shrimp fettuccine

Something strange is happening with my taste buds.  I have never classified myself as a seafood eater.  In fact, up until the past few months, I've done everything in my power to stay away from it.  But, something has changed.  I'm not sure why or how, but I can tell you that I don't hate it!

We've been eating a fair amount of salmon lately [cooked a few different ways, so I'll share those recipes later], but I decided to get adventurous and add shrimp to our palate.  It's been at least a year since my last shrimp tasting [unless you count the couple of shrimp tossed across the large cooking space at hibachi restaurants], so I decided to cook the shrimp into something, just incase it was overly fishy tasting.  Let me tell you, it was delectable!  And SOOO easy!

Shrimp Fettuccine Recipe

Ingredients:
8 oz fettuccine pasta
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
16 oz medium shrimp, peeled & deveined, thawed
1/2 cup Gia Russa Tomato Bruschetta Topping
1/4 tsp (or more) crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup (or more) + some for sprinkling Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, finely grated

(makes about 4 servings)

Directions:
Boil water in a sauce pan with a splash of olive oil [the olive oil will help keep the noodles from sticking together].  Once water is boiling, add noodles and continue boiling for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are soft.

While you are waiting on the water to boil, heat a large saute' pan with the olive oil and garlic.  Cook until the garlic begins to brown.  Next, on medium heat, add the bruschetta topping, shrimp, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  Let the wonderful mixture bubble.  Carefully stir the mixture to ensure all of the ingredients are combined.  After about 2 minutes, add the chicken broth.  You might fear that the mixture has become too liquidy -- stop worrying and sip some wine while you wait about 5 more minutes while everything bubbles together.  Reduce your heat to low and add the 1/4 cup of cheese and spinach.  Let it bubble for a few more minutes, allowing the cheese to melt and the spinach to wilt slightly.  Your noodles should be finished cooking by now.  Strain them, then add the hot fettuccine to the large saute' pan.  Stir everything together one last time.

Scoop the pasta onto dishes, sprinkle with cheese, and enjoy!  Don't forget to remove the tails from the shrimp!

the fattest of tuesdays

I've been thinking about how I can live in conscious pursuit of becoming more like Christ.  We're created to be his representatives, right?  Examples of Jesus.  

And whatever you do or say, 
do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks through him to the God father.

Colossians 3:17

So shouldn't we constantly push ourselves to become more and more like him in specific ways?  It's easy [sometimes a little too easy] to get down on ourselves when we feel we've failed at portraying Christ.  I mean, it's not a simple thing to do.  To encourage myself, I've decided to focus on the fruits of the Spirit for a while.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: 

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

Begin: Lent.

Today marks the first day of Lent.  Now I'm not Catholic, but I like Lent because I like a good challenge.  I like to push myself and I like to practice relying on the Lord in times of temptation or struggle.  Not to mention, it's a great opportunity to work on self-control.  That being said, this Lent will be a little bit different than the Lents of the past.

Self-control is a HUGE playing piece during Lent.  If you decide for the days of Lent you will give up chocolate but lack the self-control to stop unwrapping Hershey's Kisses and placing them in your mouth, your 40 days won't be so successful.  For everyone partaking in Lent, it's a definite chance to practice self-control.  But what about the other fruits?

Here's the game-changer for Lent 2013 for me: I'm incorporating the other fruits as well.

I've decided to give up sweets for Lent [which stinks a LOT since Valentine's Day is 2 days of fierce temptation right at the beginning. . . disclaimer: I had a very fat Tuesday baking cookies for my students].   

sugar cookies.  frosting.  sprinkles.  wine.
some of my most favorite things.

I came home from work to find these on the counter.  My sweet husband gave me Valentine's candy early since I won't be able to enjoy them on Thursday.  He's the best.

I'm not a serial sweet eater, but I do enjoy some treats every now and again.  Obviously, I'll constantly focus on self-control, but I'll be adding to the other fruits .  [Byron says joy might be a struggle without my sweets, haha] To embrace Valentine's day, this week I'm choosing 'love' as my sweet-accomplice.  

I'm hoping that by Easter I'm seen as a better example of Christ, and through my actions and words others are able to have a better understanding of how great he is.

What about you -- did you give up anything for Lent?

   

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Anytime you get together with good people, good food is a nice accompaniment.  Byron and I watched the Superbowl with his parents last weekend, so it was the perfect time to make some Spinach Artichoke Dip!  We always order it when we eat a TBM [it's one of my favorite things to eat there].  I was more than delighted when my own version turned out to be [dare I say...] better than TBM's!  Is that even possible?!  (I am a little lot biased to my own cooking.)  And. . . I can betcha that it's better for your figure, too.  Does this mean I won't order it when go for our beer tastings and pint nights?  Absolutely not.  It just means I get to make it a home and enjoy the delicious dip in my PJ's  the comfort of my own home!

Ingredients:
1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese [I used low-fat]
1 - 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup low-fat mayo
1/4 cup low-fat grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup low-fat grated romano cheese
1/4 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the cream cheese and the mayo in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Stir until they're combined. Add the minced garlic.  Stir.  Add the parmesan, romano, and mozzarella cheeses in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Stir together.  Add the spinach.  Stir.  Add the artichoke hearts.  Stir some more.  Add the garlic powder, salt, and pepper. One last stir.

Move the mixture of ingredients into an oven-safe baking dish.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are bubbling.  Serve with pits chips.  Nom, nom, nom.

thankful for a good sale

Here I sit as my husband tediously works on our taxes.  And what am I doing?  Honestly, I'm shopping online.  Hahaha.  Oh, how ironic.  But keep your mean thoughts to yourself -- I haven't bought anything . . . [yet] . . . Which brings me to my Thankful Thursday post.  It's a great day to be thankful for:

- Byron. My husband is the greatest [for countless reasons].  Today he came home from work and immediately got busy filing our taxes.  Man I love him. :)

- A good sale.  Loft has the best sales. [Not too mention I love shopping there, anyway!]  Yesterday I was out on a mission [I needed something to wear for Cupid's Undie Run on Saturday -- duh!] and walked into Loft to find some pretty awesome deals.

2 sweaters + 1 top = $30.08 

Total Savings: $148

- Ice Skates & Hot Chocolate.  Byron and I had a Wednesday night date to Park Tavern for some ice skating and hot chocolate.  He's much better than I am at skating, but we had such a great night filled with lots of laughter.

no important words, just videos

You know how it is when there are words on the tip of your tongue, but you can't find them?  Well, that's kinda how I feel, except there's a whole lotta words lost and I'm not sure which ones I'm looking for.  Needless to say, I don't really have anything to post about since my thoughts and feelings have been running amuck for a while in the midst of some frustrating life circumstances.  [I guess I could post a recipe, but that takes some brainpower, which I don't have right now]  . . . So to procrastinate on facing some things [for tonight anyway], I found a little entertainment:

[a little encouragement]

[a little amazement that someone has this much time]

[a little chuckle]

Happy Tuesday!

Mondays are for. . .

Ugh.  What is it about Mondays that inevitably makes them so terrible?  I mean seriously. I always wake up feeling like I'd drank a bottle of NyQuil, it seems everyone on the road has forgotten the rules of traffic (oh wait, I live in Atlanta -- that's normal!), and even if it was possible to have an IV of caffeine, it still wouldn't be enough!  So other than incompetent drivers and oversized cups of coffee, what exactly is the purpose of the dreadful day of Monday?

We have Mondays so that we can gripe about the beginning of a new work week, reminisce on the fun we had over the weekend, and then move forward.  We fuss and then we get over it, because even if the next six days are hectic and stressful, they're never as bad as today, simply because they're not Mondays.

We also have Mondays so we can guiltlessly enjoy an evening in sweatpants and a pizza after a 30 minute workout.  It's a day to delve into the Word of God for encouragement and reflect on the sermon we heard yesterday.  A day to enjoy the simple blessings, like nice weather and time to the pups with my husband.  And . . . a day to be thankful that everyday isn't Monday!

cold weather brings . . . a cold

It's nice that the temperature finally feels like it should in January, but unfortunately the cold weather brings sickness, too.  I'm pretty sure I've consumed an unnatural amount of hot drinks and soup-like meals during the last 6 days.  Obviously no one enjoys being sick, but I absolutely hate it.  So, to be honest, this post is mostly for me, because I need to focus on the little things that bring joy to into my life when I'm not feeling so hot.

things that've made me happy while feeling quite crappy:

- Sweethearts.  It's not too early for Valentine candy is it?  Didn't think so!

- On Monday I picked up my sweet mother-in-law from the airport, and then enjoyed some pho with her and my wonderful mom.

- Tuesday night, when Byron arrived home from work to find me asleep on the couch with a fever, he stood in the kitchen cooking me homemade chicken tortilla soup for dinner.  It was delicious.  [I'll post the recipe soon.]  He's THE best.

- Sweet puppy cuddles.

I know what you're thinking, and no, I don't position her for photos. . .

- Completing my first 5k of 2013 without dying.  With the combination of cold temperatures and trouble breathing due to congestion, I'm just glad I finished.

My sweet friend and co-worker, Paige, who signed me up for this run.

- fresh fruit, soft tissues, hot chocolate, and pajamas

Is it summer yet?!