by Kimberly | Aug 31, 2015 | food, The Charming South Kitchen
Greetings folks at the last day of August. I wanted to share a little about how I go about planning my menu each week, and remind you still have until tomorrow to enter my 10 year blogging giveaway, and give you the menu for the week.
Here is just a few steps in my menu planning:
- Ask my mister if there is anything that he would want for food this week. He usually gives me one or two specific things so I try to always mix those into what I’m already planning.
- I have my go-to food blogs and always some cookbooks on hand to peruse and see what looks yummy to me this week.
- Think about our schedule and our diet needs for the week. Sometimes my husband has two days off, sometimes only one, so that plays a factor. Also, we are on the go…so I like healthy and portable if we are going to be gone close to lunch time.
- I write down the recipes I want to make and make a list. Then, I hit my pantry and fridge to see what, if anything, I have off that list so I don’t duplicate it. Then I put that revised list into the notetaker app on my android. This is so much more handy to me than paper and pen. I can just delete as I go with one finger. Not needing to balance paper, pen, grocery cart, and two little boys who are reaching for shelves or hitting my heels with the little grocery cart.
So, here is what we are doing this week:
Spaghetti
Macaroni and Cheese with banana peppers
Kung Pao Cauliflower
Roasted Jalapeno Soup
Beef and Vegetable Soup.
I’ll be sharing the recipes on facebookin if you want to follow along there – and I’ll be tweaking them – so if they come out well, I’ll share them with photos on Instagram (you can follow along over there) and the recipes here on the blog.
by Kimberly | Aug 30, 2015 | Sundays in the South
Oh glorious Sunday. Nap central in our home in the afternoon. And loving to bake and cook and organize my kitchen while having NCIS or Gilmore Girls on in the background. My mister works every other Sunday so I get a quiet afternoon to myself in between church time. Some Sundays we have people over then it is a day for community – which I love as well.
Here are some links I’ve been loving this week:
This chocolate and pb cake will be made for the next person who requests a chocolate cake for an event – or maybe just for us to eat!
Coconut and chocolate together – yes, please!
This book for my preschooler about oceans, mountains, and stars oh my!
Joy tackles the rising tide of Instagram
Psalm 119 is amazing and Kristin is about to start a study on it.
by Kimberly | Aug 29, 2015 | The Charming South Kitchen
One of the reasons I started this here blog ten years ago this month was to share recipes with my college girls. I loved sharing recipes so they could cook them for dinner, or to share with friends, or even now, to share with their husbands and families.
This month marks 10 years of blogging for me. I love to blog, share recipes, connect with readers, and share life and community. It can be done on blog world – believe me!
So, for this blog, I wanted to share some resources that I love – because often people ask me what are my go-to recipe places on the internet. I’ve come to absolutely love these blogs and turn to them first more than other places. I hope you come to know these bloggers, love their food, know their stories, and share their food with your loved ones.
everything important happens around a table
eatliverun – I started reading Jenna back when I lived in Louisville like 6 years ago. I loved her healthy(ish) recipes, her stories, her wine-tasting, California-living life, and her photos. She also is a fit-girl! She is a momma and though she doesn’t blog here now, she is doing fitness coaching and you can follow her on Instagram. But, she still has her blog up. Two of my favorites are her Thai Red Curry and her Pistachio Cupcakes (as my mister, they are so good). And, if you haven’t read her book and love culinary life stories – you will love her White Jacket Required. I finished it in two days (and I have toddlers!).
bloggingoverthyme Laura and I share the same last name (well, my maiden name). She is superb at the camera and I love her story-telling and her chronicling of her now life in Chi-town. She is down to earth and shares delicious recipes – and she interacts with her readers and wants to encourage them in their kitchen pursuits. I just made her Lemon Zucchini Cardamom Bundt Cake. So good (I ended my sugar and carb fast a day early just to have some – and a BLT).
pinchofyum I’d love for my husband and I to be able to turn this blog into a well-paid blog so that he could quit his job and we could just do this. Wishful thinking. But, other than the monetary side of the blogging, this couple is great at giving photography tips, delicious recipes and that may be a little out of my culinary box, and again, is interactive with their readers. I do love these chocolate chip cookies and this delicious granola
dineanddish Kristen is so friendly and personable and of course a great chef for her family and others. She cares about her readers. I wish I could meet all of these bloggers and sit down for coffee or bake with them in their kitchens. That would be such a treat. Again, her photographs are great (notice a theme of food and photography) and her recipes are delicious. LIke these maple scones perfect for the fall that is approaching quickly and because I’m from the strawberry cap of the world, this unbelievable strawberry shortcake
And since I’ve been blogging for ten years – I will be giving one lucky reader a little prize package – filled with things that I blog about! So, all you have to do to enter is comment here (and for every entries share on social media)! I will pick the winner on September 1!
by Kimberly | Aug 28, 2015 | Bible, Books, Shepherding Children
Something my husband and I are learning how to do (and we are talking about progression, not perfection) is having more time where we talk with our boys about Jesus and the Bible.
And if you have preschoolers, then you know that their attention spans for non-televised viewing is fairly short (one of the pitfalls of our media-driven culture). So, unless you have creative animals, paid sound effect personnel,and a storyboard producer – your nightly devotions might not live up to Daniel Tiger or the Octonaughts.
But, getting the Bible into your children, teaching them about Jesus, and loving them the way Jesus would love them (by the Spirit’s help) is the most important thing you could ever do for your children.
So, currently, my older son is just about to turn three. He loves books. So each night, we put our younger to bed (we read Good Night North Carolina and Goodnight Moon and a Sandra Boynton book and pray with him) and then scoot over to our older son’s bedroom and read a book with him. We are reading Read and Share 5 Minute Bible Stories (that I just got from Tommy Nelson – thank you). Our son loves it. It is short, great vibrant pictures just like in the Read and Share Bible which we also like, and its big (so even if he doesn’t have his glasses on, he can follow along. I love how even now (we are in the Moses story) it focuses on the work of God throughout the Bible – and not the men on earth who fail and are sinners. The whole Bible points to God and Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and the Spirit who indwells in believers. I want that to be what our son gets from reading the Bible.
So, when you are just starting out:
- Be simple and short. Attention spans are short. Keep your kids’ focus by reading something, asking questions, and praying. It doesn’t have to be long – just consistent.
- Utilize good resources. There are so many out there. I recommend this bible story book, and catechisms for kids. So many other tools out there, especially as your children get older.
- Be faithful. God will reward even the smallest. He wants your children to know Him too.
- Pray that God would capture your child’s heart! You can’t do it yourself. The greatest parents in the world can’t make their kids love Jesus. Only He can!
If you want to win a copy of the Bible story book I talk about here, then all you have to do is answer the question: what is one way you are teaching your children about God? I’ll pick a winner Sunday night!
by Kimberly | Aug 28, 2015 | food, The Charming South Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most beloved spots in almost anyone’s home. People tend to gravitate toward the kitchen : hanging out at the kitchen bar, sipping coffee, talking, or helping bake cookies (or eating them). One of the mindsets I tend to hold to is everything important happens around the table. And, when we do move into a house of our own we will get my parents’ wedding table (solid oak 8 foot long) where I ate most of my meals until I went to college. Can’t wait.
everything important happens around the table
But, until then, I sit at an oval table that I’d love to DIY and think about everything I can learn about myself from being in the kitchen. Why am I thinking about this today?
Because I just put a bundt cake in the oven. I love bundt cakes but hate making them. They are easy to make but usually, no matter how much I butter and flour the pan, I can never get them out perfectly. Why? For the love of butter, why?
So, I’m facing my fears today because I saw this delicious recipe over at Laura’s blog earlier this week and had everything in my kitchen to make it. Now, I have doubly greased and floured the pan, and I’m holding my breath for an hour to see if it will come out or not.
Here are some fears of mine in the kitchen (and as you can probably relate – to the rest of life):
- I’m not good enough. With the advance of social media and my love of photography, cooking, baking, farmers markets, local eateries, and cookbooks, I fear I will never live up to what I see on my phone, computer, or little cafe I go to. But, I’m also learning is that I never will be – but I certainly can try. I should be competitive with myself, and not with everyone else. I need to keep trying and learning and improving. Progress not perfection.
- I will fail. Yes, you know what I will fail. So will you. We are not perfect by any standard. Even the best in home or restaurant chefs burn something, can’t capture the food with the lens, or have to throw out an entire recipe because it didn’t taste right. Failure is a part of life. You know what, that bundt cake might stick. But, I guarantee my husband and two littles will eat most of it and the people I give it to will like it. They won’t care what it looks like.
- Someone else will win. I’m a very competitive person. And, you know what, with so many bakers, photographers, runners, wives, mothers, handletterers around me – I will never be the best. Someone will always be better than me.
When I list out these fears – sometimes they sound silly. But I know how very real they are. So, I press on. I keep on baking. I keep using my bundt pan. I keep trying new recipes and taking photos. I dream of one day having my own story-cookbook or having a photo in a magazine. Maybe one day. Until then I will keep cooking for my family, making food as gifts to people, and stick with my motto of everything important happens around the table.
What are your fears in cooking, your hobby, or other areas of life?
