Lovely

Coconut Crusted French Toast with Coconut Syrup

2012-06-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

I came up with this for Father's Day. One of our family traditions is breakfast in bed for Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthdays. I never like to repeat myself with the making the same breakfast that I have made in the past. I decided to spice up an old classic. I used as much coconut as I could think of for these babies. Coconut crusted french toast with coconut syrup! If you are a coconut lover, you will love it! I thought it turned out delicious. And Broc loved it. Really, that was all that mattered, since this special breakfast was for him!

I think it would have been even better topped with some fresh raspberries. But since this little island is fresh out of berries, I just gave him a banana to enjoy it with instead!

Coconut French Toast

2 eggs
2/3 cup coconut milk
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup flaked coconut, sweetened
6 thick slices of bread

Combine ingredients. Dip each slice of bread into egg mixture, soaking both sides. Place in hot pan and cook on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot. Top with coconut syrup and flaked coconut.

Coconut Syrup

1/2 cup butter, (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cream of coconut
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, place butter, sugar, cream of coconut, coconut milk, salt and baking soda. Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, and boil for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Serve warm.

Tin Foil Dinners

2012-06-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

I was reintroduced to these on Christmas Eve. I remember having tin-foil dinners before, but I had forgotten how fun and yummy they were. It was our first Christmas in the Caribbean, without snow. We met some friends at the beach for lunch, where sand angels were a fun alternative to snow angels! My friend Nicole brought tin-foil dinners. They tasted so yummy. It was like a Sunday dinner all wrapped up together. I was raving about how amazing these tasted and she was telling me how easy they were to put together. I was inspired to come up with my own version of tin foil dinners. It has become a favorite meal for our family to take and eat by the beach while watching the sunset on the ocean. It is the perfect meal to take to the beach or on a picnic or obviously camping. They are individually wrapped in foil, so they are actually stay hot for a while, after coming out of the oven.

Tin Foil Dinners

Makes 10-12 dinners

2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium sized onion (or 2 small onions), chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons A-1 steak sauce
1 tablespoon Wochestershire sauce
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
salt
pepper
6-8 carrots, sliced
red potatoes, quartered (I used one potatoe for each dinner)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tin foil into 10- 12, one foot squares. Lay squares of foil out.

Quarter potatoes and slice carrots. Set aside.

Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, onion soup mix, ketchup, steak sauce, Worchestershire sauce, cheese, mustard, salt, pepper. Shape into patties and place on foil squares. Add potatoes and carrots over the patties and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap dinners closed. Place in hot oven and cook for about 45 minutes to an hour or until meat is cooked all the way through and vegetables are tender. Enjoy with ketchup or hot sauce!

Homemade Tortilla Tutorial

2012-06-04T20:53:00.002-07:00

I was asked the question a few days ago, what my favorite food cuisine was? Hands down, without thinking- MEXICAN! Tacos are one of my favorite meals, ever. You know a good fresh fish taco with a nice creamy cilantro lime sauce wrapped up in a delicious homemade tortilla. Ah, tortillas- homemade, soft, warm tortillas! These tortillas are the thing that make those delectible tacos so amazing. Now, I do purchase store bought torillas on occasion when I am in a time crunch. But I am telling you there is just no comparison. These are hands down better than any tortilla you can buy in a bag. And they are worth taking the time to make them. If you are going for a "wow factor" make these the next time you make tacos! YUM!

I had never made homemade tortillas before moving to the Caribbean. We live on a small little island where you pay a pretty penny for store bought tortillas. Now, while living on a med-school budget can be challenging at times (especially living in a place where everything is 2x more expensive), it does have it's upside. This is when I was ~~forced~~ introduced to making homemade tortillas. And I am so glad I was. I got the recipe from my friend Kristen, who took me in and showed me what I had been missing my whole life. And now I just can't imagine my life with out them. Seriously, these babies are life changing! Make them! Your family will be forever grateful!

Homemade Tortillas

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4-6 tablespoons shortening

1 1/4 cups warm water

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or a fork. (I will continue to use a fork while my pastry blender sits in storage. One day we will be reunited!) Add warm water and knead for about 8 minutes. You can see a difference in the dough after you knead it. It has almost looks shiny and smooth. Cover and let dough sit for about 10- 15 minutes.

Roll into a ball just a little bigger than a gold ball, flaten, then roll out on a floured surface.

Cook on an ungreased skillet about 1 minute per side or until tortilla starts to bubble. Place on a plate and cover with foil. This will help keep them nice and warm until you are ready to serve them.

I had a friend ask me to post my recipe with a tutorial. So here it is:

Make your dough. After you have let it sit, roll into balls just a little bigger than a golf ball.

Take one of your dough balls and flatten it out on a floured surface.

Turn to cover with flour.

Roll out into a circular shape

Over medium heat, place tortilla on skillet. Cook until you start to see bubbles

(about 1 minute or so per side). When you see bubbles, flip it over.

I usually have a system going where I am rolling out the next tortilla
while the other is cooking. If you do this, make sure to watch the cooking tortilla.
Do not overcook!!! If your tortillas are dry or hard you have over cooked them.

Place cooked tortilla on a plate and cover with foil.

This will help them stay warm until you are ready to use them.

Enjoy!

Mini Frittatas

2012-05-31T20:14:00.001-07:00

I had planned to make a breakfast casserole for a baby shower that I was helping with. But I couldn't find some of the ingredients. We are limited with our resources here. So, I had to resort to a plan B. At the time, I wasn't really sure what that was. Then I had remembered I saw a photo floating around on pinterest that had eggs in a muffin tin. I thought I would attempt to make something from that idea. I mixed all of my ingredients together and threw them in a muffin tin. I was a little nervous, not following a recipe and unsure of how the end result would turn out- especially making it the morning of the shower. Luckily, they turned out and tasted divine, especially topped with a dollip of salsa! Is it just me or is everything so much cuter when it is in mini form? Simply perfect for a brunch.

After I made them I thought, this would also be a great breakfast for school days as well. Throw the stuff together the night before, or at least have all of your chopping and shredding done, and then just bake them in the morning! Enjoy!

Mini Frittatas

12 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
5 slices deli ham, diced
1/2 medium sized green pepper, chopped
green onions, chopped
hand full of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
crushed red pepper flakes, just a few shakes - depending on how much heat you like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk. Add cheese, ham, green pepper, green onions, cilantro, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

Fill muffin tin with egg mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until tops of frittatas are nice and golden brown. Take a knife and slide it around each egg. Carefully remove frittata from pan. Serve hot.

*When I made these, I filled each muffin tin to the very top with the egg mixture. And it made 12 muffin sized frittatas. I am sure you could just fill them 1/2- 3/4 of the way full and get about 20 out of the batch.

Bloggin' Cafe & Malasada Tutorial

2012-05-28T06:14:00.001-07:00

My friend Chris, who is a fabulous chef, hosted a little blogging cafe. Since this was sort of a first for me, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Let me tell you though, it was so much fun! Seriously, what could be better than hanging out, yummy food and blogging?! Chris showed us how to make Malasadas, or otherwise known as Portuguese Donuts. They were to die for! So light and fluffy, topped with a little glisten of sugar. Chris has some pretty incredible recipes on his blog, you can check them out here. And if you want some other fabulous reads, you can also check out the other fellow blogger's amazing blogs: c squared w, Priceless Adventure, and Donuts at Midnight.

Now onto these delectable little treats!

Malasadas
<<Portuguese Doughnuts>>
Courtesy of Chris McGilvery

1 package of dry active yeast (.25 ounce)

1 teaspoon of sugar

1/4 cup warm water

6 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup water

2 cups sugar

1 - 1 1/2 quarts vegetable oil

Mix yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar and warm water. Set aside to proof.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and the salt together. Make a well.

Whip the eggs until smooth. Pour eggs, yeast, 1/4 cup sugar, honey, melted butter, evaporated milk, and water into well. Whip it until mixture becomes doughy. It may be a little sticky. Cover and let rise until doubled. This usually takes about 45 minutes.

Heat oil to 350 degrees. I would recommend that you heat up pan, add oil and lower the heat so the oil won't be too hot. The donuts will cook too fast and burn if the oil is too hot.

There are several ways to fry this treat.

You can throw in dough by spoonfuls. Just make sure you throw it in carefully.

Roll out dough and cut into squares (this tends to be a sticky mess though).

Put dough in a pastry bag and squeeze donut hole sized balls into oil.

I think it would be okay to make the donut holes just a little bigger than a regular sized donut hole.

Finally roll or shake cooked donuts in sugar. Serve hot and warm! You may even want to add cinnamon to the sugar or shake donuts in powdered sugar. Enjoy!

For those of you who are thinking any sort of homemade doughnut is going to be way too much work, don't check out just yet. I was completely surprised at how easy these were to throw together. Here is a step by step tutorial, thanks to Chris, to convince you that these babies are not difficult at all to make. And really the thing that takes the most time, is just waiting for the dough to rise. I am pretty sure nothing compares to a light, fluffy, homemade donut dusted with sugar!

Malasada Tutorial

Mix yeast, sugar and warm water. Set aside to proof.

In a large bowl, mix flour and salt together. Make a well.

In another bowl, whip eggs until smooth.

Add yeast to flour mixture.

Also add eggs, sugar, honey, melted butter, milk, and water.

Mix together.

Whip it, until it becomes doughy.

The dough is really sticky at this point. Cover and let rise until doubled.

After the dough has doubled in size, you are ready to fry these puppies!

We used the piping bag method. Not having any piping bags available we used a ziplock bag. Just put the dough in a ziplock and cut a good chunck off of the end.

When the oil is hot, you are ready to drop the dough. Just squeeze the dough (just a little bigger than a doughnut hole) into the hot oil.

Watch them carefully. When they look like they are browning on the bottom, flip them over.

When the doughnuts are nicely browned, take them out of the oil and let cool on a paper towel.

It's a good idea to break one of the first ones open to make sure they are completely cooked and not doughy in the middle.

Then place the doughnuts in a rubbermaid container that has sugar in it. Place lid on and shake around until the doughnuts are covered with a nice sugar coating.

These little bites of heaven are seriously amazing! Enjoy!

Thanks so much Chris for hosting this! Everything was so much fun! I can't wait for the next
Un Poquito Cafe con Blogging y Comida!

Brown Sugar Scrub

2012-05-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

I tried out a recipe I came across for a brown sugar scrub. It was so easy to throw together and made my skin feel so nice and soft, even added a little glow! I found the recipe here. I thought it needed a little something more by way of scent though. I made two different batches, one using peppermint extracts and another using vanilla and almond extracts. Both smelled amazing. I can't wait to try this out again experimenting with different scented oils.

I made this scrub for a Young Women's activity (I teach the young women in my church). I taught the girls how to make their own brown sugar body scrubs. They got to make them for their moms for Mother's Day! The girls loved making them and they were such a hit that a week later some of them were asking me to help them make more! This makes such a great inexpensive gift! Try it, I promise you will love it!

Brown Sugar Scrub

1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
peppermint oil (or use whatever oil you like best)

Combine all ingredients. Place in a cute jar.

No-bake Cheesecake with Mango Passion Fruit Drizzle

2012-05-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about living in the Caribbean is the delicious tropical fruits available. The mangos here are so much better than the ones we would get in the states. There are a few different kinds of mangos and there is one in particular that is my favorite. It is a greenish red mango and it has a silky texture inside, it falls right off of the pit and the strings don't get stuck in your teeth. My favorite so far! I had a few mangos and passion fruits that were just laying around waiting for me to make something with them. So I decided to use them to make a fruit drizzle to top off my mom's no bake cheesecake recipe. The lemon in the cheesecake complimented the tropical fruits and the flavors just came together. Typically, I top this cheesecake with blueberries or raspberries, but since berries are scarce here in the Caribbean, I experimented with something more tropical. I used coconut cookies for the base of the crust. Delish. This is one of those desserts that is even better the next day as well. Unfortunately, this didn't last longer than the day after, but I can tell you it is just as good a week after. I love this dessert. And the cheesecake takes me back to my childhood. This was a staple at our house growing up. You would never know it was so easy to make.

Coconut Cookie Crust

3/4 package coconut cookies
1/2 - 1 stick butter, melted
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar

Crush cookies and place in a bowl. Add in melted butter and sugar. Mix to combine. Press into a round 9" pie dish. Refrigerate while making cheesecake mixture. (I typically put mine in the freezer just to set it a little faster.)

*Note: Mom's cheesecake is made using 1 package graham crackers. Same measurements of everything else.

Mom's Amazing No-Bake Cheesecake

1- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese with mixer until smooth. (Don't skip this step- If you just add everything together before beating cream cheese alone it will go lumpy). Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Pour cheesecake into crust. Chill for 3 hours. Serve.

Passion fruit on the left, mangos on the right

I peeled the mango and cut it up, and then threw in the pit as well. I wanted to get as much juice as possible. With the passion fruit I just scraped out all of the seeds and juice and added it in the pan.

Mango Passion Fruit Drizzle

3 mangos
3 passion fruits
1/4 cup water
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add fruit of mangos and passion fruits to a medium size saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and mashing fruit with the back of spoon. Add water and sugar. Boil about 7 minutes. Add vanilla.

Holding the strainer over a bowl, strain the fruit, reserving the juice. It helps to press the fruit with the back of spoon to make sure you get as much juice as possible. Taste and add more sugar, water, vanilla, etc... to taste.

Pour juice back into pan and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Drizzle over cheesecake.

We actually made sushi the same night we made this cheesecake. And used some of the Mango Passion Fruit drizzle to make a dipping sauce for the sushi! It was so good! When it comes to mangos and passion fruit the options are endless! And if you don't have mangos and passion fruit available you can always substitute another fruit that is in season. Happy baking!

BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

2012-05-21T18:57:00.001-07:00

I love this salad! I love that it is a light, easy, quick to throw together, plate licking good meal. The dressing is so incredible, I seriously could drink it. The hint of bbq tops it off to pefection. For Mother's Day, my sweet husband made me this for dinner. I just love that he knows me so well. I had been telling him lately, that I had been craving a really good salad. He must have noted that and made the perfect dinner for me! It was delicious and what was even better was that I didn't have to cook!

Mels Kitchen Cafe is one of my amazing go to websites when I need another idea for dinner. I have tried so many of her recipes and they have all been wonderful! I made this salad for a bridal shower and everybody raved about it! It really is amazing.

With summer coming up, this would be a perfect summer meal to make. You can just throw your chicken in the crockpot in the morning and everything else comes together really fast. Super easy delicious meal.

BBQ Chicken Salad
Courtesy of Mels Kitchen Cafe
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups BBQ sauce
½ head iceberg lettuce
cored and chopped
2 romaine hearts chopped
1/2 red onion diced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cubed small or shredded
4 ounces Monterey jack cheese, cubed small or shredded

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise, light or regular
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 to 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
DIRECTIONS:

For the salad, combine the cooked chicken and BBQ sauce in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use. In a large bowl, toss together the iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, red onion, cilantro, corn, black beans and cheese. Toss the mixed salad with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the dressing, if desired. Otherwise, you can serve the dressing on the side. Place salad on plates and top with the prepared BBQ chicken and additional dressing.

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients together and whisk (or shake, if using a jar) vigorously to combine. You could also run this through a blender to make it even more smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Marinated Tuna with Garic Lime Sauce

2012-05-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

This is one of our family's favorite dishes, hands down. I came up with it during my first attempt at cooking fish. Yes, I had never cooked fish during the first 7 years of our marriage. I really didn't love fish and I had no idea how to cook it. Shortly after moving to Dominica, I got brave and bought some fresh yellowfin tuna from the beach (it doesn't get fresher than that). I decided to attempt to make something with it and the flavors came together beautifully. I changed up a few recipes I use to make our favorite lime chicken. Let me tell you, it was divine. There is just something about that garlic lime cream sauce that adds a bit of perfection to the fish. I was not a huge fan of fish before coming to Dominica. But this recipe changed my ways! Yes, we are all huge fish eaters here and our kids love this dish. For those of you who aren't fish fans, or for those of you who are scared to cook fish, make this recipe. It is actually really easy. And doesn't take too long to throw together. I usually make my sauce while the fish is cooking. I promise you will love it!

Garlic Lime Ginger Tuna Marinade
Adapted from Jen's Lime Chicken recipe

1/4 cup Sprite or 7-up
1/2- 3/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
black pepper

Marinate 1-2 hours. Grill

Garlic Lime Cream Sauce
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

1/2 cup Sprite or 7-up
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons shallots, minced (I have used green onions when I couldn't find shallots)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 turns freshly ground black pepper (if you don't have a pepper grinder just add a few shakes)
1/4 cup heavy cream
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), cut up, at room temperature
Esscence Seasoning, to taste (I found this at Wal-Mart, but if you don't have this, see bottom for recipe)

Combine the soda, lime juice, shallots, garlic, cilantro, salt, pepper and Esscence seasoning in saute pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce by half. (Or just boil for about 7 minutes). Stir in the cream and simmer for 3 minutes. Whisk in the butter and remove from the heat. Continue whisking until all of the butter is incorporated. Garnish with chopped green onion. Serve over grilled Garlic Lime Ginger Tuna.

*Note: Evaporated milk can be substituted for the heavy cream. I have made it with both and it does not affect the taste or texture.

Emeril's Esscence Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablspoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight jar or container.

Easter Traditions: Bunny Tail in Door

2012-05-17T08:06:00.001-07:00

I got this cute idea from my friend Kristen! And I couldn't wait to do it this year!

Oops... Easter Bunny's tail got stuck in the door on his way out! Oh I just love this!

Easter Traditions: Hunting for Baskets

2012-05-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

The great thing about getting married is that you are able to take traditions that you each grew up with and combine them. This one particular tradition came from Broc's family. I loved it and was excited to keep this tradition going. Broc and I even did this before we started having kids. So much fun! On Easter morning, you not only have to hunt for eggs, but you have to try to find your own basket as well!

Our kiddos have loved it! And squeal with joy when they find their basket! That funny bunny hides your basket along with your colored egg!

And sometimes that old Bunny hides it inside and sometimes he hides it outside! Anything is fair game!

He even hides Mom and Dad's baskets! I love it. And it is so much fun to still be surprised, even at 29!

Happy Easter!

Homemade Strawberry Filling

2012-04-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

My friend's birthday was coming up. I had some white chocolate that was waiting to get used up. And I had high hopes for a twist on a strawberry shortcake. See we don't get strawberries shipped here very often and when we do, you pay a pretty penny for them. But... it was Easter... and it was a good friends birthday- so I splurged and bought the strawberries! I had it narrowed down to two cakes. And decided on the one I had never tried knowing that it would make a cuter birthday cake. I made a white chocolate cake, with a white chocolate cream frosting and strawberry filling. The cake itself was just eh- nothing to rave about. It was just a little too rich for my liking. But I did love the frosting and the strawberry filling. I normally would have used the good ol' Junket Danish Dessert for the strawberry filling. However, you can't get it here. So I searched around and found this gem- Homemade Strawberry Filling! Who knew you could whip this out without a box of Junket? Not me! But it was ridiculously easy. And the great thing is, you could use the recipe and just switch out the strawberries for any other type of fruit your heart desires... or in my case which ever fruits are in season!

Strawberry Filling
recipe courtesy Food.com

2 1/2 cups strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a heavy saucepan, stirring constantly and crushing berries slightly with the back of a spoon.

Boil 2 minutes to thicken, stirring constantly, mixture will be slightly chunky.

Pour into a bowl and cool completely.

Beef Stroganoff

2012-04-16T10:07:00.004-07:00

Clearly we have been in a bit of a mushroom mood lately! I made this the other night and it was like a little taste of home. It is like a spruced up version of my Mom's homemade Stroganoff. It is so easy to throw together and everybody loved it! And when I say "loved it", I'm talking all of my boys went back for seconds and thirds! So creamy and delicious!

Beef Stroganoff
Adapted from Paula Dean

1 pound ground beef
All-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup beef broth
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
salt and black pepper
1 cup sour cream
cooked egg noodles

Cook ground beef. Drain fat. Set aside. In another pan, saute onions, garlic and mushrooms in the butter and oil. Saute for a few minutes, until the onion is tender. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour. Put the beef back into the pan with the onion and mushrooms. Add the mushroom soup and beef broth. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, covered. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the sour cream the last few minutes, right before you serve. Serve over cooked noodles.

Mushroom Marinara Sauce

2012-04-10T18:22:00.005-07:00

Spaghetti is one of those super easy meals that makes a frequent appearance at our house. For two reasons- it is an inexpensive meal and it is quick and easy to throw together! Seriously, I can have a good dinner ready in under 30 minutes! I am not talking open up a can of spaghetti sauce, I am talking- yummy homemade spaghetti sauce! It has seemed like life is so crazy lately, and a few nights out of the week we are getting home late and need some quick easy meals to be able to throw together.

I have been searching for the perfect marinara sauce recipe for quite some time. I have tried a lot of different recipes that have been ok, but none that have wowed me. I have tried a few different combinations and thrown in a few different things in my attempt to make a great marinara sauce. I am really picky when it comes to spaghetti. I'm not a big fan of store bought spaghetti sauce. And I hate it when the noodles are overdone. Seriously, it is amazing how much of a difference it makes when you have a great sauce and perfectly "al dente" noodles!

The other night I think that I finally came up with a winning combination! I threw in some mushrooms and I think that made all the difference! This comes together so fast and tastes wonderful! It would be perfection topped with a few Italian meatballs!

Mushroom Marinara

3 Tablespoons EVOO
4 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, diced (or 2 small onions)
3 teaspoons garlic
1- 8 ounce container mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1- 6 ounce can tomato paste
1- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1/8 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavor
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper

In a large sauce pan heat EVOO and butter over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic. Cook about 2 minutes then add in the mushrooms. After the mushrooms are sauteed to perfection, turn off heat and stir in Parmesan cheese.

In a blender, combine diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Blend. I don't puree mine completely, I like it a little chunky. Then add tomatoes to mushroom/cheese mixture and heat over medium heat. Add tomato sauce, beef broth, chicken bouillon, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. {Depending on how much heat you want depends on how much crushed red pepper to add. I usually shake a few shakes in.} Simmer for 15- 30 minutest. Serve!

DIY Lace Cupcake Wrapper

2012-04-09T08:54:00.002-07:00

I threw my friend Kristen a bridal shower a few weeks ago. I thought it would be cute to add a little lace to the cupcakes. I had purchased white ruffle cupcake wrappers at Michaels when I was in the states (knowing I was going to be throwing her this shower). I had invisioned a different lace, but the lace options are really limited here. I was just happy I found some!

I wrapped the lace around the cup and hot glued it on. I baked the cupcakes in another wrapper and then after they had cooled I placed them in the lace cup! Super easy accent to add a little something to a bridal shower! I think they would be absolutely adorable for a little girl baby shower as well!

Homemade Granola

2012-04-06T11:34:00.004-07:00

I got this fabulous recipe off of my friend Kristen. Thanks to her I am converted to making homemade granola! Since we on an island where good cereals are super pricey, and since we live on a student budget... I have began to make things I never would have thought of even trying before. I first made this before I left for the states, so Broc had something to eat for breakfast while I was gone. It is a favorite around our house. And it is one of those great recipes that I can make with my kids and let them dump and stir to their hearts content! So easy to throw together and tastes divine.

Homemade Granola
Recipe courtesy Kristen Morgans

3 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups chopped nuts (I used almonds)
3/4 cup flaked coconut
4- 6 Tablespoons honey (or sugar) I used honey
4 Tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

Mix together oats, nuts and coconut. Set aside.
In a saucepan combine honey (or sugar), butter, salt and sweetened condensed milk.
Cook over medium heat until well blended and sugar is dissolved.
Pour over oat mixture and spread on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Watch the color carefully- do not overbake! It will continue to cook as you take it out of the oven. Store in an airtight container.

Baby Announcement

2012-04-05T11:10:00.007-07:00

When I found out I was pregnant with Jack I wanted a fun way to announce it. A way that nobody would expect. One night, around 2 AM (that is when my best ideas come), Broc and I were trying to think of ways we could announce our news. We talked about doing a funny music video... but we couldn't figure out exactly how to get it done- knowing that we only had a couple of days before Christmas (which is when all of our families were going to be together-). So after searching for the perfect song, our tiredness got the best of us and we came up with this little number! We preformed this live for Broc's family on Christmas Eve and for my family on Christmas Day! You can see the original post from my personal blog here. Make sure to turn up your volume!

I love so many things about this! Not that we are great singers and dancers (come on, because we are!! hahaha) ... but one that we actually really did this... and two- I love that no matter how crazy of an idea I have Broc is always down with whatever! He used his song writing abilities to come up with most of the words to the song. I love that he is just as crazy and ridiculous as me when it comes to stupid things like this! I think the best part of it was, when we were getting ready to do it for my family, they thought nothing of it. Oh ya Crys and Broc are just bustin' out something ridiculous again! hahaha! Seriously, it didn't even phase them! I am a little worried though about if we ever get pregnant again- I'm not sure we can top this one...

New Name, New Look, New Blog!

2012-04-03T17:34:00.001-07:00

Some of you might notice a little change with the name and look of the blog! I can thank my friend Katie Price at Priceless Design Studio for that! Though I probably drove her completely in sane with my indecisiveness, she came up with an amazingly lovely design. I love it! Since the change, I have added a few more posts- so take a look around. It is still a work in progress, but it is done! Yay! I am so excited to have a real home to house my recipes and ideas! Welcome to Lovely!

The Boy Version Ruffle Cake

2012-03-16T07:40:00.010-07:00

So I have been slightly obsessed with ruffle cakes.

Mainly the ridiculously cute pink girly ones... like this!

via

I often think of how perfect this would be for a little girl's birthday party! So so lovely! With two boys I only get to dream of throwing frilly parties and making ruffled cakes.

Well this past summer we went back to the states for my SILs wedding. While we were there we had a pre-birthday celebration for Mr. Jack! Since we live in the Caribbean our family wouldn't get to see him dig into his first cake so we celebrate a month early. It was a pretty last minute, thrown together kind of a party. And I knew I didn't have time to create a cute fondant cake... so as I began to start decorating his cake, I came up with the boy version ruffle cake! I really needed an excuse to try out the ruffles!

I guess for Jack's sake I shouldn't refer to them as ruffles.

I am no pro at ~~ruffles~~ this design but it was actually pretty easy, especially since it was my first time attempting it.

Sometimes it helps to watch someone do it before you attempt. Here is a great video tutorial. Or Martha has a pretty good write up tutorial as well.

The frosting tip used to make those adorable ruffles looks like this.

via

I used a 6" cake pan for this cake. Although, I think for a first birthday "dig into cake"

I would probably use a 4" next time.

Wait for it...

Finally! Planning his attack!

Using your hands is such a waste of time...

... and in a manner of seconds the cake is destroyed!

"Where the Wild Things Are" Party

2012-03-15T20:13:00.004-07:00

Picking the theme for my (then) 3 year olds party was easy.

I decided to do a party themed from his favorite book, Where the Wild Things Are!

I have decided that choosing a theme for a party from your child's favorite book is best way to go, especially for a 3 year old party!

Here are the invitations I made up! One of my favorite parts of this party!

I superimposed Crew's picture in place of Max.

{and note that this party was from two years ago- so don't judge the awful quality photos}

When the guests arrived, they got a crown a mask.

We started the party off by reading the classic story, Where the Wild Things Are. (I was pregnant with Jack here so don't judge the belly.)

The kiddos loved it! They wore their crowns just like Max and got to pretend they were Wild Things with their scary masks. We marched around and they "roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth."

Next we played "Pin the Tail on Max"!

For this game, I found a picture of Max, had it enlarged to poster size, then laminated it. Having the poster laminated is crucial if you want to reuse the game. If you don't the tape will rip your poster when you pull off all the pins.

Then I cropped the same picture down only to show the tail and had them printed on card stock. I cut them out and had them laminated. To differentiate whose tail was whose, I cut out circles out of colored paper and glued them to the tops, making sure I had a different color for each child.

The game was a hit!

We kept the party pretty close to an hour. Which for my 3 year old, was perfect. We sent the kiddos home with a cupcake, topped with Where the Wild Things Are ring from here. I thought it was a genius idea since we were living in a small place at the time. Could you imagine ten 3 year olds eating cupcakes in a small confined, carpeted place? That was exactly why we sent them to go... that and they did make a pretty cute thank you for coming treat!

The Wild Rumpus didn't end there! We had a family party for him the next day!

We used the book and the left over masks from the party to decorate the table.

Pirates of the Caribbean Party

2012-03-01T06:31:00.001-08:00

It had to be done. I mean, we are living in the Caribbean,

Crew is completely obsessed with pirates,

and parts of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed here in Dominica...

so it only seemed logical to do a

Pirates of the Caribbean Party!

We had Crew's friend party all planned out to be on Saturday, Feb. 4. We got a call a few days prior telling us of a baptism that we needed to be to. So his party got post-poned to Friday, February 9. Which seemed fine... until I realized too late that is was the weekend before Broc's test. Note to self: don't plan a party before any exam! Things to check before planning such an event! Oh well, it worked- it was just stressful trying to get everything set up and organized by myself- with a little Jack crying and pulling at my leg because he didn't want me to set him down. But it turned out great and the kids had a great time!

We sent out paperless invites since we don't really have the means here to buy cute paper and print in color! So while it wasn't what I would have normally chose, it worked.

The wording on the invite said,

"Yo ho! Ye be invited to join Captain Crew at his Pirate Party.

We be huntin' for treasure so don't be late!

Pirate snacks will be served for me hearties.

Please no presents for Captain Crew, just come and enjoy... if ye dare!

The last one there is a scury dog!"

It had been raining off and on right before the party started. Adding a little more stress- since the party was outside! But it stopped long enough for me to get everything set up. Luckily it didn't start up again until after the party was over!

Crew chose lemon cupcakes. So we had lemon cupcakes with a lemon/orange marshmallow cream frosting. (dang heat always melts my cupcakes)

The cupcake holders and toppers I got from here.
I had brought them back with me the last time I was in the states.

Well our resources are limited here, but thank goodness for pinterest. I found this cute idea for pirate hooks made out of plastic cups and aluminum foil! Genius! Pirate telescopes were made out of paper towel rolls. (I would have covered them with some cute pirate paper... but since we didn't have any here they just got to be brown!) Oh well the kids didn't notice!

The pirate hooks were a hit!

Gaston even came dressed like a pirate! It was adorable!

Crew with Marley, our old neighbor in Glanvillia.

Face Painting... mustaches of course! Every good pirate needs a black mustache!

They didn't seem to last very long as the sweat seemed to wash them off.

The lady pirates weren't about to have a mustache on their face so they got a pretty ta too instead!

Captain Jack Sparrow!

Even if they didn't last that long. Those mustaches made for some pretty cute pirates!

Pirate Snacks:

Scurvy Dogs {aka- hot dog slices}
Golden Treasure Mac & Cheese {homemade of course}
Pretzel Planks
Dead Man's Punch

Next me hearties had to walk the plank!
They had to walk the plank while keeping the marshmallow on the spoon.

Then they had to drop the marshmallow into a jar.

{Inspiration for this game came from a game we played at my 5th birthday party... dropping clothes pins into a mason jar.}

If they made it in, they got to eat a marshmallow!

Next, the pirateers found a treasure map! Of course when it comes to a pirate... there is always a buried treasure to be found!

huntin' for the golden treasure... trying to find the 33 steps that lead to the next clue

33 steps - FOUND!

After trudging through some mud and scaling down a scary staircase (literally) the pirates found the buried treasure!

X marks the spot!

The pirates with their loot! {This was about the time Crew was wanting to sing, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to..." It was a long day for the birthday boy... no nap... and too much noise...}

The Pirates scored some gold rings, chocolate gold coins, pirate flag, pirate light up sucker all in a black skull and cross bones cup! Oh so fitting!

Crew with some of his new birthday treasures! {notice his frostingless cupcake... eats the frosting, could care less about the cake!}

This was the thank you that I put in all of the treasure cups!

Cheese Rolls with Parmesan Crust

2012-02-08T05:42:00.003-08:00

I first made these rolls on Father's Day last year. I found the recipe while perusing through Mel's recipes. Seriously, it's my go to website when I am in need of something new! Let me just say that I am OBSESSED with these rolls! They are amazing! Won the hubs over too! It is a homemade roll filled with Pepper Jack goodness and topped with buttery Parmesan! Oh my, I don't think it could get any better than that! They were a hit! I followed the recipe to a 'T' and they came out perfect! Quite possibly one of my favorite foods to eat... and they were super easy to make!

Cheese Rolls with
Buttery Parmesan Crust
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5-6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Filling:
8 ounces cheddar or pepperjack cheese, cut into 15 cubes
Topping:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Italian-flavored bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS:
For the dough, combine all the ingredients and mix and knead until you have a soft, elastic dough (don’t add too much flour – the key to soft dinner rolls is a soft dough!). Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover, letting rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.
Prepare a 9X13-inch pan by lightly greasing the bottom and sides with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Deflate the dough and divide into 15 pieces. Shape the pieces of dough into rounds and punch a cube of cheese from the bottom up into the center of each piece. Pinch the dough tightly together to close the bottom. Place the rolls, pinched side down, in the prepared baking pan. Cover and let rise again for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until nearly doubled.
While the rolls are rising, melt the butter and stir in bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When the rolls have risen, brush the tops with the egg yolk beaten with water. Sprinkle tops of rolls liberally with the bread crumb mixture. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops of the rolls are nicely browned. Remove from the pan immediately and cool on a rack. Serve warm.

Gingerbread Men Sugar Cookies

2012-01-16T11:01:00.002-08:00

I love a good traditional Christmas. And nothing says Christmas better than decorating gingerbread men! The first Christmas Broc and I were married was my first attempt at gingerbread men cookies. It was a new recipe, and my skills of baking / cooking back then were very lacking. Seven years later, I am still using the same recipe. It is a bit different than the traditional gingerbread recipes, in that there is no molasses. I like to think of these as gingerbread sugar cookies. They are soft, moist, spiced to perfection and when decorated with some cream cheese spice frosting... oooh yummy Christmas goodness! We make these guys every December 23, it has become one of our traditions. It has seemed to work out perfectly. Christmas Eve is always filled with so many things, wrapping, family, dinner parties, etc... so it just makes sense to make them on the 23. Then they are already made and ready to set out for Santa on Christmas Eve night!

Crew is at the best age! Christmas was so magical for him this year. This was his creation! Just perfect!

Now onto the recipe:

Gingerbread Men

1 (3.5 ounce) package cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups all- purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, cream together the dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in egg. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon; and stir into the pudding mixture. Cover and chill dough until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets. On a floured surface roll dough out about 1/4 inch thickness. (Original recipe says 1/8 of an inch, but I like to my men to be a little thicker.) Cut into shapes using cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 8 minutes. Or just until the edges are golden. Do not overbake!!! I promise these guys are much better soft! Cool on wire rack. Frost using cream cheese spiced frosting.

This frosting was a first try this year! I usually do a traditional cream cheese frosting to decorate these men. But decided to spruce it up a bit and throw in some spices. It was the perfect addition the gingerbread men needed! Oh I just love this frosting.

Cream Cheese Spice Frosting

1 (8- ounce) package cream cheese, softened

4 Tbsp. butter (half of a stick), softened

1/8 tespoon salt

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I never measure, just add until it is tastes right)

2 Tbsp. canned milk, warmed to room temperature (your frosting will curdle if you add it cold)

2 teaspoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Vanilla (I promise this vanilla makes all the difference)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

a shake of ground nutmeg

In a bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in salt and vanilla. Gradually add canned milk and powdered sugar. If you want a stiffer frosting add more powdered sugar or omit the canned milk. If you like it a little more light and creamy add more milk. Always taste as you go! Frosting recipes should just be a base. I always taste and add to my liking. Be creative and try new things. If you have never ventured out to add your touch in cooking/ baking, frostings are a great way to start. Spruce up whatever it is you are making by adding a little hint of something new!

Happy Baking!

Amazing Dinner Rolls

2011-11-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

So I was in charge of bringing the rolls to our Thanksgiving dinner. Truth be told... I have only made rolls from scratch maybe three times - EVER! The times I have made them they haven't really turned out. Not sure if it was the recipe or me? So making rolls for a crowd at Thanksgiving was a bit intimidating. Luckily, I came across this amazing recipe. These rolls were light, fluffy and buttery! And they will probably be making a weekly appearance at our table! I doubled the recipe and it came out great with 36 beautiful rolls. The original recipe used a bread machine, which I didn't have- so I changed it up to make it work without.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

(slightly adapted from allrecipes.com)

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (0.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened

Pour warm milk and water into a bowl, add sugar to dissolve, then add yeast. Allow to proof for about 20 minutes until creamy foam appears. Add 1/3 cup butter and salt, mix. Add egg, mix to combine. Add flour a cup at a time, after each cup mix with a hand held mixer (I'm sure a Kitchen Aid mixer would work just as well but we our resources are limited here). Knead for a good 10 minutes. Allow to rise for 45 minutes in a warm area, covered.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softed butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover and put them in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Take rolls out and rub butter over hot rolls.

Enjoy!

Turkey Cookies!

2011-11-17T06:07:00.001-08:00

Turkey Day is coming up! I actually came up with this idea last year as I was in charge of bringing the treat for Crew's Thanksgiving preschool party. It ended up that I procrastinated (typical of me) and was left to come up with something that I already had or could find at the only grocery store where we were living. I found a lot of cute ideas using candy corns, but wouldn't you know they were out of them at the store. So I was forced to come up with my own turkey treat, using what I had. Luckily I made something work!

What you need:

BODY: Fudge Stripped Cookies
HEAD: Mini Chips Ahoy (I actually couldn't find these either, so I used a small round cookie cutter and cut out a small circle out of each cookie)
FEATHERS: Pretzel sticks
BEAK: Pepperidge Farm Gold fish
WADDLE: Twizzler Pull and Peel, cut into small pieces
EYES: Mini Chocolat chips
Chocolate Frosting to glue it all together.

Happy Turkey Day!

Lovely

Coconut Crusted French Toast with Coconut Syrup

Coconut French Toast

Coconut Syrup

Tin Foil Dinners

Tin Foil Dinners

Homemade Tortilla Tutorial

Homemade Tortillas

Mini Frittatas

Mini Frittatas

Bloggin' Cafe & Malasada Tutorial

Malasadas <<Portuguese Doughnuts>> Courtesy of Chris McGilvery

Malasada Tutorial

Brown Sugar Scrub

Brown Sugar Scrub

No-bake Cheesecake with Mango Passion Fruit Drizzle

Coconut Cookie Crust

Mom's Amazing No-Bake Cheesecake

Mango Passion Fruit Drizzle

BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

BBQ Chicken Salad Courtesy of Mels Kitchen Cafe

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

Marinated Tuna with Garic Lime Sauce

Garlic Lime Ginger Tuna Marinade Adapted from Jen's Lime Chicken recipe

Garlic Lime Cream Sauce Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Emeril's Esscence Seasoning

Easter Traditions: Bunny Tail in Door

Easter Traditions: Hunting for Baskets

Homemade Strawberry Filling

Strawberry Filling recipe courtesy Food.com

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff Adapted from Paula Dean

Mushroom Marinara Sauce

Mushroom Marinara

DIY Lace Cupcake Wrapper

Homemade Granola

Homemade Granola Recipe courtesy Kristen Morgans

Baby Announcement

New Name, New Look, New Blog!

The Boy Version Ruffle Cake

"Where the Wild Things Are" Party

Pirates of the Caribbean Party

Cheese Rolls with Parmesan Crust

Cheese Rolls with Buttery Parmesan Crust from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Gingerbread Men Sugar Cookies

Amazing Dinner Rolls

Turkey Cookies!

Malasadas
<<Portuguese Doughnuts>>
Courtesy of Chris McGilvery

BBQ Chicken Salad
Courtesy of Mels Kitchen Cafe

Garlic Lime Ginger Tuna Marinade
Adapted from Jen's Lime Chicken recipe

Garlic Lime Cream Sauce
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Strawberry Filling
recipe courtesy Food.com

Beef Stroganoff
Adapted from Paula Dean

Homemade Granola
Recipe courtesy Kristen Morgans

Cheese Rolls with
Buttery Parmesan Crust
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe