Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The Perfect Shrimp for Any Recipe

There are so many amazing shrimp recipes out there, but so many fall flat on getting the shrimp just right. Here's my tried and true, perfect every time shrimp recipe. Short sweet and to the point.

First, you need good shrimp. One of my favorites is the Argentine Wild Shrimp from Trader Joes.
Defrost your shrimp and pat dry.

Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Spread out on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 9-10 minutes.

Voila! Perfect Shrimp every time.
Tonight we had shrimp tacos so I added a little sweet paprika & garlic salt.
RECIPE
1 pound of Shrimp
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
Pat shrimp dry
Toss shrimp in olive oil
Spread on baking sheet
Sprinkle generously with salt and any other desired seasoning
Bake on 400 for 9-10 minutes.
Promptly remove from oven and add to any recipe.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Six Years!

It has been six, yes 6 years since I've hit that publish button on a blog post. So maybe you're wondering where'd you go? why'd you leave? why are you here now? are you here to stay?
Well my friend, those are all excellent questions. The answer is here, there and everywhere. life.  because it's time. do any of us really know? But really, a lot, and I mean a lot has changed in the past 6 years, new states, new jobs, new family members - a lot. So let's play a little catch up, shall we?

Once upon a time, way back in 2006, when I started this blog, I was a single, litigation attorney living my dream life in Denver, Colorado - seriously, life (aside from billable hours) was really, really good. For fun I started this little blog, and loved sharing my love of food with ya'll. Then as Taylor Swift would say "I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this" - translation this boy I knew went from friend to THE friend - fast forward to 2009 and we got married in my dream wedding in Hawaii. Then life threw us a BIG twist and we landed in a twister state - Oklahoma. Guys, no joke, I cried the first 100 miles out of Denver - my first chosen home - where I had my first "real" job, bought my first house, got my beloved Bailey dog, and was really a grown up - Denver still holds a huge piece of my heart to this day. 

Oklahoma, you ask? Actually, despite my kicking, screaming, and crying - I loved Oklahoma - the best people, so much great food (as seen featured here back in the day), and I worked at the best law firm - seriously, I hope everyone has an experience like that - the best people, best trial experiences, just so much good stuff happened in Oklahoma. The icing on the Oklahoma cake was the birth of my first child, a boy child we will call A. A was born bright eyed, and ready to explore, he slept like a champ, screamed like a screaming goat for hours on end, and got right down to business growing up as fast as he could. Dude crawled at 5 months, took his first steps at 8 months, and was full on running by 10 months! He kept, and still keeps us on our toes - reading at 4, smart as can be, doing all the sports, lover of space, science, and adventure to name a few. Becoming a mother was everything and nothing I ever imagined - so good and so hard! A celebrated his first birthday in Oklahoma before we went even further south to the Lone Star State - again, I cried my eyes out leaving Oklahoma, my perfect house, my beloved friends, and my amazing law family.

But, surprise! I loved Texas! We landed in Dallas (Preston Hollow to be exact) for two years, I worked  at a law firm, while Dr. Nick completed his training, and A learned silly songs, developed his own litigation style, and was potty trained.  Like they say everything's bigger in Texas, the hair, the fashion, the houses, the heat, the crazy litigation stories (seriously I've got some doozies) but it was so good, because biggest of all things in Texas - the hearts and souls of the people! We spent all our extra time with A doing everything the big D had to offer - we thought we were going to stay in Dallas, but, plot twist - a dream job popped up in Dr. Nick's hometown - so he had to apply right? Right, and of course he got the job. I did. not. want. to. go. but deep down in my soul I knew we were meant to be in Boise, Idaho. Yes. You read that correctly. Boise. Idaho. So once again we packed up our life, and moved halfway across the country. And big surprise - I cried. and cried. and cried. guys, Texans are just such great people, and I loved my friends, and my neighborhood, and it wasn't Idaho.

So off to Idaho we go, where I decided to take a little break from the law and try my hand at being a trophy wife.  You know what's hard? being a stay at home mom. being a stay at home mom in a new place. being in a new place when you don't get to go to work and meet people. I'm not going to lie - it was a hard, hard move. Probably the hardest move I've ever had. But you know what, life is what you make of it, so we got to work, and made it good. The first good thing that happened in Idaho, which really was one of the greatest things in my entire life, was the birth of my second child. A much awaited, much longed for, perfect, beautiful, amazing bright blue-eyed baby girl, we will call B. Like her brother before her, B was born ready to rock and roll, adventurous and sweet with a dash of spice, that darling girl completed a piece of me I didn't know I was missing. She is the cutest little pixie, spoke in full sentences like the second she turned 2, has the best imagination, her daddy's sweet tooth, mama's eyes, and everyone she meets wrapped around her finger in seconds. She loves singing, art, books, gymnastics, and anything her brother is doing. 

We adjusted to Idaho, and came to love her. Two years later we were blessed with the birth of our third child - the final installment in our trilogy, a beautiful baby boy, with more hair than I've ever seen on a baby, we'll call him C. C completed us. From birth he was the happiest soul I've ever met, which is saying a lot because A and B were/are also happy little souls. This little buddy does everything at warp speed - crawled at 5 months, walked at 8 months, learned to open doors and help himself to the pantry at 13 months. He is pure joy. 

So here we are, a full 6 years since the last post, a life that is light years away from the life that created this little blog all those years ago. A good life. A happy life. A crazy, busy, adventure filled life. A life full of lessons, tried and true tips and tricks, and an amazing list of best ofs. Of course it isn't a perfect life, because nothing is perfect, a life with ups and downs, wins and losses, heartache and heartbreak - but the good keeps prevailing. I've grown and changed so much from the girl who started this blog, and I have so much more to offer now.  

You're probably wonder what this sudden reappearance here means. Well, here's the plan: I'm going to try this thing out again. I've had some ideas bouncing around in my head for the past few years, and now I'm ready to share them. I want to share goodness. I want to share what I know, what I've learned, what I love. Food. Fashion. Parenting. Toys. Relationships. Health. Adventure. A little bit of everything I love. It will always be genuine. It will always be me. It will always be things that I do or use that I think will grant you a happier life. I am not an expert on most things, but I am a class A, gold star researcher, and I know what I like. That might not be what you like, or what works for you, and that's okay, but if I can share what I love and brighten your day, or lighten your load, then this little experience is well worth it. Welcome to Granted by Tiffany.