Turkey Sloppy Joes

October 31, 2013January 27, 2014 ~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

Happy Halloween!

Halloween in my house means Sloppy Joes. I don’t know if it really was an annual Halloween supper or not, but my brain connects Halloween with Sloppy Joes.

Sloppy Joes make for a great sandwich night. The ingredients are pantry staples and it’s quick to come together. The meat mixture reheats beautifully and your lunchbox the next morning is more appetizing than the typical deli meat and cheese.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 Vidalia onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 C ketchup
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

Steps:

In a large sided skillet saute onion in olive oil. When translucent add the garlic and turkey. Break up the turkey as it cooks.
Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk together ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, vinegar, and tomato sauce.
After turkey is cooked through, stir in the tomato paste. After 45-60 seconds add in the sauce. Stir and warm through for 3 minutes.
Spoon Sloppy Joe mixture onto hamburger buns. Eat and trick-or-treat!

*This recipe is modified from Jessica at http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2012/04/turkey-sloppy-joes/*

Candy Corn Pizza

October 30, 2013April 19, 2014 ~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Here is another Pinterest recreation for my final candy corn presentation. When you slice a round pizza into triangles, you will find yourself staring at a delicious slice of candy corn pizza. Assemble the pizza by first rolling out your dough into a circle. Put shredded mozzarella cheese in the center and surround that with shredded cheddar. The yellow bottom of the candy corn is represented by the crust, so brush it with olive oil. If you wanted to you could dye the pizza dough with yellow food coloring.

Below are recipes for homemade pizza dough and homemade pizza sauce, but for a busy Halloween night feel free to take advantage of the grocery store with a jarred sauce and refrigerated dough – I will not judge.

Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 pkg dry active yeast
1 C warm water
3 1/2 C flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
cornmeal

Steps:

Dissolve yeast in the water, 10 minutes.
In a stand mixer combine flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and add half of the yeast. Mix in with your fingers. Add in the olive oil and remaining yeast.
Knead dough with the dough hook of your stand mixer for 7 minutes. (Or by hand on a floured surface for 10 minutes.)
Shape dough into a ball and put in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F. Divide dough into 4 separate pieces and roll out on a floured surface.
Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza paddle (or edgeless cookie sheet). Place pizza dough on the paddle and assemble.
Bake pizzas on pizza stone 20 minutes until pizza crust is crispy and cooked through.

*This pizza crust recipe is adapted from a recipe that came with a friend’s pizza stone*

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

1 can (28 oz) tomato puree
1 1/2 C water
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Steps:

Combine all ingredients.

*This pizza sauce recipe is adapted from Lynn at http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/01/homemade-pizza-sauce.html*

Candy Corn Popsicles

October 29, 2013October 27, 2013 ~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

I saw this one floating around on Pinterest. It’s actually what prompted my candy corn theme for the week. You only need 3 ingredients, yogurt, apple juice, orange juice. Or you can follow the Pinterest version using orange juice and pineapple juice. Because I have Simply Apple apple juice it’s darker than the from-concentrate counterpart.

You can feel comfortable giving these popsicles to your kids before sending them off Trick or Treating for mountains of candy because there is zero added sugar, and depending on the brand of juice and yogurt you buy, you could be tricking them into a sugar-free dessert!

Here’s the How-To for Candy Corn Popsicles:

Using a tiny spoon put some white yogurt (plain, vanilla, Greek or regular) in the bottom of your popsicle mold. Place the mold in the freezer, covered with plastic wrap, until hardened.

Put apple juice on top of the frozen yogurt. Put in the freezer, covered with plastic wrap, to let solidify just enough so that the third layer won’t mix. If you let it harden completely it’ll be near impossible to put the popsicle stick/handle into the mold.

Top off the popsicle with the orange juice. Put the sticks into the mold and freeze.

When you go to remove the popsicles from the mold run it under cold water first. Doing so will loosen them from the sides of the mold. Or you can set the mold in a bowl of cool water.

Candy Corn Inspired Fajitas

October 28, 2013January 27, 2014 ~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Disclaimer: There were no candy corns harmed in the making of these fajitas.

I wanted to bring my candy corn theme to Mexican Monday and I felt the best way to do this was with bell peppers and onion and the best way to showcase the candy corn colors was through fajitas. Using this platform, the white, orange, and yellow aren’t hidden within closed tortillas or underneath melted cheese.

Steak Fajitas

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil, divided use
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
1 tsp adobo sauce (from can of chipotle peppers)
juice of 1 lemon
2 1/2 tsp cumin, divided use
2 1/2 tsp chili powder, divided use
1 tsp onion powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 lb flank steak, sliced on the bias into strips
1/2 large white onion, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

Steps:

Make marinade: combine 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, onion powder, garlic, Worcestershire, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce.
Season steak with S+P and toss in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
Toss onions and bell peppers in 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, S+P. Saute vegetables in 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. When tender remove from skillet and keep warm.
In the same skillet, cook the steak to desired doneness.
Serve with sour cream and cheese.

*This recipe is modified from Rachel at http://www.thestayathomechef.com/2013/05/flank-steak-fajitas.html*

Candy Corn Pillow

October 27, 2013October 25, 2013 ~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

So You Think You Can Cook will be taking on the Candy Corn theme leading up to Halloween this Thursday. I have been very excited about this theme and the week is finally here where I can show you what I’ve been up to.

I’m starting off with a sewing post. A pillow. This craft is incredibly simple, you only need 3 different fabrics. (I was able to find everything I needed out of my stash.) And you only need to sew 5 seams!

Here’s the How-To for a Candy Corn Pillow:

Note: My pillow form is 14×14″.

Cut fabric. You will need 2 3 1/2 x 15″ rectangles of white fabric, 2 7 1/2 x 15″ rectangles of orange fabric, and 2 5 1/2 x 15″ rectangles of yellow fabric.

Your finished squares should be 15×15″, sew on a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Attach white to orange and orange to yellow. When you press each square, iron the seams in opposite directions.

Put right sides together. Pin. Leave a 4″ gap on the yellow edge of the pillow. Sew all around the pillow, keeping that gap, with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Pull pillow inside out. Poke out the corners. Iron the unsewn 1/4″ flat on each side of the gap.

Stuff your new pillow case with your pillow form.

Close up the gap with your preferred method: hand sewing, buttons, Velcro, machine sewing, etc.

Happy Halloween

October 13, 2013October 13, 2013 ~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I love decorating for the holidays, and Halloween is no exception. Pinterest has fueled my decorating passion and this year I spent a lot of time with my hand in the scissors.

Last year was my first Pinterest Halloween and I did a Mummy front door. It was a great hit so I did it again! The original creators of the Mummy Door used white streamers. Living in a very humid climate I opted to use white ribbon. Yes, it’s more expensive, but it’s reusable year-to-year! I used a solid white and had a little bit of see-thru white ribbon to put over the bottom layer in diagonals. I secured the ribbon with double sided tape on the threshold sides of the door. I gave the mummy a sunken-eye look by excluding whites – he’s all pupil! I also decided to leave ribbon hanging at the door knob to give it that unraveling texture.

I put spider webs with spider rings in the windows next to the front door – making the Mummy creepier rather than cute!

I’ve always used orange Christmas lights in my windows but this year I added even more decoration to the window panes. Silhouettes! I purchased a Martha Stewart window cling for the upstairs window (it claims to be reusable) and cut my own figures for the porch window. I printed templates from the internet, cut them, traced them onto black poster board, and cut that. Double stick tape secured them to the glass.

For the spider web I followed this tutorial.

I also brought the Halloween decor outside with 4 black foam bats hanging from the porch eaves. I printed out a template, cut it, traced it onto the black foam, and cut that. I then used a hole punch at the top of each bat’s head. Fishing line gives the bats their flying through the air illusion.

Quita’s Shrimp

October 9, 2013 ~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I have mentioned my mom’s mom, Busia, on my blog before and it is now time to “introduce” you to my dad’s mom, Quita.

You’re probably thinking I have very strange names for my grandparents. Busia (boo-sha) is the Americanized Polish for grandmother and Quita (pronounced kee-ta) is the Lauren-ized Dominican for Abuelita. When I was young, I couldn’t pronounce Abuelita and being the first grandchild on my dad’s side of the family, it stuck! Funnily enough though only my brother and I call her Quita. My cousins use the traditional Abuelita and Abuelito while my youngest cousin calls them Mami and Papi.

So what do I call my grandfather? Taita (tie-ta). This one is my grandfather’s creation and the origin is debatable.

This shrimp recipe is a party favorite. It is a room temperature salad of cocktail shrimp, onions, and peppers in a bright vinaigrette. The recipe I followed didn’t have the amounts of each ingredient, but I used my best judgment. When I pulled it out of the fridge it smelled perfect – just as I remember. Upon tasting it I was a little heavy handed with the olive oil, but with a little more salt and a dash more vinegar and I was back on track.

Quita’s Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 lb cocktail shrimp
1/2 onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced (Quita uses green but I had orange on hand)
2 tsp capers
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 heaping tbsp cocktail sauce
2/3 C apple cider vinegar
1 – 1 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil, to taste
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Steps:

Combine all ingredients. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Bring to room temperature before serving.

CIC: Coconut & Tomato

September 20, 2013November 3, 2014 ~ lk529 ~ 16 Comments

I interrupt my recount of Hawaiian food to bring you this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge! This month the task was to combine Coconut and Tomato. Upon seeing the ingredient list I thought I was going to sit this one out as I am allergic to coconut. But then I got an idea and decided, why not! Just because I can’t eat it doesn’t mean my friends can’t be my taste buds.

My original idea was to do a play on the Bloody Mary – either make a virgin version substituting vodka for coconut water, or simply adding coconut water to the cocktail, or even making a “creamy” version with coconut milk, garnished of course with toasted coconut.

This idea was altered slightly when I searched Food Network’s website for Bloody Mary recipes. I’d never had one before! I found Rachael Ray’s recipe for Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail and thought, that’s a better idea! And I can serve it with coconut shrimp instead of typical shrimp cocktail. This way also prevents my husband from trying multiple Bloody Marys before I came up with the right recipe. I also bought cocktail shrimp so I could dip in too!

I served this appetizer during last weekend’s football game. We had some friends over and I was given the “this is addicting” nod of approval. I hope this boozy dip makes it to your next tailgate!

Coconut Shrimp with Bloody Mary Dip

Ingredients for Shrimp:

Canola oil, for frying
1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp
1 C flour
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
4 eggs
1 C panko breadcrumbs
1 C shredded sweetened coconut

Ingredients for Dip:

28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp horseradish
2 tbsp Worcestershire
2 tsp hot sauce
2-3 shots of vodka, to taste

Steps:

Bring oil to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl combine flour, garlic powder, and onion powder. In another bowl beat eggs and season with S+P. In a third bowl combine coconut and panko. Season shrimp with S+P and dredge in flour, egg, and panko. Fry shrimp 2 minutes on each side. It’s best to do this in batches so as not to decrease the oil temperature too much.
Combine dip ingredients. Serve with celery sticks!

*The shrimp is adapted from The Neelys and the dip is modified from Rachael Ray*

Coconut Shrimp and Bloody Mary Dip 2

Click the link below to see other blogs that participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge!

Fall Mantle

September 2, 2013September 2, 2013 ~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

September is here! And even though it’s not officially Fall yet, football season has started, pumpkin-flavored everything is hitting the stores, and the days are getting shorter. For me and my house, that’s close enough!

Growing up in South Florida, we didn’t have fireplaces. But apparently Northern Florida thinks they’re North enough to demand fireplaces. I am completely baffled by this architectural choice – we don’t use ours, ever.

My absolute favorite thing about the fireplace is the mantle. Why? Because it gives me a surface to decorate! I am completely in love with my fall motif. I opted to go with the scarecrow/straw theme. (The Tommy Tuberville signed Auburn Football made the cut this year — War Eagle!) On October 1st I’ll add a Jack-O-Lantern scarecrow and on November 1st I have a totally adorable stuffed turkey that says “Gobble til you Wobble”. I also plan on trying a Pinterest-inspired pine cone garland. If I get around to it (and it’s successful), I’ll do a how-to.

I found my decorations at Michael’s. The bird painting is one that I did at The Emerald Cork, a BYOB painting studio. Disclaimer: I have not been paid or sponsored by Michael’s or The Emerald Cork.

A Baby Shower

July 23, 2013July 25, 2013 ~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

I don’t follow celebrity gossip or the royal wedding/birth but as it blows up my Facebook newsfeed I do know that a new prince was born Monday. I’m going to take advantage of the internet baby fever to share a quick little story about a Surprise Baby Shower I threw for a friend of mine.

I like surprises. I don’t particularly care for being surprised, I like providing the surprise. When my friend was pregnant with her first child, I just knew I wanted to do something for her. With a lot of help from her husband and dance teacher, I assembled a guest list and sent out formal invitations.

I had never thrown a baby shower and I don’t think I’d been to one yet, so I looked to the trusty internet for inspiration. Unfortunately every game had the caveat “ask the mom if she’d be okay with this”. But I couldn’t ask the mom! Luckily, my best friend’s sister was also pregnant and her mom threw a Onesie Decorating Party. Bingo. It really is a genius idea – it eliminates any embarrassment on both the mom and the mixed guest list.