.

-After the chicken is cooked (say, 45 minutes give or take boiling in pot), remove from pot, place in large bowl and run cool water over it.  Once it's cool enough to handle, remove all meat and place to the side. Reserve 4-5 C of broth.
- In large sauce pan, place two cans of soup, frozen veggies, and milk. Bring to almost boil and then simmer stirring often. Salt and pepper. Add chicken.
- In the pot, add the dumplings one by one, stirring carefully so they won't stick.  Cook for twenty minutes. See? I told you it was easy!

- Add the chicken mixture to the pot and stir all together. Seriously. That. Easy. Hope y'all enjoy as much as we did. It kept us fed all week!

roasted kale! 400 degrees for 14 minutes. Olive oil, lemon, and garlic. De-LISH!

The Littlest Bumblebee and Me

It has been too long since I blogged last, so please forgive me!  We are right in the middle of getting this house ready to sell (!!), but we are still taking lots of pictures along the way - more to come this weekend as we head to Poppell Farms for hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and cotton candy, of course.  Yes, Halloween is NOT complete without two handfuls of cotton candy. I'm still a kid at heart. But aren't we all?


The house goes on the market next week, so we plan to get out the pressure washer and the likes out this weekend to make the final clean swoop of the property.  I'm going to miss the little house that could - hopefully sooner than later! :)

proud of her potty sticker! :)

making Halloween snack mix with mama

finished product

too big these days!!

"shrug your shoulder" her Deddy taught her that!

Until next time, enjoy the photos of the sweetest little bug that makes us smile and chuckle constantly. More to come SOON!! xxoo

getting ready to gut the pumpkin for roasted pumpkin seeds

sticky and slimy! she absolutely loved it!

get those seeds out for mama!

our little bumblebee