Clothes from a Newlywed's Closet

I've updated my other blog to help me clean out my closet! Visit Clothes from a Newlywed's Closet to see if any of these items should have a new home with you!!

Frozen Yogurt Blueberries

Photo from CC of Superman

This is yet another recipe that I found on pinterest (posted from The Caffeinated Chronicles of Superman blog).   It's super easy and makes a great fresh snack for summer.

Frozen Yogurt Blueberries
Ingredients:
1 carton of blueberries, washed and dried
Any Greek yogurt brand - I used the honey flavor

Directions:
Use a toothpick to pick up the blueberry.  Then swirl it in the yogurt to coat the berry.  Drop it on a sheet pan (or plate) that has been covered with wax paper.  Once the sheet is full, put it in the freezer for an hour.  After an hour, you can put them in a ziplock bag, but they'll need to stay in the freezer.

Iced Sugar Cookies

Kent and I decided to have a big Spring Break party this year.  So we invited lots of friends over and got busy making a plan.  We had been looking for an excuse to have a crawfish party like ones we used to go to in Oxford, and we thought this would be the perfect time.  So, Kent built a double crawfish table that worked wonderfully for the party, and we stocked up with beer, raw oysters, Gretchen's crab dip, and Texas caviar to give everyone a few more options for food.  I wanted to make something sweet and remembered that Sally had given me a crawfish cookie cutter last summer.  And, when I went to look for it, I found a dolphin cookie cutter from my Tri Delt days (I bought it because Jen and I always joked about collecting dolphin memorabilia) that I thought would go well with our funny airbrushed Spring Break Party invites.  I had planned on making a very super secret cookie recipe (it's so secret that I can't even reveal who gave it to me!), but I was missing part of an ingredient.  So, on a whim, I ended up making the cookie recipe that had come with the cookie cutter that Sally had given me published by Ann Clark.  They turned out wonderfully, even though some of the claws fell off of my crawfish! 

Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour.

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Beat the egg in a separate dish then add it to the butter/sugar mixture.  Add in the vanilla, salt, and flour.  Mix until all ingredients are well blended.  Chill dough 3 - 4 hours before rolling.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut.  Bake about 8 - 10 minutes or until barely colored.  Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks. 

Icing:

3/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)

1 Tb. butter

1 Tb. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

Melt butter.  Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.  Add food coloring.

*For the icing, I always add way more powdered sugar than the directions indicate so it's not as runny and sticks a little thicker to the cookies.

Couscous and Broccolini Salad



Photo from Stone Soup

I found this recipe on pintrest and decided to make it over Spring Break. I've tried several different variations, and they always turn out well.  Below is the original recipe from Stone Soup.  Under that you'll find my variations.  It has a wonderful Asian feel and is so fresh and light.  I've had it for lunch, but it would make a great side for a larger dinner.  If you've never tried broccolini before, it's kind of a mixture between broccoli and asparagus and spinach.  You'll be able to fit in much more broccolini than you think, so even if you think the pot is full put a little more in!

Couscous and Broccolini Salad
1 bunch broccolini, chopped
1/2 cup couscous
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
small handful flaked almonds

1. Bring a cup of water to boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Add broccolini and cook for 4 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat. Add couscous, soy, vinegar and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Stir to combine and season.
4. Stand, covered for another 4 minutes.
5. Fluff couscous with a fork. Taste and season.

Substitutions I've tried...
Broccolini - Spinach!  (you could also use broccoli or asparagus)
Cup of water for couscous - white wine... it adds a lot of flavor
Flaked almonds - sesame seeds (it helps to keep the Asian food feel if you don't like almonds)
Sherry vinegar - rice vinegar or red wine vinegar (the broccolini is kind of bitter already, so don't overdo the vinegar)

Easter Lunch - Lamb Chops with Cucumber Mint Orzo Salad

For Easter lunch today, we invited some of our favorite friends to join us after church.  We wanted to find something that we could make ahead (orzo salad) and something that wouldn't take long to prepare once everyone got here (grilled lamb).  Both dishes are very fresh tasting and are perfect for spring and summer weather.  We also served creamed spinach to add a little more green to the plate.  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday - He has risen!

pictures and recipes from www.fromaway.com

Grilled Lamb Chops with Cucumber-Mint Orzo Salad
Adapted from a recipe in Real Simple; Serves 4
Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic, minced
Zest and juice from one lemon, divided
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
8 small lamb rib chops, about two pounds total
1 cup orzo
1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 pitted black olives, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Method:
1.On a shallow plate, combine garlic, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/2 a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the lamb chops, and turn to coat evenly. Refrigerate, covered, for an hour.

2.While lamb chops marinate, cook the orzo according to package directions. Drain, cool under running water, and shake well to remove excess moisture. In a medium bowl, toss orzo with the cucumber, scallions, olives, mint, lemon juice, the remaining olive oil, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper.

3.To serve, remove the lamb chops from the marinade and cook, covered, on a hot grill, two minutes per side. Serve with the orzo salad.

And the winner is....

Lacey!  I used random.org too generate a number that corresponded to the order in which people entered the giveaway.  The winning number was #1!  Congrats, Lacey!  Thanks to everyone who entered and to The Wine Loft for their generousity!

200th Post!!! The Wine Loft Giveaway!!

I can't believe this is my 200th blog post!  To celebrate and thank my followers and contributors, The Wine Loft in Birmingham, AL has donated a $20 gift card.  If you live near Birmingham and have never been to The Wine Loft, you should definitely go!  It's a wonderfully large venue located on 2nd Avenue North along with some of my other favorite restaurants and bars.  It's a great place to meet for drinks or dinner after work, and it's used for many events hosted by Birmingham-area organizations.  Last time we went, Kent and I met some of my co-workers when The Wine Loft was kind enough to serve as a host for Dine Out for Diabetes, a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  We ordered the Wild Mushroom & Manchego Cheese Bruschetta and the Filet Mignon Pistolettes among other things - everything we ordered was amazing!  We loved sitting at one of the beautiful high top tables while we enjoyed our drinks and talked with the manager, Amy who is a sommelier, about which wines to try with our dinners.  For more information and menus, please visit The Wine Loft's website.

There are two ways to enter the giveaway... 1) If you are not a follower of my blog already, click to follow my blog on the right side of the page, then leave me a comment to let me know that you are a new follower (if you're already a follower, just leave me comment saying that you'd like to be entered into the giveaway).  2) You can also enter by becoming a follower of The Wine Loft Bham on Twitter.  Then leave a comment on this post letting me know that you are following them.  So, each person is allowed two entries in the giveaway.  I will use random.org on Saturday, April 7th to select a winner, so please enter by noon on Saturday.

I know that not all of my followers live in Birmingham, so I'm sorry to those of you who do not live in the area!  Thanks to The Wine Loft for their generous gift!