Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Tribute to Scott

This post is dedicated to Scott, my brother-in-law. His goal is to follow my blog and it seems like his idea of doing that is reading it, then posting comments about it on facebook. But, he is new to facebook and it's something he's been pretty pumped about for a while....so it's no surprise he is looking for any excuse to post something on my facebook wall.

Scott,
How was your day today? Mine was ok. Saw a couple of kids. Changed their lives via speech therapy....and stickers. Had a mom tell me she's pretty sure she has a urinary infection. And you don't want to know her symptoms. Did some exercising. I've only had 30 oz of water today...still got a ways to go before I meet my daily quota. Well, it's 8:30 and I'm super comfy on my couch. Ryan and I are about to speculate the firing of Mike Leach and its implications for ND football. Hope you have a good night!

p.s. you rock

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

"Ya'll" vs. "You all"

I was pretty productive today. I went to the Social Security Office (for the 2nd time) to apply for my new card. I got a library card and my first library book from the Centerville Library. And, I decided to declare myself wedding planner for my dear friend, Drea. Drea recently became famous with my new family at our wedding. A discussion was had about Ohio vs. Louisiana accents. Drea discovered she could only say "you all" if she was singing in opera voice. Go figure. She also taught my family a dance referred to as the "skeeter," which resulted in Kristie being covered in welps. When I heard these stories the day after our wedding, I wasn't surprised. It's so Drea. Very random and unique, while still keeping it classy....and a little violent.

Drea has been engaged since September.....and the wedding plans have been slow. Today I decided to start bossing Drea around, but only for her happiness:) Her goal....to book a venue and set her wedding date by February 1st. Good luck, Drea! I think this wedding will be quite the adventure for myself, and the bride, of course. I loved planning my own wedding. I felt like it was very "us." It's hard to find words to describe Drea and Mat, but if their wedding is very "them" it will be a beautiful, crazy, unforgettable evening. And I am so up for the challenge of forcing Drea to make decisions. FYI, Drea is an amazing artist and happens to have a blog also:)
http://zgoose.blogspot.com/


By the way, I am currently reading Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult. Very good so far! Ryan talked about reading today...one step closer. Although, it's probably hard for him to concentrate with all of the bowl games on:) Our dinner tonight...not fancy. White chicken chili made from McCormick's seasoning mix. Keepin' it simple at the McCormick house tonight.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Sassy Shrimp...



On the menu tonight....Thai Pesto Shrimp with Coconut Lime Rice. It was quite delicious....and it gave me an excuse to use my new food processor! This dish was actually really light and full of different flavors. This dish came from the February 2009 issue of Southern Living. Here is the recipe....


Thai Pesto Shrimp
1 1/2 lbs shrimp
Coconut Lime Rice
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp peanuts
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
4 tbsp olive oil

1. Peel Shrimp. Prepare Coconut Rice. (We use frozen raw shrimp from Kroger)
2. Process cilantro, next 7 ingredients, and 3 tbsp olive oil in a food processor 15-20 seconds or until smooth.
3. Saute shrimp in remaining olive oil for 4-5 minutes or until pink. Stir in cilantro sauce and serve over rice.

Coconut Lime Rice
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice

1. Bring coconut milk, salt, and 2 cups water to boil over medium heat. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Stir in lime juice.

Other variations:
1. Instead of making the cilantro mixture, use store-bought pesto sauce.
2. If you are not a fan of coconut milk, cook the rice in roasted garlic chicken broth.
3. And if you happen to be one of those people who doesn't like shrimp....substitute chicken.

My goal of blogging is off to a good start. Ryan hasn't quite started reading yet. And Scott.....apparentely not reading my blog yet. Hope everyone stays warm! Or cool, depending on where you live:)

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Salmon Recipe!

So I'm going a little blog crazy with two posts today....but we had the best salmon for dinner and I had to share the recipe because it's super easy for salmon lovers.

Herb Crusted Cheese Stuffed Salmon
Ingredients:
2 Salmon filets:)
Any kind of soft cheese with herbs mixed in (we used feta cheese with basil and sundried tomatoes)
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp roasted pine nuts
kosher salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Cut 2-3 slits in the salmon, depending on how big the piece is. Fill the slits with the cheese. If you are not a feta or blue cheese fan, I'm sure shredded parm or mozzerella would also be delicious. Season the fish with kosher salt. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, bread crumbs, parm, and pine nuts. If you don't have pine nuts, I bet sunflower seeds would also be good. Cover the fish with the bread crumb mixture. Bake the fish for 14 minutes or until done. Super easy to make and absolutely delicious!!!

Merry Christmas!

We just got home from Christmas weekend with our Ohio family....and it was pretty exciting:) The fun was never-ending. The McCormick boys spent the weekend experimenting with their new scarves, Scott created a facebook page...with assistance, and we all came up with goals for 2010. Ryan's goal is to read 6 books in 2010. Wish him luck! Reading is not his favorite hobby:) Kristie's goal is to finish her wedding video. Scott had several goals....to follow my blog was the most important:) Dan actually never decided on a goal. And my goal....this blog. I'm not sure why, but I thought it would be a fun way to keep our family and friends in the loop of our everyday life.

So now we begin our blogging adventure! The posts will likely be random....like me. Hopefully they will also be entertaining...like watching Ryan trying to install his new speakers. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We did:)