6/24/2009 6:00:00 PM COOK/Life stays busy for mother of two
As the mother of two young boys, life is anything but boring in the home of Brandy Alford.
"It's never a dull moment around here," she said with a laugh.
She and her husband, Jeremy, have two sons, Brice, 8, and Brady, 3, who will soon celebrate his fourth birthday and head to pre-K in the fall.
With school out and summertime in full swing, the Alfords can often be found outdoors with their children riding four-wheelers, fishing, camping or watching the kids play on their Slip 'N Slide.
"If it's outside, we pretty much like it," Brandy said.
The Alfords, both Sandtown community natives, knew each other growing up, attending the same church, Sandtown United Methodist, together.
They have been married for nine years and still live in the Sandtown community, in fact, in the same home Brandy grew up in, buying the house a couple of years ago from her dad.
"It just feels like home," she said.
Staying close to family has always been important to Brandy as her father and other relatives live near her, many within earshot, and Jeremy's parents and brother and his family are just minutes away.
"It's a family road," she said.
While Jeremy works at Windham Tractor and Implement Company, Brandy has been a hair stylist with Lisa's Sassy Scissors in Philadelphia for the past two years.
She graduated from The Academy of Hair Design in Pearl and has been styling hair now for four years in Philadelphia.
"I love hair. I do it all the time," she said, practically growing up in a beauty shop. "I had no other choice but to like it."
While she stays quite busy with her two sons, in her spare time Brandy does enjoy collecting crosses of all kinds and especially crystal. She also likes to scrapbook from time to time.
The Alfords also attend Sandtown Methodist and are members of the Neshoba County Cattleman's Association.
As for cooking, the Alfords cook on their grill a lot as opposed to frying, whether it's barbecue, chicken or steak, and have an abundant supply of fresh vegetables from their garden.
Brandy credits a lot of her good recipes to her parents, sister and mother-in-law, a few of which she has shared with the readers, including her very own recipe for homemade salsa.
BRANDY'S SALSA
2 cans peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
10 jalapeno slices
2 tomatilos
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic salt
3 tablespoons ground cilantro
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend. Sprinkle in salt. Bring a boil for 10 minutes. Then serve.
CORN CASSEROLE
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can Mexicorn
1 package instant rice
1 package shredded velvetta cheese
Mix all ingredients and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
SQUASH DRESSING
2 cups cooked squash
2 cups cornbread
2 eggs
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter
1 chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Melt butter and saute onion. Mix squash, cornbread and soup. Beat eggs until creamy and add to mixture. Then add remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Add cheese on top if desired.
GRILLED RIBS
1 rack baby back ribs
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Grill Mates Pork Rub
Tony's Creole Seasoning
Worcestershire sauce
Place ribs on a pan. Sprinkle worcestershire sauce over them. Then sprinkle on Tony's and Lawry's Seasoning. Then take the Grill Mates Pork Rub and coat both sides. Slice butter all around the ribs.
Cook approximately 30 or 45 minutes on the grill. Add barbecue sauce if desired.
BLUEBERRY CRUNCH
1 can crushed pineapple
3 cups blueberries
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter
Butter a 9x13-inch pan. Crush pineapple and spread in bottom of the pan. Pour in blueberries then sprinkle 3/4 cup sugar over the blueberries. Add the yellow cake mix and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Slice the 2 sticks of butter over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour or until cake mix turns brown.
