Simple Recipes – Strawberry Mousse with Berries

 

In April I came across a super easy mousse recipe when I was flipping through a “light” cookbook. The recipe caught my eye, because it looked absolutely amazing and made me drool a little. So I tried it. I ate almost the entire bowl by myself.

The next day I made some more since we were having company. It was amazing, and I hard nothing but compliments about it.

Since it was a hit then, I decided to make it again for my Mother-in-Law’s birthday party.

AND you want to know the best part?! It takes about three minutes to make. OH yeah!

Here is what you need:

• 4 cups of fresh strawberries cut into fourths
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1.0 oz pack of sugar free instant vanilla pudding
• 8.0 oz container of Cool Whip Light

You’ll need a blander and a medium mixing bowl.

1. Put the strawberries and sugar into the blander and blend until its all smooth and liquidy!
2. Add the vanilla pudding mix to this and blend some more
3. Dump the mixture from the blender into the mixing bowl
4. Add the thawed Cool Whip
5. Mix by folding over the mixture into the Cool Whip
6. Once everything is mixed it should be a light pink in color, and super smooth
7. Pour into serving glasses and let it cool in the fridge until time to serve

I did serve them two different ways!

The first time the mousse was served in mini margarita glasses, with some coco powder sprinkled on top, and a small shot of amaretto. Very good and adult friendly.

 

On Saturday I decided to make it more summer friendly, so I added berries. I put some cut up strawberries on the bottom of the cup and scooped some mousse on top. Then added raspberries and blueberries, another two scoops of mousse went on top of that. For the finishing touch a few strawberries went on top.

These babies were decimated both times.  

Shrimp and Sausage Boil

 

When warmer weather comes around, the Husband and I love nothing more then easy meals that we can make in one pot or on the grill then dig in with our hands.

About three years ago we went down to Rockport Texas for the Mister’s family reunion and visited a little place called the Boiling Pot.

This place was very cool! The tables were covered in butcher paper, there was a roll of paper towels thrown on top. You ordered your food by the bucket and when it came out it was just dumped on the table in front of you.

 

A few months ago I was dying for some Cajun boil, and after searching high and low for an easy recipe to duplicate and coming up empty-handed, I decided to try and take bits and pieces of ones I found and create my own. I mean HOW hard could it be to boil a bunch of stuff together?!!

Well my first attempt was a little strange, the potatoes didn’t cook all the way, the shrimp might have been slightly overcooked and the sausage was completely wrong. But after several tries, I perfected it, and now it is one of our go to meals!

I’d like y’all to meet the Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Boil!!!

Here is what all you’ll need:

• 3oz bag of Shrimp and Crab boil
• 3 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 4 lbs of small new potatoes
• 6 ears of corn
• 3 lbs of Andouille Sausage
• 4 lbs of medium unpeeled shrimp
• Lots of lemons
• Some Italian Parsley

Make sure to follow the following steps in order to ensure you have fully cooked food.

1. In a large pot, bring about 2 gallons of water to a boil
2. Add in the Shrimp and Crab boil, along with the Old Bay Seasoning, Let the seasoning boil around for about a minute or so
3. Add in the potatoes and let them cook for about 10 minutes
4. Cut up the corn into 2 to 3 inch pieces and add them into the boiling pot (Ha! get it!)
5. Let the corn cook for about 10 minutes 
6. Cut the Andouille into inch long pieces and add it into the mixture, let it cook for about 5 minutes
7. Finally add in the shrimp and watch for them to turn pink.

Once the shrimp are cooked, and be super careful not to overcook the shrimp, drain the pot and dump the boil into a serving platter stick wedges of lemon next to it and sprinkle parsley on top.

 

However, this meal is not done until you make some garlic/lemon butter to go along with it. This butter is my own creation and I sort of eyeball what I put into it. Next time I make it I will get measurements so that y’all can re-create it. Here is what I do put in it:

• Some butter, melted
• salt
• paprika
• garlic powder
• salt powder
• red pepper

Now go on, make this dish, dump it on the patio table and enjoy it along with a cold beer or some sweet ice tea! 

Ginger Glaze Mahi Mahi

This was a random recipe I decided to try out tonight, and my God it was actually pretty good. Let me start off by saying the ONLY reason I bought Mahi Mahi was because it was on a ridiculous sale at my local Sunflower Market. I’m talking $3.77 a pound!!!! So I bought two pounds, for some reason they gave me four pounds which I didn’t notice until I pulled it out of the fridge today.

ANYways! The Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi turned out way better then I thought, it was actually edible. I usually don’t like fish that is fishy in smell and taste… I don’t know if you know what I mean but it sort of tastes salty without any salt. However the glaze really helped and it went pretty well with the mashed potatoes, it would have been better with just white Jasmine rice.

  The best part about this recipe was that it was super easy, fast and I had everything it required at home.
You will need:

• 3 tbsp of Honey
• 3 tbsp of soy sauce
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 4 medium or 6 smaller filets of Mahi Mahi

And here is what you do:
1. In a shallow glass bowl/dish mix the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger and olive oil together.
2. Stick the Mahi Mahi filets in the dish and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat,
4. Get the fish out of the refrigerator and get ready to fry them, make sure to hang on to the marinade
5. Fry the fish for 6 minutes on each side, and another 4 on each after that
6. Remove fish and set aside.
7. Pour reserved marinade into skillet and heat the mixture until it reduces to a glaze.
8. Spoon the glaze over the fish and serve

DONE! Now just ENJOY!

Hawaiian Chicken Burgers… Holy YUM

 

A few weeks ago, as I was reading one of my favorite blogs, I came across the Hawaiian Chicken Burger recipe. It looked AH-mazing and I had to try it.

I recreated it, and let me tell ya… it was AWESOME. And just because I am awesome, I am going to share my recreation process.

You are going to jump for joy when you realize how SIMPLE this is!

Here is what you need:

1. Two medium chicken breasts (Cut into two pieces, and then tenderize into patties)
2. Pineapple (De-skin is that what you do to a pineapple?! Cut 4 slices of about a quarter inch thickness and remove the middle)
3. Red Onion (Cut four slices of about a quarter inch thickness)
4. Swiss Cheese (Four sandwich slices)
5. Teriyaki sauce (I prefer the Tokyo Joe’s homemade Spicy-aki)

Sorry for my lack of kitchen speak. I really have no clue if a pineapple is peeled or de-skinned or what the process is called, bottom line you don’t want any of the hard outside poky skin on. 

Start of by beating the crap out of the chicken with a tenderizer and forming into a round patty shape. Then smother them in your favorite teriyaki sauce and let them sit, while you gather the rest of the ingredients. 

  Cut up the pineapple and the onion, and grab the Swiss cheese.

You also want to grab the jar of teriyaki sauce!

Get the grill going and get ready to grill up the best chicken burgers of your life.

Stick the chicken on the grill first, and let it cook for a few minutes or so. Then add on the pineapple and the red onion. Rub some more teriyaki sauce on the chicken, the pineapple and the onion. Grill everything until it’s done.

Once the chicken is done, stick the Swiss cheese on the chicken and let it melt for a few seconds. Get your burger buns ready, pile on the chicken, the pineapple and the onion.

Most importantly ENJOY!!!

Let me know what you think of this!!!

I have a confession to make…

… I make a pretty awesome pico de gallo!!

Yup! It is pretty fantastic, and everybody loves it! I have yet to meet someone who does know love my pico! During the Spring Challenge I promised I would make some, keep track of the measurements and then share my ah-mazing recipe with y’all. Well today is your lucky day! I made some pico de gallo last night and kept track of exactly what I put in there. This made a pretty big mess in my kitchen and dirtied every single measuring device I have, BUT I now have all the little details to share with y’all.

To start off you must gather all the following ingredients:

2 cups of diced tomatoes (about 2 medium)

1/3 cup finely diced jalapeño (1 medium)

1 cup diced red onion  (about a 1/4 of a large onion)

3 cloves of garlic finely minced

1/2 cup of chopped loosely packed celantro

1/2 tbsp of salt

pinch of black pepper

2 tbsp of lemon juice

1 lime (juiced)

Pretty much you just throw all of this together, then mix it all up. Let it sit in the fridge for about an hour so that all the flavors can be mixed and it is ready to enjoy!!

This was before putting on a lid and shaking my salsa around! I feel that it mixes much better and makes less of a mess!

This salsa cost me about $1.05 Total! Way cheaper then buying ready made, way healthier and tastier. I am still saying my salsa is winning! 

We are in love with Mexican food in this household, and I love making things in big batches that can be stuck in the fridge for a few days. This pico seems to taste better and better the longer you let it hang around.

PS… yesterdays my jalapeno was not very spicy, and my salsa turned out very mild (I always leave the seeds inside the pepper), you can add more or less based on how hot you want the salsa to be.

Cookin’ up a storm

I almost forgot how much I love to cook. I’ve been so busy with running around like a chicken with its head cut off that I haven’t really made a decent meal in weeks. Probably since I started blogging, and now that I think about it, it makes me sad.

This Sunday, after I dropped the Mister off at the airport I came home and made a list of dinners I want to make this week. I use to make three different meals in a week with Wednesdays and Sundays being leftover days.

This weeks menu includes:

(1) Lasagna with steamed asparagus
(2) Parmesan Chicken with a Potato, Cheese and Mushroom casserole
(3) Pizza with whatever topics I can find at home



So today was Lasagna night, and let me tell ya it was pretty dang awesome. Especially since it was my first time making lasagna!!!

  
The lasagna – ground beef, home made tomato sauce, feta cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan. There are a few different spices as well as egg in the mix! This was one of the best lasagnas I have ever had. NO joke! I think I might add some mushrooms to the mix next time, and maybe cook the noodles a bit longer.

   

Overall, I am going to give it a good rating and will be repeating this meal again. We also have enough left to have for lunch or dinner tomorrow night, so the chicken and casserole will have to wait until Wednesday night. I’m also going to have to get my butt in gear and start studying chemistry. boo!

I also want to make a change to my giveaway announcement. … Are you ready?! There will be a giveaway, and a pretty sweet one, if I say so myself, once I reach 50 followers!!! So if you read my blog, and have not had a chance to become a follower please do so for a chance to win the first of the several planned giveaways!!!

And the second announcement… which I am very, very, very excited about!!!!

There will be a new weekly section of the blog called Tuesday Travels, it will include things such as packing advice, trip reviews, our adventures, places to avoid, places to see and so on. I am so excited about this, because we LOVE to travel and I love sharing all the little places and things that I discover while in exotic and foreign places.

Goodnight!!!

Good News Monday

I am really starting to hate the weather in Colorado. It’s unpredictable, and changes every 15 minutes… literally!

This morning, I had to put on a winter coat because it was snowing, and it was snowing good! There was a layer on the cars parked outside, on rooftops and on the laws. My drive to school was an average of 15 miles an hour due to the snow, poor visibility and people who freak out when there is “wet” on the road.

By the time I got to the school parking lot, it had stopped snowing, a there was a light sprinkle of rain. When I got out of class, it was overcast with no rain. Then when I was walking back to school from my visit to my old office it was raining AGAIN. By the time I talked to my professor and started walking towards my car it was sunny and HOT. … Come on Colorado make up your mind!

Now that my rent is over, I can say that I had a fantastic morning visiting with my friend, who I use to work with downtown. We had coffee and breakfast!



The above mixture of yogurt, fruit and granola is one of our favorites of all time. To recreate this just follow these easy steps:

[1] Get your favorite flavor of yogurt (plain works as well)
[2] Cut up some fruit, my favorite is banana with berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and so on)
[3] Get your favorite granola

Mix the above ingredients together for a delicious, light and super easy breakfast!  

After my breakfast, I headed back to school for a meeting with my chemistry professor and give her my sob story. Well it turns out that as long as I pass my next two exams I should be good to go for graduation.

Hence, I will be cramming for chemistry in the hopes that I will actually graduate as planned in May!
The next set of good news is that my grandfather’s cancer is all out, and he is recovering fast and breathing at a 100% without extra oxygen and with only 3/4 of his lung power.

WOOHOOO!!!

When I got home I made myself a plate of leftovers, since I was starving!!!



Some BBQ chicken and mac ’n’ cheese. It was okay. The chicken didn’t taste right, so I didn’t eat all of it, but the mac ‘n’ cheese was awesome. I think it should be a food group of its own.

   

I accompanied my lunch with some Pomegranate and Honey Green Tea, and finished up my lunch with some chocolate mousse!!

Now, I’m going to attempt to make lasagna from scratch for dinner!

 

Spring is in the Air – Day 5

 

Once again, I’m sorry this is a little late. I was at the hospital longer then planned, and had a nice chat with my grandfather about random topics that we always seem to talk about. As an update, he is doing great and should be moving from the ICU to a regular room with a discharge date of Monday or Tuesday.

 

Today is the last day for the Spring is in the Air Blog Challenge with Amber and Meghan.

Today’s Question is:

What recipe or food do you look forward to most during the Spring time?

I am addicted to eating, and eating all kinds of food. When Spring and Summer come around I start craving fresh and light food.

For example: TACOS!!!

 

When I’m in the mood I make my tacos super fancy with home made pico de gallo!!!

 

My recipe for pico de gallo is pretty easy, but I don’t have exact measurements. I kind of eyeball everything and toss it up, taste it and if it’s missing a flavor or needs more of one I just add it. One of these days I’ll actually write down the recipe and give exact measures. However, everyone including the husband LOVES my salsa!

Here is what you need:

2 to 3 Roma Tomatoes (gutted and diced)

1 to 2 Jalapenos (diced)

2 to 3 cloves of garlic (crushed)

1/4 to 1/2 of a red onion (diced)

handful of cilantro (chopped)

1 to 2 lemons

salt

pepper

Here is what you need to do:

After chopping and dicing everything up, combine the tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, onion and cilantro in a bowl. Then squeeze in one lemon, careful not to drop the seeds in there! Add about a teaspoon or two of salt and pepper. Mix well and taste.

I usually like the jalapeno flavor to be there but not overpower everything else. You also have to be careful with the lemon, sometimes one is just right, sometimes you need one and a half and so on. So really its up to your little taste-buds to decide what to do. If you like it spice add the second jalapeno, or more salt or not salt at all. This is a recipe that I just pulled together one day when I was in a desperate need of pico de gallo but didn’t want the store bought one. It turned out great, and now I just tweak it depending on what I feel like having.

PS… my mom also adds this pico de gallo to her avocado mix to make a spicy guacamole!!!

ENJOY!!!