The Way I Cook

Hello blog world! This will be my second official post. Kendall is gone to the beach for the weekend and I thought it was time to show you how I would cook everyday if it was up to me.  So get ready for all the ingredients and processes involved in this delicious meal!

 

 

This is me getting in my truck to drive to grab some much needed ingredients.

This is my helpful chef, Dr. Daniel Holsinger. Of course I had to call in some reinforcements.

This is where the ingredients were located. It is in downtown Memphis. The name of the grocery store (aka restaurant) is Flying Fish. I often visit grocery stores like this and would so a lot more if it wasn't for my wonderful personal chef at home.

 Above is my cook book. Not a lot of time required to cook my meal. I try to keep it simple.

If you follow my directions properly, you can have a meal in less than 10 minutes. This night I decided to cook (order) Grilled Grouper and a cup of Crawfish Chowder. I highly recommend both.

 

 

Take a look at this beautiful meal. I had to work extra hard and spend a lot of extra time in the kitchen to make this look this nice for you readers.

 

Inside the Flying Fish, you will find a wall of the singing bass. They actually have all of them wired to go off at the same time. Just playing but that would be really cool if they did.

 

Here I am calling Kendall to let her know that I have been properly fed and she need not to worry about me starving. Also, I am reminding her what a wonderful husband I am to let her travel to the beach. (more sarcasm) Now I have let you in on my secret to cooking great meals and a great place to eat. I am curious, what are your favorite places to eat?

Going Away...

This girl... is taking these toes... away. 

To the beach we go!

I'm leavin' on a jet plane in the morning for a fun-filled 4 day weekend with some of my great friends from college.

(Meredith, Collin, Kelsey and me)

These are the gals I'm going with. We are besties from our Delta days :)

Can't wait to relax and enjoy the sun and sand! Keith will be holding down the fort, but I doubt he makes any recipe blog posts :) Sit tight 'til Monday, friends!

Frozen Peanut Butter Turtle Pie

Peanut Butter + Cream Cheese.

Need I say more?

Frozen Peanut Butter Turtle Pie (from Kraft)

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Ingredients:

1 tub (8 oz.) cream cheese spread                            
1/3 cup  creamy peanut butter                            
1/2 cup sugar                            
2 cups thawed whipped topping                            
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping                            
Oreo pie crust (6 oz.)                            
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted                            
2 squares Baker's semi-sweet chocolate

 

 

First, get a big bowl.

Combine the cream cheese....

...peanut butter and sugar...

And beat with a hand mixer until well blended...

...like that. This mixture tastes amazing. Get 'cha a little lick.

Add the thawed whipped topping...

...and stir with your spatula (or in my case, spoonula :) until it is nice and smooth.

Get out your pie crust. 

The recipe calls for a pre-made crust from the store, which I had, and it broke. I was trying to prop it up in my 'ingredients' picture and it smashed into a billion pieces. Luckily, I had a package of Oreos and just Googled how to make my own. Improvise people! You gotta be able to adapt! You never know what you're gonna screw up and have to rebound quickly on. Surely that's not just me!?  :)

Add 1/4 cup caramel topping and spread evenly over the bottom

Then add the creamy mixture.

Oh heavens, yum!!!!

Stick in the freezer for 4 hours.

{Confession: My next two pictures suck. It got dark. We had guests here. They were stomping their fists with forks in hand, ready for me to serve this. Not really, but you get the idea. So, my pictures lack because I just rushed to snap them, bad lighting and all!}

Top the frozen pie with the toasted, chopped pecans and drizzle with chocolate. Slice and serve!

It is VERY good!

Marinated Grilled Zucchini and Squash

Here's a recipe for a very easy and delicious marinade for grilled zucchini and squash.

Marinated Grilled Squash (Southern Living)

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Ingredients:

3 medium yellow squash

3 medium zucchini (Do as I say, not as a I do. I only had 2 of each! :)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

First, slice up the zucchini and squash diagonally.

Put in in a plastic bag

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil...

...the lemon juice...

...the garlic...

...the marjoram, salt and pepper.

Stir with a whisk

Pour over the veggies and toss around to coat.

Refrigerate this for an hour.

Grill , covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat 20 minutes or until crisp-tender. Turn it occasionally and brush it with remaining marinade.

Sorry, my final picture is more about the steaks than the veggies! But, I always get in a hurry when company is around and don't take as many pictures!

This is my favorite way to grill squash because the marinade brings out the natural flavors of the veggies. Enjoy!

Live at the Garden with Al Green

Last night we enjoyed listening to Al Green serenade us in the Memphis Botanic Garden with friends.

Live at the Garden is a fantastic summer concert series on a big lawn surrounded by lots of trees. You can bring whatever you want and listen to some great tunes! We went last year to see Sister Hazel and Train. That's when I fell in love with Train's new album!

I pulled together a little picnic basket with some snacks, wine, and of course, a citronella candle! I made these Basil, Feta and Red Pepper muffins. They were good, but I felt like they were missing something. The wine was really all we needed anyway :)

Our good friends Kathryn Morrison and Meredith Looney joined us, too! Kathryn is in Keith's dental school class and we've been pals since our UofA days. Mere came over from Little Rock for the night and we all had a blast! Isn't that little red truck wine barrel so cute!?

My hubs! 

"Let's stay together......lovin' you whether, whether, times are good or bad, happy or sad...."

The view from our blanket. The event was sold-out! The stage was down on the right, and a big screen to the left. It was a full moon, too. So lovely!

Al Green rocked it out, wearing green (hehe), and sang all of his greatest hits! We loved singin' along to Tired of Being Alone and Love and Happiness....

Keith is loungin' and chatting with the ladies.

Cuties!

It was hot, but not miserable, and I still don't know why I bothered to try and fix my hair beforehand. It went straight to a ponytail!

Such a fun time! We stayed on our little picnic blankets just chatting until almost everyone left. Good times with good friends. And we love you, Al Green!!

Tomato-and-Corn Pizza

 Dear heavens!

This pizza is fantastic. So easy, so yummy, so pretty. Thank you, once again, Southern Living, for a great recipe!

Here's how you make it, because this is one you'll want to try yourself, I promise. I wouldn't lead you astray.

Tomato-and-Corn Pizza (Southern Living)

(click here for printer-friendly version)

Ingredients:

3 small plum tomatoes, sliced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 (14-oz.) package prebaked Italian pizza crust (such as Boboli)

Parchment paper (if you don't have a baking stone)

1/3 cup refrigerated pesto

1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (1 regular sized ear of corn)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon sugar

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

A handful of fresh whole or torn basil leaves

Get everything gathered together. This process is really easy, trust me.

Preheat oven to 450.

Place crust on baking sheet lined with Parchment paper or on ungreased baking stone

Slice the tomatoes and lay on paper towels to dry. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can get everything else ready.

Spread 1/3 cup pesto on the crust

Mmmm, pesto

Make a mess when you grate the Parmesan. It's totally worth it!

Once you've cut the corn off the cob, combine the corn, Parmesan and sugar in a bowl

Spread evenly over the pesto

Layer the mozzarella slices and tomatoes on top

I tried to arrange mine so that the corn would peek through!

Stick this in the oven. The recipe called for 14 minutes, but it took mine closer to 20 to get golden brown.

Take it out of the oven...and try to contain yourself.

Sprinkle with the basil leaves. 

GOOD NESS.

If you're like me, pizza (or really anything) tastes better when accompanied by a glass of wine.

 

The corn adds a wonderful touch to this fresh-tasting pizza. If you wanted to, you could add shredded chicken to it to better please the men in your life. Keith survived this meal just fine without meat. He surprised himself!

ENJOY! Mmmm