Spice Organization 101

This is just one of the things you do when you're a person who loves to be in the kitchen!  But, most importantly, when you're a person who loves to be in an organized kitchen!  It's also one of the things you do when your sweet husband crashes after a long quarter of engineering courses.  Bless his heart.  I can't wait for the summer to be here so that we can get back on track with our cycling.  I keep mentioning to "the hubs" that we should try the P90X.  We'll see what happens.  I heard it's pretty intense.  But working out and having time together to not worry about school and schedules and this and that is something we are both totally looking forward to.  Totally.

But, anyways, back on the spice track...

I decided to invest in these cute 4-ounce canning jars to hold my seasonings and spices.  I had originally seen this idea on another food blog and fell in love with it.  So, while "the hubs" crashed, I organized my seasonings! 

Cute, huh?  They are labeled with the name of the seasoning and the expiration date on the back of the jars.  I can easily change out the labels as needed.  Very inexpensive and charming! 

And I enjoyed a little of this while organizing...

  I'm still thirsty...headed to the kitchen for more tea.  Good night!

Caramelized Pimento & Onion Grilled Cheese with Bacon

I'm still sorta new to food blogging and y'all don't really know a lot about me just yet, but as time goes on, I promise you will get a better sense of who this fun-lovin' girl is in the kitchen!  And you might catch a glimpse of other happenings in my life as well!    For instance, I was just reading on a fellow food blogger's website that she has a weird obsession with Meryl Streep and she blames her obsession on the movie, "It's Complicated".  I LOVE this movie!  LOVE!  I had never really put a lot of thought into Meryl Streep basically because I had not seen many of her movies before.  But, this movie takes the cake.  Like, literally she makes a chocolate cake that makes you start to drool like a pooch.  Ha!  And don't get me started on the lavender honey ice cream she makes!  I want to create awesome flavors of ice cream like that!  I'm not even sure it was lavender honey ice cream, I just remember it was some exotic flavor that sounded wonderful.  She has a beautiful home that is in the process of being remodeled and she has an awesome bakery/restaurant in Santa Barbara.  She exuberates a quiet confidence and somehow seems relaxed while she's exuberating this so-called quiet confidence.  Putting her relationship struggles with her ex-husband aside, I am in LOVE with this movie character's life.  I want to be that woman that is confident and doesn't really have to put out a ton of effort.  You have to rent this movie to see for yourself.  If you are looking for a funny chic flick, this is it.  Then, you can be as enamored with her life as I am!  "Hubs" it's okay...no divorce is in your future. 

There's your tidbit for the day!  Now onto the serious stuff...like grilled cheese sandwiches. 

I'm in serious bliss right now.  This is absolute bliss!  Talk about a new spin on a pimento cheese sandwich.  I took a tried and true favorite and made it my own.  This is a must-have!  Your tastebuds will totally thank you! 

Caramelized Pimento & Onion Grilled Cheese with Bacon

1 8-ounce package of cheddar cheese
1 8-ounce package of monterrey jack cheese
1/2 cup Miracle Whip or mayonaise
2 4-ounce jars of diced pimentos
1/4 cup of diced white onions
4 Applewood smoked bacon slices
Sandwich sliced bread or Texas toast
Salt & Pepper
Butter for grilling sandwiches

First you want to cook your bacon in a skillet.  As the bacon is cooking, grate your cheeses and put cheese in a medium mixing bowl.  When the bacon finishes cooking, drain the pan of most bacon drippings and pinch bacon into pieces.  Throw bacon pieces onto the grated cheese.  Saute the pimentos and onion in the bacon pan and cook for about 5 minutes while stirring.  Then put the pimentos and onion mixture on top of the cheese and bacon.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir the mixture.  Add mixture between 2 slices of bread.  Melt butter in a frying pan and grill your sandwich.  Grill on both sides for about 3-4 minutes per side.

Does this look gooey enough?  Again, your tastebuds will totally thank you!  Go in your kitchen now and make this!  Hurry up now...



   


        

Creole Jambalaya

Happy Sunday!  What a beautiful day in Louisiana! 

This weekend has been nice.  I haven't done much except shop for food, clothing and jewelry.  Tough, right?  Friday night I went to Target and had a little too much fun in there...as always.  Yesterday, I drove to Ruston and went to The Beehive and had a little too much fun there, too.  Seriously good deals in that place!  And had to top it off when I went to get the groceries.  Lots-o-fun, I tell ya!  And now I'm faced with giving the dog a shower, doing the laundry, scrubbing the hot water heater closet and cleaning the rest of the house today.  I just have to have some downtime, you know?  One can only go so long before they have to seriously veg out!  So, we vegged out Saturday evening by making a slightly adapted recipe from Taste of Home!

Say hello to this little guy.  This was my contribution to dinner...peeling the tails off the shrimp. 

   

Creole Jambalaya

3/4 cup chopped onion  (I just used a frozen seasonal blend instead of fresh veggies)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used garlic powder instead)
2 cups ham, cubed and fully cooked (Next time I will buy Boudin or chicken)
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, undiluted
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice (I used Minute Rice instead)
1 cup water (Don't add the cup of water if you use Minute Rice)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used frozen fully cooked shrimp)
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (I didn't use parsley)

In a Dutch oven (I just used a stock pot), saute' the onion, celery and green pepper in butter until tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Add the next 9 ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer until rice is tender, which is about 25 minutes.

Add shrimp and parsley; simmer uncovered for 7-10 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. 

Yield:  8 servings.

Heat up a couple of rolls and you've got yourself a little taste of Louisiana! 

I have to say thanks to "the hubs" for being the cook in the kitchen Saturday evening!  You rock!

     

Coming Soon...

1-  Cajun dish

2-  Pimento Cheese with Bacon sandwiches

3-  Pork Chops in Tomato Gravy

Now off to do some kitchen organizing and meal planning!  Happy Friday eve!

Hot In Here

Sorry to keep you hangin'.  Been busy.  Out with the old...

...and in with the new.

Ain't she a beauty?  She's all computerized...and technical...and most importantly, hot!  I seem to refer to things in the female gender.  Not really sure why, I just do.  Tomorrow morning I will have hot water from the beginning of my shower to the end!  Beyond thrilled!  I just need to get our new found tank less water heater/broom closet in order.  That will consist of scrubbing the walls, floor and painting.  That will be this weekend's project. 

I have been in the kitchen since we last talked.  I have also bought batteries for my sweet camera.  But, the photos I've taken have left so much to be desired.  I asked "the hubs" to check it out...and...voila...the photos are much better now!  It's amazing what one little setting can do.  So,  expect to see much better food photography!  Yay for "the hubs"!  He can solve a problem like it's nobody's business!

Good night!  

Butter Pecan Dijon Chicken Strips

I must say I'm a terrible foodie blogger and foodie photographer!  I promised you a recipe for tilapia tacos and that ain't happenin' this week.  Last night while I was making dinner and taking photos, my camera died.  I had no batteries at the house, either.  By that point there were only a couple of photos taken, and they were in a dim light, which did not help the situation.  Coincidentally, I had found a new food blog where the blogger was so excited to get her new lighting studio equipment and backdrops so she could take photos of her meals AFTER dark!  Ha!  Sounds like a good idea to me!  On my to-do list...better lighting, a rolling pin and some backdrop materials.  Oh...and those cute little seasoning and spice containers found at The Container Store!  Adorable!  I also talked to "the hubs" about getting a new camera with a better lens and he wasn't having ANY of it.  Phooey.

Anyways, it was a whirlwind of a day!  That's a Monday for ya!  I do have to say that when I got home this evening and found this on the porch...

  ...my day suddenly got a little better.  CANNOT wait to have this installed!!!  NO MORE COLD SHOWERS IN THE WINTER!!!  Showers at our house during the winter season are rough.  We get...maybe...a solid 10 minutes of hot water and then it turns cold.  This has been the case for 6 years, so this is HUGE.  Must call the plumber ASAP! 

So...I wanted to share a new recipe with you.  I have to ask, though, what is the deal with Panko bread crumbs?  It must be all the rage.  So, I picked up a little Panko....

Butter Pecan Dijon Chicken Strips

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken tenders
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 butter pecan pancake syrup
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Panko bread crumbs (you could add 1/2 cup regular bread crumbs..hint, hint)
Salt and pepper

Whisk the Dijon mustard, butter pecan pancake syrup and milk in a mixing bowl.  Salt the chicken tenders and add to the mixture.  Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.  Spray cooking spray or oil the bottom of a glass casserole dish.  Set aside.  Put flour in a small bowl.  Put Panko bread crumbs in another small bowl.  Dip chicken tenders into the flour and then into Panko bread crumbs.  Put chicken tenders into casserole dish.  Cook for 1 hour-30 minutes on one side and 30 on the other side.  I would also toss a little salt and pepper onto the breaded chicken tenders before putting them in the oven            


Butter Pecan Dijon Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup butter pecan pancake syrup

Mix these 2 ingredients together for dipping sauce.

Happy Monday!

 

 

My Ambition List

I hope your Sunday has been as relaxing as mine has been!  It's been pretty much a do-the-laundry-and-dishes-and-cook-meals-and-surf-the-web-for-food-blog-ideas-and-other-misc.-things-day.  Fun!  "The hubs" made it over to his Highland Parade fundraiser and it was a huge SUCCESS!  Yay!

Anyways, I've been thinking of things that I want to do over the next decade.  I have come up with a list of things I want to do over the next 10 years.  Here it is!

1-  Panama Canal cruise (this could be a wedding anniversary celebration!)
2-  African Safari (this could be a wedding anniversary celebration, too!)
3-  Open a business ("the hubs" thinks that this will be a bakery, but who knows)
4-  Finish my business degree
5-  Finish my screenplay
6-  Finish restoring my house
7-  Adopt a child
8-  Visit the Biltmore Estate (this would be a lovely fall trip!)
9-  Visit the Oak Alley Plantation
10-  Visit California (possibly wine country or Southern California)
11-  Buy land
12-  Run a marathon(s)
13-  Bike marathon(s)
14-  Mission trip(s)
15-  Visit the Smoky Mountains
16-  Go to a Saturday Night Live taping
17-  Visit the Northeast
18-  Go zip lining!

These were in no particular order.  And some of these are definitely more personal than others. Can you tell I like to travel?  I'm a little adventurous! 

I'd love to hear about things you would love to do! 

All right, guess I'm off to cook!  Have a great evening!

  

   

Pumpkin Caramel Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I have declared that it's dessert before dinner day!  After all, it's Saturday!  And after something so decadent and rich, you probably won't want to do dessert for awhile.  Wait...who am I kidding?  I'm sure you will find yourself wanting dessert at some point. 

Anyways, I found myself wanting to marry a lot of ingredients today!  I mean, there were some serious nuptials goin' on in here.  This was, after all, the experimental recipe!  Anyways, "the hubs" has enjoyed being the guinea pig today, but said he would marry different ingredients next time.  Okay, he's on to something there, but we will get to that in a minute.  

So, we had a little bit of this...

And this...

And there were nuptials...



And then a few became one...

It was a lovely ceremony...you should've attended.  Now, I'm in agreement with "the hubs" on the marrying-different-ingredients-factor.  With that being said, I still decided on adding jumbo-sized chocolate chips because...well...I'm a woman.  But I think that pecans would've worked nicely especially with the caramel cream cheese frosting.  Nice pair.  And for some this might be too pumpkin-y.  To each his/her own.  The mix of pumpkin, caramel and chocolate chip might be too all over the charts for some and I get that. 

Pumpkin Caramel jumbo Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (you could also add the same measurement of allspice and nutmeg!)
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin (you could go a little less pumpkin, maybe 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips (you could add walnuts or chopped pecans instead)
1/4 cup caramel syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper baking cups.  Set aside. 

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in one bowl.  Set aside.

In another bowl mix the eggs, canned pumpkin, vegetable oil and caramel syrup.  Fold in chocolate chips, walnuts or pecans.  Then add this mixture to the flour mixture.

Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full.  I used a jumbo cupcake pan which was 6 cupcakes.  You could use a regular muffin pan for approximately 12-15 cupcakes.  If you are using a jumbo cupcake pan, allow cupcakes to bake for approximately 45-50 minutes.  If you use a regular muffin pan, you should probably allow 30-35 minutes to bake completely.   

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A nice splash of milk
Drizzle caramel syrup (I didn't measure, but I would guess this is about 1/4 cup)

Blend well with a hand-held mixer.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting them.  Once cooled, frost to your liking and drizzle caramel syrup on top. 

You will be in love with this frosting!  I have to admit that next time I will be putting pecans in my cupcakes instead of chocolate chips.  Nice pair.  

    Now...what's for dinner!
  

Shreveport Highland Parade 2012

If you are planning to attend the Highland Parade in Shreveport on Sunday, February 19th, please stop by 1805 Creswell Ave.  The Caddo Lodge is having their second annual hamburger/hot dog/chips/drink plate on sale for $5 before and during the parade.  All proceeds go to the children's dyslexia center.  See you there!

Krewe of Highland Parade 2012

Coming Soon...

Here's what's comin' up this week!

1-  My take on tilapia tacos, slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is!  I love her! 

2-  Chicken Tenders

3-  Pimento Cheese sandwiches, slightly adapted from Southern Living!  I love them!

4-  Pumpkin Caramel Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (this is entirely new and experimental!)

"The hubs" has informed me on multiple occasions that he's not so sure that he wants to be the guinea pig here.  We'll see how he feels at the end of the week!


Now if only my leaky water heater would fix itself...more on this later.      

Thursday Tidbit

It's me again, Margaret!

I have told myself that I will blog every waking day if it kills me!  So, here we are today...without much content.  Hey...it's Thursday evening and it's been a mother of a week!  Actually, it hasn't been that bad.  The only thing I can really complain about is not getting much sleep last night due to my dog wanting to be taken outside at 1am and 4am.  She didn't feel well.  Then, "the hubs" got up at 5am to study while I got ready for work.  It's better this evening, though.  The dog seems to be feeling better and "the hubs" is done gettin' his book on.  I'll be crashing by 7pm, I'm sure. 

So, the real reason I'm blogging is to show you the state of my pantry.  I tell ya it's utter chaos up in there!  There is no order whatsoever.  This is what happens when I go almost 2 months without doing full grocery shopping and stocking  up on items and ORGANIZING.  I do mini trips to my local grocery store just to get a few things to last a few days and start the process all over again at the beginning of the next week. 

Check it out...I got the teas, pudding, flaked coconut, crackers and canned goods all mixed in.  See, no order.  It's pathetic really and mildly embarassing.  Actually, it's not too embarassing.  I got over that long ago.  Just PLEASE don't come over to look at my messy pantry in person, then I might get a little embarassed.

So, now after admitting to that, I will take the appropriate meal planning steps and do my grocery shopping over the weekend.  Then, the fun begins!  See, it's this sick thing where just following instructions on a yummy recipe doesn't do it for me anymore.  I feel the need to change recipes and make them my signature dishes.  I didn't use to be like this.  It's only been the past year that I find myself brainstorming ways of combining ingredients and making a mazillion substitutions that make the recipe different.  Is mazillion a word?   

I hope that I can create some wonderful recipes, but I'm sure you will see some flops...heck, I've already had 2 flops this year.  Not fun.  Oh well, I gotta keep it exciting around these parts. :-)

Happy Friday eve! 

       

Coffee

Good morning!  It's actually not morning...it's more like 9:00pm.  But let's pretend it's morning and you are slowly settling into your morning routine.  And I hope that morning routine includes a nice, hot cup of coffee. 

So, how do you take your coffee?  Black?  Sugar?  Cream and sugar?  Wait!  The real question should be how do you prefer to brew your coffee?  Because we all know that the key to a great cup of coffee is a powerful brewing machine. 

I never knew the power of a one-cup coffee brewing machine until I bought a Keurig.  I honestly thought it seemed more like a novelty that would wear away with time and the next hot trend would follow.  I must say that I stand corrected.  In the last 3 months that I've owned this machine, my morning routine has been so much better.  Maybe it's because it takes less than a minute to brew a cup of coffee which gives me more time to focus on other important things such as hair, makeup and picking out shoes for the day.  Maybe it's the fun of picking out a new flavor coffee pod each day.  Thank you, Starbucks.  Maybe it's the fact that it doesn't come with a carafe that can break twice in a matter of a couple of months sending you to make decisions.  Or, maybe it's the no-hassle cleanup associated with it.  Yep, that's it!  Don't even get me started on doing dishes and cleaning...this is supposed to be a happy coffee post.  This is not an advertisement for Keurig, I'm just in love with my coffee brewing machine.  She knows what I need during my busy mornings.  This is a wonderful product and I just had to share with you.  Now, if the folks at Keurig want me to push this product, I can sell like a mother! 

This is where the magic happens every morning.  Actually, this is the magic that happened this evening.  Stop looking at your clock!  Pretend it's morning! 

I love you...

       

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!  My name is Cynthia...obviously. 

I have finally made it to the food blogger nation and this is my first post in virtual reality land.  Yeah!  But, I'm a bit nervous.  I haven't blogged in almost 3 years.  And when I did blog, it was about topics such as infertility.  Yuck!  Thankfully, that storm cloud has passed over and I'm on a new journey.  I hope that I can strike up a ton of friendships and learn new things...from you guys! 

This blog is intended for me to share my journey in the kitchen with you, but there will be other topics of discussion such as "the hubs," adoption, work inside and outside the home, fashion, music, entertainment and whatever else may be on my mind...or yours!

A little bit of history for you!  I lived in Texas for 30 years, so I'm a Texan at heart.  My husband received a job offer from a company in Louisiana in 2005, so we packed our house, cat, dog, suitcases and whatever else we could find and moved.  And now we reside in northwestern Louisiana.  My husband is a Civil Engineering major at Louisiana Tech University.  He is almost through with his bachelor's degree.  C'mon Spring 2013!  Then he will be working towards his P.E. license (Professional Engineering license) which will allow him to run calculations and stamp drawings saying that the structures are safe and won't fail.  No pressure!  I have no idea what this field of study really entails, I just try to make it sound good.  :-/  I work at the same company that my husband works, but I'm in the accounting department.  And every day after what seems like a billion numbers have swirled through this crazy head of mine, I sit back and dream of things that I want to do such as restoring our 1940s Craftsman-style home, owning land whether it's timberland, an orchard or vineyard, adopting a child or two, finishing my degree just like "the hubs," finish a screenplay that I started over 3 years ago, starting my own business (not sure what this business is going to be, but it's gonna be somethin' sweet!), and just in general do things that help me enjoy my day.  Right now I'm daydreaming that someone will give me a neck massage.  Badly.

Anywho, life is moving along at a reasonably fast pace right now.  It may get a little hectic in our household,  but there will be plenty of time to share that with you guys.

Take care and talk to you soon!