Funny Friday - April Fool...NOT

Seriously, there's nothing funny about this Friday.  I drowned my stinking Blackberry in barely a sip of water yesterday and I feel lost and betrayed.  I've babied that *&^$ thing for almost 2 years and it goes and gives up on me in my hour of need.  Okay, maybe a little dramatic, but it's like the egg every middle school kid carries around trying to prove that they'll someday be a responsible parent, and just when you're about to hand it in for an A+, it goes splat all over the floor.

Alas, I think today I'll make the jump to an iPhone.  An exciting prospect for any teenager with twitchy thumbs, but an aggravation for me...at least until I get it...and learn it...and download a zillion useless apps...and fall in love all over again.

Okay, now that I've vented, I feel better.  Here's a little Friday funny for you after all.

Dislcaimer:

Anyone who knows me knows that I have some perverse, uncontrollable laughing issue whenever I see someone fall....it's bad...I know...I'm evil...I can't help it.

So....remember friends...drink responsibly...or I'll laugh at you!

There, now I feel better.  Happy Stinking April Fool's Friday.

Meatless Monday - Shrimp Etouffee

Today's Meatless Monday invovlves SEAFOOD!!!!  Sorry, but if it doesn't moo, quack or oink, it's not considered meat in our house.  Shrimp are pretty quiet, so they're fair game on Meatless Monday.

INGREDIENTS:

(Now please understand, most of my measurements are "ish"....1tsp"ish" of whatever)

2 -3 lbs. peeled, deveined raw shrimp

2 cups chopped onion

2 tbs. minced garlic

1/2 cup green bell pepper

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup oil

2 cans tomato paste

1 - 28 ou. can crushed tomatoes

2- 14.5 ou. cans diced tomatoes (I used garlic & onion flavor)

64 ou. seafood stock (you can sub chicken stock if necessary, but then it's not technically meatless)

Cajun seasoning to taste (I use Tony Chachere's)

Red Pepper Flakes to taste

2 Bay leaves

Tabasco to taste

1 tbsp Seafood seasoning

2 tbsp sweet basil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp liquid Shrimp/Crab boil

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of sugar

First make your roux.  Don't panic, it's not hard.  In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil and cook the flour in the oil over medium to high heat (depending on your roux making skill), stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark reddish-brown color, almost the color of coffee or milk chocolate for a Cajun-style roux. If you want to save time, or prefer a more New Orleans-style roux, cook it to a medium,

peanut-butter color, over lower heat if you're nervous about burning it.

Once the roux reaches your desired color, quickly add your veggies to stop the roux from cooking.  Cook veggies until translucent.

Add tomato paste and cook down for a little while....enjoy the smell...mmmm.

Add tomatoes and cook a bit.

Add stock and all remaining ingredients except shrimp and cook for at least 2 hours.

About 30 minutes or so before you're ready to eat, add the shrimp (you can also substitute crawfish) and cook.

 

Serve over rice with some warm, crusty French bread and butter.

This also freezes well, so if you have any leftovers, you'll have dinner for another day.

Enjoy!!

Funny Friday

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Because I can never get enough of these videos....here ya go!

Going to the chapel, and they're....

GONNA GET MARRIED!!!!!

That's right people!!!  Our firstborn is engaged!!!

Last week, on a cold Tuesday evening, Matt dropped to one knee in Central Park and slid a ring on Megan's finger.   They were in New York for Matt's law school competition (and let me just say, he and his partner finished 2nd out of 49 teams....how's that for maintaining your focus?) and on their first night in the Big Apple, he popped the question.  As if the whole Central Park thing isn't romantic enough, he also had arranged for a private car to pick them up at their hotel and bring them to a swanky restaurant where they sipped champagne and had a wonderful evening. 

We got the call the next morning and our feet haven't hit the ground yet!!  If we'd had our pick of all the guys in the world, we couldn't have chosen a better husband for Megan...and he's known our family for long enough now that he certainly can't say he wasn't forewarned about us.

We just couldn't be happier!!! 

Alas, wedding preparations will have to be put on hold for a little while.  They are both in the final weeks of law school and have to focus on finals and taking the bar exam in late July.

So...while the moms have visions of

and

and

these two kids (can I still call them that?) have their heads on straight and are putting first things first.

In the meantime, as I sit back and wonder where the years have gone, I'm going to enjoy the feeling of knowing that my daughter is blissfully happy.   There's truly no better feeling in the world.

Meatless Monday - Veggie Pesto Pizza

Today's Meatless Monday recipe couldn't be easier...Veggie Pesto Pizza.  The Mr. was away on business, no doubt enjoying a steak dinner while out of my Eagle-like gaze, so I decided to do something quick and easy for dinner for daughter no. 1, Meg, and myself.

I'm not one of those people who makes my own dough....uh....no thank you. I use Mama Mary's Whole Wheat pizza crusts, but feel free to use whichever brand you like, unless of course you want to be Martha Stewart and make your own.  Puhleeeeeeze.

I love the fact that this pizza isn't tomato sauce based.  Now, I love me some tomato sauce, but pesto, well I'd eat a ratty old shoe if it had pesto slopped all over it....and if you add feta cheese on top of that, well, I'm like a pig in slop.  Okay, bad visual, but you get the idea.

Here's what you need.

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust

Basil Pesto (comes in a jar or you can make your own)

Frozen Spinach (thawed, cooked and drained completely of water)

red onion - chopped

tomatoes - chopped

marinated artichoke hearts - chopped

feta cheese

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese

Generously spread pesto on the crust...generously...

including lots of the oil.

Then add spinach, tomatoes, onions and all cheeses.

Bake acording to package directions (450)

until it reaches the desired level of "doneness".

Now, how easy is that????

Eat, Enjoy, Be Healthy! 

Funny Friday - Leprechaun style

Yes, I know yesterday was St. Patty's day, but TODAY is Funny Friday, so I thought I'd resurrect this "never gets old" video of the infamous Alabama Leprechaun.  Pour yourself some leftover green beer, get our your heirloom leprechaun flute, have a seat and enjoy!

That's it for today.  This one's so good, I think one is enough!

Meatless Monday - Veggie Lasagna Florentine

Today's Meatless Monday recipe is a real winner,

Veggie Lasagna Florentine.

As y'all know, I have some sort of deep seeded aversion to adhering to a recipe...I'm a rebel, I know....so I did tweak it just a teensy, tiny bit. 

I added extra minced garlic, as well as red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning.  I also substituted Ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese.

This was just a really good recipe, not a good meatless/vegetarian recipe, but a good all around recipe.  Give it a try.

We give this one two big thumbs up!