Tuesday's at the Shack

Nacho Night

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:35:00 +0000

Nacho night was a big hit in my opinion.

Everyone was told to bring Tortilla chips, I'd say we faired nicely, especially since there are more than what's in this photo. Now we have chips for a while.

Liss brought Cheese dip that had white cheese in it.

Angela brought Spinach Artichoke Dip. Yum!

Ah, this was my lovely creation. I didn't bring any home.

Chicken toppings

Hamburger toppings

Black Olives

Fajita meat

Jalapenos

Sour Cream

And regular plain nacho cheese

Wonder what the hours are??

Memaw brought Cherry Cobbler. Yum! She kept apologizing if it wasn't sweet enough and I kept giving her fits about putting down my cherry tree :)

And it cracked me up where a chip fell (look under the crockpot lid)

And it was a lovely, chilly, rainy night.

Asian Themed night.

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:37:00 +0000

Hubby and I weren't sure we were going to be able to make Tuesday's at the Shack last week because my grandma had surgery on her leg after falling. After we left the hospital we ran home so I could change clothes and I walked into the shack eating a Popsicle. They gave me fits so I turned around and acted like I was going to walk out.

I thought the joke was appropriate for the Shack since the answer is "Patty". :)

Since we weren't sure we were going to make it, sadly we didn't bring anything with us to eat. Never fear though, there was definitely enough food still! Patty compiled the stuff for Stir Fry and the guys cooked it for her. Some said there was a lot of pepper but I thought it was great!

Hello Yum Stir Fry!

Memaw made Shrimp LoMein. Very good. She kind of made her own recipe up as she went. Said she probably couldn't duplicate it if she tried... lol.

Lissa made this Asian salad.

Tausha brought Egg Drop Soup. Everyone said the fried wanton's bits were excellent.

Yeah, so the Twizzlers sitting on the table cracked me up. I'm not really sure why they were sitting there....

There was mixed reviews on how hot the peanuts actually were. Some said smokin, others said they were just fine. I didn't try any.

Then Memaw made this fantastic Cheesecake. OMG, I could have eaten the whole thing by myself. She joked the night before when she came to see my grandma at the hospital that if we didn't show up, she'd bring the leftovers to us. There were absolutely NO leftovers. In fact she was going to save my grandma a piece, but there wasn't any left so the next day she made another one so Grandma could have a piece too.

Darren's pooches were in the bed of his truck and it was funny because every now and again you'd hear one growl at the other.

So this week's theme is Nachos. As in Nacho cheese... ha! Can't wait to see what appears tonight!

Mexican Night

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:55:00 +0000

Hello Tuesday! but why can't you have been Thursday? Just sayin :).

This week's theme was Mexican.

Liss made homemade Tortillas. Might I say YUM!

And her coozie she didn't want to lose.

And I don't know what to say here.... :)

And apparently don't smart off at the girl holding the flour there hunny...

Fresh made chips like this beat the store bought stuff ANY day of the week!

I told Dick if this made its way to my yard, I wouldn't complain one bit :).

Sour cream, tomatoes & cheese for your Taco's.

Chili Verde with Pork Tenderloin.

Homemade Guacamole (or as Markie calls it, Guac-and moldy). It was good though!!!

Mexican Cheese Soup

Bean Burrito's.

Taco Chicken... YUM! Memaw did good here!

Cassie brought Carrot Cake

Memaw brought cookie bar thingy's.

And we even had a cute puppy to play with!!

Next weeks theme.... Asian!

Find a Prince

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:27:00 +0000

Kiss a Frog until you find your prince!

Spring Related Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:53:00 +0000

Huh? Say what? Spring Related foods, salads, desserts, Easter. ya know, the good stuff :).

And with that, last nights foods that showed up:

Tortellini Salad with Bacon

Dill Pickle Dip

Sauteed Corn

Flower Cup Cakes

Carrot Cake

Chocolate Cream Puffs

And Spring Rains! Also known as the left overs of a late snow and some sleet thrown into the mix.

And for Entertainment...

**Note: there were a couple things I missed getting pictures of. Sad Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Breakfast!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:49:00 +0000

Hubby and I were actually able to make it to a Tuesday night dinner up at the shack this week. It cracks me up because the theme was Breakfast which was what the theme for our Sunday Night Dinner was. Great Minds think a like. There was some fabulous food there too I must say!

These biscuits were out of this world good. Supposedly there was heavy cream involved, how can you go wrong there?!?! Just don't tell the scales in the morning!

I can't remember if my Sister in law brought this or her mother in law made this but YUM! That's all!

My mother-in-law made cinnamon rolls. One side (I think the left) were chocolate and the other were regular.

And then we had another breakfast casserole that either my SIL or her MIL brought.

And NO dinner is complete without a singing/walking turtle! Heck yeah! We know how to bring it here in MO!

Cheese Night

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:10:00 +0000

via

Bacon Night: Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 23:24:00 +0000

Oh goodness, Patty brought these yummy Chicken strips wrapped in bacon! She said they were called Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken but I didn't think they were spicy at all!

Source: diaryofarecipeaddict.blogspot.com via Patty on Pinterest

Super simple to make...

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken: Season chicken w salt, pepper,garlic powder and chilli powder,wrap in bacon and roll in brown sugar. Bake 400 till crispy 30-40 min.

And these were what ours looked like, YUM!
This picture doesn't even do them justice because it was taken with my iPhone!!

Bacon Night: Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno's with Bacon

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:26:00 +0000

Hello yum is all I have to say. In fact I couldn't keep my sweet husband out of them, but don't worry, for every one he got, he took a bite and then I got a bite is it was all good, right!?!?

Ok so what you do:

Get Jalapenos. Slice them in half and remove the ribs and seeds (because that's where the heat lives in a pepper). Let's give Jason credit for doing that!!

Then you take cream cheese and stuff the half pepper full of cream cheese. Wrap a half piece of bacon around the pepper.

Lissa stuck them in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes to quickly get them done.

Eat and Enjoy!

Bacon Night - Cheese & Corn & Bacon Chowda

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:53:00 +0000

Tuesday nights theme was based around Bacon. I swear I still hear the dog commercial running around sniffing out Bacon Bites or whatever they're called.

Here, I went on youtube and found the video just to share :)

Anyway I remembered I had this PW recipe sitting in my drafts for Corn & Cheese Chowder. I decided that's what we'd take, but I had to improvise a little, so here's my version that is adapted from hers! (adapted via this PW recipe)

Ingredients

Extra virgin Olive Oil
1 whole onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, cut into pieces
3 whole bell peppers, finely diced (red, yellow, orange)
1 bag frozen
3 large tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups 2% milk
1 8oz bag of 4 Cheese Mexican Blend cheese (about 2 cups)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large pot add a couple turns around the pan of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add the onion and peppers and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the bacon and cook for a couple of minutes. Finally, add the corn and cook for a minute.

Sprinkle the flour evenly over the top and stir to combine. Pour in the chicken stock and stir well. Allow this to thicken for 3 or 4 minutes, and then reduce the heat to low. Stir in the milk, and then cover and allow to simmer and thicken for 15 minutes or so.

Stir in the cheese. When the cheese is melted and the soup is hot, check seasonings. Add salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

I can sure tell you it hit the spot on a chilly rainy, Missouri Winter night!! It was mighty tasty too!

Corn & Cheese Chowder with Bacon

by Nicole

Keywords: stove top entree cheese corn bacon American fall winter

Ingredients

Extra virgin Olive Oil
1 whole onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, cut into pieces
3 whole bell peppers, finely diced (red, yellow, orange)
1 bag frozen
3 large tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups 2% milk
1 8oz bag of 4 Cheese Mexican Blend cheese (about 2 cups)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Stir in the cheese. When the cheese is melted and the soup is hot, check seasonings. Add salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

Bacon... Bacon... Bacon...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:28:00 +0000

<blowing air>... is this thing on? Hello? Dang there are a lot of cobwebs around here! Oy!

Ah, well I just want to announce this weeks theme was "Bacon Week". Holy cow! All the dishes were focused around BACON!

And truthfully all I see is the dog running around in that commercial yelling Bacon!! You know like bacon bites or bacon strips or whatever that bacon dog treat was.... anyway...

Supposedly Americans eat on average 18 lbs of bacon per year... now I'm not sure if this statistic is on a per person basis or more because Rachael Ray on Monday had a show all about bacon and said that number was up over 1Billion... so anyway take that for what it's worth!

Now, on to the food that was served last night!!

Tasha brought these little gems. I have no idea what they're called or even where she found the recipe. Help me out please!! But they were yummy! Inside the crescent was cream cheese, jalapeno, bacon, and I even heard cheddar but the one I got had cream cheese so I can't validate the cheddar.

Patty graced our presence with spicy chicken bacon wraps. They weren't spicy at all but sweet and savory.

Lissa is a gal after our own heart... she brought what we thought about bringing... cream cheese stuffed jalapenos with bacon! Oh yeah! In fact she brought 2 pans, when I went to get the picture, one pan had almost been devoured!

My Mother-in-law knows the way to my heart... Mac and cheese. What makes Mac & cheese better? Bacon!

She also brought brownies with a chocolate ganache with bacon but I didn't get a picture of that. Fire the photog!

I brought Cheese & Corn Chowder with Bacon. It was a nice chilly rainy night, chowder is the bomb!

Kid Rock or Old Rock?!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:17:00 +0000

Is it Kid Rock or maybe Old Rock??

Sneak Peek from the Christmas Partay

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 12:12:00 +0000

It was a big Partay to celebrate Jason's birthday, Lissa & Jason's wedding anniversary, Christmas, and that the end of the world didn't happen!

Seafood Gumbo Dip

Ham, pickles & cheese

Cheeseball & Crackers

Bacon wrapped chicken bites.

Cherry Pie

Salsa & Chips

Oysters, olives, Salmon balls

Little smokies

Pecan Caramel Bars (??)

Wait, that's not food....

Tortellini salad

Pizza dough pull apart ring with Marinara dipping sauce.

Precious

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:24:00 +0000

Just so you know - This is Precious... Just ask him!

Beignets

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:22:00 +0000

Do you know what a Beignet is? First off, let's work on pronunciation - Beignet is pronounced Ben-Yey. Second off, it's a French donut. In New Orleans they are served at coffee shops with extremely strong coffee. Here in Missouri though, we eat them just plain ;).

Beignets via Justin Wilson Homegrown Louisiana Cookin'

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 medium-sized egg
3 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 quart oil for deep frying
Confectioners' sugar

Half fill a large, deep saucepan with oil and preheat it to 375 degrees F. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg well, then beat in the sugar, milk, and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture into the flour and mix slightly until moistened. Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Roll the dough out to a 1/4 inch thickness. Slice into diamond shapes and about 3 inches long. Fry in oil, turning once, until they are golden brown and puffed up. Remove, drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately with the cafe au lait.

Shared here:
Scrumptious Sunday

Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Tuesday Night Patty brought Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta. She found the recipe on Pinterest. That seems to be a great place to find things when you're looking!

Source: delish.com via Patty on Pinterest

Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta (via delish)

8 ounce(s) whole-wheat fusilli or rotini
1 tablespoon(s) canola oil
2 slice(s) bacon, chopped
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 pound(s) boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, sliced
3 clove(s) garlic, minced
4 teaspoon(s) Cajun seasoning (see Tip)
1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1 can(s) (28-ounce) crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup(s) sliced scallions for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, bell pepper, garlic, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Cook stirring, until the onion and bell pepper are beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
Add flour and stir to coat. Add tomatoes and their juice; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce is bubbling and thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream.
Stir the pasta into the sauce. Serve sprinkled with scallions, if desired.

Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 2 lean meat, 1 fat Carbohydrate Servings: 2 1/2 Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (53% daily value), Vitamin A (23% dv), Iron (21% dv), Magnesium & Potassium (20% dv).

And in fashion, this is what ours looked like:
Hello Yum!!

Linking up here:
Creative Thursday
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday
Full Plate Thursday

Tuesday Night - Cajun Night

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:06:00 +0000

Last night was Cajun Night. Sadly it was a low turnout, people had things to do. I sure hope that they weren't staying away because of Cajun night, because, mmm mmm good did they miss out!

Here's what was on last night's menu:

Crawdad or Crawfish Etouffee

Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta

Beignets (pronounced Ben-Yey's)

Next week is a Pot Luck... That leaves a lot of room to see what everyone comes up with!!!! Stay tuned!

Cajun Night!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I'm so ready for Cajun night at the shack tonight!! Cajun food has always been one of my favorites because it features some of my favorite things, onions, sausage, lots of spice, and of course crawdads!!! So since I'm so excited I'm going to go ahead and share my recipe for tonight, Crawdad Etouffe! This is one of my families favorite meals, I have made it many times and it always disappears quickly!

Crawdad Etouffe

1 1/2 to 2 sticks of butter
2 medium sized yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup of flour
1 Tablespoon of salt
1/2 Tablespoon of pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, whatever kind you prefer
1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
4 to 6 cups of water
1 or 2 Tablespoons chicken bouillion, or even better fish or seafood bouillion
1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onions
2 pounds peeled and cleaned crawdad tails

1. In a large pot melt your butter, then add the onions, garlic, and celery (you can also add a 1/2 cup or so of bell peppers if you want, I don't care for them so I don't include them). Let the onions and celery cook until nicely carmelized and tender.

2. Add your flour to the pot. Start with just a half cup and add more just until you have a nice thick roux that is almost like a paste. Turn the heat down to medium and let this cook just a bit but keep watch on it or it will burn.

3. When the roux is a nice brown color add the water and stir well making sure to get all the nice browned bits off the bottom. Add all of your seasonings and the bouillion and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for awhile stirring occasionally.

4. After that simmers for about 20 minutes add the crawdads and green onions and simmer another 10 or fifteen minutes.

5. And finally serve over hot steamed or boiled rice or you can just eat it plain.

The seasonings in this recipe can be adapted according to your own personal tastes. If you like it spicy add more cayenne, or less if you don't like as much spice. Just remember to taste the food as it cooks to get the flavors just the way you like them. And remember most of the time the crawdads you find will be precooked so they don't have to cook very long, and also if you let them cook to long they can give the dish a bit of a fishy flavor.

I hope this day goes by quickly because typing up this recipe has my mouth watering for some Crawdad Etouffe and all the other great Cajun foods that I'm sure will be at the shack tonight. Anyway happy Tuesday to everyone!! I hope your days are sunshiny and fun filled!!!

Linking up with:
Tasty Tuesdays

Cajun Cuisine

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:32:00 +0000

So this week's food theme is Cajun. I sometimes have a very inquisitive mind, especially when it comes to food so I started wondering how Cajun cuisine came to be:

Cajun cuisine is the style of cooking named for the French-speaking Acadian (Now day New Brunswick & Nova Scotia) or "Cajun" immigrants deported by the British from Acadia in Canada to the Acadiana region of Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation is simple. An authentic Cajun meal is usually a three-pot affair, with one pot dedicated to the main dish, one dedicated to steamed rice, special made sausages, or some other seafood dish, and the third containing whatever vegetable is plentiful or available. Ground Cayenne & Fresh Black Pepper are used often. (via wikipedia)

Now I've noticed that Cajun and Creole get intertwined a lot so here's what I found about Louisiana Creole

Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana which blends French, Spanish,Portuguese, Italian, Native American, and African influences, as well as general Southern cuisine. It is similar to Cajun cuisine in ingredients (such as the holy trinity), but the important distinction is that Cajun cuisine arose from the more rustic, provincial French cooking adapted by the Acadians to Louisiana ingredients, whereas the cooking of the Louisiana Creoles tended more toward classical European styles adapted to local foodstuffs. Broadly speaking, the French influence in Cajun cuisine is descended from various French Provincial cuisines of the peasantry, while Creole cuisine evolved in the homes of well-to-do aristocrats, or those who imitated their lifestyle. Although the Creole cuisine is closely identified with New Orleans culture today, much of it evolved in the country plantation estates so beloved of the pre-Civil War Creoles. (via wikipedia)

So one commonality that they have is the Holy Trinity. No, I'm not talking about the Father, the Son & the Holy Ghost... I'm referring to the Cooking Holy Trinity which is Onions, Bell Pepper & Celery in roughly similar quantities.

And most people look at Cajun cooking to be insainly spicy, but they prefer to look at it as "well seasoned".

Some Cajun or Cajun influenced chef's
Justin Wilson
Emeril Lagasse
Paul Prudhomme
Ryan Boudreaux

And here are some cool Cajun Websites I found:
Real Cajun Recipes
Great Cajun Cooking
Cajun Cooking Recipes
Real Cajun Cooking - Pure & Simple

Hey and after all of this, if you make it on to who wants to be a millionaire and the million dollar question you get from this blog post, by all means, I'd like some of that prize money too ;). haha! Make checks payable to Nicole ;) haha.

I'll leave you with this...

and I think Emeril says it best

Linking up with Impulsive Addict & Seriously Shawn

Donnie's Delight

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 17:36:00 +0000

Inspiration came from this pin

Source: franksredhot.com via Tasha on Pinterest

Donnie's Delight
2 pkgs. cream cheese,
8 oz. ranch dressing,
2 -10 oz. cans chicken, drained well
shredded cheddar.
Couple Dashes of Hot Sauce

Melt first 3 ingredients together with a handful of shredded cheddar. Mix in chicken (I shred it). Add a couple dashes of hot sauce. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle top with shredded cheddar (light cover). Bake at 375 for 15-20 mins or until cheese on top is melted. Serve with crackers.

and ours turned out like this:

Linked up with
Busy Monday's
Freedom Fridays
Inspiration Spotlight
Mangia Monday's
Scrumptious Sunday's
Time to Shine

Down Home Macaroni Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:48:00 +0000

Interested yet? This is something we make at our house quite often. It has Mac & Cheese & hamburger & cheese and pasta sauce, I mean how can you go wrong?

Ingredients:
Mac & cheese & all the stuff needed to make it. (from scratch or out of a box, your choice)
Spaghetti Sauce (out of a jar or homemade, again, your choice)
Cheese
Hamburger

Start the water to boiling for your macaroni noodles. Once boiling, add the noodles.

In the meantime brown up your hamburger in another pan. You can add your favorite seasonings or add-ons (such as onion, black olives, mushrooms, whatever suits your fancy!). Then dump your spaghetti sauce in with the hamburger and let them simmer while your waiting on your Mac & Cheese to finish up.

I cheated, I used boxed mac & cheese, when you're in a hurry, it was the fast way to handle it. So stir in the powdered cheese mix and the butter.

Now dump the mac & cheese into the meat/sauce and mix.

Generally we add some cheese right into the mixture to make it cheesier.

Next top it with more cheese. You can use whatever you'd like, we've used fiesta blend, we've used mozzarella, just whatever you prefer. mmmm cheese. We wound up using 2 cups of shredded cheese. Use as much or as little as you desire.

Then place this in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. And you're good to go!

Mmmmm eat & enjoy!

Food that Starts with The letter D

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:47:00 +0000

This week's theme was "Food that starts with the Letter D".

Not going to lie, that one was a real thinker for most!

Here's what we came up with:

Deer Stew

Deviled Ham Biscuits

Down Home Macaroni Lasagna

Dicks in Bacon

Dick's delectable drumsticks

Dill pickle spirals

Donnie's Delight

Dessert - Coconut Cream Pie

Delightfully delicious dream cake

Hopefully we'll be able to wrestle some recipes from people to share :)

Next weeks theme: Cajun
Hello Justin Wilson Cookbook!

Until next time!!

Welcome to The Shack

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Welcome to The Shack

pardon the photo, it was dark as it is now days at an early hour!

Dick & Pat I'm fairly certain know no strangers. I was told once, if the shack is "open" and Dick is there, anyone is welcome :).

The Shack is a large eclectic array of memorabilia from all over the country and the world. You'd truthfully be surprised at some of the things people have sent and or left for the Shack. There's truly a bunch of history in all this stuff. And I'm not going to lie, there is so much, you can't see it all in your first gander

Please notice all the writing on the walls... That is one of the traditions, your first time to the shack, you sign the wall!

Above the cups you'll notice some beer bottles. They are from all over and some seemed pretty old.

A nice Wild Turkey Span

Money from all over that people have left for Dick.

Truthfully, there is so much information here, I wish I could remember everything Dick was telling me. Sadly I just can't :( Guess that means I'll have to go check it out and pick his brain again :).

And now you can't have a good get together without food! Sorry it just doesn't happen that way. And being Thanksgiving week, why not have a Thanksgiving meal among friends! We had ham, green bean casserole, potato casserole, gravy, deviled eggs, pickled green beans and so much more I can't even remember it all!

And after taking this photo was about the time I fell off the chair I was standing on. After dinner was over we were treated to a nice array of desserts. No pictures of those apparently... I'm not finding any anyway. My Mother in law made this wonderful pumpkin cake thing with this new stuff called cool whip frosting. Never had it before but it sure was yummy!

Dick convinced my hubby to strum a bit on the guitar. My SIL joined in with singing.

Do you remember Wilson Wilson (for some reason I even want to say his name was Wilson Wilson the III or something like that) from Home Improvement? This so could have been a way for him to be "seen" :). My MIL was basking in the warmth of the heat!

Later everyone migrated inside and Dick had pulled out an old record player and some 45's and we were getting down to some fabulous music! :). There might have even been a little bit of dancing by my MIL :)

And that ladies and gentlemen is, The Shack!