Tasty Tuesday

Corn, Arugula & Tomato Salad

Fresh corn and tomatoes make an especially attractive and delicious summer salad. Sweet corn balances the peppery arugula and tart tomatoes.

RECIPE & INGREDIENTS

 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons minced shallots

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

6 cups loosely packed arugula (about 6 ounces)

2 cups corn kernels (about 4 ears)

1 1/2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

DIRECTIONS

Combine vinegar and shallots in a large bowl and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.


Whisk oil into the vinegar mixture until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Add arugula and toss to coat. Arrange the arugula on serving plates. Add corn and tomatoes to the bowl, toss to coat with the dressing that remains, then spoon the mixture over the arugula and serve.



NOTE: I like to replace the arugula with fresh spinich. I am not a fan of the arugulas peppery taste but if you like it leave it in.

Father's Day Fun

This Father's day was a blast. A good time was had by all. When the other half came downstairs he was greeted by this banner the mini-me and I put together.

We went to Carpe Diem for brunch. It was OK but I am a bit hard on restaurants that serve brunch because brunch is my favorite meal. We will  go back to give it another try however, I am going to make sure I go after 12.30 when I can order a Mimosa. What's brunch without a Mimosa??

We then went to see Kung Fu Panda 2. There was plenty of action and the story has such a good message. I recommend it for kids of all ages. We had a bit of fun with the PO cut-out.


Now, I know I said I was going to grill some fish but it's my prerogative to change my mind. These lobster tails were on sale and they are pretty close to fish. So Yum.



Grilled Lobster Tails

 As if lobster wasn't decadent enough I also made Crab Mac & Cheese. Yum



Crab Mac & Cheese

 No matter how hard I try I can't seem to fight the urge to grill a big juicy steak. I guess growing up just outside of a Meat & Potatoes town had a lasting affect on me. 






Dinner was the end of a fantastic Fathers Day.

Shopping

If your anything like me you like looking nice and fashionable but you are not crazy about going from store to store looking for just the right outfit at just the right price. I still experience sticker shock when I happen to venture into some of the more "high end" stores. I once almost swallowed my tongue when I saw a tank top on SALE for $115. R U Kidding Me???

I love places like TJ Maxx and Marshall's but I hate searching the racks. I have this thing about crowds and the isles in these stores are so small? whats up with that?

Online shopping is a good solution but that has its own set of problems. I don't like paying for shipping only to get the item and its not right. Some sites offer free shipping but often you have to spend a certain amount. I don't like being told how much to spend, its annoying!

What do you love and hate about shopping?

These are some outfits I plan on living in this summer. I have everything covered work, drinks with the girls, hanging out with the family and date night with the other half.

Have a great weekend...I will!

 

Check out Fashion under $100 for purchasing info.

Tasty Tuesday

Fathers Day is this Sunday so I want to do something nice for the other half. we love to grill and we try to do it as much as possible. Living in the South gives you the opportunity to take advantage of great grilling weather 9 months out of the year. But I digress, I want to grill on Fathers Day but don't want to do the same old steaks or chicken. I was thinking something more like this:

Grilled Fish

Ingredients


1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons coarse salt

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for garnishing

2-pound fillet of striped bass or red snapper, skin intact

Lime wedges, for garnishing

Directions

Stir together spices and salt. Mix in olive oil and cilantro. Use a sharp knife to make shallow slashes about 1 1/2 inches apart into the fish skin; transfer to a large dish and rub both sides with spice mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Preheat a clean, lightly oiled grill to high heat. Place fish, flesh-side down, on hot grill. Do not move for 3 to 5 minutes, or until fish is opaque. Flip using two spatulas. Cook until fish flakes slightly when pressed, about 5 to 7 minutes more.

Transfer fish fillet to a plate. Set aside to cool slightly. Place on a serving platter, shred fillet with fork into bite-size pieces, and garnish platter with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately, or within 1 hour at room temperature

Party Perfect

I hope you all had a great weekend. I am in the middle of planning My Mini Me 5th birthday party so I have been combing the web for party planning tips and I came across this blog that has a few good tips.

I have a couple more weeks to get everything ready and I could use all the help I can get.

Fun Friday

Are You a Martha or a Maxine??

Martha: If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant 'fix-me-up.'

Maxine: If you over-salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too bad. Please recite with me the real woman's motto: 'I made it, you will eat it and I don 't care how bad it tastes!'

Martha: When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

Maxine: Go to the bakery! Hell, they'll even decorate it for you!



Martha: Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

Maxine: The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over the crust, so I don 't.



Martha: Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

Maxine: Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away!



Martha: Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Maxine: Leftover wine??????? HELLO!!!!!!



So, which one are you?


Have a great weekend...I will!

Sandcastles

When we were in Hatteras we visited the lighthouse. It was nice to take in a bit of North Carolina history.

The  lighthouse was beautiful.

Twelve Story Climb...needless to say I was not CRAZY brave enough to take a 4 year old on a 12 story climb.

 The mini me wanted to become a junior park ranger. Super Cute!

 

 My mini me loves the beach but hates the ocean. It is the weirdest thing but I am hoping she will grow out of it. It's not that she dislikes the water because she loves the pool but something about the ocean turns her off. Sandcastles are her new favorite past time. Ever since we returned from the beach she can't stop talking about them.



All in all a great day enjoying the Sun, Sand and Surf.

Beach House

I mentioned that my family and I went to the beach this past weekend for a friends wedding. Well we stayed in this fantastic beach house and had a blast.

This is the front of the nine bedroom ten bath beach house.

 This is the back. The views from the top deck is amazing.

 Looks a little like this -minus all the smoke rolling in from the wildfire that was burning in the national forest.

 The winds shifted so it cleared up on the day we were leaving. The smoke didn't damper our spirits at all.

I spent quite a bit of time on this deck.

It was such a nice place for a getaway.

I took the mini me to the beach and she had a blast.  I have plenty of pics to upload so I will have other posts coming soon.

Tasty Tuesday

In honor of my friends wedding, this recipe seemed appropriate. I have made this soup before and it is really delicious.

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients


Meatballs:

1 small onion, grated

1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 large egg

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

8 ounces ground beef

8 ounces ground pork

Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

12 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole would be a good substitution)

2 large eggs

2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese, beef and pork. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet.

To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and curly endive and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the curly endive is tender, about 8 minutes. Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with Parmesan cheese if desired.



Recipe taken from foodnetwork.com

Off to the shore

We are headed off to the beach for the weekend. We will be attended my girlfriends wedding. I am looking forward to fun in the sun. I love these little mini vacations.

Have a great weekend...I will!

Thank Goodness for Goodwill.

I found some goodies at Goodwill a couple months back that I want to share with you.

These guys were brass so they got a coat or two of white spray paint and they were ready to go.

I am in love with the details on the frames and I am contemplating whether to spray paint. One thing you will soon get to know about me is that I never met a can of spray paint I didn't like.



Sorry about the blurry pic

 I wish I had at least 4-6 more of these little guys.

Sometimes Goodwill can be a bust but this trip was pure gold...or better yet Sterling Silver. I lucked up and snagged a Sterling Silver Tray for a whopping.....10 bucks!!



Please excuse my Chihuahuas fur....it is a never ending battle. :(



It was super tarnished but when I finally get it all cleaned up it will be perfection.

I still have plenty of polishing to do but the minute its all cleaned up I will post a fantastic after pic.

Do you have any great Goodwill finds in your home?