BOUDIN BALLS & BATHING SUITS

Hey HEY Heeeeyyy! Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter. We surely did in the Ng-Chee + 1 house! We started the day by waking up & reading the last few pages of "The Velveteen Rabbit." I mentioned in an earlier blog that this was going to be my Easter gift for Cash. At 18 months old, I had NO intention of splurging on an overstuffed amount of useless toys that he would probably lose or throw in the toilet anyway, and he REALLY did inherit my love for books (I'm not just a mean mama!) We read a chapter of the book every night for the last few weeks, and my master timing marked it off to where we would finish the book on Easter Sunday morning.. (GO ME!) Cash smiled & laughed & clapped when it was over, which I wish I could've captured on camera.. I thought to myself, "What a sweet moment to start off a glorious day.." but of course, it didn't last long. We had quite the throwdown while getting dressed, and after throwing 4 fits, and taking off 2 DRY diapers, we finally got dressed. *side note: I can't be the only one who throws those suckers out after the straps have been secured, even IF they're dry. They just don't stay on the same the second time! To add to the angst of getting "Mogli: The Child Raised by Gorillas" dressed, my hair is in rollers with a full face of makeup, and I'm struggling through acrylic nails to restrain him. I'm sure you're laughing now at the mental image. Laugh away. Ha.. Ha. All the trouble of getting dressed was totally worth it, however, because I could've just EATEN that little seersucker bunny UP!

Here's some shots from our family's Easter Crawfish Boil & Egg Hunt, so we can get that out of the way:

 

A quick back-track to last blog, where I mentioned that Cash was entering a photo contest. Let me just say, that when entering Cash into a "Cute Kid Contest", I had NO idea that it would become what it did. And now I know, I will NEVER. EVER. EVER. EVER. EVER enter my precious child into anything like this again. It. was. AWFUL. I repeat, AWFUL. The parents were outrageous, and the contest truly got ugly. The wrap up: Cash got second place. By one vote. The ending votes were 832 to 831. Because of the "nature" of the contest (by nature we mean ugly words & cheating) the photographer graciously extended a second place prize. Needless to say, CASH GETS HIS PHOTO SHOOT! ;) She's a smart lady.. who WOULDN'T want to shoot him? I entered the contest out of pure fun, but it's nice to say that we ended up with a prize. Here is the photographers website.. she's FAB! We're shooting with her on May 12, after nap time, in Beaumont, Tx. I'm not giving away the brilliant ideas that the photographer & I have discussed, but I'll give a small hint as to what he'll be wearing..

 

Another back-track to my last blog, in reference to my bathing suits I ordered... THEY CAME IN! And they are even more amazing in person. DYING! I could rant about them all day, but instead I'll do it in the form of a song.. the FIRST song that I sang (yes, out loud) when I tried on these bathing suits. Don't judge me.

 

Insert totally random thought here: Does Cash NOT look like a less diva-fied version of myself here? Just sayin'.. Again, don't judge me. 3 year olds can wear rollers too. You can blame my mother for starting my bad habits faaar too young.

 

Do ya'll hate that I leave all of the "food" for the end? Sowwwyy. Another question: Do ya'll solely read this blog for the food? And, be honest, because if so.. I could totally keep a private diary or something. This is just my way of reflecting & getting everything out, but I don't want to ramble too much for nothing. As I'm currently rambling... SHUT UP STORMIIIII!!!! Anyway, I found this Tiered Strapless dress at Old Navy and slightly fell in love. It comes in this bright weird magenta that I hate, a pretty green & black. It was $33 which in my eyes is far too pricey for Old Navy because I'm a cheap bee-yotch, and I'm going to pay for a different label, not OLD NAVY for a $33 dress. Anyway, I couldn't stop thinking about it because I think it'd be perfect for summer, (dressed down OR up!) so I looked for it online, and...DRUMROLL PLEASE.. It was only $19 online! Stormi - 1 ; Old Navy Store - 0. I would totally pay $19 for it, especially with a Free Shipping discount code. So yes, that was random, but here's the dress:

Lovely! Also, I can't hardly believe it.. but my baby is taking SWIMMING LESSONS in June! :( tear. He's growing up too quickly, but I'm excited for him to learn some skills before we go to Canada in July. That's right, since EVERYONE in Canada swims and all.. Not really, I know.. But our hotel will have a pool? Anyway, he'll be taking lessons from the same sweet woman who taught ME swimming lessons, so part of my protective nutcase instincts are slightly eased by that fact. Anyway, I've been on the hunt for a "CUTE ENOUGH" swimsuit, and I finally found it!!

 

Adorable, and how pretty will that color be on my little brown man sporting his Summer tan? Oh, and you guessed it.. gotta get the Daddy shorts too ;)

 

I guess I'm left out of this "Family Matching" scenario for once :( J will just LOVE that.. It's "his" turn. Too bad it's probably inappropriate for me to wear swim trunks so I could join in.. I kid. Sorta. But speaking of our Canada trip (further detailed in a later blog somewhere), Cash will be 21 months when we go. OMG.. I can't believe I just typed that :( Sorry, I've been having some serious "age" issues lately.. I'll pretend I didn't just type those numbers.. Anyway, at that "age", he'll need something to entertain him on his very first PLANE trip. I need some advice: Can't let him board without a cute little backpack to carry around on the trip, and I'm debating on purchasing the perfect one. Please comment with your vote.. I need opinions, because I love them ALL! Here are the candidates:

 

Okay, after sitting through countless images of Toddler Backpacks, you are now done being deprived of food. I made Boudin Balls the other night, and they were the greatest one's I've ever put to my mouth. Died. Went to Heaven. Came back. Ate Another. Try them, love them. They're total common sense, but the BEST! My mama passed down her "Fry Daddy" that she never used after I begged a bit ,so I cooked them in there, but if you don't have one.. a regular ol' frying pan filled with Veggie Oil will do! ENJOY!

BEST BOUDIN BALLS. EVER.

NEED:

- 1 large pkg. (approximately 4 links) of Boudin (ANY BRAND! IN CASING! Even better if homemade, but I don't do all that.)

- Vegetable Oil or your favorite cooking oil

- Flour

- 1 can Plain Bread Crumbs (I loved Progresso, and used exactly half of the can!)

- 4 eggs

- Tony's Chachere's Creole Seasoning

- Lawry's Seasoning Salt

- S & P

STEPS:

1. Snip the end of each link of uncooked boudin, and remove all filling from the casing. Do this for all four, and dispose of the casing.

2. WASH HANDS! Form uncased boudin into "appetizer" sized balls (THINK: GOLF BALL) and then set aside on plate.

3. In three small dishes, line up the flour, the eggs (scramble lightly with fork), and the bread crumbs (seasoned with all seasonings), in this order.

4. Heat oil in fryer or skillet, on Med. heat, (test with a tiny bread crumb; if it sizzles, it's ready!)

5. Dust each ball with the flour, coat in egg, and then cover in bread crumbs.

6. Fry until golden brown & slightly crispy! ENJOY!

 

* If you're serving this at a party & not just pulling a "Stormi" and eating them all to yourself, I'd serve them with Hot Sauce & maybe a homemade Remoulade sauce if you're feelin' fancy.

 

I haven't highlighted a book in a while, so I thought I'd suggest a series that ANYONE could use. Hundreds of recipes, check. Hundreds of healthy recipes, check. Hundreds of healthy easy recipes that are insanely tasty, check.. all thanks to the "Hungry Girl" books. I was first "put on" to Hungry Girl by my sweet High school theater teacher/friend, Tiffany. She was always thinking of new, inventive ways to eat healthy while still tasting good, and I'm so happy that she introduced me to these books! I first was a fan of the website, then after I bought my first Hungry Girl Kindle book, (pours out leftover champagne for Kindle.. R.I.P) I. was. HOOKED! My favorite so far is 200 under 200. Yes, that's 200 RECIPES UNDER 200 CALORIES!! I haven't tried them all, but the ones I have are DELISH, and she even has an ENTIRE chapter dedicated to Microwaveable recipes (for the hungry college student.. shout out to Alena, who JUST asked for this!) If you're smart, you'll check out ALL of her books & fall in love like I did!!!

http://www.hungrygirl.com/

On another "Tiffany" note (the teacher, not the jeweler. No, still no ring.. don't get ahead of yourselves!) she posted a fruit salad recipe she came up with on her Facebook page the other day, and I nearly died. If you're not a coconut lover, you probably won't like it.. but I AM! What a simple & easy way to dress up a Summer fruit salad. I need to try it ASAP. I'll leave you with that ;) Thanks for wasting your time! haha

TIFFANY'S COCONUT GLAZED FRUIT SALAD

6oz. Vanilla Fat Free Yogurt
1/4 cup Light Coconut Milk
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. coconut extract
2 tbs. Splenda

Mix together and pour over fruit of your choice:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Bananas
Pineapple
Apples
Red Grapes
(these are what I used)
SO GOOD!!!