Root Beer Float

Guess what today is?

It's National Root Beer Float Day!

Root beer floats are one of Bobby's favorite drinks, so when I told him he'd have to drink one so I could get pictures for a post, he was pretty willing.



Root Beer Float
Cold Root Beer
Vanilla Ice Cream
Whipped Cream
Cherry

Put a big scoop or two of vanilla ice cream in a tall glass.
Slowly pour the root beer over ice cream. There will be a lot of foam, so really, pour slowly. ** I usually have Bob suck up the root beer foam with a straw as I pour. Well, only on his float!
Top with whipped cream and a cherry.
That's it!!



Enjoy one today!!

Frozen Yogurt Pie

This is wicked easy and wicked fast and on a hot summer day, it's also wicked refreshing!

The first time I made this was for my own baby shower. It was a surprise baby shower, so I had no idea that's what I was really making it for. My friend Joyce said it was a surprise birthday party for the office manager.

I really didn't want to go. Plus she'd asked me to bring a raspberry and a blueberry frozen yogurt pie. She said she was running short on prep time and really needed the help.

I made them, then tried to beg off of the party, saying I'd just drop off the pies. She convinced me to come, with promises of A/C and being political correct by putting in an appearance for the boss.

Fine... I went... I guess it's a good thing I showed up, because I was the guest of honor!



Frozen Yogurt Pie
1 8oz container of Cool Whip, thawed
2 6oz containers of yogurt
1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust

Mix Cool Whip & yogurt.
Spread into pie plate.
Freeze 4 hours or until firm.
Remove from freezer 15 minutes prior to serving; let stand at room temperature.
Slice & enjoy!

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So this is all you need... (for two pies)


Raspberry first... 1 tub of Cool Whip... 2 containers of yogurt...


Stir...


Stir some more...


And into the graham cracker crust...


Decorate with raspberries...


Flip the cover from the crust and reattach...


Now on to the lime...

The Key Lime Pie yogurt had a very mild flavor on it's own...


So I added the juice & zest of one lime...


I decorated this one with sugared lime slices...




Now they're ready for the freezer...


I'm not great at cutting a pretty slice of pie...




But this is so easy. It goes together in 5 minutes. And you can just make one or two to have on hand in-case of unexpected guests.

It's creamy and flavorful and so versatile. You can use any flavors of yogurt and whatever kinds of garnishes you like!

Mashed Potato Tacos

This recipe showed up in my inbox from Allrecipes.com.

I didn't really follow the recipe... so I guess just the idea came from Allrecipes.

Anyway... this is perfect for leftover mashed potatoes.

There are no exact measurements.



Mashed Potato Tacos
Mashed Potatoes
Green chiles, diced
Grilled corn
Pepperjack cheese, shredded
Corn tortillas or taco shells
Taco sauce

I made creamy yukon gold mashed potatoes. Then stirred in diced green chiles, grilled corn kernels, and lots of shredded pepperjack cheese.

Then into tortillas if you like them soft or taco shells if you like them crunchy.

I made pretty much almost every kind.

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Stir corn kernels & green chiles into your hot mashed potatoes...
And you stir whatever you like into your mashies... other leftover veggies, meat, whatever...



Add some shredded pepperjack cheese, or whatever cheese you like.


Mix well.


Now into your favorite taco shell.

If you put some wadded up foil inside your taco shells when you heat them, they don't close up.


A pair of crunchy


The soft and crunchy combo


Oops... Bob doesn't care for mashed potatoes... so he had Spaghetti Tacos


But my FAVORITE way to have these was Mashed Potato Rolled Tacos!




Into some oil heated to 350F.


Turn.


Drain.


Top with more cheese and DEVOUR!


All the versions were tasty... but I could eat my weight in Mashed Potato Rolled Tacos!

So next time you have leftover mashies, make tacos! Don't even wait for leftovers, just make some and make tacos! And I'll bet mashed sweet potatoes would be just as good... or any mashed veggies! Oooohhhhhhh.... mashed celery root & parsnip tacos?? I think I'm gonna add those to the list of things to make!!

Seriously! Make tacos!

Amazing Shrimp Marinade

My friend, Erin & I had been dying for grilled shrimp for quite a while. Ericka was in town for the weekend, so I decided it was a perfect time to make it!

I kinda dawdled trying to find a recipe for the marinade. I had looked at a few that looked OK, but nothing looked really great.

So finally... being the procrasti-slacker that I am... the morning of dinner, I jumped online again to look for a marinade.

Not wanting to waste time, I went to allrecipes.com. I found a five star recipe with over 1600 reviews. Even with people reviewing... and changing ALL of the ingredients before they make it, I figured this had to be a good one... and let me tell ya, I was NOT disappointed!!



Marinated Grilled Shrimp
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar.
Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated.
Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head.
Discard marinade.
Preheat grill for medium heat.
Lightly oil grill grate.
Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.

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So I doubled this recipe. I started with a 5 pound bag of frozen shrimp. (I left a pound in the freezer)

Since I procrasti-slacked, I had to thaw mine in the sink under cold water instead of in the fridge.


Then I set up my peel & clean station in the sink.

Colander filled with thawing shrimp. Empty colander for peeled, cleaned shrimp and a ziplock bag to collect the shells to make stock at a later date.


The shells & legs pull off easily, put them in the ziplock bag.

To devein the shrimp, just slice along the center back, pull out the vein and wash it down the drain.



Now I have a big bag of shrimp shells to make stock!


Just store them in the freezer.

And a big bowl of cleaned shrimps!


Whisk everything together... I added extra cayenne, because we like it spicy...



I put the shrimps and the marinade in a ziplock bag and into the fridge.



After about an hour I skewered them on wooden skewers that had been soaking in water for about an hour.

I put them in a glass baking dish for easy storage until I was ready to grill.


I also poured the leftover marinade over them, since it would still be a little while before I was ready for grilling.

Then onto a pre-heated grill.


Flip


And it's dinner time!


I spiced mine up a good bit, but they weren't too spicy.

These shrimps were a HUGE success. Everyone really really loved them. I can't say enough about how delectably delicious they were!

If you actually have leftovers, which I doubt you will... they'd be awesome on a salad or in a wrap.

Plus they were so easy!!

To BlondiePerez on allrecipes.com.... Well done!!

I'm going to be trying this marinade on chicken, beef and pork!

If you want to leave your dinner guests, ooooing and ahhhhing over your mad culinary skills... I highly recommend you try this!