Lookey what I found today…..
LOVE the labels ~ I am a sucker for packaging.
The display was so bright, cheery and summery with all the different varietals…each label a different color, all with Hawaiian inspired graphics.
$5.99 at Sprouts.
Hope the inside of the bottle is as appealing as the outside.
Happy Saturday Night!
“You can barbeque it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it, there’s shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fry, deep fry, stir fry, there’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burgers, shrimp sandwiches, That… that’s about it.”
Private Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue forgot one important thing you can do with {the fruit of the sea}…
SHRIMP TACOS!
That was what was for dinner this Lenten Friday evening. I followed this recipe for the marinade.
{1 chipotle in adobo, chopped * 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil * Zest & juice of 1 lime * 1 tsp. cumin * 1 Tbsp. brown sugar * 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped}
Marinate 1 pound peeled & deveined shrimp for 20 minutes. Skewer it up and grill for a couple minutes on each side.
Chop shrimp and then build your taco from the tortilla up! I would prefer these with small flour tortillas, but we’re trying to be more healthy so we used corn. Warm your tortilla on the stove top and then pile with shredded lettuce or cabbage, black beans, shrimp, chipotle lime crema drizzle {sour cream [I used reduced fat], juice of 1 lime & one chipotle pepper, chopped ~ mix together. Will be runny so you can drizzle it on…you don’t need much}, lowfat shredded cheese, cilantro confetti, avocado chunks, a squeeze of lime and a shot of Sriracha!
These were absolutely delish. The slight sweetness from the brown sugar is balanced out by the heat from the chipotles. Sweet & spicy shrimp tacos are a must for your Lenten Friday meals or just whenever! We will be eating a lot of these this summer, I’m sure. This shrimp would be excellent on a salad or in a burrito, too!
Now to find a recipe for that coconut shrimp Bubba was talkin’ about!
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Next Friday we hope to make thresher shark tacos ~ hopefully it won’t be too hard to find. If you haven’t had shark, you must try it.
Off to pour a little Friday night sumpin sumpin….
Have a great weekend!
Spent some more time on Polyvore to get inspired for Elliott’s {Outdoorsy/Nature Girl} party in May…
Lots of clear glass containers filled with all sorts of goodness from gummy caterpillars to froggy yo-yos to Arnold Palmers.
Loving the turquoise & orange combo.
The {wedding} sign will obviously read something more like {Party this way!} or {A Woodsy Welcome!}. I just loved the organic, handmade feel of it.
Spray painted pine cones. Pin The Fairy on The Flower. Live owls.
Getting excited with a couple other goodies up my sleeve that I will share soon!
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Do you munch on Luna bars? I love them for mornings when it’s a little too hectic to prepare steel cut oats or pull the blender out for a smoothie. My faves are Lemon Zest and Chocolate Peppermint Stick, BUT…..there is a new kid on the block and she is swiftly taking the lead…
In case you haven’t noticed, I am coocoo for coconut!
If you also adore this fruit and in need of an occasional quick breakfast or snack, you must pick a couple of these up.
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Happy soon-to-be Friday….we’re almost there!
Last night for our Lenten Friday meal we had tilapia fish tacos.
At the risk of sounding totally stupid, I am going to have to say they were {thebomb.com}.
Jay grilled them on a cedar plank {along with garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt & pepper} which gives the fish an awesome smokey flavor.
We added shredded lettuce, grilled red & yellow peppers, a little cheese, some pineapple salsa, a shot of Sriracha and a squeeze of lemon.
Here is one all loaded up…
Finally found some corn tortillas that don’t fall apart ~ La Banderita {from Ralphs}. This meal was not only delish, but it was very affordable…the fish was $3.65 and the tortillas were $1.99 for 30. Elliott even loved the fish so that was one less short order I had to fill! Next Friday we’ll be making grilled shrimp tacos with chipotle lime crema.
Stay tuned for more Lenten recipes.
Happy Saturday!
I think it’s safe to say that {everyone} knows what lumpia is…but if you’ve never had it, well, I’m sorry, but that can change. They are just a Filipino egg rolls I guess is the best way to describe them.
And they are DE-LISH!
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Lumpia Shanghai Recipe
{from my mother-in-law, Lucy AKA “Lola”}
1 lb. ground pork
½ lb shrimp, chopped
2-3 stalks green onions, finely sliced
½ cup water chestnuts, chopped
(The shrimp, water chestnuts and green onions can be chopped all together in a food processor or chopper)
¼ cup soy sauce
½ tsp salt
Mix all together. Add 1 slightly beaten egg and 3 tablespoons corn starch to hold the meat together and mix again.
Look for square, thin wrappers brand Spring Home TYJ Spring Roll Pastry or something similar.
Place 2 tablespoons of the mixture in a wrapper diagonally across. Fold the pointed edge over the meat and then the sides of the wrapper. Roll tightly and seal edges with warm water.
Here comes the bad part…shallow fry:
When golden brown on both sides, remove and place onto a paper towel lined plate.
We like to cut ours in half before serving. I found this sweet chili sauce {brand: Maggi} at Albertson’s in the Asian aisle. You can also use plain ‘ol sweet and sour sauce for dipping.
Tip: after the lumpia are all rolled, you can freeze them for future enjoyment. So make a lot of them because, trust me, they will fly off the plate.
Many people have asked for this recipe….so glad I can share this {secret} with you!
Happy Sunday!
I love throwing parties for my chickens, but it’s a lot of work.
Thank goodness I had some helpers here, otherwise some things wouldn’t have happened! I’ve learned my lesson…you can NEVER do enough ahead of time. If you can do it a day or two before the party, DO IT!
My Dad {Popsi} cut and polka dotted 20 tails for the Pin The Tail On The Dalmatian game and perfectly taped the red tablecloth on our huge table so it wouldn’t slip. My Mom {Gramma} rolled and tied the utensils in the napkins and ran to the store for balloons. Jay was on vacuum and Windex patrol while I made a big pot o chili and corn bread muffins. My friend Ralph{s} supplied the boneless hot wings which was a huge help! My friends Karen, Melissa and Janet were my sous chefs and helped get the kid eats secured to feed the hungry little mouths after the big fire house tour.
Thanks to EVERYONE for their help…it wouldn’t have come together without you. Three cheers for group effort!
Hip Hip Hooray!
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I had a leftover foam wreath thingy from Christmas so I whipped this up for the front door…75% off tinsel and a hot glue gun do wonders!
For the boys’ goody bags, I found some {flame} beanies and gloves. For the girlies, I picked up some black beanies and made rosettes out of the same flame fabric as Holden’s “4” shirt and pinned them on. They also got either a Red Hots or Dr. Pepper lip gloss. I just packaged them up in some bakery bags and secured with a little tag:
Lunch was chili and cornbread for the adults and piggies in a blanket, Bagel Bites and Tater Tots for the kiddos. I also had some boneless hot wings, spicy peanuts and cheddar jalapeño Cheetos to snack on.
Easy.
We almost had a Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory party instead. Holden was major into the movie around the holidays and I toyed with changing the theme. SO glad I didn’t! But I had the whole {candy bar} idea in my noggin and still wanted to carry it out on a much smaller scale…
Needless to say, the kids LOVED filling up their little bags with sweet treats! I was joking with the parents and saying it’s much cheaper than a trip to the Sweet Factory!
Remember the Martha Oreo Tower? Well, don’t laugh, but something tells me that Martha’s Oreo budget called for more than two packages of double stuffed cookies! I was certain that I could do something attractive with that….uh, NOT so!
{You’ll see a full shot of the Oreo lameness in just a minute…}
As far as stuff for the kids to do, I just gathered all our fire trucks, related books and picked up a little fireman Lego set. The boys had a fabulous time huddled around the coffee table putting that together. I also crafted a {Pin The Tail on The Dalmatian} game. This was very informal and we didn’t blindfold or spin them around before they pinned…or taped! We used the honor system and they just closed their eyes. Everyone was a winner!
{yes, I misspelled “dalmatian”…hopefully Gramma was the only one who noticed! ;-)}
How cute is our neighbor, little Miss Nataliyah? She is the most social little 21 month old!
After all the kids were hopped up on hot dogs and candy, we took a torch to the {little pink fire engine that could} and sang to Holden! I swear this was one big cake wreck and this confection needed a rescuing of it’s own!
And try to hold your laughter at the sight of the Oreo mound!
Somehow the little striped {4} candle perked it up a bit! I tell ya, Martha sure knows what she’s doin’.
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Thank you again to all who responded to the call and came out in the crazy weather to help Holden celebrate!
And one more big THANK YOU to Station 156. I honestly cannot thank them enough!
Love Chelsea Handler.
But this post is not about her….it’s about some Vodka Sauce.
Readership has gone down in the past couple days possibly given the content material, so if some of you were turned off, hopefully I can redeem myself with some tasty new recipes!
{Did I get your attention?}
I thought you could only buy this stuff in a jar! Thanks to Leah, I now know how easy it is to make from scratch.
{The only additional thing I would say about the recipe is that when adding the vodka [or ANY alcohol to a dish] to the pan, PRETTY PLEASE REMOVE THE PAN FROM THE HEAT}
Leah is right, this dish is elegant and very much restaurant quality. I really need to cook with fresh basil more often! I talked Jay out of adding chicken because, honestly, I just didn’t want to fix it! Sorry, Babe! I told him there was {chicken} stock in the sauce, though. Ha! Frankly, I think the chicken would throw it off…I will most def be making this again.
Soon.
When I first spotted this scrumptious cheesecake, I knew it had to go on {the list}. Um, it has Keebler Fudge Striped cookies. As. The. Crust. Enough said…
Would’ve probably made it sooner, but I didn’t have a spring form pan.
But, I do NOW….and I DID make this cheesecake for our Valentine’s Day dessert.
This was my first cheesecake, so I was a little nervous.
{before the whipped cream goodness}
{and after!}
I knew I could not have this cheesecake staring at me all week {AKA eating it for breakfast with my coffee!!} so I cut it in quarters and shared with our neighbor friends. However, when I cut into it the center collapsed….maybe I didn’t chill it long enough?
Despite the oozing mess, I did receive all sorts of positive feedback. Check out this sweet comment:
“I just wanted to thank you once again for the DELICIOUS cheesecake! When I came home from work this afternoon, my mom (who was watching the boys) said, “Where did you get that to-die-for cheesecake that’s in your fridge? I helped myself to some, and I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything so divine in my whole life.” No joke, she literally talked about the cheesecake for 20 minutes! My mom is a dessert fanatic, yet over the last three decades of my life, I don’t ever remember her praising any dessert quite like your cheesecake 🙂 So, thank you again!! We all REALLY enjoyed it. Still can’t believe it was your first attempt! You must consider opening up your own catering/party business!”
Awww, thanks Alina and THANK YOU Meg @ Whatever for sharing and THANK YOU Pam for your endless hours in the kitchen perfecting this extraordinary dessert!
I’m going to call it the {traveling cheesecake} because whenever I make it, three quarters of it will find another home. It is very rich, but smooooooth and creamy.
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One of Jay’s favorite meals is Chicken Marsala. We use Ty Flo’s recipe and every time we make it, I wonder “Why don’t we make this more often?”
Tyler Florence’s Chicken Marsala
I served with roasted asparagus with parmesan:
{just take a bunch of asparagus, cut about 2 inches off the ends, cut in thirds on an angle, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper & parmesan, toss, place on a baking sheet lined with foil for about 20 minutes @400*}
Easy peasy, right?
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That was our Valentine’s dinner…complete with crooked table cloth adorned with spilled smoothie spots and colored Crayola markers! We skipped the {Wilson Creek} Almond Champagne and will enjoy that this weekend.
And, as I mentioned, Miss Elliott lost her first tooth Valentine’s evening.
It’s so true that when you have children you start to see things differently and enjoy them so much more. V-day has never been one of my favorite holidays, but this year I really enjoyed watching them address their little valentines to their friends and see their joy when showing off all their cards. Next year my goal is to come up with a homemade valentine ~ there are loads of darling ideas out there!
And next year, even though I loved our dinner at home, {you and I} are GOING OUT to dinner, babe!
Love you.
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Happy Wednesday!
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
{via}
Oh, how I LOVE these vintage valentine cards!
And oh how I LOVE my Valentines….
It was peanut butter banana smoothies in their cute new mugs this morning…
Then we loaded up all the valentines and headed to school.
Elliott signed 25 {cheesy} Jonas Brothers cards all by herself and helped me seal them with a little pink heart sticker.
She also has a little candy treat for her classmates…
I had visions of hand cut hearts, glitter and handwritten notes to adorn these little trinkets, but the weekend got away from us and I found myself scrambling for my Avery labels and put my new color cartridge to work!
Now that I look back, I should’ve had the label read, “Please be a {Smartie} and be my Valentine!”
Shucks! Oh well.
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Just wanted to add that yesterday, while I took Holden to a little birthday party, Jay and Elliott went and redeemed a certificate she got from school at Cold Stone. I found out when I got home that she chose cotton candy ice cream with m&m’s….how NASTY is that? Sorry, I know it’s not polite to comment that something that someone is eating is gross, BUT……they shouldn’t even MAKE cotton candy ice cream! Jay said it was blue! Yuck!
But I’m glad Jay & Elliott got to have some more one on one time. They also went to the park and practiced her sight words!
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This afternoon I’m going to be busy in the kitchen preparing a special dinner for my other Valentine…
Chicken Marsala
Roasted asparagus with parmesan
Cheesecake {my first attempt, but I found a recipe that BEGGED to be baked!}
Almond champagne toast
{recipes to come}
Wish me luck as I try out my new spring form pan!
…you might want to run out and get one of these…
I just bought one yesterday.
Because there is this cheesecake that I spotted and I’m making it tomorrow for an early Valentine’s Day treat.
And as I was gathering the ingredients for this cheesecake today, I realized that from the pictures I saw and the items in my cart that this is going to to SOME cheesecake.
I was not always a cheesecake lover. It had to grow on me ~ I like mine smooth and light.
Light as in airy, not light in calories.
Stay tuned…you’re going to die when you see what the crust is made of.
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Happy Saturday!