Can I get a WOOT WOOT? {Featured 5}

WOOT WOOT!  

Let's hear a cheer for three day weekends!!

& I am unusually happy that we will be in Jacksonville at a soccer tournament because that means I will have nothing to do but relax in my soccer chair visiting with my favorite soccer parents....

no cleaning at home.
no working at office.
& yes, no blogging.

I hope everyone has a restful, sun filled, fun filled Labor Day Weekend, I will leave you will some yumminess :)



Emily at She Makes & Bakes posted this
yummy seasonal soup Pappa Al Pomodoro! YUM!



Check out this Caramel Chicken from Ellie
Almost Bourdain OMFreakinG.... just saying




Pam at Wine & Dine with Us
posted this incredible "Cowboy Caviar" recipe....
looks like it would rock a Labor Day picnic!



Hungry Harps posts this craziness....
Grilled Dessert Bananas! SHUT. UP>



Just look at this beauty!
Angie @ Big Bears Wife
posted this special treat....
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle!

& one for good luck....

The Grownup Birthday Milkshake!

Thanks Laura @ A Healthy Jalapeno

for sharing this yumminess!

Happy Birthday to YOU!

 

**ALL PHOTO CREDITS TO THE POST REFERENCED, HUGE Thank you to all for letting me repost****

HOUSEKEEPING:

IT IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER.... for some awesome Pamper Chef Measuring Cups.... CLICK HERE TO ENTER..... lots of ways to enter!

& Last but not least! I'M A WINNER!!!!

THANK YOU Marina @ the YUMMY MUMMY KITCHEN & LAYLA GRAYCE 

for my awesome $100 Gift Certificate!

Look what I picked out!



this Rosana Serving Tray :)

& FABULOUS Dipping Bowls

Have a GREAT weekend!  Cheers!



THIRSTY THURSDAY & a Fabulous bottle of Meyer Lemon Soda {Meyer 25 Cocktail}

T.G.I.T.T.

Another week has whipped by but I did take a moment to  pick some basil, do a little muddling and come up with an absolutely fabulous drink for Thirsty Thursday :)

I think it's a great end of summer treat: it's refreshing, it's crisp, it's Yummy.  I found this awesome Meyer Lemon soda at World Market, I'm sure you could find something similar at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.  

I mixed mine with Zacapa Rum because I've grown very accustomed to that oakey, dark amber rum taste but I'm sure this would be absolutely fabulous with Captain Morgan or Bacardi.



What you need:
1 & 1/2 ounces Amber Rum
1 thick slice lemon
seven or eight torn fresh basil leaves
3 ounces Meyer Lemon soda
3 ounces club soda
lots of ice.

What you do:

• Put your lemon slice and your torn basil leaves in the bottom of your favorite class: muddle well.
• Pack glass with ice then fill halfway with your lemon soda and halfway with club soda.
• Top with your favorite Rum.

Stir well & enjoy.

NOTE: I used club soda in addition to the Meyer lemon because I like a crisp/less sweet cocktail.  In many ways this is sort of a modified Mojito in that I substituted the lemon soda for the simple syrup... if you like a sweeter drink you could skip the club soda.

p.s. excuse my crappy iPhone photography!!!

 

Who needs Take-Out? {Mongolian Beef with Snow Peas}

Mongolian Beef

This is a tried & true recipe that I've made lots of times.... I think [and my family would agree] that it's the best mongolian beef I've ever had.... even better than P.F. Changs! In fact David said.... I don't make it often enough.

WHAT YOU NEED [for4]:
1 TBSP chopped garlic
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 lb beef flank steak, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal
1/4 cup cornstarch
 1 cup peanut oil for frying
1 bunch scallions or green onions, cut in 2-inch lengths
2 cups snow pea pods, ends trimmed


 WHAT YOU DO:
 
PREP:

Place the sliced beef into a bowl, and toss with cornstarch. Allow the beef and cornstarch to sit about 10 minutes. 

Trim the snow peas and chop the onions, set aside.

Heat soy sauce, water, ginger, garlic and brown sugar. Raise the heat to medium-high, and stir about 4 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce boils and slightly thickens. Remove sauce from the heat, and set aside.


COOKING:
Heat the peanut oil in a deep-sided skillet or wok to 375 degrees F .
Shake excess cornstarch from the beef slices, and drop them into the hot oil, a half dozen at a time. Stir briefly, and fry until the edges become crisp and start to brown, about 2 minutes . Remove the beef from the oil with tongs, and allow to drain on paper towels while you cook the rest. 
When they are all cooked, pour the oil out of the skillet, and return the pan to medium heat. Return the beef slices to the pan and cover with the soy sauce then add the green onions and pea pods. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until the onions  and pea pods have softened, about 4 minutes.

I serve over Sobe noodles.... yum!


Сайхан хооллоорой
(Saihan hoollooroi)!              

Thank You "Week" For Ending! {Featured Five!}

What a crazy, unpleasant week... but it did not kill me and therefore I am stronger...

And even as the madness swirled I knew I was doing this post come hell or high water...

 

[and looks like I may get the latter with Isaac heading towards us! ]
 

Anyhow, all week I was squirreling away my pics & here they are!

Hope you love 'em <3 



Tortellini Soup at Wine & Dine Us
looking like just the Comfort Food I need!  Thanks Pam <3

 



Combo of me needing some soup love
& my love affair with fresh corn...
Thanks Gerri from My Southwest Kitchen.  YUM!



This particular recipe
looks CRAZY good to me
Slow Cooker Mexican Corn Pudding
at Our Eating Habits <3



SHUT. UP. Chris from the Keenan Cookbook
 posting a To. Die. For. Taylor Ham Sandwich...
Any Jersey Girls [or boys] out there?
 

I thought these looked extremely yummy....
so yummy that
I am trying them as soon as I type this!
Thanks CJ at Food Stories for posting these
Cauliflower Poppers

Uno Mas Por Goodo Lucko

ok, o.k, I'm a loser that only speaks English.

I loved this Stone Fruit Sangria though....

and I could use some luck

Thanks Anne at From My Sweet Heart!

 

 **ALL PHOTO CREDITS TO THE POST REFERENCED,

HUGE Thank you to all for letting me repost****

HOUSEKEEPING:

And as our month FLIES by.... don't forget there's some awesome Pamper Chef Measuring Cups up for grabs.... CLICK HERE TO ENTER..... lots of ways to enter!

Somewhere in there I squeaked out time to celebrate with my foodie

Judges over at Food Story and please give a round of applause for Karen from

We Call Him Yes, Chef! She has an amazing blog and was our July Winner of the Food Stories Excellence in Storytelling Award.... FUNNY!!!! CHECK HER OUT!

Thirsty Thursday & ANOTHER "food" Holiday {Whiskey Sour Recipe}

Whiskey Sour

Well ANOTHER food holiday approaches and it struck me as a nostalgic one because Ruthie in my minds eye often had a Whiskey Sour as her cocktail and the glass with her red lipstick kiss on the rim is as clear as can be in my mind.  

And even though it's an "old school" drink.... it's REALLY quite yum and I think you should give it a try on Saturday to celebrate the Day!

You can buy the store mix but I find Sour Mix to be SO easy to make fresh that it's almost harder to get the Mix bottle open!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1/3 cup whiskey (I used Jack Daniel's "Green Label" Tennessee Whiskey)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
1/3 cup simple syrup
Ice cubes

WHAT YOU DO:
 Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice and pour in the whiskey, lemon juice, lime juice, and syrup. Shake, Shake, SHAKE! and pour into your glass, ice & all. Traditional garnish would be a maraschino cherry and orange slice, I kicked it up with a couple raspberries.

CHEERS!

Slow Down And Smell The Cookies {Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies.... sorta}



Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies

When it all seems CRAPPY and not only crappy but SWIRLING CRAPPY, it's good to have a ten year old say "Let's Make Cookies."  It's even better when you have the sense to stop yourself from saying.... "I really need to __________" Insert any verb.... wash dishes, work, fold laundry, pay bills and instead say....  "YES, LET'S!"

And so, we prepared... I saw a recipe for Mrs. Field's on YUM SUGAR that I imagined would be superior and it was, I've noted my differences which were purely out of necessity.  12 thumbs up from the Webb House!

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup C & H dark brown sugar (firmly packed) {I only had a 1/2 cup dark so I did 1/2 light & 1/2 dark}

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup cold salted butter, cut into cubes {I only had unsalted so I added a 1/2 tsp salt}

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips {I used a 2 cup combo of large chips, white chips, dark chips and mini morsels.... it's what I had as my kids are always into my morsels :)}

WHAT YOU DO:

• Preheat oven to 300° F.
• In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer blend the sugars at medium speed.
• Add the cold butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix at low to medium speed just until blended. Do not over mix.
• Add the flour mix and chocolate chips and blend at a low speed just until mixed.
• Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, two inches apart.
• Bake 20-22 minutes until golden. Transfer cookies immediately to a cool surface with a spatula. You can line sheets with parchment and transfer to a cold surface to do it faster.

 

Makes 30-36 cookies, depending on the size of your scoops.... we did some BIG SCOOPS because it was Tuesday and up until that GIANT cookie my week was NO FUN!

Pic me a WINNER! {Featured 5}

Feedback says: I need to keep picking my pics!  And since this really is my favorite post I need to make time to do it!  I hope you like my "pics" this week.... I L*O*V*E them!


HAPPY FRIDAY & HAPPY FEATURED 5! 


START WITH YOU.
I'm not sure if everyone
 is familiar with the Shine Project. 
 It's a cause/blog/mission
worth checking out for sure,
but this was a great little post,
 particularly as school starts.
I'm sharing it with my daughters
 [& my Prince too] 
Great message Ashley <3



Simple Romaine Salad with
Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing,
Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon, and Feta
from MANGIA. 
It's the bacon that got me.  OMG



Shrimp Tacos with Mango Slaw....
you had me at Shrimp.
Check it out at 4 the love of feasting!



I am INTRIGUED.  and therefore I must try....
Smoky Strawberry and Corn Salsa
Thanks Jenn at Home Skillet
for dreaming that crazy yummy combo up!

I know, Risotto..... it's a problem. 
But WTH Wilde in the Kitchen....
Gorgonzola and Leek Risotto? 
I'm knocking people over
to get to the store to get
what I need to make this!




One for good luck? You know it!

A Rum challenge and no one invited moi???
Sigh.  I'll forgive in time.
Mixed Berry Cooler [spiked] YUM! RUM!
Thanks Savoir Faire

**ALL PHOTO CREDITS TO THE POST REFERENCED,

HUGE Thank you to all for letting me repost****

 

HOUSEKEEPING:

And as our month FLIES by.... don't forget there's some awesome Pamper Chef Measuring Cups up for grabs.... CLICK HERE TO ENTER..... lots of ways to enter!

Happy National Rum Day {What a Long Strange Trip It's Been}

There's naught, no doubt, so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion. Lord Byron

If you had offered me Rum two years ago, I would've declined.... I really was never a Rum drinker.  That was before my first Dragonberry Mojito, which is kind of where this whole PDA {Public Display of Alcoholism} began.... well, my Rum journey has definitely been an evolution and I thought I would share that trip with you for NATIONAL RUM DAY {I was pretty shocked to see what a long strange trip it's been}!



My first Rum Love
The Dragonberry Mojito



My First Creation
The Blue Mojito

Taking it South
The Keylime Mojito

It goes with coffee too
The Jamaican Latte

Give a man a fish;
you have fed him for today.
Teach a man to fish;
and you have fed him for a lifetime”
—Author unknown
I've had a similar Mojito experience....
The Elderflower Mojito

I am now creating the alcohol
The LIMONCELLO MOJITO

This was a crowning moment for sure
THE CHAMPAGNE MOJITO

Just when I thought I had peaked...
Mint Sugared Glass
Lemon-Lime Mojito

Changing it up....
The Dark & Stormy

Classic Rum.... Do you like
PINA COLADAS?

Am I off the Mojitos and on to Classics?
THE RASPBERRY DAIQUIRI



Nahhhh, I heart my Mojitos
this is where I leave this year's celebration....
THE MILLIONAIRE {ZACAPA} MOJITO

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR...

SAME TIME SAME PLACE! XXOO