Shrimp Po Boys

July 3, 2014 by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have sandwiches for dinner often during the summer, sometimes simple ones, and sometimes I’ll make something like this that’s simple enough, but very satisfying.
The seasoned mayo spread makes all the difference, fresh herbs and citrus just make everything taste better.
This started from a Rachel Ray recipe and like usual, quickly became my own version after I finished scribbling my own ideas and ingredients on it.  Have fun with your recipes.  Don’t be afraid to try your own ideas out.  You might come up with a winner like this one!

SHRIMP PO BOYS

For breaded shrimp:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs shrimp, deveined and tails removed
1/2 cup flour
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 T old bay seasoning
Oil, for frying

Seasoned mayonnaise:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 T lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp old bay seasoning

To serve:
Rolls or buns, buttered and toasted in a skillet
Tomato, sliced
Lettuce, in leaves or shredded
Lemon wedges

First make the seasoned mayo.  Mix everything together and keep covered in the refrigerator while you make the rest.

Whisk eggs, milk, and salt together in a large bowl.  Add shrimp and let soak while you get the breading ready.
In a medium bowl mix together the flour, panko, and old bay seasoning.  Heat one inch of oil in a deep skillet (I live using my wok or deep cast iron skillet) over medium heat.
Working in batches (so you don’t crowd the pan), drop the shrimp in the breading and then carefully into the hot oil.  Cook until golden brown, turning once.
I like to put them on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet while I cook the remaining batches.

Pile buns with seasoned mayo, lettuce, and tomato then top with shrimp.  Serve with lemon wedges.

 

Filed Under: Fish / Seafood, Sandwiches / Wraps

Time Timer Review

June 25, 2014 by

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I’m not sure this is considered a timer.  I think life changer is more adequate.  Time Timer sent me their newest timer the “Time Timer Plus” and we are totally sold on these amazing timers.  Having a kiddo with Autism, the ability to visually see that red section shrink as the time passes has made the difference between her understanding and not understanding.  I have used timers before for her to try to help her understand how long she needed to work on schoolwork, or wait to have time on the computer, etc.  Until using this timer it never seemed to make sense for her.
I think if you are using it for a child with special needs or even just kids in general, you’ll find it super helpful.  It is completely silent as it runs and you can choose how loud you want the buzz to be when time’s up, or opt for no sound at all.  The buzz is not annoying or super loud, but loud enough that you’ll notice it.  And I love that I can look across the room and see how much time is left on it.  The main difference with this model and their other models is that the face of this model is completely enclosed, which if you have young children who might mess with the face it is most definitely worth it.  They do carry other styles as well as watches and I think the small 3 inch timers would be very handy for when we’re on the go, and the watch might be the only one Amelia will do well with too.
Finally, a timer that works!  This thing is a life saver.  Go check out their website, timetimer.com to see all their great timers.

Filed Under: Giveaways / Reviews

Creamy and Tart Poppyseed Dressing

June 18, 2014 by

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Why does salad get such a bad rap?  It is one of my favorite things and there is no end to the versatility of salad.  Wether it’s main dish salads, like this poppyseed salad with lemon chicken, grain salads like asian quinoa salad, or asian green salads like this amazing chinese chicken salad, or how about adding to finish off the amazingness that is grilled pizza with roasted garlic chicken and orange vinaigrette?  Have I won you over yet?   After being married over a decade even my hubby adores salads.  One of our favorite terriyaki restaurants serves a little salad that we love and of course I had to make a homemade version.  This is what I call a “junk food salad” because I use iceberg lettuce instead of dark greens.  But through it on whatever, it’s still good.  I serve it with shredded carrots like they do in the restaurant, and cherry tomatoes are a nice addition too I think.
You can change the sweetness or tartness of the dressing by adding more vinegar or sugar.

CREAMY AND TART POPPYSEED DRESSING

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp poppyseeds
pinch kosher salt

Combine everything in a jar and shake until smooth (or whisk together in a bowl).
Store in the refrigerator until using.

Filed Under: Salad / Dressings

Rosemary Popcorn

June 5, 2014 by

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I love popcorn.  I know it’s not considered a dessert but in our home we eat it for dessert pretty often.  One way to make it even better is by popping it with infused oil.  Rosemary is my favorite and once you try this you’ll agree.  It is so addictive.  We’ve had a number of different poppers, including a fancy pot with crank on top to stir but a plain ol pot will do just fine.  If you want to air pop your popcorn you could do that and just drizzle with the oil when it’s done popping, but cooking the kernels in the oil really gets the flavor in there.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make popcorn.

ROSEMARY POPCORN

For Rosemary infused olive oil:
1 cup olive oil
3 to 5 rosemary sprigs

For popcorn:
1 cup popcorn kernels
1/2 cup olive oil
sea salt and/or grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil and rosemary in a small pot over medium high heat.  Once it reaches a simmer continue to cook for 5 minutes.  Let cool and strain.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To pop popcorn pour 1/2 cup rosemary oil in a large pot.  Place over medium heat and add a couple kernels.  Cover pot and wait for both kernels to pop.
Once they have all popped you know the oil is hot enough.  Remove popped kernels and add the 1/2 cup of kernels and cover.  Shake occasionally until kernels have stopped popping.
Drizzle with additional rosemary oil and sprinkle with sea salt and /or grated Parmesan cheese.

Filed Under: Appetizers / Dips / Snacks

Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

May 22, 2014 by

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This is a great make ahead salad, since it tastes even better a few hours later, or even overnight.  You can add lots of other things to this if you want, like olives, roasted red peppers, arugula, or even some pine nuts for texture.  While I like making it plain like this, you can also add some olive oil and vinegar to the pesto to make a vinaigrette, or if you want it creamy add a few spoons each mayonnaise and sour cream to the pesto.

EASY PESTO PASTA SALAD

1 lb pasta, cooked al dente and cool
1 cup Fresh basil pesto (or premade)
Marinated fresh mozzarella (or chopped mozzarella)
2 or 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or grape tomatoes, halved)

Toss all together, add a little olive oil and vinegar to the pesto to make more of a vinaigrette if you want it thinner.  Chill until serving.  Like I said.. Easy! 🙂

Filed Under: Pasta, Salad / Dressings

Herb Hummus

May 19, 2014 by

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I recently taught a cooking with herbs class and I knew hummus had to be on the invite list.  Hummus is kind of my go-to snack when we have company.  I always have cooked chickpeas in the freezer that I cook from dried beans pre-measured in 1 cup amounts. It is incredibly easy to change the flavor of since chickpeas don’t have a strong flavor.   I don’t normally have tahini on hand, but if you do and prefer, you can substitute that for the sesame seeds.  Tahini is just ground sesame seeds, which you can make in your food processor, and while to stuff from the store shelf is smoother than I can get, I think the texture of my hummus is fine.
You could do many different combinations of fresh herbs, or even throw in a couple spoons of fresh basil pesto which is one of my favorite ways.
Hummus isn’t limited to just being a dip, you can also use it for a spread on sandwiches or wraps (I particularly like it paired with warm naan bread!).

HERB HUMMUS
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
2 T sesame seeds
2 T sour cream
3 T  lemon juice
3 T olive oil
1/2 cup fresh baby dill
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Place everything in the bowl of a food processor (or blender) and puree until smooth.  Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or rice crackers.

Filed Under: Appetizers / Dips / Snacks

Basil Pesto

May 16, 2014 by

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Pesto is the ultimate spring food.  It makes everything taste so darn fresh and tasty.  I dare you not to taste it and see rainbows and flowers blooming.
Pesto is  easily adjusted and incredibly easy.  I usually make it with my food processor but you could do it by hand with a knife if you want a work out.  🙂   The nuts can be omitted completely or exchanged with almonds or other nuts.   I actually leave it out altogether.  I just prefer the taste of pesto nut free.   The basil can be switched with many kinds of herbs or combination of.  When making a big batch sometimes I cut the basil with about 25% parsley.  The vinegar or lemon juice will help retain that bright green color and add some acidic brightness.  You can find my pesto pizza sauce recipe  here, the main difference is I add more olive oil for a thinner sauce and up the garlic.  This is a great all purpose pesto, and my favorite.  I use it on many things, even just smearing sandwiches… brushing rolls towards the end of cooking… rubbing under chicken skin when roasting.. tossing with roasted vegetables just before serving.. toss with pasta.. I don’t usually eat it straight from the jar with a spoon.. but pretty close to it 😉

BASIL PESTO

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup olive oil
3 T pine nuts, optional
splash lemon juice or vinegar, optional

Put everything in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely minced.   Place in an airtight container and cover with a thin layer of olive oil and refrigerate.
To freeze leave out the parmesan.  Freeze in containers or ice cube trays then transfer to a ziplock.

Filed Under: Sauces / Condiments

Bee Mine Tea Party

May 6, 2014 by

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Normally I would save this draft to share next year closer to Valentine’s Day (which I might forget to do and it will be lost will all my other drafts!) but I can’t wait to share this, it was too much fun.  For Valentine’s Day this year me and my girls threw a “Bee Mine” themed tea party.  But these ideas would work well for a spring tea or party as well.    I have thrown tea parties for over a decade now, but as my daughters have gotten older I knew I wanted to give myself a little break and have more tea parties that involve them.  Luckily I am friends with all of their friends moms so it makes it fun to have their friends along with the moms so we can enjoy it together.  It was so much fun, I don’t know if I could have another tea party without them!  While my tea parties have always been special to me and I still really enjoy that time with friends, there is something about little girls at a tea party that makes my heart happy!  And I know my girls won’t be young for long, and I want to enjoy this while I can.  I involved them in all the planning, cooking, and decorating too.
I made the invites by printing the wording on pink cardstock and adding some embellishments made with my Silhouette cameo.  The bee and hive I found in the Silhouette store but the heart I made by fusing hexagon shapes together.  Don’t ask about how much time I wasted getting that right…

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I have lots of flowery tea party linens so we used those to decorate, along with some flowery teapots and a beehive pot as well.
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The girls helped make a pinata using a 12″ balloon (I think?) and we cut strips of crepe streamers to glue around, cutting fringe on the bottom half.
I hung it from our light with a grapevine wreath and some bees we made from yellow pom poms.  We wrapped them with black pipe cleaners and attached vellum heart wings.  They were hung with some thread, or you could use fishing line too.
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I printed the menu out and added a cute bee clipart to the top, and made the lettering in grew, yellow, and black.  I like putting the sweets and savory in different colors.
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I used the “Sparkling Nectar” recipe from Lucy’s Fairy Garden party, found here.  I am always amazed at how much the kids love this.  A 2 liter of 7 up mixed with a bottle of cranberry juice.  Easy!
For the adults I made Hibiscus tea.  You can buy this in bags, I just steep dried hibiscus, it’s the same thing.
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I made some “honeycomb snack mix” using my old monster munch recipe, using honeycomb cereal instead of chex, and dipping half the pretzels in black meltys with yellow sprinkles, and the other half of them in yellow meltys with black sprinkles and using valentines m&m’s in place of the reese’s pieces.
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Bumble bee pretzels were a big hit.  Just dip large pretzel twists in white meltys and sprinkle with sanding sugar for some wing sparkle.  Place close together on wax paper.  Let dry.  Dip the top third in yellow meltys and place on top of 2 twists.  Carefully add strips with yellow and black nonpareil  sprinkles.  Let dry.  The yellow should “glue” the rod to the wings.
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And of course honeycomb candy!

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And bee themed sugar cookies of course.  The wings had to get a little luster dust too 🙂
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Cupcakes were chocolate with yellow buttercream, and a bumble bee made from marshmallow fondant.
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Scones and honey butter!  Just whip butter with a little honey for the honey butter.
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For the sandwiches I made Artichoke, Radish, and Curry Chicken.
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Plus some kid sandwiches.  I made all of them using this bee and hive Tovolo sandwich cutter we had.
Some I made with P”BEE” and honey, and the others into fairy bread.

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For fairy bread, just spread bread with frosting or butter and liberally coat with nonpareil sprinkles.  I did yellow for the hives and black for the bees.  Fairy bread is ALWAYS a hit with kids.
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I was excited to put my “Bee happy” cookie mold from House on the Hill to good use too!
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This was the best part.  I didn’t even take many pictures, I was enjoying watching the girls have fun so much!
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If you have never had a tea party with little girls, you are missing out!
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You can see them in the background a little, I forgot to take a picture, but we made “roses” from hershey kisses for each guest to take home along with a plastic ring that had a bumble bee with a heart that said “bee mine”.  My little one found them at the cake decorating store and couldn’t resist. 🙂

Filed Under: Parties, Tea time

Honeycomb Candy (AKA Seafoam)

May 6, 2014 by

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Every time we went to the candy shop at the beach when I was a kid my Dad bought “seafoam” candy.  Sometimes it is called honeycomb as well.  It looks like either foam or honeycomb to me, with the airy pockets.  It melts in your mouth, sweet and crunchy, then quickly dissolves.  My favorite way is dipped in chocolate, but plain is good too, especially the little bits left over when you cut it sprinkled on ice cream.
As with any candy making, use only pure cane sugar and have everything measured and ready to go before you begin since candy goes from perfect to scorched and horrible in seconds.  This is a pretty easy candy to make though and requires few ingredients.  My youngest one loves how it dissolves in your mouth!

HONEYCOMB CANDY
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda, sifted
Chocolate for dipping, optional

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or spray with nonstick spray.  Set aside.
In a large pot stir together the water, corn syrup, and sugar over medium heat.  Stir until it boils and then remove your spoon and add a candy thermometer.  Watch it carefully, as you just want it golden brown.  At 300 degrees quickly pull it off the heat and add the baking soda.  Stir very quickly until the baking soda is all mixed in then pour immediately into the prepared pan.  DO NOT SPREAD IT!  This will let it have little air pockets, which is what we are going for.  Let cool completely before cutting into pieces with a serrated knife.  (Save the little bits for putting on ice cream!)
I like to dip half of each piece in dark or milk chocolate, but you can leave plain as well.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature.  Will keep 1-2 weeks.

Filed Under: Candy / Confections

Amazing Amelia

April 30, 2014 by

In “honor” of autism awareness month I’m going to attempt to give a quick version of our autism journey..

When my Amelia was born it wasn’t under the best circumstances.   My organs were shutting down and to save both our lives I had to deliver her almost 2 months early.  When she came home from the NICU she was only 3 and a half pounds.
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Somehow, she gained weight quickly.  Even though she would stop breathing every time she ate and seemed to spit up more than she took in.  Her pediatrician nicknamed her “Amazing Amelia”.

When Amelia was 18 months old she came down with RSV disease and pneumonia.  It was scary.  Heart wrenching.  I slept by her bed every night with a timer to administer medication.  She seemed withdrawn after that.  Any language was gone.  For awhile we thought it was just from the trauma of the illness.. from being a preemie…  and then the diagnosis process began.  About a year later, after multiple groups of specialists sufficiently prodded and poked we received the diagnosis of Autism.  I didn’t feel upset, it was almost relieving to have a label to explain some behaviors.  I remember a “good” friend once turned to me and said “Is Amelia just slow?”.

We were all ready doing therapy, occupational at first and then speech as well.   The first assessment Amelia would hardly do more than bang her head on things and wanted to leave.    Gradually, things got a little better.  But therapy was still hard.  And I was at a breaking point.  I was exhausted from dragging her there, quite unwillingly.  When I had our second daughter we took a few weeks off and I was considering taking a longer break from therapy but we decided to try again, at least for a little while.   And it was like something clicked.  All of a sudden she wanted to go.  Things started to fall in place.  Not everything… I still remember sitting with her speech therapist and crying my eyes out, asking her if I would ever hear her say “mommy” again.
But as Amelia gets older, the thicker my skin gets too.  I know I have to fight for her at times, and be willing to wait as long as it takes to see her progress.  And just keep going.  And then go some more.  And then something magic happens.  When I am at my lowest point, exhausted (did I mention Amelia doesn’t really sleep?… well, not much anyways..)  and overwhelmed Heavenly Father gifts me these little windows.  Windows of Amelia in her true state.  When she takes my hand and says she loves me.  Or hugs me tightly.  I always felt that for Amelia the most important thing we could work on was affection.  Being okay with receiving and giving affection.  Because imagine you are a young child whose skin feels like it’s on fire simply because the tag on your shirt is itchy.  Now imagine you aren’t okay with going to your mom or dad for comfort.  Instead you just hit your head on a wall.   To stress “socialization” so heavily for children with autism seems backwards to me.  After all, if you are so uncomfortable with your OWN skin, how can you be comfortable with someone else?  For us, that has worked.
Amelia is sweet, loving, and a daily reminder of all that is good in the world.   Is it always easy? Nope.  But nothing worth anything is ever easy.
As she grows older, I am becoming increasingly aware of how those with disabilities are treated as adults.  It is one thing to bestow understanding on a child.  But adults?  That seems to get grey for some unfortunately.  And while people are increasingly aware of autism, it has become common for high functioning Asperger’s syndrome to be referred to as autism as well.  So it is difficult for some to understand the difference, and be understanding when Amelia can’t do the same things as someone with Asperger’s can.   Even children with the same disease will not all look the same, and react to therapy and treatments the same.
So I want to remind you, the next time you meet someone who seems different from you, remember they are someone’s baby.  And they are more than their differences.  I want to share some things my girl loves, maybe you’ll see something there you can relate to as well.

1.Winter.  Everything winter.  The lights, the snow hats, scarves, and gloves, decorating cookies and gingerbread houses.

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2. Glamour.  Does this picture not say it all? She has even put this tutu on her dog so they can be fancy together. 🙂

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3. Her Charlie boy.  It’s hard to believe this little fur ball is now over 100 lbs but I’m sure that’s in part to her making and sneaking him peanut butter sandwiches.

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4. Birthdays.  This was her 7th birthday and the first year she enjoyed being sung “happy birthday” to.  She beamed and seemed to all at once understand that this was a special day for her.

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5. The beach.  Amelia is a different girl at the beach.  She loves to feel the wet sand in her toes and collect seashells.  I can see her shoulders drop and a calmness come over her at the coast.

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6. Her little sister.  Just when they both couldn’t drive me more crazy I catch them doing this.

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7. Her rhino trike.  This girl can’t get enough of it!  No matter how we tried Amelia couldn’t ride a bike.  But thanks to her occupational therapist, Amelia discovered the joy of a bike.

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8. Mr. Rogers.  I think it would be impossible to find a bigger Mr Rogers fan.  Proven by her Mr Rogers Birthday party here.  Sometimes if Amelia is having a hard time doing something I just have to tell her some encouraging words “from” Mr Rogers and she can get through it.

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9. The Aquarium.  She would go every day if given the option!

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10. Glamour, again.  Seriously, this is how we look for school time many days!

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11. Snuggles.  I catch my two babies doing this all the time and it makes my heart so happy.

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12. The zoo.  Okay, pretty much all animals.  Farm animals as well.  She finds chickens to be insanely hilarious.

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And one last thing.  People.  She loves people.  Saying hi, offering a hug to a waitress or cashier, or telling the little boy in a wheelchair “cool chair!”.
This girl finds the rose on every thorny bush.  I pray the world will see for the beautiful rose that she is, and understand some thorns will come with that.

 

 

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Filed Under: Autism, Ramblings