Mike's Photography

Ok, wow. Bad wife, bad helper. I haven't posted about Mike's photography blog since July!

We've been working at getting Mike's photography blog, facebook page (search for Michael Hardisty Photography) and price sheets together. You can email him at michaelhardisty@yahoo.com or email me with any questions, comments or if you would like a price sheet. You can also follow him on Twitter now - @MichaelHardisty!

As promised, Nick & Erica's engagement shots in Dallas. Mike has also added photos of one of my favorite places - Spicewood Vineyards, Cabo san Lucas, fall leaves in Dallas, a project based on interaction between man and nature and most recently, The Parking Lot Carnival.

We've got a few things coming up over the next month including newborn pics of baby Jackson, senior pictures of my cousin Kiersten, and baby pictures of Corbin.

House Pics - 5 Months In

Here are some pics of the house 5 months in! We've painted all but the office (which will be a grey-blue color) and the guest bathroom (which will be a sand color).

Birthday Cake (Cake Batter) Pancakes

I posted a link to these really cute pancakes a couple of weeks ago. Mike finally had a Sunday where he could have breakfast at home before work, and my birthday was right around the corner (which is why I refer to them as birthday cake pancakes), so we made these pancakes. They are really yummy and cute. I think I would cut back on the powdered sugar "syrup" next time but the pancakes do have a "cake" taste that's really good.

I'm still struggling with getting our pancakes to be a little puffier (word? not sure). I wish they would rise a bit more!

Spring Cleaning

I have been doing some major spring cleaning... our house, cars, yard, mind, body, calendar... everything. Its a lot of work but I love the feeling once its all done!

While cleaning out a large stack of mail, catalogs, papers to be filed, articles pulled from magazines, recipes (you get the picture), I came across some articles I pulled about food and health that I'm going to take some pointers from. One of the things I liked the most was an "I believe" list from Meg of Megg Salad:

1. You are what you eat. Literally.


2. Your body is telling you something, you have to listen.


3. Counting calories is a waste of time.


4. Know what you're eating.


5. Food is powerful.


6. Diets don't work.


7. Food isn't the only thing that feeds us.


8. Exercise should feel good.


9. You, and only you, are in control of your health.


10. Health is a means, not an end.

Hopefully re-reading this list will help me shed some bad habits!

Cookies & Cream Bark

I made my sister this cookies & cream bark as part of her birthday gift. Its a really easy treat to make!


Adapted from Martha Stewart Living magazine:

about 1 lb. total your choice of chocolates (I used 2/3 semi-sweet and 1/3 white)
12-15 oreos, mixed use

Cover a 9 x 13 baking sheet with parchment paper.
Crush about 2/3 of the oreos. Set aside. Break the remaining oreos in half/quarters. Set aside.
Melt the chocolates (separate bowls if using different types). I used the microwave method - cut chocolate into pieces and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted. Pour the crushed oreos into bowl/bowls of melted chocolate and stir well. Spoon chocolates onto baking sheet (alternate flavors) and swirl to make a marbled pattern. (Smooth the mixture out as thin as you prefer.) Drop remaining oreos on top. Place baking sheet into refrigerator until hard. Crack into pieces and serve.

Weekend Recap

1. So jealous. Why didn't I think of this?!? And YUM.

2. Officially the poster couple/wedding for Spicewood Vineyards (and yay for Annie & Julie's great work!)

3. Spending Saturday in shades

4. Sunday evening cooking

Dublin Dr. Pepper Ribs, Taquitos & Flour Tortillas

Oh, what is that you ask? That is a homemade tortilla, recipe from Alexandra's Kitchen. They are AAAHmazing and so simple to make. I saw a few recipes that called for lard but chose this recipe because it called for butter instead. (I have a really hard time buying and cooking with lard.)

Mike ordered Dublin Dr. Pepper marinated ribs for dinner Friday night at the Ranch and we made taquitos out of the leftover rib meat and eggs that we ate on these delicious flour tortillas.

I didn't have any problems with this recipe even though it was the first time I tried it. I cooked them on our griddle pan and it went totally smoothly, no burned tortillas at all. I do need to work on rolling them out just a tad thinner and they could have been a little rounder... we'll just say they were abstract. I also prepared the dry ingredients/cut the butter in using my food processor which I think is a lot easier than doing it by hand with knives or a pastry cutter. Next time I am going to try swapping in whole wheat flour for half the flour content and see what happens!

Birthday!

Today is my birthday! Mike and I had a great dinner with our friends at the Ranch over the weekend and came back to our house for strawberry cake with funfetti icing (made by Ann!). We had such a great time! Thanks everyone for joining us and for the great gifts!

Chicken Piccata

Mike and I made chicken piccata for supper Sunday. It was a quick dish that could be made on a weeknight if you have chicken in the refrigerator. I served it with a thin spaghetti and green beans (for me) and corn (for Mike). (We can't seem to ever agree on one vegetable!)

ingredients
2 thin, boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt &pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup italian bread crumbs
olive oil
3 tbsp butter (divided use)
1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)
1/2 cup of white wine (nothing too sweet)
fresh parsley for topping, optional
1/2 package thin spaghetti

directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place a cookie cooling rack on top of a 13x9 sheet pan.

Set water for noodles boiling. They should be ready just as the sauce is ready.

Sprinkle a small amount of salt & pepper into the flour. Bread your chicken starting with the flour, egg, and then the bread crumbs. Place a shallow saute pan over medium to medium high heat and pour a small amount of olive oil into it, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook the chicken in the saute pan for about a minute on each side, just enough to make the breading golden and crispy. Place the chicken on the cookie cooling rack and place the cookie cooling rack with 13x9 pan into the oven for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

In another small saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add the lemon juice, wine, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and and let reduce by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Lower heat to medium low. Add in the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Stir until incorporated. Add in the cooked noodles and stir, cooking slightly until the sauce and noodles are well incorporated.

Serve noodles with chicken. Top with parsley (optional).

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Its no secret that I love making biscuits. These came up on thekitchn last Friday... suggesting they would be an easy bake over the weekend. I made them Sunday morning. They are very easy (especially with the use of a food processor) and pretty tasty. I opted to brush with melted butter as opposed to the bacon fat suggested in the recipe. I also substituted green onions for chives since that's what I had on hand.







Sadly, mine didn't rise as much as the biscuits in the photos on the website. No judgment though... I'm sure they will all be eaten.

Date Night - Sushi Axiom

Tried a new restaurant thanks to living social! I love that and groupons. They are so handy!

We had a date night with the Combe's and went to Sushi Axiom. We had great sushi, drinks and who wouldn't love a free sake bomb from the manager?

cherry blossom roll

I tried to take a picture of the octopus Mike & Nick ate but it came out all blurry... not my cup of tea at all. However, the rolls and crawfish fried rice were great! We'll definitely go back for more!

To top the night off, after waiting in the frigid first weekend of March air, a total stranger jumped in Mike's back seat thinking it was her friends car. It starts to dawn on her that its the wrong car only after just about buckling her seatbelt and repeating how cold she was outside. So funny!

Housewarming & Crawfish Cornbread

We had some friends over this weekend so we could show off our house and eat some cajun food before Mardi Gras!

I made chicken & sausage gumbo and crawfish cornbread. I also brought back crawfish boudain and spicy pork boudain from my trip to Orange last weekend. Mike and I picked up Hurricanes & King Cake for the party as well. Friends brought lots of good stuff - pork tenderloin, jalapeno cheese grits, boudain dip, stuffed jalapenos, and some much needed salad after all the rich food!

Here's the recipe for Crawfish Cornbread - something you'll often find served at my grandparents house!

ingredients
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Tony’s seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ cup onion, chopped
½ cup bell pepper, chopped
½ cup green onion, chopped
3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 15 ounce can of cream style corn
1 pound crawfish tails, chopped
1 8½ ounce box Jiffy Cornbread mix

directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 12 pan with Pam. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked through.

note
The ingredients listed on the Jiffy box are not needed as part of the recipe. The cornbread is very moist so it might look undercooked but if a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden, its ready to eat.

Here are a couple of pics thrown through the "Shake It Photo" app:

crawfish cornbread

jalapeno cheese grits

flip cup