Monthly Archives: July 2012

Quickie Shrimp and Rotini

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Food & Recipes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Quickie Shrimp and Rotini
You’ll need: rotini, shrimp, V8, cherry tomatoes, FRESH GARLIC, pasta sauce and shredded cheese
Prep time: 5ish minutes; total cook time 20ish minutes
~ Put water in a large pot; bring it to a boil.
~ Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the rotini. Set your timer for 10 minutes.
~ While the rotini is cooking, coat the bottom of a sauté pan with V8.* Add garlic, cherry tomatoes and Italian herbs. Slowly heat {do NOT boil or you’ll burn the garlic.}
~ While the sauté pan is slowly heating, I strongly suggest removing the tails from the shrimp. It’s much easier to do BEFORE they get hot. If you’re cooking for small people who need help with their food…trust me…you’ll want to take the tails off before you burn your fingers!**
~ With 5 minutes left on the pasta timer, add the shrimp to the V8 and garlic mix.
To plate: I put a spoonful of pasta sauce on top of the rotini. Add another spoonful of the shrimp and sauce mix. Sprinkle Italian cheese on top. Voila! 😉
Add a lovely salad for a nice side and some color.

*OMG…V8 is kitchen wonder juice! It’s seriously the best cooking/baking juice ever invented. I use it all the time! It’s kinda my secret kitchen ingredient 😉 It’s packed with all kinds of vegetable juices {I think we can agree that we all need more vegetables} and it does an excellent job of keeping meats moist while they cook. It also adds the ~zing~ of tomato which, personally, I love.


**If you love shrimp as much as I do, you HAAATE having to leave that last little succulent morsel in the tail. GET IN MA FACE, little shrimpie! Here is the trick you’ve been looking for. Once the shrimp is thawed, all you have to do is pinch and pull. Hold the body of the shrimp, pinch down on the part of the tail that covers that last little piece of shrimp meat and pull. So easy! If I’m using shrimp in a recipe where it will be hot, I take the tails off before I cook them. If you don’t, you’re going to burn your fingers :/

Speaking of shrimpies! Something fun while dinner is cooking itself!
Sweedish Chef makes Shrimpies

Ooh, Spidey…

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Beauty

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Ooh, Spidey…
It should be clear to you by now that I’m obsessed with sparkles. And French tips. So what’s a creative girl to do when left alone on a Friday night?! GET CRAZY! That’s what’s up 😉
To achieve the above look, go getcha some OPI Number One Nemesis {no, I’m actually not kidding…it’s part of their Spiderman collection} and lay down two coats on your nails. Once both coats have completely dried, add your sparkle. Here, I used two. First, I put down one coat on just my tips of Orly’s Tiara. If that isn’t regal enough for you {psh…as if!} add more sparkle with OPI’s special edition Crown Me Already! Seal it all under a topcoat to keep the sparkles from chipping away.
Now is the perfect time to be GORGEOUS!

Another Sparkly French Manicure

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Beauty

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

Sparkly French Manicure
You know me…I LOVE my sparkly French-style manicures!
Put down a light, once-coat base of a sparkly, nude color. I picked up a $2 bottle of Confetti brand polish in Dream Date at CVS. After the base is fully dry, color just the tips with a white or silver toned sparkle polish. I used SinfulColors’ Out of This World for my tips with a splash of Spoiled’s Jewelry Heist for some extra, sparkly POP. After the tips have dried fully, put a non-chip top coat over everything. This will give it a smooth, finished look and will help keep the sparkles from chipping.
Go be GORGEOUS!

USDA Guidelines for Keeping Food Without Power

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Food & Recipes, General

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

If you live just about anywhere on the eastern half of the United States chances are you’ve been without power this last week. We were dark for three days {thus my lack of postings} :/
So the power comes back up — HURRAY — and you go from room to room setting clocks…and then you gingerly open the refrigerator door…
Nothing smells weird. Nothing is oozing its way down the walls. Is it okay to eat? The USDA says that food will stay safely cold in the fridge for about 4 hours. They also say that a full freezer will keep for 48 hours while a half-full freezer will keep for 24 hours. To help keep things cold, DON’T OPEN THE DOORS!*
If you should find yourself with an ice box full of perished perishables and you have American Family insurance, GIVE THEM A CALL! My AmFam agent informed me that you can claim the contents of a fridge, up to $500, without a deductible, in the case of a power outage. All I have to do is make a list as I toss and clean. #LOVE

*Day two of the power outage: as soon as we got home {it was 102 outside, SERIOUSLY, so we spent the day at the pool}, my daughter ran into the house, straight to the fridge and opened the door. “YEP! The light’s still off,” she announced.  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
“I wanted to check and see if the power was still out.”
Apparently she thought all of the dark traffic lights and neighbors sweltering on their porches were playing a giant small-town joke on her and the only person she could count on to tell her the truth was the trusty ol’ fridge :/ Ooooooh, Sophie…