Tonight about 7:55 central I’ll set up a post for our Miss America festivities. I’ll probably do a live blogging-type thing and update the post throughout the pageant. Y’all can take over the comments, and I’ll jump in there from time to time, too. I think the easiest way to talk back and forth is via the “reply” button, but posting a regular ole comment will work just fine, too.

One last thing. This will all be in good fun, so, like I said before the Miss Mississippi viewing party, let’s please be mindful that somebody’s mama or cousin or great-aunt Ethel could stop by and read what we say. In other words: let’s do our very best not to say anything hurtful. These girls are darlin’.

See y’all later tonight!

When I was in college, Emma Kate had a little TV/VCR combo that sat right underneath the window in our room at the Chi O house (oh, that TV/VCR was the HEIGHT of technology back in the day). At the time I had a slight obsession with taping my favorite shows and then watching them over and over again. so I’m surprised that I didn’t wear the TV/VCR slap out with my repeated viewings of Moonlighting, Saturday Night Live and Designing Women. I watched all three shows so often that I pretty much committed most of the episodes to memory (is that pathetic? please don’t tell me it was pathetic. IT WAS MY HOBBY.)

This past Saturday morning I was checking “the Facetime,” as my husband calls Facebook (and we thought it was really funny and clever until there was actually, you know, something called Facetime, at which point his nickname for the Facebook became a smidge confusing), and a college friend of mine had posted a scene from Designing Women that I’d totally forgotten about. Watching it made me miss the show like crazy, and it made me think of all the hours I fast forwarded and rewound similar moments on EK’s TV/VCR.

It’s a TV memorial stone, people. A TV MEMORIAL STONE.

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t follow up by saying that I have seen some lovely Miss Maines and Miss Vermonts in my time – but Suzanne Sugarbaker’s take on things cracked me up. It also reminded me of one of my all-time favorite DW memories (and I have a LOT of favorite DW memories). It’s such a classic.

It’s Miss America week, y’all.

Giddy up.

Not too long after we moved to Birmingham – way back in ye olden days of 2000 – I met my friend Alison. It would take me thousands of words to explain what she and her sweet parents (her daddy used to be my boss; her mama is my Bible study leader) have meant to me over the last 11 1/2 years, so just suffice it to say that I can’t talk about their family for very long without fighting back tears. I will never, ever forget the countless ways Alison and her precious mama welcomed me to this city; their friendship is one reason why Birmingham immediately felt like home to me.

You may be picking up on the fact that I just love them to pieces.

A few years ago Alison started her own floral design business, and I am consistently blown away by her work. She’s so creative, so deliberate, so thoughtful in everything that she does, and she has such a gift for taking ordinary objects and using them in surprising, extraordinary ways. Lately she’s been doing lots of weddings in and around Birmingham, and during the holidays she branches out (is that a bad pun? I do apologize) and makes the prettiest arrangements for mailboxes (and front doors! and mantels! and dining room tables!) that you ever did see. As a matter of fact, last year I loved the arrangement on our mailbox so much that I left it up until ’bout near February.

TAKE THAT, HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION.

I’m only half-kidding.

Because just look at how pretty these are.

In the interest of spreading a little Christmas cheer, Alison has graciously agreed to give away one of her original designs for a lucky blog reader’s mailbox. Obviously she can’t travel to, you know, WISCONSIN, but she’s definitely willing to travel within a 60-mile radius of Birmingham in order to deliver the winner’s prize. So let’s say that our giveaway borders are Cullman to the north, Tuscaloosa to the west, Montgomery to the south, and Oxford to the east. If you live within that great big circle, you’re good to go giveaway-wise.

(By the way, I don’t have any idea how many Birmingham-area people read my blog, but in my head it’s somewhere around seven.)

(Given that, I think the odds for winning this particular giveaway are mighty strong indeed.)

(Also: if you don’t live in this area but would love to try to win the giveaway for a friend or relative who does live here, that is totally fine with me. Just please make sure that the person lives within a 60-mile radius of the ‘Ham.)

(And if your house doesn’t have a curbside mailbox, Alison will make an arrangement for your front door. Which is pretty sassy if you ask me.)

If you’d like to win one of Alison’s custom greenery designs for your (or a friend’s) Christmas mailbox, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post that answers the following question: what are your favorite colors to use when you decorate for the holidays? Are you a traditionalist who likes red and green? Do you throw a little turquoise or hot pink in the mix? Maybe a hint of lime green? Or are you more of a metallics girl?

I’ll leave the comments open until Monday, December 5 at noon central time, at which point I’ll draw for a winner using random.org. I’ll notify the winner via email, and if that person doesn’t respond within 72 hours, I’ll draw for another winner.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

Just so you know: this is not a sponsored post. Nobody gave me anything free in exchange for this post. Unless you count all those times that Alison and/or her mama hosted Bunco back in 2001 and we had some really good snacks. The end.

This giveaway is now closed.

Some people blog so that they can encourage you in the faith.

Others want to show you how to have a more warm and welcoming home.

And some folks love nothing more than sharing recipes that will make feeding your family easier.

But me?

Well, I consider it my personal mission to keep you abreast of the latest developments in the field of snack crackers.

Yes. I know. It is an intimidating assignment. But sometimes the Lord calls us to uncomfortable places, my friends.

And listen. The last week has been rife with opposition as far as snack crackers are concerned, as evidenced by the fact that a certain eight year-old recently asked me to please buy Cheese Nips at the grocery store. I was totally puzzled by his request since everybody knows that Cheez-Its are far superior to Cheese Nips, so I said, “Hey, buddy – I think you meant Cheez-Its. The ones that we usually get.”

“No, Mama,” he replied. “I really did mean Cheese Nips. I think they’re cheesier. And better.”

I stood still as a stone for a second, and then the emotion of the moment took over.

“I’VE FAILED!” I cried. “I’VE FAILED AS A MOTHER! I HAVE A CHILD WHO DOESN’T APPRECIATE THE CHEEZ-IT! A CHILD WHO CHOOSES CHEESE NIPS! I’VE FAILLLLLLLLLLLED!”

And then I collapsed in a heap in my kitchen and was only brought back to consciousness when my husband opened a fresh box of Cheddar Jack Cheez-Its and waved them under my nose.

The little man and I really did have a big laugh about the whole Cheese Nips vs. Cheez-Its debacle, and I think he’s since fallen under fresh conviction about the error of his ways. But then – THEN – the most unexpected thing happened. A few days after we set the record straight about our cheese cracker preferences (I recognize that everybody has the freedom to make their own cheese cracker choices, but as for me and my house, we will purchase the Cheez-Its), we were in the Walmarts and saw something that we’d never seen before.

They’re Ritz Munchables Pretzel Rounds. I was immediately intrigued, because was it a cracker? Or a pretzel? Or a cretzel? Or a pracker? I NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS.

So we bought a box. And OH, MY. I picked the Cheesy Sour Cream & Onion flavor because honestly that particular flavor combination seemed so wrong that it had to be right, and can I just tell you that THEY ARE DELICIOUS? They’re very crackery on the front end, almost to the point that you can envision eating them with a slice of cheese, but then suddenly the pretzel part kicks in and your mouth gets a little confused in the most delightful way because guess what? YOU’RE TOTALLY EATING A CRETZEL.

I haven’t found any sort of dip situation that would be complimentary to the Ritz Munchables – at least not to this flavor – but they’re so tasty on their own that you don’t miss the dip. They remind me of these really good seasoned oyster crackers that my mama makes sometimes, and there’s an element of Chicken In A Biscuit, too. But I’m telling you: it’s that cracker-to-pretzel metamorphosis that really makes these prackers special. I will most definitely buy them again.

Have y’all tried them? And if there’s another cracker / pretzel / salty snack food that you’ve tried recently, BY ALL MEANS share the name of it with the class. Don’t hide your snack cracker light in a bushel – let it shine!

And all God’s people said, “Amen.”

And they also said, “Pass those crackers.”

Or at least I like to think that they did.

When I was a little girl, one of the dishes that was just flat out REVERED in my family was my Mamaw Davis’ chicken and dumplings. Except that we never, ever pronounced the “g” in the word “dumplings.” We said “dumplins.” Still do. So just know that from here on out I’m gonna type it like I say it. Chicken and dumplins.

Well.

Earlier this week I was temporarily overtaken by the plague, and on Wednesday, when I actually wore clothes that were not pajamas and started to emerge from my plague-induced haze, I decided that I had to have – HAD TO HAVE – chicken and dumplins for supper. I always think of chicken and dumplins as the Southerner’s answer to chicken noodle soup, and in light of the week I’d had, it sounded like the world’s most perfect food. So I went to the store, rounded up all the ingredients, then headed home to try to honor my sweet Mamaw’s memory.

I should probably tell you that I’ve tried lots of different chicken and dumplin recipes over the years. I’ve gone the totally-from-scratch route; I’ve gone the add-some-cream-of-something-soup route; I’ve gone the make-dumplins-from-canned-biscuits route. But Wednesday night, I have to say, is when I think I finally hit on the perfect combination of convenience and made-from scratch goodness. Because the chicken and dumplins? THEY WERE TASTY. And the next time I decide to cook up a batch, I’m going to make them the exact same way.

So on the off chance that anyone, you know, CARES, I thought I’d share the recipe. It’s a combination of (no kidding) about three different recipes, and for whatever reason, it works. Be advised that we don’t really enjoy it when vegetables interfere with our chicken and dumplins, so you won’t find any of them in this particular mash-up. You could definitely add them, though.

All righty. Here you have it.

My Favorite Chicken & Dumplins

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup buttermilk
(if you like fluffy, biscuit-y dumplins, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder – but we like dense dumplins around here)

*****

2 fully cooked rotisserie chickens
1/2 stick real-live (salted) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 box chicken stock (32 oz. – I like Kitchen Basics)
2 cups water
1/4 cup half and half
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

*****

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 2 beaten eggs, salt and buttermilk. Once mixture is blended, cover the bowl and set aside. Don’t over mix – it’ll make the dumplins tough.

After 15-20 minutes, take off the lid, grab a ladle, and serve the chicken and dumplins in some oversized bowls.

Be prepared for your people to pledge their undying and eternal devotion.

I’m just sayin’.

Because these chicken and dumplins are slap-your-mamaw good.

(But by all means, please don’t slap your mamaw.)

(I don’t think she would appreciate that.)

(Not to mention that it would be sort of tacky.)

Enjoy, y’all!