Cabbage & Sausage

I think cabbage gets a bad rap. So many people don't like it. Many times I've read in books about a place smelling like "cabbage and stale body odor" or something equally unpleasant.
I don't get it! I love cabbage!
And one of my very favorite things to do with cabbage is to make cabbage & sausage.
We got a head of cabbage and some big white onions from a local grower this weekend and I couldn't wait to make cabbage and sausage.
It's so easy! All you need is:

1 head of cabbage
1 white onion
1 pound of smoked sausage
butter, salt, seasoning

Chop up your veggies and sausage. Put them in a big pot and cover them with water. I add salt and Nature's Seasons. Bring it to a boil, then cook on med-high for about 15 minutes. Add a little butter and serve!
I always make Jiffy cornbread to go with mine.
Enjoy!

Going Green, Saving Green

I've been talking over at my main blog about going green and saving money. I decided to go into more depth about those things over on this blog. I'll start posting tips on both subjects over here, so keep your eye out!
Today's tip was found at 3 Little Ones. Visit Energy Efficient Now and you will receive two energy efficient light bulbs for FREE! No shipping charges, nothing. This is such a win/win/win! Free stuff, going green, AND saving money! Love it.

Carbon Neutral

We're making big changes in my household and making a big effort to be more environmentally friendly. We've put up a clothesline, we're making an effort to recycle absolutely everything that's recyclable, we're conserving water, and making our own laundry soap, among other things!
Sometimes it's easy to think "oh, one person can't make a difference!" but if everyone made changes, the world would be a much better place...and the Earth would thank us!
Just for joining this cause, a tree will be planted in honor of my blog...how cool is that?!

Check it out!

Meatless Monday & Stuff

Another Meatless Monday rolled around. We went with an old standby this Monday; bean burritos with sour cream, cheese and salsa; corn, and the Margaritaville tortilla chips that I picked up at Publix (BOGO!!) this weekend. They are super-good chips. I especially like the extra thick variety. I saw that they also sell salsa, so I want to try that as soon as I can find it.
In other news, I started my window herb garden this weekend. I planted parsley, basil, and chives. I can't wait until they start sprouting! I should see sprouts in 7-10 days.
I also planted a bell pepper plant. I haven't planted veggies since I lived at home with my parents (we're not going to discuss how many years ago that was, mmmkay?). I can't wait to watch them grow and then eat my own produce! I'm also going to plant tomatoes and cucumbers.
We have a blueberry stand that is supposed to be producing soon. There are little tiny blueberries EVERYWHERE. I am going to be needing blueberry recipes....LOTS of them!
We picked up some fresh vegetables at a craft festival this weekend. I'm always thrilled to get fresh veggies from local growers and the price is fantastic, then I forget and go right back to buying at the grocery store! DUH! This town has a Farmer's Market every Thursday and I am determined to start going!
Hope y'all have a great week!

Anniversary Dinner

Friday, April 9th was our 5th Anniversary.
It came at the end of our Spring Break vacation and in the beginning of our move, so it sort of caught us off guard. But John still brought me home three beautiful bouquets of flowers.

{However....all of my vases are packed. Thus, the redneck vase!}

For dinner, we went to a lovely restaurant called The Ivy House. It's located in a big, old Southern home and they serve good old fashioned Southern cooking.

When we arrived, they were already getting busy and they asked if we'd mind being seated in the Coffee bar. We didn't mind at all!

We started with sweet tea (which was PERFECT), tossed salads, and cheese fritters for our appetizer. YUM.

{our waitress kindly took a picture of us!}

My entree was Southern baked chicken, which came with seriously the best cornbread I've ever had, amazing macaroni and cheese, green beans, carrots, corn, and a crescent knot. It was ALL fantastic and I could only eat a tiny bit of it!
John ordered ground beef with peppers and onions, which came with french fries, carrots, corn and green beans.


The desserts looked delicious but we had absolutely no room for any of them. We took a lot of our food home in boxes!
They also have a lovely gift store upstairs.
It was a wonderful Anniversary dinner!

{The Ivy House}

Meatless Monday

Another Meatless Monday/ Meatfree Monday has rolled around. I wasn't feeling very creative tonight, so I decided to cheat a bit and make fish.

We're having pan-fried tilapia (not breaded), Fordhook lima beans, and King's Hawaiian rolls.
I can't wait! I love seafood.

How about you?

One day a week - give up meat!

*ETA* The cheezy potatoes dish was THE BOMB!! Huge hit!

My Easter Dish

We're going to my parents' house for Easter and my Mama is making a ham. My contribution is going to be Cheezy Potatoes. I didn't want to make potato salad again, so I decided to make something potato-y and cheesy. I went to allrecipes.com and found this Cheezy Potato recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 pound frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of potato soup
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (16 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup crushed potato chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large baking dish, mix together potatoes, soup and sour cream. Mix in cheese and butter. Salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Top the mixture with potato chips.
3. Bake 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mixture is bubbly and lightly brown.
4. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving.

However, I chose to substitute bacon for the potato chips, because...um, hello, bacon?? Who needs a reason?

In fact, I think that should be one of Southern Loving's mottos: One never needs a reason for bacon.

I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out, but I really don't see how I can go wrong with these ingredients!

Oh, and my Mom is making Chocolate Delight....I think I'll post that recipe next! It's fantastic!