Category: Featured

Tasty Tuesday: Celebrating National Soup Month with Gumbos and Such

#CelebrateNationalSoupMonth

Justin Taylor: Spicy Shrimp and Corn Chowder

26 degrees. That’s what the thermometer will register tomorrow tonight. I will be hiding under two layers of covers with a belly full of spicy shrimp and corn chowder. I love curry spice so much I decided to put it in this chowder along with some smoked paprika. If you are a chowder purist, you may be disturbed by this spice combination, but one taste will change your mind. READ MORE

Nicky Omohundro: Instant Pot Easy Gumbo

Ready for some classic southern Louisiana food? This Gumbo recipe is cajun comfort food at it’s best. This stew (actually more of a soup) is full of spicy Andouille sausage and chicken served over rice. The best thing about this easy gumbo recipe is it’s made in a pressure cooker dramatically cutting cooking time. So now you can enjoy this classic cajun recipe is less time. READ MORE

We’re all about #CelebrateNationalSoupMonth! Check out these #TastyTuesday links. #ARWB

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Amy Gramlich: Creole Sausage and Shrimp Soup

Sometimes, you get a hankering for soup but don’t want the the typical chicken or beef. This creole sausage and shrimp soup brings the heartiness and warmth, but the spices and meat pairings bring a welcome change. READ MORE

Lacie Ring: Easy and Hearty Etoufee

If you like rice and you like Cajun food, this Easy and Hearty Etouffee will make your belly sing! If you like free happy mail then you must enter this giveaway!!! The free stuff you could win…oh my! Did I mention that this is the best Etouffee I’ve ever tried? You will never believe how easy it is to make and you will swoon over the taste. Pure Cajun Heaven! READ MORE

Doing the One Priority Thing that Makes a Big Difference in Your Day

by Rhonda Franz

When we walked in, tripping over backpacks and lunch boxes and ourselves, at least the kitchen and dining room table were a-waitin’ on us. On this day, the dinner prep—all the way to the table setting—was the one priority thing.

Some days, the priority thing is laying out clean clothes for the church program.

Other days, just being able to finish one work project is the most important.

Often, working backwards from the end of the day works the best, just like I did with setting out the bowls. Productivity and organization pros refer to it as “reverse engineering.”

Whatever works, and works for you…I say.

When you’re overwhelmed, pick out the one thing that will relieve your mind and create the most order. And leave the other stuff for another day (or if you’re lucky, someone else).

Check out how Rhonda accomplished her one priority thing. READ MORE…

Debbie Arnold: ¡Sopa SabrosaTaco! {Foodie Friday}

#CelebrateNationalSoupMonth

As a working wife and mother with a busy family, I learned early on to rely on my slow cooker as a tool for having tasty and nutritious meals on the table so that we were not relying on fast food. Even though I am retired, I still rely on my slow cooker or slow cooking in the oven often. Frankly, I think some dishes just develop a better flavor that way.

My Taco Soup is a variation of that popular one you can find all across the internet. Over the years, as I do with most recipes, I’ve changed it to suit our tastes and, sometimes, what was available in the pantry. I’m sure you probably do the very same thing, right? READ MORE

How to Pack Like A Pro

By Ricci Ellis

We’ve all been there. You shove way too much stuff into your suitcase, pray really hard, sit on it and make it zip close. Then as you weigh it (if you are flying) you pray again that it is under the 50 pounds. I have been there y’all!! Way too many times to count!! I have even had to stuff some of my clothes into a friend’s bag at the airport just so mine would be under the weight limit. So so so sad.

This is how I used to pack…

I would literally stuff everything into my suitcase and just pray y’all. And the sad thing is I wouldn’t even wear half of what I brought! And that little zip thing to make you suitcase bigger? I used it every single time. Talk about overextending yourself. I never had any room to buy new things on my trips because there was never any room to put it! HA!

If you usually pack like this then today you are in for a treat! I am going to show you how to pack like a pro…or at least how I pack! I think I have a pretty awesome system. And this is coming from someone who has literally gone somewhere once a month since July. What can I say? I love to travel!

READ MORE… (Ricci’s post contains sponsored content and affiliate links.)

Tasty Tuesday: Celebrating National Soup Month with Stews and Such

#CelebrateNationalSoupMonth

Nicky Omohundro: Instant Pot Beef Pho

This Instant Pot Beef Pho recipe is a definite crowd pleaser. The fragrant broth will really make your taste buds sing and get the family running to the dinner table. Instead of spending all day in the kitchen created this delicious Vietnamese noodle soup, you can go out and have a little family adventure. Meanwhile your Instant Pot does almost ALL the work to create a fragrant pressure cooker pho broth! READ MORE

Anita Stafford: Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is the perfect winter comfort food. This may not be your mama’s chicken and dumplings recipe, but no one will complain. It’s tasty, easy, and delicious. READ MORE

Come #CelebrateNationalSoupMonth with #Stews and Such from our #ARWB members. There’s some real…

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Debbie Arnold: Irish Beef Stew

I adapted this beef stew recipe from my VERY old (1968) Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook to use in the classroom with my students when we were making “Irish” stew. This has been a favorite of ours ever since we got married, so I can vouch for its delicious flavor. READ MORE

Anita Stafford: Jambalaya

I’m in favor of any meal that can be cooked in one pot, and jambalaya is one of those meals. I love the rice, the shrimp, and the Cajun spices, and this version is quick to make. And, of course, I always make mine with Arkansas grown rice. READ MORE

Lacie Ring: Chicken Chipotle Corn Chowder

Whether you are feeling under the weather or it’s just a cold fall or winter day, this Chicken Chipotle Corn Chowder will warm you up and make you feel so much better! READ MORE

The One Essential Refrigerator Hack That is Working for Me

by Rhonda Franz

I finally have an organization tool that works for me so’s I know what’s in my refrigerator: that big white thing in our kitchen that my family and I look into 456 times a day. Every time we open the refrigerator, it’s like turning a new page from an Eye Spy book.

Is it like that for you?

I found one simple trick that has helped solve this problem. Check out my trick and 6 tips to help make it work for you.

Keisha Pittman McKinney: Breakfast Egg Sandwiches {Foodie Friday}

Each week for the past year I’ve made these breakfast sandwiches for Mr. McKinney. I need a little variety in my life, but he can eat the same darn thing every, single, day. I came up with the recipe when we were both trying to do a little better with our eating. We jumped on the Weight Watchers campaign, tried the myfitnesspal app for a while and then learned if we watched what we ate instead of watched everything we eat go in our mouths, we could find the balance we were seeking. That and an evening stroll around the neighborhood with our dog Bailey always helped too!

Mr. McKinney was driving through McDonald’s in the mornings for an egg white delight, which is a great option if you can afford to eat out breakfast every morning or travel a lot. Then, we tried the Jimmy Dean frozen option and still with a 250 or below calorie count, they were a good option. But, I’m always convinced I can make something better and cheaper than we can just buy pre-made so the challenge was on! <she says with her hands on her hip in domestic diva mode>

Keisha (Pittman) McKinney is settling in to married life in South AR after she #becamemrsmckinney. A Digital Media Director by day for a church in Northwest Arkansas, Keisha is remembering what its like to plan ahead for shopping trips to “the city,” getting resourceful at her small town Walmart and creating online shopping personas everywhere. She blogs @bigpittstop about daily adventures, cooking escapades, #bigsisterchats, the social justice cases on her heart, and all the activities tied to becoming a new mama in Jan 2018!

Blog –bigpittstop: new journey, new normal, new you – http://www.bigpittstop.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/bigpittstop

Twitter – https://twitter.com/bigpittstop

Instagram – http://instagram.com/bigpittstop#

Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/bigpittstop/

Photo Organization

by Gina Knuppenburg

Do you have tubs of old photographs lying around? Or, maybe your photos are organized and labeled neatly inside albums? I have some of both. Our family also has shoe boxes filled with undeveloped film from the 80s and 90s {!!}. One of my Go Mighty goals is to get those photos out of boxes and albums and onto disc. It’s a good thing for so many reasons, two being: I feel so much better for their physical safety if they’re backed up on disc safe from fire, flooding, tornadoes {multiple discs in multiple locations}. And, two: I can preserve the images before deterioration begins.

Taking Control of Your Time

by Sharla Williams of Look At What You Are Seeing

I get overwhelmed very easily, so I have to do things that are easy to do and easy to carry through from week to week. I finally came up with a plan that for me is quick and easy for me. In this series, I will be giving you different things to do in small segments so that you don’t become overwhelmed or want to give up. You will probably need to tweak these ideas in order for them to fit your family’s lifestyle. My hope is that you will continue to use these ideas, and that they will help you use your extra time for Bible study, making memories with your family, traveling, and anything other than cleaning and organizing.

Tasty Tuesday: Celebrating National Soup Month with Chili

Courtney Schulist: Super Easy 5 Ingredient Chili

Grab your spoons, it’s Chili season!! Perhaps I should start off by saying any time is Chili time for me. I don’t discriminate based on weather, but I especially love it during the Fall/Winter seasons. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the time to make the beans homemade on top of making the chili, so this Chili recipe is for those times.

This Chili can be made using only 5 ingredients and is super quick to make. It’s also delicious, but most chili is. READ MORE

Anita Stafford: Savage Chili

When the weather turns cool a bowl of chili is one of my favorite meals. Savage Chili is a recipe I have been making at my house for several years because it is easy to put together and super delicious. This recipe has been adapted from the cookbook Winning Recipes for Tailgating, a cookbook that was compiled by the Winston Cup racing wives auxiliary. I received the cookbook as a gift from a golf tournament my husband was playing in, and this has been a super cookbook. Now and then my husband even gets the cookbook out and makes the chili himself. READ MORE

Maegan Clark: Spicy White Chicken Chili

It’s finally getting cold in Arkansas! I never thought this moment would happen since we were in the 90’s last week, but that’s the South for you – really unpredictable weather. It’s been a cold and rainy weekend so I knew exactly what I wanted to cook Sunday night for dinner… Spicy White Chicken Chili! It’s not too spicy, but it does have a little kick. READ MORE

Katharine Trauger: Second Place Chili

ALMOST WINNING A CHILI CONTEST. YIKES!

My son wanted to enter a guys-only, chili-making contest, and asked me to teach him how to make a pot of chili.So I did. This is my favorite recipe, and I promise I only told him what to do—I did not touch it, the entire process.

Smoky, hot, and red throughout I love it, even for breakfast with an egg on top. Oh MY! READ MORE

Anita Stafford: Dove’s White Chicken Chili

This is a delicious chicken chili recipe that I borrowed from one of my sister’s cookbooks. Helen is as avid a cookbook collector as I am, so when I visit her in Texas, I always spend some time browsing her cookbooks for interesting recipes. This chili recipe came from The Dove’s Nest cookbook published by the Dove’s Nest Restaurant in Waxahachie, Texas. READ MORE

Jamie Smith: 1 for 1 Meat and Bean Chili Slow Cooker Chili

This chili is almost not a recipe, considering it’s so easy! It’s one of my more popular winter potluck recipes that coworkers at one of my jobs usually asked me to make. My husband loves it too!

I call it 1-for-1 chili because essentially, the ingredients are one of everything for one pound of meat. READ MORE