The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Cook by the Book: Mahogany Chicken

Labor Day is coming up this weekend so for my "Cook by the Book" challenge this week I decided to feature none other than something off the grill: Mahogany Chicken from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Grilling! This is a cookbook the kids and I gave my husband for Father's Day one year. He has used it many times, but I have not so I decided to flip through and get some inspiration for a good grilled chicken dish! Really, they had me at the word "mahogany" based on the idea of the color alone. The thought of a mahogany glaze made my mouth water, just imagining the tasty components that might go into it to produce a rich reddish-brown sauce! I skimmed through the ingredient list and had all ... Read more

Back-to-School Tea

Friday afternoon we had a few neighbor friends over for an after-school snack--a sort of "teatime" except I didn't call it that in front of my son and our tea was enjoyed iced rather than hot, perfect for our warm summer afternoon. This was really easy to throw together! When you have stuff in your stash to work with--tablecloths, paper goods, ribbon, baskets, trays, etc.--a simple table can come together without any prep or purchases. The chambray cloth was a hand-me-down from a friend. I made the red checked topper when my girls were little (I use that thing all the time). The green napkins were leftover in my party box, the ribbon and pencils were on hand, and I always keep apples ... Read more

Cook by the Book: Scotch Eggs

Ok, friends! I mentioned a few weeks that my friend, Missy, and I were planning something fun and here it is: COOK BY THE BOOK! On several occasions during the last few years, Missy and I have commented to each other on how even though we have such great cookbooks, the convenience of internet has caused us to fall into the habit of quickly searching the web for a recipe rather than perusing the pages of our now dusty cookbooks. Anyone else? So, we're bringing back the cookbook! We're setting a goal to use our cookbooks (culinary magazines count too) regularly and post our recipe reviews on our blogs. For my first cookbook spotlight, I'd like to introduce you to A Literary Tea ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: This and That

Hello, friends! I have a few snapshots to share this week but without any kind of theme like I sometimes do. Just some of this, some of that. I'm going to begin with the highlight of our week which was time with our small group! Graduation Fiesta Our small group met at our house this week to reconvene after our summer break and honor one of our sweet girls who's been a precious friend to my girls and graduated high school this past May! We celebrated with a belated graduation meal--a taco bar! Many in our group have been traveling this summer so it was so good to have the whole gang back together. I found some cute cactus paper goods, a pinata, and a cactus garland at Target, ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: A Week of Meals

Today's snapshots are all about food! I'm a food pic girl. If someone posts a photo of their lunch, cookie, or cup of coffee I immediately think, 'Oh, that looks good! I hope they share the recipe!' I also like to take pictures of my own plates of food (My kids and husband will attest to that!) as a way of sort of cataloging meal ideas. Today I’m sharing pictures of the meals we ate this week. I challenged myself to make as many meals as I could with what I already had in the fridge, freezer, and pantry and make them as healthy and colorful as possible. If food pics aren't your thing, I get it and it won't hurt my feelings if want to skip this post and check back another day. ... Read more

A Cracker Jack of a Snack!

Hey, Cracker Jacks! Hope you all had a great July 4th! We enjoyed several goodies for the holiday including the all-American snack of Cracker Jacks! I made a batch for the 4th and then a second batch for my supper club last night. We meet every other week for dinner and visiting with a theme for the meal. This week's theme was ballpark food! How fun! I signed up for Conecuh sausage dogs with homemade mustard sauce. There is also a sign up each time for someone to bring a takeaway treat for everyone to leave with. I thought the Cracker Jacks would make a fun takeaway treat so I signed up for that too! Homemade Cracker Jacks Ingredients: 16 cups popped corn 1 cup salted ... Read more

Elegant Woodsy Reception

Hello again and welcome back to wedding blog week! My apologies for dropping off for a couple of days after that first post. We've had a busy week! Anywho, Monday I began sharing about the wedding ceremony, flowers, and decor. Today's post is all about the food! As I mentioned before, my daughter's senior piano recital reception offered the perfect opportunity to try out some ideas before the wedding. Wedding Reception Menu Charcuterie Cups Cheese Straws Fresh Fruit Groom's Chocolates Bride's Southern Cream Cake Hot Tea: Scottish Caramel and Decaf Garden Blend Sweet Tea and Fruit Water Charcuterie Cups Salami/pepperoni/olive skewers ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: Hello, Summer!

Good morning! The wedding posts are still in the works and will pick back up next week, but for today I'm sharing a few snapshots of the week. When I did this several weeks ago as "Friday Five", I had several friends tell me they enjoyed it, so I've decided to make it a regular. Most bloggers post their weekly photo summary on Fridays but I'm going to make mine on Saturdays to keep Fridays open for "Fluff the Nest" posts. So here goes! With the wedding behind us, we feel like we finally began our summer break this week. The fun activities, slow mornings, summery foods, and evenings outdoors with crickets singing. Ahhh, I love it so! Summer Grilling We grill year around, but ... Read more