The End of Summer: Soup and Housecleaning

Is August too early to start longing for Fall weather?  One of the things that I have come to love about Tennessee is the {generally} perfect season length- just as you are tiring of one season, the next is starting.  This might seem a little silly, but let's remember people- I spent the first 21(ish) years of my life in California.  6 months of Summer and the rest is mostly mild Fall and Spring with an eetsy beetsy little Winter in there around January.  And even then it rarely got so cold I wasn't comfortable in flip flops.  

Sometimes I long for that perfect weather…but then a rainy, gray day like today comes along for me to enjoy.

I always know when it's raining back home because everyone on Facebook is posting about it as if the sky itself is falling!  lol makes me giggle every time.

My kiddos enjoying last year's fall weather :-)

Anyway, as I sit here in the rocking chair in my son's room, watching the rain pour down, trying to pretend that my husband doesn't have the stereo blaring while on daddy-duty downstairs so I can have a few minutes of mommy-time, I'm grateful for the seasons- and ready for gray, chilly days ahead.

The Golden Rule

I did a terrible thing a couple of days ago. As my daughter and I pulled out of the Target parking lot we saw a woman holding a sign. My daughter- whose reading skills continue to amaze me- saw that her sign said she had a newborn baby at home. I took a sip of my diet soda and kept driving, attempting to avoid eye contact as we passed her. I justified this by telling my daughter that I didn't have any cash on me, and that we had no way of knowing what this woman's situation really was. 

 Every word I spoke to her felt wrong to me, sending pangs of guilt to my core.

I want my daughter to know that we should always try to help.

My Biggest Problem

Hi, I'm Nora, and I'm a junkie when it comes to food photography.  I rarely make anything that I don't photograph before serving, or at least save a serving of to take a picture.  Therefore, it can be extremely hard for me to decide what images to share with you!  I've tried really hard to narrow it down to a few of my favorite photos/recipes this time so I don't overwhelm you.  It's been a summer full of fun and millions of doctor's and therapists appointments for little man and I've had zero time to sit down and write anything out- meaning I had a HUGE number of photos and recipes to dig through in order to pick a few favorites.  Enjoy!

As always, all pictures link to the recipes!

Click on the picture to see the recipe!

First off, let me just say that my family hates zucchini.  Little man won't eat it, his sister won't eat it, my husband DEFINITELY won't eat it, and to be honest...well, I'm not such a fan myself.  So why did I plant FOUR zucchini plants in the garden this year?  I haven't a clue.  Not a smart move.  Anyway, they've been extremely prolific.  I have 50 cups of frozen/shredded zucchini, 9 pints of zucchini relish, 7 pints of zucchini pickles, I've given some away, I have more on my counter, and I still have more growing!  I had to do something, fast.

It's SUMMER!!!

From the time I was 16 until I was 29 Summer didn't mean much…then I became a stay at home mom.  No more days spent inside at work, missing out on all of the summer goodness.  The kiddos and I have been busy finding ways to spend our days the past couple of weeks…swimming, the library, picnics, VBS…it's been pretty great and we still have two more months of Summer to go!I'm ridiculously excited.  

Also exciting?  Summer food. 

Cool, creamy salads and delicious meats smoked on the grill.  I think my favorite, though is a combination of the two that I invented (and had published on Allrecipes!)- Asian Chicken Salad. 

It's definitely not necessary to use smoked chicken (I sure don't when pressed for time) but that smoky flavor truly pushes the flavor over the top in this recipe.  The seasoning amounts are really easy to play with- it's fairly mild in flavor as published, I usually kick up the sriracha, lemon juice, garlic, and sesame oil when I make it for my family.  Anyway, it's delicious.  Cool, crunchy cabbage and savory chicken all mixed together with Asian flavors.  It's my absolute favorite meal in the whole world!  My husband loves it served in little bread bowls, but you can serve it on lettuce, a sandwich, or even by itself.  Definitely give it a try!

Engaging Ideas with Sargento Cheese

One of the things that I most love about cooking is the way it is universal. No matter what the occasion or company, food is the tie that binds. Whether it be a hearty family meal for the holidays or a special meal cooked to impressive a new love, food brings us together. Personally, I adore feeding people I care about and having a hand in bringing them together at the table. This year Allrecipes.com has partnered with Sargento, a company that says that, “for every moment, there’s a meal. And for every meal, there’s a perfect Sargento Shredded Cheese to go with it!”

Click on the picture for the recipe!

I have to say, the news that we get to work with Sargento has made me even happier than usual to be an Allrecipes Allstar (if that's even possible)! I mean really...who doesn't love cheese??

Allrecipes and Sargento asked the Allstars to create a recipe for one of life's little moments using Sargento Shredded Cheese and I was assigned a sweet moment that I couldn't wait to get started on- getting engaged.

Mainly Margaritas :-)

Life's been a little hectic the past few months!  My son turns two next week and he doesn't really talk yet.  I take that back- he doesn't speak any kind of language we understand.  He jabbers incessently, but very little beyond "uh oh" or "dada" comes out of his mouth in any recognizable way.  So, we finally went to have a speech evaluation done and he's now seeing a speech therapist twice a week, an occupational

My Handsome Man

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