On Saturday David and I took a drive into Louisiana to eat at a place called The Bekery (not Bakery). It is a little cafe tucked inside a newer subdivision of houses, built to look like something out of Charleston or Savannah. The houses are very Southern and very coastal and it's a quaint little place to live. We came home with a box full of pastries, and I'm eating one right now, called a Chocolate Almond Croissant. Yum!
Lake Charles, Louisiana is about an hour away from our house and we love to drive the back roads whenever possible. We will avoid IH10 at all cost! Driving the back roads gives us a chance to see the big trees with moss hanging down and the farmland along the roads. We get to see the yard sales that are out on a Saturday and the people searching for treasures. The farmer's markets are along the way, as well as a truck or two selling fresh fish. It's just a different view than taking the highway and so much more enjoyable.
On the way home, we stopped by Collin and Morgan's new place to give them a few of the pastries we bought. I bought one for Collin called "The Porky," which was a muffin with maple icing and a piece of bacon on top. Collin will try crazy stuff, so I thought he would have fun with that. I bought Morgan a Chocolate Croissant which looked really yummy too. We took a quick tour around their new place, since it was decorated and had all the furniture. They have done a great job and it's very pretty and cozy already. Of course we got all the baby hugs and smiles from baby Asa 💙 Oh, my heart. He's so adorable.
We got home after 4:00 p.m. and fixed some coffee and just enjoyed relaxing after a day on the road. What is it about traveling that makes us tired? I have no idea. Maybe the sun and the ease of the road. Whatever it is, we were happy to sit and read and watch some tv for a bit before I got into the kitchen to make dinner.
A few weeks back I had spent a few hours making up jars of mixes from The Little House cookbook I always use. So last night I pulled out a jar of "Rice-a-Roni" and a bag of shredded chicken from the freezer. I combined those things into a big skillet, added a can of Cream of Chicken soup, a soup can of milk, salt and pepper and sprinkled a layer of grated Parmesan cheese on top and let it simmer until the rice and pasta were tender. It came out creamy and yummy! I cooked a side of green beans and we had a wonderful dinner.
It pays off having ready made mixes on hand, as well as cooked and shredded chicken in the freezer. Plus there are no hidden ingredients in the mix, which is a comfort.
We will have the leftovers for lunch today, which means we were able to get 4 servings out of a small jar of Rice-a-Roni mix. This is my kind of frugality!
On Friday I made sausage balls for the freezer. These are great as a breakfast with protein. I just mixed two pounds of breakfast sausage, 2 cups of shredded cheddar, and two cups of the homemade baking mix I had in a jar (from the same cookbook). After baking them, I let them cool and then I divided them into snack-sized baggies (4 balls in each bag), and put them in the freezer. Then on the mornings when I want something savory for breakfast, I grab a bag of sausage balls, microwave for 1 minute and they are as good as fresh and I have an instant breakfast. Of course I passed on two big baggies of these to Collin and Morgan. I love making my kid's favorite things from their growing up years.
To finish off my Saturday recap (and this post), I will tell you about the video at the top...the one of the tea kettle.
After dinner, I put the kettle on for some tea, rather than more coffee, and David and I enjoyed a cup of tea while catching up on Doc Martin episodes. I made this quick video and added music to it and put it on Instagram just for fun. You can't hear the music on the video unless you go to my Instagram page, which is very easy to see on the sidebar of this blog. There you can hear the old song I added to the video.
Anyway, the main thing I wanted to leave you with is a movie recommendation.
Last night we watched one of the best movies I've seen in a long time!
The true story of the Jesus Revolution. This was such a great movie! I highly recommend it.
And that's the weekend recap. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a blessed Sunday.
See you soon 😀
Until Next Time...
Blessings!
Good Sunday Morning, Debbie. We are going to second service, so I had a few minutes to check on my blog buddies. Enjoyed your post and your day trip sound wonderful and the pastries to die for. I love cresants with almond paste. My favorite. Also love a good fresh bear claw.
ReplyDeleteI love your "repare ahead" menus. How smart. It's true that saying. Work smarter, not harder!! We can all learn from you.
We havent seen the moive the Greg Laurie movie yet. Heard it was really good. My dearest has good to several of Greg's Harvest crusades for men.
Have a great Sunday. Always a joy to hear from you.
Hi Wanda :) We go to the 2nd service too, which gives me a little time in the mornings to do a few things. Thanks for stopping by for a minute :)
DeletePS I should have "spell checked" haha
ReplyDeleteYour menu sounds delightful. I watched 2 movies last night: "Wild Oats" and "Love, Weddings and Disasters", both quirky little movies. I hope you have a beautiful week. smiles
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda! Have a wonderful week :)
DeleteYour little trip sounds lovely. I would like to visit Louisiana someday. Savanaha as well - I love reading about that place.
ReplyDeleteI did my homemade jarred Rice A Roni this week too! Great minds.
It sounds like a good week. Thank you for the movie recommendation.
Cheryl, the rice-a-roni was delicious! I'll definitely keep it on hand for another quick meal.
DeleteWe like to take back roads also.
ReplyDeleteYour trip sounds very enjoyable.
The backroads are the best!
DeleteThat sounds like a very full and enjoyable weekend for you and your food sounds delicious. Yes, travelling makes everyone tired doesn't it, the driver, the passenger and in our case the dogs. I don't know why they NEED a sleep as soon as they get home because they always snooze for the whole journey everywhere we go, but they always do.
ReplyDeleteSue, usually I fall asleep in the car :) My poor husband has to do all the driving :)
DeleteSo fun that you can just take a drive to Louisiana - which sounds so far from home! And come home with pastries and croissants!! Yes:) What did Collin think of "The Porky"!?!:) I am so intrigued by your mixes. Did you share those already? Did I miss it? Because I would love to know more. Frugal cooking for the win!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, we live right on the border of Texas and Louisiana :) Collin liked the Porky :) Morgan made him share the bacon :) And the mixes...I think you can look under the label or category of cooking and see the cookbook. I'll see if I can find the exact post.
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