A Rebel Alliance Birthday!

Hello Sweets,

Only a few more days until I get the keys to my new place, which means I am in full on packing mode.  I am excited to be back in my own place, but I will miss my fun little conversations with my roomie.  But it was time for me to get back into my own space again, I just wish someone could do my packing for me lol.  I don't have much left to pack, but the way I've been feeling I might as well be packing a 30 room mansion :p  Which in turn mean I am exhausted, so I thought I would do a quick little post about Nathan's birthday :) 

Nathan's birthday almost always falls on Thanksgiving, and anyone who has a birthday near a holiday knows that combining the two is never fun for the birthday celebrator.  Knowing this, I decided that I would separate the two and make sure Nathan felt very special.  Luckily for me Nathan loves shrimp almost as much as I do, and Nathan's parents hate any seafood so it's never made in the house.  I decided to make him my Spicy Shrimp Linguine, and when I showed him the pictures he was sold on the yummy dinner.  When it was just the two of us, I surprised Nathan with a sweet little card and some paintings that I did just for him :)

Texas flag for my Texan man

A memento of our love and anniversary

Then on the first day we had just the two of us, I decided to make him a delicious dinner complete with wine and garlic french bread.  Lets see handsome and his satisfied smile;

Happy birthday boy!

Look at that beautiful delicious dish

 Of course I also made Nathan a delicious cake, chocolate of course as that is his favorite, but we decided to keep that for the family celebration on Thanksgiving.  Since I had created Star Wars themed cupcakes for a birthday a couple months prior, it was quite obvious what the theme was going to be.  We decided to go with a "rebel alliance" theme, and he let me run with my imagination.  He told me (repeatedly) that I didn't need to make the symbols because he knows how temperamental marshmallow fondant can be, but I am both stubborn and determined lol!
 

chocolate cake with chocolate icing and marshmallow fondant

I used blue coarse sugar to emulate a starry background :)

 Needless to say he was extremely happy and grateful with the results, and nothing makes me happier than to see him smile.  I think now I have created a bar for myself when it comes to his birthday cakes, and knowing me I'll raise that bar every year from now on!

Well I really should get back to packing, but first I need to make some dinner.  Thankfully I made a couple of chicken breasts the other night, purposely, so I'd have a quick meal option :)  Yup, not just a pretty face over here lol ;)  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Jumping Back into the Saddle

Hello Sweets,

It feels like it's been a lifetime since I've written an actual post.  My health is still not where I'd like it to be and my sleep is pretty much non existent, but I hate not writing so I've decided to jump back in!  I'm going to start slow to make sure I'm not pushing myself too hard, so today's post will not have a recipe (although I am talking food), but I have a few tucked away that haven't been written yet so if all goes well tomorrow will be full on Canuckette's creations!!  I know I'm pretty lame lol, but hey I love myself and it's the small things in life that can really make you happy. For example; smiles from my best friend/soul mate (he's got eyes you can get lost in), and my blog with its lovely readers :)

So I've been back from Texas for a while now and wanted to share with y'all a special dinner that Nathan and I had the night before I left to come back home.  Since we weren't together for valentines day we decided to celebrated on our schedule, which actually works out well as it isn't hella busy lol.  I, just like any other person, have certain foods that I just absolutely love but don't necessarily eat often due to different circumstances.  Well I'm pretty sure I've shared this particular delight with you before, but just in case you missed the last post, "I love lobster!", and all other crustaceans. lol  I haven't come across any seafood that I didn't like :)  So when I was down for my visit and they say the Red Lobster "Lobsterfest" was on, all it took was one excited look in Nathans direction and that was where we were going for our dinner *insert happy dance, and repeat*.

To make a complete date day, Nathan took me to a matinee at the Fork and Screen theaters, for those who don't know what they are picture a smaller theater with recliners instead of uncomfortable chairs and full service at your seat (including adult bevies).  We went and saw The Great and Powerful Oz in 3D.  The nice thing about this version is that it's more true to the original story.  Don't get me wrong I love the old school Judy Garland version but it's nice when they get closer to the original story (which doesn't happen too often, for example "My Sisters Keeper" and don't even get me started on that fiasco lol).  Of course we both ordered our go to lunches, and kicked back and enjoyed a movie together.

 

pretty sweet setup right? 

After the movie we had a few hours before we left for dinner so we just went back to the house to get lost in each others conversations and eyes (yes we are that much in love lol).  Needless to say when it was time to leave for dinner my taste buds and I were so ready for some lobster.  The hard part would be choosing what I was going to have lol.  We arrived at a later time in hopes of the restaurant being less busy, but because it was March break time it was still slightly busy.  That didn't deter us, we just took a seat at the bar and waited for our little table pager to go off.  It didn't take too long (I think because everyone else was tables of 4+), we sat down and scoured the specialty menu which ended up taking me a little longer than I had expected because I couldn't make a decision lol.  Take a look at what we decided to indulge in :) ;

 They have a great Pinot Grigio that went fantastically with the seafood

 I had the Lobster lovers dream with both rock lobster tail, sweet split maritime lobster, and a lobster/shrimp fettuccine Alfredo.  Nathan had their Surf and Turf, it came with the rock lobster tail and a sirloin steak, and of course his double mashed potatoes :)  Needless to say it was a delicious dinner and we were both very satisfied.  Now I want to recreate their cheesy garlic biscuits at home because they are so darn good!  And if you are interested in these delicious meals yourself, the promo is still on so check it out here!

Well my sweets, I feel a lot better knowing you'll have something fresh and new to read and I promise to be more consistent moving forward because clearly it is something I am very passionate about, and I was missing it more than I realized.  Don't forget to check back in the next few days because I've got some delicious treats to share with y'all.  Until next time..............................


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo

Small In Stature, Big In Flavor

Hello Sweets,

I cannot even begin to explain how good, no wait amazing it is to feel like my old self again, and that my passion for all things tasty and blogs have been reignited and are stronger than ever :)  If you knew what my happy dance looked like you'd get a little giggle and a big smile, you can thank Nathan since I stole his (I love you handsome!) *happy dance*.  Did you all have a great weekend?  Was it full of smiles, fun, and good eats?  My weekend definitely embodied all of these things, I finally sorted through the things that were stressing me out, which has been a big reason my passion is back : D  I had a "play date" with the love of my life Saturday, for those of you who don't know we live far apart (1,290 miles to be exact lol) so we FaceTime a lot and we play an online game together so we make due.  Today even though I didn't get too much sleep I got ready for church and my friend surprised me by taking me out to breakfast first, and then I "payed it forward" by cooking my grandparents dinner.  As an added bonus my cutie nephew was there visiting when I got there (love that little guy to bits), so it was very much a family and friends weekend.

I know I had said in previous posts that I would be making them dinner a few times a week, but unfortunately that hasn't panned out as much as we had hoped so we just play it by ear.  They invited me over for dinner earlier this week where I tried breaded salmon for the first time, and it was actually pretty good.  My grandmother's parents came from England so fish and chips we very normal for us growing up, however my grandmother didn't realize she was out of tartar sauce so I whipped some up quickly and the meal was saved lol (alas I didn't even think to take pics so it's not making it to the blog........yet anyways).  While I was getting everyone dessert I noticed that they had shrimp in their freezer (I LOVE seafood, like love love), immediately I knew my passion was back because the ideas came rushing through my head.  So I asked them if I could make Sunday dinner at their house. They agreed but I told them it would be a surprise what I will make, so they had to trust me.  So for the last few days I had been thinking about what they had there and what is something they didn't make for themselves, and thus today's blog was born.

Canuckette's Spicy Shrimp Linguine

Ingredients

linguine pasta

 3Tbs extra virgin olive oil

2Tbs butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1Tbs red pepper flakes (I like spicy!)

1lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1C peppers, assorted and chopped

salt

pepper

1/3-1/2C pinto grigio (dry white wine)

1 lemon, juiced

1/4C parsley, chopped

Directions:
1)  For the pasta; bring a large pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt and the linguine, stirring to ensure the noodles don't clump together and cover with a lid.  When the water returns to a boil (6-8 minutes) drain the pasta, you want the pasta to be undercooked slightly as it will be going in the frying pan.

 

steamy

2)  While the noodles are cooking; in a large frying pan, melt 1Tbs of butter and 1 1/2Tbs of the olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes until the shallots become translucent (this only takes a few minutes).

3)  Season the shrimp with a small amount of salt and pepper, adding them to the frying pan, cook until they turn pink (2 minutes).

4)  Remove the shrimp; set aside and keep warm.  Add the wine and lemon juice and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the remaining butter and olive oil and bring to a boil, then add the peppers and allow them to soften.

 

5)  Return the shrimp back to the pan along with the fresh parsley and cooked pasta.  Stir the mixture, slightly sauteing enough for the pasta to finish cooking and serve immediately.

 

I paired it with a french baguette and a small glass of the pinto grigio

The hardest part of this meal is the chopping of all the fresh ingredients, and I think it only took 30 minutes from start to finish.  It's very simple and delicious, not to mention healthier because it's not a cream based pasta and it's full of fresh ingredients :)  If you try it give it a twist of your own to make it your own, and whether or not you make any changes I would love to hear how you guys liked it too!

Funny side note, about a third of the way typing this post up I realized I had two other recipes (with photos) sitting waiting to be written lol, actually three now that I really think about it, and they are good ones too.  Well at least I know if I have a "sicky" day that I have some to fall back on, either way I'm ahead of the game for a little while at least :)  Sometimes I do the darnedest things, and I'm not a child!!  Until next time.....................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Small In Stature, Big In Taste!

Hello Sweets,

I feel absolutely awful with my sporadic posts lately :(, but when my health gets me down it really shuts down anything that is nonessential.  However I saw my doctor today and am now feeling a little better (probably because I literally cannot feel my head), so I thought I would try and get some things done today like grocery shopping, unpacking (lol ya I know), and of course a little post for all my wonderful readers :)

As I mentioned above, I went grocery shopping today (it was badly needed from being away), and I bought some fresh ingredients to create with, but thank heavens I still have a recipe that has yet to be written about because I have been craving pizza for four days straight!!  I am happy to report that it was just as good as expected ;).  Okay so I bet you're all wondering what today's post is about, well it is one of my favorite crustaceans, and I love seafood, so that may not be as helpful as I originally thought lol.  It's shrimp, and I could eat them any way; raw, battered, cooked in garlic mmmm.  However Nathan likes shrimp a few ways, but the way he likes it the best is grilled!  So for one of our last meals he made me two different types of grilled shrimp; BBQ and Caribbean jerk!  So this is a Nathan original recipe, I only consumed them lol ;)

BBQ and Caribbean Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients

1 bottle Stubbs BBQ sauce (we used spicy)

dash cayenne pepper

splash orange juice

pinch salt

dash pepper

1 bottle of Lawry's Caribbean jerk marinade

dollop fresh garlic

fresh cilantro

extra virgin olive oil for basting

 Now Nathan cooks like I do so that is why there are no precise measurements.  Basically you will want to combine your marinade in two separate bowls (I think one was: orange juice, salt, pepper, Caribbean jerk, garlic, and cayenne and the other being; BBQ sauce, pepper, salt, garlic, cilantro) tasting as you go along until you have reached your desired flavors.

Completely cover the shrimp in the marinades and let sit for about 15 minutes.  Place the shrimp on skewers to make grilling easier, then grill on the BBQ for about 15 minutes.

There you have it a simple yet very flavorful dinner, we made a side of white rice to go with the shrimp and even though it looked small we were both very full and satisfied!

I know this is a shorter post but with the needles I get I become more sore as the freezing wears off :(  but on the bright side, I received a free cookbook in the mail today woohoo!  Until next time.............


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo