Ooh, Spidey…

07 Saturday Jul 2012

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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

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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

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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…

Dressing Up a Plain NYC Cheesecake

28 Thursday Jun 2012

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Dressing Up a Plain NYC Cheesecake
You want something sweet and are staring at the cheesecakes in the grocer’s chilled case…do you go with the disgustingly sweet turtle cheesecake? Chocolate chocolate chocolate cheesecake? Or do you go with the little ol’ plain one? GO PLAIN AND GO HOME…and then dress it up a little bit! It’s not a salad, but by creating your own sweet, you’re saving calories.
In the above photo, I used one slice of cheesecake, a sprinkling of coconut, a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips and a strawberry* on the top. DEEEELISH!

*To create a fancy, fanned strawberry, use your egg slicer! Wash the strawberry, place into the egg slicer stem-side down, bottoms-up 😉 Slice through until you nearly touch the stem. Remove from egg slicer, fan the pieces apart and delicately garnish your dish.

Savory Salmon and Couscous

28 Thursday Jun 2012

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Savory Salmon and Couscous*
Another amazing dinner in 30ish minutes!
You’ll need: salmon, EVOO, black pepper, a lemon, tin foil, and couscous
~ Cut the lemon into slices and place onto the tin foil; you’re making a bed for the salmon to lay on.
~ Lay the salmon on the lemon bed and drizzle with EVOO; sprinkle black pepper on top
~ Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 300
~ While the salmon is baking, prepare the couscous per the instructions. I used Near East Basil & Herb couscous and it was AH-MAZEBALLS!!
~ The salmon and the couscous will be done about the same time — BE CAREFUL WITH THE COUSCOUS! It gets sticky and can clump if it gets done too far ahead of the fish :/ Add a veggie! You’re done. And your special someone will call you, “Martha Freaking Stewart.” And you will throw your head back and laugh because you know it’s totally true!

*Couscous: {per Wikipedia} “is a North African Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.
Couscous was elected as the third favorite dish of French people in 2011 in a study by TNS Sofres for magazine Vie Pratique Gourmand and the first in East of France.”
UGH! you might be thinking…it’s green…you said it clumps…it looks weird. WHY DO I WANT TO EAT IT?! Because it’s amazing, filling, easy to make and good for you! It’s just like eating rice. If Scott likes it, you’ll like it! And, you can totally make your friends jealous with your high-brow cuisine 😉 C’est Française!

Shrimp Spaghetti with Garlic and Lemon

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

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Shrimp Spaghetti with Garlic and Lemon
You’ll need: shrimp, a lemon, EVOO, basil, oregano, thyme, grape tomatoes, garlic, spaghetti and Parmesan cheese
Total cook/prep time: 30 minutes
~ Put a pot of water on to boil {for the spaghetti.}
~ In a large skillet, liberally coated with EVOO, saute minced garlic, lemon zest, basil, oregano, thyme and grape tomatoes.
~ Once the pasta water has come to a boil, add the spaghetti to the water and the shrimp to the saute pan.
~ Saute the shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side until tender; cook the spaghetti for 8-10 minutes until al dente.
~ Plate the spaghetti; top with the shrimp mixture and garnish with the Parmesan cheese.
Voila! You’re awesome 😉


Sparkly French Manicure

25 Monday Jun 2012

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Sparkly French Manicure
No time for a visit to the salon? Try this French-inspired manicure with tons of sparkle and lots of pop!
Put down a light, once-coat base of a 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. For my tips I ordered OPI’s Crown Me Already! from Amazon.com. 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.
Now is the perfect time to be GORGEOUS!

Smooth and Fantastical Mashed Potatoes

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

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Smooth and Fantastical Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Fancy Moses! These babies are restaurant quality and SO EASY TO MAKE you’ll never go back to instant potatoes. Ever.
You’ll need: potatoes {russet, yukon, red skinned…whatever you feel like and/or have on hand,} green onions, garlic, dill, butter, milk, salt and a good mixer
TOTAL PREP+COOK TIME: 40 minutes
~ Wash your potatoes and put them in a pot of water; bring to a boil. Once boiling, continue to cook in the boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain.
~ Put cooked potatoes into mixing bowl and slice into pieces.
~ Thinly chop the green onions, garlic, dill and add to the potatoes.
~ Start up the mixer and slowly add a slice or two of butter, a splash of milk and a dash of salt. Pretty much, you want to add the milk until you get a nice consistency and the butter and salt to taste. Once you have a nice consistency, VOILA, you’re done!
A friend told me several years ago that she made her mashed potatoes in her KitchenAid stand mixer. What?! This was a ground-breaking idea to me. I’d grown up watching my mom boil her potatoes, peel them, and then hand-mash them. It took forEVER and they were usually lumpy. Sorry, mom 😦 Not only does putting the potatoes into the mixer save time, it gives you a nice, smooth consistency every time. If you’re trying to eat clean like I am, this is a much more desirable {and tasty} option than using potatoes from a box. Actually…I’ve got boxed potatoes in my cupboard that are about a year old. I don’t think I’ll be needing them 😉

Fall-Off-the-Bone Turkey

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

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Fall-Off-the-Bone Turkey
Yes, you read that right! This recipe will give you a turkey so succulent and juicy the meat literally falls off the bone. Your children will gobble {ha!} it up without gravy or ketchup because it’s really that good!
You’ll need: a turkey, EVOO, salt, lemon juice, carrots, celery, an onion, rosemary and thyme
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 4 hours, depending on the size of your bird
~ Pre-heat oven to 400
~ Remove fully-thawed turkey from packaging; then remove innards, neck, face, etc from the turkey cavity. Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Place in roasting pan. I got this succulent bird from Bowman Landes: free-range, grain-fed and HORMONE FREE!
~ Splash lemon juice into the empty turkey cavity. Toss in a little salt.
~ Chop the celery, carrots and onion; fill the center cavity with the veggies. Close the legs and position the bird breast-side up in the pan.
~ Drizzle the bird with enough EVOO to coat all the surfaces, then lightly sprinkle with salt, rosemary and thyme. Turn the bird over in the pan {breast-side down} and repeat. Put pan into oven. {The key to amazing turkey is to cook it breast-side down, against the pan – no rack. Yes, it looks a little backwards, but once you taste it you won’t care!}
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS, from Simply Recipes
For a 15lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 for the first 1/2 hour. Reduce the heat to 350 for the next 2 hours. Then reduce the heat again to 225 for the next hour and a half. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DOUBLE-CHECK THE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR TURKEY’S PACKAGING. If your turkey is smaller, the above instructions will over-cook it. If your turkey is larger, you’ll need to cook longer.

Strawberries & Cream

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

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Light, Tasty Strawberries & Cream
It’s summer! What better way to end your dinner than some fresh strawberries over spongy cake cups with a little cream on top?
I totally cheated. To make the above tasty deliciousness, you’ll need:
fresh strawberries, Cool-Whip and spongy cake cups {these were non-special Meijer brand.}
~ Plate the cake cup.
~ Wash strawberries; cut off stem, then quarter and arrange in the cup, points facing out. If the strawberries are small, cut a second strawberry in half and put in the center of the opened strawberry pieces.
~ Add a dollup of cream!
The strawberries are sweet enough, there is no sugar needed! It’s lighter than an ice cream but just as cool and satisfying after a summer dinner.