Tuesday's Three Things to L♥ve

This DIY mirror from Setting for Four

*Spoiler Alert - I'm in the process of making, stayed tuned for my version...

 

Yum!! Poblano Corn Chowder Recipe I'm gonna try this weekend from Confessions of The Obsessed, PS, how awesome is her table setting?

The weather!! 55 degrees last night, bring on the fall, boots, scarves, and bonfires... I want it all ♥ Here's one of our deer along the edge of our woodline this morning, he's directly below the sun

Game Time Grub

I don't know about y'all, but down here in the south, football is our thing, and Super Bowl is the best! Football, friends and good food, what more could you ask for? I've been waiting for a football party to try out some yummy appetizers from my Yum-Yum Gimme Some board on Pinterest. Here's what I've narrowed id down to...

Super Bowl Saucy Meatballs

Cheesy Mushroom Pull Apart Bread

Baked Brie..this looks soooo easy!

Broiled Shrimp

Cheese Stuffed Jalepenos Wrapped in Bacon...OMGosh!!

All these items sound delish, so hard to decide which ones to make. Our group of friends always tends to WAYYY over prepare with too much food, what can I say, we like good food! The treadmill will definitely be calling my name after Sunday ;)

Quick & Easy (and Healthy) Dinner: Tortellini Primavera

I'm on the search again for quick and easy and healthy recipes, since Tuesday marked our start back into the hectic lifestyle of sports, with Grier's soccer, and Baylor's cheerleading and my coaching, ehhh! and school starts in two weeks too, let the exhaustion begin...lol.

via source

Ingredients

• 1 14-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 cup shredded fontina cheese or 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, dill or chives or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots and snap peas, or 16-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 16-ounce package frozen cheese tortellini

Preparation

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk broth and flour in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth mixture to the pan, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese, tarragon (or dill or chives) and salt.
3. Add vegetables and tortellini to the boiling water; return the water to a simmer and cook until the vegetables and tortellini are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain; add to the pan with the sauce and stir to coat.

Pinterest Try: Red White & Blue Berry Trifle

This recipe was a hit! Everyone at our Fourth of July BBQ loved it, it was refreshing, full of flavor, super festive and surprisingly light. I did mine in a compote bowl, so it looked slightly different, but made it a little faster and easier :)

via

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds raspberries (5 cups)
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 large orange)
• 10 ounces mascarpone cheese (1 1/3 cups)
• 1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Fine salt
• 20 to 24 ladyfingers (from a 7-ounce package), broken into 1-inch pieces
• 3/4 pound blueberries (2 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine raspberries with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and orange juice. With the back of a fork, lightly mash berries to release their juices and let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together mascarpone and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until smooth. Whisk in cream, vanilla, and pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes.
2. Cut one or two pieces parchment 1 inch taller than side of an 8-inch spring form pan and line inside of pan. Place half the ladyfingers in pan and top with half the raspberry mixture. With a small offset or rubber spatula, spread half the whipped cream over berries. Tap pan gently on counter to remove air bubbles. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers, raspberry mixture, and whipped cream. Top with blueberries and refrigerate until whipped cream is stiff and cookies have softened, about
   3 hours (or, tightly covered with plastic, up to 3 days). To serve, unmold trifle and peel away parchment.

Want to see more great recipes, check out my board on Pinterest, Yum-Yum Gimmee Some! 

Portabello Delicious-ness!

I wanted to share this super easy, absolutely delicious recipe I threw together after having something similar at Mellow Mushroom a few weeks back.

What you need:
- Large Potabello Mushroom Caps
- Artichoke Hearts
- Blue Cheese (or some other cheese you may enjoy)
- Balsamic Vinegar Glaze

Preheat the oven to 350. Wash and dry the mushrooms caps. Layer the artichoke hearts followed by the blue cheese crumbles into the mushroom caps, and then drizzle Balsamic Vinegar Glaze on top. Cover in Foil and heat in oven for about 8 minutes, then turn oven to broil and leave in about 4-5 minutes, to really make the cheese nice a melted.

Enjoy - so delish!!

Seafood Gumbo

Last weekend I took my first stab at making gumbo, from scratch, no mixes, and boy what a chore it was! Beginning to end, the process took ALOT longer than I thought it would, about 5 hours. A good bit of that was simmering time, but it is quite a bit of prep and cleanup too. In the end, it was all worth it, it was delicious, and made so much, that I ended up freezing some for later, and my hubby, who's been begging me to make it for some time, was very happy. Happy Hubby = Happy Wife. Yummy :)

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups crabmeat
• 2 pounds shrimp, in shells
• 3 quarts water
• 2 small bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 small onion, cut in wedges
• salt and black pepper
• parsley
• 2 pounds okra, sliced
• 4 tablespoons bacon grease, divided
• 4 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 green peppers, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• 4 tablespoons brown roux
• reserved shrimp stock
• salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, to taste
• hot cooked rice
• Extra - I added some crawfish and lobster as well

Preparation:

In a large Dutch oven boil the water with bay leaves, lemon juice, onion wedges, salt, pepper, and parsley. Wash shrimp and add to pot; boil for 2 minutes. Peel shrimp and return shells to the stock for later use. Put shrimp and crab meat in refrigerator until ready to add to the gumbo.

 

Saute okra in 2 tablespoons bacon grease in large heavy skillet. The okra will turn darker as it cooks. When okra is soft, transfer to a stew pot and add tomatoes. Stir and mix together well. Clean skillet and heat remaining 2 tablespoons bacon grease. Sauté the chopped onion, green pepper, and red pepper. When soft, add to the stew pot.

In a saucepan, warm the roux; strain shrimp stock and stir into the roux. When well-blended, add to the large stew pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding more strained stock if needed. Taste and add salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours longer; add the shrimp and crab meat and cook for 15 more minutes.
Serve with fresh boiled rice in soup bowls.
Serves 6 to 8.

Delish!

Recipe source Southern Food

Simple Chicken Florentine

I'm a master of quick and easy meals. With a variable of activities....football, soccer, cheer leading,  gymnastics....you name it, we're busy doing it....I am all about finding and trying out simple meals for the weekdays. While I was picking up some sour cream for Tacos, I saw these Philadelphia Cooking Creme sauces that I'd seen advertised on TV. I decided to try out the Savory Garlic one, and it turned out pretty tasty.

What you need:

-Boneless Chicken Breast - I used four
-Philadelphia Savory Garlic Cooking Creme
-Red Peppers - omitted due to popular request :)
-Bowtie Pasta - improvised with Pasta Twists
-Baby Spinach

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and cook (along with red peppers if you choose to use),

at the same time cook your pasta 

Add fresh spinach, and cook until wilted,

stir in sauce and add hot pasta  

Yum! And this only took about fifteen minutes.

Had to throw in a pic with my Halloween dishtowel :)