Too Cold and Too Hot

 What did we do this past weekend.  Have another crawfish boil - You would think we LOVE those things around our house.  But actually the truth is (as far as Todd and I are concerned) we just love the friends and family that go with them.  This is what our driveway/yard looks like most weekends when Josh is home.  Our neighbors can vouch for that. 

The guys wanted to have a crawfish boil, so crawfish boil we did.  But baby it was WAY TOO COLD!  So what do you do when its too cold for a crawfish boil and you are having it anyway---  Light up the chimnea baby!

What do you do when you dont have any wood for the chimnea and you cant even find any at the hardware store to buy???  Yep, you cut your own. We didnt need that limb anyway. 

 A little tag teaming went on.

OH MY   :)

 You see all that steam, that proves it was WAY TOO COLD!  Brrrrrrrr

 You see what Charlie is doing here in this next picture???  Yep that may or may not be the reason that the crawfish was TOO HOT.  (Even for me)  Well actually the crawfish wasnt the part that was too hot.  It was the corn, potatoes, and other goodies within.

 Oh sweet Todd doesnt mind cooking those crawfish, but he doesnt want to eat them.  No thank you.

 These pictures make it look like Todd did the cooking here.  Actually he just stirred once or twice.  The cooking was done by Charlie and Tance mostly.

 This little sweetheart had to stay inside for most of it since it was WAY TOO COLD outside.  She already had a cough and was on breathing treatments... :(   Believe me she would have rather been out where all the action was.  She got to come and go a little bit.  Some of us ate ours inside with her.  Since you know, it was WAY TOO COLD out for a crawfish boil, even if the crawfish and fixins were TOO HOT.

Chili Burritos

Time for a recipe post.  I LOVE food.  I love cooking, tasting, trying new things.  I am all about some good food.  Sometimes I wish I wasnt but hey, It's good! :)  I decided to try something I have never done before a little while back.  It turned out so good.  This recipe reminds me of Mark my oldest son.  While I was pregnant with him I would crave Chili Burritos from Taco Casa.  I remember asking Todd late at night -(well, late for Todd) to run go get me one.  I also remember him looking at me like I was crazy.  Needless to say I didnt get those late night Chili Burritos, but I am sure the next day for lunch that I was heading up there to satisfy my craving.


 So here is what I did.  Take a large package of Ground Chuck and divide it in half.  In the first pot you will make the chili sauce.  Just like making a regular pot of chili just a bit simplified.  Brown the meat,

Add chopped green bell peppers and onion.  Brown those with the meat.  Add a tsp of chili powder, a tsp of cumin, salt, pepper, and a little sprinkle of garlic powder.


 

Add a can of diced tomatoes and a can of New Orleans Style Kidney Beans.

 Now just let that simmer and get the next pan going.  In this one brown the rest of the meat.  Chop some red onion.  However much you like and brown that with it.

 Season that as well with salt, pepper, a little cumin, chili powder, and some Worcetershire sauce.  When it is browned well, add a can of rotel tomatoes and  about 3 TBSP of this yumminess.  Its sorta like Philadelphia Cream Cheese but not as tangy.  A milder flavor but will add yummy creaminess!  Mmmmmmmm  Let that simmer a few minutes.

 Now everything is ready to get this show on the road.  First add a little of the chili to the bottom of your baking dish.  Then just fill your tortillias with the creamy meat mixture. 

 Add to the baking dish.

 Top with a good portion of the chili.

 Now cover with grated cheese and chopped green onions.  Mmmmmmmmmmm  Can you tell which side is for Todd???

 Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Then the best part.  You get to eat it.  I seriously wish I had some of this right now.  and Confession---It is 7:15 in the morning...  I told you I LOVE food.

Exploring

 This afternoon we decided to get out a bit and do a little something different.  It was very nice.  We drove down the Natchez Trace and then ended up out here.  This was an old store that Todd used to work years ago.  He enjoyed looking inside and remembering the people from his time there.

 He was also a good sport and being my model.  :)

 Across from the old store was this very old church.  We walked around it.  It was very interesting.

 What in the world is that rope for?  It went all the way over the roof of the church.

The door is so pretty.

 Around the church was this old cemetery.  Very old cemetery!

 I did take several pictures of Todd while we were there.  Then I asked him to take a couple of me.

 But of course he had to get in the picture too!!!

 We had fun doing a little exploring.

 

This was the beginning of a gorgeous sunset.

 We cant wait for it to warm up a little and then plan to go out there with Avery and the rest to play in the creeks out on the Trace.  Maybe have a picnic and do some more exploring.

Crawfish Already

 We just recently had another crawfish boil!  I love these.  I am usually not a great fan of the crawfish.  I mean just look at them...  Its mainly because of all the peeling and such.  This time I ate more crawfish than I ever have before and it was good. 

Avery is not a fan of them before they are cooked.  Charlie was showing her one of them and this was her reaction.  Screaming and running inside.

Here are the guys setting everything up.

Boiling them up!

Even though Avery was not a fan of the crawfish before the boiling.  She was definitely a fan of them when they were done.  Believe me she ate her share!  We all did.  (Except for Todd)

 Look at this monster!

Matt told us about this idea to punch holes in these cans and drain them and add them to the crawfish boil.  Never heard of that before but we are kinda new to this. So we added a can of boiled peanuts!, and cans of green beans!  With those things (which were sooo good) added to the potatoes and corn and chicken, Todd had plenty to eat.  He enjoyed those.  We all did.

 After dinner we had a little watermelon.  Avery thought it was pretty good, except for that part that got salt on it!  YUK!!!!!  Most of us however were correct in our assumption that watermelon in February wasnt the best idea.

 This is Casey helping out.

As I mentioned before---Again, Matts idea, we even added chicken wings to the crawfish boil at the end.  It was good.

 We played ladderball.  I think Mic and Charlie were pretty sure they were going to win this one.

Friends are great!

Avery thought the day was a winner!

 There was even a little baseball going on.  Who knows what they were using for a ball...

It turned out to be a very nice day.  We enjoy spending time with everyone as much or more as we enjoy the eating.  It was a gorgeous day and we plan to do this again around Easter.