If She Keeps This Up . . .

If she keeps this up I'll have to hire a personal trainer.

Problem is, can't afford one 'cause all my money is going to secret ingredients.

Wish y'all could reach in here and taste this one.

It resembles a German Chocolate (but it's not) with finely chopped Macadamia nuts. Filled with a smooth banana creme and topped with her secret icing.

Oh. My.

The flavors are doing a jig on my tounge.

Official taste tester, that's me.

Official weight gainer, that's me.

Spaghetti Ode Concludes . . .

The spaghettie sauce adventure continues.

I managed to clean up my mess before Shelby came home from work.

She finished the sauce without incident . . .

show off.

Here's the promised conclusion.



This is my sink I love.

I think I may have been a little prideful about my large sink - did I mention I love it - because due to some outside plumbing issues my sink is out of commission for the time being.

So . . .

this is what I am left with.

Let me say first that I have not been following The Fly Lady's advice.

This sink is 8x10", a little small for my mess.

In conclusion, the final chapter, the end to the saga . . .

This, my friends, is how we clean after the satisfaction? of the sauce.

Is there anyone out there who can outdo my week?  Please, I neeeeeeed to hear from you.  I'm begging. 

If you can outdo my week send me a link, or comment, or something. 

I need to know I'm not alone.

Ode to Spaghetti Sauce

Once upon a great time, Emeril made a spaghetti sauce called Roasted Garlic - BAM!

The family loved it, raising their plates and licking the last flavorful noodle.

Then one day a famine hit the happy household because, lo - the sauce could not be found.

The beautiful and adoring queen tried everything.  She searched the land near and far, but alas, the sauce was no more.

Until one day, she - always the heroine - discovered the recipe on a strange and addicting site entitiled Google.

She was estastic, stretching her toned and tanned legs as she danced in circles, for she had fulfilled her latest wish of keeping her fairy tale loved ones in gaga land.

The first year the sauce was a success.  All was purchased at the nearest mega market and everything was great in the kingdom.

The next year the queen eyed some lovely tomatoes in a far away land called Tennessee and knew what she must do. 

The end.

Because they all lived happily ever after is what is suppossed to come next.

Yeah, right.

Y'all know I like humor blogs - they are my favorite.

So, before you start to think that maybe I did this intentionally so I could write a long needed humor post- please think again.

This, my cyber friends . . .

Is. Humor. On. A. Vacation.

Check back tomorrow - there's a strange twist to this spaghetti tale - you won't want to miss it.

Shelby Find - Ragin' Cajun

I haven't posted a Shelby Find in a while.  So here's a good one.  A really good one.  It's not your typical pasta - it is rich.

This recipe came from Food Network a couple of years ago on the Emeril Show.  It is courtesy of Dave DeRousse of Chicago, IL.

It's spicy, so adjust the heat as needed for your family.  Try it, it's yummy.  We half the recipe for our family and it is plenty; but it's really good day old, so leftovers are nice.

Smokin' Dave's Cafe's Fiery Cajun Shrimp Alfredo

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

6 tbs Essence

2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

10 ounces andouille sausage, chopped

1/2 medium onion, minced

1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 shakes Worcestershire sauce

1 pound linguine

2 c. heavy cream

1 c. whole milk

1 tbs black pepper

1/2 tsp hot chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, sliced

1 1/2 c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

chopped parsley for garnish

Place the shrimp and 3 tbs Essence in large resealable plastic bag and shake.  Place in fridge while you prepare the sauce.

Heat deep skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 tbs olive oil and the sausage.  Saute sausage for 2 minutes, stirring often.  Add onions and saute for 2 minutes.  Add crushed red pepper flakes and garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add Wors. sauce.

Meanwhile, be cooking pasta.

To the skillet add cream, milk, remaining Essence, black pepper, chili powder, and salt.  Stir to a consistent color.  Add butter and stir until melted.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Lower heat to a simmer.

Heat the remaining olive oil in another large skillet over high heat and add shrimp.  Saute shrimp for 1-2 minutes per side or until they just start to turn pink.  Add the shrimp and cooked drained pasta to the first skillet.  Stir to combine and blend flavors, about 1 minute.

Wow, that's long, but I don't want to mess with anyone else's recipe -and trust me, this one needs to be left exactly the way it is - if you have a water hose handy.  If not, cut back on the Essense, chilli powder, and red pepper flakes.  It is fiery, but it is delicious.

Serve with salad and garlic bread.  Better yet, maybe your kids will cook it and serve it and you can 'tend (thank you, Sophie) you're in a fancy smancy restaurant.

Like our kids did for us on our twentieth anniversary a couple of years ago. 

Let me know if you try it and what you think.  Don't blame me if you follow it to a T and your tongue falls off.

Happy eating.

Oh Baby, Cake

My Shelby has a gift for baking cakes.  Let's admit it, some cakes look good but don't taste good.  Some cakes taste good but don't look good.

She manages to accomplish both. 

With the exception of this one. 

This was one of her first attempts several years ago and if you look really close you can see the gills on the sides are falling off.  It slowly caved in all over.

But it tasted good.

This weekend she had the opportunity to make a baby shower cake.  She has steered clear of baby showers because of the pressure to bake the perfect cake.  She did not trust herself.

She agreed to this shower several weeks ago.  Shelby is self taught and put much extra work and preparation into planning this one - reading up, watching some videos, and experimenting with different icings, homemade fondants, and gum paste.

It paid off.

She created a beautiful and delicious chocolate baby shower cake.

Her Daddy molded the baby sculpture.

Love that ring.

She made homemade fondant for the blanket . . .

and lovingly snuggled that baby right up in it.

She baked and icinged and molded eyes and mouth and dots and letters for a total of eight hours in the creating of that cake.

So she's a perfectionist.  That never hurt anyone, did it?  Ok, not alot of profit in it, I admit.  But the learning benefits and the work ethic outweigh the profit benefits by far now in her young life.

She dreams of being a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling her brood of eight.  This talent is one way she hopes to contribute to the success of that dream.

More power to her and all young women like her who have the vision of mamas staying with their babies longer.

My pores are seeping again.