Fall has reached the SE

Hi readers! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate way too much. I can certainly say I entered into a food coma from all the good fixings! Jonathan and I visited his family in South Alabama and left on Wednesday only to arrive at my in-laws that evening. Getting to spend time with family and friends over a wonderful meal truly makes this holiday special. I like it that Thanksgiving is not too commercial, don't you?

 Fall has officially reached Central Alabama and we are finally getting the leaves to turn, chilly nights, and some warm fires. I thought it was going to stick around 5 weeks ago, but it was a cool spell that was passing through. It's hard for me to think of Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween when I am kicking on the AC and dressing for 70 degree weather. I am sure you have things that you do when the weather turns, but in our house we love to get cozy on the couch with a huge bowl of red beans and rice. If you haven't made homemade red beans you need to try it! It is so much better from scratch and is one of those dishes that tastes better over the next couple of days.

::Red Beans 'n Rice::
8 cans kidney beans (drained)
3 cups chopped onions
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 large cloves garlic, chrushed
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 TBS salt
3/4 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
2 bay leaves
3-4 dashes Tabasco (maybe a few extra dashes if your hubby likes it hot)
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 beer
Lots of Sausage (which means I will put three, 1 lb packages of hot flavored sausage)

Brown sausage remove and drain pot leaving enough grease to brown vegetables. Return sausage to a large stewing pot and add beans & spices. Brown vegetables and add to pot. Then pour in 1 beer and add water to cover beans/remainder of ingredients. Simmer on low for hours then serve over your favorite cooked rice and a side of jalapeno cornbread. The best part is once everything in combined you are free to go about your business and wait until it's finished. (Your house will smell like you have been working hard for hours!)

When we make this dish when we plan on having lots friends over! Since we live in a South Eastern state this dish (made a variety of ways) is pretty common in most homes and restaurants. One thing I love is if you have too much for leftovers freeze the other half. It is so good to pull out and reheat on a night you don't feel like cooking. To learn more about Red Beans n Rice click here.

I wish I could say that I will have Christmas decoration pictures ready, but boxes from storage are taking up the kitchen and dining rooms at the moment. I hope I can gradually get the decorations out this week with a weekend full of baking, testing goodies, and singing Christmas Carols. I can't wait to see how you decorate your home this time of year and hope you have a wonderful week now that the holiday are here!