Margarita Shrimp

We're lucky to live close enough to the coast that local seafood is available most of the year. The South Carolina Aquarium keeps a list of local sustainable seafood that helps us choose which we eat. Good for the ocean, good for the economy and good for your belly. Awesome right? Shrimp is a particular favorite of ours. So are margaritas. Guess how I came up with this recipe?

What You'll Need:
1lb large shrimp, peeled
1 medium sweet onion
1 large yellow/red/orange bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tequila
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh cilantro
Sour cream
Tortillas

What to Do:
Cut the onion and pepper into strips or chunks and season with salt and pepper. Place them on a pre-lit grill (a grill basket works well for this if you have one). Char veggies on the grill until they wrinkle and set aside. Meanwhile, combine garlic, tequila, lime, lemon, pepper, cumin and salt with the shrimp. Grill marinated shrimp just until they turn pink.

Assemble peppers, onions and shrimp on warm (or grilled!) tortillas and top with cilantro and sour cream. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice. Fix a plate, make yourself a margarita and enjoy the sunshine! 

Fried Green Tomato Breakfast Stacks

So yesterday was National Donut Day. Did you eat one? I definitely had a warm Krispy Kreme to celebrate. But let's be honest. Donuts are not real breakfast. I'm not saying that breakfast has to be healthy, but something that doesn't induce a mid-morning sugar crash would be ideal. You know. Like bacon and eggs. Add a delicious fried tomato and you have yourself a real meal to start your day.

What You'll Need:
(per stack, multiply accordingly)
2 slices thick cut bacon
2 large eggs
3 slices green tomato
Buttermilk
Cornmeal
Oil for frying (peanut is my fave)
Salt + Red pepper

What to Do:
This one's pretty easy folks. Crisp the bacon. Personally, I like to use a foil-lined pan in the oven for about 15 minutes. Fry the eggs how you like. Over medium or hard is best. These get messy if your eggs are runny. 

Now, for the tomatos, coat with buttermilk and dredge in corn meal. Add salt and pepper either at the end or to your cornmeal for an extra bite. Fry until golden brown, a few minutes on each side. 

To assemble, start with a tomato, add an egg then bacon. Repeat if desired. You could sandwich these between some crusty bread slices too. I also think these would be nice with a little avocado on top. You have no excuse to skip breakfast now :)

In Season: Green Beans

Have I mentioned I love this time of year? Mostly because all of my favorite foods are in season. Which means they are not only tastier but usually cheaper too. Winning. Green beans are hands down one of my favorite green vegetables. I could probably eat them raw for breakfast. But that wouldn't make for a very interesting blog post. Instead, I've added garlic, soy and bread crumbs. Now we're talkin.

What You'll Need:

Generous 1/2lb green beans

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

3 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons butter

What to Do:

Simmer green beans in a shallow pan filled 1/2 way with water. Don't completely cover the beans. Add the soy sauce and cook just until tender (I like them crunchy, personally). Meanwhile, saute breadcrumbs in butter until brown. Add garlic for a minute and remove from heat. Be careful not to burn the garlic! 

Drain the beans and spoon the breadcrumb mixture over the top. You could add onions (fried or sauted) to these too. I recently served these with meatloaf but this would be a great side dish for salmon or chicken too. So how to you like your beans?

Happy Hour: Gin + Grapefruit

I'm not a girly drink kind of girl. Too much sugar and weird colors don't do it for me. Although I do enjoy a pretty swizzle stick. Gin has been my go-to spirit if choice for some time but, let's be honest, tonic water gets a little old. So I've started adding something to make my lips pucker instead. I like to think of this as a Greyhound with a twist.

What You'll Need 1 oz gin
.5 oz Contreau
2 oz grapefruit juice

Splash of Sprite

1 lime

What to Do Fill a high ball glass half way with ice. Stir in gin, orange liqueur and grapefruit juice. Add a splash of Sprite (a very small splash, we don't need headaches here!) and a squeeze of lime. With hot days to come, this should cool you down a bit. Cheers to summer! 

Kitchen Reveal

After a few months a lot of decisions, we finally have a new kitchen! The old kitchen was basically original to the house with a few appliance updates through the decades. The 4 feet of formica and bottomless cabinets just weren't cutting it. 

We had all new custom cabinets installed and did the granite countertops ourselves (ok so the boy spent hours cutting and sanding those but you know what I mean). We painted the original wood floors that were hiding under the layers of linoleum and added a few shelves to keep the space feeling open. 

We tore out the old pantry in the laundry room too and created pull-out cabinets for laundry, trash and recycling.

We still have some decorating to do but I am thrilled to have such a functional space to cook and bake. I can't wait for Thanksgiving this year :)

Moms and Beets

It's a beautiful day to celebrate moms. Especially mine, who is awesome. Since my mom loves veggies, this recipe seemed appropriate. This super earthy caesar salad features a vegetable that, honestly, I'm not normally a huge fan of. But we had a similar combo the other weekend and I have to say, this makes me like beets. 

What You'll Need:
4 cups shredded kale
1 beet, julienned or shredded
4 tablespoons caesar dressing
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

What to Do:
Since kale can be a bit tough, massaging it first gives it a nice, silky texture. I know playing with your food is strange, but trust me, it's worth it. Toss the kale and beets with the dressing and let it sit for an hour. Before you're ready to serve, add some fresh squeezed lemon juice and top with walnuts. Season with salt and pepper if you like. This is a great side dish for steak or pork chops next time you need something a little different. Happy Mother's Day! 

Refreshing Cucumber Mango Salad

It's starting to get hot outside. And it's about time. I know it's crazy to wish for heat because I know by July I'll be begging for cooler weather. But what can I say, I'm a southerner. So in honor of warm, sunny days to come, I've thrown together a sweet and refreshing summer salad with a spicy mexican twist. Can't cool off too much, now can we?

What You'll Need:

2 mangoes, peeled and diced

2 small cucumbers

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lime juice

Handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Red pepper

Salt

What to Do:

Mix together the honey and lime juice. Add a few shakes of salt and red pepper to taste. Pour over the mango and cucumber and toss with cilantro. This makes a great side dish for tacos or fish and is perfect with a margarita.