So What Has Been Going On???

Way to much to post in one post! So let us just start with a few pictures...
Yup that is Baby Underwood at 11 weeks! We will be proud to welcome him or her around September 4th! We can not wait for our little one's arrival.

In order to prepare for the little one, we have also bought a house! We are very busy renovating and preparing for our big move within the next two weeks, and I will have a few posts coming on all of the updates that we have beeen doing to the house.

Until then, I must stop as I have Habitat for Humanity coming to pick up all the old materials from the house. No reason to throw out great wood and carpet!

Recommendations

Thanks to all of the cold weather we have been having and all the traveling I have been doing, I have had quite a bit of time to do lots of reading! I have been stuck on reading books that have been turned into movies so here are a few of my favorites:

This book was wonderful, and I have to say, the book was 5000 times better than the movie! Great read and you will love it if you love reading books about families and their bonds. Also a tear jerker at the end!

Now I haven't seen the movie for this one yet, but I did just request it from NetFlix so it should be on it's way soon, but I will definitely recommend the book. Great book if you love food and recipes, which we all know I do! I loved reading about Julie's escapades in the kitchen, and many times I feel just as frustrated as she does when trying to get meals ready.

I am still reading this one, but the movie was just beyond wonderful and the book has not disappointed yet! Not only will it appeal to the men and their sports sides, but it is such a great story of family, faith, and relationships.

So have you been reading anything good lately?

The Nephew is Officially One!

The week before Christmas was Austin's first birthday, so off we went to Fayetteville for not only the birthday party, but also to celebrate Christmas with my family.

It was wonderful seeing the little guy (my family too) and let me just say he loves his Aunt Tracy, and no I am not just saying that, you really can ask anyone. He gives me more kisses that anyone, including his mom and dad! I am sure it is just the brown hair, too many blondes around I catch him off guard and he must just be intrigued by me!

My Brother and SIL threw him an Elmo party as that kid just loves Elmo. He just lights up when he sees or even just hears him. The party was at Whole Hog Cafe in Fayetteville and the food was just great! Here are a few pics from the party
This is Austin's smash cake, though there just was not any smashing going on with him! He was not interested in the cake at all. Must not be related to me!

Here is my family before the party. This is the picture that went out for my mom's Christmas cards. I think this is the only family picture we have since my wedding and definitely since Austin came along.

Here is the little monster while opening presents. Though you can't see her, my SIL is the one actually opening the presents. He just was not into it until they were out of the paper and you could see them.

Here is Austin and my brother reading the birthday card that I got him. It was Elmo signing happy birthday to him and he was just amazed. I think I kept his attention the longest of anyone!

And last but not least, here he is trying to figure out what the cake was that they had put in front of him! Now I have to give the kid at least a little break, he had just woken up from a nap and we pretty much forced him to play with the cake so he was not very happy with us!

After the party on Saturday, we did Christmas with my family. Unfortunately I did not remember to take any pictures while we were opening presents so nothing fun to show from the evening!

Happy New Year!

I hope this post finds all healthy, happy, and enjoying the beginning of 2010!

I have so much to post about, but just not enough hours in the day. I am going to try and do better and post more, so be looking for new posts coming from me soon!

Until then Geaux Tigers... they are playing in the Capital One Bowl today against Penn State... keep your fingers crossed for a big win!

Red Beans and Rice

Well this weekend with the cool weather around and all of the football on TV, I decided it was time to tackle making a Cajun favorite from scratch! I don't have the patience to make a roux so that knocked out a gumbo and etoufee, so Red Beans and Rice it was!

I decided to try one of Emeril's receipes as he is a wonderful Cajun chef and I figured that was the best place to start.

So here goes...

1 lb Red Kidney Beans

Rinse and sort beans then place them in a large bowl. Cover the beans with water by 2 inches. Allow to soak 8 hours or overnight.

3 T Oil
1 ½ c Onion (diced)

¾ c Bell Pepper

¼ c Tasso or Ham (chopped) - I actually used some left over pork chop

½ t Salt
½ t Black Pepper
Cayenne pepper to taste

3 Bay Leaves
2 t Thyme
2 T Parsley

1 Ham Hock
½ lb Sausage
3 T Garlic

6 c Stock/Water - I used all Chicken broth

Preparation

In a large pot (I used a cast iron pot that is pretty deep) heat the oil on M – H heat. Add the ham/tasso and cook 1 minute. Add the onions, bell peppers and season them with the salt, black pepper and cayenne. Cook until the veggies are soft (about 4 minutes).
Add the bay, parsley, thyme, ham hock and sausage and allow to cook until the sausage has browned. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.

Add the beans and the stock. Stir well and allow to bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to M – L and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until the beans are soft and start to thicken (about 2 hours). If the mixture gets too thick, add ¼ c of liquid at a time.

Mash about ¼ of the beans with a spoon (I took out some and pureed them in a food processor) and then continue to cook 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the bay and then serve over rice!

Surprisingly for my first try and made from scratch red beans, I have to say I did pretty good. Keith really enjoyed it even wanted to take leftovers to work today!

What have I been up to???

Well it has been quite awhile since I posted an actual post. Sorry things have been crazy with work and I haven't been home the past few weekends. But now I am back for at least a little while and I even have a few pictures to share.

Last weekend we went to Louisiana to attend the LSU v Florida game. Even though we lost, we still had a great time! If you have never been to a LSU home game, one like this one is the best one to go to! There were over 250,000 people on campus that day, and the stadium was over capacity at 93,000 plus. It was so great!

We went out early and did some tailgating and hung out with friends and family that we have not been able to seen in months.


Here is my and Courtney before we headed into the game. Courtney is Keith's cousin Brad's wife and we are very close. Unfortunately they live and Houston and hopefully one day, we will be able to live closer to them.

Keith and I before the big game. This was before the loss so we were all still happy.

Brad and Courtney waiting for the game to start. This was before the stadium was really full.
One big LSU tradition is that Mike the Tiger is taken around the field before each game. Unfortunately Mike is not very happy about being in the cage, so he doesn't roar like the old Mike used to do, but at least he is willing to get in the cage now.

And here come the Tigers! Can't you see how packed the stadium is. It was definitely obvious that it was standing room only!

Other than the game, and our travels around Texas to visit the family, we have not been up to too much here in the Underwood house.

Hope everyone else out there is having a wonderful Fall day. It is only 60 here with clear skies and I am loving it!

Holiday In The Pines

If you are in the Tyler, TX area...


Tickets will go on sale in November and can be bought at Potpourri House and The Gipson Girl!