Dinner Tonight

Today while I was grocery shopping at Target - and I was in the frozen food section picking up some boca patties - I happened upon some Contessa shrimp that was on sale. I took a look at the three different kinds they had in stock, Shrimp Scampi, Whiskey Jack Shrimp and Shrimp Marsala. I noticed that each box had two different recipes that incorporated it's kind of shrimp into it. I decided it was worth my $5 to give it a shot.



I wanted to make the Spicy Shrimp Pasta. The only ingredients it required was some penne pasta, a tomato, scallions and some whipping cream! Easy enough!

Somehow through my shopping trip, I managed to forget the other ingredients needed to make this recipe so when I went to make dinner tonight I was left with some things to figure out.

I decided to make it using what I had in my pantry/fridge

Stephanie's version of Spicy Shrimp Pasta -

Boil one package of penne pasta according to directions
Heat large skillet on medium heat and add shrimp



Add scallions and diced tomato - I had neither of these so I added a quarter chopped red onion and a can of diced tomatoes seasoned with basil, garlic and oregano. ( I drained half of the juice of the can of tomatoes)



You're also supposed to add a 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream at this point but I did not have that either! So I added a 1/4 cup of skim milk and a tablespoon of butter.

Let mixture cook for 4-5 minutes until shrimp becomes orange and opaque in the middle.

I tasted the sauce at this point and decided it still needed a little something.

So, I added 2 cups of Target brand spaghetti sauce. I keep it in the pantry just in case I need it for a quick dinner here and there and today it came in quite handy!

At this point, you add the pasta and mix and you're ready to chow down!



I gotta say, this was a VERY good meal. Rodney loved it, he just told me he loved it again even and he had no idea I was typing this. We paired it with some crusty garlic bread and it was exactly the kind of meal I was hoping it would be. Though I can't help but wonder what it would have been like had I followed the directions and used what it actually called for. Oh well, I love what I did to it so I'm positive I'll be making this again. Looking forward to lunch tomorrow!

25 more.

Actually, this will be 23 since Jess so graciously pointed out to me that I repeated 95 and 96 on my last post. How odd!

72: I love bold and bright colors
71: I have dyed my hair various shades of red for the last 10 years
70: I have an entire cabinet of deodorant. I'm not even kidding.
69: I've had my livejournal account for 8 years now
68: I struggle with my eating habits
67: I was a vegan for a year
66: I (along with Leila) slept in my car in the parking lot of an Austin hotel SEVERAL times on my way back from shows either in Austin or San Antonio despite the fact that my grandmother lives there.
65: From the ages 12-16 I would go into electronic stores with my dad and type the same sentence on every computer each store had, this is the last worthless evening that you'll ever spend.
64: Vanilla is my favorite flavor but I hate things that are scented vanilla.
63: I get my news from the internet
62: I don't let my daughter watch Dora The Explorer
61: I ran my high school radio station for 2 years
60: I had a radio show with my high school bf for 2 years.
59: I like to walk around Target 2 or 3 times a week
58: My favorite color has always been blue
57: I don't like gold
56: I love trying new foods
55: I don't understand why everyone loves chocolate so much
54: I wear a size 9 1/2 shoe
53: I had my tongue pierced at one point in my life
52: I am a planner
51: After Rylee was first born, I vacuumed every day for 3 months
50: I have one small tattoo

100th

This is my 100th post, woo!

I bought this for Rylee. Really love it. Might love it more than she does.





So since this is my 100th post, I think I'll spend this week updating with (among other things) 100 things you might not know about me.

First 25:

100: I like reality tv
99: I stay up until 2am or later every night
98: I try to do things differently
97: I wipe the sink out every time I use it to make sure it's completely dry (the bathrooms and the kitchen)
96: I taught myself to decorate cakes and I am still learning
95: I thought I never wanted children (but very glad my mind was changed)
96: I clean dishes as I use them
95: Someone has called me the "cleaning nazi"
94: I am scarily good at Mario Kart
93: I like to watch almost all live sporting events
92: Cooking relaxes me
91: I am obsessed with buying Rylee swim suits
90: I would leave Texas in a heartbeat
89: I find a sense of humor the most attractive quality in a person
88: I met my husband at a rock show
87: I like to eat popcorn with m&m's
86: I managed a movie theater when I was 18
85: I hate Nascar. Really, really, really hate Nascar.
84: I'll probably never cut my hair shorter than shoulder length
83: I have a very good memory
82: I tend to have a temper
81: I would have a snowboard attached to my feet for the rest of my life if I could
80: I am sick of healthcare issues in this country
79: I'm pretty sure I eat chips and salsa every day
78: I hate jelly
77: I don't enjoy talking on the phone
76: I can sing a little
75: I was a merch girl back in the day

*This is going to be harder than I thought!

What I have been doing

Let's see...

I've been playing this:



Planning this course (more on this in a bit):





Working on this in my kitchen:



Working on this w/ Rylee:



(Going pretty well actually, may I suggest a sticker book to aide you in your toilet education? It's working very well for us)

Eating dinner here with the girls:





(Thanks for coming along girls, that was a lot of fun!)

Last night I tried one of those meal kits from Central Market - Rylee and I walked the store yesterday because we stopped in at The Learning Express which just so happens to be next door to my favorite centrally located market.

I really love that place. We practically had lunch in there just walking through. Fresh oranges, bread and olive oil, banana-orange juice, shrimp cocktail, kettle fried tortilla chips w/ some DELICIOUS raspberry salsa, yummy sea salt potato chips, samples of gouda and brie (for me, not her) and a really good cream cheese and fruit dip that was being served with a honey wheat bread. I picked up some of the juice, the bread, the salsa, some fresh corn and butter tortillas (love to get those when they are still warm!) and I also grabbed this:




I'm not usually a big meal kit person - but this one sounded good (it was POURING and gloomy yesterday) so I figured I'd try it seeing as how CM has never really disappointed me.

It took an hour and 45 minutes to cook and it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!

This was a great soup and the veggies were super fresh. Rodney actually loved it and he really dislikes bell peppers in any form. He kept telling me that it was a great meal - we put some grated cheese over the top and had a few corn tortillas with it. It says on the package that it serves 4 but I'm pretty sure they meant 8. We have a lot leftover but that's okay with us!

YUM!



Now that meal kits and I are friends, I think they're going to be especially useful for those nights that I have been working on cakes all day and don't feel like cooking. Hurray!

Lastly, I am doing a series of basic cake decorating classes in July. I'm pretty excited about it - I've been working on the curriculum, getting handouts together and deciding what is important and what isn't. So if you're in the DFW area and you are interested, drop me a line and let me know! It's going to be a lot of fun and hopefully very educational!

Oh wow

I feel like it's been forever!

We have been so busy around here, I have barely had time to breathe!

Anyway, how was everyone's Mothers day? Mine was pretty nice, thanks for asking!

I woke up to this:



Breakfast in bed! Two breakfast tacos with eggs and cheese, vegan sausage links, and pancakes! Who could ask for anything more? We had to share this plate though - it was so much food!

This was also given to me, but in the polka dot print, not the stripes.

Wedding season is upon us and we are getting busier by the day. We've been making tons of cookie cutters and even more cakes!

What is everyone doing for Father's Day? I'm thinking of making an appointment for Rylee and Rodney to have their picture taken together as one of Rodney's gifts. I won't say what else I'm planning in case he happens upon this -- but has anyone ever done a photo shoot with just Daddy and the kiddos? I'm just wondering if it's one of those ideas I'm glamorizing in my head. You know, you think something is going to be so wonderful and you imagine it to be this great thing and it kind of ends up disappointing you in the end?

I can't believe summer is already here! It was 97 outside yesterday!

Oh! I almost forgot we built this 3 weeks ago:



It's a good thing I'd read reviews prior to building day because if I hadn't, we'd probably still be putting that thing together.

The night before, we spent 5 hours doing this





We made seperate piles for each page of the directions. Page 1 pile had every piece of wood it required and a zip-loc bag filled with every nut/bolt that it required. We did that for all 15 pages. It took forever! Nothing was labeled so first we had to go through each box (there were two boxes that were flat packed) and make sure that everything was there! - then we had to go through each page and seperate all of the wood/plastic pieces and lastly, we had to put each piece of hardware with it's corresponding pile. Those weren't labeled either so we had to match each bolt, nut and nail up to the supply list to see what was what! It was crazy! But like I said, if we hadn't taken the time to do that the night before, we'd definitely still be trying to get that thing put up.

We can't keep Rylee off of it.




Oh and look! A ponytail, FINALLY! Just in time for summer!

Tomorrow!

I promise - a very long update tomorrow! We have been knee deep in cake and social events but I think I will FINALLY have a chance tomorrow afternoon to update!

XOXO

Mario Kart

I've been playing Mario Kart for the Wii a lot lately. That might explain my absence a bit. I've also just been extremely busy. Seems like I'm always saying that but it's totally true.

It was really hot today and it confirmed to me that summer is nearly here. I really dislike hot weather and Texas summers, especially.

What other news is there?

I have an insane amount of cakes to do in the next few months.

Rodney's great aunt passed away yesterday and we are going to the funeral in East Texas tomorrow.

Our house is getting a new coat of paint (new colors!) this weekend.

We have an enormous wooden playset in our backyard now that I cannot keep Rylee off of, thanks to "GG"

I'm looking forward to our mini-vacay in June.

I want to go see Death Cab. Any takers?

I have managed to get ANOTHER sinus infection. Universe, are you trying to tell me something?

I need a girl date pronto!

I can't wait to share a few new recipes! As soon as I get all of the pictures resized, they'll be up!