Thursday Throwback



My middle sister and I. This picture was taken when we were living in Texas, Longview I think. My mom was pregnant with my baby sister. I wish I could find the picture that includes my mom. She was sooooo pretty in this picture.

What to do?

I received this vase set several years ago as a part of a house warming gift.

I love the shape of the vases but they don't match my decor. I am new to crafty goddess-ness so I need help on what to do with them. Can I repaint them? Spray paint? What kind? Save as a re-gift? Holla at a playa!

Easy Vase Tutorial

Pinterest will have you all up in Hobby Lobby thinking you are Crafting Queen Goddess of All Things Handmade. Y’all laughing cause you know it’s true! LOL

Crafting Queen I am not but sometimes there are some projects I find on Pinterest that I just KNOW I can do…this cute little vase idea is one of them. I bake cupcakes, I have tons of cute cupcake baking cups that are piled in a drawer in my kitchen. A mess.

Well, I already had a glue and after a trip to the dollar store I secured the glass vases and the candlestick holders. Watch me work:

Use a really strong adhesive

1.

I let this dry overnight.

2.

Finished product!

3.

Viola! Super cute cupcake baking cup holders! Now my liners are not hiding in my drawer and they look so pretty displayed on the window seal…next to the only plant that has ever survived indoors at 18082! LOL

Adapted from http://myblessedlife.net/2010/09/hurricane-vases-frugal-diy-tutorial.html

Honey Mustard Shrimp

We STAY having shrimp.  This is my latest recipe for the over abundance that we eat all year.

I have been on this kick of using salad dressings that I make as marinades for different meats and seafood. The honey mustard dressing that I used is one I've made a million times and now it's also an awesome marinade for this here shrimp! These directions are for an outdoor charcoal grill but can easily be cooked in a pan on the stove.

There is not enough citrus in this marinade to cook the shrimp so you can marinate it for up to six hours. The marinade will be kind of thick and that's OK and can be adjusted to suit your sweet/savory tastes.

Honey Mustard Shrimp

What you need:

• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 tsp EACH, basil, oregano, thyme (or herb mixture of your choice)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon of dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1 - 1 1/2 pound of jumbo shrimp, peeled (tail intact), de-veined

What to do:

1. Mix together the lemon juice, herbs, garlic, Dijon, dry mustard, salt and pepper
2. Add in olive oil. Whisk together. Test for proper flavor
3. Add shrimp.  Marinate for at least an hour or up to six
4. Preheat grill (or skillet) over medium high heat, place the shrimp directly from the marinade onto the skillet. Discard marinade.
5. Cook shrimp 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through.

 
 

Originally posted June 2011

Oatmeal Cream Sandwiches

Do ya'll know how much I love Pinterest? Seriously I could spend hours upon hours pinning stuff. I've decorated my entire house, filled my closet with shoes and clothes and hats and every accessory imaginable...all on my Boards! LOL


Two of my most favorite boards are 'Recipes to Try' and 'Pinterest Recipes I've Tried.' Recipes to Try is slowly getting out of control so I am on a mission to make what's already there before I add anymore. 


I couldn't wait to make these delicious cream filled cookies!

The only thing I changed about this recipe was adding chopped pecans to the batter for the last batch. The cookie alone was soft and chewy and could totally stand on its own. These will most definitely be among the rotation at 18082!


Oatmeal Cream Sandwiches
http://www.burning-down-the-house.com/2011/09/01/oatmeal-cream-pies/


What you need:



For the cookies

• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups quick cooking oats

For the marshmallow frosting

• 2 egg whites
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla

What to do:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Set the baking sheets aside.
• In a medium bowl cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey and beat until the ingredients are incorporated.
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Stir in the oats until evenly distributed. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the fridge and place 1 Tbsp of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. 
• Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. The cookies will be soft but will firm up a bit as they cool. Let cookies cool completely before spreading with marshmallow cream.

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the marshmallow cream. 

• In a double boiler (or using a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water) combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. 
• Whisk the mixture frequently until it is very frothy.
• Place the mixture into a clean bowl.  Whisk on high speed until the egg mixture holds stiff peaks and is a light texture (several minutes). 
• Carefully fold the vanilla into the egg whites mixture. 
• Add the frosting to the underside of one cookie and assemble.

Originally posted March 2012

Orange Glazed Salmon

So I already have an orange salmon recipe and it is delicious. However, since I am on this cook new stuff kick and I Stan for Cuis.ine At Ho.me, I tried this one.

It was just soooooooo good and worth the one or two extra steps it took to cook it. The fact that it was just as easy as my go to orange salmon is just a plus!

I used regular old orange marmalade (I found one that had orange peels in it....so good) as I didn't find, nor search that hard, for Seville orange marmalade as the original recipe called for. I also added an additional teaspoon of brown sugar because the my Cajun mix would have been too spicy for Babe's tastes. I also added the juice of an entire lime and about a tablespoon more of the marmalade because I wanted more sauce to drizzle over salad greens.

Orange Glazed Salmon
Adapted from Cuisine at Home

What You Need:

• 2 Tbs Cajun spice


• 2 tsp brown sugar


• 4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets (6oz. each)


• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil


• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs orange marmalade Juice of one lime

What To Do:

• Combine Cajun spice and sugar in a small bowl


• Rub the spice mixture over all surfaces of fillets


• Saute fillets in oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat for 3-4 min per side. Carefully remove salmon to a plate


• Place marmalade and lime in the skillet until melted. Swirl to prevent burning


• Carefully place salmon back into the pan and spoon glaze all over fish.


• The salmon is done when it begins to flake when tested with a fork.

Originally posted September 2011

Dry Rib Rub

Rubs are easy.  You just take some of your favorite spices, mix them together and slather it on your favorite cut of meat and slow cook it in the oven or grill it over coals!

Easy.

The measurements for my rubs are not exact because it is really adjustable according to the flavor I want to achieve.  I use this rub for the ribs we had for Memorial Day but it can be used on steak or chicken also.

What You Need:

Start with tablespoon increments of these spices and adjust.

• Black pepper
• Brown sugar
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Ground cumin

Start with teaspoon increments of these spices and adjust

• Cayenne pepper
• Dry mustard
• Ground allspice
• Ground coriander
• Paprika
• Salt

What to do:

• Combine all ingredients
• Mix well
• Store in an airtight container

Cook. Eat. Repeat.
Originally posted February 2012

Fresh Lime Cupcakes

 

I love citrus. Lemon is my all time favorite. However, I decided to change it up a bit and work it out with some limes that didn't include margaritas!

This recipe was super easy as it used self-rising flour in addition to all purpose flour. Fresh lime juice and lime zest are all up and through these cupcakes! It is a mild flavor but you can definitely taste the flavor.

The original recipe calls for green food coloring but I omitted it. It also called for vanilla in the frosting but I used more fresh lime juice instead. I got about 18 cupcakes out of the mix...we kept six and gave the rest away!

Fresh Lime Cupcakes
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/05/key-lime-cupcakes.html

What you need:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cupself-rising flour
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2large eggs
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

What you need for the frosting:

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2cup(1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
• Whisk both flours in medium bowl.
• Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. 
• Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled).
• Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each liner
• Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool cupcakes completely before frosting

FROSTING

Beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Enjoy.

The Friday Five

It's Friday!!!!!

Here are five songs I've recently rocked out to:

Trunk Full of Amps (Explicit)

Someone I Used To Know

Devil's Pie "Eff the slice want the pie"

Bad Girl " beep beep heeeeyyyy toot toot" RIP Donna Summer

Bustin Loose " I feel like bustin loose, bustin loose gimme the bridge yall" RIP Chuck Brown

Have a great weekend!

Vanilla Bean Scones

Love. Period.


See I am not a CrackBux junkie but on the rare occassion I partake, I always cop one of their pastries.  Their OK. So when I found this recipe over here I. Couldn't. Wait.

Eating this was like eating a warm, citrusy, sweet biscuit! The lemon was a WONDERFUL addition to this pastry.

I didn't use the glaze from her site (but I will the next time I make them). Since I ran out of powdered sugar I used a lemon simple sugar glaze (one part lemon juice to one part sugar, heated until dissolved). I'm going to whip up a batch for my cousin just so I can have an excuse to make them again...I can't have all that goodness all up in my house less I gain 50lbs!

The only change I made was I did not use vanilla bean paste. I used vanilla bean and I did not use the glaze. I also may have used a bit more lemon zest cause I love lemon in pastries!

Vanilla Bean Scones

Adapted heavily from http://amybites.com/?p=855

What you need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 cup sour cream (regular)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla beans
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

 What to do:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar) with cubed butter. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal (the dough will be kind of grainy).
• In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: sour cream, yolk, vanilla beas, and zest.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix with a fork or whisk until dough comes together.
• Place dough on parchment lined baking sheet, then form with floured hands into an approximately 9 by 12 inch rectangle.
• Cut into 12 squares, then each in half diagonally until you have 24 wedges*.
• Bake for 17 minutes or until golden-brown. Let cool on wire rack before using glaze of your choice. 

*I actually got about 15-17 wedges.


 Cook.Eat.Repeat.

Originally posted February 2, 2011

B in Blue

Funny story: B has become a Tod.dlers and Tia.ras STAN! She actually practices her pageant "walks" while she's cleaning or walking to the kitchen or just walking in general. She found this dress, which used to belong to W, while we were looking through my closet for dress up clothes. It fit *cries*


I have no idea where she gets her fashion sense from because it definitely was NOT me! I LOVE this color on her and to pair it with yellow and leopard? SUPER CUTE!


Oh and I most certainly purchased my own royal blue dress so I can replicate this look!

Tandoori Spice Mix

I love a well seasoned turkey burger so when I ran out of my favorite tandoori mix (and it was raining out) I had to think of something else...fast? The troops were restless!

When I was researching 'tandoori spices' several variations of the spices came up.  I made this mix based completely on smell and what I knew about the ingredients! LOL I thought it was going to be too spicy but it didn't cook spicy.  Since it is a spice mix you can adjust the amounts to your tastes.

Tandoori Spice Mix

What You Need:

Start with 2 tablespoons each of:
Onion powder
Dried basil
Coriander
Cumin
Ginger

Then with 1 tablespoon each of:

Paprika

Cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Salt

Finally 1-2 tsp each of:
Cinnamon
Clove

What to do:
Mix well.
Store in an airtight container.
Good on poultry or vegetables.

Cook. Eat. Repeat.


Originally posted July, 27, 2010

The Housekeeper Debate

You know what the ongoing disagreement is in my house? Me hiring a housekeeper. Seriously. Lol

I say no, except for spring cleaning type stuff, because if we all pitched in there wouldn't be a need for a housekeeper; money saved. Also, B needs to learn how to keep house...how are you going to do that if you have someone doing it for you??

E says YES! He hates cleaning, I'm anal and he believes it will make me happier and less stressed....because clean makes me happy. Seriously happy! To him it's money well spent, an investment in a more peaceful home and my overall happiness.

I hate that he might be right, cause he gon ride this 'right' til the wheels fall off! LOLOL

Do you have a housekeeper? Money well spent?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms who love unconditionally, who fix boo boos, who stay up all night with their sick children, who stay up waiting on a child that misses curfew,  who teaches self-sufficiency, who prays for and with their children, who teaches their children to respect their elders, who shows up at every game, every play; who disciplines, who reminds their teenage daughter 'there can only be one grown woman in this house', who reminds their teenage son that she can still body you, who hugs, who gives kisses, who teaches compassion, who worries, who helps mend that first broken heart, who makes their child think, who advocates, who says what you NEED to hear, who worries, who cheers the loudest, who teaches honesty, who raises children that they didn't give birth to, who are doing it alone, who keep pushing against all odds...

Celebrate today because we are gifts, treasures! Molds were shattered when we were created.

THE FRIDAY FIVE

YAAAAAAAY! It's the weekend! If your week was anything like my week today is a welcomed close!

Following are 5 items I recently purchased:

This will be the base for a delcious salad dressing



I bought these for a recipe but can't remember what recipe! LOL

This just sounded like something I needed...and it was on sale!

This salad dressing is soooooooooo good! After I bought one to try I went back and purchased the remaining ones!

B wants a real deal church hat. Until that time comes
when she can wear one, this is her church hat head band. LOL

I have no idea why my photos are blurry!! Hope you all have a great weekend! Do something fun!

Browned Butter Cornbread

I told ya'll browned butter stay winning over here! LOL

This is my most favorite cornbread recipe...now. I used to make it the way L Beezy does until I came across this one. While momma's is still the best...this is one I will pass down to my girls.

The batter will make a bit more than will fit in the pan so it is likely you will have some leftover. Also be careful not to over fill the skillet as the bread has a nice rise to it.

I won't even tell ya'll how B and I were eating this with agave nectar like it was dessert...I won't tell that. I also won't tell ya'll we had two hunks slices of it either! A piece.


Browned Butter Cornbread
Adapted from http://www.kneadysweetie.com/2011/10/browned-butter-and-sour-cream-cornbread.html?showComment=1327618366464#c8759078024875327168

What You Need:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling often until lightly browned and nutty, about 4-5 minutes. Pour into a medium bowl, and set aside to cool.
• Place the olive oil in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet; place in oven to heat.
• In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
• Add eggs, sour cream and buttermilk to cooled butter, whisking well.
• Pour into dry ingredients, and stir just to combine.
• Pour batter into hot skillet. The batter should sizzle in the pan!
• Bake until golden and a toothpickinserted in the center comes out almost clean, about 25-30 minutes.