Fry It Up Baby!

I spent Saturday morning doing what I do best RELAXING!!! It was soooooo nice! I slept in and my sweet hubby brought me coffee and breakfast in bed ( I think he's a keeper!). I had planned to extend my lazy morning into a lazy afternoon by laying out by the pool and working on my non existent tan. That was until I was informed by my husband that we would be having a fish fry for lunch. Apparently while I was snoozing the morning away he decided to take Baby Boy down to the pond for some early morning fishing. Let me just say that the fish were a bitin!!! So instead of getting the tan I dream of some day having, I spent my afternoon cooking! Which was actually fine by me. I love to cook and my husband was so excited about his fish that I just couldn't say no! I mean what kind of wife would I be if I didn't clap, cheer, and cook a big meal when my husband brings me home dead fish....Flowers are so overrated!!


So we had a little Saturday afternoon fish fry. The Hubs was in charge of the fish because he makes the best darn fried fish around!

Here is a piece of fish ready to take a swim in the grease.

Fry It Up Baby!

So while my husbands job was to fry up the fish, I was in charge of the hushpuppies and french fries! For the hushpuppies I used Dusty's Mamaw's recipe which I have been itching to try.

My hushpuppies in all of their glory!

For the french fries I cut up a few potatoes and seasoned them with olive oil and whatever spices seemed to tickle my fancy at the moment.

Then it all came together as a heart attack on a plate and we enjoyed every bite!!




Recipe for Mamaw Johnson's Hushpuppies


1 cup Self-rising corn meal mix
One egg
1/2 cup Buttermilk- use more if not moist enough
One medium onion- chopped
One large jalapeno pepper- chopped
1/2 cup grated cheese (use more if desired) * I desired more! :)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp course ground black pepper
(optional- 1/2 can cream style corn instead of buttermilk).
Mix together, form into balls and deep fry.
* This recipe is fabulous as is, but I have to be honest- I made a few changes. Because I like buttery hushpuppies I added about a half tablespoon of melted butter. I also added a little more cornmeal and added more of each of the spices.


Try these! They are GREAT!!!


Lot's of Love!
Allison

My Blah-og!

My Blog or BLAH-og needs a little TLC! The poor thing has been looking blah/boring for far to long and I'm tired of it! So over the next few weeks I'm going to be working on a new look to jazz this place up a bit ( if I can figure out how). I have already changed the background and I'm LOOOVING IT!!! What do you think? Do you like the new look so far? What about all of the cute pictures of my hubs....isn't he a doll?!?! Well I'm getting sleepy so off to bed I go! Sweet Dreams!!

Monday Morning Grump!

Well Hello Monday.....We meet again! Ugh!

I am NOT a fan of Monday morning! Well... let's be honest! I'm not a fan of any morning that I have to wake up before 8:30. I'm just not a morning person! I'm sure my poor husband well attest to that! Any who, I have an extreme dislike for Monday mornings for many reasons! Reason # 1- the glorious weekend is officially over! That right there is reason enough to hate Monday, but then there's more! Reason # 2- The work week has officially begun and you have 5 WHOLE days until you greet the glorious weekend again. That sometimes feels like an eternity to me!! Don't get me wrong I love, love, love my job, but I look forward to the weekend when I have the time to do what I want, when I want! Ya, feel me? OK, back to my list Reason # 3- Traffic is always the Worst on Monday mornings. I can't stand being stuck in traffic. I have a hard enough time getting to places on time without the traffic. I mean really.... I have somewhere to be GET OUT OF MY WAY!!! Well I could probably sit here and think of a million more reasons why I don't like Monday, but I think I have proved my point!


Well this little Curmudgeon is heading to Starbucks (because that always makes things better). I hope everyone has a Wonderful day even if it is Monday! :)

Sweet New Arrivals

One word to describe some of our new baby accessories... PRECIOUS!!

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How cute is this travel pillow?!? Every sweet baby boy should have one! :)
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We can't forget the sweet baby girls! They can ride in comfort and style in the carseat or carrier!
Price: $16.00

                                                                     

 So fun! Your little Monkey will love this! Price $16.00                                                                             

When it's time for your little one to drift off to sleep,  pull this little guy's tail for a lullaby so sweet!
Price: $20.00

This sweet bunny plays music too! Price: $20.00

This adorable Butterfly lovey is perfect for your sweet girl to snuggle with! Price: $12.80

This Lion Lovey is perfect for your little wild one! Price: $12.80

If you would like to place an order with us. Please leave a comment below with your email address and what item(s) you would like to purchase, or email us at paperperfectgifts@gmail.com

Thanks friends!

A Few Fourth of July Recipes

As promised here are a few of the recipes from our Fourth of July cookout. Enjoy!

Ramen Noodle Slaw

I got this recipe from one of my Mother's friends at my recipe shower. I have made it several times since Dusty and I have been married. It is a simple and delicious dish and everyone that eats it loves it!!

Ingredients:

2 pkgs Ramen Noodles (crushed) I always use the chicken flavor, but you can use beef or pork.

1 pkg Broccoli Slaw Mix

1 Cup Sunflower Seeds

1 Cup Toasted Slivered Almonds

1 Bunch Chopped Green Onions

Combine slaw and chopped green onions and refrigerate for several hours.

Dressing:

1 Cup Vegetable Oil

1/2 Cup White Sugar

1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Seasoning from noodles

Mix Together and Refrigerate For Several Hours.

Combine salad and dressing. Mix crushes noodles, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Add as topping just before serving.

                                                      Caprese Skewers                                                

Caprese is a Summer staple at our house! We LOVE fresh tomatoes and fresh Basil, and who doesn't love Mozzarella?!?! Usually we slice up whole tomatoes and layer with Basil and Mozzarella, but since we were at a casual cookout I decided to put them on skewers so it would be easy to eat.

Ingredients:

Cherry Tomatoes

Fresh Basil

Mozzarella

Salt

Pepper

Balsamic Vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Using a wooden skewer spear a tomato, piece of basil, and a slice of mozzarella. I did two layers of this combination per skewer but if you want to do more or less knock yourself out. Once you have all of the skewers made that you little heart desires place them on a serving dish and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I prefer fresh cracked salt/pepper, but anything works). Then right before serving drizzle skewers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (I usually put more olive oil than balsamic because the balsamic can be over powering). Now pass out to guests or save them all for yourself and enjoy!

Party Sandwiches
I love these little sandwiches!! They are soooooo good and easy to make. Give them a whirl, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:      
              1 12 count package Kings Hawaiian Roll
12 slices of Swiss Cheese
12- 16oz thinly sliced Ham
1/2 Cup of Butter Melted
1 tsp Ground Mustard
1 tsp Poppy Seeds (optional)
2 tsp Onion Flakes (or 1 tsp Onion Powder)
2 Tbsp Worcheshire Sauce

Place the bottoms of 12 rolls in a 9x13 pan. Cut the cheese slices into four parts and place one piece on bottom roll, followed by two slices of ham and another piece of cheese. Put the dinner roll tops back on. In a bowl mix the butter, mustard, onion, and worcheshire sauce together and spoon over the tops of the sandwiches. Refrigerate sandwiches overnight. Add poppy seed to tops of rolls right before baking. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes and serve.

* If you are feeling wild and crazy then you can make these with turkey. You can also use cheddar cheese, pepperjack cheese, or whatever cheese your little heart desires. I have had them many different ways and enjoyed them every time!
             
        

                   Let me know if you try any of these yummies! I LOVE getting feedback!! Ta Ta for now!!!

Fourth of July!

Dusty and I had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! Since he has a big test coming up we decided to stay in town so that he could study. But we just couldn't miss out on all of the Fourth of July fun, so we decided to have some of our close friends over to my parents house for a cookout. My parents have a pool so it's a great place to hangout in the Summer! We added a touch of red, white, and blue to their backyard and the scene for our patriotic cookout was set!


We chugged sweat tea from mason jars with these festive flag umbrellas! I just love umbrella drinks so I was super excited when I found these patriotic umbrellas!

Sweet Tea!! A staple at any outdoor activity! Sorry about the blur, my camera fogged up!

This was the center piece to our food table. I just loooove fresh flowers! Aren't they pretty?!?

Another centerpiece

And another center piece..

And another....

These were on the railings of the back porch. We are proud to be Americans!!!

Now let's check out some of the yummy food that we munched on...

Caprese skewers! The basil was fresh out of the garden and soooooo tasty!!!

Per request Heather made her seven layer dip. It was delicious as always!

Mexican pinwheels! Easy and delicious!

Heather also made these delightful little sandwiches! These are not your ordinary sandwiches. There is a sauce you pour over the top and then you bake them in the oven. They are sooooooo good! I will get the recipe from Heather to share with ya'll!

Ramen noodle slaw. I must admit that I HATE cole slaw, but I loooooove this stuff! I could eat the whole bowl! It has such a great flavor! It's definitely a favorite side dish in our house!

The main course...good ole fashioned hot dogs! I wanted a picture of them tanning on the grill, but I missed my chance so here they are in all their glory on a platter.

Somehow I didn't get a picture of the whole table or all of the food (darn!!). Not pictured: Baked Potato Salad, Hot Pimiento Cheese Dip, Ranch Dip, Cucumber Dip, Homemade Salsa, and Fabulous Homemade Peach Ice Cream! YUM-O!!!


We had a blast swimming, eating, and hanging with friends! I just love get togethers with the people we love!

The Bankheads! They are expecting a sweet baby boy named Hyatt in November. We cannot wait to meet him!!!

The Dugans! Dusty and I LOVE hanging out with these two! We always have a great time!

The Johnsons! (that's us) This is not the most flattering picture, but it's our only family picture of the day!

Well Hey There Peepaw! This is our friend Clint, he will be marrying Melinda (our other friend) in September. We are so excited for them, they are such a sweet couple! They are a little older than the rest of us we call them Meemaw and Peepaw. They are NOT OLD! Just older than us, so it's all in good fun!

The Girls!!! Ohhh how I love you all! :)

Here we are again! Taking a break from the pool to eat some of the yummy food!

The hubs and Chance relaxing in the shade.

Glynn and Meemaw

After a fabulous day by the pool we loaded up and went to the lake to watch the firework show. We had alot of fun! The weather was perfect and we had a great spot!

Snuggled up on our blanket waiting for the firework show to start.

I tried to get a good picture of  the fireworks, but I had my camera in the wrong setting so this was the result!

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July! We sure did! We felt very blessed to be able to celebrate our freedom with some of our loved ones! We are very very thankful for all of the men and women who risk their lives everyday to keep us safe! God bless you all and this wonderful Country!

P.S. I will post some recipes from our cookout as soon as I get a chance so stay tuned!