from the archives... You're Welcome.

It's Thursday. Our bodies needed rest. I let the kids sleep until 8 this morning. It's harder to make it through the day when you're dragging. Sometimes you just need a little more rest to fuel your body. We might finish school a little bit later today, but it will probably be more efficient. Sometimes I like to wake our children by climbing in the bed with them for some snuggles. And sometimes I like to wake them by rocking the house with some tunes.

Today I did both.


Daddy's been gone all week and will return tonight. Thinking I will make him the below. I'm kind of in the mood for that salad anyway. It's a recipe from my archives. You can thank me later.


One more day before the long weekend! Whoop Whoop!


Enjoy :)

TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012

coolest dip on the block....

Growing up, I think a few of my brothers could have made some big bucks if they made it to the big screen on the "just put ranch on it" slogan they came up with, when eating just about anything. The words "GROSS", was stated by me many of times, when watching them experiment with their beloved dip.


I have never been a dip kinda girl. Don't get me wrong; the chicken strips, hot wings and carrot sticks marry the sauce quite well; but I am just not going to sit down to a Roast and encourage the Ketchup.


While some sauces are there to mask the flavor, some are created to enhance it.


My daughter Emily's love for Sour Cream inspired this little creation, and it is by far the coolest dip on the block. I could eat it plain. Like, lick the bowl clean. You will be well loved if you add this to the following meal. 


This meal is by far, my favorite I have ever made. It's quick, impressive, but truly easy, so don't be afraid to try it. 

It's light, yet rich, and seriously, you will have a flash back of the seen in the movie "What about Bob?" when you eat it.



I don't measure, I dump, but when plugging my recipes on here, I do my best to incorporate the measurements, so make it your own, and kick it up a notch if you want.....


Here we go!


This is what you are making- Grilled Citrus Surf and Turf with a Roasted Onion/Beet and Goat Cheese Salad....

You will need this for your 2 lbs of the LARGEST shrimp you can find-

And this for your 3 boneless skinless chicken breast....

For your Shrimp- In a bowl- add 2T of Dijon Mustard, 2 large cloves of garlic (chopped), 1 tsp salt, zest of 1 lime, juice from 1 lime, and about 1/4 olive oil. Whisk well and pour over shrimp in a gallon size zip-lock bag. Let marinade at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. 


For your Chicken- Cut chicken breast in half or thirds (depending on size), place in zip- lock. In a bowl add, 2T of Dijon Mustard, 2 cloves of garlic (chopped), 1 tsp salt, zest from 1 lemon, juice from one lemon, 1 sprig of rosemary chopped, a hand full of chives chopped, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Whisk together, pour over chicken. Marinade 1- 6 hours. The longer the marinade, the more juicy and tender your chicken will be. 

While the meat is marinading- start your salad. These beets and onions came from the Farmer's market this past Friday at Dothan Nurseries. I would recommend leeks or sweet onions if you can't make it there to pick these up. They were so incredibly delish!


Never eaten a beet?? Or only had them "pickled"???? Let me introduce you to my new fav.....

Cut the top stem off, then peel with a sharp knife like you are skinning an apple.

Then rinse and slice how ever you would like. Your hands might be stained red for a bit :) 

Slice your beautiful onions in half (length wise), and lay on cooking sheet like so....

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and drizzle, shake and grind these on top.....

Like so.....

Place in your oven for 20 mins.....remove onions, and pop beets back in for 10 more minutes...

While they are filling your home with sweet aromas, start your dip.....

Note: I ended up going back out to the garden for more dill, so use double this amount. Like 6 large stems. 

mix 16 oz of sour cream, a zest from 1 lemon, juice from 1 lemon(1/2 cup), 1/2 tsp salt, and the leaves of your dill (I just ripped them off, didn't even chop). Mix and place back in fridge until serving. I recommend a good hour, for flavors to mesh. 



Back to my salad. Place Walnuts (as much as you like, I used about a cup-whole, not chopped) in a hot skillet with 1 tbls of butter and toast....

drizzle lightly with honey, toss, cut off heat and set aside.... 

Dressing- I love my mason jar for shaking-

4 tbls of sugar-1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, and 1/3 cup of olive oil-

Shake-

Pulling my onions from the oven-





lay 1 bag of spring mix on a large platter- 

top with one chopped granny smith apple- goat cheese (however much you like, we love it!), walnuts, beets, onions and drizzle all of the dressing on top...

But before you add your dressing- 

throw your chicken on one side of a med- med/ high temp. grill for 10 mins, flip and add your shrimp to the other side and grill 5mins on each side (or until completely pink). pull them off the grill for a total of about 20min grill time, depending on your temp/grill. 

Serve both meats with this fabulous dip, and enjoy!!! It it delicious and the PERFECT summer time meal!

getting inspired today....

I so want to do a little boys room in the one of the last two fabric pics.


and I would be extra happy if more of my walls in my home were chalked.....


Happy Hump Day!

yep....

*all photos pulled from google images*

I'm almost 33 years old, and I face it every few years.... as much as I would love hair like this....



it just ain't happening.

Yes, I've taken vitamins. But unless I spend thousands on extensions it will not grow as long as the it is in our wedding photo....

So, something like the above short pics are going to happen....soon... and I might even add some fun color like this...


just kidding babe...well, kind of ;)


Speaking of wedding photos...in a few weeks that picture will be 15 years old. Whoop Whoop! *on a side note, I really have never liked "posed" pictures.... can you tell from our pic above!?!?! We had to be "just so"....If I could do it all over again, that would be a different looking pic for sure! 

Hope you're loving this Tuesday!

Monday, Monday...

Thought I'd give y'all a little lunch recipe to start off our Monday :)

the inspiration.....


my kids asking me what's for lunch......


at 11:45 today.


So I went to the pantry and saw this...

So I boiled a cup of it in salty water for about 10 mins....

Took a large (maybe two) handful of grape tomatoes....slice 'em and sprinkle them with a tad of salt...



Leftover Pesto grilled chicken breast (2 chicken breasts) from last night.....




Two tablespoons of pesto....

Gave my pasta a drain... (fyi... place your tomatoes in the bottom of the bowl before adding hot noodles. The heat and steam bring the flavor of the tomatoes out and soften them just a bit.)

Add your chicken....

stir it up....

add your pesto and give it another few good stirs.....

and because I am a lover of all things cheese, add you a bit of Parmesan cheese on top and serve....

I'll also leave you with a verse I am claiming today. After a few tears shed over our air conditioning going out and the A.C. man telling us to expect the worse, I remembered a beloved pastor of ours would constantly tell us this....... preach the gospel to yourself DAILY......

I have felt like I have neglected to remind and preach to myself lately. So I have said this over and over again today..... John 12:24

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.


I like the ESV because it puts it to me like this....

"Katie, get over yourself. If you don't die to your circumstances, people will not see me through you. Your children will not see me through you today, your Husband won't see me through you today. You will not be bearing my fruit, you will be bearing a very dark fruit that will keep you lonely; and most of all, it will hinder YOU from seeing me. Open your eyes and heart to my provisions, love, and faithfulness to you. You lost cool air... I gave my son for you. I will fill you with new breath....you know I love you and will supply your every need.......you just might be sweating for a bit, but I will....."

Happy Monday, peeps!