Happy Blessed Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all! It has been a full blessed and beautiful family time!

Papa Murphy's: Take 'n' Bake Cowboy Pizza Special

At Thanksgiving and Christmastime, we all need a break from the traditional meal fare....  Enter Papa Murphy's Pizza, Take 'n' Bake.

"Had enough of frozen? Delivery not delivering? If so, raise your pizza cutter high and declare yourself free of anything less than fresh. Fresh pizza made right before your eyes. Fresh pizza made exactly how you want it. Fresh pizza that you bake at home so it's always hot out of your oven. 'Cause that's how pizza should be."


So here we were at Papa Murphy's picking up our Cowboy Pizza at a SPECIAL right now for $10 per Family Size = huge pizza and more than we can eat in one evening.

This pizza has all the fixings a Cowboy or Twin Boys would love, their amazing crust and sauce, premium pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, lots of cheeses, the Papa Murphy's blend and olives (I love!).  This was a very filling pizza.   I could not even finish a full slices.  The Tigers, they each ate two and declared they could not eat another bite.

Usually they eat an entire pizza.  However, with this rich and full pizza, a couple of slices had them at this is THE best pizza.  Boulder Mountain Man loved it, too.  Was there ever any doubt, Cowboy Pizza and Boulder Mountain Man.  Right!

Papa Murphy's is oven fresh right at home.  We love it and the clean up is a piece of... pizza! ;)

Have you tried Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake?  You'll be glad you did.

Warmly,  Carolina Mama


*This post is sponsored by Papa Murphy's.  Our opinions are our own, we love it. 

Happy Carolina Thanksgiving!

Happy Carolina Thanksgiving all y'all. Seriously, we're expecting 70s. Ahhh, I love Fall.

The Thanksgiving meal has fully begun. In fact, preparation went swimmingly today. The Pies... Oh, the Pies.

Boulder Mountain Man does such a fine job of the Turkey. (It's Butterball. ;) they have this recipe no brining, no frying can compare to so it's family tradition and we love it.

God bless you and yours and have a very Happy and Blessed time with those you love.

Here are a couple of shots of our Harvest snacking while baking the Pies. The Cranberries before I made our homemade Cranberry sauce. The Apple pie was the first up. Perfect.

Warmly,
Carolina Mama

Carolina Christmas 2011 - Charlotte, NC - Boulevard of Lights - and Giveaway

Carolina Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Wednesday, November 23 - Saturday, December 31, 2011

We love Charlotte and Cabarrus County! And we love our Christmastime Tradition that includes a Carolina Christmas and Great Wolf Lodge with their amazing Snowland and the Carolina Christmas Lights of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  

Open nightly from Nov. 23 through Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day. Carolina Christmas is returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway even bigger and better in its second year, with an expanded route of nearly five miles, more than 3 million LED lights in 600 displays and double the drive-the-track experience with a one-mile cruise around the track.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is excited to bring the holidays to life this winter season with the return of Carolina Christmas, a spectacular drive-through Christmas light park and village located at the legendary superspeedway. Carolina Christmas is one of the largest holiday light shows in the United States, featuring more than 600 LED light displays boasting 3 million lights.  Carolina Christmas also offers a Christmas Village with a realistic Bethlehem-themed village, a Festival of Trees, photos with Santa and areas with food and music.  You can find a number of great Hotel deals for Christmastime in Cabarrus County. 

Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge is a treat.  The Snow Falls every day indoors here in a truly magical way!  And Santa visits the children.  Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge runs from December 3-25.  Go have fun!  And here are 5 Great Tips for Visiting a Great Wolf Lodge Property. :)  over at TravelingMamas.com.  You can have a Howling Good Time, too! 

Enter to Win $500 Concord Mills Gift Card!
For a chance to win a $500 Simon American Express Gift Card from Concord Mills Mall, guests are invited to visit any four of the seven participating holiday partners between November 23 and December 16 and get the corresponding ornament on the Christmas tree punched. The participants are the Cabarrus County CVB, Concord Mills, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sam Bass Gallery, Reed Gold Mine, Punchy’s Diner and Cabarrus Creamery. http://www.carolinachristmasnc.com/punchcard.html  All the best!  This would be perfect timing with Christmas right here. 

Visit Cabarrus County - "Where Racing Lives!" 

Hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season and that you get to Cabarrus County to one of these lovely locales.

Warmly, Carolina Mama

Warmly,  Carolina Mama

Carolina Christmas 2011 - Boulevard of Lights Charlotte, NC and GIVEAWAY

Carolina Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Wednesday, November 23 - Saturday, December 31, 2011

We love Charlotte and Cabarrus County! And we love our Christmastime Tradition that includes Great Wolf Lodge with their amazing Snowland and the Carolina Christmas Lights of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Open nightly from Nov. 23 through Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day. Carolina Christmas is returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway even bigger and better in its second year, with an expanded route of nearly five miles, more than 3 million LED lights in 600 displays and double the drive-the-track experience with a one-mile cruise around the track.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is excited to bring the holidays to life this winter season with the return of Carolina Christmas, a spectacular drive-through Christmas light park and village located at the legendary superspeedway. Carolina Christmas is one of the largest holiday light shows in the United States, featuring more than 600 LED light displays boasting 3 million lights. Carolina Christmas also offers a Christmas Village with a realistic Bethlehem-themed village, a Festival of Trees, photos with Santa and areas with food and music. You can find a number of great Hotel deals for Christmastime in Cabarrus County.

Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge is a treat. The Snow Falls every day indoors here in a truly magical way! And Santa visits the children. Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge runs from December 3-25. Go have fun! And here are 5 Great Tips for Visiting a Great Wolf Lodge Property. :) over at TravelingMamas.com. You can have a Howling Good Time, too!

Enter to Win $500 Concord Mills Gift Card!
For a chance to win a $500 Simon American Express Gift Card from Concord Mills Mall, guests are invited to visit any four of the seven participating holiday partners between November 23 and December 16 and get the corresponding ornament on the Christmas tree punched. The participants are the Cabarrus County CVB, Concord Mills, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sam Bass Gallery, Reed Gold Mine, Punchy’s Diner and Cabarrus Creamery. http://www.carolinachristmasnc.com/punchcard.html All the best! This would be perfect timing with Christmas right here.

Look at the Many Christmas Events and Hotels in Charlotte this Season:

Inaugural Boulevard of Lights
Hotels will light up Bruton Smith Boulevard, welcoming holiday guests to celebrate the season! Perimeter lighting totaling almost 3 miles in length will adorn the hotel rooftops for the holiday season. Light pole decorations and banners will extend from the intersection of Derita Road and Concord Mills Boulevard to the intersection of Bruton Smith Boulevard and Highway 29 in front of Charlotte Motor Speedway, creating a festive Christmas corridor.


Carolina Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway – Bigger and Better in 2011
Open nightly from Nov. 23 through Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day, Carolina Christmas is returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway even bigger and better in its second year, with an expanded route of nearly five miles, more than 3 million LED lights in 600 displays and double the drive-the-track experience with a one-mile cruise around the track.


Enter to Win $500 Gift Card!
For a chance to win a $500 Simon American Express Gift Card from Concord Mills Mall, guests are invited to visit any four of the seven participating holiday partners between November 23 and December 16 and get the corresponding ornament on the Christmas tree punched. The participants are the Cabarrus County CVB, Concord Mills, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sam Bass Gallery, Reed Gold Mine, Punchy’s Diner and Cabarrus Creamery. http://www.carolinachristmasnc.com/punchcard.html


Hotel Packages and Calendar of Events
Discover the many ways to celebrate the holidays on www.CarolinaChristmasNC.com, including Carolina Christmas hotel packages and a comprehensive calendar of Christmas events throughout the county. The calendar features a variety of events from local parades and tree lightings to seasonal tours and theatre performances.


Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge
During Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge, the magic continues with a life-size Gingerbread house, daily snow shows inside the Grand Lobby, special appearances by Santa and Great Clock Tower Holiday Show with Rowdy the Reindeer. Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge runs from December 3-25.http://www.greatwolf.com/concord/deals/snowland


Concord Mills Mall
Have you made your list and checked it twice? Then take another cue from Santa and stop by Concord Mills, North Carolina’s most visited attraction to take advantage of incredible holiday sales. At the mall’s 200+ stores, finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list is a breeze. Don’t forget to say hello to the jolly man in red while you’re here – he and his elves have set up shop in Neighborhood 2. Be sure to set your alarm clocks - Concord Mills will open at midnight on Black Friday!

Visit Cabarrus County - "Where Racing Lives!"

Hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season and that you get to Cabarrus County to one of these lovely locales.

Warmly, Carolina Mama

Martha Stewart's Cornbread Dressing and Chocolate Pecan Pie

Every Thanksgiving, all of my life, we have had amazing Cornbread Dressing.  It's Dressing Y'all.  And you just cannot put cornbread into "stuffing."  We are truly Southerners, we don't stuff, we dress.

Our Turkey's sitting in the refrigerator right now.... thawing for the big day.

Now that we cleared that up, let's take it up North to Martha Stewart's wonderful version of Cornbread Dressing!  Except she doesn't know it's Dressing y'all.  It's a great one.  In fact, it's the closest thing to My Mama's Cornbread Dressing that you'll see here because I 'm not giving out the family recipe. Even on the "blahhhhg." :)


Martha Stewart's Cornbread Dressing - It's Good! 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pecans
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 cups crumbled Cornbread
• 5 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 10 ounces wild mushrooms (chanterelles, oyster, and shiitake)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup Homemade Chicken Stock

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spread pecans on a baking sheet. Place in oven to toast until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Set aside.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet. Cut cornbread into 2-inch-thick slices. Place, cut side down, on a 17-by-12-inch baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter. Toast cornbread until golden brown, 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
3. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet on medium high. Add shallots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper; cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add white wine; continue cooking until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add cream. Cook 30 seconds; remove pan from heat.
4. Crumble cornbread into a large bowl. Add mushroom mixture and toasted pecans; toss.

Cook's Note

If you bake this stuffing outside the turkey, add chicken stock, and bake in a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish until the stuffing is crusty and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve the extra cornbread to your guests.

Since Ms. Martha does such a fine job, I'll share that famous Martha Stewart's Chocolate Pecan Pie!  recipe.  It is a family recipe now.  We started our own tradition 14 Thanksgiving's ago.  And we love it!

What are your favorite Thanksgiving Recipes, North, South, East or West?  Happy Thanksgiving early!


Warmly,   Carolina Mama

Shadeleaf Studios Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina - Best Photography for Holiday and More

Family Christmas Cards are one of my favorite things about Christmastime!   We LOVED our session with Shallyse of ShadeLeaf Studios here in North Carolina.  Look at this awesome pictures and fun she captured with our family!  Too fun!

This really depicts our family:  A Volleyball, Basketball, and Football and Mom with her Fashion Ear Rings!  This was totally impromptu.  And it worked.  Shallyse totally gets your family in your element.

Then she got the Tigers and Me!  Love this.  They were so excited. 

love what  she can do  with pictures

 These are Timeless beauty.

 Love this of my Prince!  So perfectly relaxed and smiling, life is good! 

You have most likely seen this one around, too! :) 

She is patient and creative in her approach and ideas! 

Profiles and candid smiles are Shallyse's specialty.

You may have seen these around my social networks.  This became my LinkedIn photo in a more professional way.  This tint is more year round has has been great for my profiles.

This one has been fun for Christmas Cheer! 

Here she had us so relaxed, I think it shows the love of our family in such a priceless way.

She captured my love and me in a picture frame.  All of her work is so natural.  And look at her studio. We have had several friends want to have our props or rather, Shallyse's props.

Check out more of Shallyse's great work at ShadeLeaf Studios Facebook Page.  You'll be hooked!  

Warmly, Carolina Mama


*This post is sponsored by Shade Leaf Studios.