Red Lobster Biscuits With Birthday Party Dinner

We were busy this week getting ready for two family birthdays.  My sweet husband had a special birthday and also our youngest daughter Sharon.

Our daughter Stephanie, who lives here in town, hosted the party in her home.  She was a busy girl making Cupcakes, a Chocolate Cake, Bar-B-Q Pork and Chicken, Coleslaw, Macaroni and Cheese, Kale with Ham and amazing Red Lobster Cheddar Cheese Garlic Biscuits.

Her mother-in-law brought an appetizer of Broiled Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce.  Knowing the birthday girl loves Fried Won-Tons I brought the ingredients to make them and then we all had a nice visit while putting the recipe together and frying them.  All of the grandsons love Fried Grouper and we included that in the appetizer menu.  And, I baked my sweet husband's favorite Lemon Cake.

Chocolate Cupcakes, Chocolate Cake and Lemon Cake.

If you would like the recipe to the Lemon-Pudding Cake just click on the link below:

http://sweetsoutherndays.blogspot.com/2013/06/lemon-pudding-cake.html 

Stephanie made these cupcakes, charmingly placed in decorative 

cupcake holders found at Walmart.

The below photo shows Sharon at her two year old birthday party.

Birthday girl Sharon now with her husband Charlie,  our grandsons Will-14,  John Scott-17, 

 Preston-11 and Lawson - 8.

Stephanie made this chocolate cake with cute little cake decorations, also found at Walmart.

Below is a photo of a boxed version of the Red Lobster Cheddar Cheese-Garlic Biscuits which she found by accident at Walmart during a recent grocery shopping trip.  She added additional grated Cheddar Cheese to the mix.  These boxed mix biscuits were amazingly delicious. 

Just a note:  In general we all know to stay away from the boxed-mixes and processed foods in the grocery store. Making from "scratch," as we know, is so much healthier for you.  BUT, then,  it is OK to break the rules sometimes if we don't do it consistently.

For those of you  who may not be familiar with Red Lobster ... It is an American Seafood Restaurant chain with 705 restaurants worldwide.  We love to go there because of their wonderful Fried Shrimp, Lobster and their amazingly delicious Cheddar Cheese Garlic Biscuits.

Photo borrowed from the Internet

For those of you who may live in rural areas without access to a Walmart,  and if you are interested in trying this biscuit mix,  you can go to:  Amazon.com to order Red Lobster Cheddar Cheese Biscuit Mix.

 

I am so glad you stopped by to join us for the special birthday party for my sweet husband and  daughter.  

Spring is blooming out all over, and when the rains stop here, I hope to get out and about and try to capture some of the beautiful azaleas blooming everywhere.

Thanks to all of you for all of your kind and encouraging comments regarding Sweet Southern Days.  It is such fun to try to capture some of the beauty all around us with my camera and then share with you

Wishing you beautiful Spring days and many blessings to you wherever you may be. 

Pretty Blossoms That Mean So Much

Here in the South when someone has been ill it is a tradition for friends and family to come bringing food or flowers along with expressions of love and get-well wishes.   I have a feeling it is probably that way in most all areas of the world.

Recently a member of our family had a quick visit to the hospital to have a problem fixed surgically, and is now home and doing wonderfully well.  Friends came in with their sweet well-wishes and I tried to capture some of their thoughtfulness for all time keepsakes with my camera.

In the below photo is a miniature Wild Violet bouquet a friend picked from her yard.  Isn't that the most adorable little bouquet you have ever seen!  And, how nice of her to take the time to pick these little flowers and place them so beautifully in this little tiny vase, which is itself a little treasure.  

She brought the flowers over on St. Patrick's Day and she also brought the most delicious traditional St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage, Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup, Homemade Cornbread with Broccoli and as if that was not enough she also made Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies ... Are you hungry yet!

 

Miniature Wild Violets

 You can see how little and adorable they are.

Earlier that day the folks at Elinor Doyle Florist in Tallahassee created this gorgeous floral arrangement as a gift from my husband's office for our recovering family member.

From:

Elinor Doyle Florist

111 E. College Ave.

Tallahassee, Florida

There are so many different beautiful flowers in this arrangement I have had the most fun trying to get some pretty pictures of all of them.  It was a dark and rainy day outside and not too much light was streaming into the kitchen so I broke the photography rules and used the flash.  Real photographers say that is a no-no,  but I actually love the brightness of the colors when the flash is used.  I guess the expression "Ignorance is Bliss" comes into play here.

 Can you believe the perfection of this perfect Iris!

One of my husband's partners sent this amazingly beautiful Orchid plant.  Our friend and his girlfriend were so thoughtful to send this lovely plant.  She is a sweet Southern girl from Bainbridge, Georgia and he is a real true Italian all the way from Terni, Italy.   She has succeeded in turning him into a true Italian Southerner with his sweet thoughtfulness.

Orchid

The lighting was not good inside so I took this beautiful flower outside on the front porch to try to capture it's beauty in better light.   It was an overcast day and the lighting was not too much better on the porch.  I think I used the flash pointed up and not directly on the flowers here too.

The elegant beauty of this flower is complimented by the equally elegant flower container,

 accentuated with the lovely Fleur-de-lis symbol.  There is something so majestic 

about the Fleur-de-lis symbol.

Flur-de-lis Decorated Flower Pot

The Fleur-de-lis began hundreds of years ago as an enduring symbol of France and it has consistently been used as a royal emblem in many other countries as well.  This symbol was originally brought to our country by the early French settlers and can often be seen on banners in New Orleans and along the Mississippi.

This Orchid plant has such beautiful blossoms and flower buds.

What a lovely gift idea for someone just getting out of the hospital.

It is joyful just to look at this beautiful plant.

I thought I would try again to snap some individual flower photos from this beautiful bouquet.

The light from the porch was definitely better than inside.

Can you believe all this beauty.

This bouquet of flowers is without a doubt one of the most 

beautiful floral arrangements I have ever seen.

Our family member was charmed with all the lovely expressions of "get-well" wishes shown in all of the photos.  Sometimes the words "thank-you" do not feel adequate to express genuine appreciation for such thoughtfulness.  You are all so special and dear!

Thank you for coming along with us as our family enjoys all these amazingly beautiful flowers and feels the warmth of special friendships.  Wishing you joyful days with many blessings wherever you may be.

Tallahassee Spring Blossoms

Thomasville Road is one of the main roads running through the heart of town here in Tallahassee.  It should be called a "scenic roadway" because most of it is such a beautiful drive.

I decided to take my camera a couple of days ago as we drove toward downtown Tallahassee, on Thomasville Road,  with the thought in mind of trying to capture some of the pretty sights along the way. 

A huge Pink Perfection Camellia in full bloom.

Located right next to the pretty Pink Perfection in the same yard 

was this very pretty Native Yellow Carolina Jasmine which has grown into a mini-tree.

Right past a section of Interstate 10 on Thomasville Road is a long stretch of chain-link fencing. Draped at intervals along this fencing we spotted beautiful Native Yellow Carolina Jasmine.

This is such a pretty colorful sight as you are driving along the highway.

We stopped the car so I could get a closer look with my camera ... How completely beautiful these little flowers are up close.

       This Native Yellow Carolina Jasmine is often seen growing wild in the woods here in the South.  

The hardiness zone for this plant is from 7 to 10.

Driving south on Thomasville Road on the left side, I spotted this pretty pink tree.  From a distance it looked like it might be a Cherry Tree of some kind.  But, after stopping the car and getting a closer look, it turned out to be a Japanese Magnolia tree.  As you can see it was completely covered in blossoms.

I love this ocean of pink blossoms.

   Isn't this such a beautiful color of pink!  I just could not stop snapping pictures of all this beauty.

Each time we drive along this roadway I always admire this brick fence all covered in what is called a Climbing Fig vine.  This vine-covered fence stretches along for a long distance
and it is quite a sight to see.

A short distance from this fence I spotted this pretty plant.

Driving on along, across on the other side of the highway,  it was such a pretty sight to see this purple collection of azaleas.  Azaleas are just beginning to bloom all across town, but this one seems to be in full bloom.  It was such an eye-catcher as we drove along the highway.

Of course I had to get a closer look.

The below park helps to make the drive along Thomasville Road so pretty with it's beautiful trees and landscaping.  The park is named after a Tallahassee leader who formed Tallahassee's commission-manager form of government.  He was also City Attorney and the Mayor of Tallahassee back in the 1930's.

This nice little park of 21 acres has benches, trails and picnic tables and a small pond. 

Some of the Narcissus bulbs in the park were in bloom.

Not sure what kind of tree the white flowered tree is, but it looks like a Wild Plum Tree.  

Located just under the tree to the left is a stone marker.

A closer look at the marker shows a plaque in memory of John C. Van Beck.

Yes! And John Van Beck, along with his wife Linda and daughter Sara worked together and wrote a beautiful book called:  DAFFODILS IN FLORIDA:  A Field Guide to the Coastal South.  It is a fantastic book for the heirloom or daffodil enthusiast in the Deep South  

The book has 180 pages of useful information and over 150 color photos.  It is a guide to growing Daffodils in the coastal South, from South Carolina to Texas, including central Florida.  I checked and this book is available on Amazon.

Close-up views of what looks like Wild Plum Tree blossoms.

Also, in the park we spotted this pretty little Cherry Tree.

Cherry Tree blossoms.

Wild Plum Tree next to the lake in the park.

No matter what time of year,  the drive along Thomasville Road is always a pretty drive.  

Before too long I will take you with me for a drive North on Thomasville Road.   Yes, as the name suggests the roadway travels all the way up to Thomasville, Georgia.  Again, this section of roadway is a very beautiful drive as you travel along through plantation country.

My husband and I will be gone for a week or two.  I look forward to sharing more of the good Lord's beauty captured with my camera when we return.

Wishing you many blessings wherever you may be.