Tiffany Pizza and Celebration Sangria

Last night I waited while the most beautiful baby girl made her entrance into the world. And I am totally in love. After only 4 hours of sleep last night and a glorious 2 hour nap this afternoon, I stumbled into the kitchen with plans for one of my all-time favorite dinners.

But before I move on with the recipes...you have to see this gorgeous little girl!

Okay so this first recipe comes from a pizza my friend Tiffany made one evening when I stopped by her house for dinner. I have changed a little bit about it...and I think you'll love it! The second recipe is my trick to get my hubby to drink wine. Forrest hates wine...a lot. But he loves sangria...so if you have a friend that doesn't like wine try this recipe and see if you can bring them over to the flavorful side!

Tiffany Pizza

1 large yellow bell pepper

1 large onion

2 large portabella mushrooms

4 tbsp pesto sauce

1 tbsp butter

1 80z package of Trader Joe's Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese (don't get the fresh mozzarella in water it makes the pizza soupy)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley

2 medium whole wheat pizza crusts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

In a skillet melt the butter on medium heat

Slice the onion (so they make pretty little circles) and add them to the melted butter

Cook until tender then remove from heat

Place the whole wheat pizza crusts on a pizza baking stone

On each crust evenly distribute 2 tbsp of the pesto sauce

Cut the yellow bell pepper into 1/2 cubes

Cut the portabella mushrooms into 1/2 cubes

Distribute the onions, yellow bell pepper and portabella mushrooms evenly on both pizza crusts

Slice the mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices and place on top of the pizza

salt and pepper to taste

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted

Roughly chop the parsley

Place on the pizza to garnish

Celebration Sangria

1 bottle of Tempranillo wine (I use La Granja from Trader Joe's $3.99)

1 bottle of Trader Joe's French Lemonade

2 limes

2 lemons

1 large orange

1/8 - 1/4 cup of sugar

In a large pitcher pour the wine and the lemonade

Juice 1 lime, 1 lemon and 1/2 of the orange into the pitcher

Slice the remaining lime, lemon and orange into 1/2 cubes and add to the pitcher

Stir in the sugar

Let chill and serve with mint garnish

Pan Seared Grouper with Spinach and Gorgonzola

Bonefish holds a special place in my heart. Forrest took me there for our first date. I ordered the salmon with the mango salsa and he ordered the spinach and gorgonzola swordfish. We had just made our way through the Bang Bang Shrimp when our meals came out. He looked a little uneasy, "Wow, dinner came fast." After we finished our scrumtrilescent (spelling suggestions?) meal he very romantically asked me to be his girlfriend (with sweat rolling from his brow). Since then every time we go back he orders the same meal. If it isn't on the menu he asks for it, and they make it just for him.

On our humble salaries, Bonefish is reserved for special occasions. Recently I have had a hankering for that spinach gorgonzola dish, but birthdays and Christmas are far behind us now. I have been trying to think of a make believe holiday to celebrate, but nothing clever comes to mind. Instead of brewing over how to get to Bonefish, I decided to take matters into my own kitchen.

In one brave step I snatched up the spinach and gorgonzola cheese at Trader Joe's. On the way home I stopped by the local seafood market and pondered which fish to try. No swordfish was in. Tuna wouldn't do. The rockfish didn't look so hot. But the grouper looked delicious. I have never cooked grouper before, but it looked like it would hold up okay.

As a side story: When I was at the seafood market a tourist was in front of me in line. He asked for Sashimi quality tuna. As the gentleman was cutting the tuna steaks this young man asked, "Where do you do your fishing, the York River?" The waterman mumbled yes. The young tourist thought for a bit and then asked, "Do these tuna swim up the York River?" special.

Anyhow enough of my rambling...here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2 tbsp butter

1 large grouper filet (sliced into 2 or 3 smaller pieces for cooking...about 4 oz each)

1 cup fresh spinach (trim the stems)

1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

salt and pepper

Heat a skillet to medium high, when it is hot add 2 tbsp of butter

Salt and pepper the fish

Once the butter has melted add the fish and let cook for 4 minutes on each side or until crispy and brown

Steam the fresh spinach (you can use a steaming basket on the stove or a steamer in the microwave)

Remove filets from skillet and place them in a buttered baking dish

Place the spinach on top of the filets

Top with the gorgonzola cheese

Place baking dish in the oven until cheese melts

Serve over Trader Joe's Mushroom and Garlic Risotto

This dish just melts in your mouth. I hope you enjoy!

Brownies :)

You know when it comes to desserts there is nothing I love more than brownies, but I always feel slightly awkward bringing them to special events. I was headed to a baby shower this weekend and wanted to find a way to dress them up a bit so I didn't feel like such a 5th grader. Here is the result and the recipe follows! This was so easy to make and it looked much more elegant that brownies on a plate. I hope you will try it soon...it is sure to impress!

Disfrute...

Brownies

Mix up a box of Duncan Hines Chewey Fudge Brownies (use the directions for fudge-like brownies not cake-like). Bake according to directions then remove and let cool.

The key to cutting brownies and getting cleaner edges is a) waiting until they are throughly cooled and b) having a cup of ice water right next to the pan. Place your knife in the ice water for a few seconds then wipe it to dry and then cut your brownies.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl use a hand mixer to beat the whipping cream until it starts to thicken

When you have soft peaks add the powdered sugar and the cinnamon

Mix until you have firm peaks (when you lift out the mixer there should be two points that sit firmly on top of the cream)

To decorate:

Get several leaves of mint and slice 3 to 4 strawberries.

(If the strawberries are bigger cut them in half and then slice them.)

Place the brownies on a plate.

Top with the Cinnamon Whipped Cream (I used the Pampered Chef decorating tube)

Add a slice of strawberry and a mint leaf

Then sprinkle a dash of cinnamon on top of the brownies

Let me know what you think!!! You are going to LOVE that cinnamon whipped cream :)

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa

I love cooking on the weekends. Today I had plans to grill Tequila Lime Quesadilla Turkey Burgers, but just as I finished grilling the corn for the Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa, a huge thunderstorm came through which forced me inside on the Foreman Grill. So...needless to say the turkey burgers were a bit dry. I still had a great time in the kitchen and Forrest loved the meal.

I am holding off on the recipe for the Tequila Lime Quesadilla Turkey Burgers until I have a chance to try them again and make some improvements.

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2 ears of sweet corn

1 can of black beans, rinsed

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 jalapeño , seeded and chopped

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 lime

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp tequila

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the grill to medium.

Lightly drizzle the corn with olive oil.

Place the corn on the grill and cook on each side until slightly charred. Remove and let cool.

In a medium sized bowl mix the black beans, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro.

When the corn has cooled, slice it off of the cob and add it to the bowl.

Add the lime juice, balsamic vinegar, tequila, olive oil, and the salt and pepper.

Just before serving mix in the tomatoes.

Serve with chips.

Fish Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

I have made a version of this recipe that Rachael Ray makes: Margarita Fish Tacos. Tonight I didn't have time to fire up the grill, so I decided to give this dish a Southern make-over.

2 medium cod filets

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup flour

1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp Old Bay Seafood Seasoning

1/2 tsp black peper

1/4 cup Vegetable oil

1 tbsp olive oil

1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped

1 small white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

8 - 10 tomatillos, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

1 tbsp honey

1 lime, zested and juiced

8 fajita-size flour tortillas

1 cup shredded red cabbage

Fish:

In a large skillet add the vegetable oil and heat to medium

Set up a breading station with three bowls: one with flour, one with one egg, and one with Panko breadcrumbs (shake in a bit of seafood seasoning and pepper)

Cut the two cod filets into smaller sections for cooking

Bread fish by covering them first in flour, then dipping them in the egg to coat and finally in the breadcrumbs

Cook in skillet for about 4 minutes on each side or until brown and crispy

Remove and let drain on a paper towel

Cut into smaller cubes before serving

Tomatillo Salsa:

In a medium skillet heat the olive oil to medium-high

Add the jalapeño, serrano, onion and garlic and cook until softened 3 to 4 minutes

Add the tomatillos

Add the cumin and salt and pepper to taste

Cook until the tomatillos have softened about 5 minutes, remove and let cool (about 5 minutes)

In a blender pureé the tomatillo mixture from the skillet with the lime zest, juice and honey

Tortillas:

Preheat broiler

Place tortillas slightly overlapped on a cookie sheet and heat in oven until lightly brown and pockets form, remove and let cool

Fill the tortillas with the fish, tomatillo salsa and the red cabbage and enjoy!

Makes 8 flour tortillas full of fish taco deliciousness:)

Disfrute...

DIY: Home Improvements

Last weekend my parents came into town and Mom and I ransacked TJ Max and found curtains and curtain rods for most of the rooms. Then we hopped over to Target where I found the curtains for the manloft and the living room. Here are the results:

Okay..please excuse the cable cord running from the wall to the TV. We are getting ready to close in that whole over Christmas and will be moving that cord through the walls....somehow...

the front entrance of the house:

The guest bedroom:

Man Loft (notice the matching curtains and Forrest's Dbacks jersey):

the master bedroom:

Post Wedding Update

Hello all! It has been too long since I last posted on the blog. So much has happened since that last March update. Let's see...I moved into the new place mid April. Forrest came home for a short stint in between teams this year and then left at the end of April to play for the Lincoln Saltdogs. I got a new job teaching high school Spanish literally about 3 miles from our house. Forrest's team won the American Association Championships and then he came back to the east cost at the end of September and went back to work for Nike and teaching pitching lessons. We got married October 17th at our Alma Mater and then spent a fabulous week in Jamaica. About a week and a half after coming home we bought a new car...a snazzy 2010 Honda CRV and just a few days later sold my lil old red Mustang. We have also joined a small group here through our church and are so happy to be fellowshiping with other believers in our community. Other than working, we have been busy making the house a bit more cozy by adding some new furniture and accents. You wouldn't believe it was the same house we walked through back in February.

I will post the link for the wedding pictures once I get them from my photgrapher. I tried to upload a few here, but the quality wasn't great and they looked so tiny. So look forward to that in a bit. I will post a few pictures of the honeymoon here. We went to Couples Sans Souci in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We were there for 8 days and 7 splendid nights of Caribbean bliss.

This is a picture from one side of the resort overlooking the swimming area, beach bar/grill, and our building of suites.

This little hut and mini palm tree were basically straight out of our room headed toward the Caribbean.

This is me holding the neat little white sea urchin Forrest scooped up off the reef for us to see (our snorkeling guides asked him to do it and then told us a story about what a strong aphrodisiac these sea creatures are).

Forrest being handsome on the beach.

It rained every day we were there, but usually for about 30 minutes max. The last 2 days we were there were the most beautiful days of all. It was very sunny and the rain held out until later afternoon. The day I took this photo we went waterskiing, wakeboarding, kayaking and sailing. We found a new adventure to take on each day!

Here are the sailboats and the kayaks all lined up by twos...I thought it was cute.

So...that was paradise in the Caribbean...and now here are a few pictures of our very own paradise back at home. These pictures were all taken yesterday, the Friday I was home from school because of the horrible Noreaster that ransacked the east coast. Last night my parents came into town and Mom and I did some shopping to find curtains today while Dad and Forrest worked on the light fixtures. One day this week I will post the pictures of the updated pictures.

Okay.....let's see what I have first....

I don't know if you guys remember the old dining room. There used to be carpet here and the walls were white. Here it is with the new wood flooring and Nanny's kitchen table. I found the two end chairs at Marshall's and the four black chairs at a consignment furniture shop for a very budget friendly price!

The top picture of these two definitely reflects the true color of this room better. For some reason this bottom picture is somewhat washed out.

Here is our little breakfast bar with the two barstools. This little area connects our open kitchen and dining room.

Do you remember the picture I took of this early on. If not scroll down to one of the first posts. It is a totally different space!

Okay here is our actual kitchen space. We have so many cool gadgets that we got for the wedding. I have used almost everything I was given already!

This will be the perfect place for the wine racks Leslie gave me! Gotta go to Trader Joe's and get some $3 wines to showcase!

This china cabinet was in my grandma's house when I was a kid. She used to keep her candles in the top drawer. In it you can see her China that really ties into the colors of our living room/kitchen.

I need to put some new hardware on it. That is my next project now that the curtains are up and the masterbath is painted.

Okay here is the living room...I can't believe how much this room has changed since February. Remeber there used to be wall to wall carpeting in this room and a nasty brown accent wall. it looks even better now with the curtains and sconces up. Our next project (after the hardware on the china cabinet) is to put up cabinet doors to close off that gaping hole that was put in the wall for a TV and have our cable rewired so you can't see it.

Here is Forrest's manloft. Every man needs his own space in a house and we have the perfect place just for him. I framed his Diamondbacks jersey for his birthday and then we went to target and got the pictures on each side of it. His surfboard and guitars make very masculine accents in the room. (this room also looks much better with the new curtains up!) We are currently looking for an ottoman to put between the two bookshelves.

Well, tomorrow or Monday I will post the updated pictures of the curtains, the newly painted masterbath, and the transformed guest bedroom. For now I am off to look up some new recipes and make the grocery list!