7.21.2011

strawberry cake

A while back, my hubby and I went to the local u-pick farm and picked 2 flats of strawberries! Lots of jam was made and this cake too with the leftover berries! So good, I couldn't help but go back to it for seconds :)


Strawberry Cake
from Martha Stewart

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pie plate
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.
  2. Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.
  3. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.
  4. Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, up to 2 days.

7.12.2011

grilled shrimp tacos

Now that summer is finally here, we try to avoid turning the AC on in order to avoid high energy bills. Which means grilling is in full force.  This was a recent meal we made on a lazy Saturday which came together really quickly. The crunch of the tacos and shrimp, combined with the coolness of the "crema" and heat from the tomatillo salsa make this one of my newest summer favorites.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos
from Real Simple, serves 4

1/2 c sour cream
3 tbs mayo
3 tbs milk
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1.5 lbs shrimp, peeled
3 tbs butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 limes, quartered
kosher salt
8 6-inch corn tortillas
2-3 c finely shredded green cabbage
bottled green tomatillo salsa

Directions
Heat grill to med-high.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayo, milk and cumin. Set aside.

Skewer the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine the butter and garlic.  Brush the shrimp with the garlic butter.

Place shrimp on grill with the limes.  Cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are opaque and limes are browned.

Remove from grill. Lightly salt shrimp.

Grill tortillas for 30 seconds on each side, then place inside a paper bag to keep warm.

Pull the shrimp off skewers; divide evenly among tortillas.  Top with cabbage, sour cream sauce, tomatillo salsa, and a squeeze of lime.

7.11.2011

4th of july weekend madness

This 4th of July was so much fun! My childhood friend, who I call "Beebs" flew in for almost a week of girl time.


We started off with a night at Mark Broussard and met up with the newlyweds. I was quite bummed Mr. Broussard didn't sell hardly any tickets. Emily (who I call "Baybee"), her husband Pat scored us some awesome seats in the VIP area.



We spent several hours shopping, which I haven't done in a LONG time and ate some delicious Indian food.

We took lots of naps and spent some time out on the lake fishing. Well, hubby was fishing....
 Beebs and I were relaxing!!

We watched a lot of terrible reality tv and pampered ourselves with pedicures.
 
We got frozen yogurt (possibly more than once) and hit up the driving range.

We got dolled up and spent a night out on the town.

We walked around a beautiful local park.

And finished off the weekend with a bang (literally!) and watched a very fantastic firework show!
Such a great and memorable week I had with my Beebs and Baybee!!

7.09.2011

Oops I did it again

Over 4th of July weekend (recap coming soon, hey better late than never!), I cut all my hair off again. I was starting to get headaches from the weight of it and was going through hair products like crazy so I decided I wasn't going to go through the entire summer being miserable. Besides, my husband likes short and sassy anyway!

Before....

After!!