New Years Resolutions

We all make New Year's resolutions. We try to improve upon the person we were last year. "New year new me." I always aim to be healthier, more organized and in a better place financially. Some years I succeed and some years not so much. To start off my healthy resolution, I made a shrimp and veggie stir fry over quinoa for dinner tonight. It was light and surprisingly, very good. Hope you like it and good luck on your resolutions!

 1 lb of shrimp, peeled

1 diced onion

1 diced red bell pepper

1 diced green bell pepper

1 zucchini, cut into matchstick size pieces

2 minced garlic cloves

1 cup quinoa

Make quinoa according to directions on box. (1 cup quinoa with 2 cups of water. Turn on high. Bring to boil. Simmer, covered for 15 min)

In a large pan, drizzle some EVOO. Turn to medium high heat. Add veggies and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cook about 8 min, stirring regularly. Add shrimp cover for 4 min. Stir and make sure all parts of the shrimp are cooked.

Serve over quinoa! 

Backyard games

It's springtime and summer is right around the corner. Down south that means lots of outdoor entertaining. We have lots of easy outdoor games to keep your guests happy and make lots of memories! 

cornhole! This is a favorite. You just toss the beanbags into the hole! 

Kerplunk! Just like when we were kids, just bigger.

Hopscotch! Make it colorful! Still a favorite among little girls.

This is one for the kids and adults! Golf tees in a wooden block (easy enough right?) place ping pong balls on the tees and use water guns to shoot them off! Hope your get together is a blast!! 

Recipe post to follow! 

Happy Birthday Emma Kate!

Happy Birthday to my Minnie!

Gumbo

It's a little chilly out right now; even in Louisiana. So I'm making gumbo. I'm making seafood gumbo, but you can make gumbo with just about anything. And I'm even going to tell you the "cheat" way my grandmother started using after she "got too old to fuss with it all". Funny thing is, no one knew the difference! I have no idea when she quit making her own roux. So here's the easy way!

Ingredients:

2 boxes of Zatarans Gumbo Base

2 boxes of chicken stock

2 cans diced tomatoes 

1 bag of frozen gumbo mix frozen veggies (onion, celery, bell pepper) thawed.

2 lbs of frozen shrimp

1 container lump crabmeat

1 pack of andouille sausage sliced.

In a large stock pot, mix gumbo base chicken stock and 5 cups of water over medium heat. Add veggies and diced tomatoes. Bring to boil. Add sausage and crabmeat. I like to add 1/3 cup of Zatarans seafood boil for extra spice. Stir regularly to keep from burning on bottom. Add shrimp at the end. Boil 5 minutes. Serve over white rice with french bread and saltine crackers! 

Enjoying the Holidays

I LOVE the Holidays! It's my favorite time of year. I have some great recipes to make and share with family and friends! 

Crab and Corn Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 stick of butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups half and half

1 can cream style corn

1 cup frozen corn

1 pound lump crab meat, shells removed

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup sherry

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sauté onion and celery in the butter in a saucepan for 3 minutes or until tender. Add flour and mix well. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the broth gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. (just keep stirring!) Stir in half and half and corn.

Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fold in the crab meat and green onion. Stir in the sherry, salt and cayenne pepper. Simmer just until heated through and ladle into soup bowls.

Serves 8

Serve with French bread

For my favorite to go containers, shop www.maryandmartha.com

Merry Christmas! Enjoy trimming your tree and singing carols with your loved ones! 

Tropical Summer Day

We're spending the day swimming and enjoying the sunshine. Ethan is practing strokes for swim team practice and Emma is getting braver and paddling around in her floaties!
To keep with the mood of the day we're having fruit salad as a snack and "Hawaiian BBQ Chicken" for dinner.

Tropical fruit Salad
This one is very simple
1 can mandarin oranges drained
1 sliced banana
1 can pineapple chunks ( I found one with coconut in the syrup!)

Pour in bowl and mix together!

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
4-6 pieces of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1 can pineapple chunks drained

Add all the ingredients to crock pot. Cook on low 4-6 hours.
Serve over rice.

Enjoy& Aloha!!

Sweet Summer Time!

Ahh summer time. A sigh of relief after a long busy year. I have some delicious recipes to celebrate. Time to bring out the shorts, flip flops and sunglasses.

Mint Julep
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Water
6 sprigs fresh mint, plus some for garnish
2 cups bourbon whiskey

Make a simple syrup by dissolving sugar in water and bring to a low boil. Once sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is piping hot, remove from heat .
Pluck mint leaves from stems and add to syrup.
Cool completely.
Pour syrup into a serving pitcher and add bourbon. Stir to mix well.
Fill a high-ball glass with ice and a sprig if mint.
Cover ice with bourbon mixture and serve!



Mango-avocado Salsa
2 ripe Mangoes, peeled and diced
3/4 cup finely chopped red onions
3/4 cup finely chopped red bell peppers
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
1 large ripe avocado, peeled pitted and diced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, combine mangoes, red onions, all bell peppers, olive oil, cilantro and chives.
Toss avocado with lime juice.
Gently add avocado with juice to mango mixture, stirring to combine flavors.
Season with salt and pepper.


Grilled Asparagus

2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Drizzle olive oil over asparagus with salt and pepper
Place across hot grill. Grill about 2 minutes. Roll them over and grill another 2 minutes.
Remove and serve immediately.

Grilled Shrimp

1 pound large headless shrimp peeled
1 table spoon olive oil
Creole Seasoning

Toss shrimp with olive oil and creole seasoning.
Skewer kabob style onto metal or wooden skewers.
Place grill on high heat and cook about 2 minutes on each side.

Happy Mardi gras!

It's Fat Tuesday here in Louisiana. That means good food. I'm starting with "king cake" cinnamon rolls. This one is super easy. I'm using store bought cinnamon rolls. You going to unroll them and reshape them into a twisty wreath shape. Bake according to directions. Warm up the icing and drizzle over warm cinnamon rings.  Now while the rings bake, make the colored sugar. Just use a small container and mix food coloring with regular granulated sugar (purple, green and yellow. Separate containers for each color). Sprinkle on iced cakes while still warm. Serve!

Next is lunch. Poboys. These are simple to make. I'm going with shrimp. First, peel and devein your shrimp and dry them on a paper towel. I'm using a simple batter. In a large bowl crack open 2 eggs and whisk them. In another bowl, add 1 cup of flour and season with Cajun seasoning. On the stove heat your vegetable oil to 375 degrees.  Dip your shrimp in the egg then in the flour mixture. Fry for about 2-3 minutes until golden. Dry on paper towels. You'll want to fry them in batches.
   Next get your spread ready. 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce. Mix together. You can add more of the Cajun seasoning also.
   Now the French bread. Cut the loaf into thirds. Slice to open. Spread on mayo mixture generously. Add shrimp. Enjoy with some Zapp's potato chips and a Barq's root beer!

Last I'm making boiled shrimp. It's cold today, so we're staying inside. Start with a large stock pot. Fill it 3/4 full of water. Add 1 cup of seafood boil (I use Zatarans) 2 lemons (cut in 1/2)  a few garlic cloves and 1/2 stick of butter. Go ahead and add about 6 new potatoes, they take longer to cook. And a few ears of corn. Bring to boil. Then let's prep our shrimp. I bought mine, with the heads off and deveined. Tail shells still on. They just have to be defrosted. If you get yours straight off the boat (lucky!) you will want to take the heads off and devein them.  I'm making 4 lbs of shrimp. Add them about 2 lbs  batches to boiling water and boil about 4-6 minutes until pink and curled. Remove shrimp, potatoes and corn and serve with the mayo mixture used with the poboys and some French bread.

We're watching Princess and the Frog today, reading Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras, and listening to Johnette Downing. Enjoy your Mardi Gras! Freezing rain here..

Thanksgiving side dish

Here's a recipe for a family favorite Thanksgiving side dish!

Corn Casserole
Ingredients:
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can mexicorn
1package cream cheese
1 package shredded cheese

Open and drain both cans of corn. In a medium sauce pan, cook corn and cream cheese until melted and combined. Turn oven on 350 degrees. Add corn and cream cheese mixture to casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese. Bake until bubbly.

You can also add jalapeños to flavor.

Game day!

Southern women love 3 things.. God, Sweet Tea and the SEC. Today is college game day, a holiday in the south that occurs every Saturday in the fall. You dress up in your team colors and cook a magnificent spread of appetizers. There are a few staples to make any game day spread a winner! ( even if your team loses)
* cream cheese with pepper jelly- it's exactly what it says. Take a block of cream cheese add a few tablespoons of hot pepper jelly on top. Serve with crackers.
*kielbasa sausage-  grilled or pan seared with some Zee's* sausage dipping sauce.
*chips and dip- any variety

Geaux Tigers!

Best ever potatoes!

There's a wonderful little hidden gem of a restaurant in Alexandria, LA called The Cottage. They're open for lunch and you have to try their stuffed cheese burgers. They are also known for their Cottage  Potatoes. They recently ran the recipe in a local paper and I thought I would share!

Cottage Potatoes:
1 bag Russet Potatoes
Melted Butter
Season All

Wash potatoes. Place standing up in a pan of water. Cover with foil and bake at 350• until done. Cut potatoes into 1" squares, leaving skin on. Transfer to large bowl. Pour melted butter over them and sprinkle with season all and stir. Serve warm.

Crock pot fajitas

These are super easy! You just need a few ingredients. Add rice and black beans for a delicious meal and some chips and salsa as a starter!

You need 2 lbs of your choice steak or chicken. Boneless chicken or those skirt steak works fine
1 sliced onion
1 each sliced & deveined green and red bell pepper
1 packet fajita seasoning
1 cup water

Combine ingredients. Be sure to mix fajita seasoning in well. Cook on low 3-4 hours.
Dress with your favorite toppings!

New school year!

The new school year starts tomorrow for us. My son starts 2nd grade at a local magnet school and Emma with be in the toddler class at the preschool I work at. We're all prepared. New backpacks and lunchboxes. Back to school check ups and haircuts. It will be a busy time for us. Ethan has 4 large projects this year. We also play sports; soccer and running. ( he wanted to add swim team.. Maybe next year..) Emma has dance. I have a big class project for our fall fundraiser. So needless to say, we stay pretty busy. Oh and add in Junior League! So the next few meals will be quick fixes and crock pot meals! Happy New School Year!

Taco Joes

These are a favorite of my sons. In fact, he wants me to make them for his school lunch. They are super easy for those work/school nights. All you need is


1 lb ground meat
1 can Campbell's tomato soup
1 cup salsa
Shredded cheese
Tortillas/ tortilla chips

Brown ground meat on skillet. Drain. Add tomato soup and salsa. Mix well. Add desired amount of cheese. Can be eaten in tortillas or as a dip. You can also add refried beans. Easy and delicious!

To tutu or not to tutu?

Little Miss Emma is taking dance this year. Her leotard and t shirt colors are teal and black. I couldn't find a tutu that matched so I decided to make one.. How difficult can it be, right?  First I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some tulle. I recommend the thinner rolls; it's easier to work with. Also, do NOT get the glittery stuff unless you want to be covered in glitter by the time your done. You can use ribbon, elastic ( like the stuff used for emi jays) or those crochet baby headbands. Measure your ribbon or elastic around your child waist and about 6 inches for ribbon to tie a bow. You can tie the elastic to fit before you start tutuing. If using ribbon, tie a knot on one end about 3 inches from the end. Cut your tulle into strips twice as long as desired tutu length. You will be folding the strips in half. Fold in half.  Take the pinched end and wrap it under and then down. Take the open ends and pull them throu the loop until tight. Repeat with desired color pattern. If using ribbon, tie another knot 3 inches from the other end.

For additional help see:

http://justwemoms.blogspot.com/2009/06/easy-no-sew-tutu-tutorial.html

Steak marinade

My favorite steak marinade is Italian dressing. Simple and easy! Grilled over hot coals.
Then add some of Pioneer Woman's peppercorn cream sauce and yum!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/fillet-with-peppercorn-sauce-recipe/index.html

Summer Salad

Fruit salad is always a big hit at our house. I like to try lots of fruits and bright colors. Tonight's dish calls for..

2 mangos peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks
3 kiwis peeled and diced
1 banana peeled and sliced
1 cup diced watermelon 


Mix together in large bowl and serve. Hope you enjoy!

Cherry pineapple dump cake

This is a quick and easy dessert! Just a few ingredients!

2 cans cherry pie filling
2 can crushed pineapple
1 box white cake mix
1 stick of butter

In a large baking pan add cherry and pineapple. Mix together. Sprinkle cake mix to cover the top of fruit. Slice butter into thin squares. Place butter over cake mix, covering as much cake mix as possible. Put in oven on broil until cake mix makes a hard crust. Serve warm.

Monster cookies

I think everyone has a version of these, but here's mine!

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon corn syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2  cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts ( walnuts/pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a very large bowl, beat the eggs

Add the remaining ingredients in order, mixing well

Use an ice cream scoop to put on ungreased cookie sheet, bake 12-15 minutes

Makes 6-7 dozen

In the mood for meatballs!

Last night was Italian night at our house. The adults had meatball sandwiches and the kids had them on pasta.
I made tons, so feel free to alter the recipe! Although you can freeze them!

2 lbs ground beef ( I use 1 lb of the low fat and 1 lb with a higher fat %)
3 eggs
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 onion diced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Mix ingredients by hand in a large bowl.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Measure out meatballs; about 1 tablespoon. Heat for 2 minutes until brown on outside. Add your favorite pasta sauce ( I used 2 jars, but I want leftovers to freeze) Cover and simmer about 20 min. Serve over bread with provolone cheese or over your choice of pasta! Enjoy!